Summary:
More like glass really
"Haha!" Connie watched the gems run around. "Steven tag is a game I am superior at!" How Amethyst could be better than the person the game was named after was anyone's guess. Though it was a little funny in hindsight given that Vee was technically always playing Steven.
"Curse my stubby legs, If only I had been taller." Steven mocked complained, laughing as he dramatically fell to the ground. Again, it was funny given that Vee consciously chose to keep her Steven form that small.
"So maybe it's like this … no no, that's not right." A fun advantage to this game? Lapis was a noob at shapeshifting. Thus, was stuck in the corner until she could figure out how to look like Steven.
"Tag!" Garnet, looking like Steven, deadpanned as they touched her.
"Oh no, now I too am turning into Steven." Connie chuckled, placing a star T shirt over her own clothes. "Fear my steven ness!"
"I still don't see how this is anymore different than regular tag." Pearl complained, not so much playing as she was commenting on the side. "If anything, the shapeshifting just makes it more impractical than it already was."
"Steven tag pulls no punches." Garnet said, having been turned into a Steven previously by the boy/girl themselves. "In Steven tag, Steven rules, no matter which Steven wins."
Steven snorted. "Through Garnet, I have become the master of comedy!"
"Apparently." This was how most days were. She wasn't as involved with the magical space side as Connie wished to be, aside from the sword training Pearl gave her, but she did have more fun with Steven than she did at any other time. So much fun … if only she could figure out how to move closer without it getting … awkward.
The door slammed open, inviting the most unwelcome of guests. "Hey, I have a problem!" Of course you did, rotten bastard.
"Leave." Garnet instantly turned back to her normal self, cracking their knuckles.
"I will, once you get that little psycho Steven off of me!" He yelled like a moron. "He's been chasing me for the past fifteen minutes trying to kill me!"
"... What?" Steven asked with confusion. "I've been here all day."
"Huh, but how did…but you were just…" Greg looked behind him.
"Dude, you probably shouldn't stay in the sun too long." Amethyst shrugged. "It's messed up whatever's left of your brain."
"No, no, I know what I saw! He was chasing me around, flinging around that shield Rose used to have, but with spikes all around it!" The man continued to sound insane.
"Greg, have you started drinking alcohol in the morning again?" Pearl asked. "Steven doesn't have Rose's powers, aside from minor shapeshifting."
"I know what I saw!" He shouted. "He was eating waffles at the Noceda house with some pointy eared kids!"
Connie instantly turned to Steven,as Vee paled dramatically, before she turned back to him. "I know what this is about." Connie spoke. "You're just trying to put the blame on Steven so someone will take your side." They had to spin the story as hard as possible if Vee was going to keep her cover.
"Stay out of this, you brat, this is my life on the line!" Greg was interrupted as Lapis formed a watery hand and grabbed the man by the neck.
"Look, I playfully threaten Connie on occasion, but something tells there's nothing fun about how you're saying it." The blue gem growled. "Now get out of here before I lose my temper and throw you into space."
The man growled, walking out of the door. "Just keep that maniac away from me!" He shouted, slamming the door.
There was an awkward silence for a moment. "Hey Steven." Amethyst spoke up. "Isn't it about time for Lonely Blade?"
"I'll get the popcorn!" Phew, crisis averted. Now maybe they could go the rest of the day … and maybe go to the Noceda house to see what that the heck was going on there.
"What the, but you were just inside!" Greg voice was heard from outside. "How did you do..wait, stay back, stay back…!"
Smassssh
The man was sent through the door. "Lucci, stop trying to end him! I WILL use the sword!" A familiar and annoying voice shouted.
"I'm not going to kill him, I'm just going to leave him a little broken!"
"Then he'll sue us!"
"When have we listened to those!?"
"Okay, what's going on?!" Pearl shouted, walking outside with the others…and finding Luz…now BACK in the human realm….and Lucci…who looked like a taller version of Steven….damn it, now she didn't know what she preferred. "..Steven?"
The boy froze. "No, just a look alike. That bastard just kept mixing me up and getting on my nerves."
"Makes perfect sense. I'd do the same thing." Amethyst shrugged, fortunately falling for it. "Weird, huh Garnet." The taller gem was silent. "Uh…Garnet?"
"..." The silent gem just looked at the two, looking skeptical. "Look at the sword."
"Wait, that's Roses Sword!" Pearl shouted. "How do you have it!?"
"I found it in the head of a pink lion." Lucci said, rolling his eyes. "Why is that so hard for people to believe?"
