#shirley millner

[thegayfangrrl]

KILSOM Valentines (Round One)

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 5: Be Prepared (originally posted on September 25, 2023)

AN: We only have one chapter to go before the big halfway point, and I got quite a few things planned for it. We'll be getting the long-awaited rematch between Steven and Black Rutile, the beginning of the end of the Rutile Rebels, the true nature of Prince Nosiop's plans for the universe, and many more. Tensions will run high as the story reaches the second half, and the endgame will be the most epic that Alternate Future has seen yet. Now without further ado, let's get things started.

Synopsis: Black Rutile and her subordinates find themselves caught in a scheme by the insidious heir to Serpentes's throne to conquer the universe, and Black Rutile is all too eager to get in on the plan for the sake of revenge.

Cast:

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Jason Marsden as Prince Nosiop Jormagundr

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball, Doc, Navy, Army, Leggy

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

Gina Torres as Andesine

Avi Roque as Cinnabar

Awkwafina as Kyanite

Allison Janney as Pyrite

Kimberly Brooks as Dalmatian Jasper

Zehra Fazal as Zoisite

Lena Hall as Bloodstone

Jodie Whittaker as Xenotime

Barbara Dunkelman as Amber

Kristen Schaal as Howlite

Idina Menzel as Amazonite

Halsey as Tanzanite

Mia Barron as Apatite

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Keith David as Pyth

Cissy Jones as Princess Naja Jormagundr

Aurelio Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundrr

Shirley Millner as Queen Constricta Jormagundr

Zach Callison as Steven

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Atticus Shaffer as Peedee

Matthew Moy as Lars

Julissa Aguirre as Lady Imagineer

John Mulaney as Flipso

--

Prince Nosiop Jormagundr wasn't always the way he was today. When he was a young snake, Nosiop was a prince with big dreams for the future of his race. However, not everyone was willing to listen to him because he was so young, but he didn't let that deter him. One year, during the 419,982nd annual Contest of Champions, Nosiop tried once again to plead his case to his father.

"Conquering the Ood? Surely you jest, my boy!" King Cobralan objected to what his son had just said as the two slithered through the castle halls. "You know we'd be no match for their psychic abilities! It would be utterly stupid!"

"But please, Father, our lives could be so much easier with a hivemind serving us!" Nosiop stated, but his father still wouldn't listen. "In fact, tons of races and planets would be of great use to our people, like the Shamoians, the Mooninites, and the Watchdogs. Maybe we could even abduct ourselves a few Gems!"

"Enough, my son." Cobralan urged his future successor. "I can see you have big ideas, but unfortunately, they don't align with our culture. Now, I'm going to speak with the Universal Lords for a bit. You go off and have fun at the Contest with your mother and your baby sister." He then began to slither away. "I'll see you again soon."

Although Cobralan left the conversation with a smile, Nosiop wasn't as happy as his father. "He just doesn't get it!" Nosiop grumbled angrily. "We could be perfect conquerors, just the two of us ruling the universe as father and son!"

"It truly is a shame that your father wouldn't give you the time of day," Pyth said as he appeared behind Nosiop. "My father was like that too when I was your age. Unlike yours, however, he didn't live long enough to see things my way."

"Are you suggesting I kill my father?" Nosiop asked curiously, causing Pyth to laugh at the idea.

"No, my boy, I'm way past killing parents!" Pyth chuckled loudly. "What do you think I am, Uncle Claudius?!" After another round of laughter, Pyth decided to get serious as he put a hand on the young prince's shoulder. "Come with me, child. There are many things I wish to teach you."

Nosiop obediently followed the royal family's grand vizier down the hallways and into a hidden room within the castle walls. As loyal as he was to his father, the prince of the Slytherophidians often believed that Pyth was more of a dad to him because of how much they agreed with each other on certain topics, chief among them being what should the future holds for their race.

--

"Let's hear it for the Andesine Armada, the new and improved rebellion against the Crystal Gems!" Andesine cried as her new subordinates chanted her name to celebrate her and Cinnabar's victory against Rigby Starglow and Captain Gearfeet. "Today is a most momentous occasion in our time together. With Black Rutile no longer fit to lead our cabal of insurgents against the tyranny of the Crystal Gems, I have proven myself more than worthy of replacing her and instating myself as a gentle guiding hand in our grand mission." The Armada all cheered in excitement. "Under my leadership, not only shall we finally put the Crystal Gems out of their misery, but Black Rutile will soon be next!" Her new subordinates cheered again. "And furthermore, with the Diamonds temporarily out of commission, this shall be an ample opportunity for us to race back to Homeworld when no one's looking and seize power for ourselves!"

"But what if Black Rutile hears us?" Holly Blue asked nervously while looking left and right.

"Stuff and nonsense, we're behind closed doors here." Aquamarine snidely declared. "There's no way she can find us." Just then, the doors to the Andesine Armada's quarters opened behind Aquamarine, and in came Black Rutile with Nosiop and Pyth, much to the other Gems' shock as they tried silently begging her to shut up. "Of course, that is if she hasn't been brainwashed by Steven right about now."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?" Black Rutile abruptly interrupted Aquamarine's bravado, sending chills down her spine as she turned to face her former master. "So, this is what you've all been doing, huh?"

"Uh, my Rutile, this isn't what it looks like!" Cinnabar awkwardly apologized to her old mentor. "Andesine and I were just playing a little game of follow the leader!"

"A likely story." Black Rutile replied while pulling out her bowie knife. "Tell me more about this Andesine Armada you've all been bragging about."

"Should you tell her, or should I?" Tanzanite asked Amazonite.

"No, I value my life too much to even talk to her right now," Amazonite replied fearfully, casting an illusion to hide herself from Black Rutile.

"Now, everyone, let's just calm down here and talk things out." Amber tried to ease the tension, but Black Rutile quickly shoved her out of the way to confront Cinnabar and Andesine.

"I'm going to assume this was all your idea, Andesine." Black Rutile said to her old friend. "After all, your name is literally in the team name!"

"No, it wasn't, it was Kyanite's idea!" Andesine tried to shift the blame onto someone else.

"Hey, I've only been here a few minutes!" Kyanite cried. "What's going on?!"

"Please forgive us, Black Rutile, but we simply believe you can no longer lead us into battle." Cinnabar firmly stated. "Your exile to Earth has turned you soft and pathetic, and you are perfectly aware of it yet never once bothered to fix it!"

"I did!" Black Rutile exclaimed. "I tried allying with a Steven from another universe where I'm the good guy, I struck a bargain with an extra-dimensional jester, and I even used the Internet to turn humanity against the Crystal Gems!"

"But that's the thing, dearie," Pyrite stated while filing her nails. "You failed at every single one of those." She added while poking Black Rutile in the chest with her nail filer. "For all your planning and thinking you're one step ahead of everybody, you fail to realize that you're just as flawed as the rest of us."

"Is that so?" Black Rutile said before turning the knife into her massive sword. "How's this for flawed?!" With a mighty swing, Cinnabar and Andesine were sliced in two and poofed, to the horror of the other Gems around them.

"Boss, no!" Bloodstone yelled in horror as she raced to scoop up Cinnabar's inactive gem while Howlite did the same to her superior's.

"Now then, anyone else care to join them?" Black Rutile smirked while menacingly pointing her sword at the surviving resistance members. Although they were more willing to speak up to their fallen superior, this ragtag band of Gems had every right to keep their mouths shut until one of them spoke up.

"All hail Black Rutile!" Eyeball chanted vigorously. "All hail Black Rutile! Come on, guys!"

"All hail Black Rutile! All hail Black Rutile!" the other members of the newly rechristened Rutile Rebels joined Eyeball in cheering for their new leader.

"Now that's more like it!" Black Rutile laughed evilly while sneering at Cinnabar and Andesine's followers mourning the loss of their leaders. "Now that I've reinstated myself as your fearless leader, allow me to introduce a new acquaintance I've made in my time here." She motioned for Nosiop to step forward. "This is Prince Nosiop of the Jormagundr royal family, and much like me, he also desires a new era for his people."

"Yes indeed, I now present to you a grand idea for the Slytherophidian race," Nosiop stated. "With all of you at my side, we can overthrow my good-for-nothing father and instill myself as not just the new ruler of his empire but as the most powerful Universal Lord there is."

"Are you crazy?!" Holly Blue yelled. "You'd be a fool to challenge a Universal Lord, especially if it's your father, Nosiop!"

"My father is yesterday's message, a clapped-out and distracted regime." Nosiop began singing to the Gem rebels. "Whose failings undoubtedly presage the need for a different dream. Yes, serpentine times are a-changing, meaning you must do so too. My vision is clear and wide-ranging and even encompasses you."

"So, prepare for the coup of the century. Prepare for the murkiest scam." Black Rutile also began singing, and far more intensely than Nosiop, as if she was using the song to air out her insecurities. "Meticulous planning and tenacity spanning centuries of denial is simply why I'll be empress! Undisputed, respected, saluted, and seen for the visionary I am! Yes, my gem and ambitions are bared. Be prepared!"

"Yeah, be prepared, we'll be prepared!" Zoisite exclaimed. "Uh, for what?"

"For the death of my father and the beginning of a new era for Serpentes!" Nosiop loudly announced.

"What do we do, make him sick?" Dalmatian Jasper asked before Pyth coiled his tail around her neck.

"No, you fool, we're going to kill him." Pyth proclaimed.

"And Steven, too." Black Rutile added sinisterly before DJ was dropped to the ground.

"Splendid idea!" Xenotime cheered. "Who needs either of them?!"

"Idiots, there will still be someone to rule!" Nosiop yelled. "Together, Black Rutile and I shall conquer the universe together using the power of the Lapidarist, who has the power to reset all Gems to their basic functions!"

"Wait, really?" Emerald asked nervously, not having a clue as to what Nosiop was talking about.

"Yes, you would all be rejuvenated on a massive scale, so to speak." Nosiop grinned with a hiss. "With her powers, I shall have myself an unstoppable army to overthrow my family and conquer all that I see! Now, who's with me?!"

Despite the dire circumstances this would place not just them but all Gemkind in by wiping everything that made them the Gems they are today, the Rutile Rebels had no choice but to agree out of fear for their lives. However, some were still nervous about how Black Rutile would play a part in this, especially after how she heartlessly poofed two of her most loyal subordinates. "All hail Black Rutile and King Nosiop! All hail Black Rutile and King Nosiop!"

"So, prepare for a glorious future!" Black Rutile announced as the Rutile Rebels chanted, 'Be prepared!'. "Be prepared for a universal golden age!"

"And like any other who'd murder their father!" Eyeball laughed before Aquamarine pulled her fusion partner aside.

"If we don't spread rumors, she'll feed us and groom us!" Aquamarine stated.

"When we've got friends in high places, we hold all the aces!" the Rutile Rebels and a few snake guards chanted harmoniously.

"So don't try and rattle my scales." Nosiop snidely added.

"Oh, imagine if anyone dared!" the chorus cried out. "BE PREPARED!"

"So prepare for the coup of the century!" Nosiop and Black Rutile sang together. "Be prepared for the murkiest scam!"

"Meticulous planning, tenacity planning!" Nosiop proclaimed.

"Centuries of denial is simply why we'll!" Black Rutile added.

"Rule supreme undisputed, respected, saluted, and seen for the visionaries we are!" the villainous duo declared. "Yes, our gems, fangs, and ambitions are bared; be prepared!"

"Yes, our gems, fangs, and ambitions are bared!" Aquamarine, Eyeball, Holly Blue, and Cat's Eye, who have all loyally followed their leader despite everything that's happened, sang together.

"Be prepared!" the newly-formed union of the Rutile Rebels and Nosiop's followers announced, sealing their alliance with a shared evil laugh.

"Pleasure to be working alongside you, partner." Black Rutile said as she and Nosiop shook hands.

"The pleasure's all mine, partner." Nosiop hissed while covertly crossing two scaly fingers behind his back, which implied he desires to stab Black Rutile in the back when she least expected it.

--

"And that's the whole story of how we got here," Ronaldo said to Peedee elsewhere in the Ouraborium. "Though I'm pretty sure I didn't need to tell you all that since you did hitch a ride with us."

"You are definitely right on that one," Peedee answered.

"So why did you do it?" Steven asked. "What would Mr. Fryman say?"

"He said I should keep an eye on him no matter what," Peedee replied firmly. "And if that means hitching a ride with you guys on a spaceship heading for an alien planet in another galaxy, then I'll do it, no problemo. Plus, it would be nice to participate in one of your big adventures, Steven."

"It's nice to have you join in, too, Peedee," Steven said to his old friend with a hand on his shoulder. "But be warned, this planet is insanely deadly. You might be forced to fight for your life in a gladiatorial death match where you might die if you aren't careful!"

"Luckily, you got your big brother to protect you!" Ronaldo exclaimed excitedly while raising his sword.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Peedee dryly remarked, recalling Ronaldo's cowardice in his fight against the Decimator.

"Yeah, ditto." The three boys heard the voice of none other than Lars say as he walked up behind them. "Hey Steven, long time no see. Sorry we had to meet again like this."

"Lars, did they capture you too?!" Steven exclaimed at the undead human before him. "Oh no, where are the Off-Colors? Are they in trouble?!"

"Don't worry, they're fine," Lars assured Steven. "They're just stuck in a cell somewhere since none of them can fight per se. They only want me since I can't really die." Before Lars can continue, he suddenly noticed Ronaldo and Peedee standing behind Steven. "Wait, Ronaldo?! How and when did you and Peedee get here?!"

"We followed Steven here!" Ronaldo answered, smiling. "I was vindicated upon learning that the snake people, I mean, Slytherophidians, were real all along, like many of my theories, and I came along to gather as much info as I could about their people so I could spread them to the humans!"

"And I came along to keep Ronaldo from accidentally killing himself," Peedee added. "So, how's your space adventures been going?"

"That's actually a funny story. The Off-Colors and I were journeying to Wasprus when we got abducted." Lars revealed to the two humans. "Once their guards noticed that I'm basically invincible after experimenting on me, they said they wanted to keep me here forever so I'll keep fighting for as long as the universe lives."

An intercom crackled to life as if the Slytherophidians heard Lars' explanation. "For our next fight, we shall be pitting the one and only Lars of the Stars against the flying dreamer Lady Imagineer!" the voice of Queen Constricta announced. "Now, Lars, be sure you're as ready as you'll ever be because Ms. Imagineer is a very tough opponent."

"Well, speak of the devil." Lars muttered in surprise as the guards moved him to the arena. "Wish me luck, guys! I'm going to need it!"

"Good luck, Lars!" Steven hollered as Lars got further away from him and the Fryman brothers.

--

"Nosiop, are you there?" Naja called for her older brother while slinking through the castle halls. "Where are you? Father is getting worried and wants to see you." Unfortunately, her big brother did not answer. "Come on, Nosey, where are you?"

"Looking for someone, my dear?" Aquamarine asked as she fluttered down and landed on the floor next to Naja. "I once felt lost, too, but then I realized I had someone right by my side this whole time."

"You're one of those Rutile Rebels, aren't you?" Naja asked Aquamarine. "What do you want with me?"

"Oh, how very astute, your grace," Aquamarine replied with a mocking curtsy. "Now then, you were looking for someone, right?"

"Yes, I'm looking for Nosiop," Naja stated. "Have you seen him?"

"I am right here, dearest Naja." Nosiop hissed as he, Pyth, and Black Rutile emerged from the shadows. "Oh, I am so sorry that my sweet baby sister was so scared her big brother wasn't there to keep her safe. Then again, you were always pretty scared but always tried hiding it by acting like the showman you want to be."

"He does raise a good point there, princess." Black Rutile snidely added before cupping Naja's face in her hand. "You ever feel like your old man and the queen have been holding you back from reaching your full potential, Naja?"

"Nosiop, what are you doing fraternizing with Black Rutile?!" Naja asked hurriedly. "You know she's an intergalactic criminal imprisoned for multiple counts of attempted genocide! Stay away from her!"

"Oh please, you threaten to destroy one planet multiple times, and everyone treats you like the bad guy." Black Rutile rolled her eyes in disgust. "Anyways, your brother isn't fraternizing with me. I'M fraternizing with HIM. As it turns out, the two of us have something in common, and we became close quite instantly."

"Perhaps you'd like to join us on our little crusade." Nosiop offered while taking his sister's hand. "Together, the two of us can rule the universe side by side as brother and sister with an unstoppable Gem army at our command, and no one will have to judge you for what you really are!"

