"Ooh hoo! You've got freezer burn, Pearl! Looks like you lose all your fish sticks."

"What? I needed those for my bachelor meal combo. Now I can't ring the dinner bell."

Their game of Citchen Calamity was in full swing, the players at the moment being Steven, Pearl, Lapis, Twilight, and Spike (just enough to play). It was a basic board game of kitchen trouble, and one that Steven decided to give a try at. Since it was a rainy day, and a cold one at that, playing inside was a good chance for Steven to try board games with his friends. Lion and Blue were asleep near by, as the others continued their game, Pearl just finishing her turn. Pearl took a moment to look at the rules, which she had been holding the whole time since starting.

"These rules make no sense," sighed Pearl, as Spike picked up a card from the table.

"Hmm ... The sponge in your sink is covered in mold. What does that mean again?" spike asked.

"Aww, man. K Lapis, your turn," Spike said, as Lapis picked up her card next. Lapis took a moment to read it over.

"Who wrote this game?" Pearl wondered, looking at the rules still. Now it was Steven's turn, and he went on to pick up the next card. Once he read it over though, he suddenly gasped.

"I gotta roll the dice to avoid the eggquake!" Steven gasped, suddenly hitting his hand down on a fax blender (part of the game) as two dice popped out. Once they stopped rolling, the two dice landed to show two sunny side-up eggs, putting a big smile on Steven's face. With a victorious smile, he moved his piece over onto the winner's circle,

"Yes, great job. It was very, very complicated," Pearl added. Steven was happy to win, as Lapis playfully fluffed Steven's hair, also giggling. Steven then moved over to a cabinet just under the stairs leading to his bedroom. Steven had plenty more board games (Pearl's dismay rising), as he started looking through them.

"Let's see, what else do you wanna play? There's Not So Sorry, Operation Man, Poles and Escalators, or we can do turns with chess -" As Steven was pulling out each game, something else also fell out. It looked like a small statue of sorts. The statue appeared to depict a woman with long venice-blue hair. The body had a light slate-gray color and ended in a sharp white point, similar to a polished diamond's culet on the base. Its hands were grasping a diamond-shaped object as well. Once Steven saw that, his mood suddenly changed almost instantly.

"Come again?" Twilight asked, walking over to see it, as Steven held it in his hands. Pearl seemed to be the only one who was aware of the Moon Goddess Statue with Steven.

"There's a lunar sea spire that needed this. But now, it's gone forever, and it's all my fault," Steven sighed, remembering what happened that far back.

"No, no, no Steven, it's okay. We all make mistakes," Pearl said, trying to comfort him.

"And now it's lost forever. It's an important Gem place, and I had to leave it at home!"

"Steven, please, it's okay really. You did a good job throughout the mission still."

"Steven, if it was crucial, we wouldn't have used it as a test for you. It's fine really."

Uh oh. A very distant thunder echoed outside, as Pearl realized what she had just said. She wasn't supposed to tell him that, and everyone else seemed a bit confused with it. Pearl gulped.

"Uuuhhh. Well, I wouldn't call it a test, per say. Me, Garnet, and Amethyst just wanted to see if you're ready to go on missions."

"That's exactly what a test is!" Steven yelled. Pearl didn't know what to say now, as the others went over to him.

"Eh, Steven uh, we didn't plan it behind your back, I-if that's what you're thinking. W-We just saw the moment, so -"

"So I failed the test?!" Steven realized. Pearl felt worse now, but before she could speak, Lapis spoke up.

"Steven, calm down, it's okay. look how much you've done already; you set me free from my mirror, you made friends with Ponyville, you even got on better terms with Homeworld. So, you didn't do well on your first test, you still improved. Right Twilight?"

"Of course! Steven, you've been helping everypony everywhere so much, you shouldn't let the first time get the better of you after you did so many great things. Like Lapis said, you've improved so much, and that still counts for something," Twilight said. Steven took their words in, and while he did feel bad for failing a test that was his very first mission, they still helped him out a whole lot. In spite of herself, Pearl gave a sigh of relief, as Steven hugged Twilight and Lapis Lazuli. As they were, Twilight levitated a game for them to try out.

