Here we are finally I've been working on this for the last couple weeks ever since we got the beauty that was the last Stevenbomb! I had so many headcanons and little ideas about the last block of episodes and this is me trying to work all those feelings into something cohesive. I originally just going to write a multi chapter fic with chapters for each theme of Life, Death, Love, Birth etc. but i'm actually pretty pleased with what I've ended up with and I hope it flows together well.
Author's Notes: Here we are finally! I've been working on this for the last couple weeks ever since we got the beauty that was the last Stevenbomb! I had so many headcanons and little ideas about the last block of episodes and this is me trying to work all those feelings into something cohesive. I originally just going to write a multi chapter fic with chapters for each theme of Life, Death, Love, Birth etc. but i'm actually pretty pleased with what I've ended up with and I hope it flows together well.
So this whole thing was evidently based on the song "Peace and Love on the Planet Earth" and loosely inspired by a neat fancomic I saw on tumblr about how the lyrics reflect the Crystal Gems backgrounds. Each theme is a drabble that relates to one of the Crystal Gems (including Peridot, and I added Earth because it fit Amethyst the best, and because Rose & Steven had two.)
Spoilers Galore for the most recent 'Steven's Birthday' Stevenbomb.
As always comments and reviews are always welcome and questions can be directed to my tumblr!
-Sarielle (trustme-im-a-pirate)
Peace and Love
(Set in between it could have been great and message received.)
Steven was sitting by himself on the hill where not too long ago they had all been singing.
It was the evening. They only just had got back from the moon. None of the Gems were speaking to Peridot for reasons she had yet to ascertain. Even Steven had grumbled and mumbled and paced himself into a state of disarray until he'd given up and thrown his arms up the air. Peridot had hoped to speak with him before she made her decision on what to tell Yellow Diamond of their alliance. She needed his counsel.
"I need to think. I'm going to sit on the hill alone for a bit. Is that okay?" he'd asked. Garnet had given him a thumbs up, Pearl had sighed, her face forlorn. Amethyst was too busy punching the barn wall to reply.
Peridot had opened her mouth to speak but with an uncharacteristic lack of manners the child interrupted her.
"I wasn't asking you, Peridot." And without waiting for a rebuttal, he'd shoved his hands deep into his pockets and stomped off into the distance. Peridot closed her mouth again, surprised at the hurt in his voice.
Sat alone in the makeshift sleeping quarters in the truck bed by the barn, Peridot frowned at the child's silhouette off in the distance crossed-legged on the hillside, a flap soft pink fabric attached to his 'shirt' covered his dark curls. The song he'd taught her earlier that day swimming through her consciousness, blocking out more important, beneficial thoughts.
Life and death and love and birth,
The song's hook was a summary of the human life cycle. She understood that much. Steven had said music could be about anything, but it made more sense to use such large human milestones in cultural contexts.
Life and Death were relatively unanimous concepts across star systems, surely if Gems made music they would sing about something similar. Although 'Spawning, Growth, Fusion and Harvest' didn't work well in terms of lyrical scansion.
And peace and war on the planet Earth.
Considering what the Gem had told her and from what information She'd already learnt from millennia old holo-tapes from the great Diamond Archives back on Homeworld, The Crystal Gems had seen their fair share of the battlefield. In fact, their numbers had once been much greater if Jasper's old war stories were anything to go on (Peridot suspected the soldier exaggerated her own fighting abilities seeing as she'd been taken down by a half-human little pebble).
Steven had never seen war. The boy was much too young. Gem History painted his mother, Rose Quartz as a rebel leader a violent and blood-hungry woman, leading her troops to an early shattering for her own glory and power. Steven was a child, soft and weak, he had no concept of glory or military power. He cried over legless reptilians and cared about 'music' and 'romance' far more than was necessary. Peridot couldn't understand it. There were elements of the Earth's culture that just remained too starkly alien to her.
Is there anything that's worth more?
Bowing her head, she pulled out the Diamond Communicator from where she had stashed it in her gemstone. The stone's facets were smooth and cold to the touch. Just one call and it would all be over. They'd send a ship she could get off this rock. She'd get a new assignment and everything would move on as it should do. Logically, making the call was the right decision.
Than peace and love on the planet Earth?
A gust of wind rattled the barn door. Startled, Peridot hurriedly stored the communicator in her forehead.
She stood up and stretched looking around. The Pearl, diligent as ever, had gone back to check on the drill's status. Steven was still sitting on the hill, arms wrapped around his knees.
Garnet was sitting in the area where only days ago they'd attempted to fuse. Peridot settled down beside her as small and quiet as possible. She didn't acknowledge her, but her hands curled into fists. Intimidated Peridot started talking. Fast.
"What did I do wrong, Garnet? Everyone's been short-tempered for no reason since we arrived back from the moon base. It's not like I told you anything but the obvious conclusions. You cannot take offense to facts."
"You just don't get it, Peridot!" the fusion spat out, staring up the sky. Her fists glowed and for a second Peridot flinched expecting her gauntlets to appear. Instead the light phased away and Garnet let out a small growl. "How can we trust you to understand our experiences when you strive to tear down everything we Crystal Gems stand for?!"
Peridot opened her mouth to ask what she meant but the fusion got up and moved away, mouth set in a scowl, leaving her bewildered. She looked around for Amethyst but when she found her napping in the barn, the other gem transformed in to some large feathered creature and flew away hooting angrily.
She kicked at an empty paint can in frustration, it ricocheted off the wall and smacked her in the ankle. She hopped on one foot angrily. Even this planet's objects disliked her now.
