(Author's note: This chapter is long as well. But I hope you enjoy the read!)

Chapter 4: The Gems, Alone (Part II)

It's almost the end of the week and Garnet still isn't back yet. Steven sits on his bed, replaying his game, Golf Quest. It's kind of boring to go through it a second time, but it's just as exciting because he's found a bunch of different new mini-quests within the game that he had overlooked before. Garnet's Gems are resting next to him in a new basket Connie made for him. Pearl and Amethyst are in the living room. Amethyst is messing with Pearl's spear training. She shape-shifted into a mosquito and started buzzing around her head to annoy her. It's working.

"I think I'm going to go get some fry bits," Steven announces, pausing his game. He rolls off bed and falls on the floor. He giggles to himself. "Hey Amethyst, you wanna come?"

"Hehe, nah," Amethyst replies, still buzzing around. Pearl's desperately trying to swat her away. "I'm think I'm gonna keep doing this."

"Okay, I'll be back." Steven rolls off the side of his room. He falls and lands on the couch still giggling. "Hehehe, that's so fun." He gets up, puts on his sandals that were hiding under the table and walks to the door. But before his hand can even touch the cold, brass doorknob, the warp pad activates. Steven, startled and scared, whips his head around to the glowing blue light of the warping device. He remembers it calling his name, before Garnet went to the Galaxy Warp, before she fought those monsters.

Pearl holds her spear up, cautious of anything that might jump out of the light. What is going on? Only a non-corrupted Gem can activate such a complex machine like the warp pad. Who is behind this?

Amethyst shape-shifts back into her normal self. She stands next to Pearl, prepared.

"Sss…" A voice hisses within the light. "Rrrr…" It continues, almost like a growl. The beam of light starts to quiver and shake violently. "RRRRRR—" It growls. "ROSE!" The light suddenly shuts off. A round object sits in the center of the warp pad. The exterior looks something like a wood louse (or rolly-polly) rolled up. Pearl lowers her spear. She walks over to it.

"Wait!" Steven cries, but she continues anyway.

"What is this?" Pearl says, poking the thing with her spear. "Amethyst, did you do this?"

"Hey, don't blame me for this!" Amethyst hollers back out of anger. "Stop blaming me for everything bad that happens!"

"Well you're the one who messes things up all the time. You almost killed yourself, cracking your gem." Pearl pokes the thing again with her spear.

"That was an accident, and you know that! You know what? I'm done! I bet you can handle that thing on your own since I'm such a screw up!" Amethyst storms past Steven and out the door. She jumps off the ledge, running away when she lands.

"She'll be back, Steven," Pearl says. "But you should follow her. I think I can handle things here."

"Um, okay," Steven says, grabbing his scooter and helmet. "But, I don't know, Pearl, I think you should be nicer to Amethyst. We are Gems." Steven closes the door behind him, riding off. Pearl looks down at the ball thing on the warp pad sadly. She knows she should, but she can't.

"Amethyst!" Steven shouts, riding around on the boardwalk. "Amethyst where are you?!" He passes an alley. There's movement in it. A pile of trash bags fall. A small figure moves in the shadows, walking towards Steven. "Hello?" The figure steps into the sunlight. It's a small purple cat with an even darker purple gem on its chest.

It's Amethyst. "Look Steven, if Pearl told you to come get me, I'm not coming back. I'm just so sick of her right now!" She jumps onto the dumpster. "She needs to chill out."

"I know," Steven says. "Wanna get some bits?"

"Eh, sure, why not."

Later, they stop at the Beach Citywalk Fries. Peedee's at the counter. Amethyst is wrapped around the back of Steven's neck, asleep. "Hey Peedee," Steven says, "the bits please."

"Not this time Steven," Peedee says. "We can't serve you bits anymore. It's a health violation apparently."

"Whaaaa—!" Amethyst shouts. Peedee flinches at the sight of a cat talking. "How can you not serve bits anymore!"

"Is-Is, uh, is that cat talking?" Peedee stutters, pointing at Amethyst.

"Yeah, Amethyst shape-shifted into a cat," Steven replies, "but why can't you serve us bits?"

"The last time you came for bits, the health inspector was here and saw Ronaldo give them to you. He said it was some sort of violation because it's unsanitary and just plain disgusting." Peedee pauses. "I mean, we only serve them to you."

"Aww, so what are you doing with all of them?"

"Ronaldo's throwing them away. But I'm not sure you'd—"

"Gimme, gimme!" Amethyst jumps off Steven, onto the roof of the restaurant and runs across it to the back.

"Is, uh, your cat always like this?"

"Sometimes she's like this. Sometimes she's a giant wrestler or just her plain self. I have to go. Bye Peedee!" Steven scooters of in Amethyst's direction leaving Peedee with a heavily confused look on his face.

"That boy keeps getting weirder every day."

Steven finds Amethyst in her human form sitting on top of a giggling Ronaldo eating the fry bits he was about to throw away. "I have a girl sitting on me. Score!" He pumps his arm.

"Hey Steven, I saved them," Amethyst says. "You want some?"

