Chapter 3

Universe, meet the Maximoffs!

"...MOM?!" Steven shouts out dramatically. He could feel his eyes bulging, as if it was ready to pop out of its sockets at any moment.

Standing before him was no other than his dead mother. Despite appearing as black and white, it was very obvious that she was in her Rose Quartz form. Her long curly hair is tied messily into a bun, short ringlets loosely hanging from the sides and if Steven looked closely enough, her deep dark eyes were in the shape of a diamond instead of being round. She was wearing a white sleeveless dress, something closer to her Rose Quartz one except her dress didn't have a hole showing her gem.

"Oh, sweetie. Do you have to shout?" Rose cringes, touching the inside of her ear as she pouted at him. "I know you teenagers have intense mood swings sometimes, but can you give your mother a break? You might rupture my ear drums before your Dad can break his back in his 50s."

"Wha…Whaaaaa-?" Steven slurs out, his jaw hanging wide open while his mother twirls around, looking for something.

"H-How are y-you here? Where…Where am I? Why are we-" He stutters, head whipping back and forth. He takes a long look between his hands that are black and white, and another long and questioning look at his Mother, whose gem glowed briefly and phases out two large picture frames out of thin air.

"Well, since you're still here I might as well ask for your opinion on which picture best represents us as a human-'human' family!"

Rose shows him a picture frame of herself looking majestic, of Greg comically eating a hotdog and himself at ten-years old, with a bandaid on his face and gap between his teeth, making a peace sign. The other picture frame consists of him wearing sunglasses and playing an electric guitar, of Greg also wearing one except it's star-shaped and lastly with Rose holding glow sticks at the back.

"This seems normal enough, your Dad's timing with the hotdog is spot on! Buuuut," Rose holds the second one into view and practically pushes it close to his face. "This one seems to spell out how cool of a family the Universes are! Although, you should have gone for those star-shaped sunglasses to match your Dad's."

Steven slowly takes both picture frames with trembling fingers. His face was hollow and growing emptier as he kept looking at it.

A false promise.

"These never happened," He whispered quietly.

"What do you mean? You were the one who suggested having them framed." Rose takes the picture of them with Greg eating a hotdog. Steven watches her quietly as she looks at the frame with a joyous smile on her face. She touches it with a hint of sentiment, tracing the picture with her fingers and admiring the three of them all together.

"I never did regret choosing to have you and your father," She tells him, still admiring their photo.

"W-What?" Steven croaks out, his chest suddenly feeling tight.

"Okay, that's enough being sentimental!" He snaps, taking the picture away from Rose. "I'm way past broadcasting my dreams with my powers in order to fulfill my super-complicated-emotions about you and secretly wanting you had me because you genuinely wanted to have a kid with Dad, but obviously you just wanted a scapegoat to get away from everything!"

He holds the picture of the three of them all together so tightly, the frame immediately cracked from the force.

"I'm ending this!"

He spread his hands around, willing his gem to stop his dreams and wake up. Yet, nothing happened.

Rose tilted her head to the side, a puzzling look on her face. Steven only stared back at her in confusion. Everything was still black and white, and she was clearly still here. He willed his gem again.

"Come on, Steven. You've mastered this already, it's not like you got hit by the rejuvenator again, which got your powers acting up." Beads of sweat started to fall from the side of his face, meanwhile Rose's confusion slowly turned to concern.

"Aaaaaand…end scene!" He tries again, his hands clenching to fists, still spread out to his sides.

"Steven-"

"Don't!" He snaps at her.

"Let me concentrate!" He closes his eyes, focusing himself to wake up.

The seconds ticking by felt a lot slower as the situation became gradually more awkward. He gritted his teeth as he could feel Rose's eyes burning holes around him as he copied White Diamond's pose for several more seconds. There was a giggle that didn't sound like Rose, so he took a peak and found no one else was there. Then the giggle turned into loud laughter, echoing through the house's walls.

"Hey, come one! Where's that coming from-"

He frantically turns around, expecting to find a crowd of people laughing in chorus but no else was there except the two of them. Rose was standing there awkwardly, and when she catches him staring straight at her, she gives a shy smile and a thumbs up.

"You're doing amazing, sweetie! Whatever it is that you're doing."

"GRAAAGH!" Steven shouts out in frustration, having given up.

"What's the matter with you?! This is not a healthy coping mechanism!" He whined out loud, grabbing his head with his hands before immediately slapping himself.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE. UP!"

The door to one of the rooms in their house slammed open, and with it Greg bursted out shirtless and in his pajamas.

"I'm up I'm up I'm up-what time is it?!"

"Hiiiiiiiii Greg!" Rose waves at him dreamily. "Good morning! I made fruitcake for our neighbors!"

