"If he finds her, he'll come back here . . . Right?" Amethyst asked anxiously, biting her lower lip as Pearl paced around in front of her.

In the kitchen, Garnet admired a spork.

Yet, as if on cue, Steven suddenly jumped and appeared on the platform in the middle of the stairs, smiling widely as if he had achieved something great.

(Which, I guess you could say he did, considering he just convinced a murderous gem to not consider murder anymore . . . hopefully.)

"Guys!" the hybrid boy called, pumping his fists up into the air. "Guess who's back?"

Immediately, everyone smiled, perking up at Steven's return as their worries washing away.

"Steven!"

Chuckling at his family, the boy nodded to them in acknowledgment before looking up the stairs, where two certain gems stood; one of them being more nervous than the other.

"Come on down!" he whispered up to the two encouragingly.

(Y/n) swallowed, nervously fiddling with the ends of her gloves as she looked away from the hybrid, who found himself frowning at the action.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but . . . I don't believe that your friends would be very happy to see me," she said, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.

Steven smiled and took a step forward, holding his hand out to the mariposa for her to take. "We just have to talk to them," he assured, making sure to keep his voice low as to hopefully help (Y/n) calm her nerves a little.

The mariposa bit her lip, turning to Spinel for reassurance.

Spinel only smiled as well and nodded, placing a hand on (Y/n)'s shoulder comfortingly before gesturing down to Steven, who still had his hand up, waiting for the (H/c)ette to take it.

(Y/n) pursed her lips, hesitating, before taking a deep breath and giving Steven a firm nod and placing her hand into his own.

The hybrid smiled, nodded back to her, and then carefully guided the mariposa down the stairs; Spinel following the two as they all revealed themselves to the rest of the gems.

Needless to say, their reactions were just as (Y/n) expected them to be.

"Wh-wha-wha-WHAT?!"

Summoning her weapon, Pearl positioned herself into an offensive stance as Amethyst shot up from her seat and pulled her whip out; her eyes specifically focused on the gem that Steven had for some reason placed protectively behind him.

And then, Garnet walked up. "Oh, Spinel!" The fusion smiled obliviously and clasped her hands together. "Did you change your hair?"

"Whoa!" Steven held his hands out, attempting to defuse the situation. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I know this is out of nowhere, but I've talked to (Y/n), and she's not gonna hurt us, okay? In fact, she came here to help!" The teenager turned to the said gem and grinned at her, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Right?"

Slowly, (Y/n) nodded; averting her attention towards the ground and holding her hands in front of herself politely.

"Yes, that is correct." This is the smallest her voice has ever sounded. At least, since Steven first encountered her.

Nodding, Steven's smile seemed to grow slightly, and he returned his attention to the rest of the gems. "See? Everything's chill!"

Just as soon as the poor boy had said that, though, a pink portal suddenly materialized at the front of the house, and Lion — with Connie sitting on top of him, her sword out — jumped through it before coming to a sliding stop, growling threateningly as Connie jumped off of him, flipped through the air, and then landed back down onto the floor; looking around frantically.

"I'm here! Where's the fight?!" she questioned, sounding determined.

"NO! No need to fight! Everything's chill," Steven called out, his voice stern and commanding as everyone looked back up to him.

From behind them, the bathroom door opened, and Greg stepped out — only to have a series of weapons directed toward his face, much to the human man's shock.

"Alright, alright!" Holding his hands up in a defensive way, Greg turned around and walked back into the bathroom. "I'll wash my hands!"

Steven could only sigh. "O-kay."

Turning back to face (Y/n), Steven smiled and held his hands out to her.

"You think you could take the injector out now?" he asked, semi-hopefully.

(Y/n) smiled awkwardly and nodded. "Of course. I promised you, didn't I?"

•| ⊱✿⊰ |•

"That sounds bad," Lapis muttered fearfully as she anxiously held her arm, staring down at the statistics on Peridot's screen.

"That looks bad," Bismuth added, grimacing at the numbers shown in front of her.

"That is bad!" Peridot exclaimed, putting an emphasis on the word 'is'. "We're hitting critical mass!"

"Then I guess we're just in time," Steven suddenly chimed in as he walked up to the trio, the rest of the gems and (Y/n) and Spinel in tow.

Peridot let out a surprised cry and jumped back before shaking her head; quickly regaining her composure, though the sweat trailing down the side of her face said plenty.