"Okay, sure," Steven said with a smile. As Twilight, Steven, and Spike helped set it up, Lapis stood alongside Pearl. While they weren't looking, Lapis got out a water wing, and whacked Pearl in the back of the head.

Later on that night, the storm had eventually past on, and the skies were clear. Yeah, the sand was still wet, but that'll be handled in the morning as far as they knew. Twilight and Spike had left and went off home, as Lapis and Pearl were in the Temple in their respected rooms, so Steven was just laying in his bed with Blue at his feet, and Lion laying on the couch, passed out like any house cat. Blue was also asleep, and Steven was too. However, he still had the idea of him failing his first mission in his head, and how he didn't even know it was a test until Pearl told him. He didn't know why they kept that quiet for this long. Steven's dreams didn't seem to worry him more over it though; at the moment in his dream he was flying around in the sky with a helicopter blade out of his back. He was very happy in the dream, and he was happily zooming around in the sky at a very fast pace, arms out to the side as if he was using his arms to fly. As he continued to fly, he began to see another creature flying alongside him.

"Mister Dogcopter! Sir! I'm one of your biggest fans - can I please have your autograph?" Steven asked, hopefully. Dogcopter simply gave a cute bark, before he suddenly took off fast, and out of sight by some invisible rockets, leaving a rainbow behind him

"I hope the rumors about him and the tabloids aren't true," sighed Steven. Suddenly, from nowhere, Pearl's head suddenly came up from nowhere, smiling to him.

Too late. In one bite, Pearl gobbled Steven up, but she then launched Steven off, giving him his own set of rocket feet.

Suddenly, something else started to cut his mind short as he flew along. Emerging through the clouds, Steven began to see what looked like some sort of crest of someone's back go through. It didn't go very high, so Steven couldn't recognize what it was, or who it was. Another crest reappeared to his right, enough to make Steven stop himself, still floating in the air. Suddenly, he looked to his feet, and the rockets stopped!

"Wha?! nononononono," Steven said, trying to reactivate the rocket boots by clipping his heels together, but it didn't work, and he ended up plummeting through the clouds! Steven screamed, bracing himself for the landing, but his landing wasn't painful. He did hit something, that's for sure, but he didn't get hurt from the fall. What he landed on looked like a huge picture frame. The picture looked like that of a mountain, snowcapped top with pine trees bordering the sides, with a path going through the forest leading too the mountain. Just in front of the picture, right at the bottom, looked like a Warp Pad.

Steven then saw something slowly fall down to him, just within his reach; a small feather quill, like the quills Twilight would use. The tip of the feather was a sea green, and shifted to a midnight blue further down to the sharpened end of the feather quill. Steven managed to grab it, and looked it over, but as he was, the picture suddenly started to tip! It tipped fast, more and more, until Steven lost his balance, and stumbled back off the picture! Steven gasped, as he fell backwards ...

Steven woke up in a gasp, eyes wide open, and almost immediately sitting up in his bed. He was back in reality, and back in his room, safe and sound. It was a relief to see that, as he sighed. The jump did wake up Blue though, as he got up and looked to Steven in his bed. Steven relaxed, and yawned before patting Blue on the head.

"Morning, boy," Steven said. Blue gave Steven a good morning lick, as he got on Steven's bed, getting Steven laughing. Steven got off the bed, and was just about to begin his own morning routine, when something ended up falling out of the bed next to him. Steven didn't notice it yet, but Blue did end up seeing it, and bent down to sniff it. Blue gave a hard blow with his nose, just to have the object fly off, and into Steven's sight. It was the same feather as was in his dream - colors and all! Steven froze for a moment, surprised and confused to see the feather again. So what did this mean for him? Steven walked downstairs, looking at the feather still, as Lion yawned and woke up himself. Hearing Lion had Steven look over, and he saw the same moon goddess statue sitting on the table. Guess he forgot to put it away, but seeing it just reminded him of what happened yesterday, and what Pearl had told him about the whole test thing. This got Steven thinking a little bit more; he didn't want to mess around with this anymore, and while he did do a lot, he still felt guilty for knowing this. Then Steven remembered the feather, and the picture that came with it. He knew that dreams can sometimes get rather weird, but when they get into the real world, it's best that he keeps that in mind. He wanted to prove himself ...

