Steven was having one of his best dreams yet. He seriously needed the rest after such an exhausting day. Training, experiencing the thrill of flying for the very first time, and to top it all off, dealing with a Jasper who was absolutely furious at his mother wasn't exactly a walk in the park. But anyway, let's get back to it.
I was staring at the dog sitting across from me. That little demon mutt was beating me at Connect Four. Honestly, I was starting to think he was cheating. I dropped a chip into a slot to see if he'd make a mistake, even though deep down I knew he wouldn't.
The dog locked eyes with me, then placed his chip down with an absolute flare for the dramatic, securing my defeat in an instant.
I stared silently at the chip he'd just played and just let out a heavy sigh.
"Beginner's luck," I muttered, crossing my arms.
And so we kept playing, with this dog giving me a beatdown that, to be perfectly honest, I was actually enjoying. I mean, it's not every day you have a dream where a dog plays Connect Four with you, you know?
After a few more rounds, I stood up. Something deep inside me told me it was time.
"This is where we part ways, pup. Anything to say before I go?"
The dog shook his head, completely deadpan, before transforming into a helicopter and flying away like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I stood there in total silence, watching the dog-copter fly into the distance, only to crash headfirst into a tower.
"Yeah, I think I need a doctor," I muttered, shaking my head as I started walking aimlessly, hands over my head, trying to process what I had just witnessed.
After several minutes of it just being me, myself, and my thoughts wandering on how on earth a dog could pull off what that dog just did, I kept circling back to one specific idea. Maybe if Amethyst shapeshifts into a dog, she could replicate it, I told myself while walking through a patch of blue flowers. I studied them closely; I had seen them in a book a long time ago. If I remembered correctly, they were the famous Larkspurs. They were beautiful, and without giving them another thought, I kept moving.
I noticed the path starting to feel a bit more modern. It was no longer the grass from before, but something finer, more polished. With every step, the environment shifted, taking on a different texture—something I had never seen in a dream before. Even though they were rare, whenever I did have dreams, I was usually pretty aware of my surroundings. But this... this was new even for me.
And without a second thought, I kept moving forward—because, honestly, what's the worst that could happen in a dream? I walked and walked along what felt like an endless path, or at least that's what I thought until, out of nowhere, an invisible force yanked me toward the end of the trail, as if someone had decided to fast-forward the scene without warning. There were no lights, no flashy special effects, just my face eating the dirt. I didn't feel actual pain, but rather that annoying echo of phantom pain that only dreams know how to inflict. I groaned out of sheer instinct before looking up, my vision slowly coming into focus, if that was even possible in a dream this bizarre.
The first thing I saw was a flash of blue—a dress I knew all too well. Hesitantly, I looked up the rest of the way, my face going completely blank. Standing right in front of me was Blue Diamond, as imposing as ever. She seemed to sense my presence, though thank heavens it was just that: a presence. Even so, she was staring at me as if she could actually see me, even though she couldn't.
I stayed silent, trapped in that awkward moment. Blue Diamond held my gaze with that heavy, lingering calmness she usually carried. Her Pearl, standing beside her, looked confused, as if she couldn't comprehend why her Diamond was reacting this way. Then, Blue herself spoke my last name with evident hesitation, as if dusting off the memory of my existence.
"Universe," she murmured cautiously, trying to place me.
Pure shock rushed through my entire body. I leaped backward, pulling off a midair flip just to salvage a bit of my dignity, landing on my feet as if nothing had happened while brushing nonexistent dust off my clothes. I fired back with that tone I always used to fake confidence. "The one and only. What's up, Blue?"
She didn't answer right away. She gave her Pearl a subtle glance, and the Pearl shook her head as if confirming something. Then she looked back at me, this time with a smile that was warmer than before. "Universe, it seems you left rather abruptly last time, don't you think?"
Steven froze as a memory crashed in without permission. That tragic day when he watched a Ruby shatter right before his eyes. A pain so deep that even his own gemstone felt it, as if it had been split in two right along with him. Remembering that paralyzed him for a second. He shook his head to banish those thoughts and replied without raising any suspicion.
