Steven stood there with a total poker face, wondering which ancestor he had cursed to end up with this kind of luck. In front of him loomed a massive, yellow-hued figure, sitting elegantly on a throne that seemed to be made of pure light. Next to her was another gem, also yellow, who was watching her with a hint of confusion, trying her absolute best not to make a single mistake.
"My Diamond," the gem said, making the traditional salute Steven had seen before.
"You didn't hear her, Pearl," the figure uttered in a deep, commanding voice. From her color, it wasn't hard to deduce exactly who she was: Yellow Diamond herself.
"Crap," Steven thought out loud, a thread of desperation in his voice.
Yellow Diamond raised an eyebrow and shifted her gaze toward where he was supposed to be, setting aside the tablet she had been carefully reviewing. "You really didn't hear her," the gem repeated sternly.
"No, My Diamond," her subordinate replied quickly. It was Yellow Pearl, second-in-command and clearly losing her nerve.
"Do you think I've been working too hard?" the leader asked, rubbing her forehead wearily.
Pearl hesitated, torn between telling the truth or lying to keep from getting shattered on the spot. Finally, she opted for the safest route.
"You really have worked hard these past millennia—you hasn't rested at all, My Diamond," she said respectfully, her voice trembling slightly.
Yellow Diamond watched her in silence for a few seconds, as if weighing her words. "Perhaps I do need a break," she finally murmured.
"Yeah, you really do," Steven chimed in, knowing she couldn't see him. If she attacked him for some reason, he'd just wake up with his heart racing, so he decided to take the opportunity to have a little fun at the expense of an intergalactic dictator.
Yellow Diamond fell silent for a moment. "What are you?" she asked suddenly, staring blankly into space.
"I'm your conscience," Steven answered from across the room, trying to stifle a laugh. The gem cautiously turned her head but found nothing. She could only sense a strange presence lingering around her.
Steven smiled to himself. If my calculations are right, he thought, this power I've been training must be an extension of my connection ability—some kind of dream-walking. I can enter and interact without being noticed. Though, honestly, I don't want the leader of an intergalactic dictatorship finding me out, especially not now when Peridot is about to reach Earth.
Yellow Diamond remained lost in thought, but both were snapped out of it when Pearl received an urgent message.
"My Diamond," she announced with a bow, "Blue Diamond has just arrived on Homeworld after completing nine new conquests. She wishes to see you personally."
"Perfect," Yellow Diamond replied after a few seconds. "Bring her in. And when you get back, I want her to enter alone. The Pearls will stay outside. I don't want anyone snooping around. Understood?" Her voice grew sharper as bolts of electricity crackled across her hands.
"Understood, My Diamond," Pearl replied fearfully, bolting for the door until she vanished from sight.
"You've got her well-trained," Steven's voice teased.
"Who are you?" Yellow Diamond demanded seriously, knowing this presence did not belong to her court.
"Who am I?" Steven replied, adopting a casual tone. "I'm Universe. Just someone who's here by accident. Believe me, if it were up to me, I'd already be eighty million light-years away from here."
Yellow Diamond went quiet. "And what do you want?" she finally asked, leaning back calmly into her throne.
"Nothing, really," Steven answered, sitting down right in front of her, even though the gem couldn't see him. "I just think it's interesting to be here. Even if I don't entirely like it, this empire intrigues me. Are you guys the biggest in the universe?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
Yellow Diamond remained silent. She noticed that the voice didn't sound like an enemy or an invader, but rather like someone observing with genuine curiosity. She recalled Blue Diamond's words about mercy and doubt, and for a fleeting moment, this unknown voice seemed... almost too sincere.
Yellow Diamond sighed, massaging her temples with a weary expression. "I really can't see you. Won't you show yourself?" she asked with a clearly forced smile, trying to maintain a facade of calm.
"No, thanks. I wouldn't even know how anyway," Steven replied, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.
Yellow Diamond kept up her forced, polite expression, though her eyes said otherwise. "Seriously, what a shame. We should really speak in person, to keep things civilized," she said in a sweet but heavily threatening tone.
You don't even believe that yourself, Steven thought, a massive anime-style sweat drop of annoyance forming on his forehead.
Suddenly, the main doors flew wide open, echoing with a thud that shook the entire hall. Both turned their attention to the new figure stepping elegantly through the threshold with a commanding presence.
