A/N: Literally the day after I posted my last chapter, I learned about a possible Season 4 episode called "Monster Crew." I say possible because it was found on a questionably sourced episode list, and plenty of fake lists for Steven Universe have floated around the Internet before. If it is real, though, I will face canon and walk backwards into hell.
Ordinary gems didn't sleep. But Centi wasn't an ordinary gem.
As a centipeedle, she had slept regularly, lacking the stamina and internal recharge capabilities that set gems apart from Earth life-forms. Now, half-healed from her corruption, she had lower strength and endurance but probably could have gotten by with simply resting when she needed to – except she'd figured out that she liked sleeping. Or rather, she liked the effect that it had on her. It was like pushing the reset button on her brain, and for someone who often got so overloaded, some dark and quiet time without thinking was frequently just what she needed.
Sleep certainly would have been welcome tonight, but instead she found herself sequestered inside her ship between Neph and Phrita, listening to their soft snuffly breathing, her eye remaining persistently open and staring at the arced ceiling above her. Her leg still hadn't recovered; still, why was that keeping her awake when she'd slept in far more uncomfortable forms many times before?
Maybe it wasn't anything physical after all, she admitted to herself. Her mind wouldn't stop grinding away at its jumble of cached thoughts, circling around and around to the current mission, her own uselessness, training tomorrow, disappointing the Crystal Gems…rinse and repeat in a slightly different order.
Neph and Phrita had obviously been excited when Centi told them what the mission was about. They wanted to join in, which quite frankly terrified her – she had been healed weeks and weeks ahead of them, and she'd still failed miserably in combat today. What would happen to two corrupted gems who were still so unstable…? Then again, perhaps she should have a little more faith in her crew. They couldn't possibly do any worse than she had.
She closed her eye, feeling a tickle of hair against her face; hers or Neph's or Phrita's, she couldn't really say. The atmosphere in the ship, mossy and green-smelling, usually served to relax her into sleep, but nothing was helping her calm down tonight.
Centi had slept before, but this was the first time that she had ever experienced insomnia.
…
She must have nodded off eventually, because the next thing she new, she was snapping awake to bright sunlight and her crew's visitor-alarm shrieks. Still only half awake, she scrambled to her feet and lurched her way out to the warp pad, hardly noticing that her leg had recovered overnight.
There was Steven, having returned to fetch her for training, currently bidding good morning to Neph and Phrita. They were looking pretty good today; they were even able to converse in a half-speech riddled with gurgles and clicks. Centi dragged a hand down her face to wake herself up as she hurried over to meet them.
"Good morning, Centi!" called Steven, waving to her, and Neph and Phrita mimicked him: "Morning, good morning!"
Centi came to a stop in front of the warp pad, hugging her own arms securely. "Yes. Good morning, Steven."
"Ready for some more training? Today is a new day!" His wave became a fist pump.
Right. A new day, and new opportunities…to make the same mistakes, more than likely. Centi attempted to smile, but she wasn't really very good at faking emotions.
Luckily, Phrita interjected before Steven could comment on any noticeable lack of enthusiasm. "What about us?!" she demanded excitedly.
He blinked. "Huh?"
"We also want – that is, we wish to…!" Phrita started to gesture in quick, broad strokes, her speech lapsing into insect chatters.
Steven watched the display for several moments before blinking in stupefaction. "Um, I'm really sorry, but I don't understand…"
"I told them about the mission to cure corrupted gems," confessed Centi. "And now they want to help. It was all they talked about last night."
"Oh…" He offered Neph and Phrita a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, guys. I wish I could let you help, but I just can't."
"Why not?" whine Phrita.
"Are we – undesirable?" pressed Neph anxiously. "Would we ruin the mission?"
"What?! No, no, no!" Steven shook his head emphatically. "Don't start feeling bad about this! It's not your fault, it's just that…well…uh…"
Seeing him scramble for a rational explanation that wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings, Centi supplied, "Because Garnet said so."
Neph and Phrita exchanged a doubtful, one-eyed glance, and Neph gurgled questioningly.
"Garnet," repeated Centi. "You know, the leader of the Crystal Gems? She is our superior now. And for strategic reasons, she wants you to stay here for the time being." She shrugged as if Garnet's motives were a completely mystery to her, which was at least half true. "Steven and I don't have the authority to change that."
Phrita blinked. "Oh!" she said. "I comprehend it now!"
"But you will return soon, yes?" asked Neph, capping off her query with a few soft clicks.
"Of course," Centi assured them. "I'll always come back."
The three of them smiled to each other and touched hands, a gesture of affection that they often performed when comforting one another or saying goodnight. Then, without further interference, Centi's crew let her go on her way with nothing more than a wave goodbye. She waved back as she and Steven returned to the Warp Pad.
"What was that all about?" he asked as they tromped through the vines underfoot. "I mean, they were all worried that we didn't like them, but then they were okay with staying behind as soon as you mentioned Garnet."
She shrugged, her fingers running across her shoulder absently. "They do want to help," she answered. "But even corrupted gems know better than to disobey an order from their superiors."
