Chapter 4

Naruto Universe: A New Member of the Band

I own Nothing

"Amethyst, Amethyst, Amethyst!" Steven howled as he barged through the screen door of his beach house, stumbling into the room like a tipsy toddler. He looked around, his eyes scanning the living room for any sign of his colorful friend only to find nothing but the usual sofa and commodities that rested in the living room.

He searched the living room/kitchen from top to bottom and didn't find hide nor hair of his short little gem, so he decided to search the only other area she could possibly be in, her room. Now, many would wonder why Steven didn't try her room in the first place once he noticed she wasn't in the living room at the very beginning. Well, you see, for the past 24 hours Amethyst has practically barricade herself in her room for unknown reasons, many who've tried to enter such as Pearl or Obsidian were met with a towering wall of stuff keeping them sufficiently blocked from her room. Even her "secret" water hatch that leads to Garnet's room was covered by a huge novelty penny that, with Garnet's help, could have been moved but seeing how much effort Amethyst has put in to keep them out, the gems elected to let her be for now.

So now Steven stood at the precipice of the blockade, the massive wall of mixed items and garbage, and with a harsh intake of air, he dived head first into the mess of smells and odors. As he found out once he was in there, the wall wasn't that sturdy nor was it that hard to break through, it was just the smell that kept everyone at bay. Steven soon rolled out on the other side, considerably smellier than he was beforehand, as he looked around Amethyst's massive room.

"Amethyst!" He yelled again, his pubescent voice reverberating against the massive halls of her cave-like room. He was met with only silence and the slow weaning off his echoing voice. He shook a few pieces of pepperoni from his hair as he treks through his friend's mess of a room. It took a few minutes before he found the short gem standing in front of a decorative full-length mirror, her body shifting from different forms and heights.

"Okay…..maybe this one?" She said, stretching into a heightly lady clad in a white frilly dress, her face and hair still intact except for the noticeable addition of blush and her hair done up into a high ponytail and her bangs covering her right eye. "No, no, no! Obsidian wouldn't like that, he probably doesn't like a gem being taller than him." She then shifted back to her standard form with a concerned look on her face, "why is this so damn hard?!"

"Amethyst?" Amethyst practically jumped out of her skin at Steven's voice, "what are you doing?"

"S-S-Steven! What the hel- err, heck are you doing in my room?!" Amethyst stammered as she covers the mirror with a crappy grey blanket.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot dad is cleaning out his storage room. I was thinking since you're so good at stacking your…...ummm, stuff, maybe you wouldn't mind giving dad and I your stacking expertise." Steven said, trying to be as smooth as he could be which brought a soft smile to her face. Steven always knew how to bring her out of her own her smile soon faded as she looked back to her mirror, a thoughtful look edging its way onto her features,

"I don't know Steven," she said, "I-I've kinda got a lot on my plate today."

"Does it have to deal with that mirror in the corner? Is it a crystal gem problem?! Do you want me to get Garnet and Pearl?" Steven asked, prepared to rush outside to gather the gems but were stopped by Amethyst's grip on his wrist.

"N-No!" Amethyst practically yelled, but quickly composed herself. "I mean….umm, no don't. It's a personal problem, they don't need to know about it."

"Does it have to do with Obsidian?" Amethyst noticeably stiffened, "you mentioned his name a few seconds ago when you shifted."

Her eyes shifted wildly around the room as she tried to think of something to explain what Steven had seen, "...H-Hey, why don't I come help you and your dad clean up that stuffy storage room, huh? It'll be fun."

"Really Amethyst?" She nodded quickly, eliciting a cheer from the hybrid gem, "alright, thank you! Let's go, dad's gonna be so glad to hear this!" And without much resistance from Amethyst, Steven dragged her towards his father's overflowing storage area, unaware of the tail that was slowly gaining on them with growing concern.

The two shortest members of the Crystal Gems now stand outside a heavily filled storage space which was owned by none other than the rocking dad himself, Greg Universe. Like many people before him, his fallen into the same trap of hoarding objects from the past, believing in some way that it would be useful in the future. But now he's noticed his blunder and has called upon his son to come and help him clean up, unaware of the 2 gems who decided to tag along.

"Dad, dad. I brought Amethyst," Steven said with glee, presenting Amethyst like some sort of grand price or the perfect answer to their dilemma

Greg who's been busy in his own right, pulling out the heavier objects to make room for him and his son, turned to face his son and crystal gem with a cocked brow. "Amethyst? Why bring…..umm, hey Steven?" He began to say only to see something he was not expecting. Behind both Amethyst and Steven loomed an unknown being who, by his attire, didn't seem to be a local of Beach City or anywhere for that matter.