"...Fruitcake?" Greg drawls out.

"DAD?!"

"Oh, good morning Shtu-ball." Steven gapes at him as he strolled around their house, still fighting sleep in his eyes. Rose meets him halfway and kisses his forehead.

"Oh, hey there sweetheart," He yawns, blinking up at Rose. "What're you dressed for? what's the occasion?"

Rose beams down at him. "The Maximoffs invited us for dinner. Didn't the three of us stay up all night planning what to bring and what to dress?"

"Oh…" Greg's face quickly falls. "That was…today?"

"Well, yeah," Rose tells him, looping her arm around his and dragging him across the house. "You suggested bringing them fruitcake, I agreed to bake and Steven agreed to give it to them for dinner. Are you going out dressed in your pajamas?"

"Dinner?" Steven asks aloud. "Who are we having dinner with?!"

"I just told you, the Maximoffs." Rose tells him calmly, ushering Greg to the kitchen.

"Who the hell are they?!"

Both Rose and Greg whipped their heads so quickly at him that he had to flinch, wondering if their neck might have snapped in the process.

"Steven, what is it with you today and shouting?" Rose quickly reprimanded him.

"He shouted at you?" Greg turns to him with the eyes of a partly angered parent. "That's not very nice, Steven. Never shout at your mother."

"Wha-What…I-'' He's at a loss for words. There was a chorus going 'oooooooooooh' as if all the laughing people were now taunting him for getting scolded. Rose frowns quietly, observing her son's frantic face. She felt hurt a bit, remembering a foggy and distant feeling from the past.

"Greg, it's alright." Rose tells his dad quietly, patting his shoulder in comfort. "Steven probably hasn't met them yet and is just confused. Isn't that right, honey?"

"What?"

"Oh! I have a perfect idea! Why don't you bring the fruitcake early and play with the Maximoff kids!" Rose beams at him, grabbing his father's shoulder and rocking him gently. "Don't you agree, Greg?"

Greg puts a hand under his chin, contemplating for a bit. "Well, I suppose it will buy me some time to pick an outfit for dinner-"

"Great!" Rose runs up to Steven and surprises him by placing a kiss on his cheek. "Don't wait for us, little man."

"Uh…"

"You go have fun!" She eagerly pushes him out of the house, along with the fruitcake. If Steven had to be honest, the Maximoffs would have been horrified if they could see Rose's fruitcake. It looked like a hamfisted meatloaf with sentient Christmas lights oozing on the side like fresh blood.

"Uh, M-Mom…" He trails off for a bit, feeling completely awkward for having to say the word. "A-Are you sure that the…Maximoffs…"

"Yes?" Rose was looking at him with a sparkle in her eyes, a mother who tries her hardest to appear cool and supportive to their child. Just the very idea of it had somehow made him feel a bit queasy. He wishes his dream would end already, but it seems like his powers were messing up again for some reason. He held the plate of fruitcake near his chest, facing Rose with determination. If his mental stability was subconsciously wanting him to bond with his mom, he decides to play a long, but only for a little while.

"You could have asked me for help in making the fruitcake." He starts off shyly, getting a bit off guard when Rose perks up at him. "I-I mean…a bit of teamwork wouldn't hurt, really. And uh…" He finds it hard to maintain eye contact as she eagerly waits for him to continue. "F-Family always help each other. A-And if we made the fruitcake together…it would be more…special?"

"Oh, Steven," Her eyes begin to tear up, hand clutching her chest. Steven remains completely frozen as she quickly scoops him in a tight embrace. He was very careful to get the fruitcake out of the way, and he wonders why he needed to save it in the first place if he could just make a newer and better one if he's still inside his dream.

"Mm…y-yeaah…ooookay…" He awkwardly pats Rose in the back. "I really need to get going now,"

She quickly pulls back from him. "Okay, I love you Steven."

Despite the heart-warming words, he pales. Rose was still looking at him, face filled with joy and eyes shining with tears. The voices went 'aaaaaaaaaaaaawww' as if it was the most heartfelt moment that was happening.

"I…uh…" Heart hammering in his chest, he gently pushes back his mother and makes a quick dash out of the house.

"I'llseeyoulater!"

Steven didn't look back. He can't look back. His skin feels hot, itchy and sweaty, and his breathing, he imagines, was coming in quick succession. As he kept running, he wished he would glow pink once more just for any indication that his powers were somewhat working in this black-and-white void of a town he couldn't recognize. He slows down to a stop, near a playground, catching his breath.

"I feel like I'm gonna puke," He groans, kneeling on the ground, the nightmare fruitcake in his hands feeling heavy.

