Consequences

29 - Making Amends

The gems were all excited.

Nervous.

Scared.

And, unsure.

Steven's idea had been better than any of the ones the rest of the Crystal Gems had managed, as it actually had a chance of working. A good chance.

But, still, it would be risky.

Well, they guessed, everything was risky at this point. There would be no turning back now. All there was left to do was prepare.

Garnet already saw the time and settled the date of when the battle would be, as they were drawing nearer. By daybreak of the next morn, the gems would be waiting in the city, completely exposed.

Then, the armies of Yellow Diamond would advance. There was a fifty-fifty chance of everything working. Wither it did, or it didn't.

"I can't believe we're doing this..." Peridot muttered, a sort of human queasiness arising in her stomach. "I can't believe we are actually doing this..." The other gems had the same thoughts.

The gems had finally agreed to let Steven join the fight. The plan wouldn't work for him, if he stayed behind.

Right now, he was running back and forth, helping the gems with whatever they needed. Garnet was going through battle strategies, teaching them in detail to whoever had the time to listen. Pearl was distributing weapons from her stash based on size and how weighted it was to the specific person she was giving it to.

Peridot practiced her metal powers, Amethyst her skill, and Lapis was... somewhere. Once again. Everything was almost as it was so long ago, when the gems were preparing to rescue Steven from Homeworld.

"Alright, Steven," Pearl said. She was inspecting the shine on Rose Quartz's sword, handling it as if it were a precious glass to admire.. "You will be using this."

"Okay," Steven said, as Rose sheathed the sword and handed it to him. While the sword was big, it was also very light, and easy to maneuver, as Steven had used it before. Steven slightly winced as he remembered the little... situation between Bismuth and himself.

Pearl didn't notice, and Steven was glad she hadn't. He didn't want her to think he wasn't willing to poof someone.

He didn't want to. That was the truth set in stone. But... this was Homeworld they were dealing with. He was going to have to.

"And Steven..."

"Yes Pearl?" Steven asked. Pearl hesitated then sighed out, "Just... just be careful out there, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."

"I know, Pearl," Steven said, hugging the tall gem. "I won't." Pearl took a deep breath. This was going to work, and everything would be fine. Worrying was normal for Pearl. So why did she have such a bad feeling about this? Steven sensed Pearl's grip becoming tighter. "Pearl? You're squishing me."

"Oh, sorry," Pearl said, releasing her grip. She stood up, and distracted her mind by beginning to sharpen her secondary swords. Steven sat by her, obediently.

In honesty, he felt guilty. He had seriously worried the gems when he ran off.

This is the kind of stupid thing that paints you as irresponsible, Steven scolded himself. Right then, Steven promised himself one thing: during the battle with Homeworld, he would prove that he was responsible. He would prove that he could be thoughtful of others.

Steven stood up after a while of silence, and walked around to see what everyone else was doing. He noticed the absence of Lapis, and his first reaction was to go and find her. But then, he wasn't sure. She had trapped him, and he was hurt because of it. Even though Chalcedony happened a while ago, it still stung.