33Hello all you great people who decided to give this story a look over! This is LightDusk16 bringing you my first Steven Universe fic!
I've been a fan of SU since the first time Jail Break aired, and I've enjoyed so many awesome stories like 'A Leader's Call' by skydarius11 and 'Don't Even Bother' by GlassHawk. I've been debating writing this story for a while, but with my other responsibilities to my other stories I held off.
Obviously, I'm not doing that anymore.
The movie (which was freaking awesome by the way, and I keep watching it over and over again) has ignited my passion for the show once again, and now I can't resist writing this (Along with some other reasons that aren't worth mentioning).
Now, enough babbling, let's get this thing going! Time to see what happens when you take a bunch of 'What If?' questions and bash them into one story.
Let's get things rolling, time to shine the light on a brand-new story! It's show time!
}Episode 1: A Regular Boy in a Boring Town{
Beach City, a simple name for a simple place. There isn't very much in this little town, certainly nothing that would ever stand out during a web search of the location, nothing reputable anyway.
It is just your simple coastal town, with a few local businesses and homes here and there. Really, the only thing of real significance is the local amusement park (appropriately called 'Beach City Funland') and the town's namesake, the beach. Perhaps if one was truly desperate to find something of interest, the old lighthouse at the edge of town could provide some entertainment.
Much like any other town near the sea it thrives on two things; fishing and tourists, though the dangers of the former do give it more prestige over those who relieve (scam)tourists of their vacation funds. Anyone brave enough to sail the sea with the unknown beasts below have a right to be given respect after all, especially when the vacation season has yet to truly start.
Really, this simple, small and dull town has little to make it stand out, but even the most unremarkable of locations can lead to the most exciting of adventures.
Even if it's an adventure that drags you into it kicking and screaming…
}Line Break{
At night, Beach City becomes a shell of its daytime facade. The hustle and bustle of tourists, food cart owners, and the local populace going about their days is replaced with a calming silence. Not even the mechanical groaning of the Funland rides can break this spell as the quiet night sets in over the town.
But there is also a sweet spot between this silent night and the peak business hours, where the sunlight begins to dwindle and shops make preparations to close. In that time, there is a comfortable static of background noise as people prepare for the end of the day. It is methodical, and routine, and hardly broken by anything unexpected.
"I'm going to explore the town for a bit Dad!"
But there are always exceptions to the rules.
A voice, slightly deep as one sounds when suffering through puberty, echoed throughout the early evening from Beach City's one and only hotel. Like many buildings in town, it was simple and did not exceed six stories, a holdover from times before settlement defenses were much more advanced. And standing halfway out of the entrance door of the brick building was a teenage boy with curly black hair and dull black eyes.
"Okay Schtu-ball, just be careful and don't stay out too late. Be back no later than 12, got it mister?" A man's voice answered from inside the hotel lobby. There was a hint of sternness in his tone, but that was hidden behind an almost unbearable amount of mellowness.
"Okay Dad, be back soon!" The boy called out with a small smile, seemingly used to the mellowness. Before he got a chance to shut the door behind him though, a second voice called out from the lobby, this time a woman's.
"Be careful Steven, and please stay away from the Walls," she said, her tone dripping with gentleness, and barely concealed strain if one were to listen closer.
The boy's smile stiffened slightly in response to the woman's words.
"O-okay Rebecca. I'll...I'll be careful," he answered in a wooden, uneasy tone. He hesitated in the doorway for a moment, seemingly trying to say something more, but eventually he just sighed and closed the door behind him.
"Be careful of what? This town is nice and quiet and boring. I bet they hardly see beasts…" he shrugged as he pulled his hood up, stuffed his hands into his pockets and set off into the early evening.
Little did Steven DeMayo know that tonight his world would change drastically, for better and for worse.
}Line Break{
Steven let out another sigh as he turned yet another corner of the unfamiliar town. He couldn't help but berate himself for the awkward exchange between himself and his Dad's girlfriend.
