I wasn't happy with how long the last chapter took so I decided to compensate here! And it's moments like these that make me grateful there are no deadlines... But enough twaddle! Onto the show!
The whole team was stunned to see Rutile demonstrate her new gravity abilities, but none more so than Peridot. She demanded a challenge to see which of their powers was better especially as her special armor was now upgraded to matching gauntlets with the boots and a breastplate that she could use as a hoverboard still to come. Everyone else, however, was grateful for one more advantage against Homeworld and soon they all went back to their activities.
The relative normality continued as the Sun Incinerator was finally back to flying shape after Brookite's assault. Topaz and her crew were all but absent for an entire day as they refreshed themselves with the controls and simply enjoyed being able to take a casual trip to the Moon to watch more Camp Pining Hearts and then be back before sunset.
As the days went, Rutile was soon added into the training repertoire and soon Garnet and Pearl found they had their hands full between her and Rhodonite now stepping up as fighters coupled with Steven and Connie still honing their skills. They were almost grateful that the elemental trio had taken to training with each other instead of wanting the two of them as teachers.
Adding to Pearl's schedule specifically was Greg. It turns out Peridot finished the upgraded suit already but simply had not mentioned it due to her new fixation on her own armor. This meant that the father now had to get reacquainted to the new technology and see any new functions it had.
This is what brought him and Pearl to the Sky Arena after that father spent a fair amount of time tinkering with the suit to get a grasp on the upgrades Peridot provided. While the suit looked only slightly different with a rippling sheen across the whole suit thanks to the plasma imbued in the metal along with a transparent helmet, the real change was in performance.
Pearl stood ready with a fencing sabre as Greg charged forward, once again hovering above the ground but at a much faster pace, and struck with a light blade of his own so fast he nearly struck down Pearl in one hit. While the gem countered, she was staggered from the force his swing had. She quickly got her stance back and began striking back to force Greg on the defensive.
"I must admit," said the gem as her blade locked with Greg's, "Brookite was no pushover. You having her power would have worried me before…"
"…Because we were still acting like self-absorbed teens?" Greg retorted as he summoned a blaster in one hand and nearly shot Pearl in the gut. His gambit paid off as she broke away from him and had to dodge the blasts he peppered her with. Thanks to her smaller figure and much greater agility, Pearl maneuvered around his fire and broke through by throwing her spear right at him.
Greg decided now was a good time to show the biggest change Peridot made: his tether cables. She realized implementing full flight into the suit was too difficult given the resources and Greg's body mass, so she created an alternative solution - a pair of grappling hooks made out of the malleable plasma of Brookite's suit that could let him grab onto walls, the ground or anything sturdy in sight to give him an added mobility option.
In this case, he used one of his cables to latch onto one of the seats and fly towards it. This not only let him dodge the spear effortlessly, but it also kept his body relatively straight compared to when he was running and fire at Pearl more.
As shocked as the veteran Crystal Gem was by the new reveal, she was far from done. She decided it was time to stop holding back herself as she summoned two copies from her gem. All three Pearls rushed in just as Greg righted himself from his trip. Greg hurriedly summoned blasters in both hands and managed to shoot two of them down on the draw, but that left one pointing a spear in his face.
"Call it a draw?" Greg offered as his eyes crossed to see the tip of the weapon right above his nose.
"I'll concede to that," Pearl agreed, "And to answer your question, yes. I'd have thought you couldn't handle this kind of burden."
"Burden? I thought the point of this thing was to make me better…" Greg had the helmet recede so he could get a breath of fresh air.
"Power like that can be incredibly useful but putting yourself into danger is a burden. I've done it for so long that I'm almost numb to it but you?"
"You think I'm… not cut out for it?"
"Absolutely not."
"Huh?"
"I know you have the drive to protect Steven with everything you have. And that scares me, Greg. You're such a gentle, kindly person. I can count the times you've gotten thoroughly angry on one hand from how long I've known you."
"Yeah, I've never been much of a fighter. Still don't feel like one to be honest."
"Exactly. I want you to keep being that loving father even after this. Steven needs you."
"That's a pretty big compliment coming from you, you know."
"Maybe, but I always had Garnet and Amethyst to help with the whole mother thing. I can't imagine doing it by myself."
"I never was…" Greg said as he stood next to her, "I had you three and it's made everything so much easier."
Pearl chuckled at that. "Even with the whole rocket ship incident?"
"Okay, on the whole, it's made things easier."
As they laughed that off, they soon got back to sparring for the next hour or so before the father needed a rest. He may have shed some weight, but he was still a middle-aged man who needed to know when to take a breather. As tied as he was on the trip home, though, he still felt proud of what he was doing to keep his family and home safe. It may not have been the best circumstances, but it was a job he was willing to do.
