The ships of the Shining Hope Squad and Team Chronicle were soon joined by the Crystal Gems in a ship piloted by rubies. They were gazing at a chrome ship that was floating near a planet.

"So that's the Human Zoo." Hope said.

"That place is huge!" Mark added. "And this is just the outside."

"I can't believe it still exists." Pearl said.

"Dad's gotta be in there. We've gotta find him and bust him out!" Steven said as the Gem's ship headed inside. The others advanced, but then.

"Wait, stop!" Glimmer said. "We can't go in after them. If this place really keeps humans inside there like animals, we can't be seen. We'll stand out."

The ships then braked.

"So if we can't get inside, how are we gonna get around the place?" Vashyron said.

"We can't all go in there. What we need is to be inconspicuous, and help out the Gems by giving this place exactly what they want, something interesting. We'll offer up our Perfect Links as creatures to be shown in the zoo, and two of our members will go with them." Hope said.

"Hey, that's actually a good idea. And Akal can accompany them as their robot security detail." ZS said.

"While that's going on, another member will be free roaming the station to look for greg." Hope said.

"That's kinda a one way ticket to getting caught." Mahiru said.

"Unless no one can see you!" Ibuki reminded.

"That's a very interesting factor. But who do we know that…" Adora said before everyone looked to Hagakure.

"Did you guys just remember I'm constantly invisible?" Hagakure asked.

"Well, you're so high spirited that it's hard to NOT notice you sometimes…" SE said.

"Okay, so Akal will accompany the Crystal Gems on their plan with Falinks and Cramorant and take them into the Human Zoo with Steven, while Hagakure sneaks in undetected. One thing though Akal, you have to act totally robotic. How good are you at faking you have no emotion?" Hope asked.

"Uh...first time for everything?" Alkal asked nervously.

"Look, just speak when spoken too, sound robotic, and everything should be fine." Emo said. "You got this."

"Yeah, okay, I got this." Alkal repeated.

Adora then whistled as Falinks came marching in and formed up at her feet.

"Falinks is ready for action." Adora smiled.

"Okay, all we need is Cramorant… where exactly is he?" Hope asked.

"I dunno, maybe he's eating or something?" Mermista asked.

"Mermista, part of having a Perfect Link is knowing to keep track of your link." Hope reminded her.

"I know! Cramorant will eat anything it finds tasty, let's lure him out with something that'll catch his attention." Ibuki said.

"And what exactly will we be luring him with?" Bardock asked.

"Er… Ed's gravy cakes?" Ibuki suggested.

"Gravy!" Ed cheered, holding up one of said cakes. "Yum."

Suddenly something zoomed out into the halls and glommed itself on eds hand. It was Cramorant.

"Huh. It worked." Hiyoko said.

"I cannot believe there is another creature in the multiverse that likes Ed's gravy creation…" Double D said dumbfounded.

"Hehehe. It tickles." Ed giggled as Cramorant still had its beak around Ed's hand.

"Mermista, could you get Cramorant off Ed's hand?" Mark sighed.

"Alright, get offa him you." Mermista said, pulling Cramorant off Ed and setting him down. "Okay featherbrain, time for you to pull your weight around."

Akal, Hagakure, Falinks and Cramorant then went to the human zoo in a transport pod, explaining their involvement to the gems along the way. They revealed that they would be sneaking Steven into the zoo, assuming the roles they were made for.

They met up in the hangar, hagakure taking off her gloves and shoes and going into full stealth mode.

"You'll never cage me, you Rockheads!" Steven said as Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire and a shapeshifted Amethyst lead him, Akal, Cramorant and Falinks to two large amethyst guards.

"State your purpose." one of them said.

"I'm here to make a delivery to the human zoo." Sapphire said, guestering to Steven. "Also, I have two other species that I believe will be good additions as well."

"Bad news. The Human Zoo shut down. And we don't take creatures like these. Guess we'll just have to send these guys into space." the amethyst guard said, frightening Steven a little. "Heh, look. He believed me."

"What are you doing?" a voice called out as a Gem with periwinkle blue skin, pale lavender hair styled into buns, and violet eyes entered the area and glared at the guards.

"Nothing, Holy Blue Agate." the guards said, standing at attention.

The gem, named Holly Blue, then eyed the group and widened her eyes at Sapphire. "Why didn't you tell me there was a Sapphire here?! What have you miscreants been saying to them!?"

"Nothing, Holly." one of the amethysts said.

"You'll have to forgive them… they're from Earth." Holly said cleared her throat. "Apologize."

"Forgive us…!" the amethysts said before Holly punched them. "Forgive us, your Clarity."

"No use dwelling on the past. I've brought a new human for the collection." Sapphire said. "And two interesting creatures that might interest you."

"How unprecedented! Nothing for millennia, and then two humans back-to-back! Well, it's probably for the best, that first one wasn't in... the best condition." Holly said. "As for these creatures, we have seen them before, but none like these. What area are these from?"

"Area 8." Sapphire said.

"Area 8, you say? That's odd, I assumed there was nothing living there…" Holy mused. "These two must be indigenous. But look at them. So primitive."

Falinks and Cramorant looked at one another.

"Well, we shall take them nonetheless. Amethyst, take them to the-"

"Wait!" Sapphire interjected. "The thing is... we've traveled so far, and it would be a shame to leave so quickly. Perhaps you'd grant us a tour of the facility?"

"I would be honored! Right this way, your Grand Clarity." Holy said as the group advanced before she stopped Akal and Amythest. "Amythests and Automatons are to stay and guard the door."

"Uh, but…" Amethyst said.

"The door." Holly insisted and turned to Akal. "Your Peridot created you to be obedient, yes? Make sure this one stays put, understood?"

