Steven found himself in a beautiful field. To his left, a sea of pink grass and flowing in a wind that didn't exist. To his right, the grass continued to spread far into the distance, and behind him more of the same. In front of him an island rested in the sea of eternal grass with a powerful tree in its center; the tree had lost most of its leaves and seemed to be in the middle of the downward spiral, nearing the end of its life, but for now it still stood strong and gallant over the treasure trove that surrounded it.

Rose…

Steven looked around for the source of the voice, but was only met with the distant ringing of his own ears.

...this is how we win!

Steven continued to look, only to be blindsided by a burning pain in his lungs. Sharp as can be, spreading through the rest of his body and dimming his senses until...

Steven shoved up with all his strength, and Lion went tumbling off of him. Fresh air flooded his lungs and restored his senses as Lion rolled and settled on the end of the bed.

"Lion!" Steven scolded, clutching at the collar of his pajamas, "You sat on me!"

Lion gave a gruff roar in response.

"It's fine." Steven forgave the lion, "Just don't do it again; I can't breathe when your on me!"

Steven pulled the blanket back over his body, and rolled onto his side to hopefully get back to his rest, but a few hours later, he awoke to the same dream.

I'm here again, Steven thought, what is this place? It seemed far too vivid to be a dream, but far too implausible to be anything else. This time, he was closer to the island than before, and he could see all the treasure that surrounded it.

Rose…

That voice again. It seemed to be coming from the island itself.

...this is how we win!

Steven looked back at the island, and now that he was closer he could see the crystals surrounded the tree on the island, forming a protective barrier around the rotted base that kept it upright and strong. A few of the crystals were cracked and fractured, and fewer still were broken completely in half or crumbling to dust.

Steven felt that pain start to return to his chest, and quickly took in the rest: a true treasure chest of wood and gold, with no key to be found, but a picture at its base that showed two figures far too distant to be seen.

Rose…

A flag, stuck to the base of the tree, torn and tattered with a rose sigil waving proudly in the still air.

...this is how we win!

A spiraling gemstone, bubbled in a pink containment. A black t-shirt with ' Mr. Universe' spelled out in red and purple. A beautiful, rose-colored sword sticking out of the crystals, with a darker hilt and a gleam that seemed to shine like the sun itself.

Rose...

Steven pushed Lion off of him for the second time that night.

"Lion!"

Lion fell back on his rump and began to draw one paw over his ear without a care in the world. Steven got off of his bed.

"That's it! Out!" He pointed to the door.

Lion didn't move.

"I said out!"

Steven grabbed Lion by his mane and tried to pull him off, but the lion didn't budge. The beast gave an annoyed grunt and rolled over onto his back, bringing Steven twisting with him.

"Lion!"

Steven and Lion shared upside-down glances.

"That's it!" Steven let go of Lion's mane and circled around to shove Lion from behind, "Off!"

Lion rolled back onto his stomach and reluctantly gave in to Steven's demand, but the moment he jumped onto the ground, he flopped back onto his side and batted his eyes.

"Not this time Lion! Outside!"

Steven grabbed him by the tuft of his mane and did his best to lift the immovable creature; usually, he'd feel bad about using such violence against such a cute creature, but Lion was so unbothered that Steven felt the exact opposite. It didn't take him long to realize the Lion wasn't moving, and for a new plan to formulate in his mind.

He hurried down the steps and opened the freezer, aware that Lion was watching him the whole time. He felt those dark eyes boring into the back of his skull, and made sure to take his time unwrapping the frozen delicacy, and before he had even finished unwrapping it, he felt a cold wet nose pressed against his neck.

Steven held up the frozen crystal basilisk, dewinged and defeathered, and waved it by its tail while Lion stared at it and licked his lips; sitting down, he was almost a head taller than Steven, yet still he didn't dare make an attempt to snatch the morsel from him.

"You want this?" Steven walked past the lion, backpedaling to make sure the creature followed (he did), and then he opened the door and threw the crystal basilisk out into the night. "Go get it!"

Lion rushed past Steven in a gust of wind and leaped off of the balcony in a single bound, and while Steven knew Lion could float, it still nerve wracked him enough to hurry to the guardrail and peer over to make sure.

