The warp to Homeworld was long, as usual, although this time it felt like it was taking an eternity.
Even from inside the magical confines of the stream, Steven could feel the coldness of space trying to force its way through, and he shivered slightly at the sensation, trying not to think about what might happen if the pad on Homeworld suddenly shut down. About how he'd out in the middle of space, with almost no warning, with almost no time to make a bubble, and the pain from the sudden lack of oxygen and cold might make him unable to a create a bubble and-
'Stop.' He told himself, shaking his head. 'Remember what you're going to Homeworld for. Remember the risk you're taking here. You can't let anything distract you. The second the Gems notice you're gone, this is probably one of the first places they'll look. You have to do this quickly. In and out. Fast as possible.'
Of course, a part of Steven told himself that this wasn't going to be a simple "in and out". As usual, getting involved with the Diamonds normally made any situation even more complicated, and this time he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to ignore their pleas for him to talk to them.
Normally, of course. Because he was going to have to talk to them whether he liked it or not. Firstly to get to the Homeworld archives to find any information on the Traitor that could lead him to Mirror, like Jasper had suggested all those weeks ago. (Well, only the first part, but that was irrelevant.) Secondly, to ask and search for any Gems that might be able to help out Connie. The biologists and technicians, as he mentioned. And while he may have gotten a little over-excited earlier explaining how those Gems could help her while talking to Dr. Maheswaran, he still believed in his heart that they could help. Like he had told her, they had spent thousands of years researching that kind of thing. They knew it better than anyone.
And yes, he did feel a little bad for asking those Gems to help him with something that may or may not have been their past job, due to all the freedom from the "do whatever you want" laws he had the Diamonds pass, but he was sure that they'd helped if asked.
Besides, they saw him as a Diamond, even if he didn't like being referred to as such. So he didn't have much doubt that they'd flat out say "no".
Of course, there was still a heavy amount of anxiety in his heart. He began to wonder if the cold he was feeling wasn't from space, but rather just a part of his imagination, spent worrying about how his family would react. Like his interaction with the Authority, they were going to find out no matter what. Even if nobody had been watching the cameras when he left due to them all being the meeting, it wouldn't take long for them to realize that he had left. It was only a matter of time, one thing that Steven knew wasn't on his side.
But as Steven suddenly felt the mild coldness of space drift away, he knew he had arrived. And like clockwork, a second later the stream vanished to reveal the now colorful and energetic surface of Homeworld. Gems were walking around everywhere he looked, not one of them having anything but a smile on their face. (Which was honestly kind of creepy, now that he had a view of them all.) Plants were everywhere, sticking up out of the ground and being tended to by several Gems who looked like stereotypical gardeners. The sky was also abuzz with activity, the various tubes crisscrossing the area carrying Gems inside that whipped by at the speed of sound, nothing more than a blur of color. The air smelled somewhat like Earth, but almost...cleaner? Like there was zero pollution anywhere to be found.
But beautiful as it all was, Steven wasn't here to admire any of it. He had a mission. He straightened himself up and headed towards White's ship, which was sitting on top of a large structure that held the throne room and hopefully the Diamonds as well. If they weren't there, he could just ask around, but things would be….easier for everyone if they were the first ones he talked to.
Of course, the second they heard he was on Homeworld they'd come running, so he didn't have to worry about it either way.
But he went, waving to the various Gems that greeted him as they passed by, not wanting anyone to stop him and ask if he was okay. He did his best to mimic their smiles, and hoped that it was believable enough. If he started putting on a frown, he'd be the only person there to carry one, and that'd only make him stand out even more.
Soon, however, he made it to the palace. After slowly ascending the steps that led up to them, he entered the main hallway and made his way towards the throne room, which was unfortunately vacant of the former monarchs which he had hoped would be there. There were plenty more Gems, one of which...he recognized before he even saw them.
"Steven?!" An overly enthusiastic voice from behind him said, and his eyes widened as he realized who it belonged to. He heard the sound of extremely fast footsteps, and only turned around quickly enough to see Spinel barreling towards him at Mach speed. He put up his hands to defend himself, but it was hopeless. The rubbery Gem slammed into Steven and instantly wrapped her arms around him about twenty times, entrapping him with a small cage of limbs. The two fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes, and Steven felt all the air being forced out of him as he landed on his back.
He opened his eyes groggily like a person that had just been woken up from a nap, only to see Spinel's crazed face an inch from his, smiling so widely that it looked like she had broken his jaw. The two of them stared at each other for a second, frozen in place, and Steven wasn't sure if she was about to kiss him or bite his head off in a fit of happiness.
And Steven decided that he better take charge before either of those things happened, as he wasn't sure which was worse.
"Hey, Spinel." He said, struggling to speak with how tightly she was squeezing him. "Can you please let me go? I can't breathe."
"Oh, sorry!" Spinel exclaimed, climbing off him and unraveling her arms. "I'm just so excited to see you! You never write! You never call! You never visit! If I didn't know better, I'd say it feels like you never want to see me again!"
"Haha, yeah…" Steven said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, I've just been a little caught up in things. There's a lot happening on Earth right now, and I don't have that much time to talk to anyone." He then added, under his breath, "Mostly because I don't have any means of communication."
"Ah, that sucks." Spinel said. "But I get what you're saying. I know all about this little crisis you're having on Earth. Honestly, I'm just glad it's not me this time!" She chuckled.
