Twoie looked over his notes one last time before he turned to face Steven, who was sitting in his desk with his notebook open to the first page. He pretended not to notice the starry-eyed look the kid was giving him. So maybe he accidentally put the glasses on again without realizing, give him a break. They were comfortable, okay?
"Okay, so today we will be learning about math. You did really well when it came to arithmetic and multiplication, but I want to work on your fractions and percentages more." Twoie took a piece of chalk and started writing on the board. He wrote out the rules of fractions, making sure that Steven understood the terms for the nominator and denominator, then moved onto the comparison between fractions, division, and percentages.
Steven took the lesson in stride, quickly being able to answer most questions by working it on paper but had a harder time solving the problems without it. "Do I have to be able to figure these problems out without using paper?" Steven whined.
"It would help to learn how to do it without. This is useful when you're shopping or eating out. Like noticing if you've been charged too much, calculating discounts, or figuring out how much to tip at restaurants." Twoie took an eraser and cleared off the board. "Don't worry about it if you can't do it right now. You'll get it down eventually. Let's move on to angles! These can be great to know for games."
Steven gasped in excitement. "Really?!" What followed was a lengthy discussion on the use of angles in billiards and mini-golf, including drawings. Sometime during the discussion, Pearl and Amethyst had walked into the room. Pearl joined in by conjuring holographic images that detailed whatever scenario the group talked about. Amethyst was on board for shapeshifting to test the situations out in real life. Just as Twoie was about to wrap up their math lesson and move onto history, Garnet appeared from the temple.
"Sorry to cut your lesson short, Twoie, but I have a mission for us." Everyone quickly gathered in front of her. "There is a corrupted gem causing havoc in the Strawberry fields. It is going to be tough to catch, so we need everyone to contribute. Steven. Twoie. That means you as well." Steven jumped up and cheered.
"Also, nice glasses, Twoie. They look good on you." Twoie blushed as he had forgotten he was wearing the glasses. He embarrassedly took them off and put them on the shelf by the couch. "T-thanks, Garnet."
The warp pad barely fit everyone as Steven warped them to the fields. Upon arrival, they could already see the damage done to several large strawberries. Jagged lines were carved into the ground and through several berries, scattering juice all over. They began walking through the fields, looking for any sign of the corrupted gem. "What kind of gem is this, Garnet?" Pearl's question was interrupted when the ground rumbled violently.
"Everyone in the air!" Garnet yelled. She went to grab Steven, but Twoie called out, "Steven! Happy place!" Twoie jumped into the air, floating above the gems, and Steven quickly did the same.
The young kid had a huge grin on his face as he floated. "Awesome! It worked!" Pearl jumped up and grabbed Twoie's hands, which he had extended for her. Amethyst quickly turned into a large falcon and hoisted Garnet into the air. The ground where they were standing was encased promptly in electricity. It sparked along the path, creating gouges in the dirt as it passed. "It's a corrupted Pietersite! We've got to bubble it before it electrocutes us!" Garnet informed them.
As Steven and Twoie were still floating higher, Twoie looked around for the gem. "I can't see it from here, Garnet. We should follow the sparks back to their origin." As he was looking around, he noticed that the gouges looked like half a circle with lines cutting through. "Steven!" Everyone looked at Twoie. "If I were to land at the little triangle underneath me, what fraction of the half-circle am I in?" Steven looked around, catching onto what Twoie was referring to.
"Are you seriously doing that right now?" Pearl was ignored as Steven responded, "1/8! There are eight gouges, and we're landing in one of the eight!" Amethyst scoffed as they all landed back on the ground.
"Augh, Twoie, you're as bad as Pearl! I can't believe you're turning the mission into a math lesson. So lame." Pearl glared at Amethyst. Even though she was the first to object, she would not allow Amethyst to insult learning. "Excuse me? I think it's commendable that Twoie has found a way to include education in the mission." Amethyst rolled her eyes at her obvious change in tune. "Whatever. I'm going on without you guys."
Everyone followed along towards the center of the discharge, all the while Twoie continued testing Steven on math. "If I cut that strawberry into ten pieces and gave twenty percent to Garnet, how much of the strawberry would I have left?" Steven mouthed words to himself while counting on his hands. "Eight! You gave two pieces to Garnet!"
Twoie patted Steven on the head. "Good job, Sunshine! You got it right!" Steven froze at the nickname. He went starry-eyed and squealed in delight! "That's such a cute nickname! Is that my nickname?" Now, it was time for Twoie to freeze. "I-uh, I mean, I-guess? Sorry, I didn't mean to call you that." He started walking again. "I-I mean, I can if you're okay with it, that is." There was a large blush on Twoie's face.
Steven cheered at his response and rushed forward to grab hold of Twoie's hand. "I love it! Now I need to think of a nickname for you!" Twoie stammered out, "N-no! That's okay. You don't have to! When you think about it, Twoie is already a nickname, right?" Steven frowned but let it go for now.
