Chapter 9: Red's Fury


Part 1: New Years...

Red Perdiot of all GEMS land down at Steven's house bright and early in the morning. The only life there was Pearl with Steven of course. Seemed he was in the middle of eating breakfast

They watch her land, though don't have much to say after what happened 2 days ago; relationships were definitely stained.

"Where have you been? If you don't mind me asking..." Mumbles Pearl as Red takes a seat on the stool by him. He looks at her too also wondering this

"Reverse-engineering that homeworld ship...Remember? The one that was laying on my mountain"

"Ohhh, Right...Did you learn anything of value?" She replies in the same tone. As if she really didn't care for the answer

"Only that homeworld is skimping out materials"

Pearl raises a brow at this, but doesn't say anything while going back to cleaning. Steven seemed to be enjoying his meal, and staying quiet. Guess he didn't have much to say to her

"Uh" Pearl clears her throat from what she was about to ask, even though they've been friends since forever "Uh, Red, the humans are throwing a party...Would you like to come?"

"Party? No, waste of time" She replies in a flash "Well, if you change your mind...You can find us on the beach, around 12 in the morning to be exact"

"Yea okay, Pearl...I'll write that one down"

"Come on, Pearl! I told you she wouldn't want to go...Just leave her alone" Red has no comment on Steven's sudden outburst at Pearl, for she had more pressing madders on her mind

"Pearl, can you tell Garnet to STOP GOING INTO MY BASE?! I caught her 5 times now since I've changed the access code...Don't make me have to disable the warp, well the only reason I haven't is Amethyst"

"Well, she thinks you're hiding something" She faintly replies with a growing smirk. Red hiding something was a know thing to everyone, so Garnet did have a right to know after what happened

"No excuse for that behavior. She could be FRONT with me, ASK me if I have weapons of mass destruction...Steven, a weapon that isn't capable of mass destruction isn't a weapon. That's my daily FACT for you"

He rolls his eyes while going back to eat; Pearl does the same. Red leaves without saying anything, and life goes on for the Crystal Gems.

Later in the day Connie shows up for New Years. And with Connie comes Lion. A beast that fascinates Red, though she doesn't dare go near it; even during Rose Quart times

"Kinda wish I could see Red...I mean, it's been weeks! I hardly even got to know her too"

"You don't WANT to know her..." Mumbles Steven back as they were preparing a picnic basket for tonight. Most of it contained snacks for the both of them, and Steven's Dad.

"Yeaaaa...Think I do, Steven. She's pretty unique, specially after what you told me with the whole invisible thing"

Steven wasn't mad at Connie, but Red from how she acted for everyone. Still, she doesn't get a response as he bubbles with anger. This anger was so pure and strong that he started to think maybe it was his own Mom's anger.

"Well, let's head down to the beach, Steven...I think they're already setting up" Waiting outside for them was Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven's Dad. Though, he wasn't socializing much with the Gems

"Ohhh, Steven, Connie, are you two ready?!" Cries Pearl nearly bursting with Joy, Steven nods slowly, while Connie nods her head violently with a smile going cheek to cheek.

Pearl sets everything up for them down on the beach. The people of the town were all out on the snow, either laying on a blanket, or standing up talking in groups.

ten minutes before Greg's watch strikes Twelve, the house above was lit up from the Warp going off. This caught everyone off guard, specially Pearl and Steven after Red told them so.

They see Her red head poke over the deck, then watch her lock onto them on the beach.

"I WISHED she would stay away, Pearl..WHY does she have to ruin EVERYTHING WE'VE CREATED"

"Well, Steven, we did give her a open ended invite" Pearl was shook with Steven's anger. Never before has she seen him so upset with someone, specially one being a gem

Everyone from the town was used to the normal gems, but not this one. All eyes were on her as she makes her way over to them. With her hearing, she hears every word said in those family huddles. Surprisingly, they were actually positive, expect what Steven said rubbed her the wrong way

"Steven, I heard what you had to say about me, and somewhat shocked. Personally thought you would enjoy my company in the first time I would view said Fireworks. But I suppose that you are right...And I'm sorry. May I stay?" She says reaching them instantly

Everyone in this family huddle looks to Steven for his response, Even Garnet who normally doesn't like Red very much herself.