"How am I supposed to know what it is you people stand for?" She yelled at the roof.
Maybe Earth was more than the dirt and organisms to these people. Maybe, just maybe Steven's little song was right and to the Crystal Gems there was nothing more worth protecting than this hunk of rock hurtling around a dying star. Perhaps when they sung of Life, and Death and Love and Birth they were speaking from their memories, interwoven fragile pockets of sentiment unable to separate their own experiences from what was objectively the sensible thing to do.
The Earth was doomed yet they were still clawing their hands raw to salvage it.
Why?
Life
The charred soil stretched out for miles with no visible change. Deep grooves scored the earth where injectors were once embedded. A great central pillar of solid and shiny obsidian towered above the land, an observation tower for the kindergarten below.
This had all been lush farmland, a green and vibrant place acres of rice paddies around snow-tipped emerald mountains. Humans had lived here once. Now not even a blade of grass remained. A thin white gem stood alone gazing across at the bleak scenery in front of her.
It was all such a waste. A shame, but there was little they could do.
There was a deafening crack from above. A chunk of black shiny rock sheared off the pillar and plummeted the fifty feet towards her.
The wiry gem jumped out of its way landing on crouched feet, a hand against the earth to steady herself.
"Ah- My lady, I think we should really be leaving." Her voice was uncertain and reedy. A piccolo flute muted by the blustering wind that rolled over the flat land. "My Quartz?"
No reaction. A little way off the other gem was crouched down, her back turned, head slumped down, a curtain of curls veiling her face.
"Rose, please. We need to go." She heard the frightened crack in her own voice, but she swallowed it with a dry rasp. "The warp pad is already on a dangerous angle, the longer we're here the more the surrounding infrastructure begins to crumble. There's nothing you can do for this place now, my lady."
It was just a place, after all. Not even one they frequented regularly. There was no rational reason for her to be so heartbroken by its devastation but then her beloved leader wasn't always so rational. Earth wasn't rational.
"Pearl." When she said it, her name could have been a symphony, it could have been birdsong at dawn. Pearl stiffened up, standing to attention. "Come here." Her voice was muffled by her hair but something sounded strange about it. Was she crying?
With the lightest feet years of fencing had taught her she gently stepped over the scorched earth and fell to one knee beside her commander.
"My Quartz?"
She turned so slowly until Pearl could see her face, her hair spilling soft and pink over her torso like a shroud. Even surrounded by the smoke and the acrid smell of death she was ethereal.
"Look" Rose gestured a large pink hand towards the ground in front of her. There was a deep scar scored into the black earth branching cracking into fractal scratches and lines in the soil. In the shadow of her commander's finger grew a single, sickly looking white flower.
Pearl glanced from the plant to the other woman's face, pink-cheeked and tear-stained. A single droplet rolled off Rose's nose and on to the petals. The flower glowed faintly, opening its petals it grew reaching visibly upwards towards the black and orange sky.
"Take it with us." The quartz's voice was firm, an order.
Pearl nodded, biting back any comment on the futility of the task. She summoned a spear to dig out a circle of the earth, taking care not to damage the plant's network of roots.
"Where shall I store this, my lady?"
Rose reached out and bubbled the flower and it's crumbling bed of earth.
"I'll send it back to my garden." She disappeared the bubble, and briefly wiped at her wet cheeks with the bottom of her palm.
"Let it serve as a reminder of how tenacious organic life can be."
Death
"Steven, are you okay now?"
The boy was sitting alone on the hillside tearing out the grass and letting the blades fall through his fingers like sand.
It was warm out; they were a fair distance away from the barn but occasionally on the breeze they'd catch a distant bass line of Greg's music that was playing on the record player while the others worked on the drill.
He half turned to look at her and forced a smile. "Yeah, Connie. I'm fine."
She cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You don't sound very okay."
He shrugged, face falling. "Is my Dad still here? He's supposed to be giving you a ride home, right?"
She nodded stepping closer. "Yeah, last I saw he's over by the barn, bickering with Garnet about disco music." She smiled. "Well he's doing most of the bickering."
Steven didn't smile. He just pulled out another chunk of turf.
Connie sat down next to him, her fingers brushed his elbow for a second, an awkward gesture of reassurance. "Hey… I told you Steven, no hard feelings about yesterday. I like you for being you! I don't care how old you are."
Steven scrunched up his face. "No, Connie, I know. I'm not thinking about that." He sighed. "it's complicated. You know what day yesterday was, right?"
His friend furrowed her thick brows. "Your 14th Birthday?"
"No, apart from that. Apart from me being born. It was the anniversary of another thing too."
Connie frowned again, thinking. It didn't take long, the realization settled somber and sympathetic onto her face. "Oh. Oh, Steven." She ran her fingers through the length of her hair, an anxious habit. Evidently, she hadn't thought about that. Steven didn't blame her, he wished he wasn't tainting his happy day with these sad thoughts.
"We don't talk about it, really." He smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "It's supposed to be a happy day! It's Steven day!" His chipper voice quivered, his shoulders sagged. "But I always end up…thinking about her at the end of it" He sighed, arms hugging his chest for comfort. "I'm sure the Gems do too. But after yesterday's drama I totally forgot about it, and now I feel bad I didn't do anything for her."
Connie unsure of what else to do, wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
"Well what do you usually do?"
