Author's note: Yes, this chapter is extremely late. I could blame this on a lot of things- end-of-school insanity, getting caught up in other projects, but the greatest culprit is and always will be writer's block. So, here's a longer, plot-filled chapter to make up for the wait.
It's funny, how quickly things go back to normal. To anyone else, it would seem like nothing had ever happened.
But not to us. Me and Amber, we don't forget. I won't let myself forget. I think about Rose every time we go to the lake after school, remember how casually she carried a sword on her back, just in case. I remember Li'l Rose when I see signs for the festival, thinking of how she's never seen anything like it, and probably never will.
It's June, and school is nearly over. Only one more week to go. So of course, on our last real friday, we have to take a test.
It's not a normal test, where you solve problems or read passages. No, this is a power test.
The entirety of 6th grade gathers in the gym, and then the headmasters step forward. First, a pitch-black gem, the sort you couldn't see in the shadows. Then a tall, dark-skinned man, who I know only by reputation.
"Hello, everyone," the man speaks. "Today is your first annual test. I'm sure you're all quite nervous, so let me put you at ease. This test is not going to affect your grade or your future. It's simply a part of our scientific studies."
A ripple of whispers runs through the crowd. I glance over at Amber, standing with the rest of the gems. Yeah, I doubt it, I tell her.
Just wait, she says. There's more.
"Right. Everyone, you'll be in homeroom groups. Becca and Peridot's homerooms, over there." I watch as two groups, one of gems and one of humans, make their way over. I think I know what's going on.
"Valia and Moonstone's homerooms, there." I hurriedly walk over to my group, smiling when Amber comes to join me.
I'm starting to guess what sort of test this is, she says.
Yeah. I just hope we don't do horribly.
I listen, increasingly confused, to the instructions. Find your partner. Line up, double-file. Outside we go. We stand in two lines outside, waiting for our turn. It's reverse-alphabetical by gem, so of course we go last.
We're not allowed to watch the tests. We wait while whoever's turn it is go around the side of the building, wait until the teachers return for the next pair. So it goes on, until our turn.
"Amber and Nora!" Valia calls. We stand- not like it could be anyone else, could it- and walk over.
"Right. Sorry to make you wait so long," moonstone says apologetically. "Right. Amber, amber… Ah. Phytokinesis."
"Phyto-what?" she asks.
"Plant powers."
"Right. I knew that." Her cheeks turn a darker shade of orange as she blushes.
"Have you two practiced channeling?" Valia asks.
"Yes," I reply. I think I know what she's talking about.
"Alright. Amber, demonstrate your ability."
Don't go overboard, I warn her. She nods and bends down to touch a small dandelion growing in the grass. It begins to enlarge, reaching nearly double my height before she stops.
"Good," Moonstone says. "Now let Nora try."
We nod in unison. Amber closes her eyes, and I feel her connection stronger than ever. I reach out to a nearby tree and bend the branches, making them grow at my will. When I'm done, a perfect spiral staircase made of branches is wrapping around the tree.
"Well done," Valia says, surprised. "Well, that's everything. Head to the auditorium," she instructs.
The big auditorium doors close behind us as soon as Amber and I walk in. I guess we were literally last. We take the last empty seats in the back and wait.
The black gem comes onstage. "Good job, everyone. Just a quick reminder- please don't share the contents of this test with anyone in lower grades, it would compromise the experiment. Blah blah blah…" I start tuning them out. Teachers do like to drone on and on and on, don't they.
Amber sends me a picture of the gem with a derpy face. I stifle a giggle.
Suddenly, an alarm starts blaring just as the ground begins to shake. The black gem interrupts her own lecture long enough to shout "Take cover!" before the building comes down around us.
It takes me a moment to get my bearings. I can barely see, and I can barely move. My left leg is trapped under an iron beam, and I realise only now that I'm holding both arms over my head, protecting myself from the torrent of bricks. I'm facedown on the floor, with barely enough room to breathe.
Amber! I call out instinctively. It takes a moment to get a response.
I'm okay, she says. Bruised, maybe, but okay. Hang on. I wait, anxious, anticipating. Then the weight of the bricks is slowly but surely removed, and I crane my neck to look up at Amber.
Are you okay? She asks. Oh, stars, I'm never going to be able to move that. She's looking at the beam, the iron beam that has me trapped.
Sure you can, I say firmly. My leg's gone numb, I can't feel it. I know you can.
