Shattered Roses | A Steven Universe Corruption Story

Chapter 3

Steven sat up tense, as the door of Connies house was slowly pushed open. "Oh. It's just you." He exhaled, seeing Lion looking in at him. Lion walked up to Steven and nudged him, turning around and laying on the floor. "I think he wants to take us somewhere." Connie commented, getting up. Steven hummed in agreement, also getting up.

Connie sat on Lion's back, while Steven sat in his mane. "Alright, take us to where ever you need to." He said, as Lion got up. Lion galloped out, Connie closing the door as he ran past. It wasn't long until Lion opened his mouth, and with a mighty roar, a pink portal appeared. The Lion and two kids were soon flying through the portal, colours of strawberry red, green, and pastel orange surrounded them. Lion continued to roar, until everything flowed and his feet hit solid ground.

Steven looked to his surroundings. "Why are we here..?" He questioned, hopping out. Lion managed to pluck off Stevens hat and nudge his closer to the water. "Why did you take us to Roses fountain? Did you know?" Steven turned to Lion, staring into his unblinking eyes. "This water can heal you though, right?" Connie said, a look of confidence appearing on her face. "Yeah! Good idea Lion." Steven said, stroking Lions face. He turned back around and crouched, slowly dipping a hand in the water.

"Oh!" He said, quickly tossing his jacket to the side. He slid his whole body into the water, submerging himself for as long as he could. Steven resurfaced, looking hopefully at Connie. "Steven, the 'horns' are still there.." she said, a look of sadness coming across her face. "What... no! No! Maybe I need to go deeper!" Steven said, going back under. "Steven!" Connie yelled hopelessly, knowing he wouldn't hear her. With a sigh, she sat down, Lion crawling next to her.

Steven resurfaced behind the rose statue, sitting on it. No.. no.. it's nothing serious. I'm overreacting. Like always. I- I just, I CAN'T burden the others! I've wasted Connie's time. Steven began to hyperventilate, tears slowly forming in the corners of his eyes. Shakily, he leaned over and stared at himself in the waters reflection, horrified to see the horns larger, and slowly growing. He shook his head and blinked, only to cover his mouth. One of his eyes were fully black, a circle of glowing pink only left. He collapsed into the water, quickly swimming away from Connie and Lion, and to the other side to climb out.

"Steven!" Connie cried, seeing him climbing out. She jumped on Lions back and he began to trot over the water, slower than she would of liked. When Lion got across, Steven was gone. "Lion! Take me back to the temple! I need to see the gems!" Connie said, to which Lion instantly turned and roared, disappearing into a glowing pink oval.

Steven ran, and ran, and ran. The beautiful roses slowly turned into bushes, which quickly turned into vines, reaching towards the sky and eventually blocking the light. He climbed into a small tunnel, which gave him enough space to collapse onto the floor. A small puddle on clear water showed himself his face. Steven could only stare as horns, as sharp as the the thorns on the vines around him, grew from the corners of his mouth, and blotches of dark pink grew on his skin. He tenderly reached and ran his hand over one patch, feeling it smooth, but not scaly as he had originally though.

He yelled in pain, feeling something on his back rip through his shirt and jacket, causing him to collapse into a ball, wailing into the brambles. No one heard his cry.

"Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl!" Connie cried, as Lion skidded on the floors of the temple. "Connie! Have you seen Steven?" Pearl asked, looking up from her phone. "Yeah, I checked on him earlier and he seemed pretty down." Amethyst commented. "That's the problem! Somethings wrong with Steven!" She said, a lump appearing in her throat. I should've never let him swim away! She thought, slowly calming herself down. "Wrong?" The three gems all said together. "Y-yeah. He had these, weird horn-like things growing on his head, and his teeth were unusually sharp. He ran away when we were at Roses fountain." Connie explained, trying not to merge her words together.

Garnet stood up. "We need to find him! Connie and Lion, you look around town and inform Greg. I'll search around Roses garden south, Pearl, Amethyst, you west." She quickly instructed, walking towards the warp pad. Everyone nodded, Pearl and Amethyst joining her, whilst Connie and Lion ran out the door. The warp pad glowed, and suddenly the house was empty.

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Hey guys! As you can see, this is where the fun begins. I promise you, things will get a lot more interesting. Anyway, thanks for reading and here is your poem!

-Salty

When his tears would stain the earth

He sometimes even questioned his birth

Everyone acted like it was good

But he ran away to grieve

And he did, what no other should.

862 words