He was floating again. This time, however, he was not lost in some dark endless void; Steven found himself drifting along a stark white landscape as he lay atop a large, dense cloud that drew him further and further into a bright pearlescent horizon.

"Wake up Steven because Amethyst is dangerous."

Pearl and Garnet's words mingled together and reverberated inside Steven's skull. Hm, another dream? He thought to himself Yeah, must be. I must've dozed off in school again. Dad won't like that.

He closed his eyes and let the cloud guide him for a time before opening his them again, frowning. Something was wrong here, something felt off. If he were dreaming how come he felt so awake, so aware of his surroundings? How could he know he was dreaming and still be dreaming? Steven looked around at the vast expanse of white nothingness and realized it had walls and a ceiling.

"What the…? When did that happen?"

Suddenly he stopped floating as the cloud came to a halt in the middle of the "room". Steven looked down at his transport and saw that it wasn't clouds he had been floating on but rather it was a comfortable bed with pillows propping him up.

"O-okay, I want to get off now I want to stop dreaming. Please?" Steven felt a cold prickle of fear well up in his chest. Somehow he knew this was the part where dream became nightmare.

He tried to get off the bed, anything to wake himself up but found that he couldn't. His arms and legs may as well have been made out of lead they felt so heavy. The bed had him now as tubes curled up out of the mattress and dug their way under his skin pumping a clear fluid into him. "Help!" he wanted to scream "Please, help me!" but all that came out was a hoarse croak that died in his throat. I'd be able to shout if I wasn't so thirsty he thought to himself. Even his eyelids had become lead as the bed's liquid drew him further under its spell. He struggled to keep them open. Don't wanna go to sleep…need to stay…awake his mind could barely form the words.

"Steven?! Steven that's it you're almost there. Please just wake up." A feminine voice cut through the haze in his mind. It wasn't Pearl that was telling him to stay awake this time it was…

"C-Connie? Is that you?" Steven's eyes shot open. It was her; there was no mistaking it. He could feel a familiar warmth fill him at the thought of Connie by his side.

"N-no! Steven don't close your eyes you have to wake up!" She sounded panicked; frightened that he might close his eyes again. Was she pleading with him? "Steven please there isn't much time you have to wake up!"

His eyelids were pressing down on him again as the room was fading to a blinding white light. Connie's voice slowly faded out with the rest of the room until…

*Gasp* *Cough, Cough* "Ah! No, I don't want to go to sleep!" Steven shot upright, awakening to the sounds of laughter.

"Hm, indeed. Well, I am glad to hear that Mr. Universe." Mrs. Hinckle said with a look that suggested anything but the fact that she was glad.

Math class, he had fallen asleep in Mrs. Hinckle's math class. Steven palmed his face "Oh, not again." Wait a minute he thought Then does that mean it really was all just a dream…but that room, the bed. It felt so real so, so… "Uh, sorry Mrs. were you saying something?"

*sigh* His math teacher pinched the bridge of her nose as she always did when speaking to him. "Yes Mr. Universe I was. I asked you if you had absorbed the answer to the question through osmosis since you decided to fall asleep on your textbook."

Steven was feeling dumber by the second. "Uh, what was the question again Mrs…."

"The question is written on the board Steven. Why don't you try reading it and coming up with an answer this time?" Her words where met with another round of laughter from the rest of the class.

Steven squinted at the whiteboard in front of him. "Rationalize the denominators of the following expressions and simplify if possible." After which came a confusing mess of numbers, letters, and symbols that Steven could never hope to decipher. Pearl would have known how to solve this Steven thought to himself glumly.

"Well, Mr. universe? We're waiting."

"Amethyst is dangerous." He blurted out not knowing why that was the first thing that came to his mind.

This time there was no laughter just stares of disgust from his classmates. Mrs. Hinckle was getting red faced in her anger. "No. Just no Steven. Amethyst is not dangerous. It is a violet quartz once thought to ward away drunkenness in ancient times. Maybe you'd know that if you paid attention in your geology class but since you obviously don't pay attention in any of your classes I can't say I'm surprised that THAT is your answer to the problem on the board."

Steven shrank back into his seat wishing the day was already over.

000

Steven found himself walking home alone after school again.

*sigh* "Man, why did I have to say that? Now the whole school thinks I'm weird."

It was true the whole school did think he was strange. In the hours following math, Steven had received numerous taunts from fellow classmates telling him to watch out because this thing or that thing was also dangerous before being shoved into said thing. It was like hearing Garnet's words on permanent repeat all day long.

*Bzzt, Bzzt*

Steven pulled the phone from his pocket and flicked it on to check his texts. He had received two messages.

Dad: Hey there stu-ball. Sorry but I'm going to be a little late again tonight my boss is being a real pain in the you-know-what. So feel free to make yourself whatever. I don't know there might be some pizza in the fridge but just check for mold first. I think it's been in there since we moved….so, yeah. Anyways see you when I get home.

