14. Checkmate

Steven was legitimately surprised that he woke up. Not that he was necessarily surprised by where or what was going on when he opened his eyes (that would come later), but that he woke up at all. His final thought before blacking out was that he would definitely, definitely be killed as soon as he hit the floor, probably by Yellow Diamond, her malice and hatred for him clear as day. It was very bright as he blinked into awareness, trying to get a sense of his surroundings. There was no noise except the shifting of his body as he raised himself up into a sitting position.

The memories of before he passed out came rushing back, hitting him hard. He looked around desperately at the floor, looking for any sign of a shard, lifting his hands to his face to make sure they were his own. Small, pale peach-colored fingers waved in his vision, not blue, and only two. As he continued to study his hands, lingering on his engraved wrist, he realized that it was unusually bright, not like the sun through his window at the beach house or the soft blue glow that bathed his holding cell. No, this light was white and sharp, so bright that he couldn't see the floor beyond his private little circle, like a spotlight…

Oh no. No, no, no…

He hadn't been hauled off to his cell, or shattered, poofed, thrown into space or sent to some sort of Homeworld torture room. No, he was in the very same room, but this time, there was no one here except for him. No voices muttered secretively in the background, no Amethysts quivering in front of him, no Holly Blue Agate in his brain, no Opalite, terrifying and deadly and… The thoughts made his stomach turn, and he grasped his head and pulled himself into a little ball.

I shattered two gems. The Skinny Jasper, from the Beta Kindergarten… and an Amethyst. Just like his Amethyst, silly and kind-hearted… Gone.

Every essence of his being hurt thinking about it and his body caught up to speed with his tortured thoughts. Breathing accelerated and eyes filling with tears, Steven's heart sank deep into his stomach. Steven wanted to throw up, but his stomach was too empty to sacrifice any food or liquid to accommodate his gag reflex. With no ability to really physically react, Steven coughed up bile from his stomach as he gripped himself harder. How could this have happened?

Why couldn't I fight back, why am I so weak… He felt like a ghost had reached out to examine his fingers, flexing them one by one, remembering the tingling of the handle of the morning star, electric but not harmful to their hand. They had – he, he had felt that sensation before, when he walked through the gates of the Hand Ship or through grabbed Peridot's destabilizer.

I'm Steven. My memories. Not Opalite – Steven.

Unable or unwilling to move, he sat and buried his face into his knees, crying and occasionally coughing up more bile, not sure what to do, not sure where to go. This would be the best time to try to escape, he wagered, but he didn't know where he would go. Even if he could escape, could he ever go home? How could he face the Gems, or his Dad, or Connie again? Why didn't they just kill him when they unfused?

Each breath felt like acid against his dry throat as Steven sat there heaving, and he thought about the possibility of throwing himself into space, if he could only find an exit…

"You're awake."

Steven yelped in alarm, not expecting anyone else to be here. It had been quiet for so long that he couldn't believe someone had been sitting there with him, patiently waiting for him to wake up. How long had he been out? On top of the surprise, it was a voice they knew – he knew, but he was too delirious to place it at this moment. He was Steven, not Opalite. Steven, not Opalite. He was breathing heavily now, in the throes of a panic attack as his eyes darted around the room wildly.

Steven, not Opalite. Steven, not Opalite. He kept repeating the phrase in his head, raising his hands to his face again to be sure. His chest heaved as he struggled to take in adequate air, shivering in the isolation that was his well-lit island in the sea of darkness.

"It's Steven, right?" The voice said again. It echoed in the room, soft but knowing. It had been phrased as a question, but there was too much knowledge behind the melodic voice for it to have been real curiosity. Whoever it was, they were just baiting him to speak.

Fully aware that Homeworld gems do not react to silence or lies very well, Steven resolved to simply nodding his head while he continued to study his hands, making sure it was really just him and his own mind.

It felt like he had a cold, but one that had nestled its way into its brain. Every thought was his own but he didn't feel like himself anymore, so that offered little comfort. It sounded like his voice in his head but each thought echoed with the presence of Holly Blue Agate, vengeful and angry. But he wasn't angry, was he? He was Steven, wasn't he?

"I thought so. Do you know who I am?" The voice was speaking to him gently, soothing. There was also something else there – suspicion, maybe?

He felt around his navel, checking his gemstone, and felt the back of his neck, too. The sensation was all wrong, where there was supposed to be a gemstone on his neck was nothing but flesh, sticky from sweat and poor hygiene.

