flytoanotherworld

[flytoanotherworld]

The Pink Ribbon

“So my Quartzes have been defeated?” Pink Diamond asked as she sat on her tall palanquin.

“Yes, my Diamond.” The Cherry Quartz notified. “They were attacked by a group of Rebel Gems while making preparations for the first Kindergarten.”

Pink Diamond stared up into the air thoughtfully.

“We managed to capture one of the rebels. It appears they are conducting an assassination attempt, targeting you personally.” Cherry explained. “What are our orders, my Diamond?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Pink declared calmly as she closed her eyes. “I already have someone to make sure no unauthorized Gem is allowed to approach this area.”

===============================================

“Gah!” One of the Rubies groaned in pain as she fell to the ground, cracks appearing on her gem. She tried to get back to her feet, before falling back to the ground, looking around to see the shards, which were all that remained from the rest of her squad. “Damn you traitors! I won’t let you get any closer to my Diamond!”

“You truly are loyal. I admire that, I truly do.” The Hessonite declared. Light reflected from the rectangular stone on her forehead as she carefully held her orange guitar. “But, of course, unless you have actual power to back this up, you will never be more than a background chant in the large concert that is history.”

“What does that even mean?” The Ruby struggled to speak as she looked up at Hessonite.

“Dimensional Requiem!” Hessonite declared as she strung the guitar, liberating a powerful shock wave, which struck the Ruby directly, shattering her gem to pieces. “Is this the army of a conqueror of worlds? Pathetic. It is clear I should be the one in charge around here.”

“Hessonite.” A nearby Moonstone declared. “We got rid of the rest of the soldiers. Pink diamond’s palanquin is just a few miles ahead. We could just go straight there from here.”

“Alright, gang. Let’s get this party started.” Hessonite declared as she played a few random notes on her guitar, and the several Gems on her group cheered with confidence. They calmly began making their way onward, before a Rose Quartz began sniffing the air.

“Hey, Rose, are you okay?” An Amethyst asked.

“Yeah, it’s just… this smell, it smells like…” Rose answered, before they all suddenly stopped walking. “Roses…”

They looked onwards, to see a single Gem sitting calmly right in the middle of the road. It was a thin Gem, with a long pointy nose, dressed entirely in pink, with her hair stylized into two rose shaped buns, one in each side of her head. She was sitting with her eyes closed in a meditation position, with a long pink ribbon twirled on the ground around her, forming the shape of a pink spiral.

“Hm? What Gem is that?” Moonstone asked. “I’ve never seen that type of Gem before.”

“It doesn’t matter! If she’s in our way, she’s getting clobbered!” Amethyst declared with a confident smile, before Moonstone and she both ran towards the pink Gem. Suddenly, the pink ribbon seemed to come to life, flying from the ground and piercing right through both of them. The ribbon seemed to be as hard as a chain of pure iron, as it broke right through their Gems, shattering them instantly, before returning to the spiral shape.

“What the hell?” Hessonite asked as she looked down at the two shattered stones.

“I’d be careful if I were you.” Hessonite heard, before she turned to see a Lapis Lazuli standing right next to her.

“Hm? A Lapis Lazuli?” Hessonite asked in surprise, realizing nobody else in the group had noticed Lazuli’s presence beforehand. “Where did you come from?”

“I heard about your little rebellion and decide to check it out.” Lazuli commented calmly, before she pointed at the pink Gem. “That Gem is incredibly dangerous. I can’t guarantee that any of you will remain alive if you dare to take another step.”

“Who the hell is that Gem?” Hessonite asked.

“Welcome, traitors.” The Gem declared, as she finally opened her eyes. “I am Pearl, Pink Diamond’s personal bodyguard.”

“Pearl?” A Larimar asked. “What kind of Gem is that?”

“The existence of Pearls is a highly guarded secret. Only the most important Gems are allowed to know about them.” Lazuli declared.

“Bodyguard? So Pink sent her personal dog to stop us before we got to her? Seems like she really is scared.” Hessonite declared with a confident smile. “That Gem’s face… she is so… beautiful…”

“It is just like that Lazuli just told you. Take another step and you’ll be walking straight into your death.” Pearl declared. “If you are ready to embrace your doom, dare to invade my ribbon. Or you can just turn around and run away like the cowards you are.”

“So all we have to do is avoid touching the ribbon?” A Smoky Quartz commented with a large smile.

“Thanks for the tip!” A Topaz declared, before Smoky, Amethyst, and Topaz all leaped into the air, passing by Pearl from above without touching the ribbon. “You can’t attack unless your ribbon can touch us!”

“Ribbon Dance!” Pearl declared, before she raised one of her hands, and the ribbon suddenly flew upwards, before glowing with pink light and multiplying into several dozens of ribbons. The Gems screamed in surprise, before the ribbons violently drilled right through them, reducing them to nothing but shards, before returning to the spiral formation. “Out of all directions, the most protected parts of the ribbon are above and below.”

“Those rebels of yours are loyal, Hessonite.” Lapis commented. “Although I might add that they’re not very bright.”

“Shut your mouth, Lazuli.” Hessonite ordered.

“Don’t underestimate that Gem just because of her beauty.” Lapis declared. “She might be a beautiful rose, but she has deadly thorns.”

===============================================

“Are you sure you have everything under control?” Blue Diamond asked from the communicator.

“Don’t worry about it. My Pearl will make quick work of them.” Pink Diamond answered. “I don’t think any Gem lesser than a Diamond could bypass her ribbon without at least getting cracked… I just worry she could end up getting hurt.”

“Don’t worry about it. Even if this Pearl is destroyed, we can just make a new one.” Blue declared. “Plus, if your Pearl does get destroyed, their rebellion might as well be over… I guess that is why they say that the most beautiful roses are the ones with the sharpest thorns.”

“I don’t think so.” Pink responded. “I think roses would not be as beautiful if they did not have thorns.”

===============================================

“So, will I have to keep on shattering your underlings, or are you coming to fight me yourself, Hessonite?” Pearl asked.

Hessonite held her guitar and prepared to pull the strings, before Lapis took a single step towards Pearl.

“You know, ever since I first heard about you, I always asked myself how one is supposed to get past you. Everyone has a weakness, but I could never figure out yours by just hearing stories about your ribbon.” Lapis declared. “But now that I saw you in action, I just figured out how to get past it.”

Lapis summoned her wings and began hovering just a few centimeters above the ground, before she held up her arms, and a large mist suddenly formed around Pearl. Pearl looked around, realizing she couldn’t make out a thing. The mist covered the entire battlefield.

“I used the moisture in the air to make this mist, that way you cannot tell where I am.” She heard Lapis’ voice, as she looked around for a few seconds, unable to tell where the voice was coming from. “I am not touching the ground either, so your ribbon will not attack automatically, since it cannot track me. This is the weakness of your ribbon, if neither you nor the ribbon can tell where the opponent is, there is nothing you can do.”

“Impressive…” Pearl commented. “In all of those years, you are the first person to ever find a way around my ribbon dance.”

“So I scarred your pride?” Lapis asked, before Pearl felt an ice fist striking her right in the face, forming a large crack that completely covered her eye. “Now I’ve also scarred this pretty face of yours!”

“You’ve made a huge mistake.” Pearl declared, as a bright multicolored light began coming out from the cracks on her face, as Lapis’s expression changed into one of surprise. “Do you really think the last line of defense before the Diamonds could be defeated so easily? Unlike all other types of Gem who are entirely made of solid light, only the outside layer of my body is. The inside is nothing but pure energy, personally given to me by the four Diamonds themselves. Now, feel the power of four Diamonds attacking at once. Rainbow Supernova!”

Lapis screamed in surprise, before the bright light struck her and illuminated the entire mist, completely obliterating her Gem, leaving nothing behind. The mist slowly vanished, before Pearl finally got up from her meditating position and stared at Hessonite with the one eye she had left.

“Your trump card was never the ribbon, was it?” Hessonite asked. “The thing that makes you so dangerous is all of this energy inside of you. Although, judging by the state of your eye, I guess in exchange to that, you were never given the ability to regenerate your physical form like normal Gems do. If your entire body cracks, you will die, and the energy is only a way for you to take your opponent with you. A bodyguard specifically designed to die in battle.”

“So…” Pearl declared. “Who is next?”

“Very well, I’ve seen enough.” Hessonite declared as she took a few steps forwards. “This time I will be your opponent.”

Hessonite stood there in silence for a few moments as the two stared at each other, before she prepared her guitar and strung it, and a powerful gust of wind flew towards Pearl, the powerful wind blowing Pearl’s ribbon away.

“Now cower before my song of terror!” Hessonite declared. “Dimensional Requiem!”

“She destroyed my ribbon!” Pearl declared in slight surprise.

“How do you feel without your ribbon, bodyguard?” Hessonite asked.

“Do you really think I can’t just summon another ribbon?” Pearl asked as she reached for the gem on her navel, before her hand suddenly stopped. Pearl looked down in confusion, before she felt her head stopping as well. Before she knew it, her entire body had stopped moving. “What did you…”

“Paralyzing Melody!” Hessonite declared as she continued playing the notes on her guitar. “If I can’t hurt you, then all I have to do is stop you from moving.”

“She did it!” A Tourmaline declared.

“What are you waiting for?” Hessonite asked. “Go after Pink Diamond. I’ll play around with Pearl for a little longer.”

“Yes, ma’am!” The Gems declared, before they ran past the two and continued heading towards Pink’s palanquin.

“Now, what should I do with you next?” Hessonite asked. “Maybe a melody that will make you sleep forever? No, no, that would be too kind. Instead, I’ll just do this.”

Hessonite began playing a different melody, before Pearl suddenly began screaming.

“Torture Theme Song!” Hessonite declared. “This is the song that causes excruciating pain to whoever hears it. Of course, I’ve made myself immune to all of my songs. You, on the other hand…”

Pearl continued to scream in pain for a few moments.

“Music to my ears.” Hessonite declared with a wicked smile. “It’s good to finally see your pretty little face screaming in agony.”

“H-Hessonite…” Pearl muttered, struggling not to scream as the pain continued to hit her paralyzed body. “You can torture me, curse me, or do whatever… I am not going to let you get any closer to my Diamond!”

“Still insolent to the end, I see.” Hessonite declared. “I guess it’s only fair that I stop playing around then. I am going to finish you off with my next move.”

===============================================

“Alright, girls, get ready to do some damage!” A Peridot declared as the rebels ran down the road, before they looked up to see Pink Diamond’s palanquin was already visible in the distance. “Let’s avenge our friends that were killed by that Pearl!”

They continued running for a few moments, before Rose Quartz’s eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

“It smells like roses…” Rose whispered, before she yelled. “Stop!”

It was too late, as several ribbons suddenly broke out from underground, piercing right through the rebels’ gems. They all yelled in pain, before falling to the ground, the ribbons still stuck in the holes it had made in their gems.

“R-ribbons…” Rose whispered, as she noticed her friends’ gems beginning to fall apart into shards, as their physical forms began to vanish. “S-she left them here… as a trap… damn you… damn you Pearl…”

Rose closed her eyes, before her gem broke to pieces.

===============================================

“Song of Death!” Hessonite declared as she began playing a macabre song on her guitar. “The moment I play the last note of this song, you will fall dead, instantly!”

“I already told you! I am not letting you pass!” Pearl declared, before she bit down on her lower lip, making a small crack appear, before a single straight beam of multicolored light flew from her lip, and struck the guitar in Hessonite’s hands, the guitar falling to the ground before catching fire, right before Pearl fell to her knees.

“Interrupting the song also stopped the effects, so now you can move again.” Hessonite declared with a smirk, before she summoned another guitar. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to play everything all over again.”

Pearl bit down on one of her fingers, before a small crack appeared on it and she fired a beam of light towards Hessonite, creating a large multicolored explosion. Pearl breathed heavily in exhaustion as she looked up at the large cloud of dirt that now replaced Hessonite. The cloud dissipated, and her eyes widened as she saw Hessonite still standing, filled with several scratches all over her body.

“Impressive… I haven’t been hit this hard in a long time…” Hessonite commented. “It’s quite surprising that someone as pretty as you could be hiding such terrifying power…”

“Damn you Hessonite, You’re a demon!” Pearl whispered, before she noticed Hessonite taking a few steps back, making sure not to look away from Pearl. “Are you running away?”

“Nah, I’m just taking some distance.” Hessonite answered, before she played a note on her guitar, and a shock wave suddenly struck one of Pearl’s legs, a large crack appearing on it and triggering a large explosion of multicolored light, which nearly struck Hessonite, the Garnet being just a few centimeters out of the explosion’s radius, before the light dispersed and Pearl fell to the ground. “I can’t actually kill you, or else that would release way too much energy for me to avoid. However, I doubt you’ll be able to chase after me with that broken leg.”

“Hessonite!” Pearl declared angrily, before the traitor calmly turned away and began running down the road. “This isn’t over!”

===============================================

“So this is the place she wanted to protect?” Hessonite asked as she approached the beautiful garden, the pink palanquin being visible in the distance as she carelessly walked over the shards of her shattered companions. Several ribbons flew out from the ground and attacked, but Hessonite didn’t even bother turning to look at them, as she played a single note in her guitar, and a large shock wave knocked the ribbons away. “I’ll have to admit, this place really seem to be very peaceful… Dimensional Requiem!”

Hessonite played another note, and a massive shockwave flew from her guitar, making massive cracks on the ground and tearing apart nearby trees, as the notes from the guitar summoned a massive earthquake.

===============================================

“What was that?” One of the Rubies working around the palanquin asked.

“Earthquake?” A Quartz asked.

“No…” Pink Diamond declared, as they all turned to look at her, before a large explosion suddenly struck the Gems surrounding the palanquin, and Hessonite leaped in, staring directly at Pink Diamond. “It’s something worse.”

“I’ve been seeing a lot of pink today.” Hessonite declared with a smile.

“How did you get pass Pearl?” Pink Diamond asked calmly. “Did you trick her? Or did you run away?”

“Hm?” Hessonite asked.

“There is no way Pearl would have lost to someone such as you in a fair fight.” Pink Diamond explained, before Hessonite smiled wickedly.

“If that’s what you want to think then I won’t stop you!” Hessonite declared as she prepared her guitar. “Let those be the last thoughts you have as I reduce you to shards!”