Steven wasted no time in finding the other Crystal Gems together at the barn, and tell them what he wanted to do. In his search, he managed to find Jasper, Lapis, Peridot, Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet, but that was about it. Still, that was plenty of Gems, and he can tell the others once he finds them. The reactions from the Gems seemed relatively mixed, but Pearl was quick to say her own worries over this idea. To think Steven wanted to go off on a Gem hunting mission by himself made her freak out.

"Steven, I don't think that's such a good idea," Pearl said, trying to make it as nice as she could. Steven didn't seemed to be very convinced.

"Come on, let Steven do this! Big adventure for our big man," Amethyst said, ruffling Steven's hair. Obviously Amethyst was all up for it.

"Will you quit panicking, Pearl?" Jasper groaned. Pearl immediately spun around towards her.

"Hey, Steven's a Quartz - it's about time he starts getting missions like one," Jasper retorted, not caring who else was hearing. To Jasper, the powerhouse Quartz Gems usually get the harder missions, and she had yet to see that for Steven since meeting him. Pearl still seemed unconvinced.

"Garnet, a little help?" Pearl said, looking to her. Instead of saying anything, Garnet suddenly got her hands on Pearl's shoulders, and suddenly kissed her forehead (or in this case, her Gemstone). Pearl stayed quiet for a bit as Garnet's vision got to work, and showed Pearl what'll happen, or at least the end result. It was a possibility, but it did make Pearl relax a bit.

"... Yeah. Oh, give me a second," Pearl said, as she rushed into the barn for a second.

"I wouldn't deny you of your calling, Steven," Garnet said with a smile. Steven immediately got a big smile on his face, full of confidence; if Garnet agrees, then the Crystal Gems agree. It's time for Steven's first solo mission! And Steven was completely hyped for it! Steven gave a serious salute to them all, and marched right over to the Warp Pad. The others went off, and watched him go, but before Steven could leave ...

The group then saw Pearl come out with a full backpack of various stuff that Steven could use, or will need. At least as far as Pearl knew. The backpack was pretty big though, stuff jutting out of it, as she gave it to Steven.

"Here you go, you'll have everything you'll need; some packed food, extra clothes, I made sure to pack you your favorite cookie cats, a raincoat, a sweater, and I gave you a phone to call us at anytime," Pearl advised, as Steven tried to stand with the backpack on. Even if he was stronger than a normal human, it was still pretty heavy for him.

"Wow. Thanks, Pearl," Steven replied, a bit winded but happy she was letting him go and do this at all. He got up onto the Warp Pad, confident in his ability to do the mission. And if his dream had anything to go by, he knew where on Earth he should go to do this.

Steven gave them all another salute, as he activated the Warp Pad. And soon, after just a few seconds, Steven was gone. Steven was on his way, and everyone else now had to wait for him to come back.

It didn't really take very long before Steven was teleported to the right spot. It was a absolute long shot, and Steven had to rely on using his memory on what the place looked like in order for the Warp Pad to work right. When he got to the right place, he immediately felt a large chill from the cooler weather. He looked around, and he could see the many sorts of pine trees towering around him. The trees had some small bits of snow on them, telling Steven he was in the north. There was also a deep trail in front of him, and looking up, he saw the unmistakable snowcapped mountain - just like the one he saw in his dream. Steven didn't know what to expect, but he was ready for anything. His first mission alone shouldn't be messed up; and after seeing that feather, perhaps there was a feathered Gem Beast here that needed to be found and bubbled. With his supplies behind him, Steven got the backpack up, and began walking off on his search for this beast. With the trail marked out for him, there was no other way to go other than on the trail.

"Alright Steven, let's do this!" Steven said to himself, psyched as any, and he started off down the trail. There really wasn't anywhere else to really go. He had the wind at his back, the path laid out for him, and he was free to do this. Going off on his own was something new for him, and he wanted to enjoy every moment of it on this mission. As he continued on for the next ten minutes, he began to feel a vibration in the backpack. He stopped and checked his backpack to find the phone going off. He took the moment to answer it.

"Pearl, it's only been ten minutes," another familiar voice said on the other end. Steven waited on his end.

