"NOOOOOOOOO!"
Everyone in the Big Donut cringed as the loud yell, courtesy of Steven, pierced their ears.
Why was he screaming? Because Cookie Cat had been discontinued.
"This can't be happening! Tell me this is a dream!"
Steven barreled himself at Lars and hugged his leg, much to the latter's annoyance."Lars! Lars, please tell me this is a dream!"
"Get off me, man! I'm stocking here." Lars shoved Steven off of him.
"I'm sorry, Steven. I guess they just stopped making them," Sadie said apologetically.
"Stopped making them? Why in the world would they stop making Cookie Cats? They're only the most scrumptious ice cream ever made!" Steven exclaimed. "Don't they have laws for this!?"
"Tough bits, man." Lars shrugged. "Nobody buys them anymore. I guess they couldn't compete with Lion Lickers."
Steven wrinkled his nose with a groan. "Not Lion Lickers! Nobody likes them!" He complained. "They don't even look like real lions! Kids these days, I'll tell you what."
Steven crossed his arms. He turned around, seeing Pink, who was accompanying him, in the middle of grabbing one out of the freezer.
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Traitor..."
"What? I think they're tasty," Pink defended herself.
Pink looked pretty much the same as she did three years ago, with a few small changes.
She still had the gray hoodie, although now she wore a pair of baggy cargo pants and some steel toe combat boots.
She also carried a broadsword on her back, gifted to her by Pearl since she originally didn't have a weapon.
She technically didn't need to have her sword on her back, since she could just materialize it in her hand.
She just kept it there so people didn't try to talk to her.
"Well, If you miss your wimpy ice cream so much, why don't you ask your weird tall mom to make more with her magic belly button?" Lars sneered.
"That isn't how it works, Lars! And she's not my mom!"
"I wish I could make magic ice cream. That'd be dope," Pink said as she put a dollar on the counter and tore open the wrapper to her Lion Lickers.
She knew that as a Crystal Gem, her duty was to protect humanity. However, sometimes she really wanted to punch Lars in his smug face.
Steven let out a sigh, turning back to the Cookie Cat freezer. "Oh sweet Cookie Cat, with your crunchy cookie outside, and your icy creamy inside. You were too good for this world..."
Steven hugged the freezer, and he didn't let go.
"Uh, Steven?" Sadie tried to get his attention, unsuccessfully.
Steven continued to hug the freezer like it was the last thing on Earth.
"...Do you want to take the freezer with you?"
Steven looked at Sadie, almost at the point of tears, and nodded.
Pink looked at Sadie with a bit of concern. "Are you sure he's just allowed to take it?" She asked.
"Yeah," Sadie shrugged. "We're not gonna need it anymore."
"If you say so.."
-
Steven hummed happily, carrying the freezer on his back like a backpack.
"You seem like you're in a better mood," Pink observed.
"Yeah, but it's still a bummer though." Steven sighed.
Pink looked at him in sympathy, but then a lightbulb went off in her head.
She nudged him with his elbow. "Hey, I'll tell you what - Maybe later if we have the time, we can look up a recipe online and see if we can make our own Cookie Cats."
Steven gasped. "Really??"
"Of course," Pink ruffled his hair, making the boy protest while laughing.
-
They eventually made it to the beach house Steven called home, unaware of the chaos that was happening inside.
They walked up the steps and opened the door.
"Hey, you guys won't believe this-"
Steven was interrupted by a gem monster lunging for him.
Pink quickly pulled him out of the way, unsheathing her sword.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
"Yeah, just a little surprised."
They spotted the Crystal Gems fighting against an infestation of centipeedles.
"Sup, Steven?" Amethyst waved at the boy, before hurling the centipeedle that tried to attack him into the wall with her whip.
They saw Pearl, gracefully fighting off the centipeedles from the warp pad.
She kicked one towards Garnet, who grabbed it and snapped its spine over her knee.
"Awesome!" Steven yelled, starstruck as he set the Cookie Cat freezer down, staring at the centipeedles.
Pearl dragged a centipeedle out from under the coffee table.
"Ugh, sorry Steven. We'll get this centipeedles out of your room," she said. "We think they were trying to get into the temple.."
