Steven stared up at the sky, a mixture of worry and fear in his voice. He'd told the girls about five hours earlier that he felt something was coming, that they were already on their way. At first, they hadn't believed him, until Garnet, frowning and with trembling hands, looked into the future and confirmed what he'd said. At that moment, panic gripped them all.
He ran as fast as he could to City Hall, where Mayor Dewey was calmly counting the votes for the upcoming election. Steven arrived almost breathless. "We have a problem, Mr. Mayor," he said, his voice trembling. He didn't particularly like Dewey, but he knew it was necessary to warn him to prevent the citizens from being put in danger.
"Oh, really? What's the problem?" the mayor asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. Steven hurriedly explained how an alien spaceship was about to arrive on Earth in a matter of hours and how Beach City could be the landing site.
The mayor was silent for a few seconds, then his face changed to a serious expression. "I understand, Universe. If I notice anything strange, I'll announce it immediately. I'll also warn everyone in Beach City so they're prepared. Thank you, Universe, and please, be careful," he said, looking at him with genuine concern.
"I will," Steven replied with a brief smile before running off toward the house. The sky was beginning to turn a sickly, thick green. "Damn," he muttered, seeing something enormous approaching from above.
He ran toward his father's workshop. "Dad!" he shouted desperately.
"What's wrong, Stevo?" Greg asked, noticing the change in the atmosphere.
"They're coming," Steven said, his voice tense. "I need you to leave, now." He handed him his phone. "If anyone calls, say I'm on a mission, but keep it with you," he insisted.
Greg took the phone with concern. "Will you be okay, son?"
"Absolutely," Steven replied with a smile that tried to convey confidence, even though his whole body was trembling.
"Okay," Greg said after a few seconds of silence, "take care, son... and please, come back." His voice cracked as he started the truck. Steven watched his father drive away, the vehicle disappearing into the sunset.
Two hours to go, he thought silently, his heart heavy.
He ran toward the beach. The Gems were there, nervous, surrounded by Rose's cannons. Amethyst was desperate. "How do we activate them?" she shouted.
"Activate... um, Rose activated... cannon activate..." she babbled over and over again to no avail.
"I know!" Steven shouted, running toward the cannons. "Are they aimed yet?"
"Yes," Garnet replied, without taking her eyes off the sky. The ship was getting closer and closer.
"Perfect," Steven said, taking a deep breath before adding with a strained smile, "If pork chops were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs."
All three cannons began to glow at the same time. With a deafening roar, the pink lights shot into the sky, merging and taking the form of Rose. The three luminous figures joined together and struck the ship directly.
"It didn't do anything," Garnet muttered, her jaw clenched.
"Damn it," Pearl exclaimed, a word so rare for her that no one dared utter it.
"Amethyst!" Garnet shouted, "Merge with Pearl, now!"
"On our way," they both replied, focused. They moved swiftly, spinning in perfect sync until Opal emerged from the light. With her giant bow, she aimed at the sky and charged an arrow of pure energy for a full minute before releasing it. The arrow streaked through the air and hurtled furiously toward the enormous green hand descending upon the city.
The hand, which had been motionless, moved. It raised its palm with an elegant flourish, and with a simple gesture, stopped the projectile.
"Damn it," Opal muttered.
Steven positioned himself behind them. He took a deep breath, trying to control the fear that gripped him. He felt his heart racing, but he couldn't fail. Pearl and Amethyst, exhausted, separated from the fusion. They couldn't maintain it any longer under that pressure.
The air was heavy, the sky a deep green, and the shadow of the hand loomed over all of Beach City.
The hand reached their position and, with a twist, positioned itself as if someone were about to descend, and that's exactly what happened. A bubble, like the previous ones containing robots filled with liquid, appeared; but upon closer inspection, this one looked noticeably different. The sphere ascended and, with a puff, vanished, revealing two visible figures.
"These are them," said Peridot, who was visible from above. "These are the Gems," she said, though she glanced at Steven. "That one's new. Is he a pet from this planet?"
The girls tensed up at the way they referred to their undeclared son.
"Get off this planet!" Garnet roared, but she noticed the other figure next to Peridot and tensed up. She remembered her well from the war.
"These rotten Gems," said the one now known as Jasper. "These are the traitors," she said, pulling another Gem behind her. The one she pulled was Lapis, who was lying face down. She looked at them all and noticed Steven, tensing up. "She is, but the one behind her is just a human."
"A stupid human," Jasper said. "Just blast them with lightning and be done with it. They don't deserve my time."
Peridot, annoyed, replied, "Whatever," making it clear she'd rather be somewhere else.
With a wave of her hand, she made a movement, and the ship behind her rose, pointing a finger.
"Fire," Peridot said curtly.
"Not in my presence," a voice echoed from behind the Gems.
"Steven."
Steven jumped and, with a wave of his hand, summoned his shield before landing.
A sound reverberated across the beach.
"Huh?" Jasper turned, completely confused by the sound, and what she saw froze her to the spot.
"You... you... you!"
Steven's shield appeared, clearly visible in its symbol, which made Jasper explode with fury. "Rose Quartz, how dare you stand before me and deceive me in such a pathetic way?"
Steven took three steps back, not out of fear... well, a little, but strategically.
Jasper growled with hatred. Rose Quartz, the great leader of the rebel gems, the traitor, the one who shattered...
She would clench her fists.
