The cavern fell into an uneasy silence. The only sounds were the distant crashing of waves outside and the lingering echoes of the battle that had just been halted.

Steven slowly lowered his axes, his grip still firm but no longer aggressive. His eyes locked onto the tall figure at the entrance. "Huh, a new challenger or a peacemaker?"

The cavern's tense silence stretched, broken only by the distant crash of waves. Steven kept his grip on his axes, though he didn't raise them. His sharp blue eyes studied the tall figure who had entered, the woman radiated authority, yet her expression was not one of immediate hostility.

Jasper stiffened beside him, her breath sharp and unsteady. Steven glanced at her, noting the way her fists clenched at her sides. She looked almost… shaken.

The woman's gaze swept over the scene, lingering on Jasper, then on Steven. Her lips parted slightly, as if searching for words. Then, finally, she spoke.

"I asked, what is happening here?" Her voice was firm, yet undeniably soft, carrying an air of quiet concern rather than anger.

Steven arched an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. "Well, lady, that depends on who's asking." He twirled one of his axes idly in his hand. "You don't exactly look like a referee."

The woman took a few steps into the cavern, her long gown brushing lightly against the rocky ground. The faint glow from the gemstones embedded in the door reflected off her curls, giving her an almost ethereal quality.

Jasper stepped back instinctively, her helmet vanishing in a flicker of orange light. Her lips parted, her voice barely a whisper. "Rose Quartz…"

Steven blinked, his grip relaxing further. He looked between Jasper and the woman. "Wait… Rose Quartz? That Rose Quartz you told me?" He turned back to her, scanning her up and down with renewed curiosity. "Huh. Gotta say, didn't picture you this tall."

Before Rose could say anything further, a slender gem jumps across her, pulling a spear from her gem aiming for Steven's chest.

Steven manages to parry the attack and push the slender gem away.

The spear came fast, aimed directly at Steven's heart.

His reflexes kicked in, both axes rising in a flash of silver. Metal clashed with hard light, sparks flying as he twisted the attack aside and shoved the slender attacker back.

She landed gracefully, spear at the ready — a tall, elegant Gem with seafoam skin and sharp, calculating eyes.

"Pearl" Garnet growled, stepping up beside her, gauntlets at the ready. "He's dangerous."

"I can see that," Pearl said, her eyes never leaving Steven. "Who is he?"

"No idea," Amethyst huffed, leaping beside them, already reforming her whip. "He just said 'Steven' like that explained everything!"

Steven spun his axes in his hands, posture low. "Man, this is how you greet strangers these days?" He smirked, though his heart pounded. "I was trying to talk."

Pearl's eyes narrowed. "You parried my strike. You're not just some Gem."

From the other side of the cavern, Jasper had frozen completely — her body tense, her expression unreadable as she stared at Rose.

"You…" She muttered. "You're the reason she's gone."

Rose blinked. "Do I know you?"

That did it.

Jasper roared, summoning her helmet once more, and charged forward. "I served under her! You shattered my Diamond!"

Hearing that, Steven groans and turns spins to Jasper. "For fuck's sake, Jasp! I thought we already talked about this—"

Before Steven could say anything further, he feels a piercing pain from his back to his chest. He looks down and see Pearl's spear across his body. Glancing back, he sees Pearl's eyes wide open both with surprise and shock.

He loses no time and punches Pearl away before falling onto a knee, his blood dripping to the floor and dissolving his shirt and the stone beneath him.

The moment Steven hit the ground, the cavern exploded into chaos.

The five gems there glance at him in surprise.

Amethyst steps forward. "I-Is she… bleeding?" She asks in a shaky voice.

"STEVEN!" Jasper's roar echoed like a thunderclap. Her fury ignited tenfold as she lunged toward Pearl, her helmet gleaming with lethal intent. Garnet intercepted her mid-charge, their collision sending shockwaves through the stone floor.

Pearl shakes her head. "She must have stored this liquid inside her body. We can't let our guard down." She lunges at Steven again, ready to strike.

Before she could attack any further, the warp pad activates and from there are shot three arrows that pierce through Pearl with ease, poofing her.

Pearl's form disintegrated into a bright flash of light as her gem clinked to the ground. The entire cavern went still again, the aftermath of violence hanging thick in the salty air.

Three arrows stuck in the rock behind where Pearl had stood moments ago, glowing faintly with the energy that had poofed her.

From the Warp Pad, Fionna emerged—bow still raised, her expression somewhere between fury and fear. Her hands trembled slightly, but her eyes were locked on Steven.