"You know how it is," I said, acting completely casual. "I don't really control this gift, you know? It's not every day you drop from a dream into... well... a... a... what even is this place?" I asked, scanning the surrounding void.
"My hand ship," Blue Diamond said, as if describing the most obvious thing in the universe. Her eyes swept across the blank space as though invisible walls, doors, or hallways existed right there.
The tension melted away a bit as the conversation began to flow naturally between the two. Steven mentioned he had never had a dream this strange, this lucid, and this real. Blue Diamond replied that some dreams weren't dreams at all, but rather places where the mind sought refuge that the waking world could no longer provide. Steven admitted he felt like he had zero control over any of this, that he was basically being dragged from one place to another without understanding why. She told him that certain hearts were so sensitive they could drift through memories, emotions, and echoes without even realizing it. Steven sighed, confessing that maybe his mind was just more exhausted than he cared to admit. Blue Diamond added that even there, in that shapeless void, he wasn't alone as long as he kept searching for answers.
The atmosphere grew more serene, like a brief intermission between storms. Blue watched him with a gentle blend of curiosity and affection, as if she understood him far better than Steven allowed himself to.
"You're pretty philosophical, and you know a lot about organic stuff," I noted curiously. She let out a soft laugh, as if the observation didn't surprise her in the slightest—like she had expected me to notice that detail sooner or later.
She explained that when you own a human zoo, you eventually end up trying to understand them, and that thanks to a few Peridots, she had managed to comprehend feelings, hearts, and all those things that seemed so similar yet so profoundly different from Gems. I nodded, intentionally ignoring the word zoo. I had thought many times about stepping in to help with that situation, but the reality of it was deeply uncomfortable: those people had essentially become like trained pets—albeit too intelligent to call them that without getting a knot in your throat. The comparison sent a literal shiver down my spine. I shook my head to evict the thought before it could take full root.
I looked back at Blue Diamond, who was staring out into the vacuum of space as if a secret window only visible to her existed out there. Without saying a word, I decided to climb up onto her shoulder. My weightless presence shouldn't have startled anyone, but she still gave a sudden little jolt that nearly made her slide right out of the massive throne she was sitting on.
Her Pearl panicked instantly. "My Diamond!" she shrieked, throwing her arms out to catch her even though she was way too far away to actually do anything. It was glaringly obvious she wouldn't reach her if Blue actually fell, but she tried anyway with an exaggerated, almost comical devotion.
"You startled me," Blue Diamond said, turning her head slightly toward me, trying to see who had so casually made themselves at home on her shoulder.
"Nah," I replied completely naturally, sitting down as if I were perched on the branch of a nice tree. "I just wanted a better view, you know?" I said it with a smile that she probably couldn't fully see, but it was there all the same.
Blue Diamond didn't reply immediately. Instead, she slowly raised a massive hand to test if she could feel anything physical. Her palm drifted right through my presence as if I were nothing more than a glitching reflection. Her brow furrowed in a brief, resigned look, as if she had already expected reality to behave exactly like that.
She shook her head with a slow, drawn-out calmness and turned her attention back to the holographic projections displaying the status of her colonies, resuming her contemplation as if my presence were a curious footnote rather than an emergency. Pearl, on the other hand, still had her arms extended in an eternal attempt to catch her, completely frozen in terror. Watching her, I honestly had no clue what was going through her gemstone trying to support a woman of that scale with zero physical possibility. It was like her loyalty commanded her to do things her common sense had given up questioning centuries ago.
"You're destroying that planet," I said after watching yet another world get claimed by kindergarten injectors and Gem facilities that drilled into it like it was an unclaimed piece of fruit.
"No," she replied emotionlessly. "I am creating Gems for the Empire."
"At what cost?" I asked, my eyes locked onto the fractures in the earth and the boiling oceans.
"Cost?" she murmured, as if the word were foreign to her.
"Yeah," I said. "You're stealing the life from that planet, converting its soul into new Gems. What's gonna happen when there are no worlds left to sustain them? Are you all just going to exist in an empty universe?" I raised an eyebrow, even though I knew perfectly well she couldn't see me.
