Steven turned around on his bed, his face sinking deeply into the aqua colored pillow that staggered beneath his head. The pillow became warmer and warmer after every exhale. Its heat was starting to get to him and was beginning to wake him up. His body started to turn. It came to a stop when his arm fell off the side of the bed, his two longest fingers dragged against the wood. His hand twitched as he started to regain consciousness again.
On instinct, the deranged and cold feeling of his fingers touching the wood made him jump. Out of every sense of temperature, cold had been one of his favorites, but the feeling of the cold floor felt strangely frightening. Dull, and broken. He could feel every crack in the boards below his fingers. It created an itch, and a strong one too.
Steven curled his fingers and sat up. The pillow behind him slowly started to rise as the air around it supplied its self to it. He quickly rubbed his eyes and opened his fist to a flat slate. When he finished rubbing his eyes, he adjusted his sight to the itch on his hand. But it was gone, almost in a snap of the fingers. He brought his jittery fingers to his open palm and scratched anyway, but to his surprise, there was no relief from the strain that was once on his fingers. He simply put his hand back down and ignored it. Maybe he was just imagining it.
Steven put his hand to his mouth and yawned. The yawn lasted long and seemed to have relieved Steven of every worry in the world until he looked down to the foot of his bed. Just at the corner was a set of eyes, hidden by the dark on one half, and lit by bright clouds on the other. Steven withdrew his body, his back pushing up against the air filled pillow. He kicked his feet to push himself away from the dark entity in front of him.
He tried to shout, but nothing came out. The shadow came closer, its hand reaching out into the sunlight for a short moment before coming to a full stop as if the sun had paralyzed it. Steven looked down at the hand, his eyes wide. They were blue, and fidgeting with what seemed to be filled with fear and sorrow. And he could feel that fear radiate from whatever, or, whoever, was trying to reach him. Steven looked up for a face, but it stayed hidden behind a shadow that seemed to tug her back into the darkness. The cryptic figure instantly flung forwards, its face still hidden in the shadows, but its hand was now only an inch away from Stevens' face. Water slowly crept down the arm of the figure before quickly turning into shackles, and sending the figure spiraling back into the darkness. After that, the entire room went dark, and Steven lost balance as if the entire bed had disappeared.
When Steven began to feel a surface return to his body, he sprung upwards, faster than a bullet. His entire body was freezing, and a waterfall of tears flowed from his eyes to his chin, dripping onto the covers. Steven shivered and looked around the room, his arms folded, eyes wide, and mouth open to a crack. It was a dream. Steven put his hands to his face and wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked to his right and felt his heart jump when he saw Amethyst looking directly at him. Steven took a sigh of relief. "Amethyst?" he asked in an interrogating tone. Amethyst put a hand on Steve's shoulder and examined his red cheeks and eyes.
"Have you been crying?" she asked.
"N-no, it... it was just a dream."
Amethysts' smile returned. She put a hand on Stevens' shoulder and trusted that it was nothing as she said, "Alright, whatever you say." She looked down at Pearl and Garnet who were standing on the warp pad expectantly before returning to Stevens' face. She threw her thumb behind her and pointed at the other gems, "We're going on a mission," she said, "but we need you to stay here and watch over Peridot while we're gone." Steven crawled off the bed and slid into his red sandals. He looked at Amethyst once more.
"Is that alright with you bud?" Amethyst asked.
Steven sighed, "Yeah, I guess so," he smiled and looked at the corner leading to the bathroom, "besides, someones gotta show her around, right?" he asked. Amethyst smiled and slapped his back, "totally," she agreed. Amethyst hopped down and ran over to the warp pad. Steven followed from behind but used the stairs instead. Pearl looked at Steven, "and don't feel threatened by her, Steven," she rose her hand to her head and looked away elegantly, "She's basically harmless without those limb enhancers of hers."
"I am not harmless!" Peridot roared, "You- You stupid Pearl!"
Pearl was taken aback and looked more than just offended. She curled her hands into fists and growled in Peridots' direction. "Grr, I'm gonna-!" but she was stopped by Garnet who placed a hand on her shoulder. Pearl looked up at Garnet.
"Pearl, be nice," she paused, "For Steven."
Pearl glanced back at Steven who was now standing in front of the warp pad, tilting his head curiously, but not begging. He stayed still and silent. Garnet walked to the tip of the warp pad and faced Steven with a menacing grin.
"Steven!" she yelled. Her shout was loud but calm.
Steven rose his hands, alarmed, and answered, "Wha- what?"
"There's one more thing I have to mention," she smiled and formed a heart with her hands near her chest, "I love you," the warp began, "bye," she finished before the warp could take her.
Steven rose his hands to his cheeks as they reddened. He chucked out his hands, embarrassed. He indeed loved her too, she was secretly the second best mom in his opinion.
Steven turned around, looking at the assortment of cabinets in the kitchen. The gems had only been gone for a few seconds and he was already becoming peckish. Steven ran up to the closest cabinet and slowly opened it. This cabinet was empty, but there was something special about it. This cabinet was Amethyst cabinet, and Amethyst would always leave something a little special for him whenever they left without him for missions, which they haven't done recently until now. Ever since Sugulite was formed, Amethyst felt sorry, and also felt the need to make it up to Steven somehow as an apology. This was her apology.
Steven slid his fingers around the corners of the drawer. He smiled when he felt his hand press against a button, and heard a click. The fake board underneath the cabinet shot upwards and revealed a pile of chaps and cookies. He took out a few boxes of cookies and three of the many chip bags and placed it on the counter before sliding the fake board back into the drawer. It clicked back into place with ease. The borders of the fake board shined blue and melded its self into the drawer. It must've been some sort of gem technology that no one, except for Amethyst and himself had known about. That would mean that his mother must've put it there for a reason, but neither himself nor Amethyst could figure out why.
Steven lifted his head over the counter and kicked the drawer back into place as if it was never opened. He looked up at the bag of chips, switching glances between those and the cream filled cookies that filled the air with a sweet smell. The only way to choose which one to start with was to go at random. He sighed and closed his eyes. He shuffled the bags of chips and cookies in a circular motion until he became lost and couldn't tell which was what. Steven quickly threw his hand back into the pile of snacks and accidentally took hold of two bags. He opened his eyes, he had taken two bags of cookies. He smiled when an idea popped in his head like an overblown balloon.
