Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe!

Title: Idiosyncrasy

Summary: When Smoky is injured on a solo mission, the entire team gets a lesson on what it means to be human and Gem.

Chapter Title: Whoopsie-Daisy!

Warnings: Blood, wounds.

...

The craggy walls of the canyon provided Steven with more fun than he originally expected as he hopped down them on his shield, riding the bumps like a twisted sleigh ride. Amethyst's signature dash dug into the stone, sending grit up and around that stung his skin. Steven laughed through the ache, then yelled, hitting a spot that sent him flying high.

Amethyst untucked herself and held out her arms, catching the shield before he could suffer an unfortunate accident. "Heeeey, you cheated!"

"I didn't cheat!" he defended, smiling ear to ear. "It was a tie."

The Gem's grin seems to only stretch wider. "You wanna go now, or wait until we're closer?"

"Are you kidding?" Steven asked. "Climbing sucks with short legs. Let's fuse!"

They pressed their foreheads together.

Though four arms undoubtedly would've been better, three prove to be pretty darn good too. Smoky hums a little tune under their breath as they climb, feeling the crumbly red-ish brown rock break and fall under their fingers. They briefly consider sending up a yo-yo, but aren't aware of any place to hitch it to, and playing blind Gem's bluff wasn't particularly appealing.

Smoky pulled themselves up and over, landing on their back. Dust clung to them like honey, smearing when they reached up to scratch their cheek. "Well, at least we made it." They stared out at the plateau, silent. The air was cool, but the lack of serious clouds made it so the sun was pressing uncomfortably into their skin. "No worries about sneaking up, huh?"

They stood.

"Guess we should get looking."

The Quartz took big steps, kicking their feet out, as they wandered in what could best be described as a meander. They weren't in the mood to be rushed, and it wasn't like the corruption had any plans either. Smoky found they quite enjoyed the silence, despite it being against their individual parts' natures. They didn't have to think when no one was asking questions. They didn't have to feel if there was no immediate problems. They could just... walk. Or jump, as was the case with the deep crevice they found a little ways in, clearing it without any real issue.

It was about midday when the first shreds of corruption came to them. Scratch marks etched deeply into the rock, marking the territory of the critter, or so they suspected. Smoky summoned a yo-yo and moved on.

Then they wrinkled their nose. "Huh. Salt."

Then they heard the shrieking.

It was with great confusion that Smoky found the kraken; because that was what it was. A kraken. The squid-like figure lacked any noticeable eyes or bumps- a smooth, simple shape, with long and gnarled legs. It flopped onto its side as they approached, showing off a feeble beak that Smoky didn't think could even wrap around their pinkie finger.

Smoky watched it wriggle for a bit, then glanced around. "How didja get out here, buddy?" They crouched a little to make it feel safer, voice soft. "Were you... all alone out here when it happened? Or did your friends run away?"

It squirmed, unable to answer. Smoky hesitantly looked at their yo-yo, vanishing it in an instant. "Hey, hey, dude, it's chill. We're fine." They reached a hand out to gently pet it. The kraken stiffened. "I'm here to help."

The kraken gave a mighty jerk. Smoky's eyes shrunk to pinpricks.

There was an ugly squishing sound, and then a sharp bone-colored edge was thrust through their stomach, just barely scraping the edge of Steven's gemstone. Black goo sprayed everywhere as Smoky gurgled, unable to cry out.

The kraken jumped back. The skin around its tentacles slithered back, revealing bony appendages it used like the legs of a spider. One hiss and it was gone, fleeing for safety. Smoky, too terrified to think straight, pressed a hand to the wound and stumbled in the opposite direction.

"We should..." they started, then shook their head. "No. This won't get any better if we're separate. You'll poof." Smoky drew their hand away, finding it covered in the oily fluid. "Is this... old blood? But... how does that even work? Old blood dries, it doesn't..."

They didn't have time for this. Smoky shook their clouded mind out of it and kept walking. "We gotta get to the warp pad. From there we can... we can..." their voice broke. "Rose's Fountain! We- we can totally get fixed at Rose's Fountain. It's... it's gonna be okay. Just... just keep your eyes on the horizon, Smoky."

The fusion moved at a snail's pace. Likewise, the blood seemed much thicker than what the ordinary human had, oozing and gushing at odd intervals. It clung to their form, sticking onto and staining everything it touched. Their boots slipped and slid on it.

Smoky didn't remember the cliff. They only remembered the cracking of thin rubble under them, signaling they were about to go down, down, down, smacking their chest and stomach and back and- well, basically everything.

They hit the ground with a sinister crunch!

Smoky propped themselves up on their elbows, shaking head to toe. They opened their mouth to speak, but all that came out was a garbled noise like that of a malfunctioning TV. Their stomach dropped at the familiar sound.

We're cracked!

Trembling, they reached a hand down to inspect the circle in their chest, finding a decently-sized crease. They checked further down, and an even greater horror set in when Smoky realized their belly stone was missing a piece.

Not just cracked- chipped.

They licked their hand, desperately hopeful, but all that came out was more old blood. They choked on it, spewing the rocks in its ugly color. Smoky stood and stumbled away, a hand on each wall. It narrowed more and more as they went on, eventually coming out into a wedge shape.

They reared back and slammed their fist into the wall, sending a shower of gravel down. They crawled into the hole they'd made and slumped, feeling decently safe for the moment. Smoky didn't think they could move much further. Another spasm shook their form, agony the kind of which they'd never known before.

"Pu tilps ot deen ew," they gurgled, but still found themselves resisting. "Dekcarc er'uoy. deppihc m'I. Tniop on s'ereht." Smoky curled up into a ball. "Enola eb ot evah t'now ew, yaw siht, tsael ta."

Author's Note: Wow, I can't believe I'm finally getting around to this. I've had the idea for like a year now.

The idea of old blood coming from a Steven fusion is mostly centered around that a Gem is ancient, and they don't bleed, but if they did their blood would be as ancient as the stars. Also it's a more cartoon-y spin on blood- black goo, I mean.

(This is gonna be a three-parter, with the middle being the more bulky part and the third being a short little ending type dealio)

-Mandaree1