Summary: The meeting of a familiar friend.
"So that's what it's like to pay for tickets." Amethyst spoke as they all exited the theater of 'dog copter'. "I usually just snuck around in the vents." It helped she could stretch her hands to snag food.
"I just assume it was natural to go through the vents if the people didn't let you in." Star admitted.
"Remind me why I'm friends with you criminals?" Marco asked sarcastically.
"Because you love us and your life would be boring without us." Kelly laughed. "I didn't think a movie about a robotic dog shooting missiles out of his butt would be so emotional, but it was!"
"And he had such a great philosophy for life too. Just do what you think is right, and let life roll with the rest." Tad spoke up with a content sigh. "Such passion in such a little man."
"That's what makes him the best. Out of everyone, he's the most human of them all." Quartz wiped away a tear. "There's so much to learn, oh great dog master." The kid turned to her "Thanks for coming along with us, things have been getting way too hectic back at the temple."
"No problem little man." She gave him and Star noogies. "After all, it's my responsibility as the only fun Crystal Gem."
"How do you deal with them all the time?" Star asked her. "I imagine things get very shouty after a hundred or so years."
"They do, but it's nothing I can't get over. We shout, we fight, we sing, and then the next day comes and we're already dealing with another problem to care about the next one that comes."
"How come we've never broken out into song when we fight evil?" Marco asked.
"It just never got emotional enough." Quartz shrugged.
"I can recall like five or six times we got hyper emotional."
"No, that was mainly us being hysterical." The kid had a point. "So…you knew my dad pretty well, right?"
"Yeah, we used to watch this show together, 'Lil Butler' all the time." Fun times. "He was a hilarious guy, a bit of a manchild, but he bought like, five parenting books when he learned Rose was pregnant."
"Sounds like he was really eager." Kelly stated.
"He was, he gave up a lot when he met Rose because he loved her that much." The times she'd spy on them dancing together alone were a sappy treat she enjoyed having. "Just give it time, Quartz, he just needs some time getting out of that weird moody headspace he's in now."
A familiar van blazed past them, tires screeching to a halt as it parked dangerously close to the street, before the door slammed open, a chubby man jumping out of the driver's seat. "Amethyst!" Greg shouted. "Where's Quartz?"
"Greg!?" She shouted, the last thing she was expecting today was for the man himself to show up in person. "Ah…uh.." She pointed back to Quartz and Greg themselves, unavailable to use words to convey the message.
The father looked at the boy, tears in his eyes as he ran up and hugged him. "You're alive ... you're okay …" Greg squeezed tighter. "I'm so happy."
The boy looked…tense. His face conveyed so many emotions, though it was obvious that the main one he was feeling was confusion. "Ah…hi…dad?"
"Hold, hold, slow your roll for a second, buster." Star peeled her brother away from the man's grasp. "You're Greg Universe?"
The man sniffled, wiping his tears with a smile on his face. "Yeah, that's me. You must be one of Quartz's …" He looked at her cheeks, then at Quartz's. "Friends? Did you get tattoos!?"
"They're birthmarks…technically, it's a long story." The girl sighed. "I'm Star Butterfly, Quartz's sister."
"Oh." The man blinked. "So you-" A loud beeping was heard.
"MOVE THIS THING!" Shouted a driver, yelling at Greg's van, which was logged in the middle of the road.
"Not to pour rain on the moment, but we might want to move the conversation somewhere else." Marco suggested.
"Right, right, we were just about to head back to the temple." Quartz suggested. "We'll see you over there?"
"The temple, right of course." The man laughed. "I'll see you there." He waved, running back to the vehicle.
Amethyst turned to the little guy, looking as the man ran back to his van. "So … that's my dad."
"Yeah…he kinda let himself go in the past few years." Amethyst tried to lighten the mood, but there was no laughter in response.
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"So my son was adopted by a magical royal family who was friends with Rose for centuries." Star watched as 'Greg Universe' blinked. "Glad to see he's had security and fun, I can't thank you enough for that."
"You're taking this in stride." Marco said with surprise.
"When Rose was still around, the fact she was twice my height and pink was an afterthought, and you'd be surprised to see that Beach Creek isn't the only crazy town out there." The supposed father of her brother laughed.
Pearl sighed. "I'll have to make a list of possible gem locations for later." She muttered. "It's been a while, Greg. I thought you'd left for good."
