A few more weeks passed, during which Ash—having finished her read-throughs of Flatland and Egyptian and Mesopotamian Mythology—decided to re-watch Star Trek: The Original Series.
And Sai was trying to convince her to watch something else, altogether.
"Ash, the show is capable of being genuinely heartwarming."
"Hooray," Ash enthused, as she lay on her stomach, absently leafing through a doorstopper of a fantasy novel. "I'm still not watching Steven Universe."
She did, however, decide to give the show's characters a chance. After all, maybe the show was different in a universe where it was actually real?
Ash Warped over to Beach City for a visit, and arrived just in time to see Steven morphing into—
… into a giant ball of cats?
Nevermind, Ash thought, backing slowly away. She'd been right the first time.
Although, as the months wore on, things did seem to be taking a turn for the serious. While Ash acknowledged, morally speaking, that Sai's plan was the right thing to do, it was becoming an increasingly difficult course of action to follow through on.
Where, initially, Ash had been greeted with no small amount of hostility… well, these days Pearl accepted flash-drives with a blank and dreadful stare; Steven was always subdued and nervous, though he obviously tried to remain upbeat and happy; and Amethyst usually left the room whenever she entered.
Garnet was as tranquil as ever, but… Ash still kind of felt like she was showing Winnie the Pooh a war documentary. Or convincing Putt Putt the purple car that souls didn't exist.
It wasn't necessarily their fault that they couldn't handle the ramifications of realizing that their lives were, by some accounts, fictional. They were simple characters designed for a simple world.
Then, one day, she arrived at the house to find it completely empty.
Well, fair enough. She placed the thumb drive on the kitchen counter in a bowl containing spare keys, and then she left.
Seven episodes later and the bowl was overflowing. Ash didn't tell Sai. It was too early to be certain that anything had happened.
Three episodes after that, and Ash found a note stuck to the refrigerator, along with a crystalline flute.
The note read, 'Play Me.'
Deciding to go for it, Ash raised the flute to her lips and played the first few notes of 'Ode to Joy.'
A few moments later, the Warp Pad activated and Pearl appeared.
"Ah, Ash, there you are. Well, better late than never. If you'll follow me?"
"All right," said Ash.
She followed Pearl to the Warp Pad and the two of them disappeared in a flash, rematerializing in what looked, at first glance, like a theme park that had been designed by Stanley Kubrick. It was clearly supposed to be a festive place, but was too utilitarian and sleek to fool anyone who knew what fun actually looked like.
At one end of the room were three thrones, upon which sat three Gems. One, Ash recognized straight off as the Mirror Gem. The second was green and had fingers which did not appear to be connected to her hands. The third was orange and nearly taller than the first two combined.
Ash was immediately reminded of a conversation she'd had with her roommate a few weeks ago:
"Ash," Sai began, looking uncomfortable, "There are things you don't know... about Gems."
"Obviously," said Ash. "I've been ignoring all of them."
"No, but," Sai shook her head. "The show is much truer to life than you give it credit for."
"How so?" asked Ash.
"There are things that I haven't mentioned before now," said Sai, "because I didn't want to bring up the past, but... did you know that Gems are aliens?"
"Huh," said Ash, "well, I guess I sort of realized, when Lapis Lazuli flew off into space, but I never really thought about it."
"Well, we're not just aliens, we're hostile aliens."
Ash blinked. "In retrospect, that makes a lot of sense. What's your story?"
"I was Cultivar Muscovite," said Sai, suddenly looking a thousand years away. "It was my job to scout out a planet, kill all the organic life with my viruses, and then signal the fleet that the world was theirs for the taking."
"Sai."
"Yes?"
"Are you saying that you're Invader Zim?"
"Heh. No. Earth was to be my fourth assignment. If I was invader I was Tak. I was sent on my mission about one point five thousand years ago. After which I promptly faked my own death and settled in to study your genome and native life, something I'd never had the opportunity to do before."
"So, you're saying that the rest of your race is still out there, even if they don't necessarily appear in the cartoon show?"
Sai shook her head. "Ash, they're starting to appear in Steven Universe."
"Huh. Very Sergeant Frog. I take it the Gems have to carry out the farce that they're invaders of Earth, so that the Homeworld doesn't send in reinforcements?"
"Not… exactly. As far as I know, the Crystal Gems were invaders, but they staged a rebellion five thousand years ago and drove the Homeworld off of Earth."
"... I believe that it happened," said Ash, "but there is no part of me that can believe it would be included in a children's cartoon."
Sai shrugged. "Regardless of whether it appears in the show, you'll have to deal with it. As far as the Homeworld is concerned, you're as much a traitor as any of the Crystal Gems."
