Chapter 2


The gems could not believe what was happening. They had not heard from any other gems for nearly seventy-eight years.
They thought there were no more left on Earth. But standing before them was one of the oldest of the crystal gems, Turquoise.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to reach you," Turquoise sighed sadly. "It took me two years to find another working temple, and another year to find the other survivors."

"Survivors?" Garnet asked. "Survivors of what?"

"The False gem," Turquoise responded somberly. "But I felt her unholy power fade from this world which could only mean that Rose has slain her."

Turquoise shambled up to Garnet and took her hand. Turquoise rubbed her wrinkled hands against Garnet's in a grandmotherly way .

"I don't expect forgiveness from you three, nor do I deserve it," Turquoise stated with shame heavy in her voice. "But, please, forgive the others. They only hid because I begged them to."

"Others?" Garnet asked.

The familiar gleam of the warp pad flashed brightly. Out of the light of the warp pad walked out a gem warrior followed by another, then another. In total, four gems emerged from the warp pad.

The first warrior Garnet recognized as Pounamu or as she preferred, Jade, the leader of the crystal temple in New Zealand.
Pounamu was as tall as Garnet but more densely built. Her light green skin was covered in black Māori tribal warrior tattoos from head to toe.
Her lips were black and her eyes were bright green. Her hair was dark green and was tied back into long braids and tipped with hollowed bone beads.
The little clothing she wore was a fur and grass skirt and a leather tube top.
As if to add a sense of ferocity to her, she had her nose pierced with a sharpened bone.
Her gem was located on her tongue.

The second gem that followed Pounamu was a dark blue gem. Pearl felt her heart leap happily once she recognized who the gem was.
The blue gem was Azurite from the crystal temple located in Lyons, France.
Azurite was about the same height as Pearl but wasn't as lithely built. She wore her hair in a short braided pony tail with a blue bow on the end.
She wore an unbuttoned blue and gold Hussar that rested over her shoulders like a cape.
Underneath, she wore a white ruffled dress shirt with frilled cuffs and a blue pair of trousers and cavalry boots.
Azurite, unlike the other gems, was known to keep her weapon summoned at all times.
She kept it in a sheath that was strapped to her waist. Her gem weapon was a rapier sword.

Clinging onto Azurite was a gem that was short and doll-like. The young gem was Amber.
She was the youngest gem warrior left on the world.
She didn't even know how to summon her weapon yet.
Amber had light yellow skin with golden yellow eyes and curly hair. She was dressed in a cute Victorian era dress, bonnet, and buckle shoes.
Amber looked timid and shy as she hid her face behind Azurite.

The last gem to exit the warp pad was Carnelian from the temple in Rajasthan, India.
She had light orange skin and dark blood red hair. She wore a gold sari that was tied around her waist and draped over her shoulder.
She wore a red and gold silk churidaar kurta. She wore no shoes but had her feet wrapped in golden cloth.
Her gem stone was located on the center of her forehead like a Hindu bindi ornament.


As the four gems approached, the three gems didn't know how to react.
They were overjoyed knowing that some gem warriors were left on the world, but shocked at how few were left.
Once, there were hundreds if not thousands of gem warriors. Now there were only five left, not including Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl.
This revelation was painful to acknowledge. Even though they knew they were no longer the last crystal gems, it was still obvious that their era had ended.
The three gems stood with their mouths agape in awe.
With the awkward silence hanging over the room, Pounamu smiled smugly, showing her filed teeth.

"Not the response I was wanting," she spoke in a gruff voice.

Pounamu's sass was rewarded by a elbow to the ribs by Azurite.

"Taisez-vous!" she hissed in French. "This is not about you!"

Pounamu growled and glared down at Azurite angrily. Amber trembled behind Azurite and tried to calm the two down.

"Umm...please...stop fighting," she squeaked timidly.

The two gems didn't pay Amber any mind as they were about to burst into violence.

"Barbarian," Azurite hissed as she placed her hand on the handle of her rapier.

"Princess," Pounamu growled as she flared her tongue, an insult in Māori culture.

Before the two could start going at it, a pair of weathered hands pulled them by their ears. They yelped in pain as they were forced into submission

"I yield, I yield!" Pounamu cried out.

