Shattered Roses | A Steven Universe Corruption Story

Chapter 48

(Ahh, sorry, I don't usually do this, but since this is like.. an au?? Steven still has a few marks from the 'corruption'. And by au, I guess I mean that I began writing this before SUF was fully released, so I didn't know what actually happened. Or instead of an au.. like a prediction?..)

Steven slammed against the wall and slowly began to slide towards the ground. What had happened to him? His eyes were a weird pink colour and there were tiny spots of pinkish-purple on his skin, and two sharp horns poking out of his hair. How hadn't he noticed the spots on his arms?? He stumbled up and splashed some water on his face, then slammed off the tap.

He once again looked into the mirror, slowly lifting his hand until it was right beside his face. "Is this.." He closed his eyes and gripped his hair. "Corruption?!" He ran out of the bathroom and grabbed his bowl of food. He quickly began to eat it, not realising how hungry he was.

He sighed, putting down the bowl. He felt a little better. Steven stumbled towards the couch and fell on it, questions racing through his mind, which he spoke aloud. "How did I get.. corrupted? Jasper fused with a corrupted gem and that corrupted her, so maybe I..?"

He groaned angrily and rolled onto his back. "But why would I?" He listened to the rain for a while, calming himself. "Maybe it's not corruption, and this is all a cruel joke?" He shook his head. That was absurd. "I should ask around, maybe. There's probably other reasons for corruption."

Steven sat up and stretched. His dad was somewhere in the rain, without an umbrella, so he should wait, but.. He stood up. Perhaps he should go get some answers myself? Maybe he'd run into the gems! But.. if they saw him like this.. would they think less of him..?

No! They were his family, and they had surely seen him like this! He walked over to the door and opened it, taking a step out. "Wait-" He abruptly turned around. He was still in his Pajamas, he'd need to change first. He hurried back up the stairs and got changed into his usual outfit, and grabbed a pink hat and shoved it on, hiding the horns on his head.

Running down the stairs as he struggled to put his jacket on, Steven grabbed an umbrella and stumbled over to the door. He sighed, then opened the door and walked out, opening the umbrella. Steven walked down and jumped onto the sand.

Where could the gems be? He looked around, turning the corner and the town came into view. Huh. He noticed that the big donut looked different. Did they put a fresh coat of paint onto the walls? He smiled, walking past, trying his hardest not to go back and buy a donut.

He continued walking, noticing that more things seemed to be newer looking, and that some bits of the boardwalk was damaged. What happened..? He suddenly stopped walking when he was in front of the arcade. Which was closed. He didn't even know where the gems were, so how could he know where to look?

Wait.. suddenly, the answer hit him like a punch in the face. Connie! She'd know where they are! He turned and began to run towards her house, ignoring his surrounds and almost getting hit by a car, before the familiar street her house was on came into view.

He pulled out his phone which he luckily had in his pocket, and began to dial her number. It rung twice before she picked up. "Hello? Is that you, Amethyst? Are you pulling a prank on me by pretending to be Steven again?" Connie said, in a slightly annoyed tone of voice.

"Nope! It is me!" Steven answered happily. "I-" She paused. "STEVEN?!" "Yup! Sorry to surprise you, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out?" Steven heard some shuffling around on her end. "Of course! Where are you? If I can find lion.."

"It's ok! I came to you! I'm outside!" Steven said. "Wait, really? You were able to walk all that way? Are you ok? Hang on, I'm coming down.." Connie said hurriedly, and then Steven heard loud footsteps. The door was suddenly slammed open and she tossed her phone aside.

"He-!" Steven almost fell over when Connie jumped forwards and embraced him. He stood there, shocked for a moment, before hugging her back. "Are.. are you ok Connie? I didn't expect you to hug me so suddenly, heh.." He asked. "Oh- Sorry! I just.. I've been so worried about you.." She said, letting go of him.

"Why?" He asked. "I was wondering if you could tell me, dad won't.. and it seems that I've.. forgotten what happened.." He lowered his head towards the floor, and noticed a bandage wrapped around Connie's leg. He felt sick when looking at it, which was understandable, but it also gave him.. a feeling of dread?

"W-what..? You don't remember?" Connie repeated. Steven nodded. "You should come inside. My parents are working right now, so I'm the only one home." She walked inside and waited for Steven before she closed it. She sat down and patted the spot on the couch next to her, so Steven sat down.

"So.. can you tell me what you do remember?" She began, starting at the floor. "From when I woke up?" Steven asked. "No, I want to know how far back you remember before you don't. If that makes sense." She answered. Steven took a deep breath.

"Well, I think I remember talking to Pearl. She gave me something.. a flower, I think??" He paused for a moment, trying to remember. "I mostly remember how I felt. I don't exactly remember why, but I felt.. angry." Connie nodded, then stood up.

"Do you want anything to eat? Drink?" She asked. "Uh, just some water, please." Connie began to walk away. "Oh! And Connie?" He called out. She turned towards him. "Are you going to tell me what happened?" She looked sadly away. "Maybe." She answered.

She disappeared and Steven was left alone, with his thoughts. Why wouldn't anyone tell him? He'd just try to make the connection himself. What he'd guess, is that a corrupted gem forced him to fuse with them somehow, then they managed to knock him out before anything happened and healed him??

Well, that's what he thought, but it still didn't sound right. A feeling of dread in his stomach was making him feel sick. "Here's your water." A sudden voice said. He looked up and saw Connie walking towards him, a glass of water in hand. He nodded thankfully and took it, quickly gulping it down.

"Wow, you were thirsty." Connie said. He lowered the cup and sighed. "Thanks, I needed that." Connie gave him a small smile. It was quiet for a moment. Steven turned towards Connie and opened his mouth. They both suddenly jumped as thunder roared above them.

Steven quickly steadied himself, but noticed Connie seemed a little more shaken. "You alright?" He asked, concern in his voice. Connie blinked, then shook her head. "Yeah. I just.. the thunder reminded me of.. something.." She said, crossing her arms.

"Uh, well.. can you finally tell me what happened?" Steven said. Connie turned and stared at him for a moment. After a moment, she sighed sadly, and rubbed her eyes. "Alright," she said. "I think you deserve to know. And it might help both you and the gems." Steven let out a breath he hadn't know that he was holding, feeling relived. But.. what had she meant? That it would 'help him and the gems'? He decided to ignore it, turning to listen to what Connie had to say.

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Hello, hello! Well, Steven is finally going to find out! I'm so sorry about how random the updates are, but I'm trying to make the chapters longer. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! 🧂🧂

Colourful strokes of purple and white

Fighting so hard, with all of their might,

Finally, peace. And room to sit,

Was the loss worth all of it?