She was nervous.

"Steven, what's the status on Spinel? Did she tell you anything about the injector, or the gem that brought it here?" the green gem asked, sounding rather anxious.

From behind him, (Y/n) coughed awkwardly, drawing Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth's attention to her and Spinel, who waved at them shyly.

"Oh."

"Don't worry," Steven smiled, looking over to the (E/c)-eyed gem behind him from over his shoulder and giving her a nod. "(Y/n)'s here to help."

Stepping out from behind him, (Y/n) gave Steven her own nod before inhaling deeply and walking up to the injector. She stared at the large machine for a moment, her eyes watching the pink liquid inside of it bubble and bounce around as it was pumped into the Earth.

And then, the mariposa finally summoned her violin, and she replayed the very melody that had started this whole thing in the first place.

It sounded as beautiful as when he first heard it, Steven thought, but he opted to keep his thoughts to himself as he closed his eyes and sighed; taking in the sweet melody and forgetting all of his worries and anxieties for a quick moment.

Soon, though — as unfortunate as it is — the lovely tune came to a close, and when Steven opened his eyes again, the injector was hovering up in the sky and out of the Earth's crust.

The boy smiled and sighed with relief. "Thanks, (Y/n)," he said, watching the gem put her instrument away before turning to him.

"Oh! Uh . . ." Chuckling awkwardly, the mariposa looked away from the hybrid and scratched her temple before nodding, meeting Steven's eyes once again and offering the teenager her own, although smaller, smile.

"What are friends for . . .?"

Chuckling slightly at the mariposa's awkwardness, Steven looked down at his stomach and placed a hand over his gem, smiling determinedly.

"Okay, we've almost cleaned up this mess. Now all we need are Garnet's memories and my powers, and we can all get back to living happily ever after!" the hybrid said, turning his back to the mariposa and the spinel behind him as he began to walk away from them, making the duo share a look and frown.

"What could work for Garnet?" Steven went on ignorantly as he brought his hand up to his chin in thought.

"Something about fusion? Something about love?"

"What about . . . us?"

Perking up at (Y/n)'s voice, Steven's train of thought came to a stop as he turned around to face the gem, who was now tightly holding Spinel's hand in her own, her brows knitted together in what looked to be . . . suspicion?

Steven could only blink, unable to think of anything to say at the moment. "Huh?"

(Y/n)'s frown seemed to deepen, and something in Steven's chest ached at the sight. "Is that all you needed me for?" the mariposa queried, raising a brow. "To turn off my injector?"

"What? No!" Steven paused. "Well . . . sort of, but no—"

"Oh?" (Y/n)'s brows both rose, and an almost mocking smile crossed her features as she anxiously looked around; her eyes darting from place to place before landing on Steven again.

"What now then, Universe? I mean — I did what you wanted, didn't I? And now—" (Y/n) spread her free arm out in exasperation "—that's it?"

"Well," Steven offered the mariposa a nervous smile and gave a small shrug of his shoulders, "yeah. We can just . . . forget this whole thing ever happened!" the hybrid tried to state optimistically.

(Y/n) fought back the urge to snarl. "Oh, really? How exactly do you plan on 'forgetting this whole thing ever happened' with me and Spinel around, dove?"

The way she spat out the pet name she had for some reason decided to give him made Steven flinch, and he found himself subconsciously gripping the fabric of his shirt as the butterfly-shaped gem continued on.

"I mean, I'm technically the source of all your problems, aren't I?" (Y/n) growled and pulled Spinel to stand behind her protectively. "Don't pretend you want us here. What's your plan for us after this, Universe? Are you going to put us somewhere? Are you gonna leave us . . . somewhere?"

As confident as the gem sounded, Steven could tell she was scared. Her eyes were wide with panic and were moving around in a frenzy, looking as if she were searching for an escape route of the sorts.

Steven frowned at the thought. He didn't like where this was going.

(Frankly, (Y/n) wasn't starting to like how this whole scenario was turning out, either.)

"Are you—" (Y/n) gasped, suddenly bringing her arms around herself in a hug as her breathing began to pick up.

"Are you — are you going to leave us alone?"

Steven's eyes went wide at the gem's words and he immediately shook his head in disagreement, beginning to walk up to the mariposa slowly.

"No! (Y/n), please—"

The boy could only get so close before he was shoved away; landing onto the Earth floor with a grunt as what appeared to be the handle of something slipped out of his pocket and slid over to the feet of the Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet.