"Miséricorde," Azurite whimpered in pain.

"By the Creator, you two will behave yourselves," Turquoise ordered firmly as she released the two gems from her vice-like pinch.

Garnet decided that it was time for answers.

"How did you all manage to hide from the False Gem?" she asked flatly.

The five remnant gems all had looks of guilt and shame over their faces. Turquoise sighed and shook her head sadly.

"By hiding deep within the Earth," she spoke bitterly. "Those that could see the threat that the False Gem posed hid before she could find us. Those that didn't...well..."

"They were eaten!" Pounamu barked loudly. "She ate the others while we hid like cowards!"

"Pounamu!" Azurite snapped angrily. "Not in front of Amber!"

Amber started crying loudly as images of the False Gem flashed in her mind. Turquoise kneeled and opened her arms.
Amber ran and embraced Turquoise, sobbing loudly. Turquoise wrapped the young gem in her shawl covered arms and rocked her back and forth, singing softly in Lakota.

"It ate my mamma and sisters!" Amber sobbed. "It said I was too small to eat!"

Pearl felt shivers run down her spine. She still had nightmares about the nuclear abomination and it's disgusting lust and hunger.
As Turquoise set Amber back on her feet, Garnet placed her hand on her shoulder. She hoped that maybe some of the non-warrior gems would have survived in hiding along with them.

"How many of the non-warriors survived?" Garnet asked.

Turquoise pulled her shawl over herself comfortingly.

"Only one-hundred non-warriors remain."

"Only one-hundred?!" Amethyst exclaimed with shock.

Pearl gasped at the dismal number. It was less than one percent of their former population. She knew that their numbers had been thinning before the False gem's systematic feeding, but never knew that Geissel had killed so many in her brief seventy-two years of life. But her reign of terror was over, and now the world was freed of her corruption.

"Those infernal creatures of her's tore though the few non-warriors that we had left on Earth," Carnelian spoke in a hushed tone. "They burnt down the spires and ate those the False gem didn't desire for herself."

"Yeah, we fought those creatures here... on our own...without help," Amethyst stated coldly. "They were called Burners."

Pounamu growled and crossed her arms in frustration. She had longed to slay on of those creatures, but the one time she ever faced one, it burnt her so badly that she had to retreat into her gemstone. Had it not been for Turquoise, Pounamu would have been killed.

"Were?" She asked "You mean they are all dead?"

Garnet nodded her head.

"They all died when the False gem died," she answered flatly.

"So, Rose did slay the False gem," Turquoise stated jovially. "Where is she? I wish to speak with her."

The gems fell silent. It had been decades since they had any contact with the other gem temples. A lot had happened since Rose last held a council with other temple leaders. Word of her death had not reached the remnants, nor did they know about Steven. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl all tried to find the proper words address Rose's death when they heard the bathroom door slam shut.

"Hey Garnet, that stuff you gave me really worked!" Steven exclaimed happily as he slid down the stairs hand railing. "My sunburn is totally-"

Steven stopped mid-sentence once his eyes fell upon the remnants. They all stared at him with a mixture of shock and confusion.

"Uhh...Garnet...who are these people?" he asked as he cautiously crept towards his friends.

Pearl felt like she was sweating bullets as she tried to get herself between Steven and the remnants. She had no idea how they were going to react to him.

"Steven, these are our fellow crystal gems," Pearl stated calmly. "They are our friends."

She shot a piercing glare at the five remnant gems.

"Right?"

"What in the name of the river Styx is that creature?" Pounamu asked with hostility in her voice. "It's hideous!"

"Back at ya' beautiful," Steven hissed.

Pounamu flared her tongue and with a green flash summoned her weapon; a five foot long Taiaha war staff.
Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl all summoned their weapons. Fellow gem or not, they wouldn't hesitate to destroy anything that threatened Steven.
Just as the situation seemed to fall into chaos, Turquoise summoned her gem artifact; a Prayer Stick.

"Wolakota," she whispered softly.

She shook the prayer stick, and out of the dream catcher like end of the stick, a blue wave of energy washed over the room.
Steven, the gems, and the remnants all felt as though all of their hostility was washed from their bodies as the blue light filled the room.
Slowly, the gems and the remnants all felt the need to rest their legs and sat down in a circle around Turquoise.
Turquoise shuffled up to Steven and placed her hand on his forehead.

