I have been getting a lot of feedback on this story, and I know that I need to slow down. Hopefully this chapter moves at a slower pace and is enjoyable for all of you. Thanks for reading, and I can't wait to hear what you have to say, good, bad, or whatever.
Aaron reduced another boulder to rubble when Steven walked over. "Are you okay?"
Aaron looked at Steven with hatred in his eyes. "No, I'm not okay. I'm stuck here because of you and those things you call friends." Aaron punched the ground and actually created a few shards of glass with the force.
"Well punching the beach isn't going to help you. And you're not stuck here, your home is here." Steven told him.
"Was…my home was here." Aaron said sitting on the beach.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Steven asked sitting next to him.
"Do you have any cherry cola? It helps me calm down and think." Aaron asked staring at the ocean.
"I might. Lemme go check." Steven ran inside and to the fridge where he grabbed four cans.
"Steven, what are you doing with all of that?" Pearl asked suspiciously.
"The Indigolite asked for it. It helps him stay calm and think." Steven said.
"Well, I'm coming with you. I don't trust him." Pearl said following Steven to the door.
"Pearl, stay here. He's an Indigolite. We're lucky that he may talk to Steven. Anyone else interfering may provoke him." Garnet said making Pearl nod her head.
"Fine, but if anything happens to Steven, I'm holding that thing accountable."
"Nothing's going to happen, and he's not a thing. He's a human, like me." Steven walked out the door and towards the beach where Aaron was still sitting with his knees close to his chest. "Here." He handed Aaron a can.
Aaron took the can and opened the lid hearing the familiar release of carbonation. He took a sip and let out a sigh. "Thank you. You're kinder than the Diamonds made you out to be."
"No problem, so…can you tell me a little bit about yourself?" Steven asked opening a can and grabbing a notepad and pencil.
"My name is Aaron, and I'm fifteen. I was abducted by several Ruby Gem soldiers and brought back to Homeworld. I was introduced to the Diamonds and then it all began."
"What all began?" Steven asked nervously.
"They started by telling me about you and the Crystal Gems. They kept saying that the hybrid had to be shattered. You're the hybrid, but they wanted to create their own hybrid to send a message."
"You're the other hybrid…" Steven said looking at Aaron who nodded his head.
"It was a painful process to become what I was. They locked me in a chamber and suppressed all of my knowledge to make room for all of the Gem knowledge that they put in to my mind. Then it got worse. Another chamber was in the room and inside was a girl."
"Indigolite?" Steven interrupted. Aaron nodded his head as he crushed the empty can in his hand and picked up another.
"She seemed happy to be merged with me. On occasion, it almost feels like she talks to me. The merging was an incredibly painful process. I was blasted with her energy until my body accepted her gem. I can still feel that pain. Then came the training, it was quick, painful, but effective. They trained me to use my spear, but when I failed they would electrocute me."
"That sounds awful. The Gems never did that to me. They only made me feel good about succeeding and trying." Steven said putting a hand on his shoulder only to be pushed away by Aaron.
"I'm not you or the Gems." Aaron returned to his story. "They then armed me with Gem-tech and my ship. I was given my mission by Yellow Diamond herself. Destroy the other hybrid and return to Homeworld to be honored by her and the citizens. I failed that mission and will remain in exile on Earth." Aaron finished off the can and grabbed the other.
"Man, you sure like that stuff." Steven said still on his first can. "But Earth isn't that bad. You should know that. After all, this is where you grew up and made all of your memories."
"Have you been listening!?" Aaron asked in anger. "They took those memories from me. I have nothing left here. All of it is gone."
"Maybe, but that just means that you need to try and make some new memories. Come on. Let's go see my dad and see if he has any clothes that you can have." Steven stood up motioning for Aaron to follow him who reluctantly did so.
"Should we follow them?" Pearl asked nervously watching from the window.
"No, we let Steven handle this." Garnet told her.
"But what if he…I mean…it just doesn't seem safe…" Pearl was about to continue, but Garnet stopped her.
"We can't interfere right now. When he's comfortable with us, then you can intervene. Now, I have to go." Garnet walked to the warp pad and teleported away.
"I have to keep an eye on him." Pearl said running out the door to follow them.
…
"Hey kiddo, what can I do for you, and your uhh…friend?" Greg asked as his son ran over with Aaron walking behind him.
"Oh, dad, this is Aaron. He's kind of like me."
"I'm nothing like you." Aaron said crossing his arms.
"We were wondering if you might have some clothes that he can have. Homeworld kind of just left him in that armor."
"I might have something. Let me check in the van." Greg ducked in to the vehicle and tossed a few boxes outside.
"He lives in there?" Aaron asked eyeing the blankets and mattress.
"Yeah, pretty cool right?" Steven asked.
"Whatever." Aaron said as Greg hopped out of the van.
"Feel free to use whatever's there. Some of it might be a little big or it doesn't really fit me anymore." Greg said rubbing the back of his head shyly. Aaron picked up the boxes and walked behind the carwash.
