Before Consequence

The light of the morning had just begun to peek out over the horizon. As the sun slowly rose, its golden rays shined on the countless injectors in the Kindergarten, bathing the ancient site in a radiant glow. Earlier, the sounds of violent struggle rang within the rocky walls. Now, the only sound was that of a light morning breeze flowing through the vast valley. The unnatural silence of the ancient place gave the canyon a tranquil yet ominous feeling.

The eerie atmosphere was abruptly dispelled by an otherworldly hum and a flash of light. A familiar purple figure appeared. Amethyst blinked, stretched, and looked around, searching for any sign of trouble. After determining that she wasn't in imminent danger, the violet gem stopped and took a deep breath, rubbing the back of her head.

"Geez, that gem hits like a freight train. I hope we don't have to fight her again. Ugh."

Now fully awake, Amethyst scanned the ground, looking for the gemstones of her fallen comrades. After a few seconds, Amethyst noticed two glinting objects on the stone floor. Amethyst briefly lamented how she had been so easily defeated by the Homeworld gem. She had lasted less than thirty seconds in the fight, leaving Garnet and Pearl to deal with the villain. As she could tell, their luck hadn't been much better. The purple warrior walked over and quickly stooped to pick up the gemstones. Amethyst stared at the glimmering objects for a second, wondering what was missing. She suddenly realized that Sapphire's gem wasn't there. Somewhat panicked, Amethyst frantically looked around the canyon until she spotted the small blue stone lying against the far rock wall. Amethyst briskly jogged over to the azure gemstone.

As the violet gem leaned over to pick up Sapphire's stone, it began to glow. Amethyst jumped back in surprise as the cyclopean gem reformed in a flash of light. Sapphire took a second to get her bearings before setting her gaze on Amethyst.

"You're awake," she stated calmly.

"Yep," Amethyst replied. "Just me."

"Do you have Ruby's gemstone?" Sapphire inquired. Amethyst quickly nodded in response and handed her the red stone.

"So, what happened to the Homeworld gem?" Amethyst asked, her calm demeanor belying her worry. Sapphire stopped and concentrated for a minute before looking up at her teammate and shaking her head.

"I…I don't know. My future vision isn't working. I can't…I can't see." Amethyst gazed at her clairvoyant comrade and shrugged.

"Eh, I guess we'll just have to wait for Ruby and Pearl," stated the purple gem.

Amethyst glanced around the canyon for a minute before noticing that her "sitting rock" was only a few yards away. The purple warrior leisurely made her way over to the large rock, her mind preoccupied with the recent skirmish. She jumped, landing roughly on top of the ancient stone. Amethyst stood and looked around, enjoying the feeling of the cool breeze as it blew through her flowing hair. Though she had no idea where the Homeworld gem went, the violet warrior had a feeling that they hadn't seen the last of her. She wondered where Steven was, and if he had encountered the Homeworld gem. She hoped he was alright…

Amethyst's train of thought was interrupted when Pearl's gem began to glow. The polished stone floated out of her hand, and Pearl emerged majestically. The pale gem landed gracefully on the ground and quickly summoned her weapon, looking around the canyon. Once she decided that Amethyst and Sapphire were the only other gems there, Pearl released her spear and spun around to face her friends.

"Good to see you're both awake," Pearl said distractedly, her mind clearly preoccupied.

"You too, P," Amethyst responded. The purple gem jumped off her "sitting rock" and approached her newly reformed teammate. "It's been too quiet without your nagging."

Pearl gave her a dirty look before turning and addressing Sapphire.

"Ruby hasn't regenerated yet?" Sapphire held out the small red gemstone, causing Pearl to grimace slightly.

"Well," Pearl continued, "I'm not sure it's safe without Garnet. I'm not even sure it's safe with her. I think we should wait for Ruby before we go back to Beach City."

"Well, I think we should head back as soon as possible!" Amethyst asserted. "If the gem went to the beach, then everyone's in danger. We can't just sit here!"

"We can't do anything even if we go!" Pearl retorted. "The Homeworld gem beat us. Twice! And we had Garnet with us both times. We even had Steven with us in our first encounter. If all four of us didn't win the first time, how do you expect us to now?"

"I don't," Amethyst replied pointedly. "I'm not saying we need to go fight. We just need to go make sure no one got hurt." Pearl turned to Sapphire, who was focused on the small red stone she was holding.

"What do you think we should do?" the pale warrior asked. The clairvoyant gem looked up at her and thought for a few seconds.

"Without my future vision, I can't say for certain what we should do. But I agree with Amethyst. We need to protect the humans. And make sure that Steven is safe. You two go. I'll stay here and wait for Ruby to come back. When she does, we'll meet you there."

Amethyst and Pearl both looked at the azure gem for a few seconds before turning to one another and nodding. Without another word, the pair whirled around and swiftly sprinted through the valley towards the warp pad. The sound of their furious footsteps echoed through the canyon walls as they made their way to the warp pad. As they ran, Pearl looked over at her companion. She could see a fierce determination in her comrade's features.

"Do you think Steven's okay?" the pale gem asked. Amethyst looked over at her, noticing her worried expression.

"Um…yeah, I think he's okay." The purple warrior lied. "He's probably hanging out with Greg somewhere." Amethyst turned her attention forward once more. As she ran, thoughts of Steven's fate ran through her mind. She doubted that Beach City had remained entirely unscathed. The purple warrior knew that Steven would have stayed to protect his friends if the gem came, which probably ended with him…

Amethyst shook her head, banishing the awful visions from her mind. She looked up and noticed the warp pad not far ahead. After a few more seconds, Amethyst and Pearl skidded to a halt in front of the magical platform. Looking at one another with trepidation, the pair slowly stepped onto the warp pad and vanished in a flash of light.

