CHAPTER X: MOM

Jasper's laugh rang through the air. It wasn't vicious or menacing, it was… liberating, as if all the pain, the hatred she felt for so long, were just about to disappear. She spent the last five thousand years picturing this very moment, the moment when she would have finally been able to find Rose Quartz. The moment when she'd finally confront her and beat her. The moment when she would have shattered her for what she had done. Her precious Diamond, her beautiful, perfect Diamond, now she could finally rest in peace. Jasper honestly thought that Rose Quartz would put up more of a fight, but it took only one blow to destroy her physical form. How could someone… something so weak, so disgusting, manage to shatter a Diamond? But it that wasn't the time to ask questions. That was the time for vengeance. Showing off a malicious grin, Jasper extended her hand towards the pink gem that now laid on the sand in front of her. She grasped it and opened her hand to give it one, final look. One final look at her mortal enemy.

But what she saw wasn't her mortal enemy…

The gem she saw wasn't Rose Quartz…

It wasn't even a quartz…

That's when her devilish smile disappeared. Her eyes became wide, her expression, terrified. Jasper covered her mouth, trying to muffle a strangled scream. It couldn't be. It couldn't be her. It couldn't be her… her…

"H-how can it… h-how… w-what did I…" Jasper mumbled incoherently, her eyes now filled with tears.

Then… there was pain.

Jasper fell to the ground. She didn't even see it coming. Astonished, she sat up and looked at her right arm. A white spear had pierced her right shoulder. Then she heard them. Voices. She looked in front of her and saw who had attacked her. The Crystal Gems. They were coming for her, and she was alone. She was alone and she couldn't think clearly. What she saw, the gem she saw… could it really… could it really be…

Another spear flew towards her. It missed her head for an inch. That's when Jasper stood up, that horrified expression still on her face. Confusion, fear, it all gripped her so tightly she felt like she couldn't move. She would have never won against the Crystal Gems. Not now. That is why, in that moment, Jasper did the unthinkable. She was a quartz, she was the ultimate quartz, she was made to fight but in that moment… she turned around and ran. She ran away from the gems that were chasing her, away from what she had done. She didn't want to look at that pink gem for another second. She felt Pearl's spears grazing her, one of them pierced her leg. One of Garnet's gauntlets hit her square in the back, but she had already reached the sea. Jasper didn't turn back, she kept going forwards until the waves engulfed her.

"Come back you monster! Come back!" Pearl screamed as she threw another spear at the waves, but Jasper was already gone.

"Oh no… oh no no no no no… no!" Amethyst yelled, looking at the pink gem that now laid in the sand before her.

Pearl immediately turned around and rushed towards her. She fell on her knees and took the gem in her trembling hands, holding it near to her chest.

"My baby… my baby, what did she do to you…" Pearl cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"He'll come back… I-I know he will! The gem is fine, Steven will be fine, right Pearl? Right?" Amethyst asked frantically.

But Pearl didn't answer, she just curled up on herself more and kept crying. Garnet on the other hand… wasn't crying. She was standing a few feet away from them, her eyes fixated on the sea.

"Garnet! Help us! W-we need to do something!" Amethyst called for her.

But Garnet remained still.

"God damnit Garnet! What do we do?!" Amethyst yelled in anger.

"I saw it…" Garnet muttered.

"What?"

"I saw Jasper hurting Steven." Garnet turned around, taking off her glasses.

Her eyes were wide and filled with tears. The fusion made her way towards her two companions, kneeling beside them, her gaze on the ground.

"I saw Steven curing Jasper. I saw him talk to her, I saw him fight her alongside Connie, I saw him try to reason with her… every scenario ended with him…" Garnet covered her mouth, she couldn't continue.

"That's why you yelled at him…" Amethyst realized.

"But it happened the same… we should have stayed… we should have…" Garnet couldn't contain herself any longer.

She threw her arms around Amethyst and Pearl… and cried.

Meanwhile, somewhere else:

There was darkness.

An endless, dark void.

That is what Steven saw when he opened his eyes. His hearing was muffled, he could hear voices, but didn't really understand what they were saying. The only thing he could hear clearly, was the beating of his own heart. He looked at his hands. That is when he noticed that his vision was blurry, but still, he felt them, he felt like his hands were there, like… like he was there. Time passed, and nothing else happened. The voices got more and more muffled, until they disappeared, while the sound of his breath and his heart became stronger. Then… in the darkness… something appeared. It was a light. Small at the beginning, almost invisible, but it grew. It grew larger and brighter until… Steven felt… reinvigorated. His vision was less blurry, he could see his own hands clearly and somehow, he found himself walking towards the light. There was something, there was someone who was talking. No, not talking, it was a song. Steven kept walking, the light becoming so strong that it forced him to cover his eyes. But he didn't stop, he kept going forwards until… the light was gone. He opened his eyes and saw that the darkness was gone too. But he wasn't on the beach. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It didn't look like any of the places he had been before. It was… a garden, a very beautiful garden. The scent of roses and the gentle breeze that caressed his hair made it even more beautiful.

