My Little Universe: Mindwarp Pt2
While she couldn't grasp what happened, Lapis Lazuli felt herself slowly waking up to the sight of midnight moonlight. She wasn't back in Canterlot, not with the Crystal Gems, yet not with Steven either. She was alone again, but not in the same room of mirrors as of before. Instead, not only was she in a much larger space, but she had a perfect view of the world around her. Laying in an open field, the world Lapis found herself in was as blue as she was, from the color of midnight, to the shining cyan. For the blue Gem, the field was very quiet, with the sound and feel of the cool nightly breeze brushing her skin. As for the ground, it was a long field of grass as far as the eye could see, with a few smaller flowers scattered around as well. It was cool, calm, and collected, yet Lapis felt more unsure than moved. Considering she was just chasing some odd person with Steven in a glass windowed city (in midday by the way), this sudden shift in tone Lapis could only consider as odd. On the bright side, it at least calmed her nerves a little bit, which was probably the point of this next stop anyway.
That didn't mean that she'd forget why she was there; Steven was somewhere in the dreamscape, an if she was asleep within another dream, then she must either be in deeper sleep, or in a different dream entirely. Either way, Lapis got up and tried to see if anything was around. However, it didn't look too promising, as all she saw was the open fields and scattered flowers. She didn't want to be left alone - not again.
"Where am I?" That questioned echoed in her head as she looked around for some sort of answer. If she couldn't figure that out, how was she to find Steven, or any of the Crystal Gems for that matter? Lapis then did the only basic thing to do; opening her wings, she got ready to fly. In this dreamscape, her wings actually gave a faint glow, which could help Lapis see a bit better. In one flap, Lapis Lazuli was off in the air, and looked around like a falcon as she flew around the fields.
"Guys! Anyone here?! Hello?!" Lapis called as she continued on her way. All she could see though was the grass, and nothing much else. The water Gem didn't want to give on Steven, especially after she was so close to getting him free. Now, she wasn't sure if she'll be able to find him so quickly, if at all. Her soaring soon stopped, as Lapis landed on a higher hill for a break. As she landed, the grass under her seemed to glow a fainted blue, though she didn't really notice yet. It was after she landed though ...
"Hello?!"
Lapis looked around some more on hearing that voice. She hoped it was real, and not some trick in this dream world. She saw the plains and fields pretty well, but she didn't see any sort of figure to make such a call. But then, just over on the next hill, she then saw the source. The boy she'd been worried sick over, and the one she'd hoped to see.
Steven.
Steven looked over and saw Lapis a short time later, as the blue Gem quickly took off towards him. Overjoyed, she didn't hesitate to catch up to him.
"Steven!" Lapis gasped, landing in front of him with a big smile on her face. Lapis went over to hug him, but Steven oddly backed up, looking hesitant.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Lapis asked, worried that the figure did something to him. As for Steven, with his previous encounter with her at the sea spire, he wasn't so sure if this was Lapis or not.
"Wait. You do remember me?" Steven asked, slightly suspicious.
"What? Of course!"
"But why were you so mean to me? I found you already, but you didn't know me at all," Steven retorted, referring to the Lapis at the Sea Spire. As for Lapis, she felt a bit appalled, yet perhaps something did happen for him to think so.
"No, no, Steven. It's me, really; that wasn't me at all, I swear," Lapis assured him, but after how cold the other one was, Steven wasn't too sure.
"You're my beach summer fun buddy," Lapis said with a smile. Steven looked to her eyes, starting to think twice about his doubts. Soon, the kid gained a smile too.
"Lapis!"
"Steven!"
The two gave eachother a big hug, now very happy to be together. For Lapis, it was a great relief to see that Steven was alright, and Steven was glad to have his beach summer fun buddy remember him. As they were hugging, they both forgot for the moment that Steven wasn't alone; another Gem soon went forward.
"Nice to have you drop in," she said. While Steven was happy, Lapis actually looked puzzled on seeing her too; Sapphire. Considering Lapis was just with Garnet, seeing Sapphire instead was a bit confusing.
"Wait. Sapphire?"
"Yes."
"But how're you here, I was just with Garnet a minute ago."
"Garnet's here too?" Steven asked, as Lapis let him go.
"Sure! Pearl, Amethyst, Peridot, Jasper, we've all been looking for you. Which reminds me; we got to get you out of here," Lapis said, ready to fly off with Steven. Just before she could though, Sapphire gripped her to keep her down.
"You might not want to."
"What? Why not?"
Sapphire pointed away, aiming to her reason why. When Lapis and Steven looked, they both suddenly saw someone else standing just feet away. Steven didn't have much clue, but Lapis could recognize that face from a mile away. That same big nosed mask that stared her in the face before she found Steven. Closer, they got a better view of this thing; the back largely hunched, and the body a bit stout and broad. It was about as tall as Jasper, though its head was leveled to stare Lapis in the face. It had large gloves over its hands, and its feet were extraordinarily huge, almost cartoony in size. They didn't appear like clown shoes, or human feet, but a pair of Pony hooves. Just to the back was its pony-like tail, touching the ground. Immediately, Lapis got in between it and the other two, so she wouldn't lose either.
"Stay back!" Lapis demanded, but rather than back away, the figure moved closer to her. It didn't stop until the nose was inches away from her face, the eyes staring blankly at her.
