//------------------------------//
// A Universe Away 
// Story: My Little Universe II 
// by EquestrianKirin 
//------------------------------//

Silence. One motion was all it took for Stevonnie to do it. The cloud cleared, and it revealed the ultimate end to this entire ordeal: Stevonnie was back on top of Grogar, the horn knife right in the center of the ram's chest. Grogar froze up, staring into the sky passed Stevonnie, his front hooves holding onto the blade but clearly not enough to avoid the mark. Both sides were only breathing, taking in what occurred around them. Stevonnie had a look of shock at first, but eventually that shock shifted into … snickering. Much similar to what Peridot would do as Stevonnie smiled upon the victory.

"YES! How's it feel, Grogar! This is the pain you kept dishing out to everyone. This is what you deserve," Stevonnie said in victory, fist in the air as she said so.

… But then Grogar slowly smiled again, much to Stevonnie's confusion.

"What're you happy about now, creep?" Stevonnie asked.

She saw it. Grogar, not a single word or even a sound, simply gently moved his front hooves aside from his chest, and allowed the victor. Stevonnie could see the horn going into Grogar's chest, with a good amount in it. But there was something else that was stuck in between the blade, and the ram.

Two gemstones.

Skewered.

…….

"AAHH!" *bonk* "ow."

Another restless night, and for this morning, another rather rough wake-up call with a hit to the head as Steven jolted awake. Not like this sleeping was anything new for him by now, taking a second or so to look around and make sure he was dreaming still or not.
No. No, he wasn't back in the battlefield with Grogar again reliving that nightmare, nor was he off in a nice comfy bed back at home (if he had one there still). Instead, Steven found himself still on the ride off to who knows where, within his own personal train storage car. He was laying by the main door of the car, the cold breeze from outside still creeping into the wooded crate that was his room for the time being. Since he did leave behind everything except himself and his clothes, he was just left shivering somewhat … well, shivering with a bump on his head from his stumble off the hay bale in his scream.

"OK, how far did I go now?" Steven wondered aloud.

Well there was only one way to check, him getting up and opening up the train car doors to see the world outside. Steven groaned a bit as the light came to him, a mix of sunlight and pure white snow easily enough to give off a blinding light for a little bit. Eventually though he got a better view of what place the train was passing through this time. All Steven could see was a bit of empty landscape, the fields and hills covered up with only a slight snowy blanket, clouds giving off a light chill in the air and some more of the white stuff, some of which got onto Steven as he stood there and looked out. It did take him a bit more to look past the glare, just able to see a few houses off a good distance away. A bit urban, but not at its best state ever.

Nothing alive though at first. The only thing he saw was a partially covered field, not even birds in the sky.

"Is anyone there?" Steven wondered. But not much of a reply got back to him. But as cold as the shivering, stuttering Steven was out in winter like this, not only did he feel it deserved but his thoughts weren't thinking too much about it. Only about the thing that got him out here in the first place.

"... Garnet. I can't believe it: she's the best mom ever, and she saved me a million times. And this is how I thank her? … the end … what's that gonna be like for me?"

What the end will be like for him now? That kind of question kept going through his mind as he kept soldiering on through the cold of the winter. It wasn't even a comfy cold with soft snow at his feet, nothing but hard cold with rocky earth and snow barely leaving a mark on him or anywhere around him. Each step he was making to the place ahead was met with him stuttering and shivering, arms wrapping around him for some form of warmth. No, it was not working at all.

Then, almost before Steven even realized it, he found himself right on the borders of the place. And boy did it look run down. Even so, Steven felt a little bit of relief.

"Worn out. Rough. Probably going through a bad time. … Yep, suits ol' Steven," Steven decided. Though he wished he didn't have to keep saying it to himself, but truth kept finding its way into his head.

The train itself did stop eventually about a mile down away from the houses he saw earlier for some water to drink. Given this chance, Steven got out of the train car, and started walking away to who knows where. At least in the car there was some protection from the wind, but not in this case, Steven in his lonesome only having his short-sleeved star shirt and blue pants for some form of warmth. And of course his sandals didn't give him much either from the snow, but still made it a little easier to walk through.
Steven stuck out like a sore thumb: not too many people were around him when he actually got passed the "borderline" into town, but for those that were they were looking at him like he was just crazy. The whole town was a bit of a urban sort of place, plenty of space but a bit of urban apartment brick buildings lined along the road. It wasn't a city, but not open country either.

"S-So cold … Ok, Steven. You're a bad guy now, so, you need to find other bad people. Killers stay with killers, right? … But where the heck is that around here?" Steven thought. He didn't feel up for lying about his past, he struggled in keeping that kind of secret already, so the easiest step is finding those to relate and work from there. Steven kept looking for potential people as he kept going.
But in such a state, his own wit was not exactly grade A: looking on to the crowd a little bit further away. It might've been of his one eye, or maybe because he was freezing, but someone looked … familiar, over there. A group of three, sure, though one of them seemed a bit too close to home. And she didn't look corrupted at all.

Connie.

"C-Connie? Impossible, but how -" Steven looked away, and again his eye was playing some more tricks. By one of the shops in town, some other more rugged figures started to see him, this time a pair of Gems. One purple, one blue.

"Lapis? Amethyst?" Steven wondered.

But all three of these figures suddenly started to fade away a bit, and now it was people he didn't recognize again. Steven shook his head.

"Stop it, Steven, they don't want you anymore remember?"

And what happened next ...

*HONK!* "Get out of the road, nutcase!!!"

"AHH!" Steven yelled, suddenly jumping out from the middle of the road and up into the air. The person in the car, not caring for what might've happened to him (or the fact he launched up at least ten feet up) just drove onto wherever she was going. As for Steven …

"Of course," he groaned … floating in the sky. He wished he could've figured this out before running away, but there was some slight stroke of luck just a few feet away. It didn't matter to him anymore that everyone down below now were REALLY watching him way up there, as he tried to "swim" towards a nearby light pole. It was a tiring effort, but he did finally grab hold of the pole. … Then he looked to the crowd.

"Don't mind me, just your everyday flying kid," Steven shouted. Not malicious, but still annoyed somewhat, as he slowly started pulling himself down from the air, and onto the ground. It was the first bit of good luck he had for the last few weeks since autumn started, even if it was small. After a sigh of relief, and making sure everyone quit looking at him like anymore of a freak than he was, he turned and started walking again. For a few more steps.

"Mmm?"

"Oh no. First I'm seeing things, now I'm hearing things? If I wasn't nuts, I swore that sounded like -" And guess what happened next? Steven stopped when he felt someone grab his shirt. The grip was a bit strong, keeping him still a bit. At first Steven didn't know who it was, turning with his blind eye looking back only to see nothing. He tried turning for his good eye to see, but it seemed whoever was grabbing him was also playing tricks as he couldn't see anyone with his good eye either.

"Hmm …" A basic game, and Steven knew how to handle this one. He turned his head side to side, the figure moving one way over another, but suddenly as Steven turned back with his blind eye, he quickly double-take'd and caught sight of the figure with his good eye. And one glance was all Steven needed before he spun around completely, gasping and jumping back at who it was.

Onion. Beach City Onion!

"Onion? … wait, nope. Nope. I'm just seeing things again, no way you're here right now," Steven told himself, going passed Onion … just for the rebel to trip Steven over his own feet, making him fall into the cold ground. Sure it hurt, but not as much as it had been for him. Steven groaned a bit, and looked back ahead, just to find Onion standing there again, kneeling down a bit. If this was a trick of the eye it would've fixed by now.

And it freaked Steven out even more.

"Wait, you're here? Really here?!" Steven gasped, "But how? I'm so far from Beach City, how'd you get here?" Steven questioned, trying to rationalize this. Onion though had other ideas, and got hold of Steven's hand, trying to get Steven moving. He didn't know if he was surprised or even fazed by his one eye or not (it's impossible to tell with Onion).

"O-Okay, I'm coming I'm coming," Steven hesitantly said, being pulled along by Onion to … well, wherever on Earth Onion wanted him to go. It wasn't like he had plans to go anywhere else anyway.


~~~~~~


"So is this where you're staying?"

That was Steven's first question when they got to the destination. Onion got Steven there under the hour, going down the street and slipping through an alleyway to get to the spot. As for what this was exactly, the building seemed to be apart of the brick apartment buildings Steven had been seeing, this one specifically of red bricks and the entrance within a backstreet, stoop going up to it and everything. Onion nodded, and started pulling on Steven's shirt, pointing to the door as if telling him to go inside. Steven though was reluctant enough to pull his shirt away, seeing the possible picture.

"I-It's okay. It's cold out here, but it's not so bad after a few days. Besides, I kinda - oof!" Steven was cut short when Onion started pushing him forward to the door, not having any of it. This all felt kinda weird: Onion's care for other people is, admittedly, kinda slim. He'd rather run a motorcycle into the nearest dumpster beforehand, though he seemed determined to at least get Steven up to the door.

"Onion, please," Steven insisted, but all Onion did was speak his "onion talk" and gestured him to at least knock on the door or, since they had one as it turned out, ring the doorbell. Steven paused for a bit, just looking to the door for a while. For a minute, he did consider opening the door, letting himself inside the warm home for at least the day. … But the past gnawed at his brain some more.

"No Onion. I'm bad. I don't deserve this, and you shouldn't be around me," Steven said. Onion shrugged and gave a look that said "So?". Steven sighed.

"I know you have your own way of doing things, some against the law and some not, but maybe some other time after I get more of my just desserts, ok?"

… And Onion rang the doorbell for him.

"Onion!" shouted Steven in a panic. Already he could hear someone coming in from the other side of that door, whoever that may be, and Steven could only think of one thing to do … which was make a bolt for it. Onion tried calling him back, but Steven didn't listen and found some cover just as the door opened up. A quick save on his part.

"Hey there kiddo," said a voice, "you're just in time for bites."

Steven didn't know who it was, but he didn't care as he kept down in his hiding place. Which in this case was huddling up inside the nearest empty garbage can. Not the best hiding place ever, him just sitting there with his face in his knees. Steven couldn't exactly hear what conversation was going on outside, but eventually he did end up hearing some footsteps, and the door closing. This gave Steven a weird sense of relief, but as soon as he did that …

"... What the hay am I doing?" Steven muttered to himself, "Is this gonna be my life now? Hiding away from everybody, huddled up somewhere all the  - … time ..."

He didn't know how to answer it, but then he looked ahead to the very slight reflection in the gray garbage can, and once again saw that single gray eye of his, as if it alone was nothing but a reminder of why he was stuck here at all.

"Why did it have to be like this? …"

*clang*
Suddenly Steven felt the garbage can move and shake, making him start to stumble a bit inside of his own sort of protective bubble of a tin can. It only took a good five shakes from who-knows-what before Steven found himself stumbling out and into the ground again. At first he thought it was Onion again, up to who knows what at this point.

"Onion, I swear to -"

"STEVEN?!"

Well it wasn't Onion, but rather Vidalia instead. And she was left shocked as ever when she found Steven Universe in a garbage can!

"Yeah. Hi."


