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He'd come to this frozen planet, invited. A polite message had traveled through space to Peridot's receptors on Earth from gems on a faraway planet of Olia 4, requesting to meet with Steven in order to talk about Little Homeworld and what a treaty with the planet Earth could look like.
I'll come, came Connie's happy voice. She'd missed him, and with her summer break she'd wanted to spend it with Steven and the Crystal Gems. It'll be a diplomatic mission, and we'll be fine! Everyone loves you, Steven.
But when they had emerged at the agreed meeting site, exiting Lion's portal into the winter wilderness, there was no one. Connie had whirled first, hand on her sword hilt, and Lion had roared a warning, but it was too late. Frozen by an aquamarine's baton, they stared with wide eyes at three gems, who were laughing and leering at them. "Gotcha!" Laughed a blue agate, and a ruby joined in. The aquamarine released them only to seize Lion again and fling him over the mountain to their left. At the same time the agate to slammed Steven into the ground, and the small but terrifying ruby dealt Connie a deadly blow to the back of the head.
He would never forget that sound. Connie's muted cry, and the thud of her body landing hard on the snow covered ground. The ruby shrieked and tried wiping the red blood off of her hands in the white snow, disgusted by the warm liquid.
"Get away - " He'd begun, struggling to his feet from the ground, but the aquamarine had frozen him again by the baton. The agate walked over, her footsteps leaving giant marks in the powdery snow, and turned Connie over roughly, staring at her. Connie's eyes fluttered, and she moaned.
"So this is a human," she said, curious. He felt his heart drop to his stomach as her lips curled into a smile. "Aren't they supposed to be fragile? Do you think they crack?"
She reached forward towards the defenseless Connie, blue hand large and menacing, when suddenly the aquamarine screamed.
Steven was not only glowing bright pink like a nightlight, but he had reached out and grabbed her through her baton's paralyzing powers, grunting with the extreme strength required. His fingers closed slowly but steadily around the small baton, and it snapped in his vice-like grip, reaching out with his other hand he seized the aquamarine before she could dart away. She stared up at him, pure terror in her eyes. She knew he could shatter her without thinking twice.
"I said," he snarled. "Get away."
He stopped glowing, having gotten their attention. The aquamarine remained limp in his grip, too terrified to move.
"Why did you ambush us?" He demanded, eyes furious. The agate and ruby slowly backed away from Connie, and he slowly advanced, watching their every move.
"To save Gemkind," smirked the agate. "The Diamonds had everything under control until you showed up. You ruined everything, and we think you should pay."
"Please..." whimpered the aquamarine, trembling in his grip.
"What did Connie do to get wrapped up in this?" Cried Steven, temper flaring. "Hurt me all you want, but leave her alone!"
The ruby laughed. "He's worried about his little pet!"
"She's not my pet!" Screamed Steven, starting to glow. "Look, I understand not liking the new way of life. I'm not going to force it on you. But I came all this way to talk and if you don't want to talk then I'm taking Connie and leaving."
Time and therapy had changed Steven. He always wanted to talk, to reason, to help. But now he had boundaries, and others hurting himself and his beloved Connie was crossing the line. He wasn't going to fight for these gems just to agree with him or like him. He didn't like them.
The agate narrowed her eyes at him. "We don't have orders to talk," she said, a dark smile on her face. "My orders were to ambush you here at the meeting sight, take you hostage, and shatter anyone who came with you." She pointed at Connie, smirking.
It happened so fast.
The aquamarine bit him hard, startling him and causing him to release her. In a flash of light, the ruby and the agate fused. Steven grew in size, channeling his pink diamond strength, and roared in fury, ready to defend Connie and save them. But then the aquamarine fused with the ruby and agate too, and they were huge - easily Sugilite sized. Even with diamond strength, these three were a force to be reckoned with. They had six arms and two legs, reminding him of Alexandrite, with a face that had six eyes and on their back was a set of watery wings. The strength of the agate, the power of the ruby, and the speed and cunning of the aquamarine were deadly together. In a mesh of purple, blue and red hues, they smiled, and Steven saw their terrible fangs.