"Okay, subconscious. I don't really need you using my powers to have a chat with Mom. I'm way over this. Absolutely over this!" Placing the fruitcake down, he pulls back the bottom of his shirt. "So, please…can you finally-"

Horror immediately dawns on him.

"-work…right…"

Just below where his gem should be, was a belly button.

Steven blinks once, blinks twice, and frantically pulls up his shirt near his chest.

"No…n-no no no no no no no no no no no no-"

It couldn't be.

His gem was nowhere to be found.

That's not possible.

Completely impossible.

His mind rattled from the possibility of his gem being gone, even if he's still dreaming. It brings back the painful memory of it being ripped out by White Diamond herself.

His thoughts came to a halt.

Was it because…of his Mom being here? Did Wanda's talk about the multiverse subconsciously played with his mind? Did he dreamwalk to another reality where his Mom lived but somehow the world was engulfed in a black-and-white layout? Can he even do that?

Steven rested on his side in the ground, curling up in a fetal position and hugging his knees tightly.

"Oh, geeze. Why did I have to learn about the Multiverse existing?"

From out of nowhere, air whipped harshly across his face, followed by a blur. Steven quickly gets up on his knees and looks to his side. The fruitcake was gone.

"Ew, gross! what even is this?" He turns around to find a boy, probably around between ten and eleven years-old. He was wearing a varsity jacket and tattered jeans. Steven found him eyeing the fruitcake in his hands distastefully.

"At least Mom's cooking could never be this bad. Don't you agree, Billy?"

"Hey, no fair!" Another boy rushes behind him, huffing and puffing. "I said no cheating!"

"But I didn't cheat! I'm just 'naturally' faster than you." The boy teases, playfully sticking his tongue out to the other boy whilst twirling the plate of fruit cake so fast that Steven saw it as a blur.

"W-Whoa, hey! be careful with that!"

Both boys immediately turn to him. The one with the varsity jacket stopped twirling his Mom's fruitcake in his hand, yet still not giving it back to him and preferring to give a strange look instead.

"Aren't you too old to be playing in a playground?"

"Don't be rude, Tommy!"

Steven ignores the insult and quickly gets up, dusting off dirt in his shirt and pants.

"I didn't really came here to play,"

"Weird," Tommy, Steven believes to be, muttered quietly. "Were you planning on poisoning someone?"

"E-Excuse me?"

Tommy simply raises the fruitcake, making his point clear. "This looks like it could kill a person."

Steven blinks, silent for a moment before breaking to a light chuckle. He could use a small distraction from his missing gem.

"Believe me, I know." He makes his way over to them. Billy, he assumes, straightens his posture and shyly backs away behind Tommy. The other boy has his hand placed on his hip while the other raises the dessert for emphasis.

"What kind of food even is this anyway?"

"Uh…fruitcake?" Steven says hesitantly, taking the plate from the boy's hand.

"That's literally the worst dessert ever. It's like a fruit passing off as candy, but in a bad way."

"I don't think other fruitcakes could look that bad either," Billy adds. He jumps a bit after having found Steven looking at him directly. "...sorry."

"Hey, no worries. I'm not offended or anything," Steven tells them gently. He ponders for a bit, not expecting other people to be here with his family. Then again, Rose had mentioned the Maximoffs earlier. Another thing was that he has no clue as to what exactly is happening, he hopes he didn't actually jump from one reality to another, yet it's becoming more likely seeing how his gem is now gone.

If this isn't a dream…

He shivered at that thought.

'One at a time, Steven. Let's handle this one at a time.' He mentally tells himself.

"So, uh…weird-nightmarish food aside, where exactly is this place?"

The two boys looked at each other again.

"We don't know, we just moved here." Tommy shrugs.

Well, that's weird.

"Uh…Okay. Moved from…where?" Steven grimaces, attempting to smile at them to show he means no harm in asking, despite Tommy already giving him a rather suspicious look.

"Why are you asking?" Billy spoke for the other boy.

"Uh, weeeell…" He brings a hand to scratch the back of his head, both boys are staring at him a bit intensely now. "I was wondering if…I ended up in…another…universe." He finished off lamely. Tommy was looking at him with judgment in his eyes, while Billy's expressions were a lot more hard to read. Steven notices him squinting his eyes, as if he was focusing on something.

"We moved from Westview," Billy answers him finally, inching closer to Tommy's side. "Mainly because Mom was upset about something."

"Oh, I see…" Steven had no idea what to do with that information. He's already traveled close to 39 states and he's never heard of Westview nor read it anywhere on the map.

"This sucks!" Tommy whines, breaking his line of thoughts. "Ever since we moved here, we never found any other kids to play with!" He kicks some dirt in frustration before eyeing Steven up and down. "Only some random guy walking around with some food poisoning."