~~~~~~


Well as much as Steven didn't want to just go in there, he ended up inside the building anyway. He may feel like he didn't deserve it, but with a blanket wrapped around him, some slippers on his feet for his ice cold toes, and FINALLY some warm air for a bit, he actually did feel a bit good with things. Or at least he didn't feel like an icicle anymore, though he was still shivering a little bit, his nose red as that of a particular reindeer by this point.
For the moment Steven was just sitting in the main living room of the complex, having a seat on the couch as he tried to feel a bit warmer for a bit among other things. The room itself didn't look too bad either - had a sort of home-away-from-home kind of vibe in spite of the rest of the town itself so far. He may be warm, but he still felt a bit down with himself, not even the funny scenes of comedy show "Canine Court" could get a smile on Steven's face. He simply sat there like a lump as Vidalia got back to him with a nice hot bowl of tomato soup, common remedy for any cold for TV.

"There ya go, kiddo. Nice hot bowl O soup for that cold stomach," said Vidalia.

"Yeah, thanks," Steven sighed, getting the spoon and getting a few good spoonfuls of soup into him. It tasted alright, nothing special, but boy was it hot on his ice cold tongue, almost enough to make him jump, coughing a little bit.

"W-Whoa boy! What's in there?" Steven had to ask. He didn't see much from just red tomato.

"Just some secret ingredients I've added in. You were looking a bit too blue for your age, so I thought an extra punch will help," Vidalia said, as Steven actually had to wave his tongue a bit. It was more of the shock difference that got to him really.

"Well, it's hot," Steven simply said, Vidalia chuckling. That it was indeed. But then Vidalia brought in one of the wooden chairs from the next room.

"Okay, so let's get the big questions outta the way," Vidalia decided, having a seat on said chair (backwards so her chin rested on the headrest), "What're you doing way out here? A bit far from home?"

"Oh. You mean it's not "what happened to my eye" or "how'd I end up in a garbage can"?"

"No, that's second. Y'know, unless someone got you in there, messed you up, and dragged you all the way to the Fairfax state," Vidalia said.

Fairfax? After all those days in a train and he only made it two states over? Well he was still far away from Beach City. Not from Delmarva, but still Beach City, so at least it was something so Steven didn't push into that. That didn't mean talking about the issue wasn't gonna be any easier though, him already trying to figure out what to say. Onion joined Vidalia during the question, sitting down by Steven as he tried figuring out what to do.

"Yeah, I'm just traveling right now," Steven said. It wasn't lying exactly, so it worked.

"I'm no expert on travel plans, but maybe next time try to get some better clothes," Vidalia advised. Steven blushed despite himself.

"I'll, uh, keep that in mind next time," Steven said, taking a few more spoons of the soup. The soup did get better after a while, so he wasn't just jumping each sip now. It was still very hot though.
Obviously there was a bit more to it though, and the next question should've been more expected than Steven thought it was.

"Now, about being here instead of Beach City? It takes a couple days to get here by car," Vidalia asked. Steven felt a shiver go through him, though they jot it up as him just being cold.

"Well … actually, I was gonna ask you the same question," Steven admitted, shrugging. Again, it wasn't exactly lying, and he was legitimately curious about why they were here instead of Delmarva. Vidalia was glad to comply.

"Oh, right! We're just staying here for the winter. See, Onion likes hanging out with some of his pals during summer, but they always have to come back here when the cold starts coming in. So this time I've decided to bring my little troublemaker over here instead," Vidalia explained, giving Onion a playful fluff of what hair he had on his head. Onion surely appreciated it, and Steven could just remember that Onion had a group of friends. It was a brief visit with them, so he would've forgotten them entirely if not for the reminder. Steven still knew he had to answer her though.

"So, now your turn," said Vidalia. Steven clammed up, but at the end of the day … well, what was the point? He did already give a hint about it to Onion, so …

"... I ……. I don't exactly … have a home. Anymore."

"Say what?" Vidalia asked.  Steven felt his grip on his blanket tighten, as if pulling it over himself would make them go away.

"I-It's a lot to take in. But the sum-up is that everyone hates me now, and they don't want me there, and it's my fault," Steven repeated, more clearly this time. Vidalia of course was startled, and obviously confused. But Steven suddenly heard Vidalia laughing, a snort slipping in almost before she spoke.

"Not want YOU?! Are we even talking about the same town? Why the heck would anyone not want you around, you're one of those good joes."

Just some sugar for the medicine to go down, it seemed. Bittersweet, but it still made Steven realize something.

"They weren't there when it happened!" Steven thought. He saw plenty of folks off back by the barn on that day, but now it was pointed out, they weren't among the crowd!

"I don't wanna talk about it," Steven stated, a sentence he probably was more confident in saying. Details like that were probably best not said anyway. Maybe the world knew it too, because before Vidalia could actually inquire some more, there suddenly was a bit of commotion going on just above them. It felt like thumping of sorts from some sort of machine or something.

"What's that?" Steven asked, looking to the ceiling. Vidalia could just make out the music.

"That's just Sour Cream DJing upstairs," Vidalia said, "it always shakes up the place. Drives the other folks in here nuts at night."

"Wait, others? It's not just you three?" Steven asked. Vidalia laughed.

"Of course not! As awesome as that would be, we don't have the bling your dad's got to get the whole building to ourselves. Besides, I think it'll get really boring in here without some adult company, or some kid company for my kids."

"Good point," Steven said. He paused for a minute to look around the room, wondering how many other people were actually inside the place. He was just ready to get another sip of the soup, but unfortunately the cold did catch up to him, and he ended up sneezing. Onion then got his mom's attention, him getting some information to her through whispering in her ear as per usual.

"Wait wait wait. Steven. Onion's saying you actually dove into that garbage can yourself?" Vidalia asked.

"It wasn't one of my better ideas," Steven replied, placing the spoon back into the soup, looking in his own reflection in said soup as he continued talking. "I just didn't want anyone else with me. I guess that didn't really work either. …"

Vidalia straightened up and looked to the one-eyed Gem boy.

"OK, it's time to cut to the chase. What happened back home that made you run out here? Lay it on me, I can take it," Vidalia offered, ready to lend an ear for Steven. Steven turned away.

"I … don't think you can."

"Try me."

"No thanks."

Just no. He already gave Vidalia enough information about what was going on, he didn't want to continue it. As far as he knew, Vidalia, Onion, and Sour Cream were the only ones who didn't really hate him right now, and he was not up for wrecking that due to facts. Vidalia paused and thought about it a bit, but then the DJing upstairs kinda kicked it up a notch. Enough to get the lights flickering.

"Geez, he's fritzing the power again. Here, hold that thought, I'm just gonna go get that before the old man comes knocking," Vidalia said, getting up and walking out. Onion just stayed with Steven, yet Steven just ignored him and just stared at the reflection in his soup bowl.

Only, she wasn't going off to do that.

Instead, after going out of the main room, went right over to the kitchen. And right to the household phone. A quick call will sort something out for them all, she was sure, so a few quick hit of the number keys later, and the phone was ringing out to the other line.

…….

*ring* …

*ring* …

*ri* - *click*

"Hello?" asked a slightly familiar voice, the figure on the other end handling some of the dishes seemingly as Vidalia could hear running water.

"Yeah, hi, is this the universe residence? This is Mother Onion," said Vidalia.

"Uhh. Mother. Onion?"

"You know, Vidalia."

"Oohh, I see, one of Amethyst's friends -" the figure only stopped briefly to put some of the dishes away, expertly placed with ease in the cabinet in a sort of Frisbee-fashion, not a single one missed. "- just let me handle the dishes and i'll lend you over to her."

"Um, okay … but isn't that a bit long?"

"Oh it's no trouble, I just have this stack of plates and a few glasses -" "- Just put it on speaker." "Huh?" "Speaker, just put it on speaker for a bit." "Amethyst, clearly I'm speaking to her."  "No, P, here let me see it." 

Vidalia was patient with the two over there, and then heard a click.

"Oooooo. Well that makes it more convenient," said Pearl.

"Am I coming through over there?" Vidalia asked, though she couldn't help but smirk.

"Hey girl! Yep, you're coming in just fine over here. How have you been, I haven't heard from you in weeks," Amethyst asked, as Pearl just continued the rest of the dishes. Vidalia leaned on the wall, phone casually held by her ear.

"Oh we're doing fine over here. Fairfax's is just like we remembered it: a bit worn out, but still has some charm to it. And i mean exactly," Vidalia said.

"No way! They still have that diner working there?"

"Hmm? Wait, oh yeah! Yeah it's still there. And they still have those potato pancakes you can just die over," Vidalia answered. Amethyst almost shivered, licking her lips.

"Oooo baby."

"Hehe. Well that aside, I want to ask you guys something, if it's okay."

"Sure thing, V, Lay it on me," Amethyst replied. Vidalia took a quick check to be sure Steven wasn't eavesdropping on her, but he still was just at the table with his soup alongside Onion. So she went for it.

"Okay, so … you know anything about Steven?"

"Steven?" Amethyst asked, actually sounding humbled.

"Yeah, we found him outside in a garbage can, and now he's with us."

"WHAT?!"
Talk about a shocker, even if they were trying not to just worry sick. It was still enough to actually make Pearl stumble, but not because of the shock, but because a third voice managed to overhear what was going on and rushed passed Pearl and got to the phone.

"Steven's there with you?! Answer me!"

"Peridot, let go!" Amethyst said, quickly yanking the phone away. "Sorry about that, but seriously is he with you?"

"Well yeah, he's enjoying some of my tomato soup with some TV in the next room over," Vidalia said, again checking in on him. Steven actually started watching Canine court a bit, and while not smiling was at least paying more attention to it.

"Is he okay?" asked Peridot.

"He's fine, just a bit blue."

"Blue? Humans can't turn blue," Peridot said worriedly.

"That's human lingo for being sad," reminded Amethyst.

"... Oh yeah."

"How'd Steven even get there? Isn't Fairfax, like, a week away?" Amethyst asked.

"That's what I want to ask about. Know what's going on over there? Steven won't really tell me anything other than everyone hates him, and it's "all his fault". Whatever that is," Vidalia inquired.
It was here that the other end was a bit hesitant on talking about, but they knew now that Steven REALLY was getting a lot of hate on himself. Or at least, he thought he'd been. It took a bit, but eventually Amethyst spoke to her again.

"Eeehhh … well. A lot."

"A lot of bad, huh?"

"Eeyup. It a bit of a tough time for everyone right now. Ready for a shocker?"

"I already found Steven with one eye in a garbage can. I think I can handle it," Vidalia said.

Story time.

"Well … alright, here it goes. So know how I told ya about that Grogar guy back on Homeworld? And remember when I said we had somewhat of a plan to kick him out?"

"No."

"Yep. It went haywire on us, and -" Amethyst suddenly stopped from some unknown reason, making her suddenly switch gears, "B-But I shouldn't tell you everything. That wouldn't be fair for Steven."

"No, no, I think I got a good enough picture," Vidalia said. Not the full picture drawn out, but enough for her to make a good guess.

"Is he still there? I want to see him again," said … another voice. Probably one of the Gems again, but Vidalia got thinking again as she looked back to Steven one more time. The tomato soup was almost empty by now, and Steven actually looked less depressed and more trying to keep warm in his blanket.

"... You know what, maybe let's let the big guy decide for himself."

"W-what?"