"Steven!" She cried, sprinting toward him. She dropped to her knees beside him, ignoring everyone else. Her hands hovered over the blood pooling beneath him, panic rising in her voice. "Oh my god, Steve—Steve, are you—?!"

At the sight of Fionna, Steven grinned, pushing himself to his feet. "I've been better, but I'm good." He chuckled. "Nice timing, though."

Fionna bit her lip, looking over the damage, his shirt half-burned away by his own blood, the stone beneath him cracked and dissolving. "I—I saw everything through your communicator. L-Let's fuse! We might—"

"No." Steven interrupts, his expression turning serious. "If we fuse, I might share this damage with you, and I can survive this."

Fionna helped Steven steady himself as he wobbled on his feet, blood still dripping down his side. Her bow remained clutched in her other hand, eyes darting between the Crystal Gems — all stunned by her sudden arrival, and even more by Pearl's defeat.

Steven gritted his teeth, breathing heavily. "Told you not to come unless it got ugly."

Fionna frowned, eyes brimming with emotion. "You looked like you were about to die, Steven."

"Eh." Steven shrugged with a wince. "Just a scratch."

Amethyst blinked, still staring at the cracked ground where Steven's blood had burned through solid rock. "That ain't a scratch, dude."

Garnet's expression was unreadable, but her fists slowly lowered. She kept her stance defensive, however, her voice low and measured. "You're… not a normal Gem. Or human."

"Nope." Steven said, spitting some blood to the side. "Best of both worlds, really. Bit of a freak."

Garnet looked at Fionna. "And you? You're human. You poofed Pearl with… arrows?"

Fionna raised her chin, her voice steady now despite the fear still in her bones. "Yeah. G.U.N built those to poof gems on contact, and I'm also training to protect who I love."

Rose stepped forward, her calm presence now weighed down by the chaos unfolding before her. Her eyes lingered on Steven, bloodied but standing, and then on Fionna, still tense with her bow in hand.

"I need everyone to stop." Rose said, her voice firm. "No more fighting."

Jasper's breathing was ragged. She was trembling, not from fear, but from barely-contained rage. "You don't get to ask for peace. You're the reason everything fell apart. My Diamond, she's gone because of you!"

Steven coughed harshly, wiping blood from his mouth as he looked over at her. "Jasp… come on. Not now."

Fionna kept one hand on his shoulder, steadying him. Her eyes never left Garnet or Amethyst, but she didn't raise her bow again.

Garnet stepped in front of Amethyst slightly, her visor gleaming. "You're bleeding. Bad. That's not something Gems do."

"I'm not a Gem." Steven said plainly, standing straighter despite the pain. "Not completely, anyway."

"What? That doesn't make sense!" Amethyst said. "You're… you have a Gem! I saw it when you dodged. But you're bleeding like a human. What are you?"

Steven stared at her a moment before answering, "I'm Steven."

Fionna gave him a small nudge, half-exasperated, half-fond. "That's not an answer."

"It is for now." He turned to Rose. "You gonna keep letting these three jump us, or are you gonna call your friends off?"

Rose's gaze softened slightly. "... I'm sorry for them. They just thought you were Homeworld gems." Then she looked at Garnet and Amethyst. "I want to hear what this… Steven has to say. And the girl with him."

Garnet hesitated, but gave a slow nod. Amethyst flicked her whip away, though she didn't relax completely.

Steven exhaled. "Good. 'Cause I'm in no shape to dodge more spears." He looks at Jasper. "And you don't even think of attacking any further."

Rose moved carefully through the cavern, her presence now anchoring the room in uneasy calm. "Thank you," she said gently, addressing Garnet and Amethyst first, then Fionna. "All of you. But I need to understand what's going on. Who are you really, Steven?"

Steven steadied himself, wiping more blood from his mouth and holding back a wince as he stood straighter. "Name's Steven. I'm not from Homeworld. Not from your rebellion either. I'm just… from Earth. Born here. A little accident of Gem science and bad timing."

Rose tilted her head, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "You said born?"

"Yeah." He gave a half-smile. "Like a human. But with this thing in my forehead." He tapped lightly on his gem. "So, you tell me what that makes me."

Amethyst scratched her head. "That… that's not possible. Gems don't get born. And humans don't have gems."

"Well, guess I missed the memo." Steven muttered, then looked at Garnet. "You believe me?"

"I don't know yet." Garnet said, her voice calm but wary. "But you're not lying. That much I do feel."

Rose's gaze flicked to Jasper, who stood stiff, fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white with strain. Her helmet vanished again in a flicker, but her expression remained stormy.

"You served under her," Rose said gently. "Under Pink Diamond?"