…
No sooner had Centi stepped into the Crystal Gems' temple than she was beset by Peridot, the small lime-green gem who had been so disgusted by the corrupted gem yesterday. Needless to say, she was not a welcome sight first thing in the morning on what was sure to be a difficult day, yet here she was, prancing up to Centi with both hands behind her back.
"Good morning, Centi!" she sang out.
Centi's shoulders hunched together. "Hi," she said in a dull tone. She glanced over at Steven doubtfully, and to her surprise found that his expression was rather expectant, like he'd been waiting for this to happen.
Peridot cleared her throat. "First things first, I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I know we got off on the wrong foot."
Centi blinked. An actual apology? How was she supposed to react to that…? "Um…"
"To make it up to you," continued Peridot, as if Centi hadn't made a sound, "I decided to get you this gift!" With that, she thrust a wrapped, rectangular package out from behind her back, smiling with eagerness and self-satisfaction.
Centi plucked the package from Peridot's hands hesitantly. "A…a gift? For me?"
"Yes!" Peridot nodded. "And, by the way, the proper response when you receive a present is to say 'Wow, thanks.' It's a human custom that Steven taught me."
Well, that made enough sense. "Wow, thanks," recited Centi, before carefully undoing the ribbon around that Peridot had twined around the gift.
When the paper fell away, Centi found herself holding a small black-bound Earth object that she recognized as a "book." Steven had showed her a few, and while some of them contained beautiful illustrations, almost all of them also had words. As she was trying to think of a way to tactfully explain to Peridot that she couldn't read human-speak, she opened the cover of the book, only to reveal that the first page was completely blank. And so, it turned out, was every other page after that.
"It's called a sketchbook!" proclaimed Peridot. "Steven informed me that you enjoy drawing, so I got you a portable receptacle of paper! This way, you can draw whenever you want to!"
Centi's eye widened. "Wait, really?!" The paper in the book was as creamy and supple as her poster board – she was really allowed to draw in it?!
"Yeah! Oh, and you didn't see the best part!" Peridot gently prodded the side of the sketchbook with her fingertip. For the first time, Centi noticed a small elastic loop holding a pencil, which had been topped by a comical eraser cap shaped like a friendly one-eyed monster.
Centi laughed, running her finger along the eraser. "This is so…nice!"
Peridot looked pleased. "Do you really think so?"
"Yes!" It was a legitimately thoughtful gift; maybe Peridot wasn't so bad after all.
"You are welcome!" Peridot glanced over her shoulder for a second, then turned back to Centi and added, "You are interested in art, and I am also interested in a specific kind of art known as 'meep morp.' Maybe sometime, you could come to my home away from Homeworld and see the meep morps that Lapis and I have made!"
This grabbed Centi's attention immediately. There were other gems interested in art – and Peridot, of all people, was one of them…? "That sounds…very enjoyable!" she responded genuinely. "And maybe another time, you could come to my ship and see my artwork, as well! I could even draw you!"
Peridot's eyes lit up. "Yes! I'm sure that I would make an excellent model!"
Steven grinned over at both of them. "Yay, you guys are getting along! You see, Centi? I told you that nobody thought you were a freak!"
"Nope!" agreed Peridot. "Just a bit of a clod."
Centi stiffened.
Peridot snickered delightedly: nyeheheheheheh. "You see, that was a joke, because I don't think you're a clod at all! It's the Earth humor device known as 'sarcasm'!"
"Oh." Centi quieted for a moment, the wheels in her head turning. Then: "In that case, you're the meanest, nastiest gem I've ever met!"
Peridot snickered again, and this time, she was joined by both Centi and Steven. For the first time since joining the song-finding mission, Centi almost felt like she belonged here.
"Okay!" Steven finally interrupted. "Guess we better get back to our training, then!"
And just like that, the feeling was gone.
"Do we have to?" sighed Centi.
"Well, if you want to get any better at fighting, then yes!" Steven skipped a few steps around the Warp Pad. "Practice makes perfect!"
"Well said, Steven!" praised a new voice, and Pearl loped towards them on her long legs, an oddly bulging sack cradled in her arms. "I've got a full load of new weapons for us to try today. We'd better get started as quickly as – "
At that very second, Garnet burst through the front door of the house with such force that she nearly wrenched it from its hinges.
"Gems!" she barked, assuming a battle stance even as she stood there in the doorway. "We've had a monster sighting on the beach! This requires our immediate attention!"
The house dissolved into a flutter of purposeful movements. Pearl dropped sack of weapons on the floor, ignoring the loud clatter it made as she drew her spear and hurried outside; Amethyst whooped out an enthusiastic war cry and flailed her whip around as she followed; even Steven and Peridot seemed to know what to do, with Steven's round face suddenly overcast by solemnity, and Peridot muttering "This time I'm not gonna let that stupid monster get the better of me!" as they left. Centi had frozen where she was standing, her fingers squeezed around her new sketchbook, unable to believe that they'd been talking and laughing just a few minutes ago. But when Garnet refused to close the door and instead inclined her head towards Centi purposefully, the corrupted gem realized that she was expected to join in this battle as well, despite the fact that she had proven her complete incompetence less than a day ago.
