Prologue
Connie was 11 years old when she moved to Beach City, or well, nearby to Beach City. She had been the quiet, shy, awkward kid who loved pretending to be a part of fairy tales, rescuing the royal from peril and battling monsters on the way there. She imagined that she knew how to swing the fine tip of a sword, or launch an arrow with such a precision, she’d be known throughout the world. She would done armor, or at the very least a backpack filled to the brim with survival necessities, and everything she would need to survive out on her own should the need arise would be there, at her fingertips. Maybe she’d meet a familiar, or an animal friend, and they would bond the moment one proved worthy to the other.
She didn’t expect any of those fantasies to become reality, of course. Those dreams were limited to being daydreams and daydreams only. Real dreams were ones like fixing their broken society, or saving the planet, both things she wanted to do but wasn’t sure she had the confidence or skills necessary.
All of that changed when the Maheswarans moved into Delmarva, and Connie’s daydreams became harsh reality.
Connie was 11 years old when she first saw a dragon. Well, dragon was an odd word to use, if fitting. The term the locals here used was “corrupted gem,” or “gem monster.” But each and every one of them looked and behaved like a subspecies of dragon. They donned horns and tails, with long muzzles filled with sharp teeth. Their wings flared, different colors, patterns, sizes and shapes creating a rainbow of terror, coupled with the occasional stinger or extra set of legs, sometimes even extra wings! Most breathed fire, some breathed water, others spat amber, almost all of them flew, and every last one was feared.
It wasn’t like some kind of secret here that dragons existed, and news had spread to other parts of the world, but most dismissed it as rumor or folklore. But those who believed and wanted to catch a beast for themselves were turned away at Delmarva’s door by citizens, which is where almost all corrupted gem activity was.
Rumors spoke of attacks, mostly at night or late evening, when the dragons would show up in swarms and fight. They’d steal food and- sometimes, rarely- people off the boardwalk, destroying local businesses and raiding the local attraction, Funland. The nearby towns there had been there since pioneers first set foot on American soil, but almost every building was new. Locals all knew the basics of rebuilding entire houses, and most did it for free, as a sort of charity to other locals going through the same things they were. People were tough, but nice enough, the circumstances being what they were. After all, it’s the locals who had to learn how to battle these beasts, to not get themselves or their homes taken away.
The Maheswarans did not believe the folklore of the area, and Connie’s mother, Priyanka, was always quick to point out all the flaws in the Photoshop edits of the supposed Dragons of Delmarva. Even when dragon activity leaked into other nearby states, or even as far as the other side of the world, it was all fake in her eyes. Doug, Connie’s father, was quick to agree, insisting that monsters only existed in fairytales, which by definition, were fake.
So there was absolutely nothing to worry about except normal, real-life problems, like taxes or school tests or actually making friends.
Once the family had moved into their new home nearby to Beach City, they were quick to get jobs. Dr. Maheswaran began working at a hospital a town down, while Mr. Maheswaran took up security guard duty at a few different places, deciding to rotate between them as needed. So while her mom and dad were busy, Connie read, and dreamt. Her book that day had been about a regular bookworm like her getting caught up in a curse with a prince. The prince had been transformed into a hideous beast, and only love could break the spell. It was a classic everyone knew, and a story she had practically memorized, but she loved picturing the story anyway, sometimes imagining herself in that role instead- what she would do different, how she would try to find a way to break it, could she possibly be the one to break the curse? She supposed not, but it was always fun to dream.
But when Dr. Priyanka Maheswaran said dreams like those were for sleeping, then that’s what they were. So it was a bit of a shock when Dr. Maheswaran came home that night, telling stories of patients that had been hurt or worse by real, actual, dragons swarming the boardwalk. And Mr. Maheswaran came home with proof of his own, detailing scars on people there, people who were brushed by death and lived.
They were not fairytales, and very much real.