"What are you saying?" Naja asked, growing more concerned for her big brother's mental status by the second.

"I'm saying that Mother and Father are holding us back!" Nosiop yelled in his sister's face, momentarily flicking his forked tongue at her. "I have legitimately good ideas for our people, but no one ever takes me seriously! But Black Rutile, on the other hand, truly understands my suffering, for she has encountered the same problems as I!"

"Indeed, I was made an outcast because I disagreed with the current status quo of my race." Black Rutile added, trying to look as innocent as possible with a pout and big, pleading eyes toward Naja. "I was even betrayed by my friends who started thinking little of me, but I changed that quickly."

"I know where this is going, and I refuse to take part in it!" Naja exclaimed as she tried to escape the oncoming swarm of Rutile Rebels. "Father will hear about this!"

"Well, excuse me, Princess, but I think not." Black Rutile hissed angrily. "Rubies, seize her!"

"Yes, my Rutile!" the Rubies obediently chorused as they jumped up and tackled Naja to the ground. "Princess has been secured!"

"Excellent, little Rubies." Pyth purred eagerly. "Now, please show the dear princess to her room until further notice." He gave orders with a sadistic smile. "Wouldn't want her getting in the way by telling everybody."

"You won't get away with this!" Naja yelled angrily as the Rubies dragged her away. "Steven will find out!" As Nosiop watched the Rubies carry off his sister, he turned away in shame at having to betray his sister like this. But alas, their worldviews had no choice but to clash as he still had far grander designs in mind, and she didn't play a role in them. With a heavy sigh, the visionary prince looked to his new Gem ally and his royal vizier, who looked back at him with sinister smiles.

--

Meanwhile, in the Ouraborium, Lars had been pitted against the flying dreamer Lady Imagineer in combat, but despite his moderate skill in combat, the donut boy turned undead space hero was outmatched in every way possible.

"Stay still, for Pete's sake!" Lars groaned as he tried catching up with Lady Imagineer's airborne acrobatics. "Just because I'm human doesn't mean I can't beat you!"

"But that's what makes your race so fun, Lars!" Imagineer laughed sweetly. "You have so much potential; you just need to learn not to waste it!"

"Yeah, that's my sister up there!" the reality-warping trickster Flipso cheered for Lady Imagineer while conjuring up a smartphone to record the fight with. "You're doing amazing, sweetie!" Suddenly, Solaris Noctua turned his gaze to find Flipso in the audience below where he and the other Universal Lords were seated. Flipso immediately hid himself by disguising himself as a Slytherophidian. "Gotta keep up appearances."

"Quit flying around so much!" Lars yelled as he tried using his portal powers to scream his way to Lady Imagineer, but she was far too quick on her feet for him to keep up.

"Gonna have to catch me first!" Imagineer giggled before conjuring up an illusion of Sadie that made Lars blush, distracting him long enough for the space pirate to realize he was now falling to the ground. "I can also conjure up illusions based on what I find in your mind."

"YOU SUUUUUUUUCK!" Lars screamed before he landed on the ground with a loud thud, prompting the audience to chant.

"FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM!" the Slytherophidians cheered as Lady Imagineer floated down to where Lars landed and helped him up.

"Ugh, my back." Lars groaned in pain as he shuffled away. "This is probably the second most humiliating moment in my life, right after Steven possessing my body."

"Oh, come on, Lars, at least you had fun, right?" Lady Imagineer asked with a cute smile.

"Yeah, maybe it was a little fun." Lars laughed dryly before continuing his walk of shame.

--

"Oh, my back." Lars groaned in pain as he struggled back to the quarters the Jormagundr royal family gifted him upon his arrival on Serpentes and slumped on the closest velveteen couch to sleep his troubles away. "Oh, sweet Velveteen Rabbit. Take me away on your Edwardian adventures."

"Anything the matter, Lars?" Emerald asked while walking in and stroking Lars's aching back.

"Just lost to Lady Imagineer," Lars said while turning his head to face Emerald. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to comfort an 'old friend' of mine in these trying times," Emerald replied. "Seeing you so humiliated like that, while it was cathartic to see you feel how you always made me feel back in the day, it just pained me to see a worthy opponent go down like that."

"What are you saying?" Lars asked, not expecting a good answer at all.

"I'm saying is that Steven has ruined your life for long enough!" Emerald exclaimed. "First, he repeatedly robs you of your dignity, then he takes you away from your home planet where you were forced to die for him, and now you're fighting for your life on another alien planet! And you're expected to become his friend after all that?!"

"You're wrong!" Lars yelled as he bolted up, briefly yelping in pain. "Yeah, Steven and I got off on the wrong foot, but he still willingly gave up everything for the wellbeing of others, even me, and I returned the favor! Now, I'm living the dream as a badass space hero like in the old TV shows with a bizarro found family of Off-Colors!"

"That's what I hated about you, Lars, outside of the fact you stole my favorite ship and got away with it," Emerald stated while pulling out her spiked club from her gem, now pulsating with electricity as she pointed it at Lars. "You're way too human!" She swung her club at Lars, who deflected it with a kick.

"No, I'm just human enough!" Lars smirked before punching Emerald's face and knocking her down. "What's with the change in attitude? Last time I saw you, you were willing to face punishment for your crimes."

"Things have changed. Though I wanted to atone, eventually, I grew tired of Black Rutile's wailing and believed my failures were because of her." Emerald revealed. "Ditto for Demantoid, Pyrope, and Morganite as well."

"Guess old habits die hard, I suppose," Lars muttered before Emerald tried taking him by surprise with another swing of her club, but Lars dodged in the nick of time and sent her flying towards the wall with a combo of fists and feet. As Emerald lay injured against the wall, Demantoid, Pyrope, and Morganite raced to see what was happening.

"Emerald, what happened here?!" Morganite asked while helping the renowned pilot to her feet.

"Seems like I got a little shortsighted again." Emerald laughed weakly. "At least I tried to get one over on him."

"This won't be the last you'll see of us, Lars of the Stars," Demantoid said to Lars. "When next we meet, you will face the full might of the Rutile Rebels."

"And I'll be onto you like a Langdon Cobb movie." Lars replied firmly.

"Do any of you have a clue as to what he said?" Pyrope asked while the three Gems carried Emerald away, to which Demantoid and Morganite responded with hushed confusion.

--

In the Crystal Gems' room in the arena, Steven was sitting worriedly on the couch with Peedee as Ronaldo paced around the sofa, thinking about Lars's loss and how it would affect them. "Well, there goes Lars." Ronaldo declared bluntly. "Either of you got any bright ideas?"

"I'm not sure what to do now," Peedee replied. "I mean, what chance do we have now that the Diamonds have been poofed and Lars is out of commission? In fact, where are the Crystal Gems?"

"Off being forced to fight more innocent aliens," Steven added. "Speaking of which, I wonder how Black Rutile is doing."

"Attention all combatants, our next fight is a very special one!" Constricta's voice announced through the arena's PA system. "For quite possibly the biggest show yet in the Contest of Champions, we give you Steven Universe versus Black Rutile!"

"What?!" the three boys yelled while Black Rutile stormed into the room with an evil laugh.

"I see you just heard my big surprise for you, Steven!" Black Rutile announced joyfully. "As arranged by my dear friend Prince Nosiop, we shall have our long-awaited rematch, and I'll finally get the chance to destroy you once and for all!"

"No one destroys a boy like you, my Rutile," Aquamarine said while perched on Black Rutile's shoulder. "See you soon, Steven." The two Gems laughed as Black Rutile turned around and left, leaving Steven horrified at what he had just heard.

"This is not good; this is not good at all," Steven muttered nervously. "Everyone here already hates me because I don't want to kill people, so they'll no doubt be rooting for Black Rutile to destroy me! What do I do?!"

"Hey, don't fret, Steven, just believe in yourself," Ronaldo suggested. "Believe in the Ronaldo who believes in you."

"He's right," Peedee added. "Some people can't believe in themselves until someone believes in them first. Remember that no matter what, everyone back at Beach City has your back."

"Thanks, guys," Steven said with his eyes closed. "But I guess I have no other choice." He opened his eyes, revealing that one of them now had a diamond-shaped pupil.

--

And so, we finally reach the halfway point of Snake Eyes with the long-awaited rematch between Steven and Black Rutile, allowing them to finally settle the score after their numerous fights in Alternate Future. And this time, Black Rutile won't just decide to give up on Steven and let him wallow in shame, she's going in for the kill and has a lot of issues left over she'll use their upcoming fight for. How will things turn out? Find out next week.

[mlphaiku]

THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Decades long late book

Costs librarian her job

Best start Twilighting

[black-velvet-lady]

A Link to Part 1

I said I would continue and here I am

Main Female Villain and the Treatment of Mental Illness

Hexadecimal Vs Azula

Out of the two series these characters have the most in common with one another. Both are the leading female villain and the more powerful sister to a earlier showcased villainous brother. Both have a sinister musical score that plays when they're about to make an appearance. Both have a supposed mental disorder or illness showcased by the narrative. Both when confronted by the heroes require more to defeat then her brother as her schemes have a unique form of intelligence and genius to them that often causes quite a lot of damage. Both’s declining mental state in linked with an aspect of their appearance, with Azula it’s her hair, with Hex it’s her mask. Both have very little social graces and are unable to properly attract the affections of a guy they’re interested in. Both are sexualized more so then the heroic female sibling. But there is a fundamental change in their treatment.

Hexadecimal is a character whose personality is also linked to her unique design. Her face is a static mask that requires being swapped out for a change in expression. This swap happens in seconds often requiring her character model to break line of sight with the audience, either through a turn of the head or swipe of the hand across her face. These static opera inspired theatre masks reflect her personality. There’s no transition. In the same way the mask can shift from one extreme to another, Hexadecimal can go from pleasant and kind one second, to maniacal laughter and bone chilling the next. A huge part in that goes to the phenomenal voice acting of  Shirley Millner.

A case could be made that Yang’s attempt at writing a post series Azula comes close to the rapid mood swapping of Hexadecimal but there is a fundamental issue with that. While Azula is presented as dangerous when her mood changes quickly, Hexadecimal is presented as dangerous when she’s bored. And the emphasis is entirely necessary. Her quick mood changes are presented as just the way she is and she’s not particularly any more dangerous when her mood switches from happy and having a good time, to angry-scream-your-face-off. What makes Hexadecimal dangerous is her alignment.

Hexadecimal and Megabyte are two extremes, chaos and order respectively. Mainframes usual state is a balance in between. You could equate this to Raava and Vaatu.

The problem with Raava and Vaatu that many picked up on is that they are simplified into one being good and the other being evil, the Catholic God and devil analogy which doesn't work in something like Taoism. Good and evil are nebulous concepts that are affected by societal ideals and standards and are not some one size fits all check list. Ying and Yang are the idea of opposites whose heart is reflected in the other neither good nor bad.

This idea of extremism and the healthy medium is something reflected in another Mainframe Entertainment program Beast Machines the chaos of organic life and the uniformity of the mechanical. Order and Chaos. Only the healthy medium will bring balance to the world. (Sorry couldn't resist)

Enough about the concept of Chaos/Order/Balance, back to Hexy.

Like I said Hexadecimal's mental state is linked to her mask just as Azula’s is linked to her perfectly symmetrical bangs. There's a portion of the story where Hexadecimal's mask gets damaged and results in her being more volatile and erratic, this is probably Hexadecimal at her most dangerous. Something we can reasonably assume is that her volatile outbursts when her mask is cracked is due to her being in pain from the damage itself. But even in this volatile and aggressive state the hero Bob remains calm and offers Hexadecimal compassion and one particular act actually wins her over.

Now this scene might need some explanation. This takes place during the final arch of season three. Season three was 16 episodes long separated into four archs that were four episodes long each. The first arch took place after the first war in the series known as the Web Wars, culminating in Bob the series protagonist and hero being sent into the web with no hope of return.

Megabyte and Hexadecimal are left with a very dangerous Weapon of Mass Destruction that being a laser that the Viruses and Mainframers had to band together to create to fight the web creatures that were about to invade the system. Hex aims it at the principal office and Megabyte attempts to intimidate the heroes into standing down so he can take over the system little known fact though, if Hex decides she wants to do something or not do something you can’t really tell her otherwise.

She wanted to watch the Principal Office blow up cause it would be fun, and despite Megabyte telling her doing so would destroy the core and by extension the system and them along with it, she still wants to blow it up for funsies. You could make an argument that she might survive the system crashing, but still.

This is where I brake to talk about the character placement: One of the biggest things that Reboot has going for it that Avatar did not in their portrayals of these two is they knew where to keep Hex.

Azula had far too much screen time and focus in comparison to Ozai our main villain and in so doing she hijacked the main villain spot. Ozai was boring to put it plain and simple despite being voiced by Mark Hamill the iconic voice actor for the Joker in Batman the animated series. This is such a huge issue that fans of the show still form head-canons and ideas that a fourteen year old girl is secretly the mastermind behind Ozai. Azula is a henchmen, people act like she’s the Joker when she’s NOT. Azula has more in common with Harley Quinn than she does the Joker. Hexadecimal on the other hand... 

Hexadecimal has always been a separate Villain from Megabyte despite her relation with him as his sibling the two don’t normally pair up. Hexadecimal also doesn’t often take the spotlight from Megabyte as the main villain, despite causing more damage when she does come up with a scheme. She’s just doesn’t have plans like him, like she says “He got the brains while she got the power.” This power is something Megabyte has always coveted and desired to use for himself and he gets his chance in episode two.

That weapon of mass destruction I mentioned earlier? Yeah a game cube dropped on part of it and overloaded it while Hex was holding onto it. It very nearly killed her akin to electrocution, like she was a charred, twisted, burnt to a crisp, smoking corpse. Megabyte had her picked up and healed her with a caveat, she now has a shock collar around her neck that causes her so much pain that she literally passes out the first time its used on her, and the controls are on Megabyte’s wrist.

He effectively turns her into a living weapon. She’s imprisoned locked in a cell with her hands and feet bound and hurt when she disobeys. The heroes are even horrified that Megabyte has done this to his sister before they finally seal him, his army, and Hex inside a firewall. Season 3′s second and and third arch don’t focus on Mainframe but we are given flashbacks of what happened during the 13th episode Megaframe where its revealed Hex eventually broke out of Megabyte’s containment was rightfully pissed and destroyed his base, the firewall, most of his men, and half of Mainframe in her resulting warpath against him before she retreated to her lair and sulked.

So at this point, Hex has nearly died, been imprisoned and abused, she notices her favourite guardian is back in the system and essentially kidnaps him, makes him dance with her, and have a tea party all under threat but Bob doesn’t fight her. Unlike a certain someone.

Bob is calm, patient, compassionate even. Hexadecimal is dangerous there is never any doubt about that but she is also hurting and even admits to being scared. His desire to leave is only to help out the rest of his friends that are dealing with a battle against Megabyte while he’s stuck with Hex. He could fight her, make a portal and escape but he doesn’t. Bob recognizes Hex is hurting and he takes the time to help her.

The image of her slowly taking in her new moving features, the slow smile and the way she touches her face in awe is one of those moments in cartoons that have been burned into my brain. He made her feel whole, for the first time in her life, you can tell by her smile that this feels good. And she closes her eyes in this thankful expression and says “For you Bob... Anything.” There is such a gravity in that when we see Hex’s final arch.

There can be no doubt Hexadecimal loved Bob, she’s incredibly overt about it, but in the end she acknowledges that he does not hold her in his heart the same way she does him. And in the end she makes the choice to sacrifice herself to save him and by extension the world so that he could be happy with the person he loved.

This is not a death by redemption. Hexadecimal made the choice to switch over due to her affection for the man who made her feel whole for the first time in her life. “For you Bob... Anything.” Was the moment Hexadecimal made that switch from enemy to ally. It’s not an easy transition and characters like Dot and Matrix are not receptive to her change.

This is not something that can be said for Azula especially post series. Azula is rarely viewed with compassion either, and her post series work and even that of finale reeks of abelism.

Hexadecimal is never treated as wrong for being quick to flip her emotions, or having a strange sense of humour, its simply how she is as a person and even after her death characters will refer to these situations as just who she is. Even after her mask is given the ability to transition it doesn’t erase her quirky nature it just... lets her transition more smoothly.

Azula on the other hand is treated as a lost cause, dangerous, and unpredictable. It’s used as a reason for the comic’s to treat her terribly because Azula was apparently the main villain now.

