Thanks to that encounter during the mission at the Sky Spire—or whatever it's called—Pearl and Amethyst have a slightly more relaxed relationship now. At the end of the day, watching me get eaten alive by a magical bird isn't something you see every day. Personally, I thought it was pretty thrilling, though they both almost had a heart attack.
I also went back in secret to check if the goat was still there. To my excitement, he—or she—is still in the exact same spot. Honestly, I never knew, nor do I want to know, if it's a male or a female, and I have zero interest in finding out. All I know is that if I ever run into goats out there, I'll recognize this one instantly.
Now that the girls have fused, they want me to learn how to do it too. I'm not entirely sure I like the idea, but I guess sooner or later I'll have to give it a shot. We've done some incredibly weird dances, and I made it crystal clear that they looked ridiculous and honestly kind of obscene. They blushed like crazy when I said that. They explained the whole process to me, but as far as I'm concerned, I have absolutely no intention of trying it right now.
Connie stared at me with a completely lost look on her face as I told her all of this. "You've done all that?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yup," I replied proudly.
"So, you can fuse with other people to form a completely different being?" she said, still trying to process it.
I looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, I can. Why?"
"Well, since you're half-human... it shouldn't work like that, or so you told me," she continued.
"Yeah, I am half-human, and according to the theory my mind has pieced together, I should be able to fuse with humans too."
Connie's eyes went wide as saucers, bright with excitement. "So you can do two types of fusions?" she asked, practically breathless.
"Yeah," I replied, watching her get all hyped up.
Glancing at her watch, Connie gasped. "I have to go, Steven! It was great talking to you." She gave me a warm hug and added that she'd see me later, telling me to keep her updated over the phone.
I just nodded and raised my hands in a wave as I watched her walk away.
I went back to the beach house and talked to my dad about the missions. He needed to be in the loop about everything that was happening, unless it was some secret he was keeping from me; either way, I didn't plan on telling him too much. When I walked in, the house was quiet, empty, just like so many other times. It didn't surprise me; I figured the girls were in their rooms, and with a mix of frustration, I thought about how I couldn't go inside.
I swear on my mom that whenever I try to open her room, the gem starts glowing as if it's laughing at me. I mocked my own attempts and cursed under my breath. Lifting my shirt in annoyance, the gem flashed again, mockingly. It's probably just my mind, I told myself, but the weird part is that this glowing thing only happens when I'm in front of the girls and they either don't notice, or they just don't want to know what's going on with my gem.
I snapped out of those thoughts just as the three of them came out of their rooms one by one. They looked ready for a mission.
"Hey, look, it's Steven!" Amethyst said when she saw me, and just like that, she naturally asked if I wanted to come along.
Pearl immediately chimed in with a warning about the danger.
"Nah, Steven's gotten out of worse," Amethyst replied carelessly. Pearl opened her mouth to object, but Garnet cut her off without hesitation, announcing that I was coming with them.
I nodded with a smile. "Pack some water in a backpack," Garnet added, with that calm authority she always has. "Twenty bottles if possible." I gave her a weird look, but I obeyed; who knows what would happen if I didn't. I quickly geared up and stood by their side. The warp pad began to light up.
"Where are we going?" I asked out of habit, even though I knew they wouldn't tell me anything.
"You'll find out soon," Garnet said with a mischievous smile, and in that moment, I thought about how this Garnet was different from the one in the show—more playful, more human. It didn't take us long to reach our destination.
Oh no, I thought, a single drop of sweat running down my face, and it wasn't even a joke; literally, I was already sweating. I tucked away my jacket, summoned my shield, and held it over my head like a makeshift umbrella. "Alright, let's go," I said, trying to sound serious.
"Go do what?" Amethyst asked, confused, since nobody had explained the point of the mission.
"Whatever it takes," I replied firmly, and started walking in a completely random direction. Garnet looked at me for a split second and, without questioning it, followed right behind me.
"How does he know where we're going?" Pearl whispered, bewildered.
"Lucky guess!" I shouted over my shoulder, pulling ahead of them. With a collective sigh, they all followed.
The four of us walked through the desert under a blazing sun that made the sand glitter like tiny crystals. After a few minutes of trekking aimlessly, I broke the silence.
"Where are we actually going?" I asked, frowning as I adjusted my backpack.
Garnet adjusted her visor calmly, radiating that trademark aura of authority.
"We are tracking down a corrupted Gem that controls sand," she said firmly. "Think of it like those shows you watch where characters control the four elements, except here... this one controls sand. To do so, it has to be in direct contact with it, so we should easily find it by the pillars it creates when it gets bored, I suppose."