"Wonderful to hear. Steven? I know you're confident you can do it, and I believe you can, but don't forget you can call us at anytime if you ever need anything. We're here for you Steven, remember that," Garnet reminded. Steven smiled.

Steven hung up, and put the phone back into his backpack. After lifting it up onto his back, he began to go off again. He could tell that this was going to be an awesome mission, he just knew it.

And he was happy to do this.

Steven; When you're on your own, life is so exciting.

Steven continued on ahead through the forest as he sang, looking around at the tall trees, turning around as he walked along. The trees were green, with bits of snow sprinkled on them, some of which landed by him as he moved along.

When you're on your own, the world is big and wide.

As he continued on, the trail started to open up, and Steven began to kick a small stone as he moved off, the stone which rolled down a nearby hill.

You can do what you want,

Steven took a moment to slid down the hill, since it was apart of the path, keeping his balance and sliding right down to the bottom of the hill. At the bottom, Steven could see his shadow right next to him on a nearby rock.

And go where you like,
with just your shadow by your side.

As Steven continued on, the forest began to turn to opened mountainside, as the path began to ascend up the mountain. Steven didn't mind that, and he was happy to continue going. Soon, he came across a mountain stream, with stones that were just big enough, and spaced close enough to be perfect stepping stones. So, Steven happily skipped along them.

When you're on your own, you can yell, and laugh, and holler!

The trail began to continue up the mountain in a side-winding sort of way, to make it easier to climb up rather than straight ahead. Steven stopped for a moment to look back on the land, seeing that he was pretty far up. He was able to see the whole forest around him, along with a flock of birds going by him.

When you're on your own, you're feeling strong and free.

Steven continued on from there, getting farther and farther down the trail, enjoying the sights as he went. Being on his own made this trip a bit more exciting for him.

You can play all night, and sleep all day,

Steven saw a squirrel skitter up a tree as he continued on.

And be whatever you want to be.

Steven then began to see a indent in the path up ahead of him. He didn't mind that very much, and went right up it, confident as ever.

You can be a hero; bold, and brave! With lots of grand adventure, and the whole world to save.

