Steven sets up his laptop top, and Peridot appears on the screen.
"Steven, hello!?" Peridot can be heard yelling
"Hi Peridot," Steven waves at the camera
"Steven, can you hear me?!" Peridot yells as Turquoise pops into frame
"I...i can hear..." Steven starts
"CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Peridot yells loudly
" Yes, I...i can hear..." Steven starts
"Let me see, perhaps you have accidentally muted him..." Turquoise says, kneeling down next to Peridot. The camera can be seen moving around, and Peridot can be heard grumbling
"What button I'd the volume?" Turquoise can be heard asking
"Aha! Steven!" Peridot says
"Hi Peridot, hi Turquoise," Steven waves at the camera
"Steven! Behold our genius!" Peridot giggles
"we I mean, Aventurine figured out how to get WiFi inside the barn," Turquoise says
Peridot turns the camera around to show a lawnmower driving around with a satellite dish attached to it
"The connection is strong enough to stream Camp Pining Hearts in all its 1,080 p's," Peridot brags as the screen glitches out
"Peridot?" Steven asks
Peridot tries to tell Steven a story, but the transmission keeps glitching
"Peridot, Turquoise, you're breaking up."
"And that's how we managed to get WiFi in the barn. What did you do today?" Peridot asks
"I...uhhh... learn how to do this!" Steven does a magic trick with a pencil, making it look wobbly
"What?! Turquoise, did you see that!?" Peridot asks, shocked, and Turquoise nods, looking at Peridot
"Lapis, come see, Steven has leaned a new trick," Turquoise can be heard saying
Peridot turns the camera to Lapis, who had just walked into the barn
"Is that... Steven?" Lapis says, looking uneasy
"Yes."
"Oh, no! Steven, what happened?!" Lapis says, worried
"Oh, you guys, it's fine. It's just a -" Steven starts, but Lapis cuts him off
"How did he get trapped in there?! Why aren't you doing something?!"
"Lapis Steven's fine," Turquoise says, trying to calm her down
"Lapis, relax. It's just my communication pad." Peridot says
Lapis snatches Peridot's tablet.
"Who did this to you?! Steven, I'll get you out of there! Where's your gem on this thing? I-I-"
"Lapis?"
"I can't find it!" Lapis flips the tablet over
"What?"
"He must be inside!" Lapis yells
"Lapis, hold on a moment," Turquoise says
"Lapis-"
"It's just a screen! Sto-" Peridot says but is cut off. The transmission from Peridot's end suddenly cuts away.
"Oh geez!"
Steven crawls away out of his room when Peridot's transmission returns.
"Oh, thank the stars. I thought you were a goner." Peridot says gladly
"Step aside, Peridot. I have to free him." Peridot says
"Lapis, no!"
Lapis wielding a baseball bat, I'll save you, Steven! I'll save you like you saved me!
"Lapis clam down, stven is alright!" Turquoise says, hooking his arms under. Lapis's holding her back
Steven then comes running into the Barn. "Wait! Stop! I'm fine!"
"Phew..." Turquoise lets Lapis go
"Steven! You're okay!" Lapis hugs Steven
"Oh, sorry, Peridot."
"It's okay. Just take it easy with that bat." Peridot slumps on the floor
"Morning Turquoise"
"Steven," Turquoise replies
"Pearl is wondering if you're busy tomorrow? Steven says
Turquoise looks at Lapis and Peridot
"Not really, we were just gonna watch Camp Pining Hearts all day, but that can be rescheduled," Turquoise says
"Hey! We're at the mid-season, finally!" Peridot says
"Leaving it on a metaphorical cliffhanger will be a good thing. Besides, we can always watch it together when I get back~" Turquoise looks at peridot teasingly, Peridot blushes
"Also here a gift," Steven hands Turquoise a box
"Wow. Thanks. " Turquoise smiles, opening it revealing a camcorder
"Interesting."
