Chapter 35: Petals in the Wind

Summary: Some questions are asked

Moon was having a nice and quiet dinner with her family once, River bringing up topics with the night as they laughed, and Quartz … staring at his food without eating. This was already a sign of something bad about to happen. "Quartz, are you alright?" She asked tentatively, not sure if this would be another Mewberty-esqe incident.

"I'm fine, the foods great, it's just …" He sighed. "My powers are messing up and everyone keeps talking about her and … I wanna know who Rose was, I guess." Placed his fork down. "Mom, what was she like?"

That made Moon feel so many things at the same time. The main two being the reassurance of her decisions when her son still referred to her as his mother, and the reluctance to bring up such a heavy topic. "Well, as I keep saying, she was an ally we could always…"

"No, I mean what was she like outside the stories?" Quartz interrupted her. "I know you only said the usual story stuff because you were hiding the truth, but now that I know stuff happened I really wanna know. The gems don't say it but I can't do a lot of the stuff that they do, and now that Da-… I need a new name system… is around, I just … want to know what she was really like."

Moon stared at her son, before sighing. "A jokester, an aggressive pacifist, a terrible chef, and according to your grandmother, has plenty of stories that could keep me up at night."

"She was absolutely hysterical whenever all kingdoms and commissions held meetings." River joined in on the conversation with a hearty laugh. "Most of the time she chose to stare out the window whenever Heckapoo or Omnitrackis tried to make a point."

"She was really … really not fond of them." Moon stated. "It's one of the reasons we keep your gem hidden."

"And to think I get along so well with Rhombulus." Another issue they would probably have to go over sometime before it could turn into something ugly. "Wait, so if she didn't like them, then why would she leave some of her stuff with them?"

"The Magical High Commission aren't one's to let someone with so much power go off on their own. It was her way of getting them to leave her alone, although most of the items she left they couldn't access or control without her." Moon was pretty sure the woman laughed her ass off after handing them off.

"Another thing to note was that she was very pro monster." River spoke. "She advocated for their equality and for us to hire a better Royal monster expert of Mewni." Something that dug under Moon's skin even before Toffee killed her mother.

"So … were you friends?" Quartz asked her.

Moon dwelled on that topic for a good minute. "I'd like to think so…she was there for me when my mother couldn't be." She would recall days where it would be Rose that sung her to sleep rather than her mother. "I never met my father, so she was a sort of second parent to me. We didn't agree on everything, but she did her best to guide me on the best path." Even if the path she wanted for her was vastly different then the one she chose.

"Hmm …" The boy looked lost in thought. "Thanks for being honest." He smiled. At least he could accept the truth well enough … no matter how small of a version it was.

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Sapphire threw the earplugs to Ruby, and pressed her hands over her own ears, approximately three seconds before Pearl screamed. "You want to know more!?" The Gem looked ecstatic on the topic.

"I mean … I got curious, you all talk about her all the time, so I want to know what you guys thought about her." Quartz asked, very intent on finding a path for himself.

"Where do I even start!? She was daring, all loving, gentle, pure, beautiful, radiant, ecstatic, powerful. Just being around her gives you this warm feeling that one can do anything. Her smile lights up the darkest night and brings hope to all. Her eyes are a gentle touch that can bring out the rebellious spirit in everyone." Pearl got lost in her ever increasing fantasies about their old leader and friend. "She was the most noble and caring soul that I have seen across this vast multiverse of dimensions, quite possibly the closet to perfection anyone could've ever aspired to be!"

"…" He turned to them with a raised eyebrow.

"She had it bad." Ruby bluntly put it. "The truth about it, Quartz, was that your mother was a relentless fighter. Against any homeworld goon that got in her way, she'd swing her sword and knock them out and bubble them without even giving them a chance to blink. Believe me when I say 'mercy' was not in her dictionary against any of her enemies."

"She was a light in the darkness, our answer to … what we were at the time." Sapphire added her own opinion. "On the battlefield, she could even at times be more foreknowing than me." It still baffled her how much the woman could know about the enemy's plan so ahead of time.

"So she was a good fighter …" Quartz absorbed the answer. "Did she try for peace like she did on Mewni?"

"Oh no, that was completely out of the question during our time." Pearl may have been a little too eager when she said that. "Over time through her actions, she inspired so many to defect to our side, but she knew that convincing all of homeworld was a pipe dream that was impossible to obtain."

"But why?" Quartz asked. "What made them such bad people?"

"Remember." Sapphire spoke. "They can only give birth to more gems by draining life from other planets. Even then the Diamonds were too prideful to let another species exist that they deemed unnecessary."

"Oh, that's totally amazing, hearing all that depressing stuff about war and hopelessness that you leave out the fun stuff." Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Believe me, Q-man, Rose was the biggest party animal you would have ever met. She's the reason why I can have so much fun around humans, she showed me just how fun it was to spend time around them."

"So she was perfect, a relentless battle warrior, and a party animal …" Quartz sighed. "How were the people who knew here the longest the least helpful?" He muttered.

