HOME | DD

Description
AU where Steven doesn't turn into Watermelon Steven this time because the cluster started emerging earlier than it originally had, Steven was worried about the Gems but Peridot insisted that if they didn't drill now not only could the Crystal Gem trio get hurt, but all life on Earth could be destroyed.

Steven bubbled the cluster, they made it out, happy and relieved, but the rest of the Gems never showed up, Steven grew worried so he went to sleep, turning into Watermelon Steven, the rest of the Watermelons were still hiding away as they never got an encouraging speech from Steven, continuing to sacrifice their watermelon Stevens to Malachite, Lapis barley has any control of Malachite anymore.

When Steven arrived there [As a watermelon], Malachite didn't seem to be there, she probably retreated into the ocean for now, but Steven did find gems washed up on the shore, shattered.

Steven mourned his mother figures before finally having to wake up, he told Peridot what had happened in tears, Peridot felt somewhat responsible and tried to comfort him, they both went to Mask Island to bubble the gem shards, Malachite was there this time, and tried to crush the small duo, Steven was good at defense, but neither of them were really good at fighting, Steven protected Peridot with his shield and tried to talk to Malachite to get through to Lapis, but it didn't work as Jasper continued to try and shatter them, Steven kept trying but Peridot insisted this was far too risky and they managed to bubble the old Crystal Gem trio and get out safely, Steven feels guilty for having to leave Lapis in that fusion any longer.

Steven and Peridot essentially moved into the barn, mostly because it hurt Steven too much to go back to the temple without his mother figures there, he has visited Beach City though to visit his friends and father, but won't visit the temple.

Steven sometimes uses Peridot's tape recorder to vent his feelings about what happened, Peridot didn't know he was doing this until she was recording her own logs and stumbled upon his, recordings filled with tears and regret, Peridot doesn't like listening to the entirety of Steven's recordings when they show up, but sometimes ends up doing so, usually it'll be too sad for her to take and she'll just go and comfort Steven herself.

Steven sometimes accidentally calls Peridot "Pearl", "Garnet", or "Amethyst", which fills Peridot with guilt, feeling responsible sometimes for their deaths, as she put the cluster before the gems, also guilty that out of all the gems he could of got stuck with it was her, she tries to protect him and care for him like the old trio would, but she doesn't feel she fits that role as well as they did, Steven usually has breakdowns after he does things like this, or hides away, Peridot isn't that good at comforting as she's never really been comforted too much herself, she is a very left-minded character, but she tries her best and does care very much for Steven, he was the first good thing to come out of Earth in her eyes.

Steven often blames himself for their deaths, believing if Rose was here, she would of been able to protect them.

Though very damaged, Steven isn't entirely helpless, he still helps Peridot as she helps him, and teaches her things she still needs to learn about Earth, etc.

Greg, of course, and Connie visit and comfort Steven, feeling awful for what happened.

When the Rubies show up, Peridot hides in the barn and Steven tries to protect her from being figured out but without the help of the rest of the Crystal Gems, things don't go as well, but Peridot eventually runs out to help Steven and they figure out the Rubies are looking for Jasper and not her, Steven then makes up the lie of Jasper being on Neptune because he doesn't want them to find Malachite then drag Lapis back to Homeworld, or have Jasper call reinforcements from Homeworld, the Rubies leave for now.

Steven gives Peridot his dad's tablet he no longer wanted, and they go to Funland to try and forget their troubles, Peridot and Steven are too short to ride the rollercoaster, the idea of shapeshifting to get on is eventually thought up of by Steven, as he wanted Peridot to experience more of the fun things on Earth, Peridot tries to shapeshift but lies that she is "a little rusty", and offers that Steven goes on the ride on his own, Steven declines.

They run into the ring tosser game, Peridot wants the giant stuffed alien, Steven manages to get in one ring for her, but only is rewarded with the finger puppet alien, Peridot is disappointed, they try a few more times then give up.

Steven eventually brings up the shapeshifting thing again, Peridot admits she can't shapeshift, Steven tries to help her but to no avail, Peridot speaks of how she's a new Peridot, and new Peridots don't have powers, Steven comforts but doesn't find the same words Amethyst could of.

