Hello All,

Hope you like this chapter. This is pretty much Part 1 of what's gonna happen at the zoo. So I hope you enjoy it. There's also gonna be some fighting in this chapter. Like I mentioned in the first chapter, i'm going for an anime kinda feel to it. So hopefully, if any of you watch anime, it'll give you that sort of vibe.

With that being said, Have At It! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe. That glory belongs to Rebecca Sugar and the Crewniverse. The only thing(s) that I own are my multiple OCs and the plot of this story.

Chapter 5:

Walking Into Danger

There's nothing like a sunny day on the beach. Warm weather, few clouds in the sky and a great sea breeze to keep you cool under the hot sun. Steven loved these sort of days, especially with Connie. Since it's the weekend, Connie has a short break from school and enough time to spend with Steven.

"I love times like this" Steven told his girlfriend as they cuddled on the sand.

"Me too" she responded as she enjoyed being wrapped up within his arms. After she warmed up in the embrace, she asked Steven something about his journey.

"Did you see any coastal towns that had beaches just as nice as the one here?"

"Oh I saw a lot of beaches. And yeah, there were a couple that came close. Golden State, Ocean Bay, Florida Island… yeah, there were a lot of nice beaches."

"Thinking about moving to any of those places when you're back on the road?" She asked.

"Maybe. I mean, I've made a list of which cities are a "yes" and which are a "no", but I havne't made up my mind completely yet. But until then, all I'm looking forward to is seeing you get that diploma." Steven told her as he faced her with a warm smile. In response, Connie nuzzled her head on Steven's shoulder, happy to know how much Steven cares about her.

After a few minutes, they both fell asleep. However, after a few minutes, Steven woke up from his nap and realized Connie wasn't next to him anymore. She wasn't even close by.

"Connie?" Steven said out loud with slight worry, hoping to hear her voice. Curious about her whereabouts, he got up from his spot on the beach and walked over to the temple to see if she went in to get away from the heat. When he opened the door to the house, he saw that she wasn't anywhere in the living area or near the warp pad. Going up the stairs, she wasn't in his room either OR up in the observatory.

With her nowhere in the temple, he figured she must be somewhere in town. However, as soon as he walked back outside, he bumped into someone. This person wasn't Connie. Actually, this person was just covered in shadows. The only thing that Steven could make out from this person right off the bat were red scarlet eyes. When Steven stared at those eyes, it was like they were burning their stare into his mind. When Steven backed away from the individual, the shadowed person raised his arm somehow summoned a red katana sword. Steven couldn't make out how this person did that. He didn't see any gem on them.

"How did you….?"

The figure then raised its sword and prepared to strike it down towards Steven. Frightened, Steven quickly brought out a shield, prepared for the blow. Once the sword made contact with the shield, Steven could feel how powerful the strike was. He noticed that his shield was cracking from the impact and the sword wielder kept putting more force into it. Scared and confused, Steven said to the figure,

"Who are you?!"

When the shield finally gave in, Steven felt as if his life stopped as the figure was ready to strike Steven with their blade. Steven could feel himself paralyzed with fear as the sword made its way to finish the job on Steven

Steven woke up quickly with his face slightly sweaty as he breathed in and out to calm himself after the nightmare he just had. Once he regained himself, he put his hand on his forehead to hold his head up as he thought to himself.

Geez. I mean, this is only the second nightmare I've had in a while, but why does it have to involve me almost dying? Why was I being attacked? What does it mean? Well, better right it down in the journal.

As Steven wrote down what took place in his latest dream, he kept wondering what it meant. Not just that, why was it just like his other dream from just before he got back home, mysterious?

Once Steven finished writing in his journal, he got out of bed and walked out on his balcony to see the beautiful morning sunrise to snap him out of his nightmare funk and get himself ready for the fun day that's ahead involving his friends, Blue Diamond, and the Zooship.

Still early in the morning and Steven, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl were standing by the steps leading up to the house while Greg was sitting up on the porch. They were waiting for Connie to arrive so that everyone can be together when Blue's ship would descend to pick them all up.

After a few minutes, everyone noticed Connie walking towards them. When she saw them, she picked up speed to join them quicker. When she did and hugged everyone all they had to do was wait for Blue and Spinel to arrive.

