Steven Universe in:

"Illumination"

Set immediately after Space Race…

Well, today had been an exciting day! Steven and Pearl's space flight had ended rather…abruptly. It took a few minutes after they reached the ground to calm Steven's father, Greg Universe, down. Greg decided it would be best if they let him drive them back to the Crystal Temple in his van! Pearl tried to politely turn down the offer, only for Greg to give her an unusually stern look when Steven wasn't looking. The kind of look that said, 'you'll need to earn back my trust after this stunt!'

Eventually, the trio arrived in front of the Crystal Temple beach-house entrance. "Alright, thank you for the lift Greg! Now, we'll just leave you on your way…" cheerfully exclaimed Pearl as she stepped out of the passenger seat.

But Greg had other ideas as he put the van in park and turned to Steven and asked, "Hey, Stevie! What'd ya say I just stay here for the night? It'll really help ease my mind after…today."

Steven was a little uneasy about his father's request. On one hand, they kind of owed his dad after…what happened today. On the other hand, the last time his dad stayed at the Temple wasn't exactly…the best show of his dad's fatherly side.(1) Plus, Connie was staying over in preparation for tomorrow, which Steven liked to call…the Crystal Gems' First Time Co-Ed Magical Battle Practice! It would be the first time Connie got serious practice of her Forged Warrior skills…as well as a chance for Steven and Connie to hang out!

"Gee, dad, I'd love to…but tomorrow's kind of a big thing with Connie and me and well…we need to rest up for it so…" Steven explained rather hesitantly.

Greg, however, knew just the trick to get around this! "Oh…that's okay! It's not like I came close to losing the only thing that truly matters to me! 'sob' 'sob' I'm sorry! It's just…you're all I have left of Rose and I just… 'sob' 'sob'" Greg fake sobbed to get Steven's sympathy…and it worked brilliantly!

Steven just couldn't stand to see his father cry and so looked teary eyed at Pearl, hoping for support! Pearl looked rather uneasy because of Greg's behavior and her own misdeeds early. So in the end, all Pearl could say was, "I guess we could allow Greg to stay the night after what happened today?"

Pumping his fist in the air, Greg practically jumped out the van…tripping over his seatbelt in the process! "I know I was a bit of a problem last time, but I swear…you won't even know I'm there!" exclaimed Greg, so excited to stay with Steven that he almost forgot the events from earlier today…almost!

Pearl sighed as Greg raced up the steps, before turning to Steven and said, "It'll only be for tonight! He's earned it after…"

Steven noticed pearl trailing off at the end, climbed over to the front and out the passenger door to give her a hug and say, "Pearl, I don't blame you for what happened and neither does Dad!"

"Maybe," admitted Pearl, knowing the forgiving attitude of the Universe family, before continuing, "but I can't stop blaming myself! I was so obsessed with going back out into space, that I almost put your life in jeopardy! I nearly betray everything I swore to uphold in order to…runaway and go off on an adventure! Honestly, I would have expected something like that from Amethyst!"

Steven laughed a little at Pearl's dig at Amethyst's expense! Because honestly, Amethyst could never keep quiet for more than… It was then Steven realized something and said so to Pearl, "It's quiet. Too quiet!"

Initially Pearl was going to dismiss Steven idea as some horror movie nonsense, before taking a moment to really listen. It was then that she realized…Steven was right, it is too quiet! She had a general idea of what Amethyst and Garnet were doing with Connie while they had been gone: Garnet would go over the training regime and Amethyst would complain about it being boring! Add the fact that Greg would be up there and had not seemed to notice them not arriving yet…something bad was about to happen!

Drawing her Glaive and motioning Steven to stand behind her, Pearl slowly looked around the van towards the beach house! From a first glance, everything seemed fine…until you noticed that despite the lights being on and the front door being open, no sound came from the home! Pearl slowly walked forward towards the step, while Steven peeked out from behind the van! Pearl motioned for Steven to stay put, then began slowly walking up the steps to the front door! Never before had Pearl notice each creak and squeak of the steps until just this moment!

Turning back Pearl noticed Steven was not by the van and nearly panicked…until she noticed him shivering right behind her! Honestly, where'd he learn to sneak so quietly?! thought Pearl, exasperated that Steven did not listen to her! Rather than scold, Pearl walked up the steps with Steven close behind her until they reached the open front door! No doubt opened by Greg, heedless of anything being wrong, the seemingly inconspicuous door seemed almost…ominous!