"Hey man, she barely talked about Mewni stuff with us. I only went there, like, once or twice. Met this cool lady with red hair, the one with all the portals." Amethyst shrugged.

"Oh Hekapoo." Quartz remembered. "She actually looked after Lion for a while." … They all turned to the snoring animal. "Apparently he was her worst nightmare."

"Pfft, so much for the high and mighty commission." Pearl snorted. "Can't take care of one single mammal."

"Well, thanks for telling me how you feel about her at least, even if I'm more confused about my own feelings." Quartz rolled his eyes, before looking at her. "So.." [A casual conversation with his father].

"There won't be anything interrupting your time with Greg, there's no monster or corrupted gem to deal with today." She reassured him, it being the best she could do with every answer they could give him just staggering Quartz even more.

"Thanks." He gave her a quick hug before heading out of the cave entrance. It was moments like that she was grateful that she couldn't see everything.

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"What was Rose like?" Greg asked his son. "I don't really know what else to say I haven't. She was this fun dork that loved everyone and everything around her."

"Hmm …" The boy sat in the grass. "Could you tell me more about the day you met then?"

"That I can do." Greg sat down in his van and strummed the melody of the song he played that day. "I'd been on the road for about three to four months by that point. I loved just being able to play on an open stage, but I didn't really know anything about business or marketing, and my ex-manager Marty was just as clueless about it as me at the time, still trying to figure out how to work with the 'Mr. Universe' brand, so there were hardly any people who showed up."

"I thought the name was pretty cool. You're like, an entire universe as a man." Finally, where was this enthusiasm when he played?

"So during one show, where I played cosmic train, she was in the back, clapping loudly. I went to the concession stand and we had this chat where I said I'd go to the cosmos and never come back, and she asked why I would want to leave such an amazing place that can make someone like me." He smirked. "So I went to grab a t- shirt out of the van cause, well, I didn't exactly carry her size."

"She towered over everyone in Mewni. The only one that came close to matching her height was Queen Solaria…though we don't talk about her." Given the nervous chuckle, there was probably a not so funny story attached to it.

"After arguing with Marty, I looked back and she was gone. So I spent the whole day searching and went to the temple, met the gems, they kinda treated me like a dog that wandered in the backyard." He chuckled.

"That's basically how they act around people in general, from what I've seen, Pearl's still insistent on using a leash on Star." Quartz chuckled. "And I think they've chased Jana off with a broom once or twice." He'd have to remember that name for later for potential teasing material.

"So me and Rose talked, and chatted. We got to know each other better." He recalled the long talks they would have for hours about seemingly nothing important. "She initially wanted me to go, being a space lady that lived for thousands of years, she didn't want me to spend my entire 'short life' just hanging around her. But I wore her down, and one day she decided to have a kid." He smiled. "She spent three years working on the physics for that one."

"Don't go into detail, it was bad enough getting lectured on Mewberty." His son playfully laughed while covering his ears.

Greg snorted. "Point is, a lot of people just think she's some crazy warrior or justice or bringer of peace but … she was a person, like you and me." He smiled. "A really fun one."

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Centipeetle watched as the provider made their way in. "Well today sucked." [Exasperation. Disappointment. Confusion.] "I went to everyone that could give me straight answers, but they all said different things." [Confoundment. Loss. Seeking.]

The provider sighed, petting her mane as he rested on the pink one's stomach. "Grrrr." The pink one was right, the provider shouldn't stress himself out so much.

"Mom called her a prankster parent, Pearl called her perfect, Sapphire said she was smart, Ruby said ruthless, Amethyst made her sound like Ponyhead, and Dad called her a person…did any of these people know her?" [Exasperation. Seeking. Directionless.]

She hissed it would be all right, rubbing against the provider.

"I'm glad you guys are here with me. I know I can understand you two at least." [Comfort. Joy. Contentment] "Am I just reading too much into the situation? I mean, I always thought before it was enough to just know her from the stories when she was just the Rose Guard. Should I even care what kind of person she was?" [Self Awareness. Desire. Ambition. Question.] 

"Mom's always been there for me, along with d-with dad 1. Do I really need to know that much about someone that I can't even talk to? Can I miss someone even if I never knew them?" [Self Question.] "It's not either of you can tell me about her, right?" [Rhetorical Statement.]

Centipeetle feels like she should be laughing, but the pink one merely grabs the boy's head with its paw. "Aw lion, I love you too." [Acceptance. Appreciation]. The boy was pushed into the pink fur. "Lion, you might want to ease up on the hugging…I never thought I would ever say that." [Worry. Confusion. Reluctance.]

The pink one began suffocating the provider. Centipeetle hissed in aggression, apparently getting the pink one to merely raise an eyebrow as the provider was set free and safe. "… What?" [Immense Unintelligible Confusion.] The provider placed their head inside and out of the hair two more times.

"You have Kelly hair!?" [Similar. Friend. Surprise.] He shouted. "Why don't you tell me you can do these things you can do!!?" [Exasperation. Confusion. Annoyance.]

Centipeetle rubbed her head against the boy's arm, hoping at least to ease his mind ever so slightly. If worse comes to worse, she might have to burn the pink one like she did the horned one. 

