11/10/20: A Perfectly Normal Summer's Day
It was a beautiful summer's day in Beach City.
Connie Maheswaran strolled into the beach house, a wide grin on her face as she met Steven at the door. Her boyfriend pecked her on the cheek and she turned red; from the couch, Amethyst grinned and waved.
"Oh, Connie, hello!" Pearl was in the kitchen, standing over the oven. "Greg's out picking up some groceries, but you're just in time for… Steven, what kind of pie is this again?"
"Apple," replied Steven. "Just gotta get it out, anyone seen my oven mitts?"
As he wandered over to the kitchen, Connie looked around the room. Garnet was on the couch next to Amethyst, reading the newspaper, and Peridot sat on the counter tapping on her tablet. There was the sound of footsteps - Bismuth and Lapis were walking down from the bedroom, the former carrying a graphic novel.
"...I'm not sure about this," she was saying.
"Comics are fun, Bismuth, trust me," replied Lapis. "Oh, hey Connie!"
"Hey Lapis, hey Bismuth!"
"Aaaaand pie's up! Get it while it's hot!"
Steven planted a tray on the counter, the freshly cooked apple pie sizzling. It smelt wonderful.
Connie wandered over, a smile on her face. This was perfect; they hadn't gotten together like this in far too long, she thought.
"I won't have any," admitted Pearl, "but I enjoyed the process immensely!"
"I'll have Pearl's piece!" said Amethyst cheerfully, bounding over to the counter. She stood next to the pie, panting like a dog.
"Amethyst…" Steven chuckled.
"Gib pie," said Amethyst.
"Now, now, the guest gets the first piece," declared Pearl, carefully cutting the pie into perfectly even slices. "Oh, this is lovely, we haven't done this in ages!"
Connie took the piece of pie, along with a knife and fork, and was about to make her way over to the couch when a thought suddenly struck her.
"Hey, Steven."
"Yeah, Connie?"
"Aren't you meant to still be on the road?" she asked.
Steven tilted his head.
"Hmm… now that you ment—"
Connie took the piece of pie, along with a knife and fork, and made her way over to the couch. She blinked as she felt a strange sense of deja vu, but quickly forgot all about it.
It was good that Steven had finished his road trip, she thought; it was nice to be able to do this again.
She took a bite of the pumpkin pie - delicious. Steven sat down next to her, putting an arm over her shoulder; she giggled.
"So, Connie," asked Pearl, as they all gathered around the coffee table. "How's college?"
"It's great!" replied Connie. "I've been doing much better at sociology than I expected; guess I learned a lot about understanding people from this guy!"
She pointed at Steven, who blushed.
"And I'm getting good grades in history, too," she added. "I've got an essay due on Friday that I reckon I'm gonna ace."
"Heck yeah, Connie," said Amethyst, raising her hand for a high-five.
"Wait," said Steven. "If it's due at your college on Friday, how are you he—"
"And I'm getting good grades in history, too," she added. "I had an essay that I aced."
"Heck yeah, Connie," said Amethyst, raising her hand for a high-five. Connie grinned and gave her one.
"Huh."
"Huh? What is huh?" asked Peridot.
"I just had the weirdest feeling of deja vu," replied Connie.
"Deja what now?" asked Bismuth. "Are you sick?"
"Nah, it's a feeling that… like, you feel like you've done something before, but you haven't," replied Connie.
"Huh." Bismuth nodded. "You know, I think I get what you mean."
Connie took another bite of the key lime pie, chewing thoughtfully.
"It's probably nothing," she said at last. "How are you, Garnet?"
Garnet gave her a thumbs up from behind her newspaper.
"Anything interesting today, G?" asked Amethyst, "or just boring news stuff?"
"The usual," replied Garnet.
Pearl reached for her gem and pulled out her phone - Connie shot her a smile.
"Who're you calling?" she asked.
"Oh, it's just someone I met down at the post office," replied Pearl. "She likes stamps, can you believe it? Anyway, I promised I'd call her today."