In the end these two had archs that worked in reverse, Azula lost her stability as season 3 went on while Hexadecimal gained it, and in the end both met their demise by love. Azula by having it repeatedly revoked from her, while Hex walked willingly to it with the people who cared the most for her trying to talk her out of it.

[totallyhextra]

"Your Hex voice was very close, you had a real handle on her attitude!" - Shirley fuuking Millner

[takerfoxx]

Strap in folks, because I couldn’t narrow it down to a single fav from this series, so buck up guys, because today we have a four-way tie! The fav(s) of the day are...

MEGABYTE! 

Reboot was a very special show. Not only was it the first all CGI show ever and singlehandedly innovated much of the technology, but it also featured great writing, great direction, and a lot of creativity. And it had some amazing characters, not the least of which was its main villain.

In fact, Megabyte might just very well be one of the coolest villains ever. He hasan awesome design that conveyed power, malice, speed, and intelligence, and he checked off just about every box off an awesome bad guy. Strong enough to throw around armored vehicles like toys? Check. Genuinely brilliant? Check. A thin veneer of class and manners? Check. Does everything with style? Check. Ends up being completely immune to the threat decay most animated villains suffer from and actually becomes more threatening, more ruthless, and more terrifying as the show goes on? Big check. Hell, he spends most of season three having actually defeated the good guys and ruling over all of Mainframe, and is only stopped from spreading his infection to the super computer at the very last second. 

But most of all, credit has to be given to the late, great Tony Jay for giving him just the most awesome voice ever. Ever line is just so silky smooth, so dripping with malice and evil. Whether he be trying to manipulate the heroes, giving dastardly commands to his underlings, or just dropping the pretenses and making it clear that he is here to fuck shit up, every word just sends a chill down your spine. 

But the best of it is, he actually wins! No, I’m serious, the final episode ends on a cliff-hanger, with a now more vicious than ever Megabyte having taken over Mainframe again and making it clear that he intends to hunt down the heroes one by one to eliminate them. This was done in hopes that it would drum up enough fan interest to get funding for a full continuation. Sadly, this never materialized and Reboot was cancelled for good, but I guess that does mean that Megabyte ends up the winner. And no, the Guardian Code doesn’t fucking count.

Plus he dueled Bob in an awesome guitar duel in what is probably the greatest moment in animation history ever, so that’s amazing.

AND HEXADECIMAL!

However, his sister Hexadecimal is a different sort of beast entirely, but no less awesome. If Megabyte is the perfect example of lawful evil, than she is chaotic evil incarnate. The woman of a million masks is far more powerful than her already OP brother, and a million times crazier. She cares little for power and control. After all, she has it already, and would rather spend her time wreaking havoc just for the fun of it.

Hex isn’t all that active for a first season and a half, probably because the creators knew that a villain that powerful would be too much of a problem to keep trying to come up with a solutions for. But her rare solo episodes are among the series’ best, with the heroes barely managing to snatch victory by the barest of centimeters, and having to rely on their wits to do so. And she is just a joy to watch on-screen, with Shirley Millner obviously having a blast voicing her. She can go from kind and grandmotherly to downright seductive to shrieking with laughter at the carnage she’s about to unleash to driven by blind fury at the drop of a hat, and every conversation with her has the participants constantly shitting themselves, hoping not to upset her. And she knows it.

Hex also gets a rather fascinating character arc. As twisted as she is, her infatuation with Bob does give her some redeeming qualities, and he is smart enough to take advantage of that to get her to do the right thing on more than one occasion. He also is the only person to show her genuine kindness, and one act of mercy eventually does convince her to throw in with the good guys. Even then she’s great fun to watch, as it’s clear she’s only in it out of affection for Bob, and everyone just has to learn to work with that, because what else can they do? But in time she becomes an actual hero herself, giving her life for save the entire Net from the greatest threat the show has ever seen. And it’s awesome.

I’ll freely admit, when I wrote Yuuka Kazami in Imperfect Metamorphosis, I pretty much ripped off Hexadecimal’s personality for her, to...interesting results. But as much fun as Yuuka was to write, she doesn’t hold a candle to the original Queen of Chaos, long may she reign.

AND MATRIX!

As far as kid characters go, little Enzo Matrix was...all right. He started off annoying as such characters do, but he did grow and mature and actually make himself useful, so his over-enthusiasm eventually became kind of endearing. And his struggles to prove himself once the heroes lose Bob was pretty fascinating. 

But then the show flips the script. He loses a game and is forced to switch into Game Sprite mode to avoid being nullified, causing him and Andraia to leave wit the game. And when we do catch up with them, it is much later, and little Enzo is all grown up.

And he is awesome.

Matrix is every 90′s anti-hero all rolled into one. He’s big, he’s muscular, he’s gruff, he’s short tempered, he likes shooting things, he has all the angst, and he even has a cool mechanical eye to replace the one he lost in the games. Normally this sort of thing would be annoying, but the show does take a great deal of time to show how his insecurities and PTSD have shaped him into what he became, with him often having to face his own flaws in his quest to get home. Added to the fact that we already know the plucky kid he used to be instead of just getting to see him in flashbacks, and you got yourself some great television.

But while show doesn’t cut Matrix any slack when he screws up (which is awesome), it also doesn’t condemn him for changing like he did, acknowledging that what he went through was terrible and he did what he had to do to survive. Plus, it also doesn’t shy away from giving him a lot of genuine badass moments. And that final fight where he goes one-on-one with Megabyte? Pure awesome.

AND ANDRAIA!

No raging angst machine is complete without someone level-headed to keep them in check, and AndrAIa is exactly that. A Game Sprite that befriended Enzo during a game and managed to trick the game itself into letting her stay with him. I admit, when I was a kid, I had wee bit of a crush on her, and was really interested in what this new character could bring to the story.

Like Enzo, she also has to do a lot of growing up to survive the games, maturing from an overly-literal fish-out-of-water into a cool and confident (and hot, I’ll freely admit it) warrior, who was the Ying to Matrix’s Yang. Their relationship was pretty great, from how they support one another to their bickering but always reconciling. AndrAIa is never one to take Matrix’s shit and will call him on it, but also be there to build him back up when he’s down.

Unfortunately, given how late in the series she appeared, AndrAIa doesn’t have much of a character arc of her own, which is a real shame. She’s a constant supporting character, and it did annoy me that she never really got much to do that wasn’t directly related to what another character was doing. Personally I would liked to see her have more agency and more of her own struggles to deal with instead of always being the one to help others with their own. Still, for what it’s worth, she is incredibly cool. I just wish she got to have more to do.

I come from the net. Through systems, peoples and cities to this place: Mainframe.

[sapphic-sith]

Aw man, I just binged through all the shows I’ve been meaning to catch up on and start: Bob’s Burgers, The Dragon Prince and now I just finished Disenchanment. 

There’s still the Great British Bake Off even if 3/4 of my favorite people are gone.

And then there is ReBoot: Guardian Code’s second season....

But they finally brought back Hexadecimal...who is stILL VOICED BY THE ORIGINAL, SHIRLEY MILLNER!!!!!

I don’t like that show, I don’t want to give it my support. 

But I do want it to get enough attention so Rainmaker will go “Hmm, people want ReBoot, but not this new stuff. Maybe we should have hired the original team to let them finish the series properly.” (Yeah, I know that will never happen, but I can dream!)

[positivitycritic]

So, I was tagged in a thing, by @horizon-runner.

Rules: Pick ten favorite characters from ten shows and then spread this benign meme-virus to ten other people.

In all honesty, if I were to do an exhaustive review of every episode of every show I’ve watched, this list would probably be populated mostly by one-off characters that only appears in a couple episodes. I don’t really have the time or patience for that, though, so here are my “Top 10 TV characters I can think of within a reasonable amount of time” (in no particular order):

1. 10th Doctor (Doctor Who)- Some of the doctors are a tad too ‘quirky’, some a tad too serious. David Tennant played the best balance of the two and provided some of the most memorable moments of the entire series.

2. Omar Little (The Wire)- in a show with a pretty impressive cast of characters (and actors), Michael Williams’ performance as Omar easily stood out from the rest. One of the best things about The Wire is that you get a lot of insight into the characters’ philosophies via their actions, and Omar’s philosophy about “the game” and it’s rules is unique within the show.

3. Q (Star Trek: The Next Generation)- As only a recurring character on the show, Q didn’t get much screen time on TNG, but John de Lancie’s hilarious acting helped him steal every scene he was in.

4. Hexadecimal (ReBoot)- As largely a kids show, ReBoot is full of caricatures and cheesiness (but the good kind, like cheddar or Parmesan). And then you have Hexadecimal, a scenery chewing villain that does a better job of embodying chaos than The Joker himself. She is funny, intimidating, and surprisingly likable given her villain status. And again, the voice performance by Shirley Millner goes a long way toward earning Hexadecimal a spot on the list.

5. Crona (Soul Eater)- The stylized world of Soul Eater seems to run almost entirely on equal parts “rule of cool” and “rule of funny”. While Crona (voiced by Maaya Sakamoto) is undeniably bad-ass when they unleash in a fight, in terms of personality they are not particularly “cool” or funny. Abused into submission as a villain by her mother, Crona has extremely low self-esteem and can’t even life comfortably inside their own mind. Of all the characters on the show, Crona is the most human and has the most believable, engaging arc.

6. Kamina (Gurren Lagann)- Another anime character, but in contrast to Crona, Kamina is the ultimate paragon of cool. Normally I wouldn’t really like that in a character, but Kamina (voiced by Kyle Hebert in the English Dub) pulls it off with sincerity and authenticity. He’s cocky, but he’s also genuine, respectful (usually), and loyal. I have to dock him some points for his attitude toward women, but he’s too memorable a character to leave off the list/

7. Kingpin (Daredevil)- Blah Blah amazing fight scenes, nice chemistry whatever. For me, the first season of Daredevil was all about Vincent D’Onofrio’s take on the villain Kingpin. If there’s a theme in this list, I’d guess that it’s authenticity. It’s no different with Kingpin, who is absolutely fascinating to watch whether he’s getting his hands (and car doors) dirty in a blind rage, or trying to make a human connection on a date. Also, while you may hate his methods, his “I have a vision of greatness for my city” motives read as much more sincere than other similar villains.

8. Petyr Baelish (Game of Thrones)- I fought myself back and forth between Tyrion and Baelish on this one. Ultimately, while Tyrion may be the one I prefer to root for, it’s hard not to admire the way Baelish plays the game (purely from a character perspective, of course). He’s faded down the stretch (it seems like the writers don’t really know what they want to do with him now), but his speech from “The Climb” in season 3 was one of the more memorable moments of the show.

9. Gustavo “Gus” Fring (Breaking Bad)- As with Baelish, it was super hard for me to pick between Gus and Hank for this one. Hank started out as one of my least favorite characters, but the panic attack arc quickly made me reconsider him. Still, the cold, calculating Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) is just too great of a character not to include. He rarely let anyone, even the audience, in on what was going on in his head, and that’s part of what made him so irresistible as a character.

10. Walter and Perry (Home Movies)- That might look like two names, but make no mistake, these two essentially are a single character. They are probably the most ridiculous characters on this list, but they own every scene they’re in, and make it onto the list for sheer hilarity and quotability.

Honorable Mentions:

Benjamin Sisko (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)- A common Trekkie debate is whether Kirk or Picard is the best captain in the franchise. I’d throw in Ben Sisko (technically not a captain until later in the series, but he still counts). I could cite the historical precedent factor (first black Star Trek captain), but I’d prefer to let him stand on the performance of Avery Brooks as a dutiful, moral, and ethical (it is Star Trek, after all) commander forced to question his values in the face of an intergalactic threat larger than any other captain has faced. Also, the episode “The Visitor” would easily make my “100 best episodes of TV” list.

Pegasus (Yugi-Oh)- He’s just super fun, alright? Yes, I like Yugi-Oh, and Pegasus is awesome.

Ben Linus (Lost)- If I was only looking at season 2-4 Ben Linus, then he’d be on this list for sure. As it stands, the entire show started to crumble toward the end, and this gem of a villain was dragged down with it.

“Ensemble shows”- Firefly, The West Wing, How I Met Your Mother, Cowboy Bebop, The Walking Dead, Star Trek TOS, Twin Peaks, and Steven Universe (among others I’m probably forgetting right now) have amazing casts of actors/characters collectively, but it’s hard to single out a single character from them that I would put in my Top 10 individually.

Now for my tags… I’m not actually sure I have 10 mutals to tag here, but let’s go with: @idontcarethatyoudontcare, @duchessofwinnipeg, @sugahthrussy, @negrek and... yeah. That’s about it. If you want me to tag you/be your friend, hit me up with a message I guess, then I can add you to the list. Forever.

[thescorpioking1983]

List of people I can’t tear myself away when they speak.

Brock Peters

Lena Horne

James Coburn

Bill Nighy

Morgan Freeman

Tony Jay

Sydney Poitier

Gary Oldman

Idris Elba

Sanaa Lathan

Olivia Spencer

Sir Patrick Stewart

Sir Ian McKellen

Rick Yune

Karl Yune

Neil Jackson

Steve Blum

Mako

Dame Judi Dench

Cate Blanchett

Antonio Banderas

Shirley Millner

Bette Davis

Audrey Hepburn

Mary Elizabeth Glynn

Crispin Freeman

Wendee Lee

Brian Drummond

Kirk Thornton

Travis Willingham

Ben Diskin

Patrick Seitz

Estelle

Carmen Ejogo

Sir Richard Harris

Whoopi Goldberg

Bea Arthur

Dwight Schultz

Corey Burton

[lipwak]

VHS #398

No more to say & nothing to weep for – an elegy for Allen Ginsberg, The Source, War Made Easy, Fox Attacks: Iran, 9/11 For The Record, Bill Moyers Journal, Ralph Nader – An Unreasonable Man (Independent Lens), Whitest Kids You Know spot for IFC, excerpts of No End In Sight, Mardi Gras 2007, start of the Mid-City Parade. *** No more to say & nothing to weep for – an elegy for Allen Ginsbergw/o commercials48:38Ovation See the whole thing here: https://youtu.be/tQSabbZXmi0 Ballad of the Skeletons, Patterson, NJ, his father was a high school teacher, Eugene Brooks (Allen’s brother), father Socialist, mother Communist, first poetry, Bob Rosenthal, William Carlos Williams, met Kerouac, On The Road (Steve Allen Show), Ann Charters, Gary Snyder, Robert Creeley, Blake vision at Columbia, poesy, did marketing research, Kenneth Rexroth, Peter Orlovsky, Peter now, Michael McClure, strophes, reads Howl, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Phillip Glass, where did all that come from? - he was completely stoned, Kaddish, Anne Waldman, chanted with Gary, w/ William Buckley, Timothy Leary, Hum Bomb, Ed Sanders, Chicago '68, Rocky Flats, Buddhism, Naropa, w/ Paul McCartney - Ballad of American Skeletons, Father Death Blues, personal ad, Patti Smith reads at his funeral, his death bed, Gospel Noble Truths, *** The Source1:21:54 Allen Ginsberg, Ann Charters?, William Burroughs, Ed Sanders, Gregory Corso, Ann Waldman, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Steve Martin, Gene Krupa, Jack Kerouac, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Duke Ellington, Herbert Hunke, John Howard Lawson (in front of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, 10/29/47), Philip Glass, Robert Creeley, Ann Charters, Walter Cronkite, J Edgar Hoover, Dizzy Gillespie, George Stade, The Living Theater, John Cage, Charlotte Moorman, David Amram, Charley Parker, Jerry Mulligan, Miles Davis, Flaming Creatures (movie excerpt), Hiparama of the Classiscs (Lord Buckley), Granny from the Beveraly Hillbillies, Kyle Roderick, Shirley Clarke, Gilbert Millstein, Steve Allen, Johnny Depp (reads from On The Road), Ken Kesey, Gary Snyder, James Dean, Denver CO, Neal Cassady, Jerry Garcia, (music of Tom Waits), Jack Kerouac St/City Lights Bookstore, Jack Micheline, Michael McClure, Phillip Whalen, (John Turturro reading Howl), Norman Mailer, (Bill and Tony movie excerpt), Terry Southern, Brion Gysin, (The Cut Ups movie excerpt), Robert Motherwell, Mortimer Burroughs (William's brother), Dennis Hopper (reading Naked Lunch), Timothy Leary, Alfred Hitchcock, (Stan Freberg soundbite heard), Louis Armstrong, Maynard G Krebs (Bob Denver) , Happy Days, Route 66 (Martin Millner, George Maharis), The Subterraneans (movie excerpt w/ George Peppard and (Leslie Caron?)), Amari Baraka, LBJ, Martin Luther King, Sanders and the Fugs, Human Be In (1/14/67, SF), Paul Krassner, Helen Adam, I Love You Alice B Toklas movie excerpt w/ Peter Sellers and Jo Van Fleet? (looks like Doris Day), Bob Dylan, Diane DiPrima, William F Buckley, 1968 Chicago DNC Convention, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, great Mayor Daley quote!, Abbie Hoffman, Rocky Flats CO protest, Joan Baez, Ann Waldman reading Mega Death Chant at Rocky Flats, Mario Savio (at UC Berkeley, one of my favorite speeches ever), Easy Rider (excerpt), John Sampas (Jack Kerouac's brother), Billie Holiday, Lauren Hutton, Network (movie excerpt), Jepordy (tv game show excerpt), Conan O'Brien, Jim Carroll, John Leguizamo, Henry Rollins, Marlon Riggs. *** War Made Easybuild up to Iraq war,LinkTV~25 min Trailer (https://youtu.be/H5CF5pfVzLI) See the whole thing here (https://youtu.be/jPJs8x-BKYA) I have from here: (https://youtu.be/jPJs8x-BKYA?t=883) …, Rumsfeld- known unknowns, LBJ - Gulf Of Tonkin announcement, Powell makes case before UN, Phil Donahue's show gets cancelled, Peter Arnett gets fired, *** Fox Attacks: Iransame buildup as Iraq war Not sure which episode I have excerpt from. See all here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouKJixL--ms&list=PL18E94D79CF7CB44D *** 9/11 For The Record, Bill Moyers Journal (oversaturated color) 53:16 http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/09142007/index.html See the whole thing here: https://vimeo.com/33218817 *** Ralph Nader – An Unreasonable ManIndependent Lens, 20061:55 See the whole thing here: https://youtu.be/nhI30oC9LAM Lawrence O’Donnell, Phil Donahue, Joan Claybrook, Claire Nader, Laura Nader, radical nerds/Nader’s Raiders, Mark Green, on Merv Griffin with John Lennon and Yoko, w/ President Carter, Theresa Amato, *** Whitest Kids You Know spot for IFCyou asshole *** excerpts of No End In Sight16:49, Link TV Trailer (https://youtu.be/vINM0CAysc8) This clip. other excerpts (See this: https://youtu.be/Ga5CcwMHKBI) *** ~25 min left old content to be recycled: Mardi Gras 2007, #1(pretty good video!, good, non-talky hosts) Mid-City ParadeSt Augustine Marching Band, Captain of Mid City, Xavier Marching Band, King of Mid-City, St Mary’s, Queen of Mid-City...