Why didn’t the Maheswarans move away again? They were needed here. The doctor made it her mission to try and heal those hurt by the attacks, while Doug insisted that he learn how to fight back, too, and protect these innocent people. And Connie… well, she wasn’t sure what to make of all this. To her, it all still sounded fake. It wasn’t, she knew it wasn’t, but her brain couldn’t wrap around the fact that some rumors are true, even the more terrifying ones. So she found herself not too worried about it. Corrupted gems, gem monsters, and gem dragons? Those were see-to-believe things, and so far, she had seen none.
Of course, not all gems were corrupted. As the Maheswarans quickly realized, gems themselves were an entirely different species in an of themselves. The nearby town of Beach City even had one as its leader, a stoic maroon woman that went by the name of “Garnet.” Garnet was often accompanied by two others- a tall, pale one by the name of Pearl, and a short purple one who went by Amethyst- and they acted as the town’s first line of defense when attacks came.
Connie was 11 years old when she met Steven Universe. He was kind, extroverted, completely blind to other’s flaws and insecurities, lifting others up like it was second nature to him. He would often be seen after the fight, repairing damage on other’s homes and businesses, checking in with people and making sure everyone was okay, and if they were hurt, he’d stop at nothing to get them the help they needed.
Although he was all smiles and the locals all seemed to at the very least respect him, Connie found him intimidating. Not because he was scary, mind you, but because he was so loved. She was the quiet, shy, awkward kid who always hid in her room, or in a secluded spot while in public, to read. Steven seemed to be the polar opposite.
Besides, Steven was apparently one of the gems, too. He had been training with them for years on how to fight and “poof” the corrupted gems, and was growing to be quite a force to reckon with. No matter how wild his curls were, or how wide his grin split his face, or how happy those eyes could make anyone feel, he was strong, and one day, Connie found that out for herself.
It was such an odd encounter that day. Connie had been reading by herself on the beach, far from Beach City, where her dad was currently operating as security for Funland. Her mother was off tending injuries at the hospital, and Connie was left to her own devices. Her favorite book Unfamiliar Familiar in hand, she thought it was peaceful here. It was a beautiful day, and the soft lapping of waves on the shore and the accompanying cries of seagulls made for nice background noise. There were no monsters, and there was no danger.
Her reading was interrupted as she heard a crash. Looking up, she saw the kid in the red star shirt, Steven, toppled over in the sand, rolling out from under his tipped bike. He shook the sand out of his hair, then noticed her looking at him. His face went red. He looked at the bike, then screamed and ran off back down the beach from whence he came.
Odd.
A few moments later, he dropped by again, but this time, he had procured a bubble around the two, stopping falling debris from landing on Connie’s head. She hadn’t even noticed it. She blinked, trying to get a hold of her situation. He introduced himself almost proudly as Steven, to which she shakily replied with her own name. He helped her up, and for the rest of the day, they hung out.
Inside a bubble.
Because he didn’t know how to dismiss it.
It had been quite the adventure trying to get the thing to go away, and it had lead to both of them getting catapulted into the ocean, where they had spent a while walking around, trying to get back to shore. The sea life was beautiful, Connie had to admit, but the pressure above her head was overwhelming. She couldn’t stop scanning for danger, no matter how much Steven insisted it was fine and he had the whole situation handled.
After a while, the kid noticed her discomfort. He stopped rolling the pink, impenetrable bubble for a moment, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. He met her eyes worriedly, brows creased with concern.
“Hey, are you okay? You look worried.”
Connie nodded, looking away. “Well, I mean, we’re at the bottom of the ocean-“
“Oh, that?” Steven chuckled. “Connie, I told you, it’ll be okay! We’ll get to the shore and-“
“No! It’s not!” Connie didn’t mean for herself to get angry at him, but she couldn’t help it. Did he even realize how much danger they were in?! They could drown, or get lost, or starve, or die of thirst! “We’re lost out in the middle of the ocean, an ocean filled with monsters and dragons, and we could die out here, and you don’t know what you’re doing!” She glared at him, tears brewing in the corners of her eyes. “Stop saying it’ll be okay! Because right now it isn’t okay! And it’s not getting better!” She broke down into tears, openly sobbing now in front of a boy she barely knew, in an unfamiliar ocean, completely unnoticed to be missing. “I’m going to disappear without making a single friend, and no one except my parents will even know I’m gone.”