The boy looked away, chewing on his bottom lip. "I can't tell you…"
"Okay." Connie nodded, in simple understanding. Not pushing the matter out of respect for her friend. You don't have if it's too hard, or you don't want to…we can talk about something else if you want."
Steven sighed. "No that's not what I mean..." He trailed off gesturing limply in the air with a hand. "It's just… it's kind of dumb."
His friend crinkled her brows, her expression mixed with concern. "What is?" she asked.
"Well, once when I was little, Dad told me that in his family when someone dies they light a candle every year on the anniversary and put it in a windowsill."
"Oh, Like a memorial?"
Steven nodded.
"Yeah kind of, He doesn't do it for Mom because-" He paused, frowning. "-actually I don't really know why." He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly, "But I just thought that was nice. I mean I already got my own candles on my birthday cake. Why can't Mom have death day candles too?"
He looked at his bare feet stretched out in front of him on the grass. "Only Pearl wouldn't let me use matches, she still doesn't." Connie nodded sympathetically, her head knocking against his shoulder. "So I made up my own tradition. But it's silly."
"You can tell me, Steven, I promise I won't laugh." Connie said gently. She was staring at him her eyes round and dark and wet with sympathy.
Steven looked away from her, his bottom lip stuck out. He peered at her out of the corner of his vision than hurriedly looked away again, blushing.
"O-Okay. Every year on my birthday morning I go down to the beach and collect shells, or rocks, anything that I think looks nice, one for every year old I am. I leave them on the table by my bed, because there isn't a windowsill, and I keep them there all day. Then in the morning I put them back on the beach and let them wash out to sea."
Connie's eyes were dewy with tears. She tucked some hair behind her ears, nervously.
"Oh Steven, that's…" Her voice faltered.
"-Stupid, I know." Steven filled in for her, staring at his hands in his lap.
Connie frowned, slowly shaking her head. "No Steven, it's beautiful."
"You think so?" He said, not convinced.
"Yes! I think it's sweet you made your own tradition to honour your mom. It makes it special for you." She reached out and took his hand in her own and hung on for dear life. Her expression was set with a fierceness he hadn't seen before and Steven knew she wouldn't let him talk down about himself.
"I guess…" The boy mumbled. Lips quirking upwards momentarily. "But I didn't get to do it this year, because I was a baby." He scrunched up his nose at the memory.
Connie nodded, understanding.
"We're not by the beach today, but we should be able to find something, would you like to look for stones together!? We can put them out in the barn. Or if it's something just for you I'd understand that too."
Steven perked up at that, and he chanced a proper, genuine smile. "Even though it's not the proper day anymore?"
"I'm sure she would still appreciate it, Steven."
He closed his fingers around hers. Her skin was soft and comforting. He nodded solemnly.
"Thanks Connie. I'd like that."
Love
Carnelian found her in the War room, flicking through battle formations on Rose's holographic strategy table. Each formation, each direction and focus of troops opened up another line of possibility, another world where Sapphire's friends and comrades were vanquished if they didn't get things right.
She took a few seconds fiddling with the camera view for the model, a simulated expanse of strawberry fields, the predicted spot for the next Gem battle. She only paused to look up at the new arrival. A lithe amber gem clutching at a scroll of paper like a life preserver.
"Yes?" she prompted.
Carnelian flustered a little, she was much taller than Sapphire and her orange hair was pulled up on top of her head in a knot, only adding to her height.
"Ah! E-Excuse me, for interrupting, Sapphire." She spoke, hands trembling. They didn't use titles or "my" honorifics here on Earth. Rose didn't like them. She said they were supposed to be on equal grounds with each other and Sapphire could appreciate the sentiment but some of Homeworld's ingrained social structures were hard to shake.
More often than not Sapphire found her comrades didn't know how to treat her. She was a rarity, a prophet. She'd spoken with diamonds, served in one's court even. Even here on a new world there was only one other gem who knew Sapphire for herself, not her gem type.
"What is it?" She asked, softly.
Carnelian was jittering from foot to foot like she didn't quite know how to stand.
"You have a message," she proffered the scroll in her hand.
Sapphire took it and without bothering to unroll it she asked. "Who from?"
Carnelian's golden eyes slid out of eye contact with her and looked down towards the floor.
"Ah Well, It's encoded, my Sapphire. I-It doesn't obviously say the sender, ma'am."
Sapphire ignored the slip in politeness and smiled just briefly enough to put the another gem at ease.
"Thank you, Carnelian. Will that be all?"
The Orange gem blushed and squeaked. "Yes, ma'am. Sorry again to interrupt."
Sapphire followed the message hand delivered to her. As far as she could tell wasn't from Pearl or Rose Quartz, No, the codes used were uninspired. Most of them common replacement ciphers like those used in gem military briefings to describe troop movements, just about anyone with a basic training could crack it. Nevertheless, seeing no immediate danger, she headed to the co-ordinates the mysterious sender had specified.
She warped to an island she didn't recognise. In a lush rainforest biome littered with pillars of naturally occurring crystals that sparkled and gleamed in the white moonlight. An owl cried from a tall tree overhead followed by a flutter of wings.
As she stepped of the warp pad, a familiar voice rang out.
"Come sit with me, I saved you a spot."
Off in a clearing to the side a small red square-like gem was sitting cross-legged, staring up at the sky. Sapphire stopped in her tracks and blinked her eye incredulously.
"You stole me away from the war room to sit with you?" She said, trying and failing, to hide the smile that rose to her lips.
"It's not going anywhere, is it now? Besides Rose is out on recon. I saw them leave not even an hour ago."
