Everyone watched in horror as the beast continued on his path towards Beach City. Those that had seen the most recent of Twoie's changes now recognized the large horns and spines on the corrupted gem. Greg gripped his shirt above his heart. "That's my son?" He fell to his knees.
"Dad!" Steven ran up to him.
His father was staring at Twoie while he tried to control his increasing panic. "What do we do?" Greg couldn't look away from the monster. He knew his son wasn't doing well, and now he was corrupted. Pearl had explained it as they evacuated the town. The knowledge that his son's mind had fractured so much was heart-breaking.
Garnet walked over to the two and kneeled in front of them. She placed a hand on Steven's head and her other hand on Greg's shoulder. "We'll find a way to heal him. I promise. But first, we need to stop him from destroying the town." Greg and Steven nodded. Garnet turned back to the rest of the Crystal Gems. "Peridot." The green gem jumped to attention. "I have a plan. Can you build a destabilizer barrier?"
Peridot hummed and held her chin in thought. "Well, I could probably do it in combination with some of the materials in the barn. However, there are several metal pieces that I would need to complete the amount of destabilizing rods necessary to create a barrier with a large circumference."
Bismuth smiled and smacked Peridot on the back. The technician yelped as she was thrown forward slightly from the force of the playful hit. "I got you. I have plenty of ores back at the forge and the ability to shape them into whatever you need."
Peridot glowered at her for a second before her mind registered Bismuth's words. "You have a forge here? What are we waiting for? Come on!" She grabbed the broad-shouldered gem by the hand and ran off. Bismuth faltered in surprise as she tried to keep up with the excited technician.
"Meet us at the Galaxy Warp when you're done!" Garnet called out after them. She turned back to Pearl, Amethyst, and Lapis. "Lapis. You have the most important job. It's going to be very taxing. Are you up to it?"
Lapis met her with a determined gaze. "Twoie's done a lot for me. Tell me what you need me to do."
"The rest of us are going to lead Twoie away from Beach City, and to the ocean. When we get there, you will need to use your powers to keep him on the path to the Galaxy Warp. If Peridot and Bismuth aren't ready yet by the time you get there, you'll need to do your best to keep Twoie in place until they're ready." Garnet knew there would be outrage once the others figured out her plan, but she honestly believed it was the best solution. And she didn't need future vision to predict that.
Amethyst proved her right when she threw her hands out in anger. "Wait, so we're just going to trap him?! Lock him up like the humans do with animals?!"
Lapis flinched, her eyes widening in fear. "Wait, there is no way I'm going to trap Twoie! When I was trapped in that mirror, I hated it! I can't make him go through that too!" She clutched at her chest, trying to contain the overwhelming fear and panic that was consuming her. Steven, seeing her reaction, walked over and grabbed her hand. She jumped slightly at his touch but gripped his hand. It helped remind her that she wasn't in that infernal mirror.
Garnet dematerialized her glasses and looked at them. They could see she was struggling with her own plan. "I don't want to do this anymore than you do, but Twoie is half-human. He can't be safely poofed and bubbled like we normally do with corrupted gems. And if we let him roam free, he's going to accidentally do something he'll regret, or the humans will try to step in to solve the problem." The last thing she wanted was for Twoie to get hurt, but there was no way he wouldn't be hurt in this situation. Thus, she was forced to come up with a plan that would cause him the least amount of pain. "Both scenarios are going to have untold ramifications. However, if we keep him contained, it will buy us time to find a way to heal him. It's the best option we have."
Everyone else flinched. They had even thought about the possibility of other humans getting involved. They could make everything worse. "Fine. But I'm not going to like it." Lapis muttered as she glowered at Garnet.
"Then let's get started." The permafusion summoned her gauntlets and led them towards the town.
It didn't take long for them to catch up to Twoie. Although he was walking, his colossal size allowed him to travel vast distances in minutes. Lapis flew Greg over to where he had parked his van and then waited by the beach for the signal. Steven had tagged along with his dad and was standing on top of the vehicle with his shield out. Twoie was close to the town, and Steven was waiting to signal his dad to floor it.
While they were waiting, the gems were provoking Twoie into following them around the edge of the town. They took turns attacking his feet and sides, where his scales were too strong to be hurt by their attacks. Twoie roared in anger as Pearl's spear bounced off his leg again. The creature charged forward, and the gems dispersed quickly to avoid him. "Just a little further!" Amethyst shouted at her companions. They were just at the edge of the forest. One more attack made Twoie charge again, and he broke the clearing of trees onto the boardwalk. "Now!" She screamed at Steven.
