It's a normal day in Beach City, the sun is shining, birds are singing and flying, and everything is just norma-
"Nooooooo!"
Steven shouts in despair, looking at the empty freezer with horror, "This can't be happening! This has to be a dream!" He looks up to see Lars walking around with a box, "Lars! Lars!"
Steven runs over and grabs Lars' waist, "Please tell me I'm dreaming!"
Lars shakes Steven off, "Get off me, man. I'm stockin' here!" He grumbles and walks away, Steven lands face-first on the floor with a thud.
"I'm sorry, Steven." Sadie leaned forward on the counter, crossing her arms with a frown. "I guess they stopped making them."
"Stopped making them?!" Steven stands up abruptly. "Why in the world would they stop making Cookie Cats?! They're only the most scrumptious and delicious ice cream sandwich ever made! Don't they have laws for this?!"
Lars kneels and starts restocking a cabinet as he replies, "Tough bits, man. Nobody buys them anymore." He starts stocking the shelves, "I guess they couldn't compete with Lion Lickers."
Steven groans as he walks over to the freezer that holds those horrible ice cream, "Not Lion Lickers! They don't even look like lions!" He puts his hands on his hips, "Kids these days, I'll tell ya what!" As if he wasn't a kid himself.
Lars chuckles and says in a mocking tone, "Well, if you miss your wimpy ice cream so much, why don't you make some with your magic belly button?" He laughs and walks away.
"That's not how it works, Lars!" Steven replies, "...Right?" He lifts his shirt to look at his pink gem and jiggles his belly, he then sighs and walks over to the empty freezer that once held the amazing ice cream sandwich he ever knew, "Oh, sweet Cookie Cats," He draws a cookie cat on the glass, "With your crunchy cookie outside and your icy creamy insides... You were too good for this world." He kisses the drawing and closes his eyes.
"Uh... Steven?" Sadie speaks up a bit awkwardly as Lars leans in to look at Steven in confusion as he watches Steven hug the freezer, "Do you want to take the freezer with you?" Steven nods sadly.
Steven hums to himself as he walks towards his house, he opens the door, "Hey guys! You won't believe this-" Then he is suddenly attacked by some sort of green and black centipede attacked him, roaring at him and he screams.
The centipede's jaws were slammed shut by a whip, yanking it back was Sugilite, "'Sup, Steven?" The purple gem greets as her visor glints. Sardonyx kicks another centipede-like thing off the Warp Pad while Garnet takes care of two others in the kitchen.
"Awesome!" Steven looks on in awe, "What are these things?"
"Ugh!" Sardonyx groans as she picks one up in her arms and walks over to Steven, "Sorry, Steven. We'll get these Centipeetles out of your room. We think they were trying to get into the temple."
"Aw. You don't have to get rid of them." Steven replies as he looks at the Centipeetle in Sardonyx's arms, "They're really cool!"
The Centipeetle spits out some sort of liquid on the floor, which dissolves into a hole. Steven changes his mind as Sardonyx looks at the newly made hole in disgust.
Sugilite poofs a Centipeetle and lets out a 'huh' as she picks her nose, "Um, you guys?" Sardonyx and Garnet turned to the purple Gem, "These things don't have gems."
Garnet walks over and replies, "That means there must be a mother somewhere nearby." A Centipeetle tries to do a sneak attack on Garnet but she punches it away, nothing goes past Garnet!
"We should probably find it before any humans get hurt," Sardonyx says worriedly.
Steven perks up in excitement, "Oh! Oh! Can I come?! Can I?! Can I?!"
Sardonyx looks at Steven, "Steven, you can get very hurt! You haven't gotten control of your gem properly, leave protecting humanity to us for the time being, alright?" The orange Gem says as she snaps the neck of the Centipeetle she was holding, causing it to poof into a puff of smoke.
"Aw, man." Steven's face falls, Sardonyx pursed her lips but it's dangerous, and she's not allowing Steven to be in a dangerous situation. Steven looks up when he hears a noise, then sees a Centipeedle raiding his fridge, "Hey! Get out of there! Go on! Shoo! Shoo!"
Steven quickly walks over and shoos the Centipeedle away, "Aw! They got into everything! Not cool!" He says sadly before noticing the upper level of the fridge, "No way. I-it can't be! Wha-where did you get these?! I thought they stopped making them!"
Steven grabs one of the Cookie Cats and looks at it in awe as Sardonyx closes the fridge, "Well, we heard too, and since they're your favorite..."
"We went out and stole a bunch!" Sugilite chirps with a grin as she plops on the counter.
Sardonyx grunts, "That was fun to pay for..."
Garnet walks over and stands beside Sugilite, "The whole thing was my idea," The Gem says as her gauntlets retract back to her gems in a flash of white.
"It was everyone's idea." Sugilite quips.
"Not really." Garnet retorts.
"All that matters is that Steven is happy." Sardonyx steps in before the gems can start arguing, Sugilite and Garnet nod in agreement.