"Yeah, I don't think-" Steven started, before his voice died in his mouth as he went over what Spinel had said. "Wait, what do you mean you know all about it? What...exactly do you know?"
"Just that this guy named Mirror is screwing up that little Gem community you made and making your life miserable." Spinel explained, making Steven's jaw drop. "The Diamonds have been searching for them like crazy, and I only know about any of this because I keep spying on them to learn information. It's really hard. One time I had to disguise myself as a plant. I think I had them fooled though…"
Steven didn't hear any of what Spinel said afterward, too focused on her reveal that the Diamonds knew about Mirror and were searching for them, even though Garnet had claimed the Diamonds wouldn't get involved with any of this. It was like he said during his call with Priyanka. They knew, maybe all along, and he had no doubt that the Gems told them and then lied to him about it. He turned back to Spinel, who was rambling on about how it took her a full day to wash the green paint off of herself, and he raised a hand and pressed a finger to her lips, attempting to shush her.
Unfortunately, she didn't get the message, and she stared at the finger for a moment before sticking her tongue out and licking it, causing Steven to yank it back in shock.
"Spinel, what are you doing?!" He asked, wiping his finger on his jeans. "What was that?!"
"I don't know." Spinel replied, shrugging. "What were you trying to do?"
"..."
"..."
"It was...nevermind," Steven said, wishing he had brought some hand sanitizer. "Nevermind it for now. But listen. Do you know who told the Diamonds about Mirror and all that?"
"Yup!" Spinel said enthusiastically. "It was while I was spying on Yellow, when I was cleverly disguised as a window."
"...How did you do that?" Steven asked, genuinely curious this time.
"...I don't remember." Spinel said. "But while I was doing that, she called one of your Earth friends. The one whose hair is shaped like a square." She paused and then giggled to herself. "Hehe. That rhymes. Hair like a square...hair like a square…"
"Garnet…" Steven mumbled, ignoring Spinel's antics entirely. He turned away from her and began thinking to himself out loud, while Spinel began singing some kind of song, all of the lyrics being "hair like a square".
"Why would she lie to me about this?" He asked himself. "They were the ones who decided that the Diamonds weren't going to get involved, not me. They told me themselves before I could even request that. Were they afraid that I was going to them? Somehow making matters even worse? But how would I…"
He looked back at Spinel again, who had drawn a small crowd with her singing, and as much as Steven didn't want to ruin their enjoyment, he knew there were more important things at stake at the moment. He grabbed Spinel by the arm and started dragging her off, and he was over twenty feet away before he realized that she was still in the same spot, her arm was just stretching with him. He gingerly let it go, causing it to snap back and smack her in the face, cutting off her singing and making the entire crowd wince. She glanced over at Steven, who motioned for her to "come over", and of course, she was happy to oblige, making the entire journey in one long step.
"What is it, Steven?" She asked. "Did you like my singing?"
"Uh, sure," Steven replied. "But I need you to do something for me. I need you to take me to Yellow. Or any of the Diamonds, really. I need to speak with them about the whole…" He leaned in and softened his voice to a whisper. "...Earth situation."
"Ah, you don't have to worry about whispering! Everyone here knows about Mirror!" She announces, her voice echoing like thunder throughout the throne room. "Trust me, there isn't a Gem in the galaxy who doesn't know. All of us have you covered, Steven. There isn't a person here who isn't watching out for you!"
"Really?" Steven asked. "Because besides you, not a single Gem has walked up to me and initiated a conversation, besides a "hi" or two."
"Oh, well that's because White told us that if we ever saw you, we shouldn't get too close." Spinel explained. "I don't really know why. She didn't go into any more detail than that. And before you ask, I ignored it because I was just so excited!"
"I...can believe that. Probably put that rule into place in case I had another outburst…" Steven mumbled, trying to hide his further frustration at how much everyone in the galaxy, as Spinel put it, now knew about him.
"Another what?" Spinel asked.
"Nothing," Steven said. "Now, can you take me to one of the Diamonds? Preferably Yellow, considering that she seems to be the one Garnet is contacting."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." Spinel said. "The Diamonds are in the middle of a meeting right now, and while I could spy on them no problem…" She explained jovially. "...You're another matter altogether."
"I'm a...Diamond like them." Steven said, trying not to bite his tongue. "I should be able to enter a meeting that's for Diamonds only."
"Ah, right…" Spinel mumbled. "But still, I think it would be best for you to wait. I have to admit, those meetings are pretty boooorrrriiiinnng!" She shouted, outspreading her arms. "Most of the time I just leave early, because all they talk about are things called "politics" and "forms"."
"I...fine," Steven said, since now that he thought about it, interrupting a meeting between the Diamonds and his friends was a terrible idea in hindsight. "So how long do you think they're going to be in that meeting? A couple of minutes? Hours? Day? Because I need to speak to them as soon as possible."
"It shouldn't be that long." Spinel said, waving him off. "Most of the time when they leave though, it's out of frustration, so watch yourself when you're talking to them. They may not be in the best of moods. Honestly, the only time I've seen them angry since I got here is when they leave those meetings! I guess just talking to your friends really gets to them…"
"Or talking about Mirror hurting me gets to them…" Steven said to himself. "Okay. We'll just...wait here until they're finished. I know this room connects to their rooms, so when they're done they'll come through here to get there." He sat down on the floor and pulled out his phone, before starting up a game and silently playing it.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...So whatcha playing?" Spinel asked, after an awkward silence and some shifting back and forth from the pink Gem. Even though he knew this was coming, Steven sighed and put his phone away, not wanting Spinel to take it and risk breaking it.