Connie: Hey Steven how was school today? Did you do that thing I told you to do yesterday? About imagining everyone in their underwear during your speech in lit class. Makes it easier right? lol. Txt me back.

Steven paused before responding. Should he tell her about his little freak out? "Yeah totally, school was great."

*bzzt, bzzt*

Connie: Okay, what happened?

She could always tell when he was lying to her. Steven could almost see her rolling her eyes at him.

Steven: Fine, lit class was alright but I may have freaked out a little in Math and now everyone hates me…again.

Connie: Was it because of Amethyst?

Steven had told Connie about his talk with Garnet and how he had to be careful around Amethyst if he ever saw her again and he had seen her often. It was always the same thing, always a flash of violet caught just out of the corner of his eye before it disappeared into the shadows somewhere. What he hadn't told Connie was just how scared this had made him. Amethyst was family to him, but once she got mad…well, Steven didn't want to think about that. She had nearly flattened Pearl once out of anger. One thing was for certain though: Amethyst was stalking him. He was certain of that.

Steven was about to respond when he saw that familiar flash of purple again. This time, however, the tables were turned. Steven, wanting to avoid more ridicule, had taken a different path home today. Amethyst, not knowing this, had set herself up in a tree Steven would normally have passed under if he had been going his usual way home. Steven took a step towards the tree. What am I doing? he thought Garnet told me to stay away from her. She told me that Amethyst might try to hurt me. You've seen her mad, she can be scary. Try as he might though, Steven couldn't help but remember the gem who had been his big sister all throughout his life. That Amethyst would never do anything to harm him. Steven took another step forward. Forget what Garnet said he had to know what was going through Amethyst's mind. He had to confront her. Steven, mind made up, ran a semi-circle across the street coming up right behind Amethyst in her perch, she was completely oblivious to him as he approached. Steven licked his lips. This was it. It was just like approaching a wild animal. You had to be cool, calm, and collected. One false move and that would be the end of him.

"Hey, Amethyst! What are you doing up in that tree?!"

For a brief second time froze and Steven was worried he may have caused Amethyst to lose her grip but at the last second she caught herself and landed on her feet. She turned to stare at him.

"Uh…um, right. So, how have you been?" Steven began awkwardly. When she didn't respond he continued. "That's great; I've been doing well too. So, I've noticed you've been following me around a lot lately and Garnet said you were going a little crazy so when I saw you up there in that…"

*CRACK*

Chunks of concrete exploded as Amethyst brought her foot down, hard. "Well Garnet was right. Now leave me alone." She turned to leave.

"No! Please don't go." Steven shouted. He had already lost Pearl and he was currently losing his mind, he was going to lose his big sister too.

Amethyst snorted *heh* "Just try and catch me little man."

And before Steven could even blink she was sprinting down the block. She jumped and grabbed a tree branch which she used to swing onto the roof of a nearby house before running to the edge and jumping off on the other side. Steven, whose gem powers had yet to blossom, could only stare on in amazement. "Whoa, she must've been yoda's master."

Determined to catch Amethyst no matter what Steven ran after her opting to sprint through the backyards of the homes rather than jump over them. "Maybe next time." He promised himself.

Steven was in luck as Amethyst seemed much slower today than she normally was it also didn't help her any that she was jumping from home to home while Steven could keep pace at street level without any fancy parkour.

*huff, huff* "Wait Amethyst stop! You know I can't run as fast as you."

But Amethyst didn't stop, she continued to maneuver her way around the rooftops slowly beginning to outpace Steven as he struggled to keep from doubling over and throwing up in his exhaustion. Stopping by a light post Steven leaned his weight against it for a few moment to catch his breath. It was then that he noticed they had somehow gotten away from the suburbs and had been running through the industrial district of Beach City.

"Amethyst, Where are you going?" he shouted. "At least tell me why you've been stalking me!"

Again there was no response. This time, however, instead of continuing on along the rooftops Steven watched as Amethyst jumped off the roof of a red bricked factory and slid down the steal siding of an adjacent cannery before leaping off the wall and landing with a backflip safely on the concrete below. Steven, having caught his breath finally, chased her as she darted in between the cannery and the red brick building. He made it in time to watch as she ducked into a side ally by the red brick building.

"Please be a dead end, please, please just be a dead end." Steven begged, fearing more running.

His prayers were answered when he turned the corner and mercifully found Amethyst trapped against the wall of the red brick building with no place to go.

*huff, huff* "A-alright Amethyst *huff* There's no place to go from here. So we're going to sit down and talk about this like adults. Why did you and Garnet fight? What is this all abo-" *Argh*

Steven began to double over clutching at his gem. In the excitement and worry that had followed from his visit with Garnet at the temple Steven had forgotten about his "little problem".