"I-I'm giving you until three," Lapis warned. Still, the figure didn't budge. Steven wasn't sure what was going on, but Sapphire seemingly knew already what'll happen.
"One."
Nothing.
"Two."
Still nothing. But just when Lapis was about to say three ...
*honk*
It pushed its nose into her face, and as such it made a loud honking sound, like that of a squeaky toy. It quickly disappeared seconds after that, leaving Lapis confused and blushing. Sapphire couldn't help but quietly giggle afterwards. Honestly, it was pretty silly, and out of nowhere with the honky nose. Well, at least they stuck together instead of splitting up that time.
"... Uh ... Ok then."
"Who was that?" Steven asked. If Lapis was going to act that way to it, she must've at least known who it was. But the only thing Lapis knew was that it tried to steal Steven away, and nothing more, though she remembered what Luna had said.
Maybe it was this "Lucid" she was talking about that Lapis dealt with? Sapphire looked on the ground where Lucid was and saw a small letter. Sapphire went on and picked it up, seeing a similar looking picture of Lucid's mask on it with words on it saying, "Let's play Limbo!". Lapis and Steven looked over Sapphire's shoulder as they looked over what the letter said.
First clue to understand; find the egg to where it began.
Seemed obvious that Lucid wanted to play a little clue game with them. Still, the clue didn't seem to make much sense though, where would eggs be in the middle of a grassy plain? First thing's first ...
"What's an egg?" Lapis asked, scratching her head. The only one that really knew was Steven.
"It's kind a small, round, and white. About this big," as he was talking an egg suddenly popped up in his hand, floating like a pickup in a video game. Sapphire and Lapis both gave it a good look over, watching the egg spin and float in the air.
"Well, we got the egg apparently," Lapis pointed out, looking it over. Well, that was one half of the clue, but unless they could bring up a bird too, where the egg began was a bit of an odd one to figure out.
"Let me see that," Sapphire said, Steven giving her the egg. Sapphire gave it a closer look as she held the egg. For an egg, it had a much smoother shell. It also looked oddly familiar in a sense; something about the texture and shape just seemed different from any regular egg. Sapphire gently held the egg with her thumb and index finger, holding it forward and higher up, not taking her eye off of it. After a little bit, it suddenly gave off a quick shimmer, and that's when it hit her.
However, rather than say anything, suddenly Sapphire rocketed off.
"Hey, wait up!" Steven yelled, running after Sapphire. Lapis grabbed Steven and took to the air in order to catch up to her. As for Sapphire, the actual place where this 'egg' began shouldn't be too hard to find if it was correct. As they went along, Steven and Lapis saw the grass lit up as Sapphire went, with a long glowing trail of cyan blue grass for Lapis and Steven to follow easier. While it was pretty, they were more worried about catching up with Sapphire than sightsee. Speaking of the site, as would be expected in a dreamscape, began to alter and change around them. Starting off as just a midnight plain, some chunks of land began to lift up and float. Lapis and Steven tried to avoid the shifting landscape, yet Sapphire was maneuvering surprisingly well, even if the land shifted under her. Different parts of the land floated upward, and all Sapphire did was jump from one land mass to the other in between gaps. Pretty soon though, Sapphire was far off the ground, just on each of the platforms. Pretty soon, Sapphire stopped on a particularly large land mass, flattened out on the top with soft grass. Steven and Lapis finally caught up after a while, Sapphire just waiting and watching, but before anyone could say anything.
"Pearl."
"Yes?"
Lapis, Steven, and Sapphire looked on ahead and then noticed something not too far away. Along the edge of the land mass, not noticing the three other Gems, actually looked like Rose and Pearl again. Pearl was kneeling on the ground as Rose was standing there. Steven wanted to go to them, but Sapphire got her hand out to keep him back.
"I'm going to stay, and fight for this planet. You don't have to do this with me," Rose said.
"But I want to!" Pearl insisted, hopeful in her words.
"I know you do. Please, please understand. If we lose, we'll be killed. And if we win, we can never go home ..."
"But why would I ever want to go home, if you're here?"
Rose gave a calm chuckle, her hand out to Pearl. Pearl looked a bit hesitant at first.
"My Pearl. You're wonderful," Rose finished. Pearl's hand went out, and grasped Rose's hand. For those watching, this was a glimpse to Rose's relationship with Pearl. Before it could go any further, suddenly both Pearl and Rose Quartz disappeared in a sudden cloud of white smoke. When the smoke cleared, rather than seeing the two there, they both saw a door there, with a small note put on the door for the three to see. Like their clue before, it had Lucid's mask drawn onto it, with the same 'let's play Limbo' message on it. Just as Sapphire had thought. It was Lapis who got the next message from the door and looked it over.
One, two, her and you; love born from spring's bloom.
They all then heard a sort of click from the other side of the door, telling them that the door was previously locked beforehand. The clue was still tricky, though perhaps more straightforward than the previous one with the egg. Course, Sapphire figured it out very quickly, so maybe this one would be as easy. As for where to go ...
Right through the door.
~~~~~~
With the absence of another member of their group, the other Gems woke up in another dreamscape, only hoping that it won't affect their bodies in the first to any extent. The first one to wake up this time was Peridot, taking the moment to look around the place.