Just then, Lion's legs appear on the laptop's end of the video chat.
"Noooo!" Steven runs frantically out of the Barn."That was Connie's laptop! LION!"
"He should really be more careful with other people's stuff." Lapis says
Peridot unamused. "Hmm..."
"We all need to be careful with eachothers things," Turquoise says as Lapis holds the bat behind her back
"Haha, Okay Turquoise stop recording me...ha... okay, stop," Lapis says, putting her hand in front of her face
"But I want to save the moment," Turquoise says sadly and shuts off the camera
The morning comes, and Turquoise is getting ready to leave
"i should be back later tonight, okay?" Turquoise asks Peridot
"Okay..."
"Hey, how about a confectionery lip touch before I go?" Turquoise asks as he kneels down and picks her up
Peridot nods as Turquoise kisses Peridot's lip, closing his eye, Peridot closes hers. holding her close, both Turquoise and Peridot's cheeks darken with blush they stay in an embrace for a short while Turquoise stroking the back of Peridot's head
After a while Turquoise is seen waving goodbye to Lapis and Peridot and walking towards the warp and warping away, arriving at the Temple
"Ah, Turquoise, there you are," Pearl smiles, greeting Turquoise, who was stepping off the warp into the main room
"Morning Pearl, Steven, mysterious person whom I've never met." Turquoise greets everyone
"Turquoise, this is Connie, Connie. This is Turquoise." Steven introduces Connie to Turquoise
"Pleasure to meet you," Turquoise smiles
Pearl wraps a scarf around Steven as much to Turquoise's confused
"Why the...large clothing?" Turquoise asks
"The North is cold, Steven and Connie's organic bodies react badly when exposed to such extreme weather," Pearl explains
"I see..."
"This is Connie's first field mission... and it'll be yours two!" Pearl says excitedly
"Then lead the way," Turquoise gestures towards the warp
Turquoise, Pearl, Connie, and Steven warped in on a Warp Pad in front of a giant Wailing Stone in the middle of a snowy wilderness.
"We're here!" Pearl says excitedly
"Wow! The Great North is so beautiful in person." Connie says, looking into the distance
"Snow... really?" Turquoise says, disturbed
"Wait, wait! Stay right there!" Steven runs a distance in front of Turquoise, Pearl, and Connie and takes out his phone.
"Alright, smileee!"
Pearl and Connie smile and pose in determination. Turquoise, on the other hand, stands still arms crossed, not smiling, and Steven takes a photo.
" Okay, now one more where it looks like you're looking for a monster." Steven starts
Pearl and Connie pose again, and Turquoise steps out of frame. Steven takes another photo.
"Okay, now one like you made a joke."
Pearl and Connie pose again, and Steven takes a third photo. Turquoise can be seen pointing his camcorder, viewing the distance talking to himself
"Okay, now do one where the joke's not that funny, but it's more like a joke that makes you... think."Steven says
"Okay, I think that's enough photography." Pearl says
"But it's Connie's first mission! Her parents asked me to take lots of pictures."Steven starts
"Oh..."
"Steven, we've been here but 5 minutes, I'm sure there will be more opportunities for photography," Turquoise says, closing his camcorder
"Thank you so much for letting me come on this mission, Pearl!" Connie bows to Pearl and blushes."It's such an honour to work alongside you."
"Well, Connie, your sword fighting skills have far exceeded my expectations. And, with my careful supervision, of course, I'm confident that you can handle a simple Gem recovery mission like this."
"I will also be supervising, just in case." Turquoise folds his arms
"Thank you so much! I promise I won't let you down, ma'am, sir!." Connie, thanks both, supervising gems
Steven snaps another photo.
Steven whispers proudly to himself, "Connie's first mission!"
Turquoise, Pearl, Steven, and Connie begin walking through the snow.
"Recap the mission for us, Connie." Pearl says
"Garnet sensed some corrupted Gem activity in these woods. It is our job to locate it, destabilize its form, and bubble it." Connie answers confidently
"And Turquoise your mission?"
