Oh man, how long has it been?

(Looks at calendar) Today's 11th June, 2017? Huh. When was the last upda—(checks last update date: 11th December, 2016)—OH MY GOODNESS. SEVEN MONTHS? Huh, abuduhwhaa?

Alright, I'll admit it. I haven't been doing much lately. Mostly because I have school in the way. And that's about it. I know, I've written most of the earlier stuff back when I was trudging through school, but school's harder now! I can't believe I'm failing my Maths of all things! I thought I was a special snowflake! I can't believe you've condemned me, God! Since I love my parents and don't want to disappoint them, I've promised to try my best and all that.

Oh, and I've been going through a writers' block thing. God, I hate it. I hate using that generic reason. I can write good on other stuff, but this... can't even think of the correct words!

Also, I'm not caught up with Steven Universe. Haven't been caught up since last August. But whatever. Spoilers don't hurt me. I don't have the time anyway, so come at me with your best shot! Let's see what you can spoil! You can't hurt me! I'm just words on a screen, with an imaginary personality fueled by your human willingness to fill in the blanks of my persona!

However, you guys have waited long enough and have read he title of this "chapter". Might as well give you an unfinished preview of what I've written for the next chapter. Things will be changed in finalized version so don't take this seriously.

Chapter 55 preview: maybe like 10% of Steven's Ordeal

Emerald couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Rose Quartz was alive.

Nobody knew for sure that she had been alive for the past years, since they had come out of corruption and recall only small details of their past lives. But once they saw Steven with their own eyes, alive and healthy, and with all the talk about him being the son of Rose and the science behind it... well, they all thought Rose Quartz was gone. But now...

...She was just standing before all of them.

There was one thing off about it: there was no sign of Steven and Onyx was with Rose. This made Emerald's inner gears start to shift.

First off: why wasn't Steven here? Wouldn't he be excited to meet the legendary Rose Quartz; his mother? Wouldn't he be by her side? But no, that wasn't possible, because they share the same Gem. So, by that logic, if Steven were here, there would be no Rose. And if Rose was here, there would be no Steven. They can't exist at the same time. So, if Rose was here... Did that mean... Steven didn't exist?

Was this an "ingenious" tactic Rose created in order to achieve something? She posed as this human child called Steven and fooled everyone into thinking that they were two separate entities and that she was dead. Was that her plan? Because if that was the case, then Emerald was fooled. He had suspicions when they first met and fought, but after a while, it seemed that Steven really was his own person. So, why? What's the motive? Why was Rose Quartz here instead of Steven? Is it because of this war?

There was no way this could happen. Steven was a demigem, the holder of Rose Quartz, there was no way of retrieving Rose back since Steven was permanent, wasn't he? Unless, Rose had been shapeshifting as Steven the whole time.

Did Lapis know? No, it wouldn't make sense as to why Rose would put the Crystal Gems into further trauma and let Lapis boss her around. Did Pearl, Rose's single confidant, know about this? She might, but there was no telling with that Gem. Did anyone else know? No, not anyone that Emerald had kept track on.

Did Rose actually fool everyone into thinking Steven being real?

What the hell would that even achieve?

But then, Onyx was here. She had advanced telepathy that knew no bounds. She could induce hallucinations in everyone here, right now. Rose might just be an illusion she created. She had done it before, by making everyone believe that Jet was alive. There was no telling, unless Steven were here. He had some kind of resistance to her illusions. And then again, Steven wasn't here. Where was he anyway? Emerald hadn't seen him in months. But maybe this was Onyx's doing too... What would Onyx want right now that would make her need everyone to see Rose Quartz?

None of it makes sense. Onyx can have whatever she wants whenever she wants. She can do anything by thinking it. Why this? And Steven does exists, right? What about the two month gap that they weren't here? What happened then? Emerald kept asking, staring at the two powerful Gems right outside his base. Was he actually concerned for Steven? Preposterous. Their presence here... Both are the most influential faces here. Is that her plan? Does she think she can take away my control? Hah. No. They need me here. I've much to offer. And a lot more plans at work. Besides, they can't betray their own kind. I'd do it first. And where else do they think I'm going to go if I'm not a part of this? Straight to the Revolution, that's where.

The sight was nostalgic to Rose, in a twisted way. This was a war zone. There were even still weapons stabbed into the fields!

She didn't know why she was complaining. She had waltzed through these fields no longer than twenty years ago. It hadn't been that long, but... Steven's human mortality changed her sense of time. As painful as it was to realize it, there would be no such possibility as a millennia anymore. But was that such a bad thing? When everything repeats and the cycle of life stays the same even through thousands of decades' worth of evolution, the average human lifespan of eighty years would be enough. Anything more and that would be too much for a mortal.

Rose stared at the lifeless battlefield, looking back at the lives that were lost. Lives were a human concept, weren't they? And they were aliens. Would they be classified to being one with a life? Rose thought the answer was painfully obvious, but... did they have lives though? They were programmed, just like computers. Computers don't have life. Gems were like computers, capable of being programmed, shutting down and powering up, resetting... ceasing. They were made, not birthed. They can revive themselves after getting their bodies destroyed, only if their software wasn't harmed.

What am I thinking about? Us or computers? She thought depressingly.

'We're not computers, Rose,' Onyx stated, rolling her eyes, 'We can take independent action.'

It wasn't like that back then... Have you seen humans and their progress on Artificial Intelligence? They're getting scared that it'll become independent and go against them.

'Really? What are you suggesting? That there were organics who were smart enough to create us?'

The universe is 14 billion years old. And we don't yet know how we began, Rose's eyes hardened, something that Onyx just couldn't get over while in person. Everything repeats. The humans are on the path of creating something just like us. It might be insight to our kind's past.

The black Gem knew she picked the right path, no matter how incredibly annoying or cryptic she could get.

'Does our origin really matter?'

No. There was a dramatic pause. It does not. I just got curious.

Rose picked up a pebble, confusing some of the Gems watching, who were waiting for the two famous Gems to reach the place.

"I just remembered: Amber was a naturally-made Gem. She had no programming built into her. Just the ingredients on how to make a Gem."

'How incredibly quaint.'

"Also, just to tell you. We teleported a few ways from the signal barrier that was set up here, so we just alerted the Revolution of our location."

'I can't wait.'

Rose eyed her from the side. She let out a sigh, knowing full well that with the way Onyx was going at it, she wasn't interested with anything that had to do with Rose's musing. All she was interested in was the pink Gem leading a battle like the old days. She wanted to discuss strategy and fighting plan, not some person's thoughts about life or the safety of the camp.

Onyx could sense this as well. 'I'm sorry for being... aloof. I have a lot on my mind.'