For the area this time, they seemed to have ended up in a more futuristic sort of setting. They all were in a larger room as before, but this one didn't look as mundane or as bland as the other one. This room looked flowing with energy, lines of light along the walls, ceiling, and floors of green and blue flowing lights. It was just enough to make out the room, otherwise they would just be stuck in empty space. Soon, Peridot turned to the rest as she got to her feet, only to realize another change ...
She's small.
"What the? Hey!" Peridot gripped, realizing her enhancers were gone. She just had them, and suddenly they were gone! Like she needed that in this second level. However, as the others woke up, something else soon presented itself to them ...
Garnet was missing.
"Sapphire! Sapphire!"
The calls came from nowhere but got their attention pretty fast. Seeing just black and glowing lines around them. If the voice was calling for Sapphire, then that only meant one thing ...
Next thing they knew, someone raced out of the darkness, and accidentally ran right into Peridot, both of them tumbling to the floor. Peridot jumped up and looked again, ready for another dream attacker, but instead ...
"Ruby?"
Indeed, getting to her feet, it was Ruby. By the look on her face, she was completely worried over Sapphire.
"Oh great; first Steven, next Lapis, now Sapphire. We're getting picked off here," Jasper assumed, arms crossed. While the fact that now three were gone for the moment (shockingly considering Sapphire and Ruby were fused when they got there), this left them with little options. The further they go, the more they'll possibly lose to Lucid ... Well, if it was Lucid doing it that is.
"Someone please tell me Sapphire came back," Ruby said. Before anyone could reply to comfort her.
"No, and we'll all end up taken if we don't get this over with," Jasper replied, walking ahead. To what they assumed to be the wall. However, given this dreamscape, Jasper rallied up her fist, and slammed it hard on the wall. That strength was hard enough to shatter the supposed wall, literally opening up to another area of this crazy world. No clue, no puzzle, Jasper just broke whatever was in mind for that one.
"Well, convenient," noted Peridot.
"Don't jinx it," Amethyst insisted. Before she could ask about a jinx, the area they were in became pretty clear after a little bit. The quote-on-quote room they were in was actually a crate, which Jasper smashed open. Course this crate looked like it was made of silver plastic than actual wood, but just as sturdy. There were a number of others around them too. Why they were in a room full of crates was a bit confusing, but as they looked, there was actually some extra details this time; the appearance matched a factory of sorts. They saw steel upper levels, railings, worker Gems, the whole works. In their case, the area was wide open, lined with an iron wall to hold the crates inside.
"Finally, something original," Peridot commented, a bit relieved oddly enough.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"What do you mean what? We're in a Gem factory! A bit old perhaps, but seems to be operational," Peridot noted, a bit nonchalantly. Even if they were dreaming, at least this one wasn't too far off as far as Peridot was concern. For Pearl though, her expression was wide eyed, and silent ...
"You mean like the Kindergarten," Amethyst seemingly corrected.
"Not even close; this is stricter on what weaker Gems are created and manufactured."
"Like you?" Jasper commented, making Peridot annoyed.
"I wasn't made by such primitive means," Peridot insisted.
"Where's Pearl?"
After Amethyst asked, suddenly Jasper, Ruby, and Peridot noticed that Pearl was indeed gone from the large container, leaving them with the other crates.
"You serious?! Stupid defective -" Jasper's anger ceased when they suddenly heard something activate close by. Above them, they suddenly saw a large claw come down from a mechanical wretch, reaching down to another one of the crates. It grabbed the front of one of the crates, and pulled it open like a screen door. It was when they looked inside when they saw what was in them.
Pearls ...
LOTS of Pearls ...
The one crate alone held about twenty of them, all looking exactly the same as their Pearl, though they all stood still like boards, and their expressions shown a black stare and not any sign of emotion. It was then that something seemed to click in Peridot's head, snapping her fingers.
"Aha! A Pearl facility! Why didn't I think of that before? We're alright."
"Whoop de doo, but, where's our Pearl? We got tons to look through," Ruby pointed out, directing their attention to the many other Pearls. the same crane opened about three other crates, each with twenty Pearls as well. They all were blank-faced like a bunch of drones, and they all were eyeing the remaining four. Jasper was the only one who had a view above all of the Pearls, everyone else who didn't disappear too short for an easy view. Jasper saw the other crates move away, like going down some sort of platform through the floor to leave the Pearls alone with them. Still, more crates were placed, and more Pearls were put in, until a total of one hundred Pearls remained with them, and surrounded all four of them.
"Great, now we got to waste our time looking through all these Pearls," Ruby gripped, not wanting to waste anytime anymore than the others do. Jasper, though, was already on it.
"Alright, which one of you is our Pearl?" Jasper demanded, good and loud. But the Pearls seemed oblivious to her words, and kept their blank expressions, with little to no acknowledgement. Jasper knew they could see her - she was the largest one in there!
"Hey, don't act like you don't hear me!" Jasper snapped, getting in one of the Pearl's faces. Still, the expression was unchanged. Jasper raised her fist, ready to punch the snotty Gem back into her stone, but when her fist rushed forward to hit her head, the Pearl's head suddenly snapped back, the back of her head touching her back! her neck looked ready to snap itself from the position the head was in. Jasper was left a bit disturbed, as she moved her fist away, and for the Pearl's head to move back.
"That didn't work. Come on, let's get out of here," Jasper insisted, trying to get that image out of her head. sure, their bodies are just illusions, but, seriously that isn't normal.