"You sure your mom said it was ok for you to go up into space with us" Steven asked Connie if she really got permission from her parents to somewhere that was literally "out of this world".

"She was hesitant, but she gave in. Plus, she wanted to reward me for doing great in my exams and quizzes. Just so long as I'm back by dinner." Connie responded to his question.

"I'm sure we can get back by then. After all, we're just spending a few hours there" Pearl told her. Although, Amethyst was quick to disagree in a comedic manner.

"Pfft, speak for yourself! There ain't no way I'm hanging with the Famethyst for just a few hours. Chances are I'm warping home if you guys are gonna leave by then." Amethyst said as she looks forward to spending time with her sister gems.

"I guess that's to be expected" Peal deadpanned. She knows Amethyst has been more responsible, but sometimes she worries that Amethyst might get carried away when hanging out with friends or partying, especially if it affects a schedule.

"I just can't wait to check out the zoo. I've never been there yet." Connie said with excitement as this will be her first time actually going to it. Steven told her all about it when he went up there the first time to rescue his dad. But now she'll actually get to see it herself.

"When you get there, you'll love it. The Amethysts there are cool, the humans there are very friendly, and what was formerly the containment area is beautiful!" Steven told her as Connie smiled.

"Hey Garnet, I know I should just wait and see for myself, but can you look ahead with your future vision to see what I should expect as soon as we get there?" Connie asked Garnet.

"You're that eager huh?" Garnet teased as Connie simply nodded with slight embarrassment. Garnet gave Connie a pat on the shoulder as she used her future vision. However, when she did, her face showed slight confusion as she didn't understand what she was seeing.

"That's odd. I don't really see anything. All I'm seeing is light." Garnet said as everyone else wondered what her vision meant.

"Well, it is kinda bright in there. Maybe you're just seeing all the bright lights there." Amethyst theorized.

"Maybe" Garnet said, even though she wasn't entirely sure. However, she was not going to let some uneasiness get in the way of everyone's fun.

"Hey Dad, you sure you don't want to tag along? I'm sure Blue won't mind." Steven asked his father up on the deck.

"Thanks for the offer son, but I have a feeling I won't get the warmest… reception once I get there." Greg said as he slightly sweated from his forehead. Both Steven and Amethyst were quick to pick up his nervousness.

"You still nervous to see the Zoomans?" Amethyst teased Greg.

"I just think they still need a few more years before they can look back and laugh at what happened." Greg said as an excuse for not going.

"Steven, can you explain to me what happened with your Dad at the Zoo." Connie asked her boyfriend. Before Steven could explain, Greg was quicker.

"Again, it's a long story and something we don't need to wrap our heads around." Greg said as he tried to move on and change the subject. Luckily for him though, there was a huge shadow that covered the temple and half the beach. That shadow was cast by none other than Blue's arm ship.

The ship stayed put, and out from the ship came Blue's palanquin. Once it landed safely on the beach, Blue Diamond walked out of the small carrier in her usual giant form with Spinel sitting on top of her left shoulder kicking her own feet.

"Who's up for some space travel along with some Zoo/Cruise fun?" Spinel asked cheerfully.

"Ya don't have to ask me twice" Amethyst said quickly as she was ready to head out. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Then come along, it'll take a while to get there" Blue said as she gestured everyone to come aboard her palanquin so that it can take them to her ship and head out into space.

"I'll see ya later Dad. I should be back by this afternoon." Steven told his Dad.

"See ya Son! Have Fun" Greg said as he waved at Steven and everyone else as they hopped on the palanquin and it made its way towards Blue's ship.

What nobody noticed however, was that from a distance, right behind the Big Donut, someone in the shadows watched the palanquin ascend from the beach to enter the arm ship and leave the atmosphere. This person was able to watch everyone without being spotted. However, they were gripping the side of the building so hard that it actually cracked the wall, showing that this person had incredible strength, but also a lot of anger.

The arm ship was traversing through space and everyone was resting within Blue's control room as she flew the ship. Everyone was doing their own things to pass the time as the ship made its way towards the zoo.

Garnet was currently lying back against the wall as if she was taking a nap, even though she rarely ever sleeps.

Pearl had pulled her cell phone out of her gem so she could spend some time making a check list of everything she wanted to do at the zoo and also make a schedule to help her keep track of what she has to get done back on Earth and Little Homeschool, whether if it was work related or personal.