Steven blinked at her, not expecting her to do this. He looked off to the side, made a decision, and huffed. He knelt beside her, putting his hand back on her shoulder. “I… I’m sorry,” he murmured. “You’re right. I don’t know what I’m doing. But I’m trying to get us home, and positivity has always worked for me. I thought it could help you, too. I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner. This is my fault.”
Connie wiped her eyes, giving him a small smile. “Forgiven, as soon as we get home safe.”
Steven relaxed, letting out the breath he was holding in. “Fair enough.”
He stood again, holding out a hand for her to take. Her smile widened just a bit, and as she reached for it, she was reminded again of fairytales. This boy was magical, and she was ordinary. He was a hero on a quest, or an adventure, and she just became a part of his story. A side character, main character, or one-off character she wasn’t sure, but it felt good knowing that, maybe, she had a chance to live out a fantasy like that.
And that’s when the fairytale monster came crashing onto the scene.
The dragon was big, colored a vibrant orange with darker stripes down its back like a tiger. It had large, blue eyes, elongated horns that twisted around like a tidal wave, and a long, thin neck. This, coupled with its pelican-shaped head and large body (with tiny legs), made the neck look almost pencil thin. On its chest was a round-looking jewel embedded in its skin.
The creature swam up to them, using its wings and dorsal fin to flap steadily closer, gave a wail, and chased them.
Both children screamed and started booking it in the opposite direction, hoping the shore was nearby and they weren’t as doomed as they looked. Heroes had to go through these kinda of trials, didn’t they? And sometimes bystanders got caught up in the mix. Connie just happened to be that bystander.
“What IS that thing?!” Connie shrieked, running as fast as she could. She turned to look over her shoulder, watching as surprisingly dull teeth drew ever-closer.
Steven mimicked her action, giving the creature a once-over. “I-I don’t know, but it’s a corrupted gem of some kind!” He yelled back. His eyes widened, and suddenly, he moved left. Using the bubble as leverage, he barreled straight into Connie, holding her tight, knocking them and the bubble out of the way as the dragon’s maw closed over the space they were just in.
By chance or fate, they ended up in a cave-like area. The bubble rolled to a stop, Steven’s grip on Connie not loosening until the sounds of the gem’s roars were gone. Even then, he didn’t let go of her, just slackening his grip and sliding his hands down from her forearms to her hands.
“Is it gone?” Connie, breathless, asked. She couldn’t stop staring at the cave opening, expecting a giant head to appear suddenly and swallow them both whole.
Steven followed her gaze, scanning the entrance. “I think so.” He turned back to her, that same concern from earlier fresh on his face. “Are you okay?”
Connie nodded. “You?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” Steven held her gaze for a second longer, before realizing they were still holding hands. He glanced down at them, face running red once again, as Connie’s did the same. They shared an embarrassed look before both pulled away quickly, laughing and chuckling together. This was silly.
After a moment of just letting their unease slip away, Steven cleared his throat. “So… to the beach? I still need you to forgive me.”
Connie laughed again. “If you’re ready, so am I.”
They put their hands on the bubble and began to push once again. They stopped by the cave entrance to have a look around, and upon seeing no monster, both sighed in relief. Steven turned to Connie, about to say something, when suddenly, their air supply vanished. The bubble popped, and both children’s minds filled with panic. Steven immediately grasped Connie’s wrist, pointing up towards the surface. She got the memo, and both began paddling for safety.
When they broke the surface, there was still no sign of the monster. The two gasped for air, and after a second of letting what just happened wash over them, Steven threw up his hands.
“WE DID IT!” he yelled excitedly.
“Did what, survive?” Connie shot back jokingly. The kid’s grin was contagious, and she caught it quickly.
“Yes!” Steven threw his hands down, lightly splashing Connie. She shielded with her hands, giggling, before splashing him back. The two shared another round of cheerful, innocent laughs, before finally swimming back towards the shore.
