"Guys, I'm feeling great," Steven said.
"Steven," said Greg, putting on his best dad voice, "your temperature is through the roof, you're barely eating, and when you first saw me, you called me 'Pearl.' How do you even confuse me for Pearl? It's like a foot-and-a-half difference around the middle."
"No, see? I'm standing up. Am I standing up?"
"No, you're not." Greg turned to the Gems. "Thanks for calling me, guys. I'll take care of him from here. How did he even get this sick?"
"We have no idea," said Pearl. "He hasn't done anything that would expose him to any unusual microbes. He's been spending time with Connie on the boardwalk, so he hasn't gone anywhere or eaten anything new."
"Well, it doesn't help to overthink it," said Greg. "Anyone in this town could have gotten him sick. It doesn't take much."
"But Steven never gets sick."
"Sure he does, just not this badly. You probably just didn't notice the other times because he downplays it so much."
"I think I would have noticed if he was sick."
"Pearl, you're a gem, I'm a human. I'd trust you to spot corruption or whatever because you know what to look for. Humans usually know when other humans are sick. Sometimes they walk around and seem fine, other times, well, they're like this."
"But I'm fine, Garnet," said Steven.
"Pfft, I wish I had that much hair. Go to sleep, kiddo." He watched Steven for a while until he fell into the even breathing of one asleep.
Ten peaked over the edge of the loft. "So is he alright?"
"He'll be fine," said Greg. "If you guys don't mind, I'll crash here for a few days and look after him. He'll be up and around in no more than a week."
Greg walked down from the loft, grabbing his coffee off the table, and looked up at the hole above where he could clearly see the night sky. "You know, letting the air in like that all night probably isn't helping him much. Aren't you going to fix that?"
"That's all Pearl," said Amethyst.
Pearl sighed. "I suppose I should."
"I could just hire a roofer," said Greg. "I've got more than enough cash."
"I'd rather we didn't have a bunch of humans walking through our home," said Garnet. "No offense."
"Hey, I hear ya." He started to take a sip of his coffee when he noticed Ten starting at him. "Uh… hi. You're Ten, right?"
"Yeah," she said.
"Hey. Greg Universe. Steven's told me a bit about you."
"Oh, he has?" She suddenly looked nervous. "Good things, right?"
Greg laughed. "Steven doesn't really say bad things about people."
She looked relieved. "I heard Steven call you his 'dad,' right? And your Rose Quartz his 'mom?'"
"Yep, we're his parents. I understand that it's a bit weird to you gems, but Rose seemed to understand at least."
"Huh," she said. "How did you two make Steven, anyway?"
"Oh, well," he blushed. "Let's just call it 'the human way' and leave it at that, okay?"
"So it wasn't Gem magic?"
"Nope, just the plain old human way." He sipped his coffee.
"That's too bad," she said. "I was hoping you could show me how it was done."
Greg spit out his coffee and had a coughing fit.
"You okay, Greg?" Garnet called from the kitchen.
"Doing great, Garnet," he managed to say between coughs. "This is fantastic coffee."
"Sorry, was that a strange question or something?"
"A bit, yeah."
She kneeled down to match his height. "Do I remind you of her?"
"Wow, you're just full of awkward questions." He tugged at the collar of his t-shirt.
Ten shook her head. "Sorry. I don't know yet what you humans find strange. I have a bad habit of ruining first impressions."
"No, you're doing fine. To answer your question, no, you don't really remind me of her. You're just as big and pink, but that's about it. She was the gentlest person I've ever met, human or gem. She was always laughing and a bit of a tease, but she was rarely not in good spirits. She was also, I dunno… elegant, I guess—I didn't take her for a fighter when I first saw her. There's no doubt you are, though."
"Oh, thanks," said Ten, looking pleased.
"Uh, yeah, sure." He drained the rest of his cup and put it down. "Honestly, if the other gems didn't tell me you were also a Rose Quartz, I probably wouldn't have guessed. Steven sees a lot more gems than I do, so I guess he has an eye for it. Me? I try to avoid getting involved if I can. I wouldn't last five seconds doing half the stuff I've seen him do."
"And less than that on the other half, right?"
Greg laughed. "Yeah, you got that right." He sat down on the couch and Ten took the seat next to him as they continued chatting.