The young kid nodded and smacked the top of the van twice. Greg switched into drive and took off towards the end of the boardwalk. "Hey, Twoie! Follow me!" Steven called out. He used his shield to reflect light into Twoie's eyes. The beast roared in surprise and immediately pursued the van. "Whoa!" The whole van bounced off the road as the corrupted half-gem's steps shook the ground. Steven landed on the van's roof on his stomach, gripping the edge of the van as best he could. Although the van was fast, Twoie was faster, and he quickly gained on them. "Dad! You gotta go faster!"
Greg was sweating as he tried to maneuver the car without throwing his son off. "I'm trying, Steven. This is as fast as I can go!" Another bounce sent the van careening off the boardwalk and landing onto the sand. "I'm not gonna make it!"
A shadow covered the van, and Steven looked up to see Twoie's giant paw right above them. "TWOIE, DON'T!" Steven shut his eyes and quickly summoned a bubble around him and the van. He opened them seconds later when nothing pressed against his bubble. "Huh?" He popped his bubble as he looked up to see Twoie staring at them in confusion as the van slowed down enough to turn the corner. "Twoie?"
The monster shook its head. The bright pink diamond pupils had widened for a fraction of a second at Steven's yell before shrinking into pinpricks of light. He lifted his paws into the air, and the rose quartz-like gem was fully visible on his stomach. Twoie slammed his paws into the ground, causing shockwaves throughout the ground and a cascade of debris. The sand lifted like a tidal wave, and Steven barely had time to cover his face with a shield as the ground rose up beneath the van. The van was thrown to the side, knocking Steven off the top, and faceplanting him into the sand.
Steven spat the grit out of his mouth. With a pained groan, he rubbed his head, then the moment caught up to him. "Dad!" He turned to see the smoking van on its side and ran towards it. The kid sighed in relief when he saw his dad's hand appear from the window and grab the window frame.
"I'm okay!" Greg's head appeared as he heaved himself out of the van. As Greg dropped to the sand, Twoie towered over them. Steven grabbed his dad's hand and started running. "Wait! I'm not a good runner!" Greg shouted as he rushed to keep up with his youngest son.
"LAPIS, NOW!" Steven cried out while they ran towards the beach house. Water spouted out from the ocean, forming large chainlinks. Twoie grunted in surprise as the chains latched around his neck and body, and began to drag him into the water.
Lapis hovered above the ocean, straining to get the monster into the ocean. "Come on, Twoie! You're making this harder than it needs to be!" Twoie dug his paws into the ground and roared, causing the chains to dissipate. Lapis huffed in annoyance as she summoned the chains again and wrapped them around him. "I need help over here! He's too strong!" Steven and the gems reconvened in front of the beach house.
"Amethyst, turn into a bird and try to get Twoie to follow you. Pearl and I won't be able to follow you. We're depending on you and Lapis to guide him to the Galaxy Warp." Amethyst nodded and turned into a falcon. Steven watched her fly off towards Twoie, then looked back at the ocean. He hummed in thought before snapping his fingers.
"I got it!" Greg, Pearl, and Garnet looked at him in surprise as Steven ran a couple of feet away. "LION!" Steven smiled when the familiar portal opened up, and his pink furry companion lunged out onto the sand. Lion immediately glared at Twoie, baring his teeth at the threat in front of him. Steven ran up and started petting his mane. "No, Lion. That's Twoie! We have to help him!" Lion calmed down, looking at the monster in surprise. The intelligent animal shook it off, though, and knelt for Steven to hop on.
"Wait, Steven, what are you doing?" Greg placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Steven looked at him with a determined expression.
"Lion can walk on water, remember? I'll help Lapis and Amethyst guide Twoie to the Galaxy Warp. When I yelled at Twoie earlier, it looked like he was aware for a moment. I might be able to get him to follow me. The rest of you guys should check on Peri and Bismuth, then meet us at the warp." Steven hopped onto Lion's back.
Greg took a deep breath then nodded in agreement. "Alright, son. Stay safe."
Steven smiled at his dad and the gems. Lion took that as a signal to leave, and the two made their way across the ocean. Lion quickly caught up to Lapis and Amethyst. Amethyst was struggling to stay out of the way of Twoie claws. He snapped at her as she flew past, and she barely managed to corkscrew out of the way. Lapis summoned another chain of water and wrapped it around Twoie's mouth, only for it to break as the monster roared again. "I don't know how much longer I can do this!" Lapis cried out as she reformed her chains. Lion darted forward, so they were in front of Twoie.
"Okay, Lion. We need to head to the Galaxy Warp. You know where that is, right?" The pink beast chuffed in response and started running. Steven swiveled in place so he could face the corrupted gem. "TWOIE! IT'S ME! STEVEN!" The monster perked up, setting its gaze onto the moving figure of Steven and Lion. Amethyst and Lapis stared in shock as Twoie lunged after them.