Turns out, they weren’t that far out. The cliff that marked Steven’s beach house home loomed over the water, and as they drew closer, Connie could make out what appeared to be an eight-armed woman sitting peacefully there, carved into the stone and holding up the house, the cliff, and what appeared to be a line of clothes.
It looked just like a fantasy setting.
Something made noise from under them. The kids froze, Connie in fear, Steven more in curiosity. While Connie tried to continue to paddle to shore, Steven ducked his head under the water, trying to make out what had made that noise. After a second, he came back up, pointing frantically beneath them.
“Connie Connie Connie!” he exclaimed. “It’s the gem! The dragon from earlier!”
Connie paled. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s-“
“No, wait, hold on a sec.” Steven frowned at the waves, trying to see through them, and when that didn’t work, his head went beneath the salt water once again, this time lingering longer. When he came back up, he was grinning. “You need to see this,” he beamed.
Connie gave the water a fearful glance, but the short kid in the red star shirt’s optimism and excitement were contagious, so of course her head went under, too. Her eyes stung as they hit the waves, but her curiosity had her willing to open her eyes to see whatever had the kid so giddy.
Beneath them, the dragon gently and placidly flapped along, scanning the ocean floor for something. It stopped in front of what appeared to be a purple, flower-shaped coral, which upon touching it, glowed a soft lilac light. Once it began to glow, the creature reared back and bit down, swallowing the thing whole.
Connie’s eyes went wide. She snapped her head up, panting hard. Steven had already resurfaced, smiling a gigawatt grin that split his face in two. He didn’t seem to notice that Connie had not had the same reaction he was having, and continued throwing his arms up, as if in victory.
“Did you see that?” Steven squealed.
“Yeah…” Connie replied, not sure how to answer.
“So cool, right?” Steven looked back down, as if he could still see the dragon through the waves. “It was eating the glowing flower-coral things once they lit up! It was just hungry for glowing things! That’s why it chased us!”
Connie could only stare at him. That was why he was so excited? “It wanted to eat your bubble because your bubbles glow, right? That’s what you’re telling me?”
“Yes!” Steven’s eyes were alight like stars.
Connie shook her head in disbelief. “It tried to eat us, and you’re happy about that?!”
“What?” Steven’s look fell into one of confusion, until he put two and two together on why she wasn’t happy about this knowledge. “Oh.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “Uh, yeah, that wasn’t fun. But the good news is it won’t chase us so long as we’re not glowing!” His massive smile was back, and once again, he threw his hands up in the air. “We’re safe!”
Oh. That was a relief to hear. Connie forced herself to relax, assured for the moment that she could trust him. “Okay, if you say so.” She shot a softer look into the water, though her distrust of the monster was still evident. Besides, if it decided to eat them, there wasn’t much she could do to protest.
The two continued to swim, and after a while, Connie found herself growing tired. The shore didn’t look that far, why was it so hard to get there? It had been steadily growing larger, too, meaning they were making progress. The eight-armed stone goddess carved into the cliff was a welcoming beacon, for which Steven was making a beeline. Connie followed closely, determined not to fall behind.
While she swam, she let her mind drift to auto pilot. What on earth was she going to tell her parents tonight? That she saw one of the dragons and lived? There was no way they’d believe her. Besides, if they did, what good would it do? They’d just never let her out of the house again except to go to school and back. Nope, this was going to stay a secret; the monster and the boy.
Once, Connie had made friends with another shy kid at school. His name was long forgotten to her, but she remembered getting along with him okay enough, for as little as they were. First grade, maybe, possibly second? Didn’t matter. Connie came home that night, gushing about the boy she had made friends with at school, and immediately, her father started teasing her about it. There was no malicious intent, he was just goofing with her about how she was in looooove, and they were going to get maaariiiiied someday, but since then, Connie couldn’t bring herself to enjoy his company anymore. It was always awkward, as she had felt pressured by her parents to do just that. She knew it was all a joke, she did, but that didn’t stop her from being awkward around her betrothed friend.