In the warp, Pearl looked over at her companion, who was looking down at her own feet, clearly upset by the events which had transpired recently. The pale gem took a deep breath and summoned her spear.

"We should be ready when we get to the temple. There's no telling who will be waiting for us. Amethyst looked up at her comrade and nodded. For once, she agreed with Pearl; the pair needed to be ready for anything. Without another word, she pulled her whip from her gem and assumed a fighting stance. She hoped it wouldn't be needed.

Without warning, the warp ended, dropping the pair on the beach. The two gems rushed off the warp pad, assuming a fighting stance, only to find no sign of their diabolical enemy. Sweeping the area once more to make sure it was safe, the two warriors nodded at each other and dispelled their weapons.

"We should go look for Greg and Steven," Amethyst suggested. Pearl gave her a perfunctory nod, and the duo took off down the beach towards Greg's tent. After a minute of trudging through the sand, the pair arrived at the makeshift structure, only to find it deserted. Pearl looked around the beach for any sign of Greg's van, but to no avail. The pale gem looked back at her companion worriedly.

"I can't find any sign of Greg or Steven. Do you think they were captured or…"

"Relax, P." Amethyst stated nonchalantly. "They're probably at the car wash or something."

"But the Homeworld gem was here for a reason," Pearl responded. "And all we know is that she destroyed Rose's fountain. If she's here to find Rose, then she might have gone after Steven. We need to go…"

"I don't think she knows about Steven. Let's go see if he and Greg are in town." Without another word, the two gems began walking to the boardwalk.

When the pair arrived at the boardwalk, they immediately knew something was wrong. The town was eerily quiet; the sounds of the residents as they made repairs had ceased entirely. The only noises that the gems heard were the sounds of the seagulls squawking and the ocean breeze blowing. No matter where the duo looked, they failed to find any sign of Greg, Steven, or the other residents. Finally, they reached the carwash and stopped. Amethyst listened for a second before hearing a small noise come from inside the car wash. Summoning her whip, Amethyst slowly began to advance towards the car wash tunnel. Pearl quickly pulled her spear and followed her comrade. The pair proceeded slowly, their footsteps barely audible as they advanced deliberately towards the tunnel. As the gems reached the entrance, Pearl nodded to Amethyst, and the duo jumped out, weapons raised. The source of the noise, a seagull, let out a squawk and took off, flying past the pair and out of the tunnel. Letting out a sigh, Pearl released her weapon and looked at Amethyst.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

Before the purple gem had a chance to respond, a noise came from outside the carwash. Quickly looking at one another, the dynamic duo rushed outside to find Greg's van driving towards them. Amethyst waved at the vehicle in an attempt to get Greg's attention. The vehicle began to slow, coming to a stop beside the pair. The passenger's side window rolled down, and Connie waved at the gems.

"Hey guys!" the young girl said.

"Amethyst! Pearl!" Greg exclaimed from the driver's seat. "Boy, am I glad to see you guys!"

"Hello, Connie." Pearl replied cordially.

"Yo, Greg!" Amethyst responded nonchalantly. "You seen Steven anywhere?"

The father's expression darkened. "No, I haven't. He stayed behind to fight the evil gem late last night. Steven said she was coming after him and told me to get everyone away from the beach. Then he ran off. I managed to find everyone and get them away from the city. We stopped a few miles away. I saw a flash of light, but I figured that if I went back, I'd just get in the way."

"I came about an hour ago, and found everyone sitting on the ridge." Connie added.

"Did you see Steven?" Greg asked the gems worriedly.

"Nope." Amethyst replied.

"Wait." Pearl interjected. "A flash of light…" The pale gem's eyes widened. "The light cannons! We need to go back to the beach! Steven could be hurt!"

"I'll meet you there!" Greg replied frantically. Not waiting for a response, Greg drove off. Amethyst gave Pearl a nod, and the sprinted down towards the beach.

A minute later, the group arrived at the edge of the sand. Greg and Connie quickly got out of the van, and the worried group jogged over to the cannons. Upon reaching their destination, they stopped, looking around for any sign of the young boy. After a few seconds, Connie let out a gasp.

"Look!"

Everyone turned their attention to where she was pointing. There, in the sand, was a massive trench, extending from the end of the cannon for several yards. Connie quickly jogged into the trench, looking for any sign of Steven. She noticed several small objects in the sand. Beginning to worry, Connie slowly made her way to the mysterious articles. Connie finally reached them, and let out a shocked gasp. Lying in the sand was a charred, salmon-colored flip-flop and a small crystal necklace. Connie reached down and picked up the glittering piece of jewelry, feeling the rough edges of the stones. Connie could feel the tears running down her cheeks, staining the sand. The shocked girl heard a noise behind her and turned to find Greg standing at the top of the trench. The aging man looked down at the crying girl and fell to his knees, putting his head in his hands.

"I told him not to fight." Greg choked out. "I knew it was too dangerous. And I let him go anyway."

The sky had grown dark, and a light rain began to fall.

A word from the author:

Hello again everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to once again thank all of my wonderful readers. Yesterday, I hit the 10,000 view mark. I am very grateful for your continued support. Thank you to all my amazing readers, and especially to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed the story. Stay awesome!

-Lotus