Author's Note: Hey again! Welcome back to another chapter! We're more than halfway through Steven 2 (only 3 chapters and an epilogue after this!) and I am thrilled to be close to unveiling what's next. More on that soon!
I think one of my favorite parts of writing for the DWU is getting to merge all of the universes together and try to get them to make sense with each other. What's your favorite thing about the DWU so far? What are you hoping to see more of? Let me know in the Reviews.
Anyway, that's enough from me. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 7 - When It Rains
After Garnet tied up and "disposed of" the soldiers, the gems set about searching the place, making sure no artifacts of Gem importance has been stolen or desecrated. Steven and Connie, meanwhile, unfused, and caught their breath. Connie was panting with exhilaration, though, and as she popped out of the unfolding glow of the fusion, she was giggling. Steven looked at her curiously.
"That was crazy," she said, "nothing like proper kendo. Like, not even close, but who cares?! We were so cool!"
"Yeah," Steven agreed, with a grin, her infectious giddiness still slightly present as the fusion's space magic faded. "When we threw the shield at the guy, and then kicked them-"
"In the face!" They both said in unison, bursting into laughter. As their laughter died down Steven briefly took on a somber face.
"I hope we didn't hurt them too badly," he said. Connie was about to try to console him, but his expression switched back to boyishness before she said anything. He sprang to his feet. "C'mon! Let's go see if we can find some weird alien stuff."
Connie nodded enthusiastically, and the two of them bolted off into the nearest tunnel. As they ran, Connie spotted a strange room, and slowed to a stop, pointing it out to Steven. The room was dimly light by some hanging blue crystal sconces, and on the back wall of the room was a stone pedestal. The light from one of the crystal torches beamed directly down onto this pedestal, casting an eerie blue glow onto the item that rested there. An ornate hand mirror. The two kids approached the mirror curiously. As they were about to pick it up and examine it, Steven cast a suspicious glance at Connie.
"Hey… How did you even spot this? You're not wearing your glasses."
Connie blinked. At first she had thought it was just her senses attuned by the adrenaline, or a residual effect of the fusion, but as patted her pocket she realized the truth. There, right where she had meticulously stowed them, were her lens-less glasses.
And she could see crystal clearly.
She shook her head in disbelief.
"Wait a minute, what the heck? I can see!"
"You can see?"
"Yes! Perfectly!"
Steven held out a thumb's up.
"How many fingers?"
"Steven, that's your thumb."
"Woah!" Steven said, causing Connie to giggle. Then, the light went on in Steven's head. "Oh! The fountain! It's my moms, and its full of her… uh… lactose intolerance?"
"What?"
"Oh jeez, I don't remember what Pearl said. Basically, it's a healing spring," Steven explained. He held out his arm. "Right before you and Lion came in I was burnt really bad by the alien… guy. It threw me into the fountain, and by the time you dragged me out, I was fully healed."
"Of course… and I went in headfirst to get you out of the fountain," Connie said, nursing her still damp mass of hair. "That's… amazing! I can see! I can read books without getting that annoying migraine from the frames rubbing against my temples!"
Steven smiled, not understanding some of the words she was using in this context, but wanting to be supportive. However, as he smiled at his friend, there was a sudden strange compulsion in his mind. Like the sound of a crashing wave, from underwater. He, instinctually, turned to look at the mirror, awaiting him on the pedestal. Connie continued to talk at him, but she was far away,
Above the waves.
Steven walked towards the mirror, now, looking down, trying to catch a glimpse of his reflection. Without realizing it, he picked up the mirror, holding it up so that it better caught the light. Something about it was fascinating, and not only that, but called to him. He moved of his own accord, but ths sheer allure of the weeping siren's song he heard stopped him from thinking clearly. It was only when someone put a hand on Steven's shoulder firmly that he was jostled from his trance.
"Yo," Amethyst, who had just arrived, said. "You good, dude?"
"Um, yeah," Steven blinked, "what's up?"