"Well I did a country tour to get some perspective and some thoughts out of my head… then when Garnet called I kinda … bailed on my contract and drove from New York without sleep while hiding from the law." The man spoke while rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh, so you're a criminal now too, great, just great." Star muttered a bit bitterly under her breath. "And who the heck is Garnet?"
"Long story." Ruby interrupted. "We're just glad you actually answered. Sapphire said there'd be a chance you might not.."
"Yeah, I was probably just going to let it go to voicemail, but a call the moment I reached my phone gave me pause." The man nodded, before turning to her brother. "So … how's life?"
That must've set the record for most awkward conversation started, because her brother still looked in disbelief. "Oh…it's been crazy, and fun, riding on a lion across dimensions and watching movies with my friends."
The man snorted. "That sounds like an awesome song title. I'm glad to hear that …" He tapped his finger awkwardly.
"So … you play music?" Quartz asked, also completely awkward. The record has to be set by now, right? "Oh yeah, I've listened to one of your earliest ones, with the space theme cover" Her brother actually managed to put on a smile for the first time since they met this man. " I'm just a comet." The boy quoted one of the songs.
The man looked at the boy before laughing. "That's the concert I met your mom at too. She was the only one that showed up."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah, I wasn't famous at all back then, and she was the only one that liked the space theme." He snickered. "I went to the cave to give her a free t-shirt, but Pearl lifted me up and talked about 'building a fence' to keep the insects out."
"She actually did build a fence, but it was to stop people from falling off a cliff."
"Should have put up a double layer." The gem grumbled.
"Nice to see that some things don't ever change." Apparently Mr Universe was used to Pearl's high and mighty attitude. "I don't mean to pry, but are the rest of these kids your friends?"
"Star's my sister, like she said." Quartz spoke up.
"Inseparable for life." She nodded.
"Then we have Marco, Star's earth friend."
"The responsible one in the group." He reaffirmed.
"Then we have some friends from Woolia, Kelly and her boyfriend Tad."
"Sup." The hairball spoke up
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you, especially you, Star." The man she had very mixed feelings on shook her hand. "All these years, I thought my son was all alone out there, or even worse…" The man looked depressed for a split second. "You have no idea how much of a relief it is to know he grew up with an actual family all this time."
She stared at him and his hand. "Um … sure, anything for him."
"Why don't you show him off?" Amethyst asked. "Family dinner?" No way, she could not handle something that awkward!!
"Oh, are you sure about that?" Apparently Quartz thought the same. "I mean, mom and dad are…"
"They'll agree to it instantly the moment you ask." Sapphire interrupted. "You have nothing to worry about on that front.
"Wow, geese, thanks Sapphire." She deadpanned to the ice gem.
"I better get my fancy suit!" The man shouted, running to his van. "Oh, before I forget, I was cleaning up on the ride here and found a large pink cannon, does that belong to you guys!?"
"Rose…gave her light cannon...To you!?" Pearl looked like she was close to snapping a spine.
"Oh, that explains the password!" Quartz realized. "If every pork chop was perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs!" The sound of charging could be heard emanating from the vehicle.
"No! That's where I live now!" Not exactly what Star had in mind trying to dig up her brother's whole family deal.
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"It's a pleasure to dine with you, your Highnesses." River looked at the man who gave birth to their son, covered in nervous sweat and jitters.
The sudden call he and his moon pie received from their children was very sudden. Even more so was his wife's quick action to agree to dinner with the man. "I'm hosting, the pleasure is mine for your attendance." She spoke calmly. "We have plenty of food, don't be squeamish."
She probably figured it was best to embrace this considering how strained the mother's revelation came to be. Quartz said he was fine, but he took almost every opportunity to leave the castle when he could, and Star and Moon had only just begun mending fences recently.
"I won't say no to a free meal." The man laughed, taking a bite. On the other end Quartz and Star sat, very awkward. "I can't thank you enough for taking him in and keeping him safe."
"It's no problem at all, even if it wasn't the most ideal at first." River laughed jovially. "Just imagine being in my shoes, suddenly finding a baby floating down a river and getting swallowed by a serpent."
"Wow, looks like he got my and Rose's trouble making skill." Moon actually let out a chuckle at the joke.
"He was actually the responsible one, other than the occasional exploding bubbles. He has a kind heart like no one else in the kingdom." Moon recalled fondly.
"Mom.." Their son blushed from the compliment.
"Take it in stride, my boy, it was a compliment." River reassured Quartz. "All the lovely ladies want to swarm him during the silver bell ball."
"Oh, so you're a ladies man." Greg smirked.