I stared at her seriously, trying to process the information. "Alright... but how do you know so much?" I asked, expecting her to bring up her future vision to avoid any issues, though her answer almost made me trip over my own feet.
"Lucky guess," she said, adjusting her glasses again with a playful smirk.
I sighed and looked ahead. "A bit too specific," I muttered, spotting some formations in the distance that looked like they could be sand pillars, or maybe the heat was just playing tricks on my eyes.
"Speak of the devil," Pearl commented, pointing toward the pillars as well.
Amethyst just had her arms crossed behind her head, totally relaxed and watching with curiosity. I was already pulling out my fourth bottle of water when Pearl intervened.
"We'll handle this so you don't waste any more water."
"But summon your shield anyway," Garnet said seriously.
"You don't have to tell me twice," I replied, summoning the shield.
I paused for a second, confused. Wait... did I just summon it twice? I wondered, just as the shield vanished and rapidly formed a bubble around me, taking the Gems completely by surprise.
"Since when can you do that?!" Pearl exclaimed, astounded.
"Catch ya later!" I said, ignoring their shock. "I'm gonna go look for a mummy," I added, scanning my surroundings for any pyramid or structure that could guide me.
"Ok," Garnet replied, walking with a steady pace toward the pillars, as if she already knew exactly what she was going to do.
Pearl was convinced I wouldn't find any mummy, while Amethyst was silently praying that I would. The three of them advanced toward the pillars that kept appearing and disappearing through the desert haze, moving quickly and decisively.
After walking for a while, the only sound was the thudding of the girls hitting the sand, completely focused on their task. I, on the other hand, noticed something pink off in the distance. Curiosity got the better of me, so I walked over and noticed two pillars of that exact color.
"Looks familiar," I muttered to myself, though I didn't pay it too much attention. Looking a bit further past them, I spotted another pink blur. I approached cautiously, and when I got close enough, my jaw dropped.
A lion. And not just any lion. It was a massive pink lion, as majestic as it was strange, with a gaze that felt like it was reading my mind.
The lion watched me as it slowly drew closer. I just stared back and asked casually, "Hey, do you happen to know any mummies around here?"
The lion stopped in its tracks. It clearly hadn't expected that question, and its expression said it all. I got it. It looked at me and gave an almost imperceptible nod.
"Holy crap," I whispered, stunned.
Suddenly, a fragment of a memory hit me, like an echo of something I had forgotten. The lion, now fully aware of what it needed to do, approached with pure majesty. I stretched out my hand, and it gently rested its muzzle against it. In that very instant, I knew I had just gotten a pet lion.
...Or at least, that's what should've happened, I thought, smiling to myself, imagining it playing out like the original story that fascinated me so much.
Now, rewinding back a few minutes to a moment where none of that had actually happened yet, I was walking along some sand dunes. I was looking for something—or rather, someone. According to my memories, the lion was supposed to be around here, and he'd be key to keeping me from dying on more than one occasion. Of course, I wasn't about to pass up the chance to get myself that furry friend.
Trudging through the sandy paths, I noticed a shape up ahead. A pyramid, I thought, surprised. When I told the girls I'd find a mummy, I was actually bluffing, but now that I was standing right there, the idea of finding some wise ancient being from hundreds of years ago seemed irresistible. Maybe it held secrets I didn't know about.
Wasting no time, I walked toward the pyramid. As I neared the entrance, I noticed how surprisingly stable everything was. "Fascinating," I murmured out loud, enjoying the solitude. The structures, glowing with a gem-like sheen, looked incredible. Wait, gems, I thought, freezing for a split second. I looked around, my heart beating a little faster.
"Is that... a Gem structure?" I asked myself, confused, as I ventured deeper into the pyramid. The door slammed shut behind me, and without hesitation, I summoned my shield to protect myself as I pushed further in.
"Well, if I find a mummy, it'll be totally worth it," I thought with a smile.
Entering a room filled with hieroglyphics, I stopped. "What does it say here?" I muttered, trying to decipher the symbols. As I walked, I accidentally tripped a trap. I looked down carefully and said, "If I don't move, maybe it won't go off..." but fate seemed to be playing against me.
Suddenly, the floor opened up beneath my feet, and I fell through, cursing whatever mummy had somehow brought me here.
Falling down, I ended up on a slide that sent me flying at breakneck speed, drifting from side to side completely out of control. The ride lasted only a few seconds, but to me, it felt like an eternity, until I was finally launched out and crashed into an area full of doors. At least it wasn't a room full of death traps, I thought, a drop of sweat rolling down my forehead.