Real smooth dummy, way to keep it cool there. Not like you've known her for three years or anything…The boy's thoughts trailed off as his eyes drifted over the sun making it's way towards the horizon. Three years…is it really that hard to get used to this?
Before his thoughts could get the best of him, he slapped both of his cheeks lightly.
"Come on Steven, now's not the time to be all mopey dopey. You've got a whole town to explore," he chided before nodding in determination.
That's right, we're gonna be here for a while, might as well scope things out. Who knows, maybe you'll see something weird like from that conspiracy theorist's blog, he thought optimistically.
Keep Beach City Weird was really the only notable thing he'd found when looking up the town, and though it was your usual spiel about aliens and whatnot, it did have a more interesting pull than the typical trip advisor.
And besides, even if that blog writer is cuckoo, those pictures of old Native American ruins looked neat, he thought with a smirk as he passed by his fellow pedestrians, avoiding eye contact subconsciously. It wasn't that he didn't like people or anything like that, it's just that larger crowds made him nervous. And since his Dad was a pretty famous rocker, that was a bit counter intuitive. Especially when it came to the paparazzi.
Luckily, out here in the quaint hustle and bustle of Beach City, no one seemed to recognize him as the son of Mr. Universe, which he was eternally grateful for. If anything, he got looks for his shabby looking clothes. They were simple at best and lackluster at worst, but fashion didn't matter much to him because comfort outweighed flashiness.
Hard to believe this sleepy little town is going to host such a huge concert, Steven mused as he saw a mom and pop pizza shop cranking out pies. In reality his father's band usually stuck to much larger cities, like Rio, Vegas, or Empire City, but this newest tour would start in good old Beach City.
When asked why, his father had told him that not only did he still have family in the area, but this was the place where he'd gotten his first big break many years ago, and he wanted to honor that spot. And since the big concert wasn't for a while, Greg DeMayo decided that a little vacation away from the spotlights was in order.
Maybe we could go to this amusement park together, Steven smiled while looking at the distant roller coaster. Aside from some movie and game nights, they hadn't had any bonding time since the last Christmas tour. One big downside to being so famous with millions of fans, was that there was hardly any time for Greg to be an actual father. He tried his best for sure, but nine times out of ten, his stardom got in the way.
…Then again, if anyone figures out who he actually is, then we could kiss that privacy goodbye, he sighed as he tore his eyes from Funland. Not to mention Rebecca will be there as well.
She and his father had been practically inseparable since the day he hired her to be one of his backup singers after the old one quit. Unlike many of his other flings though, this relationship looked like it would last. Even the other band members and crew thought so, and gossip about marriage was all the rage with the fans…But Steven hated it.
By all means, he was happy for his father. Greg had been miserable for a long time until she came along, and she made him live again. He didn't even dislike Rebecca despite the unintentional hogging of his Dad's attention. She was a very nice lady and she always tried her best to get along with Steven, even if things were awkward.
No, the reason why he hated the whole situation was purely for selfish reasons, and even he understood this. He knew it was petty and childish, but he couldn't help but feel the way he did. For now, she was Greg's girlfriend, but if she became his wife…
I don't need a new mom…He thought bitterly for the millionth time. His eyes glazed over as thoughts of his mother, his real mother, started swarming his head against his wishes. All the happy times, the tense times, the times they made each other laugh. The times he made her cry…
The one time she made him cry…
That one rainy night in October when she didn't come home again…
Eight years next month…Steven thought with melancholy as he wiped away a stray tear from his eye. Keep it together! He chided himself after a sniffle. You need to be stronger than that! Keep smiling, just like Mom would have wanted!
Taking a deep, calming breath Steven set his jaw and willed his tears away.
"Live in the now Steven. Live in the now…" he sighed as he continued his trek.
"-here has yet to be any updates on famed scientist Roberto Diaz, nor of the sudden explosions caused at his research facility a few days after his reported disappearance,"
Steven jumped slightly at the sudden loud voice that boomed from his left. Turning to the source, he found it to singular TV with it's volume maxed out in a display of shut off monitors.
"The local authorities have yet to make any statement, and if any news comes to light we will be returning to this case."
