At the time he saw Ronnie Anne's text, Lincoln decided that he wasn't emotionally ready to speak to her, so he just promised that they would talk the next day at lunch. This would prove to be a mistake, however, as from the moment he got up that morning, he was so anxious and eager for closure that it was making him mildly nauseous. He could barely even compel himself to eat breakfast, settling for a single toaster waffle and just enough milk to fill a shot glass.
After several tense, nerve-wracking classes, he finally got the opportunity to meet up with her in the cafeteria. Before even getting in line for lunch, their eyes met from across the room and they nervously stumbled towards each other, twiddling their fingers as their eyes darted every which way.
"Ronnie Anne, I..."
"Lincoln, I..."
The two of them averted each others' gaze for a spell before finally getting the courage to make eye contact. Once he looked her in the face, he saw that her bottom lip was trembling and tears were welling up in her eyes. He, too, began to well up, as the tears he had been suppressing since that morning started to seep out. They only held out for a second more before bursting into tears and collapsing into each others' arms.
"I'M SORRY!" cried Lincoln. "I didn't mean what I said!"
"I'M SORRY!" Ronnie Anne wailed back. "I was a jerk! A big, stupid jerk!"
Lincoln sobbed into her shoulder, squeezing her tight, as he felt her tears trickling down his own shoulder. At this point, several of the other kids in the cafeteria were staring at them, but they were too caught up in the moment to notice. This went on for five minutes before either of them managed to compose themselves, wipe away their tears and get in line for lunch.
After a long, uncomfortable trek through the lunch line, they took their seats at their favorite table and initiated a calmer, more rational conversation.
"Listen, I'm really sorry," Ronnie Anne said once again. "It was your turn with the goggles. I shouldn't have been so pushy."
"I'm sorry, too," Lincoln said with a sniffle. "I said a lot of nasty things. B-but I didn't mean any of them, I promise. I was just mad. But..."
He paused to wipe his eyes dry before continuing. "...but there's one thing I'm curious about. Why did you want to take another turn so badly?"
She sighed. "Yeah, I guess I owe you an explanation for that one, don't I?"
She proceeded to regale him with everything that happened in her timeline the night before (while he took the opportunity to eat his lunch). The disappearance of the ocean, the introduction of Lapis Lazuli, the giant pillar of water... and, of course, her humiliating defeat at Lapis's hands.
"Wait, why would you be sad about that?" he asked, after swallowing a couple of tater tots. "All of that stuff sounds amazing."
"Because I was useless," she sulked. "I couldn't even rescue Steven. I got knocked out."
She looked up from the table, straight into his eyes. "That's why I wanted another turn," she said, her eyes shimmering with mist. "I just needed some closure. Some reassurance that I wasn't weak."
"Well, if that's all you needed, then you could have asked me," said Lincoln. "You're a lot of things, Ronnie Anne, but you're definitely not weak. There's a reason why you're known as the toughest girl in this school. And heck, you - I mean, the other you - stepped up against a gem who was strong enough to move the whole ocean, and didn't even hesitate! I think that's pretty cool."
A couple of stray tears trickled down Ronnie Anne's cheeks, as she managed a faint smile. "T-thanks, Lame-O. It really means a lot to hear you say that."
"You're welcome. And besides, I still don't think your alternate self messed up as badly as mine did."
Her eyebrows popped up. "Oh, really?"
He proceeded to tell her how his weekend with Connie went - and how everything went downhill when his sisters came home unexpectedly, exposing the fact that he had been deceiving her about the size of his family.
"See, I needed closure, too," he said. "I just wanted to be sure that our friendship wasn't over after what I did."
She giggled. "Sounds like a pretty silly thing to worry about, if you ask me."
Lincoln balked at this. "What? Why is that so silly?"
"Well, let me put it this way. Remember when I overheard you calling me rude, gross and totally annoying? Twice?"
"Um..." he muttered, twiddling his fingers.
"And remember when you ducked me so I wouldn't ask you to the Sadie Hawkins dance?"
"Yeah, but..."
"And remember when you swapped out our egg baby for a fake one because you didn't trust me?"
"What's your point?"
"Easy there, Lame-O. I'm getting to that." She smirked and took a couple of bites of her lunch before continuing. "My point is, even after all that, we're still eating lunch together. You know why?"
Her smile broadened as she leaned over the table towards him.