“Hey, Hessonite!” They heard, before they turned to see Pearl approaching the scene, barely able to walk with her broken leg, and struggling to stay standing, before she carefully placed herself in between Hessonite and the palanquin, and pointed at Hessonite with one of her hands. “I already told you… if you want to reach her… you’ll have to go through me!”

“You little cockroach!” Hessonite declared angrily. “How many times will I have to get rid of you?”

“I am sorry, my Diamond… I shouldn’t have let her get this close…” Pearl declared. “I am going to shatter Hessonite right now…”

“It is heartbreaking to see someone as beautiful as you all covered in cracks.” Hessonite declared. “Walk away right now and let me shatter Pink, and then I won’t go after you. What do you think of that?”

“Pay attention, Hessonite, because I am only going to say this once…” Pearl declared. “I was made to fight and to die in the battlefield for my Diamond… it doesn’t matter if I am beautiful or horrendous, I would still behave the same way regardless of how my face looks like… every time someone assumes I am fragile because of my appearance like you just did, it does nothing but harm my pride as a warrior… what do you know about me to judge? You still haven’t seen all I am capable of! Don’t underestimate me because of my beauty!”

“Oh yeah? Alright then! I’ll just kill both of you!” Hessonite declared as she began playing her guitar. “Song of Death would leave me open to attacks, so I’ll go with Dimensional Requiem!”

“Rainbow Supernova!” Pearl declared as she pointed towards Hessonite with both of her hands, massive cracks appearing on them as she fired a large multicolored blast of light, perfectly clashing against Hessonite’s shock waves right in the middle of the two.

Pink Diamond stared as the two attacks clashed, the power of the two moves making the ground shake in between them, before she noticed the cracks on Pearl’s hands were beginning to spread, swiftly cracking both of Pearl’s arms and reaching up to her shoulder.

“This power… those cracks… those are not normal, even for a Pearl…” Pink whispered, before she widened her eyes in realization. “Pearl… you are really planning on giving up your life to defeat her?”

“Ugh!” Pearl groaned in pain, as the cracks began spreading down her chest until they reached her waist, and began spreading towards her legs, the energy blast becoming more and more powerful the further the cracks spread.

“It seems like you are reaching your limit, Pearl!” Hessonite yelled with a smile, before she strung her guitar violently, and a massive shock wave flew around the energy blast and struck Pearl from the sides, the damage making the cracks spread and cover Pearl’s entire face, as the entirety of Pearl’s body had finally cracked completely. Pearl yelled in pain, before she fell to her knees, a few little shards of her body falling off from the cracked parts of her body.

“Pearl!” Pink Diamond yelled in surprise.

“It’s over, Pearl.” Hessonite declared, as Pearl continued looking at the ground, immobile. Hessonite looked up at Pink Diamond as she held her guitar. “You’re next, Pink!”

“I see no reason to fight someone who is about to die.” Pink declared as she stared directly at Hessonite’s forehead. Hessonite gave Pink a confused look, before she saw a small pink ribbon entering her field of vision from above, and realized her gem had just been pierced right through by one of Pearl’s pink ribbons.

“W-what?” Hessonite asked in surprise, as all of the strings in her guitar suddenly broke, and the guitar fell from Hessonite’s hands and shattered to pieces upon hitting the ground. “It’s one of Pearl’s ribbons… when did she attack me?”

“Pearl’s plan was never to finish you off with her Rainbow Supernova. She wanted to force you against the wall until she found an opening.” Pink explained, as she got up from her seat, walked down from her palanquin, approached Pearl, and carefully knelled next to her. “The moment you struck her with that last shock wave, you left yourself open for just a moment. That was when she fired that single ribbon, which broke through every string of your guitar, before piercing right through your gem.”

“After coming this far… I’m going down without even landing a single hit on Pink Diamond…” Hessonite whispered, before she fell to the ground, lading on her back. “I guess… this concert is complete…”

Hessonite’s form slowly turned into light and disappeared, before her gem broke into shards around the ribbon.

“Is it over?” Pearl whispered as she looked up at Pink, realizing the orange color of the sunset above them.

“Yes…” Pink answered, as the wind began blowing, and the several ribbons Pearl had spread around the area began flying through the air. “You’ve won.”

“I’ve spent my entire life training with those ribbons… but this is the first time I ever look at them… and think they are…” Pearl whispered, before she slowly closed her eyes for the last time. “Beautiful.”

The end.

An AU where Pearls were made for fighting

[flytoanotherworld]

Your story with Simon is very good! Do you have an AO3? I wanna make sure I don't miss an update!

I have an AO3, but I haven’t posted that one in there. I made the first chapter planning on it being a one-shot, but I decided to make it a story because people were asking for a sequel and I came up with a few new ideas, so I never got around to actually posting it anywhere else other than Tumblr. Although it is probably a good idea for me to post the chapters in there someday.

Here is the link if you still want to check my stuff out: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jugenmujugenmugokonosurikireka

[flytoanotherworld]

I wasn’t planning on continuing this story, but someone commented saying that they’d like me to do so, so I thought of a few things I could still do with the character. Anyway, here is the sequel.

From Another World

Garnet entered the teacher’s room. Many wouldn’t believe her if she told them, but sometimes the life of a teacher could be as rushed as the life of an interstellar war criminal. She sat down at a table, gently taking off her shades and putting them down as she closed her eyes and breathed for a few seconds, before she suddenly heard the sound of the door opening behind her. She quickly put her shades back on and got back up.

“You’ll have to wait until after school if you want to discuss your grades.” Garnet explained as she turned around, before she saw the last Gem she was expecting to see.

“Don’t worry about it. I believe my grades are high enough.” Zircon declared as she cleaned her monocle, before placing it back over her eye.

“Madam President.” Garnet commented, her serious tone masking her surprise, as Zircon signed for her security guards to wait outside, before they nodded and left the room. “You should be on Homeworld.”

“Indeed I should.” Zircon commented. “Although what I came here to do might change the fate of Homeworld.”

Garnet stared at her in silence for a few seconds, before she continued.

“I’m here to ask for help.” Zircon explained. “The Crystal Gems might be the only ones who can save Homeworld.”

===============================================

“We’re not sure where he came from or how he is doing this, but this human has been terrorizing Homeworld for weeks by now.” Zircon explained as the three entered the security room of Zircon’s palace, and she turned on the videos from several security cameras from around Homeworld, showing a teenager fighting several large Quartz soldiers. “None of the guards we’ve sent were able to stop him. Out of all Gems, you three are the ones who have the most experience dealing with humans, so I figured asking for your help would be the best option.”

“That’s Simon.” Garnet commented.

“Who?” Amethyst asked.

“From Steven’s last birthday, three months ago.” Garnet explained. “Back when Steven broke his arm.”

“I remember it took all night for his arm to get better.” Pearl commented in a worried tone.

“That kid was the one who was fighting him. Steven said his name was Simon. We smashed him with Alexandrite.” Garnet commented.

“How do you remember that? We saw him for, like, a second.” Amethyst commented.

“Why is that kid even here on Homeworld to begin with?” Pearl asked.

“Doesn’t matter.” Garnet declared. “If Simon can match Steven, this means Simon is very dangerous. Many Gems will be in danger if he is not stopped.”

“So, you will be taking the case?” Zircon asked.

“Yes.” Garnet decided, before she turned around and began making her way to the door. “Gems, let’s go.”

Pearl and Amethyst nodded, before they followed Garnet.

===============================================

“So we’re working for Homeworld now?” Amethyst asked as the three walked down the street. “That’s something I never expected.”

“We’re not working for Homeworld, we’re just helping Homeworld out. There is a difference.” Pearl commented. “Plus, that kid broke Steven’s arm. We can’t just let him go around doing stuff like this. What if after he gets tired of Homeworld he decides to go back to Earth? We better deal with this sooner rather than later.”

“Focus, the two of you.” Garnet declared. “We don’t need a reason to help the Gems here. If it’s the right thing to do, then we’ll do it. First we need to find Simon.”

The three suddenly felt the ground shaking as they heard a loud explosion, and turned to see a large robonoid being tossed over a building, before hitting the ground and shattering to a million pieces.

“That was easy.” Amethyst commented. “What’s the next step?”

Garnet swiftly ran towards the source of the noise, the other two chasing right after her.

===============================================

Simon sat on top of the food store with a half eaten hot dog in his hands as he looked down at the several Gems trying to crawl away in pain. Food stores were apparently something very new on Homeworld. He had heard something about Gems not having to eat, yet still doing it because they want to. It was never like that for him, the not having to eat part, that is. It was probably because he was half human. There was one thing he could relate to the Gems, however, because Simon always did whatever he wanted.

“Hey!” He heard, before he turned to see three Gems running towards him.

“Drop the hot dog!” Amethyst ordered as the three summoned their weapons.

“More guards? Great! It was getting boring.” Simon commented as he quickly swallowed the rest of his hot dog in a single bite, before he got up and got a better look at the Gems. “Hey… you’re those three who showed up back when I was fighting that loser!”

“Simon! Why are you here on Homeworld?” Pearl demanded as she pointed her spear at the boy.

“I don’t know, and I don’t really care.” Simon answered, calmly, clearly ignoring Pearl’s threatening tone of voice. “After the fight I ran away from home. I went around stealing some stuff for a while, until I found one of those weird crystal circles on the ground. Got on top of one of them, there was a light, and all of the sudden I was here.”

“So you teleported by accident into a strange alien planet in another galaxy, and the first thing you did was start stealing stuff?” Amethyst asked.

“I’m making the best out of a bad situation.” Simon answered with a sarcastic smile, clearly trying to get on the Gems’ nerves.

“That’s enough!” Garnet declared. “Your days of terrorizing Homeworld are over! The Crystal Gems are here to stop you, so surrender or be destroyed!”

“Destroyed?” Simon asked, his smiled finally dropping, before he leaped from the top of the store, the strength of his legs crushing the metal beneath him, before he back flipped and landed at the top of a large skyscraper. “You can’t destroy me! I already tried!”

Simon suddenly reached for one of the statues, similar to Earth gargoyles, but instead showing the image of large Corrupted Gems. He tore the large statue out of the building, holding it over his head for a few moments, before tossing it downwards with all of his strength as he tried to hit the Crystal Gems. One of the nearby Quartzes yelled as the statue was about to hit her, before Amethyst got her with her whip and pulled her out of the way just in time, the statue shattering and making large cracks on the ground.

“This is dangerous! This guy is going to shatter someone!” Amethyst complained, as Garnet looked up to stare at Simon, who was laughing in a purposefully over the top manner.

“He’s mocking us!” Garnet declared, before she turned to the others. “We have to stop this before it gets any worse! Pearl, you go after Simon! Amethyst and I will clean the area! It’s too dangerous to fight him with civilians nearby!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Amethyst and Pearl declared in unison, before Pearl leaped, gracefully landing right on top of the skyscraper.

“Stop right there!” Pearl ordered.

“What’s wrong?” Simon asked sarcastically. “Can’t handle a few statues?”

“You’re a fool! Don’t you know Steven cares about you?” Pearl asked as she pointed her spear towards Simon. “What would he think of you now?”

“Well, I think you’re pretty boring.” Simon declared, before he summoned his blades and dashed towards Pearl.

Their blades clashed, Simon stopping Pearl’s spear right in the middle of his two swords, before they pulled back their blades and traded attacks for a few moments. Pearl leaped back and fired an energy blast from her spear, which Simon was quick to dodge by ducking, before dashing towards Pearl and attacking her from below, Pearl blocking both of his blades just at the last second before they could cut right through the stone on her forehead.

“You’re an annoying fighter!” Pearl declared.

“Thanks!” Simon answered with a smile.

Pearl summoned a second spear and attacked Simon several times, who blocked all of Pearl’s strikes with his blades. Simon pulled back his swords, before the blades began glowing with dark green energy, and he leaped before once again aiming for Pearl’s forehead. Pearl blocked just at the last moment, the energy flying from within Simon’s blades in the shape of a large shockwave of energy, as Pearl felt cracks appearing on the ground beneath her.

“Ugh! He’s strong!” Pearl whispered, careful not to let Simon hear her.

“I know!” Simon answered with a smile, managing to hear her anyway.

Simon pulled back his blades and trusted at Pearl, who leaped and back flipped to avoid the strike, gracefully landing a few meters away. She put both of her spears together and charged a large sphere of white energy, before firing it at Simon. The boy tried to block it, but was unable to overpower the energy, as the sphere exploded and sent him flying out of the building. He swiftly dropped one of his blades and shape shifted his hand. He stretched it while making it grown, using it to pull him back to the battlefield as he landed on his feet.

“Skilled shape shifter too, hm?” Pearl commented.

“Shut up!” Simon declared angrily, as he shrunk his hand back to regular size and summoned another blade to replace the one he had just dropped. He ran towards Pearl and angrily trusted with his swords, which Pearl blocked, before he leaped and attacked with both of his blades, which Pearl perfectly blocked. “Ugh! No openings!”

“Thanks!” Pearl declared, before she swiftly disarmed Simon, both of his blades flying away, before she prepared to pin the kid to the ground. Simon swiftly kicked the ground, sending a small pile of dirt flying right into Pearl’s eyes. Pearl dropped her guard for just a second, before she managed to open her eyes just in time to see Simon’s large fist striking her right on the chest, before she fell out of the building, slamming face first on the asphalt right in the middle of the street, both of her spears falling near her before vanishing in a flash of light.

“Pearl!” She heard, before she looked up to see Garnet and Amethyst running towards her.

“He threw dirt in my eyes!” Pearl complained, before she quickly got back up and the two leaped back to the top of the building, and looked around to see Simon had vanished.

“He escaped.” Garnet declared.

“Ugh!” Pearl complained angrily. “That little cheater! I was about to win!”

The three suddenly heard a large sound, and looked up to see a large spaceship flying towards the building. The doors of the spaceship suddenly opened, before several Quartz soldiers jumped out and landed on top of the building, quickly summoning their weapons. The Gems prepared their weapons, before the soldiers suddenly put their weapons down, and a large figure jumped out of the ship, landing right in front of the Gems.

“Emerald!” Garnet declared, which Emerald ignored as she looked around.

“Where is the target?” Emerald demanded.

“You mean Simon?” Amethyst asked. “He just left.”

