So now with everyone settled, you'd think I'd give them time to get settled before throwing another new character into the mix, right? WRONG!
With everyone finally settled in the Universe household once more, training resumed with all seven of Crystal Gems focused on preparing for Homeworld's arrival. While the date may be unknown, all of them swore to be as ready as could be. This went doubly so for Steven as he put all of his energy improving his skills.
The lessons continued with Amethyst keeping him alert around the clock, Pearl brushing up his technique and tactics and Garnet keeping up the exercise routine. Peridot and Lapis, when not glued to their new rooms, practiced as well. Peridot was already making plans for new devices she could create to combat the enemy and support his training, although the entire group shuddered in fear every time she asked what exactly "nuclear" meant. Lapis was making great strides with her hydrokinesis now that she had her own training ground with no potential for collateral damage. She was even working with Pearl on how to properly integrate her abilities into a fighting team, much to the veteran gem's delight. Having yet another opportunity to teach was her only stress relief these days outside of cleaning.
As for Greg, he followed through on his promise to move in which worried the gems at first. While Steven was happy to see his father on a daily basis now, he and the others were skeptical how he would contribute to their efforts. As it turns out, he actually proved a benefit as he constantly kept the place together. He created a formal training schedule (much to Pearl's disappointment), kept the house stocked with nutritious food and drinks for Steven, and provided some much-needed levity in the face of such paralyzing adversity. Everyone had come to rely on him for some positivity, but something caught Steven's eye during one of his breaks. As he sat in one of the new chairs with his phone, he noticed his father coming out of Peridot's room.
"S-Steven?!" his father gasped, surprised at him being idle, "How you doing, sport?" His eyes were flitting to and fro, blatantly giving away his fear.
"I'm fine, Dad. What were you doing with Peridot?" he asked, simply curious. He would never suspect his father of having ill intentions, but Greg's nervousness was worrisome to him.
"Oh, well, you know, I never really got to know her, right? I mean, aside from that time she threw me off the barn roof and that other time she trashed the car wash we've barely spoken to each other and yet she's been living here for months now! Speaking of which, I need to go and check up on inventory at the shop, I hear we need more squeegees, I'll be right back. Love you!" He spoke like the wind and practically ran out the door, causing Steven to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Not long after he left, Peridot appeared from the temple scanning the room.
"Steven, where did your parental unit run off to?" asked the green researcher.
"He just took off. Seemed really nervous. What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing major. He just made a personal request, but he should realize that progress will be stifled if he scampers off like this," she grumbled, ignoring Steven's surprised look. "Well, since I'm out here, have you seen Pearl? I was looking to ask her about the armaments left over from the previous encounter with Homeworld."
He quickly pointed her outside where the white veteran gem was stretching for her upcoming sparring session with Steven. Once the two got talking, however, they all decided it would be for the best to hold a meeting and take stock of all potential resources. Soon after, Garnet brought along one of the laser light cannons used during the original rebellion as all of the Crystal Gems gathered for their meeting on the patio. Peridot, intrigued by the weapon, circled around the pink device while muttering to herself. She soon came to a rather bleak conclusion.
"This is the most archaic gem weaponry I have ever seen. While this may have been the peak of technology at the time of its conception, using this against a modern Homeworld ship would accomplish nothing except amuse the invaders."
Pearl grumbled at that, trying to ignore the fact that the weapon had saved them several times in the past, and focused on the topic at hand.
"Well, this is the best we have aside from more conventional handheld weapons. Is there anything you could do to improve on this and make it viable?"
"While I could theoretically repurpose this, I will admit first and foremost direct weaponry is not my forte. I will, however, see what I can do with what equipment I now possess." While it may not have been much, it was some reassurance and let the gems get back to their routine. The only one who stayed put was Steven who ran through the situation in his mind. He knew Peridot was no weapon smith, but who could fit that bill?
After a long day of training, Steven's body was ready for bed. He climbed into his yellow pajamas and felt ready to doze off. His mind, however, was still buzzing from their meeting earlier. All throughout the day he had the perfect candidate for someone who could make weapons, but the last time they met ended rather poorly. He had a hunch that if he brought it up to the others, they would just reject it for his safety and promise to think of something else.
