"Steven, don't you dare take another step."

The boy mentioned turned around, looking surprised.

His reaction of shock wasn't from Pearl, or Garnet. It was Amethyst who was scolding him. This surprised not only Steven, but everyone who was present.

"Steven...enough of this, man. This is so ridiculously stupid," Amethyst started, but paused. She looked as if trying to think of the right thing to say was almost painful. She eventually continued.

"I mean...just look around you, dude! Pearl can't walk, Garnet's basically half dead, I hurt all over, and this thing is WAY out of our league! What can you do, man? What could you possibly say to make up for all of this?"

Steven looked at her, trying to find the answer in her face, but he only found more pain. He stayed quiet. The purple Gem gulped, and continued.

"I wasn't there...I was just a baby...but I do know this. If Rose couldn't even peacefully handle the situation, ending up just nuking the damn place...then what the hell can you do?"

Pearl was almost certain that Amethyst's harsh tone might be too much for the young boy, but Steven remained reserved. This surprised her more than Amethyst. She looked at Garnet for direction, but she didn't look to be in the mood to argue. She actually looked awful. Her skin was pale, and ugly, like a baby bird's body. Her lips were chapped and white, as if she kissed a bag of flour. Pearl felt her stomach turn with fear. Was Garnet going to be okay?

Steven shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground in thought. He moved his sandaled foot around in the black sand.

He eventually looked up at his family. His odd, odd family that he loved so dearly. He gave them a smile.

"Well, what I can do is start by saying "hi"."

And with that he turned around and walked back toward to cave. The three Gems began yelling at him to come back, even attempting to follow him and drag him back forcefully, but Steven put up a bubble around them to keep them in place. It wasn't much, as the bubble simply wrapped around them until it reached the ground, and then cut off, but it was still durable. Every ounce of energy counted for the young boy. Despite being sealed, they still attempted to scream at him, especially Pearl.

Two of the gems then attempted to coax Garnet into breaking the bubble. She summoned her gauntlets, but was so weak that her armored hands fell lifeless to the ground. She couldn't even hold them up. Amethyst pulled her whip from her chest and began whipping it around, to no effect. Pearl added her own effort to the cause, stabbing the pink prison with her spear.

Steven continued walking up to the cave, but he didn't go inside. Instead he stopped in front of the opening and yelled inside.

"Diamond, are you there? Can we talk?"

He heard or saw nothing. He waited a little longer, but still nothing happened.

"Diamond? Can you come out, please? I just want to talk to you!"

He still got nothing. He sighed, and sat down. He knew Diamond could hear him, she just didn't wish to speak. He sat in the dirt, making shapes with his finger. He sat there, waiting patiently for a response. He began talking again.

"I guess talking is out of question? I mean, I don't plan on hurting you or anything."

There was still nothing, so Steven continued.

"My best friend has super strict parents, so when I had to meet them, the Gems had to come along, disguised as humans. It didn't work, and it just ended in a fight between everyone. It all worked out, thankfully, but I still wonder if things could have ended up fine from the start if the Gems just talked to her mom and dad. Maybe her parents would have been nicer to my family, and maybe even my friend."

Still nothing. Steven sighed again.

"My dad likes to talk about my mom a lot. I'm mentioned a lot too. He talks about how nice she was, and how loving and caring she was. The Gems told me about how she destroyed this place to try and stop you. I never got to meet her...but if I could, I would ask her why she didn't think to talk to you before doing what she did."

"She did talk to me."

Steven looked up to see...a thing.

It looked like a humanoid figure made of transparent crystals. The figure stood about seven feet tall, with their lower half buried in the dirt. It had arms, a torso, and a head, with crystals forming facial expressions. It's eyes were gaping holes, as well as it's mouth. Steven stared at it. He scrambled to his feet.

"Are you Diamond?" He asked. The figure smiled, exposing a mouth full of razor sharp points.

"Yes I am."

Steven gave her a reluctant smile, despite the turning in his stomach.

"Hi. Nice to meet you."

"You as well."

Steven didn't expect the talk to go over this well. He was nervous that Diamond would send more skulls after him. But her she was, exposing herself to talk to him. Maybe this can end peacefully after all?

"So, Diamond...you said my mom tried talking to you?" Steven asked.

"The concept of "mom" is alien to me. However, I've been around humans long enough to know that you are not Rose, but her offspring, correct? I'm not surprised. But yes, she tried to talk to me. With no luck. You should've listened to your friend, kid. Rose couldn't stop me, what makes you think you can?"

Steven thought a little bit about it, and eventually answered.

"Well...I guess I didn't really plan to stop you, but I figured we could talk about stuff?" Steven said, feeling a lump build up in his throat from staring at her. With every movement she made, he could hear the repetitive clinking of glass together.

"Sure we can talk, but that doesn't mean i'll ever halt my intentions." She said as her long teeth ground together, causing a horrid noise, like a fork against silverware.

Steven let out a deep breath, and continued.

"That's...fine I guess. If it's cool, I'd like to start by asking you why you want to destroy the planet. I mean...Earth is so beautiful, and great, and it's our home. Why ruin that?"

She narrowed her eye holes, cackling like a hyena.

"Oh I have no intentions of hurting the Earth. Like you said, if Earth dies, I die with it. What I have planned is the best thing that could ever happen to this planet."

Steven felt hesitant to ask the question as the fear in his chest grew, but shoved the feeling away.

"What plans?"

She grinned at him.

"Kill all humans."

Steven felt the feeling hit his stomach like a brick. He gripped fist fulls of his pants.

"W-why do you want that? What did humans do to you?"

Her grin faltered. Her distorted face morphed into something even more ugly, much to Steven's surprise.

"They killed my kind, the Diamond Gems, and have despised Gems of all kinds." She growled.

Steven took a moment to think of something decent to say. He didn't expect that he would be in this situation. Usually, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl would use violence to end conflicts, and they would go home happy. But this time, his family was hurt, and there was just him, talking with the enemy.

He bit his lip. Was Amethyst right? Was there anything that he could to do stop this?

"Why did humans kill your kind-"

"Because they are evil!"

