Chapter 38 - Steven's Dream

It had been a while since Jasper had been at the beach house. She'd rarely ever been inside of it, but now that she had become apparently trustworthy to many of the Crystal Gems they weren't as wary of her as they had been. It was here, the previous day, where Steven had introduced Jasper to manga. And it was here, right now, that she was reading the tenth volume of Sailor Moon. It was something to do.

It was nighttime, and Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were on what Jasper assumed to be a mission. Steven had been with his dad, Greg, watching a movie, and was now sleeping in his bed in the loft above and behind where Jasper was lounging on the couch reading Sailor Moon. Peridot and Lapis Lazuli were still at the barn. In all, it seemed like it was going to be a quiet night.

Jasper had just started reading volume thirteen when she heard a creak and a sniffle. She paused for a moment, before standing up and looking over at where Steven was. He was awake, sitting up, and crying more than Jasper thought a human was capable of crying.

"What happened?" Jasper asked, dropping the book.

"…I dunno," Steven said, "I… my dream wasn't sad… it was the same one…" he paused, then something seemed to dawn on him, "I think I need to text Connie."

That morning, Connie came over. It had been the first time Jasper had seen Connie in a while, but she and Steven were intent on finding a specific object in a journal Connie had picked up from the library. She and Steven were on the couch, and Jasper's curiosity got the better of her as she joined them.

"So," Connie began, "When you told me about your dream, I thought it sounded familiar." She flipped through the pages of the journal and came to a specific drawing. Once Jasper saw it, she froze.

"Wait," Jasper said, "I know that. I've seen that… I've been there!"

"You have?" Steven and Connie both asked, and Jasper nodded. Steven started to look excited.

"Then we've got to go to this… palahn-qwin." Steven said.

"Actually, it's pronounced palan-keen," Connie corrected in her usual fashion.

The three heard the zing of the warp pad, and Steven grinned, "It's the Gems! They probably know something about this thing!"

Steven and Connie got up and rushed over to the warp pad. Jasper slowly followed.

"Yo," she head Amethyst say, before Steven rushed through his words.

"Hey do you guys know anything about this thing?" Steven asked, and Jasper got there in time to see Amethyst take a closer look.

"Hmm… Steven, you deserve to hear the truth. And the truth is… I have no idea what this thing is, I've never seen it before in my life," Amethyst said, and Jasper found herself nearly snorting.

Pearl stepped forward to take a look, "Excuse me, Amethyst, allow me… hmm… uh, well… it appears to be an illustration in some kind of journal."

"C'mon, you know what I mean," Steven said, though Jasper felt herself growing suspicious, as if Pearl was hiding something, "I had a dream where I saw this thing, and Connie, Jasper, and I were wondering if maybe…"

"S-Steven, why don't you and Connie-"

"You can't go there!"

Jasper looked over at Garnet, and her suspicions were confirmed. Garnet and Pearl were hiding something.

"Why not?" Steven asked, and Amethyst gave the two suspiciously nervous gems a similar look.

"Yeah, why not?" Amethyst asked.

Garnet didn't answer, and Steven sighed.

"I thought you were going to tell me everything from now on…" Steven said, disappointed.

"Oh, Steven, we-"

Pearl didn't get to finish that sentence before Steven seemed to snap for the first time Jasper had seen.

"Does this have anything to do with my mom?!" Steven asked, "What is it about this that you can't tell me!

"Steven, you're making Pearl very upset," Garnet said, and Pearl was visibly shaking.

"No! I'm very upset!" Steven protested, and Connie backed away towards where Jasper and Amethyst were. Amethyst had gotten out some popcorn from somewhere, and Jasper knew better than to ask where. She was more worried than hungry, however, and she and Connie shared a nervous glance at one another.

"We're. Not. Going." Garnet said, stubborn in her decision, "Rose never wanted you to see this place."

"Rose wanted- what about what I want?! I'm sick of everyone lying to me! Rose is my mom, and out of anyone, don't I deserve to know the truth?!" Steven yelled, and Jasper found herself very concerned. She wasn't sure whether curiosity or caution would win this battle.

"This isn't the time," Garnet answered.

"I don't care! I wanna go there now!"

"Steven!" Garnet hissed as if she were in pain. Jasper found that curiosity was starting to win.

"I'm sorry…" Connie said, "I shouldn't have brought the book…"

"Yes, you should've brought it," Steven interjected, his voice harsher than Jasper thought it could ever get, "It's lucky something has some information that I don't have to get out of them!"

The group was silent.

"Connie," Steven said, "I need to borrow this book."

"Okay, just be careful," Connie said, "I've gotta return it to the library in a week."

"Thanks," Steven said, walking towards the door and out of the beach house.

"Wait, Steven-" Connie went to follow him, but Garnet stopped her as the door shut.

Jasper saw Garnet go outside only moments later, and again try to convince Steven to not go, which even Jasper could foresee would fail. Minutes later, a dejected Garnet re-entered the beach house. Pearl had gone to her room, wherever it was, and Amethyst had followed suit. Connie had gone home for the day, and so it only left Jasper in the beach house.

"You want to go with him, don't you," Garnet said before Jasper could announce that very fact to her.

Jasper nodded.

"You're… if you go," Garnet said, "You're going to find out some things about… just… some things that are going to change your perspective. So… I need you to promise me a few things."

"And what are those?" Jasper asked.

"First, protect Steven, please," Garnet said, "And second… don't blame him. He's not Rose."

"…Got it," Jasper answered. She knew she couldn't think too hard on those words, and she went out of the beach house to find Steven.

It didn't take long to find Steven talking to his dad about going to wherever the Palanquin was, and Steven saw Jasper as the two were getting ready to leave.

"Jasper!" Steven said, running over to her, "Why are you here? Did… did Garnet send you to change my mind?"

"No," Jasper said, shaking her head, "I want to go with you."

"You do?" Steven asked, "I mean… I figured, but-"

"That palanquin has something to do with my past…" Jasper said, "And I want to find out why. Going there is the best option I have."

Steven grinned, "Then you're going with us! We were just about to leave!"

Jasper found herself smiling, though she knew this was only the beginning of a journey that would reveal at least something about the flashbacks she was having. Curiosity had won this battle.