While the Crystal Gems were split between business and pleasure in Delmarva, Agent Van Carson was strictly business from his office inside The Hexagon. While the public loved to discuss rumors of secret agents and hidden agendas going on within its walls, the man found some humor in that he recently had come into contact with genuine aliens who have been on Earth long before him, the capital of his country or even the concept of a unified nation.
He was just about to write up a proposal to the higher-ups to suggest a sort of check-up on Beach City. Even with the lack of recent activity, he was curious to learn more about the Crystal Gems and perhaps meet a few more of their members. The promise of a return visit to Fish Stew Pizza also entered his mind, but he kept that part off of his official paperwork.
Once he was finished drafting his proposal, he set it aside and looked through his professional emails to see if anything had come up. Just as he was about to close the window, an urgent message popped up from one of the researchers who uncovered the Crystal Gems. The email was titled "YOU NEED TO SEE THIS!"
Agent Carson did as it said and was met with a series of photographs taken from many of the satellites NASADA had deployed which depicted an unpleasant sight. He saw what appeared to be dozens of sleek spacecrafts of varying sizes and colors moving but one especially caught his attention: an enormously large yellow hand and arm.
"Well, guess I'm making that return even sooner than I thought…" Van said to himself, starting to pack his suitcase in preparation for his trip in a day or two.
Completely unaware of the impending threat, the Crystal Gems decided to do something they had never done before – a group sparring session in the countryside. Everyone on the team save for Padparadscha and Fluorite were prepared to test their skills against each other. The only rules were to avoid permanent harm in the case of Steven, Greg and Connie and no poofing any gems.
With the stage set, the fourteen fighters were all set and stood in a circle. Amethyst got the event started by super-speeding around everyone to knock them off guard. Everyone either dodged the first attack or simply shrugged it off as much as they could. Since there was no set matchups, everyone grouped off at random.
Greg ended up with Topaz, the fusion at first reluctant to fight the father until he rushed at her fast enough to nearly blow her away. She summoned her pugil stick and soon she and Greg were locked into a battle of blades only stopped when he pulled a blaster with his free hand. Rather than surrender, Topaz split herself into two and then nearly clubbed him with their maces until he pulled himself to safety with his grappling hook.
Adamite was up against Pearl and quickly found her reflexes stretched trying to deal with one opponent who could spontaneously change into potentially twelve. With her vast array or rock projectiles and summoning walls to stop the enemy charges, she found herself disoriented. Not only could any Pearl summon another copy as long as the maximum had not been reached, but a clone could dissipate herself at will to further keep Adamite guessing. Three of the clones managed to get around Adamite's flank, only to be surprised when she covered her back in rocks to stop all their weapons before kicking them away in rapid succession.
Garnet found herself facing off with Lapis. What would have been one of the most one-sided matches in the past ended up being a close fight with both sides constantly gaining the upper hand. Lapis used the water she brought from a nearby lake to show off the wide array of constructs she could make from extra limbs to tentacles to grab Garnet and match her in a fistfight to bringing out buzzsaws and pellets that forced her on the defensive. Even still, Garnet was still the de facto team leader for a reason as her future vision coupled with her massive strength on top of her ability to freeze or evaporate much of the water before it could harm her made Lapis have to constantly rethink her actions.
Rutile was squaring off with Amethyst which made for an explosive demonstration. The purple speedster was literally winding up punches and strikes for miles before nearly flattering her conjoined opponent. What Rutile lacked in brute strength, however, she made up for with creativity. She had been practicing with her new gravity powers for days on end and while she knew the constraints, she also knew how to best utilize them. The most obvious use was pushing Amethyst away, but she found it even better to pull the blitzing gem towards her which made her lose control of her speed and made her a very easy target to hit which made Amethyst reconsider her approach all the more.
Bismuth was surprised to see how well Rhodonite was holding her own. The dreadlocked gem knew she was a heavy hitter that packed a strong punch or swing depending on what shape her hands took but Rhodonite took to Pearl's swordplay lessons very well. The four armed fusion was an entirely different person with a blade in her hand as she dodged and blocked every wild strike with precision before delivering a counter.
Cinnabar was against Peridot and her now complete armor. Just as the techie imagined it, each of the arms and legs were made of several pieces which she could control independently with her metal powers while she used the single breastplate as a platform to hover around. While one gem was still with a never-ending supply of fire, now she up against an opponent with a dozen projectiles that could attack from any side and could outpace by floating away. While it did make Cinnabar impatient, it gave her all the more reason to get creative.