"Oohhhhh!" Steven starts in a high-pitched voice with stars in his obsidian black eyes, "He's a frozen treat with an all new taste! 'Cause he came to this planet from outer space! A refugee of an interstellar war but now he's at your local grocery store! Cookie Cat! He's a pet for your tummy! Cookie Cat! He's super duper yummy! Cookie Cat! He left his family behind. Cookie Caaaaat!" Steven smiles happily at the warper and says in a normal voice, "Now available at Gurgens off Route 109!"
Garnet and Sugilite laugh wholeheartedly while Sardonyx chuckles with a shake of her head, the gems applaud Steven's little song.
"I can't believe you did this, I'm gonna save this forever!" Steven says happily, "...Right after I eat this one." He tears open the wrapper and throws it away, which Sardonyx catches and walks away to put in the trash can outside, "Hello, old friend." Steven bites into it and closes his eyes at the familiar taste, "Oh, so good!"
"I like to eat the ears first," Steven mumbles through his mouth full of ice cream, not noticing his gem glowing. The other two Gems do notice it and exchange a glance.
"Uh, Steven..." Sugilite calls out.
Steven opens his eyes, "Wha-" He finally notices his gem glowing and lifts his shirt, "My gem!"
"Quick! Try to summon your weapon!" Sugilite says.
"I don't know how!" Steven panics, "Aaaah! It's fading!" It indeed is, "How do I make it come back?!"
"Calm down, Steven." Garnet says slowly, putting her hands on his shoulders, "Breathe, don't force it."
"Yeah," Sugilite nods, "And don't try not to poop yourself either."
"Please, don't." Garnet shudders at the thought.
Steven's gem stops glowing and everyone sighs, "Ah, I was really close that time!" Steven grumbles and looks at Garnet and Sugilite, "Can one of you just explain how to summon a weapon?"
"Summon a what now." Sardonyx says in confusion as she finally returns.
A blossoming tree's pink petals fall around as Sardonyx tries her best to explain how summoning a weapon from one's gem works, "Usually, a gem needs a dance to perform a summoning," Her gem on her forehead glows, "A song to harmonize and one made from dedication and mastery over their gem," She pulled out her spear, "Like so!"
Steven looks on in awe.
Steven tosses a bunch of flower petals into the air, "Wuh!" He and Sugilite are outside of the Big Donut's back entrance.
Sugilite watches as the petals fall to the ground, "Did Sardonyx tell you the petal thing?"
"Yeah," Steven looks at the petals then at Sugilite, "I need to practice really hard so I can dance to a song... I think."
Sugilite shrugs, "Listen Steven, all that practice stuff is no fun." Her gem starts to glow as she puts her hand near it, "Whenever I need to summon my weapon, it just happens." Then she pulls out her whip and breaks a nearby garbage container in two, "See? Didn't try at all."
Steven scratches his head as Lars runs outside with trash bags and shouts, "Aaah! Again?!"
Steven and Garnet are standing on top of the Crystal Temple, near the light house, the wind ruffles Steven's hair and barely brushes Garnet's square hair.
"So I'm supposed to work really hard and not try at all at the same time?" Steven speaks.
"Yes." Garnet replies vaguely. Silence reigns for just a moment before Garnet continues, "Or... you could link your mind with the energy of all existing matter. Channeling the collective power of the universe through your gem, which results in..." She summons her gauntlets, "At least that's my way of doin' it." The Gem shrugs.
Back in the temple's kitchen, Steven crosses his arms, "I think my best bet is to recreate what happened the last time my gem glowed. So..." He points at Garnet and Sugilite, "You two are standing, er, and sitting in where you did before but... I think Sugilite's arms were crossed?"
Sugilite shrugs but complies, "Sure." She crosses her arms.
"And, uh..." Steven's mind comes to a blank when he looks at Sardonyx, who wasn't there when Steven's gem glowed, "Well... I think you were standing in front of the fridge before you left? And Garnet, uh... You are doing what you did before, I think so."
The Gems exchanged a look as Steven retrieved the half-eaten Cookie Cat from the fridge, "Then I took a bite of this Cookie Cat. Oh, wait! I sang the song first." Steven starts slightly dancing awkwardly, "Uh, he's a frozen treat, all new taste, interstellar war, now available at Gurgens..."
Nothing happens. "Awww, it was funnier last time." Steven lifts his shirt to look at his gem, "Maybe I'm not a real Crystal Gem..." He mutters sadly.
"Steven, that's not true." Sardonyx bends down and puts a comforting hand on Steven's shoulder, "You're still one of us even without a weapon."
"Yeah," Sugilite agrees, "You're fun to have around! Like Sard said, you're one of us, even if your gem does nothin'! We're not the Crystal Gems without you!" Garnet nods.
"Heh, thanks guys." Steven slowly cheers up, "Yeah, even if I don't have powers, I've still got... Cookie Cat!" He takes a bite, "Mmm, so good." Steven's gem glows again, but this time, a shield materializes in front of him.