"Wow, good on them." Vee chuckled. "Finders keepers I guess."
"No, this won't do." Pearl said indignantly, reaching for the sword. "This sword doesn't belong in such unworthy hands.."
Slap
Lucci…slapped Pearl's hand away. "Don't push your luck, bird nose. I gave it to Luz, so it's hers. End of Story."
Given Pearl's face … this was going to end Very, VERY, poorly.
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Gus looked across the beach. "Wow, I never would have thought people could put up business next to us." He smiled, looking at all the things. Downside, they were far away from their loved ones and had no idea if they were alive, or vice versa. Upside, this was his chance to finally bridge peace between human and witch! Although they had to cover up their ears with hats and caps to avoid suspicion, though Hunter's scar's seemed to draw attention.
"And I never thought the human language would be the exact same as witch." Hunter deadpanned. "Was that a Belos thing or just plain coincidence?"
"Witches seemed to know about the human realm for years even before Belos…" That's what he gathered from the memories he read off of the monster….along with some information he didn't mean to learn about, information that would make Hunter's skin crawl. "I think it might just be one of those cosmic coincidences."
"I would have argued against those if I didn't know the Collector existed." Hunter muttered. "So besides the food, what else is there to do on earth?"
"Hmm … oh!" Gus ran over to a place. "Luz said that this is an 'arcade', home to many games and entertainment options."
"Yes it is!" They both jumped at the sudden appearance of a grinning man. "I'm Mr Smiley!"
"...Is that name ironic or did your family hate you?" Hunter asked. Felt like some kind of punishment.
"...Both….it's both…..Why dad…why didn't you support my acting career?" The man began falling into a corner, looking depressed.. "It was just a hundred bucks…that's all I asked for." Guess crappy families existed everywhere in the human realm.
"Bucks as in the animal?" Hunter whispered.
"Layman term for dollars, human money." Gus whispered back.
"Speaking of, just ten bucks for forty tokens." The man instantly picked himself back up.
"What's a token?" Gus asked.
"You two don't go outside much, do you?" The man asked.
"This is literally our first time walking into town." Hunter admitted.
"Ah, new guys." Mr. Smiley nodded. "Alright, guess I can be charitable for one day." He reached out into his pocket and dumped what looked like snails in their hands. "Twenty Tokens on the house. Use them wisely."
They stared at them. "... That still doesn't explain what they do." Hunter stated.
"Just walk up to any one of the machines, put it in the slot, then you can play a game." The man explained, before turning away. "Gessh, the new generation just gets more and more clueless as time goes on.
A little insulting, but understandable, given the lack of context. "Oh, it's just like the wack a vole game on the Boiling Isles." Gus nodded. "Come on, let's try seeing what we can work with."
"..I've…never used a wack a vole machine before." Hunter said.
"... When I say you're clueless, you know it's true." The boy deadpanned. "Come on, we can try something simple … oh." They walked up to a machine. "Air … hockey?"
"What the heck is hockey?" Hunter asked. "The only game I ever played was Flyer Derby with you guys."
"Not sure …" The boy put in a token, moving away as a disk popped out. "Alright, seems good …" He grabbed one of the strange things, trying to place it on the disk. "No, it's sliding off … maybe if-" He accidently clicked the side of the disk, causing it to bounce around the rink, landing inside of a slot, as the numbers changed. "Ooooh, I think I get it now. It's like a safer version of Grudgby you play with your hands."
"Really?" Hunter grabbed the disk from his side of the table, clicking it once he put it on. "Then what happens.." It constantly bounced back from the side to side, before hitting Gus's end, making the number's match.
"Huh, guess we're tied." Gus stated.
"It seems we are….feels pretty good to score." Hunter nodded.
"Yeah..it does…really good." Gus stated.
The two of them looked at each other as Gus slowly put the disk back on the table….and immediately hitting it. "I'm going to win!"
"Not if I win first!" Hunter hit the disk back, forcing Gus to go defensive. "I trained for years to hone my reflexes, you have no chance!"
"And I've played games for ages, clearly I have the advantage!" The match was on!
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Garnet stared at the two children, one seeming nervous, the other defensive. "Listen, we just came by because the dude was being a jerk. The sword is ours, and we're leaving, end of story." The boy glared. The boy that gave Garnet such an uneasy feeling, but she didn't know why.
"Listen here, Mister, that sword belongs to a very dear and beloved friend of ours, who had done nothing but serve and protect humans such as yourselves for thousands of years." Pearl went off. "The least you could do in return is show proper respect to her property.
