Why We Have To Fight Them
Steven struggled in the Homeworld gem's grip. The injured gem knew that he wouldn't be able to win in a fair fight. Without the gems or Connie, he was entirely outmatched, even at full strength. Considering his current condition, his primary objective was escaping from the Homeworld gem and finding somewhere safe to gather his wits. Shifting in the gem's grasp, Steven made another attempt to break free, but to no avail. He looked at his captor, who gave him a bloodthirsty grin and drew her arm back.
"I'm going to enjoy this," the gem said sadistically.
Pulling her arm back further, the gem swung at Steven, hitting his injured shoulder and sending him flying several yards into a strawberry patch. Reeling from the force of the blow, Steven slowly got to his feet and clutched his aching shoulder. The wounded gem looked up just in time to see his assailant lunge at him. He reacted quickly, sidestepping the attack. The Homeworld gem hit the ground, sending rocks and leaves flying in many directions. Quickly getting to her feet, the evil gem turned towards Steven, staring daggers at her hated enemy. The young boy took several steps back, scared by the Homeworld gem's animosity. The imposing villain roared and summoned a massive cudgel. Fearing for his survival, Steven turned and began to run away from the gem; emitting a battle cry, the gem began to follow him through the patches of strawberries. The young gem ran for a minute before his pursuer overtook him. Enraged, the Homeworld gem tried to crush Steven with her weapon, but the young gem managed to avoid her wild attack. The psychopathic gem recovered and lunged at the boy once more, swinging her weapon furiously. Steven narrowly evaded her attacks, retreating several steps.
"Wait!" Steven cried, his voice wavering. "Why do you want to fight me? Can't we just all get along?"
"I want to destroy you," the gem replied coldly. "and I have no intention of 'getting along'."
The Homeworld gem continued her unwavering assault on Steven. Ducking and weaving, the injured boy managed to narrowly evade her massive weapon again and again. Realizing that he would eventually wear out, Steven turned and sprinted towards the warp pad. Unfortunately, the young gem's foot caught on a stone, causing him to fall face-first onto the cold ground. Steven turned to see the gem standing over him, the gigantic weapon raised above her head.
"Finally, after five thousand years, I finally get my revenge. This…ends…"
Suddenly, a large object barreled into the Homeworld gem, sending her flying into a nearby strawberry patch. Unable to make out the object in the dim moonlight, Steven quickly grabbed his flashlight and clicked it on. Pointing it at the bush, Steven found Lion grappling with his attacker.
"Lion!" Steven exclaimed, relieved to see his friend. "You came back to save me!" Lion let out a concussive roar, knocking the Homeworld gem back several feet.
"Get out of my way!" the Homeworld gem thundered furiously. She spun around, swinging her massive cudgel at Steven's pink protector. The weapon caught Lion square in his belly, launching him several yards. Steven watched with horror as his companion hit the ground roughly, letting out a pained whine. Realizing that his Lion was buying him valuable time to escape, Steven turned and dashed towards the warp pad. Realizing that her quarry was escaping, the Homeworld gem let out an angry yell and sprinted after the fleeing boy. Steven continued to run as fast as he could, weaving between strawberry patches as the Homeworld gem slowly gained on him.
The fleeing gem looked over at his shoulder at Lion, who was curled up on the ground. Steven couldn't bear to leave his friend behind, but knew that there was nothing he could do to help. Steven felt powerless, unable to help his friends as the Homeworld gem hurt them one by one. He refused to let anyone else get hurt. He had to get to Beach City and warn everyone before it was too late.
Seeing the warp ahead of him, Steven surged forward diving onto the warp pad. Quickly getting up, the young gem warped away just as his deadly assailant reached him. In the warp stream, Steven took slow, deep breaths and used his working hand to rub his head, which was throbbing painfully. Countless unanswered questions danced in the young gem's mind. Why was the gem attacking him? What did she want with his mom? Would he be able to survive much longer? Were his friends safe? Gruesome thoughts played through Steven's brain, sending a shiver down his spine. Taking one more deep breath, Steven dusted himself off and regained his composure. Without warning, the warp ended, depositing Steven on the beach. Squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight, Steven took out his flashlight, clicked it on, and stepped off the warp pad. He looked around anxiously, hell-bent on finding his dad and the others.
Steven began to walk down the beach towards the few remaining tents. He was thankful that many of the residents had already gone back to their homes. If the Homeworld gem came to the beach looking for him, the people who had already left wouldn't be in danger. Steven turned his attention to the boardwalk. In the dim moonlight, he could barely make out the outlines of the many storefronts and locations that had been repaired over the past week. The progress made by the residents heartened the weary boy, and he smiled half-heartedly. Turning his attention back to the task at hand, Steven quickened his pace.
After walking for another minute, Steven finally arrived at the group of tents. Slowly making his way through the makeshift structures, Steven reached his tent and went inside. Looking around, Steven was surprised to find the dwelling deserted. The confused gem stood for few seconds, wondering where his dad could be. Suddenly, a realization came to him.
"Dad's probably in his van!" Steven exclaimed to himself. He guessed that Connie had gone back to her house for the evening, so his dad had no reason to stay in the tent.
