The dust settled. A wall of rubble surrounded them, and the only light either could see was coming from the the smallest sliver of sunlight seeping through the cracks. Steven hugged Pearl, her cold form the best thing in the world in that moment. As Pearl stood, she didn't loosen her grip in the slightest. On the contrary, she lifted Steven with her and cradled him like he was a baby again.
"Steven." Her voice was as gentle and soothing as Garnet's, "I need you to put down the bubble."
"But... but the things."
"Don't worry about the rubble Steven, I can handle it."
"But Pearl, I... I did something." He remembered the pink, and how time stood still.
"Nonsense, Steven, this was all my fault! You played no part in this!"
"No, I..."
"Shh, Steven, now is not the time to blame yourself. I didn't... I didn't know she was still so upset about this. Just lower the bubble and we can go get Garnet."
"We have to get Amethyst!"
"No, no, no." She hushed Steven again and ran her fingers through his hair, "Amethyst is gone, you saw her run. Not even Garnet could keep up with her. But she will know where she went, and I need to get you safe."
"I don't need to safe! I need Amethyst!"
"We'll get her back. This isn't the first time she's run off. Lower the bubble, Steven."
Steven closed his eyes and braced himself against Pearl as he obeyed. He felt Pearl jump, and the movement of her arm as she struck out, presumably with her spear. There was a series of crashes, like rocks shattering, but Pearl was there so he felt no pain. A small shower of dust rained down on him, but that was all the discomfort he felt before Pearl was dusting him off and saying,
"It's alright Steven. You can open your eyes now."
Steven blinked the dust from his eyes and looked at what remained.
"Do you want to walk?"
Steven whined and clung tighter to Pearl as she tried to put him down.
"Okay, okay. I'll carry you."
Her gentle hand rubbed Steven's back as he closed his eyes again. She carried him over the rubble and to the warp pad, holding him through the chill of the stream and cradling him all the way to the house.
"STEVEN!"
Steven recognized the sing-song voice, but still flinched as he was suddenly pulled away from the safety of Pearl and into the shelter of another. Gloved hands, the scent of flowers, and arms that felt of rubber.
"Spinel!" He hugged her arm and nuzzled against it. His mind processed Garnet standing silently a few away.
Spinel nuzzled him, peppering his face with gentle kisses before looking around and saying, "Wait. Where's Amethyst?"
Steven looked helplessly to Pearl to explain; Spinel and Garnet followed his example. Pearl took her time answering, the quiet seeming to stretch on far too long as static rang in the air.
"Garnet, we need to talk."
"Pearl!" Spinel demanded, "Where is she?!"
"I need to talk to Garnet."
Spinel growled, dropping Steven to the ground as her face heated to a bright red and her eyes to flames, smoke blowing from her ears with the sound of a train's whistle. "What did you do?!" She held her hands in fists and jumped up, seeming to float for the deration of her shout before drifting back down.
"Spinel."
"Huh?" The color drained away, and Spinel was back to her normal pink self.
"Spinel." Garnet repeated calmly, "Stay here with Steven."
Spinel's gasp was loud, but Garnet didn't seem to hear it as she marched off into the privacy of the temple with Pearl at her side. Spinel's face squinted up and turned red again as she grinded her teeth together. Her arm spiraled until it resembled an attack-ready spring, and her fist swelled to twice the size.
"Ooo! When I get my hands on her!"
The springed arm released with the same, reverberating sound Steven expected as her arm unraveled, Punched the temple door, and then bounced back to her. She shrank her proportions back to normal.
"Spinny! Please calm down." Steven pleaded.
"Stevie!" Spinel turned quickly to look at him, kneeling to him so they could look eye-to-eye. "Tell your best friend Spinel everything!"
Steven summed up everything as fast as he could; Amethyst waking him up in the middle of the night and how the emotions surrounding her didn't feel right. How she practically dragged him out of bed, and everything that occured in the kindergarten. Pearl appearing, and the fight that transpired. How Amethyst ran.
