Hello and welcome readers to my Steven Universe fanfiction. Anyway, I don't own anything except for the OC.

The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. Steven Universe is owned by Cartoon Network and Rebecca Sugar. Please support the Official Release.

Bubble Buddies

The day begins at the Beach House as Steven leaves the house while wearing a helmet and, with his bicycle, pushing it down the stairs. A roaring noise is heard, rumbling the place with some kind of seismic tremor, which startled Steven as he let go of his bike. The bicycle begins to tumble down the stairs.

"Oh! Woooh—" Steven cried out as he ran after his bike.

At the same time, Garnet, Pearl, Vergil, and Amethyst were walking on the beach in the direction of the Beach House.

"I don't think they are earthquakes; they're too frequent!" Pearl pointed out.

"Not to mention earthquakes hardly ever happen on this side of the country." Vergil added.

Steven's bike collapses in front of the Gems. Steven catches up to it and picks it up.

"Hey, look! Steven's got a bike!" Amethyst happily noticed. "Where ya goin', Steven?"

Steven lifted his bike up. "Just out for a ride." He nervously answered.

"In the sand?" Pearl asked, perplexed.

"Yup!" Steven quickly replied as he ran off.

Steven was a few meters away as he struggled to ride his bike in the sand. He was pushing hard against the pedals as they were almost stuck in the sand. He then stops and looks up to see a dark-skinned girl nearby, reading a book on the sand.

She is a young Indian-American girl with dark brown skin and a slim figure, and she is slightly taller than Steven. She has a prominent nose, black eyes with thick eyebrows, and dark brown puffy hair. She wears a pair of magenta glasses with rose-colored lenses, a white-mint green dress, a sunhat, and peach-colored boots with no socks.

All she was doing was quietly reading her book, he then paddles his bike past her and parks it. Steven then got off his bike and looked at it, turning his back to the girl. "Some smooth ride…" He turns to look at the girl, who is engrossed in her book and doesn't take notice of him. "Five speeds…" He repeatedly turns between her and his bike. "Hand brakes… Electric blue finish with a tiger bell!" He rings the bell to draw the girl's attention, but she just turns the page of her book and still ignored him. "I bet there are a lot of kids who'd love to ride this bi—"

Steven tries to climb onto his bike but falls over. The girl finally turns her head towards Steven, who is sitting on top of his fallen bike. Embarrassed by this, Steven throws his helmet away and runs off screaming. "AAHHHHH!"

Inside the Beach House, Steven returns back home and slams the door behind him, panting heavily while sweating. He then notices Vergil and the Gems, who were likely watching that train wreck through the window.

Steven tries to be casual. "Whaddup?"

"What was that all about?" Vergil asked, confused.

"What was what all about?" Steven pretended not to know.

"Who were you talking to?" Pearl asked, smiling.

"Huh?" Steven tried to act confused.

"That girl." Garnet brought up.

"You saw?" Steven asked as he started to blush.

"We heard too." Vergil informed him. "You were screaming pretty loud."

"She's just a girl I know, except she doesn't know me." Steven told them, trying to play it off until he saw they weren't buying it and just came clean. "We never talked."

Amethyst gasps as she runs up to him. "You like her!" She exclaims with glee as she smushes Steven's face.

"Uhh… I like everyone…" Steven defended as he pushed Amethyst's arms aside.

"True, but you don't ride your bike in the sand for everyone." Vergil pointed out.

Pearl gasps. "Let's set up a play-date! I'll write up an invitation and work out a schedule." She gasps again with excitement. "Oh! We'll have to find out her favorite kind of tea…"

"No." Garnet cut her off. "Just talk to her."

"Okay. But you guys can't watch this time!" Steven pointed at them. "It'll mess up my funky flow."

[Funky flow?] Pearl & Amethyst repeated with confusion.

"We won't watch." Garnet assures him while adjusting her visor.

"Alright! Steven runs to the fridge to take out a glowing bracelet.

"What's that?" Amethyst asked.

"Nothing!" Steven exclaims, opening the door and running out of the house.

After seeing the bracelet, Vergil starts to think. "Hold on a second?" Then he runs after Steven.

Outside the Beach House, Steven was standing on the porch near the stairs, taking deep breaths, and trying to mentally prepare himself before approaching the girl again.

