Steven opened his eyes. Twenty days had passed, and five more were due before Connie arrived in Beach City, so he preferred not to be on the Earth's crust when that happened.
I shook my head and removed the blue foot from Lapis, who was fast asleep. The moment I did, the same foot moved reflexively and kicked me squarely in the face, fully waking me up.
"What strength, woman!" I said angrily as my pink form activated almost instinctively.
"Huh?" Lapis said, sitting up, looking like she hadn't slept enough.
We stared at each other for a few seconds.
"What?" Lapis said, completely confused, still holding her foot up in a kicking position.
"Take that foot away," I said in my pink form, though luckily I didn't have the diamonds in my eyes.
"Oh, yes," he replied as he calmly stood up, as if he hadn't just punched me red, though the pinkish tint made it almost invisible.
I got up, putting my left foot down first, and started my morning routine, still half asleep. Lapis, meanwhile, shook out his hair and, using his water control, cleaned his gem and the parts of his body where grass had stuck to him overnight, as if nothing had happened.
Steven finished stretching as the pink glow gradually faded, leaving him with that strange tiredness that had become a habit. He walked toward the makeshift kitchen in the barn while Lapis followed, floating low to the ground, still half asleep.
He put a few things on the table, something simple, nothing elaborate. Bread, some fruit, and a pitcher of water, which Lapis refilled with an automatic gesture, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You're still playing Minecraft," I said as I sat down and took a bite of bread.
"Yeah," Lápiz replied, slumping down in front of me and resting her chin on the table. "I'm trying to build an underwater base, but water keeps getting in everywhere."
"You're impatient," I said with a half-smile. "Or glass. Too much glass."
Lípa slowly looked up.
"That sounds boring."
"It is," I admitted. "But when you're done, it looks amazing."
Lípa paused thoughtfully for a few seconds, swirling her glass of water with her fingers.
"Do you play to win?" she asked suddenly.
I shrugged.
"Not always. Sometimes I just play to unwind. To build things, to kill time. Not everything has to have a goal."
Lípa frowned slightly, as if she was struggling to process the idea.
"In Homeworld, everything had a purpose," she said quietly. "If something didn't work... it got discarded."
I looked at her for a few seconds, but I didn't say anything serious. Not now.
"Not here," I finally replied. "Here you can build a hideous house in Minecraft and no one's going to punish you for it."
Lapis gave a small, nasal laugh.
"That explains why your builds are so ugly."
"Hey," I said, feigning offense. "My houses are functional."
"Functional and hideous," she repeated, now with a brighter smile.
I kept eating while she started telling me about a new game she'd tried, something about blocks, weird enemies, and repetitive music. I nodded, made a comment, told her she was probably playing it wrong or that she should lower the difficulty.
Nothing profound. Nothing heavy.
Just a peaceful breakfast, with the sun streaming into the barn, and for once, without thinking about the Cluster, Diamonds, or the end of the world.
And honestly, that felt good.
The temple door opened gently, and Garnet appeared, peering at me through her glasses as she slowly walked over to sit beside me. I was still in my pink form, a cup of coffee in hand, clearly aware of my emotional state that morning.
"What?" I said, taking a sip without looking away from the front of my mouth.
Garnet observed me for several seconds, silently, as if sizing me up.
"What the heck?" I said, now a little irritated, feeling the pink form react slightly to my tone.
"You have a mission, Steven," Garnet said in that calm voice she always used when she wanted to sound mysterious.
...
...
...
I stared at her, saying nothing, the pink glow still firmly surrounding my body.
"I think Ruby's playing coy," I blurted out suddenly, with complete seriousness.
Garnet completely lost her composure for a second, and from the couch, Lapis Lazuli burst out laughing without any shame, almost falling back while still holding her phone.
"Not at all," Garnet said, regaining her composure and clearing her throat slightly. "You only have one mission. Duo or solo, whichever you prefer."
