The moment Spinel got back from the garden, the first thing she saw was... a stranger in their house, talking to the others.
"I mean, look at this! She really is something else!" The stranger laughed.
Oh... It couldn't be... But it is!
"Oh my stars!" Spinel nearly exclaimed, catching everyone else's attention, "So you're the Bismuth that Pearl and Garnet have been telling me about! But I thought you were..." She approached the newcomer, unable to finish her sentence.
Bismuth froze when she saw the pink Gem. At first, she didn't recognize who she was, until her eyes laid on the heart-shaped gemstone and, in her imagination, it flipped right-side up. Then she knew.
"What's she doing here...?" Bismuth asked suspiciously.
Spinel panicked and backed away as Pearl stood protectively in front of her, "B-Bismuth! It's okay! She's with us!"
Bismuth blinked, "... What?"
Garnet stepped up, "She joined The Rebellion while we thought you were gone... Well, it was more of a 'Rose took her in'."
"... Wow..." Bismuth whispered and then chuckled, "Rose was certainly risking herself, stealing a Diamond's prized possession..."
Spinel gulped. Awkward...
Steven looked at her, "Wha…?"
"But hey!" Bismuth perked up, "Even more new recruits!" She took Spinel's hand and shook it, "Nice to have you as part of the gang!"
Spinel laughed nervously, "O-Oh yeah, thanks..."
"Although…" The gray Gem narrowed her eyes, inspecting her, "You don't look like the Spinel I've been told about…"
"Things have changed while you were gone," Pearl told her.
Bismuth looked around the house, "I see… I mean, building bases out of wood?!" She joked, tearing a piece of wood from the floor, "Hmph, whose terrible idea was this? And where is everybody else?" She tossed the wood piece away.
"Everybody else?" Steven asked.
"Yeah, rest of the Crystal Gems!" said Bismuth, "Ol' Crazy Lace, Biggs, Snowflake?"
Steven and the Gems all grimaced.
At the Battlefield
The moment they all warped into the field of overrun strawberries and weapons, Bismuth gasped, "No- No way!" She walked forward, "We were just here! How long was I out?"
Pearl walked over to her old friend, "It's been about 5,300 years. We, the Crystal Gems, were able to save the Earth…"
"But we're all that's left of The Rebellion, huh?" Bismuth finished for her.
Pearl nodded, her eyes watering with tears.
Bismuth began to feel tears running down her face, "Oh, come on, Pearl. You know I can't take it when you cry like that!"
"I'm sorry." Pearl sniffled.
"No, no need to apologize," Bismuth held Garnet's hand as she came over.
Spine turned away, stepping away from the warp pad. She looked out at the field of large strawberries and weapons. As she stood still, she didn't hear the rest over their conversation as she shut her eyes, trying not to scream aloud just from in this place of no comfort.
After what felt like forever, she opened her eyes and gasped when all she could see were hundreds of Gems of different kinds fighting viciously. There were angry battle cries, screaming, and weapons slamming against each-other.
Her head whipped from left to right, trying to find any familiar face of a Crystal Gem ally. That's when she saw a large, black and white Gem not too far away, grunting as she was fighting a Imperial Jasper. That's when her best friend slipped and the Jasper got ready to strike.
"SNOWFLAKE!" She screeched, reaching a hand out before the memory faded, leaving her in the field again.
"Spinel?!"
She spun to see Steven standing there, eyes wide with concern, confusion, and shock. Lifting her head, she could see the same emotions in Pearl, Bismuth, Garnet, and Amethyst's eyes.
Oh my stars, they were watching me do that?
"I... I'm sorry... I just..." Spinel clasped her head, "I just had a moment. I don't like this place, brings too many bad memories back."
Pearl walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Spinel, for making you come here..."
Spinel sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I-It's okay..."
"Hey, let's go to the Forge instead," Bismuth offered softly.
"Huh?" Spinel lifted her head up.
Bismuth took the group to an active volcano, which made Spinel cling to Steven tightly and give him a piggyback ride. They traveled down the volcano until they reached a stone slab.
"Is this the forge?" Steven laid his head in between Spinel's pigtails.
"Not quite," Bismuth answered, standing in front of the slab with her gemstone glowing. The ground began to shake as several doors of the slab opened, creating a tunnel within the volcano.
"Ta-da!" The gray Gem dramatically announced.