"Nothing." He said, before stretching himself out. "Spinel, can I ask you a few questions?"
"You can ask me anything you want, Steven!" Spinel replied. "As long as it's not, "do you want to play a game". Because I still get flashbacks every once and a while of that, and let me tell you, I get crazy whenever someone brings up-"
"I get the idea," Steven interjected. "I'm not going to mention her. But I want to know if you know anything about the...Homeworld archives? And how I can get into them?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about or what these archives are." Spinel said, sounding serious for the first time since he got here. "What are they?"
"I thought so." Steven sighed. "Apparently, it's a location on Homeworld that contains every scrap of knowledge that Gemkind has ever learned. Basically Wikipedia but for Gems."
"What's Wikipedia?"
"...The human version of the Homeworld archives." Steven sighed. "But I want to find them because I think that information about the Traitor, who is connected to Mirror, might be in there. And if those two are connected then I need to know how. Those archives might be the saving grace of this entire mess."
"Who's the Traitor?" Spinel asked, popping out one question after another.
"They're a…" Steven started, before sighing again. "Okay, I'm just going to tell you the whole story." He then turned and looked at nothing. "If you've heard this story before, feel free to skip it, unless you're actually in a retelling that's only a shorter version of the original."
"Who are you talking to?"
"Nobody you would be aware of," Steven said. "Okay, so thousands of years ago, when the Earth was being colonized, Blue Diamond created a laboratory on Earth meant to test organic life and experiment on it. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst and they started messing around with humans, which eventually led to the creation of the Traitor, which was a heavily enhanced human made for Homeworld that was thrown into the war and even fought...a person I know." Steven explained, narrowing avoiding saying, "my mother".
"Wow." Spinel said, leaning towards him causing Steven to rear back. "That's really interesting! But why would they experiment with one human when they had millions of Gem soldiers at their control?"
"Well, for one thing, a soldier wasn't their intention when they started screwing around with Earth life. That was for...something else." Steven said vaguely, recalling Pearl's mention of the whole immortal pets thing. "But I guess somewhere along the line, they wanted to see just how strong humans could be, so they turned one into a soldier. I guess they fought in a battle or two, and then they...disappeared at the end of the war. No one, to my knowledge, has any idea what happened."
"Wait, that's it?!" Spinel exclaimed. "He just disappeared?!"
"They."
"They just disappeared?! And just when the story was getting good!" Spinel exclaimed. "I didn't want that to end! I thought this was going to be some awesome hours-long story! But that didn't even last two minutes! That was so...anti-climatic!"
"I wish I could tell you more, but that's honestly all I have," Steven said. "But while the story of the original Traitor ends there, I still have a bit more to say on that lab that I mentioned. And I need you to promise me not to tell anyone about this. While I know you said everyone knows about Mirror, if this information gets out then...well, I don't know what could happen. But I don't think it would be good."
"Ooooh, here come the juicy bits." Spinel said, leaning in so close to Steven's face that their cheeks were touching. "Go on." She whispered creepily. "Tell me. I promise I won't tell another living soul."
"Why did you emphasize living?" Steven asked, scooting a few inches away from her.
"No reason."
"..."
"..."
"...Right." Steven sighed. "Okay. So I found out that Mirror...is another human test subject from the lab. They're-"
"MIRROR IS-" Spinel started to shriek, before Steven slapped both his hands over her mouth. Realizing that everyone was now looking at them, and recalling how dragging her away didn't work last time, Steven simply picked Spinel up and slung her over his shoulder like a pool noodle, keeping one hand in her mouth all the while. He went into a random vacant hallway and then set her down before taking his hand away, resulting in Spinel dramatically gasping for air.
"What did I just tell you?!" He hissed. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone, yet just a second ago you were literally about to scream it for all of Homeworld to hear!"
"Sorry, it's just so shocking!" Spinel apologized. "I thought humans didn't live that long! Or at least I thought...huh. How long do humans live?"
"Not as long as Mirror has," Steven replied, although that was a great understatement. "But I believe they've survived this long because they were enhanced as well. I have no idea what kind of enhancements those scientists gave them to allow them to live for thousands of years past their normal lifespan...heck, they even sounded kinda young…" He rambled. "...But that's basically how."
"I see…" Spinel said, nodding along like some kind of student listening to a lecture. "But why don't you want that information to get out? What's the worst it can do?"
"It's not information about Mirror that I don't want getting out, it's information about that Lab in general," Steven said. "If I start telling people that there was a Lab made thousands of years ago that could enhance organics to the point where they became superior to some Gems, as well as brainwash them and make them do anything with no concern for themselves...then some of my enemies might take humans, maybe some humans that I care about, and try to do the same. And in the end, they'll make a soldier out of them just as much as the Traitor, and I'll be forced to fight my friends." He huffed and took a breath after this explanation. "So do you get it now, Spinel? Why I can't have anyone learning about this? If it gets out, a lot of people could get hurt."