He turned towards the window. The sky was blue, and filled with light-gray clouds. It looked like it would be a nice day to cook some smores when night fell, but most importantly, it just looked like a nice day.
Steven walked over to the bathroom door. Peridot heard and walked over to the door. She felt like she could trust Steven but still felt threatened and uncomfortable with the other gems roaming around. And if Steven hadn't been at the warp with her, she would've been shattered to pieces. Although she could've reached the buttons herself with her object grabbers, it required someone else to deactivate it.
Steven now stood in front of the door. He shook the bags in his hands as he said, "They're gone you know," he tried to look through the small crack in the door, but it was covered with toothpaste from the other side. "You can come out now," he paused and put his hand on the doorknob, "I want to give you something."
Peridot looked up at the doors locking mechanism and tilted her head defiantly.
"Is it another limb enhancer?" she asked.
Stevens' face went blank, "I thought they all exploded, weren't they?"
Peridot didn't answer him. She reached up and unlocked the door. Steven walked in.
Steven peeped his head inside before coming in, "Hey, Peridot," he greeted, "I brought this for you." He stuck out a bag of cookies, the other one that was for him was now in his other hand. Peridot stepped back and examined the item before taking it in her hand. "What is it?" she asked. Steven walked over to the side of her and sat down. He tapped his hand on the ground next to her, "Here, sit with me."
Peridot looked both ways as if crossing a street and sat down. She took another look at the bag in her hands, "Is this a weapon?"
Steven laughed, "no, it's food."
"Food?" she paused and inspected the bag further, "it doesn't look like much."
"Well, it isn't, but the people on this planet can't live without it," he explained. He looked down at his bag and popped it open. Peridot yelped and jumped back. She turned to him and faced her bag at him, "I thought you said it wasn't a weapon!"
Steven laughed again, "It isn't," he said again, "that's just the sound it makes when you open it." He put his hand into the bag and reached for a cookie, "trust me, it's harmless," he paused and gave the cookie bag a quick glance, "I think."
Peridot raised the bag to her face and popped the bag open. She yelped again despite knowing that it would happen. Steven chuckled at Peridot and put a cookie in his mouth. Peridot watched curiously at Steven. Steven looked around the bathroom for any trap he may have not seen before he entered, but there were none. When he realized that Peridot was staring at him, he stopped savoring his cookie and swallowed whatever was left. He smiled.
"Ah, right," he scratched his head, "gems don't eat, don't they?"
Peridot straightened her shoulders and stuck a finger in the air matter-of-factually, "Your erudition is correct." She squinted at Steven like he was an annoying fly as she asked, "but you should already know this, you're a gem yourself," she paused and widened her eyes, "wait, you are a gem aren't you?"
Steven rolled his eyes and shifted into a more comfortable position. "It-" he frowned, "It's complicated." Peridot shifted closer to Steven. She kneeled over into a stray-dog sitting position in front of Steven. She wanted to understand more.
"How?" She rose her hand into a flat palm, "You have a gem. So you're a gem," she stated.
Stevens' smile returned and he looked up at her. He gave himself a moment to think before lifting his shirt and showing Peridot his gem, "I'm half gem, the other half is human."
Peridots mouth widened. She dropped the bag of cookies on the ground and stared at his gem.
"How is that even possible?" she asked.
Steven showed her his teeth as he smiled proudly, "That is a story I like to call, The Ballad Of Rose Quartz And Gregory Universe."
Peridot leaned back and she shifted the side of her lip to a sideways T. She tilted to her side and sighed. She looked into the bag of cookies and picked the smallest one she could find. Steven did the same, but instead of grabbing a small one, he grabbed the biggest of them all. Peridot held the cookie in the air and squinted her eyes as if investigating a crime scene. Steven peeked over the cookie, "It's just like you," he raised a finger and prodded it into her cheek. It was flawlessly soft and delicate.
Peridot lowered the cookie but kept it firm within her hands. She opened the side of her lip and looked at the cookie again. She opened her mouth and hissed at Steven. Steven took offense and put a finger to her lip.
"Peridot, no," he sighed, "that's rude." Peridot stopped but her face showed a tad of complexity.
She turned her head away from Steven defiantly, "what are you really here for, Steven?"
Steven cleared his throat and threw another cookie into his mouth, "I just wanted to hang out. Y'know?" he playfully punched her shoulder, "besides, you're going to be here for a while, we should get to know each other better."
Peridot snapped back, "there would be no point," she looked down at the full bag of cookies and back at Steven with a frown, "this planet is doomed anyway." She rolled her eyes to the corners and sighed. Almost as if she was disappointed with herself for receiving this mission in the first place.
Steven frowned. He looked up at the desolate and dim light above him and back at the now downhearted Peridot beside him. She looked as if she had no hope. Like she had lost and wouldn't try to make things better. Steven put a hand on her shoulder and formed a sad smile, "but, what about us? The Crystal Gems? We can help you," he turned her face around to meet his, "you can help us." Peridot stared into his begging eyes. She felt pity at first, but it was soon replaced by a warm buzzing in her gem when his eyes shined into her own. She wanted to help, but there was an anvil inside of her that kept her from saying what she really wanted. A pink aura began to surround them, and the anvil inside of Peridot was lifted. She was suddenly filled with hope, but her doubts were still in place.
"Maybe, Steven, but without my limb enhancers... I'm basically useless," she looked down, "your-"
"I don't think you're useless," Steven invaded as he began to stand.
Peridot stood with him. She looked to the corners of her eyes, "...why?" she asked quietly.
"Because," he paused, "because you're special, Peridot."
Peridot looked into his eyes, she bit her lip, "what do you mean? I am no different from any other Peridot," she curled her brow, "we're all expendable."
Steven frowned, "there are... other Peridots?" he asked. He looked down at his fingers and began counting, "more? Of you?" he stopped at eight. Peridot didn't know if he was kidding, but she answered anyway. "Yes," she put a hand behind her back, "but we aren't all the same."
Steven put his hand down, "what do you mean?"
"I'm saying that we don't do the same thing. I, for instance, am a certified technician and kindergartener. I am one of the few Peridots' with the chance to observe a multitude of kindergartens. I, precisely, am Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG. Expendable."
Steven stayed soundless for a moment as he scanned the room. He looked up at Peridot and smiled, "well," he paused, "they aren't you."
