Snow talks with Greg, who then meets her Labradorite.
Snow wanted to go out there, on her own, so badly that she would have left the confines of the beach house, had it not been for Greg.
He was in part, responsible for Steven's creation, yet. He was so, human. As he should be. A wonderful example of a human being.
After Pearl had retrieved the sleeping bag for him, she retreated back to her room, leaving Snow a tad concerned that their conversation would lead them somewhere dark. A lot of Snow's statements were pure theories after all. Organic life is meant to change and evolve over time. Seeing Connie with a trait that was meant only for gems did strike a few chords and maybe they were over stating the those theories as potential fact yet to be seen or proved.
She sat cross legged in front of the fire as Greg was leaning next to her, halfway in his sleeping bag as they stared at the flames. He was an older human, one with years worth of experiences within him. So many questions dangled in her mind, yet she couldn't snatch any of them to read out.
"Apologies if my earlier words were too forthcoming." She said.
Greg just smiled.
"It's okay..." He said.
"You remind me of Rose...in a weird way."
Perplexed, Snow gave Greg a confused expression, trying to get what he meant.
"In what way?" Snow wondered.
"In a good way I hope."
It was then Greg grew nervous, as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah it's...its your fascination with humanity. You both have that in common." He told her.
Rose Quartz aka Pink Diamond. All the records, documents and her chat with Pearl. All towards this...brilliant yet tearjerking story that trickled down to Steven himself.
"Uh. Yes. Snow Quartzes were made in a joint effort between all four Diamonds, including Pink." She explained.
Greg continued to look at the fire as he bit his lip.
"I guess you know the whole fiasco then." He said.
Indeed she did...well, half of it. Most of what she had been told already.
"Yes I do. You loved Rose a lot, I'll wager." Snow stated with the obvious result in the room.
"Yeah." Greg replied.
"I asked Connie about...this romantic love and she found it hard to answer. Maybe you'll be able to answer the question for me then." Said Snow.
Greg was left with a dumbfounded look, then he smirked.
"Hehe...Connie's kinda young. I mean, not saying she hasn't gone through a lot, just that she's got a while until she's wrapped her head around it. Unless she has and refuses to say it. Not all humans go through the same experiences and not all are gonna be willing to talk about something so personal like that." He informed her.
Words left unsaid. They spoke the truth in the silence moreso than that in the open.
"So a lot of them say." Snow said.
She only really wanted to know the power of love itself and that whether or not the romantic type was the strongest. She could look for that book Connie mentioned but she'd have to do it in the morning.
"That's fine. I'll go and do some more research. I'd hoped to hear verbal experiences from different people."
It made Greg curious as to her motives behind it.
"What is it, the Diamonds wanting to know what our secret weapon is?" He joked.
Snow laughed. Although she'd never heard herself laugh like that before. She had to press her hand against her face to avoid waking up the kids.
"I guess not." Greg continued, although he was smiling too.
Maybe he was being serious? Did she miss that?
"Oh you were serious? I uhh...ahem i uh..." She stammered.
Greg chuckled, almost mimicking hers.
"Its okay, I'm far from interested in gem affairs, sounds like a typical old story, aliens come to Earth, fall in love with a human being...well...I guess that part can happen." Greg noted with the obvious.
"You can have your own take on love. You won't really know what it is until you experience it for yourself."
For her...to feel romantic love for herself? She'd doubt it...though her ability to adapt didn't mention anything about this.
"I'll try and explain as best I can..how can I put it, its usually consenting parties that want to explore with each other in ways meant for them, to make each other happy, through good times and bad. Then...both of you agree to have kids if you really wanted...that's optional but accepted in many communities."
Greg and Rose made each other happy. Steven and Connie make each other happy. Ruby and Sapphire make each other happy. Fusion as a concept made certain gems happy...or angry. As with kids, she knew that having kids wasn't supposed to kill one of the parents. But death of loved ones could make for a touchy subject, but Snow had to understand.
"I know it's going to cross boundaries but...after the death of her...do you still love her?" She queried, preparing for the onslaught.
Greg nodded.
"Yeah, every day. It doesn't mean the end of the world, even if it feels like it." He replied.
The pain of losing someone you loved to the point where it equaled the destruction of an entire planet. Now she understood the terminology of "meaning the world to you." if their influence and place in your world as the world itself. Inspiring. But she had felt that anguish before.
"I've lost Snow Quartz sisters...we know the risk of our work, but the grief still churns me when I think of the shattered ones. The price of ones love can be equal the price of equitable torment." Snow explained.