"Because you're worth it. More than worth it. You're funny, and bright, and cute, and kind, and friendly... and, yes, you make a lot of mistakes, but you always do your best to make up for them.
"Like, of course you messed up with Connie. You're a doofus. I'd be surprised if you didn't mess up in some way."
He chuckled a little, in spite of himself.
"But you know what? You're the coolest doofus I know."
A wide smile blossomed across Lincoln's face, as his eyes started to mist up again. "Gosh, Ronnie Anne, I... I...I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. Just come here."
She stood up from her chair and held her arms out towards him. Lincoln hopped up and rushed over, and as soon as he got close she wrapped him into a tight bear hug and lifted him off the ground. He couldn't help but grin as she swung him aronud, taking him for a ride.
Once she put him down in front of her, the two of them took a good, long while to stare into each others' misty eyes, smiling dreamily. Lincoln gently ran his fingers through her smooth, black hair, making her giggle.
"You're the best," he said.
"You're the best," she said back.
After lunch, she gladly received the goggles from him and several periods later, she was skipping out of the school with a spring in her step. She was still eager to see what would happen to her alternate self next, but now it was an eagerness borne of excitement rather than anxiety. She knew that no matter what the universe threw at her, she'd be kicking its butt; she just wasn't sure what it was.
She'd find out soon enough, though. As soon as she got home, she clomped upstairs, plopped herself down on her bed and strapped on the goggles.
3:00 p.m.
September 3
Beach City
Ronnie Anne scowled as she sat by Steven on a bench by the boardwalk, munching away at her fries - which were only slightly more salty than she was. Weeks ago, her mother was aghast to see her come home concussed, with a black eye and several cuts. In response, she forbade her from ever going on "missions" with Steven and the Gems again, for her own safety. She could still hang out with him from time to time, which she appreciated, but she still hadn't gotten over the disappointment and shame stemming from the fact that she couldn't hack it as a Crystal Gem.
"Still upset, huh?" asked Steven. "Listen, it's okay if you're not fighting alongside us. I still think you're a great friend. I love hanging out with you."
She sighed and popped another fry into her mouth. "I appreciate that, Steven. But I-"
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Before she could finish that sentence, she was cut off by a massive, ear-splitting shriek, loud enough to shake the ground and shatter several of the boardwalk stores' windows. Ronnie Anne, quivering from the impact of the noise, dropped to her knees and shoved her fingers in her ears. Fortunately, the noise only lasted for a few seconds before it subsided.
"Wha... what the hell was that?!" she cried, her heart still pounding as she rose to her feet. A quick glance at her surroundings revealed that the storefronts were now littered with broken glass, and the passersby were stumbling around in fear and confusion.
"I don't know!" cried Steven. "I...I... oh, my god..."
His voice trailed off as he stared up at the sky in awe. Curious, she looked in the direction he was facing, and she saw a mysterious flying object drifting next to one of the clouds. Upon closer inspection, the object looked like...
...a hand. A giant, floating green hand.
She was confident that nothing would surprise her anymore after she saw the ocean disappear, but even this took her a bit off guard.
"That's not good, is it?" she asked.
"Not at all," Steven said gravely. "I think that might be Peridot's ship."
"Peridot?"
"She's some weird green gem who keeps sending robots to earth. I don't know what she wants."
Ronnie Anne's heart dropped into her stomach. Another hostile gem? How many of those were they going to run into?
Steven, catching the troubled expression on her face, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes.
"I'm gonna go regroup with the Gems," he said, giving her a brave smile. "We'll figure something out. For now... get yourself somewhere safe."
She groaned, muttered out a, "Yeah, sure", and slumped away. It was yet another reminder that she had gone from a Crystal Gem in Training to a helpless bystander. Resigned to her fate, she walked back home with her head down and her hands in her hoodie pockets, too deep in a self-pitying stupor to acknowledge the chaos and pandemonium around her. As it turned out, the news of the new development reached her home before she did, and by the time she walked in the door, her mother and older brother were already scurrying around the house, packing their things.
"Start packing, Ronalda," her mom said in a restless tone. "The mayor said to evacuate as soon as possible. I don't know what's going on, but I promise I'll do my best to keep you safe."
Ronnie Anne sighed and walked upstairs to start loading her backpack. The whole time, her stomach churned, aching from the uncertainty of Steven's impending plight. The Crystal Gems were strong - she knew that well - but the last adversary they fought could control the entire ocean. What if the new threats were even stronger? What if they overwhelmed Steven with their collective might? And why wasn't she strong enough to help?