"Uh, no… I think we should head back home," suggests Steven, looking at the fry bits, questioning their cleanliness. "Pearl might be in trouble."

Amethyst looks away, brow lowered. "She can handle it herself."

"I don't know—"

"Look. Steven. I'm not coming back until she tops being so uptight, okay? I can't handle it anymore."

Steven throws his scooter to the ground. He balls his hands in to a fist. He starts shaking. "I CAN'T HANDLE IT ANY MORE!" Amethyst drops her bits, flinching at the sudden rising of Steven's voice. "You two need to make up! Do you even know how stressful it is listening to you two bicker constantly over everything?! Sure, I'm cool with it sometimes—especially when you turned into Opal—but it just gets so irritating after a while! I don't say anything about it because I know you two are friends and I'm sure you two can settle things out with each other! But what, I'm only twelve?! Stop fighting so much!"

"I—uh—um…Steven…" Amethyst stammers, wide-eyed and not even sure what she's should say. He's right though.

"I'm going back to the temple with or without, Amethyst," Steven says, picking up his scooter. "See you later, Amethyst." He turns around, riding away.

"Wait, Steven!" Amethyst calls, holding out a hand. He turns around. "I'm coming with you."

"Hey, Pearl! I got something to say to you!" Amethyst yells, kicking open the door. It's eerily dark in the house, but she doesn't notice. She and Steven walks in the house finding Pearl standing in front of the warp pad with her back facing them. Steven puts his scooter by the stairs. He looks at Pearl with one of his eyebrows up.

"Pearl? Are you okay?" Steven asks, walking towards the Gem.

"Why…yes, Steven," Pearl says, turning around. Her voice doesn't sound like her. In fact, it sounds distorted slightly. "I am okay." The thing from the warp pad latched itself to Pearl's face! The thing isn't covering her entire face, though, so Pearl's Gem is safe, but she looks like she's being controlled by it. Pearl's Gem glows and she summons her weapon. She expertly spins it in her hands and drops into a fighting stance.

"Oh, so you wanna go?!" Amethyst screams, suddenly angry. She doesn't seem to notice the thing on Pearl's face anymore. All she sees is Pearl wanting to fight her.

Pearl charges. Steven runs out of the way of the mind-controlled Gem, letting her go to Amethyst. "BRING IT ON SISTER!" Amethyst shape-shifts her right arm into a giant fist and punches Pearl square in the face. Pearl is thrown into the wall next to the temple door. She quickly recovers, picking herself up quickly.

Amethyst summons her whip. She whips it across the house, lassoing it around Pearl's waist. She throws her into the air and through the ceiling. Amethyst jumps through the hole she made Pearl make, shape-shifting into Purple Puma. Amethyst seizes Pearl, turns her upside down and pile-drives her into the sand below.

Back inside the house, light shines from Garnet's gems. They hover above the basket Connie made. They levitate to the living room, still glowing, but also sparkling too. Garnet's silhouette shines as she goes through her past transformations and finally ends at her current one. The light breaks, revealing Garnet in her usual bodysuit, but repaired and fully healed. She opens her eyes, closing her third eye. Her feet slowly touch the ground. She swipes a hand across her face, covering her eyes with her shades. "That's much better." Garnet says, cracking her neck. "Hey Steven."

"I had this thing ready for you, but Pearl and Amethyst are fighting!"

"How bad is it?" Garnet sighs. Steven points to the hole in the ceiling. Garnet scrunches her lips to the side. "Not as bad as last time. I'll be back. Wait here, Steven."

"Raaaaaaaahhhh!" Amethyst shrieks, uppercutting Pearl in the gut. Pearl, with the thing still on her face, twirls around in the air and throws her spear. Amethyst catches it and throws it right back at her. Pearl dodges the spear doing a backwards somersault. She drops to the ground, summoning another spear and charges towards Amethyst. Amethyst transforms into a rhinoceros and charges as well.

A hand grabs Pearl's head. Another grabs Amethyst's horn. The hands spin them both around, violently throwing them in opposites directions after gaining enough momentum. Garnet dusts her hands, crossing her arms after. "Both of you, inside the temple, NOW!" Her voice echoes throughout Beach City.

"Garnet! The thing on Pearl's face!" Steven shouts from the house. Garnet notices Pearl rushing towards her, spear thrust forward like a jousting lance. Garnet easily deflects the spear, grabs Pearl's shoulders and knees her in the chest. Garnet's free hand illuminates with a high wattage of electricity. She grabs the thing on Pearl's face, frying it. It lets go and dies.

Pearl takes in a deep breath. She sees Garnet looming over her. "Oh, Garnet! You're back! Thank you for saving me!"

"Inside the temple, now," she commands. Pearl gulps and backs away. She turns around and marches straight for the temple. Garnet moves towards Amethyst. She threw her at the meteor. She's reverted out of her rhino transformation and is now rubbing her head in pain, but she's otherwise okay. Garnet picks her up by the shirt. "Temple. NOW." Amethyst follows Garnet into the temple, fearing what she might do to Pearl and her.

Neither of them notice the crack in the meteor.