The other gems watched from across the room. "Greg seems to like her enough," Pearl said pointedly.
A broad grin spread over Amethyst's face. "Getting jealous again?"
Pearl flushed. "Oh, be quiet, Amethyst. I just mean that he meets another Rose Quartz and he starts cozying up to her right away. It's unseemly."
Amethyst elbowed Garnet. "She's totally jealous."
Garnet nodded, humming in agreement.
Pearl seethed. "You two… I'm being serious!"
"Pearl, chill, okay?" said Amethyst. "He's clearly not in love with Ten. I mean, you remember how he always looked at Rose. Is he looking at Ten that way?"
Pearl huffed. "No, I suppose not. Still—"
"'Still' nothing. He's just getting to know Steven's new friend. That's all it is. So chill. No more of your weird Rose obsession biz."
Before Pearl could respond, there was a loud thump on the door. Everyone in the room turned to see Lion pressing his body against it, causing it to bow inward.
"Whoa, Lion, hold on a sec," said Greg, standing up and heading toward him. "At least let me open the door first." The door was barely open a crack when Lion forced his way through, bowling right over Greg and racing to the loft, standing between Steven's bed and the stairs. He turned, took an aggressive stance, and watched down the stairs, a threatening rumble issuing from his throat.
"What the hey, Lion!" shouted Greg, righting himself. He walked toward the base of the stairs, causing Lion to lower his body like he was going to pounce. "Okay, okay, easy boy," said Greg, backing off. "Uh, guys? A little help?"
"What in the world?" said Pearl. "I've never seen Lion act like this before." She put her hands on her hips. "Lion? Lion, get down here this instant. You're being naughty." She pointed to the ground and tapped her foot. "Come on. Come here. Lion. Lion!"
"I don't think that's working," said Garnet.
"He's probably just upset because Steven is sick," said Pearl.
"Well, that's great and all," said Greg, "but I can't take care of Steven with four hundred pounds of magical teeth and claws in the way."
"Should I whip him out of the way or something?" asked Amethyst. "I mean, I could, but I'd kinda feel bad about it."
"Hey, come on," said Ten. "Animal expert here. Did you all forget?" She walked over to the stairs, and though Lion crouched, she didn't slow or show any fear. Soon she was standing in front of Lion, whose aggressive posturing was shown to be a bluff as she reached down and scratched under his chin. For a moment, he growled at her, then slowly his tilted into the scratches. "See? Cutie pie here was just—"
Lion's ears perked up and he pulled his head from Ten's hand. With a roar, he leapt backwards onto Steven's bed, straddling the boy completely.
"Huh, wha?" said Steven groggily, sitting up and getting a face full of soft fur. "Lion? What are you doing on my bed?"
"Ah geez," said Greg, "and now he's woken Steven up."
"Shh!" Ten hissed, holding up her hand. She turned her head, listening. "Do you guys hear that?
"Hear what?" Amethyst turned her head like Ten, but couldn't hear anything.
"It's…" Ten placed her head near the windows in the loft. She punched out, shattering one of them, sending glass shards all over the floor.
"Ten! Those things open, you know!" shouted Pearl.
"Quiet!" whispered Ten harshly. Everyone could hear now, the rhythmic beating of feet on sand, as if several creatures were sprinting across the beach. The sound was deep, as if produced by large, heavy legs.
"What is that?" Garnet muttered. She adjusted her visor and peered into the future. She gasped. "Greg, get away from the door!" she commanded. "Get up near Steven, now!"
"Yes, ma'am," he said immediately, recognizing by the tone that she was not to be disobeyed. He ran up the stairs and skirted around the still-hostile Lion.
"Garnet?" Steven sounded weak and confused. "What is that?"
"Gems, surround the door!" The others did so without question. "Weapons at the ready. Ten, take the front, shield up." Ten moved in front of the others, her Rose Quartz shield in one hand, her sword in the other, crouched and ready to strike. "Do you know what these are?" asked Garnet.
"I think so," said Ten, "though I hope I'm wrong."
The footsteps in the sand grew louder, closing in on the beach house. The gems all watched the door, weapons firmly in hand, waiting. The footsteps were already loud, but only seemed to get louder and more chaotic, an unknown number of legs tearing towards them. Then the sound stopped all at once, and the house was eerily quiet.