He threw a wall of spikes at them and leapt high into the sky, far above their heads. But the aquamarine part of the fusion had somehow anticipated this move, because they lifted off into the air too, avoiding his wall completely. Steven turned pink as he gave his all into his spiked bubble punches, trying to poof them. They dodged, then opened their mouth wide, and Steven gasped as he saw yellow light at the back of their throat. He flung himself to the side, grabbing a fistful of their hair and yanking them and dragging them hard towards the west and away from Connie.
Flames licked the sky and the fusion roared in anger. They swiped with a powerful hand at him, and he set up a spiked wall again to defend himself. The blow sent Steven spiraling like a comet back to the ground, but as he got up and dusted himself off he saw the beast roaring in pain, trying to rub the pain away from it's injured palm.
"HEY!" He shouted, cupping his hands around mouth. "I thought an agate fusion made you tougher - turns out the aquamarine makes you WEAK!"
"He's trying to break us," snarled the fusion. "If you listen to anything he says, I swear I will shatter you both." That was obviously the agate.
"I'll break you with or without words!" yelled Steven, leaping into the air and chucking spiked pink panels at them. It seemed to be their weakness, but they dodged with speed and accuracy. Don't go too far, he centered himself, feeling that murderous feeling fade and float away. Just poof, and bubble. That's all. No shattering, thank you.
They breathed flames again, following him as he zoomed away from the fire. The trees began to smolder beneath them, taking the brunt of the scorching heat, but the wet snow kept them from catching fire. Steven kept leading them as best he could away from Connie, and when he was sure they couldn't hurt her, he turned his whole focus to the fight. He glanced at her for a sweet second, her hair blowing gently in the breeze, her eyes closed, blood staining the snow…
High above in the sky, the two powerful beings faced each other.
"Who is your leader?" Demanded Steven, shoulders tense and ready for anything. He flicked his hands, and they were incased in pink spikes.
"A gem ready to lead us back to Era 2!" Smirked the giant fusion, its 3 pairs of eyes rolling slightly before focusing on him.
"What is their name?" Asked Steven, clarifying his question, wondering how bright the fusion was.
"Mine is Ametrine," snarled the fusion. "And that's all you need to know!"
Ametrine snarled and advanced in a flash of mottled purple, blue and red. Steven roared and pushed off, pink light trailing him like a comet tail.
They charged with full strength and speed, their impact making a sonic boom that bent the trees, tumbling them from the sky in a ball of arms, legs, and flashes of pink light. Wrestling each other in the snow, clawing and punching, trying to get the other to weaken and yield. Everything became a blur of adrenaline for Steven, and he became pure energy, every move trailed by a pink light. He was growing desperate to find an opening as they fought, rolling through the snow and grunting from delivering and receiving blows, felling trees and throwing snow into the air from their struggle. Ametrine's fight style was like a brawl, ugly and wild. But soon he was anticipating punches, noticing that after every third punch Ametrine sucked in air to fuel fire. After the next third punch, he dealt a powerful blow to their throat, smothering the flame and causing them to falter.
"You can't win," he said as Ametrine backed off, rubbing their neck tenderly and glaring daggers at him.
But then they stopped, eyeing him. They smiled maliciously and turned to face Connie, laying on her back in the snow, eyes closed, helpless and still -
"NO!" He roared, but Ametrine was charging at her, fists clenched and ready, mowing down the trees in their path -
He was screaming, super speed breaking through trees and underbrush as he tried to get there in time -
He stood over Connie and bubbled with spikes just as their fists rained down on them. The fusion screamed in pain, and suddenly they began to contort, writhing but holding together.
He'd never seen a fusion corrupt before, and it was horrifying. Their hands and arms and legs twisting and rearranging, colors blending and fur and horns shoving their way through the skin of the new beast. They were bigger than the other corrupted agates and quartz', and much more terrifying. Fangs and claws raked the sky as the fusion completely surrendered to its corruption, void of emotion and now completely made up of animal instinct and destruction.