"Woooooow." Spinel said, dragging the word out as long as possible for whatever reason. "Yeah, I think I get it. I wouldn't want to have to fight you again. It would bring up a lot of painful memories." She then put a hand on her chin and stretched over Steven, looking him up and down like she was inspecting him.
"Uh...what are you doing?"
"I was just thinking." Spinel said. "If the same scientists who made those superhumans could improve your abilities as well."
"That's...actually an interesting thought," Steven admitted. "But how was looking me up and down like that a test of whether not that's possible?"
Spinel thought about it for a moment before shrugging again. "I don't know." She said, and she went back to looking at him like he was a germ under a microscope. Steven rolled his eyes and turned away from the Gem, thinking to himself.
'She brings up an interesting point.' He thought. 'How did they do that exactly? I'm sure Pearl knows, considering she and my mom read all those notes on this exact topic, but I wonder if there's a clear answer. Did they just screw around with the DNA? Make clones of them that were genetically designed to be better? Neither of those? And...was Spinel's assumption correct? Could something like that even make me better, or am I already as strong as I can get? I'm more physically capable than probably any human who ever lived...but is there a limit to that? To what a person's body can handle?'
Steven frowned and then shook these thoughts off, getting his head out of the clouds. Obviously, he wasn't going to try and genetically better himself anytime soon, or ever really, and he didn't want that kind of technology to come back for reasons already explained to Spinel. Then he recalled something. One of the reasons he had come here, which also had to do with the human body.
"Spinel." He said, grabbing the top of her head and forcing her to come back down to his level. "I'm sure it'd be easier if I just asked the Diamonds about this later, but do you know the whereabouts of any Gems who study organic biology?"
"Do I!" Spinel exclaimed, a wide smile on her face, before that quickly faded. "No. I don't. Honestly, the planet I was made on, Homeworld, the armory where I got the Injector and the Rejuvenator, and...the Garden…" She scoffed. "Were the only four places I ever visited before I came to Earth. And that armory was completely abandoned, as were the other two, and Homeworld was always so boring...so I didn't have any chances to...get to know anybody." She said sheepishly, speaking with the edges of her mouth. "Heck, I hardly know anything about Gem culture at all! Everything I knew was what...that person taught me." She spat, a sudden dark glare coming over her vision. "But anyway! I don't know, Steven. You're going to have to ask the Diamonds! But why do you want to know about that stuff anyway? Are you taking my idea of enhancing yourself seriously?"
"No, no, definitely not," Steven said. "I just...one of my human friends was hurt, and the doctors on Earth can't really do anything for her at the moment, so I was wondering if a Gem on Homeworld who studied organic biology...could help her out. Do things that nobody else could."
"Ooooh." Spinel said. "Is it that Connie human? The one who was riding a giant pink thing back during the whole...injector crisis?"
"...Yes," Steven said, after a brief moment of hesitation. "And worst of all, she's hurt because of me. So I feel like I need to do this so I can make it up to her. Of course, she doesn't know it was me, but when she does…" He sighed and looked at the ground. "...I won't blame her if she doesn't want to speak to me ever again."
"Awww..." Spinel said sadly, before pulling Steven into another hug. "Don't worry, Steven. Even if that Connie doesn't want to speak to you, you still have little old me. I'll talk to you whenever you want. You can come to Homeworld, and we can hang out together, and do lots of cool friend things! Whattaya say?"
Despite the seriousness of the conversation they were just having, Steven smiled after Spinel said this, and chuckled slightly. "Sure." He said. "That sounds nice. But don't expect me to come by too often. Especially since I'm going to be grounded for the rest of my life once this whole thing is done with."
"Why?"
"I'm not exactly...supposed to be here," Steven explained. "The Gems confined me to my house, and I've been forced to stay there for two weeks. And although it's for everyone's safety, I still feel sometimes like-"
"WHAT?!" Spinel shrieked, her entire body turning a crimson shade of red. "They're doing what to you, Steven?!"
"Uh...keeping me in my house." Steven repeated, before realizing that with Spinel's past of being "forced" to stay in the Garden for six thousand years, he really should have seen this reaction coming. "But don't worry! It's not like a prison or anything! Sometimes I'm just really bored and it can get annoying at times! And besides, it's only temporary until-"
"Oh, that's what they all say!" Spine scoffed. "You know what she said to me before she left? A note that I left out of my precious little song? She said the game was only temporary! And then guess what happened? Oh wait, you already know! I was abandoned for six thousand years!" She shrieked, while Steven desperately and futilely tried to get her to calm down. "And that's what's going to happen to you, Steven! "It's only temporary" they say! But I'm betting that soon enough your friends will leave one day and won't come back for six millennia! Just like me! And I'm not letting that happen to you!"
"I...definitely don't plan on living that long, for one thing." Steven started, causing Spinel's eyes to widen even further. "And for another, they'd never do that. I know you might think that-"
"Hold on, what do you mean you're not planning to live for six thousand years?!" Spinel sobbed, suddenly grabbing him by both his shoulders again and looking him in the eye.
"..."
"..."
'God, it's just one thing to another with her.' Steven thought, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Uh...I'm just not? I mean, doing that would mean outliving all my human friends, including Connie, who I hope to…" He coughed violently and whispered something that Spinel couldn't hear. "...one day, and if our relationship ever becomes that close, I don't think I want to be without her. Along with everyone else I care about. So...I'm not sure what else to say, Spinel. I don't want to have to watch all my friends and the love of my life die, so...I won't force myself to."