The gems stood there, tense and ready, waiting for the telltale thump of feet on wood as whatever was outside started up the stairs, but it didn't come. Lion was staring at the wall as if he could see through it, down towards the beach at some point near where the stairs would be, and growled.
"Everyone hold," Garnet whispered. Being near the coffee table, she reached over and grabbed Greg's mug, reeled back, and tossed it at the screen door, causing it to bounce off with a loud sprang and shatter on the floor.
There was a sound of feet adjusting below. "Get ready."
With a spray of sand, a half-dozen monstrosities leapt into view, seeming to materialize from the very blackness of the night itself. They bounded on four legs, sleek purple-black and covered in jagged crystal edges, all snapping teeth and knife-like claws.
"Onyxes!" shouted Ten, her only word of warning before they hit the house. Four collided with the walls outside causing the wood to buckle inward and splinter, but one burst right through the door and the another the front window. "Protect your gems! They will go right for your gems!" She slammed the first Onyx in the face with her shield, her sword lashing out a moment later, but the Onyx was ready, dancing away from the blade and taking only a small nick on the foreleg. Ten cursed under her breath. She was hoping to quickly decrease their numbers and had lost the chance.
Garnet sprinted past Pearl and Amethyst, intercepting the Onyx by the window. Her gems protected by her gauntlets, she was quick to put herself between the Onyx and her more vulnerable teammates. She delivered a devastating haymaker to the side of the Onyx's head, sending it sprawling into the wall. Even as she dashed forward to deliver another blow, it righted itself and leapt at her, coming right for her head. As she was dashing forward, the only thing she could do to dodge was let her legs collapse under her, sliding under the beast and punching it in the chest as she slid by, knocking it upwards. Amethyst's whip caught it around the neck, dragged it in a wide arc, and slammed it into the ground near the plinth. Pearl was a moment behind, running the dazed Onyx through with her spear, and was rewarded with a burst of air and the tinkling of an Onyx rolling to the floor.
"Hurry and shatter it!" shouted Ten, holding the other Onyx that had broken in at bay as the Onyxes outside started fighting their way through the door and window.
"We don't shatter, Ten!" Garnet said sharply.
"Then bubble it, whatever! They reform quick! Don't give it the chance!"
True to her word, the gem on the floor started shining. Pearl reacted quickly, tapping it and putting it in a bubble even as it began to rise, then tapped it again to send it to the temple. "That's absurd!" said Pearl as she returned to stand with the others. "Its physical form was destroyed only a few seconds ago!"
"Looks like they take my approach to regenerating," said Amethyst. She lashed out with her whip, striking an Onyx in the face and causing it to stumble back from the window.
Garnet walked over to the Onyx that Ten was struggling with and raised her hands overhead, delivering a hammer blow that blasted the creature straight through the floor. It smashed into the earth below and poofed into a cloud of smoke.
"Amethyst!"
"Got it!" Amethyst cracked her whip through the hole, hauling up the gem and bubbling it quickly, then leapt back as three more of the beasts entered the house. The fourth stood outside the door, waiting.
"I can only hold one, but I can hold it as long as you need," said Ten as the Crystal Gems and Onyxes faced off from one another, each side preparing to strike. "Do you guys think you can take two of these things on?"
"We'd better," said Garnet.
"Good. And keep an eye on that one outside. They like the jump in at the least opportune moments."
"Guys," said Steven weakly, crawling from his bed. "I can help too,"
"Lion," said Garnet sharply, not taking her eyes off the Onyxes. Lion seemed to understand, biting the back of Steven's pajamas and hoisting him away from the ledge and tossing him into Greg's arms.
"Good boy, Lion," said Greg shakily, clutching the squirming Steven.
"Dad," Steven said, panting in his efforts to break his grip. "I need to help them."
"You're too sick to fight. You don't even have your gem strength, you're so sick. What can you possibly do?" He pulled Steven to his chest. "We're staying right here, little buddy."
"Now!" shouted Ten. She dashed forward at the Onyx closest to the loft stairs. It opened its mouth to snarl at her, then found Ten's shield was crammed inside. Ten dodged side to side around the shield as the Onyx swatted at her with its massive claws. She attempted in turn to stab it with her sword, but the blade was not only old and worn, it was also not a gem weapon and wasn't doing any real damage against its crystalline skin.