"No" He choked out through gritted teeth trying to hold back the mounting pressure "No, not now."

Steven clenched his fists and tried to repress the pulsating pink energy but it was all to no avail.

"Amethyst! Get out of the way I can't…"

*BANG*

A wall of swirling pink energy rocketed towards Amethyst before Steven could even finish his sentence. Amethyst, knowing what to expect this time, backed up and leapt on to the back wall of the alley before vaulting over both the mass of energy and Steven just as her platform was obliterated by a beam of pink death and flaming bricks. She landed behind him on all fours with an *oomph* before regaining her composure and standing up.

"You!" she screamed. "You nearly killed me! What, did Garnet send you after me or something?"

"N-no" Steven stammered as he tried to stand on unsteady legs. "I-I didn't…I tried to hold it in it was an accident I swear."

Amethyst drew her weapon. "And how many of those accidents were people Steven? Your mom, Pearl, and now me? I warned her. I told Garnet that you were just a time bomb waiting to explode. Well, this one's for Pearl."

*shink*

Steven ducked in time to see Amethyst's whip carve a nearby dumpster in half. It fell apart spilling trash all over the alley floor.

"W-why are you so angry" Steven sobbed "I didn't mean to hurt you; I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"

"Oh don't worry." Amethyst said as she strode over to a cowering Steven. "You didn't hurt me at all."

Steven whipped the tears from his eyes to look up at Amethyst's form towering over him.

"Amethyst, please just listen to-"

*Crack*

Amethyst's fist made contact with Steven's left temple sending him spinning as he collapsed on the ground. The last thing he saw before the world was swallowed by darkness was Amethyst's emotionless face as she came closer to deliver the finishing blow.

000

He was in the white room again, floating on clouds that weren't clouds. The tubes were in his arms again pumping him full of mystery fluid that made his limbs feel heavy. This time, however, it was alright. At least he wasn't fighting Amethyst. That fact alone was enough to bring a small smile to his lips. This is so strange he thought isn't this the part where people start telling me to wake up? Almost as if it's just some bad dream. I-I wish it was. I wish this whole nightmare would just end. A-and what's that noise?

He would have turned his head towards the noise but his neck felt so stiff and sore that the task was just too much for him. Instead he listened as the sound grew from distant background noise to something more prevalent and annoying.

*beep, beep*

*Beep, Beep*

*BEEP, BEEP*

Ow, what is that? Steven tried to cover his ears but found his arms unresponsive. When had he closed his eyes? Steven wasn't sure he but with the increase in beeps he slowly began to open his eyes. He gasped and found that it burned as air rushed into dead lungs that hadn't drawn a proper breath in a long time. His throat was sore and parched.

Eyes fluttering open Steven found that he wasn't alone in the room. There was a small child like figure sitting on the edge of his cloud/bed. It was wearing a white dress with long dark hair and it was humming a tune Steven thought sounded familiar but couldn't quite place.

"A-aaa" Steven tried to speak but found that his voice died in his throat once again. Determined he pressed on. "A-are you an angel?"

"Wha-" The girl stopped humming and turned towards him her almond eyes meeting his. "S-Steven?!"

That's weird Steven thought She looks just like Connie. But Connie isn't an angel she's…..wait where am I?

Connie had tears welling in her eyes "Well, don't just stare at me like that doofus you're awake!" She leapt off the corner of his bed and brought him in for a crushing bear hug. Steven could feel the wetness of her tears soaking through his gown. Wait a minute. Am I wearing a gown? Connie's hug prompted him to look down at himself for the first time and realize he was in fact wear a gown, the sort you'd see in hospitals on TV.

"C-Connie? Where am I? What's going on a-and what happened to Amethyst? Is she still after me?"

Connie broke away from the hug and looked up at him, confused for a second, before realization took hold of her. "Oh god that's right the others. Steven, everyone has been waiting on you to wake up, they're all here. Well, actually your dad had to go home and pick up something and my parents left hours ago, but the gems are still here. I'll go get them just stay right there."

Before Steven could even process her words Connie had jumped off his bed and raced out the door to proclaim the good news. Steven was left alone to think on the situation as best he could. Taking a moment he looked around the room. He soon found that the beeping noise he had heard was coming from a machine strapped to his chest. Each steady beep marked the pace of his pounding heart.

"Sooo, not dead then. That's a relief."

A quick examination of his arm showed him that the tubes coming from the bed in his dream were actually IV's pumping fluid and nutrients into his body. IVs, heart monitor, and hospital gowns? There was no denying where he was.

"Man Amethyst must have really done a number on me but at least I am still alive."

From his bed Steven could hear Connie talking excitedly to some people just outside of his room. "Yeah, Yeah he just woke up. I know right? It IS a miracle."

Suddenly his door was kicked wide open.