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 6: Folie a Deux (originally published on October 2, 2023)

AN: And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. We've been building up to this for two years now, but at long last, Steven and Black Rutile finally go head-to-head once again. And this time, there will be nothing holding them back in their fight to the death, except for their own inner demons. Steven refuses to fight and kill for entertainment but deep down, he's resisting the urge to go all out. Meanwhile, Black Rutile is incredibly eager to kill Steven once and for all, but that doesn't stop her from having her own second thoughts about everything. This, I believe, makes their dynamic so well-written, though I might be bragging here since I was the one who created it. But enough stroking my ego, we're officially at the halfway point of Snake Eyes now, so let's begin!

Synopsis: Steven and Black Rutile have their long-awaited rematch. Meanwhile, Nosiop begins his plot for universal conquest.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Grace Rolek as Connie

Jennifer Paz as Lapis

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

Aurelio Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundr

Jason Marsden as Prince Nosiop Jormagundr

Keith David as Pyth

Shirley Millner as Queen Constricta Jormagundr

Henry Rollins as Captain Boa

Neil Flynn as Aescul

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond

Ron Perlman as Inner Steven

Christopher Lloyd as Batsputin Vosania

Anna Akana as Dionna of the Sands

Peter Stormare as Reximillian

--

"Okay ladies, everyone into your cells!" one of the Bismuth guards at Revanche 666 yelled as the Rutile Rebels were ordered to their assigned prison cells in the aftermath of their attempted takeover of Little Homeworld. "This will be your home for as long as it takes for you to change your ways and finally accept that you lost."

"So that's how it is, huh?" Black Rutile muttered as she glumly sat down in her cell and gazed at her feet. Everything she had worked so hard from the moment Steven came out as the so-called son of Pink Diamond was all made entirely pointless once again. And even worse, it wasn't even Steven who ruined her plans this time, but instead his disgusting human friends. That was one of many things she hated about Steven. Despite how toxic he was towards others, Steven always knew how to gather allies, whether they were former enemies he convinced would agree with him or simple-minded creatures he could mold into his slaves.

Of course, Black Rutile wasn't any better, but at least she knew how evil she was and loved it. But now, her love of manipulating others to her whims had been used against her thanks to some choice words by the Crystal Gems to turn her allies' collective backs on her. And now, as she heard her subordinates converse among themselves, Black Rutile had one question to ask herself.

"Is this still worth it?"

--

"Status update on the Diamonds?" a Slytherophidian scientist said to his lab assistant as the pair watched over three massive gems in an equally large containment field meant to house the ginormous Diamonds they would soon reform into.

"Their vitals are normal, Dr. Heller." The female Slytherophidian said, gazing down at a tablet documenting the Diamonds' statistics. "They should return to their normal forms within a few minutes."

"Excellent work, Dr. Mercer." Dr. Heller said before the two scientists turned to find Aescul walking into the laboratory. "Oh, hello Aescul. Need anything?"

"Yes, I'm gonna need you two to leave for a bit so I can have a little privacy with our giant guests here." Aescul stated. "They're gonna need some catching up to do."

"Understood, sir." Dr. Heller said as he and his assistant left Aescul alone in the lab, just as the Diamonds regenerated their forms and found themselves in the containment unit.

"Oh, what happened?" Yellow groaned as she slowly regained consciousness from her fight with the Metals. "Where are those Metals?"

"Where are we? Some kind of laboratory?" Blue asked while looking around and tapping on the glass.

"You are exactly right, my Diamond-y friend," Aescul stated. "Hi, my name's Aescul. I'm a Slytherophidian spy who participated in the surveillance of your people and brought your little friend Steven to your planet. Nice to meet you guys."

"Hello there, Mr. Aescul." White Diamond politely greeted the spy in a somewhat awkward fashion. "Would you mind telling us where we are and why we're here?"

"Oh yeah, that." Aescul nodded. "You took quite a beating against the Metals, and I just wanted to see if you'll be alright in time for Steven's big fight with Black Rutile."

"Whose big fight with what?!" Yellow yelled in shock.

"Oh no, Steven!" Blue added, just as horrified at the decision, while Aescul remained stoic.

"Please, you must tell your masters to change this decision at once!" White begged Aescul on her knees like her life depended on it. "You have no idea how much Black Rutile hates our dear Steven!"

"Sorry, everybody, but rules are rules," Aescul said as he turned to leave. "You know, I can let you go so you're free to watch, ladies. You just need to keep your mouths shut since everybody hates you so much. Remember that cover-up?"

"Yes, we convinced the universe at large that all the planets we conquered were uninhabited to hide the fact that we committed genocide, we know," Yellow stated dryly as the Diamonds were released from their confinement. "I don't think I want to know how Steven would react to such news."

"Probably not well at all." White nodded fearfully while Aescul led them out of the lab. Little did they know was that Steven was having his own issues at the moment.

--

Meanwhile, Steven anxiously paced back and forth in the Crystal Gems' quarters at the Ouraborium as he contemplated what he had heard earlier. Queen Constricta had just announced that Steven and Black Rutile were due to fight soon in the arena, their first one-on-one battle since Black Rutile invaded the beach house while the Gems were in Los Diego. A lot has changed since the two last fought, but one thing that remained a constant was that Black Rutile utterly hated him and wanted every opportunity she got to knock him down a peg.

"Well, well, well, look who's all ready for his big day." Black Rutile declared sarcastically as she entered the room to speak with Steven one last time. "Don't get cold feet, old friend. The Slytherophidians wouldn't like that. Then again, they already hate you as is."

"So, what brings you here?" Steven said tepidly. "Want to gloat some more before we fight?"

"Quit reading my mind!" Black Rutile laughed before offering her archenemy a high-five. "Give me five!" Steven didn't answer, causing Black Rutile to high-five herself instead. "But in addition, I come here to inform you of a new plan I've come up with in cooperation with a new acquaintance I've made here with similar designs for the universe as I."

"Who are you talking about?" Steven asked quietly.

"I am, of course, talking about Prince Nosiop Jormagundr." Black Rutile stated. "You'll get to meet him soon, of course, but for now, to give you an idea of what we have planned." She played a holographic image of a tall, humanoid figure looming over the Crystal Gems and zapping them into poofing before the Gems reformed, looking like they had just emerged from a Kindergarten. "Nosiop and the rest of the royal family have connections with a being known as the Lapidarist that can revert all Gemkind into their base programming." She explained. "Meaning that we won't just force the Crystal Gems into being returned to what they were originally created to do, but the Diamonds and all of your little friends too! And maybe as a bonus, you might fall victim to the Lapidarist's powers too, thanks to you possessing good ol' Pink Diamond's gem."

"I knew you would do something like this to get your way!" Steven screamed angrily. "You're a monster!"

"Oh, I'm a monster. I haven't heard that one before." Black Rutile replied with a cross of her arms and a roll of her eyes. "What are you going to do about it? Shatter me? Oh wait, you can't because you're a pacifist! No, pacifist might be too kind for you. You can't shatter me because you're a coward."

"I am not!" Steven yelled back, only for Black Rutile to shut him up with a finger to his lips.

"Oh sure, try and deny it all you want, but let me make one thing clear." Black Rutile stated. "All of this was your fault. All of your friends were abducted by these snake people all because they've been watching you for months on end, and now they're all going to die because you don't want to fight!"

"But that's the idea." Steven tried to explain himself. "I told the king that I refuse to kill people for the entertainment of others, something I'm sure you would love to do."

"Oh sure, even the king is patting you on the back for your cowardice." Black Rutile sneered as she prepared to leave. "But remember that next we meet, you and the other Crystal Gems will finally learn your place under my heel."

"I'll see you in the ring." Steven said as Black Rutile left the room. Once again, she was plotting her revenge, but this time, her plan would involve transforming all Gems into her slaves, the Crystal Gems included. Steven couldn't stand for this. As much as he wanted to stay true to his guns, Black Rutile needed to be stopped once and for all, no matter what it would take.

"I said I've had enough of your bullying, Black Rutile," Steven yelled as soon as he heard another pair of footsteps approach him. "I'll see you in the ring!"

"I'm not Black Rutile, but I still think we need to talk about her," Greg replied in a firm yet gentle and fatherly tone while sitting beside his son.

"Please don't tell me she convinced you I'm a monster." Steven prayed that his beloved father wouldn't betray him.

"What, no?! I would never think such horrible things about my son!" Greg exclaimed. "Black Rutile's a monster, and your kindness aside, anyone else would've wanted to put her down for good with no remorse."

"Then I don't understand why you're talking to me when you barely know her," Steven responded.

"It would be the logical move, the safest move, the sensible move," Greg added.

"But?" Steven asked.

"It's not the Steven move. You trust people. You give them second chances, and they live up to your expectations the best they can." Greg explained. "I mean, Lapis, Peridot, Jasper, Bismuth, Spinel, the Diamonds, White Topaz, they all wanted you dead or out of the way, yet you believed they deserved a chance anyways."

"And here comes Black Rutile to refuse a second chance and live up to how evil she can be." Steven muttered disdainfully.

"No one can deny all the horrible things she did." Greg agreed with his half-human son. "I mean, she formed an entire terrorist organization to get revenge on you AND tried to destroy or conquer Earth multiple times!"

"But now she and Nosiop are plotting to reset the entire Gem race and use them to conquer the universe!" Steven exclaimed.

"True. And if I had your powers, I'd use them to take her down if I had no other option." Greg shook his head in agreement. "But I never thought I'd live to see you consider doing the same. You always find a way."

"Not this time." Steven declared as he got off the couch. "I've had to do a lot of growing up ever since I discovered my powers."

"And you did pretty great despite all you endured." Greg smiled pridefully, remembering all the ups and downs he and his son went through together as Steven grew up.

"For a while. But then I kept letting her get in my head and making me live up to her expectations. It's because of her that I had to leave everyone behind!" Steven exclaimed angrily, only for Greg to not answer him. "Aren't you going to argue with me?"

"Not when you're right, Schtu-ball," Greg replied somberly, knowing what Steven would do next.

"I've had fun, but I knew that when the situation gets serious, so would I!" Steven added.

"I'm not gonna argue with you, Steven," Greg said, not wanting to get into a fight with Steven. "I just wanted to make sure you really thought about this."

"I have, Dad. I'm sorry about what I'm going to do to Black Rutile; I really am." Steven replied firmly as he turned around and prepared to leave for the arena, his eyes briefly glowing a faint pink. "But I'm not a bright-eyed little kid singing songs about ice cream anymore. Playtime's over."

--

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, you've been waiting for this fight for ages now, but at long last, the moment has arrived!" King Cobralan announced to his cheering audience. "In this corner, you know him; you absolutely hate him, Steven Universe!"

As Steven marched out into the arena, he was met with booing and insults from the Slytherophidians, who were eager to see him killed in action. At the same time, the Crystal Gems could only watch helplessly as their human son was forced to fight against his will.

"Please do your best, Steven." Pearl silently prayed for Steven's survival.

"What are the odds of him making out of this alive, Garnet?" Amethyst asked the fusion.

"I'm calculating a 32.33% chance of Steven making this out with perfect mental health," Garnet replied, lowering her shades. "Repeating, of course."

"Well, that's better than he usually does," Jasper added.

"And in this corner, the Striking Shadow of the Rebellion, the leader of the Rutile Rebels, the little Rutile that could, the most wanted criminal known to Gemkind, BLAAAAACK RUTIIIILE!" The Slytherophidians celebrated Black Rutile's introduction, a stark contrast to how Steven was received, as Black Rutile strutted into the arena with her sword over her shoulder.

"You know what shall happen once I win this, right?" Black Rutile snidely asked Steven as she drew her sword. "You shall die, and there will be much rejoicing." To emphasize her point, Aquamarine and Eyeball gave a dry "Yay." from afar.

"I know, but I'm willing to try." Steven said as he nervously summoned his shield to defend himself as Black Rutile furiously charged at her archenemy and tried to stab him with her sword. Throughout the first part of the fight, Steven mainly defended himself with the shield from Black Rutile's attacks, all while she vented her frustrations and insecurities on him.

"Haha, you're just blocking!" Black Rutile laughed. "Typical Steven, never once raising a fist even if his life depended on it! You're just like your mother, just as weak and pathetic a brat as she was!"

"Seriously, pressing the mother button again?!" Steven yelled before he finally decided to throw a punch, but Black Rutile effortlessly caught it and threw him to the ground.

"Oh, what's the matter, little boy?" Black Rutile taunted. "Going to cry? Maybe soil yourself in front of hundreds?"

"So this is going to be our battle?" Steven muttered frustratedly. "Just you making speech after speech in between insulting me? Trust me, if I wanted to hear someone talk about themselves all day, I'd spend time with Peridot or Jasper."

"You know I can hear you, Steven!" Peridot yelled in offense before Jasper pushed her away.

"Come on, Steven, destroy her!" Jasper ordered Steven.

"No, this isn't just a battle. It's a message." Black Rutile replied while holding back tears of rage and sorrow. "A message about how you ruined countless lives with your worthless pacifism, but none more than mine. Before I met you, I was the ideal servant! Proud, ruthless, ruling by intelligence and charisma alone! Under my gentle guidance, entire armies of Gems made civilizations tremble before the Diamonds' might! But then you came along, a mere human boy from a pathetic little ball of dirt thought long abandoned by the Diamonds, a boy who stripped me of my honor and pride that I built my entire identity upon. It was at your hands that I suffered my greatest defeats and was forced to live life as a commoner after giving up everything I had worked for. You could not begin to imagine the disgrace I felt when I was exposed as a mere victim of White Diamond's sense of humor in front of everyone on your world!"