"Pointy ears, not human,honey." The boy argued. "Magic witch from the Boiling Isles. Thus, whoever it belonged to has nothing to do with us."
All the crystal gem blinked at the word he used, a word they haven't used in a long time. "A witch? Like Evelyn?" Amethyst spoke up.
"Evelyn … wasn't that the name Belos shouted?" The girl with the sword questioned. "Right next to Caleb and Rose?"
"Caleb Wittabane?" Garnet asked. "You're…You're from the Boling Isles?"
"You know about the Boiling Isles?" The child asked. "And you…all have rainbow skin…"
"Wait, are we taking this witch claim literally?" Lapis asked.
"It was a while back. Before they got chased off by witch hunters." Garnet explained. "I think we're getting some wires crossed. Perhaps we can talk something out…"
"AFTER you give the sword back." Damn it Pearl, just let it go! You know how she gets when Rose is involved.
"Can't we just let it go?" Steven asked. "I mean, Connie has her own sword and I was never a fan of violence."
"Or if it's really that bad I could just … give it." The human girl suggested.
"...No." The boy said. "Luz, I gave that sword to you because I trust you. You don't have to give it up, especially to some pale faced second rate bird lady."
"Damn, this kid knows how to roast ya." Amethyst laughed.
There was an annoying groan. "Are you really going to let this guy go after nearly KILLING ME!?"
"There's a difference between trying to kill you and trying to hospitalize you, pick it up." The boy said as the girl with the sword began banging her face against her palm. "Look, let us mind our own business and we can co exist peacefully." The boy turned around. "Unless you feel like fighting for it."
"Oh, trust me, witch, you don't want to do that." Pearl snarled.
"Pearl, please don't pick a fight." Steven begged. "We don't hurt people!"
"But we do defend the honor of our comrades, and I will not sit back as this gutter trash of a witch soils the good name of Rose Quartz!" The boy paused.
"Right…you know….I already didn't like you….then you called me gutter trash, and now I hate you…and then you mentioned Rose Quartz…so three strikes…and you're out."
That got Garnet's attention. "What do you have against her?" These next words would indicate if Garnet actually joined in.
"Nothing…except the fact she's a bitch who couldn't keep her own personal crap to herself and ruined everyone's lives for it." The boy growled. Before anyone could even process it, Pearl rushed forward with a spear in hand … which stopped as it hit a Pink … rosey shield.
"We really need to work on your anger management." The human sighed.
"Really, because I was holding back." The boy shrugged, before grabbing the spear and hitting the pale gem away. "Don't start fights you can't finish."
"I'll finish it alright." Garnet manifested her weapon and rushed forward.
"Lady, I've seen far stronger and faster than you ." The boy's hand glowed pink as it caught her gauntlet. "And unless you can out punch Bismuth, you're not a threat." With that cryptic statement, they punched her into the rock side of the temple.
How….how were they that strong!? And how do they have rose's shield!? I don't know, the future around this child is blurry…magic around witches always fogs up my future vision.
"Garnet! Are you alright!?" Steven called out to her.
"Steven, grab Connie and run." She commanded, watching as Amethyst got thrown around. "This boy might be a Homeworld Gem."
"Wait, but…how? I thought they didn't know gems were alive on earth. That was the whole point of keeping Lapis on earth, wasn't it?" The short gem asked.
"I don't know how, but it's the only way to explain those powers and information." She clenched her fists. "Lapis, keep the kids safe!" She rushed forward, clashing against the shield.
"Already done." The blue gem said casually.
"Aren't you going to help them?" Connie asked.
"Mmmm…nah. They've kind of been jerks to me. I think a good thrashing is in order." ..They really needed to straighten that gem out one of these days.
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Amity smiled as she watched Camila walk down the stairs. Lucci and Luz went off to kill Lucci's sperm donor, Willow and Boscha were fast asleep, still exhausted from yesterday, and Hunter and Gus were exploring town, which meant Amity was essentially alone with Luz's Mom. "Okay, now I need to do the dishes." The woman muttered to herself. This meant she had ample opportunity to impress her future in law.
"Already done mam." She smiled. "I've also cleaned the stove and took out the trash." Every bottle and wrapper that littered the place. "Oh, and watch your step on the kitchen floor, I mopped it twice."
"Oh … ." The woman blinked. "Thank you …do we even own a mop?" She muttered to herself. "Then I guess I can dust-"
"Already made sure it's clean." She bowed. "You took us in, so I want to make sure everything is easier for you." And add a few brownie points for when Luz told them the truth. Amity wouldn't lie…it was a little hurtful that Luz didn't say anything to her mom before, but given the pressure parents could leave on their kids, the fear was slightly understandable.