It charged, and with a powerful swipe from a paw wreathed in deadly flames, broke the bubble, throwing Steven to the ground. Bruised and gasping in pain, Steven threw a shield over Connie immediately, trying to protect her. But since she wasn't moving, the corrupted gem wasn't worried about her. Instead it roared at Steven and seized him by the leg in it's mouth, clamping down hard. He screamed in pain and terror as it snatched him and flung him to and fro like a chew-toy, slamming him into the ground repeatedly. He bubbled, and it lost it's grip.
Steven stared up at the corrupted fusion, shaking violently and gasping inside of the bubble. His leg might be broken, he didn't know. It was bleeding, but healing thanks to his powers.
He reached up and rubbed his head with a shaky hand, with no idea how to beat this thing. Not alone. As a fusion had seemed possible, but now? There were three gems inside of this corruption! Did it work the same way as for one singular corrupted gem? Did he just need to poof them?
It roared at him again, and standing on it's hind legs, flexed and drew flames to it's paws once more. With a swipe, it sent him flying into the woods, bouncing and rolling at over 60 mph and going right through trees and brush like it was kindling. He rolled, screaming inside of the bubble, trying to hold it together to avoid injury, trying to go pink so that he could hover and stop rolling wildly - but then it popped. He bounced from the impact of it breaking, and fell through the branches of a tree, hitting the ground with a thud that sent him into darkness.
It looked just like when Yellow Diamond had crushed him at Garnet's wedding reception. He was in a dark place, and the gems that had been corrupted looked like stones, suspended in the air. This time they were black, void of color. No soul above them to reach out to.
Then he saw Connie. Her dark statue was beside him, and above her head was her soul, or psyche. She was fazing in and out in front of him, eyes closed and mouth opened slightly. She was drifting, slowing moving off of the statue entirely to fall slowly into the abyss below them.
"Connie!" Steven had cried, catching her in his arms and pulling her back onto the statue. For some reason he felt it was important for her not to float into the darkness below them.
Her eyes were shut, and she flickered, as if she was about to go out like a weak flame.
"Don't die," he begged, wondering how badly her physical body was hurt. "Please," he begged, tears in his soul's eyes. "I love you!"
They needed help. Steven let her lie there as he tried to enter his body again, but found he couldn't. Looking up, Steven could see the stars above them. The Gems could maybe save them. Heart sinking, knowing his only option could take some time, he went to Connie and laid a hand on her light blue, ghostly forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, and kissed her brow as he left, flying through the stars as fast as he could.
—
Today marked the second time Watermelon Steven scared the living daylights out of Greg Universe. The first time had been when Greg was sitting on the beach, happily strumming guitar while watching the sunset. Lion had come up to him, and showed him the pitiful little watermelon possessed by the consciousness of his beloved son.
Today he was at the carwash, happily spraying down Sadie Killer's van to prep for a new show in Empire City, when he heard car tires screeching and a crash. He raced around to the front of the carwash to see a car smashed into a telephone pole, the driver unhurt and gawking at the large watermelon that lay in the middle of the road, covering it's head -
"Steven?!" Screeched Greg, running up to seize the watermelon young man in his arms. "Not again!" Watermelon Steven growled with a sheepish shrug.
"What happened? Why are you a melon again? Wait - " Greg gasped. "Let me get the gems! And I'll pay for that!" He promised the driver of the unfortunate car.
Watermelon Steven did his best to be patient as Greg drove him to the beach house. He worried about Connie. He knew that his journey to Beach City as a watermelon boy had taken valuable time. He was worried for their safety, but his comfort was in that he was still here possessing the watermelon, so he must be alive there too.
"The mission must have gone south," said Garnet when she saw him, her voice low and collected. "Connie must not have been successful in meeting up with Steven to find the source of the disturbances. Who should go this time to save them?"
"Wait," said Greg, "He hasn't told us what he needs yet!"
Watermelon Steven shrugged. Garnet basically had it.