No, that's right. I'm Steven, only one gemstone. Not Opalite, Steven.

At this point the struggle was becoming overwhelming, coughing violently into the nothingness. His feelings were impossible for him to describe because he couldn't even trust his own mind. But he was incredibly aware that he was being spoken to, and he was desperately trying to focus. If he was going to come up with an answer to the question, he needed to put his emotions in check and set them aside, at least for now.

Racking his brain, he came up with another memory of Garnet explaining how Sapphire and Ruby first met.

Because of Ruby's impulsive gesture, she suddenly jumped the track of fate, and everything from that instant on was wrong, and new. She couldn't see, she couldn't move. She was... frozen.

When Ruby and Sapphire descended from the sky arena, how the blue gem was too transfixed with the future unfolding before her, watching it all be rewritten… Steven thought this was like that, sort of, but instead of a world of new possibilities, his world felt like it was shrinking. The past felt tainted, uncomfortable, not him anymore. And his future? That felt like it had been erased, rather than replaced. What future could he have, someone who was too weak to stop Holly Blue, someone who shatters gems…

Breath in, out. You're Steven, not Opalite. Focus, Steven.

Trying to fixate on one sensation at a time, Steven started with the obvious ones: pain. First, he noted the ache in his throat from dehydration – a sensation he has come to expect, just made worse by the coughing. Still curled in on himself, he traced the inside of one wrist with his fingers, not looking but feeling the diamond insignia on his raised skin. In addition to the general pangs of soreness he felt all over his body, Steven realized he felt hot and he was covered in sweat despite the room being cold, probably feverish from what just happened and what would happen next. To think that the Crystal Gems and the others were out there somewhere, probably trying to find him or working on a rescue plan. He didn't deserve to be rescued, not after this. Maybe that was all the torture Homeworld had planned for him, maybe he would be dead soon… Maybe he would never have to think about Holly Blue Agate again.

The voice repeated itself, a bit more sharply this time. "Do you know who I am, Steven?"

The hybrid had almost regained enough composure to speak, but not quite. He just needed to be able to focus a bit more and he knew he could find the answer the question…

While the silence continued to stretch on, Steven thought about what he did know. He was aware that his shirt was entirely shredded at this point, the star insignia that he once so proudly sported barely recognizable. His flip-flops were gone, probably abandoned in his cell. He wasn't alone, and he was Steven, not Opalite. Yes, Steven, not Opalite. Finally, running quickly out of things he knew at this point, he returned to the question, thinking hard. He knew he recognized that voice, but who…? Suddenly, his head flew up in recognition, looking around for the speaker.

He nodded, gulping hard on the lump in his throat.

"Good." It was the icy voice of Blue Diamond, melodic and deadly, bouncing off the walls and making it impossible to trace. They… he… was sure the Diamonds had been in front of him on a raised platform, but now his sense of space extended outwards into nothingness, lost in the black room. What had been in front of them might as well be behind him, for all he knew.

"Do you know why you're here?"

His first reaction was to shake his head, reverting to his disbelief that he was still alive, but after a moment he paused. No, he knew exactly why he was here.

He nodded and spoke for the first time. It was so weak, barely a whisper, his mouth dry and sticky. "Pink Diamond…"

As suddenly as he answered, a metallic clanking sound resonated throughout the room. He tensed in response to the sudden noise, only to yell in fear when something grabbed his ankles. At first he thought they were cold hands, the remains of an Amethyst or Jasper crawling up to him, begging for him to stop.

It wasn't hands, though, but advanced-looking blue chains. Steven normally would not be relieved by the thought of his legs being shackled together, but anything was better than what he envisioned; fresh tears had sprung to his eyes at the mental image. The chains did not feel like metal, but they were cold, like everything else in this never ending nightmare.

The room was silent as he studied his bondage. It made him feel like he really was in a zoo this time, secured so he couldn't hurt the guests but on display enough to be entertaining. The longer he thought about it, he wasn't sure if he was truly alone with Blue Diamond, or if there were other onlookers, staring at him, studying him like a science experiment gone wrong, like an abomination that needed to be contained, like a cross-fusion, like Opalite…

No, you're Steven. You're Steven. Steven, not Opalite.

The voice in his head wasn't fully reassuring, so he lifted a hand to feel the back of his head. What had once been a bloody, sticky mess had dried and become greasy, but he could feel the scabbing that formed under his hair where he had made contact with the wall in his home.

