"Look, I promise you guys. I'll tell you about Peridot when the time is right. I'm sorry, but I don't want to mess with the future. If I mess with this aspect of the past too much, things could be disastrous."
Pearl turned her nose up in annoyance. "Fine! If you're not going to help us find Peridot, then I would rather be searching instead of wasting my time talking to you." Garnet and Amethyst watched her storm off.
That signaled the end of yet another meeting between the Crystal Gems and Twoie about the future. Meeting would be putting it lightly. It was more like a randomly scheduled interrogation, with Twoie worrying about how much to reveal and the gems pressuring him to reveal all of it. Usually, it was held in the Burning Room, but with Steven hanging out at Connie's house, the gems held their meeting in the living room.
"She has a point, Twoie." Twoie turned to face Garnet. "You have a better understanding of the future than we do. Right now, the threat of Homeworld is looming over us. Have you thought that by delaying our search like this, you have changed the future already?" Twoie avoided looking her in the eyes. "If you really don't want to prepare us for the future or ease our concerns, then you are wasting our time. Come on, Amethyst." Garnet walked away from him to the warp pad. Amethyst mouthed 'Sorry, dude' to him before tagging alongside Garnet. The two disappeared into the warp stream.
Twoie sighed. He wished he knew how to explain it to them. There was a lot of pressure in being able to change the future. Garnet should know that already, so why does he have to explain himself? A gem could crack under all that pressure. The memory of Yellow Diamond's words rang in his mind. Twoie took a deep breath and banished the thought. 'Stop it, Steven. Get it together.' The young man snatched his briefcase from its spot by the couch.
Work always helped! He sat down at the counter, pulling his binder of notes and some textbooks out of the bag. Steven had been progressing very well in his studies. The garden and the museum gave him some much needed real-world application of the things he was learning. Maybe he could plan out another trip soon? The zoo could be fun… His planning was interrupted by the 64-bit Cookie Cat Theme Song.
"Huh, done already?" He pressed the answer button on the phone and brought it up to his ear. "Hey, Steven! You ready to come home?"
"Twoie! I'm so glad you answered! Okay, so Connie and I were practicing with Mom's sword, and Mrs. Maheswaran took it! Can you help us get it back?"
Oh, no. The hospital! Twoie worriedly bit his lip. Oh, this was bad. "Okay, I'm on my way. Do not leave, got it?"
"Okay! See you in a bit, bro!" Steven hung up. Twoie tucked his phone into his pocket and ran out the door. 'Please work!'
"LION! I NEED YOU!" Twoie shouted as he jumped down to the sand. The tinkling of a portal rang throughout the quiet beach. Lion skidded across the sand and looked at him in expectation. "Oh, thank stars that worked." He scratched Lion's neck in appreciation. "Okay, bud. I need you to take me to Connie and Steven, okay?" The pink beast snuffed. He opened a portal, and the two charged in together.
Steven and Connie were waiting outside for them. "Twoie!" Steven ran up to him and hugged him. Twoie chuckled as he hugged his little brother back. Connie approached the two with a smile. "Hello, Twoie! It's nice to see you!"
The young man pulled away from the hug. "Nice to see you as well, Connie. Okay, so if I remember correctly, Mrs. Maheswaran got called away to the hospital, right?" The two kids nodded. Twoie let out a stressed sigh. "Okay. I need to warn you about what's going to happen." They stared in rapt attention.
"There are gem mutants in the hospital." Connie and Steven flinched. "G-gem mutants?! Oh, man! Mrs. Maheswaran is in danger! We gotta save her!"
Connie was trying not to panic at Steven's remark. "O-okay. How do we save my mom, Twoie? Please tell me we save my mom?"
Twoie knelt down and patted both of their heads. "Calm down. She'll be fine. We need to leave now, though. We're going to sneak into the hospital and Connie? You need to tell her the truth."
Connie looked at him in fear. "But she won't understand! She never has! She's going to freak out, and then I'll never be able to hang out with Steven again!"
Twoie pulled her into a hug. "My Connie snuck in with me to the hospital with the intent of stealing the sword back. You two were caught, and you tried to argue with her, but it didn't work. You two had to protect her from the gem mutants before she realized how controlling she was being. Trust me, okay? Things will get better." Connie nodded, though she still had some doubts in her mind. She believed Twoie, though.
He stood back up and turned to Lion. "Sorry, bud, but can you take us to the hospital?" Lion nodded. He knelt down for the kids to climb onto his back. Once his passengers were settled, he and Twoie hopped through another portal.