"Tell me young one, what is your name?" she asked with a kindhearted smile.

"My name...my name is Steven Quartz Universe," he answered sleepily.

Turquoise closed her eyes and felt an overwhelming sadness crash down over her. She dropped her prayer stick and returned the room back to normal.
One of her unique abilities was that Turquoise could learn someone's history through their names. Overcome with grief, Turquoise fell to the floor.

"Granny Turquoise!" Amber cried out as she ran to her aid.

"He is her child..." Turquoise muttered softly.

"Who is who's child?" Azurite asked as she helped her mentor to her feet.

"The boy, Steven, he is Rose's child," Turquoise responded shaking with grief.

"Her child?" Pounamu asked in disbelief. "But it reeks of human!"

Turquoise's eyes flashed a bright blue and she rose up into the air. Her gaze snapped to Pounamu.

"I will not sit by and let one such as you disrespect the child of Rose Quartz!" she roared like a clap up thunder.

Pounamu fell back on her rear and started to crawl away from the enraged Turquoise. Garnet was surprised to see her so scared.
Pounamu was a very proud and boastful gem, yet Turquoise had her tripping over herself like a newborn deer.
Turquoise slowly lowered to the ground and her eyes stopped glowing. She sighed heavily, she didn't understand how, but she knew that Rose was gone, yet had managed to pass her gem over to her child. It defied the laws that she had learned by heart, but she didn't care. All she knew was that her closest friend had died thinking she was one of the last gems left on Earth, and it was her own fault.

"So, his father is a human?" Turquoise asked as she turned back to Garnet.

Garnet nodded her head a dispersed her gantlets.

"Yes, his father is a human," she answered flatly. "That isn't a problem, is it?"

Turquoise shook her head and smiled tiredly. She felt weak and frail with sadness, but saw something inside of Steven; the possible future of gem kind.

"No, it's not," Turquoise responded softly. "It's just going to be hard to explain to the remnants that Rose is...well...you know."

Turquoise waved to her warriors, signaling that it was time to leave. One by one, they bowed and returned to the warp pad.
They didn't know it yet, but they were about to hear the worst news they had heard in years; Rose Quartz was dead.

"We will keep in contact with you, but for now we must...spread the word," Turquoise sighed sadly.

The light of the warp pad flashed as the remnant gems were teleported out of the temple. The gems stood silent as they tried to process all of what had happened. Steven, who was still dressed only in his boxers walked and stood in front of the gems.

"Okay, anyone want to tell me what that was all about?!"

Garnet opened her mouth to speak, but felt a slight disturbance near the city. She focused on the disturbance and saw that it was a massive Centipeetle Queen and it's offspring attacking the boardwalk.

"We will explain later," Garnet stated firmly. "Right now, the city is in danger."

"Finally, some action!" Steven exclaimed eagerly. "I've been wanting to punch something all day!"

The four gems all rushed out of the temple, ready to protect humanity once again.

"Wait, Steven, go put some clothes on first," Pearl said with a stress filled tone.


"Professor Adler, we have activity near the city, how should we proceed?"

Adler smiled and checked his watch. Technically, he wasn't supposed to let his project into the public eye for another day.
But when was he going to get another opportunity like this again. A few days? A few weeks? No, it needed to be now.

"Let me ask the boys if they are up to the task first," Adler spoke in his thick German accent.

Adler exited the monitor room and walked down the hallway and rang for the elevator.

"It is all going to work out," he spoke to himself as the elevator door opened to another section of the "Monastery".

Four beings were training and sparring against each other when Adler walked into the room.

"Boys, assemble!" Adler ordered loudly.

Almost instantly, the four beings stopped what they were doing and filed in front of Adler.

"You are needed in the city," he stated firmly. "Now this will be your first mission outside of the Monastery. You are no longer in training. This is where the real thing begins!"

He then showed the beings photos of Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven.

"This is your competition," Adler stated coldly. "You are not to engage them with hostility unless they provoke you. Do you understand?"

"Sir, yes Sir!"

The middle being stepped forward and saluted.

"Are you and your comrades ready for action, Wolfram?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted."

"We were born ready!"