"But...wha...nooooo!" Spinel said dramatically, shaking her head so hard Steven thought it might fall off. "How...how long is that going to take? H-how long until all your human friends die?"
"Umm...a hundred years or so? At most?" Steven guessed. "After that, I guess I'll just...voluntarily kick the bucket? I actually haven't put that much thought into it, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable talking about it this early on-"
"A hundred years?!" Spinel gasped. "A hundred years is nothing to me! Or the Diamonds! Or lost everyone in the entire univerrrrseeres!" She wailed, her words slowly becoming incoherent. She gripped Steven tightly and pulled him into another hug, her tears staining the back of his jacket. "Don't die, Steven! Please don't die! You're one of the few things I actually care about!"
"I...I'm sorry, Spinel." Steven said, actually started to get affected by her breakdown. "But I've made my choice. I made it a long time ago, when I realized that I could control my age. Like I said. I don't want to force myself to live forever. I want to experience life...as a human, not as an immortal. That's...how my mom wanted me to live." He whispered, finally mentioning her directly. "And even though my feelings about her are mixed at best, I'm going to honor her wishes and live that way. Even if it means I have to...die."
"No. Nononononono!" Spinel cried. "I won't accept this! Just like I won't accept you being made to say in your house! You're not dying, Steven! Not on my watch! Never in a million years! I'll force-feed you if that's what it comes to!"
"Okay, this is starting to sound a little creepy," Steven said. "Please don't get any crazy idea-"
"No! I've made my choice! One that will undermine yours!" Spinel said. "I'm going to make sure you never die, Steven! Consider it me paying you back for helping me!"
"But that's not what I want," Steven said. "If I wanted to live forever, then I could. But I don't. And that's just it, Spinel. So...if you want to be my friend, then you won't forcefully try to make me live forever."
"Wha...no...you...I…" Spinel stuttered, going back and forth with the urge to make Steven live forever to be his eternal friend and obeying his wishes to remain that friend. Finally, she melted into a puddle, and Spinel, now only an inch tall, looked at him with drooping eyes the size of dinner plates.
"Fine…" She groaned, barely getting the word out. "But Steven...I don't want you to die. You're the only real friend I have…"
'Oh no, we're just going in a circle now.' Steven thought. "What about the Diamonds, Spinel? They're your friends, right? Don't you like staying here with them?"
"I...I don't know." Spinel said, and Steven had to step back to avoid getting her on his shoes. "They're nice and all, but they don't give me the same happiness you give me. They're so understanding about everything, no matter what it is, but you...when I made a mistake, you pointed it out and tried to help me to make me better. But when I make a mistake around them...they just laugh and wave it off like no big deal."
"Ah…" Steven said. "Yeah, I can see that happening. But okay. I think it's time we put an end to this conversation. Spinel, instead of wondering what's going to happen in the future, I think you should enjoy what's going on in the moment. If you think about nothing but the future all the time, then you won't be able to appreciate what you have in the present."
"But how can I appreciate it?" Spinel asked pitifully. "A hundred years is no time at all, like I told you! A hundred years is basically the present for me! Only a quick moment for a Gem! And if you're going to die at the end of that quick moment, then how could I possibly be happy?!"
Steven sighed and facepalmed. "Spinel, I think if you really tried, then those hundred years will pass a lot slower than it seems. Time doesn't pass differently for Gems. They're just used to staying alive for longer periods of time. A second for a Gem...is the same as a second for a human. There's no difference. So…" He grabbed her half-melted hand and tried to hoist her up, resulting in her reforming and getting to her feet with a squelching noise. "...try and live in the moment with me and the Diamonds. And everyone else you meet. That way...you can be happy and have friends even after I'm gone."
"..."
"Okay?"
"...Okay." Spinel said, wiping some of her tears away. She then stuck a finger in Steven's face and pushed back his nose. "But whenever we see each other, you better make the most of our time, understand?"
"I understand," Steven said nervously, putting up two hands in defense. "Trust me, we'll do whatever you want...as long as it happens after we take care of the whole Mirror situation, because you wouldn't want me dying any earlier, would you?"
"Definitely not." Spinel said, before quickly adding, "Oh, and don't think that I've forgotten about what we were talking about just a few minutes ago! When I see your friends, I am going to give them an hour-long lecture like the ones you give people about friendship about why keeping you in that house all day is the worst thing they can do for you!"
Steven was about to shoot back at this, likely to comment on how they're just trying to protect him and other people at the risk of their own safety, but he figured that it would just be best to go along with it before Spinel melted again.
"Okay." He said. "You can do that."
"Good." Spinel said. "Now, is that everything you wanted to tell me?"
"I mean, most of that conversation was just you complaining…" Steven commented. "But yeah. I think you know everything I want you to know. As well as everything I trust you to keep a secre...actually no, I've already gone too far if we're going with that definition."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Spinel asked rhetorically, grabbing Steven's arm and dragging him down the hallway. "Let's go back to the throne room and wait for the Diamonds."