The blue gem brushed her bangs out of her face to fix her companion with a tired one-eyed stare.
"Ruby…"
Ruby just grinned and patted the space beside her with a hand, her gem brushing the ground.
"The stars are out and I heard there was gonna be a meteor shower tonight."
Sapphire moved to sit down next to her. She gracefully gathered her skirts together as she eased herself down to ground level. "Heard from who?" she asked, sounding unconvinced.
"Pearl. She was whining about it to anyone who cared while I was sparring." Without taking her eyes of the expanse of night sky Ruby reached out and took Sapphire's hand in hers. "The background radiation means transmissions could be interrupted tonight." She chuckled. "I just thought it sounded pretty."
Sapphire's lips curled up at the corners. "You're a terrible influence, you know." She said fondly, ever the diplomat. She leaned her head against Ruby's shoulder. Ruby tilted her head towards her in response.
"Well you don't know how to take a break."
Sapphire snorted. "Alright. I will, for you."
"You can see Homeworld's galaxy from here." Ruby said, changing the subject.
"I know." The reply came clipped and cut off. Like she didn't want to comment further on the matter. Ruby glanced over at her. Sapphire was staring back at her, not at the stars at all.
"When we're Garnet, she doesn't care for Homeworld. But I've never asked you. Do you miss it?"
Sapphire smiled. "Maybe. Sometimes. I wouldn't trade this for anything…" She paused, lips pursed. "I wouldn't trade you for anything."
Ruby giggled, low and flirty. "Correct answer." She leaned down to press her lips against the other gem's.
When they broke away, Ruby buried her head into her love's shoulder.
"Hey Sapph…" she started coyly, lifting her head up enough so her voice wasn't muffled. "You know who'd really like to see a meteor shower?"
I do…" her teeth flashed icy white against her skin. She rose up to her feet and offered a blue hand to Ruby. "Shall we dance, then?"
She took it, grinning. "There is no way you didn't see this coming."
"Hm. Maybe. I'm not prepared to say." Sapphire giggled. "but I can see a lot of futures where things are better with Garnet."
Ruby grinned back and all Sapphire's previous visions of defeat and despair evaporated up into the night sky. She placed her hand on the red gem's hip.
A laugh, a twirl, a flash of light.
A new richer voice, deep and mellow.
"Everything's better with Garnet." She said as she settled back down to watch the stars, together, and on her own.
Birth
'What to Expect when you're Expecting' didn't have anything on this. There was no, "Sweet messages to leave behind for the son you'll never meet" article. There was nothing on what to do when your partner of years breaks down into sobs when you enter a room because soon, too soon, you won't be there at all.
It hurt, but her goal was stuck fast in her mind. No matter if the Gems wouldn't forgive her, no matter if it meant the end of her life. She was going to have this baby. She was going to bring this child into the world.
Pregnancy was weird, it was new and strange. The strangest sensation of sharing her gem, her existence with this new life. It made her emotional all the time. She was very free with the healing tears and constantly filled with intense rushes of love and compassion.
"Greg, honey? Can I use your video camera?"
They were in their room. Well, it was Rose's room, but right now they shared it. It was an infinite space so there was plenty of room for another person, and Rose could still use it for its original purpose (Not that she needed to use it to model battle formations that much these days.)
Greg looked up from his book. He'd been reading a lot of parenting books recently, an attempt to lessen the blow when the time came. Rose appreciated that he didn't know how to feel about the whole situation and that everything felt like it was falling away from him and the fact he still was putting in the effort to bring up this kid the best that he could just made her love him all the more.
"Sure can, sweet thing. What for?"
"I was thinking maybe it would be nice, to make a video from me and you."
"To who?"
"Steven." She said. "For him to have when he's older."
"Oh." His eyes tracked down to her swollen belly and he smiled. That sad soft smile he reserved only for Steven. "Yeah. Okay Rose. That's a real neat idea."
She'd written what she wanted to say down in a journal, a few nights before when Greg was asleep and her back ached so much she could only get up and pace the temple floor.
She pulled it out now to read over, wanting the words to be perfect. She owed him that much.
Greg got up off the bed and moved to fetch the video camera from where he kept his musical equipment in an elaborately carved oak chest. Rose brushed her hair back over her shoulder.
"Room. Show me what the weather is like outside." A pocket of cloud opened the fake bedroom wall. It showed the beach sparkling in the morning sun. A few kids were paddling in the shallows splashing each other with sea foam. A couple walked hand-in-hand along the beachfront, enjoying the warm weather. Rose smiled to herself.
"It's beautiful out there."
Greg glanced at the bubble window and quirked an eyebrow.
"You wanna film this video on the beach then?"
Rose nodded.
They headed out with a picnic blanket and an umbrella to protect Rose from the heat, just in case.
"Too much sun isn't good for him." Greg said. She assumed that was the parenting books talking.
They brought the video camera and spent some time just hanging about on the beach in the sun. Rose filmed Greg taking a nap with a sea gull.
"we should say something to Steven." He said at one point.
"Yeah" Rose murmured. "I'm building up to it."
She pointed the video camera at him. "Hey, Greg?" her face split into a smile, showing white teeth beneath her full lips.
He startled, staring "What?! Ah!" he waved his hands about in surprise,
Rose giggled. "Go on..."
He chuckled wryly, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Sorry, I'm getting stage fright here."
Rose shifted her weight to her other foot holding the camera steady "So…Tell us about yourself." She prompted.
Her partner floundered in the limelight.