Inside the store, he saw an older man berating a smirking boy around his age who held a universal remote. The boy's head was a strange gourd like shape, and he seemed to be taking pleasure in the old man's annoyance.
"Eh, not a very elaborate prank, but at least no one's getting hurt," Steven shrugged as he looked back to the loud TV.
"In other news, in just a few short weeks it will be the official 500th anniversary of the G.O.F. People all over the world are preparing for this landmark milestone with many different cultural celebrations. Our own national branch will be celebrated across the country with parades, concerts and state fairs. Be sure to give thanks to the brave men and women around the world who dedicate their lives to protecting us from the dangers of the Gem Beasts." As the news anchor finished, an image of men and women in high-tech combat gear saluting, while standing upon shattered crystals was put on screen, until the TV was shut off.
The old store owner had gotten his remote back and he was still berating the kid with the weird head who didn't even look phased.
"Dang, the G.O.F.'s 500 years old?" Steven whistled ignoring their shenanigans. "That's pretty neato."
It was more than neato, it was extraordinary. The Gem Obliteration Force was the single largest multinational militia group ever formed, and it had branches in practically every civilized country in the world.
Steven, like every other human being on Earth, knew that if not for this group, humanity would still be cowering behind it's walls in fear of the crystalline monsters that roamed the land and sea. These Gem Beasts had hunted humans for time immemorial, though the oldest recordings dated back to Ancient Greece. They were tough, viscous creatures, that were more rock than living being, and they were hard to kill unless you shattered their core gem. Defensively, humanity was able to live with these creatures around, but after The G.O.F. formed, humanity truly began to prosper. Thanks to the centuries of culling their numbers, Gem Beast attacks became only as frequent as any other wild animal attack, though many cities still had walls for the increasingly rare "Big Ones."
Steven had never personally seen a Gem Beast, which was a good thing in many people's eyes, but he'd always been fascinated by them. Sure they were vicious killing machines, but what was essentially a rock with a body made of hard light that science still couldn't explain, was pretty curious. Like many living creatures, Steven had a bit of a soft spot for these Beasts, especially since their numbers were so low now. He knew better than to take it further though, lest he get labeled as one of those whacko's that worshipped the darned things.
Dang nutjobs, He shuddered as he remembered learning about those cults in school, all of them devoured by their so-called objects of worship. Putting those thoughts aside, Steven began to walk again and ponder the timing of all of this.
"I wonder if the concert Dad's playing at is for the G.O.F. thing. That would be pretty cool. Some of them might come backstage and I could hear their stories," he thought with wonder.
After about another hour of walking, the sun was even nearer to the horizon and Steven found himself near the edge of town by the wall.
"Huh, this place is even smaller than I thought," he said aloud as he looked up at a hill with a lighthouse atop it. "Still, there's plenty of food places to try at least."
As he said that, his stomach gurgled with perfect comedic timing, which got a chuckle out of him.
"Alright, alright, calm down," he laughed and patted his belly. "I'll get you a snack, just you wait."
He thought about the options he'd seen on just his first pass, and a Pizza and a French Fry place stood out to him above the rest, until his eyes landed on a shop right at the edge of town with him.
"Oh sweet, a bakery!" he said giddily as he spied the large donut adorning the building. "Donuts for dinner? Why not?" he shrugged with a smirk as he made his way towards the shop, hoping that they hadn't closed.
}Line Break{
To Steven's immense delight the aptly named 'Big Donut' was, in fact still open, though that delight tapered a bit when he entered and saw the two employees. One was a tall lanky guy with drooped earlobes that looked like he scowled for a living, and the other was a short chubby girl who immediately put on a customer service smile when he entered. They were both a few years older than him, and Steven had to admit, the blonde girl's smile seemed more genuine than others he'd seen in the past, but it was harder to appreciate thanks to the long-eared guy's demeanor.
His face just screams I'd rather be anywhere else. I hope he's not rude, Steven thought apprehensively as he closed the door behind him. Steven didn't like rude people. Rude people led to him getting upset, which led to him getting angry, which led to him saying or doing something that the paparazzi would latch onto and embarrass his dad. So whenever possible, Steven tried to avoid conflict before it even had a chance to begin.