What followed was a rather long and tedious wait period for the two, which involved them both sitting in silence, Spinel trying to get some nearby Gems to participate in some kind of clapping game, those same Gems leaving when she enlarged her hands and started producing sounds that were rather uncomfortable to hear, and then a few more minutes of silence that ended when finally, finally, the two of them heard several footsteps that sounded like they were coming from a giant. They both turned towards a humongous doorway that soon revealed Yellow, wearing a rather peeved expression and crossing her arms. Once she spotted Steven however, her face twisted into one of shock, and she rushed over and loomed over them, casting a shadow over the two.
"Uh...hey, Yellow!" Steven said awkwardly. "Long time no see…"
"Hey, Yellow!" Spinel parroted, waving at her. "Look who's here! Steven finally came for a visit!"
"Yes, I can see that," Yellow said, inspecting them both as she stared at the hybrid in mild shock. "Steven...why are you here? Or more specifically, how are you here? thought your family had you under something called "house-arrest"."
"I kinda...snuck out when no one was looking," Steven explained. "I needed help, and you guys are the only ones who can do that with my...particular problem."
"I see…" Yellow repeated, her memories drifting back to what Garnet said at the end of the meeting she just left, about how she shouldn't help Steven if he arrived on Homeworld no matter what.
But Yellow was not one to help Garnet over Steven, and that was all there was to it.
"Well, we're always happy to help, Steven!" She finally said. "Especially since you're not allowed to be here! That means this problem of yours must be dire! So what is it? How can we assist you?"
"Can we...talk about it somewhere else?" Steven requested. "There are too many prying eyes here, and it's something I'd rather keep between us."
"Hm. Very well." Yellow said. "Then follow me, Steven. I'll take you to my room. There's plenty of space in there, but I can make it secluded enough so that no one can hear us. And I expect a full explanation of this problem you're having once we get there."
And with that, Yellow turned around and started heading towards one of the giant hallways, and Steven paused for a moment before following her along with Spinel. Due to her size, they had to jog slightly to keep up, and Steven opened his mouth a few seconds in, talking as they moved along.
"That was easier than I expected." He commented, talking directly to Spinel. "She accepted my explanation just like that. I thought for sure that I was going to have to talk her out of contacting my family or something. I'm sure she knows the severity of the situation, as you said that White issued a warning earlier to literally everyone, so I'm kinda surprised that...she doesn't seem to mind me being here."
"Pft. It's because you never visit." Spinel explained. "I know it may not seem like it, but trust me, she's more excited than she had been in months right now. She's just happy to see you, Steven. We all are. Like I mentioned earlier! You never write or call or anything!"
"I have my...own reasons for that," Steven mumbled. "But does this mean she's going to start jumping for joy when we get to her room? Because honestly, I'm not sure I want to see that. It's still weird seeing Yellow smile most of the time, much less be just plain happy."
"Ha! You're not alone in that!" Spinel said, patting his back with an oversized hand, causing Steven to cough violently. "I only ever met the Diamonds a few times before the Garden incident. And let me tell you...yeah, they were as cold as ice. Blue smiled sometimes, but she always had a habit of making...her cry, an effect that would cause me to cry. Yellow always had this angry glare that made you want to curl up into a ball, and White…" For a moment, the ever-present smile on Spinel's face faded, and she got a distant look in her eyes. Steven took immediate notice, and glanced at her in concern.
"Well...White…" She said. "I was there, you know. When she broke that Pearl."
"Volleyball?" Steven asked. "The one with the crack over her eye?"
"Who else?" Spinel said. "It was the first time I had traveled outside of the Garden, and the last. She had left to take care of some Diamond duty on Homeworld, and I followed her because I was just so excited. I wanted to see what she did when she wasn't playing with me. And...it was one of the biggest regrets of my life. I arrived on Homeworld, and after some searching, I found her."
"What happened then?" Steven asked, genuinely intrigued by this story. "Did you actually see my mo...uh, her, do that to Volleyball?"
"No. But I saw the aftermath." Spinel said. "I was sneaking around the palace when I eventually came to the throne room, and when I saw her there with White I hid behind a pillar. I don't know why. I mean, I didn't want them to find me, because I knew they'd be mad, but White...for some reason I was terrified of her. Like I would have been shattered on the spot if she realized I was there."
"I can relate," Steven said, vividly recalling his first experience with the skyscraper-esque Diamond. "She was...odd when I first met her. I knew White wasn't like the others when I was going in, but that didn't really prepare me for her. I barely got a word in, and even though I tried to stay courageous, tried to talk to her normally, just seeing her standing like that…" He shuddered like he was cold. "...It's something I'd rather forget altogether."
"Then you're lucky." Spinel said. "If all she did was talk to you and send you off. I saw her use those weird eye beams of hers, you know. I saw her use them to possess...Volleyball, I guess you call her. I saw her get up, and then start moving around like a puppet, and then she…" Spinel paused and sniffed, clearly holding back a tear. "...She started speaking in White's voice, and I realized what had happened to her. And that...was my first glimpse."
"First glimpse? " Steven asked. "First glimpse of what?"
"The first glimpse of what Homeworld was really like." Spinel iterated, making Steven gulp. "Of what White was like. That memory...was my first and only encounter with her until six months ago, when I came to Homeworld with them."
"Jeez…" Steven said. "What did you do then?"
