I don't know if this chapter doesn't have a lot of suspense, but all the stuff that happens with Steven and the Gems remains mostly the same, except they're also looking for Spinel. During that time, the only interesting part of Spinel's time in prison was getting smothered by Blue Diamond for being alive.

So… yeah.


Spinel was having the worst time of her life.

Away from her baby, away from her friends, away from her home Earth, stuck in Pink Diamond's room with the bubbled Rose Quartzes. She wasn't even allowed to leave, knowing that Blue Diamond would just find her and escort her back.

She laid on the cushions, trying to find some form of relaxation in this wretched place. Stars, how could she be so stupid trying to rescue Greg? She should've known Blue Diamond was already there. But what she was most afraid of now was the consequences.

Would she be kept in Homeworld forever? Will she be shattered? Be sent back to Earth? She hoped for the latter.

"Spinel."

The pink Gem jolted upwards and saw Blue Pearl approaching her.

"W-What is it?"

"I came to inform you that my Diamond will arrive in a moment."

Spinel groaned, "Does she have to? I've been through enough just being here with that... heartless monster."

"I understand your irritability," said Blue Pearl, surprisingly unfazed, "But my Diamond does not wish to harm you."

"... I'm sorry, Blue. I don't wanna take my frustration out on you."

"No need to apologize. I understand."

The two Gems were silent for a moment before the doors opened and there stood Blue Diamond. Blue Pearl bowed and saluted as her Diamond approached Spinel.

"Hello dear Spinel," She greeted, "How are you feeling?"

Never felt worse... "I'm feeling... alright."

Blue Diamond seemed satisfied, "Good. I'm glad to hear that." She gently picked her up, nuzzling her close as she removed her hood. "Oh Spinel, I'm sorry that you've been taken away from Pink, you must've been so scared..."

Spinel gulped, "Ye-Yes. She was my best friend, and had to see her being shattered and me taken away by Rose... it's... it's been hard for me, even today. But I couldn't come back here since I thought you all would be... unhappy with me for not defending my Diamond. I-I... don't want to talk about her right now..."

At first, Spinel couldn't tell if the Diamond bought it or not, but felt glad when she nodded understandably, "It's alright, dear Spinel. I understand if you do not wish to speak of Pink right now. I'll give you all the time you need."

"Right..." Spinel responded, smiling nervously. Stars, just let this end.

Blue Diamond continued to nuzzle the pink Gem into her cheek, her powers forcing tears to fall down Spinel's cheeks, "Oh... I can't wait to show you to Yellow. She'll be so happy to see you again."

Spinel grumbled quietly. Wow, we're on completely different wavelengths here.

"Isn't it wonderful, Pearl?" The blue monarch asked her servant, "Spinel's finally returned to us!"

Blue Pearl bowed respectfully, "Yes... it is."

Spinel felt a surge of sympathy towards the Pearl. While she had gone to Earth, free from slavery or any rules, Blue Pearl had stayed and obeyed her Diamond's orders, unable to speak back to her.

Just then, the door opened and Yellow Diamond appeared, looking cross, "Please tell me you're joking. You only just left, and you're already back?"

"Ah! Yellow!" Blue Diamond perked up, "You wouldn't believe what I had found!" She held up Spinel like a prize, "It's Pink's lost treasure, Spinel!"

The moment the yellow monarch set her eyes on the pink Gem, she cringed and took a step back. "Oh dear..." She then leaned in close, too close for Spinel's comfort, "What has happened to you? You look... hideous."

Spinel clenched her fists, sweating profusely, "I... I was just..."

Blue Diamond held her away, "What does it matter? She's alive and well! We need to bring her back to Homeworld as soon as possible."

Spinel winced in alarm. No! That is the last place I'd want to be in!

Yellow Diamond narrowed her eyes, and let out a sigh, "Blue, you can't keep doing this. You can't keep coming here to mourn her, toying with what belonged to her, or keep the entire cut of Gem that shattered her in bubbles!"

Blue Diamond lowered her head, "But they were hers. She made them. This is all that we have left of her. But now..." She lifted Spinel up once again, "Now we have found her lost treasure. We have not lost all parts of her..."