"Hi! Welcome to the Big Donut, you caught us just in time. We were just about to start closing up, but we still have enough time to take your order before then." The girl's kind, welcoming tone helped him feel a bit more at ease
Heh, at least she's nice. I better hurry up and order so I don't take up any more of their ti-
"Hey man, can you hurry up?! I've got plans tonight and I don't want to waste them here any longer then I have to!"
-on second thought, I think I'll go to that Fry place, he thought with dread.
Before Steven could get a chance to enact his 'great' escape, the female employee elbowed her coworker with a glare, causing him to wheeze out in pain as he bent over. And as if she didn't just assault a fellow employee in front of a potential costumer, she turned back towards Steven with her cheery smile
"Please don't mind Lars, he can get a bit cranky near the end of his shift. Of course he doesn't mean any offense to the customer, right Lars?"
The now named Lars scowled at her before mumbling out something that sounded like an apology with the bare minimum of genuineness behind it, but this seemed to satisfy her.
"See? Now if you would like to order some of the most delicious donuts this side of the eastern seaboard please come up to the cash register."
Not wanting to have the woman's ire directed towards him for wasting her time, Steven simply gulped and nodded his head before making his way forward.
Yeesh, all of this just get some donuts? This is why it's easier just to buy stuff off of Congo!*
"Right then, thank you for coming to the Big Donut. Please take a look at our selection and when you're ready just let me know," she said cheerfully.
Once again Steven simply nodded in response before he started looking at the menu behind her, making sure to avoid making eye contact with the crabby Lars. As he did, his eyes slowly started to get bigger and bigger at just how many donuts the bakery had on stock.
It's like some sort of donut heaven! There are some donuts on here that I've never even heard of before! Double layered fudge, Multi-layered Festival, Ultimate Chocolate Showdown!?
"Hehehe, a bit overwhelmed by our selection?" the girl chuckled.
"Ah great, a newbie," Lars rolled his eyes in frustration. "Just what we ne-Oof!"
Steven snapped out of his donut induced wonder upon seeing the second elbow shot.
"Oh, uh, sorry. I won't take too long," he apologized. "It's just that there's so many flavors and-"
"Hey man, it's all good," the girl placated. "Take all the time you need, we're not going anywhere," she said, giving a side glare to Lars who just harrumphed.
"Y-Yeah, alright," Steven stuttered as he looked back up at the wide selection again. "I haven't even heard of many of these flavors…"
"Yeah, we got some unique ones. Most of them are all ideas from the people living here after all," she responded, and Steven's jaw dropped in wonder.
"Really?" he asked breathlessly. "That's amazing!"
"Not really," Lars scoffed. "It's more of a hassle and a waste of money making something only a few lame people eat."
"Huh?" Steven questioned as the girl rolled her eyes at her coworker.
"He's just whining," she explained. "It is a bit harder to sell the regular flavors when everyone has their own unique special. But hey, what can you do?"
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Steven contemplated. "Well in that case, I'll take some regulars to make it easier on you. I'll take three chocolates, two vanilla creams and a long-john please."
"Wow, we got ourselves a saint," Lars said sarcastically which earned him a slight glare from Steven.
Ugh, this guy is a pain, Steven grumbled.
The woman though smiled and nodded before turning to the lanky guy.
"Alright, Lars get to it then, while I ring it up," she ordered. With a dismissive wave, Lars stopped leaning against the counter, grabbed a lunch bag and went to the display counter. While he did that the other employee started typing into the register.
"So, I can't help but notice that I haven't seen you around town before. You're a bit early for the tourist season, so are you new in town or just passing through?" she asked.
Steven chuckled nervously at that, seeing as how small talk was one of his weakest social skills.
"Uh…kind of a bit of both for a bit? My dad is always on the move for his work, so we're really only going to be here till the end of the summer."
"Really? Man you must be pretty lucky to spend your whole summer vacation at the beach huh? I've missed out on a few vacations staying here trying to rank in some tuition money."
