"Where are we going?" she asked him excitedly, with a hint of childlike mischief lingering in her voice.
Putting the keys into the ignition of his van, he looked back up at her with the best cool guy cocky smile he could muster, "We going across the universe, baby."
Stars lit up in her eyes as she heard those words fall off his silver tongue, "Oh my, but I haven't traveled amongst the stars in millennia."
"Well then, buckle up little flower, cause tonight I'm going to take you across the galaxy to places you haven't even dreamt of." he said with an aura of confidence.
Taking his words quiet literally, a look of concern flashed across her face, "I didn't even know your van was capable of such travel. Are you sure it's safe for a human to travel into outer space?"
Not paying heed to her words, Greg pressed his gas pedal to the floor and let the sands of beach city bite the dust behind his tail lights, "Let's go, baby!"
Seeing the excitement on his face and hearing it in his voice, her thoughts were immediately put to rest as she let out a burst of roaring laughter and cheers in the air as she stuck her head out of the window.
Now feeling the wind in her face, she let her thick, soft and long blush curls blow dry from the dip they took in the beach waters while appreciating the sensation of the dissipating twilight sun across her porcelain skin. Taking it all in and once again letting the brilliance of the Earth consume her whole.
A few hours passed as day turned into night, and the once buzzing atmosphere had seemingly died down. Where blurring music and laughter once filled the van, now was replaced by the soft humming of the van's engine as they hit the open road.
Yawning, Greg struggled to keep his eyes open as he traversed across the open plane fields of America. Rose's eyes now stared up at the stars through the window with her hand up against her cheek.
"You look bored." he said, now taking note of her.
"I thought we were going to space." she said now pouting
"Yeah, and I thought humanity was alone in the universe. How did you think we were going to literally travel into outer space? I mean, I'm no expert, but I'm sure this old van here isn't NASA certified for interstellar travel." he said laughingly
Rose simply just folded her arms and continued to pout. Now facing away from him.
"Here, look." he said, now pulling over to the side and driving off-road on the bare gravel. "You wanted the stars and the lights. I'll give them to you."
Now looking up, she simply asked, "Hm? What's happening? Are we taking blasting off? Like in that comic you showed me?"
"No, more like landing." he said as he brought the van to a holt. "Look ahead, what do you see?" he said, now smiling at Rose.
Rose turned her head forward, not seeing anything special in the darkness but a dim light peering up at her. "W-What am I supposed to be looking at, exactly?" she said worryingly.
Greg now opened his door and stepped out of the van. Moving forward to the hood of his vehicle, he now turned back and extended his hand out to her, enticing her to come to him.
Following suit, Rose made her way out of the van. Now stepping towards him, the dim lights that once peered up from the darkness revealed themself to her to be the colourful, dazzling lights of the city. They were on the cliffside, and miles out in a low pan ditch before them, was the bustling luminesces that was Empire City. The loud noises of the flourishing city life drowned into the distance, seemingly changing in frequency with dancing iridescent hues that irradiated out of the city into the surrounding darkness like trail lights. Giving the magical illusion that the trail lights were humming as they faded out into the distance.
Her eyes suddenly widened, and her mouth left slightly hanging. She remained silent for a moment before asking him, "Greg, where are we? Is this really still Earth?"
"The outskirts of Empire City." he said with a pause before continuing, "I know. Its… something else. I have seen a lot of cities during my travels, but none that have come alive quite like this."
Unblinkingly, she continued to stare in awe at the overhead view of a nighttime Empire City. "It's so magnificent. How have I never seen this before?"
He looked at her with a side glance, "I know you've been around for a while, but when was the last time you truly went out and saw what the world has to offer? Beach City is nice, but there is so much more out there, so much more to explore and rediscover. The world has changed a lot since you first saw it. Earth is not the same planet you once knew."
Now more in control of her expression and still appreciating the beauty before her, she simply responded, "I see. Thank you for bringing me here, Greg. I think… no, I needed to see this."
Greg simply looked up and smiled at her, taking her hand into his own.