"But there was something else..." Steven couldn't bring himself to look at Spinel, so his hands did just fine in that moment, "I don't know it was, but Pearl wouldn't listen when I tried to ask her."
Spinel hummed far too loud, then seized both of her ears and pulled them hard. At once, they grew and grew until they were nearly as big as she was. She put her hands behind them to push them forward. "I'm all ears."
"Everything was just loud, and I just wanted it all to stop, and it did! It was like everything slowed down, and I turned pink. But then it was over and everything was back to normal. It was only for a few seconds, but it was scary..."
Spinel shrank her ears back to normal and started to laugh. Steven could feel himself fall apart, everything in the room suddenly cold. He felt like metling into the floor to get away from the laughter. It was the truth! It was...
"Steven!" Spinel wiped an exaggerated tear from her eye and spoke through her incessent giggles, "You're a quartz!"
Steven blinked. "I... know?"
"Oh, um." Spinel cleared her throat and then tucked her arms behind her back, dragging her boots against the floor in an almost playful manner as she swayed back and forth with the movement. "You know that thing that Amethyst does? The spin dash?"
Steven nodded.
"That's what you were doing! Or at least what your body was trying to do."
"Wait." The thought clicked into Steven's head so fast he barely had time to think of it before it fell out, "I can do that?!"
"Sure you can!" Spinel reassured with a wave of her hand.
"Did you ever see my mom do it?"
"Well, no, now that I'm thinkin'. But she's a quartz! She has the power, and so. Do. You!" She tapped Steven's nose with a squeak.
"You mean... I can run like Amethyst!"
"Well not right now! You gotta work up to it, silly! Start off slow and-"
"Spinel."
Spinel flinched, and then scowled at Garnet's sudden interuption. It didn't take much for her to turn the scowl into a smirk and turn around to face the leader, batting long eyelashes and holding her joined hands to her chest.
"Yes dear?"
Garnet was unimpressed. "Watch Steven."
Pearl was practically clinging to Garnet's arm, not speaking. Not even looking at Spinel; in fact, it was clear that she was avoiding it.
"I got my eye on him!" Spinel winked, "Both eyes!"
Spinel's eyes stretched from their sockets, like tubes of white and pink that slivered through the air until they were rubbing all over Steven.
Steven screamed. "Ah! Eww! Eww! It's slimy!"
"Spinel."
Spinel pulled her eyes back, and Steven could finally breath again. She put her hand on her hip. "Where ya goin' anyway?"
"We're going to find Amethyst!" Pearl boasted, a smile bordering on smug imprinted on her face.
"There's any number of places she could be hiding." Garnet said, "We must check them all."
"Righty-o!" Spinel rattled her eyes, "Like where, exactly?"
"You're not coming."
"Well sure!" Spinel's eyes rolled in a comically large arch, "But I need to know where to search for you if you go missing!"
"We won't."
"Oh golly, I hope not!" Spinel battled her eyes and pursed her lips, "That would be just awful."
"And you will not follow us." Garnet immediately followed up with, "I mean it, Spinel. Don't follow us."
"I won't!" Spinel folded her arms behind her back and Steven could clearly see her fingers crossed.
"Uncross those fingers."
Spinel obeyed.
"Steven, behave yourelf." Garnet left Spinel in favor of gently pinching Steven's cheeks, "It's early. Try to get some more sleep."
"I don't think I can..." Steven admitted.
"I know." Garnet ruffled Steven's hair hard enough to force his head down with the gentle affection, "At least try."
"Okay Garnet."
Garnet gave a patient smile as she and Pearl departed for the warp pad. They dissapeared. The moment the light faded, Spinel gave a wail and fell apart. Every part of her streched thin and fell loose into a pile of limbs and misery.
Steven pet her head. "It's gonna be okay Spinel..."
"I know it will!" There was a sudden determination in her voice, and her body popped back together all at once, "Cause we're gonna go find 'er!"
"But... Garnet said not to go looking."
"No, Garnet said not to follow her. We won't be following, we'll be looking on our own! No followin' necessary! That, my dear Steven, is what we call a loophole!"