Pearl decided to walk over to the front window to get a look inside. Nothing seemed out of place…except that no one seemed to be inside! Pearl then took the chance and walked in through the door, Steven following close behind! Slowly, but surely, the pair made their way to the center of the house, seeing nothing wrong…until… 'plop' The sound of water dripping from the ceiling caught the pairs attention, causing to look up in that direction!

The sight that greeted them was chilling in every sense of the word: Connie, Amethyst, Garnet and Greg…frozen to the ceiling as icicles! All of them looked like they were peacefully asleep, blissfully unaware of their frozen imprisonment! Pearl immediately recognized whose handy work this was and dropped into a fighting stance…only for Steven to be blasted by a blast of frigid wind right into the couch! Initially, Steven wore an expression of shock before his posture and facial expression slowly move into a calm position, as if he was going to sleep!

Shocked at the turn of events, Pearl searched in a panic for the assailant! Suddenly…a sabre knocked the Glaive out of Pearl's hands, causing her to stumble back, giving her a view of her opponent! It was Electrum, the Forged Warrior of the Frigid Wind! Looking confident as ever in his green Musketeer uniform, Electrum gave Pearl a short bow before saying, "Bonjour my little oyster! I am so sorry for the…cold welcome!" And with that, Electrum blew a gust of wind, freezing Pearl before she could resummons her weapon!

Slowly, Pearl lost sensation and consciousness, lulled by the mystic ice into a deep slumber like the others! The last sight Pearl would recall, was Electrum stepping back, with a smile on his face…

STEVEN UNIVERSE

Sometime later…

Pearl slowly opened her eyes, the first sensation a passing chill from the ice. Maybe…it was all just a dream! thought Pearl as she tried to get up, only to find her arms and legs restrained, Or a nightmare! Shock and training coursed through Pearl's brain, forcing her awake to get a good look at her surroundings! The Gems were all shackled to stone throne by metal braces with runic writing on them! All the while, Greg, Connie, and Steven were restrained with good old fashioned rope to the sofa!

Pearl could also see that everyone was awake and struggling against their bond! Pearl, unfortunately, could recognize how hopeless the situation was: the writing on the braces was Forged Warrior Runes, in this case specifically designed to restrain Crystal Gems! Not only did it prevent them from shape-shifting out of the bounds, it also inhibited the normal superhuman strength of a Gem and prevent them from summoning their weapons! Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps coming up the walk, Pearl shushed everyone and motioned for them to pretend to be unconscious! The order was followed, rather reluctantly, though pearl keep her eyes partly opened enough to see; a trick she learned to stay ahead of some of Amethyst's pranks!

Through the front door of the beach-house came none other than Electrum…but following close behind was his master: Lord Titanium! "You know your assignment, now get to it! I have some…unfinished business, with our dear friends here!" explained Titanium to Electrum, receiving a respectful bow from the Warrior before he walked over to the Warp Pad and was transported to a new location.

Have to find a way to stop that from happening again! thought Pearl, furious at not having thought of that sooner. The Warp Pads were made only to respond to Crystal Gems and Forged Warriors, a safety precaution against humans misusing or breaking the equipment. Unfortunately, as was discovered in the Gem/Warrior War, there was a simple way to prevent either side from using their Pads! This made travel between them erratic at times, so when the Warriors were locked away, one of the first things the Gems did was unlock all of the Pads. This now proved to be a major tactical mistake!

Titanium, after seeing his Warrior off, turned to his captive audience and said, "You can stop pretending, I know you are all awake! Which is quite fortuitous, because we have much to discuss!"

Pearl and the others, knowing they had been caught, gave the Tyrant Lord similar looks of displeasure (though Garnet's was hidden by her glasses)! They all got a good look at Titanium, from his formfitting suit of living metal armor to the grey blade-like beard and moustache! "So what now?! Ya gonna finish what you what you started last time?!" asked Amethyst sarcastically.

Titanium laughed at Amethyst's defiant nature before replying, "Still you don't understand! If I wanted to destroy you, I would have done so in our last fight!(2) No…today is a lesson in…illumination!" With that, Titanium began a series of martial arts poses, similar to when Pearl materializes an object!(3) Then a flash of light emitted from Titanium blinding everyone in the room! Suddenly, the room changed into a starlight view of outer space leaving everyone speechless save Titanium, who stood confidently!