"I guess..."

"Thank you"

Red doesn't sit down like the rest of them, but stands behind Garnet who was in the back. Pearl to her left gives a few looks, but doesn't say anything, at least to Red. Everyone was talking, but all was being tuned out to her.

The fireworks shoot off with nearly everyone cheering. This was all very underwhelming for the Gems after countless wars they were in, expect Amethyst.


Part 2: Surrounded...

Red taps on Garnet's shoulder before leaning into her ear for a whisper

"I need you and Pearl at my base soon as possible...And I suppose bring the other Peridot. I'll be waiting"

Garnet doesn't say anything while looking up to the fireworks, just a slow nod. As they blow up in the sky, Red takes her leave into the night without a word. Connie was a little bummed she didn't stay around for the actual party

Wasn't till about 2 in the morning does Garnet show up with everyone she asked for. She waited by the warp the entire time

"Well, humans say better late than never...I suppose they're correct! Anyw-"

"WAAaait, why no Amethyst?" Says Peridot being the first to step off. Lapis was quick behind while looking for this Gem

"Amethyst? She's...Young, fragile, and I didn't want to alarm her! Now, follow me"

They're lead to the the ramp, and most importantly a restored console after Lapis destroyed it. there isn't a comment said about that

"What's that HORRID STENCH!?" Cries Peridot as the lift climbs upward "Sulfur..." Mumbles Pearl crossing her arms. She looks around at the passing levels for it, though it doesn't appear

The ramp stops at her Earth Orbital Station, a human would just call it a fancy satellite. This was the scares room with only a black table in it facing the wall.

"Garnet, do you have any vision of what I'm about to show you?"

"No" She quickly replies. Red smirks at the thought of being head of her future vision.

The satellite feed flicks to life on the small patch of wall, though was big enough for everyone to see comfortably. The camera pans away from the Earth to the dark space around it. With a few more key strokes it darts into it, then the planet with rings appears

Pearl gasps covering her mouth, Garnet's mouth hangs open, and Peridot grabs onto Lapis. The planet was surrounded with Homeworld ships, they orbited a yellow arm floating where once the Zoo stood.

"They started to congregate two days ago...Then there is this" Her fingers fly over the keys before the camera zooms into the red planet close to Earth

What looks back was some kind of base, though the size was hard to tell from this view. Ships poured in and out from it

"A outpost right in our backyard...In the sense of transparency, I sit here before you asking what I can do in retaliation"

"Nothing, you do nothing" Garnet quietly says before storming off to the ramp. Pearl follows seeing her response, while Lapis and Peridot stay.

"Why do I even tell her anything...You two agree something must be done, right?" Red swivels the chair around to them, still Peridot clings onto Lapis with fear

"Listen to Garnet, Red..." Lapis faintly says. She tugs on Peridot to follow her to the ramp. Seemed they all looked over her shoulder for the new code.

Red stays in her orbital unit cameras for a little while. She takes from it that Homeworld is in no rush for a attack. Landing at the house is Steven sleeping away on the couch while Pearl and Garnet guard over him. Up above was Connie in his bed

"No, I didn't act..." She says in a whisper before they could. Pearl was shaking like a leaf in the wind, while Garnet was like a wall of stone.

"Though, we can't stand around waiting for them to strike first..."

"They're here for you...And only you. We lived thousands of years in peace, until the day you come back. Do the right thing, give yourself up"

"Oh, you'd love that, Garnet. I remember the day Rose and Pearl plucked you from homeworld...Your position has never changed in my eyes"

Pearl instantly felt the urge to spot this fight between her allies, though doesn't. Just lets it roll out for only them to hear.

