Original storyboard written by Raven Molisee and Paul Villeco

Steven Universe belongs to Cartoon Network and Rebecca Sugar

Alfred's fist slammed down on the counter of Beach Citywalk Fries, his eyebrows furrowed. "GIVE ME THE-" Before she could even finish his sentence, a bag of fry bits were shoved his way. "Oh, thanks." He laughed.

The boy behind the counter, an thin individual with with multicolored hazel eyes, a curly head of light brown hair, and faintly freckled cheeks, smiled shyly, shrugging. "Ehh, I saw you guys comin'."

Alfred's father, a taller individual with long, dyed red hair and green-blue eyes, with stubble surrounding his mouth, raised a thick brow. "Are you closing up all by yourself?"

The younger boy looked up, a proud sparkle in his eyes. "Yeah, it's just me tonight."

"Wow. That's a lot of responsibility for a kid your age." He smiled kindly. "Your dad must really trust you."

The smile on the boy's face disappeared. "Don't patronize me, sir." He mumbled.

Alfred snatched up the bag of bits and began walking off as his father paid. "See ya, Hayden!" He shouted and waved, and the boy returned it from his spot in the window. Then, his attention, switched to his father, who kept in stride next to him. "So, like I was saying, Lovina has been shooting huge robots here from space. And when you smash them, they explode into goo!" He laughed, reaching into the bag and grabbing out a handful of fry bits, before shoving them into his mouth.

"That sounds scary." His father stated, before looking down. "You know, I'm not sure if... Do you ever feel like this gem stuff is too much for you?"

"What'd you-" Before Alfred could finished his sentence, a giant explosion shook the ground, causing him to fall over.

"What the hay was that?" His father inquired with wide eyes as Alfred picked himself up, looking to the sky. "Alfred?"

"Is that... A hand?" Alfred muttered, and his father, Tyler, looked up to the sky, seeing a green hand in the sky, pointing directly at beach city.

"The light canons should be ready." Sakura stated to Madeline, concern swimming in her amber eyes.

"Guys!" Alfred shouted as he and his dad ran up to the group of gems. "Do you see that thing in the sky?"

"It's a ship. We have to assume it's Lovina." Sakura explained, looking up to the sky with Isabel.

"Elisabeta told us she'd be coming, with advanced weapons and reinforcements." Madeline stated grimly.

"It's happening..." Alfred's father, Dennis, muttered.

"I wanna see!" Alfred smiled, approaching the telescope and peering inside. Indeed, it was a giant green hand, and it was advancing towards them rapidly. "Whoa..."

"Ready the light canons!" Maddie shouted from her spot on the beach. Sakura pulled a red lever, and three pink canons emerged from underneath their base. Isabel, up on the deck, wheeled a fourth one into placed. "Alfred, light em up!"

Alfred, his face set in determination, spoke into a walkie talkie. "If every pork-chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs." At that, the top of the canons expanded into roses, and shot powerful blasts into the air. The beams seemed to dance around each other in harmony, but the hand ship lifted it's palm, and when the light hit, nothing happened.

"No effect," Madeline stated dismally.

"What now?" Dennis inquired.

"We'll have to take them head on. The whole town might be in danger." The tall gem stated, looking at the human, her expression unreadable.

"I better make a call." Alfred decided, lifting up his phone. "Time for some... Political favors." He pressed the phone to his ear as it rang, but it was answered quickly.

"Hello?"

"Mayor Dewey! It's me, Alfred Universe!"

"Universe! What's this thing in the sky? As a politician, pointing fingers make me very nervous..."

"Mayor Dewey! The whole town's in danger! We have to evacuate the city!"

"Evacuate? Hm, evacuate. Could be tough, I'll need a catchy slogan!"

Mayor Dewey's re-election van sped down the boardwalk, "EVACUATE" blaring on repeat. It stopped near a crowd of the townspeople, who gathering around the vehicle as Dewey climbed to the top of the truck. "People! I need everyone to consider, evacuation! Evacuation is something we all depend on it in times of need!"

From his spot on the beach, Alfred watched the mayor, before he heard noise behind him, and turned to see his father and the Crystal Gems packing up the van. "Oh, hey! That's a great idea, dad. You should leave with the rest of-" He paused when he saw that it was his hamburger backpack they were about to throw into the van. He shifted anxiously. "Is that my luggage?"

"Uhhh..." Sakura and Dennis both went to speak, before Dennis looked at her, pointing towards the younger boy, "Who wants to tell him?"

