Aquamarine's words echoed throughout the palace as she stared down Steven and his friends.
She could barely hold in her joy as she watched his face contort into horror at the sight of the two.

"Spinel!" He yelled, trying to catch his friend's attention. The gem twitched, before slumping further, black sludge dripped from her gem and pooling on the floor like blood. The sight took the crystal gems aback, and they hesitated to approach.

"What did you do to her?!" Steven screamed, looking up at the blue gem who revelled in his disgust.
She stood and fluttered into the air, bobbing up and down before landing next to her new weapon.

"I didn't do anything, she did this all to herself." The gem answered, poking Spinel with her finger and pulling away some of the tar. She shot Steven a snide smile. "She really held out for you, you know."

The gem flitted toward him, causing the gems to brace themselves for an attack.

"Serves her right, all that toxic love and friendship, trust!" Aquamarine spat the words like they were bile as she stepped closer. "Really does a number on you, huh?"

Steven shook his head, ignoring the gem's manipulation tactics, he looked back at the gem who sat, sinking into pink diamonds chair, staring off into space.

"Spinel," he hesitated, glancing at his friends for guidance, Pearl stared mortified at what she saw, all of them did. "Spinel, it's me, Steven!"

The gem stirred, finally, lolling her head from one side to the other. She looked up, barely able to comprehend the words through the screaming. The noise hurt, it hurt so bad, and there were voices inside it that hurt too.

Her eyes focused on the things in front of her, she recognized them, somewhat, but the noise clouded everything, enveloped everything.

"Spinel."

The voice rose from the static, it was...familiar.

"Steven?" She questioned, as her eyes focused on the child. The static grew, pounding and ringing inside her head, making her want to scream too. She pulled her dripping hands to her head, pressing them firmly around her skull and clawing at her face as the noise grew louder.
The screaming, outside and inside, it hurt so so much and she wanted nothing but to make it stop.
The gem shuddered.

"Make it stop." She breathed, slumping forward, gripping her face tightly as black sludge bubbled from her eyes.

Steven took another step toward the gem, trying to hear her words. Aquamarine's grin ripped across her face and she jumped into the air, looking down on the distressed boy as he shuffled toward the decaying gem.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She laughed, pulling herself higher in the air, well out of reach of the rest of the gems.
Steven inched toward Spinel, reaching out his hand as he approached.

"Spinel-" he stopped himself, now able to hear her whispers.

"Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop." Her voice grew louder as she tried to drown out the noise, she bolted upright, causing the scythe to clack to the floor. Steven took a hesitant step forward, he couldn't believe his eyes.

The gem bent over, huddling close to herself as she tried to repress the screaming in her head.

"Spinel, it's-"

"STOP" the gem shrieked, stretching out her arms and grabbing the boy and throwing him into the floor. Her arms ripped back to her side as she let out a trembling breath.

Steven struggled to his feet, completely taken off guard by the sudden attack. Something was really, really wrong. Connie ran to his side, helping him up.

"Why did she do that?" Connie gasped, holding her friend under his shoulder. Steven wiped the blood from his brow and glanced at Connie before staring at the unraveling gem.

"I don't know! Something's wrong!"

The gem whipped around at his voice, unbarred rage burning in her eyes.

"I said stop!" She screamed, grabbing the scythe from the floor and launching herself toward them. Steven pulled up his sheild, blocking the scythe but Spinel's body splattered against it, trailing goo as she stumbled away. The gem bobbed for a moment, slinging her scythe around the shield and attacking the crystal gems who stood further behind it.
Pearl let out a shriek, narrowly dodging the blade as it boomeranged around the room.
Spinel retracted her arms, pulling them to her head and clawing at her eyes in desperation.

"It hurts!" She cried, pulling down her eyelids, black sludged bubbled in the creases, dripping down her face as she clawed at them.

Pearl glanced at Garnet who seemed unable to move as she watched the gem deteriorate further.
Amethyst ran to her side, carefully avoiding the pools of ooze as she met with them.

"What's going on?!" Her voice cracked with concern as she stared at the two mortified gems.

"I think-"

"She's being corrupted." Garnet cut Pearl off, before jumping toward Steven. He turned to her, his eyes pleading for answers.

The corrupted gem let out a pained howl before sinking into the floor like a puddle, then bursting from the ground, spastically swinging her scythe at the troupe. It crashed against Steven's shield as he blocked her uncoordinated attacks. Her skin dripped onto the shield, turning black as it left her body.

"What do I do?!" Steven screamed, causing the gem to shriek in reply, crashing her head into his shield in a desperate attempt to stop the noise. She lolled her head, pressing it into the sheild.

Steven stared, frozen in fear at the sight, he could see the unabashed pain in her eyes as she screetched. The gem sank to the floor, her body beginning to lose its form, Steven couldn't think. He didn't know what to do.

He lowered his shield, looking at Connie who only for a moment rejected his half cocked plan before lowering her own sword. He stuck his thumb in his mouth, covering it in as much spit as he could manage and planted it into Spinel's liquefying body.

Aquamarine watched from above, her face contorting into pure rage at the sight.

"No!" She shrieked, plummeting down to attack. She ripped the ribbon from her hair as she neared, only to be cleaved by a sudden strike.

The gem's eyes widened as she realized what had happened, Spinel stood, glaring into her eyes as she retracted her arm, the scythe in her hand.

Aquamarine's form exploded into drifting smoke, her teardrop gem clattering to the floor.

Spinel's eyes watered as grief and fear overcame her, she buckled under her own weight, landing on her knees with an anguished wail.
The gem rubbed her eyes, trying to hide her tears to no avail, she turned, her eyes met Steven's and a small smile wavered on her lips. She wrapped her arms around the boy, extending past him and pulling the rest of the gems into a tight embrace as she buried her face into his chest, dampening his shirt with her tears.

"I thought you would leave me!" She wailed through sobs, dragging in relieved gasps, and holding him tighter to her.
Steven struggled to raise his hands, but wrapped them around the crying gem nonetheless.

"I was s-so scared, it hurt!" She could barely speak through her jagged breaths. She slowly loosened her grip, letting the boy breathe.

"Spinel," Steven's voice cracked with relief, and he held her embrace, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "You're okay!"