They spent a while resting on the hood of the van. Rose looked at the stars as the lights peeped up every now and again to surprise her. For a while, neither of them spoke. Both just enjoying and being in each other's company. There was always some emergency or someone interrupting their time together at the temple. This was a rare opportunity to get away from all that, even if only for the briefest of moments. Greg closed his eyes. He was happy, just being with her. However, he could feel a tension in the air, as if something was on her mind and gnawing at her. He wasn't sure if he should say anything. Throughout his time with Rose, he had learned she preferred to deal with her issues privately. Albeit, he did sense an effort in her trying to open up to him since their failed fusion attempt.
"Greg," she said abruptly, breaking the silence between them.
He opened his eyes and turned his head slightly towards her in response.
"Is it okay for me to love? To love you like I do?" she said in an uncharacteristically soft voice laced with doubt and concern.
"Hm? L-Love? Me?" he muttered back to her, hearing her say those words for the first time, so out of the blue caught him entirely off guard.
"I've asked myself this question for, well… who knows how long now. Can a gem ever truly love? Can I ever truly understand such an abstract concept of the human phenomena?" she paused for a moment. Her still, unblinking eyes watching the tail lights of the city blend into the stars above her. "Earth… Earth is such a beautiful place; even now, after being here for an eternity, it has evolved so much it is almost unrecognizable to my eyes. Humanity has flourished, birthing new conceptualizations that this universe has never known before. You consistently adapt and change at such an astounding pace. You are all so truly wonderful in all your victories and failures. That's a truth I have known the moment I stepped foot on this planet."
"Really? I mean, sure, we do change from decade to decade, but I'd say we humans are pretty slow. You gems have all this technology that still seems like magic to us even after so many thousands of years later."
She continued, not really giving his response any mind and lost in her own thoughts. "I can't help but wonder about the countless other lives she could have saved, an entire civilization, a race of people that didn't have to be on the brink of extinction… if she just became the person she was meant to be on that distant planet all those years ago."
Greg took a moment before saying anything. Noticing that she was more so talking to herself than to him. Still, on the hood of his van with Rose, he was leaning over to one side now and propping himself up to look at her, her eyes still staring off and losing herself in the distant stars.
Before long, he laid back down beside her, his eyes now looking into the sky as well, noting the city trail lights floating upwards in his vision as he silently took her hand into his, catching her by surprise.
"We can live our whole lives regretting the things we should and shouldn't have done. Sometimes I still think about what my life would have been like if I stayed with Marty, or hell if I never decided to hit the open road and become Mr. Universe. It's okay to wonder what could have been. But we have to accept what is and be happy with it. Take what is offered and let it be enough. Happiness is a choice. It's not always the easiest choice; sometimes, it can be the most difficult choice to make. But it is still an option, one that you have to choose. You…No, (he said, turning towards her again) we all are allowed to be happy, Rose."
She slowly turned her now shimmering gaze to him, not entirely sure how to respond, unsure if it was right for her to be so vulnerable in front of him as she was now.
"There is so much you don't know about me." she said slowly, her voice slightly breaking with each word.
"Thing's I don't need to know. I know who you are right now. That's all that matters. Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to. I don't need to know about every major war you fought or all the mistakes you've made. In fact, I'm grateful because all of it has led you to me."
Rose suddenly started cracking up, "Okay, I tried to ignore it the first time, but that was way too cheesy. Even for you, Mr. Universe."
Once again, Greg got up to his side, his face blocking out her view of the stars as he looked down at her with a broad smile, "Well, it's true. Cheesy or not. I don't need to live a thousand years to know that there's nothing in the galaxy that can compare to this right here, this moment of you and I."
"How poetic of you, Mr. Universe." she said, "Is this it? Our pursuit? Our 0lust for love?"
"This is only the beginning, baby. The Ballad of Rose and Greg that will be heard across all corners of the galaxy," he responded, now leaning in closer as he prepared to kiss her.
Her eyes widened as her face now began turning a blush hue of pink as he got closer. This wasn't their first time, but every moment with him felt anew. She now closed her eyes and relaxed. Allowing herself to embrace him as she now felt the warmth of his lips across her own. Her mind was in disarray; she couldn't shake the feeling of fireworks now literally exploding from within her shy, flushed Gem. Glowing a long-lost blush shade that she recognized from when she first emerged from the core of a dying planet alongside her two other Diamonds, Yellow and Blue.
