Author's note: For those of you who haven't noticed, the Ruby in this story and the Ruby that makes up our favorite fusion in-show are not the same. Watch "The Answer" and then reread the first chapter, you'll know what I'm talking about. Don't worry, she exists...or I guess it would be more appropriate to say she existed. This is significant to the plot, by the way.
2. Laser Light Cannon
"Hey, Fryman," Steven called as he and Ruby made it to the counter of one of his favorite establishments, Beach Citywalk Fries. "Give me the bits!" He demanded happily as he made it to the counter.
Mr. Fryman looked at Steven. "Sorry, we're closed." He said, pointing to the sign reading "Closed" in red letters.
"Aww, what?" Steven whined in disappointment.
Ruby put her elbow on the counter, eyeing Mr. Fryman playfully. "Aw come on," Ruby mock whined. "Give 'em the bits."
"Now you know w-"
"Give 'em the bits!" Ruby said loudly as she pounded the counter. "The bits, the bits, the bits..." Ruby began to chant as she began to hit the counter, her voice gradually rising with each chant.
Steven smiled. "The bits, the bits, the bits..." Steven joined it, the duo eventually beginning to yell their chant.
Mr. Fryman looked about ready to give in, only for him to turn his head away determinately. "Nice try guys, but I'm not giving in so easily this time." He said, ending the chant.
"Aww." Steven whined, hanging his head a little in defeat.
Ruby looked at Steven and back at Fryman, a small smirk on her face. "Oh Fryman." Ruby sang. "It would be a shame if something happened to your restaurant...again." Ruby threatened, turning her palm upwards to show a small flame.
Mr. Fryman jumped at the sight. "Okay, okay, just cool down!" Mr. Fryman said, admitting defeat and going in to cook the fry bits.
Ruby flicked her wrist, dismissing the flame. The red gem crossed her arms and smiled pridefully.
"That wasn't very nice." Steven told his friend.
"Aw please. I wasn't actually going to burn it down." Ruby said, maintaining her smile. "...at least not after all the grief I got from Opal the last time."
Mr. Fryman came back, handing Steven a bag of fry bits. "Here are the bits." He said cheerfully, seeming to brush off the earlier incident. "You know we do have actual fries if you want."
"Just the bits, please." Steven said, taking the bag. "Thanks." He called before walking away, Ruby following.
Mr. Fryman watched them walk off for a bit before looking at his shop. "I need to make this place Ruby proof."
Steven and Ruby continued to walk down the path to the temple, each taking a handful of fry bits before eating them. Steven took a look at the sky and the two red spheres in the sky. "Ah, the sunset. I just love the colors as the sun goes down and the second sun gets bigger and bigger."
"Wish I could get bigger..." Ruby grumbled, looking at herself. "Wait a-" Ruby froze as she looked into the sky and saw the second red ball. "Wh-wh-why is that here?"
Steven looked at Ruby. "Hey, are you okay?" Steven asked, waving his hand in front of Ruby's face. He let out a small yelp as Ruby suddenly grabbed him and made a dash for the temple, the young boy dropping his food.
"Yep..." Sapphire said, peering into the telescope. "It's a Red Eye."
"Nooo, you think?!" Ruby exclaimed sarcastically. "and I thought it was a second sun!"
"Geez, I know that red eye is bad, but all it'll do is make everyones eyes really itchy." Steven said.
Connie pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's pink eye." Connie looked at Opal. "Although he does make a fair point. What's so bad about a "Red Eye" that makes it so worth panicking over?"
Opal looked over at the giant ball with a worried glance. "I'm not all too sure actually...I haven't seen one in person before."
"I'll tell you what it'll do!" Ruby shouted, grabbing Connie by the shoulders and pulling the girl to look in her eyes. "It'll crash straight into Beach City and crush everything!" The red gem exclaimed, punching her fist into her palm to make the point.
"Not everything." Opal said, crossing her arms.
