Steven looked around slowly. This wasn't a dream. He knew that much. He was just a bit puzzled about what it was. He frowned, brow furrowing in concentration. Something about this was familiar. He walked through the inky darkness, trying to figure out exactly why this sensation felt like...

He paused. Wait. Lapis. This is what it felt like when he saw Lapis in his dreams months ago. Was he in someone's head again? He had to figure out how he was doing that. He grinned, imagining visiting his friends in their dreams.

Something golden caught his eye, and he turned to face the floating figure. A...tortilla chip? With a top hat?

Steven cupped his hands to his mouth, "Hello?"

The figure leapt a couple feet in the air and turned to face him, quickly floating closer. It stopped when it was only a foot away. It had one eye and a bow tie, Steven realized upon closer inspection.

"Who the heck are you, kid?" A voice sounded out of nowhere.

Steven jumped, "Whoa, you can talk?"

"Of course!" The triangle twirled a cane that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, "The name's Bill Cipher."

Steven grinned, "I'm Steven!" He looked around curiously, "Where are we?"

"We're in your head, of course." He almost seemed to smile with his eye, "I'm a mystical teacher. I choose one hero to train to do great things each generation, and you're it!"

It sounded great. Steven thought to himself, beaming briefly. He'd always wanted to be stronger and learn how to protect others. But, something seemed off about it. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Whaddya say, kid?" Bill extended a hand, "If you'll just let me in, I can turn you into the kind of warrior you've only dreamed of."

They weren't in his head...

Steven was quiet as he stared down at the hand that had begun to glow a faint blue. That's what felt off. If Steven hadn't experienced the sensation of being in someone else's mind before, he might have believed this corn chip. Instead, he knew that Bill was lying to him. But, hey, why not have some fun with it?

Steven pretended to consider it, and Bill grew impatient, "Hey, I don't have all day, and if you're not interested, I'll move on to someone else. You in or not?"

"Nope," Steven answered with a bright smile, "Thanks, though!"

Bill's eye widened, "What?"

"Hope you find someone else!" Steven turned to walk off, but Bill quickly followed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Maybe you missed it, but I'm offering you the chance to achieve your dream."

Steven glanced over at him, "Yeah, but I don't need you to make strong. Pearl can help me with that."

"It takes more than strength to be a hero, you know."

Steve nodded, "Yep, and Garnet can teach me about leadership." He counted off on his fingers as he spoke, "And Amethyst can teach me all about courage."

Bill suddenly stopped, "Where have I heard..." His eye narrowed, "Wait, are you a gem?"

Steven nodded, then shook his head, then shrugged, "I'm half human?"

Bill groaned in frustration, "It would be one of those three-dimensional snobs that finds me in here."

Steven stared, "You know the gems?"

Bill rolled his eye, "I know a lot, kid. I've heard about the Crystal Gems. I gotta say the Homeworld has some interesting ideas about what to do with Earth."

Steven frowned, "Wait, do you mean the cluster?"

Bill laughed, "I mean, what a way to take out your enemies! Total chaos!"

"That's horrible!" Steven shouted, angrily stomping his foot, "It almost destroyed the whole world!"

"Yeah..." Bill chuckled softly, "That's sorta the point."

Steven scowled, but then he took a deep breath and sighed, "But, what is the point?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's the point? You destroyed the world. Now what?"

Bill floated up a bit, clearly excited, "Then we party!"

"Why can't you just party without destroying Earth? Just go somewhere else."

Bill sighed, "Look, Star kid-"

Steven gently corrected him, "It's Steven."

"Sure, Star kid. Look, the chaos and the panic is what makes it fun."

Steven frowned, "Why? You wouldn't like it if someone destroyed your home and then threw a party."

Bill scoffed, "I destroyed my own dimension and partied in the ashes, kid. If someone had done it first, the only thing I might have felt is jealous."

"But, why?" Steven threw his hands up in frustration, "Why would you do that?"