"And how are we supposed to do that with all these Pearls in the way?" Ruby asked, arms out. Jasper grabbed Ruby by the head, and brought her to her shoulders. She did the same with Amethyst and Peridot, before beginning to plow through the Pearls. It was a surprisingly easy effort, considering most of them moved out of the way as Jasper moved through. It was pretty quick when they all got to the edge of their container, and got themselves out. Still, with Pearl somewhere in there, they couldn't just rush off right away. On the bright side, they all got a better view of the Pearls inside the container. They all were just standing there, like mannequins staring off into whatever direction they were put in. None of them seem to be their own Pearl, as they all seem to behave the same way. Any sign of their Pearl was gone, and even if she was there, the 100 others blocked off whatever signs were left.
"PEARL! YOU IN THERE?! COME OUT!" Amethyst screamed. All of the pearls looked right up to them, keeping the same expression.
"NO, NOT YOU -"
Too late; tons of pearls went out and tackled Amethyst to the ground. Not exactly the best plan ever, and Amethyst was pulled out by Peridot and Ruby. Jasper was getting very peeved; she didn't need anymore time wasted with finding Pearl in this group. Steven's still gone, Lapis had passed out, Sapphire ended up missing, and now Pearl disappeared! ... Though seeing Amethyst get pummeled by Gems was a bit silly to watch ...
"This is getting nowhere," Amethyst sighed. Looking back in the container, the area suddenly looked a lot barer, sighting a bit easier. Not all of the Pearls lunged for Amethyst, and some stayed put. However, one of them was on the ground, laying on her back. Her gemstone had something shown in a screen hologram.
"How many of you wanna bet that's her?" Ruby asked.
"Come on," Jasper said, starting to go down. The other three could only join in her, and soon the four ended up right by Pearl's sleeping body. As for the image, it was blurry like static on a TV. Seemed Lucid got to Pearl as well. Her body was stretched out, as if she fainted on the spot, and she didn't show signs of waking up. Jasper felt her teeth grind and her fists tighten up on seeing another person lost.
"Pearl? Pearl, wake up you!" Amethyst said, trying to wake her. As she was trying her best, the hologram above her began to show a picture of Pearl, curled up, but awake and crying a little bit.
"Pearl, can you hear us?" Ruby called. The Pearl in the hologram looked over to them, but not seemingly knowing they're there.
"N-No. N-No."
"No what? Come on Pearl, work with me?" The hologram stayed on Pearl for a little bit. until something showed up above Pearl. However, the hologram went static before they could recognize anyone. This wasn't good at all ...
Strangely, while the others couldn't see it, Peridot saw through the static on what's going on ...
For Pearl, her head left her alone in the dark once she woke up. Did she end up deeper in her dreams, or was this Lucid's doing? She couldn't see anything, but felt some sort of floor under her. That wasn't the only thing though. When Pearl looked ahead, she noticed something floating towards her; a set of white clown gloves and a white smiling mask. One glove actually waved to her.
"You? Are you ... Lucid?" Pearl asked, as it moved closer, until it was a few feet away. Pearl was about to pull out her Gem weapon, but both gloves pushed the weapon back into her head. The mask nodded up and down to Pearl's question, revealing his identity to her. Pearl moved her hand away, but didn't put her guard down.
"Alright; Luna warned us about you. Now, where's Steven?" Pearl demanded. However, Lucid didn't answer that question, but instead both gloves clapped together. Upon opening, paper figures suddenly appeared, which consisted of all of the Crystal Gems and the Mane Six. Pearl wasn't sure what Lucid was doing, but then a glove gently picked up the Paper Pearl. He moved the small figure over to Pearl, which she held in both palms. After looking, Pearl looked back and saw that Lucid made a ton more paper Pearls, seemingly removing what made her unique ... At least at first.
Pearl felt ready to cry again, but Lucid started tapping the paper pearls on their heads. Each one he touched them had a floating diamond above them, and reached over to what Pearl had in her hand. Once he tapped hers though, the object wasn't a diamond, but a star. As such, it made her unique amongst every other Pearl created. Lucid then tapped the paper Pearl's back. Curious, Pearl turned it around, and then noticed what it said.
you are your own Gem.
...
With a gasp, Pearl suddenly woke up with Jasper, Ruby, Amethyst and Peridot, sitting up. The hologram had disappeared from her gemstone, and Pearl looked over to the others. Peridot had an unsure look on her face, seeing in a way on Pearl's reaction to what she was made for, being the only one who actually saw what was going on.
Before they could go any further, something began to appear on the container wall; a door. On the door showed the same mask Pearl and Peridot seen during Pearl's extra dream.
Did they had any alternative?
~~~~~~
Lapis, Steven, and Sapphire's own adventure in their dreamscape had went from the grassy plains, to the tree-covered forests. The trees covered what sky they could see, leaving the lunar moonlight in small patches to the forest floor. Nothing seemed bad, though Lapis Lazuli worried herself with what might come around. The pattern of what had been going on could easily whiplash on them; Amethyst had the Kindergarten, she had her mirror room, and she could guess the others might be going through some more trouble thanks to Lucid. If Steven didn't go through his yet, Lapis didn't want him to go through anything like that.
On the bright side, at least it didn't look very threatening in the area. In fact, the forest looked almost mystical in a way.
"Uh. Do you know where we're going?" Lapis finally asked.
