Steven Universe Future: A Corrupted Identity

Chapter Two: Here in the Garden

Out of all the places, the warp had to bring him here. He took a breath, willing his shaking hands to turn their normal hue before he stepped off the warp and onto the familiar stairway.

His face twisted as he held back everything he didn't want to feel; the anger at the Diamonds for treating him like his mother, the panic at feeling something he didn't understand and the shame of running away she used to do

His eyes scanned the decrepit landscape and columns, the faded pink landscape, a broken communication screen and a small pond. Nothing changed in the few months since he was last here.

He jumped from the high steps and slowly floated down, landing near the pond and near two footprints.

This was his mother's legacy. Everything he was trying to fix was represented here in the garden. It was everything his mother tried to leave behind. Everyone she ever hurt and ran from, it was here in a bubble deep in space.

Steven glanced at his own reflection and pursed his lips when he saw his own reflection staring back. Pale, but not pink. He lifted his hands up again and examined them. His mother overcame her destructive urges and became a healer and a leader. He became both of those too, in time. So how can he just now be dealing with something so new, so unpredictable?

"Steven?" He jumped, not having noticed the warp activate behind him.

"Spinel!" he called, waving over the hesitant figure with a forced grin. "Sorry I didn't say hi earlier," he began, but she shook her head to cut him off as she approached him.

"Don't be," she said. "I get it. I was hurt by her too."

"You...you heard?" Steven questioned, looking sheepish.

Spinel nodded. "And I thought I had anger problems," she laughed slightly.

"I don't really want to talk about that," Steven said, looking away from her.

"I know," Spinel countered. "I was made for Pink to make her happy. And," she sighed slightly, "I never really could. She never wanted to talk about it either. But I never wanted to listen."

Spinel looked at her own footprints, cemented in the ground from age and smiled. "I don't know if I ever helped her, but maybe I can help you." She looked expectantly at Steven, who smiled genuinely at her.

"Sure. Thanks Spinel."

She sat down and patted the ground next to her. "Then let's talk. About Pink."

Steven felt the uneasy burning grow inside of him at the thought of this and remained standing. Spinel smiled at him gently and nudged him.

"Come on, Universe, take a load off." She waited until he was sitting to continue. "Want to know how I knew you'd be here?"

Steven looked over at her and she smiled, looking back out of the corner of her eyes.

"Pink would run away here too," she said without hesitation, still watching him. "This place is where she could be alone and be herself when I wasn't bothering her. She could escape from it all for a moment. She could be happy, if only for a short time."

"Spinel," Steven started, unsure what to say, but he knew he had to say something. "Am I really like her?"

Spinel looked at him, her face unreadable. "Let's see," she began. "You both love singing, you're small, you hate being on Homeworld and you both look good in pink." She smiled at him, letting him know she was only kidding, as if she sensed the bubbling anxiety in his stomach. "And you love like she did."

"So I really am like her?" Steven asked, grimly, clutching at the gem on his stomach.

Spinel shook her head. "Yes and no. Back on Earth, do you remember how much I sent you back?"

Steven nodded.

"You struggled, but you never abandoned me. You didn't leave your friends behind either," she said, eyes back on the sky. "So no, you're not all like her."

Steven looked up, watching the stars glitter above them. "Did she ever get angry at you?"

Spinel shook her head.

Steven glanced back at his reflection. "What would you do if it happened?"

"Huh?" Spinel looked over at him and immediately noticed the look on his face. "Don't worry," she laughed. "I'm not going to rejuvenate you again if you pink out on me."

Rejuvenate. He shuddered at the word. Spinel's smile faded when she saw this.

"Man, I really messed up with you, didn't I?" she asked, sadly.

"What? No, no, it's not you," Steven quickly said, shaking his hands and head. "It's just that I lost my temper when I was trying to help Volley...my mom's first Pearl fix her cracked eye. She and my mom's second Pearl were nearly rejuvenated because of me. They barely escaped."

Spinel listened intently before chuckling grimly. "Wow, so you're not done being a hero, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Steven asked, harsher than he intended.

Spinel shrugged. "You're always helping others face their problems, but you just ran from your own," she pointed out. "Have you thought about helping yourself?"

Steven sighed. "That's why I'm here, Spinel. I'm trying to figure this out!"

Spinel looked at him in a weird way. "Are you though?"

"Huh?"

She ran her fingers through the grass around them and looked up to the sky. "I went to Earth to take out my anger on people I never met. I wanted to hurt you because she hurt me," Spinel slowly started. "You came to Homeworld to figure out your mother's anger, not yours. You want to solve her problems, but she isn't you."

Steven stared at her, slowly digesting the information.

"It's your problem, Steven. Not hers," Spinel repeated, looking over at him. "Learn why you're unhappy and change it. Just don't wait 6,000 years to do it."

Spinel stood and stretched before offering her hand to Steven. He looked at it for a moment before taking it.

"You're right," he said once he was back on his feet. "It's my problem. Thanks, Spinel."

She smiled at him and pointed her thumb back to the warp. "Now are you ready to help clean up the mess you made?"

Steven laughed, embarrassed. "Yeah, let's go."