"Well, I just figure he's got WAAAY lots on his mind right now, and sounds to me this plan or whatever's left him with a lot of trouble at home. Taking some time away from all that drama sounds like just the thing he needs to get back on his feet again, know what I mean?"

"WHAAAAT? Dude, Jasper said the exact same thing," revealed Amethyst, "We've been trying to give him some space, but let's just say some are a little … antsy."

"We're right here, you know," Peridot stated. On the other line, Vidalia then heard the Warp Pad go off not too far away.

"Oh! Boss's here. Sorry, Vidalia, we gotta go. Chat with ya later, K?" Amethyst said.

"Yeah, sure. And don't worry, I know it'll all work out in the end. See ya."

And the phone call was done. Vidalia hung up, and only after another minute or so, went from the kitchen and back to the main living room for Steven and Onion. The phone call got just enough information for Vidalia now to see what Steven was coming from. Steven seemed to at least be relaxed about things, but in a good way.

"Need anymore soup?"

"No, I'm good," said Steven, getting another sip of the soup. So Vidalia decided on something else, as Onion got back up and went towards her.

"Ok. Hey Steven, I got a great idea. You're in no hurry to go anywhere, why don't you stay with us for a while?"

And that definitely got a spit take from Steven himself.

"W-Wha? Stay? I-I don't know ..." Steven asked.

"Come on, you caught a cold out there. At least stick around until you're feeling better, then you can go off and do whatever you wanna do," Vidalia insisted. Steven paused for thought about it. He was indeed struggling for a while now since he just left Beach City behind him. Onion kinda held Steven down by gripping his shirt, though Steven didn't know if he was keen on doing this or just messing with him. Steven was reluctant, but eventually he just nodded.

"Well … ok."

"Great! Now let's see, where can we put you?" Vidalia wondered.

"I-It's okay. I'll just find a corner somewhere," Steven replied.

"Nonsense! I'll think of something …"


~~~~~~


"Now you can help yourself to the food downstairs whenever you want to, Steven, just make sure there's enough for everyone else, and we already got a schedule on the wall for the laundry room, but I think we can squeeze you in there."

The conversation as Steven was brought upstairs was mainly more one-sided for Steven, him only following her along as he looked around the building. Much of the place was around the middle when it came to maintenance: it wasn't Pearl-levels of top-notch, but not really young Amethyst-levels of disarray either. To give an example, Steven saw some neatly hung pictures along the wall in a row, but still saw a crinkled up rug by one of the doors.
Speaking of doors, Steven and Vidalia did end up stopping at a point by one of the doors, which already had a bit of a red flag … or rather, one of those "keep out" signs. You know the kind.

"I don't know about this," said Steven.

"Don't worry, they'll love ya," Vidalia reassured. Something was telling Steven though that this might not be the best idea, but he just stayed quiet as Vidalia knocked on the door. Steven heard a bit of commotion from the door, and apparently after a short bit someone did end up answering the door. And it was someone that Steven naturally did not recognize, in appearance anyway.
And she didn't really look all too … what's the word … thrilled? She surely looked like someone who'd been up all night, her surprisingly long, and vibrantly colored ponytails in a bit of a mess and her eyes somewhat baggy.

"What do you want? We already paid rent," she groaned, sounding a bit tired for whatever reason. Vidalia, arm around Steven, smiled and got to the point with just one sentence.

"Say hello to your new roommate."

… she quickly proceeded to try and slam the door, just for Vidalia to put her foot in the way, keeping the door wide open.

"Listen when someone's talking, girl," Vidalia advised, walking into the room with Steven.

The room specifically was a bit of a mundane one, if not a little bit bigger since there were two other girls living with the first one, and according to some of the sheets on a nearby couch, that just told Steven that arrangements for these three weren't the best ever (not enough beds for all of them).

"Hi Vidalia!" one of them said, waving hello. The second one in the room took just one look at Steven, already getting her answer about their new roomie.

"Hello girls. See the room's still in one piece," Vidalia said, checking out the place a bit. The room didn't look too bad overall, so Steven can say they tried keeping things tidy in a way. The other two girls did check out Steven though.

"Who this?"

"Oh, he's gonna be moving in with you three for a bit. Cool," Vidalia revealed, hand patting Steven's head. There was a bit of silence in the air, but then that same girl started laughing herself silly.

"A new roommate?! No way they're gonna accept that!" she laughed … only to pause briefly. "right?"

"Don't be so stingy," Vidalia said, "He came all the way from Beach City to get here, and needs a place to stay."
Beach City? Well, that surely intrigued one of the girls at least. They don't remember HIM being from that place.

"Beach City? You're not serious," said another one of the girls, again not really too enthused about it at all.

"It'll be fine," said Vidalia, "You three have an extra bed right there Steven can have."

The bed she was talking about, currently covered in a number of things, mostly clothes really or just some random junk they've had with them. Not convincing enough though.

"Look, I've got enough trouble with these two, I don't need a third wheel, okay?" she made clear. Two of the other girls were a bit offended, but either didn't show it or just didn't say anything. Steven knew when he wasn't wanted.

"I-It's okay, Vidalia, really, I'll just -"

"I'll take care of this Steven," Vidalia reassured him before he could walk away. Then she turned to the trio of teens.

"Girls, I wanna talk to you, not as your landlord, but as a friend," Vidalia said.

"You're our friend?" one of the girls asked, legitimately confused. Another girl rolled her eyes at the remark, but it was this girl that Vidalia went right up to, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Remember when you three were roaming around the town, without a place to live? And even after your fiasco in Beach City, I agreed to take you in as a kind stranger?"

"Y-Yeah, so what?" one of the girls asked, unamused. Could be pride or not, but she wasn't gonna just jump and say yes. And Vidalia knew that too seemingly.

"Now you three have an opportunity to be kind strangers, girls," Vidalia said, presenting Steven, who was just keeping quiet even with a little blush on his face despite himself.

"I'd rather be a snowman."

"See, and you were worried they didn't like you," Vidalia joked, nudging Steven.

"Wait, are you even listening -"

"Have fun you four. Let me know how things settle by dinnertime, ok?" Vidalia said, cutting one of the girls off. She was just at the door, back turned, before she looked back with one more thing to say. She had a smile, but there was this … ominous vibe in the air.

"And girls? … Screw it up, and I'll kill you in your sleep. … Have fun."

And THEN she left. … OK THEN!

"Have a nice day, Onion head!" one of the girls snapped, but Vidalia didn't reply that time.
So there they were, Steven just standing there with these three girls who, clearly, didn't want him there. Either Vidalia wasn't exactly thinking clearly, or maybe this could be something good for him. … Maybe they wouldn't mind a killer like him. They all were kinda at a stalemate, but eventually one of the girls "decided" (AKA, pushed) to get this going. Much to her bemusement.

"Alright, I'll go first."

"Uh. Hi? I'm Steven."

"Adagio. That's Aria, and Sonata over there, and we're like a big family in here," Adagio said.

"Big, and dysfunctional," Aria simply stated. Adagio quickly turned around, hand giving a cut along her throat. Aria and Sonata weren't sure what yet, but Adagio helped out Steven towards the new bed.

"Uh … thank you."

"Don't mention it," said Adagio, moving away from him over to Sonata, "Now Aria will get you settled in here, we got some laundry to handle."

"But we just did laundry today!" whined Sonata. Adagio grabbed Sonata by the arm.

"Yes, and now we need to do it again. Come on," Adagio made clear. Sonata was clueless on the deal, and Aria … well, she was stuck with Steven so she just got the law down.

"Now that we know eachother, let me just lay down some ground rules." … she said this while another girl lined the ground with her foot. Territory established.

"Don't touch any of our stuff, you got that? Don't touch our books, our beds, or our lyrics! And when I get my CD player, don't touch that either. This is our place, OUR rules. … Except for Sonata, I don't care what you do with her stuff."

"Any place I can put my clothes?" Steven sighed.

"How about the garbage dump?" Aria huffed, not really caring much for this at all. Even with the death threat, they really weren't trying to make any good impressions here, and he'd probably try to correct them on it. … You know, if he didn't already feel he deserved it anyway.


~~~~~~


So for the rest of the day, Steven was just kinda going with the motions here. He made sure, at least, to keep everything that was his away from Adagio, Sonata, and Aria (which actually wasn't hard since it was just him and his clothes). Steven tried his absolute best to make some good will with the place, though while Adagio was giving him a shot now and then, the others here wouldn't really bother with him all too much other than to make him move away, or to simply remind him who's room he was crashing in. Well, Aria would anyway.
Onion, Sour Cream, and Vidalia did give Steven at least some bit of company he can admit to NOT hate him and try to make him feel comfortable throughout the day. Well, in their own way:
Dinner for example. Steven was sitting down quietly, not really talking to the others around him straight away, his mind still a bit stuck in the fog. A number of the boarding house's folks were having dinner, including Sour Cream (who was more DJing to some earphone music), and the others were just talking and doing their own thing. Only Onion was working with a bit of things with his mashed potatoes, something Steven managed to catch when looking to him.

"Hey, that me," Steven realized, seeing that Onion made a good-looking mash potato head of Steven … only for Onion to then lick it … chew it in his mouth … and spit it out. Onion thought it was funny, but ...

"Why do you hate food?"

It didn't work. So he tried something else. 

*SPLAT*

Well, it usually worked with Watermelons and hammers, so why not his bare hands and mashed potatoes? … That only freaked Steven out a bit.

"Vidalia, your kid's got taters in my beans!" snapped one of the locals, but Onion was more focused on the goal at hand, which again didn't seem to work.

"Easy Lima," said Vidalia, "kid's just expressing himself. Real expressive Onion, way to show your art."
Onion appreciated the support, and Vidalia looked right over to Steven, seeing Onion's focus on him. It didn't take much for her to work out what exactly was the main idea here. Vidalia smirked, and then sealed Steven's fate.

"Looks like he's ready for you, Steven."

"R-Ready? For what?" Steven asked, still unnerved.

"Onion wanted to show you around his room," said Vidalia, "but he wanted to go through dinner first. Ain't that right kiddo?"

Onion did start talking again, but much of the chat was mainly just a bunch of "murrs". Y'know, Onion talk. Vidalia, who probably was the only one who understood him at the moment, just chuckled.

"Great Idea! I'll go see if it's still open tomorrow," Vidalia said. Whatever THAT would be.

…….

Next attempt: Onion's temporary room. Turned out ol' Onion didn't change much of his room here from the room at home, apart from a few "local accessories" of course. Still a single bed for him with his pet cage not too far away, light dim for the time being, a small TV for who-knows-what, and so on. Steven quietly looked around a bit, Onion letting him do so at his own pace.

"Uh … nice theme in the room. I-Is that a new trampoline?" Steven asked, trying to keep himself relaxed. Onion though was moving suddenly, and went right over to the trampoline … only to jump off of it, and started bouncing off of his bed. He even invited Steven to join him with a wave, though Steven wasn't exactly thinking about that.

"Umm, shouldn't you just use the trampoline? It's … right there … b-but it's your room, so do whatever you want," Steven said. It was then that, as Steven started walking over to him and looking around, something scurried over his foot, and actually stopped on it. It was just enough for Steven to look down and have a see: a small, white mouse.