Diamond shouted, scaring Steven, only to put him into further fear by shooting pointed crystals out of the ground. Steven covered his head, bracing impact, but it never came. After a few moments, he opened his eyes, and noticed that the spikes stopped just short of stabbing him. He shakily looked at Diamond, noticing her composure start to fall. This confused Steven. Surely Rose talked to her about this? Surely someone asked her about her intentions, and she didn't mind?

Steven gulped hard once again. Diamond put herself together again, and continued.

"I will admit, my kind was never the most stable, but that does not mean we deserved to die. We kept to ourselves, we never bothered anyone! Foolish mortals called us killers, monsters! We only took corpses, we never took the living and killed them!"

Steven watched her go on and on, ranting about things lost in history. He kept quiet until she finished.

"Not all Gems have had a bad time with people. I love them! And the other Gems love them too!" He exclaimed, putting on a genuine smile.

He watched her, hoping for some sort of positive reaction, but got nothing. And then she smiled back. It wasn't of happiness, but of wicked intent.

"Oh? How about we ask Garnet was she thinks of that."

Steven whipped his head around to see the ground under his family begin to shake and move. Pearl and Amethyst started panicking, but Garnet remained indifferent. Steven knew that Diamond can't puncture his bubble, so he was at ease, but still concerned.

The ground continued to move, until Garnet got sucked through the dirt. Steven gasped, forgetting that his bubble was cut off, exposing the ground. He watched as the ground rumbled and moved in a path towards Steven and Diamond. Steven thought of yelling at Diamond to get her to stop, but thought against it once she exposed Garnet above ground, much closer to them.

Pearl and Amethyst looked on in horror at Garnet being forcefully dragged closer to the threat, fearing that they too will be dragged. But they didn't. They both remained in the same spot.

"Pearl, is Garnet okay?" Amethyst breathily said. Pearl shook her head in uncertainty.

"I don't know, Amethyst. I hope so. God, why did Steven run into danger?"

Amethyst grabbed Pearl's arm in a tight grip. The taller Gem whipped her head to look at her smaller counterpart. Amethyst was looking intensely behind them at something. Pearl joined her, and noticed something horrid. Swarms of skulls making there way on the edges of the land, flying off past the oceans to civilizations. Pearl whipped her head back around to scream at Steven that they were being stalled. No sign was made that the boy heard.

Steven noticed how considerably dirty Garnet got; dirt and dust in her hair, clothes stained brown, pebbles lodged in the wounds of her legs. The Diamond Gem literally dragged her through the ground. Garnet now rested next to Steven, more focused than before, but still in great pain. Steven ran to her, hugging her neck.

"Steven?" Garnet mumbled.

"I'm sorry Garnet. I forgot my bubble was open." Steven said. Garnet mustered up the strength to hold Steven in her arms.

"Steven, it's okay. Just please protect yourself."

"How cute. I wonder if she's ever told you that she and I share a common backstory."

Steven looked at his friend. She looked so pained.

"Garnet? What does she mean?" The boy asked.

At first, Garnet herself was having trouble remembering what Diamond was talking about. Between the pain in her legs, to trying to think of events that happened so long ago. But eventually she figured it out. She grabbed steven lightly by his shoulders.

"Steven, I don't ever want you to think I am anything like her, like Diamond. She is a murderer, a monster. My intentions have never been, and will never be, this wicked. But there was a point in time when I was young, and angry, and it scared the humans around me. They didn't understand. People fear what they don't understand, Steven. This is something that Diamond does not understa-"

She was cut off by a spike shooting out of the ground, and impaling her shoulder. She yelped at the impact, and Steven gasped.

"Fuck you! Fuck all of you! Those humans that hurt me never felt fear, it was malice! Always malice!" The monstrosity shouted as more spikes popped out of the ground. Before they could pierce Garnet yet again, Steven put up another bubble around both of them. The bubble was thin and fragile, but still held a good defense.

The spike impaling Garnet's shoulder snapped in half with a loud crack as the bubble cut it off. Steven felt himself gag as the tip slipped out from the wound, crimson blood spilling out. Garnet was breathing heavily, trying to stay above unconsciousness.

"Garnet! Garnet, are you okay? Please tell me you'll be okay!" Steven exclaimed as he grabbed her cheeks with his small hands, trying to get her to focus on him. Her eyes were glazed and rolling all over, her vision clouding up. But once Steven got her attention, she kept strong for him. Shockingly, despite everything, she gave him a smile.

"Don't worry Steven. My only weakness is tiny hands."

Steven reluctantly gave her a small grin, mostly glad that she was okay enough to make jokes.

He let go of her face and looked back at Diamond. Her humanoid form became more angled and threatening. He looked back at Garnet.

"Garnet? What are we going to do?" He asked, a hint of nervous jittering in his voice. Talking wasn't helping like it usually did, and Steven finally found himself completely stumped. Was this it then? Could they stop her?

Garnet grunted and said, "Is talking out of the question?"

"Well...It doesn't seem to be working…"

His friend sighed. "I understand. Sometimes I wish Rose were still here. She would know what to do."

Steven thought about that. He didn't know who Rose was besides his mother, and it frustrated him sometimes. He wanted to be like how she was always described. Caring, thoughtful, passionate. But he almost felt like she was nothing like the person described. It made him even more confused on who he wanted to be. Clearly, the calm approach wasn't working, so what was he to do?

He didn't want to kill Diamond, he just didn't have that in him, but he didn't want his friends, and the human race to perish. But he felt like he couldn't handle the situation. He was only a kid after all.

"I'm sorry Steven. I thought you could handle this, but not even I am handling it well. Whatever happens, just know that I love you." Garnet whispered to him. He looked at her with tears in his eyes. He loved her too. He loved all of his family with all of his heart. The millions of people that he loved so much, he couldn't let them get hurt, he refused.

Steven rubbed the tears from his eyes, and glared at Diamond. He felt his stomach burn from the gem in his navel.