Spinel clapped as the others gasped their amazement. They walked into the tunnel and found themselves in a dark room.
Pearl squealed with excitement, "Bismuth!"
Steven stared at a giant sword hanging above, "Whoa!"
"It's just like I remember it," spoke Pearl, reveling in the memories.
Spinel looked around as Steven began to sweat, "It's like an oven in here…"
"You think it's hot now?" Bismuth joked.
"Yeah, like an oven."
The gray Gem laughed, "Well, it's about to get waaaay hotter!"
Shifting her hand into a hammer, Bismuth slammed it on a pedestal. The pedestal sunk into the ground, lava flowing from an opening like a waterfall, dusing Bismuth in it. Spinel panicked and backed away as light filled the room.
"Ah, cool!" Steven grinned excitedly, hopping off of Spinel's shoulders.
"D-Don't get too close! That's real molten and lava!" The pink Gem warned her boy.
Bismuth emerged from the lava, "Ooh... Hah! Nothing like a hot lava bath to get into a working mood." She went over to three barrels, picking up handfuls of dust.
Steven followed her, "Uh, what exactly are you doing?"
"Homeworld used us Bismuths to erect spires and temples for the Gem elites to enjoy," explained Bismuth, dunking her clenched hand into the lava for a moment before pulling it out, "But Rose taught me that my life was my own."
She walked over to an anvil, placing the heated metal ingot on it, and shifted her hands into hammers, "That I could choose to do whatever I wanted." The gray Gem pounded the ingot, Spinel and Steven watching with interest, "So I chose this."
She then dipped the ingot into lava, pulled it out, molding a flaming sword and Bismuth blew the flames away.
The sight reflected in the boy's eyes, "Bismuth… you make weapons?!"
Bismuth hoisted the sword over her shoulder, "That's right! I outfitted the entire Rebellion. Every material weapon used by the Crystal Gems was made right here in this forge. Wait. Is it still here?"
She ran over to a chest and opened it, "Aha, yes! Here, something to pack a little extra punch."
She tossed a pair of brass knuckles to Garnet, who quickly summoned her gauntlets and the knuckles attached to them. Garnet grinned as her gauntlets had now improved.
"And why don't you try a trident?" Bismuth added, tossing a forked attachment to Pearl, who summoned her spear, attaching it to her spear and her eyes gleamed.
"Oh Bismuth," Pearl gaped, with her pink companion staring at it with amazement, "You shouldn't have."
"It's no big deal," said Bismuth, "I was working on them since before..." She glanced down for a second, "Well, may as well give them to you now."
Garnet nodded, "It was worth the wait."
"Oh my stars," Spinel spoke quietly, "Imagine what the spear's gonna look like when we're Peach Moonstone!"
Pearl let out a squeal, "I know!"
"Hey, it's a pleasure doing Bismuth with you," The gray Gem winked at her pun.
Steven laughed, "Bismuth is so funny!"
"I don't know," Amethyst finally spoke up, "Same joke twice?"
"Well, it'll be really funny if she does it the third time," said Steven.
Amethyst crossed her arms, "Right. Sorry, I-I don't know. I mean, she's one of the original Crystal Gems and no one ever mentioned her to me, not even Rose? Don't you think that's a little bit, uh... suspicious?"
Spinel angrily shushed her, "Don't be rude!"
"Hey, deep-cut!" Bismuth glanced to Amethyst, "Don't think I forgot about you. What you packin'?"
The purple Gem brought out her whip, "Oh, this old thing?"
Bismuth walked over to her, "Oh wow."
"What is it?"
"Well... Not every Quartz can make a whip like this. You mind if I take a look?"
"Knock yourself out," Amethyst gave her the whip.
Bismuth thought of something, "Hold on! I've got an idea!" She walked away for a moment and returned, "Here, with this, you can really cause some real damage."
Amethyst took her whip, seeing how it was upgraded with three spiked flails, prompting her to gasp in awe, "Aw yeah, baby!" she lashed her whip around, "Bismuth's the best!"
"Now for you, Spinel," Bismuth turned to face Spinel with a friendly smile, "What weapon do you got?"
Spinel physically tensed and bit her lip, "I... I don't have one."
Bismuth raised a brow in confusion, "What?" Thinking of an idea, she grabbed a random hammer and handed it to her, "How about this?"
The pink Gem took a step back, "B-Bismuth, I appreciate the offer, but I think my abilities are good as they already are."