Jasper's jaw tightened. "She was everything to us. And you destroyed her. You left us without a purpose. You shattered our future."

Rose's face remained soft, unreadable. "I did what I had to do to protect this planet."

Steven scoffed. "That line always sounds better when you're not getting speared in the chest for it."

Jasper stepped forward again, trembling. "You don't even remember me, do you? I was ready to die for her, and you—"

Steven interrupted her again, voice hard. "You already said that. And I'm telling you now: picking another fight is just gonna get you killed this time. Not her. Besides, even if you shatter her, not like it will bring YoUr DiAmOnD back."

Rose's expression didn't change, but the tension in the cavern shifted, like a current moving under still waters.

"... You're right." She said softly to Jasper. "I don't remember you. But I remember the war. Every face I saw. Every decision I made. I never wanted to hurt any of you. I wanted freedom."

"Don't give me that!" Jasper snapped, her voice cracking as much from emotion as from fury. "You talk about freedom like it was something noble. You shattered a Diamond. You shattered order. You shattered us."

Fionna flinched at the word shattered, clutching Steven's arm tighter. Steven exhaled sharply, the pain in his chest flaring again. "Jasper," He said, voice low but firm, "I get it. Really, I do. You lost someone that meant everything to you. But trying to kill her over it isn't gonna fix anything. And it sure as hell doesn't make you stronger. And tell me, what the fuck shattering her would bring to you?"

Jasper stood frozen, her hands shaking, and not just from rage this time. Her jaw worked, but no words came for a moment. Her helmet flickered again but didn't fully vanish this time, still hovering like a ghost of her fury, barely held back.

Steven didn't let up. He took a shaky step forward, the wet squelch of his blood underfoot the only sound for a second.

"You want revenge? Fine by me. But don't pretend it's going to fix anything or shit. Do whatever you want, you're free to do so, but I'm going to be the guy to say that's REALLY self-destructive."

Jasper stood there, caught between fury and despair, her helmet flickering as if her whole form couldn't decide whether to fight or fall apart. Steven's words hit harder than any punch—cutting through the righteous anger she'd been clutching for so long.

"You're free to do so." Those words hit like a paradox. She was molded for obedience, bred for war for someone who never cared for her, and that she's free, she's doing exactly what Homeworld would want her to.

Her thoughts are interrupted with a loud groan of frustration that Steven let. "UUUUUUUGH! Dammit, Jasp. You just made be a good advicer. ME." He sighs. "Whatever…" He looks at Rose. "Not-foes anymore?"

Rose took a slow breath, the silence that followed Steven's words pressing down like the weight of a mountain. She looked at him — bleeding, exasperated, somehow still on his feet — then to Jasper, still trembling under her own fury and grief.

"We're not foes," Rose said finally, her voice low but resolute. "At least… I don't want us to be."

Steven tilted his head. "That's not a yes."

Rose gave a soft sigh, not out of exasperation, but something gentler. "No, Steven. I don't see you as my enemy."

Amethyst stepped forward slowly, staring at the dark red stain across Steven's chest and the cracks in the floor where his blood had touched. "Still not sure I believe half of what just happened... but we started this, didn't we?"

Steven didn't reply right away. His eyes were on Jasper. Her helmet flickered again, then finally vanished completely. She didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stared at the ground like she was trying to hold herself together.

Garnet studied them all, the gem on her palm faintly glowing as she searched the future for something stable in the chaos around her. She looked at Rose. "If you want us to listen, we should do it somewhere less likely to collapse."

Steven nods and smiles. "... Heh… Great…" He sits on the ground. "... I'll just… take a quick nap over here… Finn, just don't let Jasper break anything while I'm asleep… and call G.U.N's support… It's hurting a little bit."

Fionna crouched beside Steven as he lay back against the cool stone, his breath shallow but steady. She squeezed his hand gently. "I'll call them. Just… don't die on me, okay?"

Steven smirked faintly, eyes half-lidded. "No promises… but I'll try."

Rose looked at Steven in silence before taking a quick glance at Garnet and Amethyst. She smiles a little and picks up Steven, taking him to the warp pad.

Fionna gripped her bow, preparing to attack. "W—Where are you taking him?!"

Rose smiled gently at Fionna. "Don't worry, human, I won't harm her. I'll take this… Steven somewhere she'll be healed."

Fionna takes a moment before finally lowering her bow. "... Alright…"

Rose nods and activates the warp pad.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

NOTE: Y'know, I'm starting to feel frustrated. Please, please leave a comment. I'm just doing this to entertain people, if I get no answer if I'm suceeding at it or not I'll just delete all of this