By the time she let herself into the family car, she had to clench her facial muscles just to keep herself from crying.
"I know you're scared, mija," said her mom. "We're all scared. But we'll get through this."
You don't know the half of it, she thought. Scared? Yeah, I guess I am. Also, you know, worried, angry, ashamed, disappointed...
"You okay back there, Nie-Nie?" asked Bobby.
"I'm fine," she huffed out, even though she was anything but.
"...well, if you say so," he said, eyeing her warily. "Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
There's really not. But thanks anyway.
And as if the situation couldn't get any worse, the traffic had slowed to a crawl by the time the Santiagos managed to get on the road. The mayor, in his infinite wisdom, told the entire town to evacuate at once, so every family in the area took to the road at the same time. The poor girl couldn't have felt more helpless, stranded in a barely-moving vehicle, surrounded on all sides by constant commotion, with nothing to do but stare out the window at neighboring cars. She pondered that perhaps ehe could pass the time by looking for out-of-state license plates, but even that wasn't going to keep her occupied for long, and...
Wait a minute. That van looks familiar.
Ronnie Anne squinted at a van in the next lane. She could have sworn she remembered seeing a van just like it a few weeks ago. Looking closer, she saw a familiar-looking bald, middle-aged man in the driver's seat.
Is that... is that Mr. Universe?
The man seemed to be engaged in an argument with the child riding shotgun - who, on close inspection, had chubby cheeks, black curly hair, and...
Steven?! I thought he was with the Gems! What is he doing here?!
She considered rolling down the window and calling out to him, but before she could even muster up the courage to do that, she heard a deafening crash as someone, or something, came bursting out of the van's side window. Mrs. Santiago and Bobby both jerked their heads to the right to see what was the matter. As it turned out, the one who burst through the window was, in fact, Steven - who was now, inexplicably, encased in a hot pink bubble that was floating in midair. The bubble drifted off of the road, floated to the ground and popped, and Steven landed face-down on the ground.
"Steven!" cried Mr. Universe, who bolted out of his van to console his son. Ronnie Anne, overcome with worry, unbuckled her seatbelt and popped the car door open.
"Ronalda, where are you going?!" cried Mrs. Santiago.
She shot her mother a furious glare in response. "To check on my friend!" she shouted, pointing out the door. "I know you think he's dangerous, but he's the only friend I've made since we moved to this stupid place!"
With that, she hopped out of the car and rushed to the side of the road, where a crowd of people had gathered at the scene. Taking advantage of her (comparatively) small size, she managed to slip her way to the front of the crowd.
"Dad, please, I have to go back!" said Steven, tears seeping out of his eyes. "I have to! They don't have my shield! Do you understand?"
Mr. Universe sighed, tenderly dabbing away his tears. Ronnie Anne spied Lion approaching from about 20 feet away; she wouldn't have been surprised if it had turned out that he had followed the van on foot all the way here.
"...yeah, okay," said Mr. Universe. "Just be careful."
"Stay with everyone and keep them safe," said Steven. "I'll figure out some way to get back to Beach City."
And right on cue, Lion marched up to him and lay his paw on the boy's head. He whipped himself around to face his pet, elated.
"Oh, this'll work!"
As he climbed onto Lion's back, Ronnie Anne knew she had to make a decision. Would she obey her mother, stay with Mr. Universe and let go of her dreams of being part of the team? Or risk her health and safety to help Steven overcome what was likely to be his greatest challenge yet?
She looked back over her shoulder at her mom and brother, who had left their car to join the crowd.
"Get back in the car, Ronalda!" called Mrs. Santiago. "I don't want you hurting yourself again!"
Ronnie Anne clenched her fist and grit her teeth. Athough she didn't realize it, her mother had just lit a fire in her heart, making her decision exponentially easier.
I didn't "hurt myself". I got hurt fighting a physical goddess. I thought you'd at least be a little proud of me, knowing that I survived coming face-to-face with that. What do you take me for? Some fragile little baby who needs to be watched every second of the day to make sure I don't fall and crack my skull?
Well, I'm not. I'm Ronnie Anne Santiago.
She sprinted over, grabbed onto Lion's hide and hoisted herself onto his back. Before Steven even realized that she was there, Lion reared back, let out a mighty roar and took off for Beach City, leaving an anguished Mrs. Santiago behind.
I'm a Crystal Gem.