The rubies eventually return on their ship, enraged that they were lied to, they get into a physical fight with Steven as he keeps trying to make up more lies, Peridot tries as well, but they're not falling for it this time, Steven tries talking to them and eventually Rose Quartz is brought up, Eyeball talks about her desire to meet Rose, Steven explains how he is Rose in a way, Eyeball doesn't believe him, when she goes to attack him with her knife, Steven holds his shield out, in which Eyeball gets her face slammed against it and gets her gem cracked, Steven panics and gets her to let him heal her gem, she then realizes he is indeed Rose Quartz, and tries to shatter him for what Rose did to Pink Diamond.

Peridot was helpless in this battle, she couldn't really fight, or defend well, whenever she tried to interfere she would almost get hurt by Eyeball and Steven would beg her not to try because he doesn't want her to get hurt, Peridot really wanted to tell them that Jasper was fused as Malachite right now, but knew the consequences so had to keep her mouth shut.

She chases Steven around, swinging her knife at him, trying to get to his gem, growing frustrated, she instead stabs him in his left eye, stating that they match now, Steven passed out from the pain, Peridot thought he died as she wasn't sure if he would only die from being shattered as he was a human-gem hybrid, she was terrified, scared to be alone, and she missed him greatly already, she ran to Steven's side and held him close, Eyeball fused with the other rubies, stomping towards Peridot, insisting to know where Jasper is, Peridot whimpers and holds Steven tighter, Steven now barley awake, their gems both begin glowing, a light blinds everyone as Topaz was born, Topaz possesses the power to go invisible, and has a laser gun for a weapon, as well as Steven's shield, a fight dragged on, when both fusions were on the verge of poofing, the Ruby fusion punched Topaz in the face as hard as she could, knocking Steven and Peridot outta the fusion, Peridot's gem fell to the ground, as well as all the Rubies, Steven remained though.

Steven's eye was bleeding, he couldn't see out of it, he was crying and yelling in pain, but crawled over to the Rubies and bubbled them, sending them off, then passed out again, Peridot eventually reformed with a new outfit, [the one in this picture] and messier hair, she had no visor anymore, she was worried sick as she reformed, finding Steven a bloody mess on the ground, she carried him into the barn, she didn't know what to do, or how to help him, she was panicking and trying to wake him up, eventually he did respond, very weak, and told her how to help him, she found some medical stuff in the barn and wrapped his eye.

Steven was quiet, tears stained on his face, they both went quiet for a while, Steven rested in Peridot's lap, he then told her how scared he was, she responds with how scared she felt as well, mostly because she didn't wanna lose him, Steven apologized for this, Peridot didn't know how to answer, Steven then said he couldn't see out of his left eye anymore, he was sad and it hurt, but at least he wasn't blind... he tried to make jokes about how he could be a pirate now with an eyepatch, Peridot didn't get it but listened anyway.

They didn't talk much about the fusing, Steven barley remembers as he was hardly conscious at the time, Peridot remembers it more, but just wanted to take care of Steven, so it wasn't really brought up, but Peridot felt how sad and hurt Steven was while they were Topaz, mentally and physically, and she knew that he was more upset over all this then she was, she wasn't as attached to the gems as he was, of course she felt bad, but... it was obviously harder on him, she felt guilty for this as well as the death of the gems now.

Topaz had Steven's shield, but also had a laser gun, Steven doesn't have a laser gun, so Peridot must have one, but doesn't know how to summon it, the power to go invisible was just something unique from the fusion.

When Peridot saw Steven get stabbed in the eye and pass out, she felt alone, like she was being left behind, she was scared of it, scared of losing him, she promised to try and take better care of him, and became more paranoid over his physical wellbeing after this event, becoming more attached.

Eventually winter came along, Steven changed into warmer clothes [outfit in this picture], Steven gave Peridot one of his dad's old hoodies, saying it matched her new look. [Hoodie in this picture]

They decided to try and stop Malachite again, Lapis has been stuck in the fusion for even more months now, they showed up at Mask Island, Peridot being very paranoid about Steven going here again, she kept him close, the ocean was freezing at this time of year, Malachite must of been weak.