Under normal circumstances, he would have happily listened and let them find an alternative. The problem was they were already short on time with all the training they were giving him and they still had no idea when Homeworld would show up. Steven figured that since these were desperate times, he had to jump the gun.
Once he was certain his father was asleep and none of the Crystal Gems were around, he climbed down the stairs and opened the way to the Burning Room. He hardly had to look to find the pink bubble he wanted and silently floated up to it. As he stared at the polychromatic gemstone inside, his doubts began to appear. For all he knew, she could just run away, refuse to help or even attack him on sight, all out of some millennia-old grudge. Deciding to keep them somewhere familiar, Steven carried the bubble outside onto the beach, right in front of the reconstructed porch. He made sure the main body of the temple was in full view, hoping that giving her something recognizable might keep her calm. After taking a breath to steady his nerves, he released the bubble and in only seconds, a bulky purple gem formed wearing a black apron although it seemed to have much more pink this time around. Her rainbow dreadlocks stood out as clear as day and once fully reformed, she looked down on him with a quiet glare.
"What do you want?" was all Bismuth asked, clearly angered at seeing Steven again.
"Hi…" he muttered, rubbing his head in discomfort, "Listen, I know we didn't get off on the right foot last time-"
"Really? I hadn't noticed," she droned, her voice laced with sarcasm, "Did you just want to give me an update of the last century so I know how much I've missed?"
"Actually, it's only been a few months. And the reason I let you out is because Homeworld is coming back. Garnet saw they were sending a lot of gems here."
That got the hulking blacksmith out of her funk. She may have been rusty, but her loyalty was still as fresh as ever.
"Did Garnet give you any specifics? Do we have a proper battle plan?"
"Not really. All we know is that it's a few ships and we need you to help us. I know you don't like me or my mom right now, but this planet needs you."
Bismuth briefly went to war with herself as she contemplated this information. On the one hand, she looked up at the temple and felt a burning desire to take up arms again. There was still a drive to keep the Earth safe and stick it to those upper-crusts that would never die until she was in shards. But as soon as she looked down at Steven, a wave of uneasiness made her hesitate. She had a hunch this would not end well. Even with that rattling her mind, though, she crossed her arms and answered with a gruff "Okay."
"Yay! Now let's get you introduced to our new members!" As he began to lead her back into the house, a worrying thought entered his mind.
"Oh, before we start this can you just promise me one thing?"
"What?" If this was going where she thought, it would be a long day.
"You have to promise me that you won't shatter anyone, alright?" Steven silently hoped she had learned to forgive and forget in her absence, but her creased brow quickly proved otherwise.
"Really? Not even five minutes in and we're going down that road again?! Kid, I don't know how much you know about war, but sometimes you don't have a choice!"
"Just because you're fighting, even if it's right, doesn't make it okay to kill gems, Bismuth!" That quickly got the large gem to lose any patience she had left.
"Shut your mouth, you stupid pebble!" she screamed, looming over him with a mad gleam in her eyes, "You have no idea what combat is like! Do you know what to do when you've got five jaspers breathing down your neck while your best friend's screaming for help?! You can't do squat if you're in pieces and sometimes you have to get violent!"
"I know that, and I get this might be difficult for you-" he placated before being grabbed by her massive fists and pulled right into her snaring face.
"'Might be difficult''?! You don't know the first thing about war, you clod! I spent centuries putting my life on the line and you think YOU, some runt, can order me around?! Or do you think you're in charge because of that gem you got?!"
"No! Bismuth, I just don't want anyone getting seriously hurt!" He was panicking now, desperate to stop their screaming match from escalating, but it seemed he had ticked her off again.
"You've got the enemy literally coming down on your head, and that's what's you're scared of! This planet is going to be dust if we fail, don't you get that?! I knew it, you are just as blind as she was…All you care about is right now when you can end the problem NOW!"
"Don't talk like that! I won't let you shatter anyone if I have to!"
Bismuth had to laugh at that. "Oh REALLY?! You think you're hot stuff now?! I'll tell you what, I'll make some new weapons for the fight, all right. The first thing I'll make is a new Breaking Point. In fact, I'll have at least a dozen of them ready by the time the Diamonds get here and there won't be a thing you can do to stop me! What do you think about that, Rose?!"