I pushed myself up carefully, spooked and ready to pop a defensive bubble. I pulled my shield to my hands, ready for anything that might come out of this place. Walking down the corridors, my eyes locked onto new carvings on the sand walls. They were depictions of Gems, a registry showing a clear hierarchy. From the smallest ones, the size of an apple, all the way to the top of the food chain: the Diamonds.
Four Diamonds stood out clearly. White Diamond, the head of all Diamonds; Yellow Diamond, the right hand; Blue Diamond, the left hand—not quite as prominent but just as fundamental; and finally, the last figure, the foundation supporting them all: Pink Diamond.
Looks like these murals show the early days, right when they started colonizing Earth, I thought as I scanned the walls, becoming increasingly intrigued by the history unfolding before my eyes.
Moving forward, I reached a completely different room. It was circular, with a strange, solemn atmosphere. I walked up to the wall and noticed a button carved into the stone with the shape of a hand print. I hesitated for a few seconds, but my curiosity won out. I placed my palm on the relief, and immediately, the entire room roared to life. The floor began to spin with a brutal, crushing force.
I was not ready for that. Everything—absolutely everything—was spinning around me. I was so dizzy I could barely keep my eyes open. I'm... gonna... puke... I thought desperately as my stomach churned faster than the room itself.
The spinning finally stopped, and as expected, I ended up throwing up food I had eaten over the last three days. Exhausted and disoriented, I looked up.
A magnificent room unfolded before me, so beautiful that for a second, I forgot all about the nausea. Exquisite decorations adorned the walls, gleaming as if they had been created yesterday. And right in the center, a towering flight of stairs ascended to the very top. There, dominating the entire space, sat an imposing throne. A brilliant pink throne that stood out against every single corner of the room.
I grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it desperately to get the awful taste out of my mouth. Still dizzy, I kept inspecting the room carefully. A single question kept repeating in my head: Why? Why what? Was it really necessary to put me through a spinning vomit-trap just to walk into this room? I walked with caution, suspecting there could be more unpleasant surprises hidden around the place.
Then, my eyes locked onto the most striking thing of all: the throne. Something about it practically forced me to take a closer look. I narrowed my eyes, focusing. It was so big that at first I barely noticed it, but when I finally saw it clearly, I froze solid.
It was him. My mom's lion.
He was right there, lounging on the throne as if it belonged to him, breathing calmly. He raised his head to look at me and, as if he couldn't care less about my presence, nestled back down to go to sleep. A drop of sweat rolled down my face. Was he waiting for me? Or did fate just decide to throw him in my path?
I stood there paralyzed, trying to figure out how to get his attention. But before I could do anything, I heard a slimy, slithering sound. The noise snapped me out of my thoughts, and I quickly whipped my head around.
Don't tell me, my mind groaned in anger.
Slowly rising from the sand was a massive creature. My face twisted in pure annoyance. It couldn't be...
A giant slug loomed in front of me, moving with a slow, menacing crawl.
"The Sand Slug," I said, my voice dripping with irony. "Now all I need is a lava one and an air one, and I'll have completed the collection of freakin' slugs. Curse my luck, it's nothing but slugs these days."
The creature stared at me with the exact expression a starving animal would give its food.
"What are you looking at, dude?" I snapped coldly.
To my surprise, the slug froze for a few seconds, as if it actually understood what I meant. But the peace didn't last. The ground shook as it started charging right at me.
"You want a piece of me?!" I growled furiously, shrinking my shield until it was small and compact. "Come get it, you stupid slug!"
With a slimy roar, the creature lunged. I ran toward it at full speed, and at the very last second, I dove to the side, dodging its tackle. Without wasting a beat, I scrambled up onto its back. The slug writhed violently, thrashing in every direction to throw me off.
I held on for dear life to the compacted sand of its body, feeling my fingers sink into a texture that was somehow solid and slippery at the same time. The creature whipped up a sharp spike of earth from its body, transforming it into a spear aimed straight at me.
When the tip was inches away from impaling me, I jumped with all my might and popped a protective bubble. The momentum catapulted me upward just as the slug's tail whipped across like a lash.
The blow sent me flying, and I crashed awkwardly against the ground. The impact split my head open, causing blood to slide down my forehead.
In pain, I looked up. The slug had been impaled by its own earthen spear, but it was still glaring at me with eyes full of pure hatred.
Stupid piece of crap slug, I growled in my head as I braced myself to keep fighting.
I got ready, gripping my shield so tight my palms ached. I stared at the spear stuck in the slug with a icy gaze, realizing that if I pulled it out and rammed it into its head, I'd win. I smiled bitterly; there was no one coming to save me. It was life or death, me against the slug, one-on-one. This would be a turning point for my life. I wouldn't always have the option to coast through obstacles easily.