"Don't listen to their lies, it's just one girl during the silver bell ball, and princess Spider bite is just being nice." Quartz blushed even harder. "And like I keep telling everyone, Kelly already has a boyfriend."
"… We never mentioned Kelly."
"Not you too, Star!"
"Don't be ashamed of it S-Quartz, it's just the old universe charm flowing through your veins." The balding man chuckled. "I used to have a lot of women hang out … all of them are exes now that send me spam mail from recent stardom, but it's there."
"There must be something there. I never took Rose to be the type to 'settle' for one person, if you know what I mean." Moon spoke up.
"Wait, stop, it's in my head!" Quartz screamed. "… Is there anything about her not involving love stuff?"
Greg paused, looking up. "Well … when I knew her … she was a total geek. Really obsessed and loving earth culture and humans and learning all about it. We had this entire discussion where she said weirdness excites her and said somehow space was the most boring place she knew."
"Oh really? Quartz is sort of a nerd too with a few things." Their daughter ruffled her brother's head. "Mainly when it comes to reading old stories about past queens, usually with whatever stuff they did with the Rose Guard."
"The..Rose Guard?" Mr.Universe seemed unfamiliar with the name.
"It's the title Mewni gave to Rose Quartz back in the day." River explained. "That's the title most of our people know her by."
"It's the name I knew her by while growing up." Quartz continued. "She just looked so…kind and caring. She spent so many years trying to protect Mewni, and I wanted to be like that ever since I could remember."
"That sounds like an amazing dream." Greg smiled. "You hear about the tales of brave knights defending a village as a kid, but you rarely get to live those days out as an adult."
"That's why we're going to be the best around when we grow up. Quartz and I: We're the dream team." Star pulled her brother in close. "I'll be the awesome warrior queen that rides Warnicorns into battle, and he'll be my top knight, riding Lion into battle."
"Really? He doesn't seem very … battle happy." He looked at the creature lazing around with a ball of yarn.
"Believe me when I say that ferocious feline knows how to give one hell when they're in the mood." River chuckled. "He's quite a handful for one of our allies to deal with, and more often than not ends up scaring away monsters morso than our security detail around Mewni's barriers."
"Except for Buff Frog, we gave him a pass." Star shrugged. "He deserves the corn for the precious little ones."
"Star, not that I discourage you from fighting monster's less in general, I warn you about being too casual around their presence." Moon reminded her children of her stance. Personally, the frog man got a pass from him for just being a father looking out for his children.
"Hey, if they can appreciate music, they're okay in my books." Greg shrugged. "Heck, I know a human that's probably worse … side note, if you ever meet a man named Marty, kick him in the nads and run."
"I could send him over the moon if you asked…literally." Quartz laughed. "Depends if you'd rather he get hit with an exploding bubble or a rainbow fist punch."
"Don't want you to go to jail for murder … but watching a rainbow sail up like a firework to the moon sounds amazing to watch." This was a man that truly understood the beauty of violence. Blood or not, Greg Universe would fit amazingly with their family.
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When did the universe begin? Ludo felt like that was the time his life was destined for failure. Either then or the moment he was born, but the former gave more thought within the void .
The endless expanse of darkness that makes you crave animal attacks because it would be SOMETHING other than eternity. Ludo thought long and hard about every experience in his life. The cruelty of living with parents that saw him as weak no matter how much he accomplished. The brief moments of comfort he had whenever Dennis sought him out, even the pain from all the humiliation Star and Quartz Butterfly subjected him to. All of that would've been preferable than sailing around in the ever expanding void
He may have been too hard on his minions, they deserved better. Especially Buff Frog, for putting up with his shenanigans for so long. Now it was just him and the void as he contemplates eternity. He wasn't hungry though, why wasn't he hungry, did his body stop? Was he immortal here? Was this eternity?
What was the point of living forever if he was the only one around. What was the point of life in general if no one else was around? Was that the point of life? To have companions and be around them through the good and awful moments that reality provided?
Oh great and powerful universe … I know we haven't talked up, but it would be nice if we could have a moment. I'm willing to change … not that I'm giving up evil, or my obsession with power, but how I go about it. I will become someone my minions care for, and care for them in return. I will be a great king and leader!
His answer came in the form of a meteor smashing him in the face, the first taste of any kind of sensation the man had felt in who knows how long by this point. It was HORRIBLE to feel, but he was just so relieved to feel anything by this point, so he would take it.
