And so the quest continued, with Pearl and Garnet especially continuing to worry over the children's well-being. Well, Pearl was anyway. Garnet's future vision still saw them getting the kids back in one piece, nothing to worry about as far as she was concerned. As skeptical as the others were about it, they decided that it would be better to trust that it was the most probable outcome than to worry Pearl any further. After all, these were mothers they were helping out.

While out and about in the Nambulite city of Hureaulite, someone suddenly came up to Pearl and handed her a package.

"Excuse me, are you Queen Pearl of Chalcopyrite?" this stranger asked. "You ordered from us, right?"

Pearl could only look at the Gem before her in confusion. "Did I? I don't recall."

"Well, you should probably take it anyway. I'm already running late and I don't want to get in trouble with my boss again." She then sprinted off without saying another word.

Pearl could only watch as the strange Gem woman went off further and further into the distance until she shrunk into a dot and then vanished. Pearl then focused her attention on the package, wondering where it came from and how the sender even knew where she and the others were. With just a little bit of hesitation, she nimbly grabbed the sides and pulled them apart to reveal... her sister's gem? Wait, what was her sister's gem doing here?! She didn't even have time to think about what might have happened to her beloved sister when the gem started glowing and floated out of the box. It then emitted a Caribbean blue aura, which in turn produced a halo of light that formed into a humanoid shape. Just before taking her latest form, Larimar cycled through all of the previous ones she had taken and then fell to the ground with a thud, smushing the cardboard box in the process.

"Surprise!" Larimar yelled excitedly.

"La... Larimar?!" Pearl yelled in turn. "But how?!"

"I asked Dad to help me out. He wasn't quite on board at first, but I pulled the ol' 'It's a matter of life and death!' spiel and just like that, I was in a package being shipped to you."

"Larimar, I thought we made it clear that you couldn't join us."

"I know, but I just couldn't stay away. We're family, right? Families are supposed to help each other out."

"Well, yes, but Larimar-"

"Pearl, it's okay," Garnet interrupted. "Larimar could be useful to us. Besides, we're going to need all the help we can get."

Pearl sighed. "Fine. Larimar, you can join us, but please don't do anything that could jeopardize this entire mission."

"No worries, Pearl," Larimar said. "I won't."

"Good. Now just stay right by us, you understand?"

"Yes, Pearl."

"Good."


After leaving Nambulite behind, the group decided to settle down in the far-out regions of Iyoite, which happened to be south of Muscovite and northeast of Arsenopyrite, for a while. Pearl didn't want to pegged down for long lest they wouldn't make it in time, but Garnet had to assure her again and again that the children would be fine and all according to her future vision. Meanwhile, Bloodstone, his guardian Dumortierite, Larimar, Princess Lapis Lazuli, and Liddicoatite were all talking amongst themselves in regards to what they should do next.

"So Liddicoatite," Dumortierite began. "You're the gadgeteer, right? How exactly do you plan to protect our little settlement here?"

"Well," Liddicoatite started to reply. "Knowing that there is a chance that we might be ambushed by wild animals or other settlers or perhaps the Sikudzakhalanso Mafumu might somehow find our location... I would suggest putting up electric fencing to ward off these intruders."

"Okay, but how do you make sure it just shocks them and not us?"

"It's not 100% guaranteed to work, but I'd paint our side of the fence with special coating that insulates the electricity."

"Okey-dokey."

"How are we going to set it up, though?" Bloodstone asked. "How big is it exactly?"

"Well, I haven't built it yet," Liddicoatite answered matter-of-factly. "So we'll see."

Just as Larimar was about to ask a question herself, they heard what sounded like a violent gushing of air. It didn't take long for them to realize where it was coming from and to turn around to see just what it was making that noise. A gigantic cloud of noxious deep purple smoke was heading right their way, lunging ever so quickly towards its target. It didn't matter to them where it had come from or why it was here, but it was clear they needed to stop this menace or else.

"Pearl, you're a strategist, aren't you?" Larimar asked.

"Yes."

"So do you have any idea how to stop this thing?"

"No, but I have a feeling-"

But the purple smoke cloud cut Pearl off with a visceral roar before she could speak upon what was coming to her mind. Without warning, it enveloped itself over her and started suffocating her.

"Pearl!" Garnet yelled. "Oh dear Amber! Hold on, we'll get it off of you!"