"Yeah, dad?" Steven asked calmly, unaware of the tall figure behind him.

"Who's that?" Greg asked nervously, pointing his son in the direction of the strangely clad newcomer with growing alarm.

Steven turned, only for his eyes to widen in glee as he ran to the gem's side with his trademark grin. "Oh, Naruto! What are you doing here?" He asked as he was soon joined by Naruto's side by Amethyst who held a nervous but cheaper smirk.

"You came running through the house calling for Amethyst, I got concerned. I thought it might have been an emergency so I tagged along." He said matter-of-factly before his eyes were drawn to the balding man who stood in the storage area. Slipping past Steven and Amethyst, Obsidian now stood face to incredibly close face to Steven's father, analyzing him as a scientist would a new specimen. "So, you are the one they call "Greg", how interesting," he said, circling the pudgy guitarist with a critical eye. He grips the long mane Greg proudly sports and holds it gently in both hands. "I've heard a lot about you."

"I-I can't really say the same about you," Greg said timidly, pulling his hair from the odd gem's hands as gently and politely as he could. "Who exactly are you?"

"Dad, I already told you. He's another gem from the gem homeworld, his name is Obsidian, but he likes to be called Naruto. We found him in a hole in a chasm, and now he's staying with us back at the beach house." Steven clarified, moving a few of the lighter boxes from the room to the car lot outside so as to clear up more room for a moment.

"You didn't tell me any of that!" Greg yelled, inching away from the new gem with a nervous look in his eyes.

"I didn't?" Steven asked timidly, tapping his chin in thought

"No! Why wasn't I informed that my son was in the same house with a strange intergalactic gem!...No offense." He said hoping to not seem as rude as his statement suggested, but it was also somewhat of a safeguard in the hopes that this new gem would decapitate him or something for disrespecting him.

"None was taken, Mr. Universe," he said with a friendly smile, waving off the backhanded comment as nothing more than a father's anxiety. Besides, over his 5,000 years on countless planets, Naruto has run into his fair share of rude remarks from many walks of life, this one was a pinprick compared to the vast library of insults and threats Naruto has been given both in this life and his alter egos.

"Dad, I hang around strange intergalactic gems all the time," Steven said, "If you're fine with Amethyst you should be fine with Naruto." He said as Amethyst hung her arm around the small pudgy friend with a wicked grin.

"Haha, yeah cause I'm as strange as it gets, Greg-o!" She howled with a hearty laugh.

"Yeah, I know, but I know Amethyst and I know she was staying with you." He said with a nervous sigh, he's getting too old for things like this. "This….this guy is from the gem homeworld, and if my memory serves me, that's not a good thing. Rose told me all about the Gem Wars, how could I not be a little unnerved knowing he's so close to my kiddo."

"Mr. Universe, if I may." Naruto began, getting the balding adult's attention. "I understand your uneasiness of the situation. Perhaps if you were given enough time to get to know me, then I might be able to put your mind at ease. How about I help with the organising? It would be a great way for us to understand one another."

"W-Wow, I guess that's….pretty nice of you, um, Naruto was it?" Naruto nodded, "okay, and you can just call me Greg, Mr. Universe was my dad." Greg presents his hand which Naruto quickly took, making sure he didn't crush it like he did the first time someone offered him their hand in friendship.

"Alright then, let's get started." And so they were off, sorting through Greg's storage room with a delicate touch and a critical eye, but unsurprisingly, a set of those critical eyes found their way aimed straight towards a certain blonde who, right now, was carrying on a conversation with Greg about what type of music he created.

"Okay Amethyst, it's showtime. You've been practicing this whole time, you can do this!" She thought as her heart pounds against her chest like a war drum. She placed down a few useless knick knacks in the "keep" pile as she adjust her outfit and runs her fingers through her long locks. After taking a deep breath, she swallowed her nerves and charges forward, stopping a foot from her destination. Greg and Obsidian's conversation soon came to an end, allowing the two to get back to sorting through this room chalk full of memories. "O-Obsidian, I was just wondering - say it out loud you idiot, out loud!"

O-Obsidian!" She nervously hiccuped, catching the gem's attention.

"Yes, Amethyst?" He asked sweetly, placing a few empty boxes to the side.