Lion was crouched on the ground, biting at the frozen treat with his tail wagging much like a dogs would. He took the basilisk in his mouth, rolled over onto his back, and proceeded to chew on it's body while pawing absently at its tail in an attempt to tear it.

Steven went back inside.

Steven was quickly able to get back to sleep after that. When morning came, he decided to go visit the Big Donut the moment it opened, and of course Spinel just had to tag along.

"Steven," Sadie said when she saw him waiting, "You know the donuts won't be ready for another half hour. Oh, hi Spinel." Sadie waved to the pink gem, and the gem waved back.

"I know!" Steven said, "I thought you might be lonely without Lars, so I thought I'd hang out with you!"

"Aw." Sadie touched her hand to her chest and smiled a wide smile, "That's sweet. Well, you're free to hang out as long as you want, and I'll make sure you get the first donut. How's that sound?"

Steven beamed. "Yummy!"

"Great." Sadie went to sit down her purse and lunch bag.

"I got it!" Steven quickly offered, and took the bags from her.

"Thanks Steven." Sadie took the key off from around her neck and began to open up the shop.

Steven looked down at the bag. "What do you have for lunch?"

Sadie shrugged. "No clue. My mom always packs it, and it's not like I eat it anyway."

Steven frowned. "Why not?"

"I'm twenty-three, Steven, I don't need her packing my lunch for me. Besides, I usually just get some fries from Fryman's or some pizza from Fish-To-Pizza; it's much more convenient. Sometimes I'm not even hungry, so I just eat when I get home."

Sadie held open the door for Steven and Spinel, and followed them in.

"Then can I have it?" Steven asked hopefully, "Since you're not gonna eat it anyway?"

"Go for it." Sadie grabbed her purse. "Thanks! I'll be back in a few minutes, just hang out okay?"

"Okay Sadie!" Steven and Spinel sat together at a nearby table. "Now to see what yummies lie in this mysterious paper bag!"

Steven wiggled his fingers in anticipation of what he would find inside. Spinel sat back and watched, her pupils spiraling with anticipation.

Steven stuck out his tongue and grabbed the first item he felt, presenting it proudly to Spinel. "Looks like a classic PBJ sandwich cut into triangles."

Spinel closed her eyes and nodded her agreement. "Very nice. The only shape a sandwich should be."

Steven pulled out the next item. "Apple juice, it seems. And it's brand named!"

"Good for Sadie's mom, making sure Sadie gets her vitamin C!"

"I agree! And for dessert…" Steven pulled out the last item, "Woah! A cookie shaped like a star! Haha!"

Steven held the star cookie over the star on his shirt.

"I guess you could say that cookie is…" Spinel began.

"Out of this world!" Steven and Spinel finished together, and then they fell into a fit of laughter.

"That's really cool how you guys say the same thing like that."

Steven looked to see Sadie fiddling with the register.

"You must be really close."

Steven smiled, but his smile faded when he didn't see one on Sadie. His friend sighed, rested her head on the counter, and continued whatever she was busy doing at a slow pace. Steven's heart fell at the sight.

"Yup!" Spinel suddenly wrapped her arm around Steven and pulled him close, "Close as can be! Forever and always!"

Sadie smiled, but it seemed forced. "That's sweet. You need that, ya know. A friend." A timer went off in the back room and Sadie suddenly jumped up, "I'll be back!" Then she hesitated, and turned around, "Thanks for staying here. It can get a little lonely without Lars."

"No problem." Steven said with a shrug.

They spent the rest of the day keeping Sadie company and helping her to manage the Big Donut without Lars. She had offered to treat the both of them to lunch at Fryman's, but Steven had gotten his usual fry bits for free, and Spinel politely declined the offer; it seemed Sadie was relieved at their decline, and she barely even had time to eat before returning back to work.

Even after closing, Steven was reluctant to leave Sadie alone.

"I'll be fine." Sadie told him, "I'm just gonna go home and go to sleep."

"But it's early." Steven said softly. "It's not even six yet."

"Steven, when you get to be my age, you take as much sleep as you can get. But I appreciate the offer." Sadie began to walk away.

"I'll come see you again tomorrow!" Steven promised.

"You don't have to do that." Sadie assured, "Really, it's fine."

"I don't mind!" Steven insisted.