"Steven!" Vergil called him. Steven turned to see him as Vergil pointed to the bracelet. "That bracelet—It's the one from last year, isn't it."

Steven looked down and timidly answered. "Yeah."

"So then, that girl is the one from back then?" Vergil guessed again.

Steven nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"So you're trying to return the bracelet to her?" Vergil figured out.

"I want to just give it to her, but…" Steven looked down at the beach where the girl still was. "I don't know how to talk to her. What should I say?"

"You don't need to be so on edge. All you have to do is just give her a bracelet, what's the worst that could happen?" Vergil told him reassuringly. "Besides, you talk to people all the time. Just act natural."

"I guess your right." Steven said before looking down. "I'm just a little nervous, though.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you a few words that'll help fix nervousness…" Vergil said before he paused and took a deep breath. "Stop worrying about it and go, ya big dummy!" He told him loudly and in a fast tone while pushing Steven forward.

With that push, Steven rushes down the stairs and stands on the beach again. With that, he walks towards the girl while practicing his introduction. "Hi! My name is Steven. Hi, my name is Ste-ven. Hi, my name is… Stevan?" He stopped when another monstrous roar was heard by both him and the girl. "Oh-whoah!"

The earth begins to shake more violently than before, startling Steven and the girl. Steven looks up and sees a piece of the Crystal Temple breaking and starts to fall toward the girl. Steven gasped, realizing the girl's life was in danger. He runs and pounces on the girl, attempting to protect her. "Hi, my name is Steven!"

However, Steven's Gem starts to glow without him realizing it, and it creates a large pink rose-bud around them before it the rose-bud fades into a bubble-like transparent shield, surrounding both him and the girl. The rubble falls onto the bubble, but the bubble doesn't pop, and the rubble shatters, leaving the two kids unharmed.

"Whoa! How did I do that?" Steven asked, looking up at the bubble shield. He then turns towards the girl, who is gaping at him in surprise. "Hi, my name is Steven!"

The girl adjusts her glasses, startled. "Connie." She introduced herself. Steven got off of her and helped her back on her feet. "What… Happened?" She touches the bubble*

"I'm magic, well… Half magic." Steven explains, scratching his head. "On my Mom's side."

Connie looked at him with wide eyes. "You did this?"

Steven shrugged. "Apparently. I'm a member of the Crystal Gems. We fight monsters and protect humanity and stuff."

"Oh! That's kinda like my Dad. He's a cop." Connie said before correcting herself. "Well… More like a private security guard."

"Steven!" They both looked to see Vergil sprinting toward them. He stops in front of the bubble. "You guys okay?"

"Vergil, you came to help us?"

Vergil nodded. "Yeah, I saw the rubble about to fall and said "Sweet stars in the crowbars" and rushed over here. So what's going on?"

"Wait! Before I forget." Steven then looks at Connie. "This is Connie, and Connie, this is Vergil. He's magic like me but on his Dad's side."

"You also make bubbles?" Connie guessed.

"What? No, this is my power." Vergil reached into his Gem and brought out his Sword.

"Wow, cool!" Connie marveled at what she just saw. "You can create weapons?"

"Well, right now, only Swords." Vergil admitted as he lowered his Sword. "Steven's powers are more about defense."

"How long does it usually last?" Connie asked about the bubble.

"Oh! Right." Steven places his hands on the bubble and starts straining himself. He even hits his Gem. Unfortunately, the bubble didn't go away.

"What's wrong?" Connie asked, who was surprisingly really calm about this.

"It uh… Doesn't seem to wanna go away." Steven nervously told her.

Connie looks down. "Oh."

Steven then came up with an idea. "I know, Vergil. Try piercing the bubble with your Sword."

"Will that work?" Connie asked curiously.

Vergil shrugged. "Worth a shot."

Vergil then stepped back a bit, fixed his stance, and thrust his blade forward at the bubble shield. Upon impact that was a slight clash and a bit of resistance, a second later Vergil was pushed back and the bubble remained intact.

"Darn it…" Vergil cursed, putting his weapon away. "I don't have enough power to break through."

"Why don't you try one of your special attacks?" Steven suggested.

"Special attacks?" Connie repeated, surprised.

"Yeah, they're really cool." Steven told her while holding his arms up. "One of them is a move where his Sword starts glowing, and he rushes forward, tearing through anything in front of him while going really fast."