The ground started to rumble again. "It looks like another discharge is coming! Back in the air!" Garnet called out! Everyone performed the same maneuver from earlier, as more electricity passed them.
"Look! There's the gem!" Steven pointed at the massive brown and golden beast up ahead. From their vantage point, they could see the multiple spikes protruding at all angles from its body. It kinda looked like a spikey golden-brown cotton ball creature. It lumbered through the fields in the direction of the warp.
"Amethyst, try to keep it in one place. Pearl, use your spear as a long-range weapon. Steven, Twoie, throw your shields at it, and Twoie, make sure Steven doesn't get hit by any electricity! I do not know if the electricity can go through your bubbles, and I don't want to test it."
Amethyst summoned her whip and wrapped it around the beast. She slammed the end into the ground before summoning another one. She kept this up until she had three whips holding it in place. Little sparks of electricity jolted down the whips but ended at the handles staked into the ground. Pearl summoned several spears, throwing them at the beast. Two were knocked away, and the other three only managed to scratch it. The creature's spikes were too sturdy for the spears to cut through.
Twoie picked Steven up as the monster discharged, hopping into the sky again. He scanned the situation. "Steven! Summon your shield and aim at a forty-five-degree angle!" Steven grinned, lining up the shot. The throw was perfect. The shield slammed into the beast's back, forcing it to the ground. "I've got an idea! Summon another one and hold on with both hands! I'll tell you when to let go!" Twoie shouted, landing back on the ground. Steven prepared himself, summoning another shield.
"Everyone get out of the way!" Steven called out. The Gems stared in shock as Twoie grabbed Steven by the legs and started spinning quickly. Steven clenched the shield tighter as the pace picked up.
"Move!" Garnet shouted. The beast was pushing itself back into a standing position, but Steven and Twoie were ready for it. "Now!" Steven let go of the shield. It shot forward with such force that it cut straight through the gem. The resulting poof was met with momentary silence.
"Yeah! Woo! We did it, Twoie!" Twoie flipped Steven around and sat him down on the ground. Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst were staring at the two in astonishment. Steven bubbled the gem before returning to Twoie, happily gushing about their combination move.
"I never even thought of that…" Amethyst whispered. Pearl started shaking. "That was extremely dangerous! What if Twoie swung him too hard? Or tripped? Or let go of Steven? What if his timing was off and Steven missed or hit one of us instead? That was very reckless of him! Garnet, we need to do something about this."
Garnet placed her fingers on her visor. "Twoie and Steven placed a lot of trust in each other with that move. I am impressed at their display of teamwork. They must be getting pretty close." Pearl crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't like it. He hasn't been very cooperative with our search for Peridot, and I'm still worried he's telling Steven things he shouldn't know about Homeworld."
Amethyst scoffed at her. "There's nothing wrong with Twoie, Pearl. He probably hasn't told us anything because he doesn't want to change the future too much or because it doesn't need to be changed yet." Pearl turned her nose up at Amethyst. "Just because you're not worried doesn't mean I shouldn't be." Amethyst placed her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't be! Twoie's a nice guy! Steven was telling me yesterday that Twoie became a teacher because we were able to cure the corrupted gems, so they needed someone to teach them about earth. Do you really think a bad guy would do that?"
Her words were met with flinches. "W-we cured c-corruption? How? Rose couldn't even do that, and she was the only one of us with healing powers!" Pearl cried out. Garnet clenched her fists tightly. "We have tried everything to cure corruption. I don't think anyone but a Diamond could manage it." Amethyst tried to play her worry off. "M-maybe we just didn't look hard enough and-"
"What if Twoie is a traitor?" Pearl whispered. Amethyst stared at Pearl. "No, what? There's no way! Twoie is Steven, remember? He would never turn traitor!" Pearl rounded on Amethyst. "Just think about it! Twoie arrived in the past just after Homeworld started involving itself in the earth again! What if this is planned?"
Garnet's mind was racing at the suggestion. "It's possible between our timeline and Twoie's that he could end up working alongside Homeworld. His arrival has caused a ripple in the time stream that opened up thousands of new possible futures. We have already had an incident where my future vision was obstructed due to unknown information." Pearl looked away in shame. A bark of laughter dragged all of their attention back to Twoie and Steven.
The older boy was laughing at something his younger self had said. The child grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards something, probably whatever they were talking about. The thought of Steven being manipulated by Homeworld left knots in Garnet's stomach.
"Keep on eye on Twoie and Steven. I want to trust him, but in light of this new information, we can't afford to be careless. If Steven really is manipulated into aiding Homeworld, Twoie will most likely guide him to that path." Pearl and Amethyst looked at each other in worry. "The Crystal Gems are the protectors of the earth. No matter who or what threatens its safety."