"Oh excuse me!" Ruby said, looking up at Opal. "I forgot about all the "significant" things." Ruby said sarcastically.
Steven and Connie stepped away awkwardly as Ruby and Opal began to argue.
"So how are we going to stop it?" Connie asked Sapphire.
Sapphire took a long look at the machine before looking back at the children. "The only thing I've heard of that could destroy one of these was one of Rose's Light Cannons...but Rose isn't here and the cannon is missing."
Connie felt a tinge of guilt at the statement, feeling responsible for Rose not being there.
"If Mom had it, then Dad probably had it; and if Dad had it, then Vidalia probably knows where it is." Steven said proudly, met with an awkward silence and a few stares. "What?" Steven asked, looking up at Opal.
Opal was fiddling with her hands, trying to hide how conflicted she was on what to say.
Ruby was the first to pipe in. "I liked Greg and all but I really don't think Rose would give Greg something like a Light Cannon. Heck, she didn't even trust me with one." She said.
"That's because she knew you would just try to use it on everything." Sapphire told Ruby.
That's not-" Ruby took one look at Sapphire's face and hung her head. "Yea, that sounds about right." She admitted in shame. Ruby looked back to Steven. "It's nothing against him, we just don't think he would have had it and feel we should try something we think will be a little more...productive."
"Like what?" Connie asked.
"Like throwing me at it!" Ruby declared walking up to Opal. "Alright, lets do this thing." Ruby said, pumping her fists.
Opal nodded, summoning her bow and firing Ruby at the giant red machine using the weapon.
Ruby gave a battle cry surrounding herself in fire and summoning her gauntlet. "Take this!" Ruby shouted before hitting the Red Eye, sticking to it for a little bit before falling into the ocean.
Sapphire face palmed. "Idiots."
Steven and Connie just stared for a little while before Steven spoke up. "Sooooo, we're just gonna go."
"Don't eat your fry bits off the ground." Sapphire told the child, watching as Ruby slowly tried to swim back to shore,
"Aw man." Steven said, Connie taking his hand and leading him away.
Steven was panting when he and Connie finally made it to "It's A Wash", Greg's old business he'd made after he gave up his dream of becoming a rock star. After Greg had died, Vidalia had decided to take up the business and act as a mother figure for her old friend's kids. Steven was about to knock on the door when Connie stopped him.
"Wait Steven..." Connie said.
"What?" Steven asked, suspicious.
"Maybe the Gems are right." Connie admitted reluctantly.
"Whaaaaat?" Steven exclaimed at his sister.
"It's not that I don't want to believe in her." Connie said, rubbing the back of her head. "It's just that...well...Vidalia's not the best when it comes to magic and gem stuff. Maybe we should listen to the Gems and do something that's more likely to help."
Steven just stared at Connie for a few seconds. "Even if you are right, which we both know you aren't, what could Vidalia do to make this any worse?" Steven asked, indicating towards the ever-growing eye.
Connie took a moment to process the information before smiling and nodding. "I'd say that's solid logic right there."
"Yay logic!" Steven cheered in victory before turning to the business and banging on the door happily. "Vidalia, it's us! Your two favorite kids in the whole world!" Steven frowned in confusion. "Hey Vidal, you in there?" He asked, cupping his ear to listen for a response. Receiving no answer, he tried ramming the door. "Come on Vidalia. You need to help us stop a flying pinkeye."
Connie crossed her arms and looked at her panting brother, shaking her head. "Have you tried opening the door?"
Steven stared at Connie for a second before standing up and pulling on it, the unlocked door opening. He smiled back at Connie. "Where would I be without you?"
Connie shrugged. "Ten bucks says she would've come out in a robe with her shot gun." Connie suggested jokingly, walking in.
Steven looked plainly at Connie as she walked in. "She doesn't do that...anymore." Steven said as he walked in after her, the two finding Vidalia to have fallen asleep. "Vidal." Steven said quietly, lightly shaking the woman.