"I can't do that." Vergil shot down that idea. "My attacks can't be controlled to a degree where I can precisely hit a small target. If I tried, I might hurt you two as well."

"Then why not call the Gems?" Steven asked.

Vergil looked down. "They left on a mission."

"Well… Let's keep thinking. We'll come up with something." Steven remained optimistic as he turned to Connie. "So… I don't see you around that often."

Connie went along with the conversation. "My Dad works for a bunch of different beaches, so we're never in the same place long."

Vergil joined in. "Well, you must have been to a lot of different places."

"Yeah, but most places are port towns." Connie told them.

"We go on adventures with the Gems." Vergil replied.

"Actually, Vergil's the one that goes. I only go sometimes." Steven corrected his statement. "They usually say it's too dangerous for me though."

"Do you always go in a bubble?" Connie asked.

"No, this is new. I don't know what this is." Steven admitted, looking around the bubble.

"A new power…" Vergil thought about it before he had an idea. "I think I've got something. Your powers are fueled by your emotions, so if we replicate whatever you were feeling when you first made the bubble, we might be able to make it go away."

"Well, when I first made the bubble, I was really scared 'cause of the falling rubble." Steven remembered, informing him.

"Ah, that's no good." Vergil said, disappointed. "Rubble can't bother you while you guys are in there, so we can't replicate the same emotions."

"So, there's nothing we can do?" Connie asked, a little anxious.

"I guess all we can really do is wait for the Gems to get back." Vergil told her, stumped.

"No, no, no, it's okay!" Steven was quick to reassure them. "I've got other friends that can help."

Steven then walks up against the bubble and pushes to roll it forward. Connie helps by pushing it beside him, and Vergil goes up against the bubble to push it forward as well.

"By the way, what kind of relationship do you two have?" Connie asked, wanting to know for a while. "Are you related?"

"Not exactly. We grew up together and have been living together ever since we were little." Vergil explained to her. "And the Gems take care of us, so I guess we're like family."

"But we're mainly best friends." Steven added on.

"BWAHAHAHA!" Lars laughed out loud. Steven's idea was to go to the Big Donut to ask for help, and right now, Sadie is attempting to break the bubble with a hammer while Lars keeps laughing at their expense. "Way to go, Steven! Is this your magic love bubble or something? Did you make it because you're in looove?" Lars mockingly presses his face against the bubble.

Steven didn't respond and turned to Connie. "That's Lars. We're basically BFFs."

"I don't think he'd agree with that statement." Vergil objected.

"He makes weird faces." Connie noticed uncomfortably.

To unintentionally prove her point, Lars proceeds to make kissy faces and lick the bubble.

"Yeah, he's a weird guy." Vergil summarized.

Sadie stopped hammering and had enough of her co-workers. "Lars, quit being a jerk and help!" She yelled at him.

"What? I'm helping Steven on his date." Lars said with a smirk.

"You're embarrassing him!" Sadie reprimanded him.

"No, I'm not!" Lars argued.

"Yes, you are!" Sadie argued back.

Lars and Sadie started bickering, which led to an argument that was inaudible to the three behind them.

"He and Sadie run the Big Donut." Steven informed Connie.

"Do… They get along?" Connie asked

Steven simply watched as Sadie and Lars continued arguing; Sadie pushed Lars. "They're crazy about each other." He answered without a doubt.

"But… Not in a good way." Vergil added as he shook his head.

"I'm gonna go try something else!" Sadie exclaims. Being fed up with Lars, she goes inside the Big Donut.

"Anyway, this place has the best doughnuts!" Steven told her excitedly. "I come here, like, every day!"

"My parents don't let me eat doughnuts. They have trans fats." Connie said, looking down.

"WHHAAAAATTT?!" Steven exclaims in shock while Lars starts making kissy faces again behind Steven. "Well, it's still a cool place to hang out."

"No offense Connie, but your parents sound like real downers." Vergil commented.

"None taken. Sometimes, they can be a bit much." Connie agreed on a lesser scale.

Vergil then turns to Lars, who is still kissing the bubble. "By the way, I should probably let you know; that bubble has been rolling in the sand on the beach for a while."