"How should I say this? M-Maybe I should just like my normal self?...No, then he won't take this date seriously, and he'll only think we are just hanging out as friends! Maybe I should just ask casual, yeah, that sounds right." Soon, she landed on a semi-solid plan of attack. She steeled her resolve as she stared the gem down with wavering conviction. "It's now or never" she thought, "I-I-I was wondering - if you're not busy, of course, would you maybe want to-" Just as she was moments away from the point of no return in her confession, the stack of boxes labelled "X-Mas" that was stacked precariously next to her fell, crushing her in an avalanche of Christmas Wreaths and red and green Christmas lights. Behind the now toppled stake was Steven, looking a bit guilty for his clumsiness.

"S-Sorry Amethyst, I didn't mean to-" He began but was quickly cut off when Amethyst popped up, knocking the Christmas decorations to the floor with a hard crunch.

"N-Nah, don't worry Steven, I'm all good." She implored, wrenching a small wreath from around her neck. Naruto quickly stretched his hand out for his fallen friend which she wholeheartedly accepted as a light blush crept onto her cheeks.

"I'm glad, now was there something you wanted to ask me?" He asked, ignorant of how close she was to baring her soul to him not 5 seconds ago.

"You made great headway, just finish your sentence. Come on, don't chicken out now! You got this, heart of a warrior!" Her inner self-chanted, ready to drive her physical self to the promise land of Obisidan's arms around her. "I-I was….just wondering if you…..were going to come back tomorrow to help pick up some more?! We could really use you." She stammered, her cowardice winning in the end. "Weak, absolutely weak!"

"Of course, whenever you need me." He said with a smile, sending a shiver through Amethyst's spine and a tinge of shame washed over soon after. How could she have chickened out so quickly, after all of that work put into it for the past 24 hours now down the freaking drain!

"Well, if we keep this pace up, we'll be done in no time!" Greg said boastfully, scooting a few boxes outside the storage area with his feet while his hands are occupied with a few of his old antic guitars from his hay day. "I haven't seen these things in years. Hey, here's my starter electric guitar. I always hated the orange finish, though."

"What's wrong with orange?!" The voice of a ghost long since forgotten tickled the back of Obsidian's mind, begging to be heard. "I mean, come on man! Defend our color." There it was once again, the voice of Naruto Uzumaki, the original. Over the past two days, Obsidian has begun to hear more and more quips from the distant voice of the orange defender, only for it to disappear as quickly as it came once he reached out to speak with it.

"Defend our….." Naruto train of thought wavered as his mind began to wonder. "Color….."

"Ummm, hey Naruto, you alright? You're kinda freaking me out." Greg said, waving a hand in front of the petrified Naruto. "Do you always space out like that?" He asked Steven who gave a silent shrug.

"Hmm? Oh, right! Sorry, forgot where I was for a second. Now, what did you say about orange?" He asked sheepishly, as embarrassing as it seemed to space out after a few choice words, it has been happening more and more as time goes on for Obsidian, and his brief encounters with his former self seemed to be the cause of it.

"I was just talking about my old starter guitar," Greg said, gesturing to the instrument that laid propped up in the 'keep' box. "It was the first expensive thing I ever bought for myself, after saving up for months I had to choose between a bright pink lefty or a 'for sale' burnt orange righty with an amp. At the time, I hated pink, but now….."

"Guitar?" He asked, peering behind Greg to find this unknown instrument. Within the box labeled "keep" was a burnt orange V guitar which, though a bit dusty, seemed to be in quality condition. "May I see it?"

"Sure, knock yourself out," he said with a shrug, watching as the intergalactic mineral played with the dinghy axe, his thumb strumming the cords lightly. "If you want it, keep it. Seriously, I have about 3 other guitars back at the car wash."

"Are you sure?" Greg nodded, "thank you though I do have one question." "How do you play it?"

Greg collapsed in shock at the boy's nonchalant question, while Amethyst couldn't help but howl at Greg's reaction. "W-Why do you even want my old guitar if you don't know the basics of playing it?"

"Well…..it looks cool and its orange so….why wouldn't I want it?" His simplistic answer brought another round of laughter from Amethyst, who was now propping herself up on a stake of old magazines, trying to catch her breath. "But, if I must know how to use one to have one, then would you be willing to teach me?"

"You mean, you want me to teach you?" Obsidian nodded, "wouldn't you want one of the crystal gems to show you or something?"