They both looked uncomfortable at the prospect of doing so, and as Isabel approached, Sakura glanced pleadingly at her. "Hey, I'm not good with this stuff!" She explained, turning her back with a flush on her face and moist green eyes. Sakura covered her mouth and patted her friend's back in understanding.

"Alfred," Madeline began, turning towards the boy, "I know you don't think we trust you. I know more often than not, we treat you like a human child." She bent down, opening a suitcase and taking out a megaphone, "But the truth is, we rely on you." She handed Alfred the device, his eyebrows furrowed as she stood up. "Your voice inspires us. Binds us. Reminds us why we promised to protect the planet." She bent down again, gripping Alfred's shoulder with one of her gemmed hands. "You must now be that voice. For them." She turned him to face the panicking city people, all not quite sure how to go about evacuating and all quite scared of what the future held for them.

"If anything happens, you need to be there to protect them, like your mother once did. It's your destiny." Madeline stated, caressing his face gently.

Alfred stood a bit straighter. "I won't disappoint you!" He promised.

"I know." Maddie said with a gentle smile.

With that, Dennis hopped in the driver's seat of the van, with Alfred in the passenger's seat. He looked at the window, a smile on his face as he waved goodbye to them, and they drove off, leaving the gems alone.

With Alfred gone, the gems instantly looked defeated, with Madeline stooped over the railing that Isabel was leaned on, gripping her hair with an almost agonizing look in her eyes. Sakura's lip trembled as tears spilled over, and she grabbed Maddie's arm for support.

"We did everything we could." The blonde reassured them, her violet eyes distant. "Alright, pull it together."

The cars drove out of Beach City in a single file. As they went, Dennis adjusted the side mirror to face the green ship in the sky, sweat dripping down his face nervously.

"Maybe when Lovina gets to Earth, she'll see how nice all the people are, and she won't want to hurt anyone." Alfred stated as he watched the landscape roll by outside.

Dennis smiled. "Just like your mother."

"Yeah?" Alfred inquired, glancing over at his dad.

"Yeah." He gave his son a reassuring smile, but it dropped as soon as he looked away. "But these other gems aren't like your mother. They're not like Madeline and Isabel, or Sakura. They're not gonna start caring about people now. They didn't the first time they-" He stopped himself both he continued, but he had already caught Alfred's attention.

"The first time they what?" He pushed gently.

"I mean- It was thousands of years ago, it's not like I was there," Dennis stuttered.

Alfred turned to him, pressuring him to continue with wide blue eyes. "The gems should be telling you all this stuff, but, I get it. I mean, they don't want you thinking of them like that!"

"Like what?" Alfred looked slightly nervous now. When his father didn't answer, he raised his voice a bit. "Dad, like what?"

"LIKE ALIENS, ALFRED. ALIENS WHO INVADED EARTH."

Alfred's eyes widened. "What?"

"All they do is try and make up for it, but they just can't forgive themselves. Do you understand? Look, they were doing something awful to the planet, and your mother couldn't stand it anymore. She told me that's why she had to turn on her own kind. She gave up everything just to stop what they started here, and drive the invading gems off of Earth." Dennis rambled, obviously done with trying to fend off his son.

"So, she saved the world, that's good!" Alfred exclaimed.

"Ehh, no such thing as a good war, kiddo. Gems were destroyed, and people too. In the end, your mother could only save a handful of her closest friends. If it weren't for her shield, man... I don't know." Dennis finished, his eyes wide. He glanced at his son, who looked very distressed his as he gripped his stomach, where his gem was located. "But hey, look on bright side! We're gonna drive by that waffle place in a couple miles."

Alfred covered his face. "We gotta go back!" He uncovered his face, turning to his dad. "Turn the van around!"

"No way! The gems don't you going back!"

"I know they're just trying to protect me, but- I HAVE TO PROTECT THEM. I HAVE MOM'S SHIELD, THEY NEED ME!"

"I NEED YOU TOO!"

"PLEASE, DAD, WHAT IF THEY GET HURT?" When Dennis ignored him, Alfred started shaking his arm. "DAD, TURN AROUND! DAD!" Tears gathered in his eyes as he glared at him. "TURN THE VAN AROUND, PLEASE!" He shouted, punching the van in front of him and snapping the plastic interior in half. Within a second, however, the airbag went off, and in shock, Alfred surrounded himself in a bubble, causing him to be ejected out of the van. Dennis's car screeched to a stop, along with the rest of the townspeople.

