GOOD EVENING EVERYONE! Nick Write here, bringing you the twelfth chapter of Gem of Time! Now, It's been a little while since I last updated, but don't worry. My summer is in near full kick. Next week I won't be able to update, because I'll be gone, but after that, I should be able to update each week! Yippee! Okay, but that's besides the point. I know that this story is kinda slow right now. Kinda in parallel to the show, where things were slow, and then shit hit the fan. I'm not sure when shit's gonna hit the fan, if it's gonna be this chapter, or a later chapter. Guess I'll figure that out as I'm writing, huh? Well, I don't want to waste any more of your time, so READ ON!

Lapis stared at the stars in the night sky, silently reminiscing about homeworld, prior to the gem rebellion. She heard footsteps behind her, and turned around, seeing Peridot walk over, and sit down. Lapis turned back around, not wanting to talk to the little green gem. Peridot sighed, and looked back up as well.

" You miss Homeworld?"

Lapis snorted." How it was 5,000 years ago, maybe."

Peridot nodded." I miss it to. But we can't go back, or we'd be shattered on the spot for treason."

Lapis looked over to the Peridot, eyebrow raised." When did you...?"

Peridot grinned sheepishly." I may have insulted Yellow Diamond straight to her face, after she couldn't see the valuable resorces this planet has, and it's unique living conditions, not to mention the life here itself. It truly is a marvel."

" That it is."

They both jumped, and turned, seeing Link walk over and sit with them as well.

" You know, as long as I was trapped in space, I've never actually seen how anything looks from space."

Lapis looked back up." It's beautiful."

Link nodded." Jade has told me. She's also told me that Homeworld isn't one to care about potential life and resources."

Peridot snorted." I was completely wrong about Homeworld. They don't have the best intrests of it's inhabitants in mind, and obviously are too wrapped up in vengeance fantasties to think logically. I mean, it's been 5,000 years, move on why don't you?"

Lapis nodded." Although I never saw the point of the rebellion or believed in colonizing this planet at all, I agree."

Peridot grinned." Maybe Rose Quartz should've just "colonized" Earth herself, and kept the rest of gem kind away."

Lapis chuckled." Maybe."

Link spoke up." I've met Rose Quartz. She obviously didn't have any interest in my home whenever I did. She was smart though. A good strategist, and most likely a good battle leader."

Peridot looked over." You met Rose Quartz before she started the rebellion?"

Link nodded." She was your average every day Quartz soldiers. In fact, there were a good bit of Rose Quartz gems. Hundreds even. But she stood out. I don't know what it was, but she was the least soldier like soldier there. I actually fought her."

Peridot nearly fell off the log she was sitting on." YOU FOUGHT ROSE QUARTZ?!"

Lapis looked surprised by this as well." That is surprising. I thought she cared for the life on Earth dearly?"

Link nodded." She was just another soldier back then, though. I would've beaten her if I wasn't surrounded by an entire army of highly trained quartz soldiers though."

Lapis looked thoughtful." Maybe you helped set the rebellion into motion."

Link nodded." I wouldn't doubt it. My last words to her seemed to get under her skin."

Peridot looked fascinated." What did you say?"

Link grinned, and in a dramatic voice held his hands out.

" I said,'I see. All of you are mindless pawns, working under the whims of some higher athority. Pathetic. Why do all this, when you could decide for yourself?'"

Peridot eyes were wide." Woah."

Link grinned sheepishly, and Lapis chuckled. Peridot had seemingly changed from before. Perhaps it was par of the course when hanging around the Crystal Gems for so long. She turned to the green-clad hybrid.

" So Link, technically you started the rebellion?"

Link thought for a moment, before looking up in realization.

" I did."

Peridot stood up suddenly.

" I have to get my voice recorder! THIS IS VALUABLE INFORMATION!"

Both Link and Lapis chuckled as Peridot scrambled to find the machine. Lapis sighed, looking back to the stars that she had been there to look at in the first place.

" Maybe it won't be so bad staying with the Crystal Gems at all."

The next day, the Gems were hard at work on the drill that they would take to the Cluster. Garnet stepped back, and admired their handiwork.

" Good job gems. I think that's it."

Peridot stood by the fusion." All that is needed now is coordinates that lead to the cluster."

Steven and the rest of the gems also walked over. "Coordinates? How are we supposed to get those."

Peridot thought for a moment." Well, I did have them preregistered in my limb enhancer log, but Amethyst stole them and threw them into the ocean, so I guess all we can do is go to an old homeworld base, and look it up on their computers."

Pearl looked at the short, green gem." Where's the closest homeworld base?"

Peridot thought for a moment." Well, there aren't any functional ones left, because they were all destroyed by you-"

Pearl blushed a little, as did Garnet, remembering them going around destroying Homeworld bases after the war. It was a good idea at the time.

"-so I think the closest base would be the base on Earth's moon."

Steven's eyes shined bright." We're going to the moon?!"

Pearl looked worriedly at the boy." How are we going to get to the moon from here? We have no ships or anything of that sort."

Peridot nodded." That is true."

Lapis thought for a moment." I could fly one of us there."

Peridot shook her head." I'm sure carrying someone that far through the vaccuum of space would be a very taxing task. The Earth's moon is a full 238,900 miles away. You might have trouble carrying someone there, and I doubt that you would know what to do once you got there if you went yourself."

Lapis was about to argue, but she remembered that she wasn't good with computers anyways. " Yeah. Good point. What are we going to do?"

Amethyst shrugged." Just start drilling and hope we find the Cluster?"