"Wah!" Lars cried out in shock as he immediately stopped and spat away disgusted. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

Vergil frowned at him. "I didn't think you'd have your lips all over it."

"AAAAHHH!" Sadie runs out of the Big Donut with a stool and smashes it against the bubble, destroying the stool on impact. Sadly, the bubble remains perfectly intact.

Steven nervously chuckled for a moment before saying. "I have a better idea."

Before he could say it, though, Vergil spoke out. "You know, I don't want to be that guy, but I'm a little insulted that you assumed a hammer and a wooden chair could break the bubble when my Sword couldn't."

The three of them then decided to go to Beach City Pier. The bubble stood on the docks as many boats were docked and floating around the water.

"Whoa, a trawler!" Connie exclaimed joyfully at some of the many boats. "And a little skip-jack!"

"You know a lot about boats." Steven commented.

"That's what happens when you hang out at the beach and don't swim and don't have friends…" Connie said, which created an awkward pause. "Y-you look at boats…"

"Or read. You can also read books in that case." Vergil pointed out, not noticing the awkward atmosphere.

"Yeah…" Connie replied, feeling the awkwardness fade. "I guess that's also true."

"Heh, uh…" Steven notices a boy holding a bag of popcorn. It's his friend, Onion.

Onion is a fair-skinned boy with a small tuft of blond hair and a chubby face. He wears a white sweater, a deep periwinkle shirt tied around his neck, and pale red footie pants. His most recognizable trait is his onion-like head (although the top is thinner than the bottom, not resembling a normal onion). He also does not have any visible ears.

"Oh hey, Onion, Onion!" Steven calls out to him, getting his attention as Onion waves to them. "We need a Harpoon Gun!"

[What?!] Connie & Vergil asked in surprise and dismay.

Steven elaborated. "To pop the bubble."

"That doesn't sound safe or like it could work." Vergil told him, not agreeing with this.

"Yeah, can't we just go back to your house?" Connie asked, feeling worried.

"It's okay. We're Gems too, right Vergil?" Steven turned to his fellow half-Gem.

Vergil sighed. "I'm only agreeing with this because we're desperate."

Steven shrugged. "Good enough." He then turns back to Onion. "Onion, we need a harpoon gun!" He told him loudly before saying it slowly. "HAR-POON-GUUUN!"

Onion, not being able to hear him, continues to eat the popcorn obliviously.

Steven sighs, and Connie speaks. "He can't hear us."

"Unfortunately, your voice is being muffled through the bubble, so he can't make out what you're saying." Vergil realized.

"Huh? Then how come you can still hear us?" Steven asked.

"That's how sound works." Vergil told him before he began to explain. "You see, sound comes from vibrations called sound frequency. Whenever you make a sound, it creates a sound wave that goes in every direction before it fades, and the louder the sound is, the further it travels. But, if a solid and sturdy object, like a wall or the bubble, in this case, were to be in the way of the sound, it would block the sound and make it harder to fully hear." He elaborated to help him get it. "To help you understand, it's like when you hear someone talk on the other side of a door when you're right in front of the door, you can still hear them, but when you're a few steps away, you can't make out what they're saying."

"Oh, I get it now." Steven said with a better understanding.

"Wow, I didn't know you were educated in science?" Connie noted, slightly impressed.

Vergil smiled and scratched his hair. "Yeah, Pearl taught me about it. You see, there are some Gem-tech out there that work on sound, so—No! Wait! Come back!" Vergil stopped and called out when he noticed Onion was starting to leave.

He did stop and look at him.

"Onion, we need you to fire that ship's harpoon gun at the bubble. Can you do that?" Vergil requested.

Onion gives a thumbs up and runs off.

A boat horn is heard as Onion stands at the helm of a boat with the harpoon gun. Steven and Connie scream as they lean out of the way in the bubble. Onion shoots a harpoon at the bubble, which gets deflected by the bubble and hits a nearby boat.

Vergil cringed at the damage. "That's not good."

"The trawler…" Connie moaned in depression as she watched the boat sink into the water.

"Ah, we should go. Hey, Onion!" Vergil called out to the kid still on the boat. "Don't tell anyone we were here, okay!?" Onion simply replied with another thumbs up. "Don't worry, that guy's great at keeping secrets." Vergil assured them as they rolled the bubble away.