"Y-yeah. Lucky, let's go with that," he stuttered awkwardly as he fiddled with his hood.
Totally not just because this was planned months in advance by my dad's agent. Nope, simply luck hehehehe…
She seemed to notice his uncomfortable demeanor, so she coughed and tried to change the subject.
"Well, as long as you're here, if you've got any questions come find me. I've lived in this town my whole life so if you want to find something to do or a place to hang I'm your girl," she said with a bright smile while pointing her thumb at herself confidently.
"Gee, thanks…?" he guessed, taken aback by the kind gesture to which she chuckled.
"The name's Sadie, Sadie Miller," she
"Thanks Sadie, I'm Steven…just Steven," he said and she raised a brow. He felt a twinge of guilt at that, but he knew he couldn't risk her knowing his last name, the hardcore and craziest fans knew Mr. Universe's real name after all.
No need to turn a potential friend/acquaintance/tour guide into a raving fanboy that would only get close to me to get to Dad, he thought with conviction. It happened more times than he cared to admit.
"So uh Sadie…you said you know this place pretty well right?" he continued to throw her suspicions off.
"I should say so," she said confidently.
"Well…you wouldn't happen to know of any ancient Native American ruins around here would you?" he asked earnestly.
"Ancient ruins?" she asked after blinking a few times in confusion. "Why would you want to know that?"
Steven could feel the blush on his face as he stuttered out,
"W-well you see ever since I was young I was super interested in ancient history. There's just something so cool about how our ancestors were and acted compared to now. Plus all the vastly different cultures and lifestyles that compared to now seem almost alien it's just super cool to learn about. That and my mom was a huge history buff too, and well-"
"*cough*Nerd!*cough*" Lars subtly insulted and he frowned.
"…Look, I like history stuff. I know the travel guide didn't mention anything, but I saw some pictures on this blog that caught my attention."
Sadie's eyes widened with understanding the minute he mentioned a blog.
"Oh lord," she sighed and facepalmed. "You read Renaldo's stupid conspiracy theories before coming here?"
"Wait for real? That's hilarious," Lars laughed unkindly while Steven pouted his lips.
"Listen, don't judge Beach City based on his ramblings. There's no aliens, or secret world government or-"
"Oh trust me, I don't!" Steven held his hands up defensively. "I know it was just a bunch of crackpot stuff, but even still, all the sights he claims are aliens and stuff looked like old historical sites."
She let out a sigh of relief at that while Lars continued to mockingly giggle.
"That's a relief. Renaldo's actually turned a few tourists off this place thanks to his blog," she said with an eyeroll before smiling again.
"Well, I'm not one of them," Steven chuckled. "So yeah, instead of asking a guy like that for directions, I thought I'd ask someone nicer like you."
"Heh, thanks for the vote of confidence," she grinned. "And, well, depending on what pictures you saw on his blog, there could be a many number of sites where he took them."
"Oh, so you don't know?" Steven said a bit dejectedly.
"No, no, I have a general idea of some of them thanks to his constant rantings. I'm pretty sure there's some old cave drawings and stuff at the base of the hill on the beach below the old lighthouse," she said pointing out past the wall.
"Really? That close?" Steven asked excitedly.
"Yup," she nodded. "Never seen them myself, but that's where they are."
"Wow, thanks so much Sadie, I appreciate it," he said in gratitude. And had Lars not dropped his donut bag on the counter, Steven might have very well run out immediately without his delicious goods.
"That will be 7.36," Sadie said. With an embarrassed chuckle, Steven paid for his goods and took his bag.
"Thanks again, I can't wait to see them. Just along the wall on the beach side right?" he asked as he reached the door.
"Yes but, you're not going out there right now are you? It's almost sunset," she said with worry.
"Eh, I've got plenty of sunlight left. Really, I just want to scope it out to see if it's worth visiting with my Dad," Steven reassured. Before Sadie could try to talk him out of it, or Lars could say something snarky and sarcastic, Steven waved and ran out the door.
