17Epilogue: Lying Eyes
Present day, Steven's house…
As Steven and Greg (and Connie) finished with their various snacks, Greg turned to his audience and said, "Now where was I? Went to the Kindergarten…Big robot battle with Alena…Alena retreats with ominous warning…Oh yeah, I fainted after Rose dropped that 'little surprise' in front of me…"
Fourteen years into the past…
Gregwoozily stood back up to find himself…back in the Crystal Temple cave entrance! Looking around, Greg did not see anyone…not the Crystal Gems and certainly not Rose. Deciding that he needed to talk to Rose about what was said he walked up the main Temple door, gave it a good hard knock and said, "Hello, Rose. I think we really need to talk about what happened…and what was said."
The main Temple door glowed a pink light, causing Greg to step back! Out of the Temple came Rose Quartz, seemingly refreshed from the day's fight with Alena. Turning to Greg, Rose put on her best smile and asked, "Oh whatever do you mean?"
"Honestly the whole 'I wanna have a baby thing' is what's on my mind right now. So…explain." stated Greg simply.
Rose sighed before she started to speak, "Alena's…visit…drove home a point I have lived with for millennia. I just…can't fix some of the mistakes I've made. The Diamonds will never listen to me and clearly there are humans out there who feel the same way towards me. The other Gems will never fully grow to be their own selves as long as I am around. So that leaves only one option: I can't exist anymore…
"Don't mistake me; this is not suicide like Alena believes! I truly believe I will live on, as an observer, through Steven. Do I know this for certain? No. But I do know this…if it is possible for Alena or the Diamonds to change their ways, than I believe Steven is the one who can do it, not me."
Greg was nearly brought to tears by Rose Quartz confession. Rose laid her hand on Greg's shoulder causing him to look up into Rose's eyes. Then Rose leaned into kiss Greg as Greg tried to reach around the eight foot woman. As they continued the kiss, Rose Quartz loosened a strap on her dress…
Back to the present…
"OKAY! I think we should stop there before we mentally scar poor Steven for life!" exclaimed Pearl, suspecting the MA rating of the scene in the story. Most of the audience's jaws had dropped from where the story was headed. Steven had always felt he had a magically destiny, but he never realize Alena had something to do with it…
"Anyways, a few months later Steven was born and I never heard from Alena since then…until now that is." Greg finished a little awkwardly.
"If I may, this has truly revealed a lot of both Rose's and Alena's character, but there is one thing that puzzles me." remarked Peridot, "It's just…Alena is clearly capable of great deception and manipulation, so why was she so interested in starting a fight with Rose Quartz?"
"That's a good question…" replied Greg equally confused and unable to answer the question…
Present time, hidden location…
Alena Frankfurt, Head of the Earth Defense Initiative (EDI), stared down from a high platform at the surviving Rubies trapped inside an energy bubble. Eyeball, Navy and Doc were attempting to pop the bubble, only to realize it was a gem disruption field. All the while, their pointless struggle was amusing to Alena. Just then she thought back to a time right after her fight with Rose Quartz…
Fourteen Years ago, same facility…
Alena's damaged Exo-Armor was coming in for a landing at the entrance to a military base. The guard glanced up uninterestedly and asked, "Rough day?"
"A learning experience, nothing more. Now if you will excuse me." Stated Alena tersely, while climbing out of the armor and heading through the gate. Behind her a fork lift was picking up the armor and moving it into one of the hangars while the guard ignored it all. Alena quickly made her way to a lift, and as she made her way underground, a strangely appropriate song to her mood started to play…(1)
"City girls just seem to find out early
How to open doors with just a smile
A rich old man
And she won't have to worry
She'll dress up all in lace and go in style
"Late at night a big old house gets lonely
I guess every form of refuge has its price
And it breaks her heart to think her love is only
Given to a man with hands as cold as ice
"So she tells him she must go out for the evening
To comfort an old friend who's feelin' down
But he knows where she's goin' as she's leavin'
She is headed for the cheatin' side of town
As the lift stop at the last floor, Alena walked out towards what appears to be her living space, the thoughts of her first encounter with Rose Quartz races through her head:
"You can't hide your lyin' eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin eyes
"On the other side of town a boy is waiting
With fiery eyes and dreams no one could steal
She drives on through the night anticipating
'Cause he makes her feel the way she used to feel
"She rushes to his arms; they fall together
She whispers that it's only for awhile
She swears that soon she'll be comin' back forever
She pulls away and leaves him with a smile
"You can't hide your lyin' eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't now way to hide your lyin' eyes
Inside her quarters its designs for various machines, ancient tablets depicting the Gem Wars, and picture of Rose Quartz with the eyes crossed out! If Alena was being honest with herself, she always hated Rose! Her unassailable attitudes, the easygoing despite surviving a horrifically tragic war, those damn mocking eyes! Whenever Rose looked at a human (especially at Alena) it seemed as if she wasn't looking at a person, but a cute little puppy or kitten!
This is why Alena started burning tearing apart everything in the room as the song continued to play (despite their value to her research)…
"She gets up and pours herself a strong one,
And stares out at the stars up in the sky.
Another night, it's gonna be a long one.
She draws the shade and hangs her head to cry.
"She wonders how it ever got this crazy.
She thinks about a boy she knew in school.
Did she get tired or did she just get lazy?
She's so far gone she feels just like a fool.
"My oh my, you sure know how to arrange things.
You set it up so well, so carefully.
Ain't it funny how your new life didn't change things?
You're still the same old girl you used to be.
"You can't hide your lyin' eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes
There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes"
Now, Alena stood back at the burning remains of the room, specifically at a picture of Rose and Greg, which refused to burn. Glaring at those happy, shining, lying eyes…
Present, hidden location…
As Alena looked down at the Rubies in the bubble, hand on a dial controlling sonic pitch, she thought back on that frustrating day. The final line of the song played on her lips as she turned the dial, almost drowning out the Rubies' screams…
"Honey, you can't hide your lyin' eyes"
Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe nor any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. I should probably mention this story was thought before "Lin 4: Alternate Ending". So like a lot of people, I was into the magical destiny idea. In truth, I postulate that the threat of Alena would change Rose's idea of a free childhood for Steven somewhat. She obviously wouldn't want to face her problems, but Alena reveals that they won't stay gone. Hopefully this explains some changes from canon!
Anyway, onto coming attractions! Originally, my plans were for a Fangbone continuation or a Shadowrun/Mass Effect crossover, but due to recent Adventure Time activity, I'll being doing an AU involving that. It's a great show and the miniseries are fun and exciting, but it just got so…out there recently. Think of it as my own attempt at a miniseries. My new Adventure Time story will be up early June at the latest, probably late May, so keep an eye out in the Adventure Time section. Anyway, as always, read and review!
1 "Lyin' Eyes" by the Eagles. Every Steven universe episode has a song now it seems.