Steven scanned the vast arena, his eyes constantly on the lookout for any glint of red. Luckily, the Sky Arena was fairly small compared to the other locations he and Amethyst had scoured previously.
"Ruby!" The purple gem called from overhead. She had shape shifted into a bird and was now circling the area in search of Ruby.
He searched the audience stands, checked behind the pillars that littered the arena, and had even used his floating abilities to get an aerial view, but — just like the other locations they had searched, they found nothing.
Amethyst swooped down from the sky and perched herself on his shoulder. "She's not here either." she said, frustration leaking into her tone. "Ugh, I thought for sure she'd be here."
"I'm sure we'll find her soon." He said encouragingly, "We just have to keep looking. Let's check the Sky Spire next." He smiled at Amethyst, trying to get her spirits up, but even he feels the hopelessness of the situation weighing down on him.
He just hoped Sapphire was having more luck in her search than they were.
The kettle let out a high-pitched whistle, alerting Pearl that the tea was done. She finished putting the last of the pots that Amethyst had carelessly left on the floor away before moving to turn the stove off. She stole a glance at Twoie as she busied herself with serving the tea. He was seated on the couch, blanket draped over his shoulders, a glum look on his face; It was clear he was still upset he wasn't allowed to go search for Ruby.
She hands him the tea-filled cup before taking a seat next to him. "Are you feeling any better?" she asked, trying not to let her worry show.
He didn't seem to want to answer, choosing to take small sips of his tea instead. His fingers tapped against the porcelain cup, a manifestation of his inner restlessness. "I already told you I'm fine." He said after a beat of silence.
She couldn't stop the frown from forming on her face or the concern from leaking into her voice. "You passed out and can't stand on your own."
"I was just a little dizzy earlier, but I'm fine now." As if to prove his point he stood up, he wobbled and she rushed to steady him. He waved her off and, thankfully, managed to stay upright without any assistance. "See? I'm fine." He said, flashing her a reassuring smile.
She nodded but remained unconvinced, "If you say so…"
He sat back down, "I think I was just stressed out." He takes another sip of his tea. "I just hope we can find Ruby in time…" his eyes darken and glaze over. He is staring into his cup, but she recognizes the far away look in his eyes for what it is— a memory of an event that hasn't happened yet.
She hesitates, a part of her doesn't want to know about the future, of the events leading up to Steven taking on the role of Pink Diamond.
"How much time do we have before…" she trails off, leaving her question hanging in the air.
He blinks, the fog in his eyes lifting. "I'm not sure." He places his cup on the coffee table before turning to face her. "Have you received the message from Lapis yet?"
"Yes, Greg was able to successfully unscramble the message from the wailing stone." she replied, not bothering to ask how he knew of the message in the first place.
He paled at her words, eyes darting toward the window as if he were expecting Peridot to break in and attack. "We need to find Ruby, today." His voice had a finality to it, leaving no room for argument. "We also need to send Steven away— far away."
She nodded in agreement. The thought of Steven facing off against Homeworld gems didn't sit well with her. She wanted to send Twoie away as well, but knew he wouldn't listen. His face was hardened over by a look of determination that was eerily similar to the one Rose would wear when she had made a decision. Past experiences taught her she couldn't change Rose's mind and she was certain it was the same with Twoie.
"I have a plan to stop Peridot when she arrives." She began. "I haven't tested it out yet, but I created a robot disruptor and it should produce a localized energy bla-"
Twoie interrupted her, "It won't work." he said. "It just ends up causing a huge power outage."
"If I just make a few minor adjustments then I'm sure I can get it to function properly."
He shook his head. "It won't matter, Peridot won't be bringing any of her flask robonoids. She'll be arriving in a hand ship with Jasper."
She tried not to let her fear show at the mention of a Jasper, a Homeworld soldier gem who was much stronger than a lowly Pearl like herself.
"Then we'll stop the ship before it can even reach the earth. If we use the Quartazine Trio an-"
"That won't work either."
She deflated at his words, their situation only seemed to grow more dire. She wrung her hands together as she racked her mind for ideas to stop Homeworld. There had to be something she could do, something she could build, a strategy she could come up with maybe. She couldn't just sit around and wait for Peridot to show up.