"Assist Connie and Steven but allow them to fight themselves and only interfere when absolutely necessary." Turquoise answers bluntly
"Very good. Now, your human bodies aren't designed to last in this cold, so we'll have to be extra careful." Pearl says
"That's okay, I've got this backpack filled with everything we need to survive in the wilderness." Connie says reassuringly
"And I've got board games in case we get bored." Steven grins
"Ah, yes. Very good." Pearl says
"I fail to see how games are going to help," Turquoise says, thinking how the only game he had witnessed was Peridot player hide-and-seek to kiss him
"So, how will we know if this corrupted Gem is nearby?" Pearl asks
A large growling is suddenly heard, and everyone gasps in shock.
Turquoise creates an identical copy of Pearl's spear and Amethyst's whip made if ice
"I think that answers your obvious question," Turquoise says
"That's how! Here it comes!" Pearl yells
A Snow Monster breaks through some trees in front of the Quartet and roars at them.
"Uhhh...!"
Steven snaps a photo of the corrupted Gem while Connie prepares to unsheathe her sword
"Remember, you work together!" Pearl yells
Steven summons his shield. "Ready, Connie?"
Connie unsheathes her sword. "Ready, Steven!"
Suddenly, another corrupted gem, similar in appearance to the Snow Monster, appears and roars loudly.
Turquoise rushes and stands behind Connie and Steven Spear and whips in hand
Pearl summons her spear. "Two of them?!"
The two corrupted Gems communicate with one another. One of the monsters begins charging towards the quartet
"Steven, bubble!" Turquoise yells
"Bubble power!" Steven summons his bubble shield and encases him, Turquoise Connie and Pearl. The Monster jumps over the four of them while the Snow Monster runs past them, as the two corrupted Gems flee in separate ways. Steven then dispels his bubble in confusion.
"They... ran away?"
"There weren't supposed to be two..." Pearl says, worried
"An unprecedented variable." Turquoise says, crouching down touching one of the monsters footprints
"Oh! Oh! I have an idea! We could split up! You can two can go after one of them, Turquoise, Pearl, and Steven, and I will go after the other one."
"Connie, you are my pupil, so I know your combat skills are excellent. But I'm afraid this is too risky. You've never been in a real fight before." Pearl says
"I agree we do not know of these gems and what abilities they possibly could have," Turquoise says
"Well, that's not true, Connie defeated those Gem experiments at the hospital." Steven argues
"But..."
"Pearl, if they're ready, they are ready." Turquoise says, putting a hand on her shoulder
"And look!" Steven holds out a Cookie Cat walkie-talkie to Pearl and speaks into it."I brought these walkie-talkies so we can talk to each other in case something happens."
"But!"
"And-" Connie, how's Pearl a wilderness survival book titled "The Punishment Of Nature?" "I've read this book front to back at least 20 times!"
Pearl stares at the pair in great concerns while they stare back at her with reassuring faces.
"Pearl, they'll be fine," Turquoise smiles
Pearl sighs. "Well, all right. But as soon as you find the monster, contact me immediately. I don't want you fighting this thing alone. One more time, what are you looking for?"
"A monster." Steven and Connie both say
"What do you do when you find it?" Turquoise asks, taking the walkie-talkie
"Call you."
"And who's your favourite Gem?" Pearl asks smugly
Steven glares at Pearl. "Pearl..."
"Why, thank you!"
Steven and Connie laugh together.
"Now, be safe!"
"Just call us if you see one or both of the gems," Turquoise says
Turquoise and Pearl heads off on her own in one direction, while Steven and Connie go together in the other. Steven gazes up to the sky, with the bright sun shining upon them.
"All we have to do is follow these tracks." connie takes a handful of snow from the tracks and tastes it "Yeah. These are fresh. We trail it until it stops to rest."
