And He Had Already Accepted It

Chapter 1

(A/N): Hi everyone! Thank you for reading this story in the first place! This is a story I wrote completely during Christmas Break (but my parents wouldn't let me have an account until now lmao), and I will try to post each chapter each week. I was surprised I hadn't seen anything like this because of the whole elemental thing, so I decided to do it myself! Some things will be different than the actual Steven Universe episode, most notably the fact that I didn't add fusion (idk it just seemed weird to me at the time) but I did my best to make it accurate. Also credit to my friend Aarmen_Tiberius for the cover (I drew it and she edited it), thank you so much! Anyway, enough rambling on my part, enjoy!

Out of all the diplomats to be sent to the new colony, Zane Julien had of course predicted he would be the one to go. His father had ordered him to travel to the Sky Arena, protected by bodyguards of course, to meet with the overseer of the colony and tell of what was yet to come with regards to the rebels deterring the colony's progress.

So while Zane said his goodbyes to his father and brother (a defect, who could only predict the past), he double and tripled checked he had everything he required for the journey and made double and triple sure the bodyguards knew their mission with every detail. He was about to quadruple check when he saw two of the guards, the females, both give him a glare. With all the checking out of the way, the four passengers, Zane and his three bodyguards, boarded the train headed to the Sky Arena.

Meanwhile, the bodyguards took to gossiping. The three had been friends for most of their lives, with two of them actually being siblings, so while their clique type attitudes seemed strange to Zane, the other three felt comfortable around each other exclusively.

"I heard the rebels eat nothing but mud and grass!" Skylor, the red haired girl whispered.

"That can't be true, they don't look malnourished or anything!" Nya, the other girl, answered, with bored skepticism at her friend.

"I dunno, sis, the rebels seem pretty crazy, maybe crazy enough to eat mud!" Kai, the only boy and Nya's older brother, chided both the others enough to start an argument over the situation. And so of course, the whole train ride was Nya and Skylor arguing over mud.

The train wound its way up the looming Mt. Golden, getting ever closer to the monument in the clouds. The Sky Arena was already filled with nobles under the overseer's court, with the chit chat of rebel attacks filling the air. As the four individuals entered the arena, they were immediately deafened by the amount of noise inside, especially compared to the calm outside of the mountain.

"I can't wait 'til those rebels show up, so I can punch them right in their faces!" Kai exclaimed, flashing an excited grin.

"What are you talking about?" Skylor replied. "I'm gonna punch the rebels all over their bodies, and then, it'll be over."

"Guys, we're supposed to work together," Nya cut in, "That's why they sent three of us."

Skylor scoffed. "Three this!" She lurched toward Nya, but miscalculated Nya's dodge. Her hit landed on Kai, sending him backwards.

"Gah!" Kai exclaimed as the red head hit him, and as he fell backwards he felt his fall being cushioned by something cold yet soft.

There was a gasp amongst the crowd. Kai looked back and saw that he had knocked into Zane, an extremely offensive action in the eyes of upper class civilians.

SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT, Kai screamed in his head. "O-oh god," he said aloud, "I'm s-so sorry, I, I um," he struggled to form words in his terrified state. "I just, I didn't mean to, I-"

"Hey," Zane cut in. "I'm fine."

"W-what?" Kai certainly didn't see this type of reaction coming from a noble.

"I said it's okay. It was bound to happen." Zane's face didn't show any clear signs of anger, but he wasn't really smiling either, so Kai didn't exactly feel out of the water yet, especially with everyone else's eyes on him.

"You three stay here while I converse with the overseer," Zane said, "do not worry, I will not tell him about you three's rough-housing." A small smile tugged at his mouth, but he forced it back down.

The three bodyguards made grunts of understanding, positioning themselves in uniform fashion.

As the psychic walked towards the giant tent-like structure, Kai couldn't help but sneak a glance towards Zane, as well as where he was headed. The "palanquin", as it was called, was nothing more than a throne surrounded by stairs leading up to it. The small, fragile looking roof was supported by fours beams in the corner, and the walls were made of a partially transparent cloth, creating a sort of curtain around the overseer. Kai noticed the shape of the overseer, a man by the name of Cyrus Borg, who was rumored to be forcefully turned into a robot and stripped of all sympathy. It seemed the rumors were true, as Kai saw spider-like appendages in the place of the man's legs and a large hunk of metal covering the right side of his face. By the overseer's side was what must have been his personal servant, and although Kai couldn't see her completely, he figured she was a robot too, a full one.

"Kai!" Nya hissed, giving him a slap on the back of the head. "Focus!"

"Sorry," Kai said sheepishly, but he still kept his gaze towards Zane and Cyrus Borg. What were they going to do in there?