Summary: Answers to Quartz's true past.
Things had been so … Linear as of late. Things were born, they had their lives, and they died. Sapphire saw it all … except when she didn't. Believe it or not, her future vision was not perfect. She could only see one path based on what she expected and not what she knew. Back in Blue's Court, everything had been so structured, so it was no problem to tell what would happen. But on a chaotic place like earth, the only thing she had been able to predict as of late were the Gems.
She could only direct them where they needed to go when the occasion arose. When a corrupted gem started causing commotion somewhere on earth, Sapphire just told them the general area. Garnet could see it all though, the multiple paths based on their own actions and the understanding of deeper instinctual emotions … but they weren't Garnet, were they?
She longed to be Garnet again, to have Ruby by her side and support each other like they've supported each other for thousands of years, but they were on two different mindsets as of late, more different then they should've been. Ruby gave up hope too easily, she dismissed any notion that Rose's kid could still be around.
She never saw the future though, she never saw a future where Rose's kid was alive … even as Garnet … but she kept trying anyway. She kept trying to see into the beyond and hope for even the smallest sliver of evidence. Rose herself was a bit of a blindspot for her back then, so the same HAD to apply to whatever offspring she produced….right?
The red eye's explosion was a wake up call for her. Only a light cannon would have pierced through it. And to keep going on to the cosmos? That had to be the triple light cannon from the Armory. Rose's armory according to Pearl. There was a bit of an argument there when she revealed that she knew something about Rose and never told them.
It didn't matter if she knew Rose more than they did, if the woman trusted her more than anybody else, this was an innocent kid's life on the line! They needed to know EVERYTHING that could get them closer to finding them!
Calm down…focus…the light cannon blew up the Red Eye, which meant the cannon was close to the beach, which means Rose's kid was near the beach. She didn't care if she's tried this a million times before and never saw anything, infinite possibilities meant there was bound to be at least one where….
[A boy with Rose Quartz's gem screams in frustration at the Crystal Gems, accusing them of not knowing who he is, he is Quartz Universe Butterfly]
No…this…this…was it possibile!? He was here?! JUST OUTSIDE!?
Ignoring everything else, Sapphire practically smashed through her temple room's door and burst through the cave entrance, leaving a trail of ice as she sprinted across the sandy field. Her legs, despite being made out of hard light, felt sore and lethargic from lack of use over the years. That didn't matter though, not when everything finally had a chance of returning to normal!
========================================================================
"Kelly, how are we doing?" He asked the person closest to the monster, delivering direct slashes.
"Not good, it's like this entire thing's insides are made of rock and acid. How does it function!?" The girl leapt above the shot of acid spat at her. "And I'm always about three seconds from losing my hair, the most important weapon to a Woolet, Quartz! You don't mess with your hair!" She used the sword to block another shot. "Good thing this sword is acid proof."
"WHY! WON'T! YOU! DIE!?" Star barricaded it shot after shot. "SHINY EMERALD SNAKE BLAST! POISON CRYSTAL CUPCAKE BLAST!" The acid just melted everything she summoned. "Marco! Get your butt back and help us!"
"What am I going to do to fight it?! My kicks are like light taps to this thing, and I'm the only one here that doesn't have anything protecting me from acid!" Fair point. He honestly forgot Marco was human this entire time with how capable he was during fights. "Also I found these girls, they might know about the Rose Guard and Greg!"
"Wait, really?" Quartz dropped his guard, turning around to face the strange looking trio.
"Quartz, look out!" He heard Star shout, hearing the hiss of the monster get closer … and saw the pale looking girl move faster than he's ever seen his dad move before, flying past him as he heard a squelch.
Turning, he saw her violently attack the beast over and over, he spear spinning and swung repeatedly to the point he could feel wind from here. "STAY!" The woman kept slashing, the monster in front of them actually flinching for the first time. "Away! From! Steven!"
Quartz and his friends paused for a second to register what the skinny lady just said. "...Who?" They collectively said at the same time.
"Amethyst, you stay right by Steven's side, I'll get the other kids out of the way!" The short red lady charged with a fiery fist.