"See ya later Sadie and Lumpy!"
"Lumpy!?" Lars shouted in outrage, but Steven was out of earshot by the time he retorted.
}Line Break{
Three donuts and a brief jog later Steven found himself going through the strangely unguarded wall gate and onto the sandy beach.
"Wow, must be no Gem Beast activity at all if there's not even a guard," he mused aloud as he looked back up at the large sprawling structure. No matter how many cities he passed through, each wall, no matter how different in height or style, was always an intimidating site to behold. At the very top of the structure, he saw the sentry guns and other defenses for flying or climbing beasts and balked over the lack of anything near the gate.
"Either arrogance or confidence or both," Steven shrugged as he started to move towards the base of the cliff in the dwindling sunlight. He knew it was dangerous to be out on the exposed beach at night, since there were still oceanic beasts out there, but he took the lackadaisical security to mean it was safe.
Plus, according to Sadie it's not even that far from the wall, he thought confidently. Now, I wonder what condition those ruins are in? What tribes were in the area back then?
It wasn't long before Steven arrived at the location at the base of the cliff. Looking up the massive spire of rock, he could see the lighthouse standing proudly against the oncoming night. The wall only came up halfway to the hill and was buried into the rock where it ended.
Man this cliff side has seen some better days huh? he mused at the many eroded surfaces from years of nature.
"There's smooth stone all over the place, just like the blog said," he assessed as he opened his phone and looked the article on Keep Beach City Weird. "Though that doesn't mean aliens, that could just mean there were cliff dwellings carved that got eroded with time." Taking a picture with his phone, he turned back around as the sun was almost gone below the horizon.
"Dang it," he grumbled and looked back to the stones. Sure they might be enough to get his dad to come out and view them with him, but he wanted more than just smooth stones. As the darkness set in, he crept closer to the base, looking for the cave paintings Sadie had talked about. Sweeping his phone light over the rocks, he hoped to get at least one picture for the night before heading back into town, but all he saw in the dwindling light was moss and vines.
Grumbling in frustration, but willing to bet on a dare, Steven picked up a rock and began scraping off some of the excess moss and weaker vines.
"Come on, come on…I don't want to wait a whole night to-*gasp*!" Steven's eyes widened in excitement as he found a pretty unique pattern. "Oh. My. Gosh! This looks like…I have no idea what this looks like," he sputtered, his excitement drowned by confusion. They were definitely markings, but they weren't like any he'd ever seen. They were more like indents of weird shapes as opposed to drawings of animals or people hunting.
"I…huh," he grunted and took a picture before placing his finger against one of the symbols. "They don't even look that old…Wait a second!" his eyes narrowed as a horrid thought came to him.
That blogger kept talking about aliens and stuff, could he have just etched these in as an "Alien Language" for a hoax?
It certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibility, especially when one wanted attention in a small town.
Frowning at this possibility, Steven unzipped his hoodie and pulled out a small leather-bound notebook that looked like it'd seen better days. He then proceeded to start doing a sketch rub of the symbols.
Just in case the picture comes out blurry, he noted as he ran his pencil over the paper. But seriously, if this was all just a hoax, then I'll totally leave him an angry comment! You don't just graffiti historical ruins with your made up-
"WHOAH!" Steven cried out as suddenly, the stone surface he was sketching on opened and he fell forward.
"OOF!" he grunted as he landed belly first onto the ground and kicked up dust. "*Cough Cough* Wha-what was that!?" Sitting back up, he looked behind himself and saw the scarce moonlight illuminating the ocean through a rounded entrance. The stone he had been leaning against stood at an angle, pushed inward like a door.
Turning his phone light back on he looked around himself and noticed that he was not in a naturally formed cave, but a massive carved out room.
"No way…" he gasped before stars came to his eyes and he grinned maniacally. "An ancient man-made dwelling!" He figured it had to be ancient by the amount of dust that lined the floor and the staleness of the air.
"Okay, sorry for doubting you crazy blogger," he apologized aloud with a chuckle. "But even still, I doubt aliens had a hand in this. This could be the entrance into a honeycombed cliff dwelling, or even an ancient temple!"
