“What do you mean there weren’t any matches?”

Blurred colors swam in my vision, barely distinguishable shapes shifting awkwardly in front of me. One was standing completely still, the other moving back and forth.

“This doesn’t just happen!” The pacing blur yelled. “There has to be some kind of record about… THIS!”

The angry shape was suddenly in front me, standing so close that a face started to come into focus. Green skin. A visor. A Gem on her cheek.

“What in the stars are you!”

The world spun, the colors blending in a dizzying swirl that made me feel sick. Stars twinkled high above. I was running. Branches pulled at me as I rushed through a bundle of bushes. I tripped. I was falling, rolling down a hill. I crashed, pain shooting up my back. I struggled to my hands and knees, a scream building in my throat. A light pierced the chaos, pushing back the shadows. My arm glowed, fingers curling into claws and spikes emerging from my wrist. The scream tore free, transforming into a roar when it parted from my mouth.

The ground fell away. I tumbled from the night into a room. Hulking figures loomed over me, so massive that I felt like an insect beneath them. The walls shook as the tallest stepped forward, a voice booming, “Let me get a closer look.” They reached down and crushed me in its grip.

I struggled to free myself from the vines, the thorns digging into my skin. They tore free as I raced away, stumbling from alternating between two feet and four, my body trying not to scatter. Noise crashed against my skull. My vision was tunneling. I’m scared. I want to run, but I’m trapped in my body. My back arches, making me fall as my structure becomes distorted. I try to keep running, but my body is already breaking.

Hands grab at me. They pull me up. One of the huge figures is back. She’s angry.

“This is a mistake. Destroy it.”

Yellow erupts, tearing me to pieces. I howl, forcing myself back together.

“What is this?”

Her shouts shatter the world. She’s gone. The pain is gone. Pink. I see pink. Kneeling in front of me, offering me a hand.

“Will you come with me?”

Pink. I still see pink. Flowers? There weren’t any flowers last time. It’s brighter. The barbs are gone. It’s back.

The monster rears. It’s scared.

I’m breaking. My limbs are twisted until they’re unfamiliar. The light won’t fade, my body refusing to return to normal. I need it…

A statue. She’s holding roses. I can hear it. I can hear the water!

I race for it, my vision fading. There it is! Her fountain! It’s fixed!

As I near the water, my body rebels. It’s not meant to go back! It has to be this way!

“It’s what needed to be done.”

One moment. For that single moment, I’m back in control. My feet leave the ground. Rose-tinged water surrounds me. The noise vanishes. My vision becomes sharper, everything returned to perfect clarity. The light pauses. It starts retracting, returning monstrous figures to fingers and toes. I can move them. My body is mine again.

I’m back… I’m free.

The relief is overpowering. For the first time in millennia, I can rest peacefully. I sink, letting the water purge the sickness from the deepest depths of my being.

I’m me.

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I shot up, the covers falling off. It takes me a moment to find my bearings. I’m in my room; it was just a dream. I let out a sigh, leaning back against my pillows. My bed was a mess of tangled sheets. I must have been tossing in my sleep. I try to calm down, but my body won’t stop shaking.

Slowly, I get out of bed and pull open the door leading to the balcony. A steady breeze enters, ruffling the curls of my hair. The night is calm, and I hear the waves lapping against the sand of the beach. A gull calls out from somewhere nearby. The scene soothes my alert mind.

That was… weird. I’ve had bizarre dreams before, but this was different. It was like when I stumbled across Lapis’s dream when she was stuck in the ocean, but not entirely the same. Maybe it was closer to when I was looking through Blue Diamond’s eyes. Yeah, maybe that’s it. It was like I was seeing what someone else saw.

But then… what was the rest of it? Memories? I’ve gone into dreams and heard others’ thoughts, but the only memories I’ve ever seen were… mom’s. But that can’t be right. Here Gem is right here, a part of me. I was seeing her fountain like it currently is. It couldn’t have been one of her memories. And besides, that doesn’t explain what was happening to whoever that was.

Maybe it was just a dream. Or maybe it was someone else’s? I don’t know. I’ll ask Garnet in the morning. Yeah, in the morning.

My thoughts were starting to slow. The ocean had done its job and was lulling back to rest. Yawning, I stumbled back into bed and drifted off into sleep.