All the early warning signs went undetected.

Everyone was so busy searching for Steven that the rest of the world had fallen out of their eye. They were a family on a mission, and nothing short of a hurricane could steer them away from their focus. Unfortunately, that focus was very, very misplaced.

The gems themselves were never much into human television, apart from occasionally joining Steven to watch Crying Breakfast Friends or Lonely Blade. So naturally, they missed the stories, the articles, the footage on the news that suggested unrest in various governments worldwide. Of a new religion that was slowly taking hold across the globe, of protests, and coups, of dictators losing power to shadowy, mysterious forces.

While Connie and her family were more in tune with world events, they seemed so distant, so far from their own lives and problems.

It started in smaller countries with unstable political environments. Nations whose dynasties were already dying out, whose corrupt leaders were already losing grasp over the people. The first red flag was the new ideology forming, a growing cult in which people celebrated a "Universal Friend". An alleged god who could heal the sick and grow forests, who encouraged rebellion and offered medicine and the armed support of his appointed angels.

Walls were being graffitied in pink paint, diamond symbols decorating the scorched remains of capitol buildings.

It wasn't until it began to spread through Europe and the West that the Crystal Gems began to catch wind of the storm hitting the political world.

They were incredibly hesitant to believe that Steven was behind any of it. After all, Steven was no power-hungry overlord, capable of mass manipulation and coercion. They knew him, didn't they? Surely, this was just another human fad, a cult, created by a very human leader who told very convincing lies.

And then they started seeing pictures on the news. Pictures of a glowing pink figure with curly hair, taller each time he was spotted, often leading squads of Quartzes through the smoking ruins of cities and government buildings. Jasper shared his infamy, frequently photographed prowling by his side like a large, loyal war dog.

The evidence was right there.

He was too powerful for them to defeat now, and they realized they had no choice but to fall back on their last resort.

They picked up the Diamond Line, and made a call.


The Italian sun setting over smoking buildings had turned everything so devastatingly, ironically pink. Pink was everywhere, reflecting off of Roma's rain-dusted city streets and bathing everything in an ominous, rosey haze.

It gave the army of Quartz soldiers an unconventional camouflage. Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst had no idea how many of them there were, just that they were deeply, deeply outnumbered.

Even though they weren't quite ready to call in the cavalry, they found themselves taking cover in an old cafe that had lost all the glass in its windows, plotting their next move.

"Has anyone seen him yet?" Pearl asked, risking a glance outside.

"He'll be here." Garnet said cryptically.

"When, though?!" Amethyst hissed.

"Give it a moment."

Pearl huffed, and Amethyst slumped, rubbing her thumbs over the crystals studding her whip.

"How do we know he'll even listen? She asked. "We've already blown it."

"Don't say that, Amethyst." Pearl chastised. "We'll get through to him. Right Garnet?"

"He's here." Said Garnet.

Amethyst and Pearl jumped, scrambling to peek out at the plaza. Sure enough, Steven was there, all eight feet of glowing pink teenager. They could barely recognize him.

"What the…" Pearl murmured.

"Is that what puberty is?" Amethyst whispered.

"Shh. Wait for my signal."

Amethyst and Pearl settled down as per Garnet's instruction, and they watched him.

A minute passed, then two. He was directing a small squad of Quartzes, helping them maneuver flipped tanks to form a barricade.

When he seemed satisfied that they'd been assisted, he went on his way, likely looking for other spots he was needed.

On his route, he began walking past the cafe.

"Now!" Garnet hissed, and they leapt over the jagged windowsill.

When he caught sight of them, his entire body tensed, and he took off like a rabbit from a fox.

They chased him across the wet, cobblestone streets, shouting, begging for him to stop, to talk to them. He was surprisingly fast, and while he'd been able to outrun them for years now, they didn't foresee themselves losing ground to him this quickly.

He suddenly took a left, darting into an alley and jumping over a high chain link fence. Amethyst followed him seamlessly through a hole in the mesh, whereas Pearl and Garnet had to take an extra second hop over.