"Yeah, on it!" The purple girl ran up to him. "Hey buddy, are you doing okay?"
"Of course I am, this isn't my first monster fight-Hey, stop attacking them!" He tried to run after the short red one, only to be held back by the chubby one. "Let me go!"
"Not until they tell me why they've kidnapped you this entire time!" The red one was throwing her fist at Kelly, who was using the sword to block every attack.
"Why would I kidnap my own brother?!" Star shouted, trying to shoot attacks at both the Centipede monster and the short Lady.
"I always knew Mewmans were barbaric and brainless, but I never expected any of you to be so cruel as to resort to such loathsome actions!" The white skinned one threw a spear both at Star and the bug monster!
"Amethyst, Amethyst, what are you doing!?" Marco tried to help him. "Let Quartz go already!"
"No! We've been looking for Steven for years and...wait, did you say Quartz?" The purple lady turned to him.
"Yes, that's my name!" The boy shouted, finally getting out of her grip. "Quartz. Universe. Butterfly!" The red short one finally stopped attacking, even if the pale lady was on the offensive for both the monster and his sister. "I don't know who this 'Steven' is, but I have a happy family, and you keep accusing me of being someone I'mI'm not!"
"They must have brainwashed him!" What was the pale lady's deal!? "First you corrupt his mind and then use him to raid Rose's armory and steal her long lost sword…"
"Hey, we saved the world when we found that!" Kelly shouted, chopping one of the pale lady's spears in half. "And this sword just happens to be a gift Quartz gave me after we found it in his Lion's head!"
"... What are you on abo-" The monster screamed, throwing the distracted lady through a wall.
"ENOUGH!" Quartz shouted at everyone, feeling a slight warmness on his cheek marks as he formed a bubble over his head. "We're all arguing about who I am and who or who did't kidnap me while trying to fight an acid spitting monster! Now everyone, raise your hand if you don't want that thing to hurt anybody!"
Everyone looked at each other awkwardly, before slowly raising their hands up. "Good, we all have that in common, now let's beat up this thing and then talk about everything else afterwards!" He threw the giant bubble at the monster, which screeched in pain from the explosion.
"...Well, you heard my brother! Fight the giant green glow worm!" Star agreed, waving her wand. "TINY FLOATING PINK WHALE HIGH FIVE!" Ooh, nice, she did read his suggestions!
"He's not your…oh forget it, we'll settle this later!" The pale woman directed her attacks at the centipede monster again. "Amethyst, keep it down!"
"Whatever!" The purple girl shrugged, pulling a whip out of her chest to tie down the beast and send it crashing into the ground. "Anyone that wants to take a shot, feel free to do so in the next ten seconds!"
"Already ahead of you! Quartz! Give me a boost!" Kelly shouted, and he already knew what to do. Cupping his hands together, he brought them up as Kelly jumped on them, allowing her to do quite a few graceful flips before pointing her sword downwards at the monster's chest. "Lights out you giant bug!"
The monster screamed before it … poofed was the only descriptive thing to say about it. It vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a small green gem rock. "Wait, this whole time we were fighting a rock?" Marco asked.
"A bit more complicated than that." Amethyst spoke up.
"Nevermind that, we need to-" Pearl was interrupted as a short blue woman ran straight at them, ice behind her heels as she went over to the rock, putting it in … a bubble like his own, before tapping it as it vanished. She then turned and stared at him, and he could feel its intensity even if he couldn't see her eyes.
"Ah…hi.." Quartz couldn't finish when the lady brought him into a sudden hug. "... Nice to … meet you too …" He spoke awkwardly.
"You as well … Quartz." Finally, someone got his name right! "I believe there's a lot we can tell you, as well as you can tell us."
"First things first though." Star walked up to them, ignoring the stares of Pearl. "Is my brother…" The staring got more intense. "..The Rose Guard's son?"
"The Rose Guard is a title the Mewmans gave our leader, Rose Quartz." Rose … Quartz …
"... Are you telling me your first and middle name are the last names of both your parents!?" Star shouted. "I told you, conspiracy!!"
"Yeah…and I think there's someone else that needs to be here, to clear a few things up." Quartz furrowed his brow. "Star…we have to call mom now."
