In the morning he wakes before everyone else. Something is different, though he can't pinpoint what. As if everything around him had snapped into focus overnight. He looks around himself. His dad is snoring away on the couch, cozied up under a soft warm blanket, head resting on a fluffy pillow. His home is the same as ever, wood flooring and walls, stairs leading up to his bedroom, pictures of his family all over the walls, large windows and screen door letting in the, steadily growing, early morning light, all connected to the stone and crystal walls of the temple entrance. Everything is where it should be, and yet something is still, just slightly, off. It takes only a moment for him to realize what it is. It's him, he's what's off... but he's not sure how. Everyone's love and affection has him feeling like he's floating on clouds, yet grounded and focused at the same time, so what could be missing? As he sits he remembers everything his friends and family have done for him and all the fun he's had over the last several days. He feels safe and loved.
...
...
A low rumble in the air catches his attention. His dad falls off the couch with an "oof" when the sound wakes him. As the sound grows louder, the gems all rush out of their temple rooms at once.
"What is it?" Greg asks, rubbing his sore back.
"A ship has entered Earth's atmosphere. It's heading this way." Garnet states, her visor reflecting the rising sun.
She starts walking out the door, "It's okay, let's go greet our friends."
Everyone follows her outside. He's a little nervous, frightened by the ominous sound, but since the gems and his dad all seem fairly calm, he's not too worried. If they're not worried, there's probably no real danger. He follows as well, joining the group out on the beach just as a yellow ship with a long pointed nose comes in for a landing.
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Lars will never tire of the beauty of space. At first glance it may appear to be a mere black void that someone haphazardly threw some glitter into for stars, but up close is a whole other matter. Space, in all actuality, is full of color. Between the light the stars give off, with varying colors on the spectrum, and the colors of the gasses throughout, space is filled with chaotic beauty. Always changing, full of ice and fire, he'll never tire of seeing it all. There's always something new to see!
Right now, however, Lars can't even focus on the beauty around them as their ship rushes back to Earth. They've only been in space for barely a week, Earth time, but a message from Sadie had them all agree to turn back immediately.
Thanks to the smarts of Steven's friend Peridot, Lars and his friends have been able to keep in touch, even out in the depths of space. She programmed a communicator into the ship that's able to connect to Earth's satellites, from any distance, and from there send and receive short messages. According to her it was simpler to modify the more advanced gem tech of the ship, than it would have been to modify earth tech. It was a couple days ago they had received a message from Sadie.
"Something's wrong with Steven. Not sure on the details, he went missing for about a day. They found him, but Greg has had to manage our tour remotely to take care of him."
His first thought was the worst case scenario, that Steven had harmed himself. While thinking about what to reply, and what to do, whether they should return or not, whether they were needed or not, Padparadscha spoke up with a bone chilling prediction of the past.
"Captain! We are about to receive a message from Sadie about Stevens' corruption!" she calls out sadly, large tears beginning to stream down her face.
The entire ship's crew is silent in shock. Though Padparadscha can only predict the past, oftentimes her predictions come with details and insight missed by, or completely unknown, to them. Such as when Garnet first met the Off Colors and accidentally made them all uncomfortable. Padparadscha's prediction was what snapped her out of her excitement into realizing how uncomfortable she'd unintentionally made them.
Lars jumped up from his chair, "Thank you Padparadscha. Rodonite, set a course back toward Earth. Rutiles, full power to the engines, we need to get back as soon as possible. Fluorite, make sure the engines run smoothly, we can't afford to get stuck out here right now. Steven needs us!"
"Yes Captain!"
Though the sun incinerator may have been one of Emeralds fastest ships, they had still made their way an incredible distance from the planet, so even at top speed it's taking them far longer than Lars would have liked to get home. The crew releases mutual sighs of relief when their planet comes into view, rapidly descending into the atmosphere, and to Beach City, opting to land right in front of the temple. They've barely landed, when they all rush to open the hatch, and run down to the beach, to the gems and Greg, waiting for them.
They rapidly approach the group, Fluorite trailing slightly behind with her slower gate and larger size. Lars immediately approaches Garnet first, noticing no Steven standing with them, and fearing the worst.
"We got a message from Sadie about Steven. Then Pads predicted something about corruption afterward." Lars rushes out, skipping the greetings and refusing to beat around the bush. If something is wrong with Steven he is determined to help and no one is going to stop him.
The gems and Steven's dad all glance at each other, then Amethyst looks quickly behind the group. They split in half, revealing a creature sitting behind them. It was large, practically the size of a small horse, mostly pink, with black on its head running down its back, sharp looking claws on its paws and spikes running down its back to its small thin tail. It has a large round head, with small ears raised and alert, and bright pink eyes with diamond shaped pupils.
The Off Colors all gasp in shock, Rodonite looking about ready to throw up, despite the fact that she doesn't eat, Fluorite appears almost about to destabilize for the first time they've ever known her, both Rutile twins have tears in their eyes. Padparadscha gasps and tears begin pouring down her face.
Slowly, carefully, Lars steps forward, "Steven? I don't understand. What happened?" He reaches toward the still corruption, cautious and afraid he'll startle him and suddenly be reliving his younger years with the corruption attacks on the beach that used to happen all the time. Steven had been the one to explain to him, the new gems in the area used to be the monsters that periodically attacked Beach City, but that he and his giant diamond grandmas had healed them. His fear is unwarranted though, as Steven leans into his hand and allows him to pet him, eyes closing in contentment.
"A little over 24 hours after the graduation party Steven disappeared. We looked all over for him and eventually found him near Roses fountain. He was already like this when we found him." Pearl explains, "He's been mostly non aggressive, with the exception of the Diamond's coming to help. He tried to attack White after she tried to connect with him mentally, but thanks to Amethyst's quick thinking, we were able to restrain and calm him." She did her best to keep the overall explanation short and to the point.
Lars' eyes widen, realizing that Steven's disappearance coincides with the day they left for space. He'd known Steven had accepted his apology during their talk to make Lars feel better, but it'd worked and he never even considered that Steven didn't feel the same. He just left without a care in the world. He left the one friend he'd had, besides Sadie and before the Off Colors, who'd cared for him regardless of how much of a jerk he was. Tears form in his eyes, guilt and sadness overwhelming him. He lunges forward, hugging Steven tightly, not even caring about his spikes poking his arms in a few places. Lars bawls, tears and snot streaming down his face, as he apologizes to Steven. He apologizes for all the times he was a jerk when Steven was younger, and he apologizes for leaving Steven when he needed a friend most.
"I knew you were still upset about graduation, but I was so caught up in myself that I convinced myself everything was fine, and just left anyway. I should have stuck around longer, I'm so sorry for leaving you Steven."
Steven grumbles and rests his head heavily on top of Lars fluffy pink hair. Tears begin forming in his own eyes,dripping down his face into Lars' hair, something the gems haven't seen happen up to this point. Garnet adjusts her visor, recognizing that something has changed, that they've reached a turning point with Steven. Before she can look much further into the future she pauses with a frown.
"Get ready everyone. Unwanted guests!"
More rumbling begins as another ship enters the atmosphere, this one much, much, larger than the sun incinerator. Lars stands and glares at the ship as it approaches over the ocean. It's a large octahedron shaped ship with protrusions on the four main corners, and a windscreen at the top front, where the cockpit is, most likely.
It's the Destiny Destroyer.
"Emerald."