Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe

(A/N: Yo! Hey I know it's been a little while, but the last couple weeks have been crazy. After school functions, family gatherings, friends, and the stomach flu that's been going around Lancaster all hit me at once, forcing me to take an eight day break from writing just as it was about to be your turn in my update cycle. Apologies aside, since I took my break I've acquired three new readers! That's insane! So to Katrillion506, angel88441, and Austin Bass welcome aboard!)

Chapter 19: Redemption

Jack sat up into a more comfortable position against the rock as he let a sigh of relief pass through his nose.

"Thanks, kid I appreciate it, but you should get inside. There's no need for the girls to catch you hanging around me. Not after what I've done," He said grimly. Steven felt a pang of sympathy. He knew it wouldn't help, but he also knew that no one wants to be alone when they're like this. Looking for an excuse to stay it took only a second before he noticed the guitar case sitting next to the tall gem.

"You play?" Steven asked as he felt his glum demeanor start to fade at the mention of his passion. Jack's head shot up and the corners of his mouth pulled upwards.

"Hell yeah I play," He said with enthusiasm as he undid the latches on the case to reveal a 1967 Guild acoustic guitar. Steven's eyes turned to stars as he gazed at the rare instrument.

"No way," Steven gaped in awe. "There's no way that's real!"

"Hehe, as real as they come. It's just another perk of being a gem. But things when they're cheap, sell them when they're not," Jack explained as he began to tune one of his few possessions. "This however is an exception. Sometimes it feels like I need it; it's the only thing that can take my mind off things on nights like tonight," He finished with a sad smile. Steven let his vision drop down to his crossed legs as he felt tears begin to prick his eyes, but not enough for them to be visible.

"Yeah I can relate," he said solemnly.

"You're what twelve? What could you have done that's that bad?" Jack asked in disbelief. Steven took in a deep breath.

He's a gem, he's here, and he's in danger too. He deserves to know. So Steven explained everything. Everything. What happened to his mother, that he was actually fourteen, their current situation with Jersey Devil, and how it was all his fault. It took a while for Jack to get over a few things, namely Rose's death, the cluster, and Obsidian's return. Steven just sat there looking at the ground with a few tears falling freely to the grass below.

"Oh shite," Jack groaned as rubbed the left side of his face. He looked at the young boy across from him, and suddenly had an epiphany. "Well, being sad about it s'not going to help anything," Jack said confidently.

Here we go. Why can't they understand that I'm like this because I've put everyone I know and love in danger? He of all people should understand. Steven thought in frustration.

"Sure we messed up. We messed up really bad, but just sitting around all sad, and shite isn't going to get us anywhere. We may not be able to go back and undo what we've done, but what we can do is try to fix it. Everyone has a chance at redemption," Jack said with a smile. For some reason Steven felt… better. It was strange; he had heard similar things from the others, but hearing it from someone who's been there meant more. He felt the sorrow in his soul be replaced by hope.

"You know what, I think you might be right," Steven said cheerfully as a pair of head lights caught his attention out the corner of his eye. From here he could see a familiar jeep pulling up to the light house. The conversation must've taken longer than it had felt. Geez I hope they had a better night than I did. No such luck.

Six hours earlier

Our heroes walk around in an empty field almost two towns over. The moon lit the flat patch of land well as the six teenage adventurers walked around cautiously.

"Sadie, are you sure this is the right place?" Jenny asked curiously. The leader of the team looked through binoculars in an attempt to prepare for any approaching threats.

"These are the coordinates Garnet gave me, but she said that she's been having trouble with her future vision. She said it's as if the paths keep running in different directions before they all merge into one point and then split of into millions of straight paths. Nothing's ever been for sure, but now she doesn't even know what to expect," Sadie explained. Jenny was about to reply but was interrupted by a subtle rumble in the ground. A look around let her know that the others had felt it as well. The rumbles became more consistent and gradually increased in intensity. Sadie was now frantically scanning the area until suddenly her heart dropped into her stomach.

"Oh no," She whimpered.

"Let me see!" Lars quickly put the magnifying lens up to his eyes before he felt his heart start to pound in correspondence with the rumbling, which was in fact caused by the out of sync shambling of countless gem mutants. "Someone call the gems," Lars commanded in fear, knowing this would not end well. Sadie took out her phone, but it wouldn't turn on.

"Anyone else?" Sadie asked with hope, but to no avail. She couldn't explain why their phones refused to work, but she didn't have time to worry about it. The army was approaching, and she needed to prepare her team. "Alright everyone, just over that hill is a giant mob of force fusions like the one Ron showed us! Are we ready for this? Probably not, but we can't turn back. If we run away now those things are going to plow through two towns and Beach City!" The team nodded and listened intently. "Here's the plan, divide and conquer. Spread out destroy them, don't let any of them get passed us. We are the first and last line of defense. If you feel like you're starting to get overwhelmed get the heck out of there! They're weak, but there's a ton of them!" Just as Sadie finished the rumbling stopped, and the team looked up to the unorganized formation of mutated gems. The team drew their weapons and felt their resolve and determinations fuel their caine. A bright red light made itself known above the wall of synthetic flesh. At the speed of sound that red dot plummeted to the ground resulting in a crater. From the crater arose a fierce gem beast. Its skin was the darkest shade of black anyone had ever seen, its limbs and body were twice the size of a person with black feathered wings folding against its back for easy storage. It raised the giant broad sword in its right hand parted its seemingly serrated lips to reveal a powerful blood red light. With the light came a screech telling his legions to destroy the enemy. The team knew how much could go wrong, but they were determined to protect their loved ones, or in some cases what remained of them.

(A/N: A cliffhanger, now? Isn't that a bit of a cop-out? Yes, yes it is. Sorry about this, I would've made this an extended chapter, but I haven't worked on Overtale reloaded since the 26th)