"How did we manage to defeat Peridot in your time?" she asked, after failing to think of anything.
"We didn't." He said. "We were taken prisoner and we only managed to escape because of Garnet, but if she's not here…"
Oh. That certainly explained why he had been so adamant about hiding the truth about Rose from Garnet, and like a fool she had told her anyway. Her eyes darted over to the warp pad.
"Don't worry." Twoie said with much more confidence than she was feeling. "We'll find Ruby in time."
"And if we don't?"
He stilled and she watched as an internal struggle played out in his head before a determined look crossed his features. "Then I know someone else who can help us."
Steven stepped onto the warp pad. The Sky Spire, much like the Sky Arena, proved to be a disappointment. There was no sign of Ruby and they were starting to run out of places to search.
One flash of light later, he and Amethyst had arrived at their next location. The smell of fire mixed with the sweet aroma of the Strawberry Battlefields. Smoke particles danced in the breeze and following them led Steven to a patch of scorched grass.
"Yeah that's definitely Ruby." Amethyst said beside him. "Let's hurry up and find her so we can go home already."
He nodded and followed the trail of singed grass and smoke. A while into their search he began to notice small patches of ice that ran adjacent to Ruby's trail.
"Do you think that's Sapphire's ice?" he asked after pointing it out to Amethyst.
"I hope so." She said. "Maybe by the time we find them they'll have formed Garnet again."
Steven moved faster at her words. The sooner they found Garnet, the sooner things would go back to normal. He could go back to having adventures with the gems and Twoie and not have to think about the Diamonds anymore. His eyes darted to where his gem rested, Pearl's earlier words about his mom and gemkind still ringing in his ears.
"Did you know?" he asked suddenly.
"Know about what? Rose being Pink Diamond?"
"No. I mean, did you know that-" he whispered the next words like they were some sort of secret. "-gems were aliens."
She gave him a blank look. "Steven, I'm a gem."
"I know that, but Pearl told me about how the Diamonds wanted to invade earth for our resources. I guess, I just never thought gems could be bad."
Her pace slowed, a wistful look crossing her features. "Yeah, Rose explained it to me once, said the Crystal Gems were originally formed to stop the Diamonds and all that good junk." she shrugged. "I never really thought about it much. I mean, all that stuff happened thousands of years before I was even around."
"Yeah, but aren't you worried about what Lapis said in her message." he gnawed on his bottom lip, the anxiety in his voice rising. "What if the Diamonds come back for the earth?"
"Steven, I-"
Sharp words and strained voices made both of them stop in their tracks. Steven followed the trail with his eyes, stopping when they landed on Ruby and Sapphire who were discussing something near a patch of particularly large strawberries.
"Ruby! Sapphire!" He called out, rushing over to them.
They stilled at the sound of his voice, their words becoming harsh whispers. What were they talking about? And why hadn't they formed Garnet yet?
Twoie took tentative steps, pausing every few seconds as he climbed the stairs that led to Steven's room. He was mostly back to normal except for the occasional dizzy spell and he hoped that too would disappear in time. After a bit of convincing, Pearl allowed him to go pack some of Steven's belongings for his eventual departure. He folded some of the boy's clothes before stuffing them into his cheeseburger backpack along with several other of his most precious belongings.
As he packed, he would catch his eyes darting toward the window every few seconds, looking for a threat that wasn't there. Ever since Pearl informed him that they had already received the message from Lapis he had been on edge. He busied himself by organizing Steven's room, mindlessly fixing his bed and sorting his toys, but nothing helped quell the feeling of anxiety that was quickly taking hold.
He double and triple checked that Steven would have everything he needed before placing the comically overstuffed backpack near the door for easy access. Having nothing else to do, he moved to sit on the couch and watched as Pearl distracted herself by making dinner, a dinner he was certain wouldn't be eaten. He glanced out the window again.
The sky was a brilliant shade of blue that stretched on for miles with no clouds in sight. The warm rays of the sun illuminated the golden shores of the beach just outside his house. It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect— a stark contrast to future events that wouldn't be as pleasant.
