The sun shone through the gaping hole in the temple as the morning made itself known. There was a whirring sound as a star on the door spun and landed on a white dot. Pearl emerged from the door and stretched, then tugged down her purple shorts. The star on the door spun again and landed on a purple dot this time. When the door opened a purple blur ran past Pearl and outside. "AMETHYST!" Pearl yelled and then sighed. Amethyst laughed as she ran on the sand,glancing over her shoulder to see if Pearl was following her. She abruptly bumped into something and was thrown backwards onto the sand,
"Hey wha-?" Amethyst started but quickly shut her mouth when she saw who was in front of her. Garnet loomed over her with her arms crossed, and a slight frown on her face.
"Amethyst, you should listen to Pearl more." Garnet said in her stoic voice. She picked Amethyst up and placed her on her shoulder. Amethyst blushed,
"Sorry Garnet." she said quietly and tried to hide behind her lavender hair. As they walked back to the temple, a rattling sound caused Garnet to turn around. Greg was struggling to get over their chain fence, but finally he landed on the other side with a loud THUD. Amethyst gasped when she saw him, and jumped off Garnets shoulder, but Garnet caught her in mid-air. "Awww Garnet lemme go!" Amethyst pleaded as she dangled in the air. Greg was approaching them and gave a small wave, "Heeeey music maaaan!" Amethyst screamed and waved wildly back at him.
"Hey kiddo." Greg said and took her out of Garnet's hands.
"I've been growing my hair out to look just like you see?!" Amethyst pointed to her hair. Greg ruffled her head,
"It sure is getting longer, almost past your shoulders now! We'll be long haired buddies in no time." he said and tossed her into the air. She giggled,
"Can we keep him Garnet?" Amethyst asked and Garnet sighed,
"He belongs to Rose Quartz and you know that." she said and began walking back to the temple. Greg followed and when they got there, a very angry looking Pearl was standing there.
"Amethyst how many times have I told you not to run off like that?!" she yelled and Amethyst hid behind Greg's hair,
"About 100 zillion." she mumbled. Pearl scoffed and finally noticed Greg,
"Oh hello there...Greg." She said, "I suppose you're here to see Rose Quartz." Pearl looked away and blushed. She had a small frown on her face but Greg didn't notice.
"Yep, I bought something for my arriving son." he said and pulled out a tiny red onesie, with a star cut out on the stomach, "I cut out the star myself." Greg said proudly. Just as they approached the temple door, an agonized cry pierced through the air.
"ROSE!" Everyone yelled. Garnet quickly opened her door to the temple, and picked up Greg,
"Close your eyes, nothing in here is for human eyes to see." she commanded.
"O-ok!" Greg stuttered and did as she wished. The four bounded through the temple until they arrived in Rose's room.
"You can open your eyes now." Garnet said and placed Greg down. He took a minute to regain his balance, he felt woozy.
"Rose!" Greg yelled when he spotted her lying on the ground(or clouds actually). He ran over to her, "Rose? Rose! What's wrong Rose, what's wrong?" he asked in a panic,
"...Greg...the...b-baby." she whispered hoarsely. Greg's eyes widened and he felt as if his heart stopped.
"NOW?" he yelled and ran a hand through his hair, "S-should I take you to the hospital?" Rose slowly rolled over onto her back and shook her head,
"No Greg...No human will be able to understand what's about to happen." Rose said. Greg held her hand,
"Rose NO. You've told me what'll happen...but...but it feels too SOON!" Greg cries and closes his eyes. A light shines through his eyelids and he opens back his eyes to see Rose's gem glowing. Rose looked over at Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst. Amethyst was crying behind Pearl and Pearl's face was an ashen white. Garnet simply stood with her head down.
"Come here you three." Rose said and they quickly kneeled to her side. "Amethyst, I want you to love yourself. Never think that your different from us because of where you came from. You'll always be part of this team. I'll NEVER regret rescuing you." Rose whispered. Amethyst threw herself onto Rose and began sobbing uncontrollably. Garnet had to pick her up to get her off,
"ROSE!" Amethyst shrieked and began fighting and twisting to get out of her grasp. She finally stopped and curled up into Garnet's chest, quietly crying.
"Pearl." Rose said softly, and Pearl looked at her with her watery sky blue eyes. "Pearl I know this is will hurt you the most. You've been such a wonderful gem. Always trying to learn something new, always knowledgeable about everything. I need you to continue being the gem you are. Don't be sad forever, I'll always be with you." Rose motioned for Pearl to come closer, "Just so you know, you've always been my favorite." she whispered. Pearl choked back a sob and slapped her hand over her mouth. She turned her back to Rose and closed her eyes, tears flowing down her face like a waterfall. Rose's gem began to glow even brighter, "Oh its almost time." she said. Garnet stepped forward and Rose smiled at her, "Garnet, you were the first gem to come to my side for the war. Your love for everything is the strongest power I've ever seen." Rose looked up at her, "Sapphire...Ruby... you guys will make a wonderful leader." Garnet shoved her hands under her shades to wipe away the tears that blinded her vision. Garnet's gems began to glow and she turned into a bright white lump, that gradually got smaller. Greg's eyes widened when he saw two small gems in the place of Garnet. One was red and the other was blue. They ran up to Rose and held her hand, "Glad I got to see you guys...one more time." Rose said and they hugged her before going off to sit next to Amethyst.
Rose's gem glow was now so bright that Greg has to squint to even see her. "Greg, you're the first and only human that I will ever love. You've showed me so much on this Earth..." Rose's voice trailed off and Greg lifted her head up,
"Rose? ROSE!" he yelled and she slowly turned her head to him,
"I'll never stop loving you Greg." she said quietly. Greg stroked the soft pink curls that framed her face. His tears dropped onto her face, making it shine,
"I'll never stop loving you either Rose." He whispered and kissed her forehead. Rose faintly smiled before she was engulfed in blinding light. Greg gasped and turned away, as did the other gems in the room. Then there was silence. Greg turned back to where Rose once was...she was gone. But in her place was the baby. Greg slowly crawled towards him and looked over him. His skin was peach, and he had little black wisps on his tiny head. The baby slowly turned, his eyelids fluttering open and he looked at Greg. Greg gasped when he saw a gem, Rose's gem, embedded in the baby's belly button. Greg picked him up carefully and he and the baby looked at each other. The baby giggled and Greg felt like his heart was going to explode. He felt overwhelmed with love for his son. Amethyst slowly came over followed by the rest of the gems. Their eyes were still glazed over, but everyone's focus was on the baby. The baby looked at everyone surrounding him and shrieked, holding out his tiny hands towards them.
"Oh! He has Rose's gem!" Pearl cried and everyone looked. The baby reached out a rested his hand on Pearl's nose. She blushed but smiled,
"What are you going to name him?" Greg looked up to see Garnet was back. He opened his mouth but she held a hand up,
"I'll explain it all later." she said. He closed his mouth and looked back at his son, who was occupied with the gem that was in his stomach.
"Steven." Greg said, "Steven Universe." Steven looked up into Greg's eyes, and Greg could've sworn that for just a moment, he saw Rose looking right back at him.