Couple notes. I technically finished writing this chap around the end of december, but as I was going through the editing process, our shit idiot president tried to destroy american democracy.
That being said; There is content in the chapter that may sound a little familiar to actual real-world events. I considered re-writing this thing completely, but I kinda don't want to give Trump and his minions that much control over my life. So, this chapter is what it is. I just wanted to make it clear that it's not political commentary or a metaphor or anything. Again, it was written before jan 6. It's just a dumb little chapter in my dumb little fanfic.
Anyway, now that that's out of the way, please enjoy, and comment if you care.
Outside, the fighting continued, but Garnet held him tightly, letting him hide for just a few more minutes. She rubbed his back and shushed him, patiently waiting for him to calm down. Finally, he sat back on his knees, and wiped his eyes. He didn't look collected, but thankfully, the hysterics had ended. Garnet saw a few possible futures where the tears would return, but he remained shakily put together, hands curling and uncurling by his sides as he tried to keep himself grounded. She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Steven, we can fix this, but you need to call off the attack."
Steven's eyes brimmed with tears again, but he nodded, moving to stand up on trembling legs.
He'd barely taken a few steps when the door burst open with a force that cracked the threshold. A whip shot through the air like lightning, catching Steven in the ankles and dragging him to the floor.
Amethyst pulled it taught, and the others poured in. The whole thing happened so fast that Steven and Garnet barely any time to react.
Peridot's chains cinched tightly around his wrists, leaving his middle exposed for Pearl. She took several quick strides forward, wielding the Rejuvenator.
"Wait-!" Garnet cried.
She tried to rush in, to protect Steven, but it was too late. The blade passed smoothly through his stomach. He cried out, muscles quivering and jerking as electricity was forced into his veins.
It only took a few moments for it to set in, his body becoming smaller and softer until what remained was a much more familiar shape.
The pink glow completely faded away, and Steven curled up, still shivering from the remaining effects of the scythe.
Everyone was silent for several seconds.
"...Wow! That actually worked!" Screamed Peridot, fists raised high as she leapt into the air. She tried a high-five with Bismuth, who left her hanging.
"What is wrong with you?" Garnet sputtered. The other gems in the room gazed at her, at a loss.
"Garnet, what... w-we had to-" Bismuth stuttered.
"He surrendered!"
The crowd shifted awkwardly, eyes wide with confusion, shame and disbelief.
"...He surrendered?" Amethyst asked.
"Yes!"
"Oh. Whoops. Haha." Pearl chuckled nervously. Peridot just stomped her foot down, throwing her arms up.
"Garnet! Why didn't you stop me?!"
"...you can't be serious." Garnet said.
"...Guys, stop it." Came a weak voice from the floor. Steven was still partially curled up, avoiding all eye contact. The chains had slipped off of his wrists, too big for him now, but he was still unable to disentangle himself from Amethyst's whip.
He looked decidedly pitiful sitting there, hair askew and tear streaks going down his face, but the gems were looking at him like he was the brightest, most beautiful star in the sky.
"Steven!" Amethyst cried, rushing over to capture him in a tight hug, making him flinch. The others followed, and soon Steven was trapped in a pile of gems, being cuddled and fawned over. It only served to make him feel worse. He tried to push them away, but they didn't budge, holding on with an iron grip.
"Guys," He choked. "We- we don't have time, I-"
"We can save the world in a second, Ste-man." Said Amethyst, rubbing her cheek into his hair. "I missed your hugs."
"No! We need to get out of here! I can't keep-"
He was cut off by a thunderous crack, as the ceiling began to fold into itself.
The tower was coming apart.
Steven scrabbled for purchase on top of Garnet's hair as they ran down crumbling corridors, trying to find an exit.
"Go left!" He cried. Garnet swerved in the direction he was pointing, nearly sending him off, and he found himself wondering how the hell he'd been able to hold on as a kid.
They came to a dead stop, jostling him again. Huge slabs of fallen crystal were blocking the exit to the lower floor.