“So your sheer incompetence allowed him to escape.” Emerald declared, not bothering to look at the Gems as she turned to her Quartzes. “Soldiers, return to the ship.”

“Yes, ma’am!” They all declared, before they all leaped back to the ship.

“I thought Yellow Diamond had disbanded your armies.” Pearl commented.

“President Zircon brought it back, except enlistment is optional this time.” Emerald declared, still not bothering to look at the Gems. “Judging by the state of this battlefield, I’d say she made the right move.”

“Zircon sent you here.” Garnet declared.

“She said we should come and help you, although honestly I think the three of you will just get in my way.” Emerald declared as she analyzed the craters. “By the shape of the marks on the ground, I can see the Pearl was the one to fight him, since they match her weight and the size of her feet. That one was made by a sword, and the Pearl’s weapon is a spear, so I believe it’s safe to assume the target’s weapon is a long curved sword. He surely has enhanced strength, or else the cuts would never be this deep, it is a skilled shape shifter, since a regular sized hand couldn’t make cracks this big. Those marks could have only been done by an energy attack, so it might be safe to assume that he also has some control over energy.”

“You got all of that just by looking at marks on the ground?” Amethyst asked in slight surprise.

“Anyway, you inferior Gems can go crawling back to where you came.” Emerald declared, still not bothering to turn to the Gems. “The real fighters are in this case now.”

The Gems stared at Emerald angrily, before she leaped and flew right through her ship’s doors, which closed behind her before it flew away at full speed. The Gems stared at it for a few moments, before they heard the sound of growling, and turned back to see Garnet staring up angrily at the ship, with both her fists and teeth clenched in rage.

“It seems like some things never change, even in Era-3!” Garnet declared angrily.

===============================================

“His sword skills are sloppy, but he is strong. I’ve been punched by Quartzes before, but none were ever as painful as that kid’s punch.” Pearl explained, as she carefully controlled a Homeworld computer. “He is also underhanded. There is no honor in any of his actions. He just wants to win by any means necessary. He really is a child.”

“A super powered child who is putting an entire planet in danger.” Garnet declared.

“Does this brat have a few screws loose, or something?” Amethyst asked. “And why did Zircon even bother calling us if she was just going to send in Emerald anyway?”

“It seems like she wants all the help she can get. I’ve been checking the records, and Simon has been a menace around Homeworld for a while.” Pearl declared, as she took her hands away from the computer, her eyes changing back to their regular colors. “He’s been making trouble all over the planet. He destroyed a video game store in Sector T, blew up an ice cream shop in Sector C, set fire to a bank in Sector B, the list goes on.”

“He thinks this is a game.” Garnet declared. “Look what he’s been going after. Snacks, video games, money. He doesn’t care about the destruction he is causing, he is just doing it for fun.”

“Ugh! Didn’t this kid’s parents teach him not to do all of this?” Amethyst complained, before they suddenly heard the sound of screaming. The three ran out of the computer store, as they noticed several Gems running away aimlessly through the streets. They turned to the source of the screaming, and noticed it had been coming from a large building, with the word ‘Arcade’ spelled in neon letters right above the door.

“Ugh! I thought we were in the timeline where he attacked the computer store!” Garnet declared, before they all ran towards the arcade. They ran in and kicked the metal door, which flew right into the building, before they prepared their weapons and pointed them at Simon, who had been playing a large arcade machine. “Simon!”

“Will you shut up for a moment? I’m trying to get the highest score!” Simon declared, not bothering to turn to look at the Gems.

“Surrender right now! You cannot beat us!” Garnet declared. “You don’t know the implications of what you’re doing!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just shut up!” Simon declared, not paying attention to the Gems as he continued to play his game, before Amethyst angrily struck the arcade machine with her whip, blowing it up. “Hey! I was playing that!”

“Do you have any idea what those little attacks of yours could cause!” Amethyst declared. “It’s not even been a decade since the war between Earth and Homeworld ended. We don’t need a stupid earthling trying to start a new one!”

“Oh, you think you’re so smart, hm?” Simon asked as he summoned one of his swords. “Okay! Since you ruined my last game, let’s play a new one! It’s called hide and seek!”

Simon tossed his blade at the wall, which directly struck the fuse box. The lights suddenly began flickering, taking the Crystal Gems’ attention away from Simon for just a moment, before the lights suddenly blew up, and the room went dark, with the only source of light being the screens from the arcade games. The Gems looked around, and realized Simon had vanished.

“He’s trying to get away!” Garnet declared, before she turned to the others. “Let’s split up and find him!”

They nodded, before they each jumped and ran in different directions. Amethyst ran through the darkness with her whip in hands, trying to pay attention to every sound. She heard a single footstep coming from behind her, and quickly turned around and attacked with a spin dash, which Simon avoided right at the last second. She swiftly attacked with several other dashes, spinning around Simon, who avoided every strike.

“Were you even trying to hit me with those?” Simon asked. “They were slow as all hell.”

“Oh, I’ll show you hell.”Amethyst declared, before she pulled her whip, and Simon fell to the ground. He looked down to see the whip was tied around his leg, which Simon hadn’t noticed her doing due to how dark it was.

“Clever girl, hm?” Simon commented.

“Quit mocking us!” Amethyst declared, before she cracked her whip, and a stream of purple fire flew towards Simon, who swiftly summoned his blade and sliced the whip around his leg, jumping away just in time to dodge the purple explosion, jumping into the darkness as he vanished from Amethyst’s sight.

“Almost got me.” Simon commented, as Amethyst began looking around. “If only you had been just a little bit faster.”

Amethyst searched for a few more seconds, before she heard a footstep and attacked with her whip, directly striking an arcade machine and making the screen explode with sparks, before Simon struck her on the back with his blade. She turned around and attacked with her whips, but Simon was already gone.

“You little cheater!” Amethyst complained as she continued looking around. “You stabbed me in the back!”

“If it works, then it works.” Simon declared from the darkness as Amethyst continued to search for him. Amethyst suddenly turned around and threw a kick, striking Simon right on the face just as the boy was about to slash her. Simon swiftly recovered and punched Amethyst in the face. Amethyst used her whip to grab one of the nearby arcade machines, before pulling it and slamming it against Simon, sparks flying as the machine exploded on him. Simon jumped from beneath the destroyed machine and punched Amethyst right on the face, using his thumb to poke one of her eyes, before sending her flying onto another arcade machine.

“Ugh!” Amethyst struggled as she covered her eye with one of her hands. “That one was just mean!”

“Hehe!” Simon laughed for a moment.

Amethyst suddenly shape shifted into the Purple Puma and dashed towards Simon, just as Simon shape shifted his fist into growing, and the two traded punches, a large shockwave making the ground shake and the arcade machines bounce as their fists struck each other. They pulled back their hands in pain, before swiftly recovering as Simon dashed and tried to punch Amethyst, Amethyst shape shifting back to her regular form just at the last second, making Simon miss his punch, as the weight of his massive fist made him lose his balance and fall to the ground.

“I like the way you fight!” Simon commented as he shape shifted his fist back into regular size. “You use your power way better than the dumb skinny one from before!”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Amethyst declared angrily, as she struck Simon with her whip, tying it around his waist, before lifting Simon upwards and slamming him against the ground, making large cracks on the metal floor. “What do you think of that one, hm?”

“I’m gonna be honest…” Simon commented as he got back to his feet, a small stream of blood coming out from his forehead. “You’re kind of pissing me off!”

“That’s what you think!” Amethyst declared angrily.

“What does that even mean?” Simon asked.

“I don’t fucking know!” Amethyst declared angrily, before the two dashed and punched each other in the face, the impact of their fists sending them flying to different sides of the room, Amethyst slamming onto several arcade machines, while Simon broke through the wall and flew to the outside of the room.

“Amethyst!’ She heard, as she got back up to see Garnet and Pearl running towards her.

“What happened?” Pearl asked.

“Ugh!” Amethyst groaned angrily, before she ran through the hole that Simon had made on the wall, looking around the street as she noticed Simon had vanished. “He got away again!”

===============================================

“Ugh!” Amethyst complained as they walked down the street. “It’s been a while since I’ve been beaten up so badly. I didn’t miss it.”

“Where is Simon going now?” Pearl asked Garnet.

“It’s hard to say.” Garnet explained. “Simon’s future is chaotic. I feel like that kid is capable of anything.”

“Freeze!” They heard, before they turned around to see Emerald, alongside several Quartz soldiers pointing large crossbows at them.

“What do you want?” Pearl asked in annoyance.

“I want the kid with the two swords. Where did he go?” Emerald demanded as she approached the three.

“We don’t know.” Garnet declared. “We almost caught him, but he escaped.”

“You better not be lying to me, fusion.” Emerald declared. “If I find out you’re protecting that brat, I’ll make sure to put you in the most uncomfortable bubble I can create.”

“You will try!” Garnet declared as she summoned her gauntlets, small sparks of electricity coming out of her fists.

The two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, while Pearl and Amethyst took a few steps back.

“You haven’t changed at all since the dawn of Era-3, have you?” Emerald asked sarcastically. “Still the same insolent bastard you’ve always been!”

“It takes one to know one!” Garnet declared with clear disgust in her voice.

“Ma’am!” One of the Quartz soldiers yelled as she ran into the scene. “We just got a distress signal from the palace! Our target has just broken in and he’s beginning to rampage! President Zircon could be in serious danger!”

Emerald stared at Garnet for a few more moments, before turning to her soldiers.

“Send all available units and surround the entire place. I want the President out of there and the target stuck in there. I’ll take this into my own hands this time.” Emerald declared, before she turned back to Garnet, staring at her for another moment, before running towards the castle alongside her soldiers.

“They don’t stand a chance against Simon!” Garnet complained.

“We have to stop him!” Pearl declared. “Remember what happened last time someone from Earth shattered a Homeworld leader? If we let Simon do this now, all of those years will have been for nothing!”

“We’ll have to crush that brat!” Amethyst declared.

“No!” Garnet ordered, as she cracked her knuckles. “The two of you go after the President, make sure she is safe! I’ll handle Simon!”

===============================================

“Wake up, Madam President!” Simon yelled as he punched the door leading to Zircon’s room, the metal doors falling to the ground before he shrunk his fist back to regular size. He put his hands in his pockets and walked into the dark room, looking around for a few seconds. “Where are you?”

“Gone!” Emerald declared from the darkness and jumped towards Simon. She threw a punch, which Simon avoided, before grabbing Emerald’s arm and using it to flip her entire body to the ground. Before Emerald could get back up, Simon kicked her, sending her flying onto the wall. Emerald groaned in pain, before she leaped back up, just in time to avoid the two blades Simon tossed at her.

“Look, if it isn’t my dear friend Emerald!” Simon commented mockingly. “Still trying to come up with a way to capture me?”

Emerald dashed towards Simon, who swiftly grew his fist and struck her directly, sending her flying right through the window, Emerald holding to the edge just at the last second, before she looked down to see the massive drop from the top of the palace. She tried to climb back into the room, when Simon suddenly stepped on the hand she was using to hold onto the window.

“Wow! Your hair looks even worse from this position!” Simon mocked.

“You’re scum!” Emerald declared. “You humans are the scum of the universe!”

“Defiant until your last breath, hm?” Simon commented.

“You’re one to talk.” Simon heard, before he turned to see Garnet walking into the room, both of her gauntlets already prepared.

“Oh, look! It’s the big one!” Simon declared, taking a few steps towards Garnet, completely forgetting about Emerald. “What are you gonna do next? Tell me that I can still change my ways?”

“That sounds like Steven’s style.” Garnet commented. “Unfortunately for you, this isn’t about Steven anymore.”

“Alright … then it’s my turn!” Simon declared before he dashed towards Garnet. He grew his fist and threw a punch, which Garnet leaped over, landing right behind Simon and throwing a punch, sending him flying to the other side of the room. Simon got back to his feet, swiftly spitting blood, before shrinking his fist and summoning two swords.

“You have no idea how many people you’ve hurt.” Garnet declared. “There are innocent people out there. It isn’t all just about you.”

“Innocent?” Simon asked, sounding slightly confused, before he dashed and attacked Garnet with his blades, which she blocked with both her gauntlets. “Nobody is innocent. If you think someone is, this just means you do not know them well enough.”

Garnet growled angrily, before she kicked Simon’s blades away, both of them getting stuck in the ceiling, before she swiftly punched Simon several times. She struck Simon with a barrage of punches, before picking him up and pinning him to the wall, where she punched him several times on his face. She pulled back her arm and prepared to throw another punch, before Simon suddenly kicked her in the face, sending her shades flying to the other side of the room.

The strike made Garnet loose her grip for just a moment, allowing Simon to summon his blades and strike her with two slashing attacks, forming the shape of an X right on her chest. Garnet took a few steps back as she groaned in pain, before Simon dashed and struck her several times with a barrage of slashes, several scratch marks appearing all over Garnet’s body.

Garnet blocked his blades with one hand and punched with the other, which Simon avoided before trying to attack. Garnet suddenly charged her hands with electricity and fired it at Simon, the boy screaming in pain as the lighting strike sent him flying onto another wall, smoke coming out of his body, as some pieces of his clothing were burnt off. He groaned in pain for a few moments, before trying to jump back up, only for Garnet to punch him on the face, instantly sending him back to the ground.

Simon looked up to see Garnet towering over him, as she pulled back her arm and prepared a punch. Simon covered his face in preparation, before he heard a loud slamming sound, and opened his eyes to see Garnet had punched the ground right next to his head. Garnet pulled back her fist and stared him down for a few moments, before beginning to walk away.

“Hey! I’m not done with you!” Simon yelled angrily as he tried to get back up, only for his legs to give in and him to fall back to the ground.

“Yes, you are.” Garnet declared, stopping right before making her way out of the room. “You are too hurt to run away now, so the soldiers can come in and take you. Emerald can take all of the credit if she wants, I don’t have anything to prove. I am not giving you any more power over us. You’re not even worth my time.”

Simon stared at Garnet angrily for a few moments, before he yelled furiously, and large green shockwaves flew through the room, sending Garnet flying onto a wall as the entire palace seemed to shake.

“What?” Garnet asked in surprise, as she looked up to see Simon standing over her with his furious eyes glowing in green.

