Never before in his life had Twoie been so overjoyed at the sight of a couch. It was such a simple piece of furniture, but one that he would never take for granted ever again. He dragged himself over to it and all but collapsed onto the soft cushions, his aching muscles crying out in relief at finally being allowed to rest.
He glanced over to Spinel who remained standing on the warp pad, her eyes flitting around the room as she took in her new surroundings. Changing locations so abruptly after spending thousands of years in the same place must have been a jarring experience, and it looked like she was still adjusting. Wanting her to feel more comfortable, Twoie patted a spot on the couch next to him and motioned for Spinel to come over.
Her first step off the warp pad was filled with hesitation and for a split second Twoie feared that she might teleport back to the garden, but thankfully Spinel continued onward toward the couch. Each of her steps slowly grew more confident and by the time she finally reached the couch she was walking normally.
"Take a seat," he said, patting the cushion beside him again. "If you want," he hastily added, not wanting her to feel obligated to do anything she wasn't comfortable with.
Spinel didn't respond with words, but did sit down after a few seconds. Together, they sat in a comfortable silence as Twoie gathered his thoughts. He nearly drifted off to sleep a couple of times, but forced his eyes to remain open. The topic of Pink Diamonds death was still something he had yet to fully explain to Spinel and was something that was too important to put off for later.
In the end he decided that being blunt and straightforward would be better than drawing out the conversation.
"Back in the garden when I told you that Pink Diamond was gone I was telling the truth," he began, leaving no room for a misunderstanding of the situation. "But there was something I didn't tell you."
If Spinel was at all upset by the fact that Twoie had hid something from her then she didn't show it, her face was an unreadable mask as she waited for him to continue.
"While on earth, Pink Diamond decided that she wanted to have a human child." He fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "And she did, but in order to do that she had to give up her physical form along with her gemstone."
"Pink had a baby?"
He nodded, relieved that Spinel seemed to understand what a child was. Pink Diamond must have brought her along to the human zoo enough times that she was familiar with the concept. It was a good thing too, because the last thing he wanted to do right now was to get into an awkward explanation about how babies were made.
"His name is Steven," he said. "And he is not Pink Diamond, but he does have her gemstone."
He lifted up his shirt just enough to reveal the pink gemstone hidden there.
Spinel's reaction was instantaneous. Her eyes widened to an almost comical size and her mouth fell agape as she stared at his gem.
"Pink," she whispered, voice tinged with a mix of longing and hurt.
He stiffened at her words, muscles tensing as he braced himself for a negative reaction, but thankfully none ever came. Whatever mixed feelings Spinel had for Pink Diamond, she had decided not to take out on him. Instead, she merely stared at his gemstone for a few seconds longer before meeting his gaze and sending him a small nod of understanding.
"You're not Pink," she said, further easing his fears. "You're Steven?" she half stated, half asked.
"Well, sort of," he replied, pulling his shirt back down so that it covered his gemstone. "It's kind of complicated."
At her confused expression, Twoie gave her a simplified explanation of his existence as a time traveler, taking care to omit the part regarding his eventual demise. Unnecessarily upsetting Spinel would not do him any favors, after all.
"Just call me Twoie," he said. "It's a name my younger self came up with."
"Twoie," she repeated, testing out the name. She smiled, "I like it."
With that sorted out, he moved on to introducing Spinel to the others only to come to the realization that the house was empty. In his tired state, Twoie must have failed to notice their absence when he arrived back home. Even Peridot who had taken up residence in the living room was gone, no trace of her anywhere.
He moved to get up and investigate only to be met with resistance in the form of his aching muscles. Try as he might, his body absolutely refused to cooperate with him and he remained firmly planted on the couch. It was as if someone had replaced his limbs with lead, making them heavy as well as making any movement near impossible without considerable effort and energy on his part.
Spinel tilted her head to the side curiously as she watched his ongoing fight with gravity.
"Is this another game?" she asked, gesturing toward the small jerking motions that he'd managed to get his body to make.
"No, I'm just… stretching" he lied while continuing to try and stand. It was only after a full minute of failed attempts did Twoie finally turn to Spinel for help. "I think I'm stuck. Do you think you can help me up?" he asked.
"You can count on me!" was Spinel's cheery reply.
In an instant she was up and standing right in front of him. She shapeshifted her arms so that they resembled a fishing rod and proceeded to hook the end of it on the back of his shirt. Slowly, Spinel began to reel him off of the couch only for him to immediately motion her to stop.
"Put me down." he quickly said through gritted teeth.
She immediately complied and Twoie winced as his body was unceremoniously dumped back onto the couch. The rapid movement sent waves of pain coursing through his body.
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.