"Are there a lot of loop holes?"
"Steven, everything has a little loop-de-loop if you look hard enough!" To prove her point, she twisted her neck into two loops. "Even me!"
Steven laughed. He tried to bend his arm in a way to repeat the motion but, after struggling, was only barely able to complete a single, malformed look.
"That's the spirit!"
Spinel grabbed Steven's head in an outragously large head.
"Now let's get rollin! Yahooo!"
Spinel jumped up with a springing sound and shot off out the door, her legs spinning like tires as they passed down the stairs and across the beach where the barest hints of sunshine grew over the water. Spinel put Steven on her back and wrapped her arms around him like a seat belt.
"Hang in there, Sunshine!"
Steven didn't need to be told. He ducked his head behind her and squinted against the growing wind.
"Where are we going?"
"Wherever these good ol' legs decide to take me!"
It seemed they decided to take her to the car wash.
"Okay, Stevie. This rodeo ends here." She dropped him from her back and raised a fist to Greg's van. "Oh Greg!" She knocked three times.
There was chaos inside the van for the moments that followed before a very startled and dishelved looking Greg opened the door and practically fell out. "Woah, woah, woah! Where's the danger?"
"No danger! We have a warrent to search your premisis!"
"Wa- a what?"
Spinel pushed Greg aside and hoped into the van, scanning left and right and up and all around. "Hmm! Nothing purple in sight!"
"Mind explaining what's going on?" Greg asked, rubbing the back of his hair and looking between both of the searchers.
"We're looking for Amethyst! She ran away!"
"Again? Did you check at Vidalia's?"
"No?" Steven didn't know why he was asking, "Why?"
"Doesn't matter, sweetcake!" Spinel picked up Steven and put him once again on her back, "We's got an onion mom to talk to!"
Vidalia opened the door at the first knock and shoved a double-barrel through the doorway. "You have about five seconds to get off my property before I..." Her eyes drifted down to Steven, "Oh. Hi Steven."
She lowered the gun.
"Hi Vidalia! Why are you pointing a gun at us?"
"Thought ya'll was the police." Vidalia wheezed out a weak laugh, "Why are ya doin here so early?"
"I think the real question is 'why are you awake so early' miss trigger happy chappy?""
"Ya'll are up too, ain'tcha?" Vidalia pointed, "Kid's sick; been watchin' him all night."
"Oh no! Which one?"
"Onion? Poor kid started throwing up and everything."
"I hope he's okay!"
Steven was able to slide past Vidalia without her even attempting to stop him, but when Spinel tried to follow, she blocked the entrance.
"Mind telling me what ya'll are here for?"
"We're looking for Amethyst." Spinel shot back, "So 'scuse me!"
She flattened herself and slid past Vidalia before returning the mass of her body to follow Steven over to the couch where Onion, true to Vidalia's word, laid wrapped up in blankets and doused in sweat.
"Maybe you should take off the blanket?" Spinel put a hand to Onion's forehead. "Poor fella's burning up."
"He eh. Kept putting it back on." Vidalia explained quickly, "But Amethyst isn't here so ya'll can head on home!"
"I think we'll take a look around" Spinel said. "Ya know. If you don't mind."
Before Vidalia could open her mouth to decline, Steven quickly added to Spinel's request.
"Please. We'll be fast. I really want to find her..."
Vidalia looked down at Steven. She sighed, and her expression became gentle. "I can't say no to that face..."
"Thank you Miss Vidalia!"
"No problem, kid. Just make it quick."
"I'll check upstairs, you check down!" Spinel quickly followed her own order and flipped up the stairs. Steven turned back to Vidalia.
"Miss Vidalia, can I get a drink?"
"Sure thing, kiddo. Want a soda or a juice?"
"Soda please!"
"You got it!"
The moment Vidalia dissapeared out of view, Onion sat up like dracula out of his coffin. Steven almost screamed, but then Onion held a finger to his lips.
"Onion? I thought you were sleeping?"
Onion shook his head.
"Are you... feeling better?"