Amethyst chased him out of the alley and into the street, but when Garnet and Pearl caught up to her, she had come to a dead halt in the middle of the road.

"Amethyst, why'd you stop?" Pearl cried breathlessly. Amethyst just shifted her weight, staring at the large glass structure up ahead.

"...He ran into the Botanical Gardens." She said.

"Shit." Pearl hissed. They all stopped to gape at the huge greenhouse before them, the size of a museum and filled with maze-like paths and swaths of exotic and native plant life.

"We're going in." Said Garnet, stepping into stride towards the building.

"B-But! Garnet!" Pearl ran after their leader, flapping her hands. "It's obviously a trap-!"

"I know."

"Then why are you walking into it?" Amethyst asked.

"We have one chance to end this." Said Garnet. "And it's in there."

The first twenty feet in had been no problem, but when the Crystal Gems turned the corner, they found a hallway full of eight-foot (semi) sentient cacti.

"Hey guys," Steven said to his creations. "Welcome to consciousness. Also, I need a favor. See those guys over there?"

He pointed to his ex-family, and they tensed.

"They actually- they look really down, yeah. Why don't you go give them some hugs?" He asked, grinning and hugging himself as demonstration.

They murmured a gravelly affirmation to him, and held their arms out, ambling towards their targets.

Steven used the ensuing chaos to slip away, making a quick turn into the Butterfly Room and instantly locking eyes with Connie.

"Oh. ...It's you."

"It's me."

For several moments, they stared at each other from opposite ends of the huge room. Connie sighed, realizing that if she had anything she wanted to say, she'd need to say it now.

"Look, Steven, I'm sorry about what I- the things I said back there, I didn't mean-"

He threw his head back, giggling, and a chill ran down Connie's spine at how unhinged he sounded.

"You didn't mean it!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "You know, for a minute there, it kind of sounded like you did. You did mean it, Connie."

"...Yeah, I guess so… I'm not sorry for having my own life, Steven."

He frowned angrily at her, and she gazed tiredly back at him.

"...and I'll be honest, sometimes you were… well. You had needs. A lot of them."

"I wasn't- I didn't- I never asked for you to-"

"Steven, we lived through so much together. I mean, we were children, Steven."

"Don't act like-"

"But I had parents who knew when there was something wrong, who got me therapy-"

"I don't need a therapist!"

"Who got me therapy and help, Steven! Things that you need too, things that you deserve. You deserve help."

He seethed at her.

"You need help. You couldn't even tell your-" He cut himself off.

"...Tell my what, Steven?"

He glowered at her, but his eyes were getting glassy.

"You couldn't even tell your mom that I proposed to you." He said hoarsely. "Are you still that ashamed of me?"

Connie gaped at him.

"...Steven, I-"

They were interrupted by the sound of glass shattering, and several of Steven's burly Quartzes leapt in through the windows. They shoved themselves protectively in front of Steven, forming a barricade and scowling at Connie.

"Is she bothering you, My Diamond?" One of them asked. Steven gave Connie a scornful look, crossing his arms.

"...Yeah. Yes she is."

"Hey! Easy!" Connie said, raising her hands when the Quartzes began to approach. "I was in the middle of an apology!"

"That was supposed to be an apology?" Asked Steven.

"I- I was getting to the apology part!"

She tried to get past them, but they held their ground. Despite his added height, she could barely see him from behind the wall of gems.

"Guys, c'mon!" Connie cried.

"He doesn't want to talk to you." Said a Quartz. Connie rolled her eyes.

"Listen, Steven!" She hollered. "I should have realized, I, I felt like something was going on, for months and I never did anything."

Steven peeked at her from behind his soldiers, and she could actually see his face again.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry I was so disconnected to what you were going through. I'm sorry, Steven."

"...I don't care." Said Steven, but his voice was rigid and his eyes were wet.

Sensing his displeasure, the Quartzes tightened their line.