I glanced at Garnet, who was deliberately avoiding looking at Lapis Lazuli. She, for her part, was totally lost in thought, engrossed in the chat, arguing with someone called noobmaster55 as if her life depended on it.
I shook my head and set my mug aside.
"Let me guess," I said with forced calm. "Does it have to do with something dangerous, emotionally draining, or something that's going to test my self-control?"
Garnet didn't answer immediately, which was answer enough.
My pink form flickered a little, but I took a deep breath, remembering the words she herself had said to me days before.
"Okay," I finally said. "Tell me what the mission is."
Lapis looked up from the couch for barely a second.
"If anything explodes, let me know," she said before furiously resuming her typing.
Garnet nodded slightly, as if the day was just beginning.
Garnet glanced at the blue gem, who was still engrossed in her phone as if the outside world didn't exist.
"You're going," she said calmly as she stood up.
"Huh?" Lapis replied, confused, looking up at the leader of the Crystal Gems. "Why?"
"Because you're not going to be here for free," Garnet replied as if it were the most logical thing in the universe.
"Pfft," Lapis sighed as she stood up and walked over to my side. I, frankly, wasn't in the mood for jokes or sarcastic remarks.
"What mission?" I asked, my pink tone now gone.
"You need to find a form of energy that can withstand the changes in space," Garnet explained. "In short, an energy source that will power the ship."
"Yes, I understand," I said, shaking her hand without further ado.
Garnet, with her foresight, had clearly anticipated my reaction, so she handed me a drawing of what we needed.
...
...
I glanced at what appeared to be a clock charged with near-nuclear energy and simply shrugged.
"Okay," I said as I started walking toward the portal.
"Random or with coordinates?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, as Lapis stood beside me.
"12333xaas, 89 3321240m," Garnet said, accompanying the numbers with a thumbs-up.
"Okay," I replied just as the portal's distinctive sound and light enveloped Lapis and me.
"I hope you guys can do that," Garnet said, not addressing anyone in particular. "Otherwise, only Steven can go... and I don't think he can do it alone."
Without another word, Garnet went into her room, calmly closing the door, hoping for the best possible outcome.
We both emerged, bathed in the portal's light, and almost immediately, the sound of running water surrounded us completely. The air was humid, heavy, thick with salt. Before us stretched an immense expanse of water, an open ocean that vanished into the horizon, interrupted only by a few rock formations that emerged like jagged islands. The water moved powerfully; it wasn't a calm sea, but a living, restless one, as if constantly deciding which way to push you.
Lápiz remained still for only a few seconds. Then, something about her posture changed completely. Her shoulders, usually tense, relaxed. Her eyes opened a little wider, reflecting the blue that surrounded her, and for the first time since we left the temple, her expression wasn't defensive or weary, but openly joyful.
"Water..." she murmured, almost to herself.
She didn't hesitate to walk to the shore, taking off her shoes without thinking, letting the water touch her feet. The sea reacted immediately, as if it recognized her. The waves, which seconds before had crashed with a certain aggression, began to soften near her, forming more controlled, almost docile currents.
I watched her in silence, arms crossed. I had seen this change before. Every time Lápiz was near large bodies of water, something in her ignited. It wasn't just power; it was comfort, belonging.
"This place..." she said, raising a hand as the water responded, rising in small spirals around her. "It's not perfect, but it feels good. There are no walls, no orders, no one yelling at me."
The water swirled slowly, as if dancing with her. Lápiz smiled, a genuine smile, one she didn't often show.
"I suppose you don't mind being so far from everything here," I said, watching a wave crash past us with too much force.
"Don't mind," she replied, still gazing at the sea. "Here I can think. Here I don't feel like the sky is crushing me."
There was a brief silence, broken only by the steady sound of the ocean. Then, without warning, a stronger current crashed against one of the nearby rocks, raising spray and making the ground beneath our feet vibrate slightly.
Pencil frowned for a second, assessing the surroundings more closely.
