Hello everyone. Thank you for the patience for chapter one of Steven Universe: Shattered Future.
Chapter One: The Pearl
Laramie Barriga, or Lars as he preferred to be called, walked the streets of Gem Homeworld alongside his crew, save Rhodonite, who stayed behind on the ship. Gems of all kinds walked past and around him, most giving a look of curiosity, and some with apprehension.
While different Gem Fusions were more commonplace on Homeworld now, they were still looked at as strange. The fact that Fluorite was a Permafusion of six different Gems didn't help matters. Organics like Lars were a rarer sight.
The Off-Colors had wanted to see Homeworld now that they could do so without being hunted for simply being themselves. After being in hiding for thousands of years, the technology was almost as futuristic to them as it was to Lars.
His crew all split up, looking at various booths. Only The Rutile Twins stayed by him. The two passed a booth with weapons on display. A large, light purple Gem with short, shaved rainbow hair stood behind the booth, polishing a sword. She was massive, far larger than any of the Gems he'd seen so far at nine feet tall and then some.
"Hey there!" she said. "You look like an Earthling! I haven't seen one of you since that whole rebellion thing! Didn't know your species could travel through space!"
"Uh… thanks." Lars looked at the weapons. He never had to use one personally, only ever using the Star Skipper he had the Off Colors modify for him out of a small shuttle. The Bismuth back on Earth built him a new one before they left, seeing as Stevonnie had crashed the original. In fact, they used a car his parents bought him as a base. "How much for a weapon?"
"Depends on the weapon!" the Bismuth said loudly. She gestured to the weapons on the booth with the sword she was polishing. "The display weapons are ten Stones each. Everything else is thirty and up."
Lars took out his money bag, or purse, depending on what you wanted to call it, and looked inside. Gems didn't use paper money like Earth; they instead used small gemstones they called Stones, small marbles made of some rare crystal. Each one was a different color, size, or texture. He found it weird that Gems used other gems as a form of currency. It was also weird not using a wallet.
He only had about 50 Stones. He would earn them either as payment for helping someone, usually with small things like labor, or selling stuff, like his pastries. Most Gems didn't eat, and those that did only did so for the experience, but the other aliens they encountered did. Earth delicacies were considered rare, since the planet didn't have intergalactic trade sanctions yet.
"What do you have for fifty?"
"Everything on this side is fifty and under," she told him, pointing to her right. She placed the newly polished sword on the other side, and grabbed one of the cheaper swords, a sword half the size of Lars himself. Her Gem, a rainbow-colored Bismuth, was on her back; it reminded him of an Innie belly button.
She showed it to Lars. It looked like something out of a video game. The blade was a grey color and had holes near the hilt. "Try it out. It may look heavy, but it's made from a light material."
Lars picked it up. She was right, it was light. A little too light; it had no substance behind it. He handed it back to the Bismuth with a small shake of his head. He looked at the other weapons behind her. He set his eyes on a smaller, light blue, glass looking sword, which was hung on a pedestal, a beautiful ornate sheath beside it. The blade was shorter than his arm, maybe the size of his forearm and hand.
"How much for that one?" Lars asked, pointing at the beautiful sword. The Bismuth turned around.
"That one's not for sale," she told him. "But if it was, it'd be a million Stones, easy."
"But it's so small!" Lars said.
"That sword was Blessed by Blue Diamond herself! I forged it 7,000 years ago using liquid pseudo-diamond that rains on a far away planet!" she told him, annoyance present in her voice. "It rains there only once every 1,500 years or so, so I'm not gonna have another for another thousand years at least."
"Wow," Lars said. "That's pretty cool."
"Too bad," the Left Rutile said. "It's so beautiful."
"It's beautiful," the Right Rutile agreed. "Too bad."
"Flattery isn't gonna work on me." She looked at The Twins, then back to Lars. Her face slowly changed from annoyance to one of realization as she gestured to Lars and the Twins with a pointed finger. "Hey, whoa, wait a minute! I know you guys! You're that pink human who escaped Homeworld with those Off Colors! I heard you stole an Emerald's ship right from under her Gem!"
"We did!" the Rutiles told her in unison. "We crashed her personal shuttle, too!"
"Captain Lars got us off planet and led us from planet to planet in the Sun Incinerator!" the Left Twin said.
"Emerald didn't even realize her ship was missing until she contacted Captain Lars!"
"She thought it was taken for maintenance!" they said in unison.
"Ha! I'd love to have seen that!" the Bismuth laughed. She looked back at the Glass Sword. She smiled and took it, and the sheath, off the pedestal. "Tell you what; I'll give you my Glass Sword for fifty Stones."
