Sapphire loved to sleep. She had never expected this, Garnet had only tried sleeping a couple of times and was quite neutral on it, feeling there were better things to do with her time. Why try to escape from your life when you were always a being of love?

But Sapphire was not a being of love. Sapphire was plagued by visions there was no escape from. Counting down the days until Ruby would visit her again. Their anniversary, every year. She wondered how she kept track of the days. She always had been awful with numbers.

After she had been attacked by a gem monster, she had made her ice fortress complete. The cave was the same as it had been, but it was surrounded by thick walls of ice that never melted, except when Ruby melted through them once a year.

She had stopped throwing herself into the future as much, stopped trying to hurt herself with visions, she was just too tired now. But she still couldn't bring herself to say in the present…hence. Sleep.

It was a wonderful world where the future, past and present mixed with what could never be. She never had to worry if things would come true if she saw them when she was dreaming.

She could…rest. She had never known that was possible before. She could not worry about the future, forget about the past and just - exist.

She spent most of her days sleeping. It seemed the only way she could stand the passage of time.

"It's alive!" Said Rolando

"Yeah, it's supposed to be." Jenny pointed out.

"But it has favorites!" Rolando said.

"Everyone has favorites." Steven said.

"Yeah. Chill dude." Sour Cream said.

"He's always like this." PeeDee sighed.

"What do you like about the ships?" Kiki asked the mirror politely.

The mirror showed an image of ships flying through space.

"That's neat." Buck admitted.

"Are they coming to harvest us all?" Rolando asked.

The mirror went blank. Jenny laughed. "I think that's a no."

"What's your favorite color?" Steven asked.

The mirror showed a picture of a clear blue sky.

"Blue!" PeeDee said, "Mines yellow. Like oil."

"I like blue." Sour Cream said.

"Green! Like aliens!" Rolando said loudly enough Greg and the gems glanced their way from across the beach.

They waved and the adults went back to their conversation, Steven was relieved to see they seemed less annoyed at each other than at the start.

The mirror flickered through the colors they had listed. Yellow sand, the sky again. The green grass of the hill.

"She listened." Kiki said.

"What makes you think it's a girl?" Sour Cream asked.

"Look at how nice the mirror is. It's clearly a girl." Kiki said, gesturing at the ornate mirror.

"I don't see why it has to be a girl." Buck argued. "Guys can be pretty too."

The mirror didn't seem to think their conversation was worth adding too.

"This is so cool. Steven. You always get the coolest stuff." Jenny complained.

"Half magic." Steven said smiling.

They continued to talk to the mirror, she (Kiki won that fight) was funny and full of information. The images she showed them didn't make much sense, spaceships and endless lines of gems, almost all larger than Pearl. Even cooler was when she started to echo back their words to them. Copying a fart noise every time one of them said something for a solid ten minutes, they were laughing hysterically when the adults came back over.

"What's so funny?" Pearl asked.

"The mirror!" Steven said.

"Oh, are you using that? I don't see what's so funny." Pearl reached out and took the mirror from Steven's hands and looked at it. "…you didn't turn it on Steven."

The kids exchanged confused looks. "He just really likes his reflection." Jenny said.

"Yeah. We've been making faces!" Sour Cream added.

Ruby stuck out her tongue at the mirror.

"See, Steven this is how you use it. Show me the galaxy warp." Pearl said to the mirror.

Nothing happened. The kids exchanged confused glances.

"Maybe if you said please?" PeeDee suggested.

Pearl rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's right your manners are important Peedee. Now I know you have seen it. Show me the galaxy warp, please."

The mirror did nothing. Pearl flipped it over and looked at the gem in the back. "It must have finally broken," she said.

"Oh well, nothing lasts forever." Ruby said.

"Nothing lasts at all." Pearl sighed, Ruby reached out and put a comforting hand on her arm.

"Hey, if every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs." Greg said comfortingly.

"Are you okay?" Steven asked her.

"Of course, Steven." Pearl said. "I'm fine."

"Do you mind if we keep the mirror?" Jenny asked. "It's really pretty."

"Not at all. No point letting it go to waste. We're going to talk to your father. We will return with pizza."

The children gave their regular cheers of joy and watched the three adults walk away. Before turning to the mirror in confusion.

"You don't like them?" Jenny asked.

"Are you secretly at war with them?" Rolando said.

"Like them -no." The mirror echoed back.

"Aw, why not?" Steven asked. "The gems are the best."

The mirror flickered again, Pearl wearing a different outfit seemed to lift the mirror into the air. "Rose." She called out. "Rose, I found a Lapis mirror."

Steven held his breath as his mother came into view. He had seen her before, Greg had several pictures of her he had shown him. But here she moved, her head turning to the mirror and Pearl. Her round face was pensive, she stared with wide round eyes. Her pink hair bounced with the turn of her head. His mom.

"Oh…how strange. But we don't need it, Pearl. Just put it away with the rest of your things." He heard his mother's voice for the first time. Soft, almost musical, Steven felt emotions rise up in him, excitement, sadness and joy filling him to the brim. Tears welled up in his eyes.

Pearl moved to do so, her face becoming larger and more in focus. "Hey! What does it do?" A purple jay bird landed on Pearl's shoulder.

"It shows the past, Amethyst. Get off, you need to check the warps." Pearl said without malice.

"Garnet's got it," The jay replied.

"I do." Another voice said.

Rose laughed - and was suddenly cut off. The mirror's screen cut out; Pearl had put her away.

Steven felt choked up. He didn't think he could talk if he tried.

"You don't like them cause they locked you away?" Jenny asked.

"Yes," the mirror answered.

"How many people gave up their forms to give birth to you?" PeeDee asked, confused.

Steven cleared his throat. "I thought it was just mom. I don't know who those other gems are."

"I do." Sour Cream said. "I mean, I've not no clue who Garnet is. But there was a purple gem who was always hanging out around my house when I was a kid. I think her name was Amethyst. I'd almost forgotten about her until now."

"So, like, where did she go?" Jenny asked.

The kids could only shrug at each other. And the mirror offered no insight.