Log Date 4-11-18

Chapter 1

Log Date 4-11-18, this is Peridot, Facet 2F5L Cut- no..." She hesitated and stopped the recorder to glance at her surroundings. There wasn't really a point, not now. She couldn't really even consider herself a facet or cut anything anymore. She was in too deep this time. Clearing her throat, the green gem continued,"This is Peridot..." She paused again and took a small breath, "I am currently being held in a containment field on a Homeworld scouting ship awaiting take off. Status report, I…"

Peridot's voice hung in the air as she momentarily set the recorder down in her lap and stretched out her legs. She examined the bruises and scrapes she had acquired over the past few hours, she felt a hard break in the surface of her visor, wincing as her finger came in contact with the slight crack that webbed across her gem.

It had been a routine mission, one that Garnet had allowed her to go on by herself for the first time! She had spent the previous week pleading with Pearl and Garnet that she was ready. Even Steven and Connie had been allowed to go on a mission by themselves and with her ferrokinesis powers she felt like she was ready. Pearl had been a bit hesitant but Garnet had believed in her.

'So much for being a Crystal Gem, Dot.' Peridot thought bitterly, curling her knees back up to her chest. Honestly this situation would be almost laughably ironic if she wasn't so scared out of her mind.

A little over two years ago, she was the one who had been working for Homeworld and had trapped the Crystal Gems in containment cells very similar to the one that she was sitting in. Now she was separated from her friends, alone and on her way to what was most likely her death which was the same fate she tried to bring upon the others. It was almost poetic.

The humming of the containment field broke her out of her train of thought and Peridot picked up the recorder off her lap and examined the worn down piece of plastic. It was interesting that they hadn't taken that away from her, though she wasn't that surprised. A year ago she wouldn't have worried about any 'earth junk' either, Peridot was honestly grateful that they had dismissed it so easily. At least she would have something to get her thoughts out too before they carted her off to Homeworld for good. Peridot turned the recorder in her hand and examined each scratch and discrepancy that had been accumulated on it during her adventures.

It had pieces of metal welded into the back from when Lapis had broken it a year ago, dings from training accidents, water damage from snowball fights and a few sticky spots where long ripped off stickers had been from Steven's 'Crying Breakfast Friends' sticker book he had pasted on in an attempt to seal the few cracks that had webbed from the battery pouch. She didn't consider herself a sentimental gem, Earth hadn't made her go that soft but… Peridot clutched the recorder, anyone else would have called it junk but to her- it was memories.

Clicking the button, she listened for the familiar rewind blurb before continuing, "Status report;" She continued, clearing her throat, "-a few hematomas, superficial at most but there is a slight hairline fracture in the upper right table of the surface of my gem through the first facet." The crack lines were very thin and honestly, she'd probably be shattered and recycled by Homeworld before it became a problem by the way things were looking. "Limbs and torso attached and mostly undamaged, slight ache in the left dorsum of my hand where I presumably tried to stop my fall..."

A small, dark part of her thoughts questioned whether the Crystal Gems would even notice that she didn't come back from her mission, that they would just assume that she ran off to Homeworld again. She wouldn't be surprised if they thought that she betrayed them again, if she were in their shoes she would be suspicious too. First mission alone and the gem who betrayed you in the past goes missing? She had gone to the Diamond Authority once before, what was stopping her from doing it again?

No, it was best to assume she was on her own.

"It seems to be a Private Red Eye." Peridot tonelessly assessed, absently feeling along the insides of the cold walls of her cell. She hadn't seen much when she was dragged aboard. All she really remembered was the crackle of electricity and a sharp thwack from behind. By the dull ache in her lower back, she assumed she had been hit with a destabilizer and had fallen face first into the ground. But even without a good look at the interior of the ship, the vibrations of the turbines and the humming of the field levels were about three degrees above standard issues. She was lucky enough to be able to profile such a high level ship when she had gone on the mission with Jasper to Earth. Even something like a Private Red Eye was far above her rank. Only higher level gems had used these kinds of ships, non technician and warrior class type gems, which made her wonder... "Why would they send one of these after a lone peridot?" She mused, speaking into her recorder, "It's not-"

The loud woosh of the metal doors interrupted her recording. Peridot threw her hand up to cover her eyes from the harsh light that beamed through the open doors.

"-iamond! You'll be lucky if you're stationed on the outskirts of the Triquetra if not shattered for your complete-"

The voice became louder and louder and Peridot put her hand back down as a few figures appeared in the light and walked through the doors. Peridot scooted forward and stretched her neck in an attempt to get a better look.

"We were tricked!" A new voice spoke, Peridot now could see that it came from a Ruby soldier, the gem gleaming from its left eye which looked vaguely familiar. "Those Crystal Ge-"

"I don't care what your excuses are." A sharp cry rang out as the ruby was shoved by the into the side wall next to Peridot's cell, cutting off any protests, "You can take that up with my Diamond after I round up the rest of your pitiful squadron."

