Escapism (Episode)

[Open Int. Prison Tower]

(Following the events in "Together Alone", after being thrown into a dark empty room by Yellow Diamond, Stevonnie attempts to get out by bashing against the door with Steven's shield, but gets blown back when the shield breaks.)

STEVONNIE: Ughh... Hmm. Not getting out that way. looks up A window!

(Stevonnie climbs up and looks out of the window, finding themselves in a solitary tower high above the ground. They then accidentally slips and falls off the window, unfusing back into Steven and Connie.)

CONNIE: grunts You okay?

STEVEN: nods Mm-hmm.

CONNIE: sighs and pulls out a Protes bar Well... Good thing I grabbеd a couple of these bеfore the ball. Otherwise, we'd have nothing to eat. Can't escape Gem prison on an empty stomach.

(Connie breaks the energy bar in half. She hands Steven a half, and the pair chomps down on the energy bar.)

STEVEN: We never should have come here.

CONNIE: swallows What?

STEVEN: This whole plan! What was I even thinking?

CONNIE: Well, you were thinking that if you came to Homeworld and talked to White Diamond, maybe you could save all the corrupted Gems on Earth.

STEVEN: Oh right. And look where that got us.

CONNIE: Well, we knew it wouldn't be easy.

STEVEN: Yeah, but I didn't think I'd get every Crystal Gem poofed at the same time. And what'll Dad say when he finds out? His only son, in jail at fourteen! What a disgrace...

CONNIE: We can't give up; one step at a time! We'll think of something. Okay, so, we tried the bubble and the shield and that window. What else have we got? Uh... Hey, my phone. Oh, wait. No reception. Not that there's anyone we could call for help anyway.

(Steven, curled up in distress, begins to slip into his psychic mind state, but quickly wakes up, breaking out of the state and gasps in shock and realization.)

CONNIE: How long do you think they'll keep up locked up in here? 100 years?

STEVEN: That's it!

CONNIE: Really? 100 years?!

STEVEN: No, call for help. There's one Crystal Gem left that hasn't been poofed, and that's Bismuth. Maybe I can reach her with my sleeping psychic mind powers.

CONNIE: You think you can do that? Reach all the way to Earth with your mind?

STEVEN: It'll be a stretch for sure, but I won't know unless I try.

CONNIE: Well, what are we waiting for? Bedtime, mister!

STEVEN: lies on Connie's laps* All right. Here goes nothing! *closes his eyes

CONNIE: You can do this!

(Steven breathes in and out, and then begins to doze off. He then reenters his psychic mind state and leaves his physical body.)

STEVEN: Whoa. Connie, I did it. I'm in that psychic ghost space again.

CONNIE: Great! Can you talk to Earth?

STEVEN: H-hang on. I gotta find it first? Okay. Earth, where you at? Come on! starts thinking hard* Beach City. Video games, donuts, Dad! *gasps

(A bright star sparkles in the distance.)

STEVEN: There you are!

CONNIE: You find it?

STEVEN: Yeah, but it looks far away. This might take me a while.

CONNIE: Okay. I'll be here. Good luck!

(Steven begins to swim away from Connie and through the astral plane towards Earth, seemingly making little progress forward.)

STEVEN: This is gonna take forever. Maybe if I...

(Steven throws both his arms back simultaneously, causing him to dart forwards quickly towards Earth.)

STEVEN: W-whoa! Uh, too fast! Too fast! Slow down! Aah!

(Steven tries to halt himself to no avail, as Earth approaches fast and he blacks out.)

[Trans. Int. Mask Island]