Garnet's eyes landed on an open window nearby.
"We have to jump." She said.
"What?" Steven cried in disbelief, grip tightening. Garnet said nothing, and he yelped when she pulled him into her arms, pressing him tightly to her chest.
"Garnet, wait!" Pearl cried, motioning to stop. Garnet gave her an expectant look, and Steven sagged in relief.
"It's freezing out there!" Pearl argued. "You're not taking him out in the cold like that."
She pulled a blanket out of her gem, and Garnet nodded. She let Pearl tuck it around Steven's shoulders, fussing over him like a newborn.
"Ok, go ahead." She said, and Steven blanched.
"Wait wait wait wait wait-!"
But they were already past the window frame.
Garnet landed heavily on strong legs, safe and sound along with the others, but Steven was still hanging on with a death grip.
A few seconds passed, and Garnet nudged him. He blinked, looking around and reddening in embarrassment.
He wobbled a bit when Garnet set him down, so she put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from losing his balance. To his relief, it wasn't raining anymore, but the air was still chilly. He was really glad Pearl had thought to bring that blanket.
"Steven," Pearl said sternly, and he looked away. "We need to put out a message that the invasion is over."
Steven nodded hastily.
"Yeah, let me just-"
He froze as soon as his hand had slipped into his pocket.
"Oh. Uh. Oh no."
The group tensed.
"What's oh no?" Amethyst interrogated. Steven rushed to soothe them, holding up a hand.
"No, no. I-I-It's alright, I just. I think I lost my com- my com in the tower. We just… Uh. We need to get to the square. By foot."
Amethyst moaned.
"Again?"
They had only made it a block and a half before Garnet slowed to a stop, signaling for the others to halt as well.
Steven almost bumped into her, but the rest of the group obeyed easily, eyes trained on the seemingly deserted cityscape around them.
"Something's wrong."
For several seconds, they heard nothing, saw nothing. They huddled closer, readying their weapons.
Several moments passed quietly.
"Garnet." Said Peridot. "Are you sure-"
"Yes!" Garnet hissed back, fixing Peridot with a glare. "Just-"
In retrospect, it shouldn't have been so surprising when the city around them exploded with soldiers. But it was. Very much so.
In an impressive show of coordination and unity, at least fifty Quartzes ambushed the group, bursting forth from buildings and from around corners.
Even Peridot couldn't defend against their sheer numbers. Especially not when one Quartz managed to snap her chains in half like they were made of cheap plastic. Within minutes, they had the group strategically divided and pinned.
All except for Steven.
"You will not take our Diamond!" A Strawberry Quartz shouted ferociously.
She had positioned herself close to her leader, acting as a protective barrier between him and his family. Steven recognized the gem immediately, recognized all of them.
It was the original batch.
"Yo, Steven!" Amethyst cried. "Call them off!"
"Yeah!" Peridot shouted. "And make 'em apologize for breaking my sweet chains."
Fives, the one closest to Steven, turned to face him, a perplexed and surprised expression on her face.
"My Diamond... have they joined us?" She asked. Steven's hands began to shake.
"Uh, no." Said Peridot. "He joined us."
Many of the others turned to look at him as well, many wearing expressions of shock and confusion. When Steven didn't reply right away, something in Five's eyes hardened.
"They're clearly lying. Our Diamond would never work with the enemy."
"Oh yes he would!" Peridot shouted, but immediately regretted it when the Quartz holding her tightened her grip.
"Steven!" Pearl shouted. "Tell them!"
"Is this… Is it true, my Diamond?" Asked another Quartz. Waxer.
Steven gripped his elbows, studying the confused and concerned faces of his Quartzes. They stared back, towering above him, looking to him for an answer. Several were frowning deeply, others just looked impatient.
He tugged the blanket tighter around himself, suddenly self-conscious.
He had no idea how they'd react to his defection. He was essentially betraying not only them but the dogma they had been hard trained to follow for months. Their entire existence had been leading up to this, and he was revoking it.