"Welcome," began Titanium dramatically, "to the Memorial Archive Dimension! From here, I can present images of the past for all of you to witness…starting, of course…from the beginning!" And with that the scene around them shifted…with a flash of light in the distance and objects streaking forward! Eventually it was revealed that this was not a group of spaceships as previously though by the Gems…it was their home system!

"Class, I would like to introduce (or reintroduce in the case of the Crystal Gems) the Origin System, home system of the Crystal Gems and the Forged Warriors!" declared Titanium dramatically, taking the role of an enthusiastic professor. The system in question was a binary system, with a red sun and a blue sun orbiting each other in balance! Save for an asteroid belt surrounding the system, the only two stellar objects in system were two planets, both just far enough from the suns to support life!

The planet closest to the star, labelled Allo on the map, was a harsh looking world of various shades of gray and brown, with only streaks of blue to show that life could exist on the planet! It was surrounded by two ring of various cosmic debris and dust; one a vibrate crimson, the other a sparkling silver. The second planet, labelled Crystallex, was a truly shining world filled with not just blue and green, but other magical colors! This was because massive formations of crystal which made up the continents, next to the oceans of sparkling water.

"As I am sure you have no doubt guessed by now, Crystallex is home to the Crystal Gems, while Allo is the home of the Forged Warriors!" explained Titanium, continuing his lecture, "As with Earth, life was hard on both planets at the start! (Scenes depicting a grey-brown desert with hideous monsters appeared) On Allo, the inhabitants were forced to survive where food and water were the most precious resources. (The scenes changed, depicting a crystalline jungle with red eyes glaring from the shadows) Life was no less hard on Crystallex at the time for, though it had an abundance of food and water, there were still deadly predators of a different sort to plague the night!

"On both planets, again much like Earth, intelligent life evolved! (The scenes split showing in one frame an early form of Crystal Gem (more crystalline then the present day variety) and in the other, an early version of Forged Warrior (looking more like a living metal statue)) Each form of life learned to survive and eventually thrive in their environments. In some cases coming to blows with their own brothers or sisters, depending on the situation! (The scenes illustrated this by showing the two beings learning about their weapons and abilities, fighting monsters on their home worlds, and eventually, fighting their respect Gem/Warrior counterparts, all the while the forms they took slow becoming close to what they were at present)

"In the end, the Crystal Gems and Forged Warriors united their respective worlds, after millennia of struggle! Each civilization was different in different in many respects, but they both shared one thing in common: a desire to explore beyond their world! As such, the two races came in contact with one another! The meeting was…eventful to say the least. (Scenes depicting Gem ships (resembling crystalline aquatic creatures) and Warrior ships (resembling blades more than anything else) firing at each other)

"This…unfortunate first contact world lead to centuries of warfare between the two emerging civilization! Weapon after weapon, life after life, and the war swung to one sides favor than back to the other! In the end, what stopped the fighting was something simple and yet miraculous…the birth of an impossible child! (A picture of a golden child, wrapping in a blanket appeared before them)"

"Aurum?!" remarked Pearl, understanding the significance of the child. He was a hybrid of Crystal Gem and Forged Warrior…as well as leader of the Earth expedition!(4) His death led to the war between Gems and Warriors on Earth!

Titanium smiled before continuing, "I see someone is paying attention! With the realization of a child between the two races, our differences seemed…insignificant! So both civilizations formed a lasting alliance against all threats and returned to the original plan: exploration, discovery and colonization! It would be another millennium before anything upset the new peace that had descended! Aurum become a wise philosopher and teacher, spread a message of peace and goodwill throughout the stars! Until…

"One day, Aurum decided to personally lead an expedition of Gems and Warriors to a new planet! Not only had Aurum rarely left Gem/Warrior controlled space, but most colonies were either Gem or Warrior dominated! There was never truly a case of…integration before! Yet Aurum was bound and determined for this new colony to be an equal partnership between the two empires!

"Thus we at last come…to Earth! (Scenes depicting two alien ships landing on Earth appear, one a pink crystal whale, the other a flying silver sword) It was only when we arrived that we realized the planet was already inhabited. (Scenes of ancient human interacting with Crystal Gems and Forged Warriors appeared) It was then our mission changed: to be one of protecting and guiding humanity as set forth by Aurum! And for a time, it was good…

"Unfortunately…problems began to emerge! (Scenes of Gems turning into monsters, Warriors abusing their power, and humans attacking both appeared) We all struggled, Rose and I especially, during these difficult period. It only grew worse when…our great teacher, Aurum…passed on! (The scene of a grand funeral is shown, Rose Quartz and a young Titanium shown prominently) This is where our story, truly begins…" Titanium stepped to the side, with a dramatic bow, and formed a set next to his audience.

