Hello, guys! I would have made another story the next day, but I've been busy. And it builds suspense. So anyway, I don't own Steven Universe or its characters, ideas, ect. The same goes with anything else I name in this chapter. Please, no flaming or trolling. Constructive criticism is also welcomed, and make sure to make your choice at the end of the chapter, once you know what the choices are. Read on, and have epic feelings while reading.

God bless, JPLegends

CHAPTER TWO: The Expiration Date

Steven has been trying to contact Lapis for the next two months, to no success. This frustrated him to no end, as he knew privately it would come. The apocalypse of Earth came with the gems coming to extract Peridot. The others probably knew this too, but were focused on catching the green gem. Steven tried not to focus too hard, going into deep conversations with Connie, watching cartoons with the gems or hanging out with Greg. But today, it would be different.

It started when Steven and the gems started to fight Peridot in the middle of a field. "You clods," Peridot called, shooting her hand cannon at Steven's shield. "You've already lost!"

"What do you mean?" Garnet yells, trying to hammer Peridot with her gauntlets. Peridot dodges the punch and cackles.

"They've finally come to get me out of this retched planet," She says. "Now die!"

A giant, green hand pointing at the ground appears. A mini-laser gun starts firing at the gems, as they hide behind a massive version of Steven's shield. Peridot disappears in green particles as the hand stops firing. The massive gem ship stops, tilts upward, and disappears with a sonic boom. Steven deactivates his shield, exhausted and confused. Just like Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl. "What was that?" Amethyst says, bewildered.

"A gem warship," Pearl says. "It's gone but why was it here? Steven…" Steven started running back to the warp pad, sweat running down his face. If one ship was here… He checked the news on his phone. There were thousands of the ships in the skies everywhere. Washington D.C, London, Tokyo, Moscow. All of the cities had hundreds of gem ships hovering above their heads. He got on the warp pad and warped back home. He ran through the house onto the patio. And he saw it for himself.

Hundreds of gem, hand-like warships above the city. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl appeared behind him, all looking terrified. Surely they were here for Peridot, scanning the cities for her. Surely they will leave once the ship that took Peridot joined the armada.

One of the ships opened fire on the city, its laser ripping the ground to shreds. Then all of the ships opened fire, carving holes in the buildings and starting fires, as screams started echoing the through Beach City. And all Steven could do was watch in horror as one of the ships aimed at the temple. He heard Garnet yell "MOVE!" and the ship fired, carving into the patio. Removing Steven's weight a he fell through the rummage of the wood and onto the sand and ruin below, hitting his head, causing a concussion.

Steven struggled to stay awake as a body picked up Steven and dragged him across the ruin. The body was tall and slender, almost like Pearl. Steven blacked out again and found him in front of his house, now on fire. The body picked him up, and Steven saw more detail. It was covered in futuristic yellow armor, with a box-like object on its hip. It had a yellow diamond on its chest and a helmet completely covering the face. A visor covering the eyes, the body, male in shape, threw Steven away from it. It then touched its gauntlet and said in a mechanical voice "This is ground team zeta. I've apprehended Rose Quartz. What are my orders?"

"Keep her alive," said a menacing, deep voice. "If Jasper's report is true, we'll have leverage over their force." The soldier looked at Steven briefly before Garnet grabbed its arm and judo flipped it a few feet away. As the soldier gets up, Garnet summons her gauntlets and gets in a battle stance, snarling at the gem soldier. The soldier draws the object from its hip, which folds into a pistol looking object. The soldier fires the gun, a yellow laser bolting at the Crystal Gem. Garnet dodges the blast, which vaporizes a rock behind Garnet. Steven then sees Amethyst's whip wrap around the hand, pulling the gun arm back. Another whip grabs the soldier's other arm, restraining the soldier from attacking.

"Yo," Amethyst yells, out of view. "Don't expect us to be killed so easily! And don't expect us to leave our guy behind!" Pearl yells a battle cry, appears out of nowhere and stabs the soldier. The gem explodes in a yellow cloud, poofed until all was left was the green white gem. Pearl grabs the object and throws the object to Garnet, who smashes it with her gauntlets. They rush over to Steven, checking his wounds.

