33Holy crap did I drop the ball on this one! Like seriously I give this big talk about sticking to a schedule for uploading chaps, and it takes me eight months to write the fourth chapter for the fic!
Hell, the show finished before I could even get this chap started!
The only thing I can say is that life got crazy for me, and a whole slew of things got in the way of writing this fic in particular. Thankfully everything is now under control and I can actually stick to a schedule…hopefully.
Anyway let's not keep you guys waiting any longer, let's get things started. It's show time!
}Episode 4: A Person, or Just a Beast?{
What…what just happened?
Steven cradled the cracked gem, his eyes not daring to look away from it in fear of something happening. Whether that fear was from holding a live gem in his hands, or from breaking the fragile thing, he did not know.
Mira…it, she, was a Gem Beast? But, but Gem Beasts can't talk! They can't communicate on any level! Yet she…What was it she tried to say at the end? Lap this? Laprus? What?!
His mind was a swirl of doubts and fears, the revelation now resting in his hands throwing him completely off balance.
Gem Beasts were just murderous killing machines with no true sense of self. You could not reason with one because their psychotic drive to kill was all they had. That's what he'd been taught for years, that's what the entire human race knew as genuine fact. But now…
"She spoke, she saved my life and…she looked human," he sputtered to the empty night air.
Aside from her blue skin and pupil-less eyes, she had looked hauntingly beautiful in the moonlight, an image out of someone's dreams and nightmares. Not one or the other, but both. She had looked like a young woman, but just enough about her was wrong. The static glitching and her poofing were unnecessary additions to hammer in the nail that she was a different species.
How is that even possible? And how did she control the water? he sputtered to the cracked stone in his hands as some drops fell from his hair.
Poofing a beast required advanced weaponry that had taken humanity centuries to develop, but this blue lady had done it with sea water formed into spears, which didn't make much sense scientifically speaking. But then again, nothing about this made sense.
Maybe…maybe Ronaldo was right, Steven mind flailed for a purchase for rationality. Maybe Gem Beast really are just ancient alien warrior weapons. You can't get much more ancient than a spear.
The idea lingered in Steven's mind for a few moments before he quickly shook it off.
Gah that makes no sense either! Why would an alien weapon be able to talk and look humanoid? He rationalized. And in all these years, how could she be the only one discovered?
The evidence just didn't support that outlandish theory, so then why was this beast so different? Steven looked to the remains of the hand mirror inside his ruined backpack and a chill went down his spine.
The cultists, he thought in epiphany. They believed the beasts were divine, so what if this branch was able to make a gem person to worship? The cultists were whackos that died in droves for their zealotry, but what if they succeeded?
He thought about the mirror and how the gem had been able to communicate through it. Someone had placed that stone there, and he doubted it was another Beast.
Maybe…maybe they did some sort of ritual, he pondered, remembering the countless shattered pieces in that chamber. And then another terrible thought came to him. What if it wasn't just Beasts sacrificed in this ritual?
His earlier assumption that Mira had been the ghost of a dead cultist suddenly felt more plausible.
"Did…did they sacrifice some lady and like…fuse her soul with this Gem Beast?" He asked, horrified as his hands began to shake and he saw his many reflections in the cracked surface. He then closed his eyes and shook his head. "You were in so much pain, weren't you?"
He thought of her holding her head as she flickered in and out of existence, her pained breathing despite Beasts not requiring oxygen. Shattering a gem was hard to accomplish outside of the G.O.F. weaponry, but once done, the Beast would finally be dead. But cracking a gem, one who seemed to have sentience? It brought a shudder to him.
"I did this," Steven said aloud, his voice full of guilt, but he knew it was the truth. Had he not been so set in 'freeing' her spirit, he would never have re-entered the ruins and led to it…her cracking.
No, enough of that DeMayo! Steven thought to himself sternly as he shook his head of negative thoughts. Remember what mom always said, the past is for learning from, not lamenting over. Just live in the now Steven, live in the now.
With his mom's advice in mind, and after a few more deep calming breaths, Steven shakily stood up from the sand. His muscles and injuries screamed in protest, but eventually he was able to steady himself and look towards the Wall.