========================================================================
Moon walked back and forth in front of her son's room, lamenting about how she was going to go about this. What would it take to keep her son from trying to learn everything? Cookie cats seemed like a viable option, calling on the chefs and bakers to make homemade versions, or even better, cook them herself with him. Baking was the one thing she could do peacefully with both her children present.
Or maybe she plays it up, making this big conspiracy leading to a dungeon with falsified information … no, she couldn't do that either. She wasn't going to besmirch Rose's name in front of her own child. This wouldn't be so hard if the boy didn't idolize the woman so much. Yesh, she knew knowing him would probably make him ecstatic, but that also would lead to a burden to 'live up' to her name, something Moon had to fight against for years when her mother died.
She sighed. Whatever happened, he was her son. She trusted in their bond, and prayed it would be enough to get through to him. So she gritted her teeth and opened his door … to an empty room. "...You're too much like your sister." Moon grumbled, half surprised she didn't immediately expect this to happen.
Before her thought could dwell into anger and disappointment, her hand mirror rang, and it was from Star. "Star, what is it? If you know where Quartz is, then you better tell me…"
"We know the Rose Guard…Rose Quartz…is his mom. Does the name 'Crystal Gem' Ring any bells?"
"..." They knew. "Let me put you on the big mirror … I feel this will be a long call with a lot of people." And it would give her time to gather her thoughts together.
"No mom…you come down to Beach Creek and tell us what's going on face to face. Otherwise, you can forget about Quartz, and me for that matter, coming back to Mewni."
"... Let me grab my scissors then." She hung up, taking a deep breath as the panic and fast breathing spread through her body. This was it, she was going to lose them. This..everything she's done to keep her family stable and happy would all be unraveled after one conversation.
Letting herself breathe for a full minute, she pulled out the scissors and entered the portal. She ended up on sandy ground, though a messy dress was the least of her worries. When she looked out, she saw Star and Quartz with their friends, Marco and Kelly. Surrounding them was Pearl, Rose's closest confidant last she remembered, Amethyst, a rebellious little rascal that she recalled hung around Heckapoo once or twice, and two unfamiliar figures she didn't recall seeing before, one red and one blue.
"Queen Moon Butterfly, I presume." Pearl, despite the hidden notes of irritation on her face, gently bowed her head. "You've grown."
"It's nice to see you once more, Pearl." She nodded. "Amethyst." The girl in question merely grunted and stuck out her tongue. Glad to see some things haven't changed. She looked around in confusion. "Where's Garnet?"
"She's…indisposed for the time being." The short red woman spoke up. "We're…picking up the slack for her for the foreseeable future." Moon nodded, feeling a certain level of tension from the blue one when she finished.
"Alright, indrotcutions are out of the way, now I want to know." Quartz interrupted. "What is my backstory, the real one?" He looked at her intently.
She decided to start simple, looking at everyone, and the tense Gems. "I never kidnapped or brainwashed him, if that's what you're thinking. The story we told Quartz and Star is true. River truly found you floating in a river in a pink bubble on one of his Lectures. We do not know how or why, the guards never found anything upstream, but you were found there."
"Oh, that's a load of balone…" Amethyst shouted in disbelief, but the blue one raised her hand to silence her.
"If that's the case, then why did you keep him on Mewni?" The blue one spoke firmly but evenly.
She sighed, now adding to the parts that were never told. "River was going to give you to an orphanage, but the workers were gone at the moment, so we decided to keep you in our palace for the night." She looked down. "Then you made bubbles that Rose had and I realized you had some connection … I was thinking about what to do until Star dipped down."
"Wait, you dipped down as a baby!?" Pearl looked at the girl in question.
"Dip what now?" Her daughter asked.
"Magic without the wand, Glosseryck explains it better." Moon spoke.
"..." The princess turned to Pearl. "Is the baby thing impressive?"
"Most queens don't do it at such a young age, if at all. Your mother only did so at seventeen if I remember correctly."
"Ha, I one upped my mom! Star Butterfly is gonna be an awesome queen." Great, now her ego was further inflated.
