Healing Hearts//Steven Universe

t w o : t h e b u b b l e

Connie wasn't like the others. The other gems had. . . well, gems. She had grown up believing that she was an abomination. It wasn't exactly a mystery that she didn't belong at Homeworld. . . but it hadn't always been that way.

As an infant, Connie had lived with other ones like her (what they were called, she couldn't remember. . . Ah, yes! Humans!) They all had lived in a seemingly magical place filled with lush trees and a sky that was always blue. Everyone was always singing, laughing and happy without any worries.

Then disaster struck.

Connie far too young to remember what all had happened. She was told stories of what had occurred on that fateful day, but nothing was ever really clear. But what she did know is that something terrible happened to what was once a paradise.

Then all the humans were gone.

Two gems, a Peridot and a Jasper were the ones who raised her and taught her everything that she knew about Earth, the origin planet and of the human race. Connie had full access to the archives, which contained all data about Earth that had been stored over the millennia. (She even discovered the meaning behind the name, 'Connie'; Strong-willed, or wise, which was fitting due to all the time she spent researching about the human race).

This was how Connie eventually learned that it was Pink Diamond who had created the paradise in hopes of preserving a bit of earth before it's inevitable destruction. Now that the paradise was gone, how would earth live on after the final phase?
Pink Diamond would've known what to do, Connie had thought once she had first processed this information. If she hadn't been shattered, Connie would never have felt like such an outcast in the first place. . .

Peridot and Jasper were all that she had, even though they obviously had no interest in forming any sort of relationship or bond with her. If it weren't for the Diamond's orders, Connie would've had nothing.

A day had arrived, a day Connie took a chance to see Earth with her own eyes for the first time, the day Peridot and Jasper had been sent on a mission to earth to activate the old Kindergarten and retrieve some long-forgotten data. After days and days of constant begging, Connie had been turned down. She was forbidden to board the ship. It's not like those orders were going to stop her. Connie snuck aboard before the entrance could close and hid inside a spare escape pod. Her plan was full proof, until the ship had wrecked.

Connie couldn't remember anything after she had come to realize that the escape pod had been activated during the unexpected crash landing. Then everything had gone dark.

Connie woke up, gasping for air, freezing air that instantly filled her lungs. Her new surroundings came crashing down on her like waves. Each new wave more heavy and intense than the last. Her eyes couldn't seem to process anything. . . wait- her visor was missing! Connie felt her face and could detect no visor. How was she supposed to see without her vision-correcting visor?

Connie still felt cramped, similarly to crouching inside of the escape pod, only this vessel was different. It was slightly bigger, tinted a reddish color, and transparent. Without her visor, Connie couldn't see anything beyond the bubble. It was all a pinkish-blur.

Her lungs felt as if they were deflating because of the panic that had overcome her. Connie had never been placed in a situation similar to this at all. She was trapped on a different planet, far away from Homeworld. Her stomach sank as the sudden thought repeated over and over like a broken record. Period and Jasper were gone.

She was lost.

Connie felt a stinging sensation coming from her eyes. She curled up even tighter and let herself break into sobs. Her heavy breath fogged up the inside of the bubble, making the outside world appear even more blurry. . .

Tapping. Connie could hear tapping. At first her fear made her refuse to look up and find the source of the noise, but she couldn't resist. After all, what more did she have to lose?

She uncurled her limbs and placed her hands on the bubble, leaning forward and squinting to make out the figure standing before her. She didn't have to squint for too long- the bubble popped. Connie screamed as she fell on the floor, her hands and knees cushioning her fall. She scrambled backward, wishing that she possessed the ability to summon a weapon.

"No, don't be scared," the blurry figure said quietly. "I'm here to help you."

Connie frowned. This didn't make any sense. This stranger, who obviously wasn't a gem, was offering service? Or could it be a member of the infamous Crystal Gems? Either way Connie knew better than to accept this offer, so she remained silent.

"Here. . . I think this is yours." The figure held out an object that came into focus once it was a few inches or so away from her face.

"My- my visor?" Connie gasped, her small voice escaping her lips in a whisper. Her desperation overcoming her fear, she took the visor in her hands and slid it onto the bridge of her nose. Like magic, she could see again. Though there was a large crack down the center of the visor, it was still good. She stifled a scream when she realized how close the figure had been standing. She fell silent again she she noticed that it wasn't a crystal gem. . . but a human. It crouched down so that his eyes could meet with hers.

His hand slowly reached the heart of his shirt. "I'm Steven. What's your name?"

"It's. . . Co-Connie." She immediately regretted her stupidity. This. . . Steven couldn't be trusted. She had yet to learn wether he was friend or foe.

But could she take that risk of finding out?