"Whoever or whatever you are, you did save me, but I have no clue how to fix you," he said to the gem softly. "But the G.O.F might have a clue. I mean, you'd probably be better off in their hands because you're the discovery of a lifetime. Heck, you might even balance out the negative press I'll get."
He knew there would assuredly be negative press, there always was, but in this instance he would kind of deserve it. He had broken several laws and rules entering the ruins at night, not to mention releasing a beast that could have entered the town. If things had gone a little different, then he'd have been remembered as a pariah even after his death.
At least being known as the idiot son who discovered a sentient Gem Beast is a lot better than the idiot son who unleashed a monster onto an unsuspecting town, he thought with melancholy.
"But still, your discovery will probably keep me from going to jail or having Dad pay hundreds of fines for me…this all stemmed from an innocent mistake right?" he said hesitantly before gulping. "Right, it was all just a misunderstanding. Let's do this."
And with that…he took no further steps towards the wall.
"…Or I could just leave you on their doorstep in a padded box with a note explaining everything right?" he chuckled nervously. "But then again that might look like some sort of threat and they'd shatter you before reading the note and-Okay yeah let's not do that!"
And then another thought came to him that rooted him even more.
Will the G.O.F even bother to help her? Would they even believe me? If I showed up at their base at this hour, cut, bruised and burned and holding a cracked gem and proclaiming that it spoke to me…His eyes widened as he knew exactly what would happen.
"They'd throw me in an asylum," he said with surety. "They'd say I was too dangerous to be let out and then they'd just shatter Mira anyway. If there's no proof of her looking human, why would they believe?"
He then groaned and kicked the sand.
"Ah! What am I supposed to do now!? Either way, the both of us lose!" Gritting his teeth, he glared at the gem in his hands. "Why couldn't you just be like that other Gem Beast so I wouldn't have to feel guilty?"
He received no response from the cracked gem, though even if he did Steven would not have noticed it as another factor hit him.
"Ah crap, the other Beast!" he shouted as he looked towards where the monster had almost ended him.
He, like every human, knew that a Beast could reform if it's core was still intact. Depending on how serious the damage though, the time for reformation would change. And while several spears to the back seemed overkill for flesh and blood creatures, Beasts were far more fortified.
Come on where is it!? Where is it where is it!? Steven thought in panic as he desperately looked for the poofed green gem.
After a few moments of panicked searching a glint caught his eye, right where he'd last seen it.
Gingerly holding the blue gem, he quickly made his way over to where he'd almost died and found the acidic green gem that looked unnervingly like an eye.
Okay good, still dormant, he thought in relief. But now what do I do?
He didn't have anything that could shatter it, and he sure as heck wasn't going to pick it up after what it'd done, so that left him in a bind.
"I can't just leave it here! Once this reforms it'll kill someone else," he said with worry. "And the only ones that can deal with it are the G.O.F, but if I tell them then they'll find Mira and-UGH! I'm going in circles!"
He knew that he had to let them know about the monster before it awoke, it would kill innocent people if he didn't, but talking the G.O.F would mean that Mira would be killed too.
Grunting in exasperation, he looked down upon the green gem and grit his teeth. This one mindless killing machine was going to ruin everything.
Except… this Beast wasn't completely mindless was it? He thought suddenly, his jaw loosening.
He thought back to his brief yet terrifying interactions with it, and something stood out to him. When the first spear had struck it, it had seemed confused. Strived of oxygen and on the verge of passing out, Steven still swore he had seen the thing look to him as if asking him "Why is this happening?" Gem Beasts weren't supposed to have self-preservation instincts, and they most assuredly weren't supposed to look human.
Maybe this one was a cult experiment as well? He thought as he scratched the side of his head. He then looked to the entrance to the ruins. I'm the one who left the door open…but if I closed it with it inside…That's it!
He'd just do his earlier plan of leaving an anonymous tip about the ruins. They'd be prepared for the Beast if they went inside and he wouldn't have to risk having Mira shattered. It was the perfect plan…except for one thing.
"I've gotta chuck it back into the ruins before I close the door," he said with a gulp. "It's the only way for me to not get in trouble here. Now if only I had a stick or something to-"
Steven's words were cut off as a bright light from beneath him suddenly caught his attention, and it wasn't a reflection of the moonlight.