Human, blood. See? Calm down… Gems don't bleed, you're not trapped anymore…

Blue Diamond spoke to him again, bringing Steven back to the conversation. Her voice was thick with sorrow. "Yes, Pink. My sister. My best friend… But that's not what I meant."

Steven just looked around for the massive ruler, unable to see anything beyond the small shadow casted by his light. Thinking it best not to probe as to what exactly she meant, he just continued to sit and wait.

There was another oppressive silence before Steven heard some shifting fabric in the silence. She raised the lights to reveal an oval-shaped room, countless shades of blue around the walls. The half-gem's eyes squinted as they adjusted to the fully lit room, trying to make sense of, well, wherever he was. It was the first time he had a moment to study what was around him that weren't just the walls of his cell. His attention at first was drawn to the tremendous array of blue that patterned the every surface except the floor in tiny diamonds, stretching up the walls and columns like a blue-tinted rainbow. Every color of blue you could imagine decorated the space, beautiful and calm as it spread up the walls and to the ceiling. He also noticed that the room was completely flat, and what had once felt like a pit at the bottom of arena was now just long plane of navy beneath him, with one giant exception.

Blue Diamond was seated about 30 yards to his left with the appearance of utter royalty, and she was seated in a massive chair that could only have been a throne. It was as geometric as the rest of Homeworld's technology, but it framed her dignified presence perfectly. Steven grimaced at the sight of her, but if she noticed, she did not react. Her head was simply tilted to one side, resting her chin on the palm of her giant yet delicate hand. At her feet was a wisp of a Pearl, blue and pensive, eyes hidden behind her bangs, and another gem… Steven squinted as he studied the figure, only to realize it was the same orange gem that he had encountered on Earth. Tall (although a dwarf to Blue Diamond) with long features and a nearly-shaved head, she was poised and her pale orange skin stood out in the surrounding depths of blues. It felt like eons ago that he was hiding in the rafters from her, waiting for the Gems to warp in any minute.

Steven jumped backwards as Blue Diamond raised her other hand, but she did not make to smash him. He studied it warily, expecting something horrible to happen, only to be surprised as she gently lowered it back to her side. As the hand came down, Steven saw a shifting in the corner of his eye and turned to inspect the source, only to gasp. The very ground beneath him began to vanish, once an opaque navy (the color of virtually every floor he's seen on the ship) became translucent. It faded out slowly at first, but by the time Blue Diamond had completely lowered her hand, Steven felt like he was sitting over glass. An ocean of darkness, illuminated by stars and passing asteroids, moons and suns and other planets, all shining into the above room, twinkling and exploding into every conceivable color all around him.

Steven was totally awe-struck at the beauty of it all, gazing in wonder as the stars danced against the million diamonds far above his head, before those same stars zoomed past, only to be replaced by countless new combinations of colors and shifting constantly like a disco ball. It was nothing short of magnificent, creating a kaleidoscope-esqe room that brought a ballet of light to life around him.

While the moment was striking, it also made Steven feel even worse than he had. Everything was moving too fast, his senses unable to keep up with the dazzling colors and shapes swirling in and out of view before his mind could properly fixate on any of them, creating a dizzying sensation that made his head spin.

"You see, Steven," the Diamond spoke to him. He spun to face her and continued to curl inwards on himself, trying and failing to ignore the dazzling illuminations that played off every surface.

"I spared your life. After what happened, Yellow was prepared to shatter you. To know once and for all that the Rose Quartz was… And at first I wanted it, too." Her voice was slow, thoughtful as she spoke.

"But then I thought, what would that accomplish? You humans have such short lives, your death would be inconsequential on the scale of time. And I have spent thousands of years mourning her. All of that, for what? My Agate says you are fourteen? Fourteen years in exchange for her?"

Steven scooted back, no longer feeling trapped in his circle of light once the expanse of space opened around him but trapped in the gaze of the Diamond seated before him. He wasn't retreating over the fact that she was threatening him, her mighty presence reigning over his comparatively tiny one – no, he had expected that the moment he recognized her voice. It was the mention of Holly Blue Agate he was not ready to think about, not yet. And to know he was fourteen exactly, that had to be a part of his mind that was no longer just his, but a memory and thought that she extracted from their shared consciousness. It hurt to think about, his eyes spilling over tears as he hugged himself closer. What else had they stolen from his mind? Was anything he thought safe anymore?