Amethyst eyed the mirror suspiciously, and then looked at Connie, who was just looking at Steven, with concern on her face. Amethyst, too, looked to Steven then, and shook her head, jutting her thumb back towards the main chamber.
"Garnet and Pearl swept the place. G found some dangerous ritual scroll or something. Says she's gotta burn it back at the temple, so, we're heading back," she said. Then she gestured to the mirror. "What's that?"
Steven quickly stowed the mirror in his back pocket.
"Oh, it's nothing," he said, "it's just a styling mirror."
Amethyst was unimpressed, before Connie chimed in.
"Oh, come now Steven, you don't have to get all dolled up for me," she joked, putting on a weak, haughty accent. Steven held back a snort, but Amethyst's face split into a wide, unknowing grin.
"Yeah, OK, whatever, not my business," she said, shooting Steven an obvious wink and two finger guns. "But seriously, let's go. Garnet's sealing the door, and we need you to drive the lion."
A few days later, Steven found himself leaning against the window sill, looking out at the dreary grey sky as it poured down onto beach, twinging large swatches of the normally beige sand brown. Every so often, he glanced back towards the warp pad, but, every time, was disappointed, and turned back to stare out the window once more. The mirror lay on the window sill beside him.
Steven was waiting for Connie. When they had returned from the fountain, to Steven's dismay, Connie received a phone call from her Kendo instructor, saying that punctuality was a virtue, and that if she wouldn't bother showing up today, she may as well not bother showing up at all. Connie had been momentarily upset, however, Pearl had swooped in to save the day. She had recognized Stevonnie's natural prowess with sword play, and considering Connie's moderate prerequisite training, she was in a prime position to begin training.
Connie had accepted, and decided that, via the Gem's help (and Lion as a taxi, since he had grown apparently fond of her) she would come and attend sword lessons with Pearl instead of going to her scheduled kendo. If her mother found out… She didn't want to think about what would happen if Dr. Maheswaren found out.
She and Pearl had vanished beyond the temple door, and had been gone for almost an hour, leaving Steven to watch the rain come down. The mirror served as his company, and despite him having examined and tinkered with it thoroughly, it had not drawn on his mind again like at the fountain. It was a fancy mirror, though it sported one blemish. The fancy blue crystal that was embedded in the back of the mirror bore a crack. Steven gently traced a finger down the crack now, and a shiver went down his spine.
ka...ka-bOOM!
Loud, rumbling thunder suddenly exploded in the sky, rattling the old windows of the temple exterior and causing Steven to jump slightly. Then, realizing it was just the storm, he relaxed.
Wham!
The bathroom door flung open, and Steven was looking at a startled and confused looking Peridot. The small green gem's eyes bugged wide as she pointed accusatorily at Steven.
"What was that?" She demanded, as if he had been the source of the noise.
"Huh?"
"Don't play dumb, Human-Quartz-Steven!" Peridot said, rattling off names. "The noise! It must have been the Cluster! We're doomed!"
Steven blinked, recovering from his initial confusion, realized what Peridot was talking about, and burst out laughing. This caused the alien to become even more irrationally upset, and she charged forward to scold Steven further.
"You fool! Don't make light of the situation," she said, "you have no idea what kind of power the Cluster will have when it emerges!"
"Hey, hang on a sec, relax," Steven said, putting up his hands to show his lack of ill will. "It's just thunder."
Peridot squinted.
"Thun-der?" She echoed. Steven nodded.
"Right," he said, gesturing outside, "it comes with the storm."
"Ah, yes," she said, squinting at the rain sliding down the glass of the window. "The dihydrogen monoxide droplets that fall from your atmosphere are called... Storm?"
"Sort of," Steven laughed. "This is a storm, singular. They're what you call when it rains, and thunders, and lightnings."
"Lightning?" Peridot said.
On cue, there was a flash, and the grey of the sky was briefly lit up by a bluish purple streak that bolted across the sky. Peridot squinted in confusion at the light display, and then, barely seconds later: ka-BOOM! Another round of thunder caused Peridot to instantly drop to the ground, throwing her arms above her head defensively and crying out in fear. However, when no harm came to her, and she noticed that Steven had hardly flinched, she slowly uncoiled. The rain continued.