"...It's-" His voice was so quiet, even he had trouble hearing it. He swallowed, and tried again. "We're not doing this anymore."
"What?" Asked Fives. Many of her sisters made confused exclamations as well, unable to comprehend the words coming from his mouth.
"I'm- I'm calling off the attack." He said a little louder. "War's over."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Oh."
Their was a brief silence between the two groups.
"Well, ok. That's cool, then." Said Fives. Many of the other Quartzes also looked relieved, lowering their weapons and relaxing their stances.
"Is it cool?" Amethyst asked. "You just… you're fine with this?"
She gestured vaguely toward Steven, who frowned at her.
"Invading cities is fun, but like. We kinda just wanna go back to bug hunting." Said Waxer.
"We miss the bugs." Said another.
"The bugs were good." Said a third.
"So… You're not mad?" Steven asked, rubbing his arm.
"What? No!" Said Fives, giving him a concerned look. She knelt to pick Steven up, hugging him tightly. Several others followed suit, forming an large, awkward group hug.
"You're Our Diamond, we wouldn't exist without you."
"Awww." Steven cooed. "You guys…"
"Guys." Peridot groused. "We have to go."
The Quartzes holding Steven gave the Crystal Gems a suspicious glare.
"They aren't forcing you to do this," She asked Steven quietly. "Are they, My Diamond?"
"'Cause we will crush them for you." Said Waxer.
"Appreciated, but please don't. Tell everybody I've got it under control. I'm not in any- I'm not in any danger."
They gently set him down, and Steven's shoulders sagged in relief.
"Thanks guys." He said.
"Don't mention it." Said the Quartz. "Anything else you need?"
"Just, try to let everyone know to retreat. I'll try to get in touch with you when everything's over."
"Understood, my Diamond." Said the Quartz, and many of her sisters echoed the statement. Steven watched them head out, a proud smile on his face.
"Bye, you guys!" He said. He didn't know when he'd get a chance to see them again, if he would at all. But he didn't have time to dwell on it, because his family was already on their way again, making their way downtown.
The control center was significantly farther away than Steven remembered.
He panted, watching the group disappear around the corner nearly an entire block away. He slowed to a walk, trying desperately to catch his breath. It was ok, he'd catch up to them eventually, he just had to keep moving.
He gripped his arm, embarrassed. Without his Diamond Stamina, it was no use trying to keep up with his alien family, but it still ached in a very familiar way. He knew it wasn't their fault, they weren't used to having to wait up for him, but he couldn't help the childish feelings of humiliation and self-loathing that came with being the slowest of the group.
They'd notice he wasn't with them eventually. He knew they would. He may have fucked up in a supremely major way, but they still loved him, they said so. They wouldn't just… abandon him...
He pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders, squeezing at his gem through the fabric, almost wishing he'd asked a couple of his Quartzes to stick around. He really didn't want to be alone right now, even if he did deserve it.
Then a hand roughly grabbed him by the back of his blanket.
He was thrown off his feet, too shocked to do anything but watch the patchy sky above him disappear under the awning of an empty building. His heels dragged roughly over asphalt before transitioning to damp, muddy tile.
The small (but ridiculously strong) hand let go, and he struggled to get his legs under him. The lights of what used to be a pharmacy had all blown out, leaving it dim and grey, barely highlighted by the growing spots of sun breaking through the clouds.
His assailant had hidden themselves well within the shadow, but he could make out the glint of their two gems.
Her two gems.
Steven tensed, and instinctively tried to form a shield, but as expected, it glitched out of existence, completely useless. Bluebird cackled.
"Oh, ha, aww." She spoke with a certain smug pity in her tone, like she was looking down at a trapped kitten. A kitten she wanted to eat.
"They've done a number on you, haven't they, Love?"
Steven pushed himself up, and stared tensely down at her, trying to summon whatever self-assuredness he had left.
"Bluebird." He warned. "Get out of here."