She would not let the same thing happen again. Side character in his story or not, her parents were never going to find out about this boy or her adventure with him.
A quick glance over at Steven just confirmed this for her. If she told her parents she met someone nice, they’d want to meet him. And he was certainly not accustomed to the norms of human society, being raised by gems and all that. So respect was out of the question. And if there was no respect, then her parents- more specifically, her mother- wanted nothing to do with that particular individual. And Connie found herself drawn to Steven’s personality, his kindness and optimism, and wanted to hang out with him more. Maybe. Assuming they lived to touch the sand again.
She shook her head, focusing on the repeated strokes of her arms through water. She had started falling behind slightly, and was determined not to get lost behind him.
Turns out, she didn’t need to worry about that. Steven had come to a stop, waving his arms in little circles around him as he hovered in place. He peered down, searching for something, eyes squinted and strained.
“What is it?” Connie asked, swimming closer to him.
He didn’t get a chance to answer before a roar sounded beneath them, the same from earlier. The kids looked at each other in fright before Steven’s head was underwater again, scanning for the dragon. He popped back up again quickly, eyes wide.
“Connie, SWIM!” he shouted, reaching out to grab her hand. That wouldn’t do anyone any good, so Connie moved that hand forward to begin swimming back.
Energy restored, adrenaline rushed through her body as Connie shot towards shore. But, she was still slower that Steven, who was probably stronger than her. He lived next to the ocean, so maybe he swam a lot? Made sense. Either way, he was gaining ground.
But the beast in the water was MUCH faster. It roared again, this time directly beneath them. Steven whirled around, realizing that Connie had fallen behind, and dove back for her. He grasped her hand as another bubble formed around them, blooming like a flower. It was half filled with water this time, and the two kids had to continue to keep their heads above even with the added protection.
Something hit them from underneath, sending the bubble rocketing towards shore. It hit the water and bounced a bit, rolling up onto the sand before popping again. Water rushed out and around the children, who were once again gasping for air. Connie laid on her back, trying her best to sit back up, while Steven groaned on his side. He coughed and sat up, immediately looking to Connie.
“You okay?” he asked again. “Are you hurt?”
Connie coughed, pushing herself into a hunched sitting position. “No? How about you?”
Steven opened his mouth to reply when the beast broke the surface of the ocean, roaring. Screaming in unison with each other, the kids leapt to their feet and ran together. The bubble once again formed.
Steven paled. “No no no no, go away! It eats glowy things!” He shot the pink encasing a hard glare. “Come on!”
The beast saw the light, narrowing its eyes in their direction. It zoned in, letting out a snarl and giving chase. Its large set of wings wasn’t just used for swimming, apparently, as the serpentine lifted into the air, closing the distance between itself and its prey.
Connie’s eyes darted around, searching for a place to hide. There was a dock nearby, where it couldn’t get them without causing massive destruction, so they could try to hide there. If the beast went after them, the locals would hear, and then the beast could get taken care of.
Connie began darting in that direction, catching Steven by surprise. “Steven, the docks!” she shouted, hoping he’d get the message. She continued running, but found it suddenly much harder. She turned around to see what the problem was, only to see Steven staring up at the dragon, eyes wide,
It loomed over them, giving them a hard, animalistic look. It reared its head back, showing off the jewel on its chest once again, but didn’t attack. But it was tensed, poised to do so any second now.
“Steven,” Connie whisper-yelled at him, “come on! We gotta move!”
But Steven didn’t budge. In fact, after a second, he took a step closer to the beast, raising a hand up to it. He was trembling in fear, but that didn’t deter him at all from whatever he was trying to do.
Connie tried pushing the bubble on her own, but found she couldn’t without Steven’s help. She whirled back to him, eyes wide. “Steven, what are you doing?!” She continued to lightly yell at him. “It’s going to eat us!”
“Hang on, Connie,” Steven whispered back, hand fully stretched out now. “I don’t think it’s gonna hurt us.”