Onion didn't react. He shoved the blanket off of his tiny body and slid off the couch, grabbing Steven by the hand.
"Onion what- woah!" Onion was pulling him down the halls and up the stairs with a silent rage boiling inside him, "You're stronger than you look- ow! Onion!"
Past Sourcream's room, and past Vidalia's. To Onion's room, the door wide open and Spinel inside looking closely at Onion's terrarium.
"Steven?" She rubbed her head, "I thought I was lookin' upstairs. Is it opposite day?"
Onion finally let go of Steven, running straight for his bed and starting to bounce on it.
"What's he doing?"
"No clue."
Once he got enough height, Onion pulled on the top of his poster and ripped it off the wall to show off the secret door to his office. He let the poster fall, stopped bouncing, and motioned to the passage.
"That's disturbing." Spinel commented.
"No, it's just his office. He has toys in there."
"Hmm..." Spinel crawled onto the bed beside Onion and looked at his closely. "Maybe he has an Amy in there, too..."
Onion turned away from her, pulled the door open, and dissapeared into the tunnel.
"Steven!"
Steven turned at Vidalia's call.
"Where'd you go?"
Spinel snatched Steven and covered his mouth, shoving him through the tunnel, "In ya get!"
Onion was waiting at the other end to help Steven down.
"UGH!"
Steven could recognize that groan anyway.
"Come on dude! I thought we were friends!"
Onion stuck his tongue out at her.
"AMETHYST!"
Amethyst was laying on Onion's bean bag chair, covered in a heavy blanket and holding a bag of half-eaten cheetos in her hands. The orange proof of her binge eating was written all over her face, but Steven didn't care.
"Sup dude." Amethyst held out the bag. "Want a cheeto?"
"Are you okay?" Steven tried to steal a glance at Amethyst's gemstone, "I tried to bubble you too, but-"
"Chillax, man. I'm fine."
"AMY!"
In a flash of pink, both quartz were knocked into each other as rubber arms grabbed around their similar frames and pulled them both tight.
"Hello to you too, Spinel."
Spinel made a sound not unlike a boiling tea kettle. Then it turned practically into a growl as she started to hit Amethyst on the head, each strike ending with a squeak that only made Amethyst laugh during her vain attempts to cover her head.
"Hey, hey! Haha! I'm sorry!"
"Never run off like that again! Never, ever, ever! I thought you was never coming back."
Spinel's assult stopped, and her arms fell still like limp noodles.
"Hey, hey. Hey..." Amethyst gently touched Spinel's cheek, and the tear-soaked gem closed her eyes to lean into the touch, "Don't be such a crybaby. You know I always come back."
Spinel gave a whimpering squeak and gave Amethyst another hug, which Amethyst returned with the least amount of effort she could muster.
"Yay!" Steven wiggled in between the two to be included in their hugging session. "We're all friends again!"
"We never stopped." Amethyst said.
"But- but you were crying, and you ran away! I thought..."
"Dude. I'm fine. Look me in the eyes and honestly tell me I ain't." Amethyst opened her eyes wide as proof.
"Then... why did you run?"
"Cause Pearl was getting on my nerves! Always yelling and shouting and... making me hate myself..."
Spinel pulled away from the hug, but Amethyst grabbed her hand. A momentary panic flashed in her navy eyes and all around her. Spinel slowly and wordlessly let the other gem guide her hand onto her shoulder and hold it there.
"Amethyst..." Steven regretted his words the moment they started to pour out, but he couldn't stop, "Can I ask you something?"
Amethyst scoffed. "Ask away, little man."
"What did you mean bad gems?"
The happiness in the room shattered like glass. Amethyst looked away, her eyes dark and clouded while Spinel simply looked sad. Sad and upset and pitiful, though her eyes never left Steven as she kneeled down beside him.
"Steven not all gems are good..."
"You mean like Lapis?"
"No... worse. Gems that came to hurt the earth until your mother stopped them... but they still hurt a few places..."
"Like the kindergarten?"
Spinel closed her eyes and nodded. "Like the kindergarten."