Peridots eyes shined, "but they are just as-"
"You don't get it, Peridot," he put his hands on her shoulders, "every gem is important. That includes you, Peridot. You're important to me." Peridot looked down at his eyes. Their eyes shined into each other for just a moment. The words echoed in her head. That she was important. Different. Unique from the other Peridots, despite being made the same way and for the same reasons. Did those reasons even matter anymore? The diamonds would never say something like that. And somehow, Stevens' words pierced through her like a spear. A slight blush struck Peridots' cheeks, but she would never admit it. Steven put his hands back to his sides. He chuckled.
Peridot quickly turned away from Steven and lifted her visor. A single tear fell, but she caught it before it reached her cheeks. Steven tilted his head, he didn't see the aura that now surrounded them. He never did.
Peridot closed her eyes and sighed. She put a hand to her face as if covering her mouth from saying something she wasn't sure about. She hummed and tilted her head. Then she put her hand back down and turned to Steven, "Steven?" she said slowly.
"Hm?"
Peridot took in a deep breath and put her hands together, "I would like to say something." Steven stayed silent as an answer. Peridot kept her hands near her mouth and pointed at Steven with her hands put together, "thank you..." she said.
Steven hummed, "...what for?"
Peridots' fingers curled up as she slightly hid her face behind her fists. She looked over them with one eye open and the other one closed. Her face slightly warmed up, "for," she chewed on her bottom lip, "for saying that I'm important." Her knees buckled together.
Steven smiled, "oh," he chuckled, "you're welcome."
Peridot straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat, "I've decided..." But she stopped there. "Decided what?" Steven intervened. Peridot shuffled her fingers a few times as she said, "I've decided that I can..." she shut her eyes for a moment, "that I can trust you, Steven."
Stevens' eyes fluttered and his cheeks reddened. Peridot took a quick glance at him, "yes. Unlike them, you're... you're friendly. Quiet. A-and you listen." She slightly smiled and lowered her hands, but somehow she still managed to hide behind them. Maybe the new found hope inside of her made her smile. Or maybe it was something else.
Stevens' eyes beamed as he was about to thank her, but Peridot continued before he could start.
"That being said," she stopped hiding and looked Steven in the eyes, "I've made up my mind..."
"About what?" Steven asked.
"I've decided to," she paused and raised her voice, "share some information with you."
Steven chuckled and flicked his palm at her, "ah, I know you used my toothbrush. I figured that the purple tongue marks came from you."
Peridot raised an eyebrow, "n-no," she looked away for a second, "well, yes, but it's about the cluster."
Steven opened his mouth in surprise and gasped, "you cracked!"
"I haven't cracked!" she denied defensively. Steven walked to the door, "you have to tell the gems, they need to know this."
Peridot grabbed his arm and pulled him back, "no!" she barked, "I don't want to talk to them!" Steven stayed still as Peridot approached him. Peridot put her hands on his arms and sank on her knees, "you're the only one I need, Steven. I could show you now, but I have nothing!" she cried. Peridots eyes began to water, "my arm attachments, my fingers, my screen, my logs," her eyes started shaking, "It's all gone!" she wept.
"But all of my logs up to date 6-5-2 still exist, backed up in facet 5 of the prime kindergarten."
Steven lowered his brow, "you want me to take you to the kindergarten?" he paused and look away, "I don't know..."
Peridot tightened her grip on Stevens' arms. "Steven, don't you want to know about the cluster? I thought we were a team now, aren't we?"
Steven looked back at her and nodded. He hummed, "yeah, I guess we are." Peridot smiled. Steven faltered back, "we can go to the kindergarten." Peridots' mouth widened to a full circle as she jumped and cheered, "yes!"
"But," Steven cut in. Peridot frowned and wrinkled her nose, "no... a cache," she put her arm over her eyes and back to her side, "fine," she sighed, "what are your demands?"
Steven stuck out his hand and chuckled, "you're going to have to hold my hand the whole time." Steven smiled a toothy grin after blinking. Peridot looked unphased. She looked at his hand and back at his face before putting it on her own. The moment she took his hand in her own, she felt something crawl down her arm and up to her gem. Her gem blinked like a flashlight. Peridots' eyes widened and her ears flapped. Peridot looked up at Steven and blinked, "there's no time to waste, Steven. Let's go." Peridot kicked the ground with her feet and sprinted out the door. Steven didn't hesitate to do the same. They ran to the warp pad and mounted it.
Steven looked up at Peridot expectantly, "are... we going?" he asked. Peridot bent over and grunted, "I'm trying," she argued. She stopped and let out a puff. She turned to Steven.
"The destabilization gas from earlier still hasn't worn off yet," she paused and frowned, "it could last for hours... I guess this is it, we're all doomed," she cried. Steven made sure their hands were tightly locked as he gave her hand a squeeze.
"It's alright, Peridot. I can take us there," he reminded as he stretched out his hands to a T. Peridot stopped wailing and watched as the warp activated.
"Oh," she said, embarrassed.
When the warp finished, Steven raised a hand in cheer. "Welp, here we are. The prime kindergarten, facet 5."
"Okay, great! Let's go," she tugged on his hand and ran forward. She began to slip. Steven slipped as well. Then they started to fall together. Steven reached out for Peridot and pulled her close before summoning a bubble. The bubble around them was larger than normal. Peridot wrapped her arms around Steven and continued to scream.
"Gah- Hold on tight, Peridot!" he shouted, seconds before the bubble absorbed their fall and popped. Their hands detached from each other after they were sent into opposite directions. Steven leaned up and reached for her hand. Peridot crawled to her feet.
"That was a close one," Steven said, wiping away a drop of sweat from his forehead. Peridot wrinkled her nose and puffed before turning around. "Thanks," she answered formerly.
"No problem," Steven replied. Steven looked around, "so where exactly are we going?"
Peridot pointed in front of her, "this way. It shouldn't take too long to get there." She started walking. Steven followed.
After walking for several minutes silently, Steven took another glance around the walls of the valley. The walls were darker and everything seemed to have at least two cracks in it. Steven frowned and squeezed Peridots hand. She looked at him, "what?"
Steven peered at her and back at the walls, "this place just gets worse every time I come here..."
"I know," Peridot huffed, "it's been so poorly managed." Peridot looked straight ahead, "It must've been in way better shape when your gem counterpart first emerged here." Steven tilted his head, "Peridot, I wasn't made here, remember?" Peridot raised her brow, "of course I remember. That's why I said your gem counterpart," she paused and looked at one of the many holes in the wall of dirt, "there's no possible way that a gem can be made as a byproduct from the help of an organic being." Steven frowned, "my mom was different from the other gems. Pearl and Garnet say that if it was any other gem, it wouldn't work."