She takes a deep breath. Tiny plants start sprouting all around me, growing and weaving themselves into a tiny army. They scuttle across the floor, roots for legs, and together lift the massive beam. I scramble forwards, and they drop it back to the ground.
Oh, that doesn't look good, I muse, looking at my leg. A huge gash runs down the side, and I'm bleeding pretty bad. I don't dare try to move it.
We need to get you out of here. Amber says, concerned.
"Help," A small voice. I turn. Only now do I see the remnants of the school, rubble everywhere, poofed gems in plenty. I see people everywhere, trapped under the bricks.
We need to help them first.
No, no no, it's too much, I can't- Amber suddenly collapses.
Amber! I reach over, drag myself across the floor, my leg trailing behind. I put my arms around her, and she's trembling. Amber?
It's all too much… she's crying sobbing, tears falling on the ground. I c-could've lost you.
It's okay, Amber. We're okay, I try to comfort her to no avail. I'm here for you. I pause. You're always the one who's there for me. Stars, I've been such a jerk lately. I took you for granted. You deserve better.
No… it's my fault, it's always my fault… she gestures wildly. They're all trapped here, it's all my fault.
None of this is your fault! I mentally shout. "Listen to me, Amber," I whisper aloud. "It was an earthquake. An accident. We can't change the past, but we can make the future."
...okay, she says unsteadily.
Okay?
I'm okay.
You know, I thought life had run out of surprises.
A bright flash of light shines for a single instant, and suddenly a very different figure is sitting in the middle of the rubble.
Whoa. Did we just…?
Yeah. Wow.
I look down at myself. Amber's dress, Nora's shoes. I reach around to feel the gem on my back- it's real. I'm real. I'm here.
What do I call myself? Namber? Ambora? I kinda like that. Ambora.
I stand, wobbling a little at first, then steadying. Funny- my leg's completely fine.
Make the future.
So I do. I find myself stronger than I've ever been, able to lift huge loads of bricks and metal beams with ease. I find every single human in the school, most of them unconscious, all of them somewhat injured. The conscious ones find the gems of their partners, and I clear a path through the rubble towards the street.
Somehow, the rest of the city is pretty much fine, which doesn't seem right somehow. Pretty much all of the rubble from the school is cleared- I've counted the people. Three times. And yet somehow I'm still startled when I hear a voice behind me.
"Well, this was unexpected."
I turn around. Valia is standing there, Moonstone's gem clutched to her chest. She looks up at me, intrigued. "You were able to fuse. I don't think anyone your age has."
I shrug. "I guess I'm special."
"You don't know how much."
Special. It's a strange word. Special means different, but in a good way. Special means powerful, and strong.
Special means I can make a difference.
I remember falling, remember Amber sacrificing herself without a second thought. Remember the dark cavern, so many people in one space, yet they don't come close to filling it. Trapped in the dark, unwilling to venture out.
"I can make a difference," I whisper.
"You okay?" Valia asks, concerned.
"Yeah, yeah, fine," I murmur. "Did we find everyone?"
"I think so," she replies. "You took a headcount?"
"Three times." I look out at the city. "How come everything else is fine?"
"Because it wasn't an earthquake," she says. "It was a bomb."
"A bomb?"
She nods. "Planted underneath the school, no doubt."
"Who would do something like that?" I wonder, ignoring the obvious.
"Someone with no empathy," she says. "Someone who doesn't care if we all die."
"Why here? Why not the capital?"
"They're trying to send a message."
I shake my head and walk away. I don't care where I'm going. Somehow, I end up at the lake.
It can't possibly be the Loners. Rose wouldn't let them. They're not heartless!
But what if…
No. I can't believe it.
It wasn't them. It can't be.
Don't you go all backwards!
A flash of light.
"Ow," I mutter, wincing as I fall on the hard stone. My leg is throbbing, no longer bleeding but still painful. You okay?
Are you okay? Your leg… Amber makes her way over to me.
I'll be fine, I reassure her, even though I'm really not.
I can't believe it. We fused!
We did. That was awesome, I admit.
I look up at the sky, the sun just beginning to set. There's still time. We need to find Rose. And this time, we won't let them turn us away, Amber literally echoes my thoughts.
Yeah, duh. Little help here? Amber pulls me to my feet, and while it hurts to walk on my bad leg, I can sort of hop. Amber, however, is clearly having none of that, and puts my arm over her shoulders, supporting me. We head out together, forgetting everything but our goal. Nothing matters more now that finding Rose.