Connie blinked once, twice, before looking up at the dragon once again. Although its head was still reared back, it seemed… calm, almost curious. Steven’s arm stretched out to it a bit more, and the beast slowly lowered its head down. It blinked at him, tilting its head to the side. It flared its nostrils, trying to scent him, and in response, the bubble vanished.
Connie’s heart seized for a second, but she forced herself to calm down. She began instead to slowly back off towards the docks, trying to slip away unnoticed in case the gem monster attacked.
Steven seemed to notice, for he shot her a look that said ‘don’t worry, I got this,’ before reaching up to the beast once again. It lowered its head, giving him a proper sniff this time, then let out a soft coo. It brought its head close enough to touch, and Steven cautiously placed his palm on the dragon’s cheek. When it didn’t react, he began to pet it, growing more and more giddy.
He turned back around, stars in his eyes again. “Connie, Connie come here. Are you seeing this?” He pointed at the dragon with his free hand. “It’s not gonna hurt us.”
Connie, who had hid behind a large rock halfway between the beast and the docks, peered out. She noted that the dragon seemed to carry no aggression toward the boy, and took in a breath. She started approaching it, hand stretched out. The dragon saw her coming and gave her a sniff as well, but was satisfied with whatever it was looking for and let her touch it, too.
This wasn’t a vicious beast; it was a creature acting on survival instincts. It never wanted to hurt the kids, well, once it was aware they were there, anyway.
Steven’s grin could not waver. “When you saw us in the water, you probably just wanted to come over and see us, didn’t you?” he spoke to it, almost as if he were talking to a dog. “Then I made the bubble and you saw food again. You never wanted to hurt us at all.”
“Woah,” Connie felt herself relax at his explanation. It made sense, didn’t it? Nothing ever just attacked for no reason. She let out the breath she was holding, but frowned as a realization hit her. “Wait, Steven,” she began, moving her hand along the beast’s jaw, “what about the dragons that attack the boardwalk? Do they actually do that? I haven’t seen that yet.”
“Oh, you’re new here?” Steven patted the gem creature’s cheek, to which it gave a happy growl. “Yeah, it happens at least once a month, but usually more.”
Connie’s frown deepened. “Well, do you know why they attack us? This one just thought we were food, and then was just curious about us. Nothing in nature attacks for no reason, right?”
Steven’s eyes widened. He looked away, thinking for a second, before a shout cut him off.
“THERE! THE BEAST HAS TWO KIDS!” someone cried out.
There were yells as suddenly, the locals appeared. Five or six humans, along with the three gems who ran the town, appeared over the docks. Each one had a weapon of some kind, though one with curly yellow hair instead held up a video camera and seemed to be narrating to it.
The tall pale one- Pearl, maybe?- let out a gasp. “STEVEN! Get away from that thing!”
A whip appeared, wrapping itself around his body and flinging him away and towards the safety of the other humans and gems on the docks. The purple gem- Amethyst?- dispelled the weapon, leaping down in front of where he had just hit the sand.
“Don’t worry, dude, we’ll take care of this for you. Get somewhere safe!” Amethyst commanded him. She then ran off towards the dragon, Pearl and Garnet(?) doing the same.
The dragon, sensing the danger it was now in, narrowed its eyes. It raised its head, roaring at them, before using its head like a golf club and batting Connie out of the way. She tumbled and rolled through the sand, heard Steven shout her name, heard him calling for them not to hurt the dragon. She sat up quickly, watching as the kid ran forward, grabbing Pearl by the arm and tugging her away from the sea beast.
But, his efforts were in vain, as, with one final cry, the beast disappeared in a could of orange smoke. The jewel fell to the ground, the only thing remaining to speak of its existence. Garnet picked it up, and suddenly, a bubble of her own formed around it. With a small touch on top of it, the bubble vanished.
“No!” Steven yelled at them. “It wasn’t going to hurt us!”
Garnet turned to him, facial expression hidden behind a visor. “Steven, these beasts are unpredictable and dangerous. It was going to hurt you. Don’t come that close to one again.”
“No! No, you don’t understand!” Tears streamed down his face. “It was friendly! I-if they’re unpredictable, that means anything an happen, right?! And that means it’s possible that this one didn’t wanna hurt us!”
