1001 Nights In Their Garden

The Second Night- Shadows in the Cave

Authors Note- Spinel defines herself, who's telling this story anyway?

My name is Steven Universe, and this cave is… nothing from my imagination. Instead I found myself going straight down the rabbit hole.

I was too distracted to hear Spinel. This was no natural cave system. The ancient gems that came to this region, presumably after a colony ship crash landed on the planet had left many strange ruins behind.

The survivors of the crash had built this jungle country up, and driven the natives out. What I saw in that cave illustrated history in vivid detail using vivid tiles that seemed to glow in bioluminescent splendor.

She grabbed his hand, "Steven, I neveh meant for ya to see this, you… you need to leave."

"Spinel," I said, pressing my hand to the impressive relief, and to the small pink gem being given a small box by a large blue one, "How old are you?"

The little pink gem was silent as she fell down like a lump of wet noodles on the cave's wet floor. "Is that really the question you wanna ask?"

I chewed on that for a moment, and then it hit me. "All the pranks, all the jokes, you were trying to delay us from finding anything."

She just nodded in the dim light. I turned back to the mural. It seemed to be in roughly chronological order. The next panel contained what appeared to be three ships. "But there were only two in the legend?"

The gem pulled herself back together, still looking totally depressed. "There were only two, the third was something… something horrid."

Spinel grabbed his hand, "When I came to this planet, I couldn't do it, I disobeyed. I never had any regrets either. If I had done what I was commanded, this whole planet would be. I came with an experimental injector, it would have destroyed the plan-"

There was a flash and a sudden burst of pain in my shoulder. It knocked me over. I blinked. Everything seemed to slow. Turning my head, I realized that a familiar spear had pinned me to the cave floor. Weakly, I pulled at it in vain as through the storm beyond, Pearl stepped through.

"Imagine my surprise." Casually she removed the spear from my arm. I winced, then stared in horror at the terror in my friend's face as with a twirl, she struck the heart shaped gem on her chest.

CRACK

Spinel reached for the gem then fell back next to me. "Steven," her form glitching, "I n-nev, th-thiszzz isn't your."

In the heat of the moment, I leaped up knocked the Pearl over. For a second or two I had the upper hand, but only for a second or two. "Spinel what do I do?"

"Yourr… only human… zzz… here."

The Pearl was amused by this, "Indeed, and soon you won't even be able to say that."

"I am not human!" I said feeling my powers return to me.

Pearl wasn't there for such nonsense, she stabbed me straight through the heart this time. I glowed pink. If I weren't so furious over the fact that I had just seen a friend mortally wounded and myself near murdered, I might've pondered this strange new power, and whether it was real.

Pearl clearly did, her eyes now darted back and forth in confusion. Her normal cat-like grace had failed, she was scared. "No, no, it's impossible… she's dead… your dead, you can't possibly be…"

While I was busy pulling Pearl's spear from my chest, Spinel used the last of her strength to strike Pearl with her scythe.

Spinel sighed in relief, "Ssszsteven. I…"

I hurried over and kneeled next to her, "hold on", I licked my hand and held it to her gem. It did the trick.

"Gross. Ya know it wouldn't hurt ya to try a little romance every now and again."

I was off my guard for a moment, and the pearl reformed. She re-emerged in a dazzling spectacle from an oyster shell. "I say Pink, why are we in such a dirty place as this?" Quickly she ran over, producing a cloth from her gem. "Oh no, my Diamond! Please tell me you're not hurt."

Spinel giggled and hugged pearl, "oh Pearl it's so good to have you back."

"Hmm, have we met?" She said, rubbing her chin.

"Of course, I'll tell you all about it tee-hee, why I've known you my whole life."

I was totally lost, "Spinel? You wanna explain what's going on?"

She pinched my cheek, "How about we just go home, Pearl's not going to hurt anyone, and" I grabbed her hand, "let's be done with it."

"I'm really no good with these things. Why do you think I always ask ya?"

This was quickly becoming her story and I wanted to see how she would finish it. Pearl stayed, now unreasonably obsessed with cleaning up the cave. "I have faith in you, tell me your story."

"Well okay," she led me deeper into the cave, relating the story from the tile reliefs.

"I was trusted with the greatest treasure Home World had."

"Right, the injector?"

"Wrong, you, your mom anyway."

"That's impossible, my mom was only a simple rose quartz."

Spinel put her hands on her hips, "uh-huh? You can heal an injured gem."

"Well sure, but." She pressed her fingers to my lips.

"You asked for my story. I'm telling ya, so pipe down."

"Heh, okay Spinel."

We came to another relief, this one of spinel standing with a large pink gem, juggling pink orbs. The next image showed that same gem running off.

"My treasure, my Diamond, left me here. I had always presumed that she had returned to the gem colony." Her last command was to keep the injector from falling into the wrong hands."

I looked back at pearl, still distracted with cleaning. "Well, I guess she won't be hurting anyone again."

Spinel looked down cast again, "So Pink," she kicked at the ground, "All's well that end's well huh, gonna leave me here again?"

"No, not this time, now I cast my gaze on the injector. Not until I can destroy that thing in any event."

"And me, what about your best friend?"

"I'll be here as long as you need me, no matter what."

Now she hopped up and down, "Yippee!"

-The End Of Spinel's Treasure

Next Time- Garden Tour

Author's Note- Special thanks again to all those who have favorited this story, and particularly for the reviews!