CHAPTER SEVEN

Steven looked suspiciously at his dinner. It looked harmless enough... but wasn't jello supposed to jiggle? He gave the tray a tentative wobble, and the little bowl of oily jello slid around with an wet slorp. He was tempted to just push it aside and leave it, but the slightly more sensible part of his brain sternly told him that if he planned to try visiting Peridot again, it would be wise to eat first, just in case he wound up oversleeping again.

With that thought, he took a deep breath and sliced the jello in half with the edge of his spoon, but before he could bring himself to put it in his mouth, there was a quiet knock at the door. And before he could say anything, it opened slightly and Connie slipped in. "Hey."

"Hi." He pushed his dinner away with relief. "I thought visiting hours were over?" Either that or the nurses had been lying to get rid of Pearl and Amethyst, which was actually a real possibility seeing as they'd also brought Lion with them.

"They are." She crossed the room and sat down in the chair next to his bed. "But one of the perks of being a doctor's daughter is I get to ignore the rules. Are you gonna eat that?"

"Probably not," he admitted. "You want it?"

"Yeah, I like hospital jello. It's all squidgy," she said cheerfully and reached out for the little plastic tub and slurped it down. "So..." she began, putting the tub back down and licking her lips. "How are you feeling? And how did it go?"

"Other than the three day nap? Actually not so bad." And he quickly explained how he'd been able to meet up with Peridot and help her defend against her corruption.

"Huh." Connie sat back and mulled over that information for a moment. "That's good, I guess," she said a little doubtfully. "Worth everybody being mad at me."

"They were mad at you?" Steven asked in surprise and then wondered why he was surprised. Of course they were mad.

"They weren't happy I gave you those pills when I knew what you were trying to do," Connie confirmed. "I did try and explain that I was actually hoping they'd stop you from doing it – sorry about that by the way – but yeah, they were all pretty angry. Mom even took back all my other sleeping pills. But on the bright side, it doesn't look like anyone's going to try setting us up as a couple any more, so there's that." She leaned forward again and peered hopefully at his dinner tray in case there was anything else she could eat, but everything else was an unappetizing beige mush and she sat back again is disappointment. "So why did you stay asleep so long? Did you just lose track of time in her headspace or something?"

"Something like that, I guess," he said vaguely, and decided not to mention Garnet's theories about corruption or the possibility that the pills really had messed up his dream powers.

"You really scared us," she scolded. "If you'd stayed awake another day, I really think they would've tried scratching messages into your skin-"

Steven's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Excuse me, what!?"

"We were trying to think of ways of getting you to snap out of it," she quickly explained. "Because obviously we didn't know what was going on in there. And Amethyst suggested maybe it was like Total Recall or something, and maybe you didn't know you were asleep, so I suggested scratching 'wake up' in your arm - with a sterile needle of course, so you wouldn't get an infection – I figured the pain might make your subconscious mind display it in your dream too..." She trailed off at the horrified look on his face. "Look, it was either that or try fusing with you, and I didn't wanna do that and maybe wind up making things worse."

"Yeah, that definitely sounds like the worst of two awful ideas," Steven said, wrinkling his nose up in distaste.

"Well, if you don't want 'wake up you're scaring us' carved up your arm like it was written with Umbridge's quill, I suggest you don't try that again," Connie said sternly. Steven blushed and looked away, and she groaned loudly. "Steven!"

"It's OK, Garnet knows this time!" he hastily reassured her.

"That doesn't make it better!" she snapped back. "Steven, you are in hospital!" She waved around the room for emphasis. "Don't you think that's just a little bit of a warning sign that maybe this is too dangerous for you to be doing again right now!?"

"I'll be fine," he insisted. "Now I know what happened, I'll be able to stop it happening again." I hope, he added internally, and crossed his fingers behind his back.

Connie sighed and slumped back in her chair, defeated. "Do... do you want to try doing it as Stevonnie?" she asked tentatively.