"Announcing the arrival of the grandest, the most beautiful, the most sentimental—Blue Diamond in her utmost splendor!" a Blue Pearl announced dramatically, bowing so low and theatrically that even the echo seemed embarrassed.
The silence grew thick. Yellow Diamond and Steven both stared at her with the exact same deadpan look.
"Pearl, what did I tell you?" Yellow Diamond barked, her brow furrowing.
Within seconds, Yellow Pearl practically teleported into the room, grabbed Blue Pearl like a sack of potatoes, and dragged her out of the hall without a word. Steven couldn't help but think this wasn't the first time this had happened.
After a few awkward seconds, Blue Diamond spoke in her soft, elegant voice. "Hello, Yellow. How have you been after all these decades apart?"
Yellow Diamond rose from her throne, causing a slight tremor with the movement, and greeted her with a nod.
"It seems you haven't moved much lately," Blue commented, raising an eyebrow that was barely visible beneath her cowl.
"It's not that," Yellow sighed. "I simply have someone bothering me, and I don't know how to get rid of them."
"Someone?" Blue repeated, intrigued. "Why not just send one of your gems to handle it? Speaking of which, one of my Agates has a first-generation Lapis. She might be of use to you."
Yellow arched an eyebrow but then shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, and I might take the Lapis, but the problem isn't physical," she said, her tone turning graver. "Someone is speaking to me... but I can't see them."
Blue Diamond watched her in silence, seemingly analyzing her words with skepticism. "And what's so strange about that?" she finally asked.
"It's annoying," Yellow snapped, thrusting her hand out toward the empty space and firing a bolt of energy.
Steven barely managed to dodge it; the beam grazed his shoulder, and a cold sweat broke out across his neck.
"Oh, really?" Blue said, now more alert as she scanned the room. "And what exactly is this thing or species that is bothering you?"
"He calls himself Universe," Yellow answered with a grimace. "Says he's my conscience or something."
Blue Diamond fell silent for a few seconds. Then, her expression shifted into a mix of surprise and slight excitement.
"Universe?" she whispered, almost with a childlike curiosity.
Yellow immediately noticed the shift in her tone and eyed her suspiciously. "You know him?" she asked, confused.
"Not well, but I have spoken with him," Blue replied, a faint smile leaving Yellow even more bewildered.
Steven stood frozen, listening with rapt attention. If this was a dream, it was at least worth making the most of it; maybe he'd overhear something important before waking up.
"Universe," Blue Diamond said in a somewhat enthusiastic tone, as if the name brought back fond memories.
"Present," Steven replied after a few seconds.
"What are you doing with Yellow?" Blue asked, mildly confused.
Steven thought for a moment before answering. "Would you believe me if I told you I came here because I dreamed of a yellow place?" He left out the part about the pink room; he preferred not to raise any unnecessary suspicions.
"A yellow place," Yellow and Blue Diamond repeated in unison, entirely intrigued.
"Well, you can leave now. I don't know what you want, but I'm not in the mood to talk to someone invisible. So, shoo," Yellow said with a wave of her hand, trying to dismiss him like a common nuisance.
"Oh, come on, Yellow," Blue intervened, trying to play peacemaker.
As both Diamonds chatted like old friends catching up after centuries—exchanging notes on colonies, advancements, and Gem productions—Steven just stared at them blankly. He walked toward the exit of the massive hall, determined to see if he could pass right through the door.
However, before he could try, the doors burst open, the sound echoing through the entire chamber. The Diamonds turned immediately, and Steven took a sharp step back when he saw who dared to enter.
It was a small Ruby, her eyes glued to the floor. Her trembling voice rose just enough to be heard. "By Diamond, I can't find Jasper! They told me she was around here, but I don't see anything. Why didn't the Diamonds leave an instruction manual for this base?!"
The silence that followed was terrifying.
The Pearls, who hadn't noticed her entrance before due to her small stature, went pale. They slowly turned their eyes toward the Diamonds, whose expressions were so serene it was far more dangerous than any scream. The Pearls began to back away with shaky steps, silently praying for the poor Ruby's soul.
Steven did the same. He took several steps back—eighty, to be exact—just as a precaution. He had already had enough with dodging a laser; he wasn't about to test what it felt like to actually get hit by one.
