Summary:
Aren't we?
Tom watched the concert rage on. "I've gotta say, small people can hold a surprising amount of repressed rage." He noted as Sadie sang, or more accurately screamed into the mic. "Steven, the Melon kid, that green gem."
"My theory is that smaller people have the capacity to hold in anger just a little more than everyone else." Jana smirked as she held up one of the souvenirs from the gift shop…a plastic skull with a green glow in the dark effect. A little mundane compared to the radioactive ones in hell, but definitely the safer alternative. "It's a compensation for their height."
"Or it stems from their height, like that Napoleon guy." Tom noted. "I heard he caused a lot of trouble back on earth."
"Just one of many would be ego-driven conquers our lovely little dimension seemed to produce." His girlfriend laughed. "So since you basically live in hell, how does the whole torture and soul collecting work, like are their differently levels and stages?"
"Meh, it's like a big funnel thing where they're all sent to a waiting room to judge on their past actions, from there it's all about deciding appropriate punishments." He answered. "The less bad you did, the easier it is to live down there."
"Sounds like I'm not going to be living it easy then. Good thing I have an ace up my sleeve." Jana laughed. "So what about Ghosts and the like?"
Tom thought for a second. Being rich and royalty, he didn't think too much about netherworld bueacracy. "Souls that are more indecisive and unfilled when they die usually end up as ghosts, and they end up in their own little dimension where they wallow in despair and misery." He noted "It's run by some reaper looking guy called the chairman, who might be able to give the Commission a run for their money."
"So the supernatural just seems to attract assholes also trying to take advantage of it?"
"Yeah, pretty much." He didn't refute. "I mean, it's not like 'good' people end up in 'bad' places when they head to the afterlife, it's literally their resting spot." Tom reassured her. "Different places exist for different races, religions, all that, and then there's Hell's hell, which is just a big black void for failed demons."
"I always thought Hell's hell would just be an empty void of no return." She noted. "Meh, still seems like a nice place to live when this is all over, especially since I'm half demon." They were not doing this again.
"Having two halves of a soul does not make you-" He cut himself off, being hit with a wave of tiredness, headaches, and pricking pain all at once. "Oh wow … I think the Diamonds are … coming back …"
"Yeah, guess they are." Jana looked up as she casually sipped a soda as what looked like a multicolored robot descended behind the stage. "Well it was a good run while it lasted. Wanna make out before we're obliterated to nothing?"
"Yes please." He gave her a kiss as the machine opened up … as Steven walked out with a bright smile, along with Star, Marco, Kelly, and the rest of the gems which included all the DIamonds, including the White one whose presence made his eyeballs burn.
"Hey Sadie!" The boy shouted with a wave. "Sorry for interrupting the show!"
"It's fine, seeing as how you prevented an alien invasion, I say I can let it slide." The short blonde girl looked up. "I see space has been keeping you busy as usual."
"STEVEN!" Mr. Universe ran up to the stage, shock and relief on his face. "You're okay!"
"Yeah, sorry for the scare, there was a bit of a complication." The boy smiled.
"Hey, why did the show stop?" He watched as one of the gems that had been hanging out with Lars recently came out of a hall with some soda, only to see the giant Diamonds. "... So this is how we're cracked … I always thought it would be Lars's complications with women."
"Oh come on, I'm not that bad, Rhodonite!" The pink skinned teen said indignantly. "I'm nowhere as bad as Marco!"
"Oh, you had to bring up that old thing, did you!?" Marco called out.
"Actually, it's still a pretty fresh thing." Star said. "You're on thin ice for the week with that therapy stinct." Tom's ex's hands glowed a dark purple as she patted the boy's back. "And trust me… I ain't forgetting it anytime soon." Tom almost forgot how hot Star looked when she was angry.
"So seeing as we're not all dead yet, I take it you succeeded Steven?" Jana walked up and asked.
"Yep. We finally talked it out, and we're going to work on how to fix Homeworld … but first, there's a couple other gems we need to help." Steven said, looking out at the crowd. "Beach Creek, these are the Diamonds, my…..distant…..family." The boy then turned to the Diamonds. "Diamonds, this is Beach Creek, my home where most of my family and friends live."
"… Beach Creek?" Blue asked. "Did Pink name it that? It seems a little silly."