"We don't have to get rid of 'em! They're really cool!" Steven said, looking at the one Pearl was dragging.
"You really think they're cool after one just tried to bite your face off?" Pink questioned, confusion clear on her face.
The centipeedle suddenly spat out a green liquid that landed dangerously close to them, melting the floor.
Amethyst slammed a centipeedle into the temple wall, and it poofed.
"Uh, guys? These things don't have gems!"
"That means there must be a mother nearby," said Garnet. A centipeedle tried to sneak up on her from the side, resulting in Garnet punching it square in the face.
"We should probably find it before anyone gets hurt." Pearl stated, worried about what potential harm the mother could cause.
Steven perked up."Ooh, can I come? Can I? Can I?"
"Steven, I'm sorry, but without your mother's powers, we'd only be putting you in danger. We'll take care of protecting humanity, okay?" Pearl told him, snapping the neck of the centipeedle she was holding.
Steven looked down with a sigh, before realizing that there was a centipeedle rummaging through the fridge.
"Hey, get out of there!" He yelled, shooing the centipeedle away.
"Go on! Shoo! Shoo! Aww, they got into everything. Not cool!" He exclaimed.
He glanced in the freezer, gasping.
"No way..."
In the freezer were a huge batch of Cookie Cats. "It can't be..."
He took a Cookie Cat into his hands. "How did you get these!? I thought they stopped making them!"
Pearl stepped beside him. "Well, we heard that too and since they're your favorite..."
"WE WENT OUT AND STOLE A BUNCH!" Amethyst interrupted, jumping onto the counter.
Pearl grit her teeth."I went pack and paid for them."
"The whole thing was my idea." Garnet stated as her gauntlets disappeared.
"It was everyone's idea," Amethyst retorted.
"Not really."
"All that matters is that Steven is happy." Pearl interjected with a smile.
Steven stared at the Cookie Cat in his hands. Then, he started to sing.
"Oooooooooooooh, he's a frozen treat with an all new taste, because he came to this planet from outer space! A refugee from an interstellar war, but now he's at your local grocery store! Cookie Cat, he's a pet for your tummy! Cookie Cat, he's super duper yummy! Cookie Cat, he left his family behind! COOKIE CAAAAAT! Now available at Gergins off route 109."
Everyone let out a laugh as Steven finished the song.
"I can't believe you did this! I'm gonna save these forever... right after I eat this one!"
Steven ripped open the wrapper and took the Cookie Cat out.
"Hello old friend..." he whispered as he took a bite out of the Cookie Cat.
"Mmmmm, so good! I like to eat the ears first!"
The gems' eyes widened as Steven's eyes began to glow.
"Uh, Steven?" Amethyst began.
"What?" Steven asked, confused.
"Dude, your eyes are freaking glowing."
"Huh!?"
Pearl quickly summoned a handheld mirror and gave it to steven. "Oh my gosh! They are!"
"Maybe he did inherit Rose's powers..."
"That would explain how he was able to get into the temple."
"Quick! See if you can summon a weapon!" Amethyst exclaimed.
Steven grunted as he tried to focus on summoning his weapon. Sweat rolled down his face as he held his breath.
"Breath Steven! Don't force it," Pearl advised him.
"And try not to crap yourself, either." Amethyst added.
"Please don't." Garnet stated.
The glow in his eyes disappeared, making everyone sigh. "Aw.. I really thought I could do it." Steven said disappointedly.
"Don't worry, Steven. On the bright side, at least we know it's possible for you to summon a weapon." Pink encouraged him.
"I guess so... can one of you just explain how to summon a weapon?" Steven asked.
Pearl brightened up. "Ooh, I'll go first!"
-
Pearl and Steven stood near a sakura tree, or better known as a cherry blossom.
"Look at these pedals, Steven." Pearl spoke.
"The pedal's dance seems improvised, but it is being calculated in real time based on the physical properties of this planet," Pearl began, speaking in a philosophic tone.
"With hard work and dedication, you can learn to master the magical properties in your gem, and perform your own dance!"
Pearl's gem glowed brightly as her spear materialized above it. She snatched her spear and looked at Steven.
"Like so."
Steven didn't say anything, picking up a handful of pedals.