Peridot hummed curiously, "and what makes this common Rose Quartz different?"
"Well, for starters, she was said to be the only gem that could heal her soldiers, even after they were shattered. Garnet says that she had a unique set of weapons and defense that no other quartz gem had," he paused and looked at his stomach, "and now I have those abilities. She transferred her gem to me, but not her memories. She didn't survive the process."
Peridot widened her eyes further. She didn't think it would be this complicated, and it made her want to know more. Peridot stopped moving and looked back, "so you have her powers and abilities but not her memories?" she smirked and scoffed, "heh, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. It's such a waste of time and resources." Steven squeezed harder and Peridots' smirk vanished.
"Peridot, don't say that. You... don't understand," a tear fell from his eye. Peridot jumped, "I'm sorry," she apologized. Steven wiped the tear off his face and Peridot continued to walk. She looked at him from the corner of her eye.
Steven caught it, "It's alright, Peridot," he walked beside her, "you're still learning, it's not your fault."
Peridot hummed, "let's just hurry to the control room," she pointed at a corner in front of them and scurried to get to it. Steven lagged behind a bit, "are you sure this is safe?" he asked, "the last time I was here there were a bunch of gem-fusion monsters."
Peridot stopped in front of the square hole in front of her. "Yes, I was checking their progress... there shouldn't be any left, and if there are..." her voice became shaky.
"What?" Steven budged.
"Then they would have to have been smart," she looked into the hole, "and strong."
Steven curled his fists, "what's the deal with those things anyway?" Peridot slid into the hole, and Steven followed behind her. He managed to get in front of her though.
"When it became clear that the Earth was no longer a viable colony, the diamonds, Blue, and Yellow, decided to use it for something else. They were commanded by white diamond to use it for something else. A series of experiments were conducted here. Such as the cluster, a gem geoweapon." They stopped at the bottom and followed a small path to a bigger room. Steven fell behind again, "did you help? Is that why you know so much about it?" he asked.
"Negative," she answered, "I wasn't lucky enough to be around for that," she admitted.
Steven tilted his head, "then... how come you know so much?" Peridot looked back and pointed at herself with her thumb as she smiled, "because I read over 100 years of reports," she announced. She seemed proud of herself. She cackled, "Nyeheheha." Steven put a hand to his cheek and rested his head on it, "aww, even your laugh is adorable!"
Peridot reached the final room and spun towards Steven, "gah-!" her cheeks turned blue instead of green. Her eyes widened. She raised a fist at him, but it was entirely unthreatening.
"Don't call me that, you pebble!" she demanded, pointing at him like he was insane. Steven giggled and walked past her. He said nothing. Peridot puffed her cheeks and stared at Stevens' back. Her gem warmed up again, but it was hotter than the last few. Was she becoming defective? Off-color maybe?
Peridot shook her head and walked over to a panel. Steven looked around the massive room. The walls were oceanic blue, and in the center of the front wall layed two massive green gemstones. Everything was connected to a green pipe in one way or another.
"This where you need to be, right?"
"Yes," she looked at the bolted panel in front of her and grimaced, "I'm going to have to remove this panel and do a bit of work to restore power to this room," she looked down at their linked hands, "so... can I have my hand back now?"
Steven squinted his eye at her hand and smiled, "okay, but stay where I can see you." Peridot took a few steps forward and pressed her finger against the wall. A plate inside the wall shifted outward. Peridot put her hands on the panel and pulled it towards her, but it made no movement. She tried again, but it didn't work. She got to the point where she couldn't continue. She turned back around to Steven and groaned, "it's over. I can't show you anything," she breathed heavily, "let's go back..."
Steven looked at the panel behind her, "can I try?" he asked. Peridot moved out of the way and showed him the panel with her hands as if she was opening a door for him.
"Go right ahead," Peridot said. She walked away from the panel as Steven approached it, "knock yourself out," she encouraged. Peridot folded her arms. Steven jumped up to the plate and put his fingers around the corners. In an instant, the panel tore apart from the wall and into Stevens' hands. Peridot widened her eyes, "whoah!"
Steven smiled and tossed the panel to the ground, "there you go." Peridot coughed into her fist and walked to the open panel, "alright," she said as she fumbled around with a few wires. In a few seconds, the lights turned on, and Peridot began to walk to the pillar in the center of the room.
"It's not perfect, but, it will do for now."
She put reached for the top of the pillar but she couldn't reach. She growled in annoyance. Steven stood behind her, "need some help?" he offered.
"I... can't quite reach the terminal," she admitted. Steven came up behind her and stuck his head under her legs, lifting her onto his shoulders. Peridot tilted backward and yelped. Steven tilted himself forwards so she wouldn't fall. Peridot looked down at Steven and blushed again.
Steven smiled at her, "it's okay to just ask for help y' know?" Peridot wrinkled her nose, and put her hand on the terminal, "I had it." The pillar lowered to Stevens' height. Steven kneeled over and let Peridot off his back. He wouldn't admit that he liked the feeling though.
Peridot cleared her throat and stared a the pillar in front of her before putting her hand on it again. The screens around them turned on. Putting them on the spotlight in the center.
Peridot looked at the screens, "these are the early attempts at artificial fusion."
Steven spun around, taking a quick sight at every screen before saying, "that's a lot of gem shards."
Peridot tapped a button on the pillar, "we were growing them here at this very site... but these were just prototypes for the final product." The big screen in the center turned on after Peridot pressed another button. She looked at the screen and continued, "a singular giant artificial fusion, comprised of millions of gem shards... The cluster."
Steven frowned and took a step back. His brows snapped together, "Peridot, you're saying..." he took a breath, "that there's a giant mutant gem, the size of the Earth, under us right now?"
"Oh, no. When it forms it will be much much bigger than the Earth. Right now, it lies dormant, incubating within the Earths core, but when it emerges and takes its physical form, it will destroy the planet and everything on it."
Peridot shivered, "The prototypes are already emerging, and the cluster is next," she looked agitated as she turned back to Steven, "if we can't get off this planet, we've got to stop the cluster."