"Not entirely. Whatever Lucid has planned, I'm sure we'll run into it soon enough," Sapphire said, taking the lead.
"Hey, Steven, you doing okay? Did Lucid hurt you?" Lapis asked. Steven just shrugged, not having much idea on Lucid anyway. So far, his only encounter with Lucid was with Sapphire and Lapis back at the plain, and that's about it. Also, any fears he had weren't faced like the others had, and not as crazy. As they continued going along their away, the three then began to hear something farther away. It sounded like a sort of humming tune echoing in the forest, one as soothing as it was sung by a pretty voice. However, Lapis and Steven couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. Sapphire though knew exactly where, and who. With a smile, Sapphire motioned the other two to follow her, and in no time at all Sapphire moved a smaller bit of bushes aside. In a clearing, the three saw two Gems, both humming the same tune and slow dancing. It was a much sweeter sight to see than what they'd seen so far, and it was obvious that the two were very happy together.
"Aww, so cute," Steven beamed. Sapphire smiled, resting her elbow on the bush, as she watched the two slow dancing for a bit more, but eventually the two began to glow a little bit, and suddenly the familiar fusion light started to glow again. After a little bit, suddenly the two gems started to fuse together, and the end result? ...
Garnet!
Well, the garnet Steven and Sapphire ended up in anyway with the unintentional fuse earlier. This time, the Garnet had a bit of trouble adjusting, walking around a little bit until she was getting the hang of it ... and then she tumbled down a nearby hill. Worried, Steven rushed out and tried to see if she was okay. She was a bit hurt, but alright overall. Sapphire and Lapis caught up with him and moved him out of the way before he could be seen. And good timing; just as the Garnet shook off the fall, something was aimed right at her face - a sword! Low and behold, the same Pearl from the arena was back.
"Ah! Don't hurt her! Don't hurt... me?" she begged, confused on the last part.
"It's you! The fusion..." Pearl stated. Guess even dreams have continuity in them. This garnet looked less confident like the Garnet Steven knew.
"We didn't mean to fuse! Well... well, we did this time. We'll unfuse! We, we'll -"
"No, no, please... I'm glad to see you again." Coming from the forest, another Gem soon went out to greet the Garnet; Rose Quartz to be exact! She remained unchanged since they last saw her, and as before, didn't acknowledge the other three nearby.
"I don't upset you?"
"Who cares about how I feel? How you feel is bound to be much more interesting."
"How I feel? I feel... uh, lost... and scared... and happy. W-why am I so sure that I'd rather be this than everything I was supposed to be, and that I'd rather do this than anything I was supposed to do?"
Rose actually laughed.
"Welcome to Earth!"
"C-can you tell me!? How was Ruby able to alter fate? Or, why was Sapphire willing to give up everything? W-what am I!?"
"No more questions. Don't ever question this." Rose quartz held both of Garnet's hands. "You already are the answer."
As for the other three, this was yet another moment in Rose's time being played out. This would make it Steven's third Rose encounter so far. Soon after the scene played out, a large flash of light blinded them for a second before they could look, only to find all three disappeared. With them gone though, something else soon fell to the ground; another note. Lapis flew over, and got to it this time.
Search for the first without your nose, and the second without your eyes - you will find you'll be surprised.
"Without your nose and eyes?" Lapis questioned.
"That's not how flowers work," commented Steven. Course, looking over again, it didn't help that they were right by a ton of flowers - which supposedly was where they should look. All the flowers in question matched Rose's main colors; pinks and whites mostly. They all looked exactly the same, and none of them looked like any special flower, or anything different.
"Clever," Lapis simply stated, before giving the note to Sapphire and starting to look through the flower bed. Steven took looked around, but Sapphire stayed put and looked over the clue a few more times. After a few minutes, Steven and Lapis were still not having much luck in their look about. So far, they were just finding pink flowers in the small field, and nothing else really different comparing. Sapphire thought it over some more, until she walked over to Lapis and Steven.
"You're looking in the wrong place," Sapphire informed, stumping them both. Where else would a rose be aside from a rose garden?
"But we're in a rose garden, aren't we?" Questioned Steven, scratching his head. However, Sapphire knew what she was talking about, and once more, knew how clever this would be for anyone else.
"What did you see before this clue?" Sapphire asked. Steven and Lapis replayed what they saw in their head; Garnet reforming again, and seeing her meet with Rose and Pearl. Still, how that had to deal with finding a rose neither of them knew currently, but then Sapphire began walking away, and going through some of the bushes nearby. Glancing at eachother, Lapis and Steven moved away from the rose field, as Sapphire looked through where they were beforehand. As she expected, she pulled something out from the bushes, and showed it to Steven and Lapis. The item in her hand was actually a small flower, only deep blue rather than bright pink. Suddenly, it struck them both what the 'roses' meant.
"Nice thinking!" Lapis said. Sapphire kept the blue flower, and moved over to the rose garden, as Steven and Lapis looked around for that other rose. If Sapphire was correct on her statement, then the next rose should be close by, and not pink like all the others. But then something else struck them and they all stopped looking.
Find the second one without your eyes ...
But, how does that work? If they can't see, how will they find it? But before they could get Sapphire's help, she actually had her hands out in front in a cup, the flower in her hand, and towards Steven. This is still the same Sapphire, right? She hadn't moved.
"Uh, Sapphire?" Steven asked.