They eventually spotted Malachite half-way out of the water, lying on the shore, clawing at the ground, growling, full of rage and hate but was weak and exhausted from the cold, chains tied to her but they were barley trying to restrain her anymore.

Peridot grew anxious and Steven approached Malachite slowly, Peridot freaked out and wouldn't let go of his hand, telling him not to do this, but he kept going, he had to free Lapis.

Malachite saw them and roared, fidgeting, slamming a hand near them, making the ground rumble, Steven tried to talk to Lapis, he told her she could let Jasper go, Jasper was too cold and weak to do anything at the moment, that Lapis could take control, Jasper was still far more in control though, nothing seemed to be working, Steven begged her, nothing seemed to be working so they were gonna leave again, but suddenly Malachite turned into light, trying so hard to split up, lots of resistant until finally the two gems appeared, falling to the ground.

Jasper struggled to stand up first, she grabbed Lapis by the arm, trying to fuse with her again, Lapis yelled and tried to choke her with water hands, Jasper socked her across the face, her gem started glowing and she tried to fly away, but Jasper grabbed her foot, tossing her on the ground hard on her back, Lapis poofed, suddenly nerdy familiar yelling was heard as Peridot hopped on Jasper from behind, wrapping herself around her head, Jasper complained, trying to get her off, Peridot threw little baby punches at her face, then suddenly Steven's shield came flying and hit Jasper in the gut, it flew back to Steven, Jasper collapsed, but wasn't done yet, Steven tossed it again, it flew back and hit Jasper in the back of the head, they fought for a while until eventually Jasper poofed, they were exhausted, but they did it. [Probably with Topaz.]

Steven wanted to leave this area as soon as he could, he hated seeing this island now, all he could remember was his family broken into shards, Steven sent Jasper's gem to the temple in a bubble, and carried Lapis back to the barn, he set the Lapis Lazuli softly in a pile of hay.

While Steven and Peridot were watching TV together, they saw a light and heard a voice, it was Lapis, they checked on her, she reformed with a similiar outfit to her old one but was more white this time around, and her hair drooped over her left eye, she looked around, panicky, looking super tired and angry, when she saw Steven and Peridot she jumped back, relieved to see Steven, but not Peridot.

It was gonna be harder than it would of been to get Lapis to lighten up to Peridot as she was even more bitter and untrustworthy after the long, long time she spent with Jasper, she would shriek at Peridot when she got too close, and only got angry when she was around, Steven could only calm her down or get close to her.

Peridot's self-esteem decreased because of this, it was already decreasing from all the recent events with Steven, but now she just felt worse.

Lapis tried to leave, saying goodbye to Steven, but she had nowhere to go, inevitably returning to the barn, Steven took care of her and showed her around the fun places on Earth, making her lighten up to it, but whenever she remembered Peridot would be there when she went "home", it just made things worse.

Peridot reminded her of Jasper in the sense that she was part of that group that dragged her back to Earth, just another reminder of all the times she had to be pushed around or held prisoner, she hated it, she just wanted to feel free, she was free, but she still felt trapped around Peridot, Peridot avoided her as much as she could so she would feel better but it was inevitable that they'd see each other or have to acknowledge each other because Peridot lived in the barn after all.

Peridot grew tired of the drama and just wanted things to be better, Steven did as well, even though they understood why Lapis felt the way she felt, it couldn't be like this forever, could it?

Peridot attempted all those silly things she did in Barn Mates to win her forgiveness, but Lapis was more violently angry at her and it took a lot more, Lapis broke her tape recorder and Peridot snapped at Lapis and tried to reason with her angrily, Lapis got tired of it and physically attacked Peridot with the water from the "lake" she made for her, Steven yelled at her to stop, it went on for a bit until finally she listened to Steven and left Peridot alone, Steven was crying at this point, he ran to Peridot and helped her out,

Lapis watched and felt guilty, she was just so angry and filled with hate for everything that's happened to her, she didn't feel like she could trust anyone besides Steven anymore, she was so tired of being hurt, Steven started to yell at Lapis for what she did, and defended Peridot, telling her to give her a chance, this really made Lapis feel bad as she only really cared for Steven, and trusted him, she eventually apologized to Peridot after all the countless times Peridot apologized to her, Lapis still couldn't help but feel bitter around Peridot at times, and Peridot would feel nervous around her, but they tried... for Steven.

