Steven was seeing, or rather not seeing, at least not from a normal perspective. At that moment, he was floating in the air while Jasper watched him from below with a mixture of fury and bewilderment. How did he get to this point? Well... let me tell you how he ended up like this, with an angry Jasper and a Steven suspended in mid-air.
It was a sunny day, one of those days when the birds sing, the flowers bloom, and everything seems destined to go well. Steven was in a good mood, one of those truly good ones. As always, he had been experimenting in his room, but this time it was different. Since what had happened with Peridot and the communications hub, the boy had become more reflective and also more creative. He had new ideas, new parameters, and a desire to push every limit he could within his mother's AI.
In his room, in front of Rose's hologram, Steven smiled with the excitement of a child about to open a present. Rose, or rather the projection, looked at him with that soft, warm expression that always made him feel protected. And that's when Steven gave his first command.
Room, show me how I can fly, step by step.
The room fell silent. Rose's hologram flickered, as if reviewing thousands of lines of information at once. Finally, she looked at him serenely, bowed her head, and smiled.
"Steven," Rose's image said, "to fly, you need more than strength or magic. The first thing is a happy emotion. Something that makes you feel light, as if your chest wants to propel you upward."
Steven listened intently, feeling the room begin to adjust gravity in a small area around him. The hologram continued.
"Then, you must feel a zone of weightlessness. It's not exactly floating... it's feeling like you're letting go of the ground before it lets go of you. It's like imagining yourself in a space where nothing is pulling you down, where you are part of the air."
Steven took a deep breath. He closed his eyes. He tried to recall happy moments, not the loud ones, but the profound ones. The first time he used his shield, when he healed an injured creature with his saliva, when Connie hugged him after a difficult mission, when Garnet proudly lifted him in her arms. All those feelings swirled in his chest with a gentle warmth.
And that's when he felt it.
It wasn't a sudden lift. It wasn't spectacular, or brilliant, or cinematic. It was just a slight tug, like his stomach clenching before a jump. Then another tug. Then a light sensation beneath his feet. Like a gentle push, as if the room were encouraging him to let his own body do the rest.
Slowly, Steven opened his eyes and saw the ground receding a few centimeters. Just a few. But they were his.
Rose's hologram watched him with pride.
That's it, Steven. Hold onto the excitement. Don't force it, just let it flow.
Steven swallowed hard, concentrating. And so, inch by inch, he began to rise, unhurriedly, calmly. As if he had always belonged up there.
"Hell yeah!" I said, almost shouting, as I began to float, feeling my feet lift off the ground with an almost magical smoothness. It was about time, damn it. Tears escaped me unbidden, tears of absolute glory. My whole life I had longed for this. To fly. To feel the air weightless, limitless, with nothing tethering me to the ground. And now I could.
The hologram mother watched me with that strange mix of pride and sweetness she always wore on her face. She soon rose with me, as if simply accompanying me was part of the tutorial. She floated until she was at my level and extended a hand, inviting me to follow her movements.
"Steven," she said in a voice that seemed to come from a memory I'd never experienced, "flying isn't about strength, it's about intention."
I tried to stay steady, even though my legs were doing things I couldn't control.
"Think of something that makes you feel light," Rose continued. "Something that truly makes you happy. The body responds to what it feels, not what you think."
I closed my eyes for just a second, letting my chest warm up, remembering laughter, hugs, the faces of everyone I loved. And the air seemed to hold me more firmly.
"Very good," she said, moving a little closer to correct my posture. "Now breathe as if the air is welcoming you. Let it hold you, don't fight it."
I opened my eyes and watched her floating so naturally it seemed as if she'd been born in the air.
"Like this?" I asked, moving my arms clumsily.
"Gently," Rose replied with a small smile. Flying is about trusting. Not just in yourself, but in what you feel. If you push yourself too hard, you'll fall... but if you feel it, you'll rise.
I let go, just a little. And for the first time, I didn't sink; I rose.
Rose's smile shone brighter than the light in the room as I continued to ascend, light, free, and happy.
Hours passed as Steven gradually mastered the art of flying. At first, he was clumsy, almost as if the air was pushing him harder than he wanted; but with each attempt, each nervous laugh, and each gentle landing, he gained confidence. He no longer just floated: he maneuvered, turned, rose, descended... until finally, it seemed he was born for it.
But even perfect moments come to an end. Or at least, for most. Steven wasn't "most."
With a mischievous grin, he turned toward the holographic figure of his mother.