But she went anyway, of course. What she'd said to Neph and Phrita was true – Garnet was in charge here, and Centi had been thoroughly conditioned to never disobey an order from her superior.
Outside lay a world of confusing stimuli; it was sunny but very windy, challenging Centi's previously formed "storm or clear weather" perceptions of the Earth's weather patterns. As the other gems bounded into battle, she remained on the front porch, huddled as close as she dared to the balustrade. She only had vague memories of the sea as water that breathed of its own accord, and silty ground that left her insect legs constantly scrabbling for purchase. Right now, it looked even more intimidating, thanks to the addition of a monster.
The creature had four legs supporting a muscle-swollen body, feet that ended in hooves instead of toes, and long sinewy seaweed sprouting from its neck and tail. Its skin was rough and corrugated, like scales that had been melted down, then cracked into new patterns. And then there was its strangely mismatched head, long and tubular with beady black eyes embedded on either side.
"Woah!" cried Steven, from someplace that Centi couldn't see from her current vantage point. "It's a seahorse!"
Centi's eye moved up and down with almost mechanical precision, absorbing every detail of the monster. Finally, she spotted what she'd been looking for: a slender blue gem at the seahorse's throat.
The monster was a corrupted gem. Just like her.
Amethyst was the first to attack, snapping her whip towards the seahorse. It reared up and emitted a gurgling whinny, which was abruptly cut off when its mouth began to bubble with liquid, and it sprayed a powerful jet of water at her that sent her flying back.
"Ewww!" she cried, shaking herself to get some of the clinging water droplets off of her body. "I'm all covered in monster spit!"
Garnet had reached the bottom of the stairs now, her gauntlets at the ready. "It must have come from the ocean. It has some kind of water-control powers!"
"Aww, man! If only Lapis were here today!" groaned Steven.
Centi watched, mortified, her sketchbook clasped against her chest. This monster was a gem just like her. Who had the seahorse been before she was corrupted? A Crystal Gem? A Homeworld soldier who was deemed disposable enough to leave behind? Either way, she'd had a life and friends and powers and hopes for the future, and now she was here, driven by the cracks in her mind itself to defend what little she still had. And the Crystal Gems were going to fight her and hurt her and poof her. Centi knew that it was technically what had to be done, but it seemed so wrong. And how could everyone else be so casual about it?!
Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven all ganged up on the angry, frightened seahorse. (Peridot hung towards the back and appeared to be trying to look like she was doing something, when really, she wasn't.) So much was happening in such a short span of time that Centi's easily-addled brain had a hard time keeping up with it all; she saw spears flying and whips cracking, and occasionally heard a shrieking whinny that hinted at one of Garnet's power-punches landing on the monster. Then it would spew pressurized jets of water at them, or charge at them with its muscles and pounding hooves, and a pink flash would indicate that Steven had thrown up his shield or a bubble.
Mostly, Centi watched the seahorse itself. It was sad, really, to see how it cowered and attempted to defend itself. It was outnumbered and outmatched, and some part of it probably knew that, yet there was nothing it was capable of other than to continue hopelessly fighting. She knew the feeling well.
Finally, a well-timed dual attack with Pearl's spear and Amethyst's whip rendered the seahorse unable to take anymore. Its physical form dissipated – but the force of the blow was such that its gem was set flying through the air, glittering in the sun.
All five Crystal Gems on the beach ran after it, and Peridot managed to get in the lead. "I got it, I got it!" she yelled, stretching her hands as far above her head as they would go.
Centi watched her progress – and she opened her mouth to cry out a warning, a split second too late. No one would have been able to hear her, anyway.
Peridot rammed into somebody else on the beach: another gem, dark red and squarish. The gem scowled and stumbled back as Peridot went tumbling down onto the sand. Meanwhile, the seahorse's stone landed in the hands of a near-identical square gem who was standing just behind their apparent compatriot.
Centi leaned over the railing, and the only thing stopping her from rushing down there herself was the knowledge that all she'd do was get in the way. Still, even from this distance, she could tell that something was very wrong, and she wasn't the only one who thought so. Garnet suddenly spread out her arms to prevent anyone else from approaching the mysterious red duo.
They all stood their tensely for what must have been at least five minutes. Centi could see their mouths moving, but from this distance, she couldn't hear their conversation at all. Then the two red gems turned around and ran back up the beach, one of them still cupping the remnants of the seahorse in her hands. Garnet still refused to let anyone follow them, although Amethyst looked almost ready to leap over her leader's arm and give chase anyway.
The red gems kept running until they would have been nothing but a couple of specks to anyone with normal eyesight. Centi wasn't sure if any of the others could see what happened next – but she did. Nephrites had exceedingly good long-distance vision.
There was somebody else on the beach. A tall figure, not unlike the color of sunlight, who was pale orange or pink or maybe…possibly…yellow? Even Centi couldn't see for sure. If only she had a way to capture an image…!
…wait a minute, she did! Not the most accurate image in the world, but it would be better than nothing.
She flipped open her sketchbook, snatched up the pencil, and began to scribble while barely looking at the page…putting to paper her impressions of the unnerving event that only she could see…