Quickly exiting the tent, Steven looked around the beach for any sign of his dad's beloved vehicle. After looking for a few seconds, he spotted it further down the beach, and started jogging towards it. Upon reaching the van, Steven walked to the back doors, put away his flashlight, and began pounding on them furiously in an attempt to wake his dad up. After a minute, Greg burst from the back of his van brandishing a waffle iron, causing Steven to fall backwards into the sand.
"Who's there?" Greg asked, looking around frantically. "I'm warning you, if you…oh, Steven, it's just you." He helped his son to his feet. "Where are the others?"
"Dad!" Steven responded hysterically. "The Homeworld gem is coming! She beat up Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl and now she's coming for me! You need to get everyone as far away from the beach as you can."
"What!" Greg replied, a fearful look in his eyes. "I-I won't let you stay here and fight her alone! I can't stand to see you get hurt again."
"I have to, dad," Steven stated, tears forming in his eyes. "It's the only way to keep everyone safe."
Suddenly, Steven heard a faint noise from behind him. He turned to see the warp pad activate at the other end of the beach, and heard a loud roar in the darkness.
"Go! Get out of here!" the young gem exclaimed, "I won't let anyone else get hurt because of me."
"No, I won't let you," Greg asserted sternly. "You're my son, and it's my responsibility to keep you safe!"
"Dad! Please!" Steven cried. Greg hesitated for a moment, and sighed.
"Okay, kiddo, just be careful," Greg stated, holding back tears. "You're all I've got left."
Steven nodded in understanding before turning and taking off down the beach towards the warp pad. After jogging for a minute, he made out the imposing outline of the Homeworld gem in the moonlight and stopped, catching his breath for a few seconds. The pair stood silently, unmoving for a minute, staring at one another. Finally, the Homeworld gem spoke up.
"So, you finally decided to stand and fight. I guess you're not a complete coward after all."
"I don't want to fight you," Steven stated, shifting his position slightly. "I know that you don't like my mom, but we don't need to hurt one another over something that happened a long time ago. Can't we just try to work this out? We could be friends."
"No," The villain replied, summoning her cudgel once more, " we can't be 'friends'. The only thing that I want is to watch you suffer!"
Roaring, the Homeworld gem lunged at Steven, swinging her weapon at him. Steven quickly summoned his shield and blocked the attack. The evil gem swiftly recovered and attacked again. The young gem managed to block the second blow, but the force of the strike knocked his shield off his arm, sending it flying several feet away. Steven looked over at his shield lying in the sand and winced. He turned his attention back to the Homeworld gem just in time for the massive cudgel to hit him directly, slamming him into the ground. The gem surged forward and swung her weapon repeatedly, bludgeoning the young gem as he lay helplessly in the sand. After a few seconds, the Homeworld gem stopped and glared down at her hated adversary. Steven was curled up in the sand, his good arm covering his head, crying profusely.
"Ugh," the Homeworld gem spat, "This is really what's become of you, Rose? You're pathetic. I used to respect you, but you've become weak."
The gem picked up her foot and planted it roughly in Steven's chest. The wounded boy heard something crack, and let out an agonized cry as pain erupted in his chest. The cruel gem picked up her foot and brought it down on Steven's injured arm, snapping the appendage and eliciting another pained yelp from her adversary.
"This almost isn't satisfying," the Homeworld gem stated sadistically. The gem hit Steven with her cudgel once more, smiling as he emitted a pained groan. "…Almost."
The evil gem removed her foot and kicked the injured boy, launching him several yards. Steven landed in the sand roughly and let out several coughs, clutching his chest. The pain was more intense than anything Steven had ever felt, and the battered young gem struggled to maintain consciousness. His vision was beginning to blur, and he felt nauseous. Weakly turning his head to the side, Steven noticed that one of the laser light cannons stood a few feet from him. Suddenly, a painful realization dawned on him. The wounded boy knew that he only had one hope of keeping everyone safe.
The Homeworld gem slowly made her way over to her prey and gazed down at him. Steven struggled to get up for a few seconds, grasping at the sand in a desperate attempt to find something to steady himself. The villain chuckled and brought her foot down on the young gem once more, smirking as she heard another rib crack. The gem leaned over, grabbing Steven by his injured arm and lifting him off the ground.
"You've been causing trouble for the past five thousand years, Rose. I expected this to be a challenge. But you didn't even put up a fight. Even your army is pathetic." The gem lifted her weapon above her head and gazed at her injured prey. "Any last words?"
Steven struggled in the gem's grip and coughed. Looking up at his assailant, he gave a small nod.
"If every pork chop were perfect…we wouldn't have (cough)…hot dogs.
The Homeworld gem gave him a confused look. "What's a 'hot dog'? No matter, time for you to…huh?" The gem heard a sound from behind her, and turned to see the light cannon charging up. Realizing what Steven had done, the gem turn towards him and yelled furiously.
"Why you little…"
The gem's furious rant was cut off as the cannon fired a massive blast of energy at the pair. Steven lowered his head and closed his eyes as he and the Homeworld gem were engulfed in blinding light.