"Diamond, I don't want to hurt you, but I won't let you hurt anyone else. I'm giving you one last chance to stop what you're doing, and live on this Earth in peace. What are you gunna do?" Steven sternly asked her. Garnet was surprised to hear his voice turn harsh. What's he got planned?

Diamond guffawed, and grinned at him. "What will I do? I'm continuing my plan. What can you do to stop me, child?"

Steven held out his arms, and inhaled. Diamond looked on in interest, but then eventually became concerned when she heard a noise. It was a low rumbling sound that lightly vibrated the earth under them. The feeling grew, and grew, until finally, Diamond gasped at the sight.

A huge pink bubble, stretching miles long over their heads appeared in all its glory. The strength and majesty it gave off truly amazed the spiky creature, and once Garnet had the energy to analyze it, she too was astonished. It was no longer her that was the angry child, it was now Steven.

His look of determination showed that he meant business, that he cared. Eventually the bubble closed in on the ground, cutting clean lines in the earth. It cut deeper and deeper until the bubble fully encased the entire geological location in its grasp. Steven, his friends, and the deepest of roots where Diamond was nesting was ripped from the ground, raising them in the air hundreds of feet high.

Diamond began to panic. She never could have assumed that this little boy could do all this. She never even thought Rose herself could do it, but here it was, power coming from this little body.

"Steven...how...how are you doing this?" Garnet gasped. The boy smiled.

"Easy. I love you Garnet, and I love the millions of lives that are on the line with all my heart. I refuse to let this jerk hurt them!" He exclaimed as Diamond attempted to break the small bubble around the two with more spikes, but to no avail. Steven felt strongly that he had her at checkmate.

Until she began to chuckle.

"This is impressive, little boy. But i'm afraid you're too late. I've already sent hundreds of electric skulls outside of your pink sphere."

Steven's jaw dropped.

"No, you're a liar!" He yelled at her. She shook her head with a grin.

"I'm afraid not. It seems like talking did you no good. In no time at all, the skulls will make their way to humanity, and destroy it."

Steven looked at Garnet with fear welling in his eyes. "Beach city is closest."

"I know, Steven."

"We need to tell them somehow! Can you throw me really far until I hit Beach City?" The boy asked. His overactive imagination made Garnet internally chuckle.

"Unfortunately I can't. I do have an idea. It's not one I like, but it's an idea." She said quietly.

"I'm all ears!" He exclaimed. Garnet looked back at the other two Gems. She saw them frantically trying to get their attention. She looked back at the young child in front of her.

She leaned in really close to his face. "Okay Steven, I want you to think really hard of home…"

Slow day at the carwash again. Greg wasn't surprised, it was never busy. But he couldn't complain on such a nice day. The older man was sitting outside in the shade of his wash, relaxing in a foldable chair.

Despite his relaxed demeanor, Greg is always worried about his son. Whenever he doesn't see him for extended periods of time, his anxiety grows. He loved his boy, and would never want him hurt, or worse. But he did his best to take things calmly. He knows that he's protected by three powerful beings.

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. He tilted his head up and raised his sunglasses off his eyes. He gave a smile, despite his constant fears.

"Oh, hello Connie! How are you on this fine day?" Greg cheerfully said to Steven's best friend of said name. She gave him a shy smile back. In his experience with his son and Connie, he knew that Connie was anything but shy. Even when her parents had her by their grasp, scolding her over everything, she still wasn't to withdrawn to do what she wanted. Since meeting Steven, this has been constantly proven false even more so. But her smile always looked shy, as if she was trying to be careful not to step on inappropriate times.

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking!" She exclaimed, but then her enthusiasm faltered, and she gave him a wary brow.

"Actually, i've been wondering when Steven will get back from his mission. The donut shop came out with a new flavor and I wanted to try it with him…"

Greg gave her half a smile to help settle her thoughts, but it only made his own grow.

"I haven't seen him yet. So i'm not sure if he's back. Been a few days since he left hasn't it?" He asked her, seeing if starting a conversation with her might help the both of them.

"Yeah it has. But he's usually back by now right? Maybe he's in the temple, sleeping?" She suggested. Greg looked up at the sky in thought.

"That sure does sound like a possibility. If there's one thing that boy likes to do, it's sleep. How about we go check the temple just to make sure?"

Connie's face lit up at the idea. "Yeah, okay!"

The two of them then made their way to the towering home of the Crystal Gems. The humongous statue that loomed over beach city often looked intimidating, like a guardian keeping its civilians from harm. Greg and Connie were used to it by now though, so they had no problem walking up to it to see the owners of said structure.

Once they made it to the front door, Greg knocked out of politeness. When nobody answered, he knocked again. He then heard someone scream his name from inside.

Greg looked at connie, and said, "That sounded like Pearl!"

Connie's eyes became saucers. He then attempted to open the door, but it was locked. He began pushing with all his might to break the door down, but still with no luck. He then heard Connie say, "Duck!"

Greg hesitated, but did what he was told, and saw a glimpse of Connie toss a rock through the window of the door. It smashed through it with ease, and Greg stuck his arm through the hole, unlocking the door from the inside. He then whipped open the broken plank of wood, and gasped at the sight.

Amethyst was trying her best to hold Pearl up as they made their way over the warp pad to the two humans. Pearl was bleeding from her smashed foot, and Amethyst looked roughed up everywhere, her skin a puke colored purple. Greg and connie rushed over to them, relieving Amethyst from Pearl's weight.

Greg held Pearl up, wrapping her pale arm around the back of his neck so she could stay standing. He helped walk her to the couch below Steven's room, with Connie following suite with Amethyst. Once the Gems were resting on the sofa, Pearl began to speak.

"Graig, Connie...You need to evacuate the city…" She wheezed.

They both looked at her in confusing terror.

"Some nasty crap is heading our way! Steven managed to bubble me and Pearl back to the temple to warn the city of the upcoming danger, so let's get the hell out of here!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"What danger are you guys talking about?" Connie asked. She felt fear bundle up in her gut. They shook their heads.

"Monsters, hundreds of them. They'll be here any moment to wreak havoc. We need to warn the others now!" Pearl said, and pulled out her spear from her forehead. She used it as a crutch yet again for balance, and tried her best to squirm her way to the door, but wasn't getting far without Grieg's help.