"Mother, I'm going outside," he said, his voice thick with a barely contained emotion. "I think I'll go to the war zone… you know, the one full of strawberries. I should eat strawberries. I should eat strawberries…"
He began to mutter random things, words tangling together, little thoughts he only let out when he was completely alone. Things he kept silent so as not to make anyone uncomfortable. It was how he relaxed, even though it made him look a little stranger than usual.
Rose's hologram looked at him with an expression somewhere between tenderness and bewilderment. Even a symbolic bead of sweat appeared as her form gently shifted, rising until she transformed into the imposing yet warm Pink Diamond.
"My son, go wherever you want," the pink figure said, extending a hand toward him. "Just… be careful, okay?"
She stroked his hair with a gentleness Steven had never physically felt, but which nonetheless touched his heart. He nodded with that serious, determined look that only appeared when he was absolutely certain of something.
With one last respectful gesture, Steven left the room. And just as he stepped through the door, he saw his mother's image gently dissolve into a cloud of pink dust, returning to the quiet calm of the room.
Now nothing could stop him. And flying outside was just the beginning.
Steven stood on the portal, took a deep breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Lapiz, I'm leaving. If they ask about me, I'll be in the war zone practicing something, got it?"
"Uh-huh," Lapiz replied without taking her eyes off her screen, completely engrossed in an argument with noobmaster60, a jerk with more multiple accounts than common sense.
Steven shook his head. Better not to ask. Better not to get involved. Better not to die today under a raging stream of water.
With a thought, he activated the portal beneath his feet and vanished in a flash.
He appeared in the war zone. The sweet breeze from the strawberry field greeted him, and the aroma filled him with a calm he hadn't felt in days. He floated a few centimeters, almost effortlessly, reached out, and picked a strawberry. Then another. Then another. It was perfect. Just him, the sky, and the soft sounds of the fields.
Couldn't it stay like this forever?
Obviously not.
Instinct screamed at him before his reason could understand, and in less than a second he summoned his bubble. An orange fist slammed into it, sending Steven flying into a bush with branches that grazed him all over. He tumbled to the ground, got up, and looked up.
Jasper.
The gem stood there, imposing, breathing fury, as if the earth itself feared its presence.
"Rose Quartz," Jasper said, craned her neck, ready for battle. "Do you know how long I've been looking for you?"
Steven blinked twice.
"You've been looking for me?"
"For a rematch," he said contemptuously, slamming his fist against his palm with a sharp crack that echoed through the air.
The orange helmet materialized above his head, energy crackling around it. And without further warning, it launched itself at Steven.
Steven summoned his shield. The impact was brutal.
The burst of power sent a shower of crushed strawberries flying. The ground shook.
Steven was flung to the side, rolling across the field as Jasper smashed through the earth in pursuit. He floated up, used gravity to his advantage, and soared higher, narrowly avoiding Jasper's leap that left a crescent-shaped crater.
Jasper roared.
"Stop cowardly floating, Rose!"
Steven swooped down to strike with his shield, but Jasper blocked and hurled him into a raised area, a rocky platform that had jutted out from the ground over time. Steven crashed, bounced, and floated again.
Jasper leaped toward him, shattering another platform in the process, but Steven spun in mid-air, dodging her and unleashing a shockwave from his shield that sent her stumbling back a few steps.
The gem grinned.
"That's it. Give me a fight."
The strawberry field was a chaotic mess of open earth, flying rocks, and crushed fruit as they both moved, climbed, fell, clashed shield against helmet, strength against magic, air against earth. Steven used the high ground to launch attacks from unexpected angles; Jasper destroyed it just to force him to move.
It was beautiful chaos.
And it was only just beginning.
I stared at her with a mixture of surprise and annoyance as Jasper appeared from among the rocks as if the place belonged to her. It was impossible not to let go of the thought that crossed my mind, wondering what on earth she was doing there when there were so many other places she could be exploring. Jasper responded with an arrogant smile, that expression of hers that seemed designed to provoke.
She cared little for my annoyance. She said she had fought me once right there, as if that memory were a personal treasure. She regretted that the Diamonds had given the order to evacuate; she insisted that, if it hadn't been for that, she would have torn me apart without a second thought. Her gem glowed, summoning two bubbles around her fists, and I saw her raise an eyebrow at my reaction. She wanted to know how many tricks I had, wanted to know if I really wasn't like her, and her eyes locked onto mine as if searching for an answer I wasn't about to give her.
I remained silent. I didn't want to talk to her. All I could think about was how to poof her before she could escape, a silent plan I was trying to finalize in seconds.