The gems all collectively gasp, "Steven! It's your mother's shield!" Sardonyx says in awe.
Steven opens his eyes and sees the shield, "Woah...! What-?! I get a shield?! Oh... YEAH!" Steven's excitement causes the shield to ricochet around the temple, before finally landing on his TV.
Sugilite bursts out laughing while Sardonyx shakes her head with a disappointed groan.
"Huh?" Steven mutters in confusion before brightening up, "Cookie Cat!" He realizes, "I summon my shield by eating ice cream!"
Sardonyx picks up one of the Cookie Cats from the fridge and looks it over, "What's in these things?" She mutters as she reads the contents of the ice cream, how it can be made at home, ingredients, etc.
The house begins to rumble, and everyone's attention is directed to the windows as silhouettes of Centipeetles climb up, with the last silhouette being the largest.
"What was that?" Steven asks, noticing how his shield disappears, leaving a dent in the TV as all of the Gems run out of the house.
"It's the Mother!" Garnet calls out before leaping towards it. Sugilite summons her whip as she leaps forward too.
Sardonyx closes the door, saying to the one inside: "Stay in the house, Steven!" Before the orange gem also summons her weapon and follows the others.
"No way! I'm coming too!" Steven goes inside to grab the freezer and a couple of Cookie Cats.
Garnet kicks the Mother's jaws, causing it to open them with a pained growl, Sugilite comes in and attempts to pull out the gem that was inside the Mother's mouth before failing when the Mother closes its mouth and swings Sugilite around, throwing both her and Garnet away.
"Garnet, Sugilite!" Sardonyx calls out and attempts to attack the Mother as well, only for her spear to do nothing against its hard skin, the orange Gem easily gets thrown away just like her teammates.
"Geez...!" Sugilite mutters as she gets up, watching the Mother jump from the top of the temple and crawl towards them, "That bug got no right to be THAT strong!"
Garnet and Sardonyx run behind a broken hand statue of the temple, Sugilite leaps out of the Mother's acid that it spits out in an attempt to dissolve the Gems. Sugilite joins in her teammates' hiding and says, "Man, we could really use Steven's shield right now!"
The Mother spits acid on the hand statue before getting distracted by a pebble thrown at its head, "Hey!" Steven calls out, the Cookie Cat freezer at his feet, "Leave them alone!"
"Steven, no!" "Get outta here, man!" "Steven, go back to the house!" The Gems shout at once, worried in all of their tones.
"Cookie Cat Crystal combo powers, activate!" Steven eats a Cookie Cat and lifts his shirt, but nothing happens, the Mother stares at Steven manically.
"Uh-oh! Aaaah!" Steven quickly runs away with the freezer in his hands, away from the Mother as much as possible.
"We need to save Steven!" Sardonyx says as she dodges an attack from the Mother' tail piercers.
"Can we save ourselves first?!" Sugilite replies as she runs away from an acid spit, her visor nowhere in sight so her horrified purple eyes were clear as day.
"Goodbye, my friends." Steven weeps uncontrollably as he eats more Cookie Cats, "Why isn't it working?!" His stomach rumbles but his gem does nothing.
The Mother spits acid that Steven dodges, the Mother goes to spew more acid but- "Steven!" -her tail piercer is grabbed by Garnet, bringing its attention to her.
Steven notices the freezer and the Cookie Cats inside it are burned by the acid, "No... Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" He tries to touch the freezer but it zaps his hand, causing him to flinch, a few tears fall from his eyes as he starts to sing slowly, "Cookie Cat, he's a pet for your tummy. Cookie Cat, he's super duper yummy!" He picks up the freezer aggressively, "Cookie Cat, he left his family behind! COOKIE CAAAT!"
Steven chucks the freezer at the Mother, causing it to shriek in pain as it gets electrocuted, "Now available... nowhere." Steven finishes sadly.
"YES!" Sugilite yells, Sardonyx gasps.
"Gems, weapons!" Garnet orders, the three summon their weapons and burst out of their hiding spot behind the statue hand, "Let's do it." The Crystal Gems charge at once and poof the Mother in a puff of explosion.
Garnet bubbles the gem with her right hand and looks toward where Sugilite and Sardonyx are comforting Steven.
"Farewell, Cookie Cats." Steven buries a Cookie Cat wrapper in the ground, "I'll always remember the times we spent together," His stomach rumbles, "Shh... hush now."
"You crying?" Sugilite asks, putting her visor back on.
"Only a little!" Steven replies.
"Don't worry, Steven, I'm sure you'll figure out how to activate your gem." Sardonyx says comfortingly.
Garnet puts her hand on Steven's head, ruffling his hair, "Yes, in your own Steven-y way."
Steven chuckles, "I'm okay, guys-" Then his stomach rumbles again, and he groans, "Urgh... I think I ate too many Cookie Cats..."
"Aaaaand that's the sign to get you to your bathroom!" Sardonyx says as she gently picks up Steven, who hunched over her shoulder and retches.
Next Up: Laser Light Cannon.