"I've never seen this before. A-Are you okay?" he asked her in awe of her pink-tinged glow.
Tears now formed in the corner of her eyes as she looked up at him, "Oh, Mr. Universe. With you, I have never been better."
At that very moment, she looked at him with such love in her eyes that she felt as if her own Gem would crack under its weight. She wrapped her arms around him and brought him closer, hugging him as tightly as his body would allow. Throughout her entire existence, throughout the millennia that have passed since she first emerged, this moment between the two of them made all of it feel like the blink of an eye in the wake of the finite time she got to spend with him. She knew that no matter what the future had in store, the seemingly minimal time the two of them would have together would become her definitive happily ever after.
15 years ago from present day…
It has been a few days since her future vision showed his arrival on Earth. The galaxy warp was disabled, but it seemed that the Saiyans may have managed to access a backdoor channel that connected their zoo to an earth warp pad. A connection was established by the Saiyans back when they still used the planet as their main base of operations to push back against the more enormous Gem empire. Ever since she came into existence, she had slowly learned more about her own abilities. Being Garnet, not only could she see the future, but now she was gifted the ability to see multiple different futures. To see the tributaries of the rivers of time, watch how wildly and unpredictably it twisted and turned with every decision anyone made. She resulted from such an unpredictable turn, a path less traveled. His arrival seemed more apparent in her vision, believing it to be a likely event. Instead of fearing the arrival of the Saiyans, Garnet couldn't deny her excitement in seeing her once saviour again. After all, he did desire to know if she, '…will make it out okay.'
She was still new to herself and the Earth, only arriving on the planet by a sheer stroke of luck and guided by her then hazy future vision. Upon her arrival, Rose Quartz was kind to her, was struck in awe by her unique situation, and absolutely embraced her for being herself. Pearl was more apprehensive but trusted Rose's judgement above her own. As much as she found a deep love for both of them during her brief time on the planet, she made the decision to keep the Saiyan's arrival to herself. A decision she hoped she wouldn't come to regret.
For days now, she waited by the warp pad for his impending arrival, hoping that fate would allow them to meet once again. She didn't have to wait long; soon enough, the warp pad lit up in a dim blue light that expanded across the open grounds fields she was patiently sitting in, and suddenly, there he was. His image precisely as she remembered him, albeit less battered and bruised.
"Ah! Huh? It… worked? It worked. The warp worked." he said as he let out a nervous little laugh and a sigh of relief.
Suddenly his green visor lit up, indicating him to the presence of two Gems nearby. Instantly his expression changed, and he readied his battle stance, his eyes darting through his surroundings for a visual of the enemy.
"It's alright. I'm not here to hurt you. I come in peace." Garnet said as she got up and made a slow approach to Bardock with both her hands up.
His eyes quickly moved in the direction of where he could hear the voice coming from. Almost about to leap as he caught sight of her before it suddenly hit him as to whom he was looking at, "Huh? I-It's you." he said as his expression began to soften and his body now becoming less tense.
Still weary, he keeps his wits about him as he says to her, "I never thought I would see the likes of you two again. Even more so in this state."
"Hehe, yeah, me too. I would say it's good to see you again, but I'm not sure if that's what I'm feeling right now." Garnet responded
"You seem a lot more confident too. Finally found your footing, I take it. You never spoke this much before."
"A few decades of being together and finding yourself will do that to you." she said with a halfway cheeky smile.
Bardock, now more relaxed, smirked at her retort, "So, you actually made it off that planet and survived your trip to Earth? How?"
It was then, as he said it, that the realization hit. Where he was, and what he was standing on at that very moment. He looked around wide-eyed, lush grass fields, breathable atmosphere…this planet was still alive. "W-Wait? This can't be the Earth. This planet is supposed to be a barren rock after the Diamonds obliterated its surface." he said, now unable to contain his shock and amazement.
"This planet is Earth. And yes, from what I've been told, the Diamonds did blast this planet, but the Earth is tougher than they gave it credit for. It always bounces back. It would take more than that to knock it out for good." she said in a calm tone to soothe his anxiety.
