Hello and welcome readers to my Steven Universe fanfiction. Anyway, I don't own anything except for the OC.
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. Steven Universe is owned by Cartoon Network and Rebecca Sugar. Please support the Official Release.
An Indirect Kiss
The day begins at the Lighthouse Cliff, where Steven is being carried by Lion to the top of the hill to meet Connie for a picnic. A gloomy Steven, lying belly-down on Lion's back, is carried up the cliff overlooking the Crystal Temple as Connie sets up a picnic on the hill.
"Steven, hurry up!" Connie said as she prepared the mat for the picnic.
Lion arrives at the top, and Steven lazily falls face-first off from Lion's back next to Connie.
"Are you okay?" Connie asked.
"I'm fine…" Steven said with his face still in the dirt.
Connie then opens the picnic basket and hands Steven a sandwich. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked, concerned.
"Yeah…" Steven slumps down and eats the sandwich sadly and slowly.
"Okay, uh… Is Vergil going to join us?" Connie asked, confused by his depression.
"Um um…" Steven shook his head and then swallowed. "He's busy with some training."
"Oh, cool… So, um… Is this fence new?" Connie points to the fence that is now surrounding the entire cliff.
"Uh, it's a long story." Steven told her, sounding dejected.
"Is it a magic story?!" Connie exclaimed.
"Mayybee?" Steven dragged it out hesitantly.
"Well, what happened?" Connie asked, looking at Steven. "Tell me, please."
Steven knew he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of this—Not with Connie's pleading eyes staring at him. And so, the boy caved in. "Okay, okay. But it's not a happy story," Steven said with a reluctant sigh.
Steven begins retelling the story, flashing back to the events that occurred.
Flashback...
Steven started narrating. "Amethyst was horsing around by the cliff."
In the flashback, Steven, Vergil, and Amethyst were by the cliff and Amethyst was dancing around while standing by the edge.
"Amethyst, be careful!" Steven warned her.
Amethyst stands on one leg and laughs. "Steven, why are you getting so worked up?" She then makes a mock, lovestruck face. "Why~? Do you care about me or something~?"
Steven became visibly worried, and his eyes were quivering. "Yes…"
"He's very emotional about that subject." Vergil reminded her, not as worried as Steven, or at all seemingly.
"Ah, Steven, I didn't mean to make you—" Amethyst started out with understanding in her voice before she jokingly pretended to fall backward. "Woah, Woah!"
"Amethyst!" Steven panicked and ran up to her.
Vergil facepalmed and followed. "Oh, for Pete's sake."
"Stop, you're gonna fall!" Steven warned her, afraid.
Amethyst continues horsing around by cartwheeling. "Ooh… Steven!" She giggles and runs around. "I'm gonna fa-all!"
Steven chases Amethyst with genuine concern. "Amethyst, you're gonna get hurt!"
Amethyst stands at the edge of the cliff as Vergil moves past Steven and stands right beside Amethyst.
"Enough bellyaching. If you want Amethyst to be safe, then just move her yourself." Vergil told him, grabbing her hand. "She can't fall if she's away from the edge."
Amethyst rolled her head back. "Guys, please, I'm a Gem warrior, I'm not gonna fall—"
Ironically, the ground underneath Amethyst gives way, and she, along with Vergil, who was holding her hand, falls off the cliff. Facedown towards the ground. Rushing over to the edge of the cliff, Steven looked down and watched their descent in terror.
As they were falling, while Vergil was screaming as he fell, Amethyst facepalmed and groaned. "Ugh, this is so embarrassing."
Right before crashing chest-first into a rock that was nestled on the ground. Their Gemstones took the brunt of the impact and made an audible cracking sound.
"Ow!"
Steven saw this happen and shrieked in horror. "A-Aahhh!"
"We're okay!" Amethyst yelled up turning on her back to face upward.
Vergil didn't respond, nor did he move, for that matter. In fact, his body fell off the rock and landed on the sand in a thud.
Present...
The scene briefly returns to Steven, Connie, and Lion at their picnic—And Steven narrating.
"So I ran there as fast as I could."
Flashback...
Back in the flashback, After running all the way from the hill to the beach, Steven looked ready to collapse, exhausted and panting heavily. Looking perfectly fine, Amethyst waited and watched while Vergil still lay there on his back as Steven approached them before finally falling on his face and completely out of breath. "You okay?" Steven asked with great concern, his exhaustion.
Amethyst smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, don't I look okay?"
"What about Vergil?" Steven went on, still concerned.