Steven began to sweat in fear. His body began to shake at the thought of losing his friends and family to the cluster. He was beginning to lose a tad of his hope. Peridot turned around and looked Steven in the eyes, "I thought it would be impossible, but now we have a chance." She raised a fist in victory. Stevens' grimace became stronger as he asked, "what is it?"
Peridot suddenly took Stevens' hands in her own. She embraced both of them tightly. Steven yelped and his face turned pink.
Peridot came closer to him, "It's you, Steven!"
Steven was about to ask why he was able to change the tides, but Peridot began pulling him towards the exit. They had to climb back up. When Steven reached the top, he took a deep breath and asked, "uh, how am I supposed to help?" Peridot looked down at him with a grin on her face, "well, after I fill you in on all the details, we can begin construction immediately. Don't worry about it."
But he did worry about it. Steven jumped up to his feet and followed Peridot as she began to walk, "but I am," he confirmed, "I'm not as smart or as strong as the other gems, Peridot." Peridot continued to walk, ignoring, but also listening to Stevens' doubts.
Steven reached out for her arm and stopped her from moving any further. "Peridot, you don't get it. I'm not like the other gems-"
Peridot turned to Steven and took his hand again, "exactly," she blushed slightly, but she kept a straight-forward face, "you're special. To me." She turned back around and continued her way down the valley. Stevens' eyes turned into stars for a short moment. Had he gotten to her that quickly? Was she already beginning to understand?
Peridot started to ramble to herself quietly, "why did I say that?" she asked herself. Steven couldn't hear her. "Why do I feel like this? I'm just a Peridot. Like every other Peridot... right?" she breathed and put a hand under her visor. She was starting to get a headache. "This is all so crazy. How am I really supposed to take down the cluster? I should just try to figure out another way to fix the galaxy warp so that I... and Steven, can leave this planet... what am I saying?"
Steven tugged on her arm again. She looked back and yelped silently, "did you hear any of that?" she asked. Steven tilted his head and shook it, "no." Peridot smiled, "good," she blinked, "once we warp back to the bathroom, or whatever you call it, we can start immediately."
She tried to walk forward but Steven brought her back again, "Peridot, you never answered my question. How am I going to be helpful?"
Peridot hummed, "well, since you're half human, half gem, you should know a perfectly balanced equivalent of knowledge about both gemology and Earth. It's better than what my screens could've provided me with."
Steven was beginning to get agitated. He fists curled, "I don't even know all that much about Earth. Everything that I've learned has either come from experiencing it or from my Dad telling me about it."
Peridot scowled. Steven took a deep breath through his nose and out through his mouth. He looked calmer, and it eased the tension between them.
"Peridot, if we want to stop this cluster thing, we'll need the help of the crystal gems." Steven made a sad smile and took her hand in his, "please, Peridot." She looked into his eyes and tried to escape them, but she couldn't. Steven squeezed her hand, "trust me. We need them."
Peridot finally escaped his lock, but she was too late. She looked down and sighed, "fine," she crossed her arms. Steven sighed in relief, but it was cut off by a roar in the distance. Peridot looked behind Steven, "what was that?" she asked. Steven looked up and took a step back. Five gem mutants were surrounding the warp pad, and they were focused on Peridot. The monsters jumped down and dived towards Peridot.
Steven lunged his arm in front of her and shouted, "look out!" Peridot shuffled behind him, hugging to his side. Steven thought about summoning his bubble but came to the realization that it would only corner them, so he took out his shield. He made it extra large. He directed the shield above him and the monsters hit the shield hard. They slid off the side and tumbled into a wall nearby. Steven fumbled backward as his feet dug into the ground due to the attack. His shield shrunk down and flattened into a sharp disc. Steven glanced back, "are you okay?" he asked. Peridot pointed her finger in front of him, "don't worry about me-! Gah!" Steven looked back, and with his other arm, summoned another shield. The shield came in clutch, deflecting an incoming punch from one of the many monsters. They were now surrounded, but they weren't cornered. Steven summoned another flat disc and threw it into one of the smaller mutants. It caved directly into it and poofed both the disc and the gem. Steven grabbed Peridot's hand and dashed for the gem. When he got to it, he placed a hand on it and bubbled it before sending it back to the temple. Steven summoned another shield to his arm. There was four left. And they were much bigger than the one Steven just took out. Stevens' eyes widened as one of the mutants threw a punch at Peridot. Steven lunged out into it and deflected it.
He grunted as it sent him crashing into Peridot. Fortunately, they didn't fall over. Steven turned to Peridot and summoned the third shield. His best was two, so everything that he was doing was entirely improvised. Steven pushed the shield into Peridots hands, "take this, don't let them get you!" Peridot yelped as the shield magnetized to her arm. It was glued firmly to her arm.
Two mutants attacked at the same time. Peridot shakily rose her shield to block it. The mutant leaned its body against the shield, trying to claw it away. No dents were made. For Steven, he was able to shift himself out of one of the mutants attacks and poof it from behind. He roared as he pushed the sharp disc into the mutants back. When it poofed, Steven reached for its gem and flung it into the air. Peridot looked behind her shoulder, "They're too strong!" she shouted. She was beginning to lose her balance. An idea came to Stevens mind, but it vanished in an instant as one of the gem mutants started to do something weird. The monster that was attacking Peridot suddenly stopped. The three mutants stood next to each other and held onto each other. Steven didn't look away as he asked, "what are they doing?" They began to glow. Peridots' mouth widened, "They're fusing!" She grabbed Stevens' arms and bolted, "We need to get out of here Steven!"
Steven followed behind her. He looked back several times as the light continued to get brighter and closer. When Steven couldn't continue running, Peridot stopped. She leaned over and lifted his head, "Steven, are you okay? Can you continue?"
Steven shook his head and looked up at the giant fused monster in front of him. Steven summoned his bubble, this time, with spikes. Peridot yelped when she realized how close the gem was. The monster swung at the bubble, sending both Steven and Peridot into the one thing they didn't want to be in. A corner. Steven fell to his stomach and the bubble popped. The wall they had hit was entirely destroyed and falling apart. Steven coughed and lifted Peridot to her feet. Steven covered his eyes as the loose dirt around him trailed into them. Peridot took off her visor and gave it to Steven before replacing it with another. She pushed her visor on and blinked a few times. Steven blinked a few time and nodded at Peridot. The visors on Stevens' face wrapped themselves around his head. He swept the dirt off the visors and summoned a shield after spotting the gem mutant. He put his hands around his shield like a sandwich and flattened it into a sharp disc-like frisbee. Steven lunged the shield towards the mutant and cut off one of its many hands. Steven backed away as the gem looked in his direction. It finally found them. The gem roared and stomped around them, shaking the ground. Then the dirt cleared, and there was nothing between them.
