Chapter 6: Poofed

Connie sighs. Tears were running down her face as she held Steven's gem in her hands, curled up on Steven's bed. It had only been two hours since Steven had been poofed, but it felt like it had been much longer.

Garnet then walked in. "How are you holding up, Connie?"

"I feel so bad. If I was still next to him, I-I could've protected him…." Connie said, choking on a sob. "It's okay, Connie. You saved him from being shattered by that Jasper, after all. Even if Steven did get poofed, you managed to save his life." This made Connie feel a little better.

"Garnet… is Steven going to be able to regenerate?"

Garnet adjusted her visor as she looked at the possible futures. Her normally near-expressionless face slowly turned into a look of worry. It wasn't looking good.

"I'm afraid that the chances are slim. Out of the five possible futures I saw, Steven only regenerates in one of them. The other four… he stays in his gem forever. I… I'm sorry." That made Connie scared. Garnet proceeded to walk back into the temple. She decided it might be better if she didn't tell the others of the possible futures she saw and to hope for the best.

"Please come back, Steven… I miss you so much…"

...

"Whoa… where am I?"

Steven woke up in a strange, yet familiar, place. He looked around, and quickly realized he was in his gem. He also realized he could see outside, and everything was tinted pink. His expression quickly changed from curiosity to worry when he saw Connie lying on his bed, crying while holding his gem. "Connie!"

"I'm so sorry, Steven… I should've been there to protect you. W-what if I… what if I never see you again?" Steven felt heartbroken seeing Connie with several tears flowing down her face. He wished he could tell her that he was fine, but he didn't even know if he could regenerate.

He then decided he would see if he could regenerate by thinking about doing so. He concentrated really hard… nothing. He tried again… still nothing. Worry surged through his mind. What if he never figured out how to regenerate? What if he couldn't regenerate? The gems and especially Connie would be heartbroken. Then, a thought crossed his mind.

"What if I'm just simply too injured to regenerate?" If that was the case, he just needed to wait a little while longer.

...

It had been two days since Steven was poofed, and he still hadn't regenerated yet. The gems and Connie were getting worried. Without him, it would be harder to fight against White Diamond's forces, since Steven was the one with the shield. So far, though, it had been particularly quiet, so Connie was on Steven's bed holding his gem again. Meanwhile, in his gem, Steven decided to try regenerating again. He decided to try thinking of what he wanted his form to look like this time. He concentrated very hard…

…and he could feel it working. Connie watched excitedly as Steven's gem rose from her hands. The gem emitted light as Steven's form materialized in front of Connie as she felt happy for the first time since he was poofed. Finally, after a couple of seconds, Steven's body finished forming and he floated down onto the bed on his hands and knees in front of Connie.

Connie was quick to tackle him to the bed as she embraced him in a big hug. "STEVEN! Oh I'm so glad that you're okay! I-I was so worried! I was afraid I'd never see you again." Connie said, crying in Steven's shoulder. "Don't worry, Connie. I'm alright. Thanks to you."

"More than you know." The two kids turned to see Garnet standing in the common area down below. "Connie saved your life, Steven. White Diamond's Jasper was about to shatter your gem when Connie rushed in and saved you."

Upon hearing that, Steven turned back around to give Connie a hug. "Really? Thanks so much, Connie!"

"Well, I couldn't just lay there and watch that Jasper kill my first friend and boyfriend, no matter how much pain I was in. I just wish I could've stopped her from poofing you, though."

"Hey. All that matters is that you saved my life. I'm fine now. Thank you, Connie."

...

Unbeknownst to the gems, one of the Rubies had escaped from the fight earlier. The lone Ruby had fled to the abandoned Beach City and proceeded to contact White Diamond. "My Diamond, Ruby reporting in. The 'Crystal Gems', as they call themselves, have bested the others in battle. I had only barely managed to escape."

"So it would seem that they are stronger than we originally thought.…" White Diamond mused. "Did you manage to gather any new information on the alleged 'Crystal Gems'?"

"Yes, my Diamond. It would seem that the gem hybrids are immune to our Gem Destabilizers despite having full gem abilities, and are incredibly powerful when they work together. Not to mention, the Pearl also seems to act of her own free accord."

"Alright, then. We'll just have to capture one of them to lure the rest into a deadly trap!" White Diamond said, laughing maniacally.