Missing Peace: Chapter 24

The sea of stars seemed to go on forever. An endless black void, teeming with white lights that twinkled so subtly you could barely see it. And to one side, a massive orange-brown orb, so vast it eclipsed any stars that might exist beyond it. Encircling it; a ring glistening in greys, browns, and greens.

He stared at the orb for a while, somehow feeling… fondness for it. Or was it satisfaction, about what it could do for him? He began taking note of his surroundings more. The humming. What was that humming? A low, single electronic note, which was almost soothing. Where was it coming from?

He turned his head. It didn't feel like he'd tried to, but his vision moved anyway. He could see now that the sea of stars had been a window, a view outside from wherever this place was. His eyes wandered lazily around him, glancing across the pink metal of his surroundings. He felt that satisfaction again. But why? What was he doing again?

His vision slid back to the window, and, more conscious this time, he noticed his reflection in the glass. He smiled at the sight of his black uniform. He felt pride as his thick fingers stroked the emblem on the front. A shock of long, pink hair tumbled over his shoulder, and he brushed it away.

Was his hair always like that? Yes, of course it was, why wouldn't it be? Then why didn't it feel normal? What was he doing again? Where-

Crystal Gem house, Beach City:

Steven squinted as sunlight poured in through the window next to his bed. Looking over to the kitchen, he saw Pearl was already pottering about, cleaning various surfaces. She looked over to him and smiled.

"Oh, good morning Steven. Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I think" he replied. He felt rested, but also like he'd had one of those particularly trippy dreams he sometimes got after eating too soon before bed. He couldn't remember this one though. Was Dogcopter there?

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and headed downstairs. He knew that Facet 31 could still show up at any time, but there was no sense stressing over that when he couldn't do anything about it, so he tried to focus on happier thoughts. He looked around to see which Gems would be visiting today.

Amethyst was chatting to a bunch of Quartzes of various colours, most of which still had varying numbers of horns. Garnet was holding two tiny Gems, one in each hand, formerly the heaven and earth beetles. They were happily engaged in some discussion which, by how enthusiastically Garnet was talking, was probably about fusion.

As he looked out the front door, he saw one other Gem, waiting nervously on the front balcony. Nephrite was standing awkwardly, looking down at the floor. She looked up and accidentally met his gaze for a moment, then hurriedly looked back down.

Steven sighed. He hadn't exactly been on the best terms with her when they'd last seen each other, but this was as good a time as any to fix that. Besides, it would give him one less thing to stress over.

Pearl looked like she was about to say something when she saw Steven about to head out while still in his pyjamas, but stopped when she noticed Nephrite. Steven headed outside and shut the door.

He and Nephrite looked at each other, unsure of who should speak first. Steven decided he might as well break the ice.

"Hey Nephrite, how're-"

"I'm sorry!" Nephrite blurted out, cutting him off.

"It's fine Nephrite, you don't need to apologise."

"Yes I do!" she continued. "I never should have suggested that you weren't looking out for us. I may think differently about the humans than you do, but you went to Homeworld and risked your life to help the Diamonds anyway. I know you did that to protect humans too, but as far as I'm concerned, you're still on our side…"

Steven wasn't sure how to respond. He appreciated the apology, but sensed Nephrite still didn't fully understand his point of view.

"Thanks Nephrite, but I need you to understand that there is no 'our side' or… at least there won't be forever."

"What do you mean?" she said, confused.

"Remember the Gem war?" Steven continued. "Homeworld and the Crystal Gems fought each other for centuries, and they still managed to make up in the end. Just look at you: you're a Homeworld soldier who lives on the planet you used to fight against.

Things may be bad between humans and Gems now, but they're nowhere near as bad as things were between the two sides of the Gem war, right? And my friends and I were able to stop that war. Can you trust me to fix this problem too?"

"I…yeah." Replied Nephrite after a couple of moments. "I guess if anyone can make this better, it's you."

"Thanks" Steven said, smiling up at her. "So… can I start apologising now?"

"Um… for what?"

"The war. You served Pink Diamond, and you ended up having to fight the Crystal Gems because she kept her other identity a secret from everyone. You and your crew never would have gotten hurt if she'd just…"

Nephrite knelt down to his height and stroked his head. She spoke much more softly now. "Steven, it's ok. The Crystal gems explained everything to me. I know you're not her. You don't need to apologise for anything she did."

"Thanks Nephrite" said Steven, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

Nephrite smiled back "you can call me Centi."

Steven drifted off to sleep much more easily that night, with at least one weight lifted off his shoulders. But that didn't stop him from dreaming.

He saw stars and metal, heard the same electronic humming, and gazed once again at the reflection that wasn't his own.

That's right. This wasn't his face. He knew that now. But he did know its owner. Was it his mom? No… but it was someone who looked like her. Who was that? If he could just remember… He just had to…

Steven woke with a Gasp. It was still dark outside, and the moon was casting a silver light across the beach. None of the Gems were about. They must have all been in their rooms. He needed to talk to one of them as soon as possible. Getting out of bed, he ran into his own Gem room, and took the usual path down to Garnet's basement.

Garnet was over by the lava pool, examining some artefact or another. Steven ran over to her and tapped her leg to get her attention.

"Oh, hi Steven. It's a bit late for-"

"Garnet!" he looked purposefully up into her face. "I know how we can find Facet 31."