The room continued to spin as he sat there terrified, and he felt like he was supposed to say something, but he couldn't concentrate. His mind was fading again, back to that voice that sounded like his own and alien at the same time, the way all of the colors created a beautiful shimmery effect, like a gemstone, like the ones Opalite had smashed…

Blue Diamond continued once he said nothing, readjusting herself so that she leaned forward slightly towards him.

"And then there's another problem… You aren't the Rose Quartz, are you? No more than any other cut of the same gemstone. You are, but you aren't. You're a gem, but you're not. A human, but you're not. Your entire existence… it's a paradox, isn't it, Steven?"

She withdrew her hood, fully revealing her lovely face. Her eyes looked sad, blue orbs shining like the glittering room around them, but her voice almost sounded amused.

"Yellow says I'm crazy, you know, to keep you alive. But I think it is better this way. If you really turn out to be a problem, we can always dispose of you later, but right now, I want to understand you. You're much more valuable alive. Human and gem, like this, it's… not natural." She paused for a moment, reclining back into her throne, looking sympathetic. At this point, Blue Diamond might as well have been alone in her chambers, musing to herself for all the care she gave the others in the room. There were questions in her eyes as she studied the tiny, fragile oddity that hugged itself below her.

"No… by all means, you are not natural… But you are special, aren't you, Steven?"

The question had been addressed to him, but he didn't think he could respond even if he wanted to. He just felt confused, dizzy, thirsty…

Blue Diamond's voice echoed throughout the room again, but Steven couldn't make clear sense of the words. The mixture of sensations had become too much for him once again, his human body unable to keep up with the constancy of Homeworld's agenda. Question. Answer. Go here. Eat this. This way. Question. Answer… It was constant push and shove towards whatever they wanted, and he was always being dragged behind.

Instead of a response, all he could do is grip his head and release a few deep breaths, his nerves shocked from his downward spiral… the lights, the fusion, the questions, a paradox, Rose Quartz, human, everything's blue, he was blue, they were blue, the morning star, the dust and shards… He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, fighting to dispel the misery that had rattled his brain, trying to focus. Whatever Blue Diamond was saying to him, surely it was important.

The three other gems in the room watched him struggle, which only made him feel worse. All he wanted was to wrap his arms around Pearl's dainty frame, his Pearl, none of these Homeworld clones. He wanted to flop his body down into the softness of Garnet's bouncy hair and watch her adjust her glasses mysteriously. And Amethyst… could he even face her after what he's done? Could they ever just eat pizza, play video games, get donuts like before? All he could visualize was the look on the Amethyst's face here with the gemstone on her cheek, standing in a row, her haunting expression before she turned into nothing but dust and shards and pain…

"Pearl," Blue Diamond had called her to attention. They exchanged no words and Steven was not looking at them, so he wondered what was happening during their silent exchange, but he couldn't indulge his curiosity. He had really begun to panic; his brain felt like it had ignited, his heart beat racing in his chest, his lungs struggling. He knew he should try to take deep breaths, steady himself by focusing on something, like Garnet had taught him, but he couldn't help it. He took quick, shallow breaths that only made his head hurt worse. Overwhelmed, he continued to lock his eyes together even tighter, fighting to remain conscious. He would not pass out again, not in this room, in front of these gems. It was too important; he needed to hear this conversation out.

No one spoke for several minutes, but Steven flinched when he was touched by a hard, cold hand. It was Blue Pearl, kneeling in front of him, offering for him to stand up. He felt the impulse to draw himself away, wanting never to touch the hand of another Homeworld gem, but he resigned to grab her outstretched wrist instead, gritting his teeth. The Pearl's expression did not change as she helped him stand, but she withdrew her arm quickly to her side once he was steady.

His fetters clattered loudly as he shifted to a standing position. "Are you alright?" The Pearl's voice was softer, less threatening than that of a Diamond, but she was still a Homeworld gem; Steven thought it best not to accept their sympathy.

"Y-yes. But I… the floors…?" He didn't even know how to explain it.

No, I'm not alright. I'd be "alright" if you made this insanity stop, send me home and end this nightmare. Can you tell me what this is on my wrist? What happened to the other Amethysts and Jaspers and Carnelians, the ones who hadn't been hurt? Why would you even condone fusion like that here, isn't it forbidden? Can you just leave me and the Earth alone? Why did you tell Holly Blue Agate to fuse with me? Why couldn't Ibreak free, resist her… why, why, why?

