CHAPTER 25: Standing Tall
(Steven wakes )
STEVEN: That was… A weird dream.
CONNIE: Yeah, it definitely was. Has anything like that ever happened to you before?
STEVEN: Nah. Never. It was just.. So real… My dreams always end up silly.
CONNIE: Curiouser and curiouser…
(Padparadscha heads into the room)
PADPARADSCHA: Leggy will finish breakfast in a mere moment!
STEVEN: Oh! Then I better hurry.
(Steven heads out to the kitchen table. The dishes are set but there’s no food) (On the couch there is a package)
STEVEN: Oh I thought…
PADPARADSCHA: Thought what?
LEGGY: (Arrives and puts a plate of waffles down)
STEVEN: Never mind! Let’s dig in!
(Skip scene)
STEVEN: So… I promised Ma I’d deal with Bismuth.
PADPARADSCHA: You did? That doesn’t quite seem like her.
PADPARADSCHA: Then again if she didn’t want you to leave, you’d probably never have.
PADPARADSCHA: … I just wish I could help you in Waterfall too.
STEVEN: Why can’t you?
PADPARADSCHA: See… Waterfall is protected by Amethyst 8XM.
LEGGY: She prefers “Amy” most of the time.
PADPARADSCHA: Right. But the point is… She has a grudge against humans.
PADPARADSCHA: The best strategy is for her not to notice you.
PADPARADSCHA: But given who I am… I’m bound to give you away when it’s most important.
STEVEN: Paddy… We could at least try, right?
PADPARADSCHA: No! I won’t be responsible for you getting hurt!
(Beat panel)
LEGGY: … So err…. Anyway. I got a new outfit for you!
STEVEN: Really!? I love new clothes!
LEGGY: Yeah! I figure if you’re a real Gem, you should flaunt it to the world!
LEGGY: I put it on the couch.
(Steven walks over to the present on the couch)
CONNIE: You got the… Skirt and Blouse combo?
STEVEN: Oh my gosh! It’s amazing Leggy!
(Steven’s smile is very wide.)
STEVEN: I got to try it on right away.
(Steven heads into Lars’s room and emerges with his Waterfall outfit)
LEGGY: Glad you like it.  Err… Well if you’re sure about going to Waterfal.
LEGGY: I’m gonna go ahead and see what I can do about Amy.
(Leggy leaves)
STEVEN: I should head out too.
(Steven exits Leggy and Paddy’s house) (He walks to the town borders, through the icicle fields, and finally to Waterfall proper. The first room is empty, showing the occasional floating tire floating through the water. There’s a copper Pearl in the second room) (Copper Pearl is standing next to an Echo flower)
(Steven walks up to the Copper Pearl)
COPPER: This is an echo flower. It was one of our queen’s amazing experiments!
COPPER: It repeats whatever was just said back to you!
COPPER: I wonder what other powers plants can possess?
(Steven checks the echo flower)
ECHO: (Powers plants can posses)
 (Steven exits the room)
(The room is a strip of earth surrounded by Water at all sides) (There are crystals erupting from the ground along the course of the path) (Water sausages dot the landscape) (The path branches North and south at one point) (Steven heads south first)
(There’s an Echo flower on the base of the waterfall) (Steven checks it)
ECHO FLOWER: (Slacking time! Let’s see… Just move the water out of the way… Ha! This job is easy!)
(Steven activates his Bubble and heads into the hidden waterfall section. There’s a Lapis Lazuli laying on the ground) (She’s surrounded by junk, including a pair of blue and grey headphones_
(Steven talks to the Lapis)
LAZYLI: This job is the best. Keep the watershed stable, make sure the dumb plants get enough water.
LAZYLI: Just strain out the trash and dump it somewhere.  Then my work is done and I can just relax.
STEVEN: Sounds boring to me.
LAZYLI: That’s your opinion, bud.
LAZYLI: Anyway. There’s a buncha trash that flows down here occasionally. Feel free to take whatever. It’s not my problem anymore.