"I love you, Ruby," Sapphire said with a smile. First of all, Ruby wasn't there. Second, Sapphire was talking right at Steven. And third, no prompting for this! Of course, they were off guard, but then Steven realized something to Sapphire's sudden proposal. This whole moment related to another before, and what happened to Steven then? ...
It became clear what he is to do.
Lapis moved aside, and watched as Steven smiled and closed his eyes, bring his hands forward as well. As he was closing his eyes, Lapis saw that Steven's body was gently changing from one form to another. His skin, hair and clothes all began to turn red, and his body started to alter some more to match. In his hand, something began to bloom in his hands; a deep red rose. The blue rose matched Sapphire, and the red rose matched Ruby.
"If only I had a camera," Lapis thought. The moment was simply perfect; Sapphire and Ruby facing eachother with their roses of love to one another, with the gentle glow from the background with a pink hue. After a little bit, both roses started to glow their respected colors, floated out of their hands. The two fused together, and formed a much larger flower, which bloomed into a giant purple flower. As it opened up, it revealed another door, but rather than just another clue, there was a small package with Lucid's face on it. Steven still was in his Ruby form, as he got the package.
"Another clue?" Steven wondered, opening it up. In the small package, there was another small clue for them to work with, but also they had a small picture included; which showed Ruby and Sapphire just seconds before from Lapis's point of view (which was picture perfect by the way). As for their next clue, Steven went on and read it over.
Happy picture for a happy memory. Where do you store them happily?
This was more straightforward than the other clues brought along so far by Lucid.
"Well, let's go," Sapphire said, leading the way through the door. Lapis held the picture, smiling, before going through with Steven.
~~~~~~
For Jasper, Pearl, Amethyst, Ruby and Peridot, their next stop was less sweet than where the others had ended up. After going through the next pathway, their own world had grown much darker; twilight night. So, it was hard to really see anything at first. Once they all past through, the light from the door cut off their main source of light.
"Give me a break," Jasper groaned.
"Hold on." After a little bit, a light soon came around from Pearl's gemstone, acting like a flashlight. with the new light on, they saw that they were actually out in a forest somewhere. The light lit up the trees and leaves, and they got a good view of the area.
"Nice, Pearl," Amethyst said with a thumbs up. Soon, Peridot pulled the same trick, and got another light to glow up, though hers was greenish instead of Pearl's light blue. Oh well, at least Pearl's color was special. If the pattern was to continue, then Jasper wasn't taking any chances.
"Alright. Amethyst, Pearl, Garnet, and Lapis had been messed with already. If anything else goes wrong, it'll be too soon," Jasper though in annoyance. Amethyst was messed with, Lapis was passed out and gone, Garnet was split up, and Pearl pretty much broke down. If Lucid was targeting them, then it would be either Peridot or herself that would come around next, and she wasn't willing to deal with either way. Steven's still gone, and Sapphire and Lapis were stuck missing too. If they could find Steven and the other Gems soon, then they can get out of here. If they could find Lucid and make him give them up, even better. Course, they needed to know where to go first, and not let the lack of logic mess with them as it had been doing. As Pearl and Peridot kept the path lit up, something started to come down.
A tiny drop of water.
After a few more seconds, more drops followed, and Jasper stopped, making some of the others walk into her. Amethyst had the Kindergarten. Lapis had her prisoned mirror. Garnet had the separation. Pearl had the Gem facility ...
Now it was Jasper's turn.
bit by bit, the rain came down all around them, turning into a strong rainstorm. The others ran for cover quick to get out of the rain, but Jasper stayed put, feeling the rain on her hair and skin. Her gaze stayed down to the ground, but the last thing she wanted to do was to deal with anymore of these fear factors.
"... No ... NO!" Jasper growled, her fists raising in the air. She knew what was coming, and wasn't having any of it! As the others watched, Jasper slammed her fists as hard as she could into the ground. Since this was dream logic, Jasper's desire to get rid of this challenge had made the whole world crack like broken glass. white light beamed out from each one, but not natural light like from any source like Pearl and Peridot's flashlight. Soon, the entire world shattered away, leaving nothing but an empty space for them to stand in. No line, no floor, just white space for them.
"LUCID! I'M DONE PLAYING GAMES, COME ON OUT AND SHOW YOURSELF!" Jasper demanded, not exactly focusing her order in one particular direction. Jasper's voice echoed around them, the others moving over to keep by her. Anyone in the right mind would probably keep out of Jasper's way, and stay hiding ... Well, Lucid isn't in the right mind, and after a little while he soon appeared from behind the crowd of Gems. Lucid was standing further away, and every Gem turned to face him. Lucid didn't move, and kept his gaze right to Jasper, who stepped forward.
"Alright! We know you've taken our Gems away; hand them over!" Jasper demanded. She didn't want to be here anymore than anyone else, but Lucid didn't answer her at first. He just stood there, staring at them with his creepy mask. His silence and refusal to cooperate just stirred Jasper up even more.
"Don't act like you don't know, Lucid!" Jasper yelled. All that came out of Lucid was a annoyed groan, but still he didn't look ready to attack anyone. In the end, behind Lucid, another door suddenly popped up.