It's slow going, through the forest, but I refuse to let Amber carry me. She's already done so much, and I feel like I need to prove myself. It's maybe an hour past sunset when we finally make it to the cave entrance.
When we arrive, I recognize Jasper as one of the guards. Oh good, that makes things easier, I remark to Amber. She doesn't need context.
"Oh. It's you," Jasper says tonelessly as we approach. "Rose wanted to talk to you."
"She did?" Can it be a coincidence?
"But she's not here right now, and unfortunately I can't let you in."
"Aw, what?" Amber pouts.
"She went off scavenging with Li'l Rose."
Then we'll go find her, I tell Amber. "Right. Well, thanks," I say to Jasper before we turn and leave, me trying my best not to limp. Any ideas?
Yes, actually. Follow me, she says ironically, since I pretty much have no choice. We wind our way through the woods, eventually emerging in a too-familiar clearing. Parts of the garden are still standing, but there is still a pile of rubble where Rose's house once was, two figures sitting beside it. I immediately recognise the two by their respectively red and white hair.
"I just… god, this is stupid," I hear Rose say. It feels wrong to intrude on their moment, so we hold back for a bit.
"It's not stupid. This was your home," Li'l Rose replies. She definitely wasn't this mature before.
"I know but… it's gone. All my work. The only thing left is this stupid photo," she waves a piece of paper wildly in the air. Oh, no. "I didn't even know my parents. It's ironic, isn't it?"
"I don't really understand irony."
"Yeah, you wouldn't," she's not sarcastic. I take the brief pause as an opportunity.
"Rose?" I call out, limping into the clearing with Amber at my side.
"Huh? Who is it?" she immediately jumps to her feet, but relaxes when she sees us. "Oh, just you. What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," Amber says as Li'l Rose gets to her feet.
"Why?"
"We're here to help," I state simply. "And to ask for your help in return."
Rose's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. "Okay, now I'm intrigued," she says.
"Someone set off a bomb at the school," Amber says bluntly. "We barely got everyone out alive."
"Wait, back up. You two?"
"Yes," I say, leaving out the details. That's a bombshell for a later date. "Do you know anything about this?"
"You think we did this." It's a statement, not a question.
"Not necessarily," Amber says, treading lightly. "But there aren't exactly a surplus of society-defying groups on Earth."
"I assume this is what you wanted my help with," she says calmly. "For the record, we're a bit too busy trying to survive to terrorize the populous."
"Well, that's the other reason why we're here," I say. This idea is only really coming to me now, but I know it's perfect. "Tell me, why are you all holed up underground?"
"For safety. A place to stay, separate from society," Li'l Rose chimes in, as though it's obvious.
"Right. But why do you have to stay there?" I continue. I sense Amber is catching onto my idea. "You can reclaim the surface, you can stage your own rebellion! And we'll help you," I squeeze Amber's shoulder a little tighter.
"When is rebellion ever a good idea?" Rose retaliates. "Certainly not now. We've got enough on our hands caring for the human population. There's a reason I'm head of surface missions. Everything else goes on beneath the surface."
"Wait, so you're like, a leader?" Amber says it before I can.
"More like a general. Look, I don't want your help. Thanks, but no thanks. I've got enough on my plate as it is. C'mon," she beckons Li'l Rose to follow her, and they start to leave. I guess I'll have to play my final card.
"Rose, did you ever wonder who your parents were?"
That makes her stop dead in her tracks. "What are you talking about?" Her voice is carefully controlled.
"I saw the photo," I say, taking a step forward, on my own, leaving Amber to follow wordlessly. "I thought I recognised them from somewhere. So I did a little research." I activate the screen on my watch, and the projection shimmers in the air between us. "I couldn't find their names, but I do know that they must be important, since I couldn't get any real information aside from the fact that they have records in the Archives."
"The Archives?" Now she's interested. "Are you saying you think we should break into the most secure place on the planet to find information that we don't even know exists just because you think I should know?" She laughs, and then she's howling in mirth, laughing uncontrollably. It takes a few minutes for her to regain her composure, and when she finally stands up she's wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm in."
"Wait, really?" Amber exclaims. "I thought it'd take a lot more convincing." I shoot her a brief glare.
"Hey, I've been waiting my whole life for even an inkling of truth," Rose retorts seriously. "If I can find out anything about my family, then I'm willing to take the risks."
"Don't forget me!" Li'l Rose adds. "You'll need all the help you can get."
"Then what are we waiting for?" I ask, looking around at their determined faces. "Let's go."