“I’m gonna kill you!” Simon declared furiously as he summoned his blade, which seemed to be burning with an aura of green fire made of pure energy.

Simon suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, as both his eyes and his sword stopped glowing, and he fell to the ground unconscious, Emerald standing right behind him with her fist in a punching position.

“You heard her. You’re not worth it.” Emerald declared. She looked at Garnet on the ground for a few moments in silence, before she extended her hand, which Garnet took before Emerald pulled her back to her feet.

“Thank you.” Garnet thanked.

“Yeah…” Emerald nodded for a few seconds, before saying. “Thank you too.”

===============================================

“Now, using my authority as President of Homeworld, and in the honor of the bravery of those two warriors, I now present both Garnet and Emerald with those medals of honor, and grant both the Crystal Gems and the Homeworld Military the official title of Heroes of Homeworld.” Zircon declared, before the crowd cheered as two Quartzes approached Garnet and Emerald, placing the golden medals around their necks.

“Do you think we’ll ever have to fight Simon again?” Amethyst asked as they stood next to Garnet and clapped while Emerald made her way to the lectern to make her speech.

“I hope not.” Pearl commented. “Emerald threw him in a max security prison. He couldn’t possibly come back, could he?”

“We’ll just have to stay alert.” Garnet declared. “Even in Era-3, there are still a lot of things to watch out for.”

The others nodded, before Emerald walked away from the lectern, and Garnet calmly took her place as she began her own speech.

===============================================

“Alright, big guy, we’re here!” One of the two large Quartzes declared as they tossed Simon into his cell, quickly activating the yellow force field before Simon could get back up. “I hope you regret what you’ve done! You hurt a lot of innocent Gems with those little stunts of yours!”

“Oh, shut up!” Simon complained. “I’ve got a crazy headache!”

“Don’t worry about it! The cell is going to be very quiet!” The other Quartz declared. “You better get used to it! You won’t be coming out any time soon!”

The two Quartzes walked away from the cell and went around the corner, before Simon got back to his feet and approached the force field.

“They think they’ve seen the last of me?” Simon whispered as he touched the force field, his finger going right through with nothing but a few yellow marks, which vanished as soon as he pulled it back, before he smirked. “My story is just beginning!”

To be continued.

While on his travels across the country, Steven discovers he’s not the only magical kid out there.

[flytoanotherworld]

Chapter 4, coming up: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30128592/chapters/75901118

It took me a week to write it, but I really liked the way this one turned out.

An AU where the show is a sports anime

[flytoanotherworld]

Trigger warning: Tragedy.

My name is Lucy

My name is Lucy. I am a star. You might have seen me before. I am always up in the sky during the night. From up here I can see the sea, the beaches, and the mountains. I can see the animals sleeping and the clouds moving, I can see the shining moon illuminating the dark silence of the forests, and the bright light of the cities. Above all things, however, my favorite thing to watch over are the humans.

“Lidia! Wait!” The boy yelled as he ran to catch up to the old woman, who was just leaving a small car wash, just as the sun was setting and the stars were starting to appear.

“Oh, hey Steven.” The woman greeted as she turned around.

“I almost missed you, hm?” Steven commented with a smile, before he reached for his pocket and handed her a small piece of paper, which she unfolded, and a smiled suddenly appeared on her face as she saw a drawing of herself, Steven, and Steven’s father, all hugging. “Today is the five year anniversary from when you and my dad first meet, so I thought I’d give you something. My art style isn’t really that good, but I tried my best.”

“Oh, Steven, it’s perfect.” Lidia declared, before she got down and hugged the boy, who hesitated for a few seconds, before hugging her back.

“I know you’re not really my mom, but…” Steven whispered. “I thought you deserved something meaningful.”

Sometimes I wish I could spend more time watching over the earth. Just as everything else, stars need their time to rest, and whenever the sun arrives in the morning, we all have to go and sleep.

This is one thing I don’t tell everybody, but I haven’t always been a star. It all began the day after the five year anniversary from when my parents first meet. That day, the sun had risen like any other, but I didn’t have to go sleep yet. I was in a very safe place, where I could sit down and relax all day. I couldn’t see much while I was in there, but I could hear everything.

“Steven!” I heard my mother calling. “We have a surprise for you.”

“Really? It isn’t even my birthday.” I heard the voice of my brother.

“You’re going to get a little brother.” My mom revealed.

“Wow!” My brother gasped in amazement.

“The doctor said she’s been pregnant for a few weeks.” My father explained.

“I can’t wait to meet my little brother!” I heard, before I felt my brother hugging me. He was not literally hugging me, technically he was hugging our mother, but I could still feel the warm around me.

And so the months went by. I began growing more and more with each day, as I learned how to move and how to kick, and my mother made sure that I had everything I needed to survive.

“How about John if he’s a boy?” My father asked. “Or maybe Paul or something like that?”

“How about George?” My mother asked. “If it’s a girl we can call her something like Alice, Maria, or maybe…”

“Lucy.” The two declared in unison.

More months went by after that, and I continued growing, until I had grown too much to continue hiding. It was time for me to show myself to the world.

“Everybody, get in, quick!” My brother declared as I felt him carefully placing my mother on the back of our dad’s van. “Dad, what are you waiting for? Go!”

“I’m trying!” My father declared, as I heard the sound of the van’s engine struggling to turn itself on, before it finally worked and the vehicle began moving. “I really have to get that fixed.”

“We’ll talk about it later!” My brother yelled. “I think she just fainted!”

“What?” Dad yelled.

It was a very noisy night, there was a lot of yelling, but by the end of the night, the noise they all heard was not yelling, but the noise of my cries echoing through the hospital room. I had finally learned how to breathe.

“It’s a girl!” The doctor declared.

I spent my first night at the hospital. They had to make sure I was healthy before I could go home. That was when I got to see my father and my brother for the first time.

“Lucy… my Lucy…” My dad whispered as he held me in his arms.

“She is so beautiful…” My brother whispered as he gently gave me his hands, and I carefully grabbed to his finger.

Another one of my favorite days and when I was finally allowed to go back home.

“I bet you’re going to love the place, Lucy.” My brother commented as he gently held me in his arms as the three of them entered our house. I smiled as my brother gently put me in my crib, while our parents went back to pick some baggage in the van. “I can’t wait until you grow up. It’s going to be so much fun to have a little sister here with me. I can introduce you to the Gems and Connie, and we can go to Funland together, or I can take you to the Big Donut, I bet you’ll love it there. I want you to know that no matter what comes our way, I’ll always be here to protect you. I promise.”

It took a while before I was able to sleep the entire night. My parents would take turns taking care of me if I ever woke up. They were always so kind to me, no matter how late it was. They years passed by and I grew up, I learned how to crawl, I said my first word, I even took my first step all by myself. I love my family. I wished we could all stay together forever.

But it was not meant to be.

“Turn the van on!” Steven yelled as he carried me into the vehicle, as I cried and struggled with pain in his arms. “Turn it one already!”

“I’m trying!” My father answered as he tried to turn on the engine, the van not responding.

“We don’t have time for this!” Steven yelled, before he ran out of the van, still holding me in his arms. “Lion! Come here!”

I couldn’t hear what the doctor had said that night, it was hurting so much. I remember I heard my parents crying right outside the hospital room in the middle of the night. They didn’t want me to hear it, but I heard it anyway. I love my parents. I love my brother. I love my home. I love my family. I didn’t want to go. I fought as hard as I could to stay down there. I did everything I could… but I had to go.

My name is Lucy. I am a star. You might have seen me before. I am always up in the sky during the night.

“I tried everything… my healing powers… my tears… mom’s fountain… I even asked all of the Gems if they knew what to do…” Steven whispered as the three exited the old van and made their way into their house in the middle of the night. “Nothing worked…”

“You couldn’t have stopped what happened, Steven… none of us could…” My mother whispered, before she hugged my brother. My father quickly stopped unlocking the door and joined in, tears coming from their eyes as they hugged in silence, in front of a beach house at night. “I’d give anything to have her back… even if just for a second… but we’ll have to live on…”

She was right. I know I left behind a lot of great memories, and also a lot of pain, but it’s the job of those down there to live on, in the name of the stars up here. I wish I could go back down there and be with my family again, but I will always be watching over them from up here. When the nights come, I appear in the sky, and when I see my family, I shine even brighter. My family sometimes looks up into the sky, and in those moments, they know I can see them, and I know they can see me too.

The end.

Greg found new love few years after Rose’s death and now Steven have human baby sister. She is ike 5 or 6 at the end of SUF.

[flytoanotherworld]

I'd be fine with more general prompts, as long as it doesn't get in the way of the SU prompts (since that's kind of the point of the blog).

Hey how would you guys feel if I started reblogging prompt lists here? (not related to SU specifically) (those send me a number or emoji list things) Or should I just stick to what I've got now?

[flytoanotherworld]

"You're right, Jasper! I have been holding back! ... oh fuck..."

AU where everything is the same except the F Bomb is dropped once. Who drops it and when?

[flytoanotherworld]

Just released chapter 3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30128592/chapters/75229335

Also, thanks to everyone who commented on the previous chapter. That really motivated me to keep the story going.

An AU where the show is a sports anime

[flytoanotherworld]

Best of Both Worlds

“Good evening.” Steven greeted as He approached the cashier of the supermarket. The boy smiled before he placed a bag of chips on the counter. Steven reached for his pocket and pulled out a dollar bill and a few coins, before placing it next to the bag. The cashier took the money and counted it for a few seconds, before placing it back and crossing her arms. Steven stared at her in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re missing two cents.” She answered, before Steven’s expression changed into one of surprise. He quickly reached for his other pocket and searched for a few moments, only to find out it was empty. This was certainly not the best moment to forget his wallet back at the motel.

“Uh… would it be too bad if I just took it and then paid you back later? I forgot my wallet.” Steven asked with an awkward smile as he scratched the back of the head. The cashier simply stared at the kid for a few seconds with a serious expression. “They’re just two cents! Come on!”

“Either buy something or leave.” The cashier ordered, before Steven groaned in annoyance, took his money back, and walked away, heading towards the exit of the store.

===============================================

Steven sighed as he walked up the stairs leading to the second floor of the small motel. That certainly wasn’t how he wanted to have started the day, but he could still fix it. He pulled his key out of his pocket and placed it in the keyhole, before turning it, only to hear a small cracking sound, and look down to see the key had broken inside the keyhole.

“Oh! Come on!” Steven complained, as he looked around for a few seconds. He looked down at the doorknob and thought for a few seconds. He grabbed it and closed his eyes, breathing slowly, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, like his therapist had taught him. He didn’t need too much strength. Just 1% should be enough. He slowly opened his eyes to see his skin was glowing in a very faint shade of pink, before he pushed and broke the lock leading to his room, opening the door before the pink glow quickly vanished. “Yeah, I can control it.”

Steven entered his room and turned on the lights, before gently getting on his bed. He heard a small ringtone, and turned to see his phone on a drawer right next to the bed, alongside his wallet. Steven reached and picked up the phone, before pressing the green icon on the touch screen.

“Hey, Connie.” Steven answered.

“Good morning, Steven.” Connie greeted from the phone. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” Steven smiled. Part of him couldn’t believe he was 17 years old already.

“So, how is everything?” Connie asked.

“Fine. I’ve been starting to control my powers again.” Steven answered. “I’ve been using that breathing exercise. As long as I can keep calm, I can keep it under control.”

“Really?” Connie asked. “How much percent?”

“5%. Maybe 10% if I really need it.” Steven explained. “I still don’t want to get even close to 100%. I’m always scared that if I try, then… it… might happen again.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re in times of peace now. I doubt you’ll ever have to go past 5% for anything.” Connie explained.

“True.” Steven smiled. “So, how is everything going over there?”

“We have almost everything ready. We’ll be over there around 08:00 PM with the cake and all of the balloons.” Connie explained. “The Gems can’t wait to see you again. It’s been almost a month since you last visited. Speaking of visiting, how are things over there in Desert Town?”

“It’s a nice place for the most part.” Steven explained. “There isn’t a lot to do, but they do have an amusement park. I might go check it out while you guys get everything ready.”

“Alright. See you at the party.” Connie declared. “Bye.”

“Bye.” Steven smiled before he turned off the phone. He calmly got up from the bed, before reaching for his wallet and putting it in his pocket alongside his phone. “Alright, let’s check out that amusement park.”

===============================================

The place was fairly large, but not excessively. It was about as big as Funland from the good old Beach City, which was what Steven had expected from a small town like this, although some of the rides could certainly use a new paint job. Steven smiled as he approached one of the rides, a large ferries wheel, before the man running the ride got up and blocked his way. Steven look at him with a confused look for a few seconds, before he pointed to a small height sign near the entrance.

“What? I’m still too short to ride?” Steven asked in annoyance.

“Learn how to read kid.” The man complained, before Steven once again turned to the sign, realizing what was actually written on it. “You can’t ride if you’re taller than this? What kind of rule is that?”

“It’s a rule, so you better follow it.” The man declared menacingly, before he closed a small gate leading to the ferries wheel, locking it with a padlock. He looked away from Steven, and Steven turned to the same direction, to see a teenager approaching the two. He was about as tall as Steven, but was way skinnier. He wore a white jacket and had black curly hair.

“Hey, is that kid trying to light the roller coaster on fire?” The boy asked. The man stared at him for a few seconds, before he turned to the roller coaster to see a boy holding two large torches. The man screamed in surprise, before he ran towards the roller coaster.

“I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same, hm?” Steven commented, before he turned to the boy. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” The boy commented as he crossed his arms. “So, what do you say we take a look at the view from the top of that ferries wheel?”

“It’s locked.” Steven commented, before the boy smiled and reached for the padlock. The boy flicked his finger, and the padlock flew away in pieces. Steven’s eyes widened as the boy smiled, before opening the gate.

“Try to keep up, or else I’ll leave you in the dust.” The boy declared as he prepared to run towards the wheel, before several security guards suddenly jumped in front of him. “Oh, look, if it isn’t the fun police.”

“Simon!” One of the guards yelled. “You’re banned from the park! Why are you here?”

“I go wherever I want, old man. What are you gonna do about that?” Simon answered in a mocking tone, before the security guards suddenly jumped towards him. The guards pulled out batons and tried to strike Simon, before Simon swiftly reached for his navel. Steven saw a pink glow coming from under Simon’s shirt, before Simon blocked the batons with a long pink sword. “Wrong answer, man!’