"No, no," Lars told her, waving his hands. "I couldn't do that."
"I insist!" she told him, sheathing the sword and holding it out to him. "The stories I heard about 'Lars in the Stars' is well worth it! I got a lot of laughs hearing about you and your crew! You've definitely earned it. Just promise me you'll do lots of awesome stuff with it! It's just been collecting dust for the last 4,000 years, so think of it as doing me a favor."
Lars grabbed the sword and carefully, and slowly, unsheathed it.
"It feels perfect!" He inspected it closer. The blade was exceptionally thin, barely thicker than a piece of paper. The hilt was made of what seemed like silver, same for the crossguard, and was wrapped in some sort of white leather. He set his eyes on a clear Gem that was affixed in the center of the hilt, from which Lars could feel a powerful force pumping into the sword.
"That Gem makes the weight fluctuate based on whoever's holding it," she explained. "Otherwise, no Gem short of a Diamond could wield it. That way the Gem, or human in your case, will always be balanced. Just be EXTREMELY careful with it! It can cut through just about anything with the slightest amount of pressure. Eighteen inches of pure power right there!"
"Awesome!" Lars said. He really wanted to swing it around, but he knew it wouldn't be safe. "I always wanted a cool sword!"
"Well now you got one! A captain of a ship should really look the part, and that sword definitely helps!"
"It really does!" the Left Rutile said.
"It does, really!" the Right Rutile agreed.
"Thanks! I'll make sure to use it," Lars promised. He sheathed the sword and affixed it to his belt. He handed her the fifty Stones and walked off.
"Nice doing 'Bismuth' with you!" she said with a wink.
As Lars and the Twins walked around, Lars further adjusting his new sword around his waist, he was surprised to how much Earth media was on Homeworld. TV shows, books, even video games! Gems weren't known for being artists, having had little to no concept of art until a few years ago. The only artists he knew who were Gems were the Lapis and Peridot that Steven hung out with back on Earth, which they called 'Meep Morps'. Apparently, they found the word 'art' weird. A strange name, if not creative in itself.
The most popular thing, surprisingly or not, he wasn't sure, was Camp Pining Hearts. He knew Lapis and Peridot back home were fans of the show, fanatics even, but he didn't think it would be so popular on Homeworld. Must be a cultural thing, he thought.
They passed Camp Pining Hearts DVD's, VHS tapes (Steven and Sadie were the only people he knew who actually owned a VHS player), video games, even books, both official and fanfiction! Lars wondered if the CPH creators were being paid for this stuff. They would probably be annoyed if not.
Lars had actually written a Camp Pining Hearts fanfic himself a few years back. Lapis and Peridot found it, and he helped them make it into a play. He looked over the fanfic books, looking for any he recognized. He wasn't that shocked to see his in the booth.
"Good choice!" someone said loudly. Lars threw the book in the air, bouncing it in surprise in his hands before he finally caught it. He looked at the owner of the voice.
A Peridot stood in front of him, leaning against the booth, staring at him. She sounded just like Peridot back home. She was also much taller, her hair was in an afro, and she had what seemed like floating green chalk for fingers.
"That fanfiction was written by a human on Earth! Unlike the other, inferior fanfiction, which tends to make characters go OOC, or 'Out of Character'," her green, chalk-like fingers moved in the sign for quotations, "or make the characters perform those strange…. human mating rituals, often going into disturbingly, graphic detail, THIS fanfic keeps the characters IN character, as well as putting them in scenarios that are consistent with the show!"
Lars just stared at her. The Peridot, who's Gem he saw covered her right eye, was clearly as passionate about the show as the Peridot back home. Almost as much. Maybe half.
Were all Peridots this hyperactive?
Lars took the book with a small thanks, giving the Peridot five Stones, almost the last of his money. It'd make a nice gift for Sadie for when he returned home. He planned on going back to Earth in a few months. He'd sometimes wondered what it'd be like to be a published author. Now, he sort of new.
Lars looked through the book as he walked back to the ship. Someone added pictures. He blushed a bit when he realized they were of the play he helped make. He couldn't explain how happy he was he didn't act in it; if he had, then he'd probably be a celebrity here, and he didn't want that kind of attention!
As the crew boarded their ship, the Sun Incinerator, Lars took his spot in the captain's chair. He put the book in his backpack and waited for the others. His new sword pushed against his side, so he removed it and placed it next to his seat.