Lazuli's gem was also cracked from when Jasper tossed her on her back, but Steven healed it.

Steven wanted to go visit his friends in Beach City again, while they were there, Steven really didn't wanna go to the temple still, but something was tempting him, so he decided to, Lapis and Peridot went off exploring the town, Steven wanted them to get to know the people around here, but said he had to do something, and if he isn't back soon just meet him back at the barn, Peridot was skeptical and wanted to come with him so he wouldn't get in any danger, but he insisted on going alone, Peridot eventually gave in and let him go.

Steven walked up the all too familiar stairs to the all too familiar porch, opening the door, it was so quiet and dark, Steven already felt tears welling up, just the smell of the place haunted him with memories, he let out a shaky sigh, going to the basement, he looked up at all the bubbles, seeing the new ones, Jasper... and the... shards... of his family, he fell to his knees, sobbing into his hands, this whole place wasn't the same without them, he wanted to hear Pearl being paranoid and perfecting everything, he wanted to hear Amethyst being reckless and joking about everything, he wanted to be held by Garnet, and recieve her wise advice, he sobbed for minutes on end, curling up on the floor, he eventually quieted down,

he turned over on his back and looked up at the bubbles, he sniffled, then noticed something... there were only three bubbles with shards in them, one was still intact, it was blue, he gasped and instantly brought the bubble down, popping it, the gem floated up and reformed, Sapphire falling to her knees, panting with tears, Steven called her name and hugged her tight, never seeming to be out of tears at a time like this, Sapphire hugged him back tight, they were both shaking,

Steven pulled back and looked at her, telling her how he thought she was dead, Sapphire just remembers everything going black, she asked what happened, Steven figured Sapphire's gem must of gotten tossed further from the other gems, Malachite probably then crushed them, but missed Sapphire, Steven was in too much of a rush when he bubbled them to notice, he broke the news to her about Pearl and Amethyst while in tears, Sapphire was also in tears, she asked what happened to Ruby, Steven went silent, kinda gazing over to the bubble with Ruby's shards, Sapphire started to look over as well, Steven quickly hugged her so she wouldn't have to see,

he apologized, Ruby was gone, Sapphire collapsed, hugging Steven tightly, they both became tearful messes, Pearl, Amethyst, Ruby... Ruby, her everything, they were gone, just like that, Garnet could no longer exist, she called Ruby's name and wailed, she couldn't stop crying, Steven eventually picked her up, and carried his small mom figure back to the barn, staying in the temple was too painful, he entered the barn and lied her down on a mattress with a nice pillow and warm blanket, warm... just like Ruby, she squeaked and cried into the pillow, whimpering Ruby's name,

Steven stayed by her side, Lapis and Peridot peeked in, Steven saw this, he petted Sapphire then told her in a whisper he'll be right back, giving her a hug then standing up, he told Lapis and Peridot what happened and why she's upset, etc.

Lapis started to feel guilty as she was part of Malachite so she technically took part in killing the gems, that includes Ruby... she held her right arm with her left, looking down.

Sapphire faintly heard the conversation, she started to think about how Lapis was part of that fusion that killed her Ruby, but she was still her sensible self... she wasn't gonna throw the blame on her, it was obviously Jasper who made that choice.

Lapis and Sapphire eventually did discuss this, Lapis apologized and stated she barley even remembered what was going on when they got shattered.

The gem quartet do their best to protect Earth still, even in these depressing times.

Side stuff:

Peridot hasn't discovered her Ferrokinesis in this AU.

Bismuth's bubble was never popped as they don't go back to the temple with Lion around, so Lion never started chewing on Steven's shirts.

Steven eventually had Centipeetle reunite with her crew.

Peridot sometimes uses the insult "clod" affectionately towards Steven.

Pearl and Greg never got to make up.

Garnet saw them dying as a possibility but it was unlikely.

I'll probably get more ideas as the show continues, but this is what I got for now, I'll draw Lapis and Sapphire for this AU eventually, Topaz as well, thank you for reading.

All Charcters [Aside from Topaz] (c) Rebecca Sugar/Crewniverse/Cartoon Network.