Simon’s fist suddenly began glowing, before it grew in size and Simon struck the guards with a strong punch, sending them to the ground. Simon leaped and back flipped through the air, before landing right on top of one of the ferries wheel’s cars, shape shifting his arm back to regular size before calmly laying on top of the car with his legs crossed.

“Simon! Get down from there!” The security guard yelled.

“I can’t hear you. Why don’t you climb over here and tell me again?” Simon asked, and he once again jumped, and swiftly began climbing the ferries wheel, jumping from car to car until he reached the top. Simon stood on top of the highest car and looked down. He could see almost the entire town from there, but what caught his attention the most was the sight of a boy leaping from the ground all the way up to the top of the wheel, before floating down and landing right in front of him. “What the-”

“You…” Steven whispered with stars in his eyes as he approached Simon. “You’re a Gem!”

“I’m a what?” Simon asked, before Steven reached for his shirt and pulled it up. Simon’s eyes widened as he saw the pink stone on Steven’s navel, and pulled up his own shirt to reveal a nearly identical stone on his own navel. “You’re… just like me!”

The two stared at each other with stars in their eyes, before they heard screams coming from below, and looked down to see the security guards yelling angrily at Simon.

“Let’s get out of here, and then we talk!” Simon declared, before Steven nodded and suddenly grabbed Simon in his arms, before he leaped far above the clouds, and the two slowly floated away from the amusement park. “Wow! I could never do that!”

===============================================

“So, you’re telling me I’m an alien?” Simon asked.

“Part alien. The other half is human.” Steven explained as the two walked through the streets.

“Cool!” Simon declared with a smile. “My name is Simon, by the way. Simon Underwood.”

“Steven. Steven Universe.” Steven answered. “I’ve never met another hybrid before. How old are you?”

“16 as of today.” Simon declared proudly. “You’re looking at the birthday boy.”

“Really? What a coincidence.” Steven commented. “It’s my birthday as well. 17 years old.”

“You’re older than me?” Simon asked, half jokingly. “Now that’s a surprise.”

“Hey, what is that supposed to mean?” Steven asked, also half jokingly before the two laughed for a moment. Simon suddenly stopped walking. Steven stared at his for just a moment, before realizing Simon was looking directly at a small, old, and ran down house right next to them.

“Here we are. My place.” Simon declared with a smile.

“You live here?” Steven asked. “This place looks like it’s been abandoned for years.”

“Just wait until you get a look inside.” Simon declared as he made his way towards the house. Steven followed him and made his way towards the front door, before Simon stopped him. “Not there, over here.”

Simon leaped and climbed to the ceiling of the house, before opening a window leading to the second floor. Steven nodded and leaped, floating gently to the window before following Simon into his room.

“Why couldn’t we use the fron-”

Simon suddenly put his hand on Steven’s mouth and shushed him, as Steven heard the sound of footsteps.

“Simon, you brat! I know you’re in there!” Steven heard the voice of an old man yelling, as he noticed the doorknob moving, and heard the sound of violent knocking on the door. “Just wait until I get my hands on you! You can’t hide in there forever!”

Steven heard the sound of glass breaking, before once again hearing the sound of footsteps, this time leading away from the room. Simon waited a few more seconds, before taking his hand off Steven’s mouth.

“Who was that?” Steven asked.

“My old man.” Simon answered as he calmly reach for a bag of chips on the floor, before he sat on an old bed, which seemed like it was about to fall apart at any moment. “He’s probably going to blame me for that bottle he just broke. I wonder if this time it was vodka or whiskey.”

“You come from a rough family, hm?” Steven commented. “What was your mom like?”

“I never met her. I just saw some pictures of her.” Simon explained as he placed a few chips on his mouth. “Tall, muscular, pink hair. Her name was Rose, apparently. I don’t know anything else past that.”

Steven nodded as Simon swallowed the chips.

“How about you?” Simon asked. “What is your family like?”

“I haven’t met my mom either.” Steven explained. “But I also have my dad, I have a girlfriend, there is also Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, Lapis, and-”

“You were raised by Gems?” Simon asked in slight surprise.

“Yeah. I lived with both Gems and humans.” Steven explained calmly.

“Um…” Simon whispered, before he signed for Steven to continue.

===============================================

Steven made his way back to the motel as the sun began setting. He still had about half an hour before the Crystal Gems arrived and he couldn’t wait to tell them about Simon. The truth is, Steven was very excited. He had never met anyone like him before, and he couldn’t wait to hang out with Simon again the next day.

Steven passed by that same super market he had been to earlier that day, and noticed the glass door had both been shattered, and there was police tape everywhere. Had they been robbed? Steven did not have time to pay too much attention to it, however, as he heard the loud sound of an explosion, and noticed a police car flying from the top of a building. Steven leaped and caught the car, his skin glowing in pink as he held the car with his hands and gently floated down.

“Are you okay?” Steven asked as he gently placed the police car on the street, and two police officers tried to get out, only to fall to the ground.

“He’s… strong…” One of the officers whispered, before fainting.

Steven heard another explosion, and looked up to see smoke coming out from just a few city blocks away. Steven summoned his shield and leaped, landing right at the top of a building as he began running, leaping from building to building as he made his way to the source of the explosion. He couldn’t see a thing. It was all filled with smoke. He heard the sound of gunshots, before several police officers were sent flying.

Steven leaped from the top of the building, covering his nose and mouth with his hand to protect it from the smoke. He walked through the scene, barely able to see what was in front of him as he continued to hear screams of pain. Could this be a Corrupted Gem? Steven had fought some leftovers during his journey. He had to bubble it and send it to the temple, the Crystal Gems knew what to do with it.

Steven made his way through the smoke and the fire, as he began making out a humanoid figure in the distance. The details became more and more visible as Steven approached it, and the boy finally managed to make his way out of the large cloud of smoke, before his eyes widened in surprise.

“How is that for an entrance, hm?” Simon asked as he punched a police officer away with his giant fist, before shape shifting it back to regular size and using his sword to slice an armored car right open, hundreds of dollar bills flying through the air, as Simon once again grew his hands and began grabbing them as they fell. “Now that’s what I call an allowance!”

“Simon?” Steven asked, as Simon turned to look at him.

“Steven! Did you come to help?” Simon asked with a smile. “Start grabbing the money before more cops arrive!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Steven asked in surprise. “This money isn’t yours! People are getting hurt because of this!”

“Who cares?” Simon asked with a smile as he shape shifted his hands back to normal size. “I’m the strongest one around! If I’m not worthy of having this, who else is?”

“This isn’t even how- ugh!” Steven complained in annoyance. “Just stop already, before you hurt anyone else!”

“Or else what?” Simon yelled angrily.

“Or else I’m going to stop you right now!” Steven yelled in response.

“What? You don’t want to be my bro anymore?” Simon asked mockingly. “You seemed to be totally fine with breaking the rules back when we invaded the ferries wheel.”

“This is going too far!” Steven declared. “This is your last warning! Stop or I will stop you!”

“Stop me? Oh please!” Simon declared. “I’m ten times more powerful than you will ever be!”

“This isn’t about power! Just because you have power, this doesn’t mean you can use it however you want!” Steven yelled angrily. “Did nobody ever teach you that?”

“Nobody ever taught me anything! And I am not about to let you be the first!” Simon yelled furiously, before he dashed towards Steven and attacked with his sword, which Steven blocked with his shield. The two stared at each other for a few moments, before Simon knocked the shield out of Steven’s hands and attack once again with the blade, which Steven avoided before his body began glowing.

Steven could tell from when Simon hit his shield, 1% would not be enough.

“5%!” Steven whispered before he dashed towards Simon. Steven created a bubble around his fist and threw a punch, just as Simon enlarged his fist and threw a punch, the strike of their fists creating a large shockwave that made nearby cars bounce. Simon summoned a blade on his other hand and tried to slash Steven, which Steven quickly countered by creating a bubble around his body. The bubble blocked the blade, before Simon struck it with his large fist, sending the bubble rolling away before it struck a building. “Simon! I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Oh, but I want to hurt you, Steven!” Simon declared as he shrunk his hand back to normal size, before dashing towards Steven at incredible speeds with his blade, Steven creating a shield to block it just at the last second. “Pain is the only way anyone can ever learn anything in this world!”

“You’re wrong!” Steven declared as he knocked Simon’s sword away and struck him in the face with the shield, before Simon recovered and struck Steven in the face with a punch. Steven threw a punch, which Simon swiftly dodged before summoning his sword and trying to stab Steven in the face, which Steven avoided by leaping away just at the last second. “Simon! That is enough! If this keeps going, we’re going to destroy the city!”

“Oh, why don’t you go cry to your daddy?” Simon asked mocking, before he stabbed the ground with his sword. The asphalt under Steven feet suddenly exploded, sending the boy flying towards a building, before Steven suddenly stopped in midair and began floating down. Simon suddenly leaped and struck Steven with a punch, sending Steven crashing down onto the asphalt, creating a large crater. “This is how I learned everything! If I want something, I take it! If I want someone dead, I kill them! I won’t let anyone get in my way ever again!”

Simon grabbed Steven and held him up by the neck, before he once again enlarged his fist and struck Steven right in the face. Steven heard the sound of his bones cracking, before he was sent flying through the air, breaking right through a nearby building, crashing through several walls before coming out on the other side and landing right on the asphalt.

“Ugh…” Steven whispered as he breathed heavily in pain, and felt his bones coming back together, before getting back up. Steven leaped and floated above the building, landing right back on the battlefield with his shield ready, only to realize Simon was nowhere to be seen. Steven heard the sound of sirens in the distance, before he swiftly leaped over another building and began running away from the scene. “Okay… 5% might still not be enough!”

===============================================

“Steven, where are you?” Connie asked on the phone. “We’re all here.”

“It’s a long story. I don’t have time to explain.” Steven declared as he ran as fast as he could through the streets. “Just wait me there, okay? There is something I’ll have to solve, but I’ll be there as soon as I can!”

“Steven, what is going on?” Connie asked.

“I’ll be there, I swear!” Steven declared as he hung up his phone, before he turned around a corner and found himself face to face with Simon’s house. Steven dashed as fast as he could and kicked the door, which was already half opened, and leaped inside, to see Simon holding an old man by the neck while holding his sword on the other hand. “Let him go, Simon!”

“Why?” Simon asked angrily, as he shook his father up in the air, Steven being able to hear the old man grasping for air. “This jerk has done nothing in my entire life except for beating me, insulting me, and getting drunk all the time! Why do you think he deserves to live?”

“That is not for you to decide!” Steven declared.

“Then who should decide, hm?” Simon asked as he tossed the old man to the ground. “You?”

“No!” Steven declared. “Not me, nor anybody! Nobody has the right to decide who lives and who dies, regardless of their power!”

“Oh yeah? Then I want to see you stop this!” Simon declared as he swung his sword towards his father on the ground, before Steven tossed his shield, knocking the blade out of Simon’s hands.

“10%!” Steven yelled as his skin began glowing, before he dashed towards Simon and threw a punch, sending Simon flying through the wooden wall. Steven turned to the old man, who looked back up at him in fear. “Are you okay?”

“What the hell is going on here?” Simon’s father asked.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Steven declared, before he leaped after Simon, who was just getting back up from the last hit. “Simon-”

“Let me guess, next you’re going to say that I don’t have to do this, and that you just want to help me, or some other stupidity like that?” Simon asked angrily. “Just skip to the part where we punch each other!”

Simon summoned several blades and tossed them at Steven, which Steven swiftly dodged before dashing towards Simon. Steven tossed a shield, which Simon deflected, before Steven punched him square in the face, sending Simon flying, before he landed on the other side of the street.

“Congrats, Steven…” Simon breathed as he got back up, and cleaned a small stream of blood coming out of his forehead. “It’s been a while since anyone has hurt me like this!”

“Stop acting like this is some sort of game!” Steven ordered angrily. “You are risking people’s lives!”

“Oh yeah? Then let’s see how long it takes for me to end your life!” Simon declared as he dashed towards Steven. He struck Steven right in the face, before Steven recovered and grabbed Simon by the neck, before tossing him to the ground. Simon swiftly recovered and kicked Steven right in the chest, before jumping back to his feet and striking Steven with a barrage of punches, as blood began coming out of Steven’s forehead. Simon made his fist grow and struck Steven, sending the boy flying.

“Ugh!” Steven whispered as the cut in his forehead began healing. He looked up just in time to jump away from Simon’s sword, Simon holding one sword in each hand as he swung them both towards Steven. Steven created a bubble around his fist and threw a punch, clashing against Simon’s blades, and creating a large shock wave that made cracks on the ground. Steven threw a punch, which Simon avoided, before Steven kicked him right in the face and send him to the ground.

“Why you…” Simon complained as he leaped and attack Steven with his blades.

“50%!” Steven declared as the glow around his body intensified, and he punched Simon right on the chest, Simon instantly dropping both of his blades as he flew away and struck a nearby house. Steven fell to his knees as he began breathing heavily. He tried to focus on his breathing, as he felt random parts of his body beginning to grow in size randomly. Steven focused and made his entire body shrink back to regular size, when he suddenly felt claws and spikes growing out of random parts of his body, piercing right through his clothes. “N-no… I’m not going back… I’m in control…”

“Why you…” Steven heard, as he looked to see Simon getting back to his feet. Steven struggled to control his body as he slowly got back up, and looked up to see Simon dashing towards him. Simon summoned his blades and attack Steven, who held up his arms and tried to create a shield, only for the shield to vanish, before Simon’s blades clashed against the spikes growing out of Steven’s arms. “What are you? A porcupine?”

“Shut up!” Steven yelled as he tried to concentrate, his voice creating pink shockwaves, before Simon began swinging his blades several more times, Steven doing the best he could to block them with his spikes, as he continued to try taking control over his body. Steven knocked one of the blades out of Simon’s hands, before Simon punched Steven right on the face. Simon grabbed Steven by the neck and tossed him away, Steven landing on the concrete sidewalk and creating a large crater.

“You are never going to beat me, Steven, and you know why?” Simon asked as he grabbed Steven up by the neck and prepared to stab him with his blade. “Because I have the guts to do what you never would!”