"I've only see us keeping Steven alive that way"

"DON'T...Don't even GET me going on the subject of your SUPERVIS-"

Garnet slams hard on the front of Red's Head. As she falls, she tries to stop the hard landing with her hand. Wasn't by choice of what hand, though it was her gem one. Upon contact, the already weakened gem cracks like that of glass. Even a little bit of red pieces break off

"OH MY STARS!" Yells Pearl running to Red's aid. She lays limp, almost that of a deceased human. This gem had absolutely no life in her, still her form remained.

"GARNET! YOU just ruined OUR BEST CHANCE FOR SURVIVAL!" She quietly exclaims getting into her face, which was quite hard for her height

"Steven is here...She'll be fine"

"FINE!? She HATES YOU EVEN MORE! Wh-What if she was shattered? A-And now her knowledge is GONE FOREVER!"

None of Pearl's words effect her. She stands with a blank face, almost like she was ignoring all of it. She notices this, and knows nothing was fazing her. Out of frustration she storms into her temple room


Part 3: Steven's Dream?

Steven this night was having a dream like most nights. It was pleasant going by his standards, and after a day dealing with Red was gladly accepted.

He was having a dream of Lapis actually, they were in the middle of the ocean on a boat. This doesn't last as the sky turns to a dark red, and then the water drys up to land.

Lapis disapers while thousands of gems covered in shadow appear. It seemed he landed himself in the middle of a battle.

"Wh-Wha...What?" He whispers to the surprising change of events. Normally Steven has great control of his dreams, but seemed to have limited control

"STEEEVEN! Oh my STARS! Finally a familiar face, or a face at that!" Screams a voice over this loud battle. He was able to walk through these gems; they seemed not to even notice him

The only thing to interact with him was Red, he instantly notices her cracked gem.

"RED, are you dreaming? IS THIS YOUR DREAM?!" Steven takes her by both of her shoulders, almost shaking her as a war wages around them

"Dream? No, this is a memory! A foggy one at that, b-but that isn't important...Garnet attacked me, did this to my gem, Steven" She flips her hand to reveal the Red Peridot. Steven runs his fingers over the new cracks

"I-I can't help you in here...I'm guessing you can't wake up either, huh?"

"WELL, YEA! I wouldn't be here if I could" The war fades away like smoke, now they were in a solid white room

"Wh-What happened?" He stutters holding onto her hand "I uh, forgot that moment in my life! For the best...We should most likely hurry before more memories escape my gem"

"Oh...Well, maybe I can take control. Put us somewhere nice, for the time being" Red forces her hand away from his to rub her gem.

The whiteness fades into rolling pink fields, and in these fields is a small island. On this island is a tree growing with random items spewed about below it

Steven notices Bismuth's gem, so quickly removes it from the dream before she could. Upon reaching this island, he stops to sit against the tree

"Well, Steven, thanks for putting me here...Ho-How long do you think I'll be locked in this?" Red eye-balls the chest overfilling with randoms items of old.

"Uh, when I wake up...I can do it real fast, just give me a second here" Steven falls asleep again, even though they were already in a dream

She gives his limp body a few pokes before eye-balling the chest again. Out of boredom and curiosity, she goes through it. Nothing of importance was found, but a small red ring all the way on the bottom. The ring had black edges with solid red on the inside, expect a thin sliver of white in the middle.

"Huh...Gems aren't know for wearing rings" None of her fingers could support this ring, so it's tossed into the fields of pink fluff.

Hours seemed to passed as she's trapped inside this miserable place; Miserable being her own personal feelings. After some more time Steven's limp body slowly starts to move, until he was fully awake/asleep

"Red! Are you okay? I restored your gem, but you haven't woken up yet...It's been a day you know"

Red who was sitting just where the island meets fluff turns her head to him, though doesn't get up

"Poof me! That should do the trick..." She falls silent seeing his face drop with this question

"You've been all day, Red...I think your gem just has to rest. Like when was the last time it had a break?" Steven's joyful tone doesn't effect her as much as he hoped.