"Well, let's see here... My name is Greg." He scrunched up his face and shook his head. His mane of hair flowed out around him. "No, no, no! This is all wrong!"
Rose hit the camera off. "What do you want to do then?"
Greg moved to pick up his guitar from where he'd left it on the picnic blanket. He put on his sunglasses, and brushed his hair back over his shoulder.
"Here we go, point the Camera at me now Rose."
She did. "Okay, Ready? Three, two, one." She hit record. "Okay go!'
Greg posed dramatically on a rock with his guitar.
"They call me…" he plucked out a short little riff. "Mr. Universe! Get ready baby, you're gonna have the coolest dad this side of the cosmos!" He made guitar noises with his mouth. "Press the button, Rose!
"Oh, right! Was that the right one?" The camera made a noise but she wasn't sure what it meant.
Greg quirked a brow. "Uh... maybe?"
"Oh, what does this one do?" She pressed another button
Whatever it was the button made the screen fade to black. Rose stopped the recording and lowered the camera.
"Did you get that?" Greg asked, coming over.
Rose nodded her curly pink head.
"I got it, Cosmos Dad."
"Heh. Did ya think I was goofy?"
"No." She kissed his beard, giggling.
"No?" He wrapped his arm around her side. "You don't sound that convinced"
"Well, okay" she grinned. "But maybe I like goofy. I like goofy a lot."
Greg leant up on tiptoes to brush a chunk of bubblegum curls out of her face. His eyes smiled over the top of his sunglasses.
"Let's hope this little sproglet takes after his mother in the charm department."
"Sproglet?" she asked, curious.
"It's what my uncle Owen calls kids. I'm not sure what a sprog is but a sproglet's a little one." He rested a hand on her stomach. "Hey sproglet. It's Dad."
Rose laughed deep and hearty. "Greg, you say the strangest things."She placed a big pink hand over his.
He chuckled at that. "What? What would you prefer, little nipper, baby dumpling, tiny tot?!" He grinned wide and toothy.
"Hey whaddya call a little rock, Rose?" He asked. "A Pebble?"
"A Pebble!?" Rose doubled over snorting with laughter. The human startled back with amused surprise. "Greg, that's a gem insult!"
He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh jeez, maybe not pebble then."
"What don't we call him Steven? We chose his name after all." She patted her belly fondly with the hand that wasn't holding the camera.
Greg shrugged. "Well that's not a nickname now is it? That's his actual name!"
Rose was still laughing. Big pink curls bobbing with the light sea breeze.
"You're so wonderful, Dad Universe." She leant down to kiss him on the lips this time.
Greg smiled to himself. "Let's go on with the video."
They played about on the beach for a bit more, filming the birds and the crabs. Sitting in the sun together and enjoying the warmth.
Greg picked up his guitar and started picking out a little aimless tune, likely a new composition, if Rose was to guess.
She looked over the beach. It was beautiful. Clear blue sky. Water sparkling like a geode. Earth was always beautiful to her, because it was different. Because it was filled with life.
She glanced back at Greg who had attracted an audience of sea gulls. Rose chuckled. She picked up the camera again.
She loved him. She loved them. She loved everyone and everything so much. The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks before she even hit record. This baby. She loved Steven in such a raw and primal way it made her gem throb. Her son, her little boy. She wouldn't get to hold him. She wouldn't get to say 'I love you' but Stars, if she wasn't going to say it now.
The soft white sand kissed her bare feet. Greg sat playing his guitar staring out to sea.
The waves crashed. She hit record. Love rushed up from her belly until it flooded her entire being. A gull cried out overhead. The waves crashed again. Her voice splintered with emotion.
"Isn't it remarkable, Steven?"
Peace
Peridot, was on her back soldering the underside of the drill. It was relatively quiet. Pearl was fiddling with the wiring. The larger 'Greg' human was walking around aimlessly occaisionally emitting high-pitched whistling sounds, the meaning of which was lost on her. Perhaps the sequence of whistles was some part of a greater code. If it was a code the Pearl was not responding to it.
The patter of running footsteps caught her attention. Steven and Amethyst appeared by the fence, Steven stretching the fabric of his t-shirt out to carry something.
"Dad, Pearl!" He called out, puffing slightly.
Greg turned around. "Yeah-huh, Stewball?"
"What is it, Steven?" said Pearl.
"Me and Amethyst found a whole bunch of lemons on the trees two fields over!"
"Oh... that's nice." Pearl's attention was back on the drill.
Greg was all smiles. He gave a double thumbs up. "Well, kiddo, you know what you gotta do when life gives you lemons!"
"Make Lemonade!" his son cried.
Peridot frowned. She lifted her welding visor. "What exactly is a lemon?" She peered out, scrutinizing the oval yellow objects Steven was carrying in the fabric of his T-shirt. "Is it a kind of projectile, or an artillery device?"
Steven laughed shaking his head. "No, Peridot. It's not a weapon."
The purple gem moved to stand next to him.
"It's a fruit, Peri Berry. It tastes good and junk." As if to illustrate Amethyst took a lemon from the piled and scoffed the whole thing peel and all.
"Mm-mm." Her features crinkled up in to a strange mask, with sucked-in cheeks and puckered lips. "Love it when I can't feel my face."
Peridot raised an eyebrow in scorn and scrunched up her nose. "Oh, that 'eating' business again. Disgusting".
Amethyst shrugged "Whatever dude, leaves more for us!"
"Peridot! Do you wanna make lemonade with Amethyst and me?"