The monster came closer and lunged a fist at Steven from the side. Unfortunately, Steven couldn't get there in time and was punched to the ground. Steven rolled to his side, holding it as if it would fall apart. He sat upwards and watched as the mutant tried to do it again. He tried to get up, but his side was in too much pain. The monster lunged another attack, but it was caught midway by another shield. It was Peridot. She jumped in front of Steven and blocked the attack with her shield. The shield bounced back at her and hit her firmly on the gem. Her body glitched for a slight moment.
Peridot looked back, "get up! I can't do this for much longer!"
Steven finally took his hands off his side and slowly regained his balance. Steven coughed again. The mutant threw another swing, this time with five fists. Peridot was sent to her back as the shield smashed into her gem again. She hit her back against the wall of dirt behind her and fell to the ground.
"Peridot!" Steven shouted in concern, but his attention was brought back to the mutant as it roared again. Peridot wasn't moving, and the shield she was given was entirely shattered. It did everything to protect her. Steven stepped back and threw another shield at the mutant, piercing its leg entirely. The mutant tumbled over, tripping over one of its feet. It fell flat into the ground and sent a shock wave towards Steven. Steven summoned his bubble and was flung towards the wall that Peridot was leaned against. When the bubble popped, Steven landed on his knee and fist like a superhero. And out of the dirt in the air came another fist. It was fast, but Steven managed to summon his shield just before it had hit. The blast from the punch shattered his shield and sent it back into Steven's face, hitting him in the eye and lip. The visors that Peridot gave him broke in two, but they didn't shatter as his shield did.
His feet began to shake. He didn't know if they were going to make it out alive. He wasn't sure. And he hated that fact. Steven summoned another shield, this time, it was stronger, but his body was becoming weaker. He didn't bleed, but he knew that any more of this would end in only one way. Defeat. He tried to think of a way to get out, but every idea turned to the trash and fell victim to the mutants cruelty. When the monster hit again, Steven slid backward, his feet becoming nearly buried within the dirt. He turned back up to see the next attack, but one of his eyes wouldn't open due to the new swelling that covered it. He backed away, his back leaning against Peridots' shoulder. Peridot looked at him, a pain forming from inside her gem. He looked at her. They both looked at the massive gem mutant, and they trembled. It was when the mutant raised its hand, pointing it at Peridot, that Steven felt something boil inside of him. There was no way he was just going to give up. Everyone depended on him. Including Peridot. He opened his eyes with a grunt and put a hand on Peridots shoulder before attempting to summon another shield with the other. Something felt different. His shield felt different. Steven looked down and widened his eyes. He wasn't holding a shield at all. Instead, he was holding a ball of condensed energy from within his palm. He didn't know what it was, but something inside of him screamed for him to throw it. Steven tilted his head as the ball began to condense even further. It was as if he was meant to use it. Like someone else was controlling him, despite being in control himself.
The monster roared and crashed its arms and legs into the ground, launching itself toward Steven and Peridot. Steven curled his arms backward and aimed the ball at the gems face before launching it forwards and yelling, "please-work!"
The ball launched forward and collided with the gem. The gem monster put its hands down to the ball of light and tried to push forward, but it was unable to resist its power. Even with ten hands, it wasn't able to take hold of the orb. The orb of light suddenly compressed. I became smaller in size, but much brighter, and entered the gems core. The gem blasted upwards in pain as the ball began to expand from the inside, but the monster didn't poof. It was strong. Steven felt a tension and an aching pain from deep within his arms as he tried to force the ball to continue, but he would need more power. He tossed himself down to Peridots side and curled his arms into a fold as he groaned in pain. It felt like his body was tearing itself apart from the inside out. Steven looked back up at the monster. It was still struggling to escape, struggling to escape it's soon to become death.
Steven shook off the pain in one of his arms and faced a palm towards the monster like he was about to blast a beam from his hand. Peridot frowned further at hearing him groan the way he did, and she tried to stand to prevent him from hurting himself further, but her body glitched, and she was sent back onto the ground. Steven closed his palm into a fist, and a branch of dead spiky vines launched from the ground and surrounded the gem. The gem monster roared again. He felt like something inside of him was telling him what to do. But he didn't know he had these powers until just now. He would do whatever he needed to do to protect the people he cared about. Steven felt another tension from his wrist as he hesitantly turned his fist upside down. The vines began to pull the monster into the ground, and every second that passed, another vine would pop out of the ground and pierce into the monsters hologram. And every time the monster resisted and tried to escape, the more it was pulled beneath the Earth, until eventually, Steven opened his fist into a palm. The monster roared one last time as the vines turned green and focused on its gem. In an instant, every vine had pierced it through its gem with 100% accuracy. Straight through the heart as one would say.
Steven dropped his arms to his sides and fell onto Peridots shoulder, his ear nearly touching hers. Peridot looked over at Steven and made a sad smile as she asked, "did… did you win?"
Steven turned to her with slight resistance. He puffed, "y-yeah… I," he breathed easier and smiled at her, "we won." He felt accomplished. He would do anything to just get out of this mess and sort things out. He wanted to solve the cluster problem, but now, he also wanted to explore his powers.
Peridot smiled back, but it was soon turned into a frown. A tear fell past her visor, "Steven," she said. Peridot fell off the wall and landed on her knees. She pushed herself back to a sitting position and faced Steven. Her gem flickered, but it wasn't as bright as it should've been. Steven came closer and gasped. He reached for her but he didn't make contact, "Peridot!" he yelled, "Your gem, it-" he put his hands to his mouth, shutting out what he was going to say next.
"It's cracked," Peridot finished. She brought a hand to her gem and softly touched the crack that fell down the middle. When she reached the tip of her triangular gem, she fell onto her back with a grunt. Her eyes began to close slightly.
"I," she paused as tears began to roll from her eyes and onto her cheeks, "I tried… but we never had a chance against the diamond authority in the first place. They are too perfect."