Vidalia snorted before bolting awake. "No Onion, you already destroyed the-!" Vidalia cried, shocked to find the children standing around her. "...Alright, what did I say and how badly do you kids need therapy?"
"Wow, I can't believe I just took my friend's children to get a magical light cannon out of his old storage unit to destroy a giant floating red eyeball... I'm not still dreaming, am I?" Vidalia asked Connie as she opened the storage unit.
Inside of the shed were gigantic piles of random objects that threatened to fall but inexplicably managed to stay in place. Steven and Connie took a moment to look in awe at the things their father had collected over his life.
"Wow, what did Dad keep in this thing?" Connie asked, walking up to it and ignoring the previous question.
Vidalia gave a small laugh. "What didn't he keep in this thing? He stashed away almost anything and everything he ever owned." Vidalia said.
"Like Light Cannons!" Steven exclaimed excitedly.
Vidalia scratched the back of her head. "I guess." She said with a tone of uncertainty.
"Don't worry Vidalia." Connie assured. "If it's in here then we'll find it cause we're-"
"The Gem Twins!" Steven and Connie exclaimed together happily as they gave each other a fist bump.
"Are you sure you two can handle this?" Vidalia asked, suddenly a little concerned.
"Please Vidalia, we're professionals." Steven joked.
"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Connie asked.
As if on cue, a pile of boxes fell out of the shed, stopping at Steven's feet.
Vidalia laughed nervously. "Maybe this isn't a good idea."
"Nah, we're just gonna need some gear." Steven said, running to the pile of fallen junk, followed by Connie to sift through it.
"Flashlight!" Connie said dramatically, pulling a flashlight out of the pile and wielding it in the air.
"Electrical Cord!" Steven said, tying an electrical cord around his waist. "Ready for adventure?!" Steven shouted, pumping his fist in the air.
"Yea!" Connie called, matching Steven in enthusiasm.
"Wooo!" The duo cried, diving into the pile, leaving the confused woman behind.
"...I really need to work on their survival instincts." Vidalia mumbled, staring at the large pile.
"Steven, for the last time, that isn't the cannon." Connie told her brother.
"But it looks just like a cannon." Steven whined.
"It's just a bunch of old golf clubs..." Connie said before inspecting the clubs. "I didn't even think Dad played golf."
"Aw come on, you didn't know your old man played?" Vidalia's muffled voice came from the outside, the woman hearing the comment. "He used to be quite the golf player back in the day."
Connie pulled out one of the golf clubs to find it sloppily held together by tape. Upon further inspecting the rest of the clubs, she realized they were in the same state as the one she held. "They're all broken!" Connie called to the woman.
"Well I never said he was good." Vidalia replied sheepishly.
The tape ripped and the broken half of the club fell to the ground, Connie and Steven staring at the fallen piece before leaving it behind to dive deeper in the shed.
"Oo!" Steven and Connie exclaimed, running off in different directions.
"I think I found it!" Steven called, trying to pull something from under a large pile.
"No," Connie said back, pulling an object out of a different pile. "It's over he-" Connie looked at the freed object, finding it to be a drum. "...never mind."
Steven fell backwards as he managed to pull out his object, a T-shirt cannon, the device firing a shirt into the air.
Connie walked over to pick up the shirt. "Buy T-shirt cannons?" Connie looked down to find a box of CDs.
Steven chuckled. "That's Dad for you." He smiled fondly at the silly antics their dad used to pull. He looked back at Connie, remembering that his memories were just that, memories. "What ya got there?" He asked as he saw Connie stoop to the ground.
Connie showed him one of the CDs, turning it around in her hand.
"Hey, it's one of Dad's old CDs." Steven said.
Connie laughed fondly, her laughter slowly becoming sad. "Remember when Dad told us about when he traveled the country in his one-man band?"