"Oh….I guess all there is left to do is the laundry." Mrs. Nocdea said.
"It's in the dryer, just waiting for it to finish." Amity smiled. "Anything that wasn't supposed to go in is hanging on a rack near the back window."
The woman quickly checked outside to see if it was true. "You even organized them from smallest to biggest, even color coordinated the matching outfits."
"I've…had a long time to learn about being presentable." Amity winced, memories of her horrible mo-womb donor rearing their ugly head. She may not trust her … or well, any adult in existence for that matter. But Luz cared about Camila, so Amity would do her best to try and trust them.
"Thank you..I…wow….I got so used to doing everything in the house….I'm not used to having so much company." Camila took a deep breath as she sat down. "So…you've known my daughter for the entire time she's been in the demon realm?"
"Well, I didn't meet her until the second week she was there, but yes." She nodded. "Luz is a lovely girl and a delight to be around." She would avoid telling how she almost got the girl dissected, or the witches dual.
"Thank you…I know it sounds like I'm repeating myself, but..I can't tell you how grateful I am to know she had friends. "Luz's imagination was wild. It wasn't a bad thing per say but … she never really got friends." The woman explained. "She also got into a lot of trouble."
"I doubt it was too much." She assured.
"She let snakes loose in the school the day before she left." Ms Noceda deadpanned.
Amity blinked. "And that's a bad thing?"
"It is when it's the tenth time she's done it in a row and got half the students bit, in between unleashing spiders all over the school for a griffon project."
Right…humans were more delicate than witches. What was mundane for them might be life threatening for humans. "I can safely say Luz hasn't hurt anyone in the Boiling Isles." Too badly. "She makes mistakes, but that's everybody. I'd like to think she's grown into an amazing woman."
"That's all I've ever wanted for her. To grow up happy." The woman sighed. "I'm..I'm still trying to piece together everything about witch culture…so would you mind if I ask you to fill in a few gaps?"
"Any question you have I'd be happy to answer." Amity smiled.
"Thank you..so, are there certain allergies i need to be aware of? Like light, holy water, or symbols of the cross?-
She tilted her head. "I've always had a bit of a mold allergy, but I'm not sure about the others."
"Alright, so next is that I've noticed your friends talk about their fruit lacking blood. Is that an aesthetic back where you're from, or are they literal?"
"No, all our vegetables are a bit mixed in with flesh, fruit just has a large source of blood." She said. "Though usually back home apple blood is extracted and aged, before being mixed with alcohol, so you should be fine giving us regular apples."
"From the sound of it, I'm gonna have to buy more protein." Probably so.
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Vee watched as Amethyst crash landed … again. "Could we please wrap this up?" Lucci asked with a disappointed look. "It's getting late and I'd rather not worry Luz's mom."
"You're not going anywhere until you're poofed!" The ever persistent Pearl yelled, firing lasers from her spear.
"I don't poof, sorry to disappoint." The boy complained. "Although keep this up and I'll poof you instead."
"We won't let you get away with harming this planet!" Garnet launched her gauntlets at him.
"Lady, I want nothing to do with this planet, except get off it, forever." The boy held out his hands and bubbled the rocket fists, throwing them into the ocean.
"Tried that once, didn't work out." Lapis said from the side, munching on popcorn. "Rooting for you though, keep it up."
"Who's side are you on!?" Amethyst yelled, trying to spin a dash at Lucci.
"The side of whoever isn't endangered Steven at the moment." The gem responded.
"See, I could care very little about humans." The boy said as he kicked away Amethyst. "Just let me go, and I won't bother you."
"Like we could trust that!" Garnet ran forward, delivering punch after punch against the shield.
"Isn't repeating the same thing over and over insanity or somethi-" He stopped talking … on the account of the spear going through his shoulder.
"LUCCI/PEARL!" Luz and her shouted out.
"Just poof you no good-" Lucci grabbed the spear, snapping it as his body regrew itself. "What, but.." Pearl didn't get another word in as Lucci pounded her into the ground.
"Are we done here?" He asked. "Because if I go any harder I'm going to poof you . Or worse, shatter." He growled, bubbling his own fist and covering it with spikes. "Don't think I won't do it."
This…this was wrong. The Crystal gems were fighting Steven..the real Steven and they were on the verge of killing each other if she didn't do anything. She could feel Connie's hand grasping hers, and Lapis's hand on her shoulder. "I.."