He took a few more pictures of the entrance and of the entrance tunnel before making a note in his notepad.
"Heh, I bet Dad would get a kick out of this. All we need is a couple flashlights and some snacks and we'd be able to explore this place. I bet Rebecca would be too scared to step inside."
As it was, the square room he was in was only interesting for the fact that it existed, but otherwise it was a blank room covered in dust with a few stray crumbled rocks near what looked to be stalagmites. There appeared to only be one other corridor at the end of the room, and Steven debated whether it was better to come back tomorrow or check it out now.
"…Well, if Dad knows there's more than just one room he might be more interested," he reasoned as he started walking further in. "Gotta make sure it doesn't just dead end too."
It was extremely dark in the room, and his phone light didn't have nearly enough illumination, but even still as he made his way towards the corridor, he found that the stalagmites weren't stalagmites at all, but withered old statues.
"Whoa…" he gasped as he looked at the structure, which was far taller than him, even in it's decayed state. "It looks like it's supposed to be a woman maybe?"
The head and arms of the statue were gone, but the chest seemed to be in the best condition.
"Guess the carvers had their priorities down," Steven chuckled as he took a picture. With the extra flash, he did see a few more details though, like how their appeared to be carved armor with a huge opening at the midriff.
"What kind of armor has a huge weakness like that?" he thought aloud. "Also, did some Native Tribes have armor like that?"
Shaking his head at the conundrum he took another photo and looked back to the corridor.
"…I think that might be enough. We can see if there's more another day," he concluded, realizing just how dark it really was inside. He stared at the ominous hole for a few more seconds before he sighed in defeat. "Okay, just one peak and then back to the beach."
To his surprise it was not a corridor at the end of the room, but instead it was a stone staircase leading to some lower level of the ruin.
"Oh wow…" he said in wonder and reluctantly looked back to the beach side door. He began to bite his lip as his curiosity duked it out with his sense of common sense. "…Alright, I'll just see what's at the bottom and then come right back up." He relented.
A part of him would come to regret that decision.
}Line Break{
The deeper Steven went, the more he realized that this probably wasn't the best idea.
Not only was there several doors and entrances that seemed to be sealed off, as if whoever used to live there didn't want anyone else getting in, but there was also the fact that the signs of decay were becoming less of the natural variety and more of deliberate destruction. There were cracks and holes around the walls that were definitely not carved or worn out.
Huh, wonder who was fighting who? he pondered as he saw what looked like an ancient scorch mark. Also, why is it suddenly so hot down here anyway!?
Another thing that was putting Steven on edge was the fact that the further he went down, the hotter and hotter it got. It was almost like the very stone itself around him was a heat conductor. Speaking of how far he went down, Steven seriously underestimated just how deep these steps went and he lost cell phone service after 10 minutes.
Man, I better reach the end soon, he groaned and silently cursed his unrelenting curiosity. Almost by fate, his wished was answered as the steps ended and his feet hit flat even ground inside of another large chamber. Looking back up the stairs he winced as he realized it would be a heck of a leg workout.
"Okay, I reached the bottom, just like I said," he panted as he snapped a picture. "Now all I gotta do is take a breather bef-" he cut himself off as something reflected the light from his phone. "What the…?" he blathered as he focused the light back to the source, and again light reflected back into his eyes.
"What the heck is shiny all the way down here?" wondered as the reflected light beamed further into the room. Again he looked back up the stairs and bit his lip.
"…Aw for crying out loud," he grumbled and moved towards whatever was catching his light.
Nestled in a corner under a few rocks, was what appeared to be something made of glass.
"Oh please don't tell me I'm not the first one here, and some litterbug found this place before I did," he moaned as he picked the rocks away. His fears though turned into awe though when the object was fully uncovered.
"A hand mirror?" he gaped. It was indeed a hand mirror, one with an intricate pattern in it's holster, and surprisingly, the glass was still in one piece. "…Okay, I'm starting to think that a Native Tribe didn't build this place."