Steven chuckled at the memory. "Yep... I bet it was fun, being able to see so many cool places."
"But he decided to stay in Beach City with Mom." Connie finished her brother's thoughts.
Steven looked and found a picture of their Dad and Rose together. Picking up the picture and brushing off a layer of dust, he stared at it, a wave of sadness washing over him. "What do you think Mom did with Dad on her adventures?" Steven asked his sister.
Connie looked over from the box of CDs, finding her brother looking at the picture with tears forming in his eyes. "I'm not sure, but I bet they had a blast." She said, walking up and putting an around her twin. She looked at the picture, the feeling of nostalgia increasing at seeing an image of her father after so long. There was a period of silence between them before Connie broke it. "It feels weird seeing him after so long, huh?" She asked Steven.
Steven sniffled. "Yea..." Steven let out a small sniff. "I-I still miss him."
Connie turned to her brother and hugged him. "I know how it feels Steven. I miss him too...but we're still here, we still have a family, and we still need to protect them."
Steven looked at Connie, a smile on his sad face. "You always know what to say, don't you?"
Connie laughed at the question, taking her brother's hand. "Now come on, lets go find us a light cannon!" She cheered, pulling her brother even farther into the shed.
"Hmm, now if I were a Light Cannon, where would I be?" Steven wondered aloud, looking around him as he walked.
"Steven, asking where it is isn't going to make just appear." Connie called far behind him, the girl digging through a large pile while grumbling nonsense.
Steven turned his head to look at her as he continued to walk. "Well it's a better idea than-" a metallic clang sounded as Steven ran into something large. "Ow!" Steven exclaimed as he fell on the ground. Steven opened his eyes. "What did I...I found it!" Steven called excitedly as he noticed the pink object before him.
Connie ran up to it, looking at the cannon in awe. "Wow, it's so...big!"
"Well it is a cannon." Steven said matter-of-factly.
Connie looked at Steven. "You thought it was the T-shirt cannon earlier."
"You thought it was a drum." Steven countered happily.
"Touché. So now that we've found it, how are we going to get it out of here?" Connie wondered aloud as she tied the electrical cord around the Light Cannon.
Vidalia rubbed her chin in thought. She jumped as a genius thought came to mind. "Stay put, I'll be right back!"
"Yea, because we were planning on not doing that." Connie said sarcastically, earning a chuckle from Steven.
After a few seconds, they heard the unmistakable sound of the roar of an engine approaching them.
"Wait, did she-" Steven began, stopping as the electrical cord suddenly straightened.
The cannon slowly began to pull forward as vehicle outside continued to pull, the piles of junk never slowing the pull. Eventually, the cannon was pulled outside as the many piles in front of it fell forward.
"She did." Connie said, looking at the vehicle in awe.
Before them stood something they had long forgotten about, Greg's van. The van, despite its old age, still seemed to be in good condition. Its white paint had begun to darken, becoming a duller, grayer color. The once bright logo had also dulled, but was still as colorful and cheerful as it was before.
"Doesn't run like she used to, but nothing beats old and reliable." Vidalia said, patting the darkened van.
"Wow...you kept it?" Steven asked, never thinking he would see the old van again.
"Sure did." Vidalia replied.
"But...now how are we going to get the cannon to the temple?" Connie asked, looking at the cannon. "It's not going to fit in the van."
Vidalia rubbed her chin. "You know, I didn't really think about that."
"You didn't think about it?!" Connie asked.
"Well I was sort of just worrying about getting the thing out at the time." Vidalia said, scratching her head. She looked at Connie, the young girl giving the adult an expression of exasperation. "Hey don't give me that look. Don't you remember that thing your dad always used to say? If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have..." Vidalia began to snap her fingers, unable to remember the rest.
"Hotdogs." Steven and Connie finished simultaneously, a small smile creeping onto their faces at the old memory.