As the sun started to set over Beach City, the three of them now found themselves at Funland. Funland was an amusement park by the shore of Beach City. It had roller coasters, an arcade, a midway, a teacup ride, a Ferris wheel, a carousel, bumper cars, and everything else you'd expect to see in an amusement.

"Funland?" Connie asked as they were rolling the bubble through the Funland.

"Yeah! Tons of horrible accidents happen here every day!" Steven said with a smile. There's gotta be something to break this bubble."

"Umm…" Connie sounded uneasy about this.

"Steven, maybe we should just head back?" Vergil suggested, also unsure. "The Gems might be home by now."

"No, no, it'll work out. We just gotta find the right ride." The three of them stopped and looked around for a ride. Steven quickly spots a roller coaster. "Yeah, the kiddie coaster!" The ride he was talking about was a coaster called the Appalachian.

Steven and Connie roll over to the platform and step onto the platform as the roller coaster takes off.

"Alright, we just roll down this ramp as the carts are coming at us, and the crash will break us free!" Steven explains his plan.

"What happens after the bubble pops?" Connie asked.

"We'll be free!" Steven exclaims.

A very awkward pause was followed by that response, which Vergil broke. "…I think this plan might need more planning."

Connie looked at him. "I agree, Steven, this is a bad idea—"

But then, before they could do anything, another roar was heard, along with another earthquake, shaking the entire amusement park and causing the bubble to be knocked around.

"Whaaa— This will work!" Steven yells as he pushes the bubble onto the roller coaster tracks.

The bubble starts rolling them down the roller coaster tracks. The roller coaster collides with them, but instead of being free, it pushes them along. Mr. Smiley hits the emergency break and stops the ride. The inertia launches the bubble off the tracks, sending Steven and Connie flying and screaming out to sea. The bubble hits the water and sinks all the way to the ocean floor.

Vergil, who stood there and saw the whole thing, could only say one thing.

"Aw, nuts…"

Steven and Connie could only sit in the tight space and watch as they sunk to the Ocean Floor. However, they didn't sink for very long, and after a few seconds, they landed on the ocean sand.

It knocked off Connie's glasses, so when she stood up with Steven under her legs, she wasn't able to see anything clearly. "Where are we?" She looked around, getting off of Steven.

Steven picked up her glasses and handed them to her. "The bottom of the ocean." He answered. Connie gasps, horrified. "It's okay!"

"Are we even close to the shore?" Connie asked, clearly afraid.

"Yeah, sure!" Steven replied, clearly lying. The fact was he had no idea what to do or where they were. He just wanted to keep her calm.

Connie put her glasses back on. "Let's start rolling." The two of them got to their feet, bling the bubble forward, not knowing whether or not they were going the right way.

"It's a good thing this bubble is airtight. Otherwise, we'd be drowning right now." Steven jokes and laughs nervously, trying to lighten the mood while Connie is visibly agitated. "Don't worry, Connie, I have an idea that will definitely work when we get back—"

"Steven! Connie!" To their surprise, they heard Vergil's voice.

Looking up, they both see Vergil floating down to the ocean floor and landing gently in front of them. The real surprise was he didn't have a bubble, any diving equipment, or even so much as holding his breath. He stood there underwater, perfectly fine as if he was still on land.

"Vergil?!" Steven asked, shocked to see him. "You're here?"

"Yup, lucky for me, you guys didn't get too far." Vergil told them, relieved that they were safe. "I rushed to the ocean and jumped right in. The shore isn't too far from here."

"That's great…" Steven still looked dumbstruck. "But that's not what I was going to ask."

"Huh? Something wrong?" Vergil asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Yeah! You're breathing underwater!" Connie shouted the obvious 'elephant in the room'. "How are you doing that?"

"Oh right, it turns out it's a power of mine." Vergil explained. "Before, I thought only Garnet could do it, but when we went on a mission a while back that was all about searching for something underwater, Garnet told me to help her, and I found out I could breathe down here, too. It really surprised me back then."

"Steven, can you breathe underwater?" Connie asked him.

Steven looked down. "Nah, I still need air."

"In any case, let's—"

Just then, he was interrupted when a large shadow appeared above them. They looked up, and while Steven was amazed, Vergil was surprised, and Connie was scared.

