Lamp Entertainment presents…

Chapter 18: The Shadow Strikes Back

Homeworld…

December 23rd.

WHo Is ThE sleepwalker?

Sleepwalking. Something Steven had once mentioned while he was explaining to some gems how sleep worked. The term had been picked up by some younger gems and quickly spread through the galaxy. It was used to describe gems who regressed back to their old Era 2 ways or behavior.

For example, if a gem accidentally addressed a gem that had previously been their superior like they did during Era 2, with the same forced reverence and blind obedience, they were sleepwalking. Gems who had a difficult time adapting to the new ways were often called sleepwalkers.

xxXXxx

"I can't believe it!" White exclaimed. She was pacing back and forth in the former bubble room of the Zoo. All of the other gems, save for Spinel safely perched atop Yellow's shoulder had decided to get out of the room. No one felt like accidentally getting crushed underneath White Diamond's shoes while she was pacing back and forth without looking where she was going. "The Winter Shadow escapes us once again! Even when we set the perfect trap, she still slips right between our fingers!"

Her face was flashing angry red and worried purple.

"Please calm down, White," Blue said. She placed a firm hand on White's shoulder, almost forcing her to come to a stop. "I get that you're upset, but please. We can't let fear and paranoia control us."

"Blue is right," Yellow said. "Think about it. There's not a single gem in the entire galaxy who doesn't know about the Winter Shadow. Every gift delivery ship and other important locations are under constant guard. A Pebble couldn't sneak into a ship without proper clearance."

"Exactly," Blue continued. "There is no way the Winter Shadow can get into anywhere to sabotage anything. As long as we don't lower our guard, there's nothing she can do."

"I suppose…" White mumbled. She took a deep breath. Slowly, the upset colors started draining from her face. "You're right," she said, much calmer now. "I can not allow the Winter Shadow to dictate my feelings or actions. For now, we'll just focus on Operation Christmas. Once that is done, we can start worrying about tracking down the Winter Shadow."

She smiled at her fellow Diamonds. Yellow and Blue smiled back.

"That's the spirit!" Spinel said. She started bouncing with excitement. "Now let's go have some fun!"

Still, even as the three Diamonds left in good spirits, something was gnawing at the back of Yellow's mind. She felt as if she had made a mistake…

She had in fact made a mistake. Something she said wasn't quite true. It wasn't true that every gem in the galaxy knew about the Winter Shadow. The Diamonds themselves had made sure of that. And they'd come to regret it within short.

xxXXxx

About half an hour, forty minutes later, the Diamond trio was standing back down on Homeworld's surface, among the many gift delivery ships parked on the enormous launching grounds. They were standing in a veritable sea of gems. As far as the average gem could see, they were surrounded by hundreds, no, thousands of gems in every direction. And every single one of those gems was very excited.

Christmas was here! It was finally happening! Most gems could barely contain their enthusiasm! The launching grounds were bathed not just in colorful gems, but also in cheerful holiday greetings and singing. So. Much. Singing.

It should be a well-known fact by now that most gems love to sing. And there was no shortage of gems singing whatever Christmas songs they had picked up from Earth, or just made up on their own. The result was a chaotic symphony, various oddly matched voices belting out cheery tunes, clashing against the next group trying to outsing them with another happy musical.

It was chaos incarnate. And in the midst of this tumultuous ecstasy stood the three Diamonds watching over the beautiful mess. Occasionally, a gem would walk up to them and shout "Merry Christmas" at the top of her lungs or thank them for introducing this wonderful holiday to the rest of gemkind.

Of course, Spinel was down there somewhere, having the time of her life in the pandemonium.

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Blue said. A few happy clouds were floating around her despite her best efforts to keep them under control.

"It really is," Yellow said, waving away some of Blue's clouds. "I must admit, it seemed far-fetched at first… but we did it. And not just us, but all the small gems as well. It really seems like we can do anything as long as we stand united." She tapped White on the shoulder. White's gaze was wandering around the ground. "Wouldn't you agree, White?

"Hm? What did you say?" White asked, seeming a bit… unfocused.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Yellow said, still smiling, but her eyebrows lowering just a bit. "What we can accomplish if we all work together."

"Oh! Of course!" White said. "I mean, just look at all these gems! I don't think I've seen this many gems this happy in one place since… ever!"

She suddenly flinched and looked down at her feet. A small Ruby was tapping at her toes, trying to get her attention.

"HELLO!" the Ruby yelled as loud as she could. Even then, it was hard to hear over the constant buzzing of the crowd around her. The Ruby was about as cute as they come. Notably, her gem was on her forehead, which was pretty uncommon among Rubies.

"H-hi," White said. "Nice to meet you."

"I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT BEFORE, I USED TO BE SUPER AFRAID OF YOU, BUT NOW I THINK YOU'RE REALLY GREAT!" the Ruby yelled. "AND ALSO, I MADE THIS FOR YOU!" She held up a small object made of glass.

"Oh, how nice," White said. This was the first Christmas gift she had ever gotten. She reached down to grab the small object between the tips of her fingernails…

Crack!

…only for it to break and shatter into a dozen pieces.

"Oh!" the Ruby exclaimed.

"S-sorry!" White stuttered. "I… I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's fine!" the Ruby said, as cheery as ever. "I should've made it bigger and stronger, like you! I'll just make a new one!"

"S-sorry," White said again. Her gaze was dodging all around and there was a faint shade of green on her face. "I… I have some… I need to go… and look at something…" She quickly began stumbling away from the field, nearly hitting a few gems in the crowd with her enormous feet. She was heading towards her old Headship still standing in the distance.

"What in the world…" Yellow muttered. "Blue, did you see that? Something is wrong with White."

Yellow looked like she was about to start following White, but Blue stopped her

"Remember, White is still not used to large and loud crowds like this," she said. "She got really upset when she broke that little Ruby's gift and doesn't know how to handle it… she probably got overwhelmed. I think she just needs a little peace and quiet away from people for a short while."

Yellow hesitated but nodded.

"You're probably right," she said. "In fact, these last three weeks have been really stressful for us all… I can't really blame White if she needs some alone time. We can go check on her in an hour or so."

Blue smiled.

"I think that would be for the best," she said. "Besides… we could always use a bit extra time to put the last polish on her gift…"

"That's an excellent idea!" Yellow said with a smile. "Oh, I just know she's going to love it!"

xxXXxx

Meanwhile on Earth…

It was nighttime in Beach City and everyone was asleep in the peaceful little town, except for a few cats sneaking around in the dark. Some gems were still up in Little Homeworld, but most of them were huddled up inside their homes, too busy to notice the warp pad activating outside. They didn't see the brief flash of blue illuminate the sky, nor did they see the figure emerging from the light.

A figure as dark as the night itself walked slowly through the snow, headed towards the Crystal Gems' temple and house.

Steven Universe was sleeping heavily in his bed, tucked underneath warm and cozy blankets. His dreams were filled with excited thoughts of tomorrow, Christmas Eve. His slumber was so deep that he didn't hear the creak of the front door opening or the soft steps approaching him where he slept.

The Winter Shadow leaned in and started whispering her poisonous words into Steven's ear.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

This is it. The nightmare before Christmas begins today.