"Uhh…" Vergil groaned and sat up, rubbing his head.
"Looks fine to me." Amethyst shrugged.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Steven asked, not dropping the subject.
"Yes, Steven, I'm fine. Except for this!" Amethyst pulled aside part of her hair to reveal her left eye that was being covered. It had enlarged to the point that it was double the size of what it was originally and looking off in another direction.
"Amethyst!" Steven didn't have a chance to react when Pearl's voice gasped in horror upon seeing the enlarged eye. She and Garnet rushed over to her. "Show me your Gem!" Pearl said, reaching towards Amethyst.
Amethyst slapped Pearl's hand away. "Fresh!"
But Garnet grabs Amethyst's arm and pulls down her shirt, revealing a crack in her Gem, which makes Amethyst blush and glance away.
Pearl gasped once again, pulling away from Amethyst with her eyes widening in fear. "Amethyst! Your Gem is cracked!"
Blushing even brighter, Amethyst covers up her Gem. "Rude!" she said crossly. "Ah- It's not a big deal! Plus, now I have this cool googly eye." The purple Gem shook her enlarged eye around, making the pupil rattle in it.
Steven chuckled while Pearl looked at the half-Gem. "How did this even happen?"
"She fell off the cliff by the lighthouse." Steven told her immediately.
"Did not!" Amethyst bitterly denied it.
"Of course… How could I have been so blind?" Pearl asked herself with a frown before looking up at the towering cliff. "We need to put a fence up there so this will never happen again!"
While they decide on that, Vergil tries to stand up but finds that his legs are now unsteady. Garnet takes notice of this. "What's wrong?"
"I-I'm not sure?" Vergil answered, looking a little dizzy. "I just feel kinda weird."
"Maybe you hurt yourself when you fell." Steven gave a guess.
Hearing those words made both Garnet and Pearl stop and look again with much greater concern.
"Oh no, please don't tell me…" Pearl seemed afraid and covered her mouth.
Garnet kneeled in front of Vergil and spoke gently. "Vergil, did you also fall off the cliff?"
Vergil's only reply was a simple nod.
"Let me see your Gem."
At the request of the taller Gem, Vergil reached for the collar of her shirt and pulled it down to reveal his Gem at the base of his chest, and to the horror of the Crystal Gems, it also had a small crack on the center.
Present
Back to Steven and Connie. Steven goes on with his narrating. "And that's why there's a fence. The end!" He then chomps the sandwich in hand.
"Wait, what happened to Vergil and Amethyst?"
Steven let out a long groan of protest.
"C'mon! Tell me the rest!" Connie pleaded.
But Steven wasn't too fond of that idea either, and he crossed his arms and looked away. "I don't wanna…"
"Steven?" Connie frowned concernedly. Steven looked away, unyielding. "Steee-veeen~" Connie looked flirtatiously at him. This started to make him crack a bit as he began trembling and murmuring. "Steven!" Connie exclaimed impatiently. Steven trembled faster and groaned louder but finally gave in.
"Okay, okay!" Steven told Connie. "But only if you let me try on your glasses."
"Only if you give me the rest of your juice." Connie said.
"Okay, but it's mostly backwash." Steven warned her.
"Good enough."
As the two kids traded their respective items. Steven put on Connie's pink-tinted glasses. "How do I look?" He asked, making a goofy smile.
Connie squinted her eyes at him. "I have no idea."
As everyone got settled down, Steven started back up the story. "Well… Um… So… We were all worried about Amethyst, and Pearl was freaking out about Vergil."
Flashback...
Back in the flashback, Pearl was in a state of panic as she wrapped her arms around Vergil and started to babble in uncontrollable concern. "Oh my gosh! This is terrible, awful, horrible! How could I let this happen? Why didn't I stop this? What was I thinking? What was I doing?!—"
Garnet put a hand on her shoulder, which stopped her. "Pearl, stop. We need to calm down and then fix this."
Pearl took a deep breath, let go of Vergil, and sniffed. "…You're right, I'm okay now." She said, though she still held Vergil's hand.
With that done, Steven decided to ask. "So, what's the problem? Amethyst falls on stuff all the time, and I thought Vergil always recovered after sleeping."
"It'd be fine if it were just their bodies, but their Gems are damaged." Garnet explained. "Plus, it's even worse for Vergil. Even though he's half-human. Unlike you and the others, he doesn't have the same genetics as Humans. Important things like his brain and heart are all compressed into his Gem." She informed him, sounding worried herself. "If it's damaged, he could be in grave danger."