“That’s enough, Steven.” Garnet reached down and picked him up, tucking the squirming child under her arm.
“Excuse me, are you alright?” Connie hadn’t even heard Pearl approach. She jumped at her voice, turning to face the pale gem quickly. She had knelt down beside her, a worried look on her face. “Did that corrupted gem hurt you?”
Connie adjusted her glasses, which now featured a large crack in the lenses, trying to calm her heart down. “N-no. It wasn’t going to hurt us, ma’am.”
Pearl shook her head sadly. “Those beasts hurt us every day. It was only a matter of time. They’re just aggressive and thieves. Don’t let this one invade your head too much. The danger has passed, and you’re safe now.”
Connie shook her head. “No, it wasn’t going to hurt us. We were in a glowing bubble, and it thought we were food, and once the bubble was gone, it was just curious! It even let us pet it!”
Pearl reeled back like she’d been struck. “Human child, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” she shot back. “I’ve never seen you here before, so you’re new, correct? You haven’t seen them in action. All they want to do is hunt and kill. It was probably tricking you into letting your guard down so it could make its move.” She pointed a finger accusingly at Connie. “Now, if you know what’s best for you, you’ll go home and think about what’s happened here today.”
Connie shrunk back under the gem’s anger. She hesitated, but when Pearl didn’t move, she surrendered, picking herself up and dragging herself back to town. On the way, her mind drifted. She thought back to the creature, how it had sounded happy as they pet it. It added up- Steven’s theory on why it was so gentle, how it ate glowing things, and its behavior in general. But, Pearl was an adult and spent so much time fighting these things. She should know more about them than Connie would, right? That would make sense.
She couldn’t stop thinking about it. As much as she wanted to believe Steven, Pearl was the adult and should know better. How old was Steven? He looked to be about the same age as her, maybe younger, and she was only 11. So surely the gem knew better.
Right?
At dinner that night, Connie decided she needed a second opinion. She and her parents sat in the dining room, eating salad with bits of cut chicken sprinkled around in its contents. Normally, Connie liked the meal, but today she couldn’t focus on eating it. Too much swarmed in her head. She knew her parents had noticed, and decided that it was now or never. She took a breath, setting her fork down.
“Mom,” she started, working up the nerve to ask this question, “what all do you know about the gem monsters?”
Priyanka chewed thoughtfully, probably picking the right words to say. “Well,” she spoke eventually, “they’re highly dangerous and vicious. They attack the boardwalk to steal, and they live in what Garnet calls a ‘Nest.’ They’ve been trying to find the Nest for thousands of years, but have had no luck.”
Connie nodded thoughtfully. “Do you know why they attack?”
Priyanka frowned. “No, but they are known to steal and destroy. So, according to the locals, reason doesn’t matter. They’re getting hurt, and need to defend themselves. It’s too dangerous to study the creatures, and if anyone gets too close, the dragons attack.”
Steven and I got close, Connie thought. She frowned. “Has anyone ever gotten to touch one before?”
Doug shook his head. “Not from what I’ve heard, no. Why?”
“Just curious.” Connie shrugged and looked away.
Priyanka and Doug shared a glance, but opted not to press. They continued eating in silence for a while, before Doug jumped in with a funny work story that happened to him earlier that day, and the topic was forgotten.
Connie had been 11 when she met Steven Universe.
She had been 12 when he disappeared.
It was months later. She’d met him a few more times after that, though no other beasts had shown up while they were together. They did things normal kids do. She showed him her favorite book series, he taught her how to play video games, they laughed and joked, played in the sand. One time, more strange gem occurrences happened, though this time, the two fused together into a singular being named Stevonnie. That was… an experience, both the person and that day together. Turns out, being a grown-up wasn’t all fun and games, and you didn’t know everything, and some adults were bad people. But that was the worst experience they had together, and neither wanted to forget being Stevonnie together. So Kevin was pushed to the back of their minds, and they continued doing normal kid things.