"C'mon Greg," said Amethyst, rolling her eyes. "Every time Steven does this, it means he needs back up!"
"I just want you guys to know what you will find," protested Greg.
Pearl sighed. "He has a point," she said. "Steven might be able to show us something more or provide more information if we allow him to. It could prove useful."
Watermelon Steven accepted a piece of paper from Greg, and using a pencil he did his best to write legibly.
Meeting was a trap. Gems on planet still want Diamond Rule. Fought fusion, 3 to 1. They corrupted, still fusion. Was knocked out, Connie hurt. Need help NOW.
No thumbs made writing nicely difficult, and a few words were corrected with a shaky hand before they could understand some of the scrawl. A stick in the sand would have been easier.
"We are all going," said Garnet once they understood. "However, the warp pad to that area hasn't been connected in a thousand years, which is why Steven took Lion to go and meet those gems. We will have to go by ship."
She turned to Steven. "We will come, and we will bring reinforcements for this rare corrupted fusion, but it may take a little time," she said seriously, but then smiled. "Take care of Connie, she has taken the very best care of you." Her smile dropped, her vizor flashing softly. "She needs you now."
Watermelon Steven gave them a thumbs up, then toppled backwards with his eyes closed, diving back to his physical body galaxies away.
"We'll be there soon!" Promised Pearl, and the earth faded from his vision.
—
Her head pounded. Perhaps she should have rested better before. Or maybe she shouldn't have spent the whole day outside hunting for those stupid rabbits. Or maybe she was just destined to die alone.
The fire hadn't died during the night, she vaguely noticed. But as she shivered, her fever having returned, she dozed off and on, dreaming of strange things.
Her boy was laughing, and she was playing the violin. High above the sea, the salt water on the air, they were singing, and as his chubby fingers strummed the ukulele masterfully, she beamed at him.
Then a cloud of gray smoke brought forth a blue night, and she saw people gathered around her dressed in nice clothes, as if for a wedding. A giant blue woman, eyes furious, was shouting at them, her hands outstretched as if to harm them. Her boy was crying, giant tears like waterfalls that splashed to the ground and somehow she knew the woman was making him cry.
How dare she - she thought, and charged the woman while riding the pink lion. Her sword was caught in the woman's fingers, and it was snapped in two like a toothpick.
The world spun again, and this time she was staring at her boy's face as he told her a story. His face was grim and sad, talking of healing tears - tears again? Why is my boy always crying - and while she ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich her own eyes filled with unshed tears. "Are you okay?" He asked. She nodded with a whimper, and he continued, his dark eyes serious with the story.
Again the scene changed, and this time she was sitting on the beach. It was sunset, and she was looking at her boy with a bashful smile. He was staring at her, holding out his hand. "YOU'RE staring!" She accused him.
He blushed and covered his eyes. "What I'm saying is, come dance with me!"
She woke up, still laying on his chest. Butterflies and a blush slowly left her, and somehow she knew these were important dreams.
She listened to her boy's heartbeat, steady against her ear. His breathing was calm and deep, and she rubbed the corner of the star on his shirt with her index finger. Slowly, she fell back into dreaming.
The last dream she dreamed, she was staring up at a giant pink monster. His roar shook the foundations of the earth, and she was standing there, helpless. She didn't know how, but that was her boy. He was so broken, so angry. He stood there, tall and menacing, with his giant pink paws in the ocean depths, and his eyes large his fangs bared as he roared -
And everyone was drowning in despicable self-pity. She looked at that odious, no good - she paused, stopping herself as she watched the giant white woman as she wailed about her misdeeds. It would only tear them apart further if she responded with hate. Her love for her boy erupted like a volcano, and she rallied them, calling out like a soldier shaking his comrades during battle. Fragments of the words came back to her…This isn't about YOU…the only person who never had…was STEVEN!
Her eyes fluttered open. The name she still heard in her ears as a long forgotten cry rested finally on her tongue as she whispered softly, "Steven."
That was it.
That was her boy's name.
Steven.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She remembered him.