Steven Universe: Beyond The Mirror

A Moment's Recovery

The sun sets on the battlefield, allowing the strawberries across the valley to take in and absorb the sun's rays as the moon arises a waxing gibbous. The stars align a crevice in the night sky as a steady breeze passes through Steven and Lapis.

Steven gradually opens his eyes in the grass nearby a bursted strawberry, groaning from the injuries he has sustained from his recent battle with a corrupted Gem. His clothes including his shirt, jeans and sandals has melded with the strawberry juice that stained them, giving off a tint of a vibrant red.

He grunts as he sits up from laying unconcious on his left side. He allows his eyes to adjust to his surroundings from a hazy sight of vision. He presses his left hand to his stomache as it grumbles for more reasons than one. He grits his teeth, lifting his head up.

A memory flashes in his concious of the battle in which he was thrown and he gasps. He gets up as an immense pain ignites in his naval. He yells as he clutches it through clenched teeth. He falls back down to the ground and he grunts as he lands face-first onto the dirt.

Steven has fought corrupted Gems before such as the Centipeedle--or those Gem shards that possessed Frybo...or even the Holo Pearl-! Oh wait. That doesn't count. He may have fought powerful Gems before, but he never encountered a creature as powerful as the Bismuth beetle.

That creature has seriously put him and Lapis on edge. It was honestly the first battle he actually thought he wouldn't win especially without the help of his fellow Gems. He crawls towards Lapis as he clutches his stomache with his left hand, grunting and groaning as he makes his way up the hill towards his companion.

He spots Lapis' curved ocean blue hair just up ahead and he picks up the pace, widening his eyes. He gasps, stopping in his tracks as he puts a hand to his mouth. Lapis isn't doing any better than he is. She is lying on the edge of the strawberry, her head tilted to the right with shut eyes.

"Lapis?" Steven grimaces as he presses a hand to her chest. There is no heartbeat, but that is only because the gemstone on her back is technically her heart. Steven brings the hand back up his chin as Lapis groans from her recovery. She opens her eyes, her voice groggy. "Steven?"

Steven's lips curl up into a grin as he embraces Lapis, forcing her to sit up. He wraps his arms around the chest of her dress as she chuckles. "I'm alright! Look! We did it!" She extends her right hand out towards the pool which contains a dormant corrupted Bismuth gemstone.

Steven gasps, immediately letting go of Lapis as he gets up. She crashes back down on her back as he darts for the gemstone just beneath the pool's surface. His sandals splash through the strawberry juice as he pants. He reaches down for the gemstone and he pulls it out of the pool.

The gemstone slowly drips with the thick bits of strawberry as Steven holds it with both hands. "You forgot to bubble it?" Lapis grits her teeth as Steven attempts to bubble it, his grin fading into his frown. He spreads his arms out as the gem on his stomache glows--only to glitch out.

He clutches his stomache as he yelps in anguish. The gemstone plops right back down into the pool as Lapis sits up straight. She gets up and she rushes towards Steven. Her feet splashes through the small pool as she heads towards him.

She stops right behind him, starting to feel concern towards the young boy. "Steven?" Steven bends down to look upon his shirt. He lifts it up to his chest and he gasps, immediately letting go of the rim. He stumbles into Lapis as his heart pounds against his chest, fearing the worst.

"L-Lapis! I-I think my gem is cracked!" Lapis covers her mouth with her left hand as Steven pulls up the rim of his shirt again with his right hand. He licks his left hand and he slaps it onto his gem.

The crack only exacerbates, causing Steven to start hyperventilating. His eyes well up as his body starts to stiffen. He falls over and Lapis catches him before he could land on his back. "Steven!" Steven sniffles as traumatic possibilities bounce through his mind, numbing his concious in a tizzy.

"L-Lapis! Pl-Please get me to my mom's fountain...n-now!" Lapis shushes him, trying her absolute best to console him from the dilemma. "Okay! Just...calm down! It's going to alright!"

Steven sobs, tears streaming down his cheeks. "No! It's not!"
"STEVEN?!" The two lift their heads up, their eyes bulging as the figure standing in front of them pulls out a spear, pointing it directly towards them.