"I was not aware that they knew how to play - though, even if I did I don't think I would like to be taught by them," he said sheepishly, scratching his head with a nervous laugh.

"Why not?" Greg wondered.

"Pearl….does not seem that fond of me, and Garnet doesn't seem like the teaching type, that and she has been avoiding me more and more as time goes on," Naruto explained, though he wasn't too knowledgeable about this, seeing as neither of them wanted to explain themselves to him. Pearl has always been distant so it wasn't surprised at its continuation, but Garnet's growing cold shoulder towards him seemed to be a cause for alarm. What is something he's done? Unlikely, seeing as he hasn't done anything major in the past few weeks. Possibly it was a personal thing or hidden resentment like Pearls but it hadn't taken root until now. Whatever it might be, all naruto knew was that Garnet seemed quick to leave when he entered the room, her answer's to his questions were curt and short, and she seemed to grow redder with rage if he got too close to her. "Besides, from what I've heard from Steven, you are quite the musician. If I was going to learn from anyone, it might as well be from a…..what did Steven call you again? A "rock star"?"

"Yeah dad, let's do it!" Steven said, jumping before his father as his eyes sparkled with hope and wonder. "We can finally have a third member of the University of Universe's, Mr. Universe, Steven Universe, and Naruto…..hey," He looks to Naruto, the stars still visible in his dark eyes. "would you mind if your last name is Universe?"

Naruto thought on that, perplexed as to how he should answer the boy's question. "Well, our last name was Uzumaki. Universe - Uzumaki, they sound the same to me." The voice spoke up once more, leaving Naruto in a daze like a stare at the storage ceiling.

"Now Steven, you know you can't just give away our last name like that. Besides, Naruto might-" Greg began to reprimand only to hear the catatonic gem speak.

"S-Sure Steven, Universe sounds….good." His mind blurred once more, another sensation pulsed through his body as the voice dissipated to the recesses of his memory.

"See dad, he's ready to become a fully-fledged member of the University of Universe's. Our next alumni to be, Naruto Universe!" He cheered with a childlike vigour, spinning in place from the excitement of it all.

Greg chuckled at his son's enthusiasm, his warm spirit reminded him of his Rose every time he saw it. "Alright, alright kiddo," he said, ruffling his son's curly hair. "When you put it that way - why not, I'll help you become a rock star! Come on, we've pretty much finished for today. Let's start on your first lesson, and don't worry - there's no payment necessary, these lessons are on me."

"Great, now I have practically no chance in getting Naruto's attention now." She sighed, plopping her rump down on a box of old sweaters as she watched Greg and Steven steal her Obsidian away from her, just as she was building up her second wind - or so she told herself. As she watched, disheartened, she couldn't help but wonder if she should even try for this change in their relationship. I mean, she finally has him back and it's only been a month, tops. Why jump the gun? Why try and make a deeper and more intimate relationship without stepping back and allowing herself to enjoy being his friend for just a little bit more. "Who are you trying to kid?" Yet, even though she tried to keep her true feelings quiet - in her mind, they could never be truly silenced. "You've wanted this chance for over 5,000 years, and now that you can almost taste it you're trying to find excuses to stop?! Pathetic! You are A to the M-E-T-H-Y-S-T! You don't let anything hold you back, not the rules, laws, nagging, and especially yourself! You do what you want when you want, so what's stopping you! Get out there and take what is yours! Those perfect Obsidian lips!"

The…..odd ending aside, this was the perfect pep-talk to spur the blue gem into action. With a determined nod, Amethyst rushes to catch up with her retreating companions, ready to give it her all to finally get what she wanted.

-Greg's Car Wash-

"So, this is where you live? I had no idea people lived in such odd places." Naruto said with a nod as he looks to the luminate elephant dowsing itself with water, the symbol of Greg's car wash It's A Wash.

"Well, this isn't really my house. My house is the van outside, the one with my name on it." Greg clarified, unlocking his car wash to let himself and his guests see his place of business. The lobby of the car wash was nothing special, slick linoleum flooring, pale cream walls, and a row of chairs lined up with the perfect view to watch their car being washed. "But, since I've gotten a few noise complaints from the neighbors, I've started to do my sessions in here. The acoustics don't help all that much - but hey, it's either this or pay a fine."

"I like the acoustics," Steven said, slipping past Obsidian to stand in the middle of the empty waiting area as his chest soon puffs out from the air he was inhaling. "HELLO!" Steven yelled through the empty waiting area of the car wash, his loud cheerful voice bouncing off the walls.