Getting off the couch was a bad idea. A very bad idea. Not only would standing be impossible in his state, but it would also be extremely painful. As much as Twoie hated the idea of resting when there was so much work to get done, he knew that he wouldn't be able to accomplish anything as he was now.
"Is.. is everything okay?" Spinel asked. She had moved to sit next to him again and was now watching him with concern. "Are you okay?"
He was quick to flash her a reassuring smile, "I'm fine," he said. "I'm just…" painfully being erased from existence. "... sleepy."
It wasn't a total lie. Twoie really was sleepy and going with that answer was much better than the alternative of explaining his eventual death.
Spinel gave him a puzzled look, "Sleepy?"
Ah, right. Gems didn't know what sleep was.
"It means I'm tired," he explained. "Sleeping is just the way humans rest."
"Can I try?"
He thought about it for a moment before nodding. Amethyst slept all the time and even Pearl had been able to fall asleep that one time. He didn't see why Spinel couldn't at least attempt it.
"It's easy," he said. "You just have to relax, close your eyes—" he shut his tired eyes and let out a yawn. "—and don't… think about… anything."
It took less than a second for him to fall asleep.
Standing still on the shore in front of the handship, Steven stared unhappily at the sand beneath his sandals while he waited for his scolding to come to an end. To say that contacting Homeworld was a terrible idea was the definition of an understatement, and it seemed that the gems would not get tired of reminding him of that fact.
After they had destroyed the console and cut his call with the Diamonds short, Pearl had immediately sent Connie home and given him a verbal lashing about endangering others and being reckless. Garnet had added onto the scolding by grounding him from watching TV for two thousand years (it had initially been one thousand but Garnet had doubled it when he tried to defend his actions). Even Amethyst who was usually the most laid back of the three had lectured him on his rash actions and had all but called him crazy for wanting to contact the Diamonds.
Lapis had jumped to his defence, but the gems would not listen to anything she had to say which resulted in a small argument and Lapis angrily taking off into the skies. Surprisingly, Jasper remained silent throughout the exchange and didn't even attempt to defend him, although Steven suspected it was because she felt guilty for not listening to Twoie and not because she actually agreed with the gems.
In the end, it was decided that Steven was permanently banned from even going near the handship unless one of the Crystal Gems or Twoie accompanied him and that any investigation regarding the Diamonds was strictly prohibited. All of his protests were immediately shut down by a single stern look from Garnet who was especially intimidating that afternoon.
Halfway during one of Pearl's lectures, Garnet had retrieved Peridot along with Bismuth to make some small alterations to the ship. Bismuth was mainly there to supervise Peridot (the gems still didn't completely trust Jasper) while she made sure that any communication with Homeworld was disabled. It seemed that any chance that Steven had of contacting the Diamonds was now completely gone along with his TV watching privileges.
"Steven," Garnet said, her usual calm voice laced with disappointment. "I expect you to understand that what you did was not only wrong but very dangerous."
Despite them claiming that their lecturing was over, all three gems continued to reprimand him for his actions even as they left the handship and headed toward the house. Peridot and Bismuth had remained on the ship to finish up the alterations meant to cut off communication while Jasper trailed silently behind him.
"Yeah, dude," Amethyst said. "What were you thinking calling the Diamonds like that? They're a bunch of psychos!"
Steven frowned. "I thought that if I talked to the—"
"The Diamonds can't be reasoned with," Pearl said, stopping mid step to turn and face him. Her lips were pressed into a thin line of disappointment, and there was something else flitting across the surface of her eyes that gave Steven pause, an emotion he eventually recognized as fear. "Even with your status as… a Diamond, the other Diamonds wouldn't listen to a thing you say. They're dangerous." Her grip on the staircase railing tightened and Steven swore he heard the sound of wood splintering. "It's best that none of us make any sort of contact with them."
A part of him still wanted to protest, but he knew better than to argue with Pearl so he just nodded in agreement and muttered another quiet apology which succeeded in placating her for the time being. The rest of the short journey home was spent in silence as Steven racked his brain for other ways to get information on the Diamonds without getting in trouble.
The creaking of the wooden door signalled their arrival home. A quick scan of the place revealed that his dad had left and in his place, seated on the couch was an extremely pale and unconscious Twoie. That would be concerning all on its own, but the fact that an unknown gem was seated so closely next to him really put everyone on alert.
The new gem was a combination of different shades of pink with some white on her outfit. Her gemstone was on her chest and was in the recognizable shape of a heart. With her messy hair and tired eyes she gave off the appearance of someone who was exhausted, whether it was because she had recently been in a fight or some other reason Steven didn't know.