"Remarkable. This planet… the original home base before the Saiyans were forced to retreat to the ship." After a brief moment to take in his surroundings and the incredible array of colour that was Earth, he continued. "Paragus was right. This planet is bursting with life! It's Habitable!... Everything about this is so surreal. This could change everything for us. We could expand, increase our numbers. This is exactly what we need to punch back against the Gem empire!" he said in an unusual tone of excitement and awe for him.
"Yeah, the Earth is something else. When I got here, I immediately understood why Rose Quartz fought for this planet. Its serene nature and beauty are unlike anything else in the known universe. As for your question, how? All I can say to that is that I searched the pools of improbably and saw life for myself here, and by a stroke of luck, I managed to find a way across the galaxy to get to this place."
Still, in disbelieve, he looked at her, thinking to himself how having the Earth back could be a turning point for the Saiyans just like how it was all those thousands of years ago.
Now approaching him, she said, "I wasn't certain if I should have told the Crystal Gems about your impending arrival, but I took a leap of faith on you to return the favour you once did for me. But please, the Saiyans cannot come back to this planet. The Earth is off-limits. It's suffered through enough; the crystal gems gave up everything to protect this place. We can't go through something like that again." she was now only a few inches away from him, her visor dematerialized as she wanted to see him without any filter. Raising her arms to attempt to remove his own green visor over his eyes, he allowed her to do so, not detecting any sense of harm in her intentions.
Looking directly into his dark eyes filled with conviction. She went on the tips of her toes, closed her eyes, and kissed him on his forward, all the while whispering, "Thank you."
As he felt her lips making contact with his skin, his vision warped, and he suddenly found himself back on the ship, the once Menagerie designed for Pink Diamond. He saw it torn to shreds, invaded by armies of Gem soldiers that outnumbered them a hundred to one. He saw himself facing off against the giant arms of Yellow and Blue Diamond. He fired off his spirit canon, a white-hot beam of energy that did nothing but scathed the sides of Yellow's ship. He saw how hopeless his struggles were all where. He saw the destruction of the Saiyan Race.
Suddenly, his vision reappeared back in the present, with the Garnet now in front of him, her soft eyes now expressing concern without her saying a word. Staring back at her, he didn't say a word. Garnet could feel how tense he had suddenly become and instinctively whispered in a soft tone with a hint of desperation in her voice, "Please, not yet, don't go."
However, despite her wishes, the dim blue light of the warp pad burst forth from the ground as he suddenly vanished from her eyes. Disappearing just as swiftly as he came. Leaving Garnet alone, confused and unsure of what she had just done.
Present Day…
"…That was the last time I saw him, all the information I can give you in regards to the Saiyan Race. I don't know what he saw when I shared my future vision with him, but whatever it was, it caused him never to return to this planet… and I guess you being left behind here must have come from that as well.
Goku, still sitting atop the washing machine, which was currently tumbling away cleaning both his own and Steven's cloths, remained silent. Now staring out between Obsidian's stone fingers across the horizon into the golden sunset.
"I am sorry, Goku. I should have never said the things I said. I panicked. I would never want to make you feel…make you feel, like a monster."
"It's okay." he simply responded, gaze still stretching out into the shimmering light of the setting sun melting into the warm blue waters of the easy ocean.
"My future vision only shows me possibilities. And there are countless possibilities, but none of them are set in stone. What I saw might-" she was cut off by the young boy who was seemingly lost in thought.
"I don't care about aliens in space. I don't care for the fact that I am one of them nor that they left me here alone. This history, all these stories… it's exciting but all meaningless. This is the life I was given; this is who I am now. Earth is home. "
Garnet smiled, thinking about how far he had come. Sure, they hadn't been particularly welcoming of him, but training with him, talking, and seeing his curiosity push him further, made her realize how much he had grown, physically and emotionally.
"Steven's coming," he said, interrupting her thoughts.
Just like clockwork, Steven appeared, emerging out of the warp pad.
"Impressive Goku," she said with a hint of surprise in her voice.
"What's impressive?" Said steven as he bought the next batch of his and Goku's washing for the machine.
