Quick Note: This story is half prequel and half sequel. The prequel sections predate the events of Steven Universe and follow the human soldiers after the gem war. This is inspired by the armor of the fallen mentioned by Pearl whom I theorize were human soldiers resurrected by Rose Quartz during the war. They would go on to die trying to hold back the corrupted crystal gems thus becoming the fallen. The sequel sections will take place after Steven Universe Future and will involve an ancient human threat emerging from Rose's armory.
Chapter 1:
Steven had only been back from his trip a few hours when Pearl asked him to come to Rose's armory. He barely had enough time to see his dad and catch up with all the gems, but he knew it must be urgent if she was making him take the trip so suddenly.
Rose's secret armory had remained quiet and peaceful for many years, hidden amongst the mountains deep in the caves. Pockets of sunlight illuminated the space, reflecting stalagmites into the water which had collected around the armory. The last time Steven had visited was in a fruitless pursuit to unlock the secret of Rose's key. Since then, no one had any reason to return as the armory harbored little more than bad memories.
Rather than take the three hour hike up to the armory, Steven suggested they should ride Lion. Steven's loyal, albeit unreliable, companion had made the trip on several occasions having been the first to take Steven and Connie to the secluded site.
The quiet of the cave in which the armory resided was suddenly disturbed by a light as bright and brief as lightning. A pink circular portal manifested at the base of the armory's steps. Lion came blitzing out as the portal shut behind him, landing less than gracefully as he slid across the water. Steven, Pearl, and Connie's heads all stuck out of Lion's mane where they comfortably rode Steven's erratic companion.
"So, me and Steven were staying the night at the keystone motel on our way back home when-" Connie began as she dismounted, the water splashing beneath her feet.
"You mean the one in the keystone state?" Pearl asked, interrupting.
"Right, in the state named keystone," Steven responded, nodding his head.
Barely an ankle deep, the water was unnaturally still, such was the case with many relics of the Crystal Gem's past. The group waded through the armory's base where Steven and Pearl took a seat on the stairs while Lion found a spot atop the armory to lay down. Connie remained standing, acting out the events of the story.
"Anyway, we were just getting ready to head over to the best diner in the world when out of nowhere Bluebird shows up," Connie continued, eyes wide with excitement.
"Nooo," Pearl replied, placing her hand over her mouth to hide her expression.
"Yup, even on my time off I can't escape my gem life," Steven shrugged. "She showed up all like, I told you we'd be out there waiting to get you, Steven Universe!" Steven said mockingly, poorly mimicking Bluebird's accent and getting a chuckle out of Connie and Pearl.
"Bluebird came at us, but me and Steven were ready. Steven blocked their attacks making an opening for me to strike..." Connie paused and pulled out her sword, raising it in the air where the sun shone off the blade's pink edge. "All it took was one well-placed parry and Bluebird's blade was on the ground and she was on the run."
"You could say Bluebird's situation got a little out of hand," Steven said with a nasty grin on his face.
The trio laughed, sharing a brief moment of innocence within the armory's cold confines, nearly forgetting the problems which plagued them.
"You don't think Bluebird's going to be an issue, do you?" Pearl asked like a concerned mother.
"Na, she's just a minor inconvenience. I've faced bigger threats and came out just fine," Steven remarked, his voice trailing off.
Silence consumed the room once again as the conversation came to a close. Connie, always eager to learn more about the gems, made her way up the steps.
"So why did you want us to come here Pearl?" Connie asked.
"Yeah, is there something you needed in here?" Steven added, following behind Connie.
"Oh yes, the armory," Pearl responded, jumping to her feet.
When Steven stepped onto the armory it became filled with life as the entire structure gave off a pink glow, waking up Lion who promptly ignored the light. As he made his way to the control pad the light began to dissipate starting at the edges before converging at the center where a pillar emerged from the ground. The pillar was shaped like a hand with Rose's crest on the center, still much too large for Steven even as he grew, and it acted as the armories control panel. The armory was only accessible by Steven which was likely why Pearl had asked him up in the first place.
"There's something inside the armory I was hoping you could help me with, Steven . . ." Pearl clasped her hands and paused as if she was contemplating something.
"You sure that's a good idea? Last time I was in here we got attacked by some sort of gem construct," Connie stated, vividly remembering the robot shooty thing that had attacked her and Steven when they were kids.
"Ehrmm, I suspect it could be dangerous, but it can wait a moment. I asked Garnet and Amethyst to meet us here. We'll just have to wait for them to make the 3-hour hike," Pearl said as she let out a nervous laugh.
Steven was still uneasy dealing with his mother's past and was not too keen on sticking around longer than he had to. He had avoided this place for a long time and had little interest in the contents of the armory, but he was worried about Pearl. He began to wonder why Pearl had avoided bringing Garnet and Amethyst to begin with.
