Steven Universe Future: Isolation

Chapter Two: The Song of Corruption

"Steven, don't ignore us!" Garnet yelled again.

"GO AWAY!" Steven cried.

"Steven!" Pearl said, voice set. "We're coming in whether you like it or not."

"NO!" He was back on his feet and his room shook violently at the yell. Pink light burst from his gem and consumed his body. But it didn't stop there; the room glowed a deep pink in warning.

"Don't let it control you, Steven!" Garnet shouted again. Steven shook his head. Nothing was controlling him. Everything he felt, it was all his choice. His emotions. His power. And he could prove it.

"I said," Steven growled, his nails digging into his palms as he pulled out the heated power gnawing within him. "GO AWAY!" He lifted his hands to the air with strain, as if he was lifting something heavy and a new pink wall burst from the ground. The wall expanded into a dome and covered the entirety of the home. The gems staggered back, weapons now in their hands.

Weapons.

Steven took a step back and his knee buckled when it hit his mattress. He fell back onto the bed, face morphing into disbelief. What had Pearl said earlier? They had to stop this before someone got hurt.

No, not "this." Him. They had to stop him.

He stared at them; Pearl's spear held ready to defend herself, Amethyst's whip pulled back, and Garnet's fist pounding on the diamond wall.

"They..." he whispered. Everything faded from his vision except for the gray silhouette of the spear, the whip, and the gloves.

They were going to fight him. Him. Steven. The boy they helped raise. And why? Because he wanted to be alone. Because he was using his powers in a way they didn't like.

A weight seemed to land on his chest, knocking every inch of breath from his lungs. He couldn't breathe. The room spun and his stomach churned. He barely noticed curling up with his legs to his chest, hands in his hair and head on his knees.

He was the threat. He was the monster they were trying to fight. All because he wasn't talking to them. Because he didn't want to let them in. Because he was finally feeling everything he bottled up.

And they were treating him no different than the corrupted gems they used to fight.

"I'm the monster," he gasped out to no one. His tears soaked his jeans and his fingers pulled out strands of hair, but he barely felt either. All he felt was his heart withering away in the grip of a thorned rose vine.

Steven looked to his hands. They were as pink as his late mother's skin and trembling. He finally looked like the leader they lost and he was worse than she ever was. He could never be her. He could never be the person they now needed. He wasn't good enough for them.

He jumped wildly as a loud bang hit the pink barrier outside. The gems bombarded the wall; each hit sounded like thunder in Steven's ears. His breath sped up as the assault continued. Shallow. Uneven. Until he felt like he was drowning.

He needed it to go away. It was all too much.

"STOP!" he yelled, hands covering his ears as it all became too much. The room around him was warping as his senses became overwhelmed. "Please, stop," he whimpered out. But they didn't.

"Steven, drop the wall," Pearl's voice called, her spear scraping against the wall with a sound that sent chills down Steven's spine.

"Just talk to us!" Amethyst called, her whip now hung loosely in her grip as she watched Garnet and Pearl continue their assault. "Please," she added, her voice now begging.