Steven closed his eyes and concentrated, as the spikes around his body slowly shrunk and vanished. The pink glow from Steven’s skin suddenly began moving, the entire glow draining towards Steven’s fist, until it was the only part of Steven’s body to still be pink. Steven opened his eyes as he used his other hand to knock Simon’s arm away from his neck, before the glow on his fist began intensifying.

“100%!” Steven declared, as he concentrated his entire power on a single spot and threw a punch with his right arm, Simon quickly bringing his left arm up to block it, before Steven struck it with a glowing punch, and created a massive explosion of light that flew into the night sky and dissipated all of the clouds, the shock wave making the entire town shake, as Steven’s punch send Simon flying right onto his house.

Steven screamed in pain as he fell to his knees and looked at his right arm. It was broken, and it was hurting. Steven had broken bones before, but this was different, it felt like the entire thing had shattered to dust, and to Steven’s terror it didn’t seem like it was healing. Steven felt drained, like he had just run a marathon, and was too tired to even take another step. Steven’s eyes widened as he heard the noise of the rubble moving, and looked up to see Simon getting back up.

“T-that was 100%!” Steven whispered, more to himself than to Simon. “It was the same power as my mom!”

Simon took a single step towards Steven, before falling to the ground. Simon held his left arm in pain, as Steven realized it was in the exact same condition as his own arm. Simon struggled on the floor for a few seconds, before he tried to get up, and fell back to his knees.

“That last hit… it hurt…” Simon whispered, before looking at Steven and yelling from the top of his lungs. “It hurt a lot!”

“I’m going to be honest…” Steven declared. “I thought it would be over after that last one...”

“I’m a hard one to put down!” Simon declared. “I’m used to being beaten up!”

The two breathed heavily, as they continued to stare at each other in silence for a few seconds.

“But if I had to guess, I’d say you’re used to that too, aren’t you?” Simon whispered. “Makes me wonder… just what is it that you have that made you so different from me!”

The two suddenly heard loud slamming noises and felt the ground shaking beneath them. A large shadow obstructed the light from the full moon, and the two looked up to see a massive fusion looming over the battlefield.

“A family.” Alexandrite answered, before she punched Simon with her massive fist, the shock wave sending Steven to the ground.

“Simon…” Steven whispered, as he saw Simon beginning to crawl away just as Alexandrite unfused, before Steven closed his eyes and fainted.

===============================================

“Simon!” Steven yelled as he opened his eyes and sat up on the motel bed, and everyone around suddenly turned to him and ran to the bed.

“Steven, are you okay?” Amethyst asked.

“Don’t try to move too much!” Pearl declared.

“You used too much power, so it will take a few hours for your abilities to start working again! Until then, your arm will remain broken!” Garnet warned.

“Is it still hurting? Do you need anything?” Greg asked. “Just ask and I’ll go get it!”

“Steven, we were so worried!” Connie explained.

“Where is Simon?” Steven asked worriedly as he looked around the room.

“Who?” Pearl asked.

“Simon! That kid I was fighting!” Steven explained.

“You mean that weird dude?” Amethyst asked. “We were so busy helping you that we didn’t pay attention to him, and he just crawled away.”

Steven breathed a sigh of relief, before he once again laid in bad.

“Do you think we’ll ever see him again?” Greg asked.

“How did you guys find me?” Steven asked, trying to change the subject.

“We just had to follow the explosions.” Garnet explained. “It really wasn’t that hard.”

“Steven, what happened?” Connie asked. “Who was that kid?”

“His name is Simon…” Steven explained. “It’s a long story. I can tell you everything later.”

“Steven, is everything okay?” Greg asked, before Steven gently grabbed his hand.

“Yes… everything is okay…” Steven whispered, before tears began flowing from his eyes and he smiled. “Dad, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Connie… I just wanted to say… thank you.”

“No problem.” Amethyst answered. “You were in trouble, so of course we’d help you.”

“I’m not just talking about today… I’m talking about everyday…” Steven whispered. “Through my entire life, you were all here with me, and you never left me. Through the good and hard times, we were always together. You were my family, and you will always be my family… who knows how I would have turned out if I didn’t have all of you?”

They all approached Steven, before they all carefully hugged Steven.

“I love you all.” Steven whispered. “Thank you.”

While on his travels across the country, Steven discovers he’s not the only magical kid out there.

[flytoanotherworld]

Just released Chapter 2 on AO3, if anyone is interested: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30128592/chapters/74617389

An AU where the show is a sports anime

[flytoanotherworld]

I really liked the way this chapter ended up, so I posted it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30128592/chapters/74216697

Might write more chapters later, because I really like the concept.

An AU where the show is a sports anime

[flytoanotherworld]

Thank you very much.

An AU where the show is a sports anime

[flytoanotherworld]

Game 1: Minemath.

“Hey, kid!” One of the civilians asked from below. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” The teenager answered calmly as she tried to clean her lenses with her shirt, having a hard time getting rid of that one annoying speck of dirt. “I’m just trying to clean my glasses real quick.”

“That’s not what I mean!” The civilian yelled, before she looked down from the top of the tree, to see a small crowd of people had gathered around. “How did you even get up there?”

“She helped Mr. Momo!” A little girl explained as she held up a white cat.

“I was riding my bike, but then I saw the girl had gotten her cat struck on the tree, so I used that ramp over there to jump all the way up here with the bike, and then I tossed the cat back to her.” The teenager explained, before she pointed at a broken down bike on the ground near the tree. “Although I ended up dropping the bike. I hope it didn’t break for real this time, because I think I’m still going to need it.”

“Who even are you?” Asked another one of the civilians.

“Name’s Peridot Greene.” The teenager explained, placing her glasses back over her green eyes as she calmly ran her hand through her blonde hair. “I’m a gamer.”

“What?” Another civilian asked in confusion.

“By the way, what time is it?” Peridot asked.

“09:30 AM.” The little girl explained, as the smile suddenly vanished from Peridot’s face.

“Oh no!” Peridot yelled, before she casually jumped out of the tree, safely landing on the sidewalk before running towards her bike. “I’m going to be late!”

“You could have come down the entire time?” The crowd yelled in conjunction, before Peridot tried to get on her bike, only for one of the wheels to fall off. Peridot’s eyes widened in surprise, before she quickly picked the entire bicycle up and began running with it as fast as she could.

“Sorry! No time to talk!” Peridot yelled as she ran down the street. “I have a game to win!”

====================================================

E-sports, short for electronic sports, are a type of sports that mostly focus on the competitive play of video games. E-sports mostly focus on matches between professional players, particularly of multiplayer games. There were many E-sports teams, but between them all there was one that stood out above all others: The Crystal Gems!

“Did you seriously just play that?” Zircon asked as she gently pressed the buttons on her controller and looked up from the small holographic screen of her portable console to the giant screen right at the top of the large arena, to see the image of her Pocket Monster quickly attacking Bismuth’s Pocket Monster, the super effective strike lowering the Monster’s health bar to nearly zero. Zircon turned back to Bismuth and smirked. “You won’t get too far as a gamer if you can’t even remember what the type advantages are.”

“Don’t worry, I got them all memorized!” Bismuth declared confidently, as she pressed a button, and her Pocket Monster struck Zircon’s Monster back, instantly taking out the entire health bar as the Monster fainted. “I got that Monster by breeding two different species! It can learn a move from a type that it wouldn’t normally have! Impressed yet?”

“Don’t get cocky!” Zircon warned as she sent out her second Pocket Monster. “There is a lot more you’ll have to do if you want to join the Crystal Gems!”

All members of the Crystal Gems are carefully handpicked. They hold a yearly public gaming competition in an attempt to find new members. Those who wish to join them must prove themselves in game.

====================================================

“Time is up.” One of the security guards explained. “We can close the door now.”

The other security guard nodded, before they quickly began to close the large metal gated leading to the large arena, when a small teenager suddenly came running down the streets and jumped right past them, just barely entering through the gate before they fully closed it.

“Hehe! I got here in time!” Peridot declared joyfully.

“You’re late, kid.” One of the guards declared. “Nobody is allowed to go inside after the gates are closed. Just a few more seconds and you’d be stuck outside.”

“Well, thank goodness for those seconds, then?” Peridot commented, before she ran towards the arena. “By the way, can you keep an eye on my bike? Thanks!”

The two guards turned, to see a small bicycle parked right in front of the building, before the bike suddenly fell to pieces for seemingly no reason.

====================================================

“I did it!” Bismuth declared joyfully as she sat on one of the audience seats, before turning to a few other competitors. “Those examiners are no joke. That woman made me sweat more than any online ranked match ever did.”

She suddenly heard the sound of footsteps, before the door swung open and a small teenager ran in, quickly leaping into one of the seats.

“Hi! I’m Peridot!” She greeted with a wide smile. “Are you a competitor?”

“Yeah.” The muscular black woman answered, slightly taken back by Peridot’s excitement. It was hard to believe, but Bismuth was actually not that much older than Peridot, only beating her by three years.

“Look! Another match!” Peridot yelled as she pointed to the arena, and Bismuth looked to see a competitor and an examiner standing face to face, both holding controllers that were projecting holographic screens in front of them, the images in each of the holograms also being shown in the massive screen above them. “They’re playing Dogcopter Kart Deluxe! I love that one!”

“Feeling nervous?” Aquamarine asked as her kart drifted through the road, swiftly making its way towards the finishing line while leaving the competitor in the dust. “You’ll have to do something fast if you still want to win this race!”

The blue haired teenager did not respond and simply focused on her controller as she made her motorcycle hit the slight incline in the corner of the track, her vehicle jumping through the air and cutting the corner just slightly, which was enough of a shortcut for the motorcycle to nearly catch up to Aquamarine’s kart.

“You know how to do fancy tricks, hm?” Aquamarine commented. “I bet those will look really neat as you get second place!”

Aquamarine’s kart dashed through an item box, before suddenly slipping on a banana peel the competitor had placed there in the previous lap. Aquamarine gasped in surprise, before the competitor calmly pressed a button, and a lightning fell from the sky, striking Aquamarine’s kart, making it shrink just as the motorcycle flew past her and crossed the finishing line in first place.

“Examiner defeated!” The announcer declared. “Competitor wins!”

“Ugh! Come on!” Aquamarine complained, as the competitor calmly turned off her console and began walking away.

“Who was that?” Peridot asked curiously.

“I heard her name is Lapis Lazuli.” Bismuth explained. “She got first place in all local game tournaments those last months.”

“Wow!” Peridot declared with stars in her eyes.

====================================================

“So you came after all Lazuli.” A large woman declared, as Lapis calmly sat on one of the audience seats. “Good. It would have been boring without you.”

“Jasper, are you going to keep bothering me all day? Because if so, I might just get up and leave.” Lapis declared.

“Go ahead, and then I’ll be the uncontested first place.” Jasper declared with a grin. “I thought the Crystal Gems had a higher standard. Most of the people here aren’t even worth the time it would take for me to crush them.”

“Wow! I just can’t wait to be your teammate.” Lapis answered sarcastically in an uninterested tone of voice.

====================================================

“So, are you a gamer too?” Bismuth asked, before Peridot nodded. “Did you come here to watch the exams?”

“Oh, no, I’m a competing.” Peridot explained.

“But this was the last game.” Bismuth explained as she pointed at the people leaving the arena.

“What?” Peridot yelled in surprise.

====================================================

“Was that the last one?” Squaridot asked as she watched over the arena alongside the other judges.

“Seems like it.” Zircon answered, before one of the security guards calmly approached her and whispered in her ear. “No, wait, one more competitor just arrived.”

“She just arrived?” Squaridot asked. “She’s late then.”

“She technically crossed the gate before they closed it.  This means she gets one match just like everyone else.” Zircon explained as she calmly crossed her legs and cleaned her yellow monocle.

“Really? We’re letting her play because of a technicality?” Squaridot asked angrily. “She got here just a few moments before time was up.”

“It is what’s written in the contract. Everyone who gets in before the gates are closed gets one match.” Zircon explained as she placed her monocle back over her eye. “If you don’t like that, you can go complain to the boss.”

“Grrrr… fine! We’ll give her a match! But it will be by my terms!” Squaridot declared as she got up from the chair and walked away, Zircon staring at her curiously as she left.

====================================================

“Now, for the final match of the day!” Declared the voice of an announcer, as Squaridot and Peridot made their way into the arena, coming in from different sides before they both stood a few meters away from each other. They turned on their consoles, as the floating holographic screens appeared. “The game will now be randomly selected!”

During the matches in the exams, the games that would be played would be selected at random, that way the competitors would have to practice multiple games equally in order to be ready for the exam. What nobody knew, however, was that Squaridot had tempered with the system for that specific match, that way she knew very well what game they would be playing.

“Minemath! Player Vs Player mode!” Declared the announcer.

“Yay! I love Minemath!” Peridot declared excitedly.

“You’re very loud, aren’t you?” Squaridot asked.

“Oh! I forgot to introduce myself!” Peridot declared. “My name is Peridot Greene!”

“I am the overseer of this exam. Squarious Julius Aranmadot.” Squaridot declared. “Squaridot for short.”

“Our names rhyme! How cool!” Peridot declared.

“Anyway, in case you don’t know how Player Vs Player mode works: we both get thrown into a randomly generated Minemath map with no items at the start, and our objective is to kill the other player. First one to die loses.” Squaridot explained, as Peridot nodded. “Some changes have been made from the normal Minemath. The first one is that we get an entire overview of the map before the game begins, and we get to choose our starting point, this is so we wouldn’t get lost and end up walking away from each other.”

Peridot nodded as her holographic screen showed an image of the game’s map. Peridot carefully looked the map over, analyzing each of the structures and biomes, before marking a spot to be her spawning point, just as Squaridot did the same with another spot.

“Alright, now for the most important change.” Squaridot declared. “All food has been removed from the game, and the ability to recover health has also been deactivated. We each start with ten hearts, and once you take damage, there is no way to heal.”

“Wow!” Peridot whispered with stars in her eyes. “This will be so much fun!”

“Overconfident, hm?” Squaridot thought as she watched Peridot’s excited reaction, before speaking up. “Game Open!”

The map suddenly vanished from their screen, before their characters immediately spawned on the locations they had selected, and their gameplay began being shown in the massive screen above them.

====================================================

“Hm?” Jasper asked curiously. “Squaridot is playing?”