He removed all of the armor leaving him naked; Homeworld had stripped him of all of his earthly possessions. He picked up a package of boxers and opened them. He put them on followed by a pair of black jeans and a belt. He picked up what looked like a black and silver rodeo shirt and put it on. It didn't look that appealing to him. He picked up a glass shard on the ground and cut off the sleeves so that it looked like a t-shirt. He had the top three buttons unbuttoned revealing the blue, triangle gem in his chest. He then laced up a pair of brown work boots and walked out from behind the barn.
"Not bad." Greg said looking at him. "Can you believe I hardly used those boots when I worked on my aunt and uncle's farm?"
"I can believe it." Aaron said looking at him while Greg frowned a little bit.
"You could say thank you." Steven said nudging Aaron a little.
"Thank you." Aaron told him before grabbing his armor and walking off.
"Sorry about him, dad. He's going through some stuff. I need to go catch up with him." Steven said hugging his dad.
"It's okay kiddo, I was a teenager once, and I'm sure being a Gem doesn't help."
"Hey wait up!" Steven shouted chasing after Aaron. Pearl was watching them from afar.
"Why do you keep following me? I'm not doing anything for you or to you." Aaron asked looking down at him.
"I don't know. I guess I just like hanging out with you."
"Just stay out of my way." Aaron said as they approached his ship.
"Wait outside. I need to go put my armor in the stronghold."
"Wait, I wanna see inside your ship." Steven said excitedly.
"Later, this is private business." Aaron said coldly as he walked inside the ship and hit a panel on the wall and entered a code opening a secure hatch where he hung the armor on display before the hatch closed.
"Steven, are you okay?" Pearl asked running towards him.
"I'm fine, but what are you doing here."
"I'm keeping an eye on you and him." Pearl said glaring towards the ship.
"Pearl, you shouldn't be here right now." Steven said nervously.
Just then a spear whizzed past Pearl. "You shouldn't be here at all." Aaron said making another spear materialize in his hand. "I let you follow us because you didn't interfere. Now, I assume that you were planning to ambush me right now, but I won't be letting that happen."
"You have it all wrong. I was just performing…recon." Pearl said defensively as she pulled out her spear. "But I have no problem defeating you in battle!"
"Then show me." Aaron got in to his fight stance. Both of them ignored Steven who was pleading for them to stop.
They both rushed at each other, their spears locked. "Show me your might." Pearl said pushing on his spear with hers.
"Show me some skill." Aaron performed a low sweep and knocked Pearl on to the ground. Aaron was about to pierce her with his staff, but she rolled back before standing back up and charging at him once more.
"Not bad." Pearl said smiling as she blasted Aaron with a beam from her spear. Aaron spun his spear in a circular motion that deflected the blast. Aaron fired a beam from his spear that collided with another beam from Pearl's spear that sent both fighters flying back. Pearl landed gracefully while Aaron rolled back and then stood up. Pearl rushed at him and their spears locked once more. "Looks like we're coming to a draw." Pearl smiled.
"Nope." Aaron quickly retracted his spear and ducked to the side before jumping up high ready to impale Pearl who had lost her balance due to the sudden maneuver.
"Stop it, both of you!" Steven shouted running in front of Pearl and pulling out his shield. Aaron was thrown back by the force bouncing off of the shield.
"Thank you, Steven." Pearl said standing up. "Now, I'm going to finish this." She pulled out her spear just as Aaron pulled out his.
Steven ran in front of them. "No! Both of you need to stop fighting and hug. Now!" Steven shouted as he created a bubble that trapped them all together. "I'm not releasing the bubble until you guys hug and make-up."
Pearl's spear vanished as she walked over to Aaron. "He's not bluffing." She said crossing her arms.
Aaron looked at Steven and then Pearl. He retracted his spear. "Pearl, I'm so sorry for fighting with you." Aaron said approaching her.
"As am I." Pearl approached him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
Aaron looked down at Steven who smiled and nodded his head at Aaron. Aaron reciprocated the hug to Pearl. He also whispered in to her ear. "If you and I are ever alone, I will shatter you." The bubble popped as they broke the hug.
"Come on Pearl. Let's get going." Steven said taking her hand and walking away. Pearl glanced once more at Aaron who glared spitefully at her before returning to his ship.
"I don't trust him at all." She thought to herself.
Back at the temple…
"Pearl, I specifically told you not to follow them." Garnet said crossing her arms.
"I know, but I couldn't help myself. He just seems so dangerous and unstable." Pearl said rubbing her shoulder with her head down.
"I know but what you did may have made him more unstable." Garnet sighed.
"So what did you do while Pearl was following them around?" Amethyst asked swallowing a stick of butter.
"I went to visit Lapis and Peridot. I thought some help from former Homeworld residents would be beneficial. They've told me a few things that they know and have agreed to go and visit Aaron. Pearl, I want you to stay away from him for now."
"That shouldn't be a problem, Garnet." Pearl cringed a little bit.
"Good, now how about we go and get some dinner?" Garnet asked as she patted Steven on the back.