Dennis hopped out of the car and ran to the side of road, where Alfred laid sprawled out in the grass. "Alfred!" He shouted, dropping down next to him as the blonde looked up with tears in his eyes.

"Dad..." Alfred muttered, tears spilling down his face as he grasped his dad's hand.

"Yo, Dennis! Are you and your kid okay?" Hayden's father asked, Hayden standing at his side as they looked down at the Universes. Soon, the rest of the town joined them, all donning concerned expressions.

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine, we're fine." Devin assured them as he helped Alfred stand.

Alfred gripped his shoulder, turning to him. "Dad, please. I have to go back." He cried. "I have to. They don't have my shield, do... You understand?"

Dennis smiled nervously. "Yeah, okay, just- be careful," he stated, wiping away his son's tears, "or, I'm gonna run fresh outta family."

"Stay with everyone and keep them safe! I'll figure out some way to get back to Beach City!" Alfred stated, before a giant cream-colored paw placed itself on his head, and he turned to see Lion, his giant, fluffy feline with a giant brown mane and strange marking around his eyes that looked like glasses. "Ah, this'll work!"

Soon, Alfred was racing back towards the city on Lion, who was moving faster than Dennis's van likely could. As he did so, he dialed into his phone, and put it up to his ear. "Come on, pick up..." He muttered.

"You've reached the Ferrell's residence." "Ugh!" "Please leave a message after the beep- and keep it short."

"Hey, Shelby, it's Alfred! Just seeing what you were up to. Uh, don't know if you knew, but, there's some crazy stuff going on with a giant space hand, and we all might die, so, uh, I guess call me back when you get this, and... Talk to you soon! Bye!" With that, he hung up the phone. Lion let out a huge roar, creating a vortex that he jumped into, instantly transporting them to the beach.

On the beach, bathed in green light, Madeline stood with her fists clenched, next to the fusion of Sakura and Isabel, Anya, who stood stiff, aiming an arrow made of light at the oncoming ship. "Fire!" Maddie commanded, and the gem let go of the arrow, her long, platinum blonde hair whipping around her as she did so. The arrow split into dozens midair, but barely put a scratch on the ship.

Anya stared at it with wide lilac eyes, and Alfred climbed down from Lion. "Stay here! If something happens, dad will need a new son!" He shouted, before racing towards the gems.

The ship seemed to speed up, green fire surrounding it now. Madeline and Anya stared up at it in horror. "At least Alfred is safe." Maddie muttered.

"Hey guys!" Alfred shouted happily, causing them to turn.

"Alfred!" Madeline snapped, and Anya yelled in distressed, turning into a wavering figure of light before Sakura and Isabel separated, sliding onto the ground.

"You came back!" Isabel shouted hoarsely, her eyes glinting with concern.

"What're you doing?" Sakura demanded in the panic. "Get out of here!"

"But-"

"It's too late!" Maddie exclaimed. "Just stay behind us!" The three gems stood protectively in front of Alfred as the ship hover above the water, turning into a fist and spinning upside down. It opened, the tips of it's fingers almost touched the sand, but while they stayed hovered, the air the ship had forced down on still caused sand to fly up in the gems' face. Within moments,small pod emerged from the palm, sliding down to the index finger and dissipating, revealing three figures as the finger slammed onto the beach.

"That's them, alright." A voice with an Italian accent stated. "They're the ones that keep breaking my machines!" The figure appeared above, her skin tanned and her dark hair pulled up in a bun similar to Isabel's, with a a stray curl sticking out on her right side. Her hazel eyes were harsh, and in the center of her forehead, similar to Sakura's pearl, was a triangular green stone, a peridot. She was extremely large, considering she had metal extensions attached to her arms and legs. It made her twice as tall, and her fingers didn't touch her hands, but floated.

Behind her, another figure appeared. She was extremely pale, with glinting pink eyes and long white hair. She had a scar across her right cheek, and instead of a nose, she a rhombus-shaped amber gem, a jasper. "This is it?" She growled with a thick German accent.

"Julchen! They keep interfering with my work!" The brunette snapped angrily.

The albino sighed, marching forward. "Looks like another waste of my time. Hey, get over here!" She commanded, smiling and grabbing another gem out from behind her. She wore a sapphire blue dress, and had long, wavy brown hair, with angry green eyes. She yanked her hand away, glaring, before she looked down at the Crystal Gems, her eyes widening at the sight of Alfred.