"Woah, Pearl, calm down…" He stopped once he saw the look in her eyes. The look of panic, of pain, and of fear. That look seemed familiar, he remembered it when Rose was dying from having Steven. He felt the same way. But he himself felt...okay from the whole thing, since he got Steven out of it.

"Alright. Let's go warn the mayor. He can help evacuate the city." He said, knowing that this was indeed a serious scenario. As he helped Pearl out the door, he only had one thought: Where was Steven?

"Good job, Steven. They will help the people evacuate." Garnet told an exhausted Steven. He was still trying to hold the entire ashed region above the earth in a bubble, and still holding the bubble around him and Garnet. Finding the power to bubble his other two friends back to the temple was the second hardest thing he's ever had to do.

"It was no big deal!" He lied, clearly under lots of stress.

"It won't be enough, little boy. Your friends won't have enough time to help the humans, my skulls are already miles away, ready to destroy." Diamond stated. She was obviously quite proud of this plan. They could hear it in her voice, her ugly raspy voice.

"Ha! Amethyst and Pearl will help the town, they'll tell my dad and they'll help!" Steven optimistically said. Garnet couldn't help but feel better at his uplifting attitude. It was short lived however when she remembered their position. They were still surrounded by Diamond, protected by Steven's bubble, but how long can that last?

"Steven, how long can you keep these bubbles up?"

The boy looked at her, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"No idea. As long as I have to?"

She looked at the ground in thought.

And then she got an idea. It was a very non-likable idea, but an idea. She couldn't even believe that she was going to ask a child this, but she did it.

"Steven, how do you feel about killing Diamond?"

The boy looked at her in shock. She feared that look, feared it above anything else. Because that look showed that she wasn't doing her job, wasn't taking care of Steven like she promised Rose. But she couldn't think of anything else.

"What? No way!" He exclaimed. He had sweat rolling down his face from the stress. Garnet knew at that moment, that she was horribly wrong. She thought Steven could handle this. But she was wrong. He's just a kid, an innocent little boy.

She now realized that even she could not have prepared herself for this. She looked at him again. She knew from the bottom of her heart that he had Rose in him. Her kind gentle nature, the kind that became scarred after what she was forced to do. Must her son go through the same hell?

"Garnet...please tell me you have another option. So I don't have to hurt anyone." He said, his voice shaky. She may have lost control of her legs, and her body was throbbing with pain, but it was the look in his eyes that hurt the most. She loved this kid. She couldn't bare the idea of him having to do this.

But what else was there to do?

She shook her head.

"No, Steven. It's either her, or the Earth. Rose chose the Earth last time, now it's your turn to pick."

She swore she could hear her heart break once she saw the tears begin to roll down his cheeks.

"Everyone, please evacuate the city in an orderly manner! This is not a drill, danger is coming! Please evacuate calmly and peacefully! Please-"

Rose, Amethyst, Greg, and Connie all sat in the temple as the mayor ran around town in his specialized car yelling emergency warnings, telling people how to evacuate successfully so that everyone can leave hastily. The city was crowded with cars, crowds of people, and even helicopters flew over town, picking people up.

Mayor Dewey, over the years, knew real well that when the Crystal Gems said that danger was coming, he took it terribly seriously. Mostly from experience being their mayor, and all of the craziness that comes with them, but it also helped his position as mayor as well.

The four of them were going to leave, but the two Gems were not capable of moving, let alone escape through a crowd of scared people. It was when some time has past, that Greg eventually said something.

"Where is Steven?" He asked. Both Pearl and Amethyst answered him.

"With Garnet." They said in unison. This brought relief to Greg, as he knew that Garnet was strong enough to keep him safe.

"You two can leave. We can handle ourselves." Pearl told them. Connie and Greg looked at each other, and then shook their heads.

"No way. We're here to help you. Actually, I was about to ask you, Pearl, if you had an extra sword I could use?" Connie asked. Pearl snorted.

"I don't mean to brag, but i'm actually very proud of my sword collection. So yes, I do have a sword you could use."

Connie grinned ear to ear, and asked her if she could pick one out. Before Pearl did that, Greg asked, "Connie, what about your parents? They're obviously worried for you, right?"

The young girl shrugged, and ran to the magic door that led to the Gem's personal rooms. She was clearly to excited to do rebellious things to care. She's a good kid, but a kid nonetheless. Pearl opened the door for her using her Gem. The door lit blue, and split in half, exposing Pearl's bedroom.

"Wow!" Connie exclaimed at the site. As she gasped at the fountains and hovering water everywhere, she ran inside blindly.

"Connie, be careful!" Greg yelled after her. The door shut behind her and everything became quiet again. Steven's father whipped his head around at the skinny Gem sitting lopsided on the couch.

"Wait, you're just going to let her go in there by herself? I mean, i'm not judging you, but I thought you of all people would not advise children to go inside your room?" Greg told her.

She gave him a long shrug, and said, "I would die for these children, but I am certainly in no condition to order them around now. Besides, Connie will want a weapon if she's choosing to stay here. We all are going to need to defend ourselves. Well...you guys will. I can hardly move. My foot is completely useless, and my energy is drained. I can't fight this."

They all sat in silence after her speech. She then looked up at greg with sad, wet eyes.

"It's times like these that I wish Rose was here. She would know what to do."

That hit Greg straight in his heart. Flashbacks of Steven's birth came fluttering back. Rose smiling at him, telling him that everything will be okay. Him holding his son in his arms, while the hand of his wife he was holding faded away into nothing. The entire time She was in labor, and giving life to her son, she still kept her smile. She was always hopeful for the future. And if her hope wasn't enough, she would fight until it happened.

His thoughts were interrupted by Amethyst's loud voice.

"Well Rose isn't here, Pearl! She's never coming back, so stop acting like she could!"

Everyone was taken aback by the outburst. Amethyst often yelled, but this time, it was justified.

"Amethyst…" Greg began to say, but was cut off again.