"Oh! Onion, you live with a little mouse. … Is he your pet, or is he your roomie?" Steven wondered. The mouse took a look up to him briefly before scurrying off. Or it would've scurried away if not for Onion jumping off of bed, and catching it. Roomies don't catch eachother like that, so odds were it was Onion's pet (maybe). After catching the little guy, Onion turned, and then began heading over to the darkened cage. Steven wasn't sure exactly what the deal is here, the cage being a bit big and all.

"Nice home for a mouse. It's a pretty big container for a -"

and then the light to the cage turned on.

"- SNAAAKE!"

Luckily for Steven, this wasn't some magic evil snake out to get him again, just an average, gray-scaled, curled up snake. One that wasn't out to get him, thank the stars, but it still spooked him. Seeing Onion with the white mouse in hand, offering it to Steven (who knows why?), Steven got the picture of what it was Onion wanted him to do.

"You … want me to feed him to the snake, huh?"

And Onion nodded. Steven gulped.

"O-Oh hay … s-s-sorry little mouse, but … w-we all gotta eat …"
Steven felt his hands tremble a little bit on the idea. He knew from experience the whole "nature" idea, and how sometimes you HAD to do some bad things to survive. But looking at the little guy, its eyes looking right back at it as if silently trying to talk to him, Steven could feel himself start to panic again, especially after glancing back at the snake's eyes. Waiting patiently for what Steven will do next.

"nnnnnNO! Onion, you do it, make it quick and painless for him, I-I'll be over here!" Steven quickly said, giving the mouse back to him, and rushing away, covering both his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to be responsible for ANOTHER death. Steven kept himself quiet, but still trembling more than usual for him, as he only heard the mouse's fate with a few squeaks, and closing the snake cage.

"I'm sorry, mousey," Steven murmured. Well, hopefully the Snake wasn't one to play with its food before eating it. That was all he could say. After that ordeal, Onion walked over to him, placing a hand on his back.

"Umm … y-you don't have anything else weird to show me, do you?" Steven asked. Onion got that answer already in preparation, getting out a tape for the VHS of his TV.

"Oh, a movie? … um, okay, that sounds okay, and not creepy at all."

Well, let's hope so …

*click*
"Oh, cool Hospital setting." 
"Okay. I'm ready." 
"Hey, that's your mom!" 
"Ohhh, oh, Yellowtail... I think... It's happening!" 
"Ah! Wait! What's going on?"

And Onion presented the tape case.

"...Happy Birthday, Onion? IS THIS YOU BEING BORN?!" Steven gasped. He was expecting punishment, but not THIS! Steven quickly covered his eyes, and Onion eventually just stopped the tape. Guess that didn't do much either.

"This punishment's too much for me," Steven said weakly. Onion paused. Is THAT what Steven was thinking this all was? A punishment for his work in the past? Onion briefly gave Steven a sort of scolding look, but shockingly not one that said "I wanna kill you" … well, maybe. So Onion had one more ace up his sleeve, starting to go over the bed, and moving over a poster he had on his wall. Opening up what looked to be a "secret door". Or something. Onion wanted him to follow him, or at least come over and see.

However …

"O-KAY, no more unusual punishments for me, thank you!" Steven decided. No amount of guilt was worth this, and he walked right on out.

Guess Onion's idea of having a good time didn't work for everyone. Maybe tomorrow will work a bit better.


~~~~~~


"w-w-w-w-w-w-whoa-a-a-a-a-a!"

A very brief moment of alone time between themselves and the rest of the boarding house, as Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were down in the laundry room. While Sonata was playing around, sitting on one of the washing machines. Now that they were alone, Adagio addressed her sisters.

"Alright, you two, hear me out. I think we found our answer to our little problem."

"Here we go again," sighed Aria.

"No, I'm serious! You heard Vidalia, that "Steven" is from Beach City."

"So don't tell me: you think he has Equestrian Magic, and we make him ticked off so we can feed off of - oh wait. We can't do that anymore, remember?"

"Yeah, that mean doggie broke them up!" said Sonata, after her fun on the spin cycle.

"Good reminder."

"Girls, just listen!" Adagio said through gritted teeth, hands over mouths before they can go off on eachother again. She only got her hands off after a second when the two got their full attention on her.

"We may not be able to drain any magic now, but he can be our way to get it back. There's something about him that's not the same as other humans in this world, and I think I know what it is."

"The one eye?!" gasped Sonata. Adagio was not amused.

"Yes. Sonata. The one eye missing is why he can get our magic back."

"I knew it," Sonata said, being legit about it, unlike the other two. Aria didn't say anything this time, and just flicked at Sonata's forehead.

"Look, I've overheard Vidalia earlier today talking to those "Gems" back in Beach City about Steven, and I swear they keep saying how "magical" they are while we were there."

"Yeah. So what's your point?" Aria asked quizzically.

"My point is that if we can get him on our good side, and have him take us back there, we'll be that much closer to getting ourselves back at full strength again. And that means we have to be nice to him until we do, capiche?"

"Car-peesh!" Sonata said, giving a salute to her. Aria rolled her eyes on this stupidity.

She'd say no if they had any better ideas.

.......

It seemed a bit too quick when it was time to go off to bed. At least this time, Steven could say, he wasn't sleeping inside some train car rolling on through the winter countryside. Kept under some warm covers, Steven found his own spot on what bed he had left, the other three sleeping in their own accommodations. Aria and Adagio had their own "actual" beds, though Sonata was stuck with the couch in the same place Steven was stuck in. The kid did try to have a good night sleep, but unfortunately for him, the dream world wasn't going to let him get off easy …

…

There he was. The whole world around him was white, cold, yet surprisingly quiet. All Steven could see around him was the blue sky above, and the stars below. Steven was stuck floating around for a bit, not entirely sure where he was actually going, as something kept pulling him along towards somewhere. As Steven went upward, he began to see something come up around him: a yellow halo over his head, and wings on his back.

"Oh geez," Steven gulped. He knew what THAT meant.
And he wasn't alone either. Looking around, he was seeing other people from his past start to come up with similar halos and wings. Ponies, Gems, Humans and a few others were going by him, all seemingly following a similar path to wherever they were going. It turned out though that Steven didn't have to wait for very long, seeing a sort of large gate up ahead of him, many others already there and seemingly waiting. The others around him floated on through just fine, being welcomed in …

*SLAM!*

Except for Steven. The gates locked up tight, Steven trying to get in there, but it wasn't any good. Soon, one figure presenting herself showed him exactly why.

"Garnet, I'm sorry! It was an accident, I didn't mean to!" Steven pleaded. But his pleading was on deaf ears, Garnet not even responding before she and everyone on the other side of that gate disappeared, and faded away.

"Garnet, wait! Don't leave me!" Steven called.

It was no use though. Steven stopped briefly, but there was little time for that either, as he then saw the feathers on his wings begin to wilt and fall off, and his own halo disappearing. He was terrestrial again, standing on one of the stars.

As it was suddenly breaking apart! In vain, he tried to stay on his platform, pieces cracking and breaking off more and more, making it smaller and smaller until he was only on one small speck of a star piece, nothing but the empty space miles below him. There was only one way to go …

*crack*

…

"NOOOOOOOOO!!"

And next thing he knew he was right back in the same room again. His heart was racing like crazy, and even if it was a dream he still felt a swell of tears trying to come out of him, and his breath still in rough strains as he tried to calm down. … Only for Aria to charge out the door, slamming it open, and almost running into the nearest wall from the sudden screaming.

"Ah, what?! - … Kid, what's the screaming for?" Aria scolded, not seeing ANYTHING other than Steven just there.

"Um, sorry. I just had a bad dream," Steven said. Aria, tired, was in no mood for any games.

"Well I was having a good one," Aria said, "Off in some casino somewhere, with some chumps throwing money at my solo singing career!"

"... Huh?"

"Oh, just go back to sleep, megaphone, I don't wanna hear another peep."
And with a loud slam of the door, Steven flinching from the noise, Steven was by himself again with his own thoughts. Even when he didn't know what he was doing, he was still causing trouble for someone. Miserable all over again, he just laid back down on the bed, staring right up to the ceiling. He'll probably bother someone else if he did start going around the place, so that was out of the question.

"... Goodnight," Steven simply said, having such a worn out, and tired look on his face.


~~~~~~


And after a scene shift, he still had that face. Maybe "goodnight" wasn't exactly the right word after all, because as Steven was just sitting there, he felt like he was still asleep.
And where was he sitting this morning? Well, not in the building: after checking it in yesterday by Vidalia, a crowded van consisting of her, her kids and some others. As Vidalia mentioned, Onion's friends were in town during winter, so it was a packed car with some old faces: Garbanzo, Pinto, Squash, and Soup. All of em' basically doing their own thing in the car, as Sour Cream kept himself busy with some catchy tunes. Off in the far back, the Dazzlings actually went along for the ride, just in the back ignoring much of them. Steven offered, and Adagio simply insisted.

"Garbanzo!" said Garbanzo at one point, Steven feeling something hit his head (a piece of paper). Not that it bugged him anymore, but, eh.

"Hey, man," said Sour Cream at a point, Steven waking up a little bit, "You're looking a bit down in the dumps this morning."

"I couldn't sleep," Steven yawned, "Really, really rough night."

"Don't tell me, those "Dazzlings" got on your case last night? I heard Aria screaming from upstairs even with my headphones in," Sour Cream said with a nudge. Steven wasn't sure if it was THAT much screaming, but Aria was indeed loud at a point at least.

"No, i-it's fine. I kinda woke them up anyway from screaming my head off, so that's about even," Steven replied.

"Wait, so was it her or you that was screaming "noooooo"?"

Steven blushed.

"Yep, that's me. Scream-o Universe. Hehehehehe - sorry about that."
Hardly a good joke, but Steven just got himself looking on to the outside world of the car again, seeing the town of Fairfax go by as they stopped at a stoplight. He saw some bit of the snow go down on the world out there, Fairfax citizens doing their own things on their lives, some with pets, some working out some shopping. It was a typical look far as Steven knew: a few dogs on leashes, a couple flocks of small sparrows, even one building had a giant fake spider sitting on top of it (for whatever reason).

"Cool statue," Steven commented. It actually did look pretty good, even if he could only see it with one eye. Whoever made that thing sure knew what they were doing. His mind stayed on that for a while, among other things, until eventually the car was moving on again.

"Hey Steven," Vidalia said at a point, "You up for some fun?"

"Uh, I guess, why?" Steven asked, as the car got to moving again.

"Well, Onion thought it'd be a great idea to take you somewhere only Fairfax can give you. And lucky us, it's still gots plenty of snow."

"It is a lot of snow, but for - … whoa."

And he got it.
Even in his rather dulled state, his eyes shot open at what the place they went to actually was, only his good eye sparkling those stars. They didn't go too far out of Fairfax to actually get to this destination place, though checking it out they might as well at least gone off five miles or so from border limits. To give a basic idea, the place was pretty wide open, not a building up and covering the place as with the city they were just in. Snow itself covered up the ground a bit more here than where Steven had just walked right on through to get to town, though that was probably because artificial snow was used here as much as real snow. The main bulk of the place consisted of a warm lodge off a walkways away from the parking lot, and a VERY big hill, almost a mountain you can say. Fairfax's Ski Resort!