Amethyst and Pearl, of course, gasped in horror and quickly jumped away from the object in fear. Garnet, however, stayed behind to eye the handle curiously. "Oh!" The fusion smiled brightly and began to lean down to pick the object up. "What's this?"

"G-Garnet!" Steven quickly got up and began to run towards the gem, holding his hands out to swipe the object from her grasp, panic in his eyes.

"Don't touch that!"

Ignoring the boy's cries, Garnet hummed in thought before pressing her thumb down on the small button that sat on the side of the handle.

It all felt like slow motion when it happened: when the rejuvinator was activated, its blade materializing into the air and its sparks of pink electricity beginning to echo about the night skies.

(Y/n)'s expression contorted into a blank one, and Spinel gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth; fat tears filling her eyes, which held both betrayal and hurt.

She thought Steven was their friend.

". . . Why do you have that?" (Y/n) asked after a tense pause among her and the rest of the gems, who all went tense at the unreadable, yet familiar look they had seen pass through her eyes for a split second.

Steven gulped, looking down at the rejuvinator in his hands nervously before looking back up to face the mariposa, who was still patiently waiting for his answer.

Steven sucked in a quick breath. "I-I was just carrying it!" the hybrid stuttered out. "I-I didn't have anywhere else to put it . . ."

(Y/n), with her blank expression unchanging, tilted her head to the side and let out a hum. "Really, now?" Steven tensed. "Are you sure that this doesn't have anything to do with your words from ealier?" (Y/n) suddenly laughed, placing a hand over her heart as she threw her head back.

"What did you say, again? 'We can just forget this ever happened'? I must say, Universe, it is rather ungentlemanly to lie — especially when those lies of yours are made for the sole purpose of making someone feel 'secure'."

Steven felt his mouth dry up as he tried to open his mouth to speak, but the gem didn't seem to want to have any of it.

"Oh, don't try coming up with any excuses this time, Universe!" The gem grinned. "I understand now. You get me to remove my injector, and then the moment mine and Spinel's backs are turned?" (Y/n) snickered, holding a hand in front of her mouth as she did so.

"My, how tragic. However . . ."

Steven went pale the moment he saw the violin reappear in the gem's hands, and she smirked at him, positioning the instrument onto her shoulder.

"I think I know of better ways to create a tragedy than you do."

Once again, her melody was brought to the ears of all to hear; echoing about the skies like a passionate storm. This time, however, the notes were plucked faster, quicker, and they sounded louder than Steven remembered them to be.

Steven was so caught up in this new melody, though, that he nearly failed to notice the injector beginning to be brought down atop of him.

"STEVEN!" Peridot grabbed the hybrid's hand, snapping him out of his trance and dragging him over to the side. "RUN!!"

As if on cue, the drill to the injector was plunged back into the Earth once more; causing bits of the land to break apart and rise, and ensuring that Steven and the others were separated, for the hybrid had lost Peridot in the dust that had flown into the air and fallen to the ground, coughing loudly.

The sound of a huff was heard before him, and suddenly the dust was pushed away by a gust of air provided by (Y/n)'s wings, which were now fully opened in all of their glory.

"I feel stupid, Universe," the gem told, placing a hand on her hip as she took a step towards the hybrid. "You almost had me and Spinel fooled, you know; thinking that you actually cared about us . . ." She snorted. "Maybe if your world wasn't dying right now, you would have been able to taken up a career in acting."

Steven grunted, pushing himself up from the floor and releasing his grip on the rejuvinator as he turned to the gem, who was also currently hiding Spinel behind her still.

"I — I wasn't going to wipe your guys' memories, (Y/n)!" Steven tried to explain, though it didn't look like (Y/n) was planning on giving him much time to.

"You expect me to believe that?" The gem crossed her arms over her chest and quirked a brow, her expression apathetic. "You're telling me that you would be okay with us still being here, even despite what your mother did to us? Even despite what I've been doing to you?"

She was referring to the injector — Steven knew she was, yet he still couldn't help but bring his hand over his heart, which was practically racing at this point due to the adrenaline he was currently feeling.

"(Y/n)—" the boy hesitated, "(Y/n), listen, I—"

"Steven?"

Time seemed to freeze, and Steven held back a gasp as he snapped his head up towards Garnet, who was staring down at him and the other two gems with curiosity and confusion in her three eyes.