"Goku here has quickly developed a knack for sensing aura. Even though the best I could do for him in that department was nothing but a short explanation."
"Oh, that's cool…" said Steven, who was still slightly confused by what was going on.
Suddenly the machine stopped. Catching Goku by surprise as he now hopped off.
"Ah, like clockwork." Steven said as he lifted open the top loader Goku was just sitting on to take out the clothes and put in a new batch.
As if in sync, Goku took the freshly washed clothes and began hanging them on the line which extended from the thumb of the 'Giant Stone Lady' to her index finger.
"You two have been up here for a while now." said Steven as he threw the washing into the machine, "Have you just been up here talking all this time?" he said, now closing the lid of the machine with a bang.
"Something like that. A little bit of talking and training. About training, I thought it's about time you joined us, Steven. You've only just begun to awaken some of your mother's powers. I think having someone like Goku here as a partner could really be good in bringing forth some of your latent abilities. Who knows, you might even discover something entirely you that Rose herself could never do." answered Garnet.
"About time! Said Steven with an exasperated sigh, "I've been waiting so long and got so bored. I think Pearl has had enough of me. She even gave me this (he now pulled a mirror out of his back pocket) to play within the meantime, so I don't distract her from her own things she needs to do."
Garnet took the Mirror from Steven's hand. "Oh, I haven't seen one of these in many years. I'm surprised pearl kept it. It seems to be broken through. "She said, noticing a crack in the mirror's back as she turned it around." has it answered any of your questions, Steven?"
"Well, no, not at first, but now we're pretty close." Steven responded innocently.
"Close? What do you mean?"
"Well, it makes all these funny noises and sounds and, believe it or not, cracks a joke or two. Mirror is pretty cool. I wish Pearl told me it was like a person!"
"A person?" she responded wearily, "Steven, the mirror is a tool only meant to follow instructions. What is it saying to you?" she said as she slowly outstretched her hand towards the object.
Steven now held the Mirror closer to his chest in a defensive pattern, "Nothing! It's saying nothing. Why? What are you going to do with it?" he asked her worryingly.
"I'm going to bubble it. If it's talking to you, that means it is dangerous and needs to be contained," she said with a now cold voice.
"Wait! It's not dangerous. It even warned me so I wouldn't get hit by a truck." as he was talking, the Mirror suddenly began to yell out in a copy of Stevens's voice. "NOOOOOOOO!"
Now looking at the Mirror and back at Garnet, he said, "It doesn't want you." Steven now began backing away slowly.
"Give me the Mirror, Steven. I'm not going to ask again." Garnet's tone was stern and harsh. Causing Steven to panic even more.
Goku watched in silence as the events unfolded. Unsure of what exactly was going on and how to proceed himself, he stayed still, waiting for a moment to intervene.
"I'm not going to ask you again, Steven. Give me the Mirror, now!" Garnet said, her voice now expressing a deep tone of anger in it
Steven, now feeling cornered, suddenly found his back hitting into one of the fingers of the Obsidian statue, which caused him to look down, noting there was no escape.
It was at that time that a thunderous boom could be heard in the sky above, catching them all off guard as the three of them looked up and saw a flaming ball in the sky, seemingly getting closer and closer to them with each passing moment.
Steven, now seeing his opportunity, pushed past Garnet and instant warped away. Garnet, now taken by surprise by Steven's reckless actions, called after him but was immediately blown back as the flying object crash-landed almost on top of her, creating a significant crack and tiny crater in the wrist of the Obsidian statue.
With Goku now by her side, making sure she is okay, they both noted a medium-size green orb-like structure that just laid still in the small size crater it created. Goku, now curious, walked over to the orb, staring at it for a moment before attempting to pick it up himself.
"Don't!" yelled out Garnet to the young boy who now looked at her. Suddenly the orb raised to the air, and out of it protruded 4 green rods. They were not physically connected to the orb itself but acted as if they were, allowing the orb to balance itself on them and walk around on all fours almost like some sort of animal.
Goku watched in amusement as the object approached the warp pad. Before he and Garnet could say or do anything, as quickly as the orb appeared, it vanished… in the bright blue light of its warp.