The next day, Aaron woke up, got dressed, tended to his garden which seemed to have a few sprouts, and decided to go and find something for breakfast. He walked in to Beach City; several people waved and smiled and wished him a good morning. Aaron showed no emotion as he looked around for something to eat. He came across a store called The Big Donut and walked inside; a bell rang alerting them of his presence. Aaron saw Steven talking to a short blonde-haired girl at the counter. "Oh, hey Aaron." Steven said taking a donut from the girl. "This is Sadie."
"Oh, hey." Sadie said smiling at him. "Can I get you something?"
Aaron walked over to the case and looked inside. He saw several varieties of donuts several of which looked fairly appetizing. "It's hard to choose just one, isn't it?" Steven asked also looking in to the case. Aaron nodded his head. "Sadie, give him that one." Sadie reached in to the case and pulled out a maple syrup flavored donut. "Take a bite." Steven said excitedly. Aaron did so and smiled. It tasted very good to him. "Good right?" Aaron nodded his head and finished up the donut. Aaron watched Steven pay her for the donuts.
"Thank you." Aaron mumbled.
"No problem." Steven smiled at him.
Just then, a boy with two large holes in his ears walked behind the counter. "Who's this guy? One of your weird friends?" Lars smirked as he kicked up his feet.
Aaron grabbed his leg and pulled him forward. He then picked up Lars by the collar of his shirt and held him against the wall. "What did you call me?" Aaron asked glaring at him with his deep blue eyes.
"Steven, make him put me down!" Lars shrieked in fear.
"Apologize." Aaron said pushing him up against the wall once more.
"I'm sorry." Lars said in fear.
Aaron let him drop to the floor before walking towards the door. "Thank you, Steven." Aaron walked out of the store heading back to his ship.
"I'm sorry about him. He's kind of new here." Steven rubbed the back of his head nervously before running out of the store.
"You had that coming." Sadie smirked.
"If he hadn't caught me off guard, I would have kicked him in to next week." Lars said punching the air and then falling backwards.
"Whatever you say." Sadie chuckled a little bit.
Meanwhile…
"This Gem-tech is incredibly advanced. It's a Peridot's dream!" She squealed with excitement as she began toying with one of the control panels. "I like how he powers his Earth tech with the ship's power core, brilliant!"
"Let's just get this over with." Lapis sighed as she leaned on one of the walls and crossed her arms.
"Hold on. I think I might have found something." Peridot said currently combing through one of the ship's logs.
"Uhhhh, Peridot…" Lapis touched her on the shoulder.
"Not now Lapis. I'm still working." Peridot cut her off.
"Well, someone's coming." Lapis said running outside the ship to confront the intruder. Peridot sighed and followed along with her.
"More Gems." Aaron crossed his arms glaring at them. His eyes rested on Lapis. Her shade of blue reminded him of his own gem, Indigolite. "It's my fault that she's gone." Aaron thought to himself feeling his chest where the gem rested.
"We were just looking." Peridot said nervously cowering behind Lapis.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked glaring at him.
"It's nothing." Aaron snapped out of his trance. "Leave now or fight." His spear materialized in his hand.
"It's cool. We're leaving." Lapis said as her wings materialized and she grabbed Peridot before flying away.
Aaron ran in to his ship and looked around. Shockingly, everything was where it should be and nothing was damaged. "Those Crystal Gems are becoming a pain." He cursed to himself as he walked off of the ship and opened the stolen cooler. He grabbed a can of cherry cola and sat down in a lawn chair before cracking open the can and taking a sip. He let out a sigh of relief as he sipped the beverage and eased his nerves.
Meanwhile…
"So did you find any weapons or anything?" Pearl asked nervously to Lapis and Peridot who were sitting on the couch in Steven's home.
"Nothing really, besides a stronghold, the ship's weapons, and some analytical equipment. All of his Homeworld communications seem to be fried." Peridot explained.
"Well, that's a relief, but what's in the stronghold?"
"I don't know. I didn't have the qualifications or the pass code." Peridot sighed. "I'm sorry."
Garnet put a hand on her shoulder. "You did fine. We now have more information than what we would have before."
"I think I know what he has in the stronghold. He said something about putting his armor in there for safekeeping." Steven said with his hand on his chin.
"I don't blame him. That armor is very powerful." Garnet said recalling their battle.
"I'd like to see it." Peridot said crossing her arms.
"Just stay out of trouble, Perry." Amethyst chimed in.
"Thank you both for your help. You can go now." Garnet told them. They walked over to the warp pad and teleported away heading for the farm.
"So what are we gonna do about him now?" Amethyst asked excitedly. "Kick his butt? Tie him up and interrogate him, torture?" She asked with a mischievous grin forming on her face.
"Nothing." Garnet said taking a seat on the couch and kicking her feet up.
"Nothing? Garnet, you can't be serious." Pearl said anxiously.
"Yeah, I'm with Pearl on this one. Let's go kick his butt." Amethyst said.
"No, we're going to let him come to us. If we go to him, things are going to get worse. And from what I've seen, he seems to come to Steven a lot." Garnet said smiling as she tussled his hair.
"Don't worry Garnet. I have this under control." Steven smiled and firmly nodded his head.