"Wow, Connie, you're a wilderness expert. " Steven says
"Well, I like to be prepared. When civilization collapses and this world ends, I need to be ready to build the new one." Connie replies
"Yeah, I guess if Homeworld invades Earth, things could get pretty crazy for humanity." Steven starts
"Forget Gems, humans are already starting their own demise! Peak oils, Steven! How do we handle terminal decline without alternate energy sources?!" Connie rambles
"Turquoise, are you sure they'll be okay? Pearl asks, worried
Turquoise sighs and breathes in the cold air and looks into the hills
"What if they get attacked!" Pearl starts to panic
"Pearl, they'll be fine. You're an excellent teacher you've taught both Steven and Connie well," Turquoise says, looking at Pearl trying to calm her down
"I just hope we don't run into her..." Turquoise starts
"Her?" Pearl asks
"Jasper...she forced me to fuse with her for a short moment, but it still lingers in my mind... She used me!" Turquoise admits what Jasper did to him
"Turquoise..."
"It's fine... me and Lapis fused into "Sodalite" and sent her away. "
"You and Jasper?" Pearl asks
Turquoise remains silent and continues walking
Pearl goes to take Turquoise hand out of sympathy, but Turquoise is too far ahead
"Let's get going." Turquoise says, breathing an icy mist
"Turquoise, wait!"
Turquoise turns around
"What happened with Jasper?"
"Not now." Turquoise says visibly uncomfortable
"Hey, you can talk to me, okay?" Pearl asks
"O... okay..." Turquoise starts tearing up
Steven's walkie-talkie starts to beep, and he picks it up.
"How are you two doing? Are you hungry? Remember, you humans need to eat!" Pearl says through walkie-talkie
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Luckily, I packed plenty of survival fuel. Time to get our protein on!" Connie takes out a Protes bar
Steven and Connie both eat a Protes bar each and continue on their tracking
"Good thing this snow is here. It makes following tracks a lot easier." Connie says gleefully
"I'll say!"
"So these corrupted Gems are like wild animals; just a bundle of fight-or-flight reflexes and survival instincts." Connie asks
"Well, they're like that now, but before they were different. They used to be normal Gems like Turquoise, Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet. They had thoughts, feelings, friends... I don't really know how the corruption works. It's like they're sick. They don't remember who they used to be... Maybe they don't even know how to look like themselves anymore, " Steven says sadly
"Woah... Are you okay?" Connie asks Steven
"Yeah, I'm good. Oh, I know what'll cheer me up! Woo-hoo! Umph!" Steven face-plants onto the snow."Whoa-hoa-hoa-hoaaaa! Umph!"
Steven rolls himself off a snowy hill and collides into a snow bank at the bottom. Connie snowboards on a piece of wood down the hill to the bottom as Steven pops out of the snow bank looking dizzy. His walkie-talkie then beeps again.
"Steven, Connie? I'm not having any luck finding this monster. We might have to return to the Temple and regroup for a more tactical plan, and i dont wanna be here longer than necessary, " Turquoise says through walkie-talkie
" No, no! We can handle it! We're making great progress. We can definitely take care of this ourselves." Connie says into the walkie-talkie
"Oh, well, you sound very confident. Carry on, then, and remember, Connie--" Pearl can be heard talking
"Stance wide, body lowered. I've got it, ma'am." Connie replies
"♫ Balance is the key! ♫" Pearl sings
"Steven, Connie, please continue with haste. I don't wanna worry Peridot and Lapis with my absence," Turquoise says before shutting off the walkie-talkie
"Need some help there?"
"Yes, please." Steven admits
Connie pulls Steven out of the snow, and they collapse into the ground. They both laugh together as Steven wipes the snow off of his jacket.
"Woah, look at the tracks." Steven says, looking at the snow
"Woah. Now, this is a mess! Some of these prints look humanoid... Could Pearl or Turquoise have been here?" Connie asks
"But, Pearl and Turquoise went the other direction." Steven answers
Steven snaps a photo of the messed-up tracks, consisting of two sets of footprints.