That left Steven and Connie going up against each other with their new abilities for the first time. Steven's multiple weapons and half-gem physiology found an equal in Connie's crystalline body and multitude of swords. Every punch, swing and dodge had them evenly matched with each other and neither one backed down. As intense as their clash, both of them had smiles on their faces. After worrying about each other so many times, they were finally equals in strength and knew that nothing would ever separate them ever again.
And that was all in the first few minutes. The combatants kept switching at random, ganging up on each other and interrupting other fights to simulate real combat as much as possible. All the while Fluorite watched with Padparadscha on her head as the controlled chaos happened. They were both enthralled with the sight but wondered how they could get involved in it themselves. While Fluorite had yet to talk with Garnet about it, she was still curious about a change to her form more suited for combat while Pap was still whittling down the possibilities.
It was only after half an hour that the group finally stopped for a break. While there was some taking notes and offering critiques to each other, it was mostly just to unwind after so much strenuous activity. While their bodies needed the rest, it was also a nice break to talk and pal around as one giant family. The event went so well in fact that the gang decided they would do it again tomorrow.
The rest of the day passed with Connie and Greg leaving the temple while Steven and the gems split up to focus on other projects. With Peridot's armor done, she was considering going back to the Pyramid Temple to find the power source of the reactivated place to potentially upgrade the Sun Incinerator. Bismuth was eager to work on new weapons for some of newcomers, but Rutile's new powers made for a tempting challenge. The elemental trio went off on their own to train some more and Steven was even looking to learn from Topaz on how to use her maces and pugil stick.
As the sun set for the day, Steven went to bed content with how things were going. Much like his father, this was not his ideal. That would be if his ever-growing family could live their days in complete peace but all of this training a step towards making this dream a reality. He hoped that his mother would think so too as he soon closed his eyes and found himself face to face with Rose Quartz once again.
"Good evening, Steven," greeted his mother amicably, "It looks like your making excellent progress."
"Thanks! All this stuff does make my arms pretty sore, though. I don't know how Sugilite uses that flail."
"She's always been very determined… among other things."
"Tell me about it…"
"At the very least, she's much more relaxed than how she used to be. The very first time she was formed?" Rose visibly shuddered at that, making Steven deeply grateful that he was in a dream. He definitely did not need to start sweating bullets.
"So… More meditation?" Steven offered, hoping to change the conversation. Rose nodded and soon she they were both seated apart from each other. She then guided his breathing and began speaking her mantra she had been using since this process started.
"Feel the light within your form. Feel its power resonate within you. This power is yours to use however you wish."
As strange as it felt, Steven did indeed feel this light inside his gem. It was a warm comforting glow almost like his own personal sun but he felt something else. A subtle yet unnerving chill inside him. That power was his but it was too much. He knew this pleasant feeling was from getting only a small fraction of this power. If he tried releasing it all at once, he could feel how it would explode and run rampant.
"Steven, I can feel that," said Rose opening her eyes, "All that fear isn't going to help you."
The boy gasped at that. It still unnerved him how Rose could feel all of his emotions including the unease he felt at that very moment. Thankfully, his mother understood how awkward the situation was and tried to reassure him.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore, Steven. You've grown so much in all this that you can handle it!"
Steven did not say anything, but his downcast eyes and fidgeting fingers were answer enough even if Rose could not feel the crippling doubt emanating from him. She then stood up and wrapped her arms around her son.
"Mom… I'm really tired…" admitted Steven, "And I really like finally getting to spend time with you but-"
"I know. I feel the same way. You're as wonderful a person as I could hope for but you're still stuck in all this chaos. You don't want to fight any more battles but trust me when I say this: what's in that treasure chest you're trying to unlock will end all this fighting."
"Can you at least tell me what it is then?"
"I want to, but you and the others have other things to worry about."
"How bad could it possibly be?!"
Rose looked away at him from that. She felt how much her secrecy was upsetting him and she could only imagine what the others would all say if they were in the same position. While she did not want to reveal everything yet, she decided he deserved to know something.
"What do you know about me shattering Pink, Steven?"
The boy was taken aback by such a blunt question but he still answered. "You, well, walked up to Pink…"
"And where did it happen?"
"Um… In her palanquin, right?"
"Yes, more or less. And that trial never did answer exactly how it happened."
"Hey, yeah, that's right! Bismuth made your sword incapable of shattering gems so how did it happen?"
"I can't say that… But I can give you one piece of advice."
"Yes?!"
"That was not the first time I was in Pink's palanquin."
