Author's Note:
Holy shit, you guys are fast! I actually published the new Silica chapter recently in case you're interested—it's in Spanish and English on Webnovel, and only in Spanish on Wattpad.
Thank you for almost 50 stars while I was finishing up editing this chapter; you really blew me away. To see if you can keep that momentum going, I'm asking for 50 more stars—fuck yeah! I really hope we hit it, haha. Thanks for all the support and comments, they're awesome and help me out a lot. I always try my best to reply to them.
Leave your questions in the comments section. If you need references about anything, just ask; I love answering you guys, even though sometimes you start talking about furries in the comment section... I don't know what the hell is up with that, but anyway!
Let's continue!
Steven was having one of those rare, valuable days where everything felt lighter. There were no missions, no training sessions, no Gems staring at him, and no futures weighing heavy on his shoulders.
"Holy shit, what peace," I said.
"Language," my dad replied.
He was walking alongside his father, chatting with the people passing by in the streets of Beach City, smiling, waving, listening to little stories that had nothing to do with wars, empires, or inevitable destinies. For a few hours, his world was just that.
As he walked, he observed everything with quiet fascination. The houses, the colors, the people laughing, the everyday sounds. He thought about how, someday, all of this could turn into a mini Homeworld—a marked coordinate on someone else's map, a conquest disguised as order.
Look at the grand plans you've got, Steven University, I thought with a touch of sarcasm, knowing this universe was going to be much harder simply because I was in it.
But not yet. Not today. And as long as that day hadn't arrived, this place remained different. He was different here. He hadn't come to repeat the same suffering other worlds had already endured. If he were just going to do the same, then his arrival wouldn't have made any sense.
He walked down to the beach and let his bare feet touch the sand.
The warm, soft texture sifted between his toes, reminding him that he was here, present, alive. The waves broke calmly, and the sea breeze caressed his skin like a quiet promise of rest. Steven smiled without realizing it.
He casually stripped down to his shorts, leaving his bodybuilder physique out in the open for the babes to admire—obviously there weren't any, but whatever. As he took off his clothes, his body reacted on pure instinct, as if his muscles remembered on their own how to enjoy life without overthinking. There was no rush. No immediate danger. Just the ocean waiting for him.
He dove in without a second thought. The salty water wrapped around him completely, clinging to his skin and filling him with a freshness that seemed to wash away more than just physical tiredness. Under the water, everything was quieter. Simpler.
Here, he didn't have to decide anyone's fate. Here, he wasn't a leader—or whatever the hell he was to the team at this point, honestly, he didn't even know anymore—and he didn't need to carry a weapon or have all the answers. He was just Steven, alias the swole jackass, floating like a log in the ocean, breathing, letting the day pass without asking for anything in return. And for the first time in a long while, that was enough.
He sighed.
"Pure relaxation," I said calmly as I drifted in the sea.
Steven was relaxed, truly relaxed—there was no reason to lie to himself. He laid back on the beach after hours in the water. Thanks to his endurance, he could stay submerged for long periods, so he had spotted a few corals, schools of fish, and dark shapes moving slowly along the seabed.
Nothing dangerous. Now he was sitting in a beach chair, holding a coconut, trying to farm aura like Garnet—damn, that Ruby really knows how to farm aura. Plus, he had the coconut he'd grabbed from an island he reached through an improvised portal.
While filling his stomach with simple food, he watched the sky begin to darken. The sun said its goodbyes, the flowers wept, the trees grew (or whatever the hell Sans says), painting the horizon in shades of orange and violet. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the day passing. Time running its course—that bizarre element of life, capable of being your worst enemy or your best ally.
Steven shook his head. Over the past few days, he had been overthinking and overanalyzing everything. Way too much. Though, curiously enough, it had been a while since he heard himself in the third person or felt that constant inner voice. He didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, but ever since the beating he took, all of that had simply vanished.
He looked down at the coconut in his hands like it was the simplest thing in the world. Just a coconut.
What kind of life would he have if he were a coconut?
He shook his head and chuckled.
"Haha, hanging out with the Gems is really getting to me," he laughed to himself as he finished drying off. He decided it was time to head back home and take a real shower. He felt strange—not physically drained like after training, but exhausted in a different, quieter way.
He walked back casually, unable to wipe the smile off his face.
Everything was going as it should.
"I'm back," he said as he walked in, immediately noticing several Gems gathered together. The atmosphere was tense—more than usual—but he decided not to give it too much thought right then. He passed right by them, went straight to the bathroom, and let the hot water relax his muscles. It wasn't the usual physical wear and tear, but his body appreciated it all the same.
He stepped out of the bathroom calmly, then paused. Now that he paid closer attention, everyone was there. Even Peridot and Lapis.
"What's up? Is a strong Gem coming so we can beat her ass?" he asked with an eyebrow raised as he dried his hair with a towel.
Pearl signaled for him to sit beside her. Steven complied unhurriedly and sat down comfortably.
"Got a mission?" he asked, plugging his phone in to charge.
"Something like that," Garnet answered, looking at him with a seriousness distinct from her usual demeanor.
"Huh?" Steven said, taking a better look around the room. "What's going on?"
"Homeworld," Garnet said in a firm voice.
"What?" Steven replied, surprised. "They're coming?"
Silence lasted for only a second.
This shouldn't be happening, though considering the changes I've made, I should have seen this coming. But... how does Garnet know? Is it happening soon, in a near future? A possible future? Those were Steven's thoughts at that moment.
Garnet crossed her arms and spoke calmly, but every word carried weight.