"I do." Sadie said, "You're a kid, Steven. You should be out playing, ya know? Not stuck in some stuffy old restaurant all day."

"It's okay, I do a lot of stuff kids shouldn't do."

Sadie's expression fell to concern, "That doesn't mean you should add to that list. Come back if you want, but you don't have to. Thanks for today. Bye Steven, bye Spinel."

"Bye Sadie."

"You should have seen it!" Steven exclaimed to Lion when he got home, "The cookie was a star! Just like my star!"

Lion stared.

"And Spinel and I made a joke that it out of this world! Haha, get it? Out of this world!"

Lion grunted, and pressed his head against Steven's shoulder, and this time it was Steven's turn to stare.

"Blink if this means you love me."

Lion took a few steps back and tilted his head to the side, unblinking. Steven looked around to make sure no one would catch him in the act before he blew air into Lion's face, and Lion blinked.

"You love me!"

Lion roared and lifted his paw onto his nose, closing his eyes and rubbing them. Steven leaned into a hug and let himself fall deep into Lion's warm mane. Lion's weight shifted, and in an instant he had wrapped a large, powerful forearm around Steven and pinned him tight.

"Lion!" Steven pressed his arms against Lion's broad chest and tried to force himself to freedom, "Let go!"

Claws like steak knives unsheathed and dug into Steven's back; immediately, through the burning pain, Steven felt a wet warmth.

"NO!" Steven screwed his eyes shut to focus on the pain as he shoved Lion off of him. "Ow, ow, ow!"

Steven immediately ran to the bathroom and examined himself in the mirror. His shirt had taken the brunt of the impact, torn to shreds and barely holding on by thin strands of thread. Lifting his shirt, he saw several bloody gouges.

"Spiney!"

The wound wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed, according to Spinel. Minor puncture wounds that still needed cleaned and bandaged either way, thankfully no stitches, but not before Pearl tried to coax Steven to heal himself; he hadn't done much of that since healing Connie's eyes, and Pearl seemed insistent on him trying again. Garnet seemed to agree, but Amethyst only came out long enough to make sure Steven wasn't seriously hurt and disappeared into the temple just as fast, without giving her thoughts on the matter.

At Pearl and Garnet's command, Steven had spit on his hand and reached behind his back to put the spit on his wound, but nothing happened. When Pearl finally admitted it wasn't working, she and Spinel worked together to clean and disinfect the wound.

"I knew that Lion was a menace," Pearl had said, "We should have put it down long ago."

"No!" Steven had said in response, "He didn't mean it!"

It took a half-hour of back and forth argument and conversation for Pearl to finally agree to not punish Lion for the offense; nothing beyond banning him from the house for the foreseeable future (which Garnet said to be about ten years) and forbidding Steven from being alone with him until he mastered his healing spit. It was probably the best Steven could hope for.

Sleep came surprisingly easy once he found a position that didn't put pressure on his back. His dreams were sweet and littered with everything he loved, from Connie to the gems to his dad to Cookie Cat. Everything. When he was abruptly woken up, the dreams slipped away between his fingers like water until nothing remained but vague images that fell apart the moment Steven had begun to comprehend them.

Steven felt a wet nose pressed against his back, and hot breath heating his bandages. He immediately sat up and looked to the intruder.

"Lion!"

Lion roared in response.

Steven swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Pearl says you're not allowed inside anymore."

Lion stood up on his hind legs, crossing his paws, and stared at Steven intently with watery eyes. The mighty beast gave a mournful cry, and Steven immediately understood.

"Oh Lion, I know you didn't mean it."

Steven didn't hesitate to reach forward and rub the side of Lion's face in a forgiving touch; the lion leaned into the affection perhaps a little too much, and Steven was pulled from his bed and both man and beast went crashing down to the floor (luckily, in Steven's case, on his stomach).

"Ow!"

Lion sat back up before Steven did and blinked his confusion.

"Lion, I'm small! You gotta be careful."

Lion pressed his ears back and stared at Steven.

"I know you're sorry." This time, Steven used both hands to hold Lion's head, "Blink if you love me!"

Lion blinked.

"Hahaha! You love me!"

Steven hugged Lion again, and Lion rested his head on Steven's shoulder.