Oh no! Don't tell me it's-
The gem slowly began to lift off the ground, causing Steven to cut off his thoughts completely as he shouted,
"IT'S REFORIMG!"
Steven desperately looked around, trying to come up with any plan to either stop the Gem Beast or do something to help his situation. His eyes soon rested themselves on the blown open entrance to the ruins, where this madness started, and in no time at all Steven knew what he had to do.
"Oh crud oh crud oh crud!" Steven gasped out in a mantra like fashion as he quickly limped his way towards the ruins entrance. Either by some miracle or dumb luck, the entrance wasn't damaged from when the monster burst through. Thanking his lucky stars, Steven dove through the hole, placed the blue gem in his hoody's pocket, and began closing the stone slab.
I just gotta hope those anti-gem weapons on the Wall are still functioning and they only look broken down because of them not being used often, Steven thought with guilt slowly eating away at him as he inched the doorway further and further closed. There was nothing he could do, and there was no point in him needlessly dying, so even if it felt cowardly, he kept pushing. With only a faint sliver of opening left Steven eyed the reforming monstrosity and froze.
What the…?
Not many people that lived could say that they'd seen a Gem Beast reforming, and despite the danger, the boy was captivated. For instead of the white light stretching out into the bug like creature from before, it looked humanoid.
It…What?! His mind sputtered as the human shaped white light became brighter…but then began to distort and glitch with harsh angles
Its form is glitching out like Mira? What the heck is happening!?
His question would partially be answered as the Gem Beast's outline seemed to twist and turn, becoming the more familiar monster shape he'd had the displeasure of meeting only moments earlier. Its shape stretched far into the air as its body began to form, its stubby legs and acid spewing jaws standing out among the forming shapes.
However, to add to Steven's ever-growing confusion the Beast did not solidify in its large form, instead it seemed to struggle to keep it before shrinking down considerably. Once reaching this tiny size, the light faded, and the creature was revealed.
What was once a large, centipede like creature that would haunt Steven's sleep for many nights to come was now a small, two body segmented insect. It still had its white mane and deadly acidic jaws, but it was now no larger than a dog. And like a dog, it started looking around wildly and hopping around in place, acid leaking onto the sand as it did so.
In some layer of his psyche, Steven felt that under other circumstances, this behavior could be considered cute, as if the thing was a rabid, acid spewing puppy, but a puppy none the less. The majority of his brain though knew that cute or not, that thing was still dangerous.
I really need to look into those therapy books Archsa recommended me. Inferiority complex can take a backseat to whatever the heck makes me think that's cute, he thought in melancholy before his eyes sharpened. If it's smaller, maybe I can outrun it? I could get to the Wall and call the G.O.F on a payphone or something and-
Suddenly the Beast stopped jumping around and stood stock still.
Okay, what's up with that? Steven thought nervously as the creature methodically moved its head around as if searching for something. The fleshy human is gone, go bug some clams or seagulls or something!
As if hearing his thoughts, the creature suddenly turned to look in his direction and began to move.
Oh come on! Of all the rotten luck! He thought angrily as he pressed his hands against the slab again and began to push. Maybe I was right with that bear analogy and this is its cave! Well tough luck little bug, I'm bigger than you now and-
"SKRREEK!" the diminutive monster suddenly shrieked in pain and Steven paused in surprise once more. Through his narrow view, he saw as the monster screeched and thrashed around in the sand with some sort of glowing blue net wrapped around it.
Where did that come-
Before he could finish his thought, the beach was suddenly filled with bright light, which momentarily blinded him even through the narrow slit.
"Gyah!" he grunted as he rubbed and blinked the spots from his vision, and once it returned, he gulped at what he witnessed.
The G.O.F! he thought in both relief and apprehension as an advanced armored vehicle bearing their insignia came to a stop near the thrashing monster. Its pilotless mounted turret aimed right at the creature, and Steven could see the crackling blue wire that attached it to the net.
Ah man, someone must have called them about all the noise that Beast was making. I should have gotten out of here when I had a chance! He thought nervously. Now any other day he'd have relished seeing the saviors of humanity in action, but today he was the cause of the mess they had to clean up. Don't see me don't see me don't see me! Oh man this is the worst day of my life!
