Author's Note: Hey! Welcome to a brand new story! Steven Universe 2 is a sequel to Steven Universe, which is an AU retelling of Steven's story, in a world he shares with many other young heroes. While you don't necessarily have to read the other stories in the DWU if you don't want to, I do recommend you read the first Steven Universe, as this story is its direct sequel.

If you're new and want to know more about the Danger Watch Universe, check out my profile. If you aren't new... You already know what time it is. Let's jump right in.


Chapter 1 - Full Disclosure

"Psst… Steven… Wake up!"

Steven groaned turning over in his sleep. A gentle hand prodded his face, and then lightly slapped his cheek, prompting him to wink a tired eye open. There, looming over him in the darkness, was Garnet.

"Mn…? Garnet?"

"It's midnight!" The large, burgundy gem said, beaming. "Happy birthday! I have a surprise for you."

Steven gasped, suddenly wide awake.

"Are you finally gonna tell me about how you're actually two gems fused into one gem?" He asked. Garnet giggled.

"You already know about all that," she said, booping the boy on the nose. He blushed. "What you don't know is how Ruby and Sapphire first met."

Steven's eyes glittered with stars.

"Garnet story…" he muttered to himself. Garnet grinned, knowing he was ready to listen. She rearranged herself so that the boy was in her ample lap, and reached for the nearby bedside table for a flashlight. She flicked it on, and sat it between them, casting a shadow on the far wall. She began to make shadow puppets. A circle.

"Earth… 5,750 years ago…

The planet was a promising site for the newest gem colony. However, progress was being ground to a halt by an unforeseen circumstance plaguing the planets surface. A small but persistent group of rebel gems, who had taken it upon themselves to intervene with any sort of colonization site that they erected. In response to the threat to the colony, the Diamonds sent an entourage of gem aristocrats to deal with the issue.

Among them was Sapphire, a rare gem with the power to glimpse into the future. She had been assigned a trio of Rubies, a common sort of soldier gem, to guard her. When their travelling ship had arrived, Sapphire was summoned to the Diamond's war vessel immediately. She was of Blue Diamond's court, and Blue had specifically summoned for her to arrive from Homeworld. She wanted to see what her visions could tell about the war for Earth.

As they arrived at the war vessel, the Ruby guards began to talk amongst themselves.

'I can't wait to see a rebel,' one of them said. 'I'm gonna take 'em out.'

'Not if I do first,' the second said. The third Ruby snorted.

'C'mon guys. We're gonna take 'em out together. With fusion. That's why they sent three of us,' she said.

'I'm gonna take you out,' the first Ruby said, jokingly shoving the third. They all rough housed around for a bit, until Ruby number 3 was shoved into the Sapphire.

'Oh, my apologies, Sapphire!' She said, dropping to a kneel, embarrassed. The Sapphire looked down at her with a mix of curiosity and fondness.

'That's quite alright,' she said, covering her giggle with a gloved hand.

'Lady Sapphire, we're here,' the first Ruby said, as they approached the chamber of the Diamond.

Sapphire nodded, and hitched up her dress, striding ahead.

'My Diamond,' Sapphire said, as she entered the chamber where Blue Diamond awaited. It was a vast, near-empty chamber, home only to a towering throne with light-silk curtains that hung down like a canopy bed.

'My little Sapphire,' Blue Diamond had said, towering over the smaller gem. 'I am glad you're here… Please. Tell me. What will come of this rebellion?"

Sapphire assumed her place in the center of the room, where she could be inspected fully by the Diamond. She straightened her dress, and saluted her Diamond properly."

With that, Garnet made a symbol, crossing the backs of her hands and forearms, to shape a diamond. It echoed on the shadows on the wall. Steven continued to listen, fully captivated.

"Sapphire then clasped her hands together, and began to use her gift. Futurevision. She spoke what she saw, as she saw it, ot the Diamond.

'The rebels will attack, today, no, minutes from now. They will destroy the physical forms of me, my Ruby entourage, and a few of the stationed Amethysts. Then, they will be brought down by the overwhelming force of the garrison… And that will be the end of the rebellion.'

Blue Diamond nodded, though she did not smile. Blue Diamond rarely smiled.

'Will she be here?' Blue asked, clutching her fingers like a claw.

'... Yes,' Sapphire said, after focusing with some effort on her vision. 'Rose Quartz will be there.'

Blue seemed satisfied.