Peridot shook her head." That'd take too long. The Cluster is due to emerge in just a few weeks. We have very little time on our hands."

They were all silent, before Steven jumped up." We could take Lion!"

At the mention of his name, Lion looked over from his shadey nap spot beside the barn.

" Lion can warp with his roar, so I bet if anyone can get us to the moon, it's him!"

Pearl looked at the Lion, and then back to Steven.

" Well, it's worth a shot?"

Steven cheered." Yay! We get to go to the moon!"

Link chuckled at the young hybrid's enthusiasm. Yes, this was going to be an interesting trip indeed. They looked at the lion.

" Well, I don't think we can all fit on the lion. I think a couple of us will have to stay behind."

Pearl raised her hand." I'll stay behind to make sure there aren't any kinks with the drills structure."

Amethyst yawned." I'll just stick around here with P."

Garnet nodded." Then it's settled. We'll go to the moon and get the cooridinates, and be back as soon as possible."

Steven cheered again." MOON TRIP!"

The young gem hybrid whistled, and the pink lion looked up from his spot, and yawned. However, he laid right back down, and Steven sighed.

" Ugh, he always does this. LION!"

He ran over to the big pink cat, and began to gently push him on his side.

" C'mon, Lion. We gotta go to the moon!"

Link chuckled as the Steven attempted to get the beast up from it's slumber, and was finally successful.

Jade snorted from their gem." You know, that thing reminds me of you."

Link simply shrugged, and didn't respond..

It took a few moments, but Steven finally managed to get the lion up, and get the rest of the gems seated up on the ride. Steven and Peridot rode in the Lion's mane, while Garnet, Lapis, and Link sat on the Lion's back, respectively. Lion began to run forward, and roared, a large portal appearing in front of them. He jumped into it, continuing to run forward, and launch portals, each time speeding up, almost to the point to where Link was close to falling off. About the fourth portal, Lion and the rest of the gems shot out and landed on the base. Lion layed on the floor, panting slowly. Steven walked over to his...lion, and gave him a gentle pet.

" Aww, he's all tuckered out. You rest here, boo. We'll be right back."

Steven turned to the gems, all of them except Garnet looking confused. Peridot shook it off, and looked around.

" Okay, so somewhere around here there should be a control panel that makes the stairs to the upper levels appear."

Steven looked around as well, and took a big step, going much farther than he meant to. His eyes widened, shining with stars as he realized something.

" We're on the moon...that means..."

He took an experimental leap, going several feet into the air.

" I'm a moon boy!"

Lapis smiled at the boys antics." Go Steven!"

Steven laughed, and landed in front of Lapis." Come on, Lapis, jump with me!"

Lapis waved her hands." Sorry, I can't. My gem body immediately accomadates me to the gravity here, so it's normal for me now."

Steven gave a disappointed look." Aww..."

Lapis grinned." Buuut, I can fly!"

Steven's grin was back almost instantly, and the two were jumping and flying around the moon base. Link chuckled, and walked over to Garnet and Peridot, who were still trying to find the control panel.

" Any luck?"

Peridot stayed focused, but responded nontheless." It should be right around here. Aha!"

She pressed a small diamond, and it began to glow, several platforms floating up from the ground, and making a staircase for them. Peridot beamed.

" There we go! Come on, we have no time to waste."

Garnet said nothing, and the rest of the gems came to follow them. As they walked, Peridot admired the base.

" I'm sure back in it's time, this base was booming with buisness. Disappointing to see such a well made base go to waste like this."

They all quietly listened Link looking at the four murals that lined the walls. A Yellow one, a Blue one, a Pink one, and a White one. What did they represent, he wondered. Soon enough, the five gems reached the top floor, with the computer and a giant throne. Peridot stared in wonder at the room.

" This was a Diamond communication room. Amazing."

She marveled the throne, and booted up the computer, her little fingers going to work like she owned the place. She brought up a screen that had a diagram of the Earth on it, as well as a big X on the side of it. Peridot grinned.

" There it is. Here, I'll download the files on this disk."

She proceeded to work on the disk, and Steven pointed to another diagram.

" Hey Peridot, what's that?"

She stopped momentarily, and looked at the other open window.

" Hmm? Oh, that seems to be the blueprints for the colonization of Earth."

They watched as structures and things were built, until nothing of the Earth remained except a shell of its former self.

" Earth most likely would've been one of the biggest colonies owned by Homeworld, besides Homeworld itself. The nutrients here were rich for gem kind. However, they are also unique to the species here. Either way, Earth is an amazing planet."

They were quiet, slightly shaken by the diagram, but Peridot snapped them out of it, when she pulled the disk out.

" There we go! Alright team, let's go!"

They walked back outside, and boarded the now rested Lion. They travelled back to Earth, seeing Pearl and Amethyst idly chatting. When they arrived back, the two gems looked back hopefully. Peridot grinned, and pulled out the disk. Amethyst cheered, and Pearl looked relieved.

" Now to install it into the drill."

And a few moments later, the drill was ready. All seven of the gems got in, thanking Pearl and Peridot for making the cockpit roomy enough for seven. The little green gem switched the drill on, and buzzed to life. She grinned.

" You guys might wanna hold on! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

And they were off.

AAAAAAAAND THAT'S A WRAP! Sorry it's a day late, it's a longer chapter. Also, the Cluster is going to go COMPLETELY differently. So look forward to that. I hope you all enjoyed the read, remember to Favorite and Follow if you did, and leave a Review. Anything helps! As always,

See You On The Flip-Side~Nick Write