(Steven picks up the headphones)
CONNIE: You got the Skullsweet Phones. No matter how “designer” these are, they aren’t waterproof. Might be some kind of protection maybe.
STEVEN: Thanks Lapis Lazily. I mean… Lazuli!
(Steven heads back to the fork and this time goes north. His leads to a stone bridge over the water where lilypads are drifting)
(Steven crosses it and ends up in a pile of tall grass)
AMETHYST: DO YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT!? COME ON!
(The camera pans up to show silhouettes of Leggy and Amethyst)
LEGGY: It’s true, Amy! He’s half Rose Quartz! And it’s got to be… That Rose Quartz.
AMETYHST: If you’re gonna lie to me, at least try to make sense! Come on. That’s a load of baloney and you know it.
AMETHYST: You’re protecting him. Just like you protected that guy… What’s his name…? Pastry boy?
LEGGY: Lars!
LEGGY: And so what if I am?
AMETHYST: Just saying, this doesn't sound like what a Gem in the guard would say...
LEGGY: I don’t care anymore! I’m still a better Crystal Gem than you!
LEGGY: Crystal Gems protect the weak. Gems like him… And Gems like you!
(Amethyst takes out her whip and cracks it by Leggy)
(She jumps back a bit)
AMETHYST: Don’t call me weak, dude. You know I’m still tougher than you, right?
LEGGY: I don’t care! I’m gonna do something else with my life. Starting with play practice I guess.
(Leggy walks off screen)
CONNIE: You’re hyperventilating Steven.
AMETHYST: Wait a second… I hear. Breathing…
(Amethyst turns to the wall and shapeshifts) (She moves her head through the crack in the wall)
AMETHYST: I see you “Rose Quartz”. You’ve got her fooled. She thinks your harmless. Weak.
AMETHYST: Well I don’t care! You’re going down… I’m gonna get you. And crush you!
STEVEN:AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!
(Steven runs back to the west, ultimately running till he’s back in Boreal Forest Village)
STEVEN: Whew… Whew… Whew…
(Steven turns to Leggy and Paddy’s house)
{Knock knock}
CONNIE: Leggy said she’s at play practice.
STEVEN: That’s great! What a wonderful, stress free activity she’s doing!
CONNIE: You’ve never experienced tech week have you?
STEVEN: What’s tech week? Anyway. I’ll be there to show my support!
CONNIE: … You’re just stalling from dealing with Amethyst aren’t you?
STEVEN: I mean… It’s possible.
(Steven heads down and to the Boreal Forest Village theater)
(And into the performance area)
CYAN PEARL: She was corrupted, cursed into the form of a hideous monster.
CYAN PEARL: She would remain as such until love’s grace would lift the witch’s curse.
CYAN PEARL: But she believed there was no hope. A monster like her was unworthy of love.
SNOWY: Good job CP. Now we’ve got to do the opening scene at the castle?
BELLISMUTH: Are you changing around the scenes of the script AGAIN!?
SNOWFLAKE: Everything must be perfectly ordered. And I feel this scene is great at establishing the mood.
BELLISMUTH: Alright skinny. If you say so.
LEGGY: Seriously, Snowflake. I could have been late for this bit. At least give us a bit of warning.
PADPARADSCHA: Snowflake will change the order of the scenes again!
SNOWY: Feeling nervous, Paddy?
PADPARADSCHA: Snowflake will ask about how I feel. And I’ll answer.
PADPARASCHA: Our rehearsal schedule’s kind of been all over the place.
PADPARADSCHA: And even in tech week we keep making changes.
PADPARADSCHA: Maybe we should delay the play’s debut to next week?
SNOWY: The cast of Renegade are being run ragged. We need to do our part, on schedule.
SNOWY: Now let’s get to work! Paddy! Leggy! On stage.  Shapeshift.
LEGGY: You know the costumes have been done for a week now, right?