"Monster... Humanoid... Monster. What could this mean..?" Connie says as she notices that it has started to snow."We should probably take shelter from this blizzard. But first, let's grab some of these pine needles. We can brew a vitamin C-rich tea with them, so we don't get scurvy!"
"Like a pirate!"
Steven and Connie take refuge in a small opening in one of the trees as the blizzard grows stronger. Connie brewed some tea with the pine needles she picked up with a small stove.
"The tea is ready!" connie pours some tea in a cute cup and hands it to Steven."Here, try it!"
"Thanks!" he takes a sip of the tea and makes a face of disgust
"How is it?"
"It's... Hmmm.... It's bad." Steven admits
"Well, yeah. It's not about tasting good, Steven. It's about surviving the punishment of nature." Connie says, determined
Steven and Connie both take a sip of the tea and make disapproving faces.
"So, why were there humanoid tracks out there? They weren't ours, and they weren't Pearl's. It couldn't have been the monster, unless it's just some guy in a monster suit, but that kind of thing only happens in cartoons, usually over a property dispute." Connie says, thinking to herself
"Maybe it is a guy in a monster costume." Steven jokes
"Y'think so?"
"I don't mean literally, silly! What I mean is, there might still be a conscious Gem inside there somewhere." Steven laughs
"Is that possible?" Connie asks
"What if the monster is turning back and forth into its original form?" Steven takes his phone out and scrolls through his photos on his phone."If it is, it might not be as corrupted as we think. There might still be a chance to save it!"
"How?"
"I can't heal Gems that are corrupted. At least not all the way, but if it's half-corrupted..." Steven thinks
A large growling is heard again, startling Steven and Connie. The pair then quickly leave their shelter.
"This way!"
Steven and Connie begin running through the blizzard in pursuit of the newly-made monster tracks. Connie then suddenly halts in place, and Steven bumps into her, hurting his nose.
"Oww..."
"Shhh!"
Steven and Connie encounter the Snow Monster right in front of them, scratching the rock wall in a state of panic.
"It seems scared... I-Is it running from us?" Connie asks
"What if it's running... From itself?" Steven says philosophically
"Shhh!" Connie covers Steven's mouth."Keep your voice down!"
The walkie-talkie suddenly activates, "Hello, you two. How's it going? This weather has really taken a turn for the worse, and I would hate to be responsible for putting you two in danger." Pearl says through walkie-talkie
The Snow Monster stops scratching at the sudden intermission of Pearl's voice through Steven's walkie-talkie and notices Steven and Connie.
"Make sure you bundle up with..." Pearl can be heard saying
"Steven! Turn it off!" Connie panics
"I'm trying!"
"And remember, if you find the monster, don't make any loud, startling noises." Turquoise can be heard
The Snow Monster turns around and starts approaching Steven and Connie.
"Stupid, slippery mittens!" Steven fumbles with the Walkie-talkie
"Hello?! Is there anyone there?! I'm just going to keep talking until somebody answers... Turquoiseyou know why they are not picking up?" Pearl says through the walkie-talkie
"Nyuh!" Steven throws his walkie-talkie away
"Steven!"
The Snow Monster now stands face-to-face with Steven and Connie, and Connie prepares to unsheathe her sword.
"Wait, let me try talking to it." Steven starts
The Snow Monster stomps up to Steven
"Hey, how's it going? Mmm, can you hear me? Are you in there somewhere..?" Steven extends a hand."You can control this. Remember who you used to be!"
"Steven, I don't think it's working.." Connie whispers and starts unsheathing her sword
The Snow Monster notices Connie's sword and attacks the pair. Luckily, Steven summoned his bubble shield in time, protecting him and Connie. The Snow Monsters keeps stomping on Steven's bubble, eventually popping it, and Steven and Connie burst out of it, separated from each other.