Although Amethyst was excited to hang out at the zoo, she couldn't help but take a nap in a different spot from Garnet on the other side of the room. Her sleeping was actually so infectious, it actually got Spinel, who's usually so full of energy, to sleep next to her.

Both Steven and Connie were sitting together in a spot next to Blue as she flew the ship and Connie was just taking in all the beauty space was displaying. She's been to space before, but seeing it up close will never get old for her.

As Blue was flying she looked over to Steven, making sure he and Connie were comfortable where they were. Her mind wondered if she should ask Steven a question she had on her mind since White told her about their heart to heart, or gem to gem, conversation they had. However, she didn't know if she should ask because she was worried it would upset Steven. Steven noticed her expression of ponder and decided to see what was on her mind.

"Hey Blue, penny for your thoughts"

When Blue heard him call for her, she was immediately confused at what he meant.

"Uh, what's a penny?"

Steven and Connie gave a light chuckle at her response as Steven mentally gave himself a light slap on his forehead.

Of course she wouldn't know that phrase

"I mean what are you thinking about. I can tell your thinking about something. Want to talk about it?"

Now that she understood what he meant, she now had to figure out how to ask him her concern.

"Steven, is there anything…. specific you want to do when we get there?" Blue started

Steven and Connie looked at Blue, wondering what she meant by that.

"What do you mean by "specific"? I mean, all I can really do there is relax and talk with the zoomans and the other gems. I don't mind doing just that." Steven responded with smile as he thought about seeing everyone there.

"Does that include the Rose Quartzes?" Blue asked almost right away.

Steven's smile lowered slightly since he now understood why Blue was hesitant to ask earlier. She knew that when Steven first met the Rose Quartzes unbubbled, he and his friends were uncomfortable around them due to their likeness to his mother. However, she heard that Steven had overcome his issues with them, even so much as calling them his sisters. What she wasn't sure though was if Steven still felt that way after two years. Steven then resumed his smile and answered Blue's question.

"Yeah. That includes the Rose Quartzes. I'm looking forward to seeing them and how they've been doing. Actually, have you heard from Holly about how they're doing?"

"Last time I checked in with her, she told me that they've been getting along greatly with the amethysts AND especially the humans." Blue answered honestly and Steven was happy to hear that.

"Of course, the last time I talked to Holly Blue before yesterday was a few months ago. I can call her again to hear from her if you want." Blue continued as she also gave him a suggestion on what she can do.

"Sure." Steven simply answered. Right away, Blue pulled up a screen from her controls and began to contact the Zoo. However, nobody answered the call. Blue was confused at this.

"That's strange. I don't know why Holly Blue isn't responding. She usually answers right away."

"Maybe she's just mentally prepping herself. Cause she knows that once I get with the Famethyst, things are gonna get crazy!" Amethyst said relaxed, still half asleep, assuming that everything was ok.

"Perhaps. I have received a number of complaints from her. She even begged me to have some of the Amethysts transferred to another station or a colony, but I declined since the Gems at the zoo didn't want to leave." Blue said, agreeing with Amethyst's assumption about Holly.

"Who would?" Amethyst said jokingly as she remembered all the fun she had there.

After a couple more minutes, Blue noticed that the zoo was just up ahead and decided to let everyone know..

"Everyone wake up. We're approaching the Zoo"

As everyone woke up from their naps, they got up and stretched out, readying themselves for the zoo. Once Blue parked her ship just outside the zoo, she led everyone back to her palanquin so they could make their way to the hangar. As they were walking through the halls of Blue's ship, both her and Steven felt a little uneasy. Why's that? They were looking forward to this all day, so why were these two getting such an weird feeling now, especially when they just arrived?

Inside the containment area of the Zoo, with fires burning around the area, Charlo and Charla were relaxing at accomplishing what they did.

"Well, that was fun! I wish some of those gems put up more of a fight though." Charlo said as he laid on his back on some still intact grass with his arms behind his head.

"Whether they did or not, we still accomplished our part of the mission. But did you really have to be so rough with the humans?" Charla said to her brother, slightly annoyed at his immature and eagerness to fight anyone, even the fragile humans.