Description
AU where Steven doesn't turn into Watermelon Steven this time because the cluster started emerging earlier than it originally had, Steven was worried about the Gems but Peridot insisted that if they didn't drill now not only could the Crystal Gem trio get hurt, but all life on Earth could be destroyed.

Steven bubbled the cluster, they made it out, happy and relieved, but the rest of the Gems never showed up, Steven grew worried so he went to sleep, turning into Watermelon Steven, the rest of the Watermelons were still hiding away as they never got an encouraging speech from Steven, continuing to sacrifice their watermelon Stevens to Malachite, Lapis barley has any control of Malachite anymore.

When Steven arrived there [As a watermelon], Malachite didn't seem to be there, she probably retreated into the ocean for now, but Steven did find gems washed up on the shore, shattered.

Steven mourned his mother figures before finally having to wake up, he told Peridot what had happened in tears, Peridot felt somewhat responsible and tried to comfort him, they both went to Mask Island to bubble the gem shards, Malachite was there this time, and tried to crush the small duo, Steven was good at defense, but neither of them were really good at fighting, Steven protected Peridot with his shield and tried to talk to Malachite to get through to Lapis, but it didn't work as Jasper continued to try and shatter them, Steven kept trying but Peridot insisted this was far too risky and they managed to bubble the old Crystal Gem trio and get out safely, Steven feels guilty for having to leave Lapis in that fusion any longer.

Steven and Peridot essentially moved into the barn, mostly because it hurt Steven too much to go back to the temple without his mother figures there, he has visited Beach City though to visit his friends and father, but won't visit the temple.

Steven sometimes uses Peridot's tape recorder to vent his feelings about what happened, Peridot didn't know he was doing this until she was recording her own logs and stumbled upon his, recordings filled with tears and regret, Peridot doesn't like listening to the entirety of Steven's recordings when they show up, but sometimes ends up doing so, usually it'll be too sad for her to take and she'll just go and comfort Steven herself.

Steven sometimes accidentally calls Peridot "Pearl", "Garnet", or "Amethyst", which fills Peridot with guilt, feeling responsible sometimes for their deaths, as she put the cluster before the gems, also guilty that out of all the gems he could of got stuck with it was her, she tries to protect him and care for him like the old trio would, but she doesn't feel she fits that role as well as they did, Steven usually has breakdowns after he does things like this, or hides away, Peridot isn't that good at comforting as she's never really been comforted too much herself, she is a very left-minded character, but she tries her best and does care very much for Steven, he was the first good thing to come out of Earth in her eyes.

Steven often blames himself for their deaths, believing if Rose was here, she would of been able to protect them.

Though very damaged, Steven isn't entirely helpless, he still helps Peridot as she helps him, and teaches her things she still needs to learn about Earth, etc.

Greg, of course, and Connie visit and comfort Steven, feeling awful for what happened.

When the Rubies show up, Peridot hides in the barn and Steven tries to protect her from being figured out but without the help of the rest of the Crystal Gems, things don't go as well, but Peridot eventually runs out to help Steven and they figure out the Rubies are looking for Jasper and not her, Steven then makes up the lie of Jasper being on Neptune because he doesn't want them to find Malachite then drag Lapis back to Homeworld, or have Jasper call reinforcements from Homeworld, the Rubies leave for now.

Steven gives Peridot his dad's tablet he no longer wanted, and they go to Funland to try and forget their troubles, Peridot and Steven are too short to ride the rollercoaster, the idea of shapeshifting to get on is eventually thought up of by Steven, as he wanted Peridot to experience more of the fun things on Earth, Peridot tries to shapeshift but lies that she is "a little rusty", and offers that Steven goes on the ride on his own, Steven declines.

They run into the ring tosser game, Peridot wants the giant stuffed alien, Steven manages to get in one ring for her, but only is rewarded with the finger puppet alien, Peridot is disappointed, they try a few more times then give up.

Steven eventually brings up the shapeshifting thing again, Peridot admits she can't shapeshift, Steven tries to help her but to no avail, Peridot speaks of how she's a new Peridot, and new Peridots don't have powers, Steven comforts but doesn't find the same words Amethyst could of.