Indeed, the trip was a happy one for Steven Universe.

~~~~~~

For the next few minutes, Steven kept up his hike up the mountain more and more, the young boy getting a little bit tired from the climb upward. The trail was alright itself, but climbing up a mountainside with a heavy backpack would get anyone tired at some point. And even after that whole musical number, he still wasn't too close to the main mountain, despite being at high elevation as it was already. It was starting to get colder, Steven feeling the hard, cooler earth under his sandals. Eventually, Steven began to stop at another part of the mountain. It was flattened, and plenty of space for him to rest up for a moment or two. He needed it.

"Okay let's see what we got," Steven told himself, looking through the backpack. He saw a lot of different stuff inside, which included plenty of clothes, and a few snacks too. Since Steven didn't had anything to eat yet, he went in for the snacks first, eventually fishing out a cookie cat ice cream bar.

"Cookie Cat! Oh, thank you Pearl!" Steven said, licking his lips. After getting a scarf around his neck, he soon got the tasty treat in his grubby little hands, and quickly got it out of its packaging. It was nice and cool, and even if it wasn't, the place around him would do the job at not making it melt any faster. Steven heard his stomach growl a little bit, and was just about to bite into it when ...

Steven stopped himself, and looked around. At first, Steven saw nothing around him, aside from the forest. Eventually though, Steven began to see something watching him from the forest brush. It looked like a set of cat-like eyes, both a golden color. Steven looked a bit spooked, still holding his ice cream treat. He was hungry, and wanted to eat, but he had other treats inside his backpack, so he decided in the end to toss the treat towards the animal, whatever it was. The growling calmed down, but nothing came out to get the food right away, Steven waiting for whatever was there to take it. Still, overtime, there was a bird that did try its luck, and flutter down to get the treat. It managed to get one side of the cookie cat before something pounced out. The bird flew away just fast enough to save its own life. As for what was waiting in the bushes; a mountain lion!

"L-Lion! Mountain Lion!" Steven gasped, quite loudly. The hungry mountain lion turned to Steven, eyes locked onto him, as Steven jumped up to his feet. This wasn't even a Gem Beast, yet still a dangerous animal in its own right; fully grown, with sharp claws and feline teeth that can crush any bone. At first, however, since Steven was aware of the Mountain Lion, it didn't start after him right away. It was also obvious that it wasn't hungry for Steven's cookie cat either, completely ignoring it. Steven didn't try to run, but he did try to look for something for the Mountain Lion to eat, but the longer he took, the more impatient the Mountain Lion was getting, although the big cat didn't budge just yet, eyes fixated on Steven.

"H-Here, you hungry? Here, try this!" Steven said, quickly finding another treat inside his bag. This time it was a packaged bag of Lion Lickers. Steven used them with Lion and they worked very well, so maybe a Mountain Lion can work the same way. The large feline began to sniff the air as Steven presented the treat. Steven opened it up, and tossed it over to the Lion. The Mountain Lion walked over, and sniffed the treat curiously, Steven hoping it'll be enough. However, Steven got his hopes too high, and turned his back to the predator to close the backpack. The Mountain Lion quickly noticed that he made a crucial mistake in survival 101.

"AH!" Steven yelped, as he turned to see the Mountain Lion running at him! Instinctively, Steven summoned his bubble shield, stopping the predator in its tracks just in time. The lion slammed into the bubble, making Steven and the backpack inside tumble about in the rolling bubble. He stopped himself when wedged in between two trees, the Mountain Lion trying to get to Steven. However, no matter what the angle, it didn't have an opening. Steven just calmed down, smiling and sighing in relief ...

Suddenly, Steven found himself rolling down the path, very fast and soon leaving the Mountain Lion far behind! Steven kept hitting trees like a ball in a pinball machine, knocking down bits of snow from each tree as he did so. Steven couldn't stop himself, or see where he was going. Since he was up a mountain, the rolling gave way to drop offs time and time again, making Steven bounce like crazy. Steven finally stopped when he slammed hard into a durable tree, Steven finally removing the bubble before he could go any further. His eyes were spinning, his face a shade of sickly green, and was probably glad he didn't eat anything, otherwise it'll be back up and onto the ground by now.

"Okay mister -" Steven felt something try to come up, but Steven held it back and kept it in him "- adventure man. Let's -" before Steven could finish his sentence, a ton of snow finally dislodged from the tree, and fell flat onto him, covering him completely. Steven poked his head out afterwards, snow still in his hair, and still not feeling so good.

After getting his act together, and climbing back to the spot he was at before, it was already getting late. He'd continue if it wasn't so late once he got there. After just a few minutes of preparation, Steven had managed to get out a sleeping bag from his backpack, and managed to make a small fire from branches and twigs. He wouldn't dare try to chop down any trees for the sake of one fire for one night. Still, Steven made the fire pretty well, and was quickly getting warmer from his snow fall earlier, which by the by was melted and shaken off of him beforehand. Steven happily hummed a little bit, the tune matching the song he sang earlier, as he warmed his hands by the fireplace.