"Uh…sorry?" Steven apologizes weakly, not sure what else to say.

"So, why are you here Steven?"

He turns to quickly look at Billy, who was no longer hiding behind the other boy and was deeply staring into his soul.

He was silent for a moment, clutching the fruitcake near his chest, fearing that he almost dropped it for a second when the boy uttered his name.

"H-How did you-"

"He's like Mom. He can read minds." Tommy adds, shoving both hands in his jacket's pockets. "We rushed here because he sensed someone. We just…wanted to play,"

Things immediately just got complicated. Steven took a deep breath, and exhaled loudly, startling the two boys.

"H'ooookay, now I definitely know that this isn't a dream!" Tommy was looking at him worriedly while Billy seemed impassive. "You two are real? Right? Like, I'm not just manifesting original characters inside my head?"

Tommy poked Billy on his cheek for further emphasis.

"No, duh."

"You're worried about something," Billy tells him.

"I…" Steven trails off, biting his lip nervously. He doesn't know these kids, and he's not sure if he can trust them. Yet, the fact that they could possibly be real and his malfunctioning diamond powers somehow dragged them into this mess just further pushes him to a guilty spiral.

"Something is happening to me, I think." He starts frantically, pulling the bottom of his shirt and showing his new belly button to the two boys.

"Oh, eeew! Are you a pervert?!" Tommy cries, immediately covering his eyes with his hands.

"No, no! Just please listen!" Steven tries reassuring them, pulling his shirt back into place. "I'm sorry! Look, what I mean is…I have this magical gemstone in my belly. But when I woke up in this place, it was gone. I can't be without my gem since it's basically keeping me alive! I don't know how I'm here exactly, but sometimes…my powers kind of malfunction because of my emotions and I sincerely hope this isn't my gem reacting emotionally and dragging innocent people into this again!"

Steven hopes they understand, but he doubts a little considering they seem a bit young to be taking an information dump on gem-hybrid-biology.

He lost hope staring at Tommy's face, who was looking at him like he was loco. Billy, on the other hand-

"I think I understand," He tells him, then points a finger to his belly. "I can still feel something coming from there, but it's faint."

"Y-You…you do?!" Billy nods at him.

"I'm sensing a bit of energy in your…tummy?" He hesitantly tells him. "That's where your magical gemstone is at, right?"

"Yeah!" Steven looks down on where his gem should be. Despite what Billy says, he can still feel the emptiness in its place. "If my gem is still here, why can't we see it? And my powers aren't really working right. I'm still not sure if we're in my dream or in…somewhere else."

"What if it's hidden?" Tommy adds, hands folding behind his head. "Dad also has a magical gemstone. I think? It's in his forehead but he hides it when we all hang out outside."

Steven blinks at him. "...your… Dad's a gem?"

"No, he's a robot." Came Tommy's casual reply. "He sometimes shoots cool lasers out of it though, if I remember that one time."

"Oh…" Well, he does remember Pearl shooting lasers from the tip of her spear. Then again, he never met a male gem before, most were referred to as female but Steven knows gems don't really have physical genders. He eyes both boys closely, realizing only now that the two were twins. Tommy's hair was far longer compared to Billy's, which helps differentiate them from one another, apart from their own distinct personalities.

"It's just that, well…I'm half-gem and half-human," He places his palm on his belly, feeling rather weirded out without the feel of his gem. "Like I said, I can't really live without my gem. I have some powers like uh, shapeshifting! Where I can grow really tall or grow really short…or sometimes turn into horrifying monster-cats." He shivered, remembering his traumatic cat fingers.

"Gross," Tommy butts in. "But kinda cool."

"Heh, yeah," He chuckles a bit. "My uh, well…some gems can rotate their own gemstone. The pure ones I mean, cause their bodies are made of hard light. I don't think I could do that though, considering I'm half human. So I'm just wondering how your…uh, Dad hides his gem? Like physically?"

"I mean, we can ask him about it. Dad's pretty chill." Tommy shrugs, turning to his brother. "What'd you think, Billy?"

Billy was quiet.

For a second, Steven felt some light poking inside his head. The sensation being similar to Wanda's somehow-

Oh, stars.

Wanda.

How could he forget about her? If she was somehow dragged into this weird black-and-white void because of his powers messing up again, he couldn't quite forgive himself that easily.

"I think," Billy starts. "That there's something else going on."

For the first time since he's woken up inside the strange black-and-white neighborhood, Steven was surprised to see color.

Billy's eyes glowed blue, then he turns to look at his brother.

"What is it, Billy?"

"We should go to Mom for help."