"In my visions, the future has begun to fragment. It isn't just one possibility; there are several overlapping ones. In all of them, ships are arriving. Some large, some small. Let's just say it's not a friendly visit."
Steven leaned forward a bit, listening intently.
"In one vision, they come to inspect," Garnet continued. "They're seeking to confirm energy signatures. In another, they come to reclaim territory. In yet another, they come for specific Gems—searching for survivors, weapons, Era 1 intel. It's not a direct invasion... yet."
"But it's not a social call either," Peridot added with clear discomfort. "That type of fleet doesn't move out of mere curiosity."
"Besides, I feel like it might be my fault since I haven't returned or sent reports to Homeworld," she added with a hint of regret.
Amethyst placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Garnet nodded.
"The worrying part is that not all the ships arrive together. Some appear sooner, others later. That makes the future unstable. Every decision we make can accelerate or delay their arrival, or completely alter their intentions."
Steven remained silent. His expression turned serious, but not panicked.
"In every single vision," Garnet concluded, "this planet stops being ignored."
Silence filled the room once more. This time, much heavier.
Steven took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second.
The day had been so fucking perfect.
And that, he thought, was almost never a good sign.
Steven brought a hand to his head almost out of reflex.
"Dammit," he muttered in a low voice, breathing heavily. "Any updates? What's the most likely scenario?"
Pearl was the first to answer, her tone making it clear they had already discussed this among themselves.
"We already talked about it. The most probable outcome is that only Blue Diamond comes, and that she lands at a specific location."
Steven's head snapped up.
"Huh?" he said, clearly confused.
Garnet stared at him intently without breaking eye contact.
"I need you to go there," she said with absolute seriousness.
"You need me to do what?" Steven replied, now even more bewildered.
"In all possible futures," Garnet continued, her voice steady and heavy, "this is the best-case scenario. But we need someone who can withstand the power of a Diamond. A human."
Steven's eyes widened.
"In one of those futures, even your father was going to end up in that place," Garnet added. "But that path is no longer clear. Now... I can't tell you exactly what to do once you're there. Only that you need to be there."
Steven looked at all of them in silence, wide-eyed.
This sounds like the episode where Blue Diamond comes to mourn Rose. No fucking way I'm letting my dad get taken to that place, so it falls on me. I'll have to trust the future since I wouldn't know how to fix it otherwise. Besides, if fleets are already coming and Homeworld shows up in all of Garnet's visions, using Peridot's spare parts to send a report wouldn't do any good anyway—sooner or later they'd ask about the Green Gem and the Perfect Gem. So he made up his mind.
"So what?" he finally said, trying to sound sarcastic even though the panic was starting to show. "Am I supposed to just hang out in space or what?" he added, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't worry," Peridot cut in, entering the conversation with a bit more composure. "Thanks to this, Bismuth could build a ship while I code the systems, utilizing salvage from old ships along with my Era 2 intelligence. It's feasible. If she gets serious, she could have a decent ship built in a month. And... well, we could rescue you in another two months."
Dead silence fell over the room.
Steven said nothing. He just stared at each of them, as if trying to make sure they were actually serious. His eyes swept through the room slowly.
"It's either this," Garnet said finally, her voice laced with guilt, "or allowing Earth to be colonized."
"I'm sorry, Steven," Garnet said at last as a few tears fell.
Steven slowly raised his gaze toward the ceiling.
And then he spoke with complete, filterless honesty.
"Son of a massive fucking bitch... that old hag motherfucker," he blurted out without thinking. "Everything was going so damn well."
Pink energy began to surge around him almost instantly. His form shifted, the light intensified, and the atmosphere grew stiflingly heavy.
"Fuck," he muttered, taking deep breaths as he forced himself to calm down. Nobody moved closer. He had already warned them that losing control in that form was a very real danger.
He let out a long sigh.
He looked at the Gems one by one and spoke in a firm voice.
"I can do it. But I'm taking a lot... and I mean a lot of chargers inside my Gem."
"Huh?" Pearl said, visibly confused.
"Ah, right," Steven replied, still in his pink form, looking directly at her. "I can store things inside my Gem, just like you do. It just takes a bit more effort for me."
Pearl blinked a couple of times, processing the information, before finally nodding in silence.
The atmosphere remained tense, but one thing was crystal clear.
Steven had made his decision.
"Fine, I'll do it," I said at last, breaking the silence. But I held up a finger, calling a timeout. "On one condition."
The Gems looked at me attentively.
"I want you to bring me food," I continued calmly. "Food that lasts a long time. I'm going to store it in my Gem." As I spoke, I scanned the room, as if already calculating how much I could carry and how long I could survive on it.
My eyes drifted toward Lion. He was staring right at me, motionless, wearing that same calm expression he always had. For a split second, I remembered what he was capable of—how he could return from places there should be no coming back from. But I gave a faint shake of my head. I didn't want to rely on that. I didn't want to force something like that.
I turned back to the Gems.
"I want the entire plan," I said sternly. "No half-truths. I want to know when, how, where I'm going, what you expect me to do, and what happens if something goes wrong."
The mood grew even heavier. Garnet crossed her arms, Pearl straightened her posture, and Peridot already looked like she was running mental schematics. Lapis remained quiet, observing me with an intensity she rarely showed.
"If I'm jumping into the lion's den," I added, "I want to know exactly how big the lion is."
Nobody answered immediately. But in their eyes, there was no hesitation—only worry... and a small sliver of relief.
Steven had accepted.
End of Chapter 69.