"I guess that explains why Rose's sword was inside of your head. Maybe there's something else in there she left behind." [Answer. Possibility. Determination.] The provider took a deep breath and plunged inside. Centipeetle watched for a few moments, before they came up again for air, and went back in. Then once more.

Then it was waiting … and waiting … and waiting. Centipeetle was about to attack the pink one in an effort to learn more, before the boy fell out, hitting the wall. "That's smarts …" [Pain.] Centipeetle went by and rubbed their heads on them. "Thanks little gal." [Appreciation.] "I have a tape … Lion, I need to go to earth."

The pink one huffed, exclaiming tiredness as they rested. "Oh come on." [Pleading.] The creature continued to protest, even when Centipeetle tried to assist. "I won't get mad when you barf on the bed?" [Expansion of options.]

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"You could've brought me along on your whole question asking quest, you know." Star, in her pjs, said as they walked down the stairs of the Diaz house. "Even if the magic is busted, I could've made them talk, have a good cop, bad cop routine to make sure they're not holding out on us."

"I wasn't interrogating them, it was just curiosity." Quartz argued. "I only went to you because I learned Lion has Kelly hair."

"Seriously, why don't you tell us about these things that you do?" Star asked the Lion, who was way past asleep by this point.

"Yeah, it's like an entirely different world inside of his mane, with pink grass and a little island in the middle of everything." Quartz explained. "The only thing is that there's no air in there, so I had to hurry to grab one of the things that were left in there."

"Out of all the things you choose to grab-" She looked over the object. "This strange device with your name on it?"

"We already grabbed the sword out of his head, and the only other things in there were a flag, a shirt, and a bubble." There was also a chest inside, but Quartz didn't feel like going on a treasure hunt for a key.

"Oh I'm not saying I'm not interested but …" She looked at the thing. "How do we use it? Password? A button? Some kind of folding mechanism."

"Marco's been showing me how earth devices work, apparently you put it in one of those little boxes under the tv there." Quartz pointed to the thing underneath it. 

"The world never ceases to fascinate me with new technology." Star nodded, walking over and shoving it in. "Come on, fit, fit!"

"Wrong side."

"Oh, I knew that." His sister flipped it on the other side, and it slowly entered the device. "Alright, let's see what magical message got left behind for you." Star turned on the tv.

The screen cracked with static and flashed to different shots of ocean waves, the crystal temple, and the beach, the last of which showed Greg Universe dancing like a crab. "What are you doing?" A feminine voice chuckled.

"Mr. Universe is kind of a dork." Star giggled. "Now I know where you get all your charm from." Quartz gave an embarrassed chuckle.

The screen flashes again, showing Dad sleeping as a seagull rested on his stomach."Greg made a friend." The voice whispered mischievously.

The seagull squawked, waking him up. "Who wha-" He shouted, before tripping and falling into a sand castle. "Sorry little buddy."

"The poor little castle." Quartz pouted.

"So the woman is Rose right?" Star asked.

"Probably." He had no reference for what Rose sounded like.

This time it was just Dad. "Go on."

"Sorry, I'm getting stage fright."

"Tell us about yourself."

"Well to start with … no no no, this needs to be done with style."

The camera cut once more, this time showing a blue crab next to the man, who held a guitar. "Okay, go." It zooms in. "They call me-" A strum of the guitar. "Mr Universe!" They begin to play a bit. "Get ready baby, you're gonna have the coolest dad this side of the cosmos!" More intense strumming. "Hit the button!"

"Oh right!" A colorful stream of stars covers the screen. "Was that the right one?"

"Probably." The man shrugged.

"Oh, what does this one do?" Puppy sounds began to play.

"Okay, so both of your parents are just adorable bundles of awkwardness and cluelessness." Star laughed.

"I guess this is what he meant by Rose being a person." Quartz looked at the image intensely. "They could have fun with each other, even with just doing the small things together." Something Quartz wished happened more often in his own life.

It showed Dad rocking out on the beach. "Isn't it wonderful Steven? This world is full of so many possibilities. Each living thing has an entirely unique experience. The sights they see, the sounds they hear. The lives they live are so complicated … a-and so simple. I can't wait for you to join them." The tape shifts to reveal … Rose Quartz, in her tall, fluffy, pink glory.

"Wow…" Star looked back and forth to the picture. "She's really pretty...those paintings don't do her justice."

"She … loves everything." Quartz muttered, silently taking in the only words he ever heard from his mother.

"Steven, we can't both exist. I'm going to become half of you. And I need you to know that every moment you love being yourself, that's me, loving you, and loving being you. Because you're going to be something extraordinary. You're going to be human."

"Hey Rose!"

"Take care of them, Steven." The tape is put down, revealing the pregnant Rose… Mom, walking over to Dad, reaching down and kissing him as they hugged. The tape showed static.

Neither of the siblings said anything after that, turning to each other with tears in her eyes. They grabbed each other in a hug, holding tight. Quartz felt himself falling asleep in his sister's hold, feeling better than he's been for a long time, feeling good being him…being Steven.