You woke up with the sun the next morning, and for one terrifying moment, wondered if it hadn’t all just been a dream. It was certainly surreal enough. But as you came to your senses, you realised you were in the one place you wanted to be more than anywhere else in the world: wrapped protectively in Jasper’s arms with your head resting on her chest. She was still sound asleep, and you could feel her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. You shut your eyes against the bright morning light and snuggled closer to her. You made two realisations as you did so: firstly, you could hear her heartbeat, and secondly, she had a heartbeat.
You lay still in her embrace, soothed by her warmth and the beating of her heart until you heard her draw in a big breath as she woke up. She didn’t open her eyes, seemingly afraid to. You smiled.
“It’s real,” you whispered. She opened her eyes slowly and looked around in awe.
“I still can't believe it.”
“You’d better believe it. I told you we’d never stop trying to find a way to cure you. I can’t believe I have someone so incredible in my life. Someone so courageous.” You placed your hand on her arm. “So beautiful.” You placed your other hand on her cheek. “So loving.” You slid your arms around her as you kissed her. It had been too long since the last time you'd felt the touch of her soft, full lips. Jasper clearly thought the same as she kissed you back. You could even feel the shiver run down her spine as the realisation that you were really there with her sank in. “So perfect,” you whispered when you finally pulled away.
“What about the day we met?” she suggested quietly.
“Beg pardon?”
“For our wedding day. That way, it's still a while off. I've been thinking about what Zyken 40 said. I want to have more adventures with you while we can before we settle down. You know, just in case something goes wrong.”
You smiled.
“Yeah. I like that idea. I like that idea a lot. But uh, maybe no crazy adventure today, don't you think?”
“Isn't the entire concept of the two of us kind of a crazy adventure?”
“Well, you've got me there. So, what do you want to do today?”
“Well,” she said, groaning as she sat up, “I suppose I ought to go apologise to the Crystal Gems… again.”
“Sure, although I'm sure it wasn't a big deal for them. You were confused and panicking, and you didn't even really try to hurt anyone. Yeah, we can head over there right after breakfast. Oh… but, uh, I guess no one's had the chance to tell you this yet… Lapis isn't here anymore. As in not on Earth. It had nothing to do with you, I swear. Steven mentioning he was on trial in front of the Diamonds must've triggered a flashback or something for her.”
“That's too bad…” Jasper murmured. “I think I actually miss her.”
“So do I. Every day. At least you're here now, Jasper.” She hugged you lightly.
“Yeah. And I always will be. I ran away from here a long time ago when I thought I had nothing left, and then I had to go away again because of what I did in my quest for vengeance. I’m not going to forgive myself for leaving you alone for so long… but I’m never doing it again. No matter where you go, no matter what happens, I’ll be at your side. We’re partners in battle and in life. You’re my whole world, and it feels like I’m always home wherever I am as long as I’m with you. I know I’m rambling, but my point is, I don’t care what happens. No matter what, it’s together to the end.”
“Wow…” you whispered. “Jasper… I…” You shook your head and smiled. “Who says there’s going to be an end?” Something clicked in your mind. You stared off to the side. “An… of course…” you muttered to yourself. You turned back to Jasper. “But yeah. Together, no matter what.” You wrapped your arms around her, holding her for a long time until you finally got up. It occurred to you that you couldn’t envision what heaven could possibly compete with the feeling of Jasper’s loving embrace.
You went through your morning routine, and had to catch yourself as you were making breakfast - you’d gotten used to doing so for only one person. Afterwards, you both walked over to the beach, taking the scenic route. You held the hand of your precious Jasper the entire time. You really couldn’t figure out how you’d ever lived without her. The Crystal Gems were sitting outside as you approached the beach house. When they saw you coming, they all sat bolt upright and watched nervously, although they tried unsuccessfully to look like they weren’t looking. You waved, then gave a nod and a thumbs-up as you approached - a gesture which Garnet reciprocated.
“Hey,” Jasper said flatly once you were close.
“Hi Jasper!” Steven replied with characteristic enthusiasm. “So how are - I mean, do you…”
“I’m back, little buddy. I remember everything.” She narrowed her eyes menacingly. “And I DO mean everything.” Steven shuffled back a few paces. “Oh jeez, sorry!” she laughed. “Did you think I was serious?”
“Nice one, sis,” Amethyst said with a chuckle.
