What Are You Doing Here?

Steven Universe let out a groan as he woke up slowly. The young gem felt stiff, as if he had been asleep for ages. He slowly stood up, yawned, and stretched out before looking around. He quickly realized that he had no idea where he was. As far as he could tell, he wasn't in Beach City. After looking around for another minute, Steven realized that he was on a grassy hill that seemed strangely familiar. The young gem decided to walk to the top of the hill in order to get a better view of his surroundings.

When he reached the top, Steven stopped and sat down on the edge of the cliff. The young boy squinted in the dim morning light, trying to see what lay in front of him. Much to his delight, the sun began to peek over the horizon. Steven sat and watched as the sky slowly became lighter. Finally, he was able to make out the land below, and realized where he was.

"I'm on mom's hill," he said to no one within earshot. "How did I get here? Hmm, I should probably go find the gems. They'll be able to explain what happened." Steven paused as an idea came to him."

"I should stop and get some doughnuts to surprise the gems! Maybe we can make a together breakfast!" Steven got up excitedly and turned on his heel to begin his walk back to town before stopping abruptly. Something seemed off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Steven brushed off the feeling and quickly made his way down the hill towards town.

When he reached the outskirts of Beach City, Steven stopped to catch his breathe. Though the sun was still rising, it was already somewhat warm outside. The heat made Steven feel tired, even though he had just woken up. The young gem resolved to stop when he reached the Big Donut. They always had refreshing drinks there; he could order a soda or something. That would cool him down. Invigorated by the prospect of getting a cold drink and a delicious doughnut, Steven continued his trek towards his favorite shop.

As he walked along the street, Steven took the time to admire his hometown. He always enjoyed walking around Beach City and meeting all of his friends. Everyone was always extremely nice to him. The gems were always supportive of him, and Lars and Sadie were really nice, and the cool kids often invited him when they went to…

Steven's train of thought was interrupted when he realized that one of the cool kids in question, Sour Cream, was walking right towards him. Steven slowed down and waved at his friend.

"Hey, Sour Cream!" Nice to see you!

Sour Cream abruptly froze. He looked over at Steven, and his eyes went wide.

"That party you DJ'd the other night was awesome! Thanks for inviting me!" Steven stopped when he noticed Sour Cream's unusual behavior.

"Are you okay?" Steven asked. He began to walk towards Sour Cream.

Much to his dismay, the white-haired teen began to back away from the friendly boy. As Steven continued to approach the teen, Sour Cream's behavior became increasingly strange. Finally, the white-haired teen simply turned and took off running, sprinting back into town. Steven stopped for a few minutes, trying to understand what he had just witnessed. He briefly wondered if he had accidentally shape-shifted into something terrifying. Maybe his gem was cracked, and he had turned into a gem monster.

Steven lifted up his shirt to inspect his gem. Much to his relief, the pink stone in his navel was in flawless condition. Turning, Steven walked up to one of the storefronts and looked at his reflection in the window. Once again, he looked absolutely normal. Well, his hair was a bit messy, on account of him having just woken up, but Steven didn't think his bedhead was enough to send Sour Cream fleeing in terror. Suddenly beginning to feel drained from the heat, Steven renewed his quest towards the Big Donut.

As Steven strolled down the boardwalk, he noticed that many of the residents were acting oddly. Many of his friends gave him strange or fearful looks as he passed. Whenever Steven tried to wave at someone, they would quicken their pace or act abnormally like Sour Cream. If he tried to talk to anyone, they ran away. Steven found the uncharacteristic behavior of everyone in Beach City very unnerving. At one point, he stopped to see if he could get some fry bits from Peedee. When the blonde boy saw Steven coming, he quickly moved away from the counter and hid somewhere in the back. Steven knew that it often frustrated Peedee when he asked for fry bits, but his friend had never outright refused to serve him.

Steven wondered if he had inadvertently angered everyone in Beach City. Did he accidentally blow something up? He knew he did that sometimes. Still, who could blame him? He was the bomb! Steven chuckled lightly at his own joke before continuing towards his favorite doughnut shop. As Steven walked along the boardwalk, he began to contemplate the current situation. He briefly questioned how he ended up on the hill in the first place. Steven didn't remember hiking all the way there. He wondered if Lion had maybe taken him up to the hill, and he had fallen asleep.. Still, if that was the case, then where had Lion disappeared to? And why didn't he remember any of it? Steven was also confused by the strange behavior of the residents. The young boy wondered if the unusual behavior had been caused by exposure to some sort of gem magic. If so, he needed to go speak to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. They would know what to do.

That is, of course, after he got some doughnuts.

Steven stopped again to catch his breath. He had no idea why it was so hot outside. It was never this hot this time of year. Steven recovered, and quickened his pace. Finally, the young boy reached the Big Donut. Glad to be back at his favorite shop, Steven opened the door, smiling as he heard the familiar ring-ding of the small bell attached to it. Steven noticed that there was only one person at the counter.

"Hey, Lars!"

