He Did It For Me: Steven's Legacy

Chapter 02: Garnet and Pearl

Lion and Connie emerged from the portal onto the beach, just outside the Crystal Temple. The beach house looked the same as Connie remembered. From what she could see, it appeared completely undisturbed. The sight of it made her remember back to when she'd always come over to either see Steven or to train with Pearl. Connie even recalled the time she temporarily lived there with Lapis, Peridot, and Pumpkin as the Crystal Temps.

The young woman turned away from the structure and rode into Beach City. She and Lion passed by Beach Citywalk Fries, the Hot 2 Tot food truck, and Fish Stew Pizza. She saw Ronaldo and Mr. Fryman work from their restaurant's window, while Peedee managed the food truck. Meanwhile, Jenny and Kiki could be seen inside their establishment with their father. The sight of the older Pizza sister made Connie smile slightly as it brought back memories of when she and Stevonnie went to prom. This made the young woman realize just how much she really missed being Stevonnie. Both the good and bad of the experience.

Connie eventually passed by Funland, as Mr. Smiley opened the park up for both Human and Gem citizens. Followed by the Big Donut, where she saw Mr. Dewey hand over a baker's dozen to some quartzes. The young woman rode Lion up until she finally spotted the recognizable white mid-1970's Dodge Tradesman with an elaborate custom paint job, and the purple and white "Mr. Universe" logo just outside It's a Wash. Like Bismuth and Peridot told her, she found Garnet, who held a bigger Cat Steven in her arms, and Pearl with Greg, and Lars, the Off Colors and the three pearls that used to belong to White, Yellow and Blue Diamond.

"And she's here like I said she would be." Garnet immediately said as she placed her cat on to the ground and pointed at Connie as Lion came to a stop, and she dismounted.

Pearl followed Garnet's finger, and she looked in surprise, which then turned to one of joy. "Connie!" She cried as she ran over and hugged the young woman and was joined by Garnet and Greg shortly after.

"Hey, Pearl. Hey, Garnet. Hello, Mr. Universe." Connie said as she hugged the Gems back and gave Mr. Universe a firm handshake.

"When Garnet said she saw you returning, I didn't believe it," Pearl admitted. "But here you are and..." The pale Gem then noticed what was on her former apprentice's left arm. "What did you do?!"

"I kinda figured you freak out over these." Connie showed off her tattoos with a nervous chuckle.

"I can't imagine what your parents thought," Greg said.

"When my parents found out about this, I thought my mom was going to have me strapped onto an operating table and surgically remove them. But they let me keep them for some reason."

"I like them," Garnet told her.

"Everyone, I've been graced with a wonderful vision!" The cheerful sapphire, Padparadscha, exclaimed as she walked up to the reunited friends. "Human Connie shall reunite with her closest friends. Hooray!"

"Thanks, Padparadscha," Lars said as he and Rhodonite walked over to them. The ruby and pearl Fusion gently scooped up the sapphire like a mother would a child and brought her back to the Rutile Twins and Fluorite. "Well, you look like a completely different person."

"And you still look the same." Connie complimented with a warm smile, which shrunk a bit as her mind dwelled back to a conversation that she had with the former space pirate.

After the Corrupted Gems were turned back to normal, Connie was tempted to use Rose's fountain to bring Steven back. But couldn't go through with it after Lars explained to her in detail of what would happen if she did, based on his own experiences. Steven would be alive, but not only would he be pink forever, but he'd also be stuck the way he is forever. He'd never age and would miss out on all the joys of growing into a young man. Lars still is, grateful that Steven was able to give him a second chance at life, to be a better person. But an unintentional side effect of it is that he was no longer Human, in both a metaphorical and literal sense.

Connie took a deep breath in and out to regain her composure and asked Lars, "So, what have you been up to? Since we last saw each other, I mean?"

"Well, Sadie and I are together."

"Finally."

"I've been helping the Off Colors adapt to life on Earth, and we opened up our own bakery."

"Seriously? That's amazing."

"Yeah, everyone in town and Little Homeworld seems to like my ube rolls the most."

"Good for you, Lars. I'll need to order one of them."

"Lars, we could use your advice here!" One of the Rutile Twins called out.

"We were searching through some decorations for the show but can't decide which ones to use," Rhodonite stated.

"I... rather... like... these... green... ones." Fluorite said as she held up the decorations.

"Sorry, I need to..." Lars began to apologize.

"It's okay, go," Connie assured.

"Thanks." Lars turned around and rejoined the other Gems.

"While we're on the topic, what have you been up to since we last saw each other?" Pearl asked Connie.

"Well, I finished up high school and thinking about going to college." The young woman answered. "Just haven't figured out when and where."

"I see there being no reason to rush into it," Greg advised. "You're a smart person, Connie. You'll find the right one."

"Ugh! Your harmony is off again!" The snooty voice of Yellow Diamond's former pearl nagged. "It needs to be perfect!"

The others turned to the commotion and saw her yell at Pink Pearl, who seemed to recoil back. "I thought it was all right." The calm tone of Blue Diamond's former pearl spoke up in defense.

"It's not supposed to be "all right," it needs to be perfect! Or how else is the Greg going to win the concert? Take it from the top!"

"Have the pearls been a problem?" Connie asked the others.

"Oh, it's nothing. She's just being a little bit of a prima donna. Nothing too, bad." Greg assured. "But I'll just go check on them to be safe. It was great to see you again, Connie."

"You too."

Greg rushed back to the three pearls and asked them, "Okay, what's the matter?"

"I thought that they'd be hanging out with Vidalia."

"Normally, they would," Garnet answered.

"But they've also been spending time with Greg, lately," Pearl stated. "They asked to be his backup singers to help him win the concert. Even though he has explained that winning isn't the point."

Connie couldn't help but chuckle. Even though she only met the pearls one time at the Era 3 ball, she figured that Yellow Pearl would love for a chance to be in the limelight. Even if it was for a few seconds. It also wouldn't surprise her that the reason Blue Pearl and Pink Pearl are involved is that they were dragged along into it.

"So, what have you two been up to?" Connie asked the Gems.

"Nothing much," Garnet replied. "My future vision hasn't seen any threats from Homeworld ever since the Authority was dissolved. And there are no more corrupted Gems to worry about. Things have been rather... pacific."

"We've been helping Bismuth and the others with building Little Homeworld," Pearl added. "And I've grown to be more sociable with other people. I've even picked up where I last left off with Sabina."

"That's great to hear, Pearl," Connie said, but the young woman's gaze suddenly became fixated on the hill where the Crystal Temple was built into. She looked at the top it, and her smile began to fade. "I hate to leave like this, since we just met up again and all, but..."

Garnet placed a hand on Connie's shoulder, and with a sympathetic smile, told her, "It's okay. All of us stopped their earlier today. And I'm sure, without doubt, he would appreciate you being there, too."

Connie felt Lion nudge her with his nose. The young woman's smile returned as she mounted him again. Connie waved goodbye as the pink beast sprinted across the road, back onto the sandy beach, and began to hike up the grassy hill.