"I refuse to be railroaded into anything," said Ash, "... but I'll keep my guard up."
All things considered, Ash could be forgiven for her first thought being that the Crystal Gems had rejoined the Empire, and that she herself was about to die.
She froze, and Pearl continued on without her. For a few steps, at least. After that, she noticed, and looked back to Ash with a puzzled expression.
Ash forced herself to resume walking, as Pearl led her over to where the rest of the Crystal Gems were standing, near the front of the crowd.
A crowd which was roiling with dissonance and discontent.
At least it was—until the green Gem reformed her hand into a ray gun and blasted it randomly into the mass of people.
Ash followed the beam with her eyes, and saw it hit a tall blue Gem in the back. In a flash of light and smoke, the gem was gone.
Well, no, that wasn't exactly true. The gemstone seemed to hang in the air for a moment, before dropping to the floor, but the person associated with the gem seemed to have been completely vaporized, and that was the important thing.
All eyes turned to the three Gems on the thrones.
"Any other objections to your new Diamonds?" rumbled the orange Gem. The green Gem raised her arm away from the crowd, but didn't move her fingers back to their normal conformation. The blue Gem drew a sphere of water from a basin beside her throne and began shaping it, idly.
"No, my Diamonds," said a Gem who vaguely resembled Pearl.
"Good," said the green Gem. (Green Diamond?) "Then we have a few announcements. The Crystal Gems are hereby recognized as an allied empire, with territories consisting of Earth and the rest of the Crystal System. The Cluster Geoweapon, currently hosted in the Earth's mantle, is to be removed and incubated in an uninhabited planet, under the supervision of Orange Diamond, who shall henceforth take charge of all military operations."
"Blue Diamond," and here the blue Gem looked up, "shall be the ultimate authority on Law and matters of justice," the green Gem continued.
"And Green Diamond?" Blue Diamond asked.
"Research," she said. "Our current Kindergarten schematics are unsustainable."
About an hour of long-winded speeches later the Diamonds ordered the rest of the Gems out of the chamber, save for the Four Crystal Gems, and Ash.
"I don't like you," said Green Diamond. "I don't trust your motives, and I don't appreciate your reliance on emotion."
"You held me prisoner," said Blue Diamond. "Releasing me doesn't atone for that."
"You can't trust a traitor," said Orange Diamond. "If they'll betray once, they'll betray again."
"Still," said Green Diamond, "There is no need for us to come into conflict. Yet. Logically, cooperation is the best course of action to start with."
"Sounds like a plan," said Garnet. The four Crystal Gems (and Ash) headed back to the Warp Pad.
"Peridot, Lapis, Jasper…" said Garnet, "Good luck."
With that, the Warp Pad activated, and they disappeared.
When they arrived back in the Crystal Gems' living room, they all began talking amongst themselves. Ash, not in the mood to try and make sense of any of it, moved over to the window and gazed outside, tuning them out for a few minutes, until her own name was called.
"Yes?" she said, turning back to face the group.
"What did you think?" asked Garnet.
"Of the ceremony? Well, first off, what was it, and what did it have to do with me?"
Pearl looked concerned. "You truly know nothing of Homeworld?"
Ash frowned. "Muscovite's Homeworld? I know a little about her personal history, but not much about the society that she came from. Does it matter?"
"Not for you," Garnet admitted. "But it will to Muscovite. Tell her about this, the next time you see her."
"Can do," said Ash. "Anything else I should know?"
Garnet shrugged. "From this point on, we should be fine. You don't need to bring us episodes, anymore. In fact, it's probably best if you focus on your own problems. You and Muscovite have another six months, at the most, before your judges decide to bring you back for retrial."
Ash looked at her suspiciously. "And how do you know that?"
Garnet tapped a finger against her temple. "I can see the future."
Ash paused. "Then exactly what good has any of this done for you?" she asked, waving a hand at the bowl overflowing with flash drives.
"I see the future—not the present, and certainly not the past," said Garnet. "Having a clearer picture of which pieces of the present will affect the future gives me a greater degree of control over future outcomes. The Week of Sardonyx? Never happened in this universe. Jailbreak? We never even got that far. Incidentally, Steven?"
"Yeah?" he said.
"Would you like to meet Ruby and Sapphire?"
"Really?!"
"You bet." With that, Garnet split apart into two tiny gems. One was red, the other blue.
"Hey, Steven!" said the red Gem.
"It's nice to finally meet, face to face," said the blue Gem.
"Oh my gosh," said Steven. "I thought I was prepared for this moment, but I thought wrong!"
Ash, who was thoroughly unsettled, by this point, had moved back to stand with Pearl and Amethyst, the latter of whom caught her eye.