A few minutes earlier, Jasper had sat on a pile of rocks, motionless before the horizon. That place had been a killing field, and not just for rebels; loyal gems had fallen there too, gems who had served the empire with absolute conviction. It was right there that a gem had received her upon her arrival into existence, where she had received her purpose, where she had been told that her duty was to defend the empire and protect the Diamond that had shaped her.
She shook her head as if trying to shake off an uncomfortable memory. She looked around and noticed how beautiful the place looked now, a strange sight for her, accustomed as she was to detesting such landscapes as if they were unworthy of her presence. Even so, she allowed herself a moment of calm. It wasn't so bad to have these kinds of thoughts from time to time, though she would never admit it aloud.
Miraira stared for several minutes, her mind blank, her only memories causing her pain. After a while, a sound snapped her back to reality. She looked towards the portal and saw the gem responsible for shattering her Diamond. She still didn't know how she'd done it. A surprise attack? Had she tricked her by being another Quartz? Did Jasper even care? Not at all. Jasper was there, waiting for any opening to strike. She quickly lunged at Rose, who summoned her bubble—something Jasper had completely forgotten. She watched as Rose stood up and carefully applied a small amount of essence from her mouth, something she'd need to investigate later.
They stared at each other.
Back to reality.
They both launched themselves at each other with a force that seemed to split the air in two. Steven dodged the first blow with a concentration he had never felt before; his flight was still clumsy, but enough to give each movement a completely new angle. He propelled himself into the air, executed a spin he could never have performed before, and coiled around Jasper's arm, surprising her to the point of leaving her motionless for a second. He took advantage of that moment and delivered a kick reinforced with a bubble to increase the impact. Jasper was sent flying backward, though she recovered with an almost intimidating speed.
Steven didn't give her time. He ran after her with the urgency of someone who knows that a second's head start could mean disaster. He needed to contain her before she tried something reckless. He extended his arm with an attack he had learned in training with Amethyst, a technique that consumed too much energy and that he usually avoided. However, ever since that Rose from his dream had merged with him, something inside felt firmer, fuller, as if strength were welling up within him without asking permission. Perhaps now he could allow himself a few tricks... a few... maybe many.
The blow struck Jasper's helmet squarely, sending her crashing to the ground with a thud. Steven descended from the sky and surveyed the surroundings, where the remnants of weapons from the old battlefield lay scattered. He drew a sword to complement his shield and assumed a firm stance, taking deep breaths as the smoke cleared.
Jasper emerged from the mist with an expression that tried to be stern, but couldn't quite conceal the bright spark of excitement in her eyes. She was practically unharmed, with only a few bruises, as if her body had been made to withstand precisely this kind of punishment.
Steven moved forward first, testing the weight of the sword. His attack was direct, but not reckless, gauging the length of its reach. Jasper blocked it with her forearm and smiled, a smile that showed she was enjoying the fight too much to pretend otherwise. Steven took a few steps back and changed his angle, using the air to propel himself backward and land with a controlled spin, launching a slash that Jasper narrowly dodged.
She responded with a whirlwind attack, a brutal force that Steven barely managed to stop by raising his shield. The impact resounded loudly, but it didn't knock him down. On the contrary, the very impact made him realize his body could withstand more than he had imagined. He stepped forward and slammed his heel into the ground, releasing a shockwave that made Jasper frown at the slight imbalance it caused.
They soon resumed exchanging blows, neither seeking to hurt the other, but both gauging the situation and learning. Jasper savored every second, even when Steven surprised him with a new use of his abilities, like the bubbles he now manipulated with greater precision, or the small bursts of flight that transformed his attacks into unpredictable trajectories.
Steven quickly understood that training and fighting were two different worlds. The body reacted differently, the mind raced, and every movement became an instinctive decision. He noticed himself becoming more agile, more aware of his surroundings, and for the first time, he felt he was truly exploring his limits in a real battle.
Jasper, meanwhile, advanced without hesitation, testing his strength against him, parrying his blows with quiet enthusiasm, as if he had been waiting for this confrontation for far too long.
The clash of their powers left vibrations in the air and swirling dust, and although neither managed to knock the other down, they both understood that this fight wasn't about winning, but about discovering what they were capable of.
Steven spun several times in the air before landing crouched on one of the floating columns. The surface vibrated beneath his feet, but he didn't take his eyes off Jasper, who remained below, steady, watching him with animal intensity.
He blurted out a curt sentence, almost as if spitting out the words. He asked if she had liked it.
Jasper, who was already tensing her legs to leap toward him, stopped completely confused. She mumbled a bewildered "uh."