The meteor sent him hurtling forward/upwards/whatever direction, and he couldn't help but black out a couple of times, vaguely recalling seeing some kind of bright light and falling down. When his vision cleared again, he could plainly see that there was no vast empty space around, but a gray sky filled with clouds.
He stood up and looked around to see an empty forest, cold for miles and miles. After determining he was in a desolate wasteland, he gazed to the sky. "You could have at least shot me into civilization!" And after he put all his effort into that promise.
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The ride back to Earth was actually a whole lot less awkward than Quartz thought it would be. In fact, that entire dinner wasn't nearly as awkward as he thought it was going to be. Really, it almost felt completely normal. Da-Mr.Universe, when he stopped being so stressed out about making a good impression, was a really good conversationalist. He said at least one thing to all of them that made his family laugh.
"So … what are you gonna do now?" He asked the man.
"Eh, keep my van near the woods or temple … probably the former. After that I could probably start building a house." Greg spoke. "Haven't seen this place in years …"
"Did you live in a van even when you met Ro…met mom?" Quartz asked him.
"It was the only thing I had on me at the time, and I never really wanted much in terms of owning stuff. I just wanted to be on the open road and be free to play the kind of music I want, then of course Rose changed that plan."
"… What about grandma and grandpa?" He asked.
"That is a can of worms I would prefer to open when you're an adult."
"So they didn't like you playing music, got it."
"… Perceptive little bugger, aren't ya." The man ruffled his head with a laugh.
"Excluding history books, there's a lot of fighting between the Butterfly's and Johanasions. If you're ever invited to one of the family reunions, you might want to pack a full set of armor, they're not afraid of causing casualties to neutral parties." Quartz mainly delegated himself to hiding at the kid's table, even if Star didn't like being there.
"I'll look to invest." Da-Mr. Universe chuckled. "I know there's a lot that's happened, and there's a lot that we still need to go over, but I hope that you don't mind me being a part of your life."
"You're nicer and more upfront then the Gems, that alone gets you more brownie points."
"Don't be too hard on them, sport. They're still trying to get a handle on the whole 'living among humans' thing. You should've seen them when your mom and I actually started dating. Pearl came at me with a spear when I was trying to offer Rose a necklace, said something about me harvesting their gems or something."
Quartz snorted. "What, did she think you were bringing an enemy to her when you offered a diamond ring?"
"Oh, they ALL went ballistic when I offered that. Apparently mentioning the word diamond alone makes them freak out." Wonder what that was all about. Quartz glanced at the guitar in the van, noticing the Star shape that matched his mark. "You can play a few notes if you want."
"Thanks. Mom's been teaching me to play ever since I was little. Guess that was something always in my blood too." He picked it up and strummed a melody. "It's not really a song, just a tune I've had in my head for years." Mr Universe watched him, his smile dropping as he gazed, tears forming in his eyes. "Um … it wasn't that bad, right?"
"No, keep playing, and start at the beginning."
"Okay." Not the strangest request he's ever been given, but there was no harm in doing it. Taking in a small breath, he started at the beginning.
"If I could begin to be, half of what you think of me, I could do about anything; I could even learn how to love." Quartz's eyes widened that the man could apparently match his melody word for word. It must have been the musical talent.
"When I see the way you act, wondering when I'm coming back, I could do about anything; I could even learn how to love like you." As he continued, mr universe's eyes looked…longing, like they actually were recounting something. That look on his face…it had familiarity written all over it.
"I always thought I might be bad, now I'm sure that it's true, cause, I think that you're so good, and I'm nothing like you." The song took a sad turn, they shouldn't put themselves down like that … they deserved better.
"Look at you go! I just adore you, I wish that I knew, what makes you think, I'm so special." Mr. Universe-dad, was now crying. These words weren't being made up on the spot, they went with this melody….this was a song his dad played before.
"If I could begin to do, something that does rightly you, I would do about anything; I would even learn how to love." A song that Quartz knew and has been playing for years without even knowing it.
"When I see the way you look, shaken by how long it took, I could do about anything; I could even learn how to love like you."
"Love like you … love me like you."
"Dad…did you write that song?"
"Not exactly…Rose was the one that sang it to me." That made Quartz's eyes widen. "She'd hum it almost everyday when she realized she was going to have you."
"… So I knew mom's song?" He asked.
"Yeah … you have her song, her gem, and her love." The man laughed. "You're gonna grow up to be an amazing person, Quartz." For the first time ever in his life, Quartz didn't think his own name fit him when someone said it.
"Thanks…Dad."