The Kindergartens beneath the surface of Homeworld used to be crawling with gems. For millennia they were hubs of activity, as new gems were produced every day, each welcomed with open arms into society.
Today, these huge caverns are empty, the exit holes lining the walls the only indication that gems were ever there. Robonoids patrol these areas regularly, but there are some places that are overlooked; forgotten. Occasionally, a patrol route is blocked off, the robonoid unable to continue. When the supervising gem sends down a camera, they find what looks like a rockslide. It's nothing new; Homeworld itself is so unstable it's a miracle the caverns haven't collapsed already. The patrol route is rerouted around the rockslide and business continues as usual.
On the other side of the fake rockslide, a gem smiles and claps her hands. That's another small section of territory secured; maybe they'll have the entire Eastern section made safe within a century. That's a bit optimistic, but she's willing to bet on it. She wouldn't have made it so long down here if she were a pessimist.
There is a single route to and from the surface, the only place connecting the caverns to the outside world. The staircase has been hand-carved into the rock, spiraling upwards into a place which seems abandoned. It was a building that used to be part of the Pink court, now left standing only as a memorial. Most of the spire is entirely untouched, left to slowly wither away over time. But the ground level, and the basement beneath it, are regularly used as temporary hiding places for off-colors, fusions, and rebels of all kinds. The back door is well-hidden, as is the entrance to the basement. Two gems stand guard at this staircase 24.7; one at the top, and one at the bottom. If the Authority sends anyone to investigate the place, they will be swiftly poofed and bubbled, then hidden within the caverns. This hasn't happened yet, but it might, and being found out is simply not an option.
Within the caverns is the largest colony of rebels on Homeworld, and possibly within the Empire. In this safe place, fusions wander about in plain sight, malformed off-color gems are on equal standing with those who were made "right", and no one has to fear being shattered as they would on the surface. While their ranks are mostly fusions and off-colors, there are some single gems who have come to escape from the surface. Most of these gems are Pearls, for good reason; while the life of a Pearl serving an aristocrat isn't the worst, there are places on Homeworld where Pearls are easily stolen, and used for less noble purposes. Very few of these Pearls ever mention why they came to the Caverns.
There is a very small group of gems who travel back and forth from the surface. They smuggle information, supplies, and new gems into the caverns. It's a risky business, and each of these gems know they cannot under any circumstances let the caverns be discovered. If they are ever in danger of being found out, these gems would shatter themselves rather than be interrogated.
There are some groups of rebels who live outside the safety of the Caverns, in the greater Kindergartens. Some attempts have been made to retrieve them, but it's nearly as risky as venturing to the surface. Many gems have been lost to robonoid patrols while on such missions, so it's very rare that they venture out anymore.
Equally dangerous are the scouting missions, where gems venture out and track Robonoid patrol routes, mapping the Kindergartens and finding strategic places to cause "rockslides" and gain more territory. Some of the Pearls often go on these missions, as many are already used to sneaking around places. Some fusions also volunteer for these missions, generally those who lived on the surface before escaping to the Caverns.
Amazonite brushes dust out of her hair as she walks back to the main Caverns. Just a few years ago she would've been beside herself with relief from successfully closing off another section of the Kindergartens without being spotted by a robonoid, but now she's gotten so used to it that she's just tired and happy.
"Hey Bronze," she says to the gem guarding the old exit to the tunnel she's just closed off. "All set. Want me to get Cinnabar?"
"Nah, I'll talk to her myself. My shift's nearly over anyway, Angel should be over here any minute to take over," he says.
"Cool. Did I miss anything while I was out?"
"Two new Pearls came in, but that's about it."
"Hey, that's still interesting!"
"Eh, I don't try to keep track of the Pearls anymore. Too many of them," he says. "Hey, there's Angel. You better get out of here before she talks you into taking her shift."
"Gotcha. Bye!" Amazonite waves and hurriedly walks away, just in time to avoid interacting with Angel Quartz. She's perfectly nice, but one of her powers is persuasion; she can convince you to do just about anything for her, especially if she's trying to get out of doing work. She doesn't realize she's doing it most of the time, so Amazonite can't blame her, but she still avoids her when possible. Bronze is one of the only gems who can stand up to her, Cinnabar being another.
Amazonite spots the new arrivals a mile away. They have the same awestruck look that she remembers having when she first came here; wonder and amazement, coupled with a small dose of fear. They've probably never seen so many "defective" gems in the same place; makes sense considering there's literally no other place in the galaxy with this many of them.
Amazonite walks up to them and smiles, doing her best to seem welcoming despite being nearly twice as tall as them.
"Hey! Are you two new?"
"Um… yes," one of them says. The other Pearl is hiding behind her.
"It's a lot to take in, yeah?"
"It is." the Pearl looks out at the crowd milling about, gems of every size, shape and color dotting the huge cavern.
"I'm Amazonite. You guys got names yet?"
"Not really," she says.
"That's cool. Not everyone needs a name, but if you want one I bet Lilac could help you brainstorm."
"You're a fusion," the other pearl suddenly blurts out.
Amazonite chuckles."Yeah, and?"
"I've never seen a cross-gem fusion before."
"Well I certainly hope I made a good first impression."
"There's really no rules down here? You just get to… do whatever you want?"
"I mean, I'd strongly discourage getting into a fight, but otherwise yeah," Amazonite says. "You can be whoever you want to be."
"...thanks for talking to us," the first Pearl said when it was clear the other one wasn't going to say anything.
"Hey, no problem. I'll see you around, kay?"
"Bye," the other Pearl says quietly as she walks away.
A few days later, Amazonite notices a Pearl fusion walking about. She quietly asks Cinnabar about them. Cinnabar tells her that they don't have a name yet, but she strongly suspects they'll stick around.
Amazonite smiles. She's glad she's an optimist; she always appreciates a happy ending. Although to be fair, to her it's not an ending at all; just the beginning.
As she leaves again to scout out new territories, she wonders whether Cinnabar will let her work with the new Pearl fusion. She has a feeling they'd be a great scout.
A/N: I imagine this as being in the same universe as Strike. Looks like I'm not done with plot gremlins after all. Oh well!
This story could easily be its own full-length fic, but so could basically all my oneshots, so Imma just tell my brain to shut up now. Knowing my plot gremlins I'm going to end up writing a part 2 of this, so stay tuned.
Keep reading, keep writing, and above all, keep dreaming!