To her relief, he shook his head at once. "At this point, it's probably safer if there's fewer people messing around in Peridot's head. We could end up making things worse. You might even miss college."

"Do you promise?" she deadpanned. "Nah, that wouldn't happen, my mom would definitely start carving up our arms. I can see it now, 'Connie wake up right now, we did not spend $25,000 on college for you to spend the entire semester asleep.'"

He laughed and then shook his head again. "Thanks, but no."

"I can't say I'm sorry to hear that," she admitted. "So... are you planning to go back to sleep right now, or do you have time to watch some TV or something?"

"If it's all right with you," he began in an apologetic tone, "I think I'd like to go back to sleep now. I don't want to leave her alone too long, I have no idea if my bubble shield will work without me there."

"OK." She gave him a rather wobbly smile. "Just... come back quickly this time. And bring Peridot with you. I'm supposed to go back in a week and there's no way I'm gonna be able to concentrate on classes with you guys in a shared coma."

xxx

As it turned out, Steven's bubble shield was still working. However Peridot had absolutely no idea how long it would continue to do so, and as a consequence, she had not moved since he'd vanished. Even though she knew she'd make no progress by doing nothing, she simply didn't dare do anything but stay still and try to concentrate on the faint hum of the music that was just ever-so-slightly out of earshot. For all she knew, that would be all it took for the bubble to pop, and then she'd be back battling the fusion creatures again. Not moving wouldn't make things better, but hopefully, it wouldn't make things worse. And until Steven came back and told her what was going on, that was good enough for her.

"You really think he's coming back?"

Peridot let out a scream of fright and spun around to see the form of Yellow Diamond towering over her, an expression of disgust on her face. "You're not here, you're not real!" But even so, she couldn't stop herself from backing away until she hit the wall of the bubble.

"Of course I'm real." Yellow Diamond took a step towards her, flattening several of the fusion experiments as she did so. "I helped to create this charming little weapon, after all. Do you really think we wouldn't find a way to see who it had affected?"

Something about that statement didn't seem to quite make sense, but before Peridot could think about it, Yellow Diamond took another step forward and, forgetting her earlier fears, Peridot threw herself back against the side of the bubble to try and move it a bit further away.

"I have to admit, I honestly thought I'd destroyed you after you pulled that stunt with the communicator," Yellow Diamond continued relentlessly. "Oh, I know the Rubies said you were alive, but you know Rubies." And she laughed derisively. "But this! How much more satisfying it is to see your futile battle against corruption."

"This is not a futile battle," Peridot said grimly. "I'm going to win."

"No you're not." Yellow Diamond looked almost amused. "Better gems than you have tried and failed."

Peridot's eyes flickered away, because of course, it was true. But... "They didn't have Steven's help."

"Hmm? Oh, you mean Rose Quartz's strange new form-"

"No, I meant Steven," Peridot corrected. Yellow Diamond narrowed her eyes menacingly, and she let out a small squeak of fright. "He-he's not Rose!" she managed to stammer out. "He's his own gem!"

"With her powers," Yellow Diamond pointed out. "Do you really think she didn't have this power to enter the minds of other gems as well? And yet, she still failed to heal anybody."

Peridot shook her head, trying to sort out her muddled thoughts. She knew some of Steven's powers were unique, but with Yellow Diamond looming over her, it was several seconds before she could remember what they were. "He can fuse with humans! Rose couldn't do that," she said triumphantly. "And this- this mind hopping power requires him to be asleep, so even if Rose Quartz did have it, she might not have ever tried sleeping and discovered it! None of the other Crystal Gems have ever said she could do it, after all."

"Really, Peridot. Do you honestly think they'd bother to tell you if she did?" Yellow Diamond laughed contemptuously. "Have you already forgotten the words of the renegade Pearl? You're not one of them. You'll never be one of them. And they'll never let Rose come back here. They'll destroy your form before they let that happen." She suddenly leaned forward and spoke again in a softer tone. "Why don't you just give up? Lower the shield. Succumb to corruption. You'll never be able to beat it, and you'll be of far more use to them as a monster than you ever were as a gem."