"Wow … it's even bigger than the hill to the lighthouse," said Steven, as everyone began to get their way out of the car. Steven though didn't exactly realize how quick until he was suddenly pushed out by Sonata, the only one of the three eager to go up and give it a try.

"OOOOO, that's a very big hill!" Sonata said, looking up to the ski resort hillside, Steven covered in snow from the stumble. 

"Garbanzo!" But Sonata got her just comeuppance when she was pushed out by Garbonzo, and from there the rest got right on out to have some fun on the hillside. Steven was alright, picking himself up off of the ground and getting some of the snow off of his face. This was of course seen by Adagio and Aria coming out, and with a glance to Aria, the two pony-tailed gal had to go in.

"Steven? You …" Aria cracked her neck a bit to relax "... OoooKaaay …?"

"Yeah. I'm okay," Steven simply said, ignoring how hard it sounded to be for Aria to say that. Adagio had that sort of "you serious?" kinda stare, which Aria just brushed off. Steven started going off, but Aria was pulled back by Adagio.

"What was that? You sounded like you're gonna crack his neck," Adagio hissed. Aria just pulled her shoulder away, wiping it off where Adagio's hand was.

"Who said I was gonna try hard?" Aria huffed, walking on her way.

Steven and the Dazzlings went on from the van, and over passed the boundary fence for the ski resort, seeing Vidalia and the Onion Gang already off ahead of them a bit, in fact already at the lodge. The kids themselves were happy to get going, but unfortunately they kinda had to wait for Vidalia. Annoying. Funny (and even ironic too), that it was Onion who actually caught Steven before he could just wander out onto the slopes.

"Onion? What is it?" Steven asked. Onion then pointed over to a sign on the wall of the lodge, one just by the door. No words were on it, but it simply showed a kid wandering around, with a big X through it. Steven paused. Was … was Onion following the rules? ONION following rules?

"Huh? OH! Onion, you're following the rules! Good Onion," Steven said, actually amazed. So many times Onion just basically a "heck with it" kinda thing, but not today. Onion smiled and nodded, as did Steven eventually. Onion then was starting to pull Steven towards the lodge doors, wanting Steven to at least go inside the lodge first before they go out on the slopes. Before they could go in though, the Dazzlings caught up with them, Sonata Dusk first.

"Hi, your besties are here!" Sonata said, "Ready to go up the very big -"

*GRRRRRR* Onion suddenly growled, standing in the way between them and Steven with his arms out. Off-limits apparently, as far as Onion was concerned, and it was enough to make Sonata skid to a stop. His growling calmed down the more Sonata backed away.

"Maybe in a minute," Steven muttered, humbled himself by Onion's reaction to them. Steven got hold of Steven's arm, and pulled him inside before the Dazzlings could do anything else.

Steven had to get quickly used to the warmth the lodge had when he was brought inside. The lodge itself was fairly big inside, plenty of space for the skiers to relax around the log cabin-esque scenery: a few log seats, a warm fireplace off to the back with fur rugs, and plenty of windows to see the snow outside. There was already quite a few people in there just hanging out, either getting ready/getting done with skiing, or just chatting away with eachother. One guy Steven saw was playing a guitar actually, a soft tune carrying around the lodge. Vidalia was getting some stuff for the skiing, and Steven and Onion went over to one of the many seats, right next to Soup and Squash. At least Onion had pals to hang with.

"Wonder why we don't have a ski resort back at home," Steven wondered, "We got a lot of big hills in the countryside."
As he was sitting there, he felt someone nudge him, namely being Soup.

"Oh, Soup. Long time no -" Steven paused briefly when Soup actually looked humbled, though Steven already knew what that was about, hand going over his bad eye, "Oh that. Don't worry, it's just a bad eye that's all, nothing to worry about."
Soup did calm down a bit quickly, though it still looked weird seeing him with a scar of any sort. In fact, she actually gave him a smile, and a pat on the back. Guess scars make you look cool, depending on who. All the same though, Steven did see Onion keeping an eye over to the Dazzlings, who themselves sat down not too far away.

"Um. Is something wrong Onion? Something with those three?" Steven asked. Onion nodded yes to Steven, the one-eyed Gem boy looking back to the Dazzlings again. Sonata did see him and waved, feeling safer now further away, and while Steven did wave back Onion actually kept his hand down, shaking his head.

"Wait. So, you don't want me with them," Steven figured. Onion nodded, and gave the three in question a more stern look. Did something happen while he was gone?

"I mean, they were okay to me, a-and they didn't hurt me all night. Did they do something?" Steven said. Onion actually looked a little confused, but before they could continue on it -


Weee're in HAAAARMONY!!!!


FOR STARS SAKE! Everyone jumped hearing that screeching singing done by Sonata Dusk, some covering their ears (okay, most of them). Lucky for the eardrums, Sonata was quickly stopped by Adagio, who clamped her mouth shut. Spur of the moment, sure, but Steven suddenly was up and going over to them, despite Onion's warning.

"Sonata?"

"Everything's fine, you little -" Adagio gave a quick glance before Aria could finish her sentence, "... Steven."
Steven may be distraught, but he was not stupid.

"Okay. I can tell you don't want to be nice to me, and it's okay. You don't have to if you don't want to," Steven reassured. FINALLY a break, but Aria still wasn't given the chance to actually say anything as Adagio got up, grabbing her by the arm.

"But we do, we do," insisted Adagio, "In fact, why don't we go and get you some hot chocolate? Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Ok, I get the point Adagio," Aria quietly huffed, as she and Adagio went off to fetch the warm drink for cold Steven, leaving only him and Sonata for the moment. Sonata meanwhile was just left in a bit of a slump, pouting from her lack of vocal talent as Steven sat down next to her.

"This is SO unfair. How hard is it to sing?" Sonata complained.

"You like singing, huh?" Steven asked. Sonata turned to him.

"Duh! Me and my sisters sing, like, ALL THE TIME! It's how we get people to do what we want," Sonata said … not exactly thinking of WHAT she was saying. Steven knew what she said though.

"... Huh?"

"You know: we sing, people listen and do what we want, it's kinda what we do … or what we used to do," grumbled Sonata. It was always easier to get along with people just by mind-controlling them, even if the payoff was ticking them off one way or another. Rather than feel sorry though, Steven was a little suspicious.

"Don't tell me: you use magic?"

"I mean, duh, of course we do! It's SOOO much easier."

"Figures," Steven sighed. He probably should've suspected this considering their colors and all. He can tell though that Sonata was indeed really down about this, and with what Steven knew about them wandering on their own like he was, how could he blame them for wanting a quicker fix to find a new place?

"Hmm … well, I don't know enough about magic to help, but … if you like music, I can help you a little. I-If you want."

"You'll do that for me?!" Sonata asked, sounding surprisingly excited like a particular pink mare Steven knew a while ago. "Can you sing?"

"Wait, right now? Hmm …"
Well, that was a bit quick to ask, but as he thought about it, he remembered the guitar one of the ski lodgers had with him, at the moment not even playing it right now. Well, the best lessons are through example, so …

"Can I borrow this?" Steven asked. The owner of the guitar looked and just nodded, taking a break from it anyway. With the greenlight, Steven took the guitar for himself, and got it positioned for himself. Sonata herself waited to see what Steven had in mind. Steven tested the strings a bit, a musical strung going through the lodge before Steven started singing a little bit.


I could never be
I could never be
I could never be ready for this
I could never be
I could never be
I could never be ready
Things start and things end
And isn't it lovely in theory but
I could never be
I could never be
I could never be ready


The song itself only lasted for like a minute, but the room was quiet and taken off guard by this song. Out of nowhere, Steven had the whole crowd looking at him, hearing the captivating tune out of the blue. Sonata Dusk was by far the most amazed, eyes wide in shock, as Adagio and Aria came back to him.

"Did that just come from you?" Adagio asked, dumbfounded.

"And did you plan that out or something?" added Aria.

"Well, not really. It just kinda came to me," Steven replied, placing the guitar back down where he found it. So not only was he magical, and familiar with magic, but he is also apparently some musical prodigy? What more could they want?!

Steven paused, and glanced back to Onion and his gang, but seeing Onion's friends though, he did notice that someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Garbanzo and Pinto?"

"GARBONZO!"
He got his answer soon enough, hearing the doors swing open (starting a few people), and in came Garbanzo and Pinto. Guess they went off to fetch their own "surprise" from the car as Steven was distracted, this case being a good-sized, wheeled sled. And seeing them rocket right in it worked like a charm.

"There they are," said Sonata, pointing to them. Garbanzo and Pinto checked the crowd, seeing Steven and the Dazzlings watching, and then he made a quick turn with the sled. This turn was pretty sharp, impressive for the fact it was just a sled with wheels, only for it to bump into one of the seats. Nothing too bad, but -

"Garbanzo!" said Garbanzo, as he fell out off the sled and onto the floor.

"Uh, what's going on?" Steven wondered, going over to investigate. And what exactly did Steven and the Dazzlings ended up seeing? …

"G-Garbanzo."

"AAHHH!" Steven gasped. Garbanzo was on the ground, laying next to the sled, and suddenly was red all over his face! Blood it looked like, and this looked serious.

"Whoa, what the hay happened here?" Aria asked, though she was more curious than concerned as Steven raced over to him. Squash was right next to the laying kid, holding his hand to the "dying" Garbanzo. This sure looked serious to Steven, but strangely the others were more "waiting for something to happen" than "how can we help this kid".

"Garbanzo! H-He's gonna be okay right, I-it was just a little spill," Steven asked, looking to Soup and Onion, but they didn't look too hopeful either. And then …

"Gar … ban … zo …."

Silence. Squash did the "final" bit, and actually closed Garbanzo's eyes for him, the kid just laying there. Steven was frozen.

"I-Is … is he gone?" asked Sonata.

"NO, he can't be gone! Garbanzo, hold on, I'll call a ambulance, or - wait. Wait no, I got an idea!" Steven said, frantically making use of his healing powers. He got a lick on his hand, and was just about to get it on his head, but then Onion actually started to hold him back a little bit. All Onion did was shake his head in dismay. Well now what?

"... Garbanzo? …"
Not a reply. Steven couldn't believe it. He closed his eyes, trying to keep himself together as the others were waiting in silence. As Steven lowered his head though, he then started to catch a whiff of something.

"Huh? … *sniff**sniff* Wait a second. Is that …" Steven actually got some of Garbanzo's blood, and tasted it "... Hot sauce?!"

YEP it was. Steven even then saw a hot sauce packet hidden just underneath the same chair Garbanzo rode into. It was enough to make Steven jump to his feet, the others now chuckling at this whole ordeal. Garbanzo even started laughing in spite of the situation, and to top it all off, Onion went right up to Steven, and gave him a nudge and a wink.

"Why're you winking like this was all - ……. A big joke?" Steven said, his voice hushed. Onion nodded and smiled, again giving Steven the nudge/wink gesture. So that's why no one else was jumping at this - they knew this wasn't as dangerous as it looked. Yet another attempt to cheer Steven up. Steven liked jokes … 

Didn't he?

"Grrrr, WHAT THE HECK ONION?!" Steven shouted, actually making the notoriously dangerous Onion jump back. This was quickly seen by Vidalia, going right over to angry Steven.

"Steven, easy, easy!" Vidalia said, going over to him before it could get anymore out of hand, "Onion's just trying to cheer you up."

