Inspired by (and loosely based on) the discontinued fic by MiniJen

It all felt like a dream to Rose...these past seven years...and now...

"No? What do you mean no?!"

"I'm sorry, but I won't allow you to turn that machine on! It's far too a risk!"

"And here I thought you actually cared about him too."

"Of course I do! He's my friend!"

"Then give me that book!"

"I can't! I promised him that I will never activate it again! …Even…Even if it means…"

"...Then…does that mean you won't do a damn thing about it?"

"...That's right."

"... Well then… GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

The deed…had been done.

There was nothing else Rose Quartz could do anymore. She heed the man's demands and left that basement and out the familiar cabin. A cabin that once contained memories she had grown fond of was now a looming shadow.

They all seemed so distant now already. Like everything over the past seven years had been a dream at this point.

How was Rose going to tell the others of what had transpired? Has Garnet seen this coming? Will Amethyst be upset? …Will Pearl be devastated?

Rose had little doubt…Pearl is still recovering from a recent loss of sorts after all…

It was cold and snowy outside, but such weather had never bothered Rose due to her not even being human. She glanced up at the snow-covered pine trees with only the wind and the trees' rustling pine needles as sound. She moved forward, her bare feet trudging through soft snow as she made her way to a large pine tree where a curtain of moss hung over an entrance carved into the tree's massive trunk.

Rose didn't have any reason to stay here any longer than she should, after all…

/\/\/\/\

Crazed eyes bore into her concerned ones. His hair was so disheveled, so unlike the many times Rose has seen him present himself. And while Rose isn't too familiar with human anatomy, she wondered if he had lost weight since the last time she saw him back in the fall.

His clothes nearly looked baggy on him. And he looked so tired too…the bags under his eyes didn't look good...like he hadn't been sleeping…

"Please…hide this at all costs…"

\/\/\/\/

Her friend was gone.

The pink Gem took an unsteady step back as the weight of this realization finally made its mark on her. Sorrowful tears made themselves known in her dark violet eyes in thick trails. Rose took one more look at the lone cabin behind her, the wind whistled around her and made her hair flow with it.

Many thoughts ran through Rose's mind.

When did everything go wrong? Should she have stopped all of this sooner? Had she done so, would everything turned out differently? She saw the signs. She recognized them from a time long ago. So…why…?

With a heavy heart…there was…nothing she could do now.

She kept telling herself that, to justify her decisions.

She has a promise to keep.

So as long it could keep him away.

Rose's gem glowed brightly and a book manifested into her hands, its cover a red leather. She took in a shaky breath as more tears trailed down her face.

"You…really are gone…aren't you?" she sobbed quietly. The white snow and cold air seemed to have made her quieter. She sucked in another breath with a sob. "I wish I remained by your side…then maybe…maybe none of this would've happened…I'm sorry…"

Her tears dripped on the book's cover, a number inscribed on the six-fingered hand emblem on the front.

The number '3'

"I'm so sorry..."

"Please...forgive me..."

UNIVERSE FALLS

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