"I didn't know other things could warp!" commented Goku, "I thought only gems could do so."
Quickly getting up, Garnet hastened the boy, "Listen, Goku. Pearl, Amethyst, and I will deal with whatever this object is. You need to find Steven. You seem to know his aura, sense for it, and find him. Get that Mirror out of his hands wait for us to bubble it."
Before Goku could protest or state how he felt about the entire situation, Garnet had warped away. Presumably to where ever that object went to.
It wasn't long before Steven found himself hiding behind a boulder just outside the beach house. He looked deeply into the Mirror, wondering what was going to be his next move. "I think I'm in a lot of trouble. But I couldn't just let her take you; who knows what Garnet would have done if I just handed you over. I-I wish I knew what I could do to prove that you're not dangerous." there was a slight pause before he continued, "Y-You're not dangerous, are you?" he said, staring at his reflection in the Mirror, with a worried expression painted across his face.
"There you are." said a voice that came from above, downright startling Steven, who dropped the mirror to the ground.
It was Goku, sitting atop his pink Nimbus cloud as he looked down at Steven with a look of innocent confusion across his face, "Oh, sorry." he said as he jumped off the cloud whilst landing with a perfect backflip, "I didn't mean to make you drop your…friend? Thing? Mirror? I don't know. Gem stuff is sometimes confusing, hehe." he said smiling.
"Yeah," said Steven. "It confuses me all the time and grew up raised by Gems." he added laughingly while picking up the Mirror.
"You're not here to take the mirror away from me, are you?" Steven asked Goku concerningly.
"Well, Garnet told me to do that. But… I wanted to ask you about it first." replied Goku.
"She just doesn't understand. They treat me like I'm still a toddler. I know I'm the youngest Crystal Gem, but how am I ever going to learn if they can't trust me to take things into my own hands."
"I think she's just scared." responded Goku.
"No! They have always been like this. Even before you arrived. They have never trusted me to take care of myself." he responded defensively before sighing, "I-I'm just tired of it. Amethyst, Garnet and especially Pearl. They are all so protective of me. They have these incredible expectations of me. In some shape or way, they expect me to pick up where my mom left off. For me to be like her. I see it in how they sometimes look and talk to me. Only, I can't be like her. I'm not my mom. Besides, how can I ever be what they need me to be if they keep me under lock and key?" there was a brief moment of silence before he continued, "I'm sorry Goku. For just exploding out of nowhere like that. I guess I have been bottling up how I have been feeling for a while now."
Goku, now unintentionally with his left index finger lifted to his mouth and making a slight head tilt, made a cute image of a curious young boy as his eyes wandered about the Mirror in Steven's hands. "Hey, can you show me how it works? You said something about it making jokes?"
Now looking up at Goku, Steven remained silent for a minute before abiding by his friend's request, "Okay. Here, take it." he said as he handed the Mirror over to Goku. "Now, hold it up to your face and look into it."
Goku looked into the Mirror, seeing a reflection of his face, messy spiky hair, and the bit of his standing tail moving in the background. "Okay, now what?"
"Well, now you say something to it, ask mirror a question or make a funny face." Steven said laughingly.
Crossing his eyes while tilting his head, he asked the Mirror using a funny comedic voice, "Hello, my name is Goku. What is your name?"
Steven slightly chuckled, but the Mirror gave Goku no response. "Don't worry. It ignored me the first time as well. It just needs a little time to get used to you."
Go on, try again, "Steven said, egging Goku on to question the Mirror once more.
"Okay." replied Goku, who was now looking to the Mirror again, his mind racing with what questions to ask until he suddenly found himself speaking out loud, "Mirror Mirror, are Saiyans bad? Am I…bad?" Stevens's smile slowly disappeared, and a flashing look of concern crossed his face. He noticed how Goku's once comedic expression was now dull, and an empty feeling was what he got as he looked into the Saiyan's eyes.
Steven didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He knew that the journey to acceptance was something Goku needed to go through himself.
It was only when he noticed Goku's expression morph into one of shock and horror did Steven himself step in and asked, "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"I-Is it supposed to do this? What's happening?" Goku asked with a hint of fear in his voice.