"But you still don't understand!" Steven exclaimed as he got back up and smacked Black Rutile in the face with his shield, making her tears fly free as she parried another attack and pressed her sword against the shield. "You were this way because the Diamonds gave you everything you could've ever wanted, and you still selfishly wanted more! Has it ever occurred to you that you're more like Pink Diamond than you think?!"

Angered by this accusation, Black Rutile slashed at Steven's shield as she began crying in earnest, something that Steven had never seen her do before, if she could even express such sadness at all. "Don't you dare compare me to that overgrown brat! I had suffered for centuries because of her, and now it's because of you that I lost everything!" she screamed tearfully. "I admired the Diamonds so much, but it's all their fault I'm reduced to a shell of my former self! Why do I have to keep chasing after a damned half-human rat who always knew what to do to ruin my life?! Why do you keep getting so strong and winning at everything, and even be acknowledged by the Diamonds as one of them, but why was I the one always getting pushed aside?! Why can't you just accept me for who I am?!"

Steven couldn't believe what he was seeing. Black Rutile, who had prided herself as a cunning, devious, opportunistic, sociopathic monster, was showing real sadness for the first time ever since they first met each other on that faithful day when she and White Topaz interviewed him for their fake news show. Everyone has seen Black Rutile laugh, but now Steven isn't sure if anyone has ever seen her cry.

However, Black Rutile quickly brushed her tears away and replaced her crestfallen frown with a psychotic grin. "But now, with Nosiop and the Lapidarist by my side, I can start anew with a new army, a new Homeworld to rule, and an entire universe at my fingertips to enslave! That's why I needed to come with you, to seize the opportunity like I always do! The Lapidarist shall free us of these petty attachments we have forged with each other, and I have to say, revenge feels pretty good."

"Not yet." Steven firmly stated as he stood his ground and awaited another attack from his nemesis.

"Too little, too late. Story of our lives, Steven Universe." Black Rutile smirked as her sadness turned into insane laughter as she lunged at Steven, ready to kill him once and for all.

--

"So, is this what Black Rutile is truly like?" Dionna of the Sands asked as she and the other Universal Lords watched the fight between the half-human son of Pink Diamond and the rebellious Rutile below their theater box. "I have only heard stories about her atrocities before now."

"Nay, as someone whose life was threatened by her before, this is utterly new to me." Batsputin added with a curious shake of his head. "Never before have I seen someone pour their heart out this much. Metaphorically, of course."

"It is extraordinary to see a Gem act this way." Reximillian agreed with Batsputin. "Is it normal for one of their race to be this emotional?"

"I'm not too sure." King Cobralan answered fearfully. "I'm afraid that should Steven Universe survive this, there should come a time for him to learn the truth."

"The truth about what, my love?" Queen Constricta asked.

"The truth about the origins of Gems and how they connect to us," Cobralan told his wife, making Constricta realize what her husband was talking about. "Captain Boa, inform our special friend at once."

"It shall be done, sire." Captain Boa said as he slithered away. "And I'll make sure to look for Princess Naja and Pyth as well. No one has seen them lately."

"Don't bother, Captain." Nosiop told Boa as he took a break from silently cheering for Black Rutile to face his uncle. "Naja is just in her room, nothing too serious. As for Pyth, wouldn't you like to know?"

--

While the Contest of Champions was going on, Pyth had retreated into his favorite hidden chambers within the royal family's castle with a torch in hand to search for something he hadn't checked up on in decades. Raising his torch to the wall, the Jormagundrs' royal vizier examined a series of stone wall carvings depicting what could come in the future.

They displayed images depicting what appeared to be figures resembling Steven and Black Rutile fighting each other in the arena, then shaking hands, followed by the two of them facing a large humanoid figure with hair resembling White Diamond's, and then them preparing to fight an even bigger snake creature.

"It is just as the prophecy foretold." Pyth stated ominously. "The sword and the shield shall soon reach an understanding after the shield learns of the sword's true inner self, just in time for Ragnarok."

--

"Dang, Black Rutile is really going all out." Greg muttered in surprise at Black Rutile's emotional outburst. "Never expected her to be that broken."

"She's lying, I just know it!" Connie yelled as she struggled to rush out into the arena and back up Steven against Black Rutile. "Black Rutile would never say something like that; she has to be faking it!"

"Connie, please calm down!" Pearl said while holding Connie back from recklessly charging into battle. "I know you love Steven, but I think he can handle himself here."

"Still, I've never seen Black Rutile like this before." White Topaz added. "I've been working with her for ages, and even I don't think she would get this emotional."

"Maybe it's because of how Steven ruined her life." Aquamarine said as she fluttered into view, with Eyeball, Holly Blue, and Cat's Eye beside her. "Think of it: she is only now venting all of her frustrations because, in this world, violence is both the only question and the answer."

"And the answer is yes!" Eyeball added cheerfully.

"Ugh, these guys." Lapis groaned in disgust. "What'll it take for you just to give up already?"

"In all seriousness, even we're questioning our loyalty to Black Rutile right now." Holly Blue declared. "We're so sick of her complaining about her losing; we almost selected a superior leader to replace her!"

"But unfortunately, Black Rutile and his new friend had to come in and ruin our fun!" Cat's Eye declared dramatically and swooned into Holly Blue's arms. "Now we are well and truly lost!"

"I'll believe it when I see it, drama queen." Jasper scoffed in disbelief as everyone turned back to watch the fight with bated breath. The battle between Steven and Black Rutile had just gotten more intense than ever, escalating from a duel between rivals to a clash of warriors. But who would make it out of this fight alive was left to the viewers.

--

"What's wrong, boyo? Too scared to keep fighting?!" Black Rutile snarled viciously as she threw her bowie knife at Steven's eye, only for him to block it with his shield and accidentally injure a Slytherophidian in the audience. "Oh, I get it; you want to go easy on me because you think I'm just so scared and misunderstood!"

"I know what you're going through, Black Rutile. There was a time when I felt scared and alone, too!" Steven exclaimed as he continued fighting back. "Of course, that was half because you made me feel like everything I did was for nothing!"

"Everything you did was for nothing, you pink brat!" Black Rutile responded as she jumped into the air and tried attacking Steven from behind. However, something began to change within Steven in the seconds before she would land the finishing blow.

"You're really just going to stand there and let her kill you?" a familiar voice in Steven's head asked. "Do you give up? Will you abandon their hope? Can you not feel their desperation?" Steven's eyes lit up in shock as the world around him froze, the only ones moving being himself and a being who looked just like him, only more muscular with pink skin and his hair in a pompadour. "Will evil forever rule the universe? HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?!"

"You again!" Steven yelled at Inner Steven, facing him. "What do you want with me now? What have I forgotten?"

"I'm asking if you've forgotten what it means to stand up for yourself." Inner Steven said, turning Steven around to face Black Rutile, ready to stab him in the back. "Tell me, my friend, are you ready to surrender and let a monster like her claim the victory she craved for so long?"

"But what if she isn't a monster?" Steven asked his darker half. "Fighting her has given me a whole new perspective on Black Rutile as a person. She feels so lost and alone, and it's all my fault. Maybe if she stopped trying to kill me for a minute, maybe we can finally talk things out!"

"Oh please, she's probably lying as always to play with your sympathy." Inner Steven shook his head in disgust before he got an idea. "As a matter of fact, why don't I take the wheel for a bit? I've been wanting some action for a long time now."

"Well, if that's what you want, then by all means," Steven sighed in resignation before stepping away to let Inner Steven take hold. "go get her, tiger."

"You're too kind, my little friend." Inner Steven grinned happily as time resumed to normal, and Black Rutile was about to stab Steven in the back. However, she was quickly met with Steven grabbing her sword by the blade, not caring about the injuries to his hand it would cause, before saying one word in a very deep voice. "FALL!"

Steven's increased volume sent Black Rutile flying back into the arena walls, creating a significant dent in the wall as the Slytherophidians gawked at Steven's sudden change. Not even the two hecklers had any wisecracks to make because of how shocking this was.

"W-what is this?" Black Rutile stuttered in shock at this new development. "Who are you?! Where is Steven?!"

"He's gone." Steven, now under the control of Inner Steven, declared as his body became a pink silhouette with glowing white eyes and a pair of shields in his hands.

"What did you just say?!" Black Rutile shouted. "Answer me!"

"He's GOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!" Steven boomed loud enough to create a shockwave that rocked the Ouraborium and the entire surrounding city, causing everybody inside to fall over from the sudden yell.

"Wait, this is just like when I removed his gem!" White exclaimed hopefully while the other Diamonds trembled in fear. "If this is anything like that time, then Black Rutile is toast!"

"Steven, you can't do that!" Black Rutile yelled angrily. "This victory is mine!" With an angry battle cry, the Rutile charged at Steven with her sword, ready to kill, only to be grabbed by the face and slammed into the ground. "What happened to you, Steven?! Why are you like this? Answer me, blast you!"

"This is what happens when I cut loose and show you how powerful I really am." Steven announced before picking Black Rutile up and throwing her to the sky before zipping towards the airborne Gem with superhuman speed and striking her with everything he's got. "ATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA-OWATTA!"

"Make it stop, make it stop!" Black Rutile screeched as she felt every last bit of hatred Steven had for her with every attack. But no matter how much she wanted to, she could never poof from the amount of damage she was taking, almost as if Steven wanted her to suffer all the pain she wrought upon others.

As Black Rutile landed on the ground in a cloud of dust while Steven descended from the air, the only thing she could do now was plead for mercy. "No more, Steven Universe! Grant me mercy, I beg of you!"

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it?" Steven scoffed in disgust at Black Rutile's attempted surrender. "I thought you were made of sterner stuff."

"That's what you think!" Black Rutile briefly regained her bravado and drew her sword, but Steven deflected the attack with his twin shields before grabbing the blade and twisting it into a corkscrew shape.

"No need to wonder where your god is, Black Rutile, for he is right here." Steven declared menacingly, his threat sending shivers down the audience's spines. "And he is fresh out of mercy."

"Oh, how cute, he thinks he's a-." Black Rutile chuckled before she realized what Steven was about to do. "OH SHIT!" With another punch to the face, Black Rutile skidded to the ground so hard she was almost buried within Serpentes's surface. As she burst one hand out of the arena's floor to pick herself back up, Steven stepped on her face, and Black Rutile was forced back into the hole.

"This is where you belong, Black Rutile. Under. My. Heel." Steven coldly declared as Black Rutile continued trying to escape. "Had enough yet?"

"You know what? I give up." Black Rutile said, causing Steven to stop stomping on her as she exited the hole and onto her knees. "Go ahead, kill me. Kill me now." Steven was silent, as if he was hesitating to put her down. "DO IT!"

"FINISH HER! FINISH HER! FINISH HER! FINISH HER!" the Slytherophidians chanted as they beckoned the empowered Steven to shatter Black Rutile just as Steven returned to his senses and realized what he had just done.

"No!" Steven boldly declared upon regaining his humanity. "I refuse to kill someone who's already dead inside as is!" The Slytherophidians gasped in shock at Steven's announcement, but unlike the last time something like this happened, where they made him the scourge of Serpentes, they were willing to hear him out this time. "Just look at Black Rutile here. She's lost everything. Her power, her status, even her dignity. Everything she's been through has reduced my opponent into a pathetic shell of her former self, and I do not think shattering her would grant her any kind of sweet release she would be looking for. Why kill her when she's already killed herself?"

"So that's it? You're sparing me?" Black Rutile muttered in disbelief before she immediately grabbed onto his pant leg like an upset child. "Why?! Why can't you shatter me already?! I've ruined your life, turned you against your friends, and turned the whole universe against you! Why can't you just hate me like I do?!"

"Because after hearing you vent your anger," Steven coldly responded. "nobody hates you more than yourself." On that last word, Steven left the humiliated Black Rutile to be gawked at by the shocked snake people like she was some kind of endangered species. Perhaps Steven was right. No one did hate Black Rutile more than herself. And this made her very worried.

"Uh, this was certainly an unexpected end to such an intense fight." King Cobralan announced as he tried to ease the tension thick enough to be cut with the sharpest swords in the universe. "How about we go to halftime then?!" The Slytherophidians all cheered at the suggestion while their fearless leader wiped the sweat off his brow. "Oh geez, I do not want to know how the Lapidarist will hear about this!"

"Hmph, pathetic." Nosiop scoffed in dismay at Black Rutile's meltdown as a pair of Slytherophidian guards took her away. Regardless of her performance, she was still needed for his plan to succeed, but Nosiop knew she would need to be taken off the board soon.

--

Minutes later, Black Rutile was left to wallow in shame in her personal quarters at the Ouraborium, utterly humiliated by her defeat and how Steven refused to kill her no matter how much she begged him to end her suffering. But no matter what she did, Steven refused to cave into the pressure of others and stuck true to his ideals. "I thought this time, just this once, I thought I was gonna get what I was fighting for."

"Hey, Black Rutile, remember me?" White Topaz said as she entered Black Rutile's quarters to comfort her old master despite how much she was abused in the past. "I just thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing. Man, Steven absolutely destroyed you back there, huh?"

"Don't remind me." Black Rutile sulked angrily as she turned away. "The nerve of that boy, thinking I was more like Pink Diamond than I realized, and how nobody hated me more than me. Can you believe him?! Always projecting his own issues onto others!"

"But it's true, you are like Pink Diamond!" White Topaz agreed with Steven's accusations. "You got everything you could ever want, yet you still think that isn't enough, so you decided to become an evil megalomaniac bent on conquering the universe because you think you'd be a much better leader than any of the Diamonds combined."

"Because that's what I built my identity on! Or at least I thought I did." Black Rutile stated. "Until I learned that everything I worked for was because White Diamond found my dreams of greatness funny. I swear on my gem, once I learn more about the Lapidarist, I will restore everything to its proper order, except that only I shall be made leader of all Gemkind!"

"Then you truly are lost." White Topaz declared sadly, having now lost all hope in helping Black Rutile make a change. "Goodbye, my Rutile."

As White Topaz turned away and left Black Rutile behind, her former superior could only cry out for her ex-bodyguard to come back. "Topaz, get back here at once! Topaz!" The doors shut behind White Topaz, leaving Black Rutile alone in her room. "TOPAZ!" She fruitlessly pounded on the door with tears in her eyes, desperately trying to get White Topaz's attention, but to no avail.

What once was a proud, arrogant conqueror with delusions of grandeur was now a broken, lonely shell of her former self. Thus continues the tragic tale of the life of Black Rutile.

--

"What was all that for?!" Steven yelled at Inner Steven in the meantime. "You could've gotten Black Rutile seriously hurt or worse!"

"It's the least she deserves after all she's done to you." Inner Steven firmly retorted while folding his metaphorical arms. "Let's see, lying to you and all your friends, attempting to kill you, gaslighting you into betraying your friends, attempting to destroy the Earth multiple times, shall I go on? Going easy on her just wouldn't be enough if you ask me. Consider yourself lucky you made it out with your mental health intact."

Just then, there was a knock at Steven's door. "We'll settle this later, Inner Me. I think someone wants to see me." Steven said to the personification of his darker impulses as he opened the door to find Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl beside King Cobralan. "Oh hey, guys. Sorry, I got you all worried back there."

"Nah, we're not talking about how you utterly creamed Black Rutile in your fight." Amethyst shook her head morosely.

"We're here because King Cobralan wants to speak with you about something." Garnet added before nodding to Pearl.

"So, Your Majesty, what did you want to say to him?" Pearl asked the Slytherophidian king.

"I wanted to tell Steven that it's time he learns the truth." King Cobralan said forebodingly.

--

In Loving Memory of David McCallum

September 19, 1933 – September 25, 2023

"So many different ways to tell a story, but that's what makes them so interesting. You can never predict how they're going to turn out."

-Professor Paradox, Ben 10 Omniverse: "And Then There Were Ben"

So ends quite possibly the longest chapter of Snake Eyes yet, and how fitting that it's the chapter marking the halfway point. From here on out, Black Rutile has turned into full tragic villain, we get more hints on her big scheme with Nosiop and Pyth, and next time, Steven learns the origins of the Gems we've all been waiting for. And I can assure you, it'll be one of the biggest bomb drops I've written not just for Alternate Future, but for any of my stories in general. See you then.

[bringtvback-blog]

Hexidecimal, Reboot. 

"I infect the entire Net. I have spread through systems, peoples, and cities, from this place: Mainframe. My format? Virus...  The queen of chaos!"

[alpha-numeric-blog]

For those interested, the link will take you to the videos of the ReBoot panel in Vancouver. Enjoy!