A pillar of light engulfed the house and pulled his attention to the warp pad. His face lit up in a smile at the sight of Steven and Amethyst, but quickly fell at the lack of Garnet. He rushed over to them, ignoring Pearl's worried cries about his health and pushing past the wave of dizziness at his sudden movement.
"Where's Garnet?" he asked, failing to keep the rising panic out of his voice. He had to resist the urge to look out the window.
Steven and Amethyst shared a look before stepping aside to reveal two smaller gems: Ruby and Sapphire.
"Well, the good news is that we found Ruby." Steven said, a strained smile on his face. "But the bad news is…"
"We won't be seeing Garnet for a while." Amethyst finished.
"What?!" Shrieked Pearl, nearly knocking over dinner as she dashed over to the warp pad. "But you found Ruby! Did something happen? Did one of your gems crack? Di-"
"Relax, P." Amethyst interrupted her worried line of questioning. "We're all fine, it's just…" she trailed off as an awkward silence engulfed the room.
He glanced at the two small gems. Ruby's haggard face and slumped shoulders crushed his hope that Garnet would return any time soon. Sapphire stood, hands clasped together, stone-faced and impassive as ever. Something had happened between the two that much he was certain of and judging by the tension in the group he guessed it wasn't anything good.
Twoie rubbed at his temples as he fended off another bout of dizziness, "You don't want to be Garnet anymore." he mumbled in realization.
Pearl's pleading eyes darted between Sapphire and Ruby. "That… t-that can't be true." she said
Ruby flinched when their eyes met and looked away.
It was Sapphire who spoke up, "In light of recent events, Ruby and I have decided to take a break from being Garnet."
Like a physical blow, her words knocked the air out of his lungs. He could tell by the defeated expressions that Steven and Amethyst wore that they already knew about Ruby and Sapphire's decision. Pearl's face was frozen in an expression of stunned surprise, it was honestly a miracle that she hadn't poofed immediately after Sapphire's revelation.
"B-but everything is going to be fine, right?" Steven asked, his timid voice cutting through the tension. "Garnet's still not back, but at least we're all together again."
It was silent, no one daring to crush the hopeful expression of Steven's face. Pearl had mentally checked out and probably would have fallen over if she weren't leaning on the kitchen island for support. Ruby and Sapphire awkwardly stood next to each other, refusing to make eye contact. Amethyst, at least, gave Steven a half hearted smile and a shrug.
Without Garnet, the Crystal Gems were left directionless in the midst of a crisis. What they needed now was a leader and a morale boost. He took a calming breath to steady his nerves before plastering on a large grin.
"Good job! You guys did it!" he exclaimed with just the right amount of false cheer sprinkled in to make it believable. His smile became more genuine as the tension in Steven's shoulders slowly lifted.
Amethyst's face scrunched up in confusion. "What?"
"You found Ruby!" he said as he pulled Amethyst and Steven into a hug.
"Yeah, bu-"
"We're all together again! Isn't that awesome?" he said as he used his strength to twirl both of them around.
Steven giggled in his hold. "Twoie, you're making me dizzy."
He gently put them back on the floor. "Sorry, bud." he said while ruffling Steven's hair. "You know what would be a great way to celebrate?" he asked, not waiting for anyone to respond. "Donuts!"
Steven's eyes lit up at the mention of his favorite pastries, the remaining worry in his face leaving and giving way to excitement. "Oh! Last time I was there Sadie said that she was working on making new flavors!"
"Sounds great!" he said. "Pearl was making dinner, but I'm sure she won't mind if we eat a few celebratory snacks. Isn't that right Pearl?"
The pale gem blinked, her vision snapping back into focus. "Huh?"
"Twoie says we can go buy donuts." Steven explained. "Which one's your favorite?"
"Donuts?" she mumbled. "But what about Garne-"
"Get her strawberry donuts." he interrupted before she could change the subject. "Pearl loves strawberry."
"Strawberry's my favorite too!" Steven announced happily. His face turned pensive. "Wait, can I get two donuts?"
"Sure!" he handed him a random assortment of crumpled bills and loose change from his pocket. "Make sure to bring back some for everybody." he said, even though he knew Amethyst was the only gem who ate.
Steven waved goodbye to everyone, tugging a bewildered Amethyst along with him and excitedly chatting about his favorite types of Donuts. Twoie kept his grin up until Steven was completely out of sight.