Peridot strained forward to try and get a look at her captor with no luck. The ruby fell back down to the floor and there was a harsh hum that filled the air. The red gem was thrown into a containment cell next to her own and there was a quiet flash of light as a new barrier came into place. Creeping up, Peridot cautiously looked out into the hallway and caught a glimpse of her assumed captor. She didn't get a chance to get much more than that before the mysterious entity disappeared into the next hallway.

Peridot let out a breath, "Continuing, log date 4-11-18," She spoke into her recorder, bringing it up to her lips, "Still stuck in confinement but it seems that my captor has taken another; a ruby. It is assumed that our captor is looking for an entire squadron of rubies-" The green gem paused and glanced fervently at the gem sprawled out in the cell next to her own, "Luckily, it appears not to be the same ruby that makes up the permafusion, though that is apparent without the necessary indication of gem location." Peridot let out a small breath of amusement, "That is a very apparent by the lack of rage and singing, so obviously the permafusion is very much likely to still be-"

A loud groan pierced through the thin layers of the barriers and Peridot turned to meet the eyes or eye in this case of an angry gem.

"You!" The ruby spat, pointing angrily at Peridot as the gem pushed itself off the floor.

"Me?" Peridot squawked indignantly as the ruby slammed itself against the side wall of the cell in an attempt to break through to get through to her.

"You did this to me!" The red gem spat, gritting its teeth as the gem bounced back and slammed against the floor once again, "You and those Crystal Gems! Why I otta-"

"I don't even know you!" Peridot shrieked, scooting back away from the angry gem that was raging on the other side of what she realized to be a very thin layer of electricity.

The ruby again bounced harshly off the barrier and Peridot winced as electricity coursed up through the ruby. The red gem panted and slumped back against the wall, "But it's not like it matters now." The ruby muttered, scowling as a pudgy hand ran over the gleaming gem in its eye socket.

Peridot gave the fellow prisoner a long look before it finally clicked in her mind, "You're from that ruby squadron that came after me a year ago!" She cried indignantly, standing up to give the gem a suspicious look. "You're the one that tried to kill Steven aren't you?!"

"You think that matters now?" The ruby let out a harsh growl and gave Peridot a cutting look that sent shivers down her spine. The green gem backed up a few steps but much to her confusion, the rather violate ruby instead slumped down against the back wall. "You don't get it do you?!" The red gem spat, slamming a fist down into the floor, wincing as the bruises ached with the action. "Of course you wouldn't… You Crystal Gems don't know anything."

Peridot gave a suspicious stare, "Know what?" She haughtily asked, insulted at the implication. She hated it when any gem, especially one that could easily be considered under her in rank would blatantly call her out for being stupid, only Pearl was allowed to do that. And even then, she didn't like it, she prided herself on being the smartest one out of the Crystal Gems.

"I failed!" The ruby snarled, "My squadron, my team we failed in our mission." The harsh tone tapered out to a solemn whimper. Peridot gulped as an eye burned into her own, the ruby's brow creased, "And to have a ship sent after you from Homeworld itself is-"

"-the ultimate shame." Peridot spoke the familiar words in unison with the other, rubbing the faded edges of the yellow diamond insignia on her uniform that she had once taken so much pride in. A whirlwind of emotions ran through her. She could still remember the first time she had come to earth. It was a mission just like any other and just like any other gem, she had prided herself on fulfilling her mission...

Peridot stared at the dejected ruby and scooched a little closer to the barrier between them. She remember the first feelings of confusion and anger when she had first found her robonoids destroyed and the warp pads in disrepair. The feeling of failure when she ran back to Homeworld to report her inability to complete her mission. Peridot ran her fingers over her cracked visor and grit her teeth, remembering the condescending looks when she had come back to Homeworld empty handed with only the circuitry of her broken limb enhancers to show for her efforts.

Peridot had no doubts that the other gem was experiencing the same kind of hysteria and panic that had coursed through her when the ship with Jasper went down. Peridot herself could look back on her own sense of loneliness and anger when she realized just how alone she was on Earth. Her own hard thoughts of bitterness towards the Crystal Gems and towards this world in general when she had lost her precious limb enhancers for good. And then when she had finally contacted Homeworld… Peridot took a small breath, the rejection of your Diamond and the crushing sense of uselessness on your shoulders, that was the hardest thing of all. The feeling made you want to crawl into a hole and never come out.

Peridot could remember it all, she wasn't that far removed from Homeworld like the others, they were still distant memories; she could still vividly recall what happened when you didn't fulfill your mission. How it felt to have your gem on the line at every moment.

"We're going to be shattered… aren't we?" The ruby murmured with uncharacteristic seriousness, "My squadron, my crew, all of us…"

It wasn't a question.

Peridot let out a small breath through her nose, she was well aware of that. She's been on the 'to be shattered' list since she had been captured by the Crystal Gems. Every gem knew that if you were caught by the enemy, and that if they didn't kill you, Homeworld would for your incompetence. It was the same for those rubies, they had been tricked by them not once but twice.

The green gem gave the ruby a long look, "It doesn't have to be that way." She blurted, surprised at the words coming out of her mouth, "We could just-

The ruby turned a fierce glare to the green gem, "Don't you dare-" The red gem seethed, pushing up onto its knees, "Don't you dare tell me how things can and can't be." The ruby was now standing to meet Peridot's crouched position, eye to eye. "I deserve to be shattered, I failed my mission but if the Diamonds are merciful then I will have a second chance at redemption!"