"..Back to the main point.." Moon continued. "Doing so in the presence of Quartz, whose power is derived from empathy, bonded the two of them together, which is why Quartz has star emblems on his face."
"Meaning we really are brother and sister." The boy looked at the Gems. "So no, attacking Star, at all." He glared at them.
"Okay, we may have started off on the wrong foot there…our bad." Amethyst apologized. "Wait, Tiger Millionaire, that was you in the ring! Oh stars, we've been running into each other this entire time!"
"What ring!?" Moon asked, staring intently at her children.
"Yes, Amethyst, what are you talking about!?" Pearl shouted at her teammate.
"You hid a conspiracy from me, you don't get to accuse who may or may not have been inside of a wrestling ring with a mask and briefcase." Well even when he was mad at her, her son was at least honest to a point.
"We talked with Glossaryck." She continued. "He said that you were Rose's child … somehow."
"What do you mean somehow?" The boy asked. "You just kiss and a river brings you a baby."
"... He doesn't know." The green haired girl muttered. "Super innocent." Please don't corrupt her child.
"Ste-... Quartz." The boy turned to Pearl. "The truth is … Gems like us can't …" She looked contemplative on how to word it. "...Have children normally." She explained. "To give you life she had to give up her gem, the essence of herself …"
Moon didn't need to look at her children to see the horrific faces from the revelation of that statement. "…wait so the Rose Guard…Rose Quartz….mom is…"
"A part of you." The red one touched the boy's shoulder. "She's always going to be a part of you, she was happy and accepting when she realized what she had to do. Don't put any blame on that, alright?"
"Al…alright." Quartz wiped away the tears that were forming on his face, with Star and Kelly patting him on the back. Moon wanted so badly to comfort him, but she feared anything she did would just be met with resentment from everyone. "So…what happened with da…with Mr. Universe?"
"Well when he lost his wife … and his kid … he just kinda quit for a while." Amethyst spoke up. "I came by whenever I could to cheer him up…it worked for a year…but things sort of got messy. Greg one day just decided to put everything into his music and told us to never contact him again."
"I can find out where he is for you if you want." The blue lady offered. "Chances of him being willing to calm down and listen are slim though."
"Thanks…I think." Quartz responded tentatively. "I'll think about it later." The boy turned to her. "So you adopted me without telling anyone?"
"Rose has … a lot of enemies." Moon worded. "It would have been safer if they never knew she existed in some form, much less through a child so … it's why I told you to hide your gem from the public."
"On that we can agree on. Thank you for at least being sensible in that regard." Pearl responded. "But now that Ste..now that Quartz is back on earth, I believe it would be for the best if he stayed with us."
Right, of course, she expected as mu- "What are you talking about? I'm living with my family." The boy spoke up. "And I can't stay with Star because the Diaz family barely have enough space as it is."
"Star made an entire wing and I'm concerned about its structure." Marco spoke up.
"Steven.." the red one flinched when her son gave her a tense look. "..Your mom trusted us to take care of you, and we want to do our part in keeping our promise."
"And not to be offensive, but your bubbles are of very poor quality if they're constantly exploding." Pearl commented.
"Hey, exploding bubbles are awesome!" Star reacted angrily. "It helped kick that giant ts worm's big butt, didn't it?"
"He could be doing much more with us, we could show him how to be a perfect gem." The pale skinned gem said in a condescending tone that made her instantly recognize the woman's ego.
"I'll have you know that my husband and I have personally seen to his training, and I can tell you without a doubt he's growing into quite the capable knight." Moon defended.
"Yeah, now they only explode half the time, and I can make flying hexagons!"
"Rose never…you shouldn't even be able.." Pearl looked like she was about to lose it, and it mildly amused the Queen. "Well there are plenty of things you can still learn, like … shapeshifting."
"He learned that." Star spoke up. "He became a giant lizard monster. Oh, show them the spikes."
"He turned into what now?" Moon said in bafflement as Quartz turned his back and showed off spikes running down his back, the gems gasping.
"It happened during mewberty. I can also make cat fingers … but they're evil …" The boy stared at his hand as if it was her looking at Toffee. "Evil …"
"He has spikes…is he corrupted!?" The blue lady shrieked.