Fluorite and Padparadscha were already below deck, making sure the ship was ready to go when they were refueled. It took about twelve hours to fully refuel, and four had passed since they started.
The Rutile Twins, the pilots of the ship, were still outside with Rhodonite. As he waited for the others, he thought back to what the Bismuth said; 'Lars of the Stars'. It was a catchy name. He'd been keeping a journal of all their adventures throughout space, even drawing the things they'd seen and done.
Lars reached for his backpack and took out his journal. The cover was a plain brown, with the word 'Journal' written in gold font, the second he'd written since leaving Earth. He picked it up before they left Earth, deciding to record all of the awesome things he did. He'd have to rename it.
"Captain!" The Rutile Twins said in unison, running into the ship. "Rhodonite found a transport pod that'll take us to one of our old cave-homes!"
"I take it you wanna go check it out?" Lars asked, taken aback by their excitement. He put the journal back in his bag.
"If you don't mind," the right one said.
"It was where we first met the others," the left one told him. "It'd really mean a lot to us."
The look in their eyes reminded him of homesickness. He remembered it from his own longing for home when he first became stranded in space.
"Sure," he said, standing up. "Let's go!"
—
Lars stepped on the crumbled remains of his crew's former cave-home. The transport pod was parked nearby, a Peridot with star shaped hair and her Gem over where her heart would be leaning against it, reading Lars's Camp Pining Hearts fanfic. The pod's light was on so she could read, since her Gem was too low on her body to use the light she could generate from it.
"Just tell me when you're done," she told them, not taking her eyes off the book. "Take your time if you want; I'm really getting into this book."
Lars and his crew walked around. The Off-Colors moved around for centuries, hiding from Homeworld Drones and Gems, scared out of their minds, fearful of being Shattered just for being different. Lars didn't realize how good he had it on Earth until he saw how his crew lived.
The crew was walking around, talking about the things they'd talked about or done centuries ago. The Rutile Twins stood next to Lars in front of a hole.
"We were hiding right here when we heard Padparadscha yell one of her prophecies," the Left Rutile said.
"She said we were hiding from them!" the Right Rutile laughed. "We'd only been out for a few decades, so we thought they were after us."
"We ran right into Fluorite!" the two said in unison, looking at each other and laughing at the memory. Lars laughed as well, but mostly from their comment about a 'few decades'. It was hard to believe that his crew was actually far older than him, by thousands of years. Lars himself was barely twenty!
"It waaaas heeeereeee," he heard Fluorite say to Rhodonite behind him, "where 8888888MMMMMDDDDDDDD deeeccciiiddedd ttooo fffuuusssssseeee with mmmeeee." Lars wasn't gonna lie, hearing Fluorite say things so slow was sort of annoying.
"I remember that!" Rhodonite said. "She was so scared you'd say no!"
Lars walked away, The Twins following him; they tended to stay close to Lars, sort of like his second in command. Or would that be second and third? He looked for a cave to explore. Every one of them was already searched, the footprints of his crew all over them. He walked around some more, until he finally found one. It was blocked by a large boulder, but he could see a small crevice around the rock.
"I remember this boulder," The Left Rutile said.
"Me too," The Right One replied. "We could never move it out of the way."
"Any idea what's behind it," Lars asked.
"Probably more caves," the Left Rutile said.
"Maybe some Gem Holes, too," the Right Rutile said.
"Hey guys," Lars yelled out to the others. "Help us move this boulder!"
Fluorite, Rhodonite, and Padparadscha hurried over to their captain. Working together, they managed to push the boulder out of the way. They wouldn't have been able to even budge it years ago, even with Lars's help, but since his resurrection, he acquired new powers. Not only did he not need to eat or sleep as much, but he was also far stronger and faster; all without having to exercise! While he wouldn't have been able to move it by himself, with his crew, he could.
Once it was moved, the crew cheered.
"You know I could have just used my limb enhancers to move it, right?" the Peridot asked, looking up from her book. "Or, you know, the SHIP!?" She made her fingers float over the ship and point at it in a flashing arrow sign.
"Maybe," Lars told her, breathing a little heavy. "But this way was much more fun! And it's always better to work as a crew!"
"Whatever," the Peridot said, shrugging her shoulders in indifference. She went back to her book, while Lars and The Off-Colors ventured forth into the cave. It was slanting downward, taking them deeper underground.
"I always wondered what was behind that boulder," the left Rutile Twin said.
"I always wondered as well," the right one replied.
Though they were behind their captain, he could tell which one was which. The tones of their voices were different, if only subtly. It was one of the things they liked most about their captain; he could tell them apart just from their voices.
