Disclaimer: I don't own Steven universe

(A/N: Great response for the last chapter!...You bunch of sickos. JK, but seriously I love you guys. You're so responsive. I have now hit the 1750 view mark. Granted about two hundred of those are people who read the first chapter and decided they didn't like it, but I think I've earned the confidence. Last time on Young and Fearless our heroes faced rage, guilt and depression as the world as they knew it seemed to crumble around them. Ladies and gentlemen I give you chapter 15 of Young and Fearless.

Junior VB: Thanks

Storwriter2003: You're welcome?

Dante Watterson: Thank you)

Chapter 15: Before A Fall

It's been one week since the tragic murder of Dewy and Kiki. The funerals were bright and sunny, but this did little to lighten the mood. Kiki lay in her plot where her parents would eventually follow, and Dewy's ashes had been sealed in an hour glass where he would be in eternal motion as per his will. The team except for Lars had gathered in the light house where they discussed their retaliation plans. Buck and Jenny found themselves all too able to set aside their grief with thoughts of vengeance running rampant through their minds.

"I saw his body before the cremation. He was covered in cuts and stabs in pairs of four. Each wound was equally spaced," Buck explained.

"And we know whose description that matches," Ron confirmed.

"Kiki looked the same," Jenny added glumly. "That means that the detectives will link them in the murder case," She finished.

"And from there it's only a matter of time before they find out that something's up," Sadie added contemplatively. "If he did this in retaliation to freeing Lazarus then what was stopping him from going further? What was ever stopping him?"

"It could be that he's afraid," Sour suggested. "He knows that at his army's current state it doesn't stand a chance against the world's military. As power hungry and arrogant as he is he knows that he isn't immortal. We and the gems are capable of beating him, and on top of that he knows that we know he's weak to weapons made from obsidian. Even his main fighting force is a legion of dangerous, but ultimately mindless beasts that untrained teenagers could beat. That's why he didn't want to draw attention to himself until he was sure he could win. Jersey's smart; he's fought and won wars we can't forget that," He finished. All the while Lazarus sat on the roof of the light house staring up into the moon. It was full, bright, and shone a blinding white. Something about it made him feel at home; it felt natural, and for a moment it even made him feel safe. The child like gem thought over what Ron had said to him a week ago and paired it with the events of the following days.

"Afraid or not I'm free. I won't let anyone take me back," He clutched his fist tightly. "And I won't let anyone hurt my friends again," His eyes glowed white as he felt himself resonate with the moon it gave him power, it gave him strength, it gave him solace.

Lars zoomed around the outskirts of town on his motorcycle with his bow and quiver on his back. He had resigned to patrol while the others figured out their next plan. He snapped his attention to the road ahead which seemed to be obstructed by a rather large gem beast that was trying to crush a car with the driver still inside. The beast was very tall and lanky. It had violet skin, a white mane, and two razor like claws sprouting from each of his wrist. Lars acted on instinct as he stood up on the foot rests, let go of the handle bars, and shot a charge shot right into the beast's face. The beast dropped the car to hold its face in pain. Lars quickly sat back down, and prepared for one of the craziest plans he ever had. Throwing his weight upward he jumped onto the car and used it to ramp into the beast's face. The beast fell with Lars on him and made the fall survivable for Lars who slid off the monster's face while still on two wheels like a badass.

Let's see codename;…Merrick. Why not? Lars thought trying to make light of the situation so he wouldn't notice that this was his first fight all alone. He loaded three more arrows onto the string of his bow and drew back. He released the bolts which embedded themselves in Merrick's back equally spaced and ready for their purpose. Merrick spun around and swung at Lars, but the lean teenager dodged out of the way and shot another arrow right into Merrick's right eye. This distracted the corrupted gem long enough for Lars to run around him and jump onto the first arrow that he had shot into its back then the next and the next one. Latching onto the white fur that made up Merrick's mane he focused his energy into his hands which were right over the gem's temples. The strong electrical current ran through the flesh medium and destroyed the gem's physical form, leaving Lars to fall harmlessly to the ground. He smiled and took off his helmet in celebration. Then he heard a shocked gasp from behind him. He whipped around to see the driver of the car. He had been too focused on the fight to recognize the black Lexus sedan. A man with similar skin, hair, and eyes, color with a buzz cut starred into his eyes.

"Lars?" the man asked as if it were a question.

"Alex, hey bro what you been up to?" Lars tried to play off what had just happened knowing full well that it wouldn't have any effect on his older brother and legal guardian.

"Wh-what are you doing here? What the hell was that thing?" The distraught older man asked. A feral screech echoed through the night and drew Lars' attention to the sky where he just vaguely made out the shapes of various winged creatures.

"I'll explain later, just drive!" Lars rushed as he got his helmet back on and started his motorcycle. Alex wasn't feeling particularly confident at the moment and followed Lars on his faster vehicle. In the light from his head lights Alex could see his little brother fighting off monsters the likes of which he had never seen before. He damn near had a heart attack when Lars emitted a yellow light to shake off a particularly ferocious looking monster that had grabbed onto his shoulder and almost ripped him off his bike. They raced up a cliff where they were met with the light of day and the sight of retreating monsters. Alex rushed out of his car and proceeded to ask the same questions he had earlier. Lars explained everything…well almost everything. Somethings were better kept a secret.

"So this is what you've been doing this entire time? This is crazy, Lars! What do you think mom and dad would've said about this?" Alex exclaimed, his sense of responsibility kicking in.

"I don't know why don't you tell me you knew them, longer," Lars muttered bitterly. Alex crossed his arms.

"Is that what this is about?" Alex almost hissed.

"That's what everything's ever about with you! They've been dead for half as long as I've been alive; why can't you just let go!?" Lars retorted.

"You ungrateful son of a bitch!" Alex snapped as he threw a punch.

"We're brothers you idiot!" Lars yelled back as he dodged and threw another punch. The fight went on for a minute with Lars holding back all of his caine and still winning. Lars knocked Alex on the ground and stood over him. "Damn it, Alex I'm actually trying to be something for once and all you can do is rant about how I should stop! Can't you let go just once?!" Lars yelled before freezing for an instant and walking away to sit on the edge of then cliff. Alex let his features soften as the correct course of action became apparent in his mind. He got up, brushed himself off, and sat next to his brother.

"So, the protector of the whole city?" He asked while looking straight ahead.

"Yep," Lars replied softly without looking at Alex.

"Just be careful alright?" he said with dejection but support. Lars relaxed and leaned back on his arms.

"Sure,"

(A/N: I wasn't sure about this chapter, but figured ah why not? Sorry if it sucks I was sort of distracted at the time. Let me know if it does and I'll see what I can do differently. Review and follow!)