"I just can't stay mad at you! You're a wonderful pink human being. Except you're not. Cause you're a lion."

Steven closed his eyes and let Lion's mane surround him in a warm, pink embrace. Listening to the steadfast beat in Lion's chest, beating slow at first but steadily growing faster and faster, and louder and louder, until Steven realized that it was not Lion's heartbeat, but his own, and he opened his eyes to pink. Nothing but pink. Pink grass, pink sky, pink clouds and pink stars. A pink island with a pink tree and pink accessories. Pink.

Rose, this is how we win!

Steven pushed off of Lion, the world around him flooded back into color and air flooded back into his lungs.

"Lion?!"

Lion stared at him knowingly.

"Did I fall asleep?"

Steven almost found himself waiting for a response, before he decided to take matters into his own hands and lean back into Lion's fur.

Pink again.

Steven pulled his head back out. "Definitely not sleep!"

This time, instead of his head, Steven stuck his hand against Lion's mane and watched in astonishment and horror as it disappeared in a ray of rosy color. Steven quickly pulled his hand back.

"Woah!"

He did it again, and the same thing happened. Again, and again, and again. He slowly became more confident and began to laugh, putting in one hand, then the next, then his entire arm, and the other, until Lion growled and stepped back out of Steven's reach.

"Sorry."

Steven let a deep breath fill his lungs, and shoved his head back into the pink of Lion's mane.

Suddenly the grass around him made sense, because it wasn't grass at all, it was fur. Am I supposed to do something here? Why can't breathe? Speaking of breathing, Steven needed to do just that.

He pulled his head out of Lion's mane and took a deep, heavy breath of air.

"Okay Lion, I'm going in."

Lion closed his eyes and stuck out his chest. Steven rubbed his hands together and ran full force into the pink wormhole, landing on his stomach on the inside. He could feel all his limbs now, working to push his head above the 'grass' and hurry toward the island. He felt whatever ground was beneath his feet begin to slope up until, eventually, he stood on the only clear spot of land for miles around.

Woah, he thought, it's like I'm in the middle of the ocean! Now… what do I do?

The first thing that caught his eye was the chest; golden rimmed, wooden framed, with a powerful lock in its center that hid its contents safely within the barrier. Steven tried to unhinge it, to force it open, but it didn't budge. He could feel the timer in his lungs running out, and quickly searched for something else to make his discovery worthwhile.

His eyes drifted down to right below the chest, so a small tape and, on written in cursive on its side, 'For Steven'.

Steven quickly grabbed the recording and ran back into the tall grass, running until he felt the ground disappear beneath his feet and suddenly he was back in the real world and air was flooded into his lungs. He didn't even care that he face planted on the wood of his deck, because all that mattered was the recording in his hand and catching his breath.

Steven sat back up, and read the label again, and then again. For him. But who could have left that in there, and why? How did that place even exist inside of Lion's mane? Steven looked around for the giant beast, but it seemed that Lion had disappeared into thin air. Steven needed to tell someone about his discovery, but he was alone. The gems were in their rooms, in the temple he couldn't enter, and he didn't dare call Connie so early in the morning.

He ran back inside, up the steps to his loft and took his friend from off his pillow.

"Mirror, you'll never believe what I found!"

"What you found!" The mirror echoed.

Steven relayed what he had discovered while the mirror listened intently to his words without saying a thing.

"Isn't that amazing?" Steven asked after he had concluded his story.

"Amazing!" She responded.

"I need to watch this tape! But Amethyst still has my TV…"

Steven thought more about it, and his spirit fell.

"She doesn't come out of her room much anymore, huh…?" Steven asked himself. "How am I gonna watch it?"

The mirror swirled with thought. "Sadie."

"Huh?"

"Sadie! TV…"

"Oh!" Steven quickly understood, "You think Sadie might have a TV I can borrow?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, it's worth a shot! I'm sure Sadie would help me!" Steven grabbed the tape and almost ran down the steps, only to pause and run right back up to grab his mirror friend, "You wanna come too?"

"Yeah!"

"Then let's go!"

Steven wasted no time; down the steps, out the door, into the sand and then to the boardwalk and the Big Donut. Only when he got there did he realize it was still an hour until it opened, but he didn't care. He spent that hour thinking about what the contents of the recording could be, bouncing off ideas with his friend in the mirror until finally, though it seemed like a thousand years had gone by, Sadie finally arrived.