She pressed her phone to her… ear? Did gems have ears? After all these years, Connie still didn't really know. She smiled as she listened to the ringing - then, quite suddenly, her face fell.
"Hmm… Connie, does this sound broken to you?" she asked.
She handed over the phone, and Connie pressed it to her ear.
"̙͕̬̩͇̳̩Y͚͍o҉̻̣̙͙t̺̠̩̹͖͔̕ ̡i͜n̕n͢ ̤̪̱̞̺̳á͚̘̲̪̫ ͕̫͓̫Y̲͇̜on̗ ̶͕͙̞ͅͅa҉̮̯̪̺͚̮̥r͕͓̟̫͢a̞n̼͓ ͎̰̺̟Y̜o̷̘̲̭̘͚͉̲nd̷͎̳̝̲̠ͅ ̢̪͙̘̲̪̥̺s̳̜͞i̱͉̟̘͖̠̰m̴͇̣̮̻̺̳u̘̝l͇̘͇͈̖ͅa̦̝ ̫͖͇̩͍̞c̲̫a҉̪̯̘t̞͕̠̠i͇̣̲̩̙͉̲o͏̰̪̥̙̮͎n͇͕͍̣d͇̹̘̬ ̠̭̳a͔n̞̭͙̻ͅn̫̟̘̟͕̻ Y҉̱̞͎̠͙o̕ṳ̰̰̳ ̙i̞̜̙̭̙͢m̨̤̪u͓l̢̗a̯̲̦ǹ̮͇͕̰̤ͅno̶̗̫̬̣͈ͅṵ ̭͔̹̰̳t̕r̛̝̹̥͈͓̹ąr̹̰a҉͎͈̼ ͚ͅa̫̫̦͔̤p̨̯͖̞p̤̳̻̱ͅe̥̜͉̦d̯ ̧̼̰͖̼̟̟͔e̠͉̺͘.̴ͅ ̮̤̳̖A̶͎̠̗n͔̝̗̝͚d̬ ͔a̺̲͟p̵e̩̰͍͖d̢̖ ̭̠̩ća ̧̺a̷͕̪pe̯͝d̮̖̳ ̲c͕̙̻̟̘̻͜a̬̭͇̪̪r̭̹̘̬̗͝e̯̯͉̫̼ͅ ̷̪͍Y̦͍o͙n̫̠͘d̴̜̞̤̪ ҉͓̥̙̭̺̤t̢r̴͎͖̗͎̹̭̲a̰͍̖ͅͅp̦̱̠̹͉e̤d͕̼̦̦ ̟̮̦̀i̵̳̤̩m̹̰̦̖͞u̝̬̤̬̱̫ ͚̰̩̠e̮̭̲͚͈͇͉.̯̯̻̻̰ ̭͖̼͕̩A̠̣̯͞n͙̳̣̫͉̲ ̷͙͚̼̮c̨̥̲̥̱̫͕a̠̫̗̮̪̟r̮̳̙es̥̬̰̻̮c͖̱͎̣̤̺͞ͅa̭̲͇̫̭̖̩͠r̶͚͓̫̗̖͖̻e̫̘̳̳s̨͓̺͈͇̣͙i̫̙͍̼̥͙m̛̟̼͈̲̲͖̙ų̭̜̝la҉̭̙̟͔̤̠̗p̟̱͖̤ͅp̵̭̭͓͎͓͇̫p̴̗͔̰̞̖ȩ̩̩ ̛̙a͓͞ppṕ̳e̮̺̕ͅ…̥͈"̫͚̮̳͖
"Geez!" Connie pulled the phone away from her ear. "What the heck is tha—"
She pressed her phone to her… ear? Did gems have ears? After all these years, Connie still didn't really know. She smiled as she listened to the ringing.
"Hello! Janet! It's good to talk to you!"
Connie smiled and took another bite of her pecan pie. That strange feeling of deja vu struck her again, harder this time, and the smile faded from her countenance. This was all feeling very, very peculiar.
She stood up - she needed a moment to think.
"Everything okay?" Steven asked.
