Disclaimer: yadda yadda doesn't own steven yadda yadda.
We... are the Crystal Gems!
We'll always save the day!
And if you think we can't,
We'll always find a way!
That's why the people of this world believe in
Garnet, Amethyst, Rose, and Pearl.
Episode 8: Birthday Wishes
The sound of my alarm clock jolted me awake. I attempted to reach out to turn the thing off, but something was holding me down.
I groaned to myself, feeling the weight on my chest, and attempted to blink the sleep from my eyes.
Bright Pink greeted me as I yawned out, "Lion… Get off me."
The giant feline shuffled around before I heard his much larger yawn and the cracking sound of my alarm clock.
Great. More things are broken. I finally stopped hearing about the front door too.
I pushed against Lion only to feel like I was being sucked into his cotton candy mane. I tried to dig myself out from within the rolling cloud of cotton candy, and I swear the afterlife was flashing before my eyes. It was full of clouds and... Pink. So much pink and off in the distance, a single tree and without oxygen, I fell back to press against my mattress and beat against the lion's body so he would let me breathe. I just was not ready to die yet.
I eventually dragged myself out from under the large cat and shuffled my way to the bathroom.
When I finally made my way downstairs, I could see Lapis on the couch watching T.V. and heard the hum of the Campers singing by the campfire. Lapis was humming along and swaying side to side on the sofa.
I noticed the distinct lack of food on the table and looked around to complain to the caregiver of the household only to discover. He was missing.
"Where's Dad?"
Lapis waved her hand, not having turned towards me from the T.V. "Oh, he went out. Something about getting something... a cake! For a birthday. Whatever that is."
I looked at her in confusion, having no idea whose birthday it was. I mentally tried to process who we knew would have a birthday this month. Actually, what month was it? The last misadventure had my phone destroyed, and Dad would not get me a new one for a little while. The final assignment I had to turn in was from when I just started the online classes, the teachers I had just giving out their syllabus and expecting it all to be turned in by the final exam date. Most of my work I finished already, so now there is just a countdown till I spend the year out.
"So what is this….Birth...day?" she asked, turning to look over at me. I could see her furrowed brows against the reflective surface that was her eyes. She crossed her legs and faced her body towards me, ignoring the Campers on their rerun morning adventure.
"It's a celebration for the day you were born, Lapis. Do Gems have that?" I asked as I took the remote and muted the T.V. so I could hear myself think. "It's the day you come into existence." I tried to explain in a way she would understand.
"I am not sure if the more important Gems celebrate their… Existence day, but we know well enough to log our Facets and Cuts. It is our identification. The Facet logs the Kindergarten and section we come out of while the Cut explains which hole what time and even how perfect we are. The higher our quality, the better our abilities, and it grants us the permission to work on more important projects."
"Well, Organics...humans, that is, celebrate the day we come into existence and mark our solar rotation with gifts and a party." Why do we do that again?
"Well, that doesn't make any sense. Why would you celebrate solar rotations? You must have a party every time you blink. Sounds wasteful. Aren't celebrations for great accomplishments outside of the scope of your operation?"
"We celebrate successes as well, but a birthday is a celebration for… others to celebrate yourself?"
"Seems a bit... what's the word I heard on Camp Pining Hearts?…. Narcissistic. A con to have someone give you things for no reason." Lapis stated her thoughts simply.
"Well, when you put it like that…" Really makes the idea of celebrating anything kind of depressing. I would have liked to celebrate with her. Maybe she just needs to experience it?
"Now, let's assume it was your Existence day, and I would get you a gift... What is something you would like?" Lapis looked embarrassed as she started to mess with her hair. It was a very human gesture, and it still looked a little strange on her; she must have seen it on PTV.
I need to remind myself she was a gem with Alexithymia attempting to mimic what she has seen to look more… normal.
Why does it have to be so hard with gems to see if they are genuine or not?
Whatever. I tried to think about what would be something I would really want. The only thing I could possibly want is something I could use and preferably would not lose in the process. Indestructible clothing, maybe.
"Anything useful?" I asked, looking at her curiously.
"Useful?" She looked at me in confusion and maybe a concern.
"You know. Gem Tech that will keep me alive?" I said as I sat next to her unmuting the Camp Pining Hearts.
Lapis' reflective eyes stared back at me for a few moments before she turned back towards the show, a soft "Maybe." Being all that I heard from her.
