Cold, soft sand under the feet. Soothing sounds of the ocean. Starless night without Moon. Darkness, darkness everywhere. Crickets weren't chirping and not even crabs bothered to come out from hiding. It was just Steven watching the thick fog rolling above the ocean in the distance.
Suddenly he snapped to attention, looking around and then on himself squinting on the striped pajamas. Hmm... sleepwalking again? What am I doing here?"He turned around and was about to shuffle back to the house but then he remembered... "Ah, that!"
Steven made another heel turn and looked up to grey heaven.
He jumped.
Flying up, and up towards the sky, Beach City getting smaller, then disappearing as he entered layers of clouds. And soon even clouds were far below. He could now see Earth's gentle curve and red beams of sunlight lining the horizon.
But he wasn't about to slow down any time soon, somehow gaining more speed instead. His eyes began to tear up. He created a bubble around himself which soon took shape of a prolonged raindrop, leaving behind a foggy line of air torn asunder and soon there was a loud crack as the sound barrier crumbled.
Gravity and friction were strong opponents, but their influence weakened with each passing minute up to the point when they gave up. Steven left Earth's exosphere with ever-increasing speed, soon passing around other celestial bodies. First Moon then Mars, Saturn, and others, eventually leaving the Solar system glittering in the distance. The bubble began to shrink and stretch and Steven soon felt the enormous pressure from all sides, but his body endured.
Under normal circumstances, he would have thought, Wow, I'm in space! but at this moment, Steven's mind focused only on one thing and one thing only, FASTER!
Andfaster he went, bending space, zooming through an endless sea of stars catching up with light itself.
His field of vision started shrinking into a small window in the distance, stars turning violet.
Then blankness, stillness, darkness, and soundlessness and a loud crash.
"What, when, where?" Steven gasped. He was lying in his bubble on some firm surface, feeling the gentle pull of gravity once more. It was dark outside the glowing bubble. But he could see silhouettes of rock formations in the distance to which any other time, he would be relieved, similar to fish that just successfully returned to the water. But he wasn't. On the contrary. His pajamas were soaked with sweat, he was trembling like never before in his life, his muscles were tense and numb at the same time. The feeling of utter dread.
He inhaled and exhaled, giving himself a slap on both cheeks, and stood up. He put his hands together, "All right Steven. Try to stay calm...
...
...
...
MAN DID I JUST JUMP INTO THE FREAKING SPACE?!"
He looked up to the sky full of glittering stars. "Yep... that's space. Well, at least I pinpointed my location... It's not on Earth eheheheh... heh..." he sighed, sitting back on the ground, " Hhh don't lose your cool Steven. If you'd managed to jump up here you can jump back... So which way to Earth?"
No response. Stars were just up there, thousands upon thousands of them, laughing at him. Any of them could be Sun.
"Well Steven," he shrugged, "guess you're doomed then. Or maybe..." he knew how it sometimes went when things got really bad.
Three, two, one, "Garnet?"
No response. Just dreadfull quiet of the void. But suddenly, "Garnet? I believe you've mistaken me for somebody else."
Steven jumped up in surprise, quickly turning around. There was a man standing, dressed up in what looked like a ceremonial uniform. Steven put his right hand on the bubble. "Hello?"
"Why hello there," the man adjusted his glasses and a smile shone through his short trimmed fluffy beard, "it's nice to meet you, Steven."
"You know my name?"
Stranger chuckled, "Well, you've just said it not a while ago."
"Oh." Steven looked down for a second but then he smiled back, "Yeah that sounds like me... Could you help me, please? I'm... I'm kinda lost."
The stranger tilted his head to the side, "Lost? I beg to differ. You've received my invitation, otherwise, you wouldn't be here."
"An invitation?" Steven lifted one of his eyebrows.
"Yes. That sudden urge that forced you to 'jump into space'," said the Stranger, making air-quotes with his fingers, "it was quite impressive."
Steven inhaled and sighed, "All right... Would you return me back on Earth please?"
"No, I'm afraid that's not an option. Or at least not until we are done here."
A small wrinkle appeared above Steven's nose, "Look... I had a busy day. Dealing with gems and people on a daily basis is not easy. So, I need some sleep and..."
"Hold your horses," the stranger interrupted him, "there are gems on Earth?"
Steven started to frown, "Maybe. I don't know who you are or what you want. Now, would you send me back home, please? Or must I find the way myself."
"Of course, you can try, but I wouldn't recommend it. So... are there gems living on Earth?"
Steven's face finally turned red. "Listen. You can't just kidnap somebody in the middle of the night and expect them to be fine with it. If you wanna know for sure, just see for yourself."
"Now," the stranger suddenly looked disappointed, "that was just rude."
"Rude? You are rude!"
"My goodness. Me and rude? Should I remind you of a fact that it was you who crash landed here in sweaty pajamas and a pink bubble? I would have expected more of you. Proper clothing and spaceship perhaps."
"What's wrong with my bubble or my pajamas? I didn't come here willingly!"
"Now, now. I understand. You are upset because you are tired and you've 'jumped into space', I know. But could you at least hear me out?"
"Maybe?"
