Story is rated T for language and mild, frequent violence. Trigger warnings will be labeled as needed and chapter recaps will be provided for those who choose to skip.

A/N: I haven't gotten to making a cover for this story yet, so if one of you guys want to show off your cover making skills and allow me to use your image, I'll dedicate the story to you. Updates will be coming at a steady pace (either daily or every other day-ish) since I've got a big chunk of this written.

As always, enjoy the story and tell me what you think! I love hearing about your opinions!

Happy reading,

Connor

What are you doing here?" Peridot demanded, regaining her bearings. "You're supposed to be on Homeworld."

"Blue Diamond sent me." Prasiolite stated. "Because you're too incompetent to handle this mission on your own."

"Incompetent?! I'm not incompetent! It's this ancient gem technology-"

"Enough with the excuses, Peridot." She interrupted. "I've been sent to assist you, so either you cooperate, or I take over your mission in its entirety. Diamond Authority orders."

"Alright, whatever."

"What are your plans?" Prasiolite inquired.

"To reuse the ancient technology and reactivate the Kindergarten. So far I've been unsuccessful."

"I can see that." The olive gem paced the room, the moonlight encasing her in shadow. "And just how do you plan to reactivate the Kindergarten? All of the gem shards were used for fusion experiments back on Homeworld.." She shuddered internally at the thought of it, but retained her composure.

"I have... other plans." Peridot answered vaguely. "Plans where Gem shards are unnecessary."

As if on cue, Peridot's reformed Robonoids entered the room, emptying their cargo onto the floor.

"A human, Peridot? Are you fucking insane? We're not supposed to get involved with the humans. You know this."

"She won't be human for long, Prasiolite. Not if my experiments work." Peridot turned to her Robonoids. "Place her in the cell, and give her another dosage. She can't be awake until everything is prepared."

Wordlessly, they followed her command, locking her in a cell and jabbing a syringe into the back of her shoulder.

"What's your plan, Peridot?" Prasiolite demanded, eyes narrowing. "This is going against your orders."

"Orders never meant anything to me." Peridot proceeded. "I plan to inject molecular gem pieces into the human's body, and place it in the incubator, where she'll remain for a week. Her human body will enter stasis, and the gem will develop. Once this process is complete, we remove her, and implant at the injection site. Then she will be under our complete control."

Prasiolite nodded. "And if anything goes wrong?" She prompted.

"We dispose of her and try again with another subject."

She nodded again, staying silent. The experiment was basically torture, and this violated her ethics greatly, but she had no other option. Maintaining cover was her main priority, but maybe she'd try to fix things afterwards.

"What of her feelings?" She questioned.

"The sedation that puts her in stasis will temporarily numb her nerve endings." Peridot replied matter-of-factly. "As for emotions, well, those should go away when the implant is installed."

Connie's eyes slowly fluttered open, the darkness of the base surrounding her. She attempted to cry out, but her voice was dry and gravelly, lodged in her throat. She couldn't move her arms or legs, or anything else. Terror slowly coursed its way through her, her heart pounding with adrenaline.

"Ah. It's awake." Peridot smirked, looming over her.

"I'm not an it." Connie growled, her fear hidden in the sharpness of her voice.

The green gem laughed humorlessly. "You're not even worthy of that title, waste of existence. Although your cockiness is quite amusing." She hauled Connie up off the floor by the arm, producing a dagger from her weapons holster. She laughed again upon seeing Connie's eyes widen in fear, and quickly slit the ropes around her ankles. Keeping a tight grip, she dragged her across the room.

Unused to being upright, Connie stumbled after her, unable to keep up with her pace. She attempted to yank her arm away from the green gem, but to no avail. She was no match for her ironclad grip.

"Weakling human." Peridot scoffed. "I thought you were better than that." She unbound her wrists, then quickly strapped her to a table before she could regain mobility.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Connie protested.

"Shut up, human, or I'll make this more painful for you than it already is."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll just be making some improvements." Peridot turned her back, and the young girl took in her surroundings. Glowing pink, yellow, and blue vials lined the walls, bubbles floating in the liquids in a similar fashion to that of lava lamps. The motion reflected in the shadows that stretched along the walls. Fragments of shattered gemstone covered the desk, the surface littered with crystalline shards. The green gem wielded a syringe, examining it for a moment, filling it with the pink liquid. She scooped up the gem shards in the palm of her hand, sifting through it, selecting the smallest of pieces. She poured them into the vial and sealed it, twirling it around in her fingertips.

"A masterpiece in the making." She murmured, a dark smirk creeping across her lips. She approached the human girl, finding humor in the terror shining in her eyes. She loosened the strap restraining her right wrist, gripping her forearm tightly. She injected the serum into the top of her wrist, slowly easing the fluid into her body, eyes shining with excitement. The human girl screamed in pain, but Peridot paid her no attention, instead strapping her wrist back down and making her way to the vials.

Connie's wrist burned and ached, the injection site pulsing slightly. The gem shards bit underneath her skin, slightly piercing the lower layers. She couldn't move to relieve the pain, which made it all the more agonizing. "What are you doing to me?!" She shouted, the pain leaking into her voice and falling from her eyes.

"Soon enough, you will know." Peridot responded simply. She jabbed the syringe again into the back of the girl's neck, repeating the injection process.

Connie shivered as the icy liquid coursed through her, and soon the pain in her wrist faded away, replaced by a numbing cold. Her eyelids grew heavier, and her tears ceased their falling. She barely registered Peridot coming back with the final syringe, filled with the yellow liquid from the vial on the wall, and infusing the liquid into her right shoulder. The world blurred before her, and she slipped into darkness, the whispers of her mind silencing completely.

After ensuring she was completely unconscious, Peridot disposed of the syringe, and unstrapped her from the table. She attached monitors to her body to keep track of her vitals and turned off the lights as she exited the room. She dug through her pocket and pulled out her log date recorder.

"Phase one of Project Morganite is complete."