I let the conversation die as the sound of Camp Pining Hearts T.V. echoed in the household.
We sat there for about 2 hours before hearing the keys in the door, and my Dad came in singing. "It's your birthday, and we want you to have fun! It's your birthday so let's party, everyone!"
"Oh god…" I facepalmed as my Dad came around the corner wearing a party hat and holding a cake with a big smile on his face."
"What's wrong, Steven?" Oh, Lapis so innocent.
"It was my birthday. I had forgotten." I said right as my Dad started cheering and brought over a cake, "Happy Birthday, Stewball! Make a wish!" In my Dad's hands was a sheet cake with corny multicolored balloons with confetti sprinkles and a single candle lit in the center With 'Happy Birthday Stephen on it.'
"The Lady at the shop spelled your name wrong, but at least it's cake, and I'm sure it tastes delicious." My Dad said, catching my slight displeasure.
"It's alright," I said softly as I tried to think of a decent wish- or at least I did before I caught myself staring at myself in Lapis' mirror-like eyes.
"What is this ritual?" she asked, having leaned over the cake, PTV continuing to play in the background.
"Well, tradition states that the birthday boy has to blow out a candle and make a wish for what they want in the coming year," Greg said with a grin.
"Some people wish for things or events to happen. And you are supposed to push all your energy into a wish in the hopes the Universe will let the wish come true." I replied as I thought about something I would like to happen.
My gem to not be cracked… Passing my online classes... Being able to control my powers... A girlfriend that won't run away at my Pinkness?
Lapis interrupted my thoughts for a moment, "The Universe grants wishes?" "No, no, not me." I couldn't help laughing as Lapis crossed her arms while tilting her head at Dad while he chuckled at the question, shaking his hands in denial.
I cleared my throat to get their attention before taking a deep breath; I leaned forward and- a blue hand reached out and plucked the lit candle off my cake.
"What-"
"No, you can't wish on this thing! It is a false relic! I will get you a real wish device. Mr. Greg, you must come with me!" I barely had the time to look up at Lapis before she dragged my Dad from the house, and I was left alone.
The click of the door brought me back from the situation that just happened, "Well… I guess I'll do my Homework." I shrugged and put my cake in the fridge. I grabbed a few bags of chips and a soda to tide me over and walked to my room, PTV softly playing in the background.
Hours passed by, I had found myself lying down on my bed, mindlessly refreshing my email for updates on various fanfictions I followed when a loud crash had me rolling out of bed.
Rushing down the staircase, I saw the front door had been kicked in. The doorframe once again cracked around the lock and the door itself with spiderweb-like cracks on the wood.
I looked towards the living/dining room to be greeted by Lapis's smiling face. She proudly presented a box wrapped poorly in Valentines' day wrapping towards me. I gingerly lifted the box out of her hands with a small thank you. I spotted over her shoulder my Dad looking worse for wear.
He was covered head to toe in patches of sand, torn clothes, and soaking wet… and currently grimacing at the front door but keeping a forced smile on his face despite it all.
"Steven. I'm not cut out for gem things. I'm not as young as I used to be… Let's just cut the cake early so I can sleep."
He sounded exhausted, so I hurried to the fridge and deposited the cake on the table. Once again, we sat around it, Dad singing me Happy Birthday and Lapis' confused face causing me to chuckle to myself.
At the end of the song, Dad cut the cake and handed each of us our own slices, Lapis continuing to be confused for a moment but deciding to keep whatever question she had to herself.
I just looked over to the messy Valentines' box and pointed at it with my fork, "So… I have to ask… what's in the box?"
Dad shuddered, and before he replied, Lapis' hand covered his nose and mouth, "I'm told it's the surprise of the gift that helps make it better, and wrapping it up while wasteful of resources extends that surprise period! I can tell you it was almost impossible to find; the Peridots really wanted to keep it hidden. Causing a flood just for stepping into- Anyway-" Dad started patting her hand, struggling to breathe. Lapis lowered her hand to the table, Dad coughing lightly, "Anyway, it was hard to get, which also makes it a good gift!"
Whatever it was, Lapis was proud of it, and Dad gave a thumbs-up despite his coughing fit.
I grabbed the box, and with a quick rip torn off the wrapping, inside the box, there sat an hourglass suspended in an orb, "Um, what is this?" Obviously, it's gem-related, well, maybe not obviously, but Lapis got it, so I'm pretty sure it is.