Bill's eye narrowed, "You're asking way too many questions. What do you think you're gonna accomplish? You think you'll make me feel bad about what I did?"

Steven looked up at him, "Who hurt you so much?"

"Ah, geez." Bill rubbed his forehead. At least, that was probably what he called the space over his eye, "I just like chaos! I'm not some angsty misfit that just needs a good cry and some hugs. Nothing makes me happier than other people in pain!"

Steven reached out and placed a hand on Bill's center, beside his bow tie, where Steven guessed his heart was, maybe? "Other people's pain won't make yours hurt any less."

Bill was tempted to hit the kid on the head with his cane just to get the point across, but then he stopped. He could use this annoying kid. Maybe not for a vessel, but at least as something. Bill sighed, allowing his form to sag in apparent sadness, "You...you're right." He pretended to sniffle, "I hurt a lot of people. All because I was hurting."

Steven simply ate it up. His eyes wide and attentive as Bill pretended to share his darkest secret.

Bill continued, "And, what really kills me, is after everything, I'm just stuck here. And there's just one thing I've always wanted..." He let out another deep, sad sigh.

Steven moved closer, "What is it?"

Bill looked up at him, his eye brimming with fake tears, "I just wanted to give a message to someone. But, it's impossible."

Steven looked up at him, "I'll do it."

Bill instantly brightened, "You will? Really?" He chuckled, "You're not half bad, kid." He paused, correcting himself for effect, "I mean...Steven." He straightened his bow tie, "The message is..."

Steven woke up moments later, instantly bounding over to the phone. Bill had given him a number, and he quickly dialed it before he could forget it.

He probably should have considered the hour, but lucky for him, the person he called was up anyway.

A low voice answered the phone, "Hello?"

Steven grinned, "Is this, uh, Stanford Pines?"

"Yes," Ford answered, setting aside the journal he'd been working on, "How can I help you?"

Steven flopped back on his bed as he spoke, "I have a message for you! From Bill." Ford froze in horror as Steven continued happily, "He says he misses you and he can't wait to see you again!" Steven paused, "Wait, no, he said he couldn't wait to meet again. He was really specific about that."

Ford's grip nearly broke the phone in half. He couldn't answer. He couldn't even breathe.

Steven's eyes widened, "Oh, and he wanted to remind you to keep an eye on his plant while he was gone."

After a moment, Ford was forced to take a shaky breath, "His...plant?"

"Yeah, some kind of pine tree."

"WHO IS THIS?!" Ford shouted into the phone.

Steven flinched, "It's Steven." He frowned, "Bill said you'd be happy to hear from him."

Ford's voice was somewhat less hostile now, but his volume remained unchanged, "Did you make a deal with him?"

"A deal?" Steven asked, a little concerned.

"Did you shake his hand?"

Steven jumped when Garnet suddenly loomed over him and plucked the phone from Steven's hand, "Steven didn't make any deals with him. He used Steven to send you a message. He hasn't escaped, but he still wants to."

Ford frowned, "Who-"

"Garnet. And, no I can't convince you to trust me, but do some research on the Crystal Gems, then call back and we can talk." With that, she hung up.

Steven stared up at her, "I really messed up, didn't I?"

Garnet affectionately ruffled his hair, "No, Steven. You wanted to help him. He's the one who messed up." She smiled, "But, don't worry about it. We'll handle it."

Steven sighed, "How can I fix this?"

Garnet paused, then answered softly, "Give it some time. It will all work itself out." She stood, "Now, go back to sleep." Before Steven could argue, she left.

When he fell asleep, Bill was waiting, eager to hear the results, "What did he say?"

Steven frowned, "You know, I would have listened. I would have tried to help you. Instead, you used me to hurt someone else. Now, I'll never trust you." With that, he walked off, somehow jolting himself out of the place where Bill was.

Bill was quiet for a moment. Huh. How weird. This kid's pain didn't feel good at all.