The rubies eventually return on their ship, enraged that they were lied to, they get into a physical fight with Steven as he keeps trying to make up more lies, Peridot tries as well, but they're not falling for it this time, Steven tries talking to them and eventually Rose Quartz is brought up, Eyeball talks about her desire to meet Rose, Steven explains how he is Rose in a way, Eyeball doesn't believe him, when she goes to attack him with her knife, Steven holds his shield out, in which Eyeball gets her face slammed against it and gets her gem cracked, Steven panics and gets her to let him heal her gem, she then realizes he is indeed Rose Quartz, and tries to shatter him for what Rose did to Pink Diamond.

Peridot was helpless in this battle, she couldn't really fight, or defend well, whenever she tried to interfere she would almost get hurt by Eyeball and Steven would beg her not to try because he doesn't want her to get hurt, Peridot really wanted to tell them that Jasper was fused as Malachite right now, but knew the consequences so had to keep her mouth shut.

She chases Steven around, swinging her knife at him, trying to get to his gem, growing frustrated, she instead stabs him in his left eye, stating that they match now, Steven passed out from the pain, Peridot thought he died as she wasn't sure if he would only die from being shattered as he was a human-gem hybrid, she was terrified, scared to be alone, and she missed him greatly already, she ran to Steven's side and held him close, Eyeball fused with the other rubies, stomping towards Peridot, insisting to know where Jasper is, Peridot whimpers and holds Steven tighter, Steven now barley awake, their gems both begin glowing, a light blinds everyone as Topaz was born, Topaz possesses the power to go invisible, and has a laser gun for a weapon, as well as Steven's shield, a fight dragged on, when both fusions were on the verge of poofing, the Ruby fusion punched Topaz in the face as hard as she could, knocking Steven and Peridot outta the fusion, Peridot's gem fell to the ground, as well as all the Rubies, Steven remained though.

Steven's eye was bleeding, he couldn't see out of it, he was crying and yelling in pain, but crawled over to the Rubies and bubbled them, sending them off, then passed out again, Peridot eventually reformed with a new outfit, [the one in this picture] and messier hair, she had no visor anymore, she was worried sick as she reformed, finding Steven a bloody mess on the ground, she carried him into the barn, she didn't know what to do, or how to help him, she was panicking and trying to wake him up, eventually he did respond, very weak, and told her how to help him, she found some medical stuff in the barn and wrapped his eye.

Steven was quiet, tears stained on his face, they both went quiet for a while, Steven rested in Peridot's lap, he then told her how scared he was, she responds with how scared she felt as well, mostly because she didn't wanna lose him, Steven apologized for this, Peridot didn't know how to answer, Steven then said he couldn't see out of his left eye anymore, he was sad and it hurt, but at least he wasn't blind... he tried to make jokes about how he could be a pirate now with an eyepatch, Peridot didn't get it but listened anyway.

They didn't talk much about the fusing, Steven barley remembers as he was hardly conscious at the time, Peridot remembers it more, but just wanted to take care of Steven, so it wasn't really brought up, but Peridot felt how sad and hurt Steven was while they were Topaz, mentally and physically, and she knew that he was more upset over all this then she was, she wasn't as attached to the gems as he was, of course she felt bad, but... it was obviously harder on him, she felt guilty for this as well as the death of the gems now.

Topaz had Steven's shield, but also had a laser gun, Steven doesn't have a laser gun, so Peridot must have one, but doesn't know how to summon it, the power to go invisible was just something unique from the fusion.

When Peridot saw Steven get stabbed in the eye and pass out, she felt alone, like she was being left behind, she was scared of it, scared of losing him, she promised to try and take better care of him, and became more paranoid over his physical wellbeing after this event, becoming more attached.

Eventually winter came along, Steven changed into warmer clothes [outfit in this picture], Steven gave Peridot one of his dad's old hoodies, saying it matched her new look. [Hoodie in this picture]

They decided to try and stop Malachite again, Lapis has been stuck in the fusion for even more months now, they showed up at Mask Island, Peridot being very paranoid about Steven going here again, she kept him close, the ocean was freezing at this time of year, Malachite must of been weak.