"It's the Seeing-Wishing Glass. I remembered that some Peridots were working on it way back in the day, apparently with it, you can wish to see whatever you want, and it shows you." I blinked at the hourglass orb and held it up so we could all see it, "So… how do I use it then?" "You just wish to see something, and it will let you see it. Like," Lapis cleared her throat, emphasizing her wish with a deep voice and rabbit ear fingers, "I wish to see the first gem colony or something." She waved her hand, "Apparently, you have to really focus on what you want to see, though, or it doesn't work. You can't be vague either, and always say when I'm not around afterward… apparently, that's mandatory to prevent problems." Lapis finished with a shrug.
I hummed in thought, "And it works for… anything?" She nodded to me, "Well, alright then. Let's test it. I wish to see my next best friend. When I'm not around." The hourglass started to shake in my hands, and Greg and Lapis backed up from the table. I tried to let go of it, fearing it would explode then-
I was yanked somewhere. The floor was above me, and I felt myself crash into a barrel. A groan escaped me as I gazed around, my vision blurry and disoriented. When I attempted to stand, I fell over. "Steven! What are you doing here?"
A shrill voice commented from behind me as I tried to gather my thoughts. Looking around, I noticed I was in a… Barn? There was random junk in piles tied with strings and- oh. It's a poor man's attempt at 'art.' "Steven- Are your language receptors broken?"
I looked over to whoever was making that nasal tone and instantly started to scream. It's that Eye ship Pilot! She instantly started screaming in response.
I pointed at her, screaming. She pointed back, screaming.
I stopped. Wait. Wasn't the pilot taller? Oh. This is a different gem. I calmed down, and the short green gem stopped screaming, then asked, "Why were we screaming?"
I laughed in response, "Oh no reason, I just mistook you for someone else. So yeah…" This is awkward. The silence stretched while she stared at me.
When Lapis said the hourglass would show me whatever I wanted, I didn't think it would take me there. I was expecting some sort of… Screen?
While the little green gem stared at me, my phone started buzzing rapidly; I slowly pulled it out and then looked at it.
99+ missed messages. 99+ missed calls. Oh.
It's six months from my birthday.
Time travel. I looked back up to the gym, who hasn't moved an inch but was starting at my hand- Oh, the hourglass.
I coughed, "Not sure if I told you or not, but I got this from Lapis." I waved the hourglass in her direction, the orb refusing to leave my hand. "I haven't met you yet, but you're my next best friend… apparently… congratulations, I'm sure." I trailed off as the poor thing started… glowing? Blushing? I don't know. It's adorable, though.
The gem coughed in her hand, brushing off imaginary dust and attempting to stand dignified in her short stature. "Right, yes. Of course. Right. So- Greetings The Steven! I am Peridot, Chief Technician of the Crystal Clods- Uh, you named them by the way- and no, you did not inform me to expect a visit from your… Pre- um… Pre…"
She's like a confused little slice of pie~
"Pre-?" "Right! Pre-invasion self!" "Invasion!?" What?!
"Oh yes, the Homeworld invasion. Well, I suppose that's a bit of a stretch; we didn't really attack your earth in mass; it was really only localized to your small metropolis an-" She slowly devolved into a mumble fest while I shifted my attention back towards the hourglass in my hand.
If this is a time travel device, what are the limits on this thing? Could I change something in the past?
"Hey- Peridot." I interrupted the green Dorito, "Ah- Yes, the Steven?" "What are the limits of this hourglass? Like… Can I change the past?"
Peridot hummed to herself, thinking before rushing over to a pile of junk- art; I corrected myself. She pulled out a green tube and shoved her hand in it. Pieces of green chalk flew out and formed some sort of glowing screen that showed gem language.
"Not sure why you would want to do that. BUT Let's see… Now, I wasn't part of the project myself, I was formed much later, but it says here that Blue diamond started the project shortly after Pink Diamond was shattered. The goal of the project was to change what happened that day, but the peridots were unsuccessful for some time before there was a breakthrough and a single hourglass was able to send a Peridot a single cycle into the past, who then helped herself test the limits of the working hourglass." Peridot flicked the screen revealing Peridots with various hairstyles saluting and the hourglass in front of them hovering off the ground.