"Well hey! I'll be with you until you do come back...Whenever that will be! At least when I'm sleeping. I mean, I do I have to wake u-"

"Yea...Yea, I get it, Steven. I bet you expect some type of back story from me, or at least some exposition now"

"Well...I mean, WE ARE here where anything is possible"

Steven takes his seat with her by the edge as he gets no positive answer. This goes on for some bit until he wakes up again, and again his body goes limp.

One day turns into two, then four and even eight. Steven doesn't show up for either of them. By now Red realized Garnet or Pearl has bubbled her gem, for there was no other reason to be trapped here.

On the ninth day does he return. By now she put his body in the trunk.

"STEVEN! I'm bubbled, aren't I!" Screams Red scraping off the ground, she pulls him out of the trunk with unbridled rage

"WHAT?! WEll...It's WASn'T MY CHOIce, RED!" She grunts at him before letting go to cool off by the tree; knowing any threats are useless inside here

Steven shoots up to dust himself off before turning to her. He somewhat recoils seeing her strong reaction, and braces for what is about to be asked of her

"Red...Garnet said you can only come back IF you tell us what your plan is...And if you give access codes? I think access codes to your uh, bottom levels"

"BLACK MAIL!? I'm REDUCED TO BLACKMAIL BY A FUSION?! OH, Steven! You tell Garnet to..."

The rest of Reds yelling was in her natural homeworld tongue, which he didn't understand much of. He slowly nods while looking down at the grass as she vents her rage

"It isn't just Garnet...Pearl too, and Amethyst. They're all scared of what could happen, so include them in your yelling too" He faintly says soon as she stops shouting.

Red collapses at the tree while wiping away tears of rage. Once again she felt the feeling of defeat swarm her. She groans as shes about to reveal her basic plan to the world

"My plan was to set a base on the southern pole of "mars" secretly...From there I would host multiple barrages of missile fire of many calibers. If they lived long enough to retaliate, they would be attacking a ABANDONED PLANET! THE PLAN WAS PERFECT! Now days have gone by, who knows what now"

Steven isn't fazed by any information she could tell him. He darts to the ruined chest to his right before speaking again

"The access codes, Red...Then you can le- I'll wake up and tell Pearl" She raises a brow at his stumbled words, but sits up to tell him anyway

"The code is LOCKED by a gem scanner! Only I can open it...And Rose"

Soon as she finishes this statement, the feeling of return felt apparent to her. She takes it, and instantly does light return to her.

"RED! OH my stars! You're back, yo-you weren't looking too good!"

Opening her eyes she could see Pearl rocking her in her arms. She doens't say anything, for it felt zero time has passed.

"Whoa, Pearlie...Slow down, I'm uh...Fine" Sitting up she sees Steven inches away from her, same with Connie who came down. Time just seemed to pause

Sitting up more, she grabs her hand to view the Red Peridot. The sliver what which made herself her was gone. Completely restored by Steven himself

"How long was I out?" She faintly says standing up off the floor. Once again looks at her new gem before Steven for this answer

"Uh...5 minutes, maybe?" He looks to Pearl where she confirms this with a short head nod. No where around the house could Garnet be found

"Oh...Uh, Steven, Thank you for this. Doing this, I should say"

Red rubs her wrist while slowly walking away from them to the warp. It goes off, and with it she does.

"Is she going to be alright, Pearl?" Faintly says Connie getting up off the couch. Nobody says anything while watching the warp.

"No, she isn't alright, Connie, but being alone is the best thing for her right now...Okay, back to bed you two. The show is over"

As Pearl was inches away from going inside her temple, she's yanked off by a invisible forced, then quickly warped away.