(Steven slowly wakes up and finds himself as a Watermelon Steven again in Mask Island, split in half during the events in "Super Watermelon Island". He roars loudly in distress, causing birds to fly off the island in shock. Steven gets up and begins walking through the forest, disappointed he has entered a situation he did not want, when Melon Mutt pops out from the bushes and pounces on Steven. Steven pulls Melon Mutt off his face, when he spots some Watermelon Stevens, all with yellow stars painted on their bellies like he is, marching in a line. He follows the W.S.s into a village, modeled in the image of Baby Melon. The W.S. villagers are then seen gathering the statue of Baby Melon. A W.S. elder prompts them to assume the pose of Baby Melon and they all bask in the presence of Baby Melon's statue, much to Steven's annoyance. Steven tries to converse with the W.S.s, but one of them, wearing a farmer hat, shushes him. Steven then stomps off in annoyance. Steven walks up to the cliff and gazes out to the ocean, as Melon Mutt runs to his side. Steven proceeds to dives into the ocean and begins swimming, attempting to reach Beach City this way. However, his light body gets washed back ashore on Mask Island, where the farmer W.S. is watching. Steven attempts to draw a picture of the Crystal Temple on the beach, but the farmer W.S. draws the statue of Baby Melon in response, and Steven drops to his knees in dejection. He then draws a small picture of a raft in the sand and runs into the forest, while the farmer W.S. cries out to him with unease. In the forest, Steven begins gathering a stack of sticks while Melon Mutt follows him. He hops over to the other half of the island and spots a stick stuck in the ground. He pulls it out of the ground, only to find it is a spear. Suddenly, a W.S., wielding a shield and wearing war paint on its face, pops out in front of Steven. It snatches the spear from Steven and shortly, Steven finds himself surrounded by more W.S.s. The W.S.s proceed to lead Steven and Melon Mutt into another village, garrisoned and heavily guarded. The W.S.s bring Steven and Melon Mutt towards the statue in the village, modeled after the both of them for their bravery. A W.S. chieftain walks in, wielding a giant spear, and points it at Steven. The W.S.s proceed to wipe the yellow star off his belly and apply war paint on his face, much to Steven's displeasure. Steven tries to wrestle back his stack of sticks from the Spear W.S.s, when the W.S. elder suddenly walks in, along with the Star W.S.s. The Star W.S.s begins to lead Steven out of the village, but the Spear W.S.s blocks their paths. Vastly irritated, Steven wipes off his face war paint and slips away. The Spear W.S.s begin provoking the Star W.S.s, all while the Star W.S.s simply stand in pose of Baby Melon. Steven shakes his head in disapproval of the dispute and walks off. The farmer W.S. from before and a Spear W.S. notice Steven and follow him to the beach. On the beach, Steven begins constructing a raft with the sticks, but is unsuccessful due to his stubby melon hands. He then begins to tear up in defeat, when Melon Mutt, the farmer W.S. and the spear W.S. approach him. The W.S.s notice Steven's drawing of a raft in the sand and begin putting the sticks together, much to Steven's delight. More W.S.s then joins in to help Steven construct the raft. Just then, the W.S. chieftain, provoking the W.S. elder, walk in. The W.S.s proceed to take the chieftain's spear and the elder's cape away to construct the sail, completing Steven's raft. The W.S.s all clap in triumph and Steven begins setting sail out to sea, waving the W.S.s farewell. 'Steven sails happily towards Beach City, when a storm suddenly brews overhead, and Steven struggles to control the raft. After the storm calms, the raft comes to a standstill in the middle of the sea. Steven tries to blow at the sail, but spits out watermelon seeds instead. He then sits in disappointment at the edge of the raft, when a Melon Shark suddenly attacks, destroying the raft, biting off his leg and plunging him underwater. Steven however succeeds in calming the Melon Shark down by patting it and kissing it, causing it to blush and swim away. Steven swims to the water surface, grabs onto a driftwood from his raft and begins paddling his way to Beach City. Time passes on, Steven's melon body begins to rot under the hot sun, causing him to lose an arm. Night quickly falls, Steven floats in exhaustion in the middle of the sea, when Lion pops in, standing on the water surface. Steven grunts in relief at the sight of Lion. Lion licks Steven, places him onto his back and begins running towards Beach City.)

[Trans. Ext. Crystal Temple, Sunrise]

(Greg is seen strumming his guitar on the beach, when Lion approaches him and shows him Steven on his back, to which he react in shock. "Escapism" begins to play, as Greg brings Steven to Bismuth, who is seen repairing the Beach House, and she reacts in shock too. Steven begins to converse verbally to Greg, Bismuth and Lion, who are unable to understand what he is saying as a Watermelon Steven. Greg hands Steven a stick and he begins to draw on the sand. He illustrates the events of "Together Alone" in the sand, to which Greg and Bismuth still cannot understand. Steven, annoyed, draws in the sand again, this time writing in words, reading "Help! We Need Backup!", and Greg and Bismuth finally understand Steven's message. Steven gives a thumbs-up and collapses onto the sand. Greg, Bismuth and Lion runs up to Steven and Greg gives a thumbs-up, as Steven's mind quickly slips away from his melon body.)

[Trans. Int. Prison Tower]

(Steven gasps as he wakes up, finding himself back in his body, and Connie sleeping behind him.)

STEVEN: Guess we'll see what happens.

[END]