Hope ya'll have a great New Year. I've decided to wait a little before taking on the Stranded episode arch, as there are rumors that Lars will encounter Lapis. Personally, I don't believe that, she only just left in the series and as a writer I don't think it makes sense for her to return now. Besides, there are just a few more loose ends I wanna tie up before we get there. *POKEMON AND STEVEN UNIVERSE ARE NOT OWNED BY ME*

Ash and Gary both stood in the hot sun as they fit the new window into Fishstew Pizza. They had both destroyed the restaurant, so it was only fair they helped rebuild it.

"That outta do it" Gary remarked once the plate glass window was in place.

"Thanks a bunch guys" Jenny told the two once the task was complete.

"Anything for you Jenny" Ash joked as he wiped sweat off his forehead. "How's your dad taking it?"

"Daddy's pretty upset with your friend. So Gary, I'd suggest you not come around here for a little bit."

"Noted"

With their grueling task completed, the two began their quest back to the Temple for a much needed rest.

"How's the new eye treating you?"

"Weird, this eye is brand new, so when I close it everything is almost in high def. Keeping both eyes open is making everything fusy. It's an adjustment to say the least."

"Yeah well I'm just glad you're alright."

"And I'm glad you're alright. I mean, I freaking killed you the other day Ashy boy."

"Well yeah, but I got better"

Gary couldn't help but laugh. "So when do I get to meet your lady?"

Any merriment Ash was having with his former rival left him as reality came back to him. Without a single word, he simply pointed towards the lower beach in the direction of the message he had written for her. Although it was nearly faded, "I MISS YOU TOO" was still legible in the sand.

"Oh gosh," Gary told him as he put two and two together. "Ash, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright man. She still loves me, and one day I know she's gonna come back. I just have to wait for that day to come. Now come on, I need a shower." He told him as he lead him back to The Temple.

After Gary went to the kitchen to make some lunch, Ash barged into the bathroom.

"Hey! Don't you knock?" Peridot scolded him.

But he wasn't having any of it, and pushed her to the side to turn on the shower.

"Sorry Peri, but I gotta shower. Don't look." He told her as he began to remove his clothes and check the water temperature. Truthfully, had Amethyst and James not have given her "the talk", he would've felt absolutely no shame in being naked in front of Peridot. But now that she was in the know, she had been asking a lot of questions, and they were beginning to get on his nerves.

"How is your sexual encounter with Serena coming along?" She suddenly asked.

Her sudden question shocked him. "Woah Peri! That's not what happened!"

"I'm only suggesting, if you wished to insert your-"

"I'm not taking this" he said, putting his clothes back on, grabbed a towel and a bar of soap, and walked out the door. Now that he was out in the street, he had to think of where he could find a place to shower. He knew that he couldn't go to Jamie's, not with Serena there, and Kofi probably wasn't ready to let him in their house just yet. He considered going to Sour Cream's, but he was worried Onion would watch him. He also thought about the Dewey house, but they lived all the way on the other side of town. Sadie was also out of town so he couldn't go to her home. This left only one of his friends remaining. With a slight headache beginning to develop, he took out his phone and made the call. He walked through town towards Kevin's house, and was greeted by his friend.

"Hey man, how you holding up?"

"Ah you know, on and off."

"Well once you experience a Kevin shower, you'll definitely feel better"

"Yeah, please don't say it like that."

"Sorry, shower's upstairs second door to the left."

Ash trekked up the stairs and followed Kevin's directions to the bathroom. Once he closed the door to the beautifully decorated bathroom, he turned on the water and stripped down. While he waited for the water to warm up, he examined himself in the large bathroom mirror in disgust. His headache grew stronger and stronger until it reached a splitting pain, but he tried his best to ignore it thinking it was just his anger from what he nearly did the day before with Serena. Stepping into the shower, he actually began to feel himself shaking from his pain. He tried massaging his temples and gently pressed his head against the tiled wall as the steaming water caressed his skin. Suddenly he saw different events in his time in the Gem's universe flash before his eyes. He saw the first time he met Lapis with Steven after they freed her from the mirror. Then he saw the first time he fought Jasper. Immediately after that memory passed he saw him and Lapis's first kiss. Then to when she left him. With each memory that passed, his pain grew greater and greater until his vision became blurry and he felt his legs give out.