"Okay, Steven, so there was some bumps and bruises. You'll get your Gem in the morning in no time!" Steven said with enthusiasm. He wasn't going to quit his solo mission from one bad day, and while he still wished he was further along the trail, he still needed his energy for tomorrow. Just before he could try to go to sleep, he felt his phone going off again. A quick check, and he knew who it was.

"Hey, Steven my man! How's the mission going?" Amethyst asked on the other end of the line.

"It's going great! Though I did have some trouble with a Mountain Lion earlier, but I sent it packing." Course this wasn't true, but he didn't want to sound like anyone weak or wimpy. Amethyst laughed on hearing that.

"Awesome. Yeah, things had been BORING over here! Pearl has been worrying up and down all day, even with Garnet's future vision. Seriously, I wonder why she didn't run after you yet."

"Oh, one more thing before I go; Will we show them our ... guest soon?" Amethyst asked, slightly hushed on the last part.

And with that, Steven hung up the phone, cuddled up in his sleeping bag, and went right to sleep alongside his little fireplace.

A few hours pass, and Steven was still fast asleep by the fireplace, which was starting to dwindle in the cold night air. For being high up in the mountains, it still seemed to be surprisingly calm; not much wind, or clouds in the sky. Steven wasn't ready to get at it just yet, but the nighttime colder conditions, and animals in the area, do not rest. As Steven was asleep, the forest began to stir as the small animals started to sniff out the food inside Steven's backpack. Eventually, a sneaky pine marten snuck down from the nearby pine trees, and began to nose in on Steven'a backpack. Thanks to the attack from earlier, Steven didn't have much left apart from one cookie cat bar still left inside. Of course, the sneaky little thief took it quick, and it was then that Steven started to wake up.

The pine marten however was already running up the tree before Steven could stop it. He quickly checked his bag, just finding his food stolen, and with nothing left for him. Steven looked annoyed as ever; first he ended up losing a lot of time from the Mountain Lion, and now his food was gone by a hungry pine marten. Okay, so there was some more trouble, it was going to be fine for him.

"I'm gonna get home soon, anyway. Let's be off," Steven told himself, getting up and packing again. He was up, and ready to go off again - longer he waits, the more likely he'll lose whatever was out here. So, with that in mind, Steven got the backpack up, and went off on his way up the mountain again. If being out during the day was risky, then going around at night was one wrong step away from another attack by the wildlife. Steven went back to humming his own little tune again, as he went off along the mountain path, the cool night breeze brushing against him. He would normally wait for the morning, but again, he wasn't going to waste anymore time. Besides, if he were to go back to sleep, he might get more of his stuff stolen by more animals, so, he'd rather not have that happen twice to him. Still, going around at night wasn't just a walk in the park (as easy as it sounded). Steven kept hearing things scurry around him, but he couldn't make out exactly what they were, or where they were. But then ...

Steven froze up, and kept looking around for the source of the noise until he calmed his nerves again. It was only an owl perched up in a nearby tree, but Steven didn't realize this. However, him being scared was starting to reminded Steven bit by bit that, even if he is alone, and it was his first mission, that his friends would help him out in these sort of situations. But now that he was alone ... Well, he had to figure things out for himself ...

When you're on your own. You have to be the grown-up ...

Steven kept going on the hillside, which was getting steep again. Steven went up it just fine, though he felt bummed out that he had no one to share this adventure with.

Cuz there's no one there. To tell you what to do ...

As he went, he looked up to the stars, starting to see his friends in the constellations.

But you miss your friends. When daylight ends.
And there's no one there to care for you ...

Steven sighed.

It's kind of lonely ...
When you're on your own ...

Steven kept on walking, and kept on looking around the place for some sort of clue, but so far he ended up with nothing to show for his efforts. Maybe he teleported to the wrong mountain? Maybe there wasn't anything to look for? Possibly, that was the case, and the feather he got was just pure coincidence. Heck, it could be a prank from Rainbow Dash or something (a weak prank, but a prank). Steven suddenly got to thinking that was the case, and felt very stupid, hand slapping his temple.

Steven stopped himself on hearing that hissing noise. He may not be much of a zoologist, but he knew that snakes wouldn't be out in such cold weather. Steven began to look around a bit more, trying to figure out where the hiss came from, but he couldn't seem to find anything. Soon, Steven felt something tickle his shoulder. He turned around quick, looking up into the tree behind him, and soon he found the source of the noise. Just above him, he found what he was looking for; it looked a bit big, slim, and reptilian. It had a snake like body, but its head and feet resembled that of a sort of gecko. Its legs weren't sprawled out like a usual lizard, instead tucked under the body. Steven was psyched to finally find something like this.