SNOWY: We’ll do this with shapeshifting for now.
LEGGY: Alright.
(Leggy turns herself into a candlestick, then lights herself on fire) (Paddy turns into a clock)
LEGGY: Wait, where’s the orchestra?
SNOWY: They’re practicing later.
LEGGY: This is tech week!
SNOWY: Just start singing.
She sits at the piano and plays.
LEGGY: Every day the flame dies/ Master lies/ In the dark.
LEGGY: …
SNOWY: Paddy!
PADDY: Snowy will get mad! I mean…
PADDY: Hope is all that we have left/ so bereft/Future’s stark
LEGGY: But we hope and we pray/ There will come love someday.
PADDY: Love someday.
SNOWY: You were supposed to sing that together!
LEGGY: Give her a break. She needs time to prepare, all right!
SNOWY: We’ve done a lot of preparations! We’re at tech week!
LEGGY: Yeah! We work out the kinks in tech week! That’s what it’s for!
SNOWY: Listen, if she can’t sync up with you, she’s out.
LEGGY: And replace her with what! She doesn’t have an understudy.
(Steven moves closer from the back of the theater)
STEVEN: Guys! Guys! This isn’t helping Paddy. Isn’t this all about stress or something?
SNOWY: And now we have an observer to this train wreck. Just perfect.
SNOWY: How about you get along out of here?
PADPARADSCHA: Steven… I’m going to make Steven upset right now.
LEGGY: Paddy! This isn’t your fault! If we had a decent director…
SNOWY: Stop whining! Just suck it up and work together.
PADPARADSCHA: … You know what, Leggy? Let’s do something together.
PADPARADSCHA: Let’s dance!
LEGGY: Paddy… I know you want to prove yourself but.
LEGGY: Like this?
PADPARADSCHA: I want to do this. Let’s dance.
STEVEN: Whoo! Paddy! Paddy! Paddy! You can do it!
LEGGY: Heh. With all that enthusiasm, we have to try!
LEGGY: Love is magic unrestrained.
(Leggy steps forward)
PADPARADSCHA: Unrestrained.
(She joins her)
LEGGY: Takes us through the grief and pain.
(Leggy moves forward)
PADPARADSCHA: Greif and pain.
LEGGY and PADPARADSCHA: Maybe love will come again.
(The two turn into light and a form Spessartine Garnet)
SPESSARTINE: Love will reign!
(Every Gem in the rehearsal is staring at Spessartine)
SPESSARTINE: What the… I couldn’t… We couldn’t… Do this before!
SNOWY: … It’s not like I don’t appreciate how big of a moment this is for you. But err… We still need you to play two separate characters.
SNOWY: Can you unfuse please?
STEVEN: Unfuse! Why would she do that!? This is awesome!
SPESSARTINE: … You know at the end of the day, I’m not sure this is worth it.
SPESSARTINE: Exit, stage left!
(Spessartine creates a smokescreen)
(All of the actors are confused) (Spessartine emerges from the smoke and takes Steven’s hand)
SPESSARTINE: Let’s get out of here, love.
(Spessartine and Steven end up outside the theater)
STEVEN: That’s so cool! You have smoke powers?
SPESSSARTINE: I guess it’s a natural combination of fire and plant abilities…. Maybe?
SPESSARTINE: I’m very confused. But I don’t want to defuse.
SPESSARTINE: I want to find myself. Or something?
STEVEN: With a Gem like you… Even Amethyst wouldn’t scare me!
SPESSARTINE: Do you… Really believe that?
STEVEN: Of course I do! You could even do that smokescreen trick if she got too close.
SPESSARTINE: Yeah… That’s right! I wouldn’t be useless! I could… Keep her promise!
SPESSARTINE: I think I’m going to do it! I’m going with you.
STEVEN: Really!
SPESSARTINE: You have my word… Words?
CONNIE: CURRENTLY UNAMED FUSION JOINS THE PARTY!