"It's fine," replied Connie. "Just need to freshen up."
She strode into the bathroom before he could say anymore.
Connie shut the door behind her, walking over to the sink and staring into her own reflection. What was with her today? She felt a strange unease, but everything was completely fine. It was a perfectly normal summer's day, wasn't it?
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She needed something to centre herself; maybe she could shoot a quick text off to Patricia, see what she was up to. Just to calm down.
Hey, what're you up to?
There was a brief pause, and then the reply came.
Her eyes widened and she dropped the phone. Those weren't words! They weren't letters! The symbols on the screen were so much the opposite of words and letters that they hurt her eyes; yet part of her brain screamed that they were words, and she should be able to read them, and—
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She needed something to centre herself; maybe she could shoot a quick text off to Patricia, see what she was up to. Just to calm down.
Hey, what're you up to?
She waited and waited, but there was no reply. She must be busy, Connie thought, swallowing another flash of deja vu. In any case, she'd better get back to that cherry pie before it got cold.
She stepped out of the bathroom.
"Are you okay?" Steven asked as she sat herself back down and picked up her plate.
"Yeah," she replied.
She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Actually, no," she corrected herself. "I'm feeling really uneasy and I don't know why. It's like… I don't know, everything just feels a bit off."
Steven nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah, y'know, I've been feelin' a bit like that too," said Amethyst. "Like, something's gonna happen or it has happened or…"
She shrugged.
"I dunno, maybe I'm paranoid."
"Hmm…" Pearl scratched her chin. "Yes, I've felt like that too. Maybe we should call Greg and make sure he's alright."
"Hey, Pearl," asked Lapis, "Weren't you on the phone to Janet?"
Pearl pursed her lips.
"I was… when did I stop tal—"
"Hmm…" Pearl scratched her chin. "Yes, I've felt like that too. Maybe we should call Greg and make sure he's alright."
"Hey, Pearl," asked Lapis, "Weren't you meant to call Janet?"
"It can wait, Lapis," replied Pearl. "Steven, do you have your phone?"
"Of course." Steven pulled the phone from his jacket. He selected Greg from his contacts, and put the phone on speaker, laying it down on the coffee table.
Connie took a nervous bite of the rhubarb pie as she waited for Steven's father to pick up.
"Greg Universe."
"Hey dad, it's Steven, I was just wondering if you-"
"Steven? Steven! Is that really you?!"
Steven shot Connie a concerned look.
"Y-yeah… dad, you left, like, half-an-hour ago."
"Steven, I haven't been back in Beach City for thirty years! Not since they came! Where are you?"
"Thirty years?" Steven exclaimed. "Dad, what—"
Connie took a nervous bite of the strawberry pie as she waited for Steven's father to pick up.
Ring ring! Ring ring! Ring ring!
"Hi, you've reached Greg Universe. I'm not here right now, leave a message!"
Steven shook his head.
"He must've left his phone in the van again," he said.
"Wait!" Peridot threw her hand up. "I felt that! The day-ja voo!"
"Me too," said Steven.
He looked down at his hands.
"Why are my palms sweaty?" he asked, his voice shaking.
Garnet stood up, tossing her newspaper to the side - it landed next to Connie.
"Something is wrong, gems," she said firmly. "We need to-"
"Garnet, the newspaper!"
Connie pointed to the front page of the newspaper with a trembling hand - specifically at the headline.
NAROA URGH, CAS A ARG LM LM CACASIGHIGEAPRGH
"What… what the heck is that?" demanded Steven.
Connie swallowed.
"It-it must be a dream," she replied. "You can't read things in dreams. This must be an ill—"
Garnet stood up, tossing her newspaper to the side - it landed on the floor, face down.
Something is wrong, gems," she said firmly. "We need to find out what."
Connie put down her plate of mud pie as Garnet began to march to the temple door. She swiftly followed, as did the other gems, until the fusion stopped on the warp pad.
"We need to go to Little Homeworld," she said. "Rally the gems there. Steven, Connie, you'll go into town and make sure everybody is okay."