However before Steven's panic could take complete control of him the doors on both sides of the vehicle opened upward with a hiss of steam as they did. Steven's eyes could only widen in wonder and fear at witnessing the 3 soldiers emerge. He expected the high-tech armor, the new ion blasters, and the nearly blank combat helmets…
What the what?!
"Ha! Did ya see that Piper?! I got that sucker in one shot!" an energetic and peppy young man wearing a white bunny onesie cheered while pumping a rifle into the air.
"Mhmm, real impressive Lou," a similarly aged girl decked out in nothing, but black leathers responded boredly.
"Not getting it in one shot would have been embarrassing at the distance we were at," another girl said, her face covered by brass, steam punk looking goggles, with a wide toothy smile that shone in the headlights.
"Wow, thanks for the encouragement guys," the bunny suited man grumbled before turning to the goth looking girl. "And look, I know you're all about the doom and gloom lifestyle, but could you at least act a little happy? We've finally got some action after who knows how long of nothing! Isn't that pretty awesome!?"
"Oh sorry," she said sarcastically before lifting her hand above her head and giving a halfhearted dull "Yay."
"Tch, man you're such a killjoy you know that?"
"Better to be a killjoy then an insufferably happy moron like you," she shot back.
"Least I'm not a gloomy tomb robber!" he responded.
"Children please, we have a cutie pie to bag," the goggles girl instructed, holding a hand between both of them.
"You're only, like, two years older than us Mags," the guy pouted as the goth girl rolled her eyes.
"Two years is two years," she pointed out. "Now hurry up you two before the boss catches wind and our report turns into novel length."
All three of them shivered at that, and the two bickering soldiers from before quickly made their way towards the struggling Beast.
…These are the guys I was afraid of? This is the G.O.F!? Steven thought, completely at a loss as his perceptions and awe were shattered. They look like college students that came out of some weird cosplay convention. No wonder the security at the wall is so nonexistent.
While Steven was wallowing in his thoughts, the three 'soldiers' surrounded the hissing gem bug as the girl with the goggles held out some strange looking device which illuminated the creature.
"Awww, look at his little mandibles, they're so adorable," she cooed as the beast tried and failed to chew through the glowing net.
"Uh huh, cause acid clad spikes of death are soooo in right now," Piper said sarcastically.
"Yeah I'm with her, I still don't get how you get all worked up over these stupid rocks," the bunny clad guy agreed.
"Oh you two wouldn't understand their beauty! Their various shapes and forms, their infinite amount of new powers and abilities, their drive to hunt! It's all just so fascinating!"
The other two just shared a skeptic look before looking back at the goggle clad woman.
"Still probably shouldn't get that close to it though," Piper said plainly.
"Well I still think they're neat! And no acid's getting past the Ion Field anyway," she 'pouted' before smiling brightly again. "But if you don't appreciate this work of art, why don't you two sweep the area and see where he came from?"
"Ah come on Maggie, do we have to?" the boy complained. "We already got it with the Inde-Net and it's the middle of the night. Besides, I'm a fighter not a searcher."
"Oh I know Louise, but who knows? Maybe there might be another one around here for you to valiantly slay?" she said slyly in response. "After all small ones tend to work in pairs, and I wouldn't want to rob you of your chance to shine…"
"You're right Mags!" he responded excitedly, oblivious to her manipulation as he traipsed into the darkness. "Come on out suckers!"
"That idiot is way too gullible for his own good," the goth girl chuckled. "But yeah I think he's got it covered so-"
"Hey Piper, did you hear that this beach was also haunted?" she interrupted in that same manipulative tone.
"…I'm doing this because I want to, not because you said anything," Piper grumbled and walked off in the opposite direction of the bunny clad guy.
"Of course," Maggie said before turning back to the screeching beast. "And then there were two…"
At least I know who the leader of this little troupe is, but seriously, what is up with these guys? Why the bunny suit? Why the steam punk? Why the gothiness? Steven wracked his brains at the seemingly random strangers.
"Aw, aren't you just the cutest little thing ever with your little fluffy white mane! I could just eat you up!" the 'leader' baby talked to the hissing monster and Steven had to put a hand to his temple.