"Testing began and attempts to alter the past only resulted in the events leading up to the incidents happening, so the working theory was that the hourglass works on a fixed timeline and changing the past is impossible. Attempts to travel before the hourglass's creation were also impossible. The Peridot's described the sensation of attempting to do so as 'running into a wall Gem first.' Yellow Diamond quickly shut the project down when the reports came to her. The prototypes were stored into a secure location and trapped so that the crystal gems were unable to get their hands on the technology."
The green gem shrugged off the gauntlet causing the tiny green screen… chalk things to fall to the ground unmoving.
"Does that help?" aww she sounded so hopeful, "Yes, that was very helpful, Peridot. So if I wish to see the homeworld invasion-" "WAI-!"
Tugging pulled from my hand as white enveloped me.
I slammed into the ground.
Again.
Smoke and dust were the first things I registered as I got my bearings. I heard screams and shouts nearby, along with metal clanging against one another. As I looked around the hills and valleys of where I found myself, I felt the ground began to tremble.
Or am I trembling?
I was watching an all-out war. Hundreds if not thousands of multicolored Gems swinging fists or clashing blades. Poofs of forms or cracks of jewels.
The sky darkened for a moment as a large golden hand descended into view. The fighting nearby seemed to stop as the ship landed in what looked to be the center of the battlefield.
The truly terrifying part was how utterly silent the world had become.
The Golden hand was joined by several much smaller disk-like ships as they touched down to the ground. The Giant figure of Yellow Diamond emerged from the hand. Seeming to just walk through what had to be the walls of the spaceship. Her head scanned the surroundings, and with a casual wave of her hand, lightning burst from her fingertips, scaring the land, and as if it was a gunshot, the sounds of battle picked back up. Cheers from one side as the other screamed in either terror or cries of distress.
Yellow Diamond herself marched down the center of the field, turning her neck left and right, seeming to get more and more agitated as what she was looking for was not to be found.
I flinched as wherever she pointed, arcs of energy shot from her form into the battlefield. Many gems of either side giving the Diamond herself a wide berth or flat out attempting to run away from her path.
After a few moments of searching, Yellow raised her hand to the sky, and in a frankly terrifying display of power, large bolts of lightning exploded out from her before raining down all around, striking large groups of gems on both sides.
The fighting stopped as both the invaders and defenders of earth cowered before the might of the Diamond. She scanned the battlefield once more, stalking towards the still cowering groups, the sound of glass-Gems-cracking, shattering, faintly heard over the embers and her earth-shaking steps.
"Where. Is she. Where is Rose Quartz?" Her demand reaching my ears from what had to be at least a mile away.
I heard the faint sound of… shapeshifting behind me, and I turned around to see a large ball of light.
The ball continued to expand in size before it grew limbs… eight arms.
Within moments a figure as large as Yellow Diamond herself stood towering over me, eight arms, the name Obsidian came to mind.
The massive f̷̭̠̩̓u̴̝̥͓̿̌s̷̛̪̣͝i̵̺̥̊o̵͎̩͐n̶̛̘̮̄͑Gem stood up from her hunched form, revealing her glowing orange eyes, charcoal gray skin, and what appeared to be curly charcoal-black hair that reached its knees. What appeared to be bright orange war paint formed channels of energy all over the figure's form.
I took in the monster's form, noting the black Quartz surrounded by glittering pink shards on its stomach, the black Sapphires on one pair of limbs, and the prominent Pearl on the second face or "mask."
Obsidian. The Gem that the temple was modeled after.
Without a word, the arms of the creature shot out and formed a sword, a pair of gauntlets, and a large blue spear. All weapons of the Crystal Gems. Before seeming to combine them all into what looked to be the hilt of a greatsword. One arm shook again forming a large circular Pink Shield.
"What's this? Rose Quartz hiding in this disgusting display?" Yellow's voice boomed out from behind me, grabbing my attention from the Obsidian golem before me. Yellow had turned around, having noticed the fusion before it formed, and took a readied stance, her electric power seeming to radiate around her form, her eyes scaring me with the amount of rage contained. In a flash of light, a towering Yellow claymore appeared in her hand.
"Come then. Blue will forgive me for shattering you without her."
Obsidian was letting off a host of steam as she opened her mouth. I felt wave after wave of heat as lava started to pour out of her face, which she shoved the hilt of the sword into, pulling out the red hot stone of a greatsword.
My world went dark for a moment as Obsidian rushed past-over me. The large black greatsword held in six arms, four left-two right, and her large pink circular shield in her remaining two right arms.