"I mean you're just saying two bodies of water. Is this place drowning or something?" Yellow tried to figure it out.
"It just seems so nonsensical and..unorderly." White looked around. "And all this sand…so rough and coarse, and it gets everywhere. How could Pink stand to live in such a mess?"
"The point is that they're here to help us and not kill us, so progress is slow but steady." Star elaborated as she looked through the crowd. "Huh, I kind of expected Mom and Dad to be here."
"They're still helping out around Mewni." Tom explained. "In fact, my parents insisted I stay here for a while while they lent Eclipsa a hand." Weird that his mom cried a lot when she was telling him, but she was emotional in general, so it wasn't something to think too hard about. My
"Alright, I guess we can introduce them later." Kelly said. "So what now?"
"Well, this is still a concert, and I'm assuming everyone still wants a show." Sadie suggested as she presented the mike to Steven as the crowd cheered. "Whaddya say, Steven? Wanna give the crowd what they want?"
Steven turned to his friends behind them, who all gave him a thumbs up. "You know, Stelly never finished their performance." He looked at Kelly, sticking his hand out. "Wanna do this one together?"
The girl was about to answer, until there was a shout from a small orange gem. "THE DIAMONDS!" She shouted as everyone jumped back from surprise. "I always thought it would be Lars's problem with women that would kill us all!"
"I'm not that bad!" Lars answered.
The entire group laughed as Kelly took the boy's hand. "Always." The woolet pulled Steven into a kiss as that weirdly attractive figure they merged into appeared once more.
"Alright Beach Creak! Let's raise the roof!" The fusion yelled into the mike as everyone cheered.
"Seems like they've gotten even weirder." Tom smirked.
"Yep." Jana nodded as they held hands together. "I couldn't be happier for it."
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Pearl's worry and trepidation had stayed with her this entire trip, and a small part of her was having trouble accepting that they had won, that they actually managed to complete what Rose had started, that the Diamonds would come down and personally fix the mess that they had made.
She didn't expect Steven to actually get through their hard shells, to actually manage to change their minds the way they did. But here they were, fixing the mess the Diamonds themselves made. "Are we..doing this right?" White hesitantly asked as the diamonds sat in the fountain water
"I dunno, we never actually tried curing them other than by touch." Steven responded as he floated in the liquid. "But if most of the stuff we cause is made by our body fluid, then all of us being in a single pool should do something, right?"
"Only one way to find out." Star opened a bag of Chaaps. "Here girls, mama has your favorite food." She waved it in front of the Centipeetles, before tossing it into the pool.
The trio of gems eagerly chased the bag of junk food into the water, diving right into it as a rainbow of colors glowed right from the spot, and out of it came three one eyed nephrites, fully formed with little spots of color here and there around their body.
"Centi!" Steven swam up to the one that seems to lead the group. "Do…do you remember me?"
"Ste … van?" One of the Nephrites asked, staring at the boy curiously. It…actually happened…the gem was fully cured!
"You remember….you actually remember!" Steven couldn't refrain himself as he tackled the gem with a hug!"
"You … gave us something, right?" Another one asked. "Chaaps?" They actually did it. They cured corruption! "AAHH, The Diamonds! We're sorry we didn't evacuate in time!" The three of them saluted.
"It's…it's alright. You can stand down." Yellows responded slowly. "The war is over, and you've been through enough."
"….Is my gem cracked or did Yellow Diamond not sound angry and disappointed at our failure?" One of the nephrite's asked with understandable confusion.
"It's better explained all at once." Garnet said, bringing over fifteen bubbles. "Or you can tell it to these guys." And popped them all at once, letting them plop into the water.
"Oh yeah, we're getting the gang back together. Come on Snowy." Bismuth grinned, popping a bubble and tossing a gem into the healing liquid, as gems began to form and heal one after the other.
"Huh?" "What the?" "I live!" "What's with the spots?" One by one, gems of all kinds were forming out of the water, some of the scars being clearly shown, but otherwise they were healthy. From Biggs, to crazy legs, to the heaven and earth Beatles, all of them shifted out of their monstrous forms with their minds intact!
"Those are your war marks, babies!" Amethyst laughed, jumping in the pool with her own shard. "Welcome to peace on earth, and in the universe!"