Steven gulped. "So, what do you do to fix it?" He asked.
Pearl's expression turned to one of sadness as she averted her eyes from the Humans. "Before… We had Rose…"
"Steven, your mother had healing tears that flowed from her Gem." Garnet told the young boy as she walked up to him and kneeled down to his level. "She felt real love for those around her. She felt real sorrow when they were hurt." She placed a hand on Steven's shoulder as he lifted up his shirt to look at his Gemstone. "And just as Mythril passed down his Gemstone, you have the Rose Quartz Gem now. I know that power is in you, too."
"Hahaha…" Hearing that, Vergil laughed quietly. "That's silly, you guys; everyone knows boys don't cry."
"Well, actually—"
Vergil cut her off. "Or wait, was it 'Planes don't fry'?" He then snapped his fingers as he felt he remembered. "I got it, it's 'Birds don't fly."
"But, birds do fly?" Steven pointed out in an argument.
"Oh yeah?" Vergil crossed his arms. "Do penguins fly? Do turkeys fly? Do ostriches fly?"
Steven was quiet before responding. "Huh, I stand corrected." Steven then approached Amethyst as she was messing around with her googly eye. "Amethyst! Show me your Gem!"
"Yeah, alright." Said the purple Gem, pulling down her shirt.
In true Steven style, the young boy posed dramatically. "The power…To heal." He whispered intensely, closing his eyes in preparation to summon his tears. Steven then performed an elegant and dramatic entry, like he was being wrapped by rose flower vines and then burst out in a flurry of rosebuds.
The reality was much different, however. Steven was straining as hard as he could in front of Amethyst's gem, but nothing happened. He stopped and looked at Isaac, Pearl, and Garnet. "It's not working." He said to them. "I guess I'm just too tough to cry."
Pearl put her hands on her hips and looked at him with half-lidded eyes as she retorted. "Just today, you were crying about snakes."
Steven sadly whimpered. "They don't have any arms!" However, he didn't cry now.
Garnet had one of her hands under her chin while coming up with a plan. "We have no choice." The leader of the Crystal Gems stated firmly. "We need to take them to Rose's Healing Spring."
"Healing Spring?" Steven repeated, confused.
"Oh, Steven. It's one of Rose's most precious sanctuaries." Pearl explained happily with renewed hope as she smiled nostalgically. "And in the center of the garden, Rose's Fountain! Overflowing with her healing, lacrimal essence!"
Amethyst scoffed and waved her hand dismissively. "Guys, I'm fine, I'm not gonna get any wor-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r…" The purple Gem dragged out the word as her face twisted up because of her damaged Gemstone. The others stared at her, and then there was a popping sound, and Amethyst was back to normal. However, when she spoke, she started speaking backward. "Yeh syug! Tahw era uoy gniod no eht hcaeb?"
That was definitely bad. Steven, Garnet, and Pearl looked at each other with concern while Vergil raised his hand.
"Oh, oh, I know! I know, she said; Hey guys! What are you doing on the beach?" Vergil translated for them as though it were a game.
"Hey, I just thought of something, Vergil?" Steven turned to the boy in question. "When you were falling, why didn't you save yourself by using your wings to fly?"
Vergil scoffed and rolled his head back. "Steven, I can't do that unless I can focus on it. You try focusing when you're falling down a cliff."
Steven nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see."
"And one more thing!" Vergil pointed at him. "If I ever don't use a power when it looks like I should, always assume there's a reason."
"Okay—" Steven was interrupted.
"And one more thing!" Vergil pointed at him. "Never think you can arrive at a conclusion before me."
"Uh—" Steven was interrupted again.
"And one more thing!" Vergil pointed at him. "I can't do that unless I can focus on it."
Once again, Steven, Garnet, and Pearl look at each other with greater concern than before, as Garnet said. "This is only going to get worse. We have to go." Garnet told them in a serious manner.
The Warp Pad that would take the Crystal Gems to Rose's fountain was in the middle of a bizarre, bramble-covered canyon. When the pad activated, the light cleared away the bramble covering it in a dome. A second later, they'd arrived at their destination. "And here we are!" Pearl announced proudly. "Rose's Healing Spring!"
Vergil and Steven looked at the area, only to discover that it was anything but what its name sounded or how Pearl described it. Instead of a lush and thriving spring, the spring is enclosed in a massive dome-like structure of thistles and brambles. It was forlornly and had an air of isolation that was as if it was abandoned and left untended ever since Rose's death. Pearl hardly seemed to notice the state in which the spring was in.