[sherlockwhomd-blog]

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 7: Gods and Monsters (originally published on October 9, 2023)

AN: And so, we enter the biggest bomb I've ever dropped in one of my stories since I revealed that Haruko Haruhara was saved from her destroyed home planet by Rick Sanchez and eventually betrayed him for Atomsk before meeting Dipper and Mabel Pines. The origins of the Gem race has been one of the biggest mysteries in all of Steven Universe with tons of fans giving their own ideas on it, even as far back as the first season. I've pondered that too sometimes, but there are some parts of the series that are best left to the imagination. Well, until now that is! In this version of Steven's universe, the story of Gemkind shall finally be revealed for all to see, and you all have front row seats to a glimpse at a whole universe's worth of backstory and quite possibly the biggest threat Steven will face yet.

Synopsis: Steven and company meet the creator of all Gemkind and learn of an evil far greater than Black Rutile.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Aurelio Voltaire as King Cobralan Serpentes

Shirley Millner as Queen Constricta Serpentes

Neil Flynn as Aescul

Henry Rollins as Captain Boa

Jennifer Paz as Lapis

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Grace Rolek as Connie

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond/Gem

Sarah Stiles as Spinel

Peter Cullen as Titanium

Frank Welker as Tungsten

David Kaye as Steel

Corey Burton as Chromium

Bumper Robinson as Gold

Scott McNeil as Iron

Jeffrey Combs as Mercury

Hailee Steinfeld as Zinc

Jason Marsden as Prince Nosiop Jormagundr

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Keith David as Pyth

Matthew Moy as Lars

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Atticus Shaffer as Peedee

Cissy Jones as Princess Naja Jormagundr

Enuka Okuma as Rhodonite

Kathleen Fisher as Fluorite

Erica Luttrell as Padparadscha Sapphire

Ashly Burch as Rutile Twins

Jeff Bennett as Murinus/The Sheriff

Featuring Samantha Newark as The Lapidarist

And Joel Grey as King Serpentes I

---

The date, 420,000 years ago. The place, the prehistoric planet that would someday become Serpentes, the capital of the Slytherophidian empire. Before it would become the mighty metropolis that thrived on forcing species from across the universe to compete, Serpentes was a small scattering of snake people colonies dotting the planet's countryside, all under the shaky rule of one monarch, its namesake king Serpentes the First. Serpentes typically spent time away from his subjects on expeditions to explore the planet and learn its history, as he proclaimed himself a scholar. But there was one discovery that would change not just the history of his home planet but the entire universe as well.

"Found anything yet, sire?" a Slytherophidian dressed as a cowboy asked while spitting into a bucket. "We've been out here for weeks and still haven't found any ancient ruins and all that! Might I suggest we quit the tomb raider business, cut back on searching uncharted lands and temples of doom, and go home already?"

"No, Murinus, there has to be something we're missing. I know it!" Serpentes muttered to himself while examining the map in his hands. "We just need to keep looking!"

"Look, Your Highness, I can totally get your eagerness to explore, but I'm happy with just kicking back and letting you do all the work." Murinus said before turning his tail into feet and kicking them on a rock. "Hey, do you see a light somewhere over there?"

"A light? Where?!" Serpentes excitedly replied while gazing out into the horizon. "By Jove, I think you're right! We must go there immediately!" To the king's delight, he could see a faint beam of light ejecting from an ancient temple hidden in the distance. "Come along, Murinus!"

"Me and my big mouth," Murinus said to himself as his king dragged him along toward the temple as the beam got even brighter the closer they got. Upon arriving at the temple, the beam of light was at its absolute brightest, and Serpentes couldn't be more excited.

"Hm, I must say, this would make a nice castle to live in." Serpentes mused as the duo entered the temple, which was filled with crystals and rocks jutting out of the walls and the ceiling. But the most peculiar inhabitant was a large, crystalline being gently clutching a bubble housing a strange gemstone. "And who might you be?"

"Almost there, my child. Almost there." The being whispered to her bubble before she turned to discover Serpentes and Murinus in front of her. "More snakes? You shouldn't be here."

"Do not worry, giant woman. We come in peace." Serpentes calmed the being down. "My name is Serpentes, the king of the Slytherophidians. And this is my companion, Murinus. Say hi, Murinus."

"Howdy." Murinus tipped his hat to the giant woman. "Say, what's that you got in there, madame?"

"Oh, this?" the giant said, presenting the gemstone inside her bubble to the two Slytherophidians. "I've been working on it for the past couple of eons. I call it Gem. It is an advanced lifeform that possesses extraordinary powers unseen by mortals, but I'm not sure how I can test it to make sure it won't harm anybody with how powerful it is."

"Then, why don't I help you take care of it?" King Serpentes offered his assistance. "Maybe I can set up a way for it to grow and control its powers so that everyone can watch and see how strong it is."

"That is a wonderful idea, Serpentes." The giant agreed with the king and shook his hand, sealing the deal.

"By the way, I don't think I ever got your name," Serpentes said.

"My name?" the giant replied. "My name has been lost to time, but you may call me the Lapidarist."

--

In the present day, Steven and the Crystal Gems were being taken through the Jormagundrs' castle towards a hidden doorway by the royal guards, all having no idea what to expect when King Cobralan said it was time for them to learn the truth. As the trip grew longer, the group was soon joined by different sets of guards escorting Greg & Connie and the Diamonds.

"So, uh, what are we doing?" Greg asked nervously. "I was going to cheer you up after your big fight with Black Rutile, but then suddenly, these guys told me they had something I needed to see."

"Do they have a birthday surprise planned for Steven?" Peridot added just as curious.

"I don't know." Yellow Diamond answered. "But whatever it is, I don't think we'll ever be the same after today."

"You are indeed correct, Yellow Diamond," Aescul said as he led the group through the dark corridors hidden within the castle walls to a mysterious chamber that closely resembles the Crystal Temple back on Earth. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet your maker. Hee, I always wanted to say that."

"Wait, our maker? As in the creator of all Gemkind?!" Pearl squawked in shock as the Gems and humans bore witness to a massive, crystalline being kneeling before them, its face utterly blank except for a large diamond on it and wild, spiky hair not unlike White Diamond's.

"Hello, my children." The giant said. "I am the Lapidarist. I am the creator of all Gems."

"Dude, this is so sick!" Amethyst yelled in amazement. "We're face to face with our actual god here!"

"Correction, she is our god as well." Titanium declared as he and the other Metals emerged from the shadows of the chamber to meet their sister race. "So the rumors were true. Our creator still lives."

"Hello there, Miss Lapidarist." Steven greeted the Lapidarist. "My name's Steven Universe. Uh, do you like being called Miss, or do you prefer any other pronouns?"

"On the contrary, my friend, my species has evolved past the need for what you call genders." The Lapidarist explained. "But Miss Lapidarist does have a nice ring to it."

"So, this is the mother of all Gems?" Spinel wondered while scratching her head and sitting on Yellow's shoulder. "How come we never knew about this?"

"Hello there, Lapidarist." White Diamond said sourly as she glared at the creator of the Gem race. "Fancy seeing you again after millions of years."

"Ah, Gem. What a surprise." The Lapidarist greeted White with an inquisitive tilt of her head. "What is it you're calling yourself these days, White Diamond? Not sure if I like the name."

"Okay, enough with the introductions, everybody!" Mercury complained. "Now then, big lady, the snake people said they were going to give us answers, and by your name or whatever, we're gonna get some answers!"

"Actually, we prefer to be called Slytherophidians, Mr. Mercury." Captain Boa corrected the curmudgeonly Metal medic. "The Lapidarist has been the royal family's best-kept secret for generations, all the way back to our first king Serpentes I."

"We've been watching your race for a few years now because the Lapidarist wanted to see if Steven truly meant well in making the radical changes he did to Gem society." King Cobralan added.

"Well, I sure did, no matter what certain emotionally stunted terrorists may say," Steven said assuredly, unaware that Black Rutile, Nosiop, and Pyth were watching from afar.

"Hmph, yeah, right." Black Rutile said glumly while the three villains kept themselves hidden. "Just wait until I use the Lapidarist's powers to wipe you out for good."

"So Miss Lapidarist, earlier you called White Diamond by the name Gem," Garnet said. "We'd like to learn more about that; thank you."

"That was the name I was given when the Lapidarist created me," White said, rolling her eyes as she cringed at the thought like a human would when remembering their awkward teenage years. "And a name I've abandoned for eons."

"Well, allow me to enlighten you." The Lapidarist said while altering the entire room like a holodeck to present the Crystal Gems with White Diamond's hidden past.

--

In the beginning, there was only one. A single black infinitude, so cold and dark for so very long that even the burning light was imperceptible. But then the infinitude found release, and at last, the darkness broke, filling it with shining stars. From these stars came the Lapidarists, who filled this newly born universe with life. On that day, the universe as we knew it was born. Cells, molecules, atoms, from ions to pions, muons to gluons, neutrinos, gravitinos, these were the first planets to be forged by this race of builders, with life blossoming on each one. Life, a precious gift persevering in the face of every obstacle, but it would soon come under attack.

Where there was light to create the first sentient beings, there was a being of pure darkness and evil that sought to extinguish it. A terrible snake-like creature of frightening power known as Squamata devoured planet after planet, millions of voices suddenly crying out in terror before they were just as suddenly silenced. The Lapidarists tried all they could to stop this threat from becoming more powerful. They created many races like the Magmen, the Metals, the Slytherophidians, and the races of the first Universal Lords to combat it. While they successfully sealed Squamata away beneath the future planet of Serpentes, it came at the cost of the entire Lapidarist race being wiped out except for one. Declaring itself the guardian of the monster's resting place, the last Lapidarist isolated itself from the rest of the universe in a hidden temple where it spent millenniums forging the being that would eventually save the universe from their ancient foe. But all of that changed one fateful day.

--

"Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the first-ever challenger of the Contest of Champions, Gem!" King Serpentes announced as he revealed the Lapidarist's creation to the other Slytherophidians. Gem was a tall, pale-skinned female humanoid with copious amounts of mascara applied and dressed as a warrior, but her most distinguishing feature was a gemstone attached to her forehead. "I had found this creature one day years ago on an expedition to the wilderness of our planet and brought her home with me. That was when I got the idea to have her compete against species from other worlds to see who is truly the strongest in the universe. Now then, release her competition!"

The gates opened, and out came a green, hulking humanoid with massive muscles wearing only purple pants that let out a booming roar. Gem just smirked and pulled a spear from her gem that she used to fight the monster.

"What an astounding display of strength, ladies and gentlemen!" King Serpentes exclaimed as Gem duked it out with the ogre-like beast, showing great tenacity and grace compared to the monster serving as her opponent. "Perhaps if more were to come, we would make this into an annual event where champions from far and wide could come and display their powers, like the Grendel we captured, for example!"

"Just a little bit more, you disgusting Grendel!" Gem exclaimed eagerly as she began stabbing at the monster with her spear, causing it to leak pink blood to the cheers of her adoring fans. "Yes, you all love me!"

"And what a shocker, everyone!" Serpentes exclaimed as Gem finished off the Grendel. "Gem has slain the creature! She is truly an amazing warrior!"

"Oh, thank you, thank you all!" Gem accepted the riotous applause as she reunited with King Serpentes outside the arena. "Oh, Your Majesty, I had so much fun today!"

"Perfect, Gem. And you'll be having more fun for years to come." Serpentes said as the two walked away to the temple from whence she came, which was now having a new castle built over it.

"Um, Mr. Serpentes, if I may ask a question," Gem asked her king. "Have you ever thought about letting me explore the planet like you do? Maybe even the whole galaxy, the universe even? I bet there are infinite possibilities for me to explore out there!"

"Now, now, Gem, don't get too excited." Serpentes calmed Gem down. "I admire your enthusiasm, but your one true purpose is here, right at my side and fighting in the Contest of Champions."

"But I just want to explore like you do!" Gem urged her father figure, now sounding an awful lot like a certain pink diamond. "Why can't you let me?!"

"I understand, my dear, but the universe is a vast and dangerous place filled with millions of species that could no doubt either kill you or steal you for themselves," Serpentes explained. "Please understand that this is why you are forbidden from ever leaving Serpentes. Now, I'm off to speak with the construction workers, so you behave yourself, young lady."

Although Gem understood why Serpentes was so protective of her, she felt utterly sheltered in the world she called home. However, while the king did say Gem was forbidden from ever leaving the planet, she assumed he didn't mean more than one of her.

--

"Wow, White was just like Pink when she was created?" Steven realized as his eyes were opened to White Diamond's past while giving the three Diamonds a smug smirk.

"Maybe that's why you abused her so much because she reminded you of yourself," Connie added wryly.

"Guess it's true what they say. Some people are more alike than you think." Gold giggled at White's embarrassing memory while the Diamond blushed in shame.

"Don't make that face at me, White; don't deny what you were in the past." The Lapidarist chided her creation. "Do you remember what happened afterward?"

"Do you not?" White asked, her eyes widened in genuine surprise as she tried to dodge the question.

"Ooo-hoo-hoo, this should be juicy!" Steel giggled eagerly as White took a deep breath and came clean.

"Yes, I remember what happened afterward," White admitted. "For hundreds of years, I took advantage of a loophole created by Serpentes and created the first Gems."

--

Using technology stolen from another race that she reverse-engineered herself into what would later be known as Injectors, Gem began using Serpentes's resources to create more beings like her that she would dub Gem. However, this would come at the cost of the planet slowly suffering the effects of these Injectors draining its life energy, causing dozens to die in uncharted parts of the planet. Upon discovering this courtesy of Murinus, Serpentes sought to do something about this crisis.

"Are you sure that Gem could be to blame for all of this?" Murinus said as he and Serpentes marched to the Devil's Palm canyon, named as such for resembling a humanoid hand with a plateau in the center where the palm would be. "At least she ain't running off to explore the universe."

"And that's the problem!" Serpentes exclaimed. "When I said she was forbidden from leaving, this was not what I meant!" Soon, the duo arrived at the Devil's Palm, where they discovered not just one colorful humanoid with a gemstone on her body but dozens upon dozens more of them. "What in the?!"

"SERPENTES!" the new species all cried out in delight at Serpentes's arrival.

"Hey, your Majesty." One of them greeted casually as Serpentes tried moving his way through the sea of humanoids to reach Gem.

"Gem, what is the meaning of this?!" Serpentes yelled angrily at his creation. "Whatever you are doing, you will soon destroy this whole planet! Is this what you wanted, to tear our world apart and then abandon it to find some other planet to terrorize?!"

"No, my lord, this is not what you think!" Gem urged Serpentes. "You forbade me from leaving Serpentes, but you didn't say the same for all these creatures that I call Gems. Nice name, don't you think?"

"Yes, that is a very nice name, but that's not the point, my child." Serpentes said while drawing out a sword from his hip. "I am sorry, but to ensure the safety of our planet, I'm afraid I'll have to shatter you."

"Is that so?" Gem said as she drew her spear with a smirk. "Then come on, enough talk! Have at you!"

"I will do what I must," Serpentes replied as he readied his blade.

"You will try." Gem added before the two went head-to-head in a mini-Contest of Champions. The Gems that Gem created began cheering for their mother figure as the Slytherophidian and the Gem clashed under the scorching afternoon sun, while Murinus saw fit not to get involved in the situation and wait until it got better.

"You can't keep doing this, Gem!" King Serpentes urged his mighty warrior. "This technology you stole from the Metals was designed to harvest resources from planets at the cost of slowly killing them! How did you even find such things?!"

"Steel practically gave them away when the Metals decided they wanted to live in harmony with their colonies instead of committing genocide." Gem revealed while nimbly dodging a sword swipe. "He just happened to dump them all here one day and let me take some for myself."

"I should really tell them to stop using other planets as a garbage dump for their old tech." Serpentes muttered to himself before seeing an opening on Gem and jabbed his sword into her gem, causing a slight crack.

"W-what did you do?" Gem whimpered in fear as her form glitched while Serpentes looked down at his tail in shame at what he had done. "What did you do to me?"

"I'm sorry, my dear." Serpentes apologized while stroking Gem's face. "But I am only doing what is right." With another stab of the snake king's sword, Gem was utterly shattered, her namesake gemstone on her forehead being reduced to four pieces in four very familiar shapes. "Murinus!"

"Yes, my liege?" Murinus asked as he emerged from his hiding spot before being handed the four gem shards. "Oh no, you didn't."