"So we died and this is the after life?" Snowflake looked at the Diamonds that were sitting right next to them. "So this is the bad place…half expected to go here."
Pearl snorted as she released another bubble into the water, gently popping it. She watched with wonder as it formed into the shape of a monster, but soon was enveloped by White, Yellow, Blue, and Pink lights, all coalescing and swirling around it's body, becoming … "Hello there, Larimar."
"Who, I, what's going on?" He asked, noticing the gems, and then the Diamonds. "... I told you not to mess with that chemical plague Snowflake, now we're in the bad place!"
"Hah, these guys are a riot!" Kelly laughed as she jumped into the pool.
"You don't know the half of it, bush head." Bismuth said jovially. "You should have seen the first war meeting we had. Ah….so many flaming rocks and lava pits."
"Alright, let's start the first wave of explanation." Steven said quietly, taking a deep breath. "Everyone, listen up. I am the son of Rose Quartz, who in actuality was Pink Diamond, trying to play sides to spare earth. When the Diamonds thought she was dead, they corrupted you all into mindless gem monsters. After six thousand years I was born, I talked them into peace, and now we're curing you."
"... Somehow Rose describing the limits of magic made more sense." The Earth Beetle muttered.
"Kind of obvious in hindsight." Biggs shrugged. "She was the craziest gem we knew, her being a diamond is like salt on a piece of granite."
"So we're not allowed to retaliate against comments like that?" White asked with semi seriousness that had every gem tense.
"No, if someone's rude to you, the best thing you can do is ignore it." Steven turned to her with crossed arms. "If you want to prove yourselves better, you respond with kindness instead, like with a joke or something."
"A joke …" Blue muttered. "Knock knock?"
"... We'll get you better material later." Star muttered. "But yep, behold the dawn of Era 3, the start of universal peace!" It was amazing that a couple of kids did what six thousand years of adults couldn't … also worrying about the mental strain they were accumulating.
Even with all that, Pearl couldn't help but cry as she turned to Garnet, who's eyes were equally as watery. "This…even with all my experience, with all my visions, I couldn't have seen a brighter future than this."
"Neither could I…Rose was never this hopeful." Pearl admitted as she wiped away her own tears. "To see it all happen after so long…it's just so unbelievably wild."
"If there's one thing I've learned about this group, it's to throw logic out the door." Marco laughed as he swam right next to Star. "And to believe in the weird and wild."
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Steven watched as Ben's grandpa finished talking with the Diamonds. "So we can set up an intergalactic council meeting within three months on Galvan Prime, to talk about how you're stopping your colonization process?"
"Yes, I believe that's an adequate amount of time to recall our forces." Yellow Diamond noted. "However, for the planets that have already been colonized, life cannot exist there, so we'll naturally be keeping them as is until further notice."
"You know, there's something I've been thinking about." Steven chimed in. "The colonization requires part of the planet's essence and our own to make gems right?"
"That's correct, yes." Blue Diamond nodded.
"One thing I've noticed with my healing powers is that it's really good at growing plant life." Steven continued. "And since your powers are capable of healing to an extent as well, if we can use some of that essence on areas like the kindergartens…"
"That…has the potential to reduce some of the damage." Yellow caught on to what he was saying. "I'm not sure just how far the planets will heal though, most of them have been damaged for thousands of years at least, the atmospheres alone won't be the same."
"But we do have the time and patience to try Steven." Blue smiled. "Are you sure you don't want to come back with us? We can make the palace more accommodating to you."
In his mind, he wanted to say 'absolutely not, you've tried to kill me way too many times and I need my space, you crazy broads', but he held his tongue. "No thanks. I've spent a lot of time traveling the universe and other dimensions, I really just want some time to be home with my friends."
White gave a sigh. "If you want to spend your time with lower lifeforms-" He coughed. "... Equal lifeforms, I … won't argue." She was holding herself back immensely, and that was all he could ask for at the moment.
"I do expect you to at least visit every once in a while." Yellow said with a concerned but stern face. "We're going to be dealing with a lot of bureaucracy in the future, and you're the most…diplomatic with other species than us."
"I'll definitely help, I just need to relax a bit after … everything that happened." He decided to be blunt. "Although you should probably leave soon … I understand you never needed to restrain your powers before, but the three of you being here is already putting a toll on my magical friends." He took a glance at the barely conscious Amity and Tom.
