Steven Universe Movie Novel

Atop the Injector

As he climbed, Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet fused into Alexandrite and let out a mighty roar. Alexandrite then went around the city, picking people up who were in danger of Spinel's floods of poison. She helped someone hanging from a trench filled with the goop, a family in a car floating on a river of acid, a cat clinging onto a tree (she took the entire tree with her) and multiple others, transporting them to Little Homeworld, where the poison hadn't flooded.

Greg was also helping people into his van, but as he closed the back door, a crack opened in the earth and the poison flared out, splattering him in the arm. Greg's arm darkened and paralyzed. He smiled weakly and go tinto the van, where the inhabitants cried out in alarm at the sight of his arm. They offered to drive the van for him, but he still tried to get the people to safety by himself.

A telephone pole fell after the van and crackled with electricity, just as Lion, Connie, and the old lady rode by. Lion leaped onto the roofs of houses floating on a huge wave of deadly, glowing goop. A car spurted out of another crack, and Connie leapt forward with Rose's sword, cutting in half.

Steven was determined to reach Spinel and find out what exactly had set her off so badly she had tried to kill him again. He relied on his own sweat for grip as he scaled the nearly-empty Injector, gazing back at the deserted Beach City he had once called home. Earlier, Peridot had informed him he only had one hour left before it became too late to help the planet. He turned back to the dark glass, shook out the tears pricking his eyes, and continued to climb.

As he climbed, Steven reached back in his now-foggy memory. He wondered what he had said to hurt Spinel so much. We were fine, and then she asked if that's all she needed me for, and- ohh, he groaned inside his head. She feels used. And when I said we could forget what happened, she thought I meant the Rejuvenator. Ohh... He wanted to slap himself; It was so obvious to him now.

After a while, he slid down three metres. It took him seven minutes to regain that length. He gazed up at the huge heart-shaped crystal Spinel had customized her Injector with sadly. Everything was so perfect... Alexandrite, who was now knee-deep in poison, watched over him as people clung to her hair. Steven gasped with the effort of climbing up the vertical glass; He had no support, it was straight, and his lungs were surely going to burst from the effort... he had to stop... but if he didn't Spinel would destroy the planet...

Almost screaming with pain, sweating buckets, with pink ashes clogging his vision, Steven went on. He had to stop Spinel. She had to see that this planet was peaceful, she couldn't hold her grudge on his mother by destroying his home... it was too cruel...

Finally, he had reached the top of the huge pink crystal. Heaving with the effort, he took off his jacket and gasped for breath. He didn't think he could even have the energy to communicate to Spinel any longer... but he had to try...

Looking forward, he found Spinel, blurred in his sight and turned away from him, standing very still and making soft crying noises. He could see she was heaving as well. Getting up after what felt like years, he cautiously went over to her, and bent down, exhausted from walking the metres of the crystal. "Spinel... " His voice was barely a whisper. "Come on... we can talk this out... "

"I don't wanna play anymore," she responded weakly, not turning around.

Steven stared at her pink body, hardly believing the words that had been said by her. "Spinel... THIS ISN'T A GAME!" he screamed, with the little strength he had left.

The words were knocked out of him when she threw her fist behind her and landed an enormous punch on his cheek. Steven fell over and gazed at her figure - he had just noticed, all her mascara had run again and was making tiny drips on the gemstone beneath her... She was now facing him, looking incredibly hurt and angry. She swung her fist around so fast it blurred in circles until she finally thrust it forward.

Steven's face seared with more pain than he had ever felt in his life. The blow knocked him backward, so half of his body was dangling off the Injector. He yelled in fear and tethered on the edge of the massive weapon. He fell over onto the slanted surface of the jewelled heart, wanting to cry. He felt something trickle down his face; his nose was wet and raw. He wiped it, but the blood rushed back out again with no effect.

From behind him, a coiled, gloved hand reached out and grabbed him by the wrist. For a second, he thought he was saved, that Spinel had seen sense, that she had changed her mind... His hopes got too high as she realized she had scooped him and was suspending him over the edge of the Injector, so he had a clear view of the huge, lapping river of poison that engulfed Beach City down below.

Spinel's face was darkened by the ashes floating in the sky. "You know, I came here to take my anger out on a bunch of strangers... but now that I actually know you... I wanna kill you even more!" she snarled, shaking Steven by his wrist above the poison. Steven's heartbeat quickened. He couldn't die like this...

To his horror, Spinel started slowly plucking off her wingers from his arm. He screamed as she held onto him with only her forefinger and thumb, his jacket threatening to come off. His Gem flickered and died out. Steven struggled against her until he realised she was the only thing stopping him from falling into the poison below.

Steven could take it no longer. "I DON'T GET IT!" he screamed.

Spinel's hostility subsided for a second as she tried to understand what he was trying to say. "Huh?"

"Why aren't my powers back? Aren't I reliving every horrible thing that's ever happened to me? A Gem I barely know is trying to kill me. I'm paying for stuff my mum did that had nothing to do with me!" Tears ran down his face as the blood coming from his nose increased. "I'm struggling with my powers and the world's about to end! What piece could I be missing? This is the story of my life!"

Steven panted as he desperately grabbed his jacket to stop it from slipping off. He didn't care about Spinel's reaction, he didn't care about the world below him, he just wanted his happily ever after back, he wanted it to end, he wanted the poison below to rise and swallow him whole -

When Steven returned to reality, Spinel looked at him for a second, then burst with high-pitched, cruel laughter. "Pffffffffttthahahaha!! Wow - I didn't know you were gonna say that, but - THIS is how you started? The legend? Steven Universe?" She cackled mockingly and watched as Steven's face filled with panic. She taunted in between giggles, "You-you gotta be k-kidding me... how did a powerless loser like you become saviour of the galaxy?!"

He was about to cry out and yell at her why she was being so unjust, when Steven suddenly thought of something. "Change," he said quietly as Spinel watched him with malicious satisfaction. "That's the final piece. All those struggles... I learned from them, and I grew. Oh my gosh. It's not just my Gem powers I've forgotten... all this happily ever after stuff has made me forget the first power I ever had. The power to change!"