"Hey, I didn't want to hurt them. It would have gone a lot smoother if they had just done what we said." He said lazily.

When the two felt a shadow through the dome of the Zoo that showed space. They noticed a huge blue ship in the form of an arm flying over them through the dome. They recognize that kind of ship anywhere.

"Hey Charla, is that…." Charlo asked his twin with a worry yet eager tone.

"There's no mistaking it, that's a Diamond ship." She interrupted his thought and answering it at the same time. When she did, her brother's face grew a mischievous grin.

"Well, this job just got a lot more interesting."

Charla knew right away what her brother was planning and she was quick to try and talk him out of it.

"Don't even think about it Charlo! We're already done here. We can't risk going up against a diamond."

Snapping out of his excitement, his face showed annoyance towards his sister not wanting to go up against such a gem.

"Going up against common gems like the ones here is one thing. A diamond is way out of our league and YOU KNOW IT!"

"So what if it is?" Charlo said to his twin, causing her to be surprised.

"Ch- Charlo… Only a member of the clan with the rank of Giant is capable of going head to head against a diamond and neither of us are one. If we catch up to him and warn him than maybe-" Before she could pitch a plan to her brother, he rudely interrupted her.

"SCREW THAT!"

"Are we just supposed to rely on the Giants and even the Masters power to take down gems? We might not have as much power as they do, but don't you want to be selfish and really go all out on a diamond? Besides, when is another opportunity like this going to happen for us?" Charlo tried to convince his sister. As Charla looked up at the diamond ship making its way towards the hangar, she had to make her decision.

The leader of the mission was currently walking through a hallway of the Zoo after he and his subordinates took care of the other gems and humans on the ship. He had to find a certain room of this ship in order for the mission he was given to be a true success. As he kept walking, he found a door that might have just what he's looking for. As he brought out both of his clawed hands out and, with little effort, pulled the door apart enough so that he could enter the room.

When he looked inside, it was just what he needed. Monitors, controls and even old gem tech. He walked up to the monitors, turned them all on and began typing and searching. As he was though, he noticed that one of the monitors had live footage that was currently showing his underlings in the containment area as if they were arguing about something. He looked at another one of the monitors and realized what they were arguing about, a Diamond ship making its way into the Zoo's hangar.

"It appears as though we have company." He noticed as he turned his attention back towards the screen showing the twins.

Charlo, Charla, I hope you two remember what your top priority is. If not, then I hope you're ready to face the consequences afterwards.

Once he finished his thought, the still cloaked figure resumed what he was planning with the controls and other monitors.

Once Blue's palanquin reached the hangar, the party walked off the ship and were surprised that there no welcoming party waiting for them. Right away, everyone could feel that something wasn't right.

"Uh, Famethyst! Where you all at?" Amethyst shouted right away with fake excitement as she worried what was going on. Just as Amethyst feared, there was no response.

Blue wanted to know what was going on and if something was going on, then she might as well see for herself.

"Everyone, I'm going to go on ahead and see what's going on." She said boldly.

"I'll come along too." Spinel said. However, Blue told her to do something else.

"No Spinel, you stay put here with everyone else. Keep an eye out for everyone" the Diamond said to her with seriousness. At first, Spinel wanted to refuse Blue's order, but looking the diamond pupils, she could see not only how serious Blue was, but also the concern she had for Steven, his friends and even herself. Reluctantly, Spinel gave a single nod as she understood.

"Blue wait!" Steven said with worry.

"You can't just go off on your own. Let us come with you and we can-" but before Steven could say his proposal, Blue quickly interjected.

"No! Steven, I invited you out here. It's my job to make sure everything is ok. Besides, I had this ship built for your mother. I know you don't like hearing about your mother, but this place means a lot to me. If anything happened to it, then I'm going to take care of it. Whether it's some disaster, or something else" Blue stated with suspicion. She wanted to believe that there was just some outage or disaster that caused communications to be down and everyone to be absent from the hangar. But if there was something else, or someone responsible for this, than they better wish she doesn't find them. Of course Steven would interject if she told him her suspicions, so she had to go on ahead and find out for sure.

"Everyone, please stay put here. I'll find out what's going on." Once she told them, she immediately went off, leaving everyone in the hangar before anyone could interject.