They eventually spotted Malachite half-way out of the water, lying on the shore, clawing at the ground, growling, full of rage and hate but was weak and exhausted from the cold, chains tied to her but they were barley trying to restrain her anymore.

Peridot grew anxious and Steven approached Malachite slowly, Peridot freaked out and wouldn't let go of his hand, telling him not to do this, but he kept going, he had to free Lapis.

Malachite saw them and roared, fidgeting, slamming a hand near them, making the ground rumble, Steven tried to talk to Lapis, he told her she could let Jasper go, Jasper was too cold and weak to do anything at the moment, that Lapis could take control, Jasper was still far more in control though, nothing seemed to be working, Steven begged her, nothing seemed to be working so they were gonna leave again, but suddenly Malachite turned into light, trying so hard to split up, lots of resistant until finally the two gems appeared, falling to the ground.

Jasper struggled to stand up first, she grabbed Lapis by the arm, trying to fuse with her again, Lapis yelled and tried to choke her with water hands, Jasper socked her across the face, her gem started glowing and she tried to fly away, but Jasper grabbed her foot, tossing her on the ground hard on her back, Lapis poofed, suddenly nerdy familiar yelling was heard as Peridot hopped on Jasper from behind, wrapping herself around her head, Jasper complained, trying to get her off, Peridot threw little baby punches at her face, then suddenly Steven's shield came flying and hit Jasper in the gut, it flew back to Steven, Jasper collapsed, but wasn't done yet, Steven tossed it again, it flew back and hit Jasper in the back of the head, they fought for a while until eventually Jasper poofed, they were exhausted, but they did it. [Probably with Topaz.]

Steven wanted to leave this area as soon as he could, he hated seeing this island now, all he could remember was his family broken into shards, Steven sent Jasper's gem to the temple in a bubble, and carried Lapis back to the barn, he set the Lapis Lazuli softly in a pile of hay.

While Steven and Peridot were watching TV together, they saw a light and heard a voice, it was Lapis, they checked on her, she reformed with a similiar outfit to her old one but was more white this time around, and her hair drooped over her left eye, she looked around, panicky, looking super tired and angry, when she saw Steven and Peridot she jumped back, relieved to see Steven, but not Peridot.

It was gonna be harder than it would of been to get Lapis to lighten up to Peridot as she was even more bitter and untrustworthy after the long, long time she spent with Jasper, she would shriek at Peridot when she got too close, and only got angry when she was around, Steven could only calm her down or get close to her.

Peridot's self-esteem decreased because of this, it was already decreasing from all the recent events with Steven, but now she just felt worse.

Lapis tried to leave, saying goodbye to Steven, but she had nowhere to go, inevitably returning to the barn, Steven took care of her and showed her around the fun places on Earth, making her lighten up to it, but whenever she remembered Peridot would be there when she went "home", it just made things worse.

Peridot reminded her of Jasper in the sense that she was part of that group that dragged her back to Earth, just another reminder of all the times she had to be pushed around or held prisoner, she hated it, she just wanted to feel free, she was free, but she still felt trapped around Peridot, Peridot avoided her as much as she could so she would feel better but it was inevitable that they'd see each other or have to acknowledge each other because Peridot lived in the barn after all.

Peridot grew tired of the drama and just wanted things to be better, Steven did as well, even though they understood why Lapis felt the way she felt, it couldn't be like this forever, could it?

Peridot attempted all those silly things she did in Barn Mates to win her forgiveness, but Lapis was more violently angry at her and it took a lot more, Lapis broke her tape recorder and Peridot snapped at Lapis and tried to reason with her angrily, Lapis got tired of it and physically attacked Peridot with the water from the "lake" she made for her, Steven yelled at her to stop, it went on for a bit until finally she listened to Steven and left Peridot alone, Steven was crying at this point, he ran to Peridot and helped her out,

Lapis watched and felt guilty, she was just so angry and filled with hate for everything that's happened to her, she didn't feel like she could trust anyone besides Steven anymore, she was so tired of being hurt, Steven started to yell at Lapis for what she did, and defended Peridot, telling her to give her a chance, this really made Lapis feel bad as she only really cared for Steven, and trusted him, she eventually apologized to Peridot after all the countless times Peridot apologized to her, Lapis still couldn't help but feel bitter around Peridot at times, and Peridot would feel nervous around her, but they tried... for Steven.