"Finally," Steven said. However, before he could do anything, the creature stood up, and jumped down at him! In a instinctive response, Steven got out his shield, just for the creature to jump off it like a landing pad. Steven looked away, and saw the animal clearly from the snow-covered ground, as it ran off with fast speed.

"Wait, come back!" Steven yelled, quickly giving chase. Steven tried his best to keep up with the lizard animal, but the animal had long strides, and was quickly gaining distance between itself and Steven, despite his best. Steven didn't give up though, and tried his hardest to run just a little bit faster to keep up with it. All of a sudden, the lizard glanced back, and rushed to the rocky areas of the mountain, slipping in a pretty small crack within the mountain side - too small for Steven to fit inside himself. Steven skidded to a stop before he could crash into the mountainside. Now what? His first real creature encounter on his solo mission, and it got away from him. No. No, no, he wasn't having it! He can't go back empty-handed like this. Steven then tried to look around for some sort of entranceway, but all he could find was a bunch of rocks and the small crevice in question.

... He tried to charge through. However, one jump, and he was stuck; one side in, and one side out. Steven tried and tried, but he was stuck, and he wasn't moving.

"Oh bother," Steven groaned. Steven tried to push himself through a bit more, but his body wasn't budging. His front end was stuck inside the crevice, and the back end was stuck outside. Even if he was lonely, he was glad none of his friends saw him like this. If he does complete his mission, he'll leave this part out ...

Oh great - the same animal was back again. It sat there in front of Steven, just out of his reach. It flicked out its tongue at him, which licked up and down his face, before turning and going down the crevice, and out of sight. Steven tried to think on what to do, but then something came to mind that could possibly work; he got his arms forward, and suddenly summoned a bubble. As he hoped, the crevice was opened up a lot bigger thanks to the bubble. Steven quickly removed it, and pulled himself inside before any rocks could fall on top of him. Only now, the crevice was too small again, but at least he was heading off in the right direction. The bad news though was that the backpack was crushed in the rocks. Steven got up to his feet and pulled it out, but a lot of stuff inside it was mashed up, so, it wasn't much use anyway. All Steven could do was get the bag together, and go off on his way down the crevice.

Steven could barely see where he was going, but he kept his hands out in front of him so he wouldn't walk into any walls. The walls were cold, and smooth, as if untouched for thousands of years. Dust was easily collected on his hands and feet, and if Steven could see, he would've seen the trail he was leaving behind him. Eventually though, the once freezing caves began to slightly warm up for some strange reason. It was odd that he was starting to feel warm when he was walking around inside a mountain. Soon, Steven was beginning to see some sort of light up ahead of him. It was dim for the time being, but Steven went right over anyway. He didn't bolt right into the open though, thinking that it might be the Gem Beast, so he hid by the wall, and peeked around the corner.

Looking off inside, the area itself was simply huge, and felt warmer than the area outside, since the spot was blocked off by most of the wind outside. The area within actually had the mountaintop removed, which was odd considering Steven saw that there was a mountaintop from the view of the Warp Pad. The only reason Steven could come up with was that the first mountain blocked off the spot from sight. The area wasn't having much snow anywhere to be seen, unlike outside with the snow from the trees, and slight amount on the ground. As for the area itself, it was wide open, and there was two decently sized pools. From the entrance, there was one on each side, and the one on the right had a high-level waterfall. The grounds were a bit cooler, with the grass a fresh green despite the time of year, and other things like moss and a few mushrooms on the rock walls near the pools themselves. Steven didn't see anything around, despite seeing the creature run in, so he went out to investigate.

"Whoa. Is this another Gem place?" Steven wondered aloud, walking in. Since it was warmer than outside, Steven removed some bundles of winter clothes. It was still chilly, but not exactly winter cold, but more like a cool morning cold - something Steven felt more comfortable with. Steven even took off his shoes so his feet could feel the cool grass and soft moss. It was, honestly, quite a different place than what he'd expected it to be. Just as Steven was getting more comfortable ...