"Where am I?" Steven wondered out aloud, looking around.

The young boy began to wander around, trying to figure out where he was, or at least, to understand how he could go back. The only thing he remembered was… Jasper. The realization made him release a little yelp. He had cured her, he went to sleep and then… she attacked him, he tried to talk to her but… was he… was he- Steven's train of thoughts was interrupted by a distant sound. It was that song, the one that guided him through the darkness, the one that guided him here. Steven looked around and, in the distance, he saw what looked like a fountain. As he approached it, he noticed that there was someone sitting behind it. It was a tall figure… a tall figure with long, pinkish- Steven became immediately still, his eyes wide. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move. That figure… could it be… Steven took a step forward, then another, then another. He began to circle around the fountain, the tall figure's voice now clear to him. He remembered that voice. He dreamt of that voice, and when he finally reached its source, he felt like his heart had stopped beating. The figure raised its gaze, its expression as puzzled as Steven's. It stood up quickly, only to remain still afterwards. It seemed like an eternity had passed, when finally… the figure spoke.

"Steven…"

It was Rose Quartz's voice.

"H-how… h-how is it possible?"

Steven didn't answer, he remained silent, but when Rose took a step towards him, he suddenly flinched back.

"S-Steven?" Rose called his son, trying to reach out to him, only to see him recoil even more. It was a pain like no other. Why was her own child stepping away from her? Was he scared?

"Please don't lie." Steven whispered, his gaze low.

"What?"

"I know who you are… so please… don't lie… at least not to me… please…" Steven could feel his eyes starting to water.

That was the moment when Rose finally understood. Steven knew. He knew about her. He knew about what she did and… who she really was. She couldn't understand how he'd managed to find out the truth, but it didn't matter, because when she saw tears starting to fall from her own child's eyes, it was too much for her to bear. To know she had hurt him so much. To imagine how betrayed he must have felt in that moment, it was too much. A bright light engulfed her… and Rose Quartz was gone. Now… in front of Steven… there was Pink Diamond. Her own eyes filled with tears. She quickly stepped forwards and scooped the little boy into her arms, embracing him, holding him tightly, burying her face in his soft, curly hair, trying to give him all the affection she had never been able to give. Steven struggled against her, but only for a moment before she could feel his tiny arms circling her neck, hugging her back. It only made her cry more. She cried and laughed, and so did Steven.

"My Steven, my beautiful, precious little Steven." Pink whispered.

"M-mom…" Steven muttered between sobs.

"I know I hurt you… I lied to my closest friends and… I lied to you. I can't even find the right words to apologize for what I have done to you. Please… please forgive me… don't hate me Steven." Pink pleaded, holding the little boy tighter.

"I could never hate you mom. I love you… I love so much… I can't believe you're really here." Steven slightly pulled away and smiled brightly at his mother.

"Oh Steven… I'm here, it's really me and… I love you too, so, so much." Pink said, caressing Steven's cheek, smiling warmly as he leaned into her hand. "Oh! Look how big you've grown!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Well… I feel pretty small right now." Steven laughed.

Pink looked at him with a surprised expression before erupting into laughter. It was a teary laugh, but a joyful one nonetheless. She held him close and began to twirl around, both of them giggling.

"You're so beautiful… you're exactly as wonderful as Garnet had shown me…" Pink said, sitting down on the fountain's edge.

"Wait… Garnet did what?" Steven asked.

"Oh Steven… I thought I would have never been able to see you… let alone hug you…" Pink said, lightly ruffling Steven's hair. "B-but maybe you'd like me to stop now…" Her tone suddenly became downhearted. Steven wasn't an infant and maybe, Pink thought, he didn't really like to be cradled that much.

"No!" Steven exclaimed. "I mean… I like it… we have never done this before, we should recover all the hugs we haven't been able to give each other. It's fourteen years of delayed hugs!"

"Steven." Pink laughed again, embracing him tightly another time before slightly parting away. "As I was saying, I really thought I would have never been able to see you, so I asked Garnet to show me the future, to show me… you…"

"Well… what did you think about me back then?" Steven asked.

"That you were the most wonderful thing I had ever seen… back then I couldn't believe I would be able to bring such a beautiful, perfect little boy to the world…" Pink trailed off, her smile wavering, "… and… and I couldn't be there for you… you had to grow up without a mother. Steven, I wanted you to live and experience the beauties of Earth so much. I have given my life for you… but… it still wasn't enough… you deserved so, so much more."

Steven saw tears starting to stream down his mother's face. He immediately wiped them away and quickly kissed her cheek before embracing her tightly.

"Never say that again. You gave up your own life for me to live mine, and it's not true that you haven't been there. You've been there for me my whole life, every time I was sad I felt you cheering me up, every time I thought I couldn't do something, I felt you encouraging me and… every time I said 'I love you mom, goodnight'… I felt your embrace…"

"I love you Steven." Pink said, kissing both of his cheeks before pulling him close once more.

"I love you too mom." Steven answered, closing his eyes.

They both knew that this moment wouldn't have lasted forever, but it was okay.

It was okay.

Go hug your mom like right now.