"I suppose that's just something else we'll need to occupy our time with." Blue nodded as she placed a giant finger on him, something that should've comforted him but still struck chills down his spine. "Thank you, for giving us this second chance…I'm sorry we can't take back what we've done."
"Oh come on, you're not the first people to try and kill or tourture me and my family slash friends." He waved it off.
"... Are you sure you don't need us to stay for that sentence alone?" White asked with concern.
Even if he hated therapy, he knew for a fact that them staying would force him to accept it, no questions asked. "I'm sure." He took a deep breath. "I'll be honest, it's going to take some time for me to process…everything…everything involving you guys." The Diamond's held their heads in shame. "I just…want you to know…I am happy we can start being family now."
"I hope we can live up to it." Blue smiled as they began walking to the ship. "Goodbye Steven … and others." Guess it would be a bit much for them to actually try and differentiate between all his friends.
He and everyone else waved off as the top half of the diamond ship flew off, yellow's hand giving off a peace sign as they warped off. Looks like Yellow had somewhat of a silly side.
Star and him continued to wave off as they stood right next to each other. "We're not going to visit them anytime soon, right?" She asked as a strained smile formed on her face.
"Not if we can help it." Steven replied instantly as let himself breathe a sigh of relief. "Because I mean…oh boy, I'm not sure if I could've stood them being around longer without freaking out."
"Hey … you're not the one who literally can't stand being around them." Tom groaned. "So, how does it feel bringing peace to the universe after over six thousand years of war, Steven?"
"Immense levels of stress … and even more immense levels of euphoria." Steven smiled. "No offense Ben, but I'm pretty sure I'm leaving all other intergalactic threats to you."
"No problem." The boy in question smirked with a pose. "I'll be happy to kick their butts."
"Hey I've been meaning to ask." Marco questioned. "What happened to … your eye?" He pointed to Ben's right eye, which had black where the white should be.
"DNA damage." Gwen spoke up. "A bit of his DNA swapped with a guy known as a conductoid."
"Aka the best alien in the watch." Ben happily held his watch up. "Let's just say Feedback's gonna be seen a lot from now on." That sounded like it was going to be a problem, but they could deal with it later.
"Well dude, guess you finally joined the club." Anne patted him on the back.
"The club?" He asked.
"The club of 'we saved the universe'!'" Mabel happily announced to him. "Me and Dipper, Ben, Anne, Ladybug and Chat Noir technically because of the whole wish thing, Finn."
"Oh nice." Star smiled. "I can add 'savior of the universe' to my many titles as a but kicking warrior of Mewni."
"It's just..,so uncanny for me." Kelly said as they sat on the beach sand. "This felt like one of those problems that we would never be done with, and now we have it all wrapped up in a bow."
"You know, Mina is it." Marco realized. "We got most of the Mewmans to put away their prejudice, we got the Commission on our side, Homeworld is at peace …"
"I don't think Mina's gonna be one of those people we can convince to change." Star lamented, and Steven sadly had to agree."We still also need to heal Jasper. Even if she doesn't stop hating us, she doesn't deserve to be corrupted."
"You're definitely right there." Steven nodded. "… Although the Diamonds left before I remembered to get a jar of their fluids so … once we have Jasper we have to go back to Homeworld …"
"…..Yeah, let's just cross that bridge when we get to it." Kelly waved off. "Mina hasn't been seen in months, so there's no need to seek them out." Kelly turned to him. "So let's just sit back, relax, and give the heroes their reward."
"Kelly, we don't do this for reward-" He stopped when he noticed her getting closer. "… Ah … I'd like that reward please." Sometimes it was nice to just bask in the warmth.
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"I have the power!" Mina watched happily as the latest Mewman punched a hole through the wall. "All monster scum will fear me!"
"Yes, and it only cost us a dozen of Mewmans, much smaller than the last time." Omnitrackis pointed to the pile of bodies of all the weaklings that couldn't handle the simple agonizing strain one had to get through in order to be strong.
"Yes, Queen Solaria did her best." Mina smiled, watching their army grow even further. "And even the queens can't do much against the small numbers we already sent out."
"Finally going to get some order this time around." The cosmic being muttered. "Alright, who's next?"
"I am-AAHHH!" A Mewman woman jumped back as Jasper began barking at her. "It wants to eat me!"