However, Yellow Diamond pinched the bridge of her nose, "Here," She took Spinel from the other Diamond, "You don't need to be in any part of this." She placed the Gem down next to the two Pearls. The Pearls glanced at her, the yellow one in surprise.

"You're back!" Yellow Pearl gasped.

Spinel gave her a weak smile, "Yeah… It's been some time, huh?" Before they could continue, they heard and watched the Diamonds arguing.

"But really Yellow, what are you here for?"

"I'm here to bring you back to reality."

"I'm fine," Blue Diamond turned away, "Just leave me be."

"You need to put that planet this whole debacle behind us!" Yellow Diamond chided.

Blue Diamond scowled through her tears, "Why can't you just let me grieve?"

"You can't keep coming here forever!"

"Why not?"

Yellow Diamond sighed, directing her attention to her Pearl, "Pearl, do something. Sing for her. Make her feel better."

"Yes, my Diamond!" Yellow Pearl obeyed, clearing her throat. She stared at the other Pearl and cleared her throat loudly again, giving her the message. Spinel nearly cringed when they began to sing in a rather haunting way...

Blue Pearl & Yellow Pearl: Ah ha ha, ah ha ha, ah ha ah ha ah ha ha

Ah ha ha, ah ha ha, ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haa…

Yellow Diamond: Why would you want to be here? What do you ever see here, that doesn't make you feel worse than you do?

And tell me, what's the use of feeling, Blue?

Why would you want to employ her subjects that destroyed her? Why keep up her silly zoo?

Oh, tell me what's the use of feeling, Blue?

An army has a use, they can go and fight a war,

A Sapphire has a use, she can tell you what it's for.

An Agate terrifies, a Lapis terraforms.

Where's their Diamond when they need her, Blue? You've got to be a leader, Blue!

During their song, Spinel notices Steven and Greg hiding behind the pillars, wearing Zooman clothing. They made a gesture to her to remain silent, which she did, yelping when Yellow Diamond picked her up.

Yellow Diamond: And yes, we have finally found her little toy…

This Spinel was the last thing to bring her any joy...

But now, there's nothing she can do,

So tell me!

Blue Pearl, Yellow Diamond, & Yellow Pearl: What's the use of feeling?

What's the use of feeling?

What's the use of feeling, Blue?

After placing the frightened Spinel down, she held a hand to the Pearls, which they hopped onto.

Yellow Diamond: Oh! How can you stand to be here with it all?

Blue Pearl & Yellow Pearl: Here with it all...

Blue Pearl, Yellow Diamond, & Yellow Pearl: Drowning in all this regret, wouldn't you rather forget her?

Yellow Diamond: Oh! Won't it be grand to get rid of it all?

Blue Pearl & Yellow Pearl: Rid of it all...

Blue Pearl, Yellow Diamond, & Yellow Pearl: Let's make a plan of attack! Start looking forward and stop looking back!

Spinel began subtly moving towards the door, behind the pillar across from Steven and Greg.

Yellow Diamond: Oh! Yes, of course, we still love her, and we're always thinking of her.

Don't you know I miss her too?...

But tell me... What's the use of feeling?

What's the use of feeling? What's the use of feeling...

As Yellow Diamond hummed the remainder of the song, Blue Diamond went over to place a hand on her back. The Pearls, on the other hand, noticed Spinel hiding behind a pillar close to the door and the pink Gem gave them a wave. They nodded just as the doors opened.

Steven, Greg, and Spinel ducked as a tall blue Gem, Holly Blue Agate, along with Sapphire and Ruby walked in. For the first time in a long while, Spinel never felt true relief to see them again, other than reuniting with her two Homeworld friends.

"And we have arrived," said Holly Blue, "That will be all, Pearl." With two claps, Pearl stepped away. Spinel didn't make a peep as she watched her friends talk with her worst enemies.

"My Diamond," Holly Blue greeted, "My gracious, wondrous, luminous, lustrous Diamond... s?" She saw that Yellow Diamond was present as well, "Oh, my! It's truly an honor to bask in your radiance... ses?"

"Get to the point, Agate," Yellow Diamond told her.

The taller blue Gem cleared her throat, "Yes, of course. My deepest apologies. You'll be pleased to know that your Sapphire has completed your special delivery."

Blue Diamond turned and glared suspiciously, "What special delivery?"