"I don't really get involved in that," Blue said with the serenity of someone who had surrendered eons ago. "I merely follow White's orders. She is the one in charge. She is the perfect one, you know." She said it while leaning back into her massive seat, while her Pearl, smaller than a shadow, checked another tablet without daring to cut in.
"You should ask her," I told her, watching her closely.
"To what end?" she replied with that heavy doubt unique to Gems who have gone far too long without allowing themselves to think independently.
"Well, if you're truly a part of her wonderful plan, she should tell you. And if she doesn't tell you, you'll know exactly how to interpret that. Don't you think?" I said it as I felt my presence beginning to dissolve like mist in the wind.
Blue didn't answer. She just sat there motionless, buried in a silence that weighed heavier than any imperial decree.
"Just leaving you with that thought," I continued, my voice losing its strength. "Looks like we won't be talking much more today. Oh, and one last thing."
She didn't move.
"Don't shatter Gems. It hurts me."
And with that, my voice vanished as if it had never been there at all.
Blue Diamond remained staring at the projected screen displaying the Empire's advance over that dying planet. Her fingers trembled ever so slightly—just enough to show that something in her circuits of emotional perfection had suffered a glitch. She sighed deeply, a sound so ancient and heavy it felt like it poured from a wound that had never been acknowledged.
"Simply because I have nothing else to do," she murmured to herself, though no one present dared to question whether that was true.
"Pearl," she finally spoke.
"Yes, my Diamond," the Gem replied with instant speed, as if she had been waiting an eternity just to hear her name called.
"Schedule an appointment with White. I wish to speak with her."
"Right away, my Diamond," Pearl said as her tablet illuminated, initiating what to her was a routine task... but to the entire Empire represented an unexpected crack in the perfect wall of obedience.
Perhaps I should speak with White. She ought to listen to me, shouldn't she? Blue thought to herself, more than to anyone around her. She shook her head slowly as she continued to ponder. Universe has made me think far too much.
Steven sat up in his bed with a deep sigh. He wasn't dripping with sweat this time from those bizarre dreams where he actually seemed to converse with someone. This time, he was surprisingly calm—even more rested than usual. He stretched his body a bit and realized he was completely wrapped up in blankets, practically turned into a human burrito, trapped in Lapis's arms, who showed absolutely zero intention of letting him go.
He whispered her name, trying not to wake her. Lapis was still dead to the world, buried so deep in sleep she looked like she had traveled through five different dimensions of rest. She didn't even flinch.
He tried to wiggle free, but from some impossible reservoir of strength, Lapis unleashed a superhuman grip and squeezed him even tighter. After several failed attempts accompanied by resigned sighs, minutes ticked away, and Steven finally surrendered to the logic that fighting the bear hug was totally pointless. Eventually, he managed to carefully slide his way out.
Once free, he pulled the blanket over the blue Gem so she wouldn't get cold. She lay completely spread out across the bed, stiff as a log, but fast asleep.
Steven shook his head as he headed down to the kitchen, mumbling to himself. He wondered what he was supposed to do with everything he was feeling. Energy was racing through his body without stopping, as if a limitless tap had been left running inside him without permission. It was strange, almost overwhelming. Every time he slept, the sensation crossed an invisible boundary and then started to ramp up even more, as if his power had no ceiling.
He wondered aloud if this had anything to do with his Diamond powers, but the second the words left his mouth, he clapped his hands over his face, looking in every direction to make sure nobody had overheard him. Seeing that the living room was completely empty, he sighed in relief.
A voice then piped up, answering that nobody had heard him. Without thinking, Steven naturally said, "Thanks." But a second later, reality hit him. He froze. Uncle? he repeated in his head, completely baffled as to why he had even thought of that word. Panic immediately seized his chest because he recognized that voice.
He whipped his head toward the couch—the couch that until a few moments ago had been completely empty—and his eyes popped out of his skull when he saw who was sitting there.
It was impossible, absurd, surreal.
"UNCLE GRANDPA!!??"
End of Chapter 43.