"Elisabeta." He whispered.

"This is their base?" Julchen inquired, completely unimpressed.

"Yes." Elisabeta muttered.

"You need to leave immediately!" Madeline commanded.

"Yeah, step off!" Isabel snapped.

"This is not a gem-control planet!" Sakura urged.

The three foreign gems jumped down from the ship. "And neither of you saw Amelia Jones?" Julchen questioned, crossing her arms. "Ohh, what a shame. I was hoping to meet her." She smiled maliciously. "I was looking forward to beating her into the ground!" Alfred flinched. "But this is all that's left of her army? Some lost, defective pearl, a puny, overcooked runt, and this shameless display?" Julchen insulted, pointing to Sakura, Isabel, and Maddie respectively, before her eyes landed on Alfred. "Hm? What is that?"

Instantly, the Crystal Gems tensed around him. "It calls itself, 'The Steven'." The brunette, who could only be Lovina, explained.

"He's just a human! He isn't a threat at all! H-he's not one of them!" Elisabeta urged, looking up to Julchen with wide eyes.

"I know what human is." She snapped. "You don't need me for this. Just blast them with the ship." She stated, turning and walking away.

"Ugh, fine." Lovina grumbled, using four of her metal fingers to create a screen. The ship lifted, pointing at the Crystal Gems. Lovina used the last of her fingers to draw a circle on the screen, pressing in the middle, which caused a white light to emit from the tip of the index.

"Alfred! Get out of here!" Madeline shouted.

"No!" Alfred retorted, his eyes wide, desperate to stay.

"I won't let you risk your life!" Maddie snapped.

"But this is my home, and you're all my family!" He protested, tears gathering in his eyes as his gem began to glow under his shirt.

"Firing." Lovina stated, the beam shot out at them.

"I'm, I'm a CRYSTAL GEM TOO!" Alfred screamed, running forward and leaping in front of his protectors. As the light struck, the ground shook as a metal vibration rang out, and Julchen turned in confusion to see Alfred standing in front of the gems, holding up a giant pink shield with vine designed etched in a winding pattern, with a rose in the center.

"That shield! That symbol!" She growled. The shield collapsed as the boys energy was drained. "You! You have the power of Amelia Jones!"

"Now do you believe I needed an escort?" Lovina demanded.

"Fire a barrage, wide spread!" Julchen commanded, and Lovina quickly obeyed, flicking her finger across the screen, causing the ship's gun to shot across the beach, causing Isabel and Sakura to jump back and Madeline to leap forward, grabbing Alfred and pushing him out of range. The line in the beach exploded, blinding the gem with sand.

Alfred laid on the ground, still weak from activating his shield. "Amelia, why do you look like that?" Julchen demanded. "Why are you so weak?"

"Don't hurt him!" Elisabeta urged.

"You knew about this!" Julchen accused.

"It wasn't relevant to the mission!" The brunette urged, her accent a mix of Germanic and Slavic.

"Forget about the mission!" The albino snapped.

"WHAT?" Lovina demand, glaring.

"Yào needs to see this... Thing." Julchen hissed.

Before anyone could make another move towards Alfred, Madeline burst up form the sand, his fists encased with heavy metal gloves as she leapt at Julchen.

"Good." She laughed, an amber helmet covering her head just as Maddie swung. Julchen bent her head, and the metal clashed, the shock of the explosion sending Alfred flying, and Madeline sliding back.

"Alfred, run!" She commanded, attacking Julchen again.

The albino whipped out a electric prod device. "Chronic gem destabilizer." She explained to her two counterparts, who backed up warily. She rushed Madeline, stabbing her in the abdomen with the device, instantly haulting her as a yellow light emitted from her body. When it stopped, Maddie fell back, her glasses breaking off as yellow lines crawled across her body, her limps falling off bit by bit, causing Isabel and Sakura to both shout in horror. Alfred got one last look into his friend's wide violet eyes before she exploded, leaving nothing but a silhouette of her body in the sand and her two gems.

Alfred shook violently as Julchen approached him. "I was there, ya know. At the first war for this garbage planet. I fought against your armies, I respected you tactics. But this?" She picked the trembling boy up by the shirt. "This is SICK."

"UNHAND HIM!" Sakura demanded as she and Isabel rushed towards them, weapons ready.

"I don't get what you're planning, Rose, but look! Your base is taken, your army's in ruins. You! HAVE! FAILED!" She laughed, her helmet disappearing before she slammed her forehead into Alfred's face.