The teen in question turned around to face the young gem. When Lars realized who had just addressed him, he dropped the doughnuts he was holding and gasped.

"Um," Steven began, "can I please get three chocolate je…"

"Ah!" Lars cried. "Please don't hurt me! I know I was a real jerk! I'm so sorry! Really!
P-p-please just don't hurt me!" At that, the teen frantically scrambled out the back door of the shop before the young gem could respond.

Steven looked down at the floor, both concerned and disappointed.

"I only wanted a doughnut," he stated sadly. At that, Steven left his favorite shop empty-handed. When he got outside, he noticed someone across the street. Steven's smile returned, and he ran over to the individual.

"Hey, dad!" Steven said, smiling widely and waving. His father looked up at the boy, and a weary look crossed his features. Greg rubbed his eyes and blinked before looking at Steven again. A sad look came to his eyes.

"They were right. I really need to see someone about this," Greg said to himself. "The nightmares are bad enough, but now I'm seeing things during the day. What's happening to me?"

"Dad? Dad? Daaad?" When Greg didn't respond, Steven became really scared. He didn't understand what was going on. Steven turned and began running towards the beach. Maybe the gems would talk to him. They would be able to help him fix this. Steven really hoped that whatever magic had affected the other residents wasn't dangerous. Maybe it was some sort of gem mind control. Steven kept running towards the beach, barely noticing the tremendous heat of the day and the terrified citizens he passed.

Finally, Steven reached the edge of the beach. He stopped abruptly, and looked around the sand.

"Huh?"

Steven stared, wide-eyed, at the spot his house had previously occupied. The structure had vanished entirely; not even a single piece of his room remained. The entrance to the temple was open, as it had been before he had been born. Even from where he stood, Steven could make out the warp pad situated in the middle of the temple. He wondered if the gems were in the temple right now. If they were, Steven urgently needed to find them. Whatever was going on, Steven was really scared. Steven panted for a few seconds and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Steven could swear that it was getting hotter by the minute. Steven began to quickly make his way towards the temple.

As he jogged up to the former location of his home, the events of the past few hours ran through his mind. He thought about how he had woken up in an unfamiliar spot without any recollection of how he had gotten there in the first place. He thought about the unusual behavior of his friends and family members, especially how Peedee and Lars had treated him. The way his friends had run away from him still worried Steven. After jogging for another minute, Steven reached the magical door that served as the entrance to the temple. Steven knocked on the door, hoping that one of the gems would answer.

"Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl! It's me, Steven!"

After a few minutes of waiting, Steven realized that no one was home. He turned around and stopped, staring out at the beach. He noticed multiple shapes further down the beach that he hadn't seen before. Determined to find out what they were, Steven began to jog back down towards the mysterious forms in the sand, struggling in the blazing heat of the sun.

As the objects came into view, Steven's pace slowed. As the young gem walked through the sand, he looked around at the numerous tents scattered around the beach. He wondered where they came from and why they had been constructed. Steven briefly considered whether or not to go inside some of makeshift dwellings before his curiosity got the better of him. Steven went in and out of the many tents, searching for other humans or the gems, but found that the structures were empty. As he was about to give up his search as a lost cause, Steven heard multiple familiar voices coming from the largest tent. He slowly walked towards the entrance of the tent and stopped, listening to the conversation inside.

"…comes back, we need to make sure the other humans are safe," he heard Pearl say

"But for how long? Once they reactivate the kindergarten, the earth will be destroyed. It doesn't matter how far away the humans run," Amethyst responded

Garnet spoke up. "That's why we need to stop them here. If we don't, everyone will be killed, including us."

Steven stepped inside the tent, only to find that it was also deserted. Now thoroughly spooked, Steven walked back out of the tent and looked around. He was about to leave the beach when something else caught his attention. He noticed what appeared to be a small stone by the water, surrounded with various objects and flowers. Steven slowly began to approach the object.

When he reached the small stone, he noticed that it was polished and carved. Looking at the objects scattered around it, he noticed that some of the objects had belonged to him; he even found his ukulele resting against the rock. Steven walked around the stone for a few seconds before stopping. He realized that something was inscribed on the side of the rock facing the water, and knelt down to read it. The young gem's blood ran cold.

In Loving Memory of Steven Quartz Universe

Guardian of Humanity

Member of the Crystal Gems

A Kind Friend and Loving Son

Suddenly, Steven felt unaccountably drained by the blazing heat. He tried to stand up again, only to fall face-first into the sand. The young gem continued to claw at the burning sand in a vain attempt to get up.

A word from the author:

Hello again, everyone! I just wanted to take a minute to thank you all for your continued support of this fanfiction. Since my last message (back in chapter four), readership of this story has grown exponentially. I hope you are enjoying the story so far! I would like to thank my beta reader, Trekkie with Vigilence, for your help and support. I would also like to thank all my followers and anyone who favorited or reviewed. Please don't forget to leave reviews; I greatly value feedback. Thank you again!

-Lotus