Steven crawled over to her and sat on his knees. He made another sad smile and lifted her head onto his lap, "don't worry Peridot, I-I'll heal you!" He lifted his hand to his mouth and licked his palm. He ignored the stinging pain from within his arm as he lifted it. Hardly anything came off his tongue, but it looked to be enough to do the trick. Steven gently brought his hand down to her gem and tapped the center of her gem with it. But nothing happened. He frowned, and Peridot smiled. There was fear in her eyes, and sadness in her tears. But despite everything else, her smile carried a relaxation.
"No! It-" a tear rolled down his face, "it has to work!"
He tried to bring his hand back to his mouth to try again, but his arm wouldn't allow it. His arms went numb. He lost his ability to move them. He would need time to heal first.
Peridot looked directly up at Steven one last time before saying, "This was... nice." She tried to lift her hand but it came back down with the force of gravity.
Peridot's eyes came to a complete close and she let out one last puff. She didn't poof, but she was unconscious and glitching. She would split down the middle and become shattered any minute now. Steven leaned over her cracked gem and softly shook her shoulders with his fingers.
"Wake up, Peridot," he let out another tear, "wake up!"
It had only been a short amount of time, but he knew that with just a little more time, Peridot could've become an amazing Crystal Gem. An amazing friend. Or maybe something even more. But that last one didn't come to his mind.
Steven tilted his head forward and let go of everything. He let go of his eagerness, his happiness, and his hope. How could he save the Earth without Peridot? How could he save his friends from untimely death? But the one question that sparked him the most was about himself. How could he live knowing that none of this would've happened if he was a better crystal gem?
"No," he cried defensively. His eyes squeezed harder.
And in an instant, everything that Steven had held bottled up inside was suddenly let out. His tears fell from his eyes, to his cheek, and finally to his chin. A single tear dropped. And Another. And another, until eventually, a light began to erupt from below him. Steven opened his eyes and looked down at her gem. The air around him started to smell of watermelon, and the dead grass around Peridot turned green. Her gem began to fix itself. Stevens' eyes widened and a small smile of hope appeared on his face. It took only a short moment for the gem to be fully repaired, but there was something different about her gem now.
Instead of the crack being fixed into its normal green self, the crack was filled with a pink-like meld as if that was the only thing keeping it together. The pink line was formed from top to bottom and blended into an odd swirl in the very center, mixing both pink and green in the middle. It looked to be permanent.
Peridot slowly opened her eyes and began to twitch. Steven started to laugh. The tears on his face continued to trickle down his chin. Peridot suddenly shot open her eyes and jumped up. She turned to Steven and asked, "Am I… alive?"
Steven shoved the weight off his back and tossed himself forward with whatever energy he had left. He bear-hugged Peridot. His face squeezed beneath her neck and he continued to cry. He thought he lost her. Peridot looked down at Steven and wiped her old tears away from her visor. She widened a smile when she realized that Steven had saved her. That his healing trick actually worked. But, what did it? Peridot took Steven by the shoulders and looked at him with a gleam in her eyes.
"You saved me, Steven!" She paused and looked at his bruised eye, "You…"
Steven tried to look away but he had already lost every bit of energy due to that bear-hug. Peridots gem flickered. It was brighter than it should've been. Peridot hugged him back, "You're hurt," she pulled back and looked at the massive gem that was only a few feet away. Peridot layed Steven down, and Steven watched as Peridot walked towards the gem that he just defeated. Peridot kneeled down to the gem and nervously picked it up. She frowned and came back to Steven with the gem in her hand. She placed the gem on his stomach, "Steven," she blushed, "I don't know how to bubble."
Steven chuckled and tried to put his hand on the bubble, but every movement made his gem quake. He felt like if he tried too hard that he would shatter into bits and pieces. He looked back up at Peridot with his un-bruised eye, "Peridot, you're going to have to do it." Peridot vibrated, "But-"
"You can do it," he breathed, "I know you can," he tried to wink but it hurt too much to move his eyes. Peridot shakily moved her hand back down to the gem and picked it up. She stared at the gem and put another hand on it, sandwiching it between her fingers until a bubble appeared. It was big... and different. Peridot's eyes widened, but it wasn't at the fact that she was able to do it so quickly, it was because of the color.
The bubble was a mix of pink and green like a watermelon. There were lines of pink that extended from the top to the bottom like a candy cane. Steven smiled at Peridot, and she smiled back. Some enthusiasm appeared in her smile as the pink part of her gem slightly shined. It was at this point that Steven came to the realization that not only her gem was pink. Her right was had swirls of pink as well, but nothing else. No other part of her changed but her eye and gem. How would she react?
Peridot looked back at the bubble and tilted her head, "why is it pink?"
Steven sighed nervously, "I think it's a side effect."
Peridot shifted the bubble upwards and sent it to the temple, but not the lava room. She walked over to Steven and kneeled next to him.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Steven looked up at her gem as if to point, and replied, "When I healed you," he tried to
stand, but he fell back down with a grunt, "Your gem changed color."
Peridots mouth opened and her eyes slightly squeezed, "...what?"
Steven nervously laughed. Peridot turned away from Steven and took off her visor. She used her visors reflection to see herself. She put a hand to the pink on her gem and gasped as it sent an odd feeling down her body. Her knees shifted together. "Gah!"
Steven pulled his lip to an awkward sideways T. Peridot looked at the reflection again but instead of her gem, she looked at her eyes. One was entirely blue, and the other was entirely pink. She began to shake as she asked, "Is it permanent?"
Steven shrugged and thought about lion. Maybe the same thing happened to him, and that was why he was pink. "Probably."
"I can't ever go back…" Peridot said to herself painfully.
Steven frowned, "I-I'm sorry, I-It was the only way I-"
Peridot put her visor back on and groaned at Steven. She kneeled down and shook her head, "That's not important right now," she reminded, "we have to get back to base and begin construction. We don't have much time."
"But what about you? Are you okay? Does your eye hurt or anything?" he asked.
Peridot shook her head, "no. In fact. I feel stronger, now let's go before more of those things show up.
She lifted Steven to his feet and murmured to herself about what she was supposed to do after they take out the cluster. The other thing was if everything they did was for nothing and the cluster would take over.
Peridot looked up at the cliff that they fell off of earlier. It seemed much taller than before as she trailed her eyes up to the side of it. She looked over at Steven and back at the cliff. She gently laid Steven on the side of the wall of corrupted dirt and turned him into a position that she thought would be comfortable for his human half. But he didn't need any. Something changed inside him. Steven opened his eyes, "Are we there yet?" he asked, exhausted. Peridot hummed and put a finger to her chin. She hummed a more than agitated hum, "no." She turned back to Steven, "it seems like the only way up is to climb."