I saw gem after gem rush away no matter the side. If a gem fell, someone grabbed their arm to drag them away. Both sides were in full fear of the giants that started to rush each other. Their massive forms did not discriminate who was crushed below their feet. Weapons clashed between the two and poor Gems that were in the vicinity.
Obsidian was more feral as she jumped from place to place using her extra limbs to her advantage, tossing stone and ore towards her opponent. Yellow was calculated as she dodged and parried like a well-trained warrior. The two looked evenly matched. The yellow woman screamed and cried as she battled the amalgamation of Gems.
"So this is the statue they made their home..." I thought as I watched. I almost wished Yellow would win, but I knew Obsidian would never let her Win. I existed, so Rose had to live through this.
Obsidian got more and more erratic with her attacks, and then the unthinkable happened. Yellow tripped backward and fell.
Ṋ̴̯͋O̶̧̠̦͌̈
I watched feeling horror as Obsidian took advantage of Yellow's prone form and mounted atop her pinning her to the ground.
Ḑ̶̀i̷̘̾a̸̰͑m̸̘̀ŏ̸͎n̷͑ͅd̶̠͘s̷̮͒ ̷̮̑à̵̬r̷͍̄e̵̤̽ ̶̣͘s̵̭̈́o̶̧̊ ̷͙̓s̴̺̉t̴̗͐r̵̖̍ȍ̶̻n̶̤͂g̵̯̀ ̶͕͝w̸͐ͅe̸̛̮ ̴̤͛s̵͙̏h̷̭̓ọ̴̄ú̶̬l̴̠̇d̴̳̒n̵̞̑'̴͔̆ṯ̶͌ ̷̦̚f̸͍̓ã̵̜l̵̙̅ľ̶͉.
A sword was lifted, and Obsidian looked like she would stab Yellow through the stone. I̶̮̽ ̴͚͑c̴̘̈a̵̰͆n̸̘͆'̷̟̑ẗ̷̗ ̵͕͛l̴͇̂e̸̙̓t̶̳̃ ̴̞̐ẗ̸̤́ḣ̶̻i̷̖̇s̸͉͝ ̶̙̈h̸̻̕a̷̟͘p̷̝͘p̸̪̿ě̵̢n̷͚̑!̶̳̌
As the sword descended, I flinched and heard what sounded like glass shattering in the back of my mind.
A pink shield had encased Yellow, the pink interlocking fractals bouncing the sword up and back before fading away.
"Pink?" Obsidian's shield seemed to have disappeared and she was unable to defend herself when the Yellow Handship swooped in and smacked her away. The handship scooped Yellow up before bursting off into the air.
I felt as if a weight was off my shoulders as I followed the handship up into the sky till it was a small dot next to a blue and white star.
As Obsidian slowly stood up scanning around I heard the sound of retreats fill the air, followed by cheers.
Despite this there was tension in the air and the sound of humming as the stars became brighter. It took me seconds before I realized what was happening. They weren't stars; they were Diamonds… and they were going to scorch the earth. Obsidian off in the distance had stood back up fully, seeming to react to something only she knew. Raising their shield to protect herself, and I looked up to see a bright flash of light.
Why do I hear m̷̭̎u̸̗̓s̸͖͝ḯ̷̪c̵̯͆?
Screams of pain echoed around me, and I felt something wrong coming; I had to get out of here, I had to go somewhere nice- "I wish I was at a wedding!" I blurted out.
Why is it always a flash of white?
And why did I say a wedding? I know those are nice bu-
I felt the yank behind my naval as I was pulled through space and thrown behind an altar.
"Whoa, hey man, you alright?" I felt a hand clap me on the shoulder, "Hey people, it's alright, nothing to worry about!" the voice called out before leading me to another room. I looked at the figure in confusion. It was...Lars...and he was… Pink. Like very Pink.
"Dude, your Pink." That's my thing.
"Yea… Maybe the Pink tie was a little much, but it was Pad's idea."
"That's not really what I- okay."
"Anyway, Steven, you said you were going to make a weird entrance, but I did not think this was the kind of entrance you planned on making. Why the hell do you like it like you are still in Highschool?"
"Um, probably because I am. Got this bit of Gem tech and well." I held up my hand to show Lars the hourglass orb.
"Oh god, this is time travel for you. Nope, tell me no more I don't want to know."
"Wait, you know about-" Lars interrupted me, "Okay, so this must be the first time you are playing with this, okay. Looks like I get to be the wise Sage for once. Look, Steven, the less I know then better, as you yourself tell me later on in your life. The future is still a little fluid, and the past well… that's set in stone because you were always there. You can't change it."