The Ruby looked up as she finally realized where she was, but she didn't have time to react. A yellow lightning bolt, immediately followed by a blue one, struck her within seconds. She shrieked in pain before everything ended with a dull explosion.
POOF.
The sound echoed through the hall. The Ruby gemstone flew through the air, and before it could even hit the ground, a gigantic foot descended from above, crushing it with a sharp crunch.
The silence that followed was even heavier than before. Steven stood paralyzed, his heart hammering against his chest after witnessing something so brutal. The Pearls were deathly pale, frozen in place with sheer terror painted across their faces.
Blue Diamond brought a hand to her mouth, horrified. "But Yellow," she said with a trembling voice, "don't you think shattering her was a bit excessive?"
Yellow barely looked at her. She lifted her foot from the pulverized remains and spoke with a cold calm. "Clean that up," she ordered. The Pearls reacted instantly, scrambling to fulfill the command without lifting their heads.
"I... almost did the same thing once," Blue murmured, remembering something from the past. "I remember two gems—a Ruby and a Sapphire who died during the gem war. I acted on impulse, back when... Pink couldn't control her colony," she said sorrowfully, her voice cracking slightly.
"Back when Pink couldn't control her colony, wasn't it?" Yellow replied with disdain, though a faint glimmer of melancholy flashed across her expression.
"Yes," Blue nodded, wiping away a tear as the echo of the order still rang through the hallways and the Ruby shards were swept away in a sepulchral silence.
"Speaking of Pink," Blue said with a tinge of sadness, "I was thinking of visiting Earth more often."
"For what?" Yellow asked quickly, raising an eyebrow, though showing a hint of interest.
"I want to preserve what little is left of her—the structures and everything."
Yellow went quiet for several seconds before replying. "And why not just send other gems?"
"I don't want anyone defiling what belonged to Pink," Blue answered quickly. "I want to do it myself."
Yellow remained silent, simply nodding. "If you can, bring the artifacts back to one of our colonies. It would be for the best."
"Why?" Blue asked, confused.
"The Cluster project is active."
Blue's eyes widened in surprise. "What? And why didn't you tell me anything?"
"I didn't want to drag you into this, you know? You've been grieving, and White simply won't leave her head. So, well... I felt this was for the best," Yellow replied, a hint of guilt in her voice.
Blue fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again. "How long do you think it will take?"
"I don't know," Yellow replied, pulling out her tablet. "I put a Peridot in charge of it. She recently activated the warp pads, but she claims they are no longer responding. If it weren't for the logs and records of the sector, I'd think she was lying to me and would have destroyed her," Yellow said angrily. "But she reports her robonoids are being intercepted, so she's making a communications flask so she won't have to be physically present."
Blue went quiet again. "Very well. Just let me know when the Cluster is ready. I'm going to the extraction chamber," she said as she walked out.
Thus, only Steven and Yellow were left. Distracted by her current problems, Yellow didn't even remember he was there, while Steven remained frozen in complete shock.
Suddenly, he felt a violent tug. To his horror, he watched the galaxies distort and shrink down to an imperceptible pinpoint of light. He snapped violently back into his own body, practically leaping out of bed and crashing right on top of Lion and Pearl.
Pearl had been completely relaxed, going about her usual routine of watching Steven sleep—something entirely normal for her. But out of nowhere, he vaulted out of bed, and the sudden fright sent all three of them crashing to the floor. Lion barely looked up, but seeing his master wide-eyed and shivering, he quickly pinned him down with a paw and stuffed him into his mane to calm him down.
Steven's mind was racing at a million miles an hour. What if I don't have the luck of the original Steven? What if they destroy my gem without even pulling it out? What if they just shatter me as easily as that Ruby? What if they do that to the girls? Oh god, I can't do this, I can't... His face reflected deep, agonizing distress.
Pearl, having just gotten up, stared at him with profound worry, looking as if she had just seen a ghost.
Steven spiraled into a total meltdown of anxious thoughts, completely freezing up for a few seconds.
"Steven?" Pearl asked, her voice trembling. "Are you okay?"
Lion, who was closer, nudged his back, sensing that something was terribly wrong.
"Steven?" Pearl repeated, entirely confused. But then she watched as Steven's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and without making a single sound, he collapsed heavily right over Lion.
"STEVEN!!!!!"
End of Chapter 27.