"Oh, yeah," Steven sighed and closed his eyes again. Steven took a step forward and looked up the side of the cliff along with Peridot. His eyes stopped at the peak of it.
"Can you make it up?" he asked. Peridot looked as if she was calculating inside her head.
"Yes," she responded shortly, "my form allows my hands to become dynamic for these types of situations."
Steven made a fist, "you have to go without me, Peridot," he smiled, "you can get the other crystal gems to come back for me later."
Peridot frowned and put her hands on Stevens' shoulders, "are you crazy?" she pointed to the deep fog of the kindergarten, "what if there's more of those things? You won't make it." Steven made a small smile, "I'll be fine." Suddenly, the air got colder, and the fog seemed to intensify. The purple and gray nature around them turned darker.
Peridot chattered her teeth, "I'm not leaving you here, Steven. You're too weak. We need to find another way up." She began to squabble to herself, thinking of a way to get up the mountain without leaving Steven behind. She knew that there would be more of those things.
The air became dense. What brought them here in the first place? They came to find the cluster so they could destroy it and save the Earth from it, right? But what then? These were also the set of questions inside of Stevens' head. Steven leaned against a broken drill bit.
Steven opened his palm and gazed at the lines formed in his hand. They had turned green. The M shaped line that covered his hand was turned into a blade of vines and tiny pink flowers on the sides. Steven widened his eyes and shook his hand to remove it, but it didn't come off. Steven looked at the dead vines that hung from the cliff. He raised his fist, "maybe I can…" he pointed his hand to the dirt, and a vine suddenly bursted from the ground. Peridot jumped back as the vines almost pushed her away, "Nyeh!" she shouted. She looked back at Steven who seemed to be smiling at his new found power.
"Sorry, Peridot!" he apologized. Peridot looked up at the tall vine. She carefully examined it with her eyes.
"Steven," she said, "why didn't you use this power from the start." Peridot had never seen a power like this before. Not even Gaspeite gems could control the environment on this level. Gaspeite were considered the peaceful gems, but they were all shattered after the defeat of Pink Diamond and the war, in fear of another rebellion. And ever since the discovery of Earth, this dynamic was put into further play. All for the diamonds amusement. Just so they could experiment.
Steven shook his head and leaned against the dead vine he just created, "I didn't know I had it." Steven tilted his head and frowned. He began to think about why nobody told him that he could've had this power. Why didn't they?
Peridot stayed silent as a response. She scanned the vine with her hand delicately. The spikes on the vine would turn to dust every time her fingers got near them. Stevens' vines wouldn't allow it. It was as if it was automatic. The valley got quiet.
When the silence became too much to handle, Peridot spoke up, "we could use your chlorokinesis to carry ourselves to the top. Do you think you can handle that?" Steven curled his brow, "chlorokinesis?" he wondered.
"The ability to control the environment with your mind, such as those gray things that emerged from the ground," Peridot explained.
Steven nodded gently, "oh... and, I'm pretty sure those were dead vines."
Steven backed away from the vine he was leaning on and took another look at the giant wall of dead grass and vines. He was physically weak, but his powers seemed to be at maximum health. He was able to at least walk, talk, and move his hands. He seemed to only need his hands and mind to control it. Steven leaned against another vine he had created. He looked to Peridot and nodded. Peridot nodded back, "no point in staying here," Steven said. He smiled.
Steven and Peridot walked to the side of the cliff as if waiting for the elevator to arrive. Steven put his palm on the side of the dirt wall and focused on the feeling he had when he protected Peridot. In an instant, the vines from atop the cliff came spiraling down, forming a flat surface for both Steven and Peridot to climb onto. Peridot helped Steven get on, and Steven helped Peridot keep her balance as he raised the platform to the top. His hand came off the wall and formed a fist as if holding it together from there. He felt like a marionettist, but instead of puppets, it was Earth itself. He felt the strings attached to his hand as if it was always there. He didn't know how he couldn't have noticed the feeling since the beginning, as the feeling became strangely natural to him. Almost as if he had it all his life. Steven lowered his thumb and the spikes beneath their feet faded into dust. The dust flew away like leaves in fall. The strange thing was that there was no wind to carry them, but they did so anyway. Peridot held onto the railing that Steven made as she peeked her head upwards. Steven lifted a finger and the platform began to rise. It was fast at first but became slower as Steven gently lowered his index finger. He was continuously gaining and losing energy. He would take small rests then move on. He should've taken one before they headed up.
They weren't too far from the peak of the cliff. She rotated toward Steven, "we're almost there, Steven," she informed.
Steven smiled and puffed. Something looked off. He was beginning to lose his grip, and his legs were becoming shaky. Peridot faltered to Stevens aid, taking his arm over her shoulder. She turned his face towards her own, her hands cupped around his cheeks, "just a little longer, Steven! We're almost there!" She turned back to the cliff, but her attention was brought down to the floor when she heard a vine snap apart. Her nose tightened. Another vine snapped. Peridot shook Stevens' shoulders, but it seemed to only make it worse as two more vines snapped apart. Peridot turned around again. They had reached the top, but they were still on the platform.
Peridot grappled onto Stevens' shirt and leaped off the platform. She stumbled as Stevens' weight pushed on her shoulder. They both fell over, and Steven turned to his back. His hand fell to the ground and the platform snapped apart like a Kit-Kat. Peridot leaned upwards and peered over the edge. The platform was torn to pieces, and a few gem mutants in the area surrounded the broken platform in a short amount of time. Peridot's eyes widened as she crawled away from the edge, hiding away from the mutant gems.
"Steven, can you function any further?" she asked, seriously toned.
Steven turned to his side and pushed his hands against the ground, putting him into a sitting position. He gave a thumbs up, "Mhm, just need some rest is all-" Steven gasped and put his hand to his bruised side that began to pour something pink and red. Peridot looked at his thumb but didn't understand the sign he made. Fortunately, she was smart. She could put two and two together. Peridot looked at the holes in his shirt, and her brows snapped together, "good," she looked at the warp pad and back at Stevens' gem, "we should head back to base so your form can regenerate. I should be able to warp us back now." Peridot stood behind Steven and pulled him by the shoulders of his shirt, bringing him to the warp pad behind them.
Steven chuckled silently and coughed. He looked up at the incoming beam of light and said, "that would be nice."