"Hey, my brother is pure and innocent." Star patted the boy.
"No like, his gem. You saw a corrupted gem with the centipede monster." Amethyst spoke. "It's like one of us losing our minds."
"Well things did get hazy when I transformed, but apparently I was clear headed enough to give chips and soda to the girls I wrapped in webbing."
"Wait, so you're the boy Jana's always talking about? This entire time I honestly thought she was making it all up." Amethyst shook her head. "Okay, we're just talking in circles at this point. Steven wants to stay with his…" she looked at her daughter and herself. ".:.family, and we want to show him the biz with all the gem stuff."
"It's Quartz."
"Sorry, bet on you being a boy and am happily raking it in." Amethyst jovially replied. "So since we're all in the business of wanting to help the kid…why don't we do it together?"
"Amethyst, we're not leaving earth for Mewni." Pearl deadpanned.
"No, I see what she's getting at." The blue one spoke up. "You sent your daughter here to train her magic earth, is that right?" Moon nodded her answer. "We can set time for specific days where we teach and train Quartz in being a gem."
"… We'll have a chance to finally get my powers under control …" The boy looked at his hands. "Mom, please let me do this. I want to know…I need to know."
The boy had no idea how much him still calling her mom meant to her. "I suppose…we can arrange visits…around twice a week or so." She pointed at the Gems. "But nothing overnight."
"Oh come on!" Star shouted. "We can sleepover!"
"The Crystal Gems live in a cave and don't require food." She deadpanned.
"Untrue!" The red one shouted. "Thanks to Amethyst learning about humans, we have a bean bag chair and chips."
"Those are the basic requirements for living." A talking puffball inside of Kelly's hair said from out of nowhere.
"That's as far as I'm willing to go for now." Moon reiterated. "Take it or leave it."
"A little time is all we ask for." The blue one bowed her head. "I look forward to getting to know you, Quartz Universe Butterfly."
"Oh yeah, that's my question." Marco spoke. "Did you know you took two last names and made them his first and middle name?"
"Quartz is his first name in reference to Rose herself, yes." Moon nodded. "His middle name was chosen because of my and River's partial belief the universe sent him to us, though I suppose I should've suspected something when Glossaryck started laughing."
"Hey, look at it this way." Star patted his back. "It can't be any worse than Beach Creek."
"Ugh, how the founder thought that was a creative name will forever allude me." Pearl slapped her head. "He could've called it Beach City or Echo Creek, but nope! Just smash both names together half-haphazardly!"
"…Alright, it's been a long day." Moon opened up a portal. "Come on, Quartz, let's head home." She signaled her son.
"Actually Mom, I'd like to come too, just for a second." Star walked up to them, her tone just slightly more firm than Moon was used too. Of all the times for Star to be serious, it had to be now of all times.
========================================================================
A small wave of nostalgia flashed before Star when she entered the walls of the castle. Today was half good, half disaster, which she wouldn't mind in most cases, but the disaster had yet to end.
Quartz just walked in a daze, his mind probably processing everything told to him … probably the most prominent being mom's lies, his birth parents dead and depressed, and the fact he was now training with … 'rock people'? "Why don't you head to bed, you've got a lot to think about bro." She patted his back. "I'm just gonna look around, remember what the place looks like and all."
"Yeah…I guess I will." Her brother slowly turned, but their mom stopped him before he could head out the doors.
"Quartz…I know a lot of what I've done doesn't seem the most…honest..but I've only been trying to do what I thought was right for you." Mom said sadly as she pulled out that mirror her brother carried. "I believe you might need this."
The boy looked at it before giving mom a small smile. "Thanks … I know my birth parents exist, but you're still the ones that raised me and took me in … so thank you." Quartz said before walking out of the door.
"... I suppose one good thing came out of today." She could hear the woman mutter.
"Yeah, I just happen to have the most forgiving brother in the universe." Star tersely turned to her mom. "So, when were you going to tell him? When he turned fourteen? Twenty? Or were you just fine letting him believe that he was just abandoned in the middle of a river as a baby for the rest of his life?"