He had begun to regulate his breathing, and despite his anger, he was thankful Blue Pearl had interrupted his panic attack. Her stone-cold touch had shocked him back from his thoughts, giving him a sensation to focus on, trying to calm down…

Closing his eyes and taking several more deep breaths, Steven tried to explain a second time. He had questions, too, but he decided to start small. "The floor. It's – it's making me dizzy. I don't think gems have that feeling, but it feels like your head hurts – hurts so much that you can't focus on anything. Maybe like having a minor crack? Could you turn it back to normal?" He had turned his head in the general direction of Blue Diamond, but kept his eyes closed, trying to breath in and out, in and out.

He had thought about saying please, minding the manners his Pearl had taught him, but he couldn't bring himself to show courtesy right now.

In response to his request, Blue Diamond arched an eyebrow suspiciously. He must recognize that he was in no position to be making requests, especially not to her directly, but she could sense his pain; it was deep and drowning. This thought made her frown – for him to be useful, he had to be in a functional condition. She had staged this discussion with some careful aid, and she needed the hybrid to see it all the way through.

Studying the boy's pale body, ripped shirt and completely disheveled appearance, Blue Diamond decided it best to grant his request, for now. She would have to regroup with the others, check with White Diamond…

She returned the floor to normal after a pause, raising one of her majestic hands. This time, the whole room was lit regularly, floor returned to navy. Blue Pearl returned diligently to the Diamond's side.

"You do not like the universe?"

"I do, it's just… it would require a lot of human explanation." Steven was annoyed that she hadn't returned to the more important discussion, the one he had fought to be lucid for.

"A pity."

She must have been expecting him to explain, for him to have made such a gesture of standing up, steadying himself against a normal, lifeless floor. There was distrust in her eyes, skeptical of his motives.

Steven decided to speak carefully, but truthfully. "Listen… I just, I miss my home. I miss my family. I'm not like gems, I need rest to feel better. Like regenerating, but for a human body. All of that, all of this... Look, you must know by now, from what you said earlier, that I'm not my mom. I can't undo what she did." Blue Diamond's face had become stoic.

"I just… if there's something I can do to put this all behind us, can I go home? Whatever I'm here for… if I help, can I go back to Earth, and can you leave the Crystal Gems alone? I just…" he choked up a bit at the end, unable to help himself.

"I just want to go home."

The orange gem and Blue Pearl standing at the Diamond's feet looked absolutely stunned, eyes shifting nervously between the two. Not only did the hybrid have an utter disregard for courtesy, but what was he possibly hoping to accomplish? How could he be so foolish?

Blue Diamond looked down at him, thinking. The grand gem considered what he said seriously, attuned to his emotional distress, thinking of how this might play out. She didn't want to grant him the satisfaction of thinking he had was in any place to bargain with her. She could kill him now, easily, and the Crystal Gems, too. When the hybrid would try to protest, she had planned to haul him back to his cell when he refused to accept her terms, and now he was agreeing to do whatever she asked, simple as that? She had not accounted for this possibility.

There was no way for her to be certain, and she did not owe any promises to a traitor… but this could play to her advantage. Another option, the same outcome, but with the possibility of being even more devastating? But at what cost…

Finally, after an extended, stuffy silence, Blue Diamond spoke slowly, choosing her words with care. "I think you are… underestimating your own value. I could grant you passage to your home, but there is a target on your head. Even if I commanded every single gem under my control to stand down, there are still some who would rather go rogue and murder you or the other rebels for what you've done. That's to say nothing of what those outside of my control would want to do. Vengeance runs cold, and vengeance runs deep amongst our race. If, that is, they learn Rose Quartz exists. But to them right now, you are Steven. You could return, but there would be a price. They – I – require… closure."

A voice, wicked and not his own, replayed in his memory: Don't you see by now? It doesn't matter if you beg. They want this. They want you to suffer.

"Do you understand, Steven?"

And he did. He understood perfectly. Maybe he had always understood, but had buried it with his hopes for a semi-normal life, refusing to accept the truth.

They need closure. They probably want this to end just as much as he did, thinking of the agony in Blue Diamond's voice back when he overheard her at the zoo, the overwhelming tears that flooded his eyes when he had first been in her presence, and even Yellow Diamond's emotional song as they mourned Pink Diamond. His Mom had done so much... But his mom was gone, Homeworld's opportunity for closure slipping through their fingers with the rest of the Crystal Gems. They had lost someone dear to them. The price for her life had to be repaid, in full.