"No no, she just doesn't deal well with yelling, it causes stress." Mina went over and rubbed the poor girl. "It's alright, they're traitor hating warriors just like you are! Yes you are!" She petted Jasper's mane as the poor girl snuggled up to her. The gem was definitely a lot more affectionate in this state.
Omnitaxus sighed. "Does she have to be here? She's already causing fear and unease, neither of which helps the survival process."
"Pfft, if they can't handle the sight of this incredible warrior, then they might as well leave now and die in a ditch." Mina rolled her eyes. "Besides, she's gonna need to be here if she's gonna lead half the army."
"Lead half the army?" He blinked. "I don't doubt her power, I've seen the thing chew steel apart, but Jasper doesn't have the intelligence to act as leader. You and I both know that."
"Oh come on, she's just a little confused." Mina waved off. "She just needs a …" The warrior paused, a smile forming on her face as a brilliant idea came to her mind. "Refocuser … Let's make her a Solarian warrior!"
"... You want to use the device exclusively for making Mewmans strong enough to take on other creatures to turn a non-Mewman into a super soldier?"
"Oh don't be using your fancy mumbo jumbo words on me, Mr Spaceman, we're after monsters, which is defined as anyone that doesn't agree with Solaria's pure and righteous path!" Mina argued. "She's a neutral power that agrees the weak and impure must be culled! Plus she also hates Rose, and you can never have too much of that."
They shrugged. "Fine, if she doesn't survive it's not my problem either way." She wanted to crack his face in half for that comment, but she restrained herself. Worst comes to worse, the moment he outlived usefulness, she would kill him. "Just get her into position." He prepared the process, aiming the miraculous artifact at the usual wall.
"Alight Jasper, stand right over there, and everything will be fine." Mina guided the warrior turned beast into position.
"Grrrrr." She lightly growled, trying to stay in place.
"I know it looks all scary and painful and new, but this will make you bigger and stronger, I swear!" Mina hugged the poor girl's neck. "I promise that as long as we stick together through everything, nothing is going to harm you ever again. I swear on my life and my honor as Solaria's knight!"
"Mmmm." The beast let out a low purr, and a huff, before following Mina to the spot in question.
"Now just wait here, it'll be over in a few seconds." She assured Jasper with a rub, before backing up. "Do it now Omni."
"Alright, just know that this has 'bad idea' written all over it." Omni groaned as he aimed the device. "Gems and magic aren't exactly supposed to mix."
"Jasper's made out of sterner stuff than any old gem." Mina said fervently as the glow began to surround the quartz. "She came out of the earth perfectly despite the location, she rose to the top despite her Diamond being shattered….if anyone has the fortitude to survive, it's her."
"Ah … I should probably be upfront when this is over." What did that mean?
"GREAAAAA!!!"Jasper screamed, thrashing about. "GREEAAA! GREAAA! RAAAGGH!!"The tone of their screams went slowly from animalistic to vicious. Their greenish dark spots slowly faded, being filled with orange lines that overtook the body.
"Come on Jasper, come on girl! You're still inside of there, still the same dedicated and loyal soldier I know you are!" Mina cheered on her best friend in the whole multiverse. "I know this is painful, I've experienced the same pain too! To be right at the bottom, to be thrown aside by the world itself! It's when we fight in spite of that pain that makes us stronger than everyone! It's when we fight despite those we serve being long gone that makes us better than everyone!"
"RAAAGG! AAHHH!" Her body became more humanoid, horns fading into small stumps, a familiar face filled with rage and anger. "Rose … ROOOOSSSEEE!" There was a blast of power that sent everyone flying back. A success!
"Jasper, you're back!" She jumped from the wall and tackled the gem with laughter. "It worked!"
"ROSE! ROSE! ROSE!" The gem bursted out of her embrace as she shifted into a much taller, much buffer, and much more beastial form, almost like a hybrid of her original and her corrupted form. "ROSE! ROSE! ROSE!" She went off and relentlessly wailed on a wall, pouding it to pieces
"Looks like you restored her body…her mind, not so much." Omni went on saying stupid stuff again about her best friend. She seemed perfectly stable. "I should probably tell you now that Rose Quartz never existed, since you brought up the shattering."