Blue made her way through the halls of the ship. As she kept going though, she noticed that a lot of the doors were damaged and the control pads that controlled them were broken. It was just like she feared, someone or something forced their way in.

As she wandered towards the containment area, she felt a slight chill. The farther she walked, the worse the feeling got. As she walked through the already busted door to the area, she felt everything around her stop. If she had an actual heart, it would drop.

She saw the trees were broken down, the waterfall was devastated and around the zoo entirely, there were flames all around. Although the fires weren't massive, whatever it was like before she got here really did its job here. Blue also noticed that there were no humans OR gems around the area. As she walked around in her massive size, she caught a glimpse of something that frightened her greatly. Small splatches of red liquid soaking some grass. When she leaned down and poked at it with her giant finger, she was shaking at what it was.

Is this… Blood?!

Blue didn't know too much about humans entirely, but she did know that when one is hurt enough, the red fluid that keeps them alive might spill out, BLOOD. Blue's fear was slowly turning into rage. It's one thing to damage the Zoo, but to hurt the Gems and beings that Pink cherished most, is absolutely unforgivable. She rose up again and with her eyes full of rage, looked around for any clue or trace of an enemy.

As she was looking around though, she felt a dense and almost burning attack strike her on the front of her right shoulder. This caused her to slightly lose her balance before she regained her composure. Once she did, she felt her shoulder and although it didn't affect her too much, it still left a burn on her form's clothing. She quickly looked around at where the blast came from.

Where did that come fro-

Before Blue could finish her thought, she was attacked again, but this time it hit her on her back, forcing her to step forward to regain her balance and not get knocked down.

"What?!" She said surprised. First, an attack came from the front out of nowhere and now, came an attack from behind.

What's going on?! That came from another direction all too quickly. Not just that, it had more force in it than the first one.

Blue kept getting frustrated as she couldn't see anything attack her. She had no idea where her assailant is.

What she didn't know though, was that there wasn't "A" assailant that was attacking her, but rather TWO. Charlo and Charla were on opposite ends of the zoo hiding behind the remains and debris of forest and rocks that they destroyed. Charla hiding behind a still standing tree and Charlo crouching behind a rock that was once a part of the waterfall.

(Both Charla & Charlo both focus their aura into attacks similar to laser beams. However, they both use their power differently. Charla produces narrow lasers and her main focus is aiming the beams in vital spots of her opponent. Charlo likes to form his laser in the shape of a ball and throws it like one. His attacks deal more damage since he applies more aura to them.)

Up against, a Diamond of all gems, wouldn't really seem like much of a match up, even if it's 2 vs. 1, even if you do have a lot of strength and power. But when applying strategy, it just might give you a slight edge against such a figure. Of course, another bonus is that your teammate is your twin sibling AND you're able to communicate telepathically with them, while your enemy can't hear it.

Hehe, that felt good hitting her in the back like that. If we keep this up, she should poof soon after a couple more hits. Thanks for going along with this Sis.

I'm only going along with this to keep her distracted while Sir obtains what we need. Even if we can't poof her, we can still damage her enough for him to hopefully finish her off.

Geez, you really bum me out when you think that we can't pull something like that off.

I'm being a realist Charlo. Up against a Diamond, even if we outnumber her, the difference in power between us combined and her is too great. All we can do is buy time.

Tsk, fine, But you can't stop me from at least trying to go all out against her. Especially after what she and her kind did.

As Charlo began charging up another attack to launch at the still confused Blue, Charla couldn't help but hear the cries and screams of her people alongside her brother.

I know brother. I know.

Steven and the others were still waiting in the hangar. They wondered what was keeping Blue so long. Spinel's eyes haven't left the entryway that Blue walked through.

Curious about what was going on here on the Zoo, Steven asked Garnet for any answers. Right away, she adjusted her visor to get a better glimpse of what might be ahead.

"See anything?" he asked with concern. As they all waited for her response, she grunted in frustration.

"I don't know. All I'm seeing is just… a bright light."

"A bright light?" Pearl repeated her vision.

"I don't know what to make of it. When I saw it earlier back on Earth, I assumed wherever we were on the zoo, it would just be bright. But now, there's no telling what it could mean." Garnet said as she had slight fear in her voice, since her future vision gave her something she can't interpret or prepare herself for.