She frowned again. If her assumptions were correct that meant some kind of by-product of the yellow ovoid objects Steven had collected.
"Why? We don't need another break; we're losing valuable working time!
Amethyst rolled her eyes. "C'mon P-dot, Pearl and Greg have this covered. When Garnet gets back she can help them out."
Peridot looked at Pearl. The thin gem gave her a stern look. Not wanting to elicit her wrath again Peridot agreed. "Ugh. Fine. But first, explain 'Lemonade'."
Steven perking up at that, sang his explanation "Add sugar sweet, to citrus sour and mix with water for the lemon power!" He swung his hips about to the melody.
Peridot blinked, unimpressed.
"That makes no sense at all" she hissed to Amethyst.
"It doesn't have to, dude." Amethyst said with a laugh. "Look at him, he's happy!"
Peridot watched the boy dancing around, still carrying over a dozen lemons in his shirt. She frowned.
"Why? We haven't made anything yet."
Amethyst shrugged. "Doesn't Matter, Steven's excited."
Peridot, sighed. So what if Steven was excited? The boy found dirt interesting.
"Hey Dad, do you have anything in the barn we can make lemonade in?"
"I'll have a look, Steve-o. You take those lemons over to the picnic table."
"Okay! Come on Peridot!" The boy grabbed at her wrist to get her to move. With a sigh she followed him over to the picnic table around the side of the barn.
Steven laid the lemons on the table and pulled his shirt back down over his gem.
Greg came over with a large plastic pitcher and a wooden spoon. "Here you go, kiddo. I've also got sugar and a bottle of water from my van." He put down a bottle and another white container down on the table.
"You didn't find a lemon squeezer in there did you?"
Greg shook his head "Nope, Sorry. You'll have to make do by hand."
Don't worry, Ste-man I've got you!" With a flash of light, Amethyst transformed into a small glass hat-shaped object. A 'lemon squeezer' Peridot assumed.
"Sweet! Thanks Amethyst!"
Greg raised his eyebrows in concern. "Okay, I'm gonna leave so I'm not weirded put drinking that lemonade later."
"Thanks Dad!" Said Steven.
"So what you do to make lemonade." Peridot asked.
"Well if you can cut the lemons in half, I'll squeeze the juice out, okay?"
Peridot nodded, taking the knife her offered. That seemed a simple enough task. Something better suited to a Pearl, but she wasn't complaining.
They worked together in silence for several minutes Steven happily humming along to a song in his head and Peridot focusing on halving all the fruit. Still, something was bothering her.
"Steven…" She began, watching the boy squeeze the fruit on the 'lemon squeezer' Amethyst had shape-shifted into. His soft face was lined with concentration, evidently dedicated to the task.
He glanced up at for a fraction of a second before looking back at his hands. "Yeees?"
How did she phrase what she really wanted to ask? "Why do you make lemonade?"
He grinned big and toothy. "To have a refreshing drink, to share with you friends!"
"Well, yes. But to what purpose? Earth is still going to be destroyed if you don't stop the cluster."
The child's cheery expression faltered. He looked to the floor and took a deep breath in.
"I know that, but I still wanted to make this lemonade." he said.
Peridot was even more confused. "But why? It serves no purpose except to make you happy in the moment!"
"Exactly." Steven emptied the juice into the pitcher and paused before he started on the other half of the lemon. He sighed. "Look, Peridot. You might not understand this yet but happiness is a reason in itself."
"Well, sure. Not a lasting one, though if the end of the world is imminent!"
Steven smiled, a little lopsided and a little sad. "Okay. But think about it. It's good to be happy, even if you know you're going to be sad later. It doesn't mean you shouldn't try to be happy right now."
Peridot scrunched up her nose in frustration. "But Why bother?"
The boy shrugged. "Why do people fight, Peridot? What do you think the Gems and other people of Earth want to fight for?"
The gem considered this. Gem warfare tended to be about planets and power. But the aliens, the other non-gem species she'd never really considered. Still, she hazarded a guess. "T-to stay alive?"
Steven nodded enthusiastically, spraying lemon juice everywhere.
"Yeah! And why do they want to stay alive?"
She pulled a face. "Isn't that just basic sapient nature? You organics have to survive to propagate your species!"
The boy pulled an awkward face. A light blush rose to his cheeks. His eyes slid away.
"Well uh- I don't really know much about that… but I can you that I want to stay alive so I can be happy, and I can make other people happy!" He picked up another lemon half and moved to start squeezing that one.
"Are you doing ok, Amethyst?" he asked the lemon squeezer.
The gems eyes were squeezed shut to avoid juice getting in her eyes.
"I'm fine little dude, keep on juicing."
"War isn't about happiness!" Peridot burst out, squeezing her hands to little green fists.
Steven shrugged "No. But Peace should be. - Can you stir the pitcher for me, Peridot?"
Peridot picked up the wooden spoon holding the spoon bit in her fist.
Steven moved to correct her. "Other way round. You hold onto the skinny bit"
"Oh." She turned the spoon around. "Like this?"
Steven nodded. Peridot stirred the juice in the pitcher while he poured more in and added something called the 'sugar' which appeared to be a crystalline sucrose powder.
"So… you're saying… we make this 'Lemonade' to be happy. Even though we're fighting the cluster?"
"Yes." Steven said, juicing another lemon. "If we never knew happiness then we'd never fight for it. It's about raising… what's the word? Moirail?"
"Morale, dude." Said Amethyst, the lemon squeezer. "It's about raising morale."