“So, Jasper,” Pearl said pleasantly, “I trust you’re feeling better?”
“Yeah. I am. Thank you. I came by because I wanted to apologise for how I acted yesterday.”
Steven breathed a sigh of relief.
“You can come out now, Peridot!”
The small green gem peered out the door and cautiously stepped out to join the others.
“Jasper, nobody blames you for yesterday. So you were a little out of it, big deal. We’re just glad you’re back and you’re happy. No harm done,” Amethyst explained.
“Indeed,” Peridot agreed. “It’s good to see you in your standard form. It’s… quite preferable to the alternative.”
“Thanks ru- I mean, Peridot. I’m sorry to hear about Lapis. I know she meant a lot to you. And I know for a fact you meant a lot to her.”
“Wow, thanks…” Peridot whispered with tears forming in her eyes. Amethyst patted her on the back. Peridot nodded and dried her tears.
“Hey Jasper, maybe you should give ‘er a hug,” Amethyst suggested slyly.
“Wait, what?” Peridot exclaimed frantically. “Hold on, I don’t think- ACK!” she cried as Jasper lifted her up and hugged her tightly.
“Haha, awesome! Now do Pearl!” Amethyst yelled. Pearl yelped and staggered back with her hands out in front of her in protest. Jasper laughed.
“Can I..?” Steven asked with outstretched arms. Jasper smiled. She scooped him up and let him put his arms around her neck. She hugged him back, being very careful not to hurt him.
“I can’t believe I once headbutted you in the face,” she muttered, the two of them sharing a chuckle. “It’s too bad Rose couldn’t have met you.”
“Thanks Jasper. That means a lot. Ooo, I just had an idea! Do you wanna play video games with me?”
Jasper looked to you for approval. You gestured for her to do as she pleased.
“Sure Steven,” she said gently, taking his small hand in her massive hand and going inside.
“(Y/N),” Garnet called quietly, beckoning for you to come over once Jasper was inside. You walked over to where she sat in a folding chair. “Have a seat if you want.” You obliged. “I believe you had an unexpected visitor last night.”
“You could definitely say that. I take it you saw it coming.”
“Yes, but as always, only as one possibility. I’d largely discounted it; it just seemed too unlikely. But if that has come to pass, there are some other things coming I ought to prepare you for.” She paused and smiled. “Don’t worry. You and Jasper get to have a few normal days first. But then… there’s going to be a little mission for the both of you. You probably don’t know this, but there’s a reason we say ‘Oh my stars’ and similar phrases so often.”
“I always assumed you were just censoring yourselves.”
Garnet snickered.
“Not exactly. Check this out.” She cleared her throat, then, with a straight face and deadpan tone, said “Oh my God.”
“Garnet!” Pearl exclaimed.
“The reason we say it,” Garnet explained, “is that it is our equivalent of the human phrase. Many of your kind believe you were created by a god or gods. We were, in a sense, created by the stars. Long before even the Diamonds were created, there existed a race called astrals. They’ve existed for millions of years - billions, by some accounts. Each one a more or less humanlike being formed from a single star.” She chuckled. “And you thought the process of forming gems was destructive,” she said sarcastically. “They look quite similar to us, but are wholly different in their composition. Rather than being a single piece of solid matter projecting a form of hard light, they’re entirely a mass of plasma held together and shaped by a humanoid electromagnetic bubble. And there was another race… the Umbrans. To put it simply, they were the most dangerous species in the known universe. No one knows what exactly they were. Some claim they were formed from black holes in a process vastly different than that by which astrals are created. They weren’t exactly going to volunteer information about their own origins. They were truly incapable of reason, and could not be communicated with. They existed for the sole purpose of consuming all that they could, so that they could multiply and spread.”
“When you say consume…”
“Anything and everything. Living things. Dead things. Inanimate things. Energy. Even antimatter… the source of their notorious weaponry. When Umbrans visited a world, they would strip it bare, then tear it apart piece by piece, until nothing remained. But before any of that, they would purge the planet of all life in the cruelest manner possible. They would shoot any living thing on sight with a charge of antimatter, always the bare minimum to ensure death, which had the side effect of making it as slow and agonising as possible. It didn’t matter if it only grazed your shoulder. It would spread throughout your body, eating away every bit of matter until nothing remained, and with you being aware of it until your last brain cells were annihilated. And there was no reliable way to fight back. Umbrans didn’t poof or shatter or die experience injury or sickness. The only way to be rid of one was to ensure it was trapped inescapably. But there wasn’t one. There were trillions. The astrals tried to fight them, increased their own numbers as much as they could, but… after a time, they started to run out of stars in the sky, and the Umbrans kept adapting to every tactic they came up with. Not to mention that, as plasma-based beings, they were completely defenseless against antimatter weaponry. That’s where we came in.”