"This sea isn't stable," he remarked. "It has cross-currents, pressure changes. If we're not careful, it can sweep us away... or separate us."
I looked at the water, noticing how some currents seemed to be moving in opposite directions, invisible but dangerous.
"I guess we didn't come here for a vacation," I replied curtly.
Pencil let out a small laugh, brief but sincere.
"Definitely not." Then he looked at me. Not mockingly, not ironically, but with a quiet seriousness. "Steven... I can move the water here, but not all of it. There are bigger forces. If a wave catches us off guard, I can protect myself, but I can't always protect you."
I remained silent. I knew he was right.
"And you're not exactly in your best emotional state either," he added, gently, as if he were simply stating a fact. "It's not a reproach. It's just... the truth."
The wind picked up, whipping up spray that hit our faces. The sea was starting to get restless again, as if our conversation was irrelevant to it.
Pencil took a deep breath and lowered his hand slightly, calming the nearby water once more.
"There's something else," she said, hesitating for barely a second. "If we're going to move around here, it would be best to do it as one."
I glanced at her.
"You're talking about—"
"Merging," she said bluntly.
She didn't say it with exaggerated excitement or nervousness. She said it as a practical, logical, almost obvious solution.
"Together we'd have more stability," she continued. "More mass, more control. Less chance of the sea deciding to separate us or toss us somewhere unwanted."
The ocean roared in the distance, as if underlining her point.
I stared at the horizon for a few seconds. The idea wasn't strange to me. We'd done it before. I knew how it felt, I knew what it entailed. Even so, it wasn't something to be taken lightly.
"Are you sure?" I finally asked.
Lapis nodded. "I feel good here. And... I'd rather be with you than alone, especially in a place like this."
Her words didn't sound dependent. They sounded honest.
Another wave broke nearby, stronger than the previous ones. The water reached our knees, pushing us slightly.
I sighed.
"It's okay," I said. "If it's to avoid problems... and so the sea doesn't decide for us."
Pencil smiled again, this time with evident tranquility.
We stood facing each other, while the water around us began to rise slowly, forming a natural circle that isolated us from the more violent waves. I felt the energy begin to react, how my pink form tried to emerge on its own, blending with the blue that surrounded it.
I closed my eyes.
The fusion came smoothly, without clashes or resistance. The water responded immediately, calming down, adapting to the new presence. We were no longer two separate figures on an unstable surface, but a single entity with a firmer balance, heavier, more aware of its surroundings.
The waves that had once threatened to sweep us away now glided around, veering off course, as if recognizing they could no longer push us so easily.
Within that union, I felt Lápiz's calm, her quiet joy at being in her element, mingled with my need for control and stability. There was no conflict, only cooperation.
Together, the sea was no longer an immediate threat.
"Quickly, now as Stela, I grew my water wings and floated above the installation."
"This area... is surrounded by water, and if anything gives way, everything will fall into it," I murmured as my eyes followed every current that crashed against the futuristic walls. "I can't let that happen."
"The panels and walkways look stable, but the humidity and lack of maintenance make them dangerous," I whispered, spreading my wings to feel the vibration of the water around us. "Every wave, every movement counts."
"The pink diamond reflections on the walls help me see the water pressure and where the floor might give way," I observed as I adjusted my wings. "I must keep everything balanced."
"If a conduit breaks or the water rises too high..." I thought, focusing all my attention, "...I can hold it up temporarily. But I must anticipate every movement."
"I remember the first missions with the Water Lady," I murmured as I floated slowly on the current. "Every little detail teaches me how to control the water pressure and force so the facility doesn't sink."
"It all depends on my concentration and my wings," I said softly, moving them precisely to balance the walls and water channels. "Nothing can fall while I'm here."
"Every current that touches the structure is information... and every pink diamond reflection tells me where I must focus," I whispered as I surveyed the facility from above. "I'm not Steven or Lapis, I'm Stela. And this place depends on me."
End of chapter 58.