"Thunder… is the sound of lightning?" Peridot said, and Steven could see the gears turning in her head. "And lightning is… that strange explosion in the sky. These are essential components to the 'storm'?"
Steven shrugged.
"Not really. Sometimes its just a ton of rain. Sometimes there's fast winds. Wind is-"
"I know what wind is!" Peridot snapped. Then, she paused. "What is 'rain'?"
Steven laughed again, and then stuck his tongue out in thought. An idea dawned on him, and he opened the window he was sitting it. Peridot was nervous at first, shying back as he did, but she watched as Steven simply smiled at the falling water, and stuck his hand out to greet it. A few drops got on his shirt, the window sill, and the mirror. It was probably a trick of the light, or a stray bolt of lightning, but for a second, Peridot thought she saw the mirror glow faintly. However, she was more intrigued by the rain. Tentatively, she walked closer to Steven. Then, she leaned gently on the window sill, and reached out with one hand to let the drops land in her palm.
As soon as the rain hit her hand, sparkles jumped in Peridot's eyes.
"A storm could even be made of snow, which is frozen rain."
"It falls like glass shards and kills humans?" Peridot said, still entranced by the rain. Steven felt a bit strange about how hopeful she sounded. He shook his head.
"Uh, no," he said, "snow is soft, and cold, and melts in your hand or on your tongue. It gathers up on the ground, and if there's enough of it, you can make a snow man. That's where you roll up a big ball of snow and put a carrot in it."
"Why a carrot?"
"I don't know," Steven said. Peridot blinked, as she took a moment to process all of the information. Then, she pressed her hands together in an awkward gesture, turning to Steven.
"Thank. You. Steven Quartz,"
"You can just call me Steven," Steven interrupted. Peridot made an annoyed face, but continued.
"Thank you, Steven. You have enlightened me on things like "thunder" and "rain." It puts my mind at ease, for now, at least… In return, I will share with you some information. However, before I do… I have a favor to ask."
Steven's heart began to race. Peridot was going to tell him about the cluster. It was time for him to do something useful, on his own, like a real Crystal Gem. Gulping down his jitters, he nodded.
"What's the favor?"
"After I refused to communicate the… Pearl, confiscated my recording device. It's bad enough to not have my limb enhancers and my actual data slate, but that piece of barbaric human tech was the only thing keeping me sane in that disgusting bat-room," Peridot said, butchering the pronunciation of "bathroom." Steven decided he wouldn't correct her. There was a time and a place for everything.
"You want your tape recorder back?" Steven said. He wagered the odds, and found himself certain that the gems would forgive him going back on their punishment if it meant they gained some insight on what the Cluster was, and how they might stop it. "Sure. Do you know where they put it?"
Reproachfully, Peridot pointed towards the kitchen. Following her direction, Steven looked as well, and saw that she was indicating the refrigerator. The top of the refrigerator. Looking back at the humbled Peridot, Steven was beginning to struggle to see how she had been the same, bloodthirsty gem that had tried to throw him off of a cliff a couple months ago. With a warm smile, he walked over to the fridge and, with a little boost from his super powers, jumped up to get a good look at what resided on top of the fridge. A stale box of donuts, a Dave-Guy figurine, and- bingo. The tape recorder.
Steven snatched the tape recorder up and floated back to the ground before flip-flopping over to Peridot and holding the device up in one hand. She reached for it, but Steven held out the other hand to stop her.
"Hold on, Peridot," he said. "First, tell me what the Cluster is."
Peridot's manic expression warped to annoyance once more. She sighed. That had been the deal after all.
"Fine," she said. She sat on the couch, pulling her knees up and resting her chin on them. "We'll all be shattered before your clod caretakers can stop it, anyway. So, where to begin? The cluster is, functionally, a gargantuan synthetic amalgam."
"What?"