Connie had managed to keep Steven a secret for a while, or at least the fact that they’d met. However, being the adoptive son of the three town leaders, it was hard for her parents not to know the kid existed, and their opinions were mixed. Connie decided it was best to keep her encounters with him a secret, and if they got caught, she’d come clean.
But, after the kid vanished, she felt guilty for not coming out sooner. Now, she couldn’t tell her parents about how much she missed him, or how much she wanted to join the hunt in finding him. She mentioned those things a couple of times, but never as much as she wanted to out of paranoia. It was silly. It was stupid. And it may have cost her her first real friend.
Steven had vanished at night, according to his guardians. He was supposedly sleeping, and had been left alone, when the gems heard him scream in pain. They ran out of their rooms to find a hole in the wall and a dragon flying off into the night. They chased after it, but it was already too high to reach and too fast to follow.
Pearl had managed to sketch out what the beast that took their child away looked like, but it wasn’t detailed. It had a singular pair of wings, four legs, bright pink eyes, and a tail. That description wasn’t much to go off of, but the hunt continued anyway.
And it was after that that Connie decided that, no matter what, she would find her best friend. And to do that, she needed to know how to fight these beasts, too.
She begged her mom to let her train to fight, to be able to poof them so she could see which one had supposedly eaten Steven. But, Connie had a suspicion that wasn’t the case. That one monster on the beach didn’t eat them, didn’t it? It decided to spare them. Why would a dragon go out of its way to hunt in a guarded house for a small meal? It could have gone to literally any other building and had more food, plus getting it was easier. But no. It just happened to take Steven. Connie didn’t buy it, and she wanted to track down the creature and find out what really happened.
But, Priyanka never let her go, claiming that she didn’t want her daughter putting herself in danger like that. She could be a part of the cleanup and rebuilding, but that was it. Fighting was out of the question.
So, Connie took to researching instead. Pearl’s quick sketch of the dragon matched none that she saw in the library, not even the Book of Gems, which detailed exactly which corrupted gems were which, how to tell them apart, and different things to watch out for when fighting them. Connie learned that the beast she and Steven met that day was called a “Scauldron,” and could have boiled them alive if it wanted to. But it didn’t. All the dragons in this book could do horrendous things to their victims, and each page claimed to poof on sight, but nothing ever claimed they could be capable of anything other than absolute violence.
Pearl had created a page in the back for the Night Snatcher, as she was calling it. There was zero information there, and even her sketch hadn’t been drawn in as Pearl claimed it “wasn’t accurate enough to be solidified in such absolute knowledge.” As much as its description was generic, it matched none of the known dragons in the book, which worried Connie. There were more out there yet to be discovered, meaning this book wasn’t complete. It might never be complete.
So, while she waited for her chance to get into training, she took a notebook out to the forest and began researching dragons herself.
She didn’t have much luck, and almost every time a dragon heard her sneak up on it, she’d startle it and it’d chase her. Oftentimes, she got the beasts poofed because she’d run back to town, where the locals were quick to come to her defense. But, the creatures themselves were never doing anything malicious out there. It was odd that no one else had seen this behavior, or if they had, they dismissed it and never thought more on it. It bothered Connie to no end, but she was going to do what she had to in order to get her best friend back.
That meant learning to fight, which she wasn’t allowed to do. Second best thing to fighting was capturing and trapping, but both of those were too cruel as well. All trapping equipment that people had was built to poof, and Connie did not want to poof any of these beasts. Fighting was her only way to get up close and personal, and trapping was cruel.
So, she decided to make her own trap. She took up studying different mechanisms and survival traps, and had come up with a devise that was small enough to drag around, but big enough to hold a large net. The thing worked like a crossbow, in a way. Potential energy would build up in the pull strings, which were pulled back and locked in place. They supported a flat disk that sat at the back of the barrel, which housed the net. She’d taken it for a single test fire, to which it worked well enough- the net had opened, after all- but now she needed to capture a dragon.
She needed to capture a Night Snatcher and get to the bottom of this.
And all she needed now was a clear night, an attack, and a clear shot.