"You don't think I haven't had regrets doing so, Star? It ate me up inside almost everyday not telling the truth to him, but the fact of the matter is that he didn't need to know Rose Quartz is-was his mother."
"He looked up to the woman every day of his life, and you didn't think him knowing they were possibly related was any concern?" She asked, not wanting to shout if Quartz was still in earshot. "He's been trying as hard as he can to be just like the Rose Guard…"
"Well maybe I don't want him to be like her..!" Mom shoutered her whisper. "She was a great ally, but she made mistakes, many mistakes that I'd rather he avoided!"
"He wanted to help people, he wanted to protect them!" She shouted her whisper back at her.
"He's an innocent child, he shouldn't bear the burden that role would require!"
"What about me, do I not have to make tough choices as a queen!?"
"That is our natural born duty Star, we have to uphold it no matter what!" Mom's voice started to crack just a little. "Being Rose's son alone without knowing already puts him in a precarious situation as is with people like the Commision around!"
"The commission." Star was offended. "The people we talk with on a regular basis, keeper of cats and scissors, and Rombulus's 'Gem Buddy' is considered 'bad people'?"
"They seek total control and oversight over those with magical capability. I've been barely able to shield him from their influence as it is, trying to raise him up as one of my own was the best possible choice in the end."
"Except it wasn't your first choice." Star growled. "You were going to dump him in some ratty old orphanage, but when he showed he can make pretty bubbles, suddenly you changed your tune. If he showed no signs of magic that day you found him, you would've just tossed aside my brother like trash."
"Star…be quiet…"
"Tell me, if he wasn't magic, if he wasn't the son of the 'great Rose Guard', would you have even thought twice about him!?" She accused the woman. "Did you only keep him because of what he was instead of who he was!?"
"Star, that's enough!" Mom shouted back at a normal loud tone. "You've been insolent and disobedient of me for months and have gone behind my back more than once. Just be grateful that I'll choose not to question how Quartz was on earth instead of in his room or the village." Her mom glared at her, spiteful. "Now head back to the Diaz residence before you mess things up as usual."
"I guess I'll be going then … Moon."
========================================================================
They couldn't believe it. Quartz was back after the scary lady snatched them away. The thing that was not a mirror within reflection feared they would've been alone again, with nothing but the void as their companion. It was torture before, but to experience true companionship and then have it taken away was complete agony.
"So … my entire life is different now." The talk was nice, it grounded them. No longer wasting away in memories. "I figured out my father is Greg Universe, a depressed rockstar." River sounded much more exciting as a father." "And my mother is Rose Guard, or also known as Rose Quartz." Yay, now they were one with their hero … Rose Quartz? "Yeah, apparently she had a separate name for when she lived on Earth."
Earth..that word was mentioned a lot before…but now it felt like it held more importance when the name Rose Quartz was said. "My dad is also from earth too, but apparently he's a really sad musician that's given up on life, so I'm not sure I can do anything about that." Well that was an understandable feeling, they pretty much had no life to give up on.
"I also met these people that worked with her..I've actually ran into one of them twice before. Funny how the world works. They call themselves the Crystal Gems, and they were Rose's team or something."
Crystal Gems … Bad gems, bad gems do bad things, know of the screams, know of the void, know that thing is stuck within reflection but can't be free, know is damaged but won't fix. Bad people, bad gems! "They seem a little weird, but nice enough. I'm meeting with them twice a week now. One of my new friends knows them, so I guess I can trust them."
Must warn friend, must warn friend, must warn friend. "Bad … gems … don't … nice."
"Did…did you just speak?" Quartz held her closer. "Are you trying to talk to me?"
"I…speak….I…know….crystal…gems…bad."
"They're bad, what does that mean?" He asked with worry.
"Mean … bad … no … trust … gems." They felt themselves fade with effort. They could talk more, but it still took effort.
"Don't trust them?" Quartz looked at her, and they wished they could have said more, saying that he shouldn't get close to them, he shouldn't try talking to them, lest he risk losing all his freedom like she had. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to have Star with me when I go with them. She could probably blast them if they try anything funny." … He had help, it would be fine, it would be fine, please please let it be fine.