Okay, I thought I was bad for comparing it to a puppy earlier, but that woman sounds sincere! How many screws loose does she have? And then she said something that on top of everything else, made the least amount of sense.
"Oh I can't wait to get you back to the lab! I've never handled a sulfuric acid variant before, oh the fun we'll have my little cutie pie!
Wait, bring it back to the lab? He thought in disbelief, almost unsure if he'd heard right or not. They're not going to shatter it? But…but that goes against the G.O.F motto!
Many of the flyers and commercials about the G.O.F literally had the image of a boot grinding a gem into dust. Capture wasn't exactly in their vocabulary, or at least that's what Steven had thought.
This…this is so confusing. Can just one thing make sense to me tonight!? He bemoaned just as the guy in the bunny suit walked back up to her.
"Hey, no sign of any other Beasts," he said sounding disappointed.
"I'm sorry to hear that, but hey at least you made sure the beach was cleared of any danger, right? That's gotta be pretty heroic in someone's eyes!" Maggie said with false encouragement.
The strangely dressed man looked contemplative at that, but before he could say anything…
*DING*
The device in Maggie's hands chimed as the illumination on the Beast became green
"Ah! Finally, the mineral scan is done! Time to see just what type of gem you are!" Maggie exclaimed like a kid on Christmas.
"Man, that thing takes way too long to scan," Louise observed. "Maybe we should clean it more often or something?"
"Wouldn't make much of a difference anyway," she said as finally her device chimed again. "Aha! It appears this little thing's Gem is a Nephrite!" Steven then saw as her excitement shifted into confusion. "Wait, how is that possible? Nephrites are usually found in the southern forests."
"Maybe it swam?" Louise gestured to the ocean, but before they could ponder any more, Piper spoke up.
"Guys, we may have a problem," she said still with that dull, bored voice, but to the other two it was as if she shouted in alarm.
"What's wrong Pipes? Not enough creepy things to hold you over?" Louise said trying to make light of her apparently worried tone, but Piper didn't seem to budge from it.
"Well it is creepy, but not my kind of creepy," she said as she walked into the light holding a torn and tattered scrap of fabric.
Ah Crap! Steven cursed as the agents got a view of his destroyed backpack. The other two officers immediately became sullen as they looked the debris over.
"Where did you find that?" Maggie asked.
"Over by the water's edge," she answered, pointing over her shoulder with a thumb.
"Uh, well…maybe it's just ocean garbage, right?" Louise asked nervously.
"There are some burns on it…acidic burns," the dull girl explained. As if to emphasize the point, the gem beast began drooling more acid uselessly upon the net.
And as Steven began to sweat more profusely, Maggie, biting her lip, looked between the backpack and the beast several times before declaring.
"There's no blood stains are there? On the bag or in the sand?"
"Not that I saw," Piper answered.
"Yeah, I didn't see any either," bunny boy agreed.
"Then if there's no blood, then it's highly possible that it is just a bit of litter this Nephrite was chewing on," the leader said with a tone that insinuated that she didn't buy that explanation.
The other two nodded, even though they too looked skeptical.
"Right…just some chew toy trash," Louise said, not looking at the bag.
"Makes sense," Piper nodded. "I mean, who would even be out here this late?"
"No one with good intentions that's who," Maggie said coldly. "But there's no evidence to show that there even was a hypothetical person, so there's no need for further investigation or more paperwork."
"…But if there was actually someone?" Louise asked hesitantly and Steven swore the atmosphere got even more chilly.
"Then we keep an eye out for missing person's reports," she said icily. "But to be honest if there was someone stupid enough to be outside the walls this late, they probably had it coming."
Hey! Steven thought with indignation at her callous attitude. I may be stupid for coming out this late, but my life isn't disposable!
The other two shuddered at the implication, but they said no more as Piper threw the torn bag into the vehicle.
"But since there is no victim, nor just cause to look for one, let's get this over with before the sun starts rising. Let's poof and bag this little guy already."
Bag? So they really aren't going to shatter it? Steven thought in slight dread as he watched Maggie take out some device from her pocket as Louise ran off towards the vehicle.
"Now this is only going to sting for a few seconds little Nephie, then it's off to…well wherever you guys go after poofing," She said in a babyish voice as she kneeled over its thrashing form.