Steven shook his head briefly. It was nothing, he said, as his shield shrank in size and he launched it with perfect momentum. Jasper dodged it effortlessly and gave him a smile of utter superiority, the smile of someone who thinks he's read the whole picture.
That smile vanished when she saw Steven's expression, much more arrogant, much more provocative. Jasper managed to turn her head back, just in time to see the shield return and strike her squarely in the face.
Jasper let out a cry of frustration. Steven seized the opening and launched himself at her, propelling himself through the air with his newly learned flight technique. The impact was sharp and precise, sending her flying into the low clouds above the battlefield.
Steven took a deep breath and held it as he spat into his hand, applying the fluid to the damaged areas. It was far better than resorting to tears. Who would want to start crying in the middle of a serious battle? The very thought filled him with secondhand embarrassment. He shook his head as he pulled the shield back to his arm, watching the spot where Jasper had been propelled. Seconds passed. Then, minutes. And she still showed no sign of him.
He tensed and leaped into the air, spinning around to look in every direction, completely confused by her disappearance. He quietly asked where she was, knowing something was wrong.
Before that, Jasper was still being pulled back by the impact. She fell into a dense cloud that enveloped her and forced her to a stop. She stood still. She reflected. And she understood that this fight wouldn't get her anywhere.
If she managed to destroy Rose, the Rebel Gems would still remain. And that wouldn't solve anything at all. She needed to get to Peridot first. Maybe she would have an advantage, information, a plan, something useful. Jasper ducked and jumped into Steven's blind spot, easily escaping his sight. She wasn't interested in running toward the main portal; it would be madness if the fused Gem intervened. That thing was a headache, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud.
No, she had to avoid the confrontation and find another route. Peridot would be heading somewhere where there were Gems or where they could create something. The main Kindergarten, or maybe the Beta Kindergarten. Those were the most likely places.
With that destination fixed in her mind, Jasper ran with all her might toward another portal, one that would take her away from the fight and closer to what she truly needed.
Back with Steven:
He waited almost half a day. That wasn't an exaggeration. Sunset had passed, and it was already completely dark when he was still there, motionless, watching every shadow in the strawberry field. He was so tense that he didn't hear the footsteps behind him. He only reacted when he sensed a presence, whirling around with his sword ready to strike the exact spot where Amethyst's gem was. She froze completely, seeing how close he had come to striking.
Steven recognized the purple gem and stopped his charge millimeters away. His breathing stabilized slightly. He asked her what she was doing there, his eyes scanning the surroundings as if something might leap from the shadows at any moment.
Amethyst was confused. She told him she'd been there for hours and everyone had been incredibly worried. Steven replied simply, almost emotionlessly, that Jasper had been there, which made Amethyst tense her body and summon her whip immediately. She positioned herself with her back to him, shielding him while she surveyed the area.
She asked how long it had been since he'd attacked. Steven glanced at the sky for a moment before answering. About seven hours, he said matter-of-factly.
Amethyst didn't know what to say. She stared at him as if she were facing someone who had just lost his mind. She asked if he'd really been standing there for seven hours without moving. Steven nodded, his shoulders still tense and his eyes uneasy.
She took a deep breath before concluding that Jasper had surely already left. Steven agreed. It was possible, though he didn't let his guard down.
The ensuing silence was awkward. Neither of them knew how to break it, until Steven deactivated his shield and the bubbles, leaving him with only his sword in his hand as if he'd grown fond of it. He told them to leave. Amethyst shifted into her cat form and climbed onto his shoulders, feeling how tense his muscles were. She frowned. She remarked that he'd been very tense these past few days and needed to rest.
Steven tried to reply, but the cat's tail covered his mouth, preventing him from speaking. No buts, Amethyst declared. Steven burst out laughing as they entered the portal. He told her she looked like Pearl. Amethyst responded irritably as the portal's light engulfed them.
Upon arriving, they noticed that everything was normal. Steven walked toward his room without stopping, not even to look at Lapis, who was watching him with a raised eyebrow. He collapsed onto the bed as if the weight of the world were pressing down on him.
Lapis looked at Amethyst, who was still beside him. He asked if it had been a difficult day. Amethyst simply nodded as she walked toward her room. She asked him to look after Steven, because he was carrying too much on his shoulders. The door closed.
Lapis turned to Steven, who looked completely exhausted. He went over, tucked him in, and turned off the light. As if he had done it countless times before, he wrapped him up like a taco and then lay down beside him, his arms around him. That's how they ended the night: one wrapped up like a taco and the other hugging a taco.
End of Chapter 42.