The hospital parking lot was completely empty. The kids climbed down from Lion to stand next to Twoie. "Thanks for the help, big guy." Lion let out another snuff before walking off. The group head into the hospital with Twoie leading the way. They came upon the lone room with the lights on. Everyone crawled under the window and peeked into the room.
Dr. Maheswaran was giving her stethoscope an irritated glare.
"Duck," Twoie whispered. The group ducked just in time as Dr. Maheswaran walked out of the room and disappeared around a corner. Twoie got up and ushered the kids inside. "Connie. Don't take the whole bag, just grab the sword. Steven, get ready to protect Connie. And both of you, keep away from the gurney." The kids did as told. Dr, Maheswaran walked back into the room and clutched her chest in fear upon her realization that she's not alone.
"My goodness! What are you all doing here?" Her eyes fixed on Connie. "Connie? What is going on here?" Twoie raised his hands in submission. "Dr. Maheswaran, I know you're confused. I'm Twoie, Steven's older brother. I came here with Connie and Steven because they want the sword back."
Dr. Maheswaran finally noticed that Connie was holding the sword.
"Connie! Give that back this instant! I made a rule, no swords under any circumstances! And you!" She rounded on Twoie. "You call yourself his older brother? Why are you letting children play with swords?"
The two kids shared a look.
Twoie tried to placate her. "Connie has something she needs to tell you, but first, can you stay here while the rest of us step into the hallway? Things are going to go wrong in about 2 seconds." As he finished his statement, a guttural noise sounded in the hallway.
"And that's our cue…" Twoie smacked his face with his hand. Dr. Maheswaran quickly opened the door and stepped into the hallway. There was a shadowy figure standing alone.
"Sir? Ma'am? Dr. West?" Twoie slipped into a battle stance. Seeing the forced fusion of shattered gems still hurt as much as it did in the past. He didn't notice the slight pink glow across his cheeks as he exchanged a determined look with Connie and Steven. Connie slipped the sheath on and drew the sword. Steven summoned his shield. Twoie placed a hand on Dr. Maheswaran's shoulder.
"That's not a human, Dr. Maheswaran. Please, let us handle this." The whole moment felt like something out of a horror movie. Twoie stepped in front of her, protectively holding his arm out. Dr. Maheswaran flashed her light on it. The gem mutant charged. Connie held her sword out to the side as Steven took the full blow of the charge against his shield. She ran out from behind him and cut through the mutant's side. The gem clattered to the ground.
Dr. Maheswaran stared in shock at the scene. Her daughter wielded the sword as though it was made for her. "One more to go! Connie, Steven, back up! When the gem rushes out of the room, I want Connie's sword going through it before it can even charge." Twoie grabbed Dr. Maheswaran's arm and pulled her along. The kids move back a couple of feet, watching the door for their cue. Twoie focused on keeping himself and Connie's mom out of the way.
"Wait a second! Why are you letting them fight? How does she know what to do? Why are they attacking us?" Her questions are lost as they heard another roar, and the gem appeared in the doorway. The moment it forced itself out the door, Steven had his shield out, using it to vault Connie into the air. Another swing had the last gem mutant poofed. Twoie let out a sigh of relief. Thank stars, the hardest part was over, and all they had left was the conversation. The glow faded from his cheeks.
Danger now passed, Connie braced herself for her conversation with her mom. Twoie leaned against the hallway wall. He gestured for Steven to join him after the boy bubbled the gem.
Connie took a deep breath. She looked at her mother in the eyes. "Mom?" Her gaze flicked over to Twoie and Steven. Both boys smiled in support. "I'm a swordfighter. I've been taking classes to learn how to wield a sword. We weren't playing with it back at the house. I was practicing."
Dr. Maheswaran's face twisted in anger. "This joke is over! I know you! I know what you are doing every second of the day. All your activities, all your internets, I know you're not some sword fighting hooligan!"
Connie glared at her mom. "You don't know me at all! You still haven't even noticed my glasses!" Her mom frowned with worry. "What's wrong with your glasses?"
Twoie put a hand on Steven's shoulder as the boy moved to help his friend. Connie growled, "They don't have lenses anymore. I haven't needed actual glasses for almost a year!"
Dr. Maheswaran looked exasperated. "What? You're eyesight just got magically better?"
"Yes!" She paused in surprise. Connie threw her glasses on the floor. "I've been dealing with magic and monsters and things like those creatures since I met Steven! That's why I need you to believe me when I say I know what I'm doing."