"Steven?" Sadie stared at him dumbfounded, "How long have you been waiting here?"

Steven jumped up. "It doesn't matter! Sadie, do you have a TV I can use for this?" Steven held up the tape for Sadie, "It was in my lion!"

"In you-" Sadie shook her head, "Nevermind, I don't even wanna know. Sure; I got a TV in the back that should fit that. Come on."

Steven could barely hold still as Sadie unlocked the Big Donut, and once the door was open Steven was the first inside. He hesitated at the counter however and grew suddenly nervous as he looked back at Sadie.

"Go ahead." Sadie motioned his through. "It's fine."

That's all Steven had to hear. He ran past the counter and into the backroom, and he had the tape in the VCR rewinding before Sadie even got into the room.

"Gah!" Steven looked away, "Spoilers! Tell me when it's over!"

After a few minutes, Sadie said, "Okay, it's over." And reached to set the video back to play.

Both of them stood back and watched as the video came to life, and Steven made sure Mirror had a good view of the video too.

The first thing that appeared on the screen was the crash of waves in the ocean Steven recognized clear as day, and in the next shot it had cut over to the temple, except it didn't have the beach house attached to it like it did now. It seemed strangely naked without it, but Steven didn't have long to think about it before the scene changed again, this time to a red-skinned, brown haired man danced across the screen with his arms hooked like a crab. And then there was laughter.

"What are you doing?"

Sadie gasped. "Steven, that voice."

It was sweet like candy and soft like rain, and even without seeing them, Steven could practically feel the soothing, gentle touch surround him and some part of him knew who that voice belonged to.

The next scene showed that same brown-haired man lounging on the sand, his top half under the shade of a beach umbrella and the rest of him expoed to the sun. It seemed a seagull had also found that spot an excellent place to relax, and had perched on the sleepers stomach.

"Look. Greg made a friend." Said that same, sweet-as-sugar voice.

The seagull gave a wail, waking up the younger Greg, who quickly swatted the bird away in a blind panic resulting in the mysterious voice to laugh once more. Steven could listen to that laugh all day.

It cut to the next scene, again of Greg.

"Go on." The voice said.

"Sorry, I'm getting stage fright here." Despite the strikingly different appearance, Greg's voice was the same.

"Tell us about yourself."

"Well then, let's see here… my name is Greg. No! No, this is all wrong!"

The scene cut and changed to show a blue crab wandering in the sand.

"Okay, go!"

The screen panned up to show Greg posing on a rock, now with a pair of sunglasses and a guitar.

"They call me…" He strummed the guitar, " ! Get ready baby, you're gonna have the coolest dad this side of the cosmos!" Greg micked a guitar riff before saying, "Press the button, Rose."

"Oh, right!" A colorful flash of pink with golden stars streaked across the screen, "Was that the right one?"

"I dunno. Maybe?"

"What does this one do?"

The screen darkened, showing only a star-shaped view of the screen, getting smaller and smaller until it was gone completely and left nothing but blank screen. Then the next scene was Greg sitting on the beach, facing the waves as a group of seagulls landed all around him.

"Isn't it remarkable, Steven? This world is full of so many possibilities. Each living thing has an entirely unique experience. The sights they see, the sounds they hear. The lives they live are so complicated and so simple. I can't wait for you to join them."

The screen shifted in a circle to show the woman holding the camera, and Steven could feel his heart stop for just a moment. He had seen her image in the picture that constant hung above him, and in the way Amethyst shapeshifted into that exact likeness, except with that purple hue. But this was different. This was real.

Peachy skin, flawless in every way, with a beautiful white dress and carnation pink hair that was so perfect that it reflected all the light around it. Baby pink lipstick blended perfectly with the rest of her colors, and hot pink eyes that were brighter than any star.

"We can't both exist. I'm going to become half of you. And I need you to know that every moment you love being yourself is me loving you, and loving being you! Because you're gonna be something extraordinary. You're going to be a human being."

"Hey Rose!"

The Rose Quartz looked off screen for just a second, but even then it was far too long.

"Take care of them, Steven."