Kevin heard the loud thud from downstairs. "Ash?" he shouted up. After he received no answer, he climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. "Ash you alright?" He pushed open the door, and saw him collapsed to the ground. "Oh my gosh! Ash? Ash!" he exclaimed, shaking him to try and get a response. When he got none, he snatched his cell phone up and called the only person he could think to call for help.

After a few minutes of waiting, the doorbell rang and he let Steven inside.

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know, he just passed out on me"

"Alright, stand back!" he exclaimed, licking his palm and slapping it onto Ash's forehead. But nothing happened.

"Oh wow, you saved him" Kevin sarcastically said.

"No, no, this always works! Ash speak to me!"

"Ash" a soft, familiar voice addressed him in his darkness. "Ash, wake up" it repeated gently.

When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself lying on his back. Gaining awareness of his surroundings, he saw he was back in the barn.

"Ash" he heard her say right next to him. Lying down on her back next to him, was Lapis.

"Lapis!" he exclaimed, overjoyed to be able to see her face once more. He quickly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him, gripping her tighter than he had ever held her before, and kissed her crying tears of joy. "I thought I'd never see you again."

She gently smiled and caressed his face with her hands. "Ash, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything."

"I need you to wake up."

"What?" he asked confused.

"I need you to wake up." she repeated.

Before he could respond, Lapis and the barn disappeared, leaving him completely alone in darkness. Then he finally woke up, in a dimly lighted room he did not recognize there was two pokemon sitting in the center of it where he was most likely lying. The pokemon were an Alakazam and an Musharna. The Musharna was floating in place in its slumber, Ash was able to see within the cord attached to its forehead were his memories that he foresaw in the shower. The Alakazam on the other hand, was meditating across from it, directing its psychic power into the other pokemon.

"Excellent, you're awake." He heard Pearl's voice tell him from behind. But the voice he heard was much more soft than his friend's, and his suspicions were confirmed when he turned around and was greeted to Blue Diamond's Pearl standing behind him. "Blue Diamond has summoned you. Please, follow me." She gestured him to follow her.

He knew at this moment that he was now on Homeworld thanks to the power of the psychic pokemon. Keeping his distance, he followed Blue Pearl through the corridor. Along the way, two Quartz soldiers marched passed them, they saluted Blue Pearl but they didn't even acknowledge him.

"What was all that about?" he asked her once they had left.

"Blue Diamond requested that this meeting not be noticed by anyone else. My Alakazam has assured that you can only be seen by who he wishes to."

"Off the books huh? How'd you do it?"

"Alakazam enhances Musharna's dream power. She accesses your mind and Alakazam projects your spirit. You will wake up shortly." she explained.

Once she lead him to Blue Diamond's quarters, she opened the enormous door and curtseyed for her master. "Lustrous Blue Diamond, I have brought you the Chosen One as requested."

"Thank you Pearl, please leave us"

"Do what do I owe the pleasure of being kidnapped once again by you Blue Diamond?" he sarcastically asked after Blue Pearl left them. "What do you want from me?"

Blue Diamond turned around to look down at him and softly smiled. "Hello again Chosen One."

"You can just call me Ash, Blue Diamond. And I'll ask again, why did you bring me back here?"

She squatted down to make direct eye contact with him before turning her gaze towards his lapis necklace. She slowly reached her massive finger over to him and gently swayed it back and forth, the entire time he gave her a distrustful look.

"Such devotion you show this person who gifted this to you. That's what I admire about you Ash. And your species as a whole fascinates me, how they have no hope yet they continue to fight. Since our last encounter I haven't been able to stop thinking about this admiration. This is why I have brought you towards me, to warn you how your world will soon no longer be."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, sorry to rain on your parade there, but I was sure Aquamarine told you how the Cluster isn't gonna happen anytime soon."

She looked at him very confused, "how could you be creating rain? And what is a "parade"?"

He sighed, "it's just an expression. My point is, the Cluster is gone, it's useless to you. How can you destroy the Gem's Earth now?"

"I am well aware of the loss of the Cluster, and I am not referring to the Earth which you currently reside."