Jasper was the first to respond, summoning her weapon for the first time since Steven met her. It was a large orange helmet with a visor in the front, most likely meant for protecting her gemstone. Ordinarily, he would be overjoyed at the opportunity of seeing some new gem weapons, but as Garnet and the other Crystal Gems followed Jasper's lead and promptly summoned their own weapons Steven could only feel worry.
Jasper glowered at the mysterious gem, "Move away from my Diamond before I make you." she warned.
Amethyst narrowed her eyes and tightened the hold on her whip, "Who the heck are you?"
Garnet remained silent and merely studied the pink gem.
"It can't be…" Pearl said with obvious disbelief in her voice, eyes glued to the intruder.
Her reaction was not one of fear or concern like the other gems. She looked surprised as if she'd just seen a ghost. It was as if she knew this gem. He hoped that was the case since that would mean the pink gem wasn't going to attack them.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Jasper's patience had run out at that exact moment. She angrily stomped over to the couch and pulled everybody's attention over to the potential fight.
"Move," she said, her cold tone leaving no room for argument.
The pink gem who was tiny in comparison to Jasper's towering stature, flinched at the demand and shrunk in on herself. It was at that moment that Steven decided the pink gem was not out to harm anybody and probably had nothing to do with Twoie's unconscious state. He rushed over to her, ignoring Garnet's orders to stay away and placed a calming hand on Jasper's arm.
"Don't attack her," he said. "I don't think she's here to hurt us."
That was all Jasper needed to hear to dispel her helmet and back off of the smaller gem. Garnet and Amethyst were not so easy to convince, but thankfully Steven didn't have to as Pearl did it for him.
"Steven's right," she said, pulling everybody's attention to her. "Spinel is not a threat to us."
At the sound of her name, Spinel turned her anxious gaze over to Pearl. Recognition flashed across the surface of her wide eyes.
"You're Pink's Pearl…" she said.
Pearl flinched at the mention of Pink Diamond, but did not deny the claim. So Pearl did know Spinel after all. Still, that didn't explain why Twoie was passed out on the couch or why he was so pale.
"You know her, P?" Amethyst asked.
Pearl nodded, "Spinel was Pink Diamonds little playmate, but I haven't seen her in over 6,000 thousand years."
"That doesn't matter right now," Garnet said as she dispelled her gauntlets. "Twoie is still unconscious."
At those words, everyone's gaze turned to Twoie's chalk-white face. He looked awful and was far too still for Steven's liking. Feeling confident that Spinel would not attack him, Steven moved past her to get closer to Twoie. Even if she did decide to attack, Jasper and the others would no doubt prevent him from getting seriously injured, and if all else failed he always had his shield.
"Twoie?" he called and, after getting no response, turned to Spinel, "What happened to him?" he asked.
"He's sleeping," was Spinel's short and timid explanation. Her focus was mainly on the small group of gems who were now gathered around the couch uncertainly eyeing her. Their weapons were gone, but a worried tension still lingered.
Beside him Pearl gasped, "It's getting worse…" she said.
Getting worse? Was something wrong with Towie? That would explain why he had nearly fainted earlier and why he looked so pale now, but as far as Steven knew Twoie wasn't sick.
Amethyst bit at her lower lip, "You don't think he's…
Steven furrowed his brow, looking back and forth between Amethyst and Pearl. Whatever they were talking about, it was clear that they didn't want him to know about it. They kept shooting nervous glances his way that they thought he wouldn't notice.
"He's still breathing." Garnet pointed to the steady rise and fall of Twoie's chest. "His…" Even though her eyes were hidden behind her visor, Steven could practically feel her gaze on him. "Condition must be what's causing this."
"Condition?" Jasper questioned, voicing Steven's thoughts. "Did you allow something to happen to my Diamond?" She growled out, turning her piercing glare away from Spinel and towards the Crystal Gems.
The three gems shared a silent conversation with their eyes before agreeing to something with a subtle nod of their heads.
"Twoie is sick," Garnet said. "And needs to rest."
"Sick?" Jasper repeated, irritation in her tone. "What's that?"
"Oh, it's nothing serious!" Pearl insisted. "It's just something that happens to human beings from time to time."
"Yeah, it's totally natural," Amethyst quickly agreed. "Twoie's going to be fine. There's nothing to worry about."
Steven watched as Twoie's breathing became shallow and strained. He tuned out the conversation around him and placed a worried hand on Twoie's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. When that failed to wake him he gave it a small shake, catching the attention of the gems around him who insisted he stop.
"We should let Twoie rest for now," Garnet said.
Steven reluctantly pulled his hand away from Twoie just as his eyes fluttered open.