"What was that?" asked Ash, eyeing Steven and the two small gems, as the three of them conversed excitedly.
Amethyst was surprised. "You mean you really don't—oh. Human. Right," she said, in realization. "Okay," said Amethyst. "So, people are made outta lots of different parts, right?"
Vague, but true. Ash nodded.
"Ever seen a comic book where a superhero gets split into the different pieces of their personality?" Amethyst asked. "Light and dark? Happy and sad? Brave and scared?"
"Not a huge fan of comics, but I've seen that scenario in fantasy novels, yeah," said Ash. "So, those two are the components of Garnet's personality?" she said, nodding to indicate Ruby and Sapphire, who were happily chatting away with Steven. "Are they her Logic and her Emotion?"
"Sorta," said Amethyst, "but not exactly. Okay, this is where things get complicated. At the end of most comic books, the goal is to join the personality facets into one mind again, right? Now, instead of that, imagine that you've got two people. They've been separate people all their lives, but you decide to treat these two different people like they were parts of a larger personality. So you use magic and fuse the two Gems into one new Gem, and that's Fusion."
Ash could only stare. "Tuvix," she said.
"What?" said Amethyst.
"I think I get it," said Ash. "Sai has a lot of explaining to do," she added, in an undertone.
"Ash, look," said Pearl.
"What?" asked Ash, pulling her head from her hands, only to see 'Ruby' and 'Sapphire' begin a dance, both of their gems aglow. A moment later, Garnet was back.
"Huh," said Ash. "So, any two Gems can do this?"
Amethyst tilted her head. "What makes you think we're limited to two?"
Ash's brain shorted out at the implications.
"…can a Gem fuse with a human?" she asked, eventually.
"I can!" said Steven. "But I think that's because I'm half-human, already."
Ash filed that away for later, before turning to Garnet. "You said that I should focus on my own problems, but… I'm not even sure what my problems are. At this point, I'm more of the opinion that I'm fine and it's the rest of the universe that's mistaken..."
"I know the feeling," allowed Garnet. "But most positive futures branching out from this point involve you investigating the connection between yourself and Muscovite."
"Sai?" said Ash, caught off-guard. "She has a heavy heart; I have a light one. We're fictional in each other's universes. Or at least, we were the first time around. Come to think of it, I haven't actually been able to find Four Stories Short in this timeline. That's something I should probably investigate."
"I agree," said Garnet.
Ash sighed. "Looks like I'm off to find a computer…"
"We have one!" said Steven. "You can borrow it!"
Ash tried to come up with a polite way to say that, perhaps, she didn't want to search for her life's story with an audience, but then she took one look at the eager expression on Steven's face and folded like a house of cards in a windstorm.
"Thanks," said Ash, weakly, "That'd be great."
With that, they all made a trip down to the Car Wash.
"So, what are we doing again?" asked Greg, who didn't have anything better to do.
"Looking for my tragic backstory," said Ash, as she cracked Muscovite's wrist joints and began typing into the search bar.
"Four Stories Short should have been a webcomic started by Sam Fletcher almost four years ago," Ash began. "Instead, his current story is," she pulled up his homepage, "—a romantic comedy about centaurs." She blinked at how very tasteless an idea that was. "Okay, fair enough, but Sai gave you guys a copy of the original story." She said, noticing the folder on the desktop named 'Steven Universe.'
"Huh," said Ash, as she stared at the high resolution of the file. "This is the official release. The copy I read was pirated. Why would she have pirated it, if she was just going to buy it, anyway?"
She shook her head. "Ah, whatever, this version seems to have more information, anyway."
Ash pulled up the first volume and began to skim the introduction scrolling past the few short paragraphs of thanks and dedications, and instead looking at the authors notes.
"Born in the southeast, yadda, yadda, yadda, People ask me where I got the idea for the story—here we go! 'In truth, the whole thing is built around a chance meeting five years ago. Her name was Mica, and she sparkled like the sun on the waves. When I saw her, she was giddy with joy over a story she'd just finished.
"'Finished reading?' I asked. 'No, finished writing,' she informed me, as she pulled out a manuscript and hugged it to her chest. We spoke, and it couldn't have been for more than a few minutes, about fiction and its ability to captivate. One moment she was there. I looked away, and she was gone. I never saw her again, but the image of a bright young writer, enchanted by her craft, stayed with me for months. Eventually her light and levity found new life in Clara Hart, Muse of this very comic. Wherever Mica is today, I'm sure she's doing well. And that same hope extends to all young writers out there. The world needs your hope and your laughter, and I personally wish you all the best!'" Ash finished, lapsing into silence.