Peridot considered this more, in silence.
Once the lemonade making was done, Peridot was left still thinking, at the picnic table. Steven's words bringing up concepts she'd never really considered before. She pulled out her recorder.
"Log Date 7 13 2: Addendum. I have helped Steven and Amethyst make an Earth Beverage for the rest of the team. I'm uncertain as to the benefits of this, but Steven assures me they are many." She released the record button. Watching the others move about.
Amethyst took a seat next to her at the picnic table. "Here, Peri. You should have a glass. You helped make it after all." She said, with a small grin.
Peridot took the plastic cup Amethyst offered her. She took a tentative sip. It was tangy, and made her tongue tingle. She didn't feel happier necessarily but the others looked like they were enjoying it. Steven was sitting in Garnet's lap laughing with his father.
A very small, quiet voice in the back of her head informed her that she didn't want the cluster to destroy these people. She sipped the drink once more and tried not to think about it too hard.
War
Terrifying. Ha! That's what they had called her.
Terrifying. Renegade. Defective. Dangerous.
Powerful, that implied. Deserving of fear, of caution. No doubt they'd quash all record of her from their databases. White Diamond would replace her with a newer model, a clone. Grind the rumors into a fine powder, lest her sisters hear the call of personhood.
Her sisters. She didn't think of them often or the breath caught in her throat. She had no ties of kinship to them, except that she knew the plight of a Pearl like no other Gem could. They would offer them a choice when the time came. The Merciful Rose Quartz would show them they could be their own Gem, like she had shown her. But that was in the future when the battle was won. No, for now she would make do with being a rumor, a legend, the Renegade Pearl.
War didn't come easy to her. She'd been programmed to dance, not fight; but her feet were light and delicate, perfect for waltzing, so with them she'd learnt to parry and feint and pierce projected skin. She was becoming something new, something fantastic. She was becoming a weapon.
She couldn't summon a weapon of her own yet, but she was learning. Rose said it could take centuries for a non-military gem to learn how to summon an object. She had no way of knowing, if pearls, decorated only with a knowledge of domestic chores, fashion, dance and high society Diamond Culture, could ever produce a sword or spear in the style of a quartz warrior.
Rose taught her some of her craft, other styles of fighting she'd developed herself. Even the humans, even the primitive hunter-gatherer things that they were, had techniques and styles of fighting. She watched, observed, learned. Then when she had time to train she worked herself to exhaustion. She had to be perfect for Rose. She had to be able to defend her!
So used to belonging to someone, a diamond's property, a decoration or trinket. She was surprised when Rose Quartz assured her she didn't belong to her. She stopped in terms of belonging to and started thinking about belonging with. She gained her own purpose and a goal: to fight for Rose Quartz's rebellion. Pearl couldn't place when the change occurred.
She was training one afternoon. In her leader's garden, under a cheery tree. The leaves flowering soft and pink made her feel at ease. A sense of reassurance and familiarity in this setting. She been meditating for days now. Trying to replicate the glow and frequency as Rose when she summoned her shield. She closed her eyes to focus. A soft breeze blew some petals down and couple rested on her head. Frustrated she brushed them off.
She thought of her leader, her Quartz, her liberator. She thought of the war yet to come, the long grueling path ahead, the Gems who would see this planet's beauty and join her in arms. Pearl inhaled deeply. She concentrated. She thought of Rose. She moved slowly and deliberately in flowing movements feeling out her surroundings dancing around the trees feeling out the dimensions of her training field. Her breath was steady her steps graceful and calculated.
She thought of the war, of the battles she would fight in wielding her weapon like another limb and extension of her being.
Her gem began to glow.
She glided forward maneuvering her body into a balanced arabesque. Slowly she bought a hand up to her gem, and pulled.
The spear was white and blue, and it sparkled in her hands. The weight was perfect, intuitive, deadly. She closed her hands around the shaft. She'd done it. Tears of relief rolled down her cheeks. Rose would be pleased.
Let no gem tell her what a pearl could or couldn't do. She was coming for them, and she would be ready for war.
Earth.
Her earliest memory was thinking how warm the earth felt, it encased her like a womb. So warm and safe why would she ever want to leave? She knew little then. she knew that she was an Amethyst and that one day, some day, she'd have to leave her hole. But she kept on putting it off because all she could feel from outside was that it was colder out there. Her hole was safe and warm. It was her home. What good could come from leaving?
One day however, the earth finally grew cold. The soothing familiar buzz of the ground had died out; it was as if the hole was dead. No longer happier inside, she finally braved the outside for the first time.
Clawing out of the dirt she emerged into the open, small and alone and knowing nothing. There was supposed be others, wasn't there? Whispered a niggle of doubt. She didn't know for sure. There Kindergarten was barren and alone. Maybe it was meant to be like this? No one was coming for her. Maybe she was supposed to wait.
She played by the big rock outside, talking to herself about the things she can remember. Ghosts of facts about soldiers and bad guys and fighting in some great battle. It's never stayed long enough for her to understand anything really. Sometimes she just practiced backflips and kicks to pass the time.
She didn't know how much time passed until the Gems found her, Garnet guesses somewhere between two to five years in solitude. They found her wild and afraid and so alone.
"Would you like to come with us, little one?" The gem who found her first was huge and beautiful, with hair, such hair Amethyst had never seen before. She wanted to hide in it forever and be safe.
Behind her stood a wiry pale gem with an expression of disgust.
"But she's from the Kindergarten! She's one of the gems we've been fighting all these years."