"I bolted. What else could I do?" Spinel explained. "I ran and ran until I got back to the warp pad and I promised never to return. Until, of course, the whole six months ago thing. But that was only because you convinced me to, and because the White I saw that day...I knew she wasn't the one I encountered all those thousands of years ago."
"Spinel…" Steven started. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Does White even know about this?"
"She doesn't." Spinel said. "But I have a feeling that she always knew I was there. I don't know why, I just do."
"Well…" Steven said. "I think if she knew you were there, she would have at least pointed it out-"
"She knew," Yellow interjected, her voice thundering above there's. Both Spinel and Steven looked up in shock at Yellow, who was wearing a morose expression. "She knew you were there. When White was in the palace, at least back then, nothing happened without her knowing. If you were in the same room as her, Spinel, even in hiding, then she was fully aware of your presence. No one could hide from her. I can't even count the number of Gems that have tried…"
"But then…" Spinel said. "Why didn't she tell me to come out? She was all about perfection back then, right, Yellow? I think a Spinel running loose around the Diamond palace is a pretty good example of imperfection."
"I'd be lying to you if I said I knew, Spinel," Yellow replied. "It was almost impossible to imagine what White was thinking at any given moment. Even when she was speaking her mind, her inner thoughts might be saying something else entirely. She's changed for the better now, like we all have thanks to Steven...but back then, she was a mystery. And we thought that mystery was one better left unsolved."
"I can imagine," Steven said, silently ignoring the fact that Yellow had seemingly been snooping on their conversation this whole time. "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but how many times did she do the whole eye beam thing with you and Blue before that last time? You acted like you knew it was coming."
Yellow grimaced, a facade of her past-self shining through. "More times than I can count." She scoffed. "She usually did it to teach us a lesson, although most of the time it only served for us to resent her even further. She used fear to keep us in line, like most Gems, and she was an expert at it. I cannot tell you how many Gems she sentenced to death for crimes that Blue or even me would only give a few years in a bubble for. Mercilessness was her favorite character trait, and honestly, Steven, I'm still shocked that you managed to get through to her. We could only endure White back then. Changing her mind...was a concept unheard of to us."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Man, that got dark." Spinel chuckled. "First I talk about my traumatizing experience at the palace that I never told anyone about before now, and then Yellow over here describes what a monster White was. We need some more joy over here! I think I ruined the mood a bit!"
"I agree. We shouldn't be focusing on the horror of the past." Yellow said. "Rather, let us look to the future. Where prosperity and a truly perfect empire, one where the "empire" doesn't even exist, is now our reality. A better reality for all Gems and organics across the universe."
"Yeah…" Steven said, happy that the gloomy mood had switched back to the usual cheerful one. "All we have to do is take care of Mirror, and then we'll be on easy street."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Annnnnnnd you ruined the happy atmosphere." Spinel said, throwing her arms in the air. "Nice job, Steven! Now we're going to have another depressing conversation!"
"No, he's right, Spinel," Yellow said. "That age of prosperity has still not arrived. Not until everyone who seeks to end it, like Mirror, has been dealt with and shown that this is the true way, the better way for everyone to live."
"That sounds kind of cultish." Spinel quipped. "Forcing people to live according to our beliefs. Isn't that what you did with the empire? I mean, sure we have more freedom, but...isn't making Gems-"
"Spinel, Yellow just mishandled her words," Steven said. "We're not forcing anyone to live by those rules. If they want to live another way, that's fine by us. She's just saying that we have to make sure that anybody who is actively trying to get rid of how the majority of Gemkind acts today is stopped before they do any real damage."
"Oh." Spinel said. "But does Mirror even care about that?"
"They...don't," Steven said. "As far as I know, Mirror doesn't care what state the empire is in. All they seemingly care about is keeping themselves a secret. Which is going to be a little hard, considering that according to you, every Gem in the galaxy knows who they are and is looking for them now."
"We did what we had to do," Yellow said. "We wanted to make sure that Mirror couldn't travel to any populated system without showing up on a radar." She then sighed and stopped, right outside the towering door that led into her room. "Unfortunately, now we won't be able to detect them at all, if my suspicions are correct."
"What do you mean?" Steven asked.
"I'll tell you later, Steven," Yellow said, placing a hand on the oversized button next to the door, resulting in it sliding open. She entered and was followed by the pair, and the door slowly shut behind them once they were inside, providing total security. "But as for now, I think it's time for you to talk, Steven. About what's going on and why you're here."
"Of course," Steven said, and he took a brief moment to look around the room, wanting to make sure that they were alone. Yellow's room was gigantic in proportion to them, as one would expect, but also beautiful as well. Huge pots carrying plants lined the area, and several windows made up the opposite wall. Next to that wall was a desk, with several oversized instruments on it that one might find in a dentist's office. Steven wasn't sure what Yellow could be using them for, but he could find out later. Like she had said, he owed them an explanation.
"Okay." He said. "So, Yellow, I'm sure you already know about my outburst, correct?"
"I do," Yellow replied. "And if you're here because you need help rebuilding Little Homeworld, then I'm more than happy to-"
"No, that's not it," Steven said. "It's something else. Essentially, my human friend Connie, who you met a few times, got caught up in the explosion."
"Oh my," Yellow said, looking genuinely concerned. "I do remember her. Is she alright?"
"I wish that were the case, but no," Steven said, shaking his head. "She got hit in the head with a piece of rock, and although the wound itself is healing fine...she lost some of her memory. The memory of the past four years, almost."