Everyone just looked at the entrance that would lead to the rest of the ship, wondering if they should walk ahead to see what exactly is going on. The first to take the first steps towards the entry way was Amethyst.

"Amethyst wait!" Pearl said as she tried to stop Amethyst from doing anything rash.

"Guys look, I don't know what's going on either, and honestly, I'm kinda scared. But I got family here. The Famethyst! I want to look out for the Zoomans here too. If something's up, then I'm gonna make sure they're ok." She stated boldly as she kept walking forward. In her mind though, she was hoping everyone else would join her.

Garnet's future vision might have her confused and frustrated, but she knew Amethyst was right. There are Gems & Humans on this ship that need help if something happened. She can't abandon them.

Pearl thought the same thing as she followed suit. However, Pearl turned around and looked at Steven as his face was filled with worry. Connie wanted to follow the Gems too, but the look on Steven's face made her worry.

Steven saw the gems move forward. The only part of him that would move was his head as it looked down on the floor. Personally, he'd rather stay put and away from any danger that might be ahead. But with the Gems wanting to check out whatever's going on, he didn't want them to face any danger alone. Was there a threat up ahead? Was the Zooship invaded? If so, by who?

Steven can't stop thinking about the enemies he encountered that tried not only to hurt him, but also his friends and family. Jasper, Aquamarine, Eyeball, Hessonite and even Gems that he hadn't encountered personally. What if some gems were revolting against Era 3 and they did so by attacking the Zoo? As Steven was slowly panicking, he felt a hand on his shoulder. That hand, belonged to Connie, who wore a face full of determination. Not just for the gems and everyone else in the Zoo, but for Steven as well. Reading her face well, he nodded as he walked alongside her to catch up with the others.

With Spinel staying in the same spot Blue told her to stay put, she also remembered Blue telling her to look out for everyone, especially Steven. When she saw Steven catching up with the others, she quickly hopped over to walk alongside everyone else.

"You're not going ahead without me" she said with courage. Once Spinel joined up, it was set. Although Blue wanted them to stay safe, if it means letting her deal with any danger, than that just wasn't acceptable. They all left the hangar and made their way down to wear Blue headed and where the rumblings and sounds were coming from.

After a few minutes of enduring the attacks, Blue's form was taking a decent amount of damage. She knew she couldn't just stand still and try to find the enemy. She had to come up with something new and fast.

Meanwhile, the twins were continuing with their attacks. Charlo was making sure his energy blasts were charged and had enough force to really put a dent in the diamond's form. With Charla, although her attacks weren't as powerful as her brother's, her specialty was aiming her blasts precisely at vital spots on the giant gems form. From her arms and shoulders to keep her from forming aura projection, to even spots close to her very diamond itself. With those skills, along with their quick movements and evasiveness throughout the ruined to avoid Blue's detection, they slowly backed her in a corner.

Suddenly, Blue had an idea on how to bring her attacker(s) out of hiding. However, it would come with a price personally. Slowly, Blue began to concentrate her aura into three sphere like projectiles. Charlo figured that she would just fire those projectiles blindly into the forest to draw him and Charla out. Charla though, had another theory on what Blue was up to. She had to warn her brother right away.

Wait….. Is she…..? CHARLO! We need to leave the forest area!

What do you mean?

Before Charlo could fully make out what his sister meant, he noticed that the spheres' each began firing multiple blasts at the forest itself. He then realized what his sister was talking about as he quickly made his way out of the woods.

She's destroying the forest itself in order to draw us out?!

As they were evading Blue's attacks throughout the area, Charla couldn't help but be confused.

I don't get it. We were told that Blue Diamond treasured this place deeply and that she herself would never risk damaging it. Why would she be doing this now?

When Blue's projectiles were done firing, most of the area the twins were hiding in were devastated. There was nowhere left for them to hide. They were now exposed and Blue could finally see her assailants face to face to face.

"So you two are the one's responsible for what's going on here. You should know that what you did will NOT be tolerated." Blue said looking at the twins with fierce determination.

"You destroyed the area just to get us to come out of hiding? From what we heard, you value this place very much and you'd never want to hurt it." Charla said to her. Wanting to hear from the former matriarch's mouth if what they thought was true.

"You're right. I do care about this place very much. It's one of the few things I have to remind me of someone precious to me." Blue said as she thought about Pink Diamond. After she did, she resumed her speech to her enemies.