She pressed something on her hip, and in an instant the ion net containing the Gem Beast stopped glowing. For a moment, the beast realized that the containment was weakened and thrashed about with more intensity, but before it could even make a tear in the wiring, the goggled G.O.F. agent pressed the long square object to the beast's body.
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" the bug like beast screamed in agony as what looked like multicolored electricity permeated its body.
Good lord! Steven gasped as the monster continued to scream. Despite what the Beast had done to him earlier, he couldn't help but wince in sympathy as the thing suffered under the intense volts. The so-called seconds seemed to stretch for minutes as the Gem Beast's body writhed and spasmed. Okay! That's enough! Just put it out of its misery please! Steven silently pleaded, his hands over his ears.
After a few more agonizing, ear splitting shrieks, the creature finally did as Steven wished.
*POOF*
The Gem Beast poofed for the second time that night, its gem landing harmlessly in the sand.
Maggie let out a tired sigh as she picked up the gem, turning to face Louise who had just reached her carrying some strange, cylinder looking object with him.
"I always hate that part," she said sounding sad as she placed the gem inside the container. "A creature without lungs shouldn't be able to scream like that. It truly rubs me the wrong way."
"After the centuries of suffering they've caused? I say let 'em scream," the boy in the bunny pajamas said coldly as he closed the cylinder, causing it to light up and show the gem floating inside it.
"Well it ain't gonna be screaming any time soon," Piper said boredly as she began winding in the net.
Is that tube able to stop gem reformation? But that's impossible…isn't it? Steven thought in bewilderment as the three agents began to load up into their vehicle.
"Hurry now, before the boss finds out we didn't sign off on the truck!" Maggie ordered as she and Louise got in. Piper finished rolling the net onto the roof, when suddenly some rocks from above the ruins entrance fell in front of Steven, which caused him to jolt.
The black clad girl whipped around and raised her rifle and flashlight in Steven's direction and he froze.
Agh! Why now?! Stupid rocks! Steven silently cursed as she took a few steps towards him. Staying still as a statue, Steven locked eyes with the girl through the slit and she paused. Does…does she see me?
Her eyes didn't move anywhere else and he felt for sure that the jig was up.
"Pipes! What are you doing? Hurry up!" Louise called from the vehicle. After that, she seemingly stared right into his eyes for a few more heartbeats before lowering her rifle and shaking her head.
"Whatever," she said boredly and turned back to the vehicle.
Huh?
"What, was that all about? The cliff face insult you or something?" Louise snarked but she just dismissed him.
"Thought I heard something. Let's get going." And with that, she entered the driver's seat and gunned the engine, which was unnaturally silent. As the vehicle disappeared into the night, heading back to town, Steven still dared not move for several minutes. Eventually though, he let out a haggard, stressful breath as he pushed the door open and stumbled back onto the beach where the salty air hit him full force.
It had not even been an hour since he set foot in the ruins that night, but in that short time, he had gone through so much. Nearly dying, being saved by a gem person, seeing that the G.O.F. were completely different than what he'd imagined, on top of the exhaustion and injuries, it was enough to make him just give up.
"I'm…going to bed," he mumbled to himself as he limped his way back towards the Wall. The questions and inquiries still raced through his mind, but he was on autopilot and not digging too deeply into them. "Let me figure it out in the morning and hope this is all just a nightmare or something," he sighed in exhaustion.
And with that he slowly snuck back in through the gate, down the deserted streets and back into his hotel room. He recognized that he'd made the trip, but it all seemed like he had just sat back and watched as he did so. Once back in his room, he took off his hoody with the blue gem inside, set it on his bedside with the gem resting on top of it and unceremoniously flopped onto his bed and was out within seconds.
}Line Break{
The next morning, or rather around noon, Steven awoke feeling battered, sore, and more than a little crusty from the sand, sweat, and sea salt.
So it wasn't all just some bad dream huh? He thought in disappointment as his eyes landed on the damaged gem on his hoodie. Figures…Now what am I going to do?
He stared up at the ceiling unblinking for several minutes as he finally tried to process the events of last night better. But even after a night's rest, everything still made no sense.