The beautiful pink lady had frowned. "Pearl, please. She's all alone."
"This place has been dead for years now." Said the larger, slightly scary figure with the dark glasses. "They probably left her because of her size. She's no bigger than a Ruby. That's not what they're growing here."
"She's a soldier quartz, a warrior, a weapon!' The grumpy one had spat.
"She doesn't have to be, Pearl. I'd expect you of all people to understand that."
The skinny gem went silent. She folded her arms across her chest. Amethyst wasn't sure about her. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong at all. She just played by her rocks and slept in her hole. There was nothing wrong about that, was there?
She panicked. Did these new gems know things she didn't? Was she bad? Was that why she was all alone!?
"I'm not! I'm one of those things! I'm just Amethyst!" She said because it was the only thing she really knew for sure.
The woman with the amazing clouds of hair crouched down to wipe some mud off the young gem's cheek, with a finger. She smiled and it was a luminous thing to behold.
"Amethyst. My name is Rose Quartz. My friends and I make up the Crystal Gems. We protect the Earth."
She didn't know what that meant so she'd just nodded.
"Would you like to come with us, back to our temple."
Amethyst looked around, at the dirt. At her playing rock and the hole where she had spawned. She wouldn't be alone if she went with them.
"Can you teach me things?" She asked, nervously.
"Of Course." Rose smiled. "Come with us, we'll teach you all we know." She held out two huge pink hands as big as Amethyst's head. The young gem step forward and Rose lifted her up
"Welcome to the family, Amethyst." She said gently. "Earth is your home too. I'm sure you'll be happy with us."
Earth wasn't just where she was made, it was where she found her family. It was everything that made Amethyst who she was.
Peridot approached the hill. Steven was still sitting on the grass with his face all scrunched up, but now he was wrapped in the soft Cookie Cat blanket he'd got from the Gems for his birthday.
The Pearl sitting with him, her head resting on the boy's shoulder. She was at an angle but Peridot could discern a strange soft expression on her face. A human emotion Peridot couldn't easily identify. Pearl noticed her approaching with anger and distaste, upper lip curling up in scowl while her spindly arms tightened protectively around the child's middle.
Peridot left them alone, hanging her head to avoid further eye contact. She moved back inside the barn and sat down behind her robot. So much for talking to Steven about this. She doubted he'd listen anyway. She pulled out her tape recorder and stared at it, disgusted.
Life and death and love and birth,
Her own voice playing out from the rectangular device. The lessons Steven had taught her. All the creatures she'd seen here, Steven, the Greg human, chickens, cows, ladybugs. Did Yellow Diamond not know about all these organic lifeforms? Surely she was just uniformed. It would be unlikely that a lofty being of pure logic like Yellow Diamond would want to risk the destruction of valuable resources. Surely Earth had much more to offer Homeworld. It certainly had more to offer Peridot.
If Earth was destroyed there would be no more lemonade, no more music or Camp Pining Hearts. She'd never get to watch that Crying Breakfast show Steven was telling her about. She wouldn't be just Peridot any more. She'd go back to her facet name and cut number. She'd go back to being no one. Replaceable.
And peace and war on the planet Earth.
No, she was going about this the wrong way. Yellow Diamond would fix this. She was certain of it. Perhaps she'd even commend Peridot for her investigations. Take her log tapes for research and name her the first ever Gem Ambassador of Earth. Her, an Ambassador! Oh Jasper and that Lazuli would be so jealous! To be bested by a technician, a Peridot! She rolled over on her back giggling, little feet kicking at the night sky in amusement. Garnet now leaning against the wall, shot her a stern look and shushed her, another scowl sent her way.
What did Peridot do to her anyway?
Peridot's laughter died off. She didn't want to make the Gems angrier than they already were.
Maybe, if she asked, Homeworld would even ease up on the Crystal Gems?
They'd find Pearl fascinating! Surely a Pearl who knew how to fight would be useful, except them maybe the other Pearls would get ideas … No, Maybe not.
But a permafusion, they had nothing like that on Homeworld! maybe they'd study her to learn more about fusion…. or more likely they just split her apart as Garnet would never agree to unfuse.
Well at least Amethyst, a quartz was relatively normal. At least she'd have a place on Homeworld. Though not a major one when she was overcooked and had the same hardness as a standard Ruby soldier…Amethyst didn't strike her as someone who took orders well.
Oh Stars above, who was she trying to kid? Homeworld hated everything that made the Crystal Gems who they were. If they found out about them they'd annihilate them for sure. Except perhaps Garnet and Steven. They might take them back to Homeworld whether they wanted to go or not.
Who knew what kind of monstrosities they'd attempt to perform on Steven? They probably try to dissect the child! No one had ever come across a naturally occurring Gem hybrid before and the scientific ramifications of Steven's mere existence would be ground-breaking... and probably Steven-breaking too. Peridot shuddered involuntarily. It would be better if she avoided mentioning the gems at all.
Is there anything that's worth more?
She looked back at the child on the hill. Steven had been so patient with her. No doubt the human would see her action as a betrayal there wasn't anything she could do about that, that was his own problem. Still, she wanted to go home, to be of use to her Diamond. That was all she was good for! She had been distracted by singing and shorts and all this friendship. She needed to get back to the task at hand.
Than peace and love on the planet Earth?
She waited until Steven and the Gems had regrouped over by the drill, watching, waiting by the barn door. Then she summoned the communicator smoothing her green fingers over the stone once more.
She needed to make the call.