"This cave is much deeper than the others," Rhodonite commented. She trembled a bit. "It's kinda scary." They came across a large open area, full of large holes from which new Gems were born. The holes were larger than himself and all of his crew, excluding Fluorite. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of Gems came out of them.
The Off-Colors inspected the new cave, shining their Gems to see, all except Padparadscha, who merely walked alongside The Rutile Twins. Lars carried a flashlight to compensate for his lack of a Gem light.
It was the same as the others to Lars, but clearly it was important and fascinating to them. He didn't want to burst their bubble by showing his lack of interest.
Lars propped his flashlight against some rocks, so it shined on him, took out his sword and started swinging it around. Now that he was in an unpopulated area, he could do so safely. He'd have to set aside a room in their ship to practice. As he tried a few moves he remembered seeing on TV, he could feel and hear the rocks and pebbles under him scraping against the ground.
The next time Steven and Connie visited; he'd have to show them his sword. Despite the fact that he matured considerably in the years since his resurrection, he still felt the desire to look cool in front of his friends. He sliced at the rock wall, leaving small cuts in it; the Bismuth was right, the sword really was extremely dangerous.
He pointed the sword at the wall, wondering how deep he could plunge it into it. That Bismuth said the sword could cut through pretty much anything after all. He took a step closer to stab the wall, but stopped when he kicked something heavy.
It didn't feel or sound like a rock. Lars looked at the ground but couldn't see what it was. He carefully sheathed his sword, picked up his flashlight, and shone the light on it. It was smooth, unlike the rocks, and very large. It was covered in dirt and grime and had an enormous fissure in the center. He picked it up and wiped some of the grime on the right side away with his gloves.
He felt a piece wiggle as he wiped it, like a loose tooth, then break off. He stopped wiping, fearing he would break it further. He removed the broken piece, inspecting it further. He'd cleaned it enough to see that it was a Gem. He placed the broken piece in his Hair Hole (he didn't know what else to call it) and went back to inspecting the larger piece.
The Gem now had a small hole going clean through it. Lars put his flashlight behind the Gem, seeing it shine through the tiny opening. A silver looking ring, also covered in filth, surrounded the Gem.
"A vision!" Padparadscha shouted. Lars turned around to look at her, as did the rest of the crew. He already knew what she was gonna say. "Our captain will find an ancient Gem! One of unprecedented age!"
Lars looked at the Gem in his hands. Unprecedented age? How long was it down here?
The Off-Colors rushed towards their captain.
"Did you really find a Gem?" Rhodonite asked.
"Yeah," Lars told them, showing off the Gem. "It looks like a Pearl. And a big one at that."
"Iiinnnccrreedddiibbllee," Fluorite drawled. "To thhiinnkk it was thissss ccclllooossee to uuss aalllll tthhhoooooossssseee yearrrss aaaggoooo."
"Do you think she can be healed?" the Left Rutile Twin asked.
"So much damage," said the Right Twin. "Maybe Steven can fix her?"
Lars looked down at the Gem. Steven managed to save all those Corrupted Gems. He managed to resurrect him. If anyone could save this Gem, it was Steven Universe.
"Well crew," he said, striking a cool pose and pointing his hand in the air. "Looks like we're going back to Earth!"
Here's a sample for chapter two.
The Gems looked at the strange little kid, who either ignored Amethyst's joke or didn't hear it. He pulled his pizza out of his mouth, taking off the toppings and cheese, leaving the bread intact. He chewed with an absent look on his face, giving no reaction to the strange toppings combined flavor, much less the large amount of pepper it had on it.
"I swear, that kid is not human," Amethyst said with a small laugh. She looked back at Garnet. "So, why are you delivering pizza again? You get bored or something?"
"My Future Vision's been acting up for the past few days, so I asked Kiki if I could deliver some pizzas," Garnet told her. She then looked at the shorter Gem. "I can't seem to see anything passed a couple minutes."
"A couple minutes?" Amethyst repeated. "You said last time you could see a day into the future. Garnet, it's getting worse! Maybe you should take a bath in those Diamond Auras Steven keeps in the bathroom."
"Those are for Corrupted and Cracked Gems. Besides, it's probably nothing," Garnet assured her. "I'm sure it'll be back to normal in few-" Garnet stopped mid-sentence. Her usual stoic face changed to one of shock, then to one of fear and horror, visible even behind her visor.
"Garnet?" Amethyst said. When she noticed the look on her face, she grabbed her by the waist and shook her. "Garnet, what's wrong!?"
Garnet quickly turned around to look at the beach house.