"Then we're doing this the hard way!" I screamed, more to convince myself than the world. I charged at the slug, and it responded with an equally furious surge. I leaped yards into the air; the creature followed me up, trying to swallow me whole. I expanded my shield to cover my torso, and for a few split seconds, I was inches away from its jaws. It couldn't swallow me as long as my shield was blocking it.
I quickly cooked up a plan. I expanded the shield with all my strength until the slug started roaring in agony, slamming its head against the walls and floor trying to shake me loose. That wasn't part of my calculations, but I pushed through. Just like with the bird, I let myself get swallowed, keeping the shield wedged in the creature's mouth to prevent its digestion from reaching me—assuming this monster even had a digestive system or worked that way.
When I dropped into its belly and saw bones poking out in the darkness, I prayed to God they weren't human. I formed a bubble around myself, and at the very last second before everything went black, I violently expanded both the bubble and my shield in a desperate maneuver. There was absolute tension, a deafening silence that rang in my ears, and then the slug exploded into a massive cloud of sand—a detonation of dust and debris that swept across the entire room.
The lion resting on the throne, as if he had been expecting that exact ending, stood up calmly, stretched his legs, and walked slowly over to the crater left by the battle. There he found me in the middle of the mess: bruised, bleeding, but with a victorious smirk plastered across my face.
The gem left behind was round and reminded me of the green worm from days ago, though I didn't want to overthink it. I bubbled it the way I had practiced so many times and pulled it close, still panting. I looked up at the lion and, with a mix of defiance and relief, asked, "So, are you gonna eat me now?"
The lion huffed indifferently and plopped down right next to me as if it were a daily routine. And that's it? I thought, half-delirious. Did I just tame him with my bare hands or what? The lion glanced at me lazily and closed his eyes again. I laid back down next to him, feeling the cold sand beneath my back, and for the first time in a long time, victory tasted like something more than dust: it tasted like relief.
A few minutes passed with neither of us saying a word. Well, it's not like the lion was much of a talker anyway. I stayed lying next to him, trying to catch my breath, until a thought hit me like a ton of bricks and I bolted upright.
"The girls!" I gasped, suddenly remembering they had left me with a mission. The sudden movement startled the lion, who cracked an eye open and looked at me calmly, as if asking what the big deal was. "Hey, since I tamed you... or whatever just happened, can you take me to them?" I pleaded, aching all over.
The lion stared at me for a few seconds that felt like an eternity. Then he lowered himself slightly, letting me know he wanted me to climb on. With a exhausted smile, I scratched his mane and said in a raspy voice, "Good boy." I hopped onto his back, and he started walking down a different corridor—one I hadn't noticed before because I was too busy fighting for my life.
As we finally approached the exit, I noticed there were two paths, and by the looks of it, I had taken the wrong one. Dammit, I thought, but at least I got a lion. I felt strange, a mix of pride and relief as I watched him pace forward calmly, his pink mane swaying in the dry air of the pyramid.
A few minutes passed in silence until we both heard two hysterical voices echoing down the hallway.
"Amethyst!" Pearl screamed, completely unhinged. "He found a mummy and they ate my baby!"
"Come on, Pearl, I don't think a mummy ate him," Amethyst replied, shrugging, though there was a hint of worry in her voice too.
Garnet, from a distance, had already spotted me a while ago. She didn't say a word; she just watched with that trademark serene aura of hers, though in her mind, something wasn't adding up: she had seen countless futures, but in not a single one did Steven return riding a lion. From the moment she saw him, she was completely stunned.
"And who says they didn't?!" Pearl insisted dramatically. "Just imagine he found one of those pyramids and fell into its death traps! Or even worse... what if he ran into a politician?!"
Amethyst gave her a look of utter disbelief. "A politician?" she repeated flatly.
"Horrible things," Pearl said seriously, practically shivering.
Right at that exact moment, a lion stepped out directly behind her. Amethyst let out a startled shriek, pointing desperately.
"Behind you!" Amethyst shrieked.
"Huh?" Pearl said, confused, slowly turning around. Her face bumped dead-on into the lion's snout, and he let out an annoyed huff to push her away.
"Yikes!" Pearl screamed, leaping clean into Amethyst's arms.
"Whoa, what is wrong with you?!" Amethyst complained, trying to hold her up without falling over.
"Hey, girls!" I interrupted cheerfully, poking my head out from the lion's soft mane. "I didn't find a mummy, but I did find a lion!"
The three of them froze solid, their eyes wide open. Garnet was the only one who didn't scream, though on the inside, she was just as blown away. Not even her, with all her future vision, had seen this outcome coming.
And there I was, sitting atop the majestic pink mane with a proud smile, introducing them to my new best friend.
End of Chapter 12.