Picking up the ornate artifact he looked at his reflection and noticed that he still had dust in his hair from his earlier fall.
"Heh, well one thing's for sure, whoever made this thing built it to last," he smirked and turned it over. The minute he did so, his heart nearly leapt into his throat and he almost threw the tool. "Oh My...Whooo!" he breathed out as he clutched his chest. For on the back of the mirror was a tear shaped blue gem with a large crack in it.
"Yeesh, that's a heck of a scare" he panted as he got his breathing back under control. There were such things as non-beastial gemstones in the world, he knew that, many people wore them in jewelry after all, but it was still a bit unnerving to see when not prepared. There were those who would wear jewelry made from destroyed Gem Beasts parts, but those were far more expensive than the natural ones.
"Heh, heh, get a hold of yourself DeMayo, it's just a fancy mirror, no monsters here," he chuckled and flipped the mirror portion back to himself. "Probably belonged to some rich lady or something…but then again why would this even be he-HAUGH!" he choked on a scream as the mirror reflected something behind him.
Turning around very slowly, he raised his light up and the color drained from his face.
Splayed all over the floor, were Gem Shards. Hundreds of them, all different shapes, sizes and colors. There were rubies, sapphires, quartzes, some sort of jaspers, pearls, and many many more. Steven began to breathe heavily as he took in the sight, because, just like the mirror gem, each and every one of the gems were either cracked or shattered. There was nothing natural about these stones, they had been broken.
"Wh-Wh-What in the world happened here? What is this place?" Steven stammered in fear as he realized he was standing in what was essentially a Gem Beast graveyard. A cold sweat started to form on his brow as a horrifying thought came to him.
What if they're not all dead?
Gulping in terror, Steven gingerly and carefully made his way back towards the stairs.
Okay, let's scratch this off the list of things to do with Dad! I've gotta get out of here! I've gotta tell someone about this! Even if those things are all dead, someone's got to be informed!
With panic flooding his mind, Steven began to double time it up the staircase, not daring to look back. And because his mind was so preoccupied, he failed to notice three things.
The first had been a small reddish light which had blinked a few times upon one of the wall panels before fading out.
The second, was that he still held the hand mirror, which still had his initial excited and smiling face on it from before he saw the graveyard. Static overlaid the image as it repeated the instance from intrigue to terror over and over again.
And the third and final thing he'd missed, was that the second his feet hit the steps, something shifted within that graveyard room. Something covered in white fluff that seemed to uncoil like a snake, something that opened a jagged maw full of teeth, something that hissed at the teenager revealing a single gem within it's jaws.
With all these things unnoticed, Steven DeMayo huffed and puffed up the stairs, not realizing that this was the day that his life would change forever. This was the day an average human would fall into an extraordinary world and shift the destiny of many.
This was the day it all changed. The day The Mirror was found.
}End Episode{
*I've noticed that a lot of SU fics like to do parody names for stuff in real life, so I'm gonna try and do that here. In this case, a lame attempt of using the Congo instead of Amazon for…well Amazon.
And so begins this massively AU story! Be prepared for thrills! Action! Laughter! And so much more!
Did you all enjoy this glimpse into this version of Steven's story? I'm super pumped about writing this story, and I have a whole slew of ideas ready to put into it! As for how I plan on scheduling updates, I hope to keep it decently consistent.
The plan for now is to have at least two chapters a month, or at least one. College can be a picky annoyance, and I have to still make chaps for my other stories as well. But considering how excited I am to write this expect a good couple of chapters right from the get-go until things mellow out.
Also, as a fair warning since this fic takes place in a massively big AU, there will be some changes that you all may or may not like for obvious reasons. As well as some head-canon here and there with some stuff. So be prepared for that, and if it isn't your cup of tea no problem.
Please feel free to leave a review about the story, any and all feedback would be appreciated in order to make this fic as great as possible for you all to enjoy. What did you like, what did you think of was a bit much, what do you want to see/happen? I eagerly await to hear from you all!
I'm looking forward to where this story will go! This has been LightDusk16, signing off!