"I'm okay." Steven lied. He was light headed, shocked and everything felt shattered. Garnet checked his gem, which was still in one piece. They all sighed in relief and helped Steven up. Walking away from the shattered ruin of the temple, they started talking.

"We need to get out of Beach City," Pearl said, hobbling on Steven's right. "We need to find somewhere safe."

"Nowhere is safe anymore," Garnet said, spinning around, looking for more assailants. "The invasion force is starting to overwhelm Earth. They'll be everywhere soon." They turned the corner around the cliff, now having a clear view of the multiple ships firing on the city. Steven was brought to tears at this sight. He whipped out his phone, calling Greg. They stopped for a minute, taking cover behind a piece of wreckage.

"STEVEN," Greg yelled on the other end. "Thank God you're alive! Where are you? We need to get out of Beach City!"

"Dad," Steven said. "The gems are invading Earth! Nowhere is safe! You need to meet us at the warehouse! We can get out of the city from there!" Steven waited nervously for a response.

"Okay," Greg rasped, sounding on the verge of sobbing. "Be safe."

"You too." Steven said before hanging up. They got up and started sneaking along the rocky cliff side. They continued until they got to the run down warehouse. They started walking there until they heard a few voices. They took cover on the outside wall. Steven peeked over to see the Fryman family held at gunpoint by gem soldiers, wearing the same uniform the soldier that attacked Steven wore. The father looked beaten down. He hadn't gone without a fight. Peedee was on the brink of tears. Ronaldo was pale, clearly terrified. Steven also saw other people.

Lars was unconscious on the floor, bleeding from his nose and mouth. Sadie was sobbing at his side. Sour Cream was hugging Onion tightly as Vidalia looked at the gems with a fierce expression. Buck was at gunpoint, one of his glasses shattered. His father was held at gunpoint too, although sweating wildly. Almost all of Beach City was held hostage, and the gems were responsible. All of the sudden, a soldier said something and they all started moving. Steven and the gems sidled along the side of the warehouse, seeing the gems heading for the lighthouse.

They waited for a few more minutes until Greg's van appeared. They ran for the van, got in and Greg sped off along the road, disobeying all traffic laws. "Are you okay?" Greg asked desperately.

"I can't believe it," Steven muttered. "They're holding all of Beach City hostage in the light house. What are they going to do to them?"

"How are we going to fight back," Amethyst asked, terrified. "We're outnumbered one to a billion!"

"We need to get the Beach City residents back," Garnet says. "We can't win it without them. We need to get a bunch of people, weapons, guerilla attacks…"

"We need Connie," Steven interrupted. "I can't see us surviving without her." He took in all the looks he got from the gems and Greg in the middle. He looked out the middle they were halfway out of Beach City.

"We need good plans, guys," Steven barked. "Connie's full of them. Pearl, you and her could think out attack plans. Garnet, she's a valuable ally! She can fight with a sword! Amethyst, you have to agree with me!"

"He's right," Garnet said, taking in looks from the others. "Having her on our side will be a coup. And I can't see us winning anything without her." Steven hugged Garnet. She had always believed in Steven and now, they needed all they could get.

"I'll take us to her neighborhood," Greg says, catching his breath. "If it's still standing, her family might be alive. Steven, Lion arrived just before the attack. He's waiting in an armory of sorts. He must have been theorizing about an attack." This was now the battle plan. Find Connie, and her family if possible, go to the armory, plan out an attack, rescue Beach City's hostages and return to the armory. Steven looked out the window, as they left behind Beach City. He will be back. And he will win.

What do Steven and co. find at Connie's house? I leave the answer to you, and the suggestion I like best will be shown on the next chapter. I don't own Steven Universe. No flaming or trolling. Constructive criticism is welcomed. And comment your suggestion on what you think should happen. A new chapter will be posted on Friday. See you then.

God bless, JPLegends