Chapter Text
Greg's ears were ringing as we looked around at the wreckage otherwise known as his business. The walls were cracked. The windows shattered. The cars in line for the car wash had broken windows and cracks running down the doors. The giant mayoral head of Mayor Dewey’s car rolled down the street.
He looked for his son, but only saw a flash of pink. He saw Amethyst and Ruby and walked towards them. “WHERE’S STEVEN?” He asked not realizing he was shouting. Amethyst and Ruby looked at each other.
“We don’t know.” The small red gem said. “He looked panicked and then he was gone before we knew it. I’m going to go find him.” Ruby was running off before anyone could even say anything.
“Uh.. Greg, are you okay?” Amethyst asked him.
“I’m fine, I just need to find my son.” Greg knew he wasn’t going to find him here, so he had to leave quickly.
“Are you sure? I didn’t think human ears were supposed to do that?” She pointed at his ear and as he put his hand to it he felt blood. Greg was more than a little concerned about that. “Hospital?”
“Hospital, then we look for Steven.” Greg wasn’t the biggest fan of hospitals, but he was starting to feel woozy. “You can drive right?” He tossed the keys to the van to Amethyst.
On the drive to the county hospital, Greg couldn’t stand the silence. “So how did you take the news about Rose? I can tell Garnet didn’t take it well.”
“I don’t know.” Amethyst responded non-comitally. “I guess I didn’t think about it too much. Just another of her many secrets. And that homeworld stuff has nothing to do with me anyway.”
“Either way, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” Greg did feel bad for keeping Rose’s secret, especially after he realized how important it was. “She asked me not to say anything.”
“I’m sorry too.” Greg looked at her confused. “I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to protect Steven.”
“It’s not your fault.” Greg looked out the window. “I failed as a father. I let him down. I knew how dangerous things were and I just kept running away.”
“I guess we both suck.” Amethyst said, making them both chuckle slightly.
Steven was running as fast as he could. He needed to be away from people. He didn’t understand what that power was. Nothing like that had ever happened before. Steven had been mad before, but never like that. He hated how connected his powers were to emotions, because he felt like they were on overdrive right now.
Steven didn’t know where to go. He could go to his mother’s room at the temple, but he might run into Pearl or Sapphire and he didn’t want to explain to them what was going on. Part of him wanted to see Connie, but what if he hurt her on accident. No, he needed to be somewhere with no humans and no gems. But where?
His problem was solved when Lion showed up in front of him. The moonbase. There was no way for anybody to get there. Steven stopped and kneeled next to Lion. “Can you take me to the moon base?” Steven didn’t even have to bribe the large pink feline, which was good because he didn’t have any of the treats Lion likes.
On the moon base, Steven looked at the murals on the wall and lingered on the one of Pink Diamond. It didn’t look all that accurate to him, if he used his current form as a reference. The artist must have taken some liberties. He sat in front of the mural.
“I wish I could talk to you. I’m so mad that you kept this secret from everyone. I wish I understood why you did the things you did.” Steven felt lonely here. His feelings regarding his mother were complicated.
Lion bumped Steven, clearly trying to get Steven to go upstairs. He listened to Lion, who led him to the chair he had sat in when he came here with Peridot. He decided to sit down there again, noting that it was nice to have a chair that he could actually sit in.
As soon as he rested his arm on the chair, he heard a click then saw his mother’s face projected from a screen that was hidden in the chair.
Dr. Priyanka Maheswaran was very worried about her daughter. She had been ever since Connie had become friends with the young half gem. But this was different. Connie hadn’t left her room since she came home the previous evening, and Dr. Maheswaran was pretty sure she had heard her crying.
Just as she was about to knock on her daughter’s door to get to the bottom of this, her phone rang. She knew before she even pulled her phone out that it was the hospital. It was always the hospital when she needed to parent her daughter.
She took the call. They needed her to come in. Apparently something had happened in Beach City this morning, and since the only hospital in the area was the one she worked at, it was going to be busy. “Connie, I have to go to work, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. Make sure you get something to eat.”
Dr. Maheswaran was taken aback when the first patient she saw at the hospital was Greg Universe, accompanied by Amethyst. “Mr. Universe, I didn’t expect to see you here.” She thought about how her daughter was acting and if this hadn’t happened after the change, she would have been concerned there was a connection. “Is your son okay? I don’t see Steven here.”
She wasn’t expecting the man to start crying, and she couldn’t control the concern and confusion on her face, that Greg clearly picked up on. “Oh, no… he’s okay… We just had a little argument and…”
“I understand.” She responded glad that her daughter’s only friend wasn’t hurt or worse. “Let’s focus on you for now then. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
She had a long day ahead of her. No one seemed too badly hurt, thankfully. The worst injuries were some broken bones and ruptured eardrums. But the story she pieced together of how this happened had her confused. According to the older Fryman, who had only come in to get a couple stitches from some glass cutting his arm, had told her that a giant pink alien yelled at Greg and then windows exploded and walls cracked.
Once again, Dr. Maheswaran was worried about Connie spending time with the Universes and the Gems.
14 or so years ago
Rose sat on the beach next to Greg. She was wondering what her child’s future would be. “What do you think they’ll be like?”
“Well, if they’re anything like you, they’ll be wonderful.” Greg’s response left Rose worried. She hadn’t considered the child being like her. She hoped they would be like Greg, human and ever changing. But if they were like her, or especially like how she used to be, it could be dangerous. “Rose? Are you okay?”
“Greg, I need to tell you something about myself.” Rose had thought about telling him before, but he had always said that her past didn’t matter and who she was now was what was most important. Rose has always appreciated how much Greg focused on the now, but this was too important, their child is too important for Rose to not tell Greg at least some of it.
After her conversation with Greg she realized she needed to leave a message for her child, in case they became too much like her. But where could she leave it where no one else would find it? It had to be somewhere the child could find it, but not too soon.
She looked up and remembered the moon base would be the perfect place, so she had Lion take her there.
“Steven, I am so sorry. I’m sorry that the worst happened to you. I’m sorry I can’t be there to help you. And most of all, I’m sorry that my past has caught up to you in this way.
I was Pink Diamond. I don’t know if Amethyst, Garnet, or Pearl told you about Homeworld or the Diamonds. I doubt that they would feel they had any reason to, since it’s been 6,000 years since Homeworld was here.
I faked my shattering to end a war that I started because the other Diamonds wouldn’t listen to me. Steven, I doubt they would come back, but if they do stay far away from them. They won’t believe you’re not me. They won’t listen. I love you Steven.”