"ROSE! ROSE! ROSE!" Jasper kept pounding on the wall. She just needed something to aim all that frustration at and everything would be right and dandy.
"Learned about it from Rhombulus, Rose was a fake identity, she was actually Pink Diamond, and faked her own shattering."
"ROSE…..PAIN!" Jasper's eyes looked strained, before focusing her gaze at the destroyed wall, no longer punching it, but clenching her fist, which shook terribly with ferocious power. "ROSE….PAIN….NEED…TO….GIVE…..ROSE…..PAIN!"
"I'm not sure if she's receiving the message…"
"Doesn't matter if she does or doesn't. You heard the lady." Mina cut the sentient void off. "Doesn't matter whatever nonsense is going on with that cherry flavored traitor. Rose gave her pain, so now we return the favor tenfold." She grinned wildly as she stood next to Jasper and placed a single hand on her back. "We'll wipe away EVERYTHING she's ever touched, decimate everything she stands for, obliterate everyone she's ever influenced, and once we do that, we can move past this puny universe and purify the whole multiverse by bathing it in the blood of all our enemies before letting it all burn to ashes!"
"... Right." They muttered at her amazing declaration. "Let's just get this over with so we can finally put an end to this nightmare that everyone seems to be fine with causing." Finally, speaking some sense!
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"Hello there sweetie!" Star watched the video mail on her mirror phone, her mother speaking. "We're going to be stuck helping everyone affected by the gems. Communications are going to be down for repairs, so we won't be able to talk soon." Mom answered.
"We just wanted to say we love you, and you should absolutely use this time to relax at home." Dad spoke. "Take some time off for a change, you earned it."
"And do be sure to take care of your brother, Star. I trust that by now you've managed to accomplish the impossible like usual and you've returned by now." Looks like their mom finally caught on to their whole deal. "We are so proud of the people you've grown up to be. Don't stop being amazing, and take care."
And like that, the message ended. "So I guess we have some free time." Star noted, leaning back against her chair. With everything wrapping up nicely for once, they actually hide the time to sit around the beach home in the kitchen, something they've barely gotten to enjoy since moving here. A little weirdly was Luz's family joining them for dinner, but she wasn't one to deny the company of nice people.
"And you should take it." Ms Noceda nodded. "Your bodies are under far too much stress. You'll snap if you keep trying to put the weight of the world on your shoulders."
"You're telling me. Just talking to the Diamonds alone held the stakes of the universe." Steven sighed in relief as he rested his head on the table. "And they expected me to still live with them after all that? Hah, never going to happen."
"You know, for a second I was worried you'd just completely forgive them." Kelly said as they bit into a burger. "I know that's your thing and all but.."
"I'm emphatic, not stupid." Steven finished. "There's a difference between giving a second chance and being forgiving."
"Yeah, talking down crazy gods that can obliterate you in a second if you don't word things right is scary." Luz agreed, taking a bite of her meal.
"... I need to get you therapy Luz." Ms Noceda said bluntly.
"Well Sasha did say she wanted to test out the skills that she learned.." Amity noted.
"By a licensed professional, not a high schooler who has no legal right telling people how to process complex emotions and feelings." Luz's mom went on. "If someone did that, the worst case scenario is that they make the problem worse and the people distrustful of professional help."
"...." Every teenager turned to a now sweeting Marco. "... You're a great cook Ms Noceda."
"I foresee several bruises and beatings on the head in your future Marco." Garnet chimed in from the back where all the gems were standing. "The source of which will surprise you."
"And I won't be there to help you." Star snorted as her boyfriend tried to hide behind his hoodie. Such a lovable, if sometimes foolish, dork. "Now that the big stuff is out of the way, I guess I can finally go back to highschool and figure out what exactly I can do with my life, because my options feel pretty limited as it is."
"You know, even if you never became Queen full time, you still learned how to be a leader." Pearl said. "You've organized several events, you've rallied several causes, you've even led a whole battle against one of the universe's greatest forces. That's nothing to scoff at."
"You could be a government spy or something." Amethyst suggested. "You still get to kick but and save the world, but you'd get paid to do it."
"Oh, sort of like Kim Possible?" Everyone turned to Marco in confusion again. "Teenage freelance spy, saved the world several times? Has her own rogues gallery and everything? Nothing?"