"Mica?" said Pearl. "Sounds like a Gem name. Not anyone I know, but, still."
Ash opened a new tab and brought up Wikipedia. "Mica," she read, after finding the appropriate article. "The Mica group of sheet silicate minerals… influenced by 'micare' which means 'to glitter'… common Micas include Biotite, Lepidolite… and Muscovite."
The others were silent, as Ash turned to face them with a heavy spirit. "I suppose I should ask… what happened to Muscovite in the cartoon? Sai hasn't told me anything."
Garnet and Amethyst exchanged a glance. "Muscovite has not yet appeared in-show. Nor have we met her. To the best of my knowledge 'Muscovite,' as a cut of Gem, does not exist."
Ash frowned. "Wait… that can't be right. Sai has a whole folder of Muscovite fanfiction on her laptop!"
She pulled a flashdrive from her Gem and downloaded the mentioned epubs. "Granted, it's only, like, ten stories, but—" She noticed something. "Alright, I'm fairly certain that 'OC' stands for 'Original Character' not 'Orange County.' Muscovite appears to be a popular fan-character."
She scrolled up and down the page, making sure of her findings. "The oldest incarnation of which is from a little over a year ago" She clicked on the story to open it.
"'Steven has faced many trials and tribulations as a Crystal Gem, and overcome them all." Ash read, "Now, everything he's worked for and everyone he's sworn to protect hangs in the balance, as he battles an enemy with the power over disease itself. Will Steven master his healing powers and defeat the evil Muscovite? Or will he crack under the pressure? Find out in my debut fanfic "Steven Universe and the Game of Glitter"! Now revised and edited!
"…Written by CanaUrDrunk37.' Alright, then. I really hope that Sai hasn't been writing fanfiction about herself. But, if she has, then she and I are going to have a very long talk about what is and isn't healthy."
She scrolled down the Authors Notes. "One of the most frequent questions I get in reviews is about the inspiration for Muscovite," Ash read, aloud. "People have sent me PM's which seem completely certain that she's an expy of Hannibal Lecter or Irene Alder. One reviewer even thought she was an homage to Frankenstein. The truth is nothing so glamorous, because Muscovite is basically just an old roommate I had back in college who scared the crap outta me. She was a scholarship genius who spent all her time watching tv instead of doing homework. For me, Steven Universe was never complete without her cynical comments picking apart the story. She scared me more than Jasper and Peridot combined, and let me tell you, that is saying something. Problem was, her personality didn't fit with any of the major villains, so I decided to invent one especially for her, and that was the birth of Muscovite.'
"A roommate, hmm?" Ash looked at the next chapter's author's notes. "This writer goes to college in the northeast. That fits." Next authors note. "Has two brothers. Has a grandfather who worked in the Navy..."
Ash sat back. "I do believe that the author of this fanfic is Anita Darkle, one of the kids I used to babysit, back in high school."
Ash swallowed, then pushed back her chair and stood.
"I have to show this to Sai."
She turned to leave the room, a blank expression pasted across her face.
"Ash!" called Garnet.
She stopped. "Yes?"
"If all goes well, then you probably won't see us again," said Garnet. "This is goodbye."
"Good luck!" said Pearl. Amethyst waved.
"Thanks," said Ash, vaguely
"And Ash?" said Garnet.
"Yeah?" said Ash, not bothering to turn around this time.
"Watch the show," said Garnet.
She did look back at that remark, to see the rest of the Gems and Greg nodding in agreement. Steven gave her a thumbs up.
"I'll consider it," she allowed.
She paused, if this really was the last she'd see of them… might as well go out with a bang.
Normally, she didn't like screwing around with her own brain, shape-shifting abilities or no, but this was a special occasion. She needed to sleep and she needed to sleep now, so Ash focused on one particular part of her mind which Sai had trained her to control, and shifted it.
She was asleep before she hit the ground, and vanished from the world almost before she'd fallen asleep.
"Where'd she go?" asked Steven.
"Hopefully, to a better place," said Garnet.
For a moment, they stood there in contemplative silence, which was broken when Pearl noticed what a certain purple Gem was reading.
"Amethyst!" said Pearl, sounding scandalized.
"What?" asked Amethyst, from her seat at the computer, where she had Game of Glitter open. "I can't be the only one who's curious!"
Pearl turned to the other Gem for support. "Garnet…"
Said Gem adjusted her glasses. "It should be safe," she said, settling down on chair beside Amethyst.
"Story time! Story time!" chanted Steven, pulling up a chair also.
Greg wandered over to read over Amethyst's shoulder.
Pearl sighed. "Fine," she said, moving over to read as well.
"Ahem," Amethyst cleared her throat. "Chapter One: A New Enemy…"