Steven began to look around more on hearing the strange, old, almost ancient voice speak. Soon, the whole area began to be casted in shadows. Steven looked upward, as something started to fly inside, circling in a downward spiral. The being looked about as long as a anaconda, and having a similar body, but there were some important differences. The most notable were the numerous feathers lining its back, which looked like the one Steven had in his bedroom. The tail ended in a fan that looked like a peacock feather. The head, resembling a dragon, was also lined with a crest of feathers of beautiful blue and green. The entity also had a set of wings, large and strikingly beautiful with blue, green, and red at the very tips. It didn't seemed to be affected by gravity as it descended down towards Steven, as the body didn't seem to dangle downward as it slowed down. Gently, it rested down on the soft grass, with the tail itself barely touch the waters of the pools. It landed in a coil, with its wings tucked back, and head upright to look down at him. Was this the Gem Beast Steven was supposed to find? If so, then what was that other animal he found earlier, and where'd it go? Steven brought out his shield, facing to the giant serpent in case of an attack from the giant animal.

"No need for alarm, young one. Your target is still here," it said, the voice calming and ancient, almost like a male version of Celestia. Steven stayed quiet, and retracted his shield. Still, he was left simply baffled by such a creature looming overhead.

"Not quite. Enjoying your mission?" He asked. Steven started to relax a little bit.

"A lot, thank you. But, who are you?" Steven said, more casually this time. Steven wasn't entirely truthful to that statement, as his mission had gone downhill bit by bit.

Steven stopped himself when he heard the hissing again, and turned around to see the same animal Steven had been chasing, now confronting him. It opened its mouth, and now in a better light, Steven could see a gemstone on its tongue, so, this indeed was the Gem Beast. Quetzalcoatl hunkered down to watch, Steven bringing out his shield. Quetzalcoatl knew that Steven wanted to do this himself, so, he just stayed there to see where this will go.

"Go for it," Quetzalcoatl insisted, telling Steven that it was his target. Steven was ready to give it a try, and began his assault on the beast with a good charge forward. The animal also rushed at him, but had to jump off of Steven's shield again. The animal made a fast U-turn, and ended up biting in Steven's leg, and beginning to shake him around. Steven eventually was tossed aside, Steven rolling on the ground until he hit Quetzalcoatl's body. The boy got up, and got out his shield just before the Gem Beast could get him again, its teeth and feet scraping against the shield. Steven was starting to worry a bit more, and managed to push the animal back. He had the defense, but not the offense to beat the creature. The Gem Beast began to chase Steven around for a bit, Steven trying to get some distance so he could think, but it wasn't working. Quetzalcoatl watched Steven and the Gem Beast basically run in circles in front of him. Steven got a bubble secured around him, but the Gem beast slammed into him, and made him roll off to one of the pools, the bubble popping immediately afterwards. The Gem Beast hissed again, as Steven got back to the surface. Once he did, Steven had to swim fast to avoid the beast's lunge at him again. The beast swam back to shore again, and gave chase once more after Steven.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" Steven finally decided, as the Gem Beast was running after him, right on his tail.

"Maybe doing this alone wasn't good after all," Steven said to himself, while running, and avoiding another bite. While the Gem Beast couldn't care for what he had to say, Quetzalcoatl heard him loud and clear. Steven suddenly tripped, and the Gem Beast lunged for him one more time. However, just before it could, the giant tail feather of Quetzalcoatl slammed into the Gem Beast like a fly swatter. That one hit finally finished it off, and so abruptly too. When the tail was raised, the gemstone was all that remained.

"What? For what?" Steven asked, getting up onto his feet again. Quetzalcoatl looked to him with gentle eyes.

"Child. One may want to venture out on one's own from time to time. But, even the strongest warriors need aid from friends once in a while. It's not a sin to have friends with you."

With that wisdom, Quetzalcoatl opened his wings, and took off into the air. In one flap of his mighty wings, the huge animal was gone, leaving behind only one single feather for Steven to bring back home ...

"Oh my, it's been a long time," Pearl noted, as she stared at the other phone, waiting for a call from Steven. It'd been rather quiet, to be honest, the group waiting for Steven to return (or at least return the call). In the room at the time was Amethyst, Peridot, Garnet, Lapis, and Jasper.

"Give it a rest will you, Pearl? Steven's fine," Amethyst said (probably the twentieth time).

Before Pearl could ask why, suddenly they all heard the sound of the Warp Pad. When they all looked, they all saw Steven Universe. He looked a little beaten up, but alright, and with the gemstone bubbled in one hand, and a feather in the other. Of course they were glad to see him.

"You did it bro, great job!" Added Amethyst, excitedly. Peridot could barely contain her excitement.

"Come on Steven, tell us what happened out there," Peridot encouraged. However, Steven was far too tired, and simply looked to his bed past Peridot.

"Steven?" Peridot asked, leaning so Steven was looking to her. Steven yawned wide though.

"Oh. Yea *yawn* I'll talk to you in the morning," Steven said tiredly, giving the bubble to Garnet, and going right off to bed with his feather. He would be more enthused if he was more awake for this. Steven kicked off his shoes, went right upstairs, stripped down to his underwear, and went right to bed. He was too tired to care, and went to sleep almost immediately.

My Little Universe: Season 4

by EquestrianKirin

Me and my Shadow