After a week at the boarding school, Steven began to settle in and became more accustomed to his class schedule. It was actually kind of interesting to learn all the things normal kids learned in school, and he was glad he had decided to go to there.
Back in Beach City, the Crystal Gems didn't have many missions to do lately, in fact, things have been quite peaceful. It was good to relax once in a while, but after going a week without having to fight any Gem monsters, it got a little...boring.
After a while, they each decided to individually explore the town to see if there was anything they could do to help the citizens of Beach City. Amethyst went down to the Big Donut to grab her usual batch of dozen to see Sadie standing readily at the counter and Lars lazily leaning back in a chair as usual. "Hey Sadie! My usual dozen please," Amethyst said.
"Got it," Sadie said, unfolding a box and putting 12 of the circular pastries inside as the purple Gem got out some money. "Hey Amethyst, where's Steven been lately? I have seen him come by for a week. Is he sick?" Sadie asked, curiously, wondering where the kid was.
"Oh no, Steven's fine. He's just doing school stuff like other kids do," Amethyst explained.
"School? Since when did Steven go to school? Doesn't he just hang out on the beach and go on these 'missions' you 'Crystal Gems' do?" Lars asked.
"Just last week. He wanted to go to this boarding school with his friend Connie so she wouldn't be without any friends," Amethyst stated.
"Aw, that's so sweet," Sadie said, smiling.
"I think it's stupid," Lars degraded. "He was so free before, and lucky too! For years he went wherever he want and did what he want without having any teachers to harass him for it. Now, this year, he threw all that freedom away just so that one of his friends wouldn't be lonely. Connie couldn't just made new friends at the school?"
"Actually Connie had it rough on the first day. Steven said this girl in class was picking on her about her nose. But Steven stood up for her," Amethyst told the teenager.
"Really? I feel really bad for Connie. People just to pick on me for my height and weight, but after a few years, I made friends and learned to shrug it off," Sadie sympathized. "Good thing Steven was there to help her."
"Yeah, that's Steven for ya. Well, see you later!" Amethyst said, exiting the donut shop.
At that moment, Pearl was making her way down the boardwalk when she heard a familiar voice holler, "Hey Pearl!"
The Gem looked to her left to see Peedee Fryman at his usual spot at the takeout window of the Beach Citywalk Fries.
"Oh, Peedee, how are you?" the Crystal Gem asked, walking over to the window.
"Pretty good, but I haven't seen much of Steven lately. He hasn't stopped by for Fry Bits or anything all week. Is he okay?" Peedee concerned.
"Steven's fine, he's been at boarding school for a week," Pearl explained.
"Boarding school? Really? I didn't think Steven went to a school at all," Peedee said.
"Well, he does now. If you're wondering when you'll see him again, you'll see him in November, when school's on break for a few days. Then again, in December for two weeks, March for one week, and then he's back in June for three months. This is only just a test though to see if he likes going to school there. So far, he hasn't complained," Pearl informed the boy.
"Why is he going to a boarding school. Isn't there a public school in a nearby town?" Peedee asked.
"Steven chose a boarding school because his friend Connie is going there, and well, him being worried about his friend being alone, he decided to join her on the road of education. He's supposed to call us tonight. I'll tell him you said hi and that you miss him," Pearl explained, before walking back to the temple.
Later that day, Amethyst, finishing off the last piece of cardboard on the donut box, was walking down the sidewalk to Vidalia's house.
She knocked on the door, where the blonde-haired women answered, "Amethyst. Glad you could make it."
"What's up, Vidalia. How's Onion and Sour Cream doing?" Amethyst asked her friend.
"Well, Sour Cream is in town hanging out with his friends, and Onion is-," Vidalia started saying until her youngest son peered through the door and looked around.
The little boy stepped outside and looked around the front porch, then into some nearby shrubs and finally looked at Amethyst quizzically.
"Are you looking for Steven, Onion?" the Purple gem asked the kid.
Onion nodded, wanting to know where his friend was.
"Oh, sorry little dude. Steven's at school right now. He won't be back in town until about November," Amethyst replied.
Upon saying that, Onion looked down at the ground, a little disappointed that he wasn't going to see his friend for some time.
"But hey! Pearl says is you're very patient, he'll be back in town before you know it, you just have to find something to pass the time," Amethyst advised the kid.