There was an awkward silence among the three, each quietly wondering how they were going to get the cannon there.
Steven gave himself a mental slap as he took a glance back and saw a cart at the shed's entrance.
Vidalia took a few glances at the Light Cannon as she drove the old van to the temple, the cannon continuing to scrape against the road and produce sparks. The woman cringed as the van went over a bump and a loud clang sounded as the cannon hit the ground.
"So you two are completely sure that this thing is going to be okay, that it won't break...or burst into flames or explode?" Vidalia asked.
Steven and Connie turned from looking out at the cannon from the rear window and looked at Vidalia.
"Not even a little." Connie answered, deadpan.
"We never said it wouldn't do that." Steven said at the same time.
Vidalia looked away from them and focused on the road. Great.
Connie took a look out the window and saw the Red Eye getting larger. "Can't this thing go any faster?" She asked, panic etched in her voice. She calmed down as felt a hand grab onto her own.
"Don't worry sis." Steven said with a smile, almost like he wasn't aware of the danger afoot. "Everything will be okay."
Connie didn't know why, but she felt better. "Thanks."
Steven's smile widened. "Don't mention it."
Ruby was soaked as she swam back to the beach shore once again, the energy never fading from her despite her failures. With each attempt, she tried even harder, believing with all her being that she was going to break through. Alas, this wasn't enough to stop the Red Eye that grew larger and larger in the sky. Altogether, things were seeming bleak for the team, but this wasn't enough to break their spirits.
"Come on Opal, this time's sure to do it." Ruby said, hopping next to the tall gem, preparing to be shot once more.
Sapphire, who had been watching the two gems sad attempts and admittedly found them to be rather humorous, twitched her head upward. "They did it." She said quietly, her calm voice barely heard over the sound of the approaching Red Eye.
Opal immediately looked over to see the approaching van, dropping Ruby on her face. "He really had it." Opal said softly.
Ruby lifted her head from the sand. "We're gonna live!" She cried happily.
As Vidalia was making the van come to a halt, the harsh sound of tearing metal drew everyones attention to its source. Opal ducked as large shreds of Beach Citywalk's sign came flying at her. Everyone looked as the Red Eye's gravitational pull grew more and more powerful.
Ruby buried her face in the sand once more. "We're gonna die!" The red gem cried.
Opal looked at Sapphire. "We need to use it now." Opal told the blue gem.
Sapphire looked at the sky for a moment in thought before looking at Steven and Connie. "The only one who could activate a light cannon was Rose."
"Yea, use your Rose powers!" Ruby's muffled voice cheered, her face still buried.
Steven looked back at Vidalia. "How do we use it?!"
Vidalia looked into Steven's eyes. "I-...I don't know!"
"Ugh, forget it! Opal, throw me again, I'll break it this time!" Ruby said from her spot in the sand.
"No you won't." Sapphire called as she hovered around the light cannon in search of some sort of triggering mechanism.
"Come on, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work!" Connie said to cannon with her eyes shut, the girl holding her shirt high enough to show her rose quartz gemstone. She cracked an eye, her hopes falling at the unresponsive weapon. "Grr, you're useless!" She shouted, kicking the cannon hard, immediately making her grab her foot as pain shot through it. "Owowowowow I- ow, hate- ow, you." She said amidst her pain.
Vidalia watched the sight with a sad look, looking to see Steven simply staring at the weapon with a look of curiosity, a look that still held hope.
Suddenly, the male hybrid took a step forward, the group silencing. He took a few more steps toward it, stopping right in front of the weapon. He stared up at its top before wrapping his arms around it and hugging it tightly. "Come on...I know you work...I believe in you...I know you're still looking out for us." Steven's embrace tightened and he shut his eyes. "So please," tears fell from his shut eyes. "please help us Mom..." Steven waited a moment before cracking an eyelid to look at the cannon.
It didn't work.