"Was..." Steven didn't want to say it, so when it came out, it was quiet, "Was there a war...?"
"Huh?"
"Amethyst mentioned a war... and a rebellion...?"
"Oh..." Spinel clicked her tongue, "You see..."
"There was a war!" Amethyst interrupted suddenly, "A horrible, horrible war I was meant to be a part of!"
"But you weren't!" Spinel objected to Amethyst's harsh tone, "Not even I was!"
"Aw shit." That voice belonged to Vidalia as she struggled to fit through the tunnel "They found ya. Sorry Ams."
Amethyst raised a hand. "No sweat it. This one's extremely nosy." She pointed to Spinel.
"Can..." Steven wrung his hands together, "Can we go home now?"
Home was nice. Home was quiet. Home had food and peace and warmth and family. It had fun memories and sandwiches and soda and board games. Steven and the two guardians still with him took part of many of those pleasures as they waited for the other two to return. When they did, the confusion etched on Pearl's face, followed by immediately wrath and annoyance made Steven laugh. Garnet held out her arm to keep Pearl in place.
"It's nice to see you, Amethyst."
"Finally!" Amethyst threw the rest of her sandwich in her mouth, "Took you forever!"
"Your day went well I suspect." Garnet said calmly.
"Mmhmm!" Spinel nodded, "How was your fruitless effort."
"It was alright. She was at Vidalia's."
"Sure was!"
"I see that now. A very unlikely future; those are my favorite."
"Okay, okay!" Amethyst stood up quickly, holding her arms out and hanging her head in defeat, "Before ya'll put the beat down on me, I have something else to add to how horrible I am. I'd rather take the beating all at once and get it over with!" Amethyst looked at Steven.
Steven felt suddenly cold. "Amethyst, are you sure?"
"What's she talking about?"
"What did you rope Steven into this time?!"
"Amethyst. Explain."
Amethyst explained. She explained everything. Denying both Pearl and Garnet's order, hiding the pillow into her room until she had seen Steven free Lapis. Until she freed Desert. As the story went on, Amethyst became more passionate in her speaking of the treasure she had hidden. Pearl grew more and more furious with each passing word, almost interrupting a thousand times and being silenced by Garnet each attempt. Spinel started off confused, then confusion gave way to disbelief, and disbelief to fear. Garnet's expression didn't falter, but Steven could feel the energy around her wave with all sorts of emotions he couldn't begin to untangle. When Amethyst was finally done with her long, frenzied recount, Garnet wasted no time in voicing herself.
"Go get her."
"You're not mad?" Amethyst asked hopefully.
"Get her and bring her to me."
Amethyst slunk away to obey her lead.
"No one say anything until I say so." Garnet directed at Pearl and Spinel.
"But she-"
"No."
"She l-"
"No."
"We can't just-"
"Quiet."
Pearl pouted. "Yes Garnet."
Spinel zipped her lips shut.
"Steven, I am not mad at you." Garnet reassured to the small boy.
"Are you mad at Amethyst?"
"I'm curious." Garnet said simply, "Curious about her friend."
When the door opened, everyone waited in a tense silence as Amethyst backed out, guiding the taller and much more hesitant Desert.
"It's alright, Sandy. Come on..."
"It's awe wright..." Desert repeated in her heavy accent.
"Come on..." Amethyst was finally able to coax the Desert Glass out into the open. "Everyone, meet Desert. Desert, meet everyone."
Desert whined loudly and ducked behind Amethyst, clinging around her middle and burying her face out of sight.
"Hello Desert Glass."
Steven was shocked by the gently, soothing tone of Garnet's voice as the glided over to the couple and kneeled down her height matched with Desert.
"I am Garnet." She held out both of her palms, "I won't hurt you..."
Fearful, red eyes peeked out from behind her shelter.
"Amethyst told me a lot about you."
Desert didn't respond.
"I mean you no harm." Garnet stood back up, "You are welcome to stay with us."
"What- Garnet!"
"Pearl. Shh."
Pearl slapped both hands over her mouth to silence herself.
"We could always use a new member..."