"Exactly." Greg conferred.
"Its not always romantic, but the way we care about others...its about making the best we can, protecting, helping or...even healing them when they need it. But it's also when to let go when its become apparent we can no longer help them. It's...it's also a horrible feeling and you're left feeling hopeless and/or useless in that situation and it's not always going to be in your control. That part is what even humans have a hard time accepting."
Snow had once again pressed her hand against her chest.
"Your experience holds weight sir, as the strife remains indignant to our hearts. But love powers through like a shining light, battering through the edges of the darkness with its warmth..." She summarized, recalling lost words...then noticed Gregs gaped mouth and widened eyes looking at her. She tilted her head, curious.
"Uhh sir why are you looking at me like that?
He shook his head, getting out of his trance as he beamed, his eyes glistening with something indescribable.
"What is it with you gems and your amazing lyrical statements?" He questioned.
Lyrical, as in a song?
"I'm sorry, I'm completely lost." Snow stated, trying to grasp why Greg was so happy all of a sudden.
He looked back at Steven and Connie then back to Snow.
"Well if they're calling off the mission tomorrow, we can make some music, I've got my guitar out in the van. We'll have Steven and Connie join us too..." He suggested.
Make music? Snow stood up as she shuffled many thoughts into her head. Songs...only songs she knew were of...
"Sleep sir. I'll...think about this for now." Snow said as she walked off to the door, realizing how late it was.
"Call me Greg." He said as she walked out.
He didn't understand where he went wrong with that suggestion. Like it brought her pain. Greg laid down and zipped up the sleeping bag as he laid in front of the fire, putting his hands behind his back and occasionally looking behind him to see the still sleeping Steven and Connie.
Gem life still confused him but it had been stable to the best of it being called stable. He's had a few gems help him out with the car wash and they were content to stay warm inside the garage, despite it not being exactly something of a creature comfort. Still, teaching them how to fit in took him a while. They weren't without mishap but it wasn't of much concern to Greg...only concern to his hip pocket.
This..Snow Quartz...she gave off unusual vibes. Her questions on love perturbed him and he hasn't given Steven the talk yet, though with his relationship with Connie growing continuously, he'll know the right time and the right signs to pull him aside. Or maybe he should before it was too late.
His head turned to the giant wolf in front of him as he almost screamed on how it suddenly appeared, but forced himself to cover his mouth. The wolf wasn't hostile, as Gregs eyes were drawn to the gem on its chest.
"Nice doggy..." Greg muttered.
It stared at Greg for the moment, before making itself home on his lap, which confused the human. Greg reached his hand out to pat it, only for it to stare at him again, forcing him to retract his hand back in response. He let it go, as Greg forced himself to fall asleep.
His dreams were never overly complex. Occasionally they took dips in memory lane, others were just your usual odd visual, hardly anything to explain. He knows Steven experiences dream differently due to his nature, which made Greg constantly thinking about his mental state...and as a result, his own dreams would warp down into the zone where he fears losing his son in horrible, horrible ways. He trusts Steven to do the right thing and in past occasions really wished he could be there in times where he needed that literal, down to Earth contact. Not to say that past instances where Steven entrusted him with his youth orientated questions, but in the unspoken words that not even the gems could muster.
At this instance, he saw the wolf gem standing at the end of a road. It was dark, looking like a dirt road on the country side with fog everywhere, prompted with the crickets chirping around him.
The wolf nudged its head, prompting Greg to follow it. Greg was unsure of it, but followed it anyway. All he saw was dots of lights in the trees, all staring at him. The road started going uphill, until it lead to something similar to brooding hill. He saw two figures underneath the glowing light of the moon. One he could make out as Snow...the other...
"Rose..." Greg murmured.
The wolf lead him behind a bush, looking at the two as they stood on the cliffs edge.
"Please Snowflake...you and Milky can stay here..." Said Rose.
Snow shook her head.
"She doesn't want to." Snow told her.
"She says she wants to reconcile with the other Snow Quartzes on Homeworld to make a case to save our stones."
This had to be a memory of Snow's. It just had to.
"Our kinds production line hasn't always been a clean one. Numerous incidents have forced their hands more than once. Now this? A total recall of our gems could mean we'll get shattered, even if some of us weren't even involved with the war at all."
Also must have been after the original Diamond attack that corrupted nearly all of the gems. Rose only told him so much as well.
"They can stay here too." Rose pleaded.
"I looked up to Snows, seeing them as the ideal gem to hold ourselves to. True independence should be allowed...we're all sentient beings."