"It's all your fault she's gone, Greg! Pearl's right, she would know what to do, but thanks to you, she's not here to order us around! She's dead and gone, and we're next!" She shouted. Greg felt tears welling up. He couldn't stop them from falling. He wiped his face as Pearl told Amethyst to calm down. He knew Amethyst could be mean, harsh, but not this completely blind. Greg knew that she was in pain, physically and emotionally, and also afraid, but it still hurt. It hurt so much.

He tried to think of happy things, trying to make the pain go away. His thoughts all led to one point.

He looked up at the two bickering women, his eyes red and bloated. He gave Amethyst in specific a glare. Not a dangerous one, but one that meant business.

"You're right, Amethyst. Rose isn't alive because of me, but do you know who is alive? Who Rose loved more then anything in the universe?" He choked up. They both were looking intensely at him now.

"My son, our son, Steven Universe."

They looked at each other, then back at the pained father.

"Whether Rose was here or not, my son needs me, and he needs you guys as well. If Connie is more than willing to fight for him, then so am I."

He walked to Pearl, and held out his hand. She looked into his eyes.

"If you would fight for Rose, you'll fight for Steven. Do it for him, Pearl."

The skinny Gem felt tears form as well, but she kept herself from showing weakness. She grabbed his hand, and he helped her up off the couch.

"Now, how's about you show me your impressive weapon collection?"

Steven continued to shake his head, yelling obscenities.

"No no no no! I won't do it Garnet! I'd rather stay here forever!" He continued to shout. She held the boy close to her. He was crying, snot and tears pouring out of his face.

"Steven, please. Be reasonable. You're mother had to resort to death in order to stop her, you can do the same."

"No I can't! I'm not by mom, Garnet! I know she was so cool to you guys, but i'm not like her! I don't want to do this!" He continued to exclaim. He buried his face in her chest, trying to seek comfort in any way he could. He lifted his head slightly to continue talking.

"You can see the future can't you Garnet? Can't you see any other way?"

The red Gem thought about it, and then lifted the boy up to her face. He seemed so much heavier while weakened, but she still managed, and lightly kissed his forehead.

Steven silenced all noise as visions of "what if's" flashed through his mind. He saw destruction, he saw death, he saw Diamond winning. He also saw a future where everything was okay, not great, but okay, as Diamond was defeated and put to rest once and for all. He also saw another vision. One that made him so very sick to his stomach. He came out of his trance.

"Garnet...There's only two options in the future?" He timidly asked.

"No, there's three-"

"I don't want to hear about that one! We will never do that one, okay?!" He yelled. In his mind, there was only two options. Kill Diamond, or watch the Earth die. He knew what he had to do, and he hated himself for it. He breathed in deeply, and then breathed out in a very uneven pattern.

"Okay, Garnet. I'll take out Diamond, but let me do something first." He said, then turned to the figure still standing there, staring at them. She was so confident that she would win, that she let them talk it out in silence, letting them share one last moment before dying.

"Diamond...I don't want to do this, but if you won't stop, I have to kill you."

She laughed an ugly, guttural laugh, and said, "Little boy, I'll never stop. Do what you please, your demise is sealed."

He gulped, and then bubbled him and Garnet outside of the large bubble imprisoning Diamond. He let the bubble down, and looked at his injured friend. She was staring at the gigantic crater in the ground that once housed Diamond, and then looked up at the bubble in the sky. It looked so much bigger from the ground. She looked at the shaking boy.

"You know what to do, Steven."

He gulped, looked up at his creation, and then slowly started to shrink the bubble around Diamond. His goal was to crush her into pieces and then cast the remains into the ocean, never to grow again.

He started crying again as he did this act, picturing her screaming in pain as the bubble got smaller and smaller. But then his thoughts were scrambled as her felt a searing pain his his back. He fell over from the impact, and Garnet whipped her head around to see electric skulls camping around the crater.

"Shit! There is still skulls here?! Steven, Steven are you okay?" She asked him. She scooped him up in her arms, feeling the skin on his back begin to shrivel up like leather, and felt the heat coming off of it. He passed out from the pain, and shortly after that, Garnet looked up, only to see the bubble containing Diamond pop, sending the mound of Earth falling back down. It would land right on top of them crushing them both, but garnet couldn't move.

She looked back down at the boy in her arms, and suddenly felt something. Something deep inside her bubbled up to the surface. She remembered her past, how angry she was. But also, how protective.

She remembered looking at Rose, telling her that they will always save the day, and if they couldn't, they would find a way. She remembered her mother figure smile at her when she declared this. So proud of her.

She huffed, and puffed, until she felt her skin grow hotter and hotter. She grit her teeth so hard she chipped a tooth, and felt the heat rush to her legs, giving it power again. She remembered this feeling. She even remembered what it was called.

She felt rage.

"I won't let you die, Steven. I promised Rose I would protect you, I promised her I would believe in you. I will never break that promise."

The ground shook when the impact of Diamond's domain hit the ground. Dirt and ash was kicked up into the air, dancing around the destruction. The impact killed all of the skulls, smashing them to pieces. Diamond got ahold of herself, and looked around the area once the debris settled. She smiled wickedly.

"Ha! Looks like I win, just like I knew I would."

"No you didn't."

The enemy gasped, and looked around, eventually laying eyes on Garnet from a long distance away. She was standing up on her feet, something she was not capable of before, holding Steven in her arms. Her visors fell from her face, useless, and exposed her eyes. All three of her pupils were filled red with anger, and her body glowed with heat. She managed to grab Steven, and used her insane speed to avoid being crushed.

"You won't win, Diamond. I may fight for the Earth, but I live for this boy here. As long as he's still breathing then so am I. Do you know what else that means?" Garnet asked her.

She didn't respond, but knew the answer.

"It means you're about to take your last breath."

Garnet unleashed her gauntlets. She set Steven down on the ground behind a mound of dirt for protection, and ran so fast she was a blur, towards Diamond. The wicked woman panicked, and launched hundreds of spikes towards Garnet. They all melted at the sheer heat radiating off the angered Gem, none of them were able to touch her before succumbing to the heat. Any that did manage to hit her shattered against her skin. She was a hot, blazing rock, ready to kill. She ran up to the humanoid figure Diamond crafted for herself, and Garnet smashed it into millions of pieces with one swoop of her hand.