"But Lars, so much has happened- is going to hap-" I started excited with anxiety only to have Lars cover my mouth.
"Steven, stop. Even if you can change anything, Don't do it."
I brushed his hand off my face, "Lars, I just saw what had to be the first Homeworld invasion. I'm now in the future, and you can tell me what happens so I can at least be prepared for something like that-. What's the point of time travel if I can't do anything." I know Peridot said I can't change anything, but maybe I can at least-
"Our life...this world, everything turns out alright in the end. If you go back to change an event as big as death, you would still be unable to fix it. You will just add to your torture by being a witness to it. Remember Steven, you were already there." Lars kneeled a bit to look me in the eyes. When did he get so tall?
"So the less I know-" "The better. But hey, I can tell you one thing."
"What's that?"
"You are crashing my wedding. 'Current' you are my Best Man. So you best be off before you create a paradox by crashing into yourself or something."
How could I argue with this more mature Lars? He stood up tall and then stepped out from around the altar, and I could see him talking to a few gems as he made his way back to the altar. I watched for a few moments to see if I would be able to catch sight of myself or some familiar Gems, but then the music started, and everyone stood… Well, not everyone-on wait, now she's standing. They all seemed to turn to the door, but from my position I couldn't see anything.
"I wish I could meet my older self." I said out loud only to freeze. "o̵̜̒h̶̞̅ ̴̖̋d̶̮́ą̸̛m̷̡̕ǹ̸͔ḯ̵̺ț̵̉-"
The hourglass pulled me through space again, and suddenly I found myself barreling down a hill. I bubbled myself to protect myself from a serious injury, only for my bubble to be stopped by a hand holding it still in place.
On the other side of the orb, I saw a tall, muscular… Me. And I was pink and rocking a pompadour.
Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about that. He looked me up and down before poking the bubble; the pressure on my mind holding it caused me to grip my head, and the bubble disappeared.
"Past me… Huh, I forgot this happened." Older me looked at me, and I was... unsure what he was thinking about… He seemed so… Emotionless. One of his hands was shaking in a tight fist, so whatever was going through his mind wasn't good. He lifted his hand a bit, and I flinched. Though he just backed away from me and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Don't worry, little me, I'm not going to hit you. I probably look pretty scary right about now, though."
"Honestly, you just look a lot cooler. Thought you might wanna cut the pompadour." Seriously what was going through my head that that hairstyle of all hairstyles was a good look?
"Haha, yeah~." He flicked the hair with the back of his hand, "Birdy would freak out if she saw me with this do… Anyway- What are you doing here?"
I scratch the back of my head, "Well… It was my birthday? Lapis brought me this, and I've just been ping-ponging around the timestream."
And now I'm laughing at myself. "Like you could do-... I mean." He is me, so I guess he didn't...
Okay, let it all out me.
"Look- I wanted to see my future self, and I have. How about you just tell me some words of wisdom or something and then how to get back home."
My older self continued to chuckle, but eventually, he calmed down, his pink fading away during his laugh, "Look. I'm sorry, but you came at probably the worst time for me to be giving out advice." He gestured around to the destroyed landscape, I only just now noticing the large crater nearby and overturned trees. "But fine, here are some words of wisdom…" Suddenly he was holding me up by my shirt. "One: That voice you can faintly hear over the sounds of cracking glass? That's not normal, but don't tell a gem about it. She'll know. And Two: you can't run from yourself. Your Human, but your also a gem."
He drops me like a sack of potatoes and laughs to himself, "I don't know why I'm telling you advice when you are just going to forget… Really just go home, Steven. Wish to see your family when they are all together."
"Are… are you okay?" I mean, I look like crud right now. He furrowed his brow for a moment before he started gathering things around him and set them in front of us. "No. I haven't been okay for a long time… You know what support is, right?"
"I'm not an… Yes, of course, I know what support is."
"That's good. So Organics and Gems both need support. In different ways." He showed sticks and rocks. Holding up a stick "Organics or humans in our case. They get support from their communities, families, friends, work. We branch out and build roots that hold us steady together, eventually procreating and make more." He signaled to the various trees and branches. He shoved the stick in his mouth and then spit it out into the ground. In seconds it grew to sprout leaves and branches.
"That's cool… when do I do that?"