"Yeah, I bet you do kiddo." Greg chuckled, tussling the boy's curly hair. "Now, before we start on the basics, I want to show you how it's done. Steven, let's get set up." He said, walking towards a closeted area where he keeps his extra equipment that cannot or won't fit in his party van.

"All right!" Steven cheered as he ran to catch up with his father, leaving both Naruto and Amethyst alone once again.

"Hey Obsidian, can we talk for a sec." Amethyst hummed timidly, her boastful pep-talk still couldn't make this any less difficult.

"Sure," He said simply, turning to his longtime friend as Greg and Steven set up mere feet away.

She sighed, hoping to release all of her anxiety so she could focus on this moment in the here and now. She stared deeply into those big blues and couldn't help but get lost in them for a moment, how they brought out so many memories of a simpler time, a time where it was just him and her. There was no Crystal Gems or Peridot, there was only an underdeveloped Amethyst and a kind hearted Obsidian who tried to make her world a little bit better. "I-I've been thinking, we really haven't had a lot of alone time together." She started, hopefully breaking the tension with a bit of a lead in.

"Haha, I suppose you could say that," he smiled, propping himself against an adjacent wall. He didn't know what it was, maybe it was the light hitting her just right or maybe it had to do with her nervous titter, but something about Amethyst seemed….different to him. A good different, a really good different. "Though, we did spend about 2 days rummaging around your room."

"I meant alone, alone time. Without the gang, without people staring over our shoulders." She blushed, soon realizing how utterly foolish she sounded right now. "Alone, alone time? What are you talking about!" What was coming over her? She's never been this shy or embarrassed. Amethyst embraced her weird, brash nature and wore it like a badge of honor, but now, now being in front of Obsidian seems to be zapping her bold attitude and replacing it with a meek, stuttering mess.

"I guess you're right." He smiled, putting Amethyst's mind at ease for now, at least. If she could say one thing about Obsidian it would be that no gem has ever made her feel simultaneously knee buckling nervous and light-headedly happy in the span of five seconds then he could. This thought bolstered her resolve even more, to know there is only one gem that could make her feel more than just playful or mischievous only cemented her idea of making this gem hers.

"Y-Yeah, so I was wondering, maybe you and I could-" suddenly, a loud, almost glass shattering rift rattled the building as Steven strummed his father's amped electric guitar with reckless abandonment.

"Steven! I told you, always check the volume before you strum. You could bust someone's eardrums!" Greg said loudly, his hands clapped tightly over his own ears to hopefully stop the painful ringing that bangs against his skull.

"Sorry dad," Steven said, handing off the guitar before he messed with it once more.

"It's fine, just keep an eye out for that next time, alright?" Said Greg, his firm, fatherly tone soon abandoned after he saw the downtrodden look on his son's face. Just like his mother before him, Steven had this way to melt Greg's no matter what he did.

He slipped the guitar sling over his head as the axe hung directly in front of his rotund belly, "alright Naruto, are you ready for a show?" Naruto nodded, pulling his height inclined friend with him as Greg began his demonstration, all the while unaware of Amethyst's penetrating gaze. "I will get your attention, mark my words! I don't care if it takes all damn night." She would regret ever thinking such a thing. Her string of unfortunate events seemed to follow her each and every time she was close to even uttering her request. She just wanted to go on a date with Obsidian, was that so hard? Was that a crime? Soon, the sun hung low over the horizon and our little group of musicians were winding down. Amethyst, now sitting atop Greg's van, had given up an hour beforehand and could only sit there - staring off into the distances as she tried to figure out how everything went so wrong today.

"Holy cow, Naruto. You're a natural," Greg hooted, planting a nice hard slap to the back on Naruto, amazingly proud of the progress Naruto has made. Both he, Steven, and Naruto had just finished up their tutorial on the basics of guitars and Greg was astounded by his work. "I've never seen some memorize the finger placement so quickly," He said, Steven nodding in affirmation of his father's statement.

Even Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet took a long while to understand the basics because of their aversion to learning something so….how did Pearl put it? "Useless," Steven thought, "yeah, that's it". At the very beginning of the Crystal Gems introduction to the musical arts and to Greg Universe they didn't understand why they needed to learn something that didn't help protect the people of earth, especially Pearl though Amethyst was just happy to find an outlet for her massive amount of energy. So, it came as a shock to both Steven and Greg to see Naruto actually enjoyed learning about the magic of the axe and how quickly he learned the basic chord progressions.