Greg then saw Snow fall on her butt, as she gripped the grass, and heard her sob.
"We all looked up to Pink Diamond..didn't we? We knew what she was like. We just wanted to serve...but our design...our design is to adapt...we change everything about ourselves to gain an advantage...even if it meant defending our bending beliefs..."
Rose sat down next to her and put her hand on her shoulder.
"I'm only here, not fighting you, because you're like us...free thinking and fighting for those who want freedom. But that's not our design. Homeworld may come back for us...best thing we can do...is lie to them to buy you all time...tell them that there's nothing here anymore. So Milky and I can protect this planet..."
A part of their design. Greg could only grasp fragments of gem culture and from what he knew from hanging with the Crystal Gems, is their rigid caste system.
"And to save the rest of your kind from further trouble..." Rose reworded.
"It's not ideal, you don't have to. If Homeworld decide to come back, then let them. We'll fight them off if we have to. This planet is worth putting it under our defense." Rose assured her.
Greg couldn't fathom it, but it may have given them a few thousand years, at best.
"I know it is selfish...but defiance of our orders means the Labradorites we're assigned with may end up doing it all in our place anyway. Their loyalties to Homeworld are bonded with stronger oaths than their links with us." Snow explained.
It was then Greg looked at the Wolf next to him. Must have been what it was...but it seemed like Rose wasn't aware of this as her eyes widened.
"What? Since when did they reprogram them? I've never even heard of them doing that!" Rose said with surprise.
Snow sighed. While Greg grew anxious.
"You know how some Snow Quartzes rebelled against Homeworld in the past? It was Blue Diamonds idea to keep us at arms length as opposed to outright shattering us with the some of the newly developed Labradorites." She said.
Greg never really saw Rose grow this angry before. Well, there were small instances, but the fury written in her face almost scared him. He listened as Snows explanation. on how Labdradorites were meant to destroy Snow Quartzes if they dared to lift a finger against one of their own and that they were solely developed from Blue Diamonds Court, drawing inspiration from Pink Diamonds designs of a gem that could be used to shapeshift on a regular basis. While Snow Quartzes were mentally supposed to adapt to certain worlds, Labradorites were to physically adapt... With one exception.
"So you see why we'd be useless in battle...mine would betray me in an instant."
The revelation turned Rose's state from angry to vengefully upset.
"I'm so sorry Snowflake, I didn't know..." Cried the larger Quartz.
"I'm sure Dori wouldn't want to do it either. She's always been the best friend to you as well."
A concept like that would get Rose angry over such a manipulation and violation of trust...for someone who loved life, knowing that this was a practice tipped her over the edge.
Snow forced a smile under her current state of duress as she hugged Rose.
"I'll be fine Rose. I know this planet will be in good hands and I promise to come back. To see you and the developed life that has grown here..." Snow told her.
Looked like she fulfilled that promise and had hoped to see Rose again...only to see Steven in her place...must have given Snow quite the shock.
The two let go of each other as Rose wiped a tear from Snow's face, then laughed.
"I'll hold you to it. Maybe both you and Milky some day..." Rose said as she got up then lent her hand to Snow to help her off the ground. Snow grinned as she took her hand and shot up.
"Before you go though, may I see Dori one last time?"
Snow laughed as she whistled. To the side Greg saw a brown gem approach her partner and sit down next to her. This...didn't look like the one sitting next to him. It's form was a lot different. It was like a crawling worm creature with similar colours of blue and brown, but still had the gem on its chest and round purple eyes. Snow told Rose that the current form is based on the critters from another planet she had visited prior to this one...that maybe one day Dori would take the form of one of Earths beautiful creatures...that they might sing songs of triumph some day.
"Say goodbye to Rose now..." Snow told her.
Greg continued to examine them as Rose bowed before the gem and patted her, then placed her hand on her gem.
"Goodbye Dori you cutie." Rose said, her eyes twinkling.
"Please be good to Snowflake. I wish for you to be free of your old oath and protect this Snow Quartz." She said.
Snow laughed as she rubbed Dori's head.
"She's a good girl. As long as I'm a good one too."
Gregs eyes opened in a flash, as he stared at the roof. He sat up, seeing Labradorite sitting right in front of him, continuously staring at him. Did Dori know about his relationship with Rose? Her powers were similar to ones Steven would describe, one that could influence dreams. What would he even do with what he saw? Dori got up and left the house on her own accord.
Greg went back to sleep, hoping for less weird dreams.