He paused as he looked at the remaining members of the room. Pearl, while more alert, was still reeling from the latest development. Ruby had at some point moved away from Sapphire and was now seated on the couch.
He opened his mouth to discuss plans so they would be ready for when Jasper arrived but before he could say anything Sapphire spoke up, "If you need me I'll be in my room." she said, before disappearing into the temple.
He choked back a scream of frustration. This was going horribly. With no other options left he marched outside in search of Lion.
"And that's why strawberry donuts are the best." Steven said as he happily munched on a donut, enjoying the cool breeze of the afternoon.
Beside him Amethyst nodded as she stuffed several donuts in her face. She said something in response, but it was muffled by the food in her mouth. He chuckled at her antics, relieved that things were starting to go back to normal.
Just then a loud cracking noise pierced the air. He whipped around, eyes widening as he assessed the destruction around him. The windows of all the shops on the boardwalk were shattered, the glass dangerously littered on the ground.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Amethyst said, her gaze turned upward.
He almost didn't want to look, but he forced himself to do so anyways. A cold feeling of dread settled in his stomach at the sight of a large green ship in the sky. It was growing larger in size as it approached the beach. He squinted to get a better view of the object.
"Is that… a hand?" he said.
The more he looked at it the more certain he was that it was a hand. He'd always assumed that an alien ship would be disk shaped like in those movies he used to watch with his dad. A bright green, hand-shaped ship was not something he was expecting.
"That can't be good." Amethyst muttered. "C'mon, Ste-man let's head back with the others."
Every time Bismuth had reformed in the past it was always instant. A flash of light and she was herself again. She never had to think about it, but this time it was different. There was something preventing her from reforming, a barrier that stood in her way. If she had a body she would have frowned as she recalled Rose's sword piercing her. Even now, in the safety of her gem she struggled to accept that the leader of the Crystal Gem Rebellion, Rose Quartz— her trusted friend had attacked her.
The pressure that was keeping her prisoner suddenly vanished. She wasted no time and immediately got to work in reforming herself. She flailed in the air as her body took form, taking on a defensive stance the second her feet made contact with solid ground.
She expected to be in her forge, or maybe one of the numerous bases they had littered throughout the planet. What she hadn't been expecting was to reform on top of a hill overlooking a vast and unnaturally pink field. She also thought that Rose would be the first to greet her, hopefully to apologize. She certainly hadn't been expecting to be greeted by a human with a nervous grin.
Her gaze darted everywhere as she searched for something, anything that was familiar, but she was only met with more vast and open pink fields. Her gaze settled back onto the human who, upon closer inspection, appeared to have a pink sphere encircling his head.
"Um… Hey." he greeted, a touch of uncertainty in his voice.
Bismuth had a million questions swarming through her head about Rose, about the rebellion, about her friends, but knew that the human standing in front of her probably didn't know anything about that. For the most part, Humans tended to avoid being around the gems, some were even frightened by them.
"Where are we?" she asked, knowing that the human would at least know that. She just hoped he wouldn't run away and leave her confused and lost.
"That's a little hard to explain, but we're in Lion's mane."
"Lion's mane?"
"That's not important right now. I… we could really use your help. I know you're probably really confused right now, but we don't have much time. Homeworld will be here any minute now."
She was immediately on alert at the mention of Homeworld, "How do you know about Homeworld? What's going on? Where is Rose?"
He flinched at the mention of Rose, his cheeks flushing a bright pink before he shook his head and returning to normal. "She's gone, really gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"I'll explain later. Let's focus on regrouping with the others." He extended a hand out and offered it to her.
She stole one last glance at the endless fields that surrounded them, fields that she would no doubt get lost in without the help of a guide. With no better options she placed her hand in his and hoped for the best. The Human led her down hill, stopping just at the edge of the tall and vibrant fields.
"This might be a little weird." he stepped onto the fields and phased right through it. Bismuth stood in shock as the lower half of his body completely disappeared into the ocean of pink. "Trust me." he said as his torso and head receded into the field, leaving only his outstretched arm visible.
She glanced at their hands which were still clasped together and steeled her nerves before taking a step forward.