"I don't see it," Garnet pointed out with her arms crossed.
"Wha…?" Pearl turned her body to face the garden. The white Gem gasped in horror when seeing the garden overrun by the massive vines and brambles.
Amethyst said backward. "Hgu, m'I gniog emoh." She turned to walk back to the warp pad when Garnet stopped her by placing a hand on her head.
"Ugh, I'm going home." Vergil translated, sitting down.
"Now, now!" Pearl exclaimed a bit uneasily and chuckled the same way. When she rushed over to him and clung tightly to Vergil for emotional support, she looked at Garnet while also smiling a very strained smile, steadily beginning to panic. "Let's keep it together! Our memories of Rose can't be tainted by some overgrown brambles!" She chuckled for a moment before scowling down at the vines. "Look at them. They're a mess without her guidance. Directionless, pathetic, clinging things." She continued, tightening her grip on Vergil.
Why did it sound like she was talking about herself and not the plants?
Pearl then looked desperately at Garnet. "It's going to be okay, Garnet!" She exclaimed hysterically, staring into Garnet's eyes, her eyes wide with panic.
This definitely made Garnet feel very awkward, as she was freaking out. All she could do was shrug. "Sure."
"Y-you really think so?" Pearl asked with relief." You're right! Rose would have wanted us to carry on!" Pearl proclaimed before looking around the area. She then spotted a light shining through the brambles and started skipping towards it while lifting up Vergil and carrying him on her back. "Maybe there's a path over here!"
"Ugh, I feel like I'm floating…" Vergil groaned as his mind was getting hazier.
"Healing tears…!" Steven exclaimed as he stood over Amethyst, continuing to strain himself and force the tears out. Amethyst let out a bored sigh as she lay next to him, waiting impatiently.
"Yeh! Fi ruoy ydob t'nac… Yrc no sti nwo… Uoy attog… Ekam ti yrc!" She slaps herself in the face and imitates crying. Amethyst started speaking in gibberish again, which left the boy stumped, but he quickly figured it out.
"Pain can make one cry?" Steven said the gist of it.
Amethyst nods her head in agreement with a proud grin on her face.
"Where is pain?" Steven asked before looking over at some bramble vines. He walked over to Brambles and then slowly approached them with caution. Covering up his eyes, he tried to stick his index finger into a thorn of the brambles.
Steven tried to do pock himself. But then, the brambles suddenly started animating and reached towards him. Amethyst noticed this and bolted towards him.
"Huh?" Steven uncovered his eyes right before Amethyst pushed him out of the way.
"AMETHYST!" Although a bit frozen up by what had just happened, Steven and Amethyst turned their head when they heard Pearl's voice as she and Garnet rushed over to them with Vergil in hand. "No more roughhousing. You'll exacerbate your crack!"
Amethyst narrowed her eyes and talked backward in her defense. "Eht seniv era gnimoc ot efil dna era annog llik Nevets, tsuj os uoy wonk."
"The vines are coming to life and are gonna kill Steven, just so you know." Vergil translated again.
Amethyst attempts to walk away, but she accidentally reverses herself and walks straight on into a nearby rock. Pearl gasps in shock as Amethyst collapses onto the ground, her crack beginning to worsen.
"Aw, right in the Gem!" Steven cringed.
Amethyst started coughing. "T'nod yrrow ro gnihtyna, m'I doog." She said backward before her body started glitching, causing her head and foot to switch places. Amethyst groaned in agony.
"Don't worry or anything, I'm good." Vergil translated again, then suddenly. "Aaagghh!"
Vergil gripped his chest while he cried out in pain as he flailed and fell off Pearl's back and hit the ground. He kept gripping his chest and breathed heavily before he stopped and sat up as Pearl kneeled in front of him and placed her hands on his cheeks to get up his gaze toward her.
"Vergil, what's wrong?!" Pearl asked, starting to sweat. "Please tell me!"
"Pearl…" Vergil looked up at her and opened his eyes, but what she saw weren't his usual eyes. His pupils were gone, and his eyeballs were like crystal clear mirrors that only reflected Pearl's image back at her. "I can't…See your face."
"Gugh!" Pearl shrieked in horror at what she saw had become of his eyes and fell back. "It's gotten worse!"
"What happened?!" Steven asked, surprised as well.
"The longer his Gem stays cracked, the more his physical body breaks apart." Garnet grimly informed him. "He might not last much longer."