"NO! NO MORE!" Jasper screamed, not wanting anymore surprises. The scream actually made Lucid hesitate in opening the door, cringing. It was obvious Jasper had enough, and looking by the others, they really wanted their friends back. To show them what he was really doing, he did a sort of magician's magic trick; pulling a letter from his glove, and it flew right to them. The letter had Lucid's mask imprinted on it, and the message it read was rather straightforward.
follow old mc Lu
Old mc Lu must mean for Lucid. Looking back, the door was already open, Lucid inviting them inside. The others were not too sure about this, but if it meant to find and locate Steven, then what other choice did they had? Lucid wasn't going to talk, and they didn't know too much on where to really go. Jasper did a 'I'm watching you' gesture to Lucid before they began to go through the door. Any trap, and Lucid's dead.
~~~~~~
with a small walk, and the click of the doorknob, Lapis, Sapphire, and Steven were deeper into their dreamscape. Lapis began to get a bit cautious on their decent; still aware of the time they got left, and how deep it 'll take before they end up in Limbo. Luna never exactly said how deep that actually was, but, they had to be close at this point. Steven was more wondering where Lucid got them to this time around, and what their next clue really meant for them. Something to do with that picture, that was for sure, but where are they mainly stored was the question ...
And where they ended up didn't help either.
Upon going through, their next stop looked like it was a bit darker in terms of time; night time to be exact. As with the plain and forest, night time seemed to signify how deep they were going. Before then it was at least bright out, or daytime. But here, most of the spots were darker and with the moon shining brightly in the sky each time. As per mentioned; with this constant trend in the sky, they must be closer to this realm of Limbo by now. As for the rest of the area, it was less recognizable on anything Earth had to offer; there was no plants, but it had water, so they weren't in any desert. The ground under them was flat and looked similar to ice, but it wasn't really cold, nor was there any snow around either. As for the water itself, it was slow moving, clear, and about as mystical as the starry sky. The area was completely barren apart from that, and no sign of any creature or plant anywhere.
"Where are we now?" Steven wondered. Every step taken sounded like walking on a metal floor, and no walls kept them contained. either. Just a huge floor, one river, and a sky full of stars. One way or another, they were there, any they don't know where else to go. Lapis and Steven went to the edge of the star river, not able to see their reflection. As Lapis touched it though, it felt exactly like the water in her wings, so, a river was indeed there ... And it stung Lapis a little bit. Crossing it on foot was out of the question.
Then, they saw Lucid on the other side of the river, just staring back at them. He made himself known with a loud honk from his big nose. In one hand, he had a book with him; a bit obvious on what's next for them to do.
"Do you have the picture, Lapis?" Steven asked. Lapis showed them the picture. Lucid gestured them to come over, happily waiting for one of them to come over. Before either one of them could though, Sapphire suddenly got worried, and held them both back.
"Wait a minute, think about what you're doing," Sapphire warned, turning back to Lucid across the river. Lucid felt a little bugged with Sapphire's intervention. Steven didn't know, Lapis was a bit concern, and Sapphire knew exactly what was going on now. Lapis, Steven, and Sapphire were on one side, Lucid was on the other, and the river stood between them as if laying down a strong boundary line. Since the water had a stinging affect to it, going across might not be the best idea ever. As for the the representation Sapphire was talking about, with their knowledge of the Limbo thing ...
Well, it seemed clear that where Lucid was standing was that realm ...
"Okay. I see. Come on, Steven, we found you, let's get back to the -"
Lucid suddenly let out a moan, and the floor behind them disappeared! All that was left was them, Lucid, and the river line. Either go for Lucid or go for bust. Lucid extended a hand, the other holding onto the book, waiting for the picture. If any of them cross, they'll be stuck with him in Limbo. But, where do they go? Steven looked over to Lucid for a second or two, thinking about what he'd gone through.
"Has Lucid been doing this?" Steven asked.
"That's why we were looking for you Steven; Lucid trapped you," Sapphire explained. But rather than show fear over Lucid, Steven began to realize something. Lucid was behind the dreams, and bringing him to Limbo for sure ... But all of the stuff Steven had gone through didn't get him hurt, or scared him. They all had a pattern. And that pattern was something that Steven wanted to figure out for sometime. All but one of them ...
"Hey Lapis, can I see the picture?" Steven asked.
"I guess so, why?" Lapis asked, giving the picture to Steven.
"I'm giving it to him."
"You can't cross, Steven!" Lapis insisted, a bit freaked out as Steven began to fold the picture in different ways.
"I'm not, I'm not. Watch," Steven said. Looking to Lucid, he folded the picture into that of a paper airplane. Working his aim, Steven let the airplane fly with a good throw. The paper airplane flew in circles at first until it was by Lucid, circling over his head until it landed comfortably on Lucid's nose. At first nothing happened, but then Lucid picked up the picture, and unfolded it. The picture was all the same, but there was a small change in the work; a arrow pointing to the corner of the picture. Not pointing to anything on the picture, instead, it pointed for Lucid to flip it. The creature flipped it over, only to read this ...
thank you.
Under it, showed Steven's smiling face. Lucid looked back to Steven, who looked back with an innocent grin. Sapphire and Lapis felt it clever how the picture was given without crossing the line. All Lucid did was nod, and opened his book. He moved the pages and eventually put the picture inside. Lucid looked across the river to Steven for a little bit. If Lucid was in charge of these dreamscapes Steven had went through, then Lucid also knew what to use to help him out. Each one involved someone Steven knew well about, but never got the chance to meet in person. And someone he wanted to know more about personally. It wasn't exactly what he had in mind, but, it was a big help none the less.