Peridot snatched up a nearby piece of paper and a crayon, and began furiously scribbling a diagram. As she did, she seemed to groan about the size of her hand, even uttering a frustrated "stupid touch stumps!" at one point after dropping the crayon. Eventually, though, she produced an image for Steven to observe. The Earth.
"This is Colony Terra. Your planet. "Earth" as you call it. You've been kept safe from most intergalactic contact because after the Gem War, most of the galaxy thought life had been wiped out here. Only recently, during the Galra War, and before that, the Etherian Uprising, did the other peoples of the universe even remember you measly humans exist."
"Get back to the Cluster," Steven said, his pride in his human half a little wounded.
"Right. So if this is your planet," she made a few more marks, indicating some kind of large jagged circle, inside of the drawing of Earth. It was huge, taking up a large portion of the east coast of the United States. Steven gulped. "This is the cluster."
"It's a big egg?"
"It is not an egg," Peridot said gravely, "but your comparison has some deadly reality. The cluster… is a geo-weapon."
Steven's jaw dropped.
"There were several prototypes before the final product was placed into the planet. You've encountered the Phase 2 prototypes. The small ones that have been roaming around, recently. There was also an initial phase of testing done on the planet's moon. That was Cluster Prime. However, it never panned out, and the gems of the time had to go back to the drawing board. It's quite fascinating, and it's unfortunate that the Crystal Clods haven't been teaching you the history of your people."
Steven's face was grim, now. He agreed. He wished they would tell him more too. Did they just not know? Shaking those thoughts away as they wormed their way in, Steven grit his teeth and tried to remain focused on the task at hand.
"So, you're saying, the monsters that Garnet talked about. The one's at the Kindergarten… They're fusions?"
"Hardly. They're a synthetic attempt at replication… Barbaric, for today's standards, but effective if you consider their final product," Peridot said. She began scribbling again. "When it emerges, the Cluster will be so large that it will tear a hole into the side of your planet, causing everything on it to suffer a swift, explosive death."
Steven stared down at the fire and skulls that Peridot was now maniacally drawing on the sketch of Earth, and he suddenly felt weak in the knees.
"How do we stop it?"
Peridot instantly stopped drawing.
"We can't," she said. "Not unless humans suddenly advance 400 years in both metallurgy and energy production. We'd need some kind of burrowing machine to get down to where the Cluster is buried. However, even then, nobody but the strongest gem could stop it. We'd need the help of a Diamond."
Steven looked defeated. He handed the tape recorder to Peridot, and slumped down on the sofa, with his face in his hands.
"So… That's it? We lose?" He said. "We just sit around and wait for the planet to explode?"
Peridot looked at the strange being, the boy named Steven, and once again, she felt something. She didn't try to shake it away this time, despite how uncomfortable it made her, and she actually went forward to try and place a hand on Steven's shoulder.
"Um… If it makes you feel better. It will be a swift and painful death."
Steven couldn't help but laugh and shake his head incredulously.
"It really does not make me feel better."
Silence ensued, with only the sound of the storm from the open window filling the space. The two gems sat in a depressed quiet. Peridot glanced at Steven a few times, but the boy was lost in thought. Then, beneath the sound of the rain, Peridot heard something else. A faint, pulsing noise. Then, something like… words? She craned her head around, looking for the source. Then, she found it: the open window.
She began to walk towards it, and, to her surprise, she saw that the rain was forming a strange pattern around the window. None of the drops would fall within about a foot of the window sill, leaving an odd dry section on the deck. The pulsing noise was loud, now, and as she continued to examine the area, Peridot found the answer.
The mirror.
"Steven?" She said. The boy looked up. She held the mirror up so he could see.
Then, the glass portion of the mirror, began to warp. It rippled and moved, as if it were made from mercury or some other liquid. Then, it started to emit a sound. The ripples in the mirror seemed to move in tandem with the words the mirror began to emit.
"Steven… Peridot…" The mirror said, replicating their voices and intonations. "Help…"
The two of them stood in stunned silence for a second, swapping glances between each other and the speaking mirror. Steven suddenly went pale as he remembered the cracked gem in the back of the mirror.
"Help…"
"... Log date. 002."