-
Amethyst stood with him behind the Big Donut, eating a chocolate cream donut.
Steven tossed the pedals in the air, making Amethyst roll her eyes.
"Did Pearl tell you the pedal thing?" She asked with a scoff.
"Yeah. I need to practice really hard so I can dance like a tree... I think." Steven murmured.
"Listen, Steven, all the practice stuff is no fun," Amethyst took a bite out of her donut. "Whenever I need to summon my weapon, it just happens!"
Amethyst's gem glowed a luminous purple and she pulled her whip from it, slicing the dumpster behind her clean in half.
"See? Didn't try at all."
Lars had just come out the back door, a trash bag in his hand, and saw the dumpster. He let out a scream and dropped the trash bag.
"AGAIN!?"
-
"So I'm supposed to work really hard and not try at all at the same time?" Steven asked Garnet as the two stood on the cliff, near the lighthouse.
"Yes." Garnet replied simply.
It went silent for a moment, as Garnet and Steven stared at each other.
"Or..."
"You can link your mind with the energy of all existing matter, channeling the collective power of the universe through your gem, which results in..."
Garnet summoned her gauntlets.
"At least that's my way of doing it."
Steven stared at her, completely lost.
-
Steven sat down next to Pink as she watched the waves.
Pink looked at him, "I'm assuming it's my turn?"
Steven nodded, playing with his feet. Pink hummed in response.
"Well I dunno if I would be any good, since this sword wasn't my original weapon," she said.
Her sword disappeared off her back, leaving only the scabbard. It reappeared in her hand, the blade gleaming in the sunset.
"The sword I summon was given to me by Pearl. Since I didn't have a weapon I could summon, I sorta accepted it as my weapon, I guess."
Steven nodded, listening intently.
"So now, my need to summon my weapon comes from a sense of protectiveness and determination to keep those dearest to me safe." Pink said. "I could also just grab it from my back, but that's boring."
"But something I've learned though is that it's different for everyone. None of us can tell you how to summon your weapon." Pink finished.
Steven thought about it, looking at the waves.
-
"I think my best bet is to recreate what happened the last time my eyes glowed." Steven said.
"So... Amethyst and Garnet were here, Pearl was next to the fridge, and Pink was leaning against the counter."
Steven glanced around, "Amethyst, I think your arms were crossed."
"Okay, your majesty," Amethyst narrowed her eyes at him, but decided to go along with it.
"And, Pearl, I think your foot was like this." Steven got on his knees and slid Pearl's foot into the 'correct location'.
"I don't think it works this way, Steven." Pearl told him.
Steven ignored her and stepped over to Garnet, smushing her face upwards. "And Garnet...uh...yeah!"
"Steven, not everything has to be pitch perfect." Pink attempted to tell him.
Steven ignored her as well and took the Cookie Cat out of the freezer.
"And then I took a bite out of this cookie cat. Oh, wait, I sang the song first! Uh, he's a frozen treat.. all new taste... interstellar war... now available at Gergins. Aww, it was funnier last time..."
Steven looked at the mirror, seeing that nothing happened.
He sighed. "Maybe I'm not a real Crystal Gem..." he murmured.
"Don't be silly, Steven. Of course you are," Pearl told him, kneeling down to his height.
"Yeah, you're one of us whether you like it or not." Pink agreed.
"And you're fun to have around, even if your gem powers are useless!" Amethyst stated, earning a glare from Pearl and a smack across the back of the head from Pink.
"Ow! I mean, you're a Crystal Gem, too. We wouldn't be the same without you."
Steven smiled a bit. "Yeah... even if I don't have powers, I still have... Cookie Cat!"
He took a bite out of his Cookie Cat. "Mmmm... so good!"
Steven's eyes began to glow brightly, even brighter than before.
The next thing they knew, a rose pink shield had materialized in front of him.
Everyone looked at it in awe. "Steven... it's a shield..." Pearl breathed.
Steven opened this eyes, seeing the shield. "Oh what!? I get a shield!? Oh yeah!!" He shouted, accidentally launching the shield.
It ricocheted all over the house before it crashed into the TV and dematerialized.
Pink winced, looking at the pretty much destroyed TV while Amethyst laughed.