Peridot blinked and then narrowed her eyes defiantly. "No. You're not real. The real Yellow Diamond would never have simply called me 'Peridot' as if I were an individual!"

The thing that wasn't Yellow Diamond stared down at her in silence for several seconds, and then a small smile twitched at the corner of her lips. "You're right. I'm not real," she said quietly, and then leaned down so that her face was just on the other side of the bubble. "But that doesn't mean I wasn't telling the truth-"

At that moment, Steven suddenly reappeared. "Peridot-whoa!" He ran forward, summoning his shield as he did so, which he threw at Yellow Diamond, where it bounced off her face with a very satisfying clang. Peridot let out an astonished bark of laughter, but before she could really savor the expression on her ex-Diamond's face, Steven shoved his way through the bubble's membrane and started pushing at the other side. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

Peridot obediently pushed against the bubble as well, her earlier fears forgotten now that he was back. Once again, the door of the barn stayed just out of reach, but when she risked looking back over her shoulder, Yellow Diamond has shrank into the distance. "I believe we're out of immediate danger now."

Steven glanced back as well, and then relaxed. "Oh good. That was a nasty surprise. What was she even doing here?"

"Being a clod," Peridot grumbled. "She tried to convince me she was-" She stopped suddenly and her eyes widened as a truly horrible thought occurred to her. "Prove you're real!" she demanded, taking a step away from him. "Tell me something only Steven would know!"

Steven's mind instantly want blank. "Uhhhhhh..." He stared at her, desperately trying to thing of something, anything, but there was nothing. "I-I don't know! I wasn't expecting a pop quiz!" he flailed. "Uhh... you hate Paulette- no, everyone knows that, that's stupid, come on Steven..."

Peridot's expression softened and she stepped back forward and hugged him. "I was expecting a step-by-step recollection of our first kiss," she murmured. "So you're definitely Steven."

"I'm not entirely sure if that's a compliment," he said warily, but hugged her back. He couldn't really be offended that she hadn't known it was him; after all, he'd had similar problems in his mother's room. "Maybe we should come up with a code word or something in case this happens again?"

"Hmm." Peridot wrinkled her nose. "I'm not sure how much use that would be in this sort of situation, surely the duplicate would be aware of the code word as well?"

"That's true," he admitted. "I guess- no, they'd know that too." He tried to think of a solution, but of course, it was impossible. "How did you know it wasn't Yellow Diamond?" he asked, trying to figure out if that would help.

"There were a few clues, but what really gave it away was when she called me 'Peridot'", she explained. "I believe I'd become so accustomed to being addressed without my full cut and facet that it completely slipped my mind that Homeworld would still use it to address me."

Steven nodded slowly. "So all I have to do is try and think of something you've forgotten."

"Easy. All you have to do then is find my IC popper," she said dryly. "I put it down somewhere and I can't remember where."

"Sure." Steven smiled with relief and made a mental note to look up what exactly a IC popper actually was. "Anyway, how are you, were you OK when I left?"

"Other that Yellow Diamond showing up? Actually, I was fine," she admitted. "Your bubble shield was extremely helpful in keeping the fusion experiments at bay."

"It stayed? That's great news!" he exclaimed.

Peridot grinned and decided not to tell him she hadn't actually risked moving. "What about you?" she asked, changing the subject. "Did you have any problems awakening? Does your head hurt at all? Do you have any strange blemishes?"

"I'm completely fine," he said, which was technically true. "The gems were a little concerned when I overslept, but they're happy I was able to contact you, and they know I'm here this time. Although," he grudgingly admitted, "I can't really stay as long this time, they were a little freaked out."

"Oh." Peridot tried not to look as disappointed as she felt. "I suppose that's understandable. How long do you think you can remain here?"