That was hardly scratching the surface of Diamond, however, as the Gem merged herself with so much more area than that. Garnet held her Gauntlets in the air, using the power of her Gems to grow them ten times their size, and smashed it down on the opening of the cave Diamond built. The impact successfully collapsed the opening, but she wasn't done yet.

Garnet kept smashing the small mountain until is laid flat on the ground. Hundreds more of the spikes shot out at her, some shattering against her body, others melting away, but none could do any damage. She punched, and smashed, and cursed Diamond deep into the ground.

She knew that the evil Gem had grown herself over such a distance that destroying one small part of it won't do much. Garnet didn't care. She kept punching.

She punched the ground harder, and harder, until the ground began to quake. Cracks and ripples began forming through the dirt, splitting the deepest parts of the ground in half. Steven eventually woke up from the loud cracking beneath him. He felt pain in his back, but his curiosity allowed him to sit up, and look at his friend destroying the Earth below. He was shocked at her aggression. She was yelling, grunting, steam was rising from her skin. The ground was nothing in the face of her strength.

Garnet kept going and going, until she felt tired. Until she couldn't take it anymore, and removed her gauntlets from her hands. Her arms felt lighter, but the pain returned to her arms as she felt her anger die down.

She breathed heavily. So heavily, that it was the loudest thing once the ground settled. The spikes stopped coming, and no skulls were present. Did Garnet do it? Did she finally end Diamond?

She looked at the mound of dirt that Steven was laying behind, and wobbled over. She was so very slow, once she felt the horrid pain in her legs hit her like bricks. She managed to walk over to Steven however, saw him awakened, and leaned down to talk to him

"Steven? Are you okay?" She asked him. He was silent for a moment, but found his voice.

"Y-yeah. My back hurts, but...are you okay?"

She gave him a slight grin. "I think...I think I'll survive."

Steven gave her huge grin, showing the stars in his eyes. "Garnet, you did it! You won! You-"

The blood splattering on his face cut him off.

Connie was starting to slow down. She knew that if she kept up what she was doing that she would exhaust herself, but they just kept coming. The skulls finally reached Beach City, screaming and roaring amplified by the hundreds of them swarming in. They attacked buildings, the ground, and even the people that decided to remain in town. ONce they showed up, Connie and Greg armed themselves with some of Pearl's weapons. Connie had picked a Katana style sword, so sharp it could cut through tree trunks, and Greg had decided a gun would fit him best.

Pearl had no guns, but Amethyst found one buried deep in the landfill of her own room. She wasn't even sure if it still worked, but Greg made decent use of it. Once they were armed, They ran outside once they heard the skulls coming. Pearl was scared that Greg would choke up upon seeing them, but he kept himself together, and began shooting them out of the skies like pheasants.

He was never one to handle a gun, but he was nailing it, hitting the monstrosities back to back, killing them instantly. Connie was even better with her sword of choice. Not too long ago, Pearl had taught her just a sliver of what she knows relating to sword fighting. Even though it wasn't much, the girl learned quickly, and eventually grew into a true sword fighting master. She didn't need to know everything, she adapted, and it showed.

Every skull that attempted to attack her, she dodged, spun around, and took one slash at the beasts, cutting them cleanly in half. The only problem was the skulls would explode upon taking damage. She was taken aback by this, receiving painful burns on her arms and cheeks, but she learned to dodge once she hit them.

Pearl and Amethyst joined the fight too, despite the fact that they were still in tremendous pain. Pearl used her powers of holographic cloning to fight, and Amethyst simply swallowed the pain, and jumped into the fight. Neither of them would ever allow the two humans to fight without their help. While Pearl and Amethyst struggled, the two humans they tried to protect, surpassed them completely, killing the monstrosities by the pack.

"Connie, watch out!" Greg shouted, as he noticed a skull launching itself at the young girl's back. She turned around, dragging her weapon of choice across the air, slicing the skulls clean in two. She quickly recoiled, jumping back from the impending explosion. She gave Greg a smile, thanking him for the head's up, and continued fighting. Greg knew that her and Steven were practicing with Pearl, mostly her, but they made a great team. He beamed at the idea that he and the skilled swordsman could make a good team as well, even if the child showed him up in a battle.

Pearl summoned at least 10 holograms, setting them to "kill mode", and watching them attack the enemy. Amethyst used her whip to grab one skull, and smashing them into other approaching skulls. After a while, there was piles and piles of broken bone and broken gem shards littering the beach. The four of them were doing much better than anyone could have expected, but they were beginning to tire. The burns they received was slowing them down, causing the skulls to swarm them.

"Pearl, can you make more clones? We are getting swarmed!" Greg asked her. Pearl hesitated, and then nodded. She focused all of her strength to make ten more clones, so there was twenty in total, but the added use of power drained her energy. She staggered, and fell to her knees.

"Pearl!" Amethyst yelled, and ran to her side, trying to help her up. A group of skulls screamed at the two Gems, and attempted to shoot huge blasts of electricity at them. Greg managed to shoot them down with his gun before any true damage was caused. Thanks to pearl's holograms, the swarm was dying down again, but still coming strong. They were all just thankful that the monsters were focusing on them, and not the city. The sand beneath them was turning black, and even into glass from the heat generated from the floating creatures.

Once Amethyst helped Pearl up, she released her whip, and got back to work.

Soon, not too soon, but soon, the quantity of skulls started to lessen, and the team couldn't be more thankful. They were desperately tired, and in pain. But the fight ended up in their favor.

Until Connie stepped on the hot glass, throwing her off balance, and got hit in the chest with a shock of lighting. She hit the ground hard, skidding through the sand, cutting her back and arms on the glass that formed. The three other adults shouted her name in unison, and Greg quickly shot the remaining skulls out of the sky, until no more could be seen. They all ran to her, including Pearl, who could hardly walk. They surrounded her, trying to help in in any way they could.