He felt his mouth open as he gasped at the realization that she was talking about the pokemon world.

"I am giving this warning Ash. And am giving you time for you to surrender yourself, and your allies to us. If you do, I will be able to grant you and your loved ones mercy. I have grown rather fond of you Ash, and I wish to preserve you." The entire time, he noticed her face turning a deep purple from her blushing.

"Blue Diamond, you just told me that you admire the fact that I never give up, well I'm going to tell you something else. Everyone does, on both Earths, and we aren't going to give up without a fight. I do appreciate you trying to warn me Blue Diamond, you seem much more reasonable than Yellow. But now it's my turn to warn you, you're gonna lose this war. You can try and try, you can go ahead and try and take away everything I love, because you already have. But I will never give up till the end, and my end is getting my beloved Lapis Lazuli back. Go ahead and tell Jasper that, because I know she's looking for her and will never find her. And tell Yellow Diamond and Giovanni that their little plot isn't going to work. I can tell they're lying and manipulating you, and you deserve better."

Blue Diamond looked down at him with a look similar to a child who had been told the ugly truth, then she did something he wasn't expecting her to do, she smiled at him. "The more I learn of you and your kind the more I am impressed. After today I now realize why you are the chosen one. I shall be looking forward to the next time we meet, hopefully it is on different terms."

"One more thing, Aquamarine took two of my friends before she left Earth. Their names are Misty and Brock, and if you truly did respect me, you'd make sure their safe." he ordered her.

"I cannot allow them to be released Ash. However, I give you my word that they shall be treated humanely."

"Sorry if I find your word hard to take seriously" he answered her with yet another distrustful look.

"Have I not proven to you before that my word is honest?" She asked referring towards when she made good on her promise to return his lapis necklace when they first met face to face.

He smiled, "you know Blue Diamond, after today I think I'm finding myself starting to respect you a bit more too. Tell Misty and Brock I'm gonna save them. Now I humbly ask of you to return me." He couldn't help but smirk when he saw Blue Diamond softly smiling and still blushing from his comments.

"Consider it done. I hope to see you soon Ash."

After she snapped her giant fingers, he could feel Blue Pearl's Musharna loosen her grip on him, and the image of Blue Diamond began to fade away. The next thing he knew, he was waking up on Kevin's bathroom floor with Steven pumping down on his chest.

"ASH!" they both exclaimed as Steven grabbed and hugged him. "What happened?"

"Blue Diamond's got a crush"

"Stay with me Misty, stay with me" Brock told her as he examined her eyes after she had collapsed in the large cell they now shared on their Homeworld prison. After he looked into her eyes, he could tell she was severely dehydrated. "HEY!" he screamed, hoping someone would listen. "MY FRIEND NEEDS WATER! COME ON SHE'S PREGNANT!"

The door opened and Cassidy stepped inside, "Shut up!" she ordered him.

"Cassidy please, she's gonna die." he begged.

"One less mouth to feed then." she said with a callous smile. Then a beeping sound came from her earpiece, and after answering it, she turned back to him. "Lucky day Brock, Blue Diamond's ordered us to treat you good. I'm already in hot water for not catching Lapis, and I'm not getting on the Diamond's bad side. Give me a sec." she left the cell for a few seconds and returned dragging a different Lapis Lazuli. "Give them a drink then return to whatever you were doing." she ordered the gem as she left.

The Lapis drew her water wings and squatted down. Misty opened her eyes and looked a little off put.

"It's alright, drink." the Lapis told her.

After the two lapped up enough water to rehydrate themselves, Misty looked up at the Lapis that just saved her. "I know you, you were with me and Ash Ketchum in Cerulean City. What did Ash say he called you? Heart?"

Heart looked down at her, finally recognizing her. "You're friends with Ash?"

Both trainers nodded.

"Ok, listen, I'm going to help you guys, but I'll need time. Don't you worry, there are others who want change, and are on your side. We'll protect you two."

"Thank you," Brock told her. "Listen though, the Diamonds and Jasper are under the assumption that my friend here is pregnant with Ash's child. We need you to keep this lie going."

"Why?"

"Because the person who actually is would be in grave danger."

"Understood, I'll inform Zircon."