The ruby was shaking with anger and Peridot backed away from the smaller gem's frightening form, "You ran away from responsibility and from your duties because you were scared. Don't drag me down with your treacherous plans! You're only going to make it worse. Don't you think I know what could happen to my squadron, my friends?!" By now the ruby was crying, fat tears ran down the gem's face and pudgy red hands dug into the material of it's uniform.

"We could escape!" Peridot spoke up with more bravado than she felt as the lump in her throat grew more and more prominent as the weight of the situation came crashing down on her.

"Escape?" The ruby sneered, "Look around!" The gem spat, throwing its arms wildly into the air. "If you haven't noticed, we are in the middle of a containment field on a ship that is going back to Homeworld.

Peridot paused for a moment and she looked around the small cell she was in. The other gem was right, according to all calculation, all previous documentation, escaping without being recaptured and destabilized was very slim. Without any knowledge of the layout of the ship or weapons to defend themselves and with their previous injuries on top of that made it almost impossible odds.

"That's what I thought." The one eyed gem muttered, moving to sit back on its haunches. "You might as well give up."

Peridot lightly dragged her fingers across the raised veins in the mechanics and focused on the vibrations that echoed through the wall. The energy in the containment field grid ran all along the sides, webbing out into the ceiling just beneath the steel coated metal. She could feel the vibrations echo through each vein. Peridot looked down at the dented recorder in her hand and resolve filled her. She gripped the recorder in her fist and felt the metal pop out from the plastic covering. "I'm a Crystal Gem now." She affirmed, adjusting the cracked visor on her face so her gem was sticking out. She couldn't just give up.

The ruby leveled her with a look, "If you're smart," The gem muttered, "-you would stop talking like that and keep your mouth shut. If you're only considered damaged, you still gotta a chance at going in for retraining and still making it out with your gem intact."

Peridot ignored the words. She torqued the plastic off the side of where it was attached and disassembled the inside so most of the metal was out. Peridot stuck the rest of the plastic inside a small pocket on her uniform. Holding the small rods in her hands, she focused herself and worked to reshape the metal. A small glow weakly flickered from her gem and Peridot took a sharp gasp as a spike of pain burst from the cracks in her facet. Ignoring the stinging sensation that was emulating from her gem, she focused in elongating the metal. For a few moment everything was quiet as the smallest of the Crystal Gems strained in her task. Slowly but surely, the thick hunks of metal were pulled into a singular, long, sharp point.

"What are you doing?! Didn't you hear what I just said!" The harsh voice of the soldier hissed through the cells, "Just quit it already! You can't escape and the only thing you're going to do is get both of us in trouble!"

"I am a Crystal Gem." Peridot repeated, gripping the deadly sharp shank in her fist, "I don't know when to give up!" On that note she stabbed the metal into the side of the wall and into the containment energy grid, smiling as horror filled the ruby's face. Steven would of high-fived her for that one.

"What are you doing!" The other scrambled back, "You'll never be able to get-"

The next words were cut out by a shuddering screech of metal and a blinding blast of sickly yellow light. In the next moment, the containment field barrier went down and Peridot stumbled out of her smoke filled cell. Shaking the ash from her smouldering hair, she let out a cackle and scrambled up onto her feet. Her uniform was burnt in a few places and she was absolutely covered in grime but overall her gem seemed to have sustained little damage.

"Ha! Take that you stupid clods!" Peridot smugly gestured, doing a small victory dance. The ruby gaped openly as the younger gem let out another manic laugh.

The red gem stood and pressed herself as close to the outside containment field as possible without getting electrocuted. "But how?" She muttered, carefully keeping her own hands away from the violate barrier.

"It appears my escape was a success!" She preened with her usual narcissistic boasting as she scrambled up to examine the controls, "Not unexpected due the the genius that I am," Peridot grinned and began to fiddle with the screen, "These clods won't know what hit them!"

"You-"

"I'll have you out in just a second." Peridot loudly exclaimed, swiping her hand across the screen. There was a low shuttering and the green gem watched with glee as the containment energy barrier faded until it was completely gone. "See!" She boasted, turning in her chair to examine the controls once again, "I told you I could get you out. Escaping this cloddy place will be a cinch!"

There was no response and Peridot rolled her eyes. "Didn't you hear what I said?!" She spoke, throwing her arms in the air. "I said I'm going to help you escape! The least you could do would be to thank me!"

"Escape hmm?" There was a slight chuckle and a silence fell over the area, "Well isn't that interesting. I would've never expected a Peridot and a Ruby to ever team up."

Peridot spun around at the deep sultry voice and almost fell off the stool out of shock.

"You-" The ruby strained, their face turning even more red as their air passage was blocked from the constricting hand shoved against their throat. The red gem didn't get another chance to choke out another word before the steel like hand carelessly fell away and their body slumped lifelessly against the floor.

"Then again," The Homeworld gem remarked, stepping over the body of the fallen ruby, "I've never really expected much of an Era Two gem."