Steven looked at the Cookie Cat in his hand. "Oh, Cookie Cat! I summon my weapon by eating ice cream!" He exclaimed.
Pearl picked up the wrapper. "What's in these things?"
The ground rumbled, causing her to almost lose her balance.
They looked outside, seeing a lot of centipeedles crawling up the windows, along with a much larger centipeedle.
"What was that?" Steven asked, looking around.
They rushed outside, seeing the huge centipeedle crawling on the statue.
"It's the mother!" Garnet yelled.
Pink got her sword out as Garnet jumped towards the mother to fight it.
"Stay in the house, Steven!" Pearl yelled.
"No way! I'm coming too!" Steven protested, running in the house to grab the Cookie Cat freezer.
Garnet kicked the mother, making it hiss. It growled at her, then roared.
Garnet jumped down, the Mother following her.
Amethyst, Pink, and Pearl jumped off the deck and onto the sand, standing behind Garnet.
The mother shrieked at them, spraying acid at the four.
They all jumped out of the way, the gems taking cover behind a giant stone hand that was once connected to the statue.
The mother shot another beam of acid at them, slowly melting the stone hand.
"We could really use Steven's shield right about now!" Amethyst yelled.
"Hey!" As if on cue, a rock hit the mother in the face.
It turned to see Steven with the Cookie Cat Freezer, which he had used several extension cords to keep it plugged in.
"Steven! The hell are you doing!?"
Steven slammed the freezer into the sand. "Leave them alone!" He exclaimed.
"Steven no!"
"Cookie Cat crystal-combo powers, activate!" Steven yelled, taking a bite out of a Cookie Cat. However, nothing seemed to happen.
Steven began to sweat as the mother looked down at him. "Uh oh..."
Steven screamed and grabbed the freezer as the mother began to chase him.
"We have to save Steven!" Pearl exclaimed.
"Can we save ourselves first!?" Amethyst retorted.
Steven held two Cookie Cats in his hand. "Goodbye old friends.." he shoved them into his mouth and swallowed, silently begging for his powers to activate.
His stomach gurgled unhappily. "W-why isnt it working!?"
The mother stood above him and shrieked, spraying a beam of acid.
Steven yelped and jumped out of the way.
"Steven!" Garnet yelled, holding back the mother's mandibles as it tried to bite down on her.
Steven got up, looking around. He spotted the freezer, seeing that it had been crushed. "No.. oh, no, no, no, no, no!"
He touched the freezer, recoiling back as it sparked with electricity.
"Cookie Cat, he's a pet for your tummy... Cookie Cat, he's super duper yummy!"
Steven angrily grabbed the cord to the freezer and dragged it towards the mother.
"Cookie Cat, he left his family behind!" Steven swung the freezer towards the mother.
"COOKIE CAAAAAT!"
The freezer made contact with the mother, electrocuting her.
Pink had to look away and close her eyes, hearing it let out shrieks of agony.
Steven fell to his knees. "Now available, nowhere..."
"Yes!" Amethyst exclaimed, seeing the mother vulnerable.
"Gems. Weapons." Garnet ordered. The gems summoned their weapons.
"Let's do it." Said Garnet.
The other gems nodded. They jumped on the mother as the freezer continued to electrocute it, and poofed it.
The gem clattered to the ground, and Garnet bubbled it.
She tapped the bubble, sending it into the temple.
The gems turned their attention to Steven, who was burying a Cookie Cat wrapper.
"Goodbye, sweet Cookie Cats. I'll always remember the time we spent together."
Steven's stomach grumbled. "Hush now."
Steven began to tear up as the gems approached him.
"Dude, are you crying?" Amethyst asked.
"Only a little!"
Amethyst sat down next to Steven. "Well I guess your powers don't come from ice cream."
"Of course they don't come from ice cream," Pearl said. "Don't worry, Steven, I'm sure someday you'll figure out how to activate your gem."
"Yes. In your own, Steveny way." Garnet added.
"I'm okay, guys, I just-" Steven was interrupted by his stomach gurgling. He gagged.
"I-I think I ate to many Cookie Cats." He said, earning a laugh from the others.
Then he threw up.
---
Word count: 2913