"If you do this..that's it." Connie said. "You can't be Steven again."
"I know…but I was never Steven to begin with." She took a deep breath, and rushed forward. "STOP! Stop fighting! This isn't what you think it is!"
"Get back Steven!" Garnet shouted.
"Listen to the lady with the afro." The boy stated quietly. "Before you do something you can't take back … please."
"Lucci…I'm sorry for putting us in this mess…so I'm going to take us out of it!" Vee ran in front of him. "Guys, you have to stop fighting him, because he's the real Steven Universe!"
"... What?" Garnet asked quietly.
"Steven, stop messing around." Pearl stood up weakly. "We can't-"
"Look!" She shapeshifted her gem away, along with the rest of her body into its natural state. "I'm a Basilisk, from the Boiling Isles! Steven ended up on that side, and I took his place here!" Vee cried out.
That made every gem freeze finally; looking back and forth to her and to Steven. "Steven, if you're just trying to show off your shapeshifting, then there's a better time to do it." Amethyst weakly said.
"There's no gem!" She shouted. "You know that's not possible with shapeshifting!"
"But if your not..then…" Garnet sputtered, before looking to Lucci. "Show us your gem."
"Why, so you could try to shatter me like the rainbow devil tried to do?" Lucci questioned.
"Lucci, I think they calmed down enough now." Luz said as she nudged him. "Not to mention cracking your gem took a lot more force than just one hit from her best."
The boy just looked bitterly at the ground, before shaking his head. "For the record, I am not Steven universe. That's not the name I go by." Lucci lifted his shirt…revealing his gem on his navel.
"You're really …" Pearl instantly dropped the spear. "You're him and … you ." She glared at Vee with rage and disappointment. "You lied to us!"
"Yes…"
"You tricked us for years into caring for you, providing for you, sheltering you while the real Steven was out who knows where!"
"I was in the Boiling Isles, weren't you listening?"'
"I just … GAAH!!" She screamed. "You …" She was enveloped in water.
"I'll cool her off." Lapis spoke, dragging Pearl away. "I know she's the most volatile of the bunch."
"…You knew, didn't you?" Garnet stated
"How do you think they convinced me to stay?" She asked as she walked away with Pearl in tow.
Garnet stared silently at her … before walking away without a word. "Garnet … I'm sorry …" Vee received no response, as the gem walked into the temple door, shutting behind her.
"So…two Steven's now…cool." Amethyst nodded. Huh…that was less hostile than she was expecting.
"Name's Lucci." The boy spoke. "Call me Steven again and I reserve the right to chuck you through the mountain."
"Geez, hope my Steven doesn't end up as moody as you." Amethyst laughed.
"You're … not mad?" Vee asked.
"Hey, I'm fighting for this planet even though I never fought in the war or had all the CG's baggage. Besides, you're the only Steven I know, and I like you, so…don't see a reason why I should stop being your friend."
Vee felt tears build in her eyes as she slid forward and squeezed them. "AMETHYST!"
"Heh, your body is so slimy and scaly, cool." She was the best sister ever.
"Wait…" Oh right..Greg was still here. "So…the real Steven was never here…that's why everything went wrong, that's why my life went to shit!" Greg cackled like a madman.
"No, you're just a shit parent." Lucci deadpanned.
"Come on, don't be like that-"
"The first thing you did to me was yell at me and try to physically assault me." Lucci stopped the man from finishing. "Not to mention you wished Vee was never born. I don't care what happened to you, there is never a justification for that." He scoffed. "Stay away from the Noceda house."
"I'm not staying away from my girlfriend." The man said.
"... Luz, please say something, anything." The boy spoke.
"I've been gone for six months, I have no right to say anything man." She shrugged, before glaring. "Except hurt my mom and I'll kill you."
"Guess that's the best I'll get for now." Lucci groaned.
"Vee …" She turned to Connie. "I'm sorry it had to come to this … maybe if I kept an eye out I could have steered them away or …"
"No, this was always going to happen." She stopped her. "I stole Stevens life and lived fourteen years of bliss. This is the price I'll pay for it." Bound to pay for it eventually. She turned to Lucci. "I suppose this is our first formal introduction … I'm Vee." She held out her hand.
"Lucci." The boy grinned as he grabbed it. "Want to join me as I find bird nose's wallet and take the money?"
"Pearl doesn't have a wallet, gems really don't understand money at all, but I can show you a dumpster full of old doughnuts."
"... This won't end well." Luz and Connie slumped at the same time.