Chapter Two: A History in Shadows

The chair Steven was strapped into released its restraints. Steven rubbed his wrists as he thought about the situations he was in. His visit with Connie to see Lapis and Peridot turned into a kidnapping by what appears to be a group called the Earth Defense Initiative. The Gems may have tried to keep him out of danger but they knew something like this might happened. So Steven decided to take Garnet's advice for a situation like this: stay calm, wait for the Gems…and tried to figure out what was going on. Okay that last one Steven decided for himself but it fit in his mind!

"What's the Earth Defense Initiative?" asked Steven calmly, trying not to show any signs of nervousness.

If Director Alena Frankfurt was nonplussed by Steven's calm, she certainly did not show any signs of it as she answered, "To answer that question, you need to learn a little bit about recent human history…which I know the Gems have neglected." Clapping her hands, the screens disappeared on by one before leaving one big screen, showing a black and white film of a battle that then turned to a conference:

"1935: the end of the Great War!(1) A decades long conflict that engulfed the whole of the world. With final victory going to the recently formed Allied faction, the two sides met in Versailles to create a lasting peace treaty, unlike the yearlong armistices of before. Everyone was weary of war and all its cost…but there were some who desired revenge. Deutschland was the sole remaining Central power left standing, the other countries either dismantled, conquered, or left barely alive.

"Gaule in particular wanted to punish Deutschland for the years of occupation near the middle of the War. Basically, the idea would have been to shove the collective war debt on the surviving country. And who should show up to save the day, your mother…Rose Quartz!"

"My mom?" asked Steven, eager to learn more about his mother. Alena smirked, knowing Steven would be interested in this part:

"Yes, your mother. Normally, the Crystal Gems try to stay out of human affairs, but I suppose they somehow knew that some elements of the Treaty would have led to a new war. In the end, the Versailles Treaty turned into the Rose Accords, which not only create a fair agreement for all the powers, but forbid certain technologies, such as weather control, nuclear weapons, or even study into the workings of Gem technology! Needless to say, not everyone was happy with the Accords…

"But, of course, history showed the treaty was signed and almost immediately afterwards, the Cold War started. But that's enough of general history. As I said before, not everyone was happy with the Accords, so a small groups in each country began studying Gem tech and other forbidden practices. It was at that point they began to learn details about the Crystal Gems that wasn't known to the general public…"

It was at this point Alena walked right up and leaned down to whisper in Steven's ear, "I'm talking, of course, of the Great Diamond Authority."

"So what? I mean, what's so important about that?" asked Steven, worrying about the Director's reaction to the question.

Alena stood up stock still before replying, "It's important…because it shows that they were almost certain to comeback! Every indications show that the leaders of the Gem Homeworld are proud, stubborn, and spiteful! It means that the happy little illusion about our safety was just that…an illusion! We were living on BORROWED TIME!"

Alena started breathing heavy at the exclamation near the end, leaving Steven looking terrified. Calming herself down, Alena smoothed out her hair and continued, "As such, research in Gem technology began in earnest. About…thirty years ago, give or take, these various groups decided to band together, forming closer ties between the nations, to deal with this eventual threat as well as search for more Gem sites on Earth. But then, fourteen years ago, an opportune event occurred…"

The pause in the Story gave Steven time to contemplate what she said before realizing what or rather who she was talking about, "…Me?"

"Yes, Steven. Your birth gave us quite the opportunity." stated Alena with a smirk before continuing, "A few years later, the Gems and yourself began taking 'fieldtrips' to various Gem sites. After each visit, we were able to go in to each sight (because your visit had disabled any security measure) and collect what data we can. Honestly, it was a mixed bag as I'm sure you remember some of them self-destructed."

Steven honestly felt bad with how many of the palaces he went to seemed to 'blow-up'. It was then Alena put a comforting hand on Steven's shoulder and said, "Don't feel too bad. The wreckage served to help accelerate our research by decades."

"What exactly can you make from rubble in a Gem temple?" asked Steven.

A bright sincere smile spread across the Director's as holo-screens appear all around them, showing designs for bunkers, weapons test on the material and so forth. "Even the smallest piece of rubble or scrap of spaceship debris reveals so much about the Gem specie's technology!" exclaimed Alena.

Steven decided to ask about that 'spaceship debris' part later, though he had a guess.(2) Instead, Steven decided to ask, "Where's Connie, or Lapis, or Peridot?"

Alena seemed almost disappointed before responding, "Connie is in one of our 'guest' quarters under heavy guards. As for the Gems…"

Pushing a button on the hard-light computer on her wrist caused a screen to appear showing Lapis and Peridot in cells surrounded by force-field…familiar looking force-fields. "I managed to reverse-engineer a cell from Peridot's ship. Basically, the Gems are in Gem-proof cells of my own design. Not to worry, I can have them and Connie brought to us if you wish."

Fiddling with her computer, the screen showed the cells lift up towards the ceiling in their rooms. A trapdoor opened in the command room bring the Gems to their level. Meanwhile, Connie was escorted into the room by two guards.(3) The force-field for the cells turned off and the Gems' got into position to attack, before Alena responded, "Now, there's no reason for that-"

"I think we have plenty of reason!" exclaimed Lapis before summoning the nearby water…or trying to, "What?"

"Confused?" asked Alena mockingly, "I deduced that a stronger electromagnetic field could disrupt a Gem's elemental abilities. It seems I was right."

"Steven!" exclaimed Connie before rushing away from her guards towards Steven's side. She tried to pull off the restraints before turning to the Director and demanding, "Release him!"

"All you had to do was ask." replied the Director before snapping her fingers causing the restraints to release Steven, "Now that we've all calm down, I believe it's time I explain why you are here. It boils down to two reasons: one, I intend on explaining a certain…problem I need your help with."

"And what's the second reason?" asked Peridot, feeling that they would learn the second reason first.

A malicious smile spread across Alena's face as she replied, "Oh, I am so glad you asked….IVO!" And with that shout, the screens started disappearing to leave behind one screen. On that screen was a red orb with a line through it. The line vibrated as the system spoke:

"Greetings, I am the Intelligent Virtual Organizer or I.V.O. How may I improve the efficiency of your day?" said the male computer voice in a friendly yet smug tone.

"IVO, I believe the Trials are about to begin." remarked the Director with a grin.

"Ah, you are quite correct Director. My sensors indicate that the Crystal Gems have indeed entered the perimeter. This should be quite…amusing." replied the computer in a nasty tone.

"What's going on?" asked Connie, curious at what the woman and computer were up to.

Alena turned around with a smirk and answered, "You see, the Crystal Gems constantly labor under the assumption of humans being incapable of defending themselves. They're about to be proven wrong…" Just a screen appeared showing Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl jumping a fence is shown. "Ooooh, it's starting! Now, if you would kindly just sit back, the festivities can commence!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe nor any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. Took me awhile but I'm finally done with this chapter! A heads-up, the next chapter, and IVO, were inspired by the latest XCOM2 DLC "Shen's Last Gift" and by the 'Portal' videogame series. Hope that wasn't too much of a hint. Anyway, Read and Review!

1 Since apparently, there was no World War 2, I feel that something different must have happened in World War 1. Specifically, make it longer, more violent, and thus more technical innovations. I also added a few things like the occupation of France and Japan joining the Central powers before attacking the US.

2 He's thinking about the Gem Warship that exploded in "Jailbreak" and took a few episodes to clean up. FYI, he's right!

3 Armor looks like the Advent Soldier in "XCOM2"