A/N – Catch and Release was sooo good! I'm looking forward to more Peridot action, she's so cute :3 College has been busting the hell out of me, but now it's October so yay! Halloween time!

X

Chapter XIII

The Crystal Magicians

Although the Fall came slightly delayed in the seaside town of Beach City, the tree's had finally started to adjust to the cooler, crisp air and began to change to vibrant colours of red and yellow. With October just around the corner, tourist visits had all but ceased, and the beach was left completely deserted.

Greg sat with Garnet and Pearl on the sofa, whilst an enthralled Steven played with Amethyst on the temple's floors. He had grown so much in the past weeks, although still remained very much shorter than Amethyst.

"Amethyst, no fair! You're way bigger than me!" Pouted Steven, after being pinned to the ground.

"I can't help it if you're too puny to defend yourself. Little dudes don't get any slack when it comes to a tickle fight." She began to tickle under his arms which made him squirm and laugh.

The others watched them fondly, whilst Greg sipped at his coffee.

"I can't believe how much he's grown, his fifth birthday just flew by." He remarked.

"Indeed, I thought that Earth years were fast enough – but the human development flashes before your eyes." Said Pearl.

"It seems that-" Garnet was interrupted by a loud crash from the other side of the room. Everyone froze, and Steven bolted upwards and stared.

"What was that?" He asked.

He didn't get time for an answer as a large beast appeared from the door near the warp pad. It had eight enormous legs, and was icy blue in colour. What seemed to be icey spikes formed rows on its cracked skin, and large horns crowned its head. It possessed no eyes, and it thrashed around the temple walls.

"Oh my stars," Gasped Pearl, standing up immediately with the others. "It's the frosted monster from last week!"

"What the heck is that?!" Greg dropped his mug and ran to Steven to scoop him up, then hid behind Garnet who stood in a defensive position.

"I thought we destroyed that thing!" Said Amethyst, "How did it reform?"

"There wasn't a gem to bubble, it must have reproduced or cloned itself." Garnet turned to Greg. "Keep your distance, we'll handle this."
Greg cowered to the far corner of the room, clutching Steven tightly. The five year old looked in awe as the gems summoned their weapons. He was rendered speechless as he watched the battle take place.

Amethyst summoned two whips and attempted to restrain the monster's neck. The beast opened its mouth in aggravation and spat out large ice crystals at the gems. Garnet deflected some away from Greg and Steven with the help of her gauntlets, and then leapt at the creature to try and shut its mouth. Pearl threw multiple spears at its head and body, only for them to pounce off.

Amethyst ran up to the monster and whipped its mouth shut with the help of Garnet. She struggled to keep her grip on her weapon, and began to get dragged by the monster as it shook its head.

Garnet leapt on its back and punched its head, but got thrown into the wall as it shook harder. Pearl fired more spears, only to cause it to get more aggressive.

The beast managed to snap its temporary muzzle, and fired more ice crystals.

Greg dodged and ducked, diving behind the sofa to avoid them.

"Pearl, aim for the mouth!" Shouted Garnet, leaping onto the monster once again to restrict its neck. Amethyst did the same with the aid of her whips.

"You can do it!" She called, loosening any slack on her whips.

Pearl nodded and took a running shot, throwing her spear into the open mouth of the monster. It shrieked and began to convulse, throwing itself into the temple walls an getting showered in the stone that crumbled from the ceiling. It made a choking noise, and then poofed into a cloud of smoke. A small gem almost fell to the ground, if it weren't for Garnet who caught it. She bubbled it, and then dusted off her hands as her gauntlets went away.

Greg popped up from behind the couch, still holding Steven who had stars in his eyes.

The room was silent for a few minutes, as Pearl and Amethyst slowly retracted their weapons and sweated nervously.

"Oh no…" Said Pearl, regrouping with the other two. "He wasn't meant to find out…he wasn't meant to know. Not yet."

Amethyst and Garnet were also worried about Steven's reaction, feeling very anxious under the five-year olds eager gaze.

He squirmed to get down, and Greg released him.

Steven ran to the gems and stood in front of them.

"That. Was. So. Awesome!" He began to bounce up and down excitedly.

"Are those your special weapons? Do you have superpowers? Can all grownups do that?" He spun around to look at his Dad. "Can you do that?"

Greg chuckled, although he was sweating after the whole gem-battle. "Afraid not kiddo, im just a regular guy."

"But why…but why can you guys do it?" A look of puzzlement swept over his face, until he came to a realization. "Are you magicians?"

"Uhh." Pearl wore a nervous smile, nudging Garnet. "What do we tell him?" She whispered.

"The truth. At least some of it." The stoic gem replied, and lowered to Steven's level.

"We do have special abilities, Steven." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "We are not like other people. Our weapons help us protect others from monsters like the one you've just seen, we're also here to protect you."

Amethyst also joined in the explanation. "You see these gemstones that we have?" She pulled her shirt down a little to show him and he nodded. "These give us our special abilities, like shapeshifting."

"What's shapeshifting?" He asked.

Amethyst transformed into purple cat, and meowed.

Steven gasped. "Wow! Can you turn into anything?"

She then turned into a bird and hovered in the air. "Anything."

"We aren't human beings, Steven. We're something completely different." Said Pearl.

Steven took a step back from them and bowed his head. The gems were alarmed, and awaited his reaction.

"I-I have a gemstone too. Does that mean that I'm not human?" He lifted his shirt to gaze at the pink gem.

Greg placed his arms around him and gave him a hug. "You're something completely different, which just makes you all the more special. You're both human and gem, which means to get the best of both."

"You mean I'll get to do magic like them?"

"Perhaps, we'll just have to wait and see." He replied.

Steven looked at Garnet, then at Pearl, and then at Amethyst and smiled.

"That's why you're called the Crystal Gems! A-and that means…that means I'm a Crystal Gem too!" The stars in his eyes were back, and his smile kept growing.

"Welcome to the club, buddy!" Amethyst bumped his shoulder lightly. "Hope you can compete with our coolness."

"You bet! I'm gonna be the best Crystal Gem ever!"

"You mean…you still love us even though we're different?" Asked Pearl, still nervous.

Steven walked up to her and gave her a big hug. "Why wouldn't I? You guys are the best, most awesome people ever! Even if you aren't people…but still!"

Pearl sighed in relief, and hugged him tightly.

"I will always love you guys, even if you do magic and fight evil monsters!"