"Steven!" Connie calls out
The Snow Monster approaches Steven when a snowball hits its face.
"Hey! Over here!" Connie says nervously
Connie draws her sword at the Snow Monster but slowly backs away in fear.
" Connie, what are you doing?!" Steven calls out
The Snow Monster takes its attention to Connie and approaches her, while Connie keeps backing away.
"I... I don't know! I... wasn't prepared for this!" Connie admits
"Steven? Connie? Is this because of the "Favourite Gem" thing? Heh, that was just a joke!" Pearl chuckles nervously through walkie-talkie "... Don't tell Garnet."
"I thought your joke was quite funny," Turquoise can be heard saying
Connie begins running towards the Snow Monster.
"Connie!"
Connie skillfully slides under the Snow Monster and grabs the walkie-talkie in the snow. "Turquoise! Pearl! We've found the monster!"
"What?!" Pearl yells through walkie-talkie
"We need your help!"
"We'll be right there!" Turquoise can be heard yelling
Suddenly, Jasper charges in and knocks the Snow Monster down with ease. Steven gasps in shock.
"Who's that?"
Steven panics "Bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bubble! Aaaah!"
Steven quickly rushes towards Connie and summons his bubble shield around them. The pair watches in horror as Jasper repeatedly punches the Snow Monster and then slams it into the ground. Jasper then climbs atop the Snow Monster and yanks on its Gem on its chest, poofing the Snow Monster. Jasper then stands in triumph, holding another gem in her other hand, and glances at the two gemstones with a maniacal grin.
"Jasper..."
"Those footprints... The monsters were running from her!" Connie says, realising
Pearl swiftly leaps in. "Connie, where's the- notices Jasper and freaks out "JASPER!"
Jasper chuckles menacingly. "Hey Rose, look what I got." she holds up the two gemstones in her hands
Steven takes out his phone and snaps a photo of Jasper.
Turquoise jumps in and summons an icy version of garnets gauntlets. "You'll pay for what you did to me and Lapis!" Turquoise yells, hitting his gauntlets together, but Pearl stops him
Jasper then turns around and walks away, disappearing into the blizzard chuckling to herself. Pearls sighs in relief as Steven dispels his bubble.
"Are you two okay?" Turquoise asks, breathing heavily, dispelling his gauntlets
"Yeah... We're fine." Connie answers
Pearl hugs Steven and Connie. "Ohhh, thank goodness! What a disaster! I never would've let you come on this mission if I knew Jasper would be here!"
"I never would have taken your offer to come if I knew she were here," Turquoise says grimly
"I'm sorry..."
"What?"
"I thought I'd be ready to fight, but I wasn't. I failed." Connie says sadly
"You weren't supposed to fight. You were supposed to call me, and you did. This was a total success, " Pearl says
"And it was my mission to make sure you two are safe," Turquoise says, putting his hands on his hips
"First mission!" Steven yells excitedly
"First mission!" Pearl says, and Turquoise stands proud, holding his camcorder recording their success
Steven takes out his phone. "Group picture!"
Connie blushes. "Haha, Steven!"
"Oh! A-Another picture. Tell me when you..."
Steven pulls the group closely and snaps a photo.
Steven shows everybody the photo, with Pearl looking rather unglamorous and Turquoise's face being distorted
"Oh, no... Are your parents going to see this?" Pearl asks
"My parents see all of my photos, ma'am." Connie replies
"Hmm..."
"What an odd set of rules," Turquoise says
Pearl and Connie start walking off, Turquoise walking with his camcorder out, looking through the viewfinder while Steven looks at his photo. He then scrolls to the photo of Jasper, and eerie music plays, and Steven's smile slowly disappears
That's chapter 19!!! It's slightly longer than usual, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. See y'all in chapter 20. "Return to Roots" god chapter 20 already
more human au art Here's "strange sleeper" (human Peridot)
Let me know what you think in the comments!!!
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