Toaster was in Lilly's part of the house. She had carried over Marshmallow and Nymphicus (still in his cage of course).
Lilly was curious with the two smaller animals, but found the Cabbit much more interesting than the bird. Marshmallow was currently hopping about, and using the massive corrupted Gem as a climbing mountain!
Lilly turned to her side- the Cabbit hopping quickly in sync to stay on top of the "mountain". The fluffy corrupted Gem lied on her back, and pawed at little Marshmallow carefully, but playfully.
Nymphicus had finally calmed down from the shock of seeing the massive Lilly. He was currently making quiet squeaking sounds as he preened and cleaned his feathers.
...and yet...it had been such a long time since Toaster had felt THIS alone. She loved her animal-like friends...OF COURSE she did! But none of the three could hold a decent conversation. The little Ruby was scared. Bananas was gone. Gamma was gone. Acapella was gone. The Crystal Gems were gone. Toaster attempted to make herself feel better, by pulling Fred out of her gemstone and hugging the plush.
The Ruby began thinking to herself. Everyone had been acting SUPER weird and awkward! Toaster may have been more immature than most Gems, but she wasn't an idiot. She knew something was wrong...she could FEEL it. If nothing else, the Ruby was very observant when it came to other people's feelings.
"NAAAPH?"
Toaster jumped! Marshmallow had bopped her forehead against the Ruby's leg in worry. "Mehph?"
"Oh! Marshmallow!" Toaster picked up the bunny-like animal with affection! "Marshmallow...you're worried about everyone too, huh?"
"Mef?" The Cabbit tilted her head in confusion. The Ruby sighed, before putting the pet on the floor again.
"GRAAAHHH!" Lilly walked up to Toaster, placed her massive head on the Ruby's lap, and wrapped her arms around the upset friend.
"MMPH! LILLY! HA-HA-HEE! Lilly! You're heavy! Heeeee!" Toaster fell over in bliss!
"GRAAAA!" The corrupted Gem gurgled in playfulness, and refused to move.
"OOF! Lilly!" Toaster smiled! "Get off..."
"GRUMPH!" Lilly refused.
The Ruby sighed in defeat. Lilly's fur was warm. Toaster felt a bit better. At least Lilly was here to protect her from scary stuff...
Acapella entered the house several hours later. Nibbles' leg was still mangled and broken, but the animal was now asleep. Acapella had sung her a lullaby.
"Toaster? TOASTER?! Where are you?" The Pearl shouted for her friend as she placed the sleeping Nibbles on the couch. "Toaster?!"
The Yellow Pearl checked all of the Ruby's favorite hiding spots- her bedroom, the kitchen cupboards, behind the house heater...
...no Toaster.
Acapella's fear rose tenfold once she found out that Marshmallow and Nymphicus we're missing as well! "TOASTER?! TOASTER YOU CLOD! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Acapella finally checked Lilly's quarters, and sighed with relief when she found the remainder of her family asleep in a dog pile.
"Good Grief..." The Pearl sighed again, before retreating back to the house to get Nibbles, and bring the injured Cabbit into Lilly's special area. Acapella sat on the floor in the corner of the room, and began to doze off as well. Lord, it had been a long, busy, day...
"Acapella! ACAPELLA! You're home!"
The Yellow Pearl awoke with surprise! It seemed Toaster had finished her nap, and was currently overjoyed that one of her more..."talkative" friends had returned!
Groggily, Acapella glanced at the Ruby-half asleep. While the Pearl showed little emotion, she was happy that Toaster looked so relieved. This feeling disappeared quickly, however, when the Ruby started asking questions:
"Where's Gamma? Why are you holding an extra Cabbit? Why does she have burn marks? How was Japan? Is Bananas doing ok? Why are you covered in ash? Why is everyone acting so weird?"
"Guh...erm..." there were too many questions at once. Overwhelmed, the Pearl answered as honestly as she could without making Gamma upset... "Gamma's with his parents. This is their pet Cabbit, Nibbles. She desperately needs surgery on her leg. There were no vets available, so I brought her home hoping the ASPCA could help her. There was a bit of a fire- hence the burn marks and ash- nothing to fret over. Bananas is fine...she just decided to sleep at Peridot's house tonight."
"Oh...was...was everyone else ok in the fire?"
Acapella nodded with a guilty look on her face. She really DID feel uncomfortable lying to Toaster like this...
"Woof! You must have had a crazy night Acapella! So many weird things goin' on..." Toaster smiled. She was happy to have her fellow Gem back home and safe!
"Indeed...Toaster? Do you think Sarah and the other people at the ASPCA could help fix Nibbles' leg?"
"Hmmmmm...not sure. Cabbits are not an Earth animal, eh?"
"No...no they are not. I was thinking about telling a lie, and pretending like she was an Earth Rabbit..."
"A bun?" The Ruby thought to herself. "A new breed of bun! We'll tell her it's a new breed!"
Acapella nodded in agreement, before leaving Lilly's part of the house to make the phone call to the ASPCA...
Sarah was surprised upon seeing the new breed of "rabbit". "BOY! You guys weren't kidding! She's adorable, but I have NEVER seen a rabbit with long whiskers on their eyebrows, nor ears THAT HUGE before! She's absolutely amazing! Where did you say she was from?"
"Japan." Acapella nodded.
"I see..."
"MWAAN! MERRR!" The animal had woken up again, and was crying in pain-struggling to move with her injured leg.
"Can you fix her foot Sarah? She's a nice bun!" Toaster pleaded.
"I think I can figure it out! Her skeletal structure is very similar to a regular rabbit..."
As it turns out, Nibbles had two fractures, and one bone that was completely broken. After examining the X-rays, the medical team had to perform surgery. The doctors agreed to place an internal metallic stint into the leg, before sewing up the surgery wound. The process would make the healing go faster.
Nibbles was handed back to Acapella and Toaster- with an included cast, and neck cone to prevent itching. The Cabbit was still very woozy and sleepy from the medicine.
"Keep the cast dry, and make sure she doesn't climb on couches or stairs. It will take two months for the leg to heal." Sarah nodded.
"Thank you Sarah! You've been a good help!" The Ruby nodded.
"Bah! No trouble at all! She's a very interesting bunny!" The woman smiled.
As Acapella exited the building, she began to gloat! "I can't believe that actually worked..." the Pearl was proud of herself!
"Me eithers!" Toaster agreed.
"Well, at least Nibbles can heal properly now!"
Nibbles woke up several hours later on a pillow that had been placed on the floor.
"murf...nnnn?" The Cabbit was still very tired and dizzy from the surgery. As her eyesight became more clear, she saw Marshmallow staring at her literally inches away from her face! "MAAAA!" Nibbles yelled in shock!
"MYAA! NERFL!" Marshmallow began to hop in excitement! She jumped in a circle!
Nibbles noted that the other Cabbit was much smaller in size- a young pup. "Merf..." The older Cabbit perspirated in exhaustion. She was in no condition to entertain a baby.
"MYAA! MYAA!" Marshmallow pawed at Nibbles medical collar playfully!
"MARSHMALLOW! LEAVE NIBBLES BE!" Toaster grabbed the baby Cabbit quickly. "She's not feeling goods Marshmallow! Let her sleeps! Here...I'll play with you upstairs..."
Toaster took her pet to her room.
"HUFF..." Nibbles sighed before falling asleep again.