"Cheer me up?! I get it that you got different humor than I do, I can even get how weird and creepy you can be, but FOR STARS SAKE I thought he was gone, like, ACTUALLY GONE! How can you make dying a joke like that? IT'S! NOT! FUNNY!"

And after that, and in a huff, Steven turned around and stormed straight out of the lodge, fuming. Onion tried calling him back, but Steven didn't listen that time.

…….

Steven didn't go too far however. Yes, he was out of the ski lodge and walking around, but he only got around nearby the slopes of the ski resort itself. The snow around was calming down from the small flurry into a more softer, cooler snowfall. All Steven did to work out this frustration was kicking around the clumps of snow forming on the ground below him.

"I should've known," Steven lamented, "No one can get that beaten up from just sliding a wheelie sled into a bench. And there I was thinking he actually was gonna go away on me. Why did they HAVE to pull that on me anyway? I'm already going through one young life crisis right now."

Steven kicked a stone aside, which landed over by the car. Sure he was angry, but this anger was shifting between that and troubled thoughts.

"I don't know what I'm trying to expect. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata are only nice to me because Vidalia would kill them in their sleep if they didn't … and Vidalia, Sour Cream, and Onion only took me in because I was sick, cold, and in a garbage can. That doesn't have to do with me me, just sick me. …"

*mwah!*

Onion. Steven turned around, and sure enough there was Onion coming out to see him, looking worried. He couldn't talk of course, but Steven already knew why he came out.

"No, Onion, go away. You don't have to play with me anymore," Steven said. He turned back around, and took just one step before he felt Onion grab him by the arm, and tried pulling him back towards the lodge. He wasn't going to leave him like this, but Steven yanked his arm free.

"Onion, stop," Steven stated. Onion only grabbed the other arm, this time Steven being more forceful in getting himself free.

"Onion, please, you don't have to do this. I'm sorry for yelling at you, but I get it now: you're all only nice to me because you feel sorry for me, isn't it?" Steven figured. Onion did let him go, but he didn't walk away, and shook his head. Unfortunately for him, Steven wasn't buying it.

"You don't have to lie to me to protect my feelings," said Steven, "I already told you you shouldn't be around me, but your mom said it herself she only kept me there because I was sick. It's got nothing to do with how any of you feel about me. your gang, Onion? They're your real friends, so … just forget me."
If Onion could speak, he wouldn't be able to come up with anything. Steven was just fully convinced they don't care about him, at least not outside of a principal one. Onion was sad in the face, but his expression turned to fear. Something else was happening right behind Steven. As if it was manifesting from the snow ...

"You don't need to pity me. That's the one thing I can do by myself without bothering anybody," Steven said. But when Steven's looked, Onion's gaze was not even looking at him. But rather looking behind him.

"Onion?"

Steven tried turning his gaze, but Onion quickly grabbed his head, and kept it focused in front rather than behind. Very rarely did Steven actually see Onion look troubled about something, even scared. Steven didn't need to know onion talk to understand to keep still, as Onion, VERY slowly, kneeled down and picked something up off of the ground. Careful not to make any sudden movements that could trigger … well, whatever was going on. Eventually (and really eventually), Onion got himself the only weapon on hand, which was the stone Steven kicked moments ago. Onion soon riled it up …

And chucked the rock right passed Steven's head. Seconds later, Steven was running, being pulled by Onion.

"Hey, where're we going?!" Steven asked urgently, but Onion didn't stop the mad dash to reach the lodge. Steven was still in the dark, but he didn't have to wait that much longer to figure out what the problem is: just behind him, something was trying to reach them. He heard it land on a car, then land in the hillside snow, and a third jump had it leap passed them, and landing in their way, enough to make Onion skid to a halt.
There it was. At first it landed facing away, but it quickly turned around to confront its prey. A gigantic spider, easily the size of the van they drove in with, its skin pure white with blue lining its head and back. Steven and Onion saw their own reflections within the eyes of this creature, Steven again facing that horrid reflection of his one-eyed face.

"I-It's … a-alive. It came to life!" Steven gulped. The creature itself left Steven shivering - the same spider statue he seen before they got there. Only this time it was all real! The giant spider though didn't bolt at them right away, just standing there in the way of them and the lodge doors. The spider moved forward slightly, making Steven pull out his shield.

"Stay behind me Onion, I'll protect you!" Steven made clear, just about ready to put his shield to good use -

This is the pain you kept dishing out to everyone. This is what you deserve.

Steven hesitated. And that hesitation was all this spider needed to try at them. Onion, thinking fast, grabbed Steven and threw him aside, the spider's fangs digging into the snow briefly. This jump did give Steven and Onion time to go for cover, the giant spider having to turn on a dime like a spinning car to get itself in the correct direction.

"Steven, Onion, there ya are. You get everything out of your system?"

"Well maybe -" before Steven could finish, the spider suddenly appeared, banging against the door. The whole place was up in alarm now, the giant spider trying to get inside to get something for food. Everyone kept well away from the door, the spider itself seemingly too big to just fit inside.

"AAAAHHHH! EWW, EWW, EWW, GIANT SPIDER!" Sonata shrieked in absolute panic, having a death grip on Adagio in her horror.

"You're not helping," Adagio strained. They didn't really do much at first, but Soup got one weapon out fast, and with her trusty slingshot gave the spider what for with a shoe to the eye. The spider quickly backed up a bit, in pain and now angry, only to charge forward again. This charge was actually pretty strong, only its abdomen still stuck outside while its legs and head were just inside the building.

"AAHH!" not exactly thinking straight, Steven got out the shield, and used it like a frisbee. It struck the spider easy, bouncing off of its head and towards the crowd.

"Let's not do that," Steven gulped. He did not want to break the building while fighting this thing. But the spider had enough playing games, and … stopped moving? … And faded away?
Yeah, it just faded out of existence right then and there, leaving everyone to take a breather.

"O-Ok, that spider's gone. Everyone okay?" asked Vidalia, looking back to the others. They all looked alright overall, no one getting hurt.

… Well, except for one. Sonata Dusk. Who now was on the ground, knocked unconscious thanks to Steven's ricochet shield hit (at least they figured much since the shield was still nearby). The others went around her, Adagio on her knees to try and wake Sonata up from the hit. There was a bit of silence for a moment until Steven broke it, his gaze unable to break away from what he saw.

"S-Sonata? But I was just talking to her," Steven said. What Aria said next only sealed the fate of what was about to happen.

"Look, it's happens, maybe she's in a better place."

… A better place. ...

Killers are only welcomed by other killers.

So that was it then. Silence hung over the air a bit more, as Steven worked out what puzzle happened here. Steven, once again, tried to fend off an attacker, only for a friend to get caught up in it all and paying for it. As Steven stood there, the images started to flash in his mind: the fight between Grogar again, the final blow, … Garnet.
He was seeing Garnet laying there again as everyone's feet. The fusion that, he knew, would no longer exist thanks to him and his fighting.

And anywhere else they are outcast'd and outlaw'd.

"... I killed her. … No. No, not again. I can't. Please." Steven felt a swell of tears again start to come up, emotions reaching their peaks at history repeating itself right in front of him, whether he liked it or not. With tears pouring from his shocked eyes, the murderer began to back away from Sonata, almost shaking.

If you'd only listen … she'd still be alive.

And he ran.

"Steven, don't go anywhere! Steven!" shouted Vidalia. But Steven didn't stop once, as he raced right out the door and out into the snow, not caring of whatever danger he might out himself in. As Steven ran, his body was racing as much as his mind was, his tears streaming off of his face and onto the cold ground. Onion tried to go after him, but unfortunately, something was already giving chase after Steven - something no one could see except for the shifting snow.

"I did it again. I try to help everyone, but all I did was hurt them again! What was I thinking? I knew I shouldn't have stayed, otherwise Sonata would be alive. Tempest is right - I can't be with anyone anymore!!"

BAM! Something struck Steven's head, hard enough to make him fall forward right into the snow. Steven landed on his back, looking back and seeing the snow shift and "explode", as if some giant monster was walking through. Steven did try to get up, but whatever struck his head kept him on the ground, the sticky webbing keeping his head firmly stuck. He strained, and groaned to try and get free, only to then feel something press his hand down. He felt the claws, but he saw nothing. Well, nothing except for the snow landing on its skin.

"Wha? But who -"

The Phase Spider hadn't gone away. Now far away, this predator no longer had to keep itself invisible, the giant monstrosity manifesting itself into the right plane of existence, and so Steven could see it. And by the time it was finished, Steven found himself staring directly at the spider's large fangs, each one aimed right at him. With him all alone, and no one to help him, the spider had Steven all to itself.

"Looks like it's curtains for Steven Universe," Steven concluded. He already caused more than enough trouble. The giant spider reared back, six legs keeping it stable on the ground as two of its legs lifted up with its head, and Steven simply laid there waiting for the finishing bite. It brought the fangs down and sank the tips into Steven's arm, the pain in it strangely meek as it felt more like two needles pinching his skin rather than a giant bite … and that's it. There was one detail going on though that Steven didn't see.

Its glowing blue eyes.

"Stop toying with me, if you're gonna eat me get it over with!" Steven groaned, but the spider didn't listen. It wanted to have food, of course, but not out in the open like this. Instead, with its eyes still glowing, it picked Steven up by the head, his head in between the spider's fangs, and the spider began dragging its catch away. Steven did briefly think of breaking free, but whatever that bite did was making him feel less and less "active", and the cold didn't feel as strong as it did before. As they moved along, the whole world around Steven began to very slowly change, shifting away from one world to another, as the Spider put its dimensional phasing to use on not just itself, but to its prey as well.

"We're teleporting!" Steven gasped. Ands that's just what happened next, as the world around Steven just disappeared. The Phase Spider began moving a bit quickly through between worlds, but in this dashing around, Steven began to feel more and more tired, trying to keep awake, and in such a delicate hold by the spider, the G-forces were quickly putting work on his limping body.

Steven was slipping.