The second Onyx leapt at Ten from the side, but Pearl jumped in the way, forcing the shaft of her spear into the beast's open mouth. It swiped at her and she nimbly danced out of the way, pulling the spear with her and cutting the beast deep across the jaw. It roared in pain and backed off, allowing Pearl a moment to put herself back between it and Ten.
She suddenly felt Amethyst's whip around him middle and was being yanked away just as the Onyx from outside leapt in to catch her from the side. The beast caught the edges of her sash in its jaws, causing Pearl to jerk back momentarily before it ripped, sending her sprawling off balance to the floor.
Garnet had the last Onyx by the jaws and could see all this happening out of the corner of her eye. She knew she could rip this creature's head off right now and poof it, but she could see the terrible potential futures for the dazed Pearl as the Onyxes advanced on her and Amethyst, so instead she spun and hurled the Onyx into its two comrades, knocking them into one another and finally slamming into Ten who, like a mighty rock, took the blow and kept standing, though the crystal protrusions had done visible damage.
"Watch what you're doing, Garnet!" shouted Ten. With a bellow of rage, she pushed the gem she was holding off of her, then spun and grabbed another Onyx by the tail, whipping it into the first. The wall gave way with a crack and both Onyxes were sent through the railing and out onto the sand below.
"There are still four left," said Garnet, leaping back as one of the Onyxes jumped up and snapped at her. "We need to thin them out."
"It's hard enough just keeping everyone alive," said Amethyst. She wrapped her whip around an Onyx's snout and forced its mouth closed. She tried to crush it completely, but the whip wasn't powerful enough to break through the gem's skin.
"There!" shouted Ten, thrusting into the Onyx's exposed side. Instead of dealing a critical blow, however, the blade bounced off a gem protrusion and snapped. "Dang it!" She threw the remains of the sword through the broken wall and attempted to pin the Onyx in with her shield.
Ten looked around. Garnet was grappling with the other Onyx while Pearl tried to strike it between its flailing legs. Ten and Amethyst were merely holding this one at bay, but neither had the gear to destroy one themselves, at least not without shattering its gem directly. Outside, the sounds of the other two Onyxes getting back to their feet and approaching could be clearly heard. If they didn't get rid of at least one more soon, they would be overwhelmed.
"I need a weapon," Ten yelled over all the noise. "Are there any spare weapons?"
"All I got are whips," grunted Amethyst, doing her best to hold the monster's mouth closed.
"I've got one," called out Steven.
"Steven, stay up there!" commanded Pearl.
"No, I'm going to help! Lion, come here." Lion turned immediately and bent his head, anticipating what Steven wanted. His mane glowed a brilliant white and out of it rose a hilt. Steven grasped it and pulled feebly. It budged an inch and stopped. "Can you give me a hand, dad?"
"You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" Greg reached forward and they pulled out the sword together. Lion didn't wait for instruction, but took the sword in his mouth and leapt from the loft, landing atop the Onyx that Ten and Amethyst struggled with. With a courtly bow, he presented the sword to Ten.
"Rose's sword?" she whispered in awe. Her battle senses didn't give her the time to examine it: she immediately reached forward and pulled it from the scabbard. Lion leapt back up toward Steven, nursing the cuts it sustained on its feet from the Onyx. Ten swung viciously, the blade cutting clean through the Onyx, bursting its form.
"Now that's more like it! Bubble that," she said to Amethyst, and was gone in a blur. Pearl was still searching for an opening when Ten blew past her, ducking and striking upward into the belly of the second Onyx. Her shield came up as claws struck at her, but they weren't enough to stop her from wrenching her sword free and bursting that Onyx as well.
She turned just in time to see the other two Onyx leap back up onto the patio. They had barely landed when she was charging toward them. The other gems didn't even have time to utter a word of caution before she had sunk her blade into the first, stepped on its neck, then leapt away, using her momentum to completely sever the second in two. She landed on the patio and rolled through the gaping hole in the wall, standing as both of those exploded into clouds of dust as well.
The other occupants in the room gaped. "Holy smokes," said Amethyst as Pearl ran to bubble the Onyxes. "How did you do that?"