Lazuli's gem was also cracked from when Jasper tossed her on her back, but Steven healed it.

Steven wanted to go visit his friends in Beach City again, while they were there, Steven really didn't wanna go to the temple still, but something was tempting him, so he decided to, Lapis and Peridot went off exploring the town, Steven wanted them to get to know the people around here, but said he had to do something, and if he isn't back soon just meet him back at the barn, Peridot was skeptical and wanted to come with him so he wouldn't get in any danger, but he insisted on going alone, Peridot eventually gave in and let him go.

Steven walked up the all too familiar stairs to the all too familiar porch, opening the door, it was so quiet and dark, Steven already felt tears welling up, just the smell of the place haunted him with memories, he let out a shaky sigh, going to the basement, he looked up at all the bubbles, seeing the new ones, Jasper... and the... shards... of his family, he fell to his knees, sobbing into his hands, this whole place wasn't the same without them, he wanted to hear Pearl being paranoid and perfecting everything, he wanted to hear Amethyst being reckless and joking about everything, he wanted to be held by Garnet, and recieve her wise advice, he sobbed for minutes on end, curling up on the floor, he eventually quieted down,

he turned over on his back and looked up at the bubbles, he sniffled, then noticed something... there were only three bubbles with shards in them, one was still intact, it was blue, he gasped and instantly brought the bubble down, popping it, the gem floated up and reformed, Sapphire falling to her knees, panting with tears, Steven called her name and hugged her tight, never seeming to be out of tears at a time like this, Sapphire hugged him back tight, they were both shaking,

Steven pulled back and looked at her, telling her how he thought she was dead, Sapphire just remembers everything going black, she asked what happened, Steven figured Sapphire's gem must of gotten tossed further from the other gems, Malachite probably then crushed them, but missed Sapphire, Steven was in too much of a rush when he bubbled them to notice, he broke the news to her about Pearl and Amethyst while in tears, Sapphire was also in tears, she asked what happened to Ruby, Steven went silent, kinda gazing over to the bubble with Ruby's shards, Sapphire started to look over as well, Steven quickly hugged her so she wouldn't have to see,

he apologized, Ruby was gone, Sapphire collapsed, hugging Steven tightly, they both became tearful messes, Pearl, Amethyst, Ruby... Ruby, her everything, they were gone, just like that, Garnet could no longer exist, she called Ruby's name and wailed, she couldn't stop crying, Steven eventually picked her up, and carried his small mom figure back to the barn, staying in the temple was too painful, he entered the barn and lied her down on a mattress with a nice pillow and warm blanket, warm... just like Ruby, she squeaked and cried into the pillow, whimpering Ruby's name,

Steven stayed by her side, Lapis and Peridot peeked in, Steven saw this, he petted Sapphire then told her in a whisper he'll be right back, giving her a hug then standing up, he told Lapis and Peridot what happened and why she's upset, etc.

Lapis started to feel guilty as she was part of Malachite so she technically took part in killing the gems, that includes Ruby... she held her right arm with her left, looking down.

Sapphire faintly heard the conversation, she started to think about how Lapis was part of that fusion that killed her Ruby, but she was still her sensible self... she wasn't gonna throw the blame on her, it was obviously Jasper who made that choice.

Lapis and Sapphire eventually did discuss this, Lapis apologized and stated she barley even remembered what was going on when they got shattered.

The gem quartet do their best to protect Earth still, even in these depressing times.

Side stuff:

Peridot hasn't discovered her Ferrokinesis in this AU.

Bismuth's bubble was never popped as they don't go back to the temple with Lion around, so Lion never started chewing on Steven's shirts.

Steven eventually had Centipeetle reunite with her crew.

Peridot sometimes uses the insult "clod" affectionately towards Steven.

Pearl and Greg never got to make up.

Garnet saw them dying as a possibility but it was unlikely.

I'll probably get more ideas as the show continues, but this is what I got for now, I'll draw Lapis and Sapphire for this AU eventually, Topaz as well, thank you for reading.

All Charcters [Aside from Topaz] (c) Rebecca Sugar/Crewniverse/Cartoon Network.