In one moment, the desert was as quiet as the grave, the noon sun beating down all sound with its heat. No birds flitted through the cloudless sky, and no animals scurried across the red sands, for there were no shadows to hide in, not even at the base of the sole mountain for miles around.

In the next moment, a circular stone platform shone with light, extending to the heavens in a luminous cylinder. As it did, four silhouettes descended, becoming more substantial as they neared the ground. Almost as quickly as it had come, the light faded, leaving the four figures standing standing alone in the desert.

"Wow," Steven breathed, instinctively raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. "Where are we?"

"A long-forgotten place," Garnet replied casually. She looked to the mountain. "We need to be there, at the top."

"What's up there?"

"Something we definitely don't want Peridot finding," Pearl said, frowning as she studied the mountaintop.

Steven gasped, hands flying to his cheeks. "Is it another geode? Or a giant laser cannon! Ooh, is it a spaceship?"

"Maybe it'll be shaped like a foot this time," Amethyst snorted.

"The thing up there is far more important than a spaceship," Garnet interjected, gravely. "Let's get moving."

She stepped off first, followed shortly after by Pearl and Amethyst. Steven hurried after them, still trying to shield his eyes from the sun.

"How are we gonna get up there?" he asked. "Maybe I can float us to the top."

"There's no need, Steven," Pearl said. "Look, don't you see the path carved into the mountainside?"

Steven's face sagged. "We're going to walk all the way up there? But it's so tall..."

Garnet allowed herself a small smile. "You can do it, Steven."

That brought back the smile to the half-gem's face. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe this'll be fun! I can totally do this!"

0

Steven collapsed in a heap, panting heavily as he rolled onto his sweat-stained back. He tried to open his eyes, only to close them again when the light of the sun assailed them

"I can't do this," he muttered quietly.

"Aw, come one, Steven!" Amethyst exclaimed cheerfully as she walked by. "We're almost halfway there!"

"Halfway there?" Steven practically melted into the ground. Which, considering how hot he was feeling, seemed like a distinct possibility. "I thought you said we were almost at the top..."

Pearl reached into her gem, light flickering about her wrist, then produced a water bottle. Crouching down, she offered it to him, smiling.

"Don't drink too quickly," she warned. "And sit up before you get sick."

"Those are with cold floors, Pearl," Steven sighed, sitting up as he accepted the water. He took a sip, then a longer one. "I didn't know it could get this hot."

"Oh, if you think this is bad, I remember when we once visited some volcano that had a cache hidden inside. I was sure Amethyst was going to turn yellow..."

"Wouldn't that be cool?" Amethyst said, plopping down to Steven. "Maybe I could pretend to be that donut girl and get us all some free snacks, huh?"

Steven chuckled. "A donut would be pretty good right now."

"We can get donuts once we get to the top," Garnet said.

Steven drained the rest of the bottle, then got up. He peered upwards, staring at where the mountain disappeared into the clouds.

"This is going to take forever," he grumbled. "The Big Donut's gonna be closed by the time we get up there!"

"If we hurry, I'm sure we'll make it," Pearl assured.

Steven frowned as he considered her words.

Then, he jumped.

He was already soaring up to the clouds before anyone could react. The bare face of the mountain brushed dangerously close by, but he continued upwards.

"Whoah, whoah," he said to himself after a particularly close call. "Maybe I should stop here."

He gently alighted back onto the pathway, letting out a sigh of relief. He looked over the edge to see if the others were visible, but the fog obscured everything from sight.

"Guys, I'm okay!" he called down.

"You won't be when Pearl gets her hands on you!" Amethyst called back, her snickering audible even from his vantage point.

"Steven Quartz Universe, get back down here this instant or you're not getting any donuts!" Pearl shrieked.

"But I'm fine!"

"Steven, just stay there until we get to you," Garnet called out, calmly.

"Okay!" Steven replied, then sat down on the pathway.

The fog cooled things down a little, though the humidity still made it uncomfortable. Steven wiped some sweat from his brow, then started twiddling his thumbs, waiting.

A minute must've passed before he heard a soft tapping on the stone pathway, like something with hard feet or shoes was walking nearby. Steven looked around, but saw nothing. The sound was getting closer, until he realized that a silhouette in the fog was approaching from downslope. He began to sweat again, but not from the heat.

"Guys?" he asked aloud.

A few moments passed, then the figure emerged from the fog and revealed itself to be a small ram, no bigger than a beagle. Its tiny hooves clattered on the stone as it approached him, regarding him with beady black eyes.

"Oh," Steven said. "Hey there, little guy. What are you doing up here?"

The ram blinked at him, then continued walking uphill.

"Wait!" Steven got up and followed after the ram, almost breaking into a jog. "Where are you going?"

The ram didn't seem to acknowledge him as it continued up the hill. Steven decided to hang back a little, but still kept a good pace as he followed it. As he did, he noticed footprints on the pathway, faint impressions in the sparse sand. They certainly didn't belong to the ram, but he couldn't figure out whom they belonged to; they looked like twin sets of horizontal planks.