Steven, now deciding to look in the Mirror with Goku, noticed that it was cracking. An unusual break in the Mirror in a perfectly straight line across Goku's neck, with a picture of blood being spued out from the mirror image where the crack had slowly formed.
Goku dropped the Mirror into the sand as both he and Steven backed away from what they had just witnessed. Unable to say anything, for the time being, they both stared at the Mirror before it began violently screaming out in an array of voices it heard while being in Stevens Care, "LeT mE out!"
It began to rise from the ground, levitating in the air, glowing a strange blue hue as it did as if trying to break free itself but being unable to do so. "lEt Me OuT! pLeAsE StEvEn…BeAcH S-suMmEr FuN, bUdDiEs…."
The Mirror began showing a silhouette of Steven and itself in its now cracked face, an animation of Steven removing its centerpiece from the back. Immediately afterward, the glow abruptly disappeared, and the Mirror fell to the ground, completely inactive.
The boys looked at each other first. Unsure of what to do next. Goku questioned what the Mirror meant, saying to Steven, "What just happened? What are 'Beach summer fun buddies'?" he said, still trying to process what he had just witnessed.
"Beach summer fun buddies. It's something I said a few times to the Mirror. That we were beach summer fun buddies. I wanted that for us, but you were so busy first with Pearl and now with Garnet, I just kinda imposed that idea onto the Mirror." he said, looking at the Mirror now picking it up.
Goku, now silently figuring out what Steven meant by the word imposed, was interrupted when Steven said, "I think we have to set it free."
Taking Goku by surprise, the young Saiyan responded, "Huh? But Garnet said-"
"I know what Garnet said." interrupted Steven, "And with what just happened with the bloody imagery and weird glow, it does seem a little crazy but trust me, I just don't think there's anything evil about the Mirror. I've been with it for a week now. It even saved me a couple times from hurting myself and making some bad decisions. Besides, what if someone is really stuck in here? Shouldn't we set them free and try to talk to them?" he said, now looking at Goku.
Goku kept silent for a while, thinking before smiling at Steven, saying, "Okay! We should free them. What's the worst that could happen? And even if it turns out to be a bad guy, I could just punch them in the face. I need someone to test what I've learned so far!" he said, his grin growing even wider.
Steven grew a little worried, seeing as if Goku almost wanted it to be someone he could fight, "Hehe… yeah. Well, hopefully, it won't come to that."
Not wasting more time, steven turned the Mirror around and began to pull out the cracked tear shaped object from within the Mirror, just like it had shown him to do. With a mighty effort, he broke it free and released it from its mirror imprisonment.
It was only a few seconds afterward when the cracked object began to glow in Steven's hand, causing him to release it from his grasp as it immediately shot off in the direction of the ocean. Suddenly it stopped just over the surface of the beach; the water below began to float upwards and stretch out as it wrapped itself around the tear-shaped object. The water took on a form, the form of a woman, with the tear object seemingly placed on the centre between her scapulars. The glow from the object suddenly began to slowly radiate and spread throughout the water-formed woman. The glow grew in intensity, now shining so brightly that both boys had to cover their eyes from the light as the water below her also began to vibrate and push away, uncovering the sandy floor beneath the beach. Then, with a loud boom, the glow hit the peak of its crescendo as the moving water that formed the body of the woman instantly solidified, revealing her true form as her light disappeared. Upon reforming, she fell to the wet sandy grounds below her as the waters of the sea now rushed back in, completely engulfing and washing her away.
Steven stretched out his hand in an attempt to save her, but it was too late. The ocean waters had calmed, and for a moment, it seemed as if nothing had just happened.
The two boys were perplexed at what they once again just witnessed, with Goku, in particular, being the first to call out the elephant in the room, "Was that another Gem?... What do we do now?"
"Steven looked at the empty, cracked, and now broken mirror and simply replied, "I-I don't know."
The two of them looked out into the seas for what seemed to be an eternity. The ships slowly passed by, and the setting sun had disappeared entirely, leaving them to bask in the twilight that rested its fading glow on the surface of the ocean's blue waters. One thing Steven was sure about was not telling the other Gems what had happened. Not yet anyway, not until he himself could fix it.