The scenery shimmer, showing the Clockwork Citadel most of the audience was familiar with…only more crowded! There were various Warriors of every age and color gathered around feasting and drinking, sharing battle stories, and watching the…entertainments! At three raised platforms, Crystal Gems performed various acrobatic and…exotic dances to the catcalls of men and women of the Forged Warriors! Ironically, it was a traditional party for both Gems and Warriors after the death of another, though each had different ways of going about it. It was to show the assembled people moving on from their grief and getting on with living!(5) Weaving her way through this mass of people, looking rather embarrassed and out of her depth, went a little blue girl…named Lapis Lazuli!

"And where might you be in such a hurry to get too?!" asked humorously Argent (the original Argent)(6) while seemingly appearing out of nowhere! Shocked, Lapis stumbled backwards, much to the amusement of Argent and several Warriors around her.

Quickly picking herself up, Lapis dusted herself off and stated quickly and loudly over the music, "I need to see Lord Titanium, it's urgent!"

Argent, a little startled by Lapis' desperate tone, quickly lead the Gem through the festivities, towards the war-room, unofficially Titanium's office. There Titanium sat on his throne, looking much as he did today…only younger. His beard was a darker grey than today, his posture slightly more relaxed, and he held a half flagon in his hand. His facial expression was much softer as well, when he seemed to glow at Argent's entrance where he playfully scolded, "I've already told you, I'm not interested in a Gem unless she has a…rosy complexion! HAHAHA! Besides, this one seems a bit on the young side to enjoy our after funeral party!"

"Sir, she says she has urgent business with you." stated Argent simply, using a seriousness tone only for important information. Nodding his head to dismiss, Titanium straighten himself up, putting down the flagon and turning to see the visiting Gem. Lapis had an anxious look on her face, as if she was about to talk to her father about something…uncomfortable.

Titanium decided to open the conversation, "Well, Lapis. I'm a little surprised to see you here. From what I've heard, you don't usually associate with Warriors unless it has to do with control you elemental abilities. Quite prodigious, from what I hear!"

Still looking anxious, Lapis finally worked up the nerve to speak, "Milord…I'm sure you realize that…a lot has happened since our arrival on this world. Gems turning into monsters…the Galaxy Station being render inoperative…and now…"

Titanium grew a little worried at Lapis' line of thought, so decided to be upfront and ask, "What is it that you came here to discuss?"

Breathing in and out, Lapis stated want she wanted as quickly as possible, "Iwanttogohome!"

Not fully grasping what Lapis said in her rush, Titanium asked, "What was that?!"

Lapis this time spoke slowly so she could try explain herself, "I want to go HOME! This planet is…well, it's doing something to us! All those Gems turning into monsters and…"

"Calm." commanded Titanium, putting a hand on her shoulder, then took it away so she can continue.

"Everything has been going wrong ever since we came here! And it's become fairly clear that these…humans…don't want us here, so why are we still here?!" asked Lapis, desperate for the Lord to agree with her.

Titanium took a moment, then responded, "The humans…are just as we were many years ago. It was Aurum's hope that we could guide and protect them, to help them reach the stage we are at currently! And frankly…I don't see any reason we should not continue his mission!"

Lapis Lazuli look in shock at Titanium's statement! How could he be so blind to the dangers to the Gems and the Warriors! It was just like with Rose, all they cared about were these…humans! Well, if that was the case…then it would be up to her to do what is right! With that righteous thought in her mind, Lapis turned to leave!

"Where are you going?" asked Titanium, wanting to know what Lapis' plans were. She was slowly becoming a threat in his mind!

"I'm leaving! Not just here, but Earth too! We'll see what the Council thinks of your…mission!" exclaimed Lapis angrily, upset she could not find support with the authority figures! Suddenly the opened doorway closed with a clang, startling Lapis! Secretly, Titanium tucked something up his sleeve…

"I think we still have something that needs to be discussed!" stated Titanium as he walked towards Lapis, "First of all, how exactly do you plan to get home?! Like you said, the Galaxy Station is inoperative…the Crystal Colony has already been disassembled to make the various Gem sites across the world…and you know I certainly won't let you fly off with any of our ships in the state of mind you currently possess! So my question remains: how are you planning on getting home?!"