"Long enough to get this bubble moving," he said firmly. "Come on, let's see if we can get out of this place this time."

Peridot still wasn't convinced they'd make any progress, but it was better than doing nothing while Yellow Diamond tried to mess with her head, so she joined him and once again, they began rolling the bubble across the barn floor.

Sure enough, the barn door didn't get any closer. But all of a sudden, Peridot stopped and tilted her head, listening hard. "Steven! Listen!"

"What?" He stopped as well, and suddenly realized that the music was getting louder. What had once been nothing more than a dim, unidentifiable background hum was now... well, a dim, unidentifiable background drone instead. But surely that was progress! "Come on!" he cried, and grabbed her by the hand in excitement. "Let's see if we can figure out what song it is!"

Encouraged, Peridot forgot her earlier doubts entirely and the two of them started moving again, picking up speed until the fusion experiments outside were little more than a blur. At first, there wasn't any noticeable difference; the barn door still stayed out of reach and the music was still an unidentifiable noise. But sure enough, it got louder. The drone became a buzz. There was a faint but definite tune. The words were still a mumbled unintelligible mess, but Peridot thought that if they slowed down now, they might actually be able to hear it, and so she tapped Steven on the shoulder. "Let's stop. I want to try and listen now."

Steven nodded and brought the bubble to a halt and the two of them strained to hear the faint lyrics.

"...day... I watch... say... lucky... like her... true..."

Peridot frowned and turned to her boyfriend. "I don't recognize this."

"Ah, yeah, Amethyst did say she was playing the top tracks from each year now. Actually," he corrected, "what she really said was that if she had to listen to American Pie one more time, she would've thrown your tablet in the ocean for real this time."

"I like American Pie," she said crossly.

Steven laughed. "Well, now we can hear it better, I'll ask her to put your music back on when I get back, OK?"

"OK," she agreed, mollified. "Are you going now?"

Steven hesitated. He didn't want to stop now they'd come so close, but there was no way of knowing how long he'd been here already and he didn't want to push his luck. "I guess I should. But I'll come back as soon as I can, I promise."

"OK," she said again, and hugged him tight. "But make sure you don't neglect to take care of yourself as well," she added sternly. "I shall be fine by myself for the time being. I have your bubble, after all."

"I'll order takeout and have a nice, relaxing bubble bath before I come back," he promised, and gave her a kiss. "Love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, and stood back and watched as he faded away. Then she steeled her shoulders, set her sights on the barn door and began pushing at the wall of the bubble again. She couldn't move the bubble as fast on her own, she didn't have the strength, but it did roll along at a steady pace, the spikes stabbing and poofing the fusion experiments that tried to grab at the bubble.

She couldn't tell how long she'd been moving, but after a while, she realized she could hear the music more clearly from inside the bubble. She slowed down slightly and discovered to her delight, that she could now actually properly hear the lyrics. It still wasn't a song from her playlist, but at that point, she didn't really care.

She picked up speed again. The music became clearer. Every now and then, a song came on that she recognized. Without even meaning to, she found herself singing along to 'Dancing Queen."

And then suddenly, there was silence. She slowed down again, wondering if perhaps Steven had managed to persuade Amethyst to put her music back on, but when the music resumed, it was something else entirely. Peridot stumbled to a halt and for at least a full minute, she just stood there, enchanted, letting the melody wash over her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the fusion experiments had stopped as well. She blinked and leaned forward, pressing her nose against the membrane, but sure enough, none of them were moving. She tentatively moved forward, fully expecting them to start grabbing at the bubble again, but nothing happened, not even when deliberately swerved towards some.

Hope flared up within her. She picked up speed. Was it her imagination, or was the barn door actually getting closer now? No, it really was. She broke out into a run, not even noticing as the bubble shield thinned and then vanished, because nothing was trying to hold her back any more. It was just her and the music. And with a final burst of speed, she crossed the threshold of the door, into the light.