“What?” Lapis asked as she opened her eyes and turned to the arena. “I thought she was only here to oversee everything…”

====================================================

“Alright!” Peridot declared with a smile as she spawned right in the middle of a desert village, before quickly running into one of the houses and taking a crafting table. “You can tell what is inside the houses by the shape of their ceiling!”

“Yeah, I know!” Squaridot declared as she spawned right between a desert biome and a forest biome. She ran towards one of the trees and quickly punched it down, taking exactly four blocks of wood. She opened her inventory and turned the blocks into sixteen planks. Four of the planks made a crafting table, which she put down before using two planks to make sticks, and using three more planks to make a wooden pickaxe. The entire process had taken less than a second.

“Wow! You’re quick!” Peridot commented. “Are you a speedrunner?”

Squaridot smirked confidently, before turning to the desert and running towards a nearby pyramid.

====================================================

“Does that kid even know who she’s dealing with?” Bismuth thought as she watched over the match. “Squaridot is not just a random speedrunner, she is one of the best speedrunners. She’s been in the Top 12 Minemath runs for years. Every time someone managed to knock her out of 13th place, she just did another run and broke the record again. Peridot will be in trouble if she’s not careful.”

====================================================

“Don’t worry! I’m a fast player too!” Peridot declared as she ran into the village, quickly collecting several hay bales. Peridot turned the bales into wheat, before running towards the village’s farmer and quickly trading them for three emeralds. Peridot ran towards the fisherman and traded the emeralds for a bucket with a cod, before tossing the cod away, obtaining a bucket of water. The entire process took only five seconds. “What do you think of that one?”

“A bucket of water?” Squaridot thought as she took a glance at Peridot’s side of the screen. “What is she planning?”

Squaridot reached the secret room inside the pyramid with her wooden pickaxe nearby breaking, careful not to trigger the TNT as she opened one of the chests, pulling out three iron ingots. Squaridot put down her crafting table and crafted an iron pickaxe, before beginning to dig down under her own feet.

“Mining under yourself?” Peridot asked in slight surprise. “That’s dangerous!”

====================================================

“Damn that Squaridot.” Lapis whispered. “She skipped stone and went from wood straight into steel. The kid doesn’t even have a wooden sword yet.”

“This should end quickly.” Jasper commented calmly. “Maybe watching this could be a good practice if I ever have to match against Squaridot.”

“That poor kid. This is the worst match she could possibly get.” Lapis commented. “Literally any other game would be better to go against Squaridot. I don’t think anyone here can beat that woman at Minemath.”

====================================================

“Let’s take a swim!” Peridot declared as she jumped into a nearby river, swiftly swimming to the bottom and breaking several blocks of gravel. She took eight blocks, before a piece of flint few out. She took the flint and went back to the surface.

“She took almost ten seconds to do that one. She’ll never beat me if she’s so slow.” Squaridot thought to herself as she continued digging downwards, before suddenly stopping and beginning to dig a tunnel. “y11. Perfect.”

Peridot went towards the Iron Giant, before leaping and placing three blocks under herself. She began leaping in place while striking the Iron Giant with her fists, the Iron Giant not being able to strike her from the top of the blocks.

“Iron Giants’ hitbox only reaches two blocks up. It can’t hit me as long as I’m three blocks above it.” Peridot explained as she continued to strike the Giant. “If you hit a mob while falling, it will take critical damage, and if I manage to kill an Iron Giant, there is a chance that it will drop…”

The Iron Giant fell to the ground and died, before dropping three iron ingots.

“Iron!” Peridot declared as she leaped down from above the blocks, taking half a heart of fall damage as she took the iron ingots and began running as fast as she could.

====================================================

“That idiot! Why didn’t she just break the blocks under herself?” Bismuth thought in surprise. “She just took damage for no reason just to save a few seconds!”

====================================================

“It seems like this is going to end sooner than I had thought!” Squaridot declared while laughing confidently as she continued mining, before finding two ores of blue stones. She swiftly mined them, before opening her crafting table and building a diamond sword. “You’re done for!”

====================================================

“What? That’s impossible!” Bismuth suddenly yelled in shock as she stared at the screen with wide eyes. “It’s only been two minutes since the match started and she already has diamond! A diamond sword takes three and a half hearts! It does 150% more damage when the hit is critical! Just two hits and Peridot’s health bar is done for!”

====================================================

“Are you scared, kid?” Squaridot asked as she quickly made her way back through the tunnel and began using blocks to climb back to the surface. “I’m coming for you.”

“You got diamond that fast?” Peridot asked in surprise, before she suddenly smiled with stars in her eyes. “It will be so cool when I beat you!”

“Hm?” Squaridot asked, slightly taken back by Peridot’s response.

“Lava pools are twice more likely to form in deserts!” Peridot declared as she placed two gravel blocks in the lava, before throwing the water from her bucket on top of it. She let the water flow for just long enough for the first blocks of lava around the gavel to turn into obsidian, before taking the water back with the bucket. She broke the two gravel blocks she had placed, and then placed three gravel blocks on the ground right next to the obsidian she had just created, with a forth block sticking out from the top in the direction of the obsidian. She placed three other blocks on the ground around the obsidian, before dropping her water between the blocks she had placed, creating a continuous stream of water that did not touch any of the lava. “Wanna see a magic trick?”

Peridot took a bucket of lava, and began dropping it around the stream of water, creating obsidian blocks as the water and lava touched. Peridot carefully created the blocks in the exact position she needed, forming the shape of a portal. She took out the water with her bucket, before using the flint and iron she had taken to craft flint and steel. She lit up the portal, dropped the water to empty up her bucket, and jumped in.

“See you in hell! Hehe!” Peridot joked.

“A portal to hell?” Squaridot thought. “What is she planning?”

Peridot spawned in a random point in hell, quickly filling her bucket with lava and beginning to run around the lava lake as fast as she could, carefully not to touch the magma.

“Why, you little…” Squaridot complained as she ran through the desert village where Peridot had first spawned, swiftly making her way to the desert in search of the portal. “You won’t escape from me!”

====================================================

“What does she plan to do with a Hell Fortress?” Lapis asked.

“Hm?” Jasper asked.

“She’s searching for a Hell Fortress. Fortresses spawn more frequently while in open areas, like the surroundings of lava rivers for example.” Lapis explained. “She is searching for a Hell Fortress.”

====================================================

“Haha! Found it!” Peridot declared as she spotted a Hell Fortress in the distance.

“And I am about to find you, you brat!” Squaridot declared as she jumped through the portal, spawning in Hell as she swiftly chased after Peridot. Peridot entered the fortress and began to run through it, just as Squaridot saw the fortress in the distance and entered it, closely chasing Peridot. “Get back here, you brat! I’ll chase you to the ends of this Earth!”

“Oh, come as close as you like!” Peridot declared with a smile as she went around a corner, Squaridot chasing after her, before suddenly being struck by a fireball, her body lightning on fire. Squaridot looked up to see several burning mobs firing at her. “Blazing spawner! I knew it was here because I heard their sound effects!”

====================================================

“What?” Jasper asked as she got up from her seat and stared down at the two players in surprise. “Squaridot just got hit? This has never happened before in a PvP!”

Lapis stared at Peridot with a curious expression, as the small gamer smiled confidently.

====================================================

“You idiot! The Blazings will attack you as well!” Squaridot declared as she struggled to avoid the fireballs from the mobs, striking several of them down only for more of them to spawn. “I entered this room with full health, while you lost half a heart! You will die first!”

“That’s what you think!” Peridot asked, as the Blazings fired at her, only for their fireballs to go right through her. Squaridot stared at her in surprise for a few seconds, until she realized where Peridot was standing. “When you stand on a block that has a fence on it, fireballs cannot hit you, since they’re redirected to hit the fence instead! Fences won’t catch on fire so it can’t burn me!”

“Grrr…” Squaridot growled in anger, as she turned to look the spawner. It was too far away, and her pickaxe was made of iron, if she tried to break it, the Blazings would kill her first, and even if she did successfully break it, her health would be so low that Peridot could finish her off with a critical. Squaridot turned to Peridot’s character angrily and began running towards her. “I’ll just have to kill you first!”

“Good luck with that, you clod!” Peridot declared with a smile, as she dropped the lava from her bucket right in front of Squaridot, the lava burning right through her last hearts, as Squaridot’s character fell dead, her dropped items burning in the lava.

“Squaridot tried to swim in lava.” Declared the game over screen.

“No!” Squaridot yelled in surprise.

====================================================

“She did it!” Bismuth celebrated as she jumped off her seat and punched the air excitedly.

====================================================

“Hey, is this serious?” Jasper asked in surprise, as Lapis smirked and got up from her seat, crossing her arms.

“This is going to be an interesting year.” Lapis commented before walking away.

“Just who the hell is that brat?” Jasper asked angrily as she looked down at the smiling Peridot.

====================================================

“B-but… I’m in the Top 12…” Squaridot whispered, astonished by her defeat as she let go of her controller and fell to her knees.

“Examiner defeated!” The announcer declared. “Competitor wins!”

“Game over!” Peridot declared, as she winked and gave thumbs up while smiling widely.

====================================================

“It was very impressive what you did back there?” Peridot heard as she left the arena, before she turned to see Lapis leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. “I legitimately thought it would be impossible for you to beat Squaridot, yet you did.”

“Thanks.” Peridot declared with a smile. “I love Minemath so I practice a lot.”

“Don’t get overconfident.” Lapis warned as she stared at Peridot with a serious expression. “You’re not a Crystal Gem yet. Now that we won, we’re all on their radar, but they will only pick those who stand out. If you want to enter that team, from now on you will have to do the impossible again and again.”

Peridot stared at Lapis with a curious expression for a few seconds, before her expression changed into one of seriousness, and she nodded. Lapis smiled, before she began walking away. Peridot turned to the giant screen, which now only showed the logo of the Crystal Gems.

“Do the impossible again and again?” Peridot thought with a smile. “Alright then! The game is on!”

To be continued.

An AU where the show is a sports anime

[flytoanotherworld]

Trigger warning: Violence.

The years is 20XX, there is a total of one million humans on Earth. The ocean have dried up and become deserts, and the forests have burnt up and become wastelands. Food and water are scarce, and electricity does not exist. This is a world in which many have died, but evil? Evil will never die.

The sound of gunfire could be heard for many miles across the desert, as the large van chased after the small car. One of the bullets was quick to strike the car’s tire, while another broke right through the rear window and barely missed the driver’s head as it flew through the windshield. The driver struggled to keep control as the van rammed against the back of the car, before the car hit against a large rock, smoke coming out of the engine as the driver crawled out.

“Wait! Please! I give up!” Jamie begged, struggling to get back to his feet as the van stopped right next to him, several people coming out and approaching him. Jamie quickly reached for his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “H-here! I have money! You can take it! Just let me go!”

A single gunshot was heard, as Jamie’s body hit the sand.

“Haha! Did you hear that boss?” One of gang members said in a mocking tone. “This idiot still thinks green paper is worth anything.”

“This fool embarrassed himself begging for his life. We live in a world where the strong live and the weak die. If one ever gets to the point of having to beg to live, this means they deserve to die.” Kevin explained as he turned to his followers. “Now take all of the gasoline from his tank and search for anything valuable inside the car.”

=============================================================================

The boy made his way across the hot desert, a large piece of cloth protecting his skin from the sun. He had been walking for almost an entire day and found nothing but sand. His legs hurt, he was hungry, and above all he was thirsty, yet he continued to walk. He climbed a large hill of sand, and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw a large city in the distance.

He would run towards it if he could, but he didn’t want to waste any more energy than he already had, so he calmly walked towards the entrance. It was a large city, it probably already existed before the disaster and the citizens simply took over the ruins. The wall was different, however. Even from a distance he could tell the walls surrounding the city had been build more recently than the buildings inside. It seems like the citizens really wanted to keep invaders away.

“Halt!” One of the guards declared as they noticed the boy slowly approaching the entrance to the city, and quickly aimed their machine guns towards him. “Identify yourself, now!”

“I’m just a traveler.” The boy explained calmly. “I’ve been walking for hours. I just need a place to rest.”

“He must be one of Kevin’s men.” Another one of the guards declared, before the others nodded.

“Alright, kid, fuck off.” The guard ordered. “We have enough mouths to feed inside already.”

“Please, I swear I won’t bother anybody.” The boy declared as he carefully took a few steps forward. “I just have to rest for a few hours and then I will go.”

The guard suddenly struck the boy in the face with his machine gun, before forcefully pulling out the cloth to reveal the boy’s white skin and curly hair as he fell to the ground.

“Go away!” The guard asked. “We won’t hesitate to kill you!”

“Is this your way to show hospitality?” The boy asked as he carefully got back to his feet, before the guard suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

“I won’t ask you again!” The guard yelled. “Leave now or you’ll eat lead!”

“Look!” The other guard yelled in surprise, before the guard looked down at the boy’s navel, and let go of the boy’s shirt, taking a few steps back in shock. The two stared at the kid for a few seconds, before suddenly aiming their machine guns at him.

“Don’t move an inch!” The guard declared angrily. “You are coming with us!”

=============================================================================

“Look upon me, my dear people, for I bring you a message!” Marty declared as he stood on the stage in the middle of the city, several citizens watching him. “It is a message from our great lord and savior! She who has come once and will come again! I bring you a message from the great Rose Quartz!”

Marty pointed to something right in the center of the stage, and the citizens all looked to see a large pink sword, the blade stuck inside a large stone.

“This is the same blade rose quartz once used to fight for humanity in that great battle where she gave up her life so that we could live!” Marty declared. “This is also the same sword she will wield when she once again comes! Yes, I’ve had a vision! I saw her descending from the heavens t lead us to our salvation! It might not look good right now, my friends, but trust me, salvation is upon us! If you want to be one of the chosen ones who are taken out of this Earth and sent to the great paradise beyond, all you have to do is share some of your food and water with me, and I am sure the great Rose Quartz will choose you, just as she chose me!”

The girl could hear the crowd cheering as she carefully snuck in through the window. It had taken her forever to get the map of this building, but she was sure it would be worthy. Marty was the richest man in the city, the man had enough food to feed an entire family for a week. It was smart of her to go in while he was busy with one of his speeches, so everyone would be focusing on the outside.