"... Um, the special delivery you requested from Earth, of course," explained Holly Blue.

"I never asked any Sapphire to go to Earth..."

Sapphire immediately tensed up with fear, ice forming on the floor beneath her.

Come on, Sapphire! Spinel encouraged in her head. She was thankful to see Ruby hold her partner's hand, allowing her to relax and explain a legitimate lie.

"My... future vision foresaw you, my Diamond, desiring more... humans for the zoo, so I... acted accordingly."

Blue Diamond continued to stare... before lowering her head, "It's true. The window for preserving Earth specimens is closing."

Spinel heard Steven let out a quiet relieved breath.

"Is that what you want?" The yellow monarch asked her fellow Diamond before turning to ask Sapphire, "Sapphire, has the Cluster emerged yet?"

"No it has not," The blue prophet replied.

Yellow Diamond seemed satisfied, "Then there's still time. That will be all." She clapped twice.

Holly Blue bowed respectfully, "My Diamonds."

With that, Spinel, Steven, and Greg saw their only chance, so when the group left, they followed right behind them. Spinel took one last glance at the Pearls as the doors closed, wishing them luck.

While the trio hid behind Amethyst, Holly Blue let out a breath, "Two Diamonds?! I can't believe it! Can you believe it? Oh, well, of course, you can. You probably foresaw the whole thing."

"Of course!" Sapphire nervously said, "No surprises here."


Unfortunately, back in the room, Blue Diamond looked down to the floor, "Well, at least we still have-" But she saw that Spinel was nowhere to be found.

"What?" Yellow Diamond inquired.

"S-Spinel!" The blue monarch shrieked, "S-She's gone! Gone!" In her panic, she fled to another exit, with Yellow Diamond following her, protesting. The Pearls, while trailing behind their masters, remained silent, happy that their friend escaped.


Outside the room, the alarms began to blare out loudly, causing the guards and Gems to freeze up from the noise, the halls illuminating red. "This is an emergency!" Blue Diamond's shrill voice echoed throughout the halls, "Spinel is missing! Find her! Bring her to me!"

Holly Blue flinched, "Oh my! R-Right away!" She ran off, presumably to find the guards.

"RUN!" Sapphire shouted, and they all did just that.

Thanks to Sapphire's future vision, they sped through the halls, passing by the guards. Spinel was bewildered why they weren't doing a thing to stop them, but wasn't given time to ask as they found the ship hangar.

The Crystal Gems all got into the Roaming Eye, activating it and sped off into the starry sky. Spinel refused to look back at the Zoo, unable to cut off the faint sounds of the alarms.

After a while, they were as far away from the Zoo as possible, and everyone sighed in relief.

"That…" Amethyst panted, "Was close…"

Ruby and Sapphire fused back into Garnet, "I… agree…"

Spinel sat up, still exhausted from running when a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders, "SPINEL!" Steven cried, "We found you!"

"Oh... my baby..." Spinel hugged him back, smiling lovingly, "I never gave up on you, or any of you."

Another pair of arms came to wrap around her, "Thank the stars!" It was Pearl, "I was so worried about you!"

Spinel accepted her hug as well, "Oh Pearl..."

They then explained their own adventures in the Zoo. Spinel was surprised to hear about Steven and Greg's experience inside the Zoo with the 'Zoomans', and that the Amethyst guards weren't actually bad at all. They were on their side, some of the guards being from the Beta Kindergarten, such as a thin Jasper nicknamed 'Skinny' and a short Carnelian.

Then Spinel was able to get a chance to tell them her experience. It was rather short, as all she did in Pink Diamond's room was lay there in boredom, unable to leave due to Blue Diamond's overwhelming solace, which she despised.

"The only good thing about all this," Spinel finished, "Was meeting up with Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl."

"Whoa..." Steven stared in shocked awe.

"Well," Greg chuckled a bit, "It's good to be finally out of there."

Garnet clenched her fist, grumbling about how she wanted to punch Holly Blue for what she said about Blue Diamond being 'merciful'.

Spinel let out a sigh, "Let's go home, shall we?"

With a nod from Steven and Pearl, the latter controlled the panel and they warped back to Earth, hoping it was the last time Spinel had to deal with the Diamonds...


BITCH YOU THINK-