'Thank you. You've put me at ease, my little foreseer. Off you go, now.'

With that, Sapphire left. The Rubies, who had been listening at the entrance, tried their best to act nonchalant as she returned from the chamber. They began to walk, slowly, towards their passenger car, that would have taken them back to their frigate. However, Sapphire paused, and slowed to a stop, looking down at rippling ocean, the rolling forests, the impossibly tall mountains. She laughed a little. Despite the odds, they somehow reached the clouds. The Ruby who had nudged her before came to stand beside her.

'Lady Sapphire?" She asked.

'This planet is so… beautiful. I would have liked to see more of it.' Sapphire said.

Ruby gave her a reassuring smile.

'Well, there's still time.,' she said. This made Sapphire laugh.

'That's a nice thought… However-'

Right on cue, there were cries of pain from further down the docking zone. Two burly, purple gem guards suddenly poofed, and amidst the clouds of smoke they emitted, a pair of figures suddenly arrived. The remaining group of Amethyst guards went charging forward, but they were large and burly.

The gem that darted out of the fog was anything but.

She was like an arrow! She dashed forward, wielding two swords like a ballerina, dancing a deadly dervish with the Amethyst guards. They were no match. Poof! Poof! Then, she turned her attention to the trio of Rubies.

'C'mon, Rubies!' One said, 'Protect your Diamonds!'

They all let out battle cries, and threw arms around each others shoulders. The trio was then bathed in a shower of red-white light. Seconds later, an enormous, 10-foot Ruby was stomping into battle, towards the dispersing smoke of their fallen comrades. With a low bellow, the big Ruby swiped one massive hand forward. Then, sheen! A flash of pink light, and the attack was deflected by some kind of shield! The Rubies didn't even see what happened next. Slash, slash! They were poofed.

All except one.

Her handiwork complete, the Pearl sheathed one sword, and began to stride towards the Sapphire. From her position on the ground, Ruby saw the entire thing. Sapphire hadn't moved. She didn't even try to run away. Ruby realized, then, that she had seen the whole thing coming. That's why she had seemed to melancholy earlier. Sapphire had accepted her end.

Ruby, however… Ruby had not.

With a cry of defiance, the little red gem charged forward, tackling Sapphire, and saving her from the wrath of the renegade swordsgem. As they flew through the air, there was a sudden burst of light. The rebels froze, transfixed, as to their surprise, an entirely new gem appeared on the other side. This new gem looked down at herself. She was… two gems… and one gem… and neither! This spectacle bought the remaining Amethyst guards time to swarm in, prompting the rebels to make a strategic retreat.

However, all was still not well. Ruby and Sapphire split apart, as the angry stares of the gem aristocrats began to swoop in. They had never seen fusion between two types of gems before.

'How dare you fuse with a member of Blue Diamonds court?' some said.

'This is blasphemous!' Some said.

'You'll be shattered!' Others said.

Sapphire knew it to be true. It was unheard of. As the guards closed in to seize them, the little blue gem moved on instinct, grabbing Ruby by the wrist and bolting. After what she had done for Sapphire, she couldn't let the Ruby be crushed. Though Ruby barely understood what was happening, soon, they were both flying off of the edge of the ship, and falling down to the surface of the beautiful planet below…"

Garnet smiled.

"The rest… is history," she said.

Steven sat there, mouth agape, still staring at where Garnet's elaborate hand puppets had been. Then, he whirled around to face Garnet, firing off a million questions.

"So you weren't always with the rebellion? Wait, you were almost shattered? What about fusion? Like, why is it so weird to fuse two different gems when its perfectly normal to fuse with the same kind of gem? Isn't it all fusion?" He paused. "Can… Can gems fuse with humans?"

Garnet let out a soft laugh, and ruffled Steven's hair, the sensation of which instantly caused him to remember his drowsiness. Garnet's motherly, protective presence tended to do that.

"Oh, Steven," she said, "you're so curious. Rose tried it once, but… That's a story for another night. For now, you need to get your sleep. It's a big day tomorrow! You need to be well rested for your Gem Trial!"

With that, Garnet kissed Steven on the forehead, and returned to her room. Steven, at first, had no idea how he was expected to sleep after such a riveting story; not to mention reminding him of his fabled Gem Trial. It was an ordeal that the gems had been alluding to for months, supposedly, a true test of his powers. His official entrance to the Crystal Gems. Despite his excitement, weariness soon overtook the boy, and he drifted off into sleep.