"WITH THESE!" shrieked Lapis, summoning wings made of water from her back! Startled, Titanium took a step back! He knew of this ability: certain Gems could utilize the Elements in the same way that Warriors could, the wings were an expression of mastering it…well almost! The wings Lapis had did not seem…complete! However, with those wings, a Gem could easily escape a planet's atmosphere, especially since neither species truly need to breath!

"When did you…" asked Titanium, still startled at Lapis' new ability. She should not have been able to do that for another century at most!

"Only recently, just before… Look the important thing is: I don't need the approval of either you or Rose! I only asked because…you two are well respected! But you're both blinded by Aurum's desire to see his…mission…succeed to realize it is over! It might take me a few months…maybe a year! But I will bring back the proper authorities…to get things back on track!" Lapis turned, only to be brought back around when Titanium said:

"And how sure are you that there is any 'proper authorities' left!"

Lapis look Titanium in the eye as he continued, "Like we have discussed early, the Galaxy Station is down! When in our entire history has such a thing occurred?! No one wants to admit the possibility, but…what if it's just…gone?"

Lapis was shocked at what the Warrior was suggesting. That the two great civilizations in history were…gone! It was preposterous! It was no doubt a sham, a ruse to change Lapis' mind about leaving! But as she looked into Titanium's eyes…she saw no lie…only a grim certainty!

"That is what makes this mission so important now! Not only for humanity, but for ourselves! We, all of us, maybe the last of our kind in existence! Lapis…if you go back…you may lead whatever destroyed our worlds back here!" Titanium had a look of dead certainty as he made this statement!

Lapis turned around, thinking about what the Warrior Lord said. As much as she wanted to dismiss it…he could be right! But there was no way to prove this by just staying on Earth! Sighing, Lapis couldn't face Titanium as she declared, "I'm going! You can't stop me!"

"Wanna bet?!" whispered Titanium into Lapis' ear…before shoving a knife through her back! Worse, his blade went right through Lapis' gem, cracking it in half! Shock and horror crossed her face as life seemed to ebb away! As she retreated into her broken gem to try and heal, she caught a glimpse at a more shocking sight…the sight of Lord Titanium, leader of a thousand victories, conqueror of the mightiest monsters…crying!

Catching Lapis' gem before she hit the floor, Titanium's tears continued to flow unhindered! Why did she have to be so stubborn?! Why couldn't she see the good of humanity?! These were the thoughts rushing through the Warrior Lord's mind as he stared at the broken Gem! Even if she recovered, Lapis would likely turn into a monster…like others before her!

Looking around, Titanium spotted a Gem Mirror, designed as an educational tool for both Gems and Warriors.(7) Pulling the power gem from the back, Titanium hid the evidence in plain sight! He would send it off later, no doubt lost among the market place! With that taken care of, he walked into the main hall, to forget his terrible deed (even temporarily) in the festivities. With that, the scenery faded away, returning the Dimension's occupants back to the beach-house.

Seemingly ignoring the shock and horrified looks on his audience faces, Titanium proceeded to the final part of the lecture, "The rest, as they say, is history! Argent was killed on mission…I retaliated…Rose grew…distant with me and the War eventually came about! Now then, any questions?"

"YOU ANIMAL!" shrieked Connie as she simultaneously shatter her ropes binding her and changing into her Forged Warrior form, summoning her weapon. She then immediately attack the Warrior Lord, who only casually blocked her attacks for several minutes, before throwing her into…the surprisingly empty sofa! Connie did not just free herself…she freed Steven and Greg, who were now trying to loosen the bonds holding the Gems prisoner! Titanium simply gestured with his hand…and freed the Gems himself!

"I told you…I did not come here to fight!" exclaimed Titanium, like a teacher talking to rowdy students, "I came here…to make sure Steven understands just what he's done by freeing Lapis Lazuli!"

"Hey! Don't you condemn Steven!" exclaimed Greg, angry that Titanium seemed upset for Steven helping a Gem!

"I'm not condemning Steven! Healing Lapis Lazuli, even after she attacked his friends and endangered the world, was an act of pure charity, noble without a doubt…but unfortunately, as the old saying goes: 'No good deed goes unpunished!'" ended Titanium sinisterly, turning his back to his audience. Everyone froze…they knew Titanium was testing them, seeing if they would go for the obvious opening! The Gems hesitantly put away their weapons, leaving only Connie with a weapon drawn! Only after looking at Steven, seeing his pleading look, did Connie sigh and put away her tessen!

"What happens now?" asked Connie suspicious of Titanium's goal.