"Good then. I think we should start over again." And before Steven knew it, Stranger popped the bubble with his index finger. Just like that. "Whaa?.." Steven exclaimed but the air was suddenly taken from his lungs. He fell on his knees and started to suffocate.
The man just stood there for a second, but then he leaned in and outstretched his hand forward.
Steven quickly grabbed it. Either out of panic or intending to use that karate move Pearl had taught him yesterday. But whatever of those two it was, at the moment their palms touched there was a tingling sensation running down Steven's throat and he breathed in.
Suddenly he saw a flash of light coming from under his feet. It started to spread out like a fire, revealing tall grasses, exotic flowers, ancient trees and moss carpets covering the rocky formations and trunks. A harmony of bright colors. Lovely smells and soothing wind whispers, all flooded by warm sunset rays.
Steven's jaw dropped. Unable to move, his eyes widened. He was just clutching Stranger's hand unable to let go. But he didn't have to, because what followed was a firm handshake.
"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Abraham Monroe."
"Umm, Steven Universe..." that was all he managed to pull out from himself. He didn't know what was going on anymore. At first, he managed to overcome the speed of light, then he met some military officer in a vacuum and now they were in the forest? He saw some unusual stuff back in the day, but newer something like this. There was always some coherence, some explanation for the weird - even when his fingers turned into cats - but not this time. Events were just happening too randomly and too fast. And then it hit him. I'm dreaming... I'm dreaming, yeah that's it. The only thing missing was Dogcopter.
"You know what Steven? Let's play a game." said man who just introduced himself as Abraham.
Steven blinked. "A... game?"
"Yes, a game. Let's call it Questions and Answers. Ask me three questions - anything you like - and I must answer truthfully. After that, I will send you back home. What do you say?"
"That... sounds fair to me," Steven replied reluctantly as he was still recovering from the previous shock but then he nodded, "All right, let's play."
They both sat into the soft grass facing each other and Steven began to think, but he still kept a watchful eye on his new acquaintance.
Abraham didn't look like he wanted to hurt him. His appearance wasn't threatening or obscure now when there was a proper source of light. But there was still something off about him. Well for obvious reasons. He wasn't a gem, but despite that, he was capable of feats comparable to theirs. So who or what was he? In terms of dreams of course. Steven, he was sure he'd seen him before. His complexion was the same as Steven's and his clothes were designed on Earth, even if they appeared somewhat out of fashion. Something people might wear in colonial era. Eighteenth... nineteenth century? Connie would know. It was a blue uniform with eight golden buttons and epaulets, black shoes with buckles and white gloves. Round wire-rim glasses were sitting in the middle of his face, lined with white fluffy hair and short trimmed beard. Now when Steven thought about it, he looked just like somebody depicted on those old paintings in Beach City library. Yes definitely. His picture might be hanging right next to Buddy Buddwick or Captain Willian Dewey. But did it even matter? This is a dream. Anything is possible! And so Steven decided to roll with it. He will play along, not thinking much about it. Then he wakes up and forgets everything anyway.
Abraham pushed up his glasses, "So the first question is?"
"A little moment," Said Steven and continued to stare into the ground for a while longer, but then he got an idea. This was certainly a dream but that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun. How is it called? A lucid dreaming? He could do anything he wanted if he'd gained control. It would be like playing in Roses room but without its limitation. But HOW to gain control?
For now, it looked like Abraham was in control. But if he was a creation of Steven's mind did it mean Steven was in control already? His brain started cooking. Abraham is perhaps a manifestation of my subconsciousness. Maybe I gain control when I prove to myself that this is one hundred percent a dream. But how to do that? Suddenly a sly smirk appeared on his face. Why with paradoxes of course. "Am I dreaming right now?"
Abraham shrugged, "Of course you are not. This is as real as it gets."
"Yeah, sure." Steven murmured. So that didn't work. Maybe he should try something different. There had to be something...
"You are taking an awful lot of time. Sometimes it's good to think through your actions but time is a precious resource that shouldn't be wasted."
"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry I just..."
"It's ok. Think, but think fast."
"Ugh." Abraham was getting on his nerves. Always in control but contrary to Garnet very unpleasant to deal with. Steven decided he had just enough. It was time to go on full offense.
"All right so what are you? I mean you look like a human but you are not. The things you do..."
Abraham raised one eyebrow. "What do you mean? Look at your self, you are a human and yet you can create force fields and survive in cosmos. Why couldn't I be a human, plain and simple, just like you?"
Now that was it. A chance.
"Because I'm not just plain and simple! And neither are you!" Steven exclaimed. He pulled up his shirt revealing the pink gem. "See this? Where is yours?"
The thing that called itself Abraham Monroe smiled kindly. As if this was its default expression permanently engraved into its face. Unpleasant memories of gems dominated by White Diamond resurfaced in Steven's mind. But Abraham's smile had a little twist to it.
It was honest.
"Where is my gem? Well, right here." he pointed at Steven's belly button, "And the rest is on Earth and all the other planets Gems have colonized I presume."
"Wait, WHAT?!"
"We both got our answers."
"B- but..."
"I think I should thank you, Steven. Now to the other part of our bargain."
Before Steven could do anything, Abraham snapped his fingers and everything went dark.