This only made Pearl panic even more than before. "Ohh! Oh! Keep calm. What we need to do is to get you both into the fountain immediately if we can ever find a way through all this mess!" She exclaimed, tearing up.
Garnet walked over to a large rock that was entangled in the brambles. Garnet shushed Pearl after pulling out a rock from the vines. She then summoned her gauntlet and punched the rock with all her might through the brambles, creating a tunnel to Rose's Fountain. "I needed that. This way." She ordered the team.
With her arms around Vergil's side with his arm around her shoulder, Pearl supported the blonde while also looking shocked at what Garnet did. Steven was doing the same with Amethyst. "We could've probably gotten in without hurdling a giant rock into Rose's most precious sanctuary! But if you're okay with it, I'm fine, too!" Pearl ranted with a chuckle before shaking her head. "No, no! It's worth it if it means saving them."
The Crystal Gems proceeded slowly and carefully through the tunnel to Rose's Fountain. Garnet kept her gauntlets on for any further attack from the plant life. Pearl and Steven held onto the person they were holding up tightly to make sure they weren't injured any further.
When light shined on Steven's face, he looked up, and his eyes widened slightly. Rose's fountain stood there in all its majesty. Just like Pearl said, it was located in the middle of the garden, and a giant stone statue of Rose Quartz stood at its center on a star-shaped pedestal. Four life-sized Rose statues surround the central sculpture.
"This isn't right." Garnet said as they came out of the opening. Steven placed Amethyst down and walked a little bit ahead of the team. "The fountain isn't running."
"What?" Pearl exclaimed, not letting go of Vergil. She looked into the fountain's pool and saw there was no water. All of it died up over time. "W-what's wrong with it?"
"I'm not sure." Garnet answered.
Steven hardly paid attention to them and stared up at his mother's statue. All the things he's heard about Rose gave him an impression of what she was like. She was perfect in almost every way. Incredible, intelligent, brave, compassionate, strong, magical, a legend, and everything that he couldn't name. Everything he wasn't yet but inspired to be. To be just like her. Just like how the Gems expected him to be.
"Is that Mom?" Steven asked as his eyes started watering up. "Oh, oh, I'm getting emotional! I think it's happening! Uh, I'm really feeling it! Who should I…"
"Quickly!" Pearl moved Vergil over to Isaac. Amethyst quickly laid down next to the boy, and they both waited for Steven to cry on both of them. Steven leaned over the Gemstones and started straining to cry again while Pearl and Garnet watched.
Present...
The flashback then abruptly cuts back to Steven and Connie as Steven falls over. "Ahh! Headache!"
"So give back my glasses and finish the story!" Connie impatiently demanded.
Steven returns Connie her glasses, and the flashback continues.
Flashback...
The next few seconds were of Steven grunting and trying to cry, but nothing happened. He still couldn't cry, and when nothing happened, the young Gem got frustrated. "Ah, come on! I had it!" He yelled angrily.
Pearl sighed. "Steven, it's fine. Just—" she placed her hand on the bridge of her nose to try and calm herself. "—just stay here and watch Amethyst. We'll find out what's wrong with the fountain."
"No, no. Wait! I can still do it!" Steven exclaimed frantically, stretching his eyelids out to try again. The cracks in Amethyst's Gem worsened again. Amethyst's body then falls apart into pieces that are only connected by a small line of skin.
Vergil then spoke in a quiet and tired voice. "Hey, guys… I'm feeling kinda weird."
CRACK!
Now suddenly, something no one expected had happened as a crack appeared on the base of Vergil's hand as though his flesh was made of glass. But it started to become much worse when crack lines started spreading out from the base of his hand and started spreading up his arm, past his wrist, and across his forearm. Vergil then started sweating as he started to feel very ill and weak. "Is my… Arm still there? I… Can't feel it."
Pearl gasped as Vergil's condition continued to worsen. She sweated heavily and started to turn pale. "Vergil! Please, stay! Stay with me!" She exclaimed, hugging him.
Seeing just how bad the two injured Gems were getting, with Vergil looking far worse, Garnet and Pearl started to leave. But Garnet then placed her hand on Pearl's shoulder before she told her something she knew the white Gem wouldn't like. "Pearl, you have to leave Vergil here."
Pearl's eyes widened before she shook her head in turmoil. "No, I can't!" She tightened her hold on him as if she was afraid that he'd disappear if she let go. "I won't leave him, Garnet! Not in the state he's in."