Who was Mira? How can there be gem people? Why are the G.O.F. staffed by weirdo college kids? Why did they capture that beast instead of killing it? All of these questions and more swirled in his head, but the answers were still out of reach. Sighing, he looked back at the gem on his nightstand.
"Well, one thing's for sure, I'm not handing you over to them," he said truthfully. That Maggie girl had disturbed him with her cooing over the Beast even as she tortured it with electricity, but what was even worse was her cold dismissal of someone dying so that it wouldn't inconvenience her evening. "Wherever that Nephrite Beast is right now, I don't want to even imagine."
Groaning, he sat up despite his straining muscles and limped into the bathroom where he splashed water across his dry face. Looking at his reflection, he noted that he didn't look nearly as bad as he felt.
"She's already cracked as it is, and I don't want her getting electrocuted like that other Beast, she might shatter completely," he said tiredly to himself. A few more moments of silence went by as he tried to make sense of his predicament.
"Did that goth girl actually see me last night? If so, why didn't she rat me out? Did she really not want to do paperwork or something?" he wondered with a shiver. "Or maybe she's just biding her time…"
He walked back towards his bed and looked down at the tear shaped gem, noting his many reflections.
"If that's the case, they could come and try to take you at any moment. You're too fragile right now for that," he said while rubbing his eyes. With the spider web crack, he knew reformation for her was highly unlikely, and there would be no chance to prove that she was a Gem Person. "There's gotta be something I can do."
He had started this whole mess after all. He was the one who had found the mirror, he was the one who had awoken the Nephrite Beast, and he was the one who had gotten her even more damaged. He knew all of this just as much as he knew that it was his responsibility to fix it and to figure out what the heck was going on.
Was she an experiment by gem cultists? Was she a new evolved gem? Was that crackpot Ronaldo right about them being alien death machines? There was only person that could answer those questions, and she was on the verge of becoming dust.
"I've gotta figure out a way to fix you, or at least get you talking again," he said softly to the stone. "I owe you a lot for saving my life, but I have no idea how to save yours."
He turned his head towards the open bathroom door and at the mirror above the sink and an idea came to him.
"I don't know what magic put you in that mirror, but maybe you can manipulate mine," he said as he picked the gem up, using his hoodie as a cushion and carried her to the sink.
"Okay, so…" he trailed off as he touched the gem against the glass, but nothing happened.
"Come on, wake up, use the mirror to talk to me," he encouraged, but still, nothing changed with his haggard reflection. "Hmmm…"
He frowned at his reflection as he tried to think of a solution.
The stone was inserted in the metal backing, so maybe I need like a metal buffer or something like a conduit, he pondered before shaking his head. Or maybe she was flattened against the glass from the other side and I can't be touching her directly? I guess maybe I could tape or glue her to the glass and…
His eyes widened as another solution sprang to mind.
"Wait a second! Glue!" Steven's excited grin split across his face as he quickly stumbled out of the bathroom and started digging through one of his suitcases.
"Where is it? Where is it? Where is-aha!" Steven exclaimed as he pulled out his tube of superglue and held it above his head like a certain video game hero.
When you lived most of your life on the road, patching supplies were a must, that's why he always had a roll of duct tape, sewing supplies, and glue on hand for certain emergencies.
"Although this is a bit more dire than the split pants incident," he shuddered, remembering the time his Dad almost had to go on stage with torn jeans. Rushing back into the bathroom, he quickly uncorked the tube and gingerly began to fill the spider web of cracks with the be all, end all of adhesives.
He knew this wouldn't fix the gem by a long shot, but at least with something strong holding it together, it would minimize the chance of it falling apart.
"I really hope this works…" Steven mumbled to himself as he finished filling in the cracks and sat back to watch the gem as the adhesive dried.
A few moments later the glue solidified and he gently picked up the gem, which now weighed slightly more.
"Okay, this seems to be more sturdy," he said with hope as he prodded the gem against the mirror once more. "Okay, Mira? Can you hear me? I didn't drown you or anything did I?" After several silent minutes, nothing changed and Steven let out a sad sigh.
"Well, I guess that was to be expected," he said in disappointment as he set the blue stone down on the wet sink. "I can't believe I thought that would actua-" Steven was caught off as suddenly a bright light started flashing before him.