"Whoa!" The chains broke again, but with Twoie chasing after Steven, Lapis didn't need to summon them again. The water gem flew down, so she was next to Steven as Lion picked up the pace. "Steven, are you sure this is a good idea?"
Steven nodded at her, then gestured to Twoie, who was now swimming as the ocean floor dropped. "Twoie is going to be slower now that he has to swim. He'll follow me, so you can take a break. Do you think you could fly up ahead and see if they're almost ready? It'll take us a while to get there, so I don't think we'll have to slow down." Lapis nodded and flew ahead.
Once she left, Amethyst replaced her. "Hey, Steven! I'll play distraction if Twoie looks like he's getting too close to you, okay?" Steven flashed her a thumbs-up, and she took off into the sky again. Lion slowed his pace a little to make sure Twoie could keep up. The corrupted half-gem's massive paws churned through the ocean water, sending waves in all directions. Lion did his best to keep up far enough ahead to not be affected, although the pink beast had to jump on occasion to avoid getting splashed.
After several hours of running along the water, the group finally made it to the Tunguska Sea. Steven could see that the gems were waiting for them. They were standing on several tiny islands that surrounded the warp, placing metal rods into the rocky ground. "Follow me!" Lapis called out to him as she flew in front of Lion. Amethyst flew towards the side while Lapis guided Steven onto the Galaxy Warp and to the opposite side. Twoie followed them, stepping onto the platform area just as Steven and Lion cleared the little islands.
"NOW!" Garnet signaled, and Peridot slammed her hand down on a remote in her other hand. The metal rods placed on each of the surrounding islands sparked to life. The barrier formed in an arch, connecting all rods together in the shape of a dome with the top being several feet above the corrupted half-gem's head. Twoie rammed into the electrostatic field and let out an ear-piercing shriek of pain. Everyone covered their ears as the sound continued when Twoie backed away from the barrier, only to bump into it again. Twoie turned around on the platform, just barely fitting on it, and roared. He attacked the barrier with his claws, he tried to ram it, he tried to blast it with a highly charged energy blast from his mouth, but nothing worked. It either burned him on contact or dissipated against the barrier. Everyone watched sadly as Twoie glared at them from his confines. He wailed as he turned around and saw he was surrounded. Steven clamped his hands over his ears, not wanting to hear his brother's distressed cries.
The Crystal Gems met up on an outlying island, just outside the barrier. Lapis couldn't bear to look at Twoie, so she kept her back turned to the warp pad. Peridot stood beside her with a hand on her arm while Bismuth stood on Lapis's opposite side. The blacksmith had a hand on the blue gem's shoulder and an arm around Steven. The young kid was watching his older brother with heartbreak in his eyes. Pearl and Amethyst were also having a hard time, choosing to focus on Garnet instead of looking at Twoie. Garnet looked around at everyone gathered in front of her. "This will give us some time to find a way to help Twoie. Someone will need to stay here at all times to guard him while the rest of us figure something out." Everyone nodded at Garnet's orders.
"I'll take first watch," Pearl stated as she raised her hand slightly. Lapis sighed in relief. Garnet quietly thanked Pearl as the others gathered around Lion.
Amethyst looked back at Pearl, sadly watching Twoie, and her expression morphed into a determined one. "I'll stay here with her." Pearl blinked at Amethyst in surprise. The smaller gem lightly punched her in the arm. "Better than being alone, right?"
Pearl snorted at her. "You're always good company, Amethyst." Both gems smiled and turned to face the rest of the group. Everyone else waved goodbye as Lion roared and opened a portal back to Beach City.
"Thank you, Pearl and Amethyst. You both have your phones to contact us should anything happen?" At their nods in affirmation, Garnet turned back to Lion. "Alright, then. We've got some planning to do."
The remaining gems stepped through the portal and back to Beach City. Lion and Steven were the last ones through, and the portal closed behind them. Greg came running out of the beach house once he heard them arrive. "Hey, guys! Did it work?" Lapis quietly walked around him and headed into the house. Greg stared in confusion as Peridot and Bismuth apologized to him while they chased after the blue gem.
"It worked. Twoie is stuck in a destabilizer barrier. Although he won't poof, it'll prevent him from leaving since the feeling of destabilizing is really uncomfortable." Steven informed his dad as he awkwardly rubbed his arm.
Greg smiled sadly and pulled his youngest son into a hug. "It's hard Schtu-ball, but we'll get through this. We'll save him. I promise." Steven nodded against his dad's chest as he broke out into sobs. He could only hope that they'd save him soon.