Turning back towards them with a somber expression, Titanium explained, "With Lapis Lazuli heading towards our home system, that leaves two possibilities: either I was correct and our civilization is destroyed…or not. Either way, danger is coming to this planet! Even if our civilization is intact, they will not be happy with what has happened here on Earth! Protocol demands only one option: quarantine the planet, arrest the perpetrators…and sterilize the planet in question!"

Seeing the shocked expression on the children and Greg and the uncomfortable expressions on the Gems, Titanium continued, "I see I wasn't the only one who's thought of this possibility. This simply means I will have to accelerate my plans since we now have a time limit. Thankfully, I still have a lot of old projects to check up on! That's why I needed your Warp Pad; to connect mine to the rest of the system!

"Now I'm afraid I must be off; so many things to do, so little time!" declared Titanium before stepping towards the Warp Pad, before turning back and saying, "Oh…I suppose I should ask whether any of you have change your mind about helping my cause, given what you have just seen!"

"The only thing that…spectacle convinced us of is that you need to be taken down…HARD!" declared Garnet, fury in her tone. The eyes of the Gems and everyone else, showed they were thinking the same thing! Whatever his reason…Titanium just admitted to attempted murder! It also showed just how far he was willing to go for his cause…and the Gems would never approve of those lengths!

Sighing at the Gems answer, Titanium step on the Pad and said, "I suppose I would not expect you to understand…Well, time to get a good look at the world! I wonder if I should visit Paris next…" The Pad activated sending the Warrior to his next location…and next target!

"Quick! While, it's still powered up!" exclaimed Pearl as she rushed over to the Warp Pad! But too late to stop Titanium…though Pearl summoned a holo-screen with a list of coordinates on it. "Now we'll at least know where they're going!"

"Huh, Pearl? What is that?" asked Steven never seeing this feature of the Warp Pad before.

"Basically, Steven, it is a record of every location this Warp Pad has ever 'warped' to! This will allows to know where Titanium is going and possibly give us a hint as to his plans!" declared Pearl as she scrolled up the list of coordinates.

"Wait…all of places we've been?!" asked Steven, nervous for some reason.

"Yes, why?" asked Pearl, before getting to the more recent uses…including Steven Warping to the island of the Invisible Monster(8)…at least twice!

"We'll discusses this later!" said Pearl, in a disappointed tone. She already knew about the trip with Lars and Sadie…and Steven had been punished accordingly. But now it seemed that he had gone again…with Connie! Three guesses why! Steven looked suitably embarrassed by the revelation as Pearl closed in on Titanium's destination.

"So, where is he?" asked Garnet seeing Pearl slowing down.

"Well...it looks like Electrum just went back to the Citadel so nothing to worry about there…" stated Pearl as she moved onto Titanium's location.

"Whoa! Doesn't that mean they could just bust in here whenever they want…like they just did?!" exclaimed Greg, stating the obvious because he thought it needed to be said.

"They can't get into the Temple, so attacking us is kinda pointless! Relax Big G!" exclaimed Amethyst, trying to calm Greg down…though he did have a point! They'd have to deal with it soon…but first things first!

"Okay, and Titanium's scheme is…" started Pearl, before stopping with a look of shock on her face, "no!"

"What is it?" asked Amethyst, pushing under Pearl to see he display before stopping dead, "You gotta be kidding me!"

"Guys, what's wrong?" asked Steven innocently.

Pearl turned around, allowing everyone to see the display, causing Garnet to tense. While Greg, Steven, and Connie did not understand the significance of the location displayed, they still felt dread at the Gems reaction:

BLACK FOREST, GERMANY

To be continued in…'Project Echidna'

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. Hope this one-shot makes up for the delay in Steven Universe stories for the next few months! Sorry, I just got a backlog one other genre stories! Hope you decided to read my SheZow/Danny Phantom story, "Mad Dancing"! Anyway please be sure to read and review! Oh and…Happy Halloween! MUAHAHAHAHA!

1 This is a reference to the episode 'House Guest'

2 See my last Steven Universe fanfic, "The Forged Warriors"

3 Referencing the episodes "Lars and the Cool Kids" and "Mirror Gem"

4 Refer back to "The Forged Warriors" for details

5 It is similar to the New Orleans 'jazz funeral' and all the traditions it is based off of. Though the Warriors' version is a little…rowdier!

6 Again refer to previous Steven Universe story "The Forged Warriors"

7 Same as seen in "Mirror Gem"

8 Reference to "Island Adventure"