"RED! Wh-Why are you acting secret!" She exclaims seeing somebody warped her to Red's base

"I'm sorry, Pearl! Ju-Just something happened to me while I was...Sleep? I-I don't know, but I can't wait for Garnet's permission to strike. I'm leaving to go fight, so...Follow me if you want to too"

As she turns around to leave, Pearl grabs her arm midway. Nothing is said by Red as she waits for her to explains this action

"YOU'RE waiting on MY permission, Red! Though...I can't stop you if you truly wanted...If you love me, Red, then don't do whatever is it your about to do"

"I'm sorry, Pearl...I'm not going to sit idly by while our enemies close in around us. I'd hope you would have been with me to see the start..." Red quickly pushes Pearl onto the warp, then sends her away in a flash. This different type of warp was disabled with a flip of a switch hidden by panel behind it.

The world of Pearl slows down as she trips off the warp landing onto her back. She wanted to tell Garnet thousands of different things, but chooses silence with ignorance of what was happening on earth's red neighbor planet

"Lapis..." She faintly says. Pearl shoots for the warp to rally her strongest ally


Part 4: Inner Fire

As Pearl and Lapis land at the far end of Red's mountain, they didn't recognize it. By now the top of the peak was gone, and something was stirring deep within the earth

"WHAT are you two waiting for?!" Cries Peridot running forward. Lapis charges ahead picking her up, they separate from Pearl with the speed of her water wings

Pearl dreaded that she was too late seeing the top of the mountain gone. The snow burnt black around it seemed a rocket has already launched, so that didn't help anymore.

The launching center where Red first launched the weapon that destroyed the Zoo was busy, mainly with herself. She enters some type of code into the launch terminal before pulling back on a lever.

The ramp behind her is pushed upwards by a wave of water, that calms to Lapis sending a sharp, piercing smaller one directly into her. Nearly landed it's mark, but by the time it reached the terminal, Red was long done

"You're too late, lapis! I-I can't believe Pearl called you of all Gems! Don't you know I defeated THREE of you with my weapon!? A-And you of all Gems should be on my SIDE! WE BOTH HATE HOMEWORLD"

Red doesn't stay long to fight this gem, but rather escaped down the broken ramp. All floors were now accessible since Lapis destroyed it

She runs down the wall, then dashes into the hanger with her jet inside. Under it was the green Peridot messing with wires. She was quickly taken out with a slight swipe of her dagger. The engines shoot to life, and with it goes Red escaping

"PERIDOT!" Cries Lapis looking around the now empty room. She forms to quickly wave to her

"She got away, Lapis! Bu-But it's okay!" She flies over to Peridot, though doesn't say anything while landing. She looks out at the mountain side somewhat hoping Red would simply calm down and return

"W-We failed, Peridot...Let's just LEAVE! That's settled it right there, we're leav-"

"wAIT! don't you at least want REVENGE, Lapis! Those warhead she had were easily sab-" Both gems are forced to the their knees from a sudden force taking off

Pear also on her knees watches a obsidian colored missile with lines of light streamed across it launch from the middle of the mountain. The size alone was nothing she's ever seen, and convinced her it wasn't a weapon, but instead carrying something. The engines behind it burn a bright blue as it rockets into the sky at a arch

"Pearl! It's OVER! Sh-She's escaped!" Lapis lands behind Pearl, then helps her up from the snow

Peridot was tinkering with some type of remote. Everyone had a look of dread on their face, but her

"No, LAPIS! I've been trying to tell you this, BUT WE WON! Look, I re-wired her nova engines to launch a missile! Soon as she jum-"

"PERIDOT, NO! WH-WHY, THAT WILL SHATTER HER!" Lapis puts herself between then two from Pearl's sudden outburst.

"Little late now, Pearl...I mean, by odds it's most li-" All eyes are drawn to a yellow dagger thrusting through Peridot's chest, then Red revealing herself to the world

"Sorry, but I always need a assistant"

As lapis raises her hands to attack, Red dashes through her, and through the process slashes her throat. A blue based gem falls to the snow before

"Pearl, I'll be back if you still, you know...Even like me after all this"

Red turns away hoping Pearl would grab her arm to say something, but nothing is said as she tries to stab her with a spear. There is no retaliation or battle between the lifelong friend, just Red's jet lifting off in the distance. It warps away with no explosion unlike Peridot said