He kept his voice steady, as deep as he could manage, but her grin never shrank.
She took an eager step further, making a grab for him, and he foolishly tried to strike her, forgetting that he no longer had the benefit of super strength.
Or of bubbling his fists.
He hissed in pain at the impact on his knuckles, her hard light form didn't even budge an inch. She took advantage of his distraction to swing him back to the floor.
"The mighty Steven Universe…" She teased. She drew her weapons, and the twin swords glinted in the gray light, getting dangerously close. She towered over him from where he lay on the ground. "I can't believe it's all this easy."
He kicked futilely at her as she bent to grab a fist-full of the blanket, bearing his gem to the cold air and raising her sword high above it.
Steven couldn't speak, couldn't move. He wanted to do something, say something, but suddenly his muscles had become cold, immovable stone, and all he could do was watch as she went in to finish the job.
He was so overwhelmed by the hopelessness of the situation that he didn't notice the crunch of glass behind Bluebird, or the dark silhouette that materialized from the background.
The blade came down, and his eyes shut tight-
But the hit never came.
Steven opened his eyes to see the tip of Connie's sword poking through Bluebird's chest. It was smooth, and clean, as if Connie had stabbed through a peice of paper.
The sword pulled out, and Bluebird disintegrated, her gems falling to the ground unceremoniously. The dust cleared, and his savior stepped forward, tucking away her sword.
"Uh, hey, Steven." She said, looking him over. Strangely enough, there was a heavy weight in her eyes, a kind of nervousness, uncertainty. As if she was the one who should be ashamed and vulnerable.
Hesitantly, she offered him a hand.
He took it, tearing up, and she was pleasantly surprised to find his arms around her neck.
She hugged him back tightly.
"I missed you." She whispered quietly. Steven just nodded, gripping her tighter, and for a few moments, they stood together in the strengthening beams of sunlight, just sharing warmth.
"Connie, I'm sorry." Steven finally managed. Connie just gave him a final squeeze, pulling back.
"Yeah, me too. But I'm glad you're back."
"Yeah." Said Steven. "Me too."
"But. Uh. What's happening now? Where's Garnet?"
"Fuck!" Steven blurted, and Connie's brows shot up. No matter how many times she'd hear him use that word, she swore she'd never get used to it.
"Garnet! The others! We got separated!"
"Oh. Well. You need a ride?"
It didn't take them long to reach their destination, they caught up with the group in less than a minute's time.
Steven was both guilty and relieved that they'd been looking for him, and they felt similar about losing him in the first place. But the joy of reunion was short-lived. Connie couldn't stay, not long. She still had work to do, they all did.
The group resumed their journey, and Steven found himself back on his feet, struggling to keep up again. They kept a watchful eye on him this time, but they didn't slow down near enough for Steven's comfort.
By the time they finally got to the control center, he was red in the face, panting for breath and on the verge of collapse.
Hessonite was waiting for them, watching their approach with cool displeasure. Dormant gemstones were sprawled out on the ground around her, all Amethysts except for one glistening Peridot.
The group came to a stop a dozen yards away, and Hessonite straightened her back, glaring down at them. Eerily enough, she was even taller than Bismuth. Steven pushed himself to the front of the group, eyeing Hessonite cautiously. As his general, she'd been nothing but competent and impressive, but as a potential enemy... well. Hopefully he could sort this out like he had with the Quartzes.
"My Diamond," She hissed through gritted teeth. "I humbly request that you stand aside."
"Hessonite," Steven's voice was weak with exertion. "We need to call off the attack."
"What?"
"This isn't what I wanted." His voice broke, and he cursed inwardly as the shock in Hessonite's eyes turned to disgust.
"No."
"No?" Steven asked, offended.
"You're out of your mind if you think I'll shut this operation down. Not when we're this close."
Steven was a little impressed by her show of disobedience, but right now, it was anything but useful. His brow furrowed, resolve taking over.