Steven was, by all means, amazingly lenient given all he has been through. He had faced incredible odds and almost always let hate and strife roll off his back. It was one of the qualities that had proven an asset in his training. No matter how many times he was knocked down or messed up, he got back up and swore to do better next time. Now, though, all that patience was gone and he was angry, made worse by her choice of name.
"My. Name. Is. STEVEN!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. His rage blinded him and in his fury he wrenched one of his arms loose and decked Bismuth in the face.
Normally he would just summon a bubble of try to talk his way out of it, but that was not an option with the ringing in his ears. As he watched the purple gem go skidding across the sand, actually sent twenty feet from his punch, his anger irritation quickly turned to regret.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that, I'm sorry!" He pleaded for forgiveness, but when Bismuth got up her eyes were boring holes into him.
"OH YOU'RE GONNA BE SORRY ALRIGHT!" She shapeshifted her hands into a pair of axe heads and charged at him like a bull, practically snorting steam out of her nose.
Now he had done it, a fight had started and there was no negotiating his way out of it. With no other choice, Steven leapt into the air in a frenzy but Bismuth just soared after him. Surprised by her buoyancy given her bulk, he summoned his shield and blocked every swing she threw at him once they were face-to-face in the sky.
The feverish gem slashed at him several times, but Steven summoned his shield and kept his guard up under her assault. That proved to be his undoing, however, as Bismuth decided to tackle him and push him down to the ground. Shocked by her charge, he did not slow his fall and was sent plummeting several feet into the sand. He crawled out in a daze and tried to catch his bearings as Bismuth barreled towards him again, now wielding dual hammers for hands.
"You're gonna have to do better than that!" Bismuth taunted, but her cockiness quickly changed as Steven rose back up, and launched straight into the bulky blacksmith. As the two tumbled on the sand, Steven eventually got the upper hand in their tussle and, quite literally, threw his opponent for a loop as he tossed her several dozen feet in the air. Rather than backing down, however, Steven pursued her into the sky with another leap, much to the renegade's shock.
"Well, you've gotten better, but-" whatever sassy retort she could make was cut off as Steven grabbed Bismuth's leg and forced both of them back down to earth at breakneck speed. The crash kicked up a cloud of sand forty feet high and sent shockwaves down the coast line.
As the debris cleared Bismuth, groaning from the impact, was lying in a crater of sand with Steven standing looking her in the eyes. Despite still wearing his yellow pajamas, he managed to appear threatening as his stature and face made it clear he was in no mood for her backtalk.
"Stop this, Bismuth," he asked, stern yet tender, "I don't want to seriously hurt you. And I know Mom didn't either."
Rather than backing down, that caused Bismuth's ferocity to explode again. "How would you know what Rose wanted?! You weren't there! And if you're not her, what gives you the right to order me around?!"
"Because we want the same thing. We want the Diamonds to go away and leave the Earth in peace. I don't want to order you around, but I want to end this with as little shattering as possible."
"Hah! You think it's that easy? You think this is all some game?! You don't know the first thing about what those Diamonds will stoop to, how far they'll drag you down to get what they want. Face it, Steven, that's how war is. Sometimes it's you or them and you need to pick one."
"I know that!" shouted Steven, his own patience gone again thanks to Bismuth's prattling. He grabbed the broad gem by the shoulder and forced her to look him in the eye.
"I watched Yellow Diamond tell Peridot to let the Earth blow up because she hates it. I saw Blue Diamond kidnap my dad for some freaky human zoo. A few months ago I was on trial in front of both of them because I wanted to keep the Earth safe! It was the dumbest decision I ever made and frankly I hate myself for it! But I didn't have a choice…It was that or all my friends get taken to Homeworld. I almost threw my life away, Bismuth. I should be dead. I don't want to see anyone, no matter what side they are on, die. It scares me and I'll bet it scares you too. If that happens, it should be as a last resort. I hate fighting, but I know it's the only way sometimes. I don't want to fight you, Bismuth, but I'll keep doing it until you come around. Then we can work together to end this war."
For several minutes the two stared at each other in silence on the sand, the cold ocean air barely phasing them as they locked eyes. As they stared at each other Greg and the Crystal Gems, save for a preoccupied Lapis Lazuli, emerged from the beach house. The group was alerted to the situation thanks to Greg being rudely awakened from his sleep by the mighty crash from the fight between the two.