She just had to run in, get as much food as she could carry, and then get out. She was sure this would work.

“Stop right there!” She heard, as she turned around to see the barrow of a shotgun pointed right at her face. She raised her hands in surprise as a large security guard looked down upon her.

“So… hm…” She whispered, not sure of what exactly she should say. “I… can explain?”

=============================================================================

“Ouch! You’re hurting me!” She yelled, before the two guards tossed her into the jail cell, quickly closing the metal door behind her. She got up and hit the door several times, unable to open it. “Marty is not above any of us!”

“Good evening.” She heard, before she turned around to see a boy sitting on the floor on the corner of the cell.

“Great! I don’t even get my own cell.” She complained as she sat down on the floor right next to the door. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around.”

“You haven’t. I just arrived.”

“And they didn’t shoot you in the spot? You’re one lucky bastard!” She declared. “Although maybe not that lucky, considering what they’ll do to us.”

“What would that be?” The boy asked.

“You really are new, hm?” Connie commented. “They’re going to kill us. They’ll tie us up and then tell us to confess our sins or whatever, and then they’ll shoot us both dead in front of the entire city. We’re going to serve as an example of what happens whenever someone challenges Marty.”

“You people are very trigger happy, aren’t you?” The boy commented. “My name is Steven, by the way.”

“I’m Connie.” She answered.

“So, Connie…” Steven commented. “Is there anyone coming to break you out? Family? Friends? Anyone?”

“Not really.” Connie explained. “I was abandoned in front of an orphanage as a baby just a few months before the great disaster. After everything went down, I’ve just been living on the streets by myself.”

“That sounds though.” Steven added. “I don’t really have anyone either. I guess we’re on our own.”

The two suddenly heard the sound of keys, before the door suddenly opened and several guards with machine guns entered the cell.

“We’re getting executed already?” Connie asked. “But it takes over a day to organize the entire event!”

“Shut your mouth!” The guard ordered, before he pointed at Steven. “You! Marty wants to see you!”

“Alright then.” Steven answered calmly. “But I’ll only go if Connie gets to go as well.”

“You’re not the one calling the shots here, kid!” The guard declared as he pointed his gun at Steven.

“True, Marty is.” Steven explained with a calm smile. “I hope you’re really to explain to him why you shot the kid that he was planning on executing publicly. I bet he wouldn’t like that at all, not one bit.”

The guard stared at Steven angrily for a few seconds, before putting down his weapon and turning to the other guard.

“Get us two pairs of handcuffs. Take those two brats to Marty already.” The guard ordered.

=============================================================================

“So you’re the kid I’ve been hearing about, hm?” Marty commented, his mouth full as he took the last bites off a half eaten apple. He chewed for a few moments, before swallowing it and continuing to speak. “You don’t seem all that impressive at a first glance, but some things are way more than meets the eye. Pull up his shirt.”

One of the guards did as ordered, to reveal a shining pink stone replacing Steven’s bellybutton.

“You’re a Gem?” Connie asked in surprise, before Marty tossed the core of the apple, hitting her in the head.

“Honey, you filthy thieves are supposed to be silent.” Marty declared sarcastically, before he turned around and made his way to the other side of the room, where he sat on an old armchair which had a feel pieces missing. “Just imagine how everyone will react when they learn that me, Marty, will be the first human in this world to ever kill a Gem! I ‘ill be more than just a leader! I will be an idol! A legend! A God!”

“You’re kind of pathetic, honestly.” Steven commented, before the guards quickly aimed their guns at him.

“So you’re the insolent type as well, hm?” Marty asked with a smile. “Those are my favorite ones. I love how all of their courage vanishes as soon as we are about to shoot. Take them back to the cell and prepare the execution. After this one, this entire city will bow to my feet.”

=============================================================================

“Ouch!” Connie complained as the guards tossed her in the cell, quickly locking the door before leaving. “Can’t they ever put me in her without pulling my hair?”

“That was the Marty guy, hm?” Steven commented. “Damn is he old. Did you see his teeth? They looked disgusting!”

“True.” Connie commented as she got back to her feet. “Seeing people eat normally opens my appetite, but seeing Marty eat made me want to throw up, and I haven’t even eaten anything all day.”

“So, did you get it?” Steven asked.

“Of course I did.” Connie answered, as she opened her hand to reveal she had been holding a key. “The guard was focusing so much on you that they didn’t even notice that I took one of the copies.”

“Great!” Steven declared with a smile as Connie unlocked the door and opened it. “Let’s get out of here!”

The two ran out of the cell, before they suddenly stopped upon hearing the loud sound of a bang coming from outside of the prison. The two turned to each other in surprise.

“What the hell was that?” Steven asked.

=============================================================================

“The gate just exploded!” One of the guards yelled as several guards ran towards the destroyed entrance to the city. They pointed their machine guns towards the large cloud of smoke, before one of the entrance guards slowly trembled towards them while coughing, and fell face first to the ground. “It’s okay! It’s one of ours!”

The guard ran towards his injured ally, quickly putting down his weapon and picking the other guard up in his arms.

“What happened?” The guard asked. “Who attack you?”

“T-t…” The injured guard struggled to speak. “They’re… coming…”

The guard’s head suddenly exploded before they heard the sound of a gunshot, and a large van drove into the city, several gangsters on top shooting all of the guards with rifles, shotguns, machine guns, and pistols. The guards swiftly fired back as civilians began screaming and running, and blood began flying through the air as several humans on both sides were shot down mercilessly.

“Alright, kids, let’s get this party started!” Kevin declared while holding the steering wheel with one hand and firing a revolver with the other, as several other vehicles filled with gangsters drove into the city.

=============================================================================

“What the hell is going on out there?” Marty asked as he looked out the window.

“It’s that gang we’ve been hearing about, sir!” One of the guards declared. “It seems like they destroyed the entrance with some sort of explosive! The entire city is under attack!”

“Did they have to come right now of all times?” Marty asked angrily. “Alright, close the building! Get as many guards as you can to protect this place! We’re going to turn this place into a fortress!”

“What about the civilians, sir?” The guard asked.

“Who gives a shit?” Marty asked before he walked out of the room.

=============================================================================

One of the guards screamed in surprise as the head of a civilian right next to him suddenly exploded before he heard the sound of a sniper rifle. The surprise made him drop his guard for just a moment, as he got shot several times in the chest by a machine gun. He fell to the ground as his blood flew through the air and hit several other soldiers in the face, before a small grenade landed right in between them and exploded, their body parts flying in random directions as the blood seemed to be raining down from the sky.

One nearby soldier held his ears in pain, as he felt blood dripping down. He screamed, and realized he could not hear his own scream, as the noise from the grenade had just blown up his eardrums. He looked up to see a Molotov flying towards him, before it exploded and set his entire body on fire. He screamed as he rolled through the ground, but it was too late, as he continued to suffer before dying in the flames, before a large car ran over his body.

“Alright, boys! Enough messing around!” Kevin declared as he got out of his van and picked up a machine gun from a dead soldier and handed it to one of his gangsters. “Bring e the leader!”

=============================================================================

“They’ve just breached the entrance!” One of the soldiers yelled as they stood in front of Marty’s room with machine guns in hand. “We cannot let them get to the boss, no matter what!”

Several gangsters ran it and began firing, before the guards swiftly fired back as fast as they could. One of the guards fell to the ground dead after taking a bullet to the head, yet the others continued shooting, as all of the gangsters fell to the ground dead, their blood tainting the building’s walls and ceiling.

“I’m reloading!” One of the guards yelled as he reloaded his weapon, before he saw a single gangsters running in from the corner of this eye. They all fired as fast as they could, quickly killing the gangster, but not before he could pull the trigger on his rocket launcher, a large rocket flying towards the guards and blowing them all to pieces. Marty yelled as he heard the explosion, before several gangsters kicked his door open and ran inside.

=============================================================================

“You can’t do this to me! I am the prophet!” Marty declared, as the gangsters dragged him out of the building and tossed him in the middle of the street, right in front of Kevin as several gangsters surrounded them both.

“So you’re the one who’s in charge over here, hm?” Kevin asked, slightly disgusted by Marty’s appearance.

“You’re the one I’ve been hearing about. You’re Kevin, the notorious criminal.” Marty commented as he got back to his feet. “What do you want from our city?”

“Food, water, gasoline, guns, bullets, fun.” Kevin explained sarcastically. “You know, the usual.”

“Listen to me child, for I have a vision, and I am sure that there can still be salvation for you!” Marty declared. “I have seen a great future! A future in which our lord and savior Rose Quartz returns to us, and wielding her might sword she will guide the chosen ones of humanity into a great paradise! You can be a chosen one too! You just have to listen to me!”

“Paradise, hm?” Kevin asked, as Marty smiled and nodded, before Kevin suddenly pointed his revolver at Marty’s forehead, and the old man’s expression changed into one of surprise. “This is my paradise, old man!”

A loud gunshot echoed through the center of the city.

=============================================================================

“What the hell is going on out there?” Steven asked as the two hid inside the ruin of a building.

“It’s Kevin’s gang. They’re criminals that attack travelers. It seems like they finally stole enough weapons to be able to attack the city.” Connie explained. “This city is doomed. They’re going to kill everyone and steal all of the supplies. We have to sneak out while everyone is distracted. I’m not sure how far away the nearest town is, so we might have to spend a while in the desert.”

“Hey, Kevin!” Steven yelled as he walked out of the building.

“What the hell?” Connie asked in surprise as Steven made his way towards the gangsters. They all pointed their weapons at Steven, who stopped walking and put his hands in his pockets.

“Who are you?” Kevin asked.

“My name is Steven.” The boy answered confidently. “I’m here to stop you.”

Kevin and the gangsters laughed for a few seconds, while Steven simply stood and stared at them with a serious expression.

“Stop me?” Kevin asked mockingly. “Kid, do you have a death wish?”

“I don’t fear death.” Steven commented. “Do you?”

Kevin stared at Steven, Kevin’s expression changing into one of slight anger, before he swiftly pulled out his revolver and fired. The gangsters aimed their weapons and began firing, bullets flying towards Steven as the gangsters yelled and laughed manically. They continued firing for a few seconds, before they continued laughing, but quickly stopped as they noticed a pink transparent bubble surrounding Steven’s body.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Steven declared, before spikes appeared on the bubble, and Steven dashed towards the gangsters, who all quickly leaped out of the way as Steven’s bubble broke through the asphalt. The gangsters once again fired at Steven, as their bullets hit the bubble and flew back, hitting several of the gangsters in their shoulders and legs as they fell to the ground in pain.

Steven’s bubble suddenly popped, sending all of the nearby gangsters flying, some of them falling unconscious as they hit the ground face first. The last five gangsters got back up and prepared to fire, when Steven suddenly summoned one pink shield in each hands and tossed them, each shield hitting one gangster in the head, before bouncing off it and hitting the other gangster, the four falling to the ground unconscious. Steven turned to Kevin, the last criminal still standing.

“Y-you… you’re one of those… things!” Kevin stuttered as he fired several times at Steven with his revolver, the boy easily deflecting his bullets with a shield, before Kevin heard a click and realized he was out of bullets. He tossed his revolver at Steven in desperation, which Steven easily dodged with a calm head movement. “Y-you’re one of them… those things that destroyed the world!”

Steven stared at Kevin with a serious expression, as Kevin began slowly trembling in fear.

“P-please! Don’t kill me! I’ll do anything you want! I swear! You can take my weapons! Take my food as well! Just let me go and you can have it all!” Kevin begged as Steven continued to stare at him in silence. Kevin suddenly felt a sharp pain, as he looked down at his chest to see a pink blade piercing right through his chest.

“It’s over, Kevin!” Connie declared, as she pulled Rose’s sword out of Kevin’s back, and Kevin fell to the ground bleeding. Steven calmly walked towards Kevin as the criminal began bleeding out in pain. Steven Gently licked his palm, before placing it over Kevin’s wound.

“I can’t save you, but I can make it as painless as possible.” Steven explained, his hand glowing in pink over Kevin’s wound, as Kevin slowly closed his eyes. “Rest in peace.”

“Alright.” Connie declared, as Steven turned to her to see she had picked up Kevin’s revolver, quickly reloading it with bullets from other revolvers on the ground, before placing it in her pocket. She made her way towards Kevin van and opened up the back, realizing it was filled with barrels. She used the sword to open one of them, and noticed it was filled with different types of canned food. “Look! They actually had resources!”

“Blasphemy!” They heard, as they turned around to see several civilians staring at the two angrily. “You stole Rose Quartz’s holy sword! You’ve allied yourself to one of… them! It’s blasphemy!”

“Oh yeah?” Connie asked as she pulled out her revolver, before the civilians retreated in fear. “What are you going to do about it?”

“Hey Connie.” Steven called as he got on the driver’s seat of Kevin’s van. “I’m taking his van and leaving. Want to come?”

“Obviously.” Connie answered as she quickly got on the passenger seat.

“Are you sure?” Steven asked. “I don’t think you’ll ever be coming back to this city if you come with me.”

“Don’t worry about it. There is nothing left for me here, and I don’t think I’m even welcome here anymore.” Connie explained, before she approached Steven and whispered in his ears. “Plus, if I go with you, maybe someday I’ll find my real parents.”

“Alright.” Steven explained as he quickly started the van and the two began driving away.

“By the way, where did you come from?” Connie asked. “You’re a kid with super powers and a gem on your stomach.”

“It’s a long story.” Steven explained as the van drove away from the city.

The civilians watched as the van drove into the distance, before one of the civilians turned around to see one of the barrels had been left behind.

“What?” Connie asked in surprise. “You left some of the food to them?”

“We still have more than enough to last a few weeks.” Steven explained as he pointed to the back of the van. “Plus, they probably needed it more than us.”

“Why would you even care for what they need?” Connie asked, before taking in a deep breath. “You know, maybe it was a good thing I decided to come with you. I don’t think you’ll last much longer without me.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised I lasted this long.” Steven answered, before the two laughed.

“So, where to now?” Connie asked.

“To wherever the road takes us.” Steven explained, as the van continued driving into the horizon.

Post-apocalyptic Au

AU where the Gem War destroyed most of the human race and left many areas of the earth uninhabitable, resulting in a post-apocalyptic setting where Beach City is one of the few remaining human cities