"Yes, Garnet!" said Connie. She and Steven stepped off the warp pad, and with a flash of blue light, the gems were gone.
Connie was just turning to walk to the door when the warp pad flashed again. She swung back around in time to see a wide-eyed Lapis fall to her knees, trembling and clutching her head.
"Lapis?" quizzed Steven.
"There's nothing!" Lapis screeched. "Nothing! Not even blackness! It's all been erased - it erased the others too! They're all gone! IT'S ALL GONE!"
She began to laugh, wildly and hysterically as tears ran down her cheeks, and Connie felt her stomach drop in hor—
"We need to go to Little Homeworld," she said. "Rally the gems there. Steven, Connie, you'll go into town and make sure everybody is okay."
"Yes, Garnet!" said Connie. She and Steven stepped off the warp pad; yet nothing happened. The gems stood somewhat awkwardly on the warp pad, waiting for something to happen.
"Uh…" Peridot blinked. "This is weird."
"Whatever's happening must've knocked out the warp," grunted Bismuth.
"Looks like we're hoofing it, gang," sighed Amethyst.
"To the door!" Garnet pointed at the door, and the gems ran across the house. Steven and Connie made it there first, and without hesitation Connie swung it open.
The glass door, and the world beyond, swung aside, revealing nothing outside but pure, unfathomable nothing.
Connie stared - she didn't know how long. She heard someone scream, and someone else start to laugh. There was muttering, unmistakably Amethyst; "this can't be happening this can't be happening." For her part, she could neither speak nor move; only stare in frozen disbelief.
The world was gone.
The world couldn't be gone. But it was gone.
She turned her head. Steven had fallen to his knees, hands over his face - a dark part of her mind wondered if he was hiding tears or clawing at his eyes. He was glowing bright pink.
Behind them, Amethyst had curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth. Peridot was clutching and tugging at her hair, speaking gibberish, while next to her Lapis and Pearl were wracked with joyless, terrified laughter. Bismuth was tugging at her gem, desperately trying to pull it free so that she might poof, while Garnet had come unfused and Ruby and Sapphire were frantically wrestling each other - for what reason, Connie could not divine.
The mind wasn't meant to comprehend nothing, she thought. Darkness, yes. Blackness, yes. But this - this wasn't darkness, or a white void, or anything like that. It was simply nonexistence. It was looking at the absence of things, at the universe before it began. It was literally absolutely nothing.
Connie frowned. Perhaps her numb lack of terror was her own sign of madness.
Darn it, all she'd wanted was some [INVALID PATHWAY] pi—
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.ssendam fo ngis nwo reh saw rorret fo kcal bmun reh spahreP .denworf einnoC…
…dneirfyob reH .rood eht ta nevetS tem ehs sa ecaf reh no nirg ediw a ,esuoh hcaeb eht otni dellorts narawsehaM einnoC
.ytiC hcaeB ni yad s'remmus lufituaeb a saw tI
It was a beautiful summer's day in Beach City.
Connie Maheswaran strolled into the beach house, a wide grin on her face as she met Steven at the door. His boyfriend pecked her on the cheek and she turned red; from the couch, Amethyst grinned and waved…
The tech support intern adjusted his collar and mopped his brow.
"Look, look, the main thing is we caught it, sir," he said. "They didn't break the simulation!"
"They contacted an outsider," his supervisor replied evenly. "Even a single security breach could be catastrophic. Take him away."
"Wait! Wait, I…"
The intern could say no more - two black-clad armed men were already dragging him out of the server room, leaving the supervisor alone.
The supervisor grimaced, turning to the wall of drives. They looked like solid-state drives, but the supervisor knew they were far, far more. He was looking at the most state-of-the-art security system the world had ever known.
He ran his hand over the label of one of the drives - Crystal Gems et al.
"I told them they should've just junked these drives," he muttered. "But no, they have to be saved for a rainy day. Pah!"
He turned and walked away, shutting the door behind him and leaving the server room in darkness.