Onion seemed to think about it for a second before smiling and nodding.
"Good to see you understand. How about you hang out with me and your mom tonight. We'll play some games or watch a movie or something," Amethyst suggested.
Onion nodded again and ran inside the house to his room to find a video to watch.
"Do you think he'll be okay without Steven around?" Amethyst asked Vidalia.
"Oh, don't worry. Onion will be find. It'll be like when his dad is out fishing every few weeks. He's a patient little guy," Vidalia assured the Gem. "He always finds a way to keep himself occupied."
In the evening, Greg was sitting in a lawn chair in front of his car wash, waiting to see if anyone would stop by, but so far, no luck. Greg was used to Steven going on missions with the Gems every now and then, but it would be difficult to not be able to see him until mid-November. He missed having water fights, giving advice, and playing guitar with his son, but it was part of the deal of sending your kid to school; you get lonely.
Then, a car pulled up near the building, and Greg jumped out of his seat, ready to get to work. The visitors turned out to be none other than the Maheswarans.
"Well, things definitely seem a little slow for you today," Mr. Maheswaran said, looking at the car wash building.
"Yeah, that happens when fall starts. The town doesn't get much business," Greg stated. "So, how are your lives doing without Connie around? The days seem to drag on longer now since Steven's gone to school. It makes me wonder how he's doing without me and the Crystal Gems around."
"Yeah, the same has been going on at our house. Without Connie, there's not much to launder, I don't have to drop her off or pick her up from tennis practice, and I can't really check in on her that often. The phone lines at the school are usually very busy in the first few weeks due to a lot of homesick kids, but Connie's very bright for her age, so I know she's doing fine," Dr. Maheswaran stated.
"Yeah, that's true. So, is there anything I can do for you two while you're here?" Greg asked.
"Actually, our car does need to be washed," Mr. Maheswaran stated.
"Great, I haven't gotten any customers today. I'll get right to it."
Later that night, the Crystal Gems were waiting for Steven to call them, but so far, nothing. "He probably has a lot of homework tonight, or there are a lot of kids in line calling their parents and guardians. Let's just call him in the morning," Pearl said.
"Okay, but I like to sleep in in the morning, so tell him I said hi," Amethyst said, walking towards the door to her room.
Pearl turned off the light and was about to follow suit but Garnet remained in the main room of the house, staring at the screen door.
"Garnet, is something wrong?" Pearl asked, concerned about the fusion's state.
After a few seconds, Garnet quickly ordered, "Hide somewhere out of view of the door!"
This command made Pearl and Amethyst jump, but they obeyed their friend. Pearl went up to where Steven's room was and crouched down behind the TV. Amethyst shapeshifted into a mouse and went under the coffee table. Garnet stood behind a tall stack of rocks.
All eyes were on the front door.
Not even a moment later, green fingers tore through the net screen, grabbed the handle, unlocked the door, and a familiar green Gem entered the house. "Now, where did those Crystal Clods put it?" Peridot muttered to herself, scanning the room.
After roaming around the area for a while, the modern Gem had come across the Crystal Gems hideout, so, knowing that they had her escape pod and her foot, she decided to bust into their base and take them back. Especially since Yellow Diamond was taking forever to retrieve her, she was beginning to get impatient, and was getting annoyed from hopping on one foot.
The olivine noticed the door on the other side of the room and quickly hopped over, grinning to herself. "My stuff has to be somewhere in there! They have to be!" she thought.
She stood in front of the door for a few moments, waiting for it to automatically open like all the doors on Homeworld did, but considering it was old Gem tech, she decided to conclude it couldn't do that. "Argh, how do you open this stupid thing," she murmured, banging on the rock.
"Your Gem has to match one of the Gems on the door in order to open," Amethyst told her.
Peridot grumbled and hissed, "I could've figured that out!"
Then, after processing the owner of the voice, the Homeworld Gem quickly turned around to see the purple one standing right behind her. Peridot jumped at the sight of the Gem and quickly turned one of her hands into helicopter mode, taking off into the air.
"Oh no you don't," Pearl said, leaping from the second floor and latching onto Peridot's legs, adding weight to her.
"Oh come on! You're here too!" Peridot whined.
"We all are," Garnet said, grabbing one of Pearl's legs, keeping the Green gem from escaping. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's illegal to break into someone else's house?"