The room was too bright and irritated his sensitive eyes, causing Twoie to let out a small groan of discomfort as his vision slowly adjusted. After a few moments of confusion in which he struggled to recall where he was, Twoie was able to make out a row of worried faces looking down on him.
He stared at the small group gathered around him and took note of the absence of Peridot, Bismuth, and Lapis. Aside from them everyone was present and intently watching him with varying expressions of concern.
He suppressed a yawn as he rubbed his eyes, clearing them of any remaining drowsiness. Before his impromptu nap he had practically been glued to the couch, unable to even lift a finger without being assaulted by a wave of pain. Now, his limbs were sore and hurt slightly when moved, but at least he could move them.
The first one to break the silence was Steven, "Twoie!" he cried, tackling him into a hug that only hurt slightly. Twoie tried not to wince at the jolt of pain and did his best to hug him back. "You're awake!"
Despite Steven's enthusiastic greeting the other gems remained where they were, standing somewhat stiffly while they warily eyed the gem seated closest to him: Spinel. The anxiety in Spinel's eyes all but vanished when their gazes met, her rigid body relaxing when he sent her a reassuring smile. Jasper and the Crystal Gems must not have reacted well to a strange gem appearing out of nowhere especially since he'd probably been unconscious and defenseless when they met.
Deciding that breaking the current tension in the room was priority number one, Twoie pulled a surprised Spinel into his ongoing hug with Steven. She stiffened for a split second before eagerly returning the embrace. While being hugged by two people was somewhat painful, he was glad he did it because whatever tension left in the room disappeared soon after.
"Guys," he said, addressing the small group. "This is Spinel, my friend." he said, emphasizing the fact that she was most certainly not a threat.
Steven pulled himself from the embrace and happily introduced himself to a somewhat shy Spinel.
"Hi, my name is Steven," he said. "Are you from Homeworld too?"
Spinel nodded, "I don't think I'll be going there for a while." she admitted somewhat glumly before cheering up slightly. "I heard earth is a good place to make some… new friends."
At the mention of friends Steven perked up, his eyes excitedly sparkling. "Earth's great!" he agreed. "And I can introduce you to a bunch my friends. They're the best. There's Connie who is super smart and…"
With some effort on his part, Twoie stood and let Spinel get to know her new friend who was cheerfully giving her a list of awesome friends who she absolutely had to meet. Steven laughed at something Spinel had said and just like that the room came to life and was flooded with worried questions, confused chatter, and relieved laughter that was all directed at him. Amethyst in particular, went on about how she knew he was fine and how she hadn't even been worried for a second.
Amethyst gave him a pat on the back only to grimace at the sight of his face, "Dude, you look like shi—"
Pearl cut her off, "Amethyst!" she reprimanded, gesturing toward Steven who was still within earshot.
"... Poop," she finished.
Twoie let out a small chuckle at her comment, "Yeah, well, I feel like poop," he admitted.
The only thing he was interested in now was sleeping, but it was still the middle of the day and he had just woken up from a nap so he knew it would be awhile before he could rest. Instead, he diverted his attention to the missing gems.
"Where's everybody else?" he asked.
He wasn't too worried about Lapis and Bismuth, but Peridot's absence was troubling him. If she somehow managed to escape and get aboard the handship then…
Garnet must have sensed his unease because she immediately reassured him. "Peridot is with Bismuth," she said. "And Lapis is still on earth."
While he was glad that Peridot was not running around causing trouble, Twoie couldn't help but raise a brow at Garnet's last statement. Where else would Lapis be but on earth? However, before he could ask any further questions Jasper stepped forward, a guilty expression on her usually stoic face.
"I've failed you, my Diamond." she said, bowing so low Twoie feared she would fall over.
He blinked, puzzled by her remorseful behavior and looked to the others for answers. Something had definitely transpired within the time he was gone, he just hopped in was nothing serious. When the only answer he received from the other gems was a set of three uneasy faces, he addressed Jasper.
"What do you mean?" he asked. "You didn't fail me."
Jasper straightened up in order to address him properly, although her arms were still locked in a respectful salute.
"I contacted Yellow Diamond." she said.
His brain short circuited. Whatever he had expected her to say that was definitely not it.
"You… What?!"
Jasper flinched. From the couch Steven and Spinel's animated conversation died down as both of them turned to look at him. He was quick to school his features to something resembling calm and even managed to send them a strained smile which he dropped the second they looked away.
He must have been hearing things. There was know way Jasper actually called Yellow Diamond, right? His eyes darted to the faces of the three other gems. He hoped to find a hint of a smile, a sparkle of amusement, or anything that would indicate Jasper's statement as being just some elaborate prank, but all he found were grim and serious faces.
His heart sank. Oh no, this was bad.