"No no no NO NO NO - AAAAHHHHH!"


~~~~~~


…….

No spider. No rush. Not even snow anymore. Steven Universe only managed to get himself back around ever so slightly, a very faint grunt coming from Steven's closed mouth. It was still a bit difficult for him, but feeling something very small gently land on his head was just enough to make him try to get up. It didn't feel forceful or heavy like the Phase Spider, and upon actually opening his blurry eyes. His vision was a little bit off, but eventually he looked up and found his eyesight taking in what looked to be a clear night sky. No clouds in sight anywhere, not even a proper moon at first, just the empty space and stars up high in the air … for a short bit, until a small shooting stars whizzed by in a flash.

"Where … am I?" Steven groaned at last. It was probably good that bite from the Phase Spider made him feel a bit less, otherwise the fall might've broken something, the ground just underneath him looking cracked almost from impact alone. Speaking of which, the ground wasn't exactly "ground" at all, but rather very old, fattened metal, worn out by pure time itself.

Steven rubbed his good eye so he could see a little bit better, and once he finally got up to his feet, straightening up a bit, he took a quiet, fairly long walk around at where that Phase Spider dropped him off. Was it on Earth, or somewhere else? Honestly, Steven wasn't sure.
On one hand, Steven saw that this place indeed was some sort of place of foliage all effected too harshly by time: patches of wilted flowers, various clumps of bushes dried up with brown leaves with patches of sticks jutting out of some, and off in the distance a ways, weakened trees, some of which are mere skeletons without any sign of a flower, leaf, or anything. Along the ground, old moss and vines grew with complete abandon.
On the other hand, the constructs tell a different idea, as this appeared to be a sort of ancient place where something did built this as a place for … well, he wasn't sure of that yet. There were some old paths winding their way around the area, distant small walls lined the whole boundaries though some did become overwhelmed thanks to the growing vines and weeds, and strangely, floating pillars along the center of it. These pillars, as Steven walked towards one of them, did indeed have flowers along their length but as with everything else, they were wilted and long dead too.

Everything here was old, and for a lack of a better word, dead.

"How long was this here? … Was this place some sort of garden?" Steven wondered.

His eyes then caught the more prominent details on the place. In the center, near where Steven first fell, was what remained of a very old fountain - a construct wide at the base with a very small top to resemble a flower again, suspended in mid air over a ring of green water. Whatever water remained, that is. Steven walked over to the edge of the fountain, and then looked on to the biggest construct within these ruins. A VERY large construct, slightly pyramid-like with one set of stairs to one level leading to some sort of door, two branching stairs to reach the second level, and a third set of stairs reaching the very top. And the thing at the very top of this platform?

A warp pad.

"So, this has to be a Gem place," Steven concluded. No other areas would have a Warp Pad, otherwise (unless you count the Warp Pad in the Castle of the Two Sisters way back when). Steven doubted what he did next would do anything, but out of curiosity he tired anyway.

"HELLO?!" Steven called.

And all he got was an echo. Not exactly a basic echo, something more like one would hear in an empty stadium rather than a cave - concealed with no direct way out. No matter though, nothing else was there except for Steven himself. It took an odd while, but eventually Steven rubbed his eyes again, getting a sorrow smile going.

"Well, this isn't so bad. I mean, how can I hurt anyone if there's nobody here to get hurt?" Steven even put in a few chuckles at the thought, though it was anything but happy. After working out that, Steven silently walked over to a patch in this space garden, having a seat over by one of the many patches of bushes., leaning his back on the bushes as he looked up to the sky. He only noticed now that there actually were some clouds somewhere around the place, though these clouds look like they'd been orbiting the boundary, as if a dome was around the area.

"I can't hurt a plant … right?" Steven remarked, gently holding one of the flowers nearby. It only took that slight touch though for said flower to fall off its stem and onto the ground, like a dry leaf. Steven paused, and just gave a long sigh. Why did he expect anything different anymore?


He was alone. And he will end up alone.

(Steven Universe The Movie - Drift Away [feat. Sarah Stiles] parody)

Here in the garden …
Here all alone …
Under the endless stars ...

Steven eventually got back up, and he began to walk around the garden again. Even if there was no wind inside this dome, Steven still noted a few small dry leaves dropping from the bushes as he went, whatever breeze he did make making the leaves follow him slightly as he continued singing.

Here in the garden …
All on my own …
wandering off so far ...

His eyes moved off to the monument at the center of the garden once more. Even after so many years of it standing there, it too still was taken by the foliage thanks to giant vines creeping around it, keeping it still as much as it didn't want to be there.

And here I am now, safely far from home,
And here I can't hurt anyone anymore

These questions kept in his mind a while more as he reached the fountain again, stopping for a moment as he placed a hand on the rim of the fountain, looking back to the stars, again seeing a shooting star go by as he kept singing on. A pair of shooting stars.

You said to listen …
To stay away …
To watch as my whole life drifts away ...

Steven took a moment to look back into the stale waters of the fountain after seeing that shooting star go by. That same face with that single bad eye stared right back at him as he kept looking down into the water, that same reflection and reminder everywhere he went and still wouldn't go away. But he still was left thinking ...

Yet I'm still thinking …
All the way back …
Back to life with my friends ...

As he thought about it, his memories kept coming around to him about all the good times he had with everyone back home. The parties, the games, things like that. They were good and all, but they didn't help, especially since a fusion was there each and every time. …

All of the good times, each passing day …
Me wishing it never ends ...

There still was that fusion in his mind, and it almost seemed as if his imagination started getting the better of him. Looking ahead of him, he saw Garnet in front of him. So sweet, caring, the perfect mother to him where he never truly had one. Steven smiled, his eyes hopeful almost, looking ready to cry again.

Seeing your warm smile, each day and night ...
the sound of your laugh, the love inside those eyes ...

And Steven saw Garnet smile, visors off to see those same eyes that invited him into her family. Her love. Steven slowly began to walk towards. But the closer he got to her, the more Garnet started floating back, disappearing more and more he tried getting to her.

Happy to listen …
Wanting to stay …
Even after your life drifts away ...

And Garnet was gone. But the imagination was not over just yet, the world black for a moment until a spotlight appeared over Steven, him balancing on the rim of the empty fountain. The rest of the garden didn't exist at this moment, only the memories of each one of his friends, Gem and pony alike, all around him and smiling to him as he continued his singing.

You keep on turning pages …
For people who are there …
People who all care about you ...

As the next verse was sung, in tune to the music, more of the spotlights start to dim away, as each of his friends disappeared from him, Steven knowing that what he did was not forgivable to any of them. One light after another …

And still it takes you ages …
To see that no one's there …
See that no one's there …
See that no one's there ...
See they're better off without you.

The imagination stopped there, Steven back in reality with him going off of the fountain rim. Silence hung in the air for a bit, as Steven took one more look around, but then he noticed something. It was vague, and something he didn't see yet, but it was just enough to make him go over to see what it was. It wasn't near the platform, a bit aways from the fountain too. The main clue of what was there was thanks to the way the vines were wrapping around eachother, and the opening they left behind.

A single set of footprints. Not going anywhere. Not coming from anywhere. Just … there. Was someone here before? Whoever it was, it was gone now … and the footprints fitting Steven's shoe size as he stood in those same footprints. Even the vines felt comfy wrapping around the sides of his feet.

And then it all happens …
One final fight …
Just one more story's end …
Grogar is gone now, but at Garnet's cost …
And all thanks to her best … friend ...

Steven couldn't keep it back anymore, and the tears were flowing free from his eyes. The pain was back, and he knew why that is. Even with all those tears, Steven was still having some sort of smile on his face. Smiling through the pain, pure emption through the singing now.

Isn't that lovely?
Isn't that cool?
And isn't that cruel?
And aren't I a fool? ...

Steven paused, and fell to his knees, the emotional overload too much to keep him up on his feet for a moment or two. Steven could only wipe away those tears.

… So I will listen …
… I'll stay away …
… And watch my whole lift drift …
… Drift …
… Drift …
… Away.


…….

So after accepting his place in this Gem Garden, Steven basically … well, waited it out. It will be a long time until he would just "drift away" as his song said, Human or Gem, so all he could do was take a better look around the whole place. He had all the time to do it himself, so there was no hurry as he continued checking everything out. He went around the whole wall boundaries of the garden, seeing what kind of plants would've been here if they were alive, even taking the time to count out how many extra planets he could see throughout the day (he was in space, and he counted three). Looking around the garden was all fine and good sure, but eventually Steven did have to check one more thing.

"Let's see what's in you, construct," Steven wondered, yawning a little bit and starting to walk up the front stairs to the construct's "door". The door was your typical Gem door: a flattened octagon piece with no knobs, or handles, along with a rather old-looking control panel. Steven still was a bit rusty when it came to these, so he wasn't sure what to do first.

"How do these work again? … Hmm …" Steven thought it over a little before he took a click on the panel screen. This, surprising given the age of the place, did activate a more lightened up pink screen. The step seemed simple next: unlock the door by sliding the bar over.
So just like that, Steven was now within the construct underneath the Warp Pad. Steven took his time looking inside the place, and for the most part it didn't offer very much for him really. The room was as big as the construct made it to be, and whatever might be anything interesting was obscured by the roots of the plant life in the garden.

"Look at all these roots. How much time did pass by? … I guess it was forgotten like other ruins," Steven figured, whatever marks around the place unable to really be seen as much. One root in particular was shaped in such a way that made it look like a good-sized hammock … with a small sort of picture up just above it.

"Hmm … Mom was here. … Who's that?"
Steven can recognize the Pink Diamond no doubt in this rather simplistic drawing, but there was another figure standing next to her that seemed a bit vague. Seemed like someone he should know, but he wasn't sure … yet he was too tired to work that out right now.

"Must just be another friend," Steven figured. Tired, Steven found the root underneath the drawing enticing just enough for him to just climb right up on. The root was stable to keep him in place without him sliding off, and almost felt like a bed in its own way.

"Hmm … it feels … smooth … and comfy … and … *yawn*"

And just like that, Steven was off to sleep.

…….

*VROOM*

But there was no rest for Steven within his own dreams. Or in this case, Stevonnie. She was nowhere near the garden or really anywhere, all on her own and in the middle of a chase with her target right in front of her. He was standing there, very far away and not moving, right in Stevonnie's path. And Stevonnie was VERY angry.

"I got you now Grogar!" Stevonnie shouted, flooring it and going at top speed directly towards him. She saw others making a run for it, but Grogar did not budge, lowering his head for the oncoming car. But the closer Stevonnie was reaching Grogar, the more the world seem to start crumbling around her. Glancing in the rear view mirror, she found that the road she was driving on was crumbling right behind her, disappearing out of existence. This did scare her a little, but she remained focused, saying that infamous line.

"No! We HAVE to beat him. HE DESERVES TO LOSE," Stevonnie said, the same almost stuttering tone at the end of that statement as she did before.

But that sentence was a curse on this dream, as the closer Stevonnie got to Grogar, the more she realized that he wasn't actually small, but tiny in perspective. The closer she got, the bigger he got. Eventually, Grogar became so big, and so menacing, that Stevonnie actually panicked and hit the breaks on the car. The car skidded and swerved a bit, until finally getting a stop right by Grogar's hoof, the ram hardly even phased by the car at his hooves. In fact, soon as she stopped, the ram raised his hoof and with a maniacal laugh, readied to smash Stevonnie! The fusion got out of the car just in time, falling on the ground from sheer impact as the car was crushed into rubble. It was only her and Grogar now, and the ram wasn't letting her have much room to maneuver.

"You think I deserve to lose? Well now it's your turn to lose," Grogar bellowed. As Grogar raised his hoof, showing the rubble underneath, Stevonnie felt fear overcome her all over again as Grogar then took a deep breath, exhaling a thick red smog from his mouth. Hitting the car completely disintegrated it, leaving absolutely nothing behind except for the reddened air. And Stevonnie was next in the line of fire, the ram in his sinister grimace staring down at her terrified expression -

"Now you're all - ACK!!"

"ENOUGH!"

The smog came to life. Before Grogar could kill Stevonnie off, suddenly the very same red smog floated above the ram, and morphed into a pair of hands that wrapped around his neck like a collar, crushing tight and pulling him back. More red smog escaped the ram during this, consuming the entire area and Stevonnie herself. Stevonnie may fade out of existence, but that didn't mean that Steven was dead now, finding that only the coating was gone, and he was back as Steven.
Well, kind of. But that wasn't important now, him looking on through what red smog he could see, and finding Grogar suddenly stumbling and falling out of sight. Whatever this smog did to him ultimately finished this job off.

Something started to move though, manifesting from all of this red mist. A being completely red, red like blood and crystal. The figure manifested at a size that made Steven humbled, but not too terrified of it (which in this case was eight feet tall at most). Features on this figure were a bit more simplified: not much detail in the face outside from brighter red eyes, hands and feet ending more in points. Her outfit vaguely resembled another, much friendlier looking Diamond he knew, her hair sharpened into a set of points alongside her head, rounding out at the top.

"Steven."

"Huh? … uh … d-do I know you?" Steven asked, backing up a little bit. The figure took a step forward, not remotely afraid of him, even after what Stevonnie was trying to do moments before.

"All know me. … All know me as a different name. Your Gem half knows me ... as the Blood Diamond. … Red Diamond. ... Your Human half knows me ... as the Reaper."

The Reaper. Red Diamond. Steven couldn't move once he heard that from this being, humbled like all who face it. Steven was scared at first, but after everything that happened to him … well, it was only a matter of time, anyway.

"So it's my turn? It took you long enough," Steven said in grief. Red Diamond moved closer to him, and actually went down on her knees, a gentle hand moving Steven's gaze to her own.

"Your time is far beyond what I can take, Steven. I'm not here to take you yet, and it will be long before the time comes for you to be by my side."

"... Why do I still feel uncomfortable?" Steven gulped, feeling goosebumps all over him. Red Diamond removed her hand from Steven. Red Diamond actually giggled a little bit on the question, but she had more to show him. She raised her arm, and pointed away towards another part of the abyss itself. The red mist around them both started to swirl and spin into one known point not too far off from the two. It took some time, but as Steven looked a bit closer, he started to notice something.
The mist began to reveal a bit of an image, like a screen of sorts, to what looked to be the city off somewhere. Where exactly, he wasn't too sure of just yet, but he got some clues. For instance, the screen showed apart of an alleyway, darkened and remote, but with what looked to be Gems walking around. These Gems seemed to be recovering well since the army left. Steven saw some of the higher-ranking Gems, possibly recovering from their corruption given some of them didn't look exactly the same as before. But as they passed another part of the place to wherever they were going, the view remained right by the alleyway, Steven beginning to notice something starting to move slowly out from the darkness. Starting with a single cloven hoof, and then revealing the red eyes. Then the dagger-toothed jaws. Then the red and blue gemstones tied around his neck.
He may still be injured from his previous fight, a notable crack in his horn, and cut in his chest, but he still was holding himself up well.

"Grogar's alive?!" Steven shrieked. Grogar himself didn't move off on his way until after the coast was clear, continuing on.

"He still threatens the world of the living … he's planning an invasion on Earth, starting where all of your friends reside. Under my name. … He must be stopped," Red Diamond warned. Normally Steven would be more willing to do the job, to save the world from this mad ram, but …

"I want to … but I just can't," Steven said, feeling tears again, "I mean, I already killed Garnet trying to stop him, and then Sonata too. Haven't I done enough?"

Red Diamond leaned close to him.

"... Take a closer look," said Red Diamond. Steven wasn't sure why, but he did take a better look anyway, Grogar briefly stopping at a point to avoid sight of a pair of Topaz guards. In this brief stop, Steven looked closer to the ram, seeing namely the gemstones. He of course knew who these stones were, and seeing a hole in them of course told him they weren't in one piece as they were before. … But one tiny detail, in the dim light, changed everything he thought he knew.

The gemstones … were glowing.

"Garnet ……. Grogar. Played me. … He tricked me. Tricked everyone."

"Well yes. And no," said Red Diamond, "They are out of my grasp … for now. If nothing changes, then I will be able to reach them. Which isn't good for her."

Steven couldn't believe it. The image of Grogar and his gemstones remained some more to allow him to let it all sink in, before he moved off screen, and the screen disappearing.
So. Garnet was somewhat still alive. Grogar was for sure alive. And at the end of the day Steven ran away from home over guilt he shouldn't even be having.

"Can I beat him though?"

"You will not fight alone. But fight you must."

…….

Back to reality. One of the few dreams that Steven didn't end up screaming awake from, and he found himself back in the Garden once more. The garden still seemed the same, despite his crazy dream. It was impossible to say whether the Red Diamond he saw in his head was actually there or just someone talking in a dream. Either way, the world was no longer stuck in that red mist. He looked around the chamber for a little bit, and then his gaze turned back to that drawing right above him. If even half of what Red Diamond said was true ...

Well, he didn't take much longer to make his real choice. Grogar's twisted game was NOT going to go his way anymore. Steven got right to his feet, putting his thinking cap to use now, as he exited the room, and started up the stairs.

"Even if they all hate me now, I can't just keep running away forever. I have to go back and finish this … or at least, apologize," Steven confirmed. It was the least he can do to try and get this all fixed, since he did technically caused this whole mess after all. His walk hardly took a minute before he got to the Warp Pad at the very top. He turned, looking at the garden one more time. He raised his arms, getting them in position for the activation, but something else crossed his mind.

"First, one stop. … Please be close."

*FLASH*