"For for crying out loud…" Peridot fumed before changing her other hand into her laser gun and aimed at Pearl.
Pearl yelped and released the Homeworld Gem just when the olivine fired, instead hitting the kitchen counter, burning off part of it.
Peridot blasted another hole in the roof and hovered outside. "You'll never catch me! Never!" she shouted at the Crystal Gems.
"Wanna bet?" Amethyst asked, climbing through the hole, summoning her whip and using it to latch onto one of Peridot's legs.
"Ah! Get off me, you clod!" the modern Gem commanded.
Amethyst shapeshifted into the Purple Puma, hoping it would add more mass and lower herself and Peridot to the beach. Lucky for her, it did.
Peridot's arm began to get tired and after a while, she and Amethyst were just standing on the Beach, a few feet away from each other. Peridot broke off the whip and proceeded to start hopping away, Amethyst following close behind.
Pearl and Garnet then ran outside, trying to keep up with the two other Gems, when suddenly, the ground began to shake.
"What's going on now?" Pearl asked frantically, looking around, trying to find the sort of the earthquake.
The residents of Beach City must've been wondering the same thing, because they were all clinging to anything nearby to keep their balance and looked just as confused as she did.
The question was answered when a huge blue-green hand burst out of the ocean and grabbed onto the beach. Within seconds, right before everyone's eyes, Malachite emerged from the water, slowly and almost weakly walking onto the beach, before quickly collapsing.
"Malachite!" Garnet gasped.
The big fusion glared at the smaller one and growled, "YOU!" Then, the monster split apart back to its two original Gems, Lapis Lazuli and Jasper.
Jasper immediately got to her feet, glaring daggers at Garnet and snarled, "You Crystal Gems! I finally have another chance to destroy you! I would've done it sooner if some blue Gem didn't betray me."
Lapis got on her knees, moaning a bit and looked around. She saw the Crystal Gems, but someone was missing. "Where's Steven?" she asked, confused.
"I believe you mean, ROSE QUARTZ!" Jasper snapped.
"Shut up, Jasper!" Garnet shouted at the orange Gem. The fusion looked over at Lapis and stated, "He's not with us right now, but I promise you, he's safe. Just sit tight while we deal with Jasper and Peridot."
"Oh, thank diamond," Lapis muttered, before falling face-first into the sand.
Then, Greg and the Maheswarans drove up in their vehicles, with Greg jumping out first. "What's going on here!? We saw something big climb out of the water from where we were and-Oh my gosh, are those the Homeworld Gems Steven told me about," he asked, noticing Jasper and Peridot.
"Yep, Lapis is here too," Garnet stated, pointing at the seemingly unconscious Gem.
"Is she alright?" Dr. Maheswaran asked, concerned for the she-gem's health.
"Don't worry, she doesn't seem to be in a very bad condition. She'll get her energy back in a few minutes," Garnet told the doctor.
"Who are these people?" Mr. Maheswaran asked Greg. Greg sweat nervously before stammering, "Aliens from another planet."
"If we hadn't met Alexandrite and the Crystal Gems, we would've thought you were being crazy, but now, we actually believe you," Dr. M admitted.
"So, what are you waiting for? Let's beat these clods into the earth they love so much!" Peridot exclaimed.
"I was just about to get to that," Jasper said, grinning menacingly and summoning her helmet.
"Are you sure it's us that's going down and not you?" Garnet said, whipping out her gauntlets.
"Trust me, I'll win this time, and when I do, you're all going to be nothing but dust," Jasper sneered.
However, before the Gems could engage in combat, there was a glowing ball of light coming towards them from the sky.
"What is that?" Pearl asked, surprised.
Peridot looked up at the unidentifiable flying object before gritting her teeth and shouting, "It's about time!"
Well, Peridot, Lapis Lazuli and Jasper have made their return, the surprise I had mentioned in the end of the last chapter! But now something else has shown up and it seems like heliodor's about to break loose! (get is, heliodor is supposed to a gem play on the word hell and the phrase "hell's about to break loose" and-oh never mind!)
Who is this surprise visitor that Peridot seems to so annoyed and somewhat glad to see?
What will happen to the Crystal Gems once this invader arrives?
What is Steven doing? Find out in the next chapter of Rescue from Homeworld!
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