“Of course,” you said, realising where she was going. “Astrals created the first gems to fight the Umbrans!”
“Precisely,” she said with a smile. “Our gemstones are the only bit of matter in our bodies. The rest is photonic matter, hard light, and is completely unaffected by antimatter. And we were able to contain Umbrans by bubbling them.”
“This really explains a lot, except for one thing: gems and astrals are both made artificially. They made you… so who made them?”
“Don’t know. One story says the first astral formed naturally from a sentient star. Anyway, we were able to resist the Umbrans… gems as a species, that is. None of us are anywhere near that old. But they kept coming, liberating their own, and we weren’t invulnerable. The Umbran Wars needed to end once and for all. They’d devoured untold stars and planets, and caused the extinction of millions of species. Given enough time, there would have been nothing left. The astrals did what they thought was necessary when they executed Operation: Coda. They had us gather all the bubbled Umbrans and transport them to the planet Cantrofax in a galaxy which once neighboured this one. Naturally, the Umbrans were all drawn there, at which point the leaders of the astrals deployed one of the most terrible weapons ever created: the galactic mass concentrator. The entire galaxy collapsed into a hypermassive black hole, ending the Umbrans forever… at the cost of every life and trace of civilisation in the whole galaxy. That was just under one hundred thousand years ago.”
“Jeez… So why are you telling me this?”
“Because… something is going to happen. I can’t see what, but you’ll be faced with an impossible choice. Sometimes you have to force yourself to do the necessary thing, the kind thing, and the right thing, specifically in that order. And you’re going to be meeting some astrals very soon. They didn’t exist when it happened, and they’re just as much rebels as we are.” She paused and smirked. “We’ve met before, actually.”
“I’ll keep all of this in mind. ...The Umbrans really are extinct, though, right? Because this seems kind of like foreshadowing.”
“They’re definitely extinct. If there was even one still out there, everyone would find out pretty quickly. And (Y/N), there’s one more thing. A word in your future. I don’t know what it means, but I see that Jasper will. Ask her about ‘Valoccar.’”
“I will. Thank you, Garnet. I don’t really get what’s going to happen, but I’m glad to have the heads-up. You’ve never let me down yet.”
She shrugged.
“Yeah, I am pretty great.”
When Jasper finally came back out with Steven, you ran up to her and hugged her.
“What was that for?” she asked, genuinely curious.
“Because a) I love you, and b) I’ve got a lot of time to make up for when I couldn’t do that.”
“Ahh, fair enough. Now come on, we have to get going. You’re buying me an ice cream.”
“Not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all. And after that, perhaps we can go swimming or something. Anyway, bye guys!”
Several minutes later, you sat on a park bench with Jasper while she enjoyed her first-ever cone of strawberry ice cream.
“I’m having a really nice day, (Y/N). Thank you for everything.” She kissed you on top of your head.
“You’re welcome, Jasper. I’d do anything for you. Besides, I’m having a pretty great day myself! And according to Garnet, we’re going to get a few more days like this. But then… apparently you and I are going on some sort of mission.”
“Huh, could be interesting. Did she say what kind?”
“No, but apparently the aliens who created the first gems are involved somehow, and there was a word. She said you’d know what it means - ‘Valoccar?’”
Jasper’s face fell. You had never seen her so horrified before. She looked as if you’d accused her of murder. Her breathing got shaky, and her hands began to tremble.
“It means a planet, a place from my past. A memory I preferred trying to forget. It was the site of Homeworld's greatest failure, and the site of my greatest crimes. You might love me now, but if you learn even half of what I did, that would change.”
“No,” you said, your voice full of determination, placing your hand on her arm. “Never.”
Sorry for all of the exposition, but I figured it better to do it now than to do it later when stuff's actually happening and lengthy explanations would just be an interruption. And don't worry, stuff is going to start happening very soon! This story's just taking a little longer to get going than the previous one, mostly because this time I have it planned out.