Lucid looked to his scrapbook for a bit, now containing the picture inside, as he turned around and began to walk away. Before he disappeared in the realm of Limbo, something flew up in the air, and back to them. It landed nearby on the ground, making another door pop up. This door, rather than any sort of Lucid mask on it, or a 'let's play Limbo' writing, instead confetti and streamers shot out from the ground. The door looked much more friendly, and the message on the door read "congratulations, you win!"
The door opened all by itself, revealing a shining, blinding light that quickly consumed them and everything else around them. The light was beyond regular light, and they couldn't see anything ...
.....
"You've returned!" A familiar voice said. Canterlot was still quiet, the Gems finally waking up from their long dreamscape. Jasper, Garnet, Pearl, Peridot, and Amethyst all woke up pretty close to the same time, a bit groggy but all well. Lapis and Steven both didn't wake up right away. They were back in the real world, back in Canterlot castle, with Luna and Twilight close by.
"Did you get him?" Twilight asked, hoping for some good news. The others though weren't so sure, not having luck in finding him even. The first to get up was Garnet, who looked back to Steven on the bed. There didn't seem to be very much reaction, but, as the morning sun was brought up on its normal time, the gentle sun beams moved over to the royal bed, the sunrise was soon over Steven's face. The others waited a bit ... then he began to stir.
Soon, Steven's eyes opened.
The boy sat up in the royal bed, rubbing his eye and yawning.
"I had the craziest dream."
"Steven!" Pearl gasped, quickly going over to hug him. Steven was finally back after, to them, the longest dream they all went through. Not to mention the most emotionally whacked one they've gone through. A little bit after, Lapis soon began to wake up.
"Did we do it?" Lapis asked after a yawn.
"We're all back, thank the stars," Jasper said, relieved. Lapis got up, and saw Steven awake in the bed. For Steven, the dream was long, memories stocked away in his head, and a headache from it all. The only thing left to question; how'd he end up in Equestria when he was asleep in his bed back in Beach City?
"How're you feeling, Steven?" Luna asked, going over to him.
"My dream was so crazy. But, it wasn't bad ... How'd I get here?" Steven wondered. Before anyone could answer, Steven felt something next to him on the bed, under his hand. After pulling it out, he found a surprisingly familiar picture right next to him. No one given that to him in the real world, but the image was given to him in the dreamscape. It was the picture of Ruby and Sapphire in the rose garden, still as beautiful as ever.
"Here Garnet, this is for you," Steven said, giving Garnet the picture. However, the picture also had another piece of paper clipped to it. Garnet liked the picture, yet Peridot pulled off the other piece. It was a folded letter, a small flower sticker keeping it together. Upon opening it, the letter read as followed;
I'm sorry for causing so much worry; I was only trying to help Steven with his mother. I didn't want anypony else coming into the dreamscape, though I guess that was something waiting to happen. Anyway, I gave you back your picture - I hope it'll be a nice gift for you. I made a copy anyway for my scrapbook. I won't keep anypony trapped again, so you can rest safely. Guess it took longer than I thought it would, but then again, time flies by in dreams, don't they? If you get this, Steven, I hope I helped you out, at least a little bit.
Signed: Lucid D. Limbo
After being read aloud, this information was kind of off the beam, at least for Luna - who was the only one who actually met Lucid before this occurred. Lucid had caused a lot of trouble before, and when he did the same here it wasn't malicious, but a way to help Steven out with his troubles. How'd he knew about Steven and rose anyway was an even bigger question; Lucid was from Equestria (more evident by the 'anypony' language bit), though Steven was from another world entirely so, how'd he catch it? Still, it didn't matter; Lucid agreed to not trap him again, and Steven was back in the real world with them, good as gold. Still, with the problem resolved one way or another, the troubles were over. Luna took a moment to look over the letter, reading it to herself. Lucid seemed more sympathetic now than he was before - only trying to help in his own way. Albeit a bit risky but help none-the-less.
They were just glad to have Steven back.
Admittedly, my pre-planning had reached only up to after Pearl's troubles, so, everything else was me just making it up as I go ... and yes, I meant the 101 Dalmatians reference 
Guess the change from lost search to scavenger hunt was Lucid's fun game.
I hope I kept up with your brains and didn't accidentally dull it down anywhere
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Woah. Suddenly 23 K words out of nowhere. I'm looking forward to reading this. Just a bit unfortunate with the timing, it being April 1st and all. Almost thought this was a short prank fic, but that word count makes me think otherwise.
7085302 believe me, there's a lot here! No April fool tricks here
7085311 Yeah, I know. Currently reading it, I will however comment on some stuff that catch my interest (for better or for worse).
7085468 have fun with that :3
7091731 Well I made it clear Inception was an inspiration when I announced this, so, comparisons are evident X3
So... where were flowers mentioned in the clue? Or how did Steven come to the conclusion that the note meant flowers? Am I missing something here?
7093680
Nice!
7722714 thanks ^^
THIS WAS AWESOME
7954060 thank you ^^
7955823 YOUR WELCOME
Three things I’m wondering; why was peridot the only one to see pearl dream clearly, what was jasper fear and... okay actually that it make that two
Good read
9777726
The OCs aren't involved in this story. And this takes place between "Fusion Confusion" and "Beyond the Stars" of Season 2 of MLU.