"I want the Lapidarist to find somewhere for these shards and all of these Gems to flourish so they won't cause any more damage to Serpentes." King Serpentes ordered, looking out at all the Gems inhabiting the Devil's Palm Canyon. "I can handle one Gem, but this many would give me a headache."

And so, with help from the Lapidarist, once she was told of what happened, Gem and all of her creations were exiled to an uncharted planet that would one day become the Gem Homeworld. Hundreds of years afterward, the first of Gem's shards would reform into White Diamond, followed by Yellow, Blue, and Pink Diamond over the next couple thousand years, eventually forming the Great Diamond Authority and beginning to conquer a good portion of the universe that the Universal Lords didn't dominate.

Though the Lapidarist was disappointed at what Gem had become, she vowed not to interfere. She had no choice but to watch as the Diamonds wreaked havoc across the universe, conquering and destroying planet after planet as her story was passed down for generations. At the same time, her fallen kinfolk's other creations, such as the Metals and the Magmen, began rising to prominence in the intergalactic community.

--

"And that is the story of the Gem race." The Lapidarist concluded her story, having blown everyone's minds with the history she revealed to the Crystal Gems once hidden from the public eye. "I am truly sorry that I have been the author of all your pain through my creation of the Diamonds."

"We know you didn't mean any harm, Lapidarist," Bismuth said. "You only wanted to create life, but then it went horribly wrong."

"And we've carried it with our family for generations." Queen Constricta said while everyone was still unaware of who was spying on them.

"This is most interesting." Nosiop muttered excitedly. "Perhaps once we gather our army, we can unleash this snake creature and prove to the Slytherophidians that we were meant to be conquerors!"

"Yes, conquerors," Pyth smirked deviously like he had other plans in mind that didn't align with the prince's.

"As I said, I am truly sorry, but I can make a change." The Lapidarist stated while presenting a mechanical, orb-like device. "This is an Accretionator. A powerful device with the ability to create a strong gravitational pull that can draw in various asteroids and cosmic dust to revive an entire planet. Observe." To demonstrate, the Lapidarist created a hologram of a Gem colony that Steven and Connie recognized, the planet that the jungle moon they once visited as Stevonnie orbited. When the Accretionator was inserted into the planet, asteroids and space dust were vacuumed to the planet's surface, making it as good as new, like it was never conquered and colonized. "Impressive, isn't it? So tell me, do you accept this bargain?"

"Uh, we're going to need to discuss this among ourselves first," Peridot said as the Crystal Gems huddled together to discuss the Lapidarist's offer. "You saw what that Accretionator can do, right? Hundreds upon thousands of worlds revived in seconds! Do you realize what this means?!"

"Yeah, but what about afterward?" Lapis asked. "Are we just going back to how things were before Era 3 started? I think I know someone who would love that."

"Yeah, yeah, Black Rutile and all that," Jasper added sarcastically. "If Steven didn't completely break her body and her spirit, she'd accept the deal faster than you can say, 'Pull the lever, White Topaz.'"

"So what should we do?" White Topaz asked while looking back at the Lapidarist, patiently awaiting their answer. "I don't want to keep our literal goddess waiting."

"Well, ladies, your final answer?" Captain Boa spoke up. "No need to keep a lady waiting."

The Crystal Gems broke their huddle and turned to the Lapidarist. "Look, we're flattered by your offer and tempted by the chance to heal those broken worlds." Pearl declared. "But we just can't do it; the price is too high."

"The entire reason why we became who we are today is because we wanted to freely express ourselves," Amethyst added. "We wanted to live our own lives without anyone telling us what to do or how to do it."

"And we don't want to harm others simply because they are different. Everyone should be able to coexist regardless if they are flawed." Garnet stated firmly. "Like the Diamonds, for example. They have done horrible things in the past, but they're working to make a change for the better, no matter how hard it may be. I'm sure we have made ourselves loud and clear."

"How interesting." The Lapidarist said with a tilt of her head. "I thought I could coax you into complying like you did with so many other individuals, but it seems I was wrong. You prefer to make a change in your own way."

"You're right," Steven replied. "Besides, we once met alternate versions of ourselves from another dimension who were like our polar opposites, and they didn't want to make a change either."

"Should you tell them, or should I?" White whispered to the other Diamonds.

"Tell them what?" Iron asked, overhearing the three Gems' conversation.

"I don't think I like where this is going." Zinc said disdainfully as the Diamonds turned to face the Gems.

"Steven my dear, lately there have been rumors going around of a cover-up we've been performing," Yellow stated shakily. "Well, I must say that the rumors are true."

"What rumors?" Tungsten asked curiously.

"There were rumors that we were hiding the fact we did indeed wipe out organic life on a couple or so planets." Blue Diamond declared. "Well, suffice to say, the rumors were true. We exterminated all life on planets that were trying to fight back, and we hid the truth by saying we would never kill organic life. It's a secret we've been hiding for years, but somehow, the Slytherophidians found out and used it to blackmail us into coming along with them!"

The Crystal Gems all gasped in shock at this revelation. While they were aware that the Diamonds had done many horrible things over thousands of years, they were always told that the planets they conquered were primarily uninhabited, so hearing that a few worlds turned into colonies did house intelligent life was quite possibly just as, if not even an even bigger shock than learning of their species' origins. But no one took this harder than Steven.

"Why am I not surprised you'd hide something so horrible from us?" Steven said gloweringly, trying his best not to lose his temper again. "I wanted to give you three a chance, even after all the horrible things you did to me, us, and everyone. But no, you just keep hiding secrets from everyone, just like my mom did when she was alive. And especially a secret this awful. This is why I'm always so uncomfortable around you because I'm worried that any moment, whenever I turn my back, you'll just go back to your old ways and try to kill me. So destroy all my friends if you want, because I will make you pay for it."

"Steven, you don't understand. We never wanted it to be like this!" White exclaimed as Steven quietly stormed off.

"You pressed the Mom button." Amethyst declared. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Steven, wait!" Spinel yelled as she jumped off Yellow's shoulder and ran off after Steven, leaving the Crystal Gems, the Diamonds, the Metals, and the Slytherophidians alone with the Lapidarist.

"You know, my offer is still on the table." The Lapidarist suggested to the Diamonds.

"We appreciate the gesture, but it will take more than just one device to atone for what we've done." Blue politely declined the offer. "Is there anything else you want to tell us?"

"Indeed, there is." The Lapidarist replied. "There is a prophecy that states that on the day of Ragnarok, there will be a mighty warrior who will emerge from the merger of a group of troubled beings to save all reality from Squamata." She then began to chant the prophecy out loud while her body shined every possible color in existence. "Enlightened warriors of clashing kinships come from afar to banish the Eclipse. Only when united in heart and mind, can they stop the worlds from being aligned."

"So definitely a fusion then." Garnet declared after a quick analysis of the prophecy.

"Yeah, but of who?" Greg asked curiously.

"That is for you to find out, my mortal friends." The Lapidarist said while reverting her body to normal. "But in the meantime, I sense a great crisis on the immediate horizon."

--

Elsewhere in the Jormagundrs' castle, Princess Naja was pacing about her room after being locked away by her brother's enforcers for trying to interfere with his plans. "Nosiop can't get away with this." She muttered to herself. "But who can possibly help us in this hour?"

"Hey, anyone in there?" Lars asked as he knocked on the door. "One of the guards told us that somebody got locked up in their room. Can you tell us who you are before we break you out?"

"I'm Princess Naja Jormagundr!" Naja introduced herself to her rescuer. "My brother had me imprisoned here because he's plotting to conquer our race, and he and Black Rutile didn't want me getting in the way! You must tell Steven Universe at once!"

"Don't worry, miss, we got your back!" Ronaldo yelled as he tried breaking down the door by ramming into it. "Agh, my shoulder!"

"Hey, Paddy Sapphire, can you shapeshift us a key hand?" Peedee asked Padparadscha.

"Ooh, Peedee will ask for my help to free the pretty princess!" Padparadscha said before the door opened, revealing Lars, Ronaldo, Peedee, and the Off-Colors on the other side of the door.

"Looks like our princess wasn't in another castle after all," Lars said as he took Naja by the hand and gave her a gentlemanly kiss. "So, what's this about your brother?"

"He wants our race to become conquerors because no one could take him seriously," Naja explained. "He has aligned interests with Black Rutile to further those goals, and I fear they will doom you all."

"Oh dear, not Black Rutile." Fluorite shook her head in disgust. "Nosiop has made the wrong choice. Black Rutile is one of the evilest, cruelest Gems we know."

"Or is she?" Rhodonite wondered. "After her big meltdown to Steven, I'm having second thoughts about Black Rutile."

"Of course, she could also lie to gain people's sympathy." The left Rutile twin suggested.

"That is so like Black Rutile to do that." The right Rutile added.

"So, now, what do we do?" Peedee asked. "Are we just going to wait and see how this goes?"

"Everyone, I have another vision!" Padparadscha exclaimed. "Prince Nosiop Jormagundr is going to make an announcement!"

"Hey, she's right!" Ronaldo gasped before pointing at Nosiop slithering into the stadium. "Look over there!"

--

At the Ouraborium, Nosiop had returned to his family's viewing box, where he sat on his father's throne alongside the other Universal Lords to make his grand speech. "Today, people of Serpentes, shall be the most glorious day our planet has ever seen." Nosiop declared with Black Rutile and Pyth standing on either side of him. "As of today, I shall now take my father's place as your ruler, for he is not fit to be a king or a Universal Lord. Let this be a wake-up call to you Slytherophidians, the Universal Lords, the Gem race, and the ignorant masses across the entire universe! I shall soon arrive with an entire army of loyal Gems at my side to face down an ancient foe my father has hidden from you for so long! We all must answer to the hand of fate, and fate has chosen me to conquer this world!"

As soon as Nosiop finished his speech with an evil laugh, the entire stadium was sent into a frenzy, wondering if their prince was joking or if he intended to conquer Serpentes. The Universal Lords were left shocked at this declaration, but none were as affected by this as Black Rutile, who looked to one side as she began contemplating her role in Nosiop's plans.

And so, Nosiop pulls off step one of his grand plan. Announce what he's doing to the world and make everyone so scared and confused, they'll have no idea what to do with him. Yeah, talk about dropping a lot of bombs in just one chapter, but this isn't the end of it! Next chapter, we'll be in the homestretch with chaos aplenty and a contemplation of where certain characters will end up by the end. It can only get crazier from here, folks.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 11: The Ultimate Fusion (originally published on November 6, 2023)

AN: Happy tenth anniversary to Steven Universe. For my anniversary present, I bestow upon thee the penultimate chapter of not just Steven Universe: Snake Eyes, but also the entirety of Steven Universe: Alternate Future. It truly is a pain to let this story go after three years, but as a wise man once said, all good things must come to an end. With the plotline involving the development and redemption of Black Rutile now come full circle, it's time we finally address Steven's relationship with the Diamonds before they go off and save the universe from a planet-eating snake demon. It's going to take an awful lot of work to forgive beings as powerful as the Diamonds, but if Steven was able to accept Black Rutile's apology, then anything is possible, right?

Synopsis: In a last-ditch effort to save all reality, the Diamonds must fuse together in order to stand a chance. However, Steven still has some baggage with the other Diamonds to deal with.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond, Gem

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Samantha Newark as The Lapidarist

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Jennifer Paz as Lapis

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Matthew Moy as Lars

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Atticus Shaffer as Peedee

Ron Perlman as Inner Steven

Aurelio Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundr

Jason Marsden as Prince Nosiop Jormagundr

Shirley Millner as Queen Constricta Jormagundr

Cissy Jones as Princess Naja Jormagundr

Keith David as Pyth

Henry Rollins as Captain Boa

Kari Wahlgren as Envyrno

Nicole Sullivan as Sylvia Spectre

Peter Cullen as Titanium

Steve Blum as Sheriff Spiegel

Dominic Armato as Captain Gearfeet

Wally Wingert as Rigby Starglow

Ray Porter as Squamata

Tim Curry as Velhallen Beo

Featuring Elton John as Stars

Weird Al Yankovic as Stevaldo

And Jack Black as Rutilated Quartz

--

Steven was still processing what he had heard earlier. Him fusing with the Diamonds? Perish the thought! Sure, he was always up for helping others, even former enemies. Still, after all that the Diamonds had done to him, his family, and most of the known universe, it was way more challenging for Steven to accept that they were coming to him for help rather than him coming to them. He needed some time to think about this while everyone was preparing for the final battle with Squamata.

"So now they want my help after all they've done to me?" Steven angrily muttered to himself while pacing around the throne room. "Oh sure, I've allowed Black Rutile to repent, but it's going to take more than just saying sorry to make up for thousands of years' worth of genocide!"

"Problems, Steven?" Inner Steven asked from within Steven's mind. "Frankly, I'm quite surprised that those Diamonds are asking you for help for once instead of you asking them. And they couldn't have picked a worse time to do it, too."

"And now I have to fuse with them in order to save the universe!" Steven agreed with his darker half. "While I'm more than happy to find a way to stop Squamata once and for all, I'm not sure how this can work, given all my baggage!"

"Worst case scenario, the fusion fails astronomically, and we all die." Inner Steven proclaimed. "Just being realistic here. But then again, no one ever listens to the darker impulses of the self. And speak of the devil. Look who it is!"

Just then, Black Rutile stepped into the throne room, obviously still adjusting to her reforming into a Crystal Gem after sacrificing herself to protect Steven. In addition to the blank spot where her diamond symbol once was now being filled by the star of a Crystal Gem, Black Rutile's cape was now replaced with an all-white trenchcoat with pink details and a star on the back, dark gray trousers, and her original green visor to replace her red one.

"Hello again, Steven." Black Rutile awkwardly greeted. "It's me again, Black Rutile. I always come back and all that. Something the matter?"

"Go ahead; I'm sure you can trust her now." Inner Steven advised while figuratively shoving Steven towards his former enemy. "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

"So, Black Rutile, how are you adjusting to things?" Steven asked Black Rutile.

"I'm slow to adjust, like always." Black Rutile replied. "Love the new look, though. So, you have to fuse with the Diamonds to save reality, huh?"

"Exactly." Steven added sourly. "You know how fusions must involve total cooperation between its components to stay fused? Yeah, I don't think that's possible between me and the Diamonds."

"I can totally understand where you're coming from." Black Rutile stated. "I felt utterly betrayed by the Diamonds, too, but if they could give me a second chance, then surely you can do the same to them!"

"But you're different!" Steven exclaimed to his now-former enemy. "You were at least able to recognize that you hurt me and are working to make amends for that. They're focusing more on everybody else they hurt and always act like they've been friends with me from the beginning!"

"You're kind of vindicating one of the reasons I hated you right now." Black Rutile snarked. "The universe doesn't have to revolve around you, you know! You have to consider everyone else in this world, too!"

"Yeah, maybe I can be selfish, but at least I don't have an entire planet forced to worship me, or else they'll die!" Steven argued. "Why can't they just focus on what they did to me for once?!"

"Because it's not as simple as you think, Steven." Black Rutile stated with her arms folded. "This kind of stuff gets messy, and everybody's got issues, especially the Diamonds." She then looked down at where her diamond symbol used to be, nostalgically reminiscing on her time as a member of White Diamond's court. "And sometimes, they screw up. But that doesn't mean they won't just pretend like it didn't happen." Black Rutile offered a tender pat on Steven's shoulder. "Try to cut the Diamonds some slack. They may not always get it right, but they're trying. That's more important than you think."

"Wait, I think I got an idea!" Steven exclaimed in realization while he ignored Black Rutile. "What if I don't need to fuse with the Diamonds to save us all?!"

"You have got to be kidding me." Black Rutile grumbled with a facepalm. "Okay, fine, let's see whatever harebrained scheme you have, I guess."

--

"I admire that you made me take time out of my schedule to bring me here, Steven, but what is this for?" the Lapidarist asked as she sat in front of Steven, Black Rutile, Lars, and Ronaldo at the abandoned Ouraborium. "Whatever you have planned, please make this quick. We are preparing for war."

"Listen, Miss Lapidarist, I know we don't have much time, but I want to show you some alternatives to fusing with the Diamonds." Steven announced.

"It's his way of saying he's not ready to fuse with them yet because of his leftover baggage." Black Rutile snarked before Steven pushed her aside and then turned to Lars.

"She raises a good point, you know." Lars agreed with Black Rutile. "You can't just ignore your feelings about someone like that!"