Steven's arms fell from around the cannon, the hope leaving his eyes. "So this is it...I couldn't do it...I couldn't find a way...I'm just a screw up..." Steven said as he fell to the ground. Steven flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Steven looked up to see Connie smiling down at him. "No you aren't Steven." Connie told her brother. "You're so much better than that. So what, you couldn't get it to work. We'll find some other way that no one else could have thought of...because if every pork chop were perfect..."
Steven smiled and a spark of hope flashed in his eyes. "we wouldn't have hotdogs."
A flash of pink light shined from the belly buttons of the two siblings, the cannon beginning to glow brightly at the same time. Steven could only stare at it in awestruck wonder, Connie pulling him to his feet and away from it.
"D-does that mean it's working?!" Vidalia asked hopefully.
No one paid the human any attention as the cannon unlocked, falling to the ground as it began to grow brighter.
"I'll take that as a yes!" Vidalia shouted, rushing down and trying to lift the cannon to aim at the growing Red Eye. Vidalia looked back at Steven and Connie. "Well you can wait for Christmas if you want, but I don't think this thing will!"
Steven and Connie jumped up, rushing to aid the woman. Steven trying to lift from below, Connie from the right, Vidalia from the left, the three tried their hardest to aim the weapon at the Red Eye, the weight too much for them. Suddenly, they felt the weight taken from their shoulder, looking back to find Opal, Ruby, and Sapphire helping the cannon take aim.
"Get ready!" Opal warned as the cannon's light became brighter.
As Steven was beginning to think the Light Cannon couldn't get any brighter, a rose of light shot out of the cannon, forming into the silhouette of a woman. Steven looked and immediately recognized the shape. He was looking to see if Connie had too when the light shot into the Red Eye, cracks forming in the sphere. Steven looked back at it in time to see it explode, pieces flying everywhere.
As the chunks began flying off, everyone staring at where the Red Eye once was in awe, Ruby let out a cheer.
"Alright, you two just saved Beach City!" Ruby said, picking Connie up and spinning her around happily.
Opal took a look back at the city behind them, smoke rising from various areas and sirens blaring in the background. "Most of it anyway." A tall building crumbled apart, Opal wincing as it crashed to the ground.
"Well I guess that's my cue." Sapphire said with a tired expression, leaping off towards the city.
"And I'm going to get ready to celebrate! Tonight we're. Going. To. Get. CAKE!" Ruby exclaimed, pumping her arms in the air before running up the hill.
Steven and Connie continued to stare at the sky, both thinking the same thing but not knowing what to say.
"So," Opal said from behind them, making the children yelp in shock. Opal gave a small smile at their reaction. "it looks like you two aren't the only ones who remembered your dad's little phrase.
Steven and Connie took another look at the sky, a small orange light dimming where the Red Eye once was. "Yea..." They said.
"She would be proud of you." Opal said, putting her hands on their shoulders.
"They both would." Vidalia said, putting a hand on the children's other shoulders, giving them a sweet smile.
The group of four stood in silence, watching the light in the sky fade as the sun continued creep down to hide behind the ocean.
"Hey Opal, you coming or what?!" Ruby called.
Opal gave a small groan, walking after her teammate. Before she was out of sight, she took one last look back at the group, smiling.
After a few more moments of silence, the light finally gone, Steven looked over to the gray van. "So...what are you going to do with Dad's van?" He asked.
Vidalia walked over to it. "I don't know..." She smiled. "I think I'll keep it. Thing stays together alright." She said, leaning on the front. The front bumper fell off almost immediately. "I can fix that." Vidalia said quickly, not even looking down at it.
A loud crash sounded from behind her as a chunk of the falling Red Eye landed on top of the vehicle, crushing the van underneath.
Author's note: Yep, I'm sorry to say that Greg's dead is confirmed...but who killed him? (Won't this be a shock when she comes.) And don't worry, I'll try my best to make the next chapter in the present a little more unique.