"You wouldn't happen to know who left these, would you?" he asked the ram. "They didn't happen to be green, or called you a clod, did they?"

The ram was as silent as before. A second hopped down from a rock and joined it, only briefly glancing back at Steven. The half-gem frowned, then decided to quicken his pace.

The fog gave way, and Steven narrowed his eyes as the sun returned with a vengeance. It was closer to the horizon, now, but it was still painfully bright. He stopped for a moment to let his eyes adjust, then gasped when he realized what he was seeing.

He'd reached the top of the mountain, revealing a flat top. Dozens of monoliths littered the area, all made of the same material as the pathway. In the low light of the sun, they cast long shadows, and he stepped into one, relieved to be out of the dry heat.

He looked up at the monolith, and realized there was a carving of a ram's face made in the rock. It almost reminded him of the murals he saw in the Gem temples, but less... alien.

He glanced over at the rams, and managed a small laugh. "I, uh, guess this is your place, huh?"

The rams walked past him, then stopped. One turned to look at him, while the other turned to a pathway between two of the monoliths.

Steven stared for a few moments. "You want me to go there?"

No reply, as usual. He sucked in a breath, then hesitantly stepped forward. When the rams didn't move, he walked towards the pathway, then turned around, only to gasp.

"Whoah..."

In the center of the mountaintop, there was a flat circle on the ground fifteen feet across, swirling in alternating bands of black and white. For a few moments, Steven merely gaped at the sight, eyes wide.

"What is this?" he murmured to himself.

He was so distracted by the sight, that he didn't notice the gem monster until it was almost too late.

It was more out of pure reflex than anything else that he threw up his bubble. It was fortunate, too; the impact was enough to send him flying into one of the monoliths, knocking off the top half. Debris rained down on the bubble as the monolith crumbled, then stopped. Steven turned off the bubble, then pulled up his shield, holding it in the stance Garnet had taught him.

The monster resembled a rhinoceros beetle, if beetles could get up to eight feet tall and had bladed limbs. Its mottled blue carapace rumbled as it chittered at him, moving forward on four of its legs. The gem, Steven saw, was located where one of its compound eyes should've been, and was circular with a hexagonal cut.

Steven threw his shield, catching the monster in the thorax. It stumbled back, only to quickly recover and charge forward. Steven pulled up another shield and prepared to dodge, waiting. The monster quickly cleared the distance between them-

-then stopped when a sword suddenly emerged from its chest.

A half-moment passed, then there was a gush of wind and smoke as the monster was poofed. Steven closed his eyes as the wind brushed past him, then opened them again, hesitantly.

He gasped when he did.

A man was standing where the monster had been, long red cape fluttering behind him. He was tall, almost as tall as Garnet, and was dressed in a tattered white robe that looked like something from the Lonely Blade game Amethyst had gotten him. In one hand, he had a long sword, and in the other he held the monster's gem. A broad straw hat hid his face from sight, casting his features in shadow.

The man straightened, revealing oriental features. He had a long beard that ruffled in the wind, and there was something behind his eyes, something Steven couldn't put his finger on.

"Wow..." Steven murmured.

The man blinked, as if surprised.

"Um, hello," he said awkwardly, with a faint clipped accent. "Are you alright?"

"That was amazing!" Steven exclaimed, shield fading as he hurried over. "Howdidyoudothatandwhereareyoufromandwhat'syourname?"

The man was visibly caught off guard by that. His eyes widened, then narrowed a little. He sheathed the sword, then put his hands together and offered a slight bow.

"There are those who call me... Jack."

Steven shot his hand forward. "Hi Jack, I'm Steven!"

Jack stared for a moment, then gingerly shook his hand. His palms were rough and calloused, Steven noticed, but he didn't mind.

Letting go, Steven stared at the sword. It was clearly Japanese in origin, but there was something about how the light caught on the blade that told Steven there was more to it than met the eye.

"Where did you come from?" He asked again.

"I could ask you the same," Jack replied. "I was up here to guard the time portal from that monster that attacked you."

"Time portal?"

Before Jack could reply, a shrill cry interrupted him.

"Steven!"

Slender arms wrapped around Steven, squeezing the air from his lungs as Pearl pulled him in close.

"Are you alright? We heard the commotion, but we-" Pearl suddenly stopped, then pulled back. Steven turned, and realized she was staring at Jack.

"Jack?" whispered Pearl, eyes wide as saucers.

Steven heard the others approaching. Jack glanced at each one of them, then turned back to Pearl and bowed again.

"It is good to see you again, Pearl. The same goes to you, Garnet, and to..." Jack blinked. "Er..."

"Amethyst," Amethyst supplied, brow scrunched at him. "Do I know you?"

"I do not know you," Jack replied. "But I am pleased you make your acquaintance."

"Wait, how do you know Pearl and Garnet?" Steven asked, squeezing out of Pearl's grip. He turned to Garnet. "How do you know him?"

Behind him, Pearl sighed. "It's... a long story."