"Here's Amethyst!" The diminutive purple gem shrieked as she quickly bounded into the room.

Steven did his best to hide under the covers, his mind racing. Ah, she's come to finish me! Someone help!

But it was too late. Steven didn't even have enough time to scream as Amethyst leapt up onto his bed and tore away the covers. "Where's my main man Steven at? Hey, guy I heard you were….Uh, Steve?"

By this point Steven had curled up into a ball on the mattress preparing for the final blow and praying that it would be quick. "P-please don't hit me again."

"Amethyst what in the world are you doing?!"

That voice. Steven's ears perked up the minute she spoke. B-but she's…

"What? I didn't even touch him. See." A visibly shocked Amethyst raised her open palms to show that her fists weren't clenched.

Despite his fear Steven had to look up. That voice almost sounded like Pearl's but her gem had been destroyed, he had seen it, he had been responsible for it. There was no way…and then there she was standing alongside Garnet and Connie as Amethyst towered over him.

"Amethyst, I can't even believe I have to say this but you have to be gentle with Steven! He's still half human and he just woke up after…"

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" Steven cried completely forgetting the threat of Amethyst as he struggled to get out of bed and fell on shaking, unsteady legs before bringing himself back up and waddling over to Pearl. He threw his arms around her and buried his face in her middle. He could feel hot, stinging tears pour down his cheeks. "I knew it, I knew I wasn't crazy."

*ha-ha* "Well of course you're not Steven." Pearl said, returning the hug. "But you really should lay back down you've been in a coma for the past month."

"Y-you mean because Amethyst knocked me out?"

All eyes went back to Amethyst. "H-hey don't look at me I never touched the guy."

Garnet placed a hand on his shoulder. "Steven, I don't think Amethyst has ever once intentionally tried to harm you. She's been here by your bedside this whole just like we all have."

"B-but." Steven stammered "But Pearl died and dad moved us into the city a-and you guys said I couldn't be a crystal gem any more. And Amethyst …She…"

Steven looked around the concerned faces of his friends and family. "T-that all happened, right?"

Pearl was the first to speak. "Steven, do you even remember what happened at the relay tower?"

"Yeah we were ambushed by those feral gems, I accidently lost control a-and I…my beam…it went right through you. Garnet said that I nearly brought the whole place down."

Pearl shook her head. "Steven after you, um….after your…"

Garnet interjected. "What Pearl is trying to say is that after she retreated into her gem you were knocked unconscious by a falling rock. Amethyst and I grabbed the both of you and then we made it back to the warp pad in time before the cave completely collapsed on all our heads. After that we brought you here and Pearl recovered within a week. Nobody moved anywhere, no one was kicked out of anything and Amethyst certainly never attacked you, she saved you."

Steven's head was spinning by this point. Was that horrible school he went to just a dream as well? What even was reality anymore? "Wait, so all those times I heard Pearl telling me to wake up that was…"

*bwahahaha* "Oh man you could hear that?" Amethyst laughed. "Dude, After her recovery Pearl spent weeks at your bedside begging you to wake up. I mean, wow, that must have been really annoying after like the first hundred times or so, eh?

Pearl blushed "I-I was just worried about Steven's wellbeing. We don't know much about his physiology and it seems as if he heals more like a human being than a gem. So, yes Amethyst I was at his bedside for weeks."

Amethyst snorted "More like you felt guilty. It was one of your spears that loosened the rock that struck Steven in the head. Seriously dude, if anybody attacked you it was Pearl."

Pearl blushed even harder, she had been caught. "Oh, Steven I-I'm so sorry I mean there was dust everywhere and we had lost track of you a-and I'm…"

"Don't worry about it." Steven said putting on his most upbeat face. "I'm just glad that you're alright." *yawn* "But I am feeling a little tired and this is a lot to take in so do you guys think you could give a minute please?"

"Of course." Garnet nodded "We still need to get a hold of Greg and tell him the good news. You take as much time as you need." And with that she ushered the others out of the room.

Steven sat alone on the hospital bed for a long time trying to piece together everything he had just heard. Maybe it all really was just a nightmare that lasted through a month long coma…maybe. Or did Amethyst's punch send him to the hospital and this was just his brain creating a scenario he wanted. A world in which he wasn't responsible for Pearl's death and everything was just A-Okay? Steven's hand went to the scar on his left temple as he inadvertently traced a finger down the length of it. Both realities, the one with Pearl and without Pearl, felt so real it was impossible to know which was the dream and which one was real life. Finally Steven decided. Even if it was a lie, he was happy here and he would much rather be happy.

Author's Note: Okay wow so I kind of failed at this since it was originally supposed to be a 4,000 word one shotter with a completely different ending. Meh, whatever. Anyways, I would like to thank everyone who read and or liked/followed this story to the bitter end. And as always please review. Because reviews make me a better writer.