"You will learn how to do that really soon. Something to look forward to, I guess." He then held up the rock, "Now your other side, your Gem half. Gems get support from their purpose, their job. Take the Crystal gems, for instance, Purple, Rose, Garnet, and Pearl; they all use each other and make a formidable team, their purpose being to serve their Diamond and protect the earth." He built a small pile with the rocks. "However, take their purpose away-" He pulled a rock out from the bottom, causing the pile to crumble to the ground.
"They fall apart?"
"Exactly. The only thing holding them up is their purpose of protecting the earth, and every failure drives them further and further down." I watched Older Me stack the pile of rocks up a bit again, shoving dirt and mud into the pile to keep it all standing, "That's where the Crystal Clods like you and me come in. Taking their rocks and propping themselves up so they can do their job and the earth can keep on spinning."
He chuckled, "They wanted to stop me from helping them when-" he stopped himself, "Look, I've told you more than just a few words of wisdom now. We have already been here before. Whatever thing you think you can change for the better, whatever place we think we can fix something, I've done it. We have been there. There is no changing anything, so don't spoil yourself by coming to the future to change or learn things… In the end, it's just going to be the same." I nodded slowly and sat down beside myself.
"I don't really understand anything that is going on you know. I just got this thing for my birthday. And the whole 'it's hopeless to change anything' I got that talk from Lars at his wedding just now."
Older me laughed, "Spoil alert, I forgot most of this conversation already, and that hasn't happened for me yet. But Lars would be correct; he usually is anyway. Something about Pad's Hindsight, I would imagine…anyway if this is your first time using this then shouldn't you go back to your party now?"
"It's not much of a party. It's just me, Lapis, and Dad." "Lapis can be quite a handful, and Dad isn't getting any younger."
"True enough." I conceded the point.
"You know what to do."
"Before I go. What exactly happened that-... Nevermind." I stopped my question seeing older me start going pink.
I apparently get anger issues in the future. Nice.
I take a breath, taking one last look around the trees, "I wish I was back with my family."
The last thing I heard before I felt myself being split in two was, "Oh- That happened, didn't it."
Something was tearing me into two different directions. Before, I felt myself being pulled back into one being.
White filled my vision, no matter how many times I blinked and rubbed my eyes. It was just- everywhere.
"Oh, what's this? You somehow managed to protect yourself, Starlight?"
I looked up… and up… and up… to see a blindly white figure.
W̸̡̄h̸̳͝i̸͙͒t̵̗̂e̶͇͆ ̵̻̒D̸̥̔i̴͍̚a̷͍͌m̶̞͗o̴̙̿ń̴̥ḑ̷̏.̶̳̓
"I wish I was back when I first used this dumb thing." I faintly heard my Dad calling out his nickname for me as I was once again yanked through time and staring at another scene of Chaos.
Lapis was using her water hands to hold Greg from running out the front door yelling at him, "How was I supposed to know Steven was powerful enough to tu- Oh Steven!" the water wings disappeared, and Greg fell to the floor, "Did you have a fun adventure?"
Oh, do I have a story for you, Lapis.
If I could begin to be
Half of what you think of me
I could do about anything
I could even learn how to Ĺ̵͈̘̌̌̊̚o̸̡͇͛̀̀͛̇̚v̷̥̪͕͙͍̤̈́̔̅̌͊̀̓̽͜͝͠è̸̢̦͉̜̗͍͉͍͚͍̬̝͙̒̇̈͂̉̃-
A/N:
Mark the Mark: lots of stuff going down in the world right now, but hopefully, this story brightens your day a little.
Why the delay? Well. Besides the world almost going to WW3, COVID, WORK, AND the typical excuses… The more and more, my sister and I brainstormed ideas and wrote the outline. The more and more we realized the lore of S.U… is not there.
The more we realized, we were coming up with things to fill in the Giant gaps left in the wake of the show ending.
The more daunting the task. The more we slowed down.
But never stopped.
And now I am somewhat confident we can get these chapters out in a more timely manner.
I thank all those who waited patiently, I know I'm not the most punctual of authors, but I hope this was at least worth the wait.
Artemis_hnr: there is too much going on in my world. We are sorry for the long delay. We have been working hard to bridge the world sensibly while also fighting with the God-awful writing that was/is Rebecca Sugar.
We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding. We will do our best to get everything out for this and our other fic.
PS: I like writing the songs. Kinda just deal with it?