The creature was a huge worm-like monster that was very long, and the width of its body was nearly equal throughout its entire length, with its head enlarged into a spherical shape, where a circular mouth was located at the end. The body was colored light brown with scattered spots in different hues of purple and blue across it. Finally, its entire was covered in a thick, shiny, transparent light blue coating.

"A huge worm!" Steven gasped while covering her eyes in fear. "It's okay, look! It only wants to eat that bright stuff."

Like he said, the worm monster consumed some nearby glowing red seaweed, showing it had five tentacles near the mouth, and the mouth was circular with roars of teeth inside; the teeth were also in a circular arrangement. There was a red Gem located in its mouth that gave off a red glow that passed through its skin and coating, giving off the illusion of eyes on its head.

"See?" Steven's words helped Connie calm down a little. "Not scary at all."

"Hmm, I wonder if that thing's responsible for the earthquakes?" Vergil theorized.

Suddenly, after consuming the seaweed, the Worm Monster lets out a shrieking roar. And then, it dives headfirst into the seafloor and creates a hole, then it begins to burrow into the ground, creating a crevice that forms underneath the bubble.

The children panic as the crevice opens up directly under them. The bubble falls into the opening and sinks deeper into it.

They stopped when they hit the bottom of a trench. Steven groans as he opens his eyes while rubbing his head in pain. That's when he realizes his foot is in Connie's face. "Oh, sorry! Are you all alright?" Steven asks after taking his foot away. Connie stands up, speechless. "It's not so bad." He looks up from inside the crevice. "Uhhh. I-It's okay, I uh…"

"IT'S NOT OKAY!" Connie finally exploded, startling Steven. "You keep saying that, but you don't know what you're doing! Now we're going to suffocate or starve at the bottom of the ocean, and only my parents will notice because no one else cares about me!"

"Huh?/Wha?" Steven and Vergil both sounded surprised as Connie started tearing up.

"I'm gonna disappear without ever making a single friend…" And with that, Connie finally gives in to her sadness, breaks down, and starts crying.

But then, Steven holds up the glowing bracelet he retrieved from the fridge to Connie. It was so bright that it lit up the trench. "We can be friends." Steven offered, smiling apologetically as Connie started blushing, still teary-eyed. "I saw you at the Boardwalk Parade last year. You dropped your bracelet. I picked it up, but then I couldn't find you. I saved it in the freezer so it would last longer, in case I saw you again."

"Oh! You were the kid on the car wash float." Connie rubbed her eyes dry and chuckled. "You had soap bubbles in your hair."

Steven blushes and laughs. "I was supposed to be a scrub brush."

"I told you it looked stupid." Vergil joined in, also laughing.

"Hey, I put some thought into it." Steven jokingly argued before looking back to Connie. "I'm sorry, Connie." He then gently puts the bracelet on Connie's wrist, making her blush a little. "If I had returned your bracelet back then, you wouldn't be stuck in this bubble with me now."

Still blushing, Connie said to him. "No, it's okay. I'm having fun."

"Yeah, and besides, who says we can't make it out of this?" Vergil added, feeling positive. "Remember, I'm here. It won't be too hard to make it back to the shore."

Steven smiled brightly. "Yeah, maybe you're right.

But then, the bubble suddenly bursts, exposing Steven and Connie to the water. Quickly running out of air, Steven leads Connie as they swim upwards. Vergil then jumps upwards, grabs both of their hands, and quickly swims to the water's surface.

Above the ocean, the sun had already set, and the sky was dark. In a few seconds, the three of them burst out from the surface of the ocean, and Steven and Connie gasped for air and took deep breaths. Vergil could only say one thing.

"…We did it."

They say, silent for a moment before they all start to laugh.

They thought it was over when suddenly, the Worm Monster emerged from the ocean and attacked them. The wave created from the attack splashes Steven, Vergil, and Connie back on the shore. The Worm Monster continues to pursue them.

"Come on, come on!" Connie shouts as they run away from the Worm Monster. As they run, they soon reach the pier and are right beneath it. "Hide in the rocks!"

Steven and Vergil were about to run underneath the pier while Connie tried to climb up a bunch of rocks, but they both stopped when they saw the Worm Monster wasn't chasing them and aimed solely at Connie.

"Connie!" Vergil yelled in horror as he rushed to help her.