"Connie! Connie, can you hear me?" Pearl asked the lifeless girl. After no reply, they all looked into the burn on her chest, analyzing how bad it was. Greg hissed just looking at it, her skin scorched bright red, bubbles of puss filling up. Amethyst stood up, and ran to the ocean, stepping on chunks of bone under her feet. She stopped at the edge of the water, scooped some up in her large hands, and ran back to the group.

She slowly poured the water into the burn wound. Connie snapped awake, gasping heavily at the cold from the water. Pearl pulled Connie's upper body on her lap so she didn't have to lay in the glass anymore. The skinny Gem winced from the weight on her bad foot, but she swallowed her pain for her student.

"P-Pearl? My...my chest hurts…" Connie wheezed. Everytime she breathes in and out, expanding her chest, a zap of pain shoots up her neck. She clenched her teeth.

"I know, I know it does. Amethyst, grab me a bucket of cold, fresh water. Greg, I need burn ointment, and gauze. I think Steven has some in his closet."

They both nodded, and ran back to the temple to collect the items Pearl requested. Once they were gone momentarily, Pearl held Connie's hand lightly, reassuring her that everything was going to be okay. Connie was trying to talk, but everytime she tried, the pain silenced her. Pearl noticed her struggle.

"It's alright, Connie. Don't try anything if it hurts. I know-"

"Where is Steven?" Connie whispered. Pearl was taken aback by the question.

"Steven? He's still with Garnet. Why do you ask?" she asked calmly. Connie struggled again, but she managed to choke out her words.

"Because...I want to see him. He's my friend, he can make me laugh…"

Pearl looked at her face, feeling tears gather in her eyes from noticing her pain. Pearl and Connie, over the time that they have trained together in sword fighting, have bonded well. Pearl often felt like the student to the teacher, whether it was Rose, Garnet or even her own father. But with Connie, she felt like she was being looked up too, like someone actually cared about what she had to offer. Not only that, but Connie was a good kid. She was like Steven, but with a fearless heart.

"Steven will be back eventually, hang in there." Pearl told her. Then Connie did something that truly crippled Pearl's heart. She began to cry.

"Connie, it's okay. The other two will be back very soon. You did great out there. I couldn't be more proud."

"Pearl...It hurts…"

"It will be okay. You did this for him. I'm positive Steven is fighting for you as well." Pearl tried to reassure the hysterical girl.

"That's not good!" Connie sobbed. Pearl arched her eyebrows in even deeper concern.

"Why not?" She asked. Connie gulped.

"Because...he's going to get hurt. Or worse."

"G-Garnet?"

Steven froze in place as he watched his leader, his friend, his family, cough up blood from the spike sticking out of her chest. It popped out of the ground, impaling her through her back. Garnet twitched, her lungs filling with blood. Steven couldn't move, couldn't talk. He could only watch. Garnet looked down at the boy, her visors slipping off her face. Her eyes conveyed something even worse than pain. Fear for her own life.

"S...St-Steven…" She choked up. Garnet's attempt at talking snapped Steven out of his fear struck trance, and he quickly did what he could do to remove Garnet from the spike. Once he pulled her off it, she immediately fell to the ground like a rag doll. Steven noticed the blood leaking out of her back and chest. He felt his heart in his throat.

"Garnet...Garnet...Please say something…"

His mentor turned her head slightly to look him in the eyes. To Steven's confusion, she lightly smiled at him.

"Y-you...you look like your mother..."

Then her eyes rolled back in her head, and her body came to a silencing hault. Steven's stomach dropped at the sight. He knew in the back of his head that what he just watched was true, but he refused to believe it. He tried shaking her awake. When he didn't get a response, he tried to shake her even harder.

"She's gone kid." Steven heard Diamond say.

He didn't even care that she was talking, he was still trying to shake Garnet awake.

"She thought for sure she could wipe me out with her own fists. How foolish."

Steven tried shaking her harder.

"Not even Rose could stop me, it's absurd to think that she could."

Steven gave up shaking her, and settled on staring at her lifeless form.

"I hope you won't try. Rose tried to blow me up, and it still didn't work. If you tried, it would just be embarrassing."

"I'm not Rose."

Diamond silenced herself.

Steven was crying over Garnet now, his tears landing in her wounds.

"I'm...i'm not my mom. I...I know I can't kill you." He said between his sobs.

Diamond stayed quiet still.

"Garnet asked me to choose between you and Earth. She showed me the future."

His tears flowed like a broken faucet.

"There was a third option." He told her.

"Oh? What would that be?"

Steven stood up on his feet. His tears hitting the soil beneath his feet now.

"Garnet would die, and you heal from it."

There was a long, slow, agonizing silence, only being filled with Steven's crying. Eventually, Diamond spoke up.

"Ha! I heal from her death? Do you know how many Gems and humans i've killed to do this? Death means nothing to me."

Steven's tears continued to drop as he spoke.

"I know it means nothing to you. But it does to me."

He clenched his fists, and walked away from Garnet into the center of the destroyed dirt pile.

"It means something to humans too. That's why humans are so much better than you. Death matters. It matters so much." He said as he walked around the edges of the debris field, still crying.

"That's why I don't like killing. Because I'm a human, and we get that life is precious."

"Wait...What are you doing?"

Steven continued to walk.

"I refuse to kill you, Diamond. If I did, that would make me no better than you."

"S-Stop! I'm starting to feel strange!"

"I find a way to save the day. That's why I believe in myself, so I can protect those I love!"

Steven's constant stream of tears was laced with something passed down from his mother. Something even she could not fathom. The drops landed all over the surface area of the crushed cave, sinking into the soil. Eventually, the ground started to glow a dull pink, lighting up with fantastic power.

Suddenly, shards of a certain kind a Gem shot out of the ground, and levitated in the air. They then slowly started to form as Diamond continued to shout obscenities at the boy.

The pieces merged together, until finally, it revealed a humanoid figure, similiar looking to Pearl, but much more angled. She was almost completely white, almost transparent, and wore an outfit similar to a tunic. Her hair was spiky, and short, white as well. The figure looked at Steven in shock, and dumbfoundedness.