"No, no, I bet people have wanted to see this for a while." Ronaldo said as Steven took Lars's hand and the two fused into a tall, pink-skinned man with crazy, 1970s-styled hair and dressed like he was the leader of a lonely hearts club.

"Oh, my stars!" the newly formed fusion of Steven and Lars gasped in amazement with a British accent. "Hey, that sounds like a pretty good name! That reminds me, I wanna test something." With a loud yell, Stars created a portal he jumped into, with another allowing him to land on the Lapidarist's shoulder. "Pretty impressive how I'm thinking with portals, eh?" He then summoned a large bass guitar from his hair to swing through the air like a sword before crashing down onto the ground with a big 'TWANG!'

"So cool!" Ronaldo cheered. "Do me next, do me next!"

"Okay, love, don't get so impatient." Stars laughed before un-fusing into Lars and Steven, who gave Ronaldo a high-five before the two merged into an equally tall man who was very bizarrely dressed, fitting Ronaldo's eclectic interests, with outrageously curly hair.

"Whoa, I look so stupid!" the fusion of Steven and Ronaldo laughed jokingly. "Wait, I am Stevaldo! I dare to be stupid!"

"Guys, where are you?" Peedee called for Steven and Ronaldo as he entered the arena. "The Gems want everybody together to stop the Lapidarist. Don't keep us-"He stopped himself immediately upon seeing Stevaldo in front of him with a big goofy grin as he began playing the accordion. "What just happened?"

"Check it out, Peedee, it's me, Ronaldo!" Stevaldo eagerly said. "I fused with Steven, and it feels super cool! Check out what I can do!" With his fingers to his temples, Stevaldo manipulated the rocks beneath him and used them to form a message saying, 'I AM STEVALDO!' "Pretty cool, huh?!"

"So when are you going to fuse with me?" Peedee asked.

"Maybe when he realizes he's using fusion to get out of making amends with the Diamonds." Black Rutile answered with a smirk. "But what do I know?"

"Is this true, Steven?" the Lapidarist wondered as Steven un-fused with Ronaldo. "Are you that uncomfortable around the Diamonds?"

"Yes, you got me, I am uncomfortable." Steven confessed. "I'm happy that we were able to convince them to heal all the corrupted Gems, a little easier than I thought, but that still doesn't distract from the fact that they were this way because of the Diamonds to begin with! And that's not even getting into how their treatment of Pink led to the rebellion, which led to so many lives being ended over thousands of years!"

Steven resisted the urge to cry as he poured his feelings out until the Lapidarist patted him on the head with her giant hand. "There there, Steven." She calmed him down. "Forgiveness and compassion shall always take time. So until the time comes for everyone to apologize, it's best to remain optimistic. In the meantime, you should be helping your friends save the universe."

"You're right." Steven sighed in resignation. "I can't dance around this any longer."

--

"Okay, everyone, double time, we ain't got much left to do here!" Amethyst yelled as she gave orders to all the members of the army of Gems, humans, Slytherophidians, Metals, and other assorted creatures from across the universe, all vastly different but still united against a familiar foe who desired nothing more than to destroy everything he saw. Friends, families, planets, and even entire galaxies were all in danger of being consumed by this mad god and his heralds. "Come on people, let's go go go!"

"Already got all the Gems ready!" Lapis declared with the Little Homeworld Gems behind her. "You ready, guys?!"

"YEAH!" the Little Homeworld Gems all cheered in reply.

"So this is it." Envyrno proclaimed. "These are the end times."

"At least we all had fun while we lasted." Sylvia Spectre answered sweetly as she contacted her superiors at the Coalition of Galaxies to assist in the final battle. "Now then, are you ready to help others for once?"

"Guess I got no other choice." Envyrno responded with a smirk.

"In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith." Titanium gave a rousing speech to the other Metals. "But there are also days when a few brave souls unite to save the universe. We can be heroes in our own lives, every one of us, if we only have the courage to try. Now, we must take strength in kindred spirits, not of our species, all true warriors. If not in body, then in spirit. I am Titanium of the Metals, and I send this to the fearsome Squamata. Leave this universe alone. Because we're coming for you."

"Rigby, it's been an honor meeting you." Captain Gearfeet said to Rigby Starglow with a grin. "Say, can you sign my arm? I want to prove to my crew that I was lucky enough to meet you!"

"Okay, you got me." Rigby smirked as he took out a pen and wrote his signature on Gearfeet's cybernetic arm. "Who knows? Maybe we'll run into each other again someday."

"One last call before the apocalypse, everyone!" Sheriff Spiegel said while passing around a flask of alcohol to Deputy Edward, Monty, S-L1M3, Lady Imagineer, the Decimator, Earthos, and Michelle Angelon. "Anybody care for a sip?"

"I'm good." Jasper said as she turned to White Topaz. "Now, are you sure you're comfortable having to work alongside you-know-who again, dear? If you want, I can poof her again."

"No, don't be such a worrywart, honey." White Topaz said before kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. "If she says she wants to change, I trust her with all my heart. Besides, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be wearing this sick number." She did a twirl to show off her new reformed outfit, now a black wrestling singlet with a big white star on her chest. "You like it?"

"Really fits you." Jasper said before she saw Steven and Black Rutile reunite with the others. "Steven! I've been wondering where you ran off to."

"Is everything alright?" Pearl asked. "We know you're a little uncomfortable around the Diamonds, but we're also aware that you really don't have a choice in the matter. If you're ready to talk with them, we'll make sure that they have enough time to- "

"You're too late, Steven." Garnet bluntly stated. "The Diamonds are already shipping out with the Jormagundrs to face Nosiop." As Garnet concluded her sentence, Steven turned to see the Diamonds, along with Spinel, Hessonite, Citrine, and the royal family, flying off in a big warship outside the castle walls. "Tough break."

"Doesn't matter, as long as all of us are still together." Steven declared. "The Diamonds can wait; we got a universe to save!"

"You got that right." Black Rutile said as she drew her sword and stood alongside the Rutile Rebels, both past and present. "Buckle up, Lucent Gems, today's the day we make a change!"

--

Within an hour or so, more warships began arriving from Alethinophidia, carrying the defenders of Serpentes toward the final battle with Squamata. One ship housed the Crystal Gems, the Rutile Rebels, now dubbed the Lucent Gems, Lars and the Off-Colors, the various competitors in the Contest of Champions, Bialyoom & Meinerr, Aescul, and the Fryman brothers. Another carried the Diamonds, Spinel, Hessonite, the Jormagundr royal family, the Universal Lords, Captain Boa, Flipso, and the Black Pearl Brigade. Finally, a third ship was transporting the Metals into battle.

Squamata and his heralds all turned to discover the three ships in the distance as they descended to the ground and their respective passengers disembarked for the final battle. Meanwhile, the Lapidarist appeared from above in a flash of light to lead the resistance against Squamata.

"So, you finally show yourself, my dear creator." Squamata sneered with a hiss. "What can one speck of light illuminate within the dark abyss that is I, Squamata? Countless stars. Countless worlds. Countless lives. All fell to me, all brought to nothing, and all because of you." With an ominous glow in his eyes, the god of snakes summoned an unstoppable army of darkness to aid in his destruction of the universe. "You and your kind have tried so hard to keep your sins hidden away that you had no idea that there would be souls of darkness who wanted to unleash my wrath upon the universe. You simply could not live with your own failures, and where did that bring you? Back to me."

"You will find that mortals are far more resilient than you believe, Squamata." The Lapidarist declared with a speech of her own. "Look at these people, these mortal beings. Consider their potential! They have done so many amazing things with the short time they have in the universe, yet they always made the most to ensure a brighter future for all! And that future involves you dying once and for all!" She raised her arm to the sky. "CHARGE!"

With that, the Lapidarist's armies raced into battle for the fate of all reality. In the process, Lapis and Jasper fused into Malachite, Cat's Eye and Holly Blue fused into Chrome Chalcedony, Cinnabar and her crew combined into Painite, Black Rutile, and White Topaz fused into Lepidolite, Aquamarine, and Eyeball fused into Bluebird Azurite, and Steven and Lars fused into Stars.

"Okay, just gotta tell the Diamonds I'm not interested!" Stars muttered to himself as he tried running over to Yellow Diamond. "Uh, hey, Yellow, can we talk?"

"Not now, Steven, saving the universe here!" Yellow exclaimed while repelling an army of shadow creatures with a wave of her hand. "Blue, back me up here!"

"Already on it!" Blue replied while firing lasers from her palms. Disappointed that he couldn't talk to the Diamonds yet again, Stars instead focused on helping the other Crystal Gems against Squamata's heralds.

"Hey Steven, neat new fusion!" Peridot complimented Stars's look.

"Thanks, love." Stars replied before summoning his star-shaped bass to fight off the invading army.

"Wait, Steven can fuse with humans other than him and Greg?" White Topaz asked while she and the Lapides held up a water shield to help defend the Metals.

"I guess so." Connie replied. "Bismuth, on your left!"

"Got it!" Bismuth yelled while smacking Velhallen Beo away with a hammer fist.

"Blast you, Gem scum!" Velhallen snarled before lunging at Garnet like a predator. "I've waited centuries to kill a Gem! And you have the honor of being the first!"

"Not quite." Garnet smirked in response. "Malachite, now!" Malachite then took Beo by surprise by snatching him from midair with a water claw and tossing him straight at Torius Vosania.

"Playing hardball, eh?" Beo smirked while firing a giant purple energy beam from his hands that White deflected with her laser eyes, prompting a beam struggle between the two.

Meanwhile, Cobralan, Constricta, Naja, and Boa all stood face to face with Nosiop, Pyth, Mr. Manco, and Torius, the royal family ready to free their son and brother from the Serpent Society's clutches and be a normal family again. "Nosiop, I know you're still in there, my boy." Cobralan reached out to his son. "Please, let your old man into your heart and listen to him."

"Me listen to you?!" Nosiop yelled angrily. "You never listened to what I had to say, so why should I do the same? I legitimately wanted to change our society for the better, but you were so stuck in your traditional ways that you never noticed your own family's feelings!"

"You know, father, he raises a good point." Naja stated.

"And that's why I wanted to talk to you, Nosiop." Cobralan added. "A human told me that I wasn't the best parent towards you. He knows from experience, for he is a father much like me, a father who also debated with himself on whether he was a good parent to his son. But at the end of the day, he accepted that no matter how much he treasured his child, he still needed to grow and change as a man himself. So please, my boy, let me try to be a good parent, and maybe we can work things out. Let us slay Squamata, and together, we can work towards a brighter future for our people."

Nosiop's face dropped as he gazed at his father, now repenting for his past problematic treatment of his son. He finally acknowledged his ignorance of his son's wants and now wanted to make amends. It almost brought a tear to Nosiop's eye and made him want to drop his weapon and return to his family with open arms. But unfortunately, destiny had other plans.

"I believe you've talked with your boy long enough." Pyth smirked while grabbing Nosiop by the shoulder. "Perhaps before you two are reunited, he should slip into something more comfortable. Oh, Squamata! I got a new vessel for you!"

"Excellent, my priest!" Squamata grinned eagerly before he zoomed straight into Nosiop's body through his mouth, forcing his spirit into the young prince and possessing him like the demon he was. As Nosiop was now possessed, his original self was locked away within his mind, and Squamata took control, allowing his new body to grow exponentially in size. With a sadistic grin, Squamatia took his body for a spin by laying waste to the rebellion surrounding him, smacking his tail around and firing lasers from his mouth. "Oh, this is most excellent!"

"Nosiop, sweetie!" Constricta yelled in horror before running for cover.

Before Squamata could cause any more harm to the rebellion, one fusion was brave enough to stand up and defend his friends from harm. Steven immediately un-fused with Lars and fused with Ronaldo so Stevaldo could summon a giant shield to protect them. "Stay away from my friends, Squamata!" Stevaldo announced. "I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am the one character in a superhero comic who is genuinely skilled in his own right yet is useless compared to the gods he surrounds himself with! I am Stevaldo, ally to good and nightmare to you!"

"Oh, another fusion with a human?" Squamata smirked in Nosiop's body. "I must admire your creativity, Steven Universe, but it shall not be enough! Bring me the ultimate fusion!"

"Now is your chance, Diamonds, become Gem!" Squamata urged Steven and the Diamonds. "Of course, there is something you need to address first."

"Right." Stevaldo said before un-fusing as Steven continued holding up the shield. "I know you've heard this way too many times before, but the reason why I'm so uncomfortable around you guys is that even though you're trying to make a change, you still don't understand what you've put me through with how you treated Pink and what you did to all those species through covering up what you did!"

"We don't understand? Are you kidding? Us? Of course, we understand. I mean, do you call this a war, this funny little thing?" Yellow declared, snapping Steven out of his funk. "This is only a small scuffle compared to what we endured!"

"We did worse things than you could ever imagine! And when I close my eyes, I hear nothing but the screams of the Gems who gave their lives for us!" Blue added worriedly.

"And you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it?" White added, clenching her hand for extra emphasis. "You hold it tight till it burns your hand! And you say that no one else will ever have to live like this! No one else will ever have to feel this pain! Not on my watch! So go on, hate us all you like, but that won't change the fact that you would never exist without us! We need you as much as you need us! We're sorry for abusing you for what Pink did! Please forgive us!"

"That's all I needed to hear." Steven smirked in acceptance as he held out his hand to finally make amends with the Diamonds. The other three Diamonds each placed their finger on the hand, and in a brilliant flash of white, yellow, blue, and pink light, Gem was finally reborn after thousands of years.

"I-I'm whole again." Gem gasped while gazing at her massive hands and her surroundings. "I know what I must do." Without even thinking first, Gem zoomed towards Squamata with speed rivaling that of the speeds of light and sound combined before grabbing the possessed prince of Serpentes by the tail and spinning him around in the air before slamming him to the ground. "TAKE THIS!"

"Ah, the original Gem, long have I waited to see you!" Squamata snarled in joy before charging at Gem and attempting to bite her in the forearm, but Gem thought quickly and slapped him away. "Yes, this is just the fight I wanted!"

"It's time for you to surrender, Squamata!" Gem boomed while preparing another. "Let Nosiop go, or we will make you pay the price!"

"However, there is but one mistake you Gems fail to notice." Squamata smirked. "You never know when you'll be taken by surprise." At that moment, Squamata seemed to disappear, and in the next moment, the Lapidarist let out a loud shriek of agony as she keeled over while poison began to spread through her body. "Let us see how you fare without your god to save you!"

"Oh no, Rebeugar!" Gem yelled as she raced back to where the Lapidarist had fallen and un-fused into Steven and the Diamonds to try and save her.

"Thank goodness you got here in time." Captain Boa stated. "I don't think she has much time left after an attack like that took her by surprise."

"Hold on, I can fix this!" Steven exclaimed as he tried using his healing spit to cure Rebeugar of the poison, but to his shock; it didn't seem to work. "Oh no, what's happening? My spit isn't working!"

"That's because Squamata's poison is so lethal; not even your spit can stop it from killing its victims." Cobralan said remorsefully as he laid the Lapidarist to rest. "You can rest now, milady. We'll take it from here."

"I do not know what'll happen after I die. But I know that you are reality's last hope." The Lapidarist said weakly while gazing at Steven and Black Rutile one last time as the poison began killing her. "I was wrong. You two shall make the ultimate fusion that will save us all. My time is short, but I shall leave you with one final message. Everyone, I urge you all, one final time. Believe in Steven."

As the Lapidarist finally died in a flash of light, Steven and Black Rutile looked at each other, knowing exactly what to do. "Are you ready?" Steven asked while offering Black Rutile his hand. "Do you trust me?"

"I do." Black Rutile answered before taking Steven's hand, and the two danced together, glowing so intensely that the light could be seen for miles. The two began to fuse, something neither of them ever thought would've been possible in the past, and the result was an androgynous figure dressed in a conventional superhero costume with intense pink skin and large, curly hair. Could this be it? Could they be the ultimate fusion thousands of years in the making that will destroy Squamata once and for all? Whatever the case, the newly formed Rutilated Quartz had only one thing to say.

"Awesome."

--

Dear god, this chapter was a massive undertaking, but it was all worth it in honor of the show that changed my writing career forever. Well, that along with Gravity Falls and FLCL. Happy anniversary Steven, hope it's a good one. Next chapter will be the final chapter of Snake Eyes, and as I stated earlier, the long-awaited finale of Steven Universe: Alternate Future. Until we meet again for one last adventure, let's see how far we've come and how far we'll go.