"Confirmed." Alkal stated monotonously. "(Sorry, Amethyst.)" he thought to himself.


As the group walked down the halls, Holly noticed Pearl being excessively close to Sapphire.

"Does your Pearl always walk next to you?" Holly asked.

Pearl chuckled. "I'll just be right here…" She said walking backwards.

"Hmm. Chatty." Holly mused. "This facility originally belonged to Pink Diamond and houses and staffs the, otherwise useless, Quartz that she produced and what was her colony. But Blue Diamond and her trusted Agate; that's me, have been maintaining this place since the dawn of Era 2."

They then approached a door, Holly expecting something to happen.

"Is she going to do it or, should I say something?" Holly asked Sapphire.

"Oh! Pearl, the door." Sapphire realized.

"Hmmm? Oh! Right, right, I got it!" Pearl said, going to the door and starting to use it.

"You are so patient with her. How do you do it?" Holly Blue asked.

"As a Sapphire, I know it will happen eventually." Sapphire assured.

After a short time, Pearl managed to get the door open, allowing the tour to continue onward.

"That will be all." Holly Blue assured.

"Sorry." Sapphire whispered.

"Hang in there." Steven added.

Theey then headed into the next room as Holly Blue activated another console.

"Do keep up, Pearl." Holly Blue said as the floor became see through. "The bottom half of this structure is devoted entirely to specimen containment. Apparently, humans don't take well to captivity, but once you understand their needs, they're easy to control." she explained as they then continued on. "It's tragic that Pink Diamond's existence in this universe ended up being so finite. But what a selfless act for Blue Diamond to step forward and spend her own time and energy preserving this place in Pink Diamond's memory. It's a real testament to Blue Diamond's merciful and giving nature. Don't you think?"

"Uhh, of course." Sapphire said as Ruby growled in anger.

"Keep it together, Ruby. Our roles, remember? We gotta esteban it." Steven reminded.

"...And here, of course, is the human disposal chute." Holly Blue spoke, getting Steven's attention.

"W-Whaa! Ho-o-ow do you get in the zoo!?" he exclaimed.

"Oh, there it goes again with its hilarious noises." Holly Blue said, ignoring Steven.

"So, how do you get in the zoo?" Sapphire asked.

"Excellent question, your Grand Clarity! On the rare occasion that we would need to enter the containment area, we would do so via this service door." Holly Blue said motioning to a pink door.

"Dad. That's how we get to Dad. We just need to come up with a distraction." Steven whispered.

"Got it." Ruby said.

"As a one-way access point, there are no risks of an escape. In fact, it's only been used once for a human-" Holly spoke.

"Explosion!" Ruby blurted out.

"Pardon me?!" Holly Blue asked, aggravated.

"Uhh... I just remembered I left the gravity engine... idling! Sorry, my Sapphire. I'm so forgetful and disposable." Ruby nervously explained.

"What?" Holly Blue questioned, prompting Sapphire to add to the conversation.

"A-A-A foreseen turn of events. Yes. It is going to overheat and explode. The damage will be massive." Sapphire added.

"My word! I don't know why anyone trusts Rubies with those ships! This is what happens." Holly Blue complained.

"If we hurry, we can disable the engine before any damage is done. It should only take five minutes, so everyone, be on your best behavior." Sapphire said, winking at the others.

"This way, your Clarity, although I'm sure you don't need my guidance." Holly Blue said as the two blue Gems walked off, allowing the rest of the group to handle the door.

Ruby on the other hand finally had a chance to let off some steam. "Grr! I can't believe all that stuff about Blue Diamond being merciful! She's a shatterer! She yelled at Sapphire! She hates fusion a-and love!?"

"I know, Ruby, but we don't have much time! We have to open this door!" Steven said urgently. "Hagakure, take Falinks and Cramorant and see if you can find another way in."

"You sure?" Hagakure asked.

"You're the only one the guards and Holly Blue can't see." Pearl said. "That means that if anything should happen, you can slip through and keep track of us if we get seperated."

"Okay, I'll give it a go." Hagakure nodded as she took off, Cramorant and Falinks running after her while Steven and the others stayed behind. "There's gotta be another entrance to the zoo here somewhere…."

"Hey!" Another voice called as Hagakure stopped. Two guards came up and spotted Falinks and Cramorant. "What the heck are these supposed to be?"

"Didn't ya get the memo, they're new species for the zoo, dummy." the other said.

"Really?" the first guard asked. "Huh, these are so weird, aren't they? Nothing like the humans."

"Maybe they're for making things more natural, I don't know." the second guard said. "Come on, let's take 'em to containment."

The first guard then grabbed Cramorant by the waist, but he slipped out.

"Huh, faster than me. Could be a slight pain in the ass, but…" the first one said before Cramorant nailed her in the backside. "OW, MY ASS-BUTT!"

"C'mere you little things!" the second said rounding up the falinks troops as the first got Cramorant. "Put 'em in the zoo already!"

"I know, I know!" the first said opening a door and throwing the two Pokémon in. Hagakure dived in after them as the door closed.

"Sheesh, what a couple of pests." the first guard winced. "Hope they don't cause the humans much trouble."

"Eh, they'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?" the second said as they walked off.


Inside the Human Zoo…

Hagakure and the two Perfect Links find themselves in an area full of lush greenery and trees.

"Wow…" Hagakure awed. "Did… not expect this."

Falinks formed up as Cramorant looked around.

"We might as well look around to see if we can find…" Hagakure said before she saw Greg with two other humans. "GREG!"

"Huh? Who said.." Greg asked before looking at the two Links. "No way, you're..!"