"..."
"..."
"...Four years is a lot for a human. Especially someone that young, Yellow." Steven sighed.
"No, I understand. Much has happened in the past four years." Yellow said. "I'm just thinking to myself. But, Steven, I assume you came here because you want my help in restoring your friend's memory?"
"That's...exactly it, yeah," Steven said. "And honestly, you and Blue and White were the only ones left I can think of. I don't think any doctor from Earth can help her the way they need to, but I thought that since your technology is leagues above humanities, that you might be able to do something they couldn't."
"Well, I'm very happy that you thought of us, but I'm not sure how to help you," Yellow admitted. "The other Diamonds and I can fix a problem for almost any Gem, whether it be physical, emotional, or mental, but we don't know anything about how to care for organics other than giving them lots of water and keeping them in the sun."
"I know. But it's not your help specifically that I need." Steven said, before clearing his throat. "Do you know any Gems whose former job was to study organic life? You know, figure out how it works, how it functions...anything like that?"
"Hmm…" Yellow hummed, turning away from him and staring out the window. "We do...but they will be rather hard to find. As I'm sure you know, before the dissolution of the colonies and the military, we had little care for organic life. We simply exterminated it in any world we came across if it got in the way, and little else. We took a few notes on particularly noteworthy creatures, humanity included, but most of the time we ignored it." She hummed again and then stood up. "However, there were a few Gems that were assigned to doing such a thing. Scientists who were more...intrigued by organics than most Gems. They wanted to make it their main study. Find out the differences between them and us. After some discussion, we allowed it, but only if those scientists didn't share their findings with anyone else."
"Wait, why was that a rule?" Steven asked. "Why wouldn't you want anyone learning more about organics?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Yellow said. "And surprisingly, it was Blue of all people who requested that this rule be put into place. I don't know what was going through her kind that day, but White allowed it and it was put into place."
"Blue...hold on," Steven said. "When did this all happen? Before or after the Rebellion?"
"After," Yellow said. "Approximately two thousand, three hundred, and seventy-four years after the end of the war."
"..."
"…"
"What is it?"
"Oh, nothing. But I think I might have an idea of why Blue would want to keep organic research a secret…" Steven mumbled, narrowing his eyes. "But okay. That's good. That means there might be a chance. Where are these Gems now?"
"On remote outposts," Yellow replied. "Even after we told them that they could do whatever they wanted now, they chose to stick with their research. I suppose they just liked it so much that they never wanted to stop. But we do have the exact outposts they're at. We require them to report to Homeworld and make a note in the records anytime they warp somewhere to gain more research about organic life."
"Great!" Steven exclaimed. "Maybe this will be even easier than expected. But...do you think any of them will be able to help Connie? Do you know if they've studied humans? Because according to Pearl, most of the Gems who studied Earth life are currently a pile of shards."
"Yes, the Lab on Earth, I recently learned about it and the experiments that were conducted there," Yellow said, nodding along. "But I do think that a small handful of the scientists working there survived and became organic researchers. I should be able to find them easily enough. If anyone can help your friend, then it'll be them."
"Not sure how comfortable I am with that, since Pearl called the place a slaughterhouse…" Steven muttered, before sucking his breath in. "...But if they can help Connie, then I'm willing to do anything to convince them to help."
"Very well!" Yellow explained. "In that case, let us go to the Homeworld archives and see what we can find. We should be able to find out where they are relatively quickly."
"Oh...the Homeworld archives," Steven said. "There's actually a second reason I came here, Yellow. Connie's injury and amnesia took precedence, but there was something else I was hoping to do."
"And what is it?"
"Well, I plan to look through those archives and try to find out any information I have on the Traitor. The original Traitor, from the lab." Steven explained. "I thought that since Mirror said they're connected to them, that we might be able to figure out some info about them. Use it against them."
"I see...although I am only vaguely aware of who the original Traitor is…" Yellow said. "This sounds like a good idea. I'm honestly surprised we hadn't thought of it before. I suppose we just assumed that there wouldn't be anything about them even in there, since all the records of their existence on Earth were destroyed, thanks to that Pearl."
"Yeah, looking back, that was probably a bad move. Who knows how helpful that information could be right now." Steven said. "But I think that if there's any info about them anywhere, it would be in those archives."
"Agreed," Yellow said, before putting a hand to her chin. "I have an idea, Steven. I think we can multitask your two reasons. I can look up and try to find the locations of those scientists, while you and Spinel if she wishes, can look up the Traitor and see if it gives us any hints about Mirror. This way, we can meet up once we're both done and get both done at the same time, or at least make good progress on both."
"That's...not a bad idea," Steven said, before looking over at Spinel, who had been surprisingly waiting patiently for them to finish. "Is this okay with you?"
"Of course!" Spinel said. "Sure, we may just be looking through some dusty old archives, but I can't imagine what kind of information might be in there! All those just secrets…" She giggled and wrung her hands together.
"I'll take that as a yes," Steven said, before looking back at Yellow. "Alright. We're both in. Let's head down to the archives."
"Excellent idea," Yellow said, and without saying another word she left the room, Steven and Spinel following close behind yet again.
And surprisingly, Steven actually felt like the situation was going to end well.
And this was a feeling that eluded him for what had felt like forever.