"You want us to get rid of her, My Diamond?"

"Please."

Connie drew her sword as the Quartzes began to stalk forward.

"How many pieces do you want?" One of them asked.

Steven blanched, shaking his head.

"What? Jeez, no, don't kill her!"

"Well, why not?"

"Guys! Wow! Just… like, chase her off or something. No murder."

"You sure? Jasper said-"

"I'm gonna have a talk with Jasper later. Don't kill anybody."

"No murder, got it."

"Yeah. Oh my god no murder." He ran a hand over his face. "...Anyways, meet me back at the square later, ok?"

"Yes, My Diamond." They chorused, and Steven spun around on his heel and strolled out of the garden.

Connie swallowed, watching the Quartzes close in. With no other choice, she turned Lion around, and retreated.


After the disastrous encounter in the gardens, the Crystal Gems had been forced to regroup with Connie and the B team outside city limits, watching Steven's forces take Quirinal Hill.

Garnet had foreseen a couple futures where Steven had accepted Connie's apology, and while the chances of it had been slim, it'd still been disappointing when it hadn't worked.

Now, they had no choice but to draw on their last hope.

"Go after him!" Shouted Garnet. "You're the only one strong enough to subdue him!"

White blinked at her owlishly, looking like a large child as she peeked down at them from behind a residential building in the outskirts. The city was vast, but not very tall, and to avoid being seen she'd practically had to sit down or crouch the entire time. She looked incredibly uncertain, but Garnet's unwavering resolve finally got to her.

She wasn't exactly subtle, being bigger than most of the nearby structures and wearing a sparkling white outfit, but Steven was so preoccupied directing his ground troops that she'd been able to stay under his radar up until the last second.

She crouched, inching towards him until she was within reach. Several of the Quartzes noticed and tried to warn their leader, but by then it was too late.

As soon as his eyes landed on her, White's hand shot out to grab him like a great white cobra.

His mouth was gaping, and though he wasn't screaming, she could see the undiluted terror in his eyes, the rigidity in his limbs. He tried to run, but didn't get very far, muscles firing loosely and uncoordinated. He ended up falling square on his jaw in a panic, and when he looked back up at her, White's blood ran cold.

His pupils were the size of needle tips, and blood was dribbling from his mouth, he'd likely bitten his tongue. He had curled up around his gem and was shaking badly, paralyzed with fear. He flinched when her fingers got close, and tears began to fall down his face as soon as she touched him. When she tried to pick him up, however, he finally did scream.

He screamed with such terror and anguish that White could hear the sound echoing over and over through her head. Tears sprang to her eyes.

She couldn't do this to him. Not again.

She set him back down, and removed her hand, but he didn't get up. Tears were still falling down his cheeks, but his Quartzes were there, helping him to his feet and trying to comfort him.

Jasper had heard his scream, and even though she was only about the size of White's hand, she was charging fearlessly, helmet glinting in the sun. White brought her hands to her chest, allowing herself to be chased away.

Under Jasper's command, a few of the Quartzes were half-carrying Steven off somewhere, but the rest of the soldiers didn't retreat. If anything, the "attempt" on their leader's life had only spurred them on, making them more aggressive.

Eventually, the Crystal Gems were forced to retreat. Under Jasper's temporary leadership, they lost Quirinal Hill, and any humans unable to fend for themselves were either forced to run or face severe injury and the threat of death. Unlike her leader, Jasper had no qualms about ending lives.

The gems regrouped back at Beach City, discouraged and defeated. Even Garnet had no answers.

That had been their last idea.


Hey guys, tumblr users suaufissured and seafoamicecream made some beautiful artwork for this fic! Check out these links to find it:

suaufissured's work:

suaufissured . tumblr (dot com) post/631024847867265024/doctor-lizard-hey-so-i-absolutely-love-your

seafoamicecream's work:

seafoamicecream . tumblr (dot com) post/631077339221131264/hey-guys-steven-said-to-his-creations-welcome