"How have we not heard more about that?" Kelly asked, confused. "I feel like that would be a bigger deal."
"I think it's because we take on more interdimensional threats than the normal stuff like the KND or the Miraculous team." Steven thought aloud.
"I was thinking more along the lines of a politician, such as a mayoral position." Pearl spoke back up.
"Hmm…sounds promising…and Nanafue proved that it's possible to hold positions of power without being a terrible person." Star nodded her head.
"I know being a diplomat's going to be in my future if dismantling Homeworld's hierarchy is going to go anywhere possible." Steven groaned before his face lit up. "Hm..what if I start a band, but play on other planets? That way I can really live up to the name Steven Universe!"
"Wasn't the last time you started a band done with those infinite time copies?" Star asked.
"I'm the me who never did that, remember?" Steven reminded them. "Plus, I'm not going to be a one man band where my opinion reigns supreme, I want it to be a group effort where we play whatever we want whenever we feel like it." He turned to Mr. Universe, who had been weirdly quiet the entire time. "What do you think, dad?" He asked.
"Sounds nice, can't wait to hear my kid play out the universe." He spoke in a distracted tone.
"Uh dad…is something wrong?" Steven asked. "You've been spaced out since we've come back."
"Oh, um, it's kinda awkward." He noted. "I've been planning something, and I was gonna do it today, but then you got back and now …"
"Dad, we went past awkward a long time ago, just roll with it." Steven rolled his eyes. "I just got back from space, whatever you do won't have anything on that."
"Alright …" He nodded, turning to Ms Noceda. "Camilla … you're an amazing woman." Wait, were they going to flirt right in front of them?
"Oh…do we need to give them some..?" Kelly asked
"Sssshh." Luz raised her finger. "I wanna see where this goes.
"I thought that destiny led my life, that there was only one path I could lead, that there was only one spot open in my heart for someone special…but you proved me wrong. You proved that I can be happy in ways I thought I was passed."
"Ahhh…" The woman in question was blushing up a storm.
"And before anything else happens, there's something I wanted to ask with someone as incredible as you." He got down on one knee, pulling out a box … no way … "Camilla …" And opened the box to show off a golden ring, with thankfully no gems. "Will you marry me?"
"....What?" Steven blinked.
"...Huh?" Pearl gapped at the sight.
"Didn't expect to see this." Garnet noted.
"Say wha….?" Was the echo of everyone else in the room
The woman in question let out a scream. "YES, I WILL!" She jumped on Steven's dad, glomping him.
"Did … did our parents just get engaged?" Luz asked. "In front of us?"
"I think they just did….They really did." Steven looked at Luz, the two of them sharing the same bewildered expression.
"Now, kids, I know this might be a weird transaction after all you've been…" Mr. Universe was caught off as Steven and Luz joined in on the hug.
"What are you talking about, we thought this was never going to happen in our lifetime!" Luz shouted excitedly.
"I finally get to plan a wedding!" Steven shouted with laughter. "Luz, our plans…we can finally make them reality!"
"Whoa…this is…unexpected." Ms. Noceda said with a confused but happy grin.
"It's kind of sudden for me considering everything, but my Dad gets to be happy with someone he loves. I'm always going to support that no matter what." Steven nodded to the lady.
"Congrats you two!" Amity shouted. "Let's celebrate the night away!"
"Anyone else want to pile on good news?" Star asked with a sarcastic grin.
"I have a bit of a request actually." Garnet spoke up, walking to the couple. "... Mind making it a double?" She asked, before defusing.
"...For once Karma is on our side, isn't it?" Star turned to Marco.
"We were due for a big pay out, but I always thought that was gonna be when we were adults … you know, the kids we have take up the role of bad karmic heroes."
"Our kids…" Star blushed at the idea of her and Marco having some….she knew the Butterfly's usually had daughters…but the idea of a son sounded more appealing"
"Oh heck no!" Kelly shouted as she held Steven's hand. "When we have kids, I'm making sure they never, EVER have to deal with this crap alone. I will hug them and squeeze them and make sure to always know what's going on and-"
"Hey, it's fine, it's fine." Steven rubbed her back. "You're not going to be like your Dad …"
"And you're not going to be like your mom." Star reassured her brother. "You get to be you….we get to be us." She looked at her friends…her family. "And no one's ever going to change that."