No sooner said than done did Garnet summon her gauntlets. Almost immediately after that, Bloodstone pulled out his oversized rifle and pointed it straight in its direction while Dumortierite, Princess Lapis Lazuli, and Liddicoatite stood their ground.

"Let her go, you vaporous son of a bitch!" Bloodstone yelled out to the cloud. "Don't you think she's suffered enough lately?"

But the smoke cloud cared not for what the young Gem bounty hunter had to say and continued to violate every orifice on Pearl's face, almost as if it was determined to suck out every last bit of air it could find.

"Hey!" Bloodstone screeched at it again. "I'm only gonna say this twice and then I'm going to fire shots at you. Let. Her. Go."

Liddicoatite just sighed. "Bloodstone, I know you're trying to be tough, but let me handle this, okay?"

"What are you talking about? I could totally use my rifle-"

Liddicoatite cut him off. "Ne ĉi tie, knabo! Pafiloj ne faros bonon kontraŭ tiu vizaĝo de morto! Besides, I have a better idea."

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Larimar asked him.

"Fortunately for us all, I also happened to dab in some magic a while back," Liddicoatite confidently replied. "I only know a couple spells, though: one for wind and one for fire."

"Why don't you try wind?"

"Sure, no problem." Liddicoatite cleared his throat and started reciting. "Ventus, heu, carae ventum! Ergo te esse. In mea maxima necessitate, ostende mihi te ipsum!"

As soon as those words left his lips, a violent gust of wind that rivaled even the smoke cloud's own flow started materializing in front of him. This gust of wind was powerful enough to push just about everybody back by two feet and it was certainly powerful enough to blow the smoke monster away, molecule by molecule.

"Reen, reen de kie vi venis, vi infera abomeno!" Liddicoatite screamed out at the smoke cloud just before it dissipated for good.

Once the smoke cloud had completely dissipated, Pearl fell to the ground and started hacking and coughing as if her life depended on it. It was incredible to her just how badly the smoke cloud had been smothering it. Thank the Gods Liddicoatite knew what to do. After a few minutes of coughing and hacking, she slowly lifted herself up off the ground and reached her arms out to Garnet, who then proceeded to embrace her lovingly.

"Oh, Pearl, I'm so glad you're okay," Garnet breathed. "I didn't know what was going to happen, what I should, or-"

Pearl cut her wife off right there. "Garnet. Why don't you leave the worrying to me, okay? I need you to give us hope that our children will be okay. Can you do that?"

Garnet nodded her head yes.

"Good. Well, why don't we rest here for a while? I want to save my energy for when we find the kids."

"Good idea, but I'll have to keep watch while the others sleep. You'll be fine sleeping alone, won't you?"

Pearl hesitated for a bit, then said, "Sure. Thanks, Garnet. I appreciate it."


"Hey, Pearl," Larimar squeaked as she wildly shook Pearl side-to-side. "Pearl! Pearl! Wake up."

Shortly after, Pearl came to and let out a small yawn. "What is it, Larimar?"

"Not much, really. I just need to ask you something. Just this one little thing and then you can go back to sleep."

Pearl sighed. "Yes, Larimar? What is it you wanted to ask?"

"Does anybody else find it just a little bit strange that the Sikudzakhalanso Mafumu attacked us right around the time Tabby decided to help plan the wedding?"

"Yes, that was admittedly pretty strange... why do you ask?"

"Just wondering, is all. The whole thing seems suspicious to me now that I've actually thought about it."

This was enough to pique Pearl's interest. "Go on."

"Like how did they even know the wedding was going to be at the Temple of Heliodor and that there were supposed to strike at that exact place?"

"A spy in their ranks, perhaps?"

"Maybe, but how did they find Mom and make her one of them? That's what I'd like to know."

"I wish I knew. Where are you even going with this, Larimar?"

Larimar thought for a moment and then began to speak. "I think... they were somehow using Tabby to give out our location."

Pearl suddenly remembered one of the spells she'd seen in one of Kermesite's books. It wasn't an easy spell to learn, no, but it'd required someone with experience beyond rudimentary lessons to be able to use it properly.

"Wait a minute..." She paused to collect her thoughts before speaking again. "Are you suggesting that they might've used a tracking spell on her just so they'd know where to attack us?" She fell silent again, this time for one straight minute, before taking a deep breath and speaking once more. "That explains so much. No... it explains... everything! It explains... why were attacked, why our mother was a member, why Tabby was kidnapped!" She bolted out as fast as she could. "Garnet! Liddicoatite! Guess what? Larimar just told me something important!"