I appear on the warp pad inside the temple. I look around, tearing up. "Oh no." I feel myself getting a headache. I clutch my forehead and I close my eyes for a moment. I didn't come back here for a death wish.

I set the bubble down. "Wait here." I run off the warp pad as I head out of the temple. I need to find Steven. But how am I going to convince him to help me out? How will he react? Will Garnet be over where he is? Oh man. I stop for a moment.

There's only one way I'll be able to do this. I've been doing it for like my entire life. Shapeshifting. It's a power that all Gems possess. However. I was the best of the team. Shapeshifting is something I have easily mastered in my early years.

I mainly used it for fun though. I used it for pranks, jokes, and other ridiculous stuff. However, shapeshifting is really dangerous to perform. I have put Steven's life at risk multiple times. None of those times were pretty.

Now let's see. Steven has healing tears like Rose. No wait! He uses his mouth! His spit! But how do I get him to spit? Maybe...no. That's definitely not going to work.

Or...no. He's never gonna believe it. Maybe if I show him...forget it. There's just no way. However, I remember clearly from past experiences that Steven was really careless at times. He generally gets caught off guard.

Maybe I can use a distraction. Something that seems fun but misleading. I'm not gonna get new clothes for this. I don't want to get rid of these as much as want to. Wait! I could disguise myself further!

I run into town to find a store that sells weird dress-up stuff. I don't care about the name. Just what's inside it. I see a pile of masks on a table. I grab one...and then I discard it. "Too obvious." And again. "Too scary."

And once more. "Too...perfect." I smile. I put on a funny mask. A clown type. Steven isn't afraid of clowns I don't think. However, if he did develop that fear recently, I'm gonna lose him.

I run out of the store with the mask as I shapeshift into a No Home boy. I read the book that brought up the idea to runaway one day out of curiosity. The same day I...no. Please not now.

I push the thought aside and I walk down the boardwalk. I also got another item from inside the store that will ensure my success. If everything goes well, I'll be able to take zero percent backlash from this stunt.

I'll even be able to have fun with Steven...one last time. I decided to check the Big Donut. He's not inside. I then walk over to Fish Stew's Pizza. He's not there either. I checked all over town for him.

"Oh no. Please no." There is one last place that I haven't checked yet. The beach itself. I run out of the town to see one individual sitting on the sand, staring out into the crystal blue sea ahead of him.