Steven spoke, finally, four words that broke him.

"It's me, or them." It wasn't a question.

Blue Diamond hid her face once again under her hood, leaning back.

"A pity."

Steven thought such a prospect should be scary, but it wasn't. Honestly, all he felt was numbness. He didn't want to die necessarily, although recent events made him question that notion, but he recognized that his life and his friends beyond value to him. But that was the paradox – he was the paradox. His life or his friends, the only thing he had left to bargain with.

"What would happen?" he mumbled, not looking at any of them.

Blue Diamond paused for a moment, considering. "You would not be killed, at least, not for a long time. The others – your Crystal Gems – are nothing compared to the value of Rose Quartz in the eyes of Homeworld. They would be forgotten as quickly as your capture is announced. They could continue their life on Earth, but they must leave well enough alone."

Steven thought he understood what she was getting at, but he had to be sure. "Leave well enough alone… You mean they need to stay away from Homeworld." He clenched his fist, as if it would help.

"They need to stay away from you. My Sapphires tell me that they plan an attack, although they are not sure when and how. There are too many possibilities. Alas, in none of them do they survive."

That was it, then. The cards were dealt, the match was set. Checkmate, Homeworld. If he tried to run, escape, or return to Earth, they would all become targets by Homeworld gems seeking revenge for Pink Diamond; if he was allowed to go back to Earth, it would be at the cost of his family, the supporters of Rose Quartz, his short life an exchange for the many thousands of years they resisted; if he stayed, they would try to rescue him and be killed anyways, unless they stayed away. His life alone of fourteen years was not commensurate with the Crystal Gem's rebellious actions, but being kept alive "for a long time" would be. Maybe they would torture him, or maybe make him into some kind of slave? Would they try to make him fuse again? That thought made him feel sick. Before, his guard was down but if he was prepared to resist… But it didn't matter, the longer he thought about it. This was the only option where the Gems lived and Homeworld would leave the Earth alone.

Steven nodded in understanding. He really didn't have a choice.

Blue Diamond's voice regained its soothing quality. "Very well. Helidor," the orange gem snapped to attention.

"Please act as an escort. Take Steven to his cell and await further instruction. Pearl," the Diamond need not finish the command, her Pearl already moving towards a door behind the throne. She began to work a panel with thin blue fingers.

Then, just like that, Steven's ankles were freed from their blue bonds. Helidor, he presumed, was approaching him as he just stood in the room middle of the large, oval room. Unable to help himself, Steven just started laughing, relief and sadness and surprise washing over him and throwing him into hysterics. He was laughing and laughing and laughing. Helidor ignoring him as she pushed him roughly out the door with her long hands.

How long has it been since I've been here, and it took this long for me to learn this stupid orange gem's name? Before Helidor, life was so simple. No Holly Blue Agate. No Opalite. No Blue Diamond. No Lilac Pearl, or Apatite, or the blue cell or the insufficient meals or my wrist, scarred by Homeworld... But that was all before I shattered gems.

Now he was Steven, not Opalite, and he had shattered gems, and he made deals with Diamonds.

Helidor. Helidor. The boy didn't even care that his futuristic handcuffs were returned to his hands as soon as they passed through the door, his eyes just watching the receding figure of Blue Diamond exit the room from afar.

They went down many hallways, neither saying a word. They must have been walking for at least twenty minutes and the halls had only turned a few shades darker. Steven's feet had begun to hurt from all of the walking, which he found ironic, given that he's done nothing but sit since he's been here, save today.

Lost in thought, Steven couldn't decide how to feel. There was relief and anxiety, sadness and freedom, complacency and solitude, sinister intent and unforgivable mistakes… and all of it jumbled together in his brain. Eventually, he looked down at his own bare feet, shuffling along the navy floor, and decided he would settle on feeling thankful. If nothing else, he was certainly glad to feel the cold, solid metal beneath his feet, no celestial glass looking down into the cosmos.

Absently, Steven wondered if the Earth or even the Sun had passed beneath him while he sat atop the universe. How far away was he from home? Was it nighttime on Earth? Maybe Connie had been looking up into the sky while he looked down at floor, unable to see each other across the stars. Maybe, at this very moment, her heart was also aching, knowing they would never see each other again.