"It's because of the state he's in that you have to." Garnet reasoned, trying to appease her friend. "It's too dangerous to carry him around like that. We need to set him down in the fountain so it'll heal him immediately after it starts running again."
Pearl's eyes quivered as tears streamed down her cheeks. Knowing she couldn't argue, she took a deep breath, went over to the fountain, and gently laid Vergil down inside before lovingly brushing her hand against his cheek. "I'll only be gone a second. " She promised, still wishing she didn't have to be away from him like this.
Vergil reached out, held her hand in his own, and smiled at her. "I'll be okay." He weakly assured her.
Pearl placed a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, fighting back the urge to break down as she climbed out of the fountain. Garnet and Pearl started to leave, but Steven chased after them.
"Wait, wait! It might still happen! Guys?" He said, trying to convince them that he had his powers. But Garnet and Pearl continued to leave, unable to let Steven take any more chances, and ignored him.
As they went off, a dejected Steven was alone with the injured. Amethyst then rammed into Steven with her head. Steven looked down and saw her body trying to round itself up, her hand bouncing her leg like a ball. "Hu, Elttil pleh?" The purple Gem said backward.
"Uh… Little help?" Vergil translated again from the fountain. "Bring her… Over here."
However, seeing her body like that and Isaac's close to death only discouraged Steven even more. But his sadness turned to anger as he became fed up with the situation. "I can't understand you!" He snapped at her, stopping Amethyst from bouncing around as she looked at him with a shocked expression. "I don't understand anything! Why is everyone acting so strange? Why can't I—" His ranting stopped momentarily as he looked at Rose's statue at the fountain. "WHY CAN'T I CRY?!"
He paused when his angered shout echoed throughout the area. When it was over, bitter silence returned. Steven sighed and looked up at one of the normal-sized Rose Quartz statues on the edge of the fountain. "It's just… I mean, I don't know how to feel about you, but everyone else does." He said, speaking to the statue as if it was really Rose, and sat next to it. "I wish I could have met you. Then, this place would make me sad, and I could cry healing tears like you." He climbed and lay on Rose's statue— Curling up in the flowers on its lap.
"S-Steven…" Vergil tiredly called out to him as Steven lifted up Amethyst and brought her into the fountain with him. They both went to the center where Vergil was. "I think I… I know why you c-can't cry."
"You do?" Steven asked, desperately wanting to know.
"Crying needs emo-emotions… You can't just want it… You have to feel it." Vergil explained to him; unable to see, he simply stared upwards. "Even if… S-she's your Mom, you can't…Get emotional over some…One you've never met."
"But then what should I do?" Steven asked, distraught again. "I wanna help you guys, but I can't… Like always." He said that the last part was more depression as he looked down.
"That's… Not true…" Vergil assured him with a smile. "Whenever we… Really need you… You a-always come through in the end… Always."
Present...
Steven then suddenly hears sniffling sounds. The flashback cuts away, revealing it is Connie getting emotional and tearing up.
"Are you okay?" Steven asked, raising a brow.
Connie sniffles and nods her head. "Keep going." She said before biting into her sandwich.
Flashback...
The flashback continues, as Steven continues to gaze at Vergil as the words of his friend bring a small smile back to his face. Amethyst suddenly interrupts his trance by hooting and screaming loudly. Steven then puts his hand over her mouth, stopping her nose.
Amethyst said backward. "Reehc pu lliw ay?"
"She… Said, cheer up… Will ya?" Vergil translated before he gasped. "Augh!"
"Vergil!" Steven cried out as Vergil was feeling more pain.
"Agh, kgh, uh, grr, augh!" Vergil was thriving in pain as the cracks continued to spread across his body, and he was unable to hold it in. The tease of iron filled his mouth, and Vergil couched up into his hand. He felt even colder and almost felt like he was sinking into an ocean.
Now Vergil had a crack on his Mythril Gemstone that began to worsen. But it started to become much worse when crack lines started spreading out from the base of his arm, past his shoulder, across his chest, and up to his neck. The lines were connecting, and he looked like a glass figure that was about to break apart. Vergil then started sweating as he started to feel very ill and weak. "Guys… I think… This is… It for me…" He said, breathing at a much slower rate.
"Ahh!" Steven cried out in horror at what he was seeing, which became worse when he saw Amethyst's Gem was now on the verge of shattering. Amethyst's body form started glitching even more.
"Amethyst, Vergil, I'm sorry!" Steven said, holding Amethyst as Vergil lay in front of him. "I can't do anything right. Now I'm going to lose you, and it's all my fault."