"H-How?" She stuttered. It was Diamond. Before she fused her flesh with the soil. Her true form.

Steven wiped his face with his hand, and gave her a stern look.

"I healed you. I foresaw it happen. My tears are magical, and I mended your pieces back together again. You no longer have the Earth to abuse."

Diamond stared, and then let out a wild and angry screech.

"Fuck! I was so close to victory! I'll kill you, you little shit! I'll rip you apart!" She screamed at him.

But before she could do anything, she was hit in the shoulder by a flying rock. She looked over, only to feel her hope hit complete and total rock bottom.

"Not on my watch you won't." Garnet said. Steven nearly passed out from what he was seeing. He ran to Garnet, who was standing on her own two feet now, gauntlets at the ready. Her wound was almost completely healed, save for minor damage.

The young boy had never ran so fast in his life. Once he reached Garnet, he hugged her waist so tight, he was sure he might break her in two. Garnet hugged him back almost as tight. Steven started crying again, but this time, it was tears of joy. So much joy.

"Garnet! You're back, I can't believe it! But, I didn't foresee you living…"

His friend squatted down so they could be eye level. She gave him a smile, and said, "Neither did I. You made your own future Steven. That's why I believe in you. Because you can change the future."

The boy beamed, his eyes lit with stars, and turned around to look at a disgruntled Diamond.

"What should we do with this one?" Garnet asked. Steven thought about it.

"Well...is there a way we can make sure she doesn't hurt anyone without killing her?" Steven asked.

Garnet thought about it, and looked down at the boy.

"well...There is one thing I can think of…"

"Steven!" Connie yelled as he walked through the door or the temple with Garnet right behind him. She ran up to hug him, forgetting about her injuries, and wrapped him in her embrace, he laughed, and hugged her back. Amethyst, Pearl, and Greg also ran up to them. They all exchanged hugs and words before allowing the two of them to sit and relax on the couch.

"We were so worried about you two!" Pearl stated. Amethyst nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I thought for sure something bad happened to you!" Connie told Steven. He gave a reassuring grin that, yes, he's fine. He's sore, but fine.

Greg walked over to his son, got down on one knee, and looked his boy in the eyes.

"I'm so glad to see you alive and well, kiddo. You have no idea how horrible these last couple of days have been, anxiety levels cranked to max just thinking about you. But here you are, finally. You make me the proudest father ever."

Steven beamed once again, and gave his dad another hug. They separated once Greg realized he was leaving out Garnet.

"Thanks for watching out for him, Garnet." He told her. She shrugged.

"I'd rather die than let Steven get hurt." She stated, and gave the kid a small wink. He wasn't sure whether or not he should have found that funny, or sad, but either way, he was happy.

"I see you all managed to take care of the skulls. Great work team." The largest Gem told the entire group. They all gave her smiles. Steven looked at Connie, and then gasped when he noticed the bandages on her chest. She noticed his line of sight, and nervously giggled.

"Oh, this is nothing! One of those ugly monster things burned me a bit, no big deal."

Steven shook his head, and said, "When did that happen?"

Connie responded with, "Uhh...the other day?"

"Because there was no warp pad, we had to sail away from the destroyed region, which takes at least two days. We are a little behind on info." Garnet said. They all looked around at each other.

"Oh, well...The people of Beach City returned yesterday, there are still people who are trying to settle in again, but for the most part, everyone's back, and we destroyed the skulls, we did awesome, and the rest of the time was just used for healing and waiting for you guys." Steven's father summed up. They both nodded.

"What about you two? Where is Diamond?" Pearl asked.

"She's in space." Steven said. Everyone went silent, trying to comprehend what he just said.

"What Steven means is we returned Diamond to her original form, bubbled her, and sent her off into space where she will float endlessly for all eternity."

The silence was almost too much. Eventually Pearl, piped up.

"O-Oh, that's...Great. Good for you too!" She said, clearly showing her confusion.

"This calls for pizza and pop! Let's go get some food!" Amethyst shouted, Connie and Greg agreeing right behind her. They were so very hungry these last couple of days, their bellies always filling with panic over nutrients. The three of them made their way out the door to their destination, while the other three Gems remained inside.

Pearl decided to go back into her room to adjust some things, while garnet and Steven remained on the couch. All was silent, until Steven began talking.

"I'm glad you're okay, Garnet. I don't know what I would do without you…"

She comforted him.

"Steven, there will always be "what ifs" in this world. "What if I died?", "what if Diamond won?", but the only "what if" you need to worry about is the ones that happen. I didn't die, and we won this fight. Focus on that. Besides, this world is always changing, always creating new "what ifs". That's what Rose liked about it-"

"But i'm not Rose." Steven blurted. Garnet looked at him, searching his face for his thoughts.

"No, no you are not. Before recently, we have always wanted to gloat to you about Rose. How perfect she was, how amazing she was. The truth is though, she made mistakes too. She did things she shouldn't have done. We loved her so much that we overlooked these facts. But perhaps we shouldn't treat you like Rose is the standard. I want you to be you, Steven Universe."

He smiled at her, clutching the gem in his belly. He looked up at the image of his mother that was hanging above the door, and looked back at Garnet.

"I'm not Rose Quartz, but...I still like hearing about her. Could you tell me more of what she was like?" He asked. She gave him a smile so warm it could start a campfire.

"Sure."

The End friends! This one...This one was a doozy. I know It took forever, and I'm terribly sorry about that. I had all this other stuff going on and it got in the way and...well, the details don't matter. I made sure to make this one extra long (and hopefully enjoyable) for you. This is the last chapter, so there will be no more updates on it.

No review replays this time, as I wanted to collectively tell you all how thankful I am that you stuck with the story, and have been so incredibly patient with me. My writer's block is the worst too. Steven Universe is a show worthy of time a patience, and I wanted to do it justice. But I suppose you can be the judge, yeah? I know I havn't been the best at consistent updating, but it has been a fun ride. I hope you all enjoyed it, and I can't wait to see what you all have to say! I wish you the best!

-M.M