Lion got up and made his way to Steven as if he sensed something was wrong. He rubbed along him before sitting down and arcing his head forward. Steven instinctively reached out to pet him.
"That's alright, I can just go get them on Lion," Steven suggested, with just a hint of annoyance.
"No!" Pearl shouted before quickly collecting herself. "I mean, no, that isn't necessary. Garnet and Amethyst had a few things to take care of before coming over. In the meantime, I can teach you two the history behind the gem war and some of the items contained within the armory."
Lion responded by falling on his side, exposing his belly to Steven. A tactic he could not resist as he knelt down to rub him.
"Gem history! That sounds exciting, doesn't it Steven," Connie said, clearly intrigued by the topic.
"Yeah, it kinda does actually," Steven responded with a smile. Maybe he was taking this too seriously he thought. Connie and Pearl seemed excited so he should just try and enjoy himself.
Garnet and Pearl had always been reserved when it came to talking about the gem war, and Amethyst still hadn't emerged from the kindergarten by then, so there was still a lot he didn't know. His father had told him that a lot of gems and people died during the war, but he never truly knew what life was like back then. The war had lasted 1000 years after all, so how could humanity have survived all that? How did the crystal Gems overcome an entire empire by themselves? How come the whole world seems to have just forgotten such an influential part of history? Steven could feel himself getting excited as he finally considered all the unanswered questions he had. Maybe coming here was not so bad after all.
Steven repositioned himself to the armory's center where he held his hand firmly on the armory control panel as he carefully considered which item to pull from the armory's clutches. He had seen all of the armory's contents before, which was primarily a large assortment of weapons as the name would imply, but he did not truly know the reason his mother had kept any of them.
"Did you forget how to use it?" Connie joked as she watched Steven space out, lost in concentration. "We could try the old way," Connie said, lightly tapping her elbow into his side.
"Huh, oh no, I'm just not sure what to bring up. Anything you'd like to see?" Steven asked. He kept his hand glued to the panel as he patiently waited for Connie to think.
"Hmm, that's a tough choice. There's quite a bit to be explored in here. What do you think Pearl?"
"Ooh, where to even begin?" Pearl responded as she continued to excitedly pace around the armory. She always relished the opportunity to teach Steven about gem culture, and this was no exception. "There's so many artifacts, each with their own connection to Rose and unique story to tell. We could start at the beginning with the axes of ages, or perhaps a tale of triumph with the quartizine trio, but then again, the blades of the Errantry . . ."
Steven and Connie gave each other a side eye as Pearl passionately rambled on about the armory's contents. With a devious smile on her face Connie poked Steven's side causing him to smirk. Steven was trying to pay attention to Pearl, but Connie continued her relentless flurry. Finally, Steven let out a giggle that caused the armory to react.
Sixteen evenly spaced compartments opened on the armory's floor. The ground raised, revealing suits of armor from each space. The armor seemed very old to Steven who did not recognize most of the designs, but one stood out to him as it reminded him of the samurai, a villain who was revealed to be one of the custodian's pawns in the lonely blade series. One other thing stood out to Steven. He had not considered it as a kid, but all the armor seemed to be human shaped as opposed to being something a gem would use, so why they did they have them?
"The armor of the fallen," Pearl exclaimed as she gazed at the armor which surrounded them.
"What are they?" Steven asked.
"Not what, Steven, but who. These suits of armor were once worn by the most loyal soldiers of the Order of Rose," Pearl responded but her words did not help his understanding. "Look, there's the legendary samurai, Takemura, and that's the mighty Bulwark of the Iron Lord. Ooh, the light armor of Wismut, hero of the Prism crusade," Pearl said pointing at a suit of armor with a spiked silver helm.
"Right . . ." Steven slowly muttered looking none the less confused.
Pearl's expression shifted away from excitement as she rubbed her forehead, struggling to explain the concept. There was so much she wanted to share with them, but she was running out of time.
"After the Gem war ended there were thousands of corrupted gems left on the earth. They were scattered across the world, wreaking havoc on civilization. Your mother, Garnet, and I tried to stop them," Pearl paused as tears began to well in her eyes. "A lot of people died, Steven, including those who wore these suits of armor. Once loyal and brave soldiers who believed in us and trusted us . . . died because of us.
Steven grabbed Pearl's hand, choosing his next words carefully, not wishing to dig her wounds any deeper. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Pearl. Just the three of you could not have possibly covered that much ground so quickly, even with the warp pad."
Pearl gripped Steven's hand tight, not wanting to ever let go. "I know, Steven, but it just doesn't feel right. It's like I can't escape the feeling that we could have done more. But . . . there is one left I think we can help."