Steven Universe One Shots

Following the Leader

"Amethyst, what are we going to do?" Garnet, Pearl, and Rose looked to the purple gem who was standing in front of them.
"It's simple really. Our plan of attack doesn't need to be planned out," began Amethyst. "Just go with you're gut and you'll be fine!"
"Got it," Rose replied.
"Garnet, what kind of corrupted gems are we dealing with today?" Pearl asked.
Garnet shifted her glasses. "Um, there's two of them, and they aren't very big. What do you think, Amethyst? Will you need all of us to come?"
"Sounds great. To the nearest warp pad, Crystal Gems!" exclaimed Amethyst.
"To the nearest warp pad!" her fellow gems echoed.
In the warp stream, light whizzed around the gems, throwing Amethyst's hair about. She loved the way the wind brushed her face as they flew through the stream. She laughed, her eyes shining playfully.
     As they landed, Amethyst scanned the area they had warped to. A soft growl sounded next to her. She turned her head slowly to come face to face with a corrupted zircon. The monster growled again, louder. "Yo, guys...?" Amethyst warned, drawing out her whip. The other Crystal Gems, aware of the danger, drew their weapons out as well. At the sight of them, the gem monster growled ferociously. With a guttural cry, Amethyst swung her whip at the gem. The monster dodged, then cried out, rising on its hind legs.
Garnet and Pearl surrounded it on the sides, while Rose and Amethyst took the back and front. The gem monster seemed annoyed, but unaffected by blows from Pearl's spear. Rose was having trouble finding a clear hit with her sword. Garnet and Amethyst were doing fine, weakening the beast with multiple blows from Garnet's gauntlets as Amethyst kept in in place, wrapping her whip around it. With a final pull from Amethyst's whip, the corrupted gem was reduced to its gem form, which Amethyst picked up, bubbled, and sent off to the temple. "Good work, everyone!" Amethyst encouraged, grinning ear to ear, unfazed. Then her spirits lessened. "Hold on... Garnet? Didn't you say there were two of them...?"
As if on cue, the roar of another corrupted gem sounded nearby. As it came into view, the gems stiffened. "That's it? It's huge." Pearl said.
     "Should we just attack it?" Rose asked.
     "No," Amethyst warned. "If we're fighting something that big, we should fight with something even bigger."
     "Are you suggesting fusion, Amethyst?" asked Rose. "I think that's a wonderful idea!"
     "Fuse with me, Amethyst!" exclaimed Pearl. "Opal will do fine."
     "Or we could form Smokey Quartz again, Amethyst. She'll take down and bubble that gem in a snap," Rose snapped her fingers for emphasis.
     "No. You said it yourself Amethyst," said Garnet. "We need to be huge. We need Sugilite."
     "Gotcha," returned Amethyst as she took a few steps back, preparing to dance. However, not long after Garnet began her part of the dance, a prolonged roar sounded behind Amethyst. She jumped, shrieking in surprise.
"Look out! Behind you!" Rose Quartz exclaimed frantically.
"Amethyst, we don't have time to fuse!" shouted Garnet, her words rushed.
"Amethyst, what do we do?!" Pearl was at her side in an instant, along with the other two crystal gems. Amethyst turned quickly, gaping at the huge monster, who looked awfully angry as it stood up on its hind legs, looming above the gems.
"I- I don't know!" screamed Amethyst. "I was never made to lead you guys! You shouldn't be asking for my help! I just wanted this so bad! And I've always had it! I- I- I'm so sorry! This is a mess, and it's all my fault! This should never have been me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sor-" And then everything went dark.
......................
"Amethyst? Amethyst, wake up!" Amethyst sat up with a start. She opened her eyes and Steven came into focus.
"Oh, hey, Ste-man. 'Sup?"
"Amethyst, you were shouting in your sleep. Are you okay?" Steven asked, worry showing through his voice and face.
"Uh, yeah... just had a, um, bad dream." Amethyst rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed.
"What was it about? Do you wanna talk about it?"
"I'm fine, Steven, really. It was just about if things had turned out differently, I guess. It's just, I want so much to actually feel like I can lead- like Pearl and Garnet would actually look up to- ugh! I just- I feel so worthless- so- so- argh!"
"I understand, Amethyst."
"I- I don't really want to talk about it... anymore, k?"
"That's okay. We don't have to talk about it." Steven pulled Amethyst to her feet and embraced her. In a flash of light stood Smokey Quartz.
"We can just think about it. Together."