Amethyst glitched again and spoke again. But this time, in what would likely be her final words, she spoke normally in a slow, slurred, but understanding voice. "Ha ha… You care… About…Me."
Steven hugged Amethyst tightly when he heard this and let out small, tearless sobs. "Please let me be a magic healer…" He whispered and started to weep. A lone tear dripped off his face and fell onto Amethyst's Gem, landing right on her crack. Steven opened his eyes and gasped in joy when he saw the tear. He waited for it to heal the gemstone, but as seconds rolled by, Amethyst's Gem remained cracked, leaving him frustrated. "Oh, come on!"
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a massive surge of pink water burst out of the large central statue of Rose's Fountain, raining down on the hybrids and Amethyst, washing over them, and flooding the whole place. The bushes dispersed away from the fountain, and bright pink roses bloomed on them. The brambles also begin to disappear as they blossom into flowers that rained down upon the fountain peacefully, allowing sunlight to shine into the now-lively sanctuary again.
Vergil stayed underwater after it engulfed him. He even swallowed some of it. Suddenly, he felt himself returning to his original state of being. No, it was more than that. He never felt more alive than ever. His pain was gone, his wounds were healed, the crack scars reverted, and his Mythril Gemstone healed completely. But then, something else started happening.
DING!
His Gem started to glow; rather than release the usual dark black aura, a different shine came from his Gem. It was like an aura of black that was outlined by a shimmering white light. It started to spread out from his body and into the water until the water started to change.
The water that filled the fountain changed from pink to black, but that wasn't all. The water was also filled with lights that looked like glimmering stars that fizzled like diamonds in a jewelry box and lit up the water even more. It didn't even look like the surface of a fountain now; it looked more like a beautifully clear starry night sky.
Vergil emerged from that starry sky water and opened his eyes to see that his sight had returned as his Gem stopped glowing. He swam over to the other two and smiled in relief. "We're alive!"
"Look at this guy, saving our lives and junk." said Amethyst as she, Vergil, and Steven laughed together.
"Oh, thank goodness!" A voice cut their moment of laughter and they turned around towards one of the star-shaped gates of the garden and saw Pearl and Garnet had returned. Then, when she saw Vergil, she gasped and rushed over to him. "Vergil!"
Vergil swam over to the edge of the fountain and placed his arms on it. "Pearl, see, I told you I'd be okay." He said when she approached him and examined his hand.
"I'm so glad." Pearl hugged him tightly again, this with relief and gratitude that he was safe and well once more. "I'll never let this happen again." She promised as Garnet walked over.
"Are you okay now, Vergil?" She asked as Pearl let go.
Isaac nodded and stepped out of the fountain as water dripped from his wet clothes. "A lot better, actually. That said…" He said before turning to the fountain. Garnet and Pearl finally noticed the change in the water's appearance as their mouths hung open. Vergil looked back at Garnet and asked. "What's up with the water?"
Garnet nodded and looked at Pearl, who looked completely taken by surprise. "The power to enhance?" Asked the leader.
"Could it be?" Pearl wondered, even though the answer was right in front of her.
Garnet went over to Vergil. "Vergil, did something happen to your Gem while you were being healed?"
Vergil blinked before he thought back. Now that you mention it, while I was underwater, I think I felt my Gem glowing, but it felt different than usual." He explained. "And I can't be sure, but while my eyes were healing, I think I caught a glimpse of the water turning from pink to black."
"Then it's true." Garnet realized.
"What?" Vergil asked.
"Vergil, just as Rose Quartz had healing tears, Mythril had a special ability as well. He could enhance the powers of those around him." Pearl explained. "He could make Gems around him stronger or faster or enhance the power of their weapons of abilities; he could even enhance the power of Rose's healing tears. It was a power to share his great strength with others." She explained, remembering it fondly. "You must have awakened to it after your Gem was healed and enhanced the power of the fountain."
"Woah, another new power?" Vergil said with wonder.
Garnet placed a hand on the young Gem's shoulder. "Among all the many powers he possessed. This was the one your father was the proudest of. He'd be happy to know you have it now."
Vergil processed her words and looked down at his Gem before he smiled at it and looked back up at her. "Cool."
"Did you see what I did? It was magic!" Steven yelled out to Garnet and Pearl while swimming with Amethyst towards them. "My tears brought the fountain back to life and saved Amethyst!"
Pearl exchanged a somewhat confused glance with Garnet before turning back to the young Gem. "I'm pretty sure me and Garnet unplugging the clogged chamber brought the fountain back to life." The white Gem informed him.
