Missing Peace: Chapter 25

Crystal Gem house, the next morning:

"Take control of Rose's mind?!"

Pearl reacted to the plan about as well as Steven had expected her to. She was making her "I'm about to have a nervous breakdown" face, and pacing around in a small circle.

"Yeah. I had a dream last night where I saw through her eyes, just like what used to happen with the Diamonds, but I couldn't see where she was. I need to jump in there properly and get a look around."

Pearl looked doubtful. "Rose Quartz isn't exactly a watermelon, Steven. I'm not sure you could even control her."

Steven grinned sheepishly and looked at the floor. "Actually… I can control peoples' bodies too. I did it to Lars once."

Pearl looked so shocked that her eyes were taking up most of her face. "You whaaaaat?!"

Amethyst on the other hand was finding it hysterical. "Woah, that's so cool Ste-man! Here, try me next!" She stood at the foot of his bed with her eyes shut and arms open, as if that would somehow make it easier.

"Amethyst!" Pearl snapped, fixing her with a stern look. Amethyst rolled her eyes and grumbled "Urgh, fine. Another time", then went back to the video game she'd been playing.

Steven continued. "Yeah, I controlled Lars' body for a whole day. I could walk and speak and everything. He…wasn't very happy about it, so I don't do that anymore, but I think this time I'd be using the power for a good reason."

While he knew that stopping Rose was a very good reason, Steven still wasn't thrilled about suggesting it. His powers helped him connect with people, but straight-up controlling them just didn't feel right.

Back before he'd found out the truth about his mother, he'd thought that all the powers he'd got from her were cool. Now though, they took on a new meaning. His mother was a Diamond. Her power to control others likely stemmed from that.

He had wondered more than once how often she had used this power during her old life on Homeworld. He knew she used to throw tantrums until she got her way. How often had she used this power to take someone's free will away from them?

He'd seen first-hand what White could do to Gems when she controlled them. None of the others ever talked much about what being possessed by White was like, and he knew none of them actually remembered, since they weren't actually conscious during it. But from the outside, it had looked nightmarish.

Pink must have been taught to use her powers by White, who had spent millennia trying her hardest to make Pink think like her, so there was no telling if Pink had ever used her powers in much the same way. He'd never worked up the courage to ask about it, but the idea of his mother putting people through that, and the idea that he might do the same; it wasn't a part of himself he was eager to acknowledge.

Seeing the look on his face, Garnet leant down and lifted his chin.

"Steven, are you sure you're ok to do this?"

There was a time when Garnet would never have even considered asking that question, or any question at all for that matter. Millennia ago, Rose had told her never to question herself; and Garnet, in her reverence towards Rose, had applied this to all aspects of her life. She'd only become more steadfast in that behaviour after Steven was born, using it as a way to honour Rose's memory.

But a lot had changed in the last couple of years. They all knew a lot more about Rose now, and while Garnet had forgiven her for keeping her past from them, she had do admit that old reverence was gone. If asking the right questions meant she could help someone, then it was worth ignoring Rose's old advice sometimes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Garnet" replied Steven, putting on a subtle smile.

"How on Earth did you take control of Lars in the first place?" asked Pearl, apparently still hung up on the practicalities as much as Steven's emotions.

"I'm… not really sure" Steven admitted. "I just kinda went to bed like normal, but I guess I was thinking about him and Sadie a lot before falling asleep."

"Well, just think Rose Quartz-y thoughts then I guess" said Amethyst nonchalantly.

Steven looked down and lifted his shirt slightly to peer at his own Gem. He remembered staring at it so many times in his life, wondering what it felt like to be a Quartz, like his mother. Now, of course, he knew she'd never really been one; not physically at least. But she'd chosen to live as one; truly felt that that was who she was, and as a result, Steven felt that way too.

Even after everything that had happened on Homeworld, even after realizing that the Diamonds were his family, he still had to remind himself sometimes that his Gem was a Diamond too. Since the events on Homeworld, he'd thought once or twice about trying to rotate his Gem back to its Diamond orientation, so that it might feel less like he was hiding from his mother's past, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Somehow 'Steven Quartz Universe' just felt right.

He hoped that that feeling would be enough to give him a connection to this new Rose Quartz; the one leading Facet 31. After all, if he wanted to keep Earth safe, it was going to have to be.

"OK" he said determinedly. "Let's do it."

"Alright" said Pearl, sounding only slightly more convinced. "I'll go ask Greg to bring his guitar."

"Nah, that's ok" replied Steven. "I can pretty much fall asleep on command now."

Steven got into bed, and laid his head on his pillow. "OK, wish me luck."

"Good Luck Steven" replied Garnet. "We know you can-"

Garnet was cut off as Steven began snoring loudly.

"How does he do that?" asked Pearl. Garnet just smiled and shrugged, and they all turned their eyes back to the sleeping Steven.

Pearl smiled fondly at him as he slept. While she never usually did it without his permission anymore, she did still like to watch him sleep now and then. It was very soothing. Not to mention, he looked so much like his mother sometimes.

Pearl had watched Rose sleep all the time in the old days, since she never slept herself. Back then, she had never understood why Rose partook in all those human rituals. Wasting hours at a time unconscious seemed…inefficient.

But then, the whole point of the Crystal Gems was to make a world where they weren't being treated like machines, wasn't it? So she often let Rose sleep, even when there were matters that needed her attention.

Pearl knew acutely well how heavy the weight on Rose's shoulder was, so it had been nice to see her at peace. Rose often asked Pearl to join her, but Pearl didn't really have the hang of sleeping back then, so she just lay awake next to Rose, listening to her rhythmic breathing (a subconscious affectation, since Gems didn't need to do that, but it was comforting to Pearl nonetheless).

She dragged her mind back to the present, and focused on Steven again. After all, he may have been asleep, but he wasn't resting. He was in the process of getting them the intel they needed. The sooner they were able to actually take some action against Facet 31 instead of just waiting around, the better.

Steven floated in the endless black void. "It worked!" he exclaimed. "I'm back in that psychic ghost space again! Now I just gotta find Rose…"

He scanned the void around him, and focused his thoughts as hard as he could on the Rose he had fought just days ago. It wasn't easy, as those memories weren't exactly pleasant to dwell on, and because it was difficult to separate the mental image of her from that of his mother. Eventually though, he locked onto her, and saw a small twinkling light in the distance.

He moved himself towards it with all the willpower he could muster. She was far away, but he'd possessed a watermelon Steven on Earth all the way from Homeworld before. This would be no different. As he neared the light, he reached out for it, and grabbed it. It expanded instantly, enveloping him, and everything went white.