My Diamond.
The entire place fell silent. Even Peridot, who was about to argue, simply remained quiet. She knew when to speak.
Garnet gritted her teeth and, with a burst of anger, advanced.
"Get off our planet!" she shouted as she lunged at Jasper.
Jasper only offered a smile brimming with barely contained fury. Oh, come on, a pathetic fusion.
They both charged at each other and with a burst of momentum...
Bang.
A sound echoed across the beach as Jasper and Garnet began to fight each other.
"Amethyst!" Pearl roared, spear in hand, as she charged toward Peridot.
"I have to win for Steven, for Rose... no, for Steven," Pearl repeated to herself to keep from going mad.
I have to make amends, I have to win, Amethyst thought as they both attacked Peridot.
Steven turned to look at Jasper and quickly ran toward her.
"Rose," Jasper said, her voice heavy with years of pain and fury, "I'll send you to that damn Diamond."
And she charged at Steven with all her fury.
"Damn it," Steven thought to himself as he summoned his normal shield and dodged Jasper, who didn't look too happy.
Garnet yelled at her to get out of there, that she couldn't fight her, that she was too strong. She said it completely agitated, though without taking her eyes off Jasper.
"Calm down, Garnet," Steven murmured as he rubbed a small wound, which was healing. "Today everything I've learned from you all is being tested, and as far as I'm concerned, if one of us falls, we all fall."
Jasper calmly got up from the ground, cracking her neck in a relaxed manner.
"You know, Rose, I never thought you'd get so weak. That form, what is it? A mockery of the Diamonds? Oh, you're just mocking me."
He would crack his knuckles, though it's unclear where they'd come from, since he supposedly had no joints.
Steven would swallow hard.
Um... would you believe me if I told you I'm not Rose?
Jasper would look at him more intensely.
"Don't hold back," Steven said, bracing himself.
He quickly raised his shield to protect himself from Jasper's attack.
"Steven!" Garnet shouted, running towards Jasper, who had his back turned and didn't notice the weapon in her hand.
"Don't come any closer, Garnet!" Steven yelled, but it was too late.
Jasper struck Garnet squarely in the stomach with brutal speed and, with a flick of his wrist, pierced her abdomen with his weapon.
Garnet fell face-first, looking at Steven one last time, and with a popping sound like a gem being pummeled, two gems fell to the ground, making a sharp crack that made the others understand what had just happened.
"Garnet!" Pearl screamed in horror.
"No!" Amethyst exclaimed, almost crying for her companion.
Jasper looked at Steven with a merciless smile and, in an icy tone, said that if Rose really thought sending her pet would be enough to defeat her, it was pathetic.
"Now I'll enjoy handing the Diamonds over to you."
He ran toward Steven, who was still in shock. This shouldn't be happening, he muttered in terror, but he managed to react in time to dodge an attack.
"You want a fight? You'll get one, damn it!" Steven shouted as he ran toward Jasper, who was grinning with eagerness for battle.
"Move aside," he told himself as he dodged Jasper's punch.
"Down," he muttered in panic as he noticed her movements becoming increasingly rapid.
"I can't keep going like this," Steven thought. "I can't put up a bubble, she's intelligent, and I won't be able to heal. Not like with Sugilite. I'll have to see what I can do. I can't fuse, the girls are under immense pressure, I don't think the fusion would be stable."
"Damn it, what can I do?"
Jasper noticed Steven's distraction for a few milliseconds, just long enough to take advantage. With a flick of her fist, she punched him squarely in the stomach, making him spit blood from the impact. He had never felt such a powerful blow, not even Sugilite's.
"Is this the power of the perfect gem?" Steven managed to say as his vision blurred, falling unconscious with a slight jerk of his head.
Jasper looked at her hand in confusion, noticing a red liquid staining it, though she dismissed it.
"Pathetic," she muttered as she grabbed Steven by the shirt, noticing he wasn't puffling like a Gem.
She walked slowly toward Peridot, who was having trouble with the Gems. With a swift motion, Jasper knocked out Pearl and Amethyst.
(Why did she knock them out so quickly? Because they were focused on Peridot. Plot twist? Maybe, but a battle that led to the same thing didn't make sense to me.)
Jasper tossed Steven toward Lapis Lazuli, who grabbed him in a panic when she saw he was covered in blood.
"Take him," Jasper said coldly. "If you don't carry him, I'll cut off your hand." And she headed toward the booth.
"Steven..." Lapis murmured sadly, a tear falling from her eye.
Peridot had the others, including the two puffled Gems.
"What are you waiting for?" he spat sarcastically. "A motivational speech? If you don't come with us, Homeworld will come crashing down on you. Take them with you, or I'll smash them right here."
Lapis remained silent and took as many as she could.
"I'm not doing this for you... I'm doing it for him," she thought, looking with frustration at the state of her friend, the one who had helped her when she needed him most. Without him, she'd still be trapped in the mirror. "And how do I repay him?" she told herself, betraying tears welling in her eyes.
Peridot, meanwhile, remained on her screen, oblivious to the internal conflict unfolding before her eyes.
And so, the Crystal Gems were captured along with Steven. What will happen in the next chapter? I don't even know myself, folks. If you'd like to leave suggestions, that would be great, and I'll see how I can incorporate them, just like in previous chapters, where I based my work on ideas from the people at Wattpad and Webnovel ;)
End of Chapter 31.