"Lots of experience fighting Onyxes. It's actually easier when you don't have to aim for the gems." She pointed at each spot where she had poofed one. "Three-thirty-seven, eight, nine, and three-forty."
"Then why didn't you do that in the first place?!"
"Sorry, but my old sword would never have survived that. This is a really, really good sword."
She stood there, examining the sword, looking regal with her shield in one hand, the sword held steadily in the other, and the wind from the gaping wall jostling her hair and clothing.
Pearl nudged Amethyst slightly, indicating the loft with her head. Amethyst looked up to see Greg staring down at Ten, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. "There's the look," Pearl said, half sullen, half laughing from relief. Amethyst started laughing too, and they clutched onto one another in a giddy fit.
Greg noticed Ten offering Rose's sword up to him. "Greg?" she said softly, questioningly. He found his cheeks warming and moisture building in his eyes. "Greg?" she said again. He shook himself from his reverie, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"Whoa, talk about déjà vu," he said, laughing nervously.
"What?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it. And thanks. You really saved our skin." He cleared his throat and gently took the sword from her, then wrestled the scabbard from Lion's mouth, putting the two of them back together. He spent an awkward moment trying to shove it back into Lion's mane but, after seeing that it wouldn't go through, gave up and handed it to Steven, who now seemed to be on the verge of dozing.
"What were those things," he asked the room at large, "and why were they here? What were they after?"
"Me," said Ten. "Those Onyxes must have been sent by Emerald. She knows where we live now. It isn't safe here."
"Oh man," said Greg. "Are we heading back to the barn?"
"That's the safest place for now," said Garnet.
"Hopefully Lapis and Peridot don't mind the intrusion," said Pearl.
"Looks like I need to close up shop for a couple of days," said Greg. "Lemme just run back to my place for some things. Is that cool?"
"Cool," said Garnet, giving him a thumbs up. Turning to the others, she said, "Emerald has made the first move. We need to keep an eye open at all times. We'll need a watch on the perimeter of the barn, especially at night. No one moves alone anymore. We need to—"
"Sorry to interrupt," said Greg, stepping back inside, "but something looks really wrong out here."
Pearl walked out with him, peering over the railing onto the beach. The sun had long since set and she couldn't see a thing. "See those sparkles?" he said helpfully.
"One moment." The gem on her head flared and sent forth a beam of white light. It spilled onto the beach, bouncing every which way as it came into contact with the gem protrusions of a dozen more Onyxes. Her eyes went wide as she swept the beach with her light. There were many, many Onyxes, perhaps as many as forty. Had she a heart, it would have stopped in fright. "Oh no," Greg muttered.
As Pearl's head moved about, she caught a flash of green. She looked back, spotting a figure towering over the Onyxes. She must have been fifteen feet tall, wearing a one-piece spacesuit crafted from overlapping strips of a deep green, spandex-like material, cinched by a belt of shiny white leather. There were diamond-shaped gaps in the ribbons exposing the light-green flesh of her stomach, arms, and legs. She wore white boots and gloves and her head was bald, shining like a sickly moon as it bounced back the light from Pearl's gem. She had no ears, a low-profile nose, and tiny, devious jade eyes. Her mouth, with nearly no lips to speak of, was curled upward in a mocking half-smile. She raised her left hand, the gem on her palm glinting, as if she was merely waving hello. Then she dropped it in a chopping motion, and the horde of Onyxes began charging toward the beach house.
"Everybody run to the warp pad!" Pearl screamed. "NOW!"
The sound of hundreds of feet pounding on the sand outside set everyone in motion immediately. Every hair on Greg's body stood on edge, but he ran up to the loft and grabbed Steven. As he turned to join the others, Lion swept under him and lifted him up onto his back with a yelp. Lion loosed a mighty roar, tearing a portal in the air next to the loft, and leapt through, disappearing along with Steven and Greg.
Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Ten dashed toward the plinth, gathering together as quickly as they could. The Onyxes leapt up into view on the patio and swarmed through the gaping mess that was once the façade to the beach house. As the black mass closed the distance like an advancing wall of teeth, the warm blue energy of the warp stream gathered the gems into it, pulling them out of the beach house and toward safety.