"We saved Amethyst." Garnet said.
"You don't think my crying was a little related to that?" Steven asked.
Pearl walked over and placed a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Oh, Steven, you don't have healing tears. You'll never have any real magic powers, and we don't want anything more to do with you." She told him in a harsh, condescending tone. Steven looked at her with a horrified expression.
Present...
The flashback ends, cutting back to Connie and Steven.
"She didn't really say that?" Connie said with disbelief.
"No, but that's what it felt like." Steven said sadly.
"Is that why you've been so down," Connie asked with a concerned expression. More worried about him than ever before
Steven shrugged sadly, not saying anything as he now felt worse after the story was told.
"Um…You can have your juice back." She offered with a small smile.
"Nah, that's okay." Steven refused. Connie continued to look worried at him as the boy sniffled and sighed. "Everyone expects me to be like my mom. What if I never get those powers?"
"Then you'll be like me. That's not so bad." Connie replied.
"B-But if I don't have powers, then I can't hang out with Amethyst or Garnet or Pearl or you." Steven protested, starting to tear up and gripping his right pant leg tightly as his eyes welled up. "And I can't go on missions! And I-I can't be like Vergil!"
"Like Vergil?" Connie repeated, surprised. "Is that what you want?"
Steven nodded before his tears started to fall. "He gets to go on missions and knows Gem stuff and has a lot of really cool powers and… And he gets to be like his dad, and I can't do any of the things he can do."
Connie reached out and placed a hand over Steven's. Steven let out a soft gasp when their skin made contact, and he looked up to see her leaning a little closer to him. His mouth gaped slightly as his eyes widened, and his heart started pounding.
"You don't need any powers to be here with me." Connie said softly, taking a sip of the juice and leaning forward to Steven. "And Vergil never said you had to be like your mom. He likes you the way you are. We all do." She assured him. The winds lightly blew all around them as the two kids both blushed red in slight embarrassment. However, just when it looked like Connie was going to kiss Steven, she suddenly stopped and placed a hand on her forehead when feeling a sudden headache. "Ow. Ugh."
"What's wrong?" Steven asked concernedly.
"I think- There's just—" Connie stopped midsentence with a sigh and took off her glasses, squinting her eyes tightly. "Something wrong with my glasses. My…" At first, she thought that taking them off would get rid of her headache. But suddenly and miraculously, the girl's vision changed, and she gasped in shock when everything around her became crystal clear. "My eyes. I-I-I can see!"
"What?!" Steven exclaimed in bewilderment.
"I can see without my glasses!" Connie replied in a mixture of surprise and shock.
"Did I heal your eyes? But how?" The two kids slowly directed their gazes and stared at the juice box Steven had given to Connie—The same one she was holding, with its oddly sparkling straw. The young Gem gasped in awe and jumped to his feet while the Indian girl dropped it in shock. "The juice box! I don't have healing tears. I have healing spit!" He proclaimed in joy, raising his fists high into the air.
"What am I going to tell my parents?!" Connie anxiously asked the hybrid. "What am I going to tell my optometrist?!"
"I don't even know! Oh, thank you, Connie!" Unable to contain his excitement, Steven hugged Connie in a warm embrace—Making her blush again before he let her go and turned to Lion, who had woken up. "Lion, let's go tell the Gems. They're never going to believe this!" Steven and Lion rush down the hill, leaving Connie alone.
Connie let out a sigh and looked at her glasses. She pops the lenses out of her glasses and puts them on.
"Hey, Connie!" Connie looks up to see Vergil flying around with his wings as he gently lands on the ground next to her and notices her glasses. "New glasses?"
Connie waits to respond to his question as the chapter ends. "…Yeah."
And that's the chapter.
I decided to have this chapter be about both Amethyst and Vergil getting their Gems cracked. For Amethyst, it was the same as the canon, but this also showed an interesting fact about Vergil. Vergil isn't like the others; for him, even a small crack can put his life in danger if it isn't fixed soon, and he's a different kind of half-Gem from Steven on the fact that his body, both inside and out, can't last without his Gem, I'll explain more of that later.
As for his newest power, I wanted to give him a support power similar to but different from Steven's healing. I really liked the power to enhance others. Plus, I wanted him to be more than just someone who's only good for fighting. This power will be very important to him the longer the story goes on.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. If you want more, be sure to leave a review. If you like the story, click follow or favorite, and as always, have an awesome day.