"YAGH!" he shrieked as he stumbled out of the bathroom and onto his bed as the blue gem began to glow and float into the air and droplets of water dripped down into the sink.
Of course! The water! He thought in understanding just as the light began to grow and form into a humanoid shape. Just like the Nephrite the night before though, the form glitched in and out of humanoid shape, but unlike the other Beast, this one eventually held it's form.
That does not look like it's supposed to happen, Steven thought in worry.
After a few seconds the light went from white to blue and sitting on his sink was the form of the blue girl that had saved his life…only across her body were white lines that looked as though she were heavily scarred.
His breath hitched in his throat as she slowly lifted her head up and looked at him with those glowing reflective eyes full of static, eyes that seemed to stare through his very soul.
Steven lost track of time as he stared up at his savior in silence.
She…she really is a person, he thought in wonder as she tilted her head, looking both exhausted and curious at the same time. But then her form glitched suddenly causing her body to flicker about before solidifying again.
"Gah," she gasped, her face scrunched up in minor pain. That was enough to snap Steven out of his reverie.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he stood up. She nodded after a moment and looked back at him.
"I think so," she said, her voice slightly tiny and filled with echoes.
So I wasn't imagining that otherworldly voice last night, he noted as he took in the rest of her.
She had glowed in the moonlight, but under the cheap florescent bulbs she looked she could just be a human covered in blue dye…if she had her eyes closed that is. Her hand glitched quickly out of existence but solidified just as fast and he took another step towards her.
"Are you sure you're fine Mira?" he asked cautiously, not wanting her to poof and shatter in his bathroom.
The Gem girl locked eyes with Steven
"Mira? Who's Mira?" she asked in sheer confusion, which took him aback. "And…who are you?"
}Episode End{
And so everyone's favorite water gem has finally made a full body appearance! But of course things would just be too easy for Steven if it worked out just like the show huh? Let's hope the first ever interaction between Gem and Human that wasn't hostile doesn't end up in flames!
I wanna apologizes to you all again for taking so long to write this chap. Especially considering the cliffhanger I left last chap on. Hopefully this chap meets all your guy's expectations for such a long wait!
As for when the next chapter comes out, well lets just say it will come out eventually. I'm not going to let this story rot away on the sight after all, so don't worry about it dropping dead one day. This story will be continued, just don't expect a chapter to come out super soon.
If any of you have anymore questions regarding the fic, feel free to pm me and I'll do my best to answer them!
With that all addressed, lets get to calling you guys out!
hernandezart34: I will confirm that Steven does, indeed, know how to play an instrument. But as for what that instrument is, well we'll just have to wait and see on that. And I hope your Star Vs's fic turns out how you want it to be!
allen Vth: I'm glad you enjoyed the chap so much and that you were surprised by everything. I sorta pride myself on my ability to catch people off guard with the direction I go with my stories. I hope this chapter had the same, or at least similar, effect on ya and I can't wait to see your reaction to the last scene!
ipeach: I'm glad my AU was able to pull you in so much! And I'm sure Steven's mind will be just find…probably. Maybe. How many world view shattering events in a single instance does it take to shatter a mind anyway? Ah, I'm sure it won't mess with him too much…probably.
Wordlurker: I'm glad to see I've at least caught your interest and I hope I can continue to keep your attention as the story goes on!
QuantumPE: The answer to that is something Steven just needs to figure out I suppose. But I'm sure he'll figure something out…probably.
C-Lif3: Glad you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one as well!
Guest: Ask and you shall receive…a few months later! Still counts!
SailorNova007: He's as normal as a normal human can be, no gem heritage in sight for this version of Steven.
Sofa: Gracias
Thanks again to all of you for reviewing and telling me what you thought about the fic/chapter! I look forward to seeing how you all thought of this chapter and appreciate your continued support of the fic as we go on!
As per usual, a quick reminder that this fic is extremely AU so there are bound to be changes and head-canons added into the story as we go on. Course with the show over now there's a whole slew of stuff confirmed but consider any changes to those facts parts of the AU. If that's not your cup of tea then it's no big deal.
Once again I want to thank all of you for following or favoriting the story and for the continued support! I hope to continue writing for this fic and create a truly awesome story for you all to read!
This has been LightDusk16, signing off!