Steven was only more confused now, causing his mother to wince at the feeling. "But that doesn't make any sense! What, did you sneak in there once on a practice run?!"
"Maybe… I'm terribly sorry, Steven, but it's too much for you to take right now. You need to focus on accessing that key and once you do that, I swear I'll tell everything."
"Really? You promise?"
"Yes, Steven. Now, shall we get back to it?"
Satisfied for now, and more motivated than ever, Steven sat back down and tried to channel the immense power he felt once again. With a new goal in sight, he actually felt a slight change and when felt fully energized he awoke that morning.
A trip downstairs from his bed soon revealed that the Off-Colors had already left in their ship for their morning patrol, the elementals were off on their own again and Garnet and Bismuth were discussing something by the fire pit.
It seemed to be another peaceful day until Topaz's voice came in screaming through Garnet's communicator.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" the captain yelled as the distant sound of explosions could be heard, "Homeworld's here! And this time they aren't kidding around!"
"Topaz, give us the situation," replied Garnet, staying as calm as possible.
"There's fighters coming at us by the dozens! There has to be several warships deploying them!"
"Guys, you need to see this!" Pearl said barging in from the front door. She held out her cellphone and showed a newscast displaying another warship positioned right above Empire City.
"Reports are coming in from many of the planet's biggest cities," read the anchorwoman over the footage as it quickly moved to other locations, "These mysterious ships are rapidly appearing all across the Earth. There is no other way to phrase it: this is a potential alien invasion."
Almost as if one of the Diamonds was listening, the warships suddenly opened several hatches along their bottoms and hundreds of gems poured from each of them right into each metropolis. The Crystal Gems all felt their terror spike as the news station changed their focus again. Cameramen on the ground were now showing gems of every variety crash into streets, cars and building and started to destroy whatever was around them.
"Okay, now it IS an invasion!" said a much more frazzled anchorwoman, "And since it's the end of the world, I QUIT! I've got to get my kids!"
The broadcast stopped as Pearl dropped her phone and the glass cracked. She did not even noticed as she stepped into the house in a trance.
"What do we do?" she asked to no one, "There's millions of them. We can't stop them all…"
"We do our best," assured Garnet. She then tapped her communicator and phoned Amethyst. "Get back here, double time! We have a major emergency!"
"Right!" said Pearl, suddenly reenergized as she summoned eleven clones as fast as possible, "We need to focus on our mission!"
"That's all we can do. Steven, call Connie and your father. We'll need them as well."
"On it!" saluted the boy. As he made his calls, he could not help but feel anxiety bubble up in his stomach. He had a gut feeling that this attack was even bigger than they already knew.
Far above the Earth observing her invasion force, Yellow Diamond looked down at the blue planet that had been the source of all her failures. Pink Diamond's shattering, countless lost Homeworld soldiers, her pet project The Cluster reduced to a helpless bubble and of course Rose herself. All of it came from this one inconceivably cursed sphere of rock and water. The only solace she had now was that she was finally going to see it destroyed with her own vision spheres.
"My Diamond," reported her pearl, "The ground forces are landing successfully. All of the organics are already scrambling and all unit commanders are now standing by for further instructions."
"Excellent, Pearl. You will stay here and alert me to any sudden changes. That will be all."
As the servant gave the typical salute, Yellow moved from the bridge to the communications hub of her massive ship. As she walked, she thought back to Blue and how she was dead-set on joining Yellow out here in this distant galaxy to finally see the rebellion demolished. It was only on White's direct orders that Blue stay behind that she finally relented.
"We are on the cusp of a great victory," White explained in the past, "But we must not make it look so arduous. Rose and her peons are only worth sending one of you to personally deal with them and even then, it's only because you've both failed repeatedly."
Yellow balked at that, desperately wanting to remind the overblown matriarch that her own agate was sent back crying recently, but she knew better than to speak out of line. The thought of what White what do her then made her grateful to be millions of lightyears away.
Once she made it to the communications room, Yellow put all those thoughts in the back of her mind and dialed up all of the unit commanders. Eight of her personally selected officers were now listening and ready to relay orders to the few million troops that would be invading Earth.
"This mission is the most critical of your lives," she commanded, "And there is no room for failure. The goal is simple: guide your troops in causing as much havoc and destruction as possible to throw the Crystal Gems off of our true cause. Is that clear?"
"YES, MY DIAMOND!" all of them chanted in unison.
"Excellent. Your sacrifice will be honored on Homeworld. That will be all."
I'm going to call this little arc coming up the rough halfway point of the story but that's a minor detail. The stage is set for Homeworld's biggest attack yet!
Thank you all so much for reading! Please feel free to leave a review!