"One sec," Rose cuts me off. I try to hide my annoyance and fail miserably. She ignores it. I watch as she pulls out a whistle and blows into it. An impossibly high screech comes out, just at the edge of our hearing range.
Almost immediately, 3 puma cubs come running into the clearing. One of them-the completely white one- is carrying a dead rabbit in its mouth.
"Leave it here, Crystal," Rose tells the cub. They place it beside a tree with some reluctance. "Right. Let's go," Rose declares, easily lifting the cubs and placing one on each shoulder, Crystal on her head. I can't help but giggle. "What?"
"You look like a walking cat post," I admit, laughing. She smiles, giggling just a tiny bit.
"How come you never carry me?" Li'l Rose teases.
"You're perfectly capable of walking yourself," Rose replies, though she still smiles. It amazes me how well they get along, despite being loners.
It doesn't take long to reach the city, and no one really questions us as we make our way deeper into the center. They're all too busy dealing with the damage, I suppose. The whole way there, I refuse to let Amber help me walk, even though my leg still hurts. I need to be able to do something on my own.
The Archives is an inconspicuously small building in between the museum and the capitol. Only a few important people are allowed to enter- hybrids, mostly. People with power. So, logically, we need an alternate entrance.
"Every building has a weak spot," Rose says, looking at a projected screen over her arm. "And this one is no exception. It's just a slightly less obvious weak spot than normal." She gestures at the blueprints which she's somehow gotten access to (don't ask me how).
"It's a small basement window in the back of the building," Li'l Rose says, "too small for any adult to fit through. Fortunately, we're definitely not adults," she grins.
"Once we're in, we'll have to sneak past the guards to make it to the main room. No guards or cameras are allowed in there, so once we're in we're good. We'll worry about getting out later," Rose explains.
"So let's go," I say, eager to get moving. "We need to be out by sunrise."
"Why?" Li'l Rose asks.
"Because some people might start wondering where we are if we don't make it home in time," Amber explains. Both roses nod.
"Right, let's go." Rose leads the way, soundlessly opening the tiny window and slipping through. Li'l Rose goes after her, then Amber, and I go last. I land mostly on my good leg, shrugging off Amber's silent offer of help.
"This way," Rose whispers. I follow. Wait, since when did she become the leader? It was my idea. Oh, whatever.
We follow Rose, who is constantly looking at the projected blueprints, through the mostly-empty storage space, past a few crates, and around a corner to the stairs. I can hear someone pacing at the top.
"We need a distraction," Li'l Rose whispers. We're crouched at the bottom of the stairs, peering up at the slightly more lit ground floor, which is undoubtedly crawling with guards.
"Does anyone have something we can throw?" Rose asks, looking around.
"Easy," Amber says. With a brief flash of light, she pulls out her weapon- a slingshot.
Rose grins. "Perfect."
All four of us crawl up the stairs until we're right at the top, but still relatively hidden. Guards are everywhere- two at the front entrance, two beside the main room entrance, one on each of the other walls. That makes 6. Amber raises her slingshot and carefully aims, then fires a projectile at the wall above the entrance. It makes a sound just loud enough to draw the attention of the guards, who inevitably gravitate towards it. This is our chance.
Silently, carefully, we make our way across the room to the double doors which lead into the main Archives. They're locked, but Rose picks it easily in just seconds. Then we're inside, and Rose has locked the door behind us. We're in the clear.
I let out a long sigh of relief. "Okay, let's find these files."
The Archives is an archaic sort of storage system, but effective nonetheless. Thousands of printed paper files are stored here, for maximum security. After all, anyone can find a digital file if they're looking hard enough. But here, information is safe. Unless a quartet of extremely persistent children find a way in.
I start looking through the shelves, which are organised by category. I find Personal Files at the back of the room, and begin searching. Alphabetical by last name, each person has a box on the shelf, with their name and photo on it. I only look at the photos, comparing them with the digital file being projected from my watch. I'm about halfway down the row when I finally spot them.
Hannah and Jacob… Universe? Wait, what? The pictures match, though…
And there, just beside them, is a box with a picture of baby Rose, labeled Rose Universe. And another, for Lily Universe.
"Rose?" I call out softly, my voice echoing in the large room. "I found them."
Everyone joins me within a minute, and we're all staring at the boxes. Rose finally takes down Hannah's box and starts going through it.
"It's true," she whispers, staring at a piece of paper from the box. "I'm Rose Universe, granddaughter of Steven Universe."