~~~~~~


*FLASH*

The flash of light did go away briefly from the area, and after readjusting his eyes back to Earth weather, he got a good look around. Time must've gone by quick on Earth, because it was a bit darker now, passed sunset and with clouds of snowfall as it was to make it even darker.

"Okay, it's snowing, so at least I'm in the right hemisphere. Now where's the way to Fairfax?" Steven wondered. Of course it was impossible to tell -

"STEVEN!"

"Hold the phone. Am I really THAT close?"
Steven couldn't believe his ears. Vidalia! Steven didn't know if that was the case or not, but there was only one way to find out. Steven got right off the Warp Pad, feeling the cold snow all over again, as he kept following the noise. Was he actually this close to Fairfax? THIS close to the Ski Resort where that Phase Spider took him away again? The more Steven thought about it, the more speed he gained until his walk turned into a full on sprint through the snow. Each call of his name brought him closer and closer, though all of this cold (not to mention the emotional exhaustion) was wearing him out slightly. He only paused at one point to hear the call again, just to make sure he was going the right way.

"I can hear you, keep calling," Steven said.

"STEVEN!"

Closer. The terrain around him did begin to shift as he kept going, dropping off here and there. In the dark, Steven kept finding pitfalls along the way, some at this point a good knee deep. One even made him fall over into the snow, dropping into a pit at least waist high. This wasn't that much trouble though, and Steven pulled himself out of the cold fairly quickly before heading off along his way. He was being called, and he was not going to ignore it. Being so much in the dark though, there still was a few things Steven could not see. One of which caught his foot, knocking him into the snow again. Steven got himself covered in snow again, and turning back to find something … big, standing there. Slightly transparent at first, but eventually it became more solid once it noticed that Steven was close by.

Just to find the Phase Spider again! It must've came back to get some extra hunting because it already got a hold of a rabbit in its mandibles.

And what did Steven say after seeing this? …

"Yeah, let's pick this up later," Steven said, before getting back up and just running off. The Phase Spider … just kinda left from there. It had some food anyway, so why waste energy getting another meal? Steven had other plans too, but seeing the Phase Spider was also a welcoming sign. If the spider was found there, then -

"STEVEN!"

May the stars shine on him tonight! Lights were just about visible as Steven kept going, finally getting some decent sight over what was ahead of him. The Ski Resort lodge! And better yet, he saw Vidalia standing just outside of the lodge herself, her along with Onion and his gang, and the Dazzlings (oddly enough). Aria was simply standing there freezing, probably the only one not looking for the kid. Adagio was looking, but not calling, and Onion was up on Vidalia's shoulders for the best view he could (well, one that WON'T get him stuck on the roof, anyway). Eventually, Onion finally spotted something off in the distance, pointing off in that direction.

"GARBONZO!" shouted Garbonzo, upon seeing what Onion was seeing. Steven was back and, overall, safe and sound.

"Sorry for running off like that," Steven immediately said. But the others weren't worried about that, and next thing Steven knew he was met with a warm group hug by all of the gang, including Vidalia.

"Steven, you crazy kid, you're alright! You are, are you?" Vidalia asked.

"I'm alright. Just very cold," Steven said.

"Halleluiah, now can we PLEASE go back inside?" Aria asked, now just waiting to go back in to warm up. Hearing them though did remind Steven of something else, including the fact he only saw two of the three.

"Okay, Aria, you can go in," Vidalia simply said. Just what Aria wanted to hear and she was right inside the warm lodge in no time at all. The others didn't take too much longer either for them to go inside to warm up. They found Aria right by the fireplace, a sigh of relief as she warmed up from just standing outside. By this point the lodge was pretty empty all and all, with the exception of one more worker at late shift by the counter. … And Sonata, who was over by said fireplace, laying down on one of the seats. As he thought.

"So, fill me in: is she just sleeping, or still knocked out?" Steven asked.

"From when you ran off? Yeah, she's still knocked out," Adagio answered. That's all Steven needed to hear. He then walked right over to Sonata, sitting down over by her head. He had one idea to help her out. It was a long shot, but it'll mean well for Sonata and her sisters. So, he licked his hand, and then placed it right down onto her forehead.
A bit gross, but experience at least told Onion what he was trying to do.

"Was he outside too long?" Aria questioned, a bit grossed out.

"Just watch," said Vidalia.

… And suddenly, Sonata's eyes shot open, and she sprung upright.

"WHOA! Talk about a rush!" Sonata gasped, acting as if the concussion didn't even happen at all.

"Healing powers, huh? Interesting," though Adagio. Sonata Dusk was back in action, getting right back up to her feet. As she did that though, and getting back to her sisters, Steven got right back up with a smile, having only one thing to say to them.

"I think I'm ready to go now."

…….

"AND stay out!" joked Vidalia.

It may be later in the night, but Vidalia wasn't going to try and make him stay any longer than he had to. Plus after a bit of explaining, she knew that he kinda had to get going soon. Onion's friends were off home, so Onion, Vidalia, Steven, and the Dazzlings were left standing just outside the boarding house, Steven being given a coat this time for the walk back home.

"Thanks again for the room … and for letting me stay," admitted Steven.

"Thanks for letting me find you in a garbage can," said Vidalia, "And listen, don't worry about that other stuff. It's all gonna blow over before you know it. Remember, you're a rock! … Literally."

"Well, only half rock," Steven said, but he did get the joke anyway, smiling.

"Whatever you are, don't be a stranger."

"Thanks. And girls?" Steven said, turning to the Dazzlings.

"What is it?" Adagio asked.

"Well … I know this is a bit out of nowhere, but maybe after I beat Grogar again, maybe I can make you three a home back home too."

All three of the Dazzlings weren't sure if they heard him right.

"Wait, why would you do that? We weren't exactly all "peachy" with you," Aria pointed out. Adagio nudged her roughly, but Steven already got talking again.

"I know, but you don't have a place to stay. That, and I did kind of nearly killed your sister, so … I guess this is my way to make up for it. It's the least I can do."

"It's a deal!" Sonata suddenly said, sounding pretty happy for the news, only for Aria to yank her back by the ponytail. They still had some things to work out apparently, but Steven wasn't going to just leave them like this.

"Good luck, Steven," said Vidalia.

And with all that, Steven turned, and began going off. It's time to get back to where it all began.