"However, there are more important things to me than just this place and I will do everything I can to protect them. If that means I have to give up this place, then so be it. Plus, I had this place built before and it can be built again. Lives however, are another matter. You two attacked the gems and humans on here. That I cannot accept." After Blue told them that, Charla looked at the Diamond in disbelief and grit her teeth frustration. Charlo on the other hand, was giving a slight chuckle.

"Hehe, that's pretty funny. Hearing a gem, let alone a Diamond of all beings talk about the value of lives?" Charlo said to Blue as he looked up at her with eyes filled with rage. As he did, Blue felt something. She felt as if the temperature in the area has decreased, despite there being small fires around the area. Not only that, it was as if the gravity around her was trying to push her down.

This pressure. What is it? It's… so cold. Are they the one's causing this? How is this possible?

"You really care about the beings that were on this ship huh?" Charlo asked the Diamond looking up into her eyes. As he did, he lifted his hand and began forming a new energy blast in the form of a ball. Unlike his other attacks however, this one was bigger than the others. Blue wanted to brace herself, but this cold feeling made kept her from moving completely. It's as if she was frozen with fear. Charla stood next to her brother and leant him some of her power to increase the size as she too was staring at her with fury.

"Do you mind telling us then…. WHERE THAT "CARING" ATTITUDE OF YOURS WAS FOR THE LAST HUNDREDS OF YEARS?!" He yelled at her as he threw his giant attack towards Blue with everything he had.

As the energy ball was getting close, Blue knew she couldn't avoid it in time. Instead, she snapped out of her fear and quickly fired multiple aura projectiles at the oncoming attack. The giant ball made contact with Blue. Thankfully Blue's attacks towards the ball weakened it, so it didn't hurt her too bad. Nonetheless though, Blue was feeling fatigued. All the damage she took earlier, the power she used up to draw them out and just now began to take its toll on her. She fell on one knee. The twins then looked up at her.

"Still standing huh? Guess we shouldn't be surprised. You are a diamond after all." Charlo said mockingly.

"The way she is now, she can't do too much. One more combined attack should hopefully keep her down for a while." Charla theorized. Charlo nodded his head as he brought his hand out and began charging up. Charla soon put her hand next to the ball to lend it her aura and increase its power. Once it was big enough to do its job, Charlo looked at Blue as he threw his attack towards her.

"Goodbye" He said coldly.

Blue couldn't move to well. Even if she fired her aura towards it like before, it would still cause enough damage to knock her out. All she could do was watch. As she was watching though, she was surprised by something intercepting its path. Something big and…. pink?

"What the….?!" Charlo said as he was surprised at the sudden blockade. Blue too felt the same way.

This is…..

Blue snapped out of her astonishment as she heard multiple footsteps coming towards her from behind. She didn't have to turn around as the pink wall was a dead giveaway.

"I don't know who you two are, but if you want to knock her down, You'll have to get past us first!" Steven said boldly as he, Connie and the Gems looked at the people who just hurt Blue.

Sorry to end this on a cliffhanger, but rest assured, the next chapter will continue on as Steven and co. take on the twins.

FYI, during Steven's dream, when he was talking about the beaches he saw, "Golden State" is meant to represent California, while "Ocean Bay" is a sort of combination of Rhode Island (Ocean State) and Massachusetts (Bay State). "Florida Island" was mentioned before in "Mr. Universe".

Also, when you're looking into Blue's fight against the twins, you're probably thinking "Oh so their power is similar to Blue's." Kinda. The difference is Blue's power would be WAY MORE devastating if it made contact with them compared to their attacks on her. However, just because her attacks are more powerful, doesn't mean other attacks like that won't leave a mark. Plus, Blue's not much of a fighter, so it's to be expected that she would struggle against people that do engage in combat more frequently.

Still on topic, the concept of "Aura" will be a key topic throughout this story.

Anyway, we just saw Blue struggle against the twins, but now that she took away their advantage, it's up to Steven and the others to take over. How will they fare? You'll find out next chapter

As usual, let me know what you think about all of this so far in the REVIEWS whether if it's things you like or don't like. Criticism is constructive!

See you next time!

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Next time on Steven Universe: Beyond, Two for Danger!