"Why is it chasing us?!" Steven wondered in fear before noticing Connie's bracelet, and the realization hit him. "The bracelet! It eats bright stuff. Connie!"

"Steven!" Connie screamed as Vergil held on to her arm, and they both ran away from the Worm Monster. As they are running, Steven appears beside them and is running at the same pace.

"I figured it out!" Steven told them as he ran. "It's chasing the bracelet! It eats bright stuff!"

"In that case, I have an idea!" Vergil takes the bracelet. "You two go that way!" He told them.

"What?!" Connie asked, surprised.

"Trust me! I have a plan!" Vergil insisted.

Steven and Connie decide to believe him and run in a different direction as Vergil continues to flee. The Worm Monster pursues Vergil, who is now in possession of the bracelet. Vergil then runs out from beneath the pier and onto the open beach. At that point, he takes the bracelet and throws it up in the air. The Worm Monster follows and shoots its head up, reaching the bracelet and consuming it.

Now, seeing his chance, Vergil reached into his Gem and brought out his Sword, drew it, and dashed forward at the Worm Monster.

"TENFOLD SLASH!"

With his blinding, fast attack. Sword Slash marks appeared on the Worm Monster's head all the way down to its tail, and in a second, it poofed, creating a large cloud of smoke. The Worm Monster's Gem fell and landed on the sand beside him.

Steven and Connie both watched the whole thing. Their eyes widened with amazement.

"Was that one of the attacks you mentioned?" Connie slowly asked.

"Yep…" Was his only reply.

Vergil then picks up the Gem, bubbles it, and sends it away. "That takes care of that."

"Hey, Guys!" A voice called out that Vergil recognized as Amethysts.

He and Steven then look to see the Gems rushing toward them.

"Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl!" Steven and Connie come over to stand with Vergil as Steven speaks when the Gems arrive. "What are you three doing here?"

"We heard another earthquake around here and came to check things out." Amethyst answered. "Seen anything?"

"Yeah, we found the thing that was causing it, but don't worry, we already took care of it." Vergil reassured them.

Pearl gasps at him, surprised. "Took care of it? You mean you defeated the thing that was causing the tremors?"

"Yeah! They were incredible!" Connie exclaims with a big grin and stars in her eyes.

"Wait, me too?" Steven asked, taken aback.

"Well, yeah, you figured out what it was after, remember?" Vergil reminded him. "So we both beat that thing."

"Really? You mean it?" Steven asked, now smiling as Connie nodded, agreeing with Vergil. He then sees the bracelet fallen in the sand and picks it up. "Here's your bracelet… Again."

"Thanks." Connie takes it with a chuckle.

Amethyst couldn't help but butt in and grab Steven's shoulder from behind. "So, are you going to introduce us?" She asked in a teasing voice that made Steven blush.

Pearl made it worse by saying. "Steven was so excited to meet you. Right, Steven?" All Steven could do was nod and laugh nervously.

"Ah, don't mind him. I'll introduce you guys. Connie, these are the Gems: Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, this is Connie." Vergil, not paying any mind to the mood, happily did the introductions. "Pearl—Connie, Connie—Pearl, Amethyst—Connie, Connie—Amethyst, Garnet—Connie, Connie—Garnet."

"Nice to meet all of you." Connie happily greeted them.

But before either of them could respond, Garnet picked up Pearl and Amethyst. "Alright, enough. Don't mess with Steven's funky flow." She then turns and walks off with them.

"Funky… Flow?" Connie had a puzzled expression.

Vergil shrugged. "I don't get what it means either."

"Uhh…" Steven starts groaning in embarrassment as the star iris zooms in on the nervous Steven.

And that's the chapter. I was really looking forward to this one because I couldn't wait to introduce Connie to the story. At the same time, I decided not to make things too different. Connie will be someone special to Steven and Vergil, and they'll treasure and value her equally but in different ways, which you'll see later.

I also introduced another of Vergil's abilities, the power to breathe underwater or in other atmospheres. Unlike Garnet, he can't survive in lava or in the vacuum of space (yet), But he can survive without air for the time being. The reason he has all these powers will come later, but know that I've revealed all but one of his unique powers, and if Vergil gets anymore, it won't be for a long time.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. If you want more, then be sure to leave a review. If you like the story, click follow or favorite, and as always, have an awesome day.