"Why are you fighting? Aren't we all friends?" the fusion asked, naïve.

(Y/n) smirked, sending a look to the gem-hybrid before summoning a whip and wrapping it around Garnet, much to Steven's distress.

"My, would you look at that? It appears that we still have an audience!" The mariposa pulled Garnet down from where she sat and brought her over next to her and Spinel. "How about a front row seat?"

Steven straightened, bringing himself to his feet anxiously. "Garnet!"

"You know," (Y/n) began, leaning against the fusion next to her and resting her elbow atop her fluffy, cotton candy-like hair, "as twisted as this is, I find it sort of funny how much you liked the old Spinel~"

From behind the mariposa, Spinel whimpered and looked down, holding her arm anxiously.

"Because of course, if that's your thing . . ." (Y/n) grinned and placed her hands on Garnet's shoulders, staring Steven dead in the eyes, "I suppose you could always leave her like this~"

Steven growled, positioning the scythe in his hands as he took a step forward. "Get away from her, (Y/n)."

The gem's grin seemed to grow, and she suddenly fell against Garnet dramatically and wrapped her arms loosely around her shoulders. "Oh, you're so protective of your real friends, yet so careless with your fake ones!" she spat out, her tone venomous.

Steven's breath hitched, and his grip on the rejuvinator tightened. "Stop it!"

(Y/n) laughed. "Then stop me!" she retorted, releasing Garnet from her hold and spreading her arms out to her sides. "Admit it, Universe: you want to attack me! Or better yet—" (Y/n)'s eyes widened with an insane look appearing in them "—just try it!"

Steven shook his head aggressively and looked away from the mariposa, closing his eyes. "NO!" (Y/n) growled, "WHY NOT?!"

"BECAUSE THAT'S NOT THE TRUTH!" Steven finally snapped, bringing the rejuvinator down onto his knee and breaking it in half.

For a moment, Garnet seemed to have an epiphany. "The truth . . ."

Then, there was a gasp, and (Y/n) was stumbling away from the fusion she once stood next to, her eyes wide with surprise as she instinctively brought Spinel closer to her.

"I've known hardships and confusion," Garnet spoke up, her voice firm. "But love can live through it all if you face the truth . . . together!"

That's when it happened; the familiar light began to surround Garnet, a light that could only mean one thing:

Steven grinned. "Her final piece . . .!"

(Y/n)'s breathing nearly came to a stop, and without thinking, the gem wrapped her whip around a boulder nearby and threw it towards the fusion — not hearing the cries of her friend next to her, pleading for her to stop.

"No!" (Y/n) yelled, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she gripped the sides of her head. "STOP IT!"

CRASH!

Rubble was sent flying everywhere, and among it all, a fusion — with the light still around her — stood proudly.

✿*:･ﾟﾟ･:*✿

ﾟ･:*✿°✿*:･ﾟ

"Oh . . .

When a difficult day goes by . . ."

Steven gasped and looked up to Garnet, his eyes wide as the fusion's forms began to change.

"Keeping it together is hard,

But that's why,

You've got to try . . ."

A pair of familiar rings appeared on both of Garnet's fingers, and the gem smirked as her visors reappeared.

"You've got to try . . .

And when . . ."

Turning to Steven, Garnet smiled warmly down at the grinning boy, whose eyes sparkled as the fusion offered him a hand to help him up, which he gladly accepted.

". . . There's a thundering storm outside;

Underneath the covers you huddle and hide . . ."

Garnet looked up to face the two gems across from her and Steven, their reflections appearing in her visors as she did so.

"Open your eyes,

Open your eyes . . ."

Not being able to hold himself back anymore, Steven threw himself onto Garnet and engulfed the taller gem in a hug, which she of course returned.

"It's the true . . ."

Amethyst suddenly dropped down from above and wrapped her arms around Garnet's neck, also capturing the gem in a hug and laughing happily.

"It's the true . . ."

Pearl appeared last, a tired and relieved smile on her face as Garnet wrapped her free arm around the pale gem's shoulders and brought her into the group hug; feeling Pearl melt into their embrace.

"It's the true kind of love~

It's the true . . ."

Garnet looked to Pearl, and the two shared a smile.

"It's the true . . ."

Garnet then turned to Amethyst, who grinned at her joyously in return before leaning her head against her shoulder.

"It's the true . . ."