"Okay then," remarked Garnet, admittedly having not seen this outcome coming, "I think we all need to calm down and discuss some issues."
Both parties could not agree more and moved to the recently rebuilt porch except for Greg who went back to bed now that the fireworks settled down. Bismuth stood before two of her old comrades and several new faces as she retold the events. She was asked several questions by the Crystal Gems and even a few from Steven. After she made her case, Steven spoke his side which matched up with Bismuth's tale and even had him vouching for them all to work together much to the rainbow-haired blacksmith's shock.
After both stories were told, Garnet looked at her old ally with a neutral gaze. After several agonizing minutes, she spoke.
"Bismuth, I appreciate your honesty here. I also know you were always one who went with your gut instinct and even after all this, I trust you."
That made the purple blacksmith smile, but it quickly faded as the fusion took on a very serious tone.
"However, that is the second time you attacked Steven. And that's not bringing up the events that led to Rose bubbling you in the first place. This all makes me rather hesitant to bring you on permanently."
"Please, you know me Garnet!" Bismuth pleaded, "I give my all for whatever I set my mind to. If an ally needs backup, I'm there in an instant. And yes, I may have gone too far with the…measures I was willing to take to beat Homeworld. But I can change! That's what the Crystal Gems are, a bunch of nobodies who wanted a different lot in life. I did it back then and I can do it now!"
"Bismuth, I want to believe you," assured Pearl, "I trusted you with my life countless times. But after hearing everything you've done, I frankly don't blame Rose for putting you away. You were getting too mutinous, murderous even. I fully understand wanting to end the battle, but your plan was simply too extreme."
That was not what the hulking gem wanted to hear, and began shrinking back in anxiety. "Okay, I get it. No more Breaking Point. That's a done deal. Just let me help you somehow. I'll make weapons, I'll reinforce the base, heck I'll even stay by the kid's side if he's ever in trouble. Just please, don't leave me out of everything again!"
Amethyst and Peridot, lacking the amicable past with the gem, looked skeptical. Pearl looked as if she was resigned to her ally being sent back into imprisonment for her own good. Garnet was a straight-faced as ever, but Steven seemed genuinely moved.
"I believe you," he uttered, much to the questioned gem's shock.
"Y-You do?"
"Of course. We all get carried away sometimes, and you were doing what you did to help your family and the Earth. I may not like how you did it, but I know you care about this planet and everyone on it. If you're willing to change then I'll give you a chance."
Bismuth was tempted to drop her jaw in shock, but somehow kept it closed. Her awe grew as Steven stood from his seat and held out a hand for her in a sign of comradery. All she could do was gawk at it.
"I don't get it," she admitted, sounding more lost than in her entire life, "When you first let me out I wanted to shatter you. Now you want to be my ally. Why?"
"Because deep down I know we want the same thing and I know you can get better. I want to find the best in you Bismuth."
The bulky gem actually felt a tear well up in her eye as she took his hand and the two shook with smiles on their faces. The table of Crystal Gems looked equally surprised, but all grinned at the sight in front of them.
"Well, if Steven's willing to extend a hand in solidarity then I see little reason to question him. After all, I was on the opposite side of this conflict less than a year ago," remarked Peridot as she strode over to the larger gem, secretly planning for all the projects she could help create.
"Same here, 'cept I just joined up because why not. As long as you don't burn the place down, I'm game," joked Amethyst, leaning back into her beach chair now that the tension was dying down.
"I suppose the only issue now will be finding a place for you around here," added Pearl, quietly ecstatic to have one of her last remaining friends from the old days back in action.
Garnet merely stood and shook Bismuth's meaty hand herself, cementing her approval of this new arrangement. As the gang was about to head inside to get their newest addition settled they saw Lapis Lazuli staring at Bismuth. In all the excitement, none of them noticed how she did not emerge from the temple with the others due to her sleeping. It was unclear how much of the commotion she saw, but her eyes never left the dreadlocked gem.
"Oh, hey there," greeted Bismuth, "You must be another new member. Hope we can-" was all she managed to say before a massive tendril of water wrapped around her torso. In only a second she was sent flying several miles into the ocean, screaming her head off all the while.
Annnnnnnd...That's that! Next time we confront this whole debacle and let the new team get closer with a good old-fashioned mission! See you then!
Thank you all so much for reading! Please feel free to leave a review!