"I-but-…" She thought about everything she saw. Her daughter wielded the sword she had sheathed behind her like a pro. Steven had conjured shields out of nowhere. Twoie seemed to know her daughter better than she did! Who supported her… better than she did.
"This is, really what you've been doing? Training to fight these monsters?" Connie sighed, shoulders drooping in shame. "I'm sorry I lied to you. It started off as a small secret, but then it felt like if I didn't hide it, you wouldn't let me see Steven again. Twoie had to convince me to tell you because he knows how scared I am to lose my best friend."
Dr. Maheswaran looked at the brothers. Steven was watching her in worry, but Twoie? He didn't look at her in fear or judgment. Just weariness, as though he'd faced this before. She faced her daughter again. "Is that how you feel? Are we too controlling?" Connie nodded. "Maybe."
"I just wanted to be a good mother… I just wanted to protect you." Connie shook her head. "I can protect myself now." Her mom sighed. Her daughter was right. That whole fight, she had been in control. Her friend's older brother trusted them to take care of themselves but herself? She had to be protected.
"Okay. We'll pull back on the rules. And I'll try to keep an open mind about this." She knelt in front of Connie and lightly held her by the shoulders. "It scares me that you can't talk to me. I need to know what's happening in your life and step in when you're in over your head. Can you just promise me you'll stop all this lying?"
Connie chuckled. "That is a rule." Her mom pulled her into a hug. "I love you, Connie." Twoie nudged Steven, and the two approached. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's pretty late. You two should probably head home. We can go by Lion if you want?"
Dr. Maheswaran was surprised. "Lion? Ah, no. I drove here." Twoie rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "You said you'd keep an open mind, right? It's best just to show you."
A pink lion. A pink lion. A pink lion. Dr. Maheswaran was shaking. The lion walked up to her kids and butted its head against them. "It's okay, ma'am. Lion is very friendly. He's our pet and has practically adopted Steven and Connie as his cubs." That made her feel a little better. The two adults continued to watch the kids play with and pet the lion. She could feel herself relaxing just from the calm aura of the young man beside her. She could see the fond look in his eyes as he watched the kids play.
"Call me, Priyanka. Thank you for convincing Connie to talk to me. You know, I'm glad to know that she has someone like you watching over her." Twoie's eyes widened, and his face flushed instantly. He looked at her in bewilderment. "I met Steven's guardians a while ago over dinner. They seemed fine, but I feel like you understand him better."
Twoie couldn't keep a sad and wistful look off his face. "They try their best, and I love them for that. There are just some things I'm more aware of in regards to caring for Steven." He could remember all the lonely nights, the misunderstandings, the arguments. They never really noticed how much some missions bothered him.
Priyanka laughed. "Don't I know it. It's not like there's a manual for parenting. You can only hope that what you're doing is enough." She crossed her arms in front of herself. "I used to be able to hold Connie in both of my hands. She's grown so much since then."
Twoie sighed. "I know it's hard to watch them move on without you. To know that they changed without you even noticing." He thought about the Off Colors, Lars, Sadie, and Shep. Dr. Maheswaran hummed in agreement.
"They really do grow up so fast." Priyanka looked at the young adult beside her. He had such a worn and sad look on his face; she could see the stress in his eyes. She made up her mind. "Twoie?"
"Yeah?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you or Steven ever need someone, even for something as simple as an ear to talk to, please feel free to call me." Twoie startled. She'd never offered that to him before. "You look tired. It can't be easy raising your brother, and homeschooling him, let alone your situation with magic and monsters. Your care of your brother is admirable, but don't turn yourself into Atlas, okay?" He pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, Priyanka."
She smiled and broke off the hug. "Alright. I've kept enough of your time tonight. Here's my number if you ever need me." She programmed it into his phone. "Connie! Time to go! Say goodnight to your friends." Connie pulled Steven into a hug, then ran over to Twoie to do the same. They watched the Maheswarans drive off before they headed home with Lion.
The living room was dark. Twoie's items were still left out on the counter. 'I'll clean that up tomorrow. Today was exhausting.' The two quickly got ready for bed. Twoie prepped the couch but didn't think he could sleep after dealing with the gem mutants. Even though he'd already lived through it, they were still traumatizing to deal with. "Hey, Sunshine. Do you want to talk about it?" Steven quietly replied. "Yeah. Yeah, I do." Twoie made his way up the stairs to Steven's bedroom. Steven was sitting in bed, clenching his bed sheets tightly. Twoie sat down beside him and pulled him into a side hug.
"Whenever you're ready, Sunshine."