Garnet lifted Steven's head up to face her and pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead, making a few tears fall from his eyes as he snuggled his face into her torso more.

". . . kind of love~"

"Spinel," (Y/n) muttered, turning to the pink gem with a regretful smile.

"I'm sorry about this."

Before Spinel could ask what she meant, a swarm of glowing butterflies surrounded her, and she was gone; taken to someplace else.

(Y/n) took a deep breath and closed her eyes, before opening them again to reveal the light that was once in them completely gone.

You started this, the gem's mind stated simply as she summoned her violin in her hands, Now finish it.

"Stuck—"

Opening her wings, (Y/n) flew into the air, narrowly avoiding Garnet's gauntlets, which created a crater in the ground beneath them once they collided.

The fusion smirked.

"—in the middle of fear and shame~"

Suddenly, (Y/n)'s violin shifted into a bow, and she drew her violin's bow back as if it were an arrow and aimed it at the taller gem beneath her.

"Everybody's looking for someone to blame~"

(Y/n) growled and released the bow, watching it go flying directly at the fusion, who managed to catch it before it could hit her.

"Like it's a game,

Like it's a game~"

Grabbing Amethyst and throwing her up into the air, the purple gem grinned in (Y/n)'s direction and wrapped her whip around her ankles before throwing her to the side. The gem cried out, immediately turning her body as to not damage her gem, before falling to the ground with a grunt.

"Bloody brats," the mariposa hissed, standing up to her feet and dusting her outfit off before summoning an actual arrow for her bow.

The (H/c)ette looked around, and then, her eyes met with Steven's.

Her lips straightened out to form a thin line, and she aimed.

"And now—"

Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped around (Y/n)'s waist, and she gasped, whirling around to be faced with none other than Garnet, who merely smiled at her before throwing her up into the air.

"—I am better than win or lose~"

Spreading her wings out to fly off, (Y/n)'s actions were brought to a stop once again — this time by Pearl, who had grabbed her before she could do anything.

"Wha— You IDIOT! Do you want us to crack our gems—" (Y/n) was cut off when Pearl twirled around and threw her higher up into the air, confusing the mariposa, until a spear suddenly whizzed past her; missing her, but going right through the hat that sat atop her head and stabbing it into the injector.

"There's a new direction that I'd like to choose . . .

It's called the truth,

It's called the truth~"

Releasing an enraged cry, (Y/n) flew up to the top of the injector before landing at the edge of it and shifting her bow back into its instrumental form. After she did so, she played her tune once again; sending the injector deeper into the Earth as the poison inside of it bubbled and seemed to lower.

From below, Steven frowned, and his hands curled into fists.

"We have to stop her," Garnet stated; Pearl and Amethyst nodding in agreement.

"Wait!" Steven turned to face the trio and held his hands up, bringing them to a stop before they could actually do anything.

"You guys still have your powers, you've gotta save everybody." Steven turned to look back up, staring at the top of the injector with a determined look in his eyes.

"I'll deal with (Y/n)."

"What?!" The gems' eyes widened. "She'll crush you, dude!" Amethyst exclaimed, staring at Steven as if he were crazy. "You can't fight," Pearl added, sounding worried.

Steven only nodded. "I know," the hybrid looked down to see the flower he had given the mariposa in the garden, and he kneeled down and picked it up carefully into his hands.

"But I can still talk to her. Please, hurry."

Pearl and Amethyst opened their mouths to voice their concerns, but they were brought to a halt when Garnet spoke up first.

"Right!" The fusion placed a reassuring hand on both Pearl and Amethyst's shoulders. "Move out!"

Albeit hesitantly, Pearl and Amethyst nodded, sending Steven one last look over their shoulders before following after Garnet, who — unbeknownst to them — had a knowing smile on her face.

Steven took a deep breath and gently placed the flower in his pocket, before taking a step towards the injector.

"Okay, (Y/n)," the hybrid began. "It's just you and me now."

* * * * *

NOTES !

honestly genuinely beginning to consider putting a reminder on my calendar so that i actually remember when wednesday is 😭 i never realize what day of the week it is until the last second, and then i end up internally weeping about it for the rest of the week. once again, sorry for not updating last wednesday, you guys! i'm so forgetful and it shows 😭😭😭

but anyways, 2-3 more chapters to go, and then the first act of this story is finally finished, and we can move onto the second one! i hope you're excited ^^