"Really?"
Pearl stepped up, "Y-Yes! Besides, she doesn't need a weapon, she's already talented just the way she is!" She gave Spinel a wink, who reciprocated with a grateful smile.
Bismuth blinked, but nodded, "Understood. But wow, a Gem without a weapon yet able to fight and survive without being shattered! Guess you really are one of a kind, huh Spinel?" She grinned.
Spinel chucked a bit, "Y-Yep... One of a kind... heh heh heh..."
Throughout the day, Steven and the Crystal Gems hung out with Bismuth. Spinel quickly grew fond of Bismuth, despite some of the stuff she said earlier. Her humor, attitude, and her passion was quite something to be desired. She showed off her abilities in front of the Gem, who was very impressed with them.
All Spinel could ever hope for was a new addition to their family, and Bismuth fit right in.
... However, when it turned night, Spinel found both Steven and Bismuth missing. It was past Steven's bedtime, and she became worried. She looked around the house, outside, even the Burning Room, but there was no sight of them.
Becoming increasingly scared for her boy, her mind thought back to the Forge they went to earlier. Did Bismuth take him there? Why? Was she making a weapon for him, or improving his shield in some way?
She asked herself these questions as she warped to the volcano, running to where the Forge was located. She found it rather quickly, but it was left open. Ignoring that, Spinel ran down the hall, fear and horror pounded in her head when she heard... screaming.
W-Why do I hear screaming?! No… NO! Steven! Bismuth!
Spinel desperately slammed her fists on the doorway, trying her hardest to break through. But after a moment when everything turned quiet, Spinel acted upon impulse, expanded her fists to break through the door, smashing it into pieces.
"STEVEN! BIS-" She was prepared to fight, to attack anyone who would hurt her baby… but froze.
Steven was breathing heavily, holding up Rose's sword as Bismuth poofed and retreated into her gem, dropping a weapon she didn't recognize.
"... … Steven?"
Steven began to sob through his sobs and deep breaths, "I-I'm sorry- I didn't- She was- I didn't mean to-to- I was trying to help- She wouldn't- She was- I didn't want to-" But he couldn't say any more as he broke down, sobbing loudly, dropping Rose's sword.
Spinel rushed over to his side, coiling his arms tightly around the boy, "Honey, what happened? Was Bismuth trying to harm you?!"
Steven couldn't answer, he just continued to sob, almost to the point of screaming, despite Spinel's gentle attempts to relax him, softly shushing him and speaking lovingly. She glanced over to Bismuth's gem, bubbling it.
"... O-Okay... okay..." She breathed, lifting Steven in her arms, "You don't have to tell me now if you don't want to-"
"BUT I NEED TO!" Steven screamed, tears flooding down his cheeks.
Spinel was stunned by that, but sighed, "Alright... let's bring Bismuth with us."
Before they left though, Spinel saw Steven toss the strange weapon into the lava. This greatly confused her, but didn't want to bother because of Steven's condition.
Spinel couldn't believe what she had heard.
The weapon Bismuth was holding was a "Breaking Point", made for shattering a Gem, even a Diamond, as a way to end the Rebellion. But Rose Quartz had opposed the idea, and Bismuth was unable to accept this and attacked her, leaving Rose no choice but to bubble Bismuth away, hide her in Lion's mane, and lie to everyone of her fate (including her)
And now, Bismuth had wanted to give Steven the Breaking Point, hoping that he would use it instead. But (so much like his mother), Steven refused. Bismuth, thinking he was no different from Rose, attacked him. But Steven had used Rose's sword to defend himself. When Bismuth vented that Rose hid her and lied to everyone, Steven told her he would tell them.
And Bismuth's last words before Spinel had broken in was, 'Then you really are better than her.'
On one hand, Spinel was indeed furious when she heard that Bismuth had tried to kill her baby. But on the other, she felt sympathy at the same time. She couldn't imagine what it was like for Bismuth. Hoping to find a solution to a death-defying problem, only to be turned down, then to be hidden away with everyone you cared about being lied about what happened.
All they could do now, was to leave Bismuth alone in the Burning Room, with all the other bubbled Gems. It would take a while, but she knew they would bring Bismuth back.
Someday.
Bismuth: rose was certainly risking herself, stealing a diamond's prized possession
Steven, in his head: excuse me WHAAAAAAAAAAAT