"Hessonite. Shut it down right now-"
"Or what? What are you going to do?" She jabbed a finger in his chest, nearly pushing him over.
Garnet shoved Steven behind her, and pushed the group back a few steps. Anyone with weapons drew them.
"I will not treat you like a Diamond," Hessonite boomed, readying her sword and staring Garnet in the face. "unless you act like one."
She charged, but a heavy force knocked her to the ground.
It was Jasper.
Despite the distant booms and hollering flames, the world seemed to go silent for several moments. Hessonite glared furiously at her assailant.
She stumbled to her feet, searching Jasper's face.
"Jasper," She implored, "Our Diamond has abandoned the mission!" She took a step closer, reaching out a hand. "Help me show him his error."
Jasper studied the hand for a second or two. She looked at Steven, who peered up at her from behind Garnet, trying to squeeze past.
"Jasper, please!" He begged, reaching for her. She looked back at Hessonite, who was growing impatient.
"Come on! Are you really going to abandon all this progress for him?" She gestured to Steven, and the gems tightened their stance. "After how weak he's become?"
Jasper didn't move. Hessonite frowned, growling in frustration.
"Fine! I'll do it myself!"
She raised her sword, and lunged.
In a flash, the sharp red horns of Jasper's helmet sailed right into Hessonite's gut.
The sound of her gemstone clinking to the ground was quick to follow.
"Woohoooo!" Amethyst cheered, pumping a fist. "You got 'em, girl!"
"Wow, thanks!" Cried Peridot.
Jasper ignored her, quietly turning on the comm.
"The order has been given to retreat," She said, sounding strangely subdued, "All soldiers return to base. The attack has been canceled."
For several moments, no one said anything. Not a word.
Lapis silently touched down several feet behind the group, catching Garnet's eye. She gave Jasper a wary look, pointing at her and punching her palm in a silent question. But Garnet just motioned for her to stand down.
The war was over.
"So, how is he?" Connie asked. She sat down next to Amethyst, wobbling a little when Lars' ship hit a patch of turbulence.
"Steven?" Amethyst questioned. "Oh, no he's out. He's down for the count."
"What?"
"Y'know, like." She took a bite out of the soda can in her hand. "He's kinda a little bit passed out right now."
"Is he ok?!"
"He'll be fine, I think he just needed a nap."
"...Let him rest." Said Garnet. "He needs it."
Connie took a deep breathe, calming down again. Amethyst eyed Garnet, studying the prevailing tightness in her face.
"Yeah… So… How'd the talk with him go?" Amethyst asked. Garnet gripped her knees.
"Not well." She said.
"Well, something must have gone right." Said Amethyst.
"He's back with us." Said Connie, blushing slightly. "...I got a hug."
"No. We shouldn't have even gotten here to begin with." Garnet hissed.
"...On the ship?" Amethyst asked.
"No!" Cried Garnet. "All of this is… we've ruined this. We've been ruining it."
"Garnet," Amethyst began, starting to sound uneasy. "What are you…"
A tear leaked from under Garnet's visor, down her cheek. Amethyst and Connie froze.
"We failed him." She said, wiping at her face. "We failed in every way."
"No…" Amethyst tried, but Garnet shook her head.
"We did." She said, removing her visor and fiercely wiping at her eyes.
"I did." She finished quietly.
Connie and Amethyst didn't know what to say.
After a minute or two of awkward silence, watching Garnet's fingers twitch every few seconds, Amethyst spoke up.
"You can mean well," Amethyst continued. "And you can still fuck up. I mean, look where Steven got himself."
Garnet's mouth gaped slightly, but Connie stifled confused, surprised laughter.
"What?" Amethyst insisted. "We all have to answer for our fuckups, but we're not perfect. No matter how much we learn, we'll keep fucking up. Didn't Rose say something like that?"
"...Not- she never put it like that." Garnet sighed. "But. Now that we know we've fucked up, what do we do?"
"This is just sound cheesy as fuck," Amethyst said. "But…"
"We do better."