"Thank you, you're too kind." Naruto said kindly, his brand new guitar and case held tightly in his grip. He would never have guessed that music would be something he was good at, through his years as a soldier he thought he could only create destruction, who knew he could also create melodies as well.

"No, I'm just being honest pal." Greg turned to face the gem, a smile placed on his breaded features. "You've got a gift for the guitar man and with a little more sessions with me, I think you'll be all set to rip on that axe."

"Thank you, Greg. I wouldn't have done this without you." He looked around, hoping to find someone he's been hoping to get a hold of all night. While he was learning the very basics from Greg, he noticed his disheartened little gem had left the car wash about an hour ago, he considered following her but thought it would be rude to abandon Greg and Steven, people taking time out of their day to are giving to teach him - so, sadly, he left his friend to her own devices. His search stops as he spots her perched on the hood of Mr. Universe's party van, and a small smile appeared on his face as he saw her bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun. Her skin clashing with the perfect hue of orange and blues brought out a beauty in Amethyst Obsidian has rarely seen up till now. "You two go ahead, I'll catch up."

"You sure?" He nods, "alright, let's get you to bed Steven." Greg said as he and Steven, who was leaning on his father for support, walked their way towards the beach house where Steven could get some much-needed rest.

"Hey Amethyst," She remained silent, staring absentmindedly off into the horizon. Naruto hops onto the hood of the car, taking a spot right next to his height inclined friend. "I was wondering where you went, I was looking everywhere for you. Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine," She said dryly.

"Really? You don't sound fine." No response, just a blank, vacant stare off into the distance. "Alright, I'm guessing whatever it is, it's probably not something you want to talk about right now. So, how about we change the subject. You've been trying to tell me something all day and we just keep getting side tracked. What exactly is that something?"

Amethyst perked up slightly, looking from left to right quickly before she turned her full attention on Naruto. This is it, her moment of truth. No distractions, no Steven, no Greg, no nothing. She was free and clear! She opened her mouth, prepared to speak her mind but, slowly, she closed it. Could she risk it? Her luck today hasn't been the best and being cut off once is just a mishap, twice is strange, but 49 times in counting is a sign from something that she was just destined to keep silent about her true plans for her and Naruto.

She sighed, resting her chin on her prone arm and simply said, "don't worry about it, it wasn't important."

"Are you sure? You really seemed adamant about it today," She nods numbly, Naruto sighed "very well." And so the two sat in abject silence, watching as the sun is slowly consumed by the horizon and to be replaced by the full moon and the thousands of twinkling little stars that dotted the dark backdrop that was the night. As the silence persisted, Naruto recalled something Greg and Steven were talking about during their session, he turned to his gloomy friend, "hey Amethyst," he said, getting a very reserved, "hum?"

"Greg and Steven seemed to be really looking forward to this showcase tomorrow, they said something about a New Year and fireworks, I think."

"You mean the New Year's fireworks show?" He nodded, "yeah, he and his dad go every year. Something about tradition or whatever."

"Well, seeing as I've been a royal ass tonight by ignoring you, I was hoping you would like to watch the New Year's fireworks with me, just the two of us?"

Her eyes grew to the size of saucers, "d-did Obsidian just ask me out?" She would have gritted her teeth to dust from how enraged she was at how simple it came to Naruto while she had to jump through hoops and hurdles for hours on end just to get half of her request out to him. She almost thought of rejecting his off for a second, like a split second - probably not even for a second, who was she kidding? She would never turn this down. "J-Just the two of us?" She asked, making 100% sure that what she heard wasn't some hallucination or dream that she created after so many failed attempts.

"Yes, I thought it would be preferable since you brought up a very good point. We haven't really had some "alone, alone" time together. So, how about it?" He said with a smile, Amethyst wasn't sure if his smile was supposed to indicate he was making fun of her earlier comment or he was happy to be asking her such a question, and really, she didn't care.

"Play it cool, play it cool!" She chanted, trying to keep from making an utter fool of herself in front of him. She knew this needed to be handled with grace, tact, and the same cool-headed attitude she's known for. "Yes!" She squealed, launching herself onto him as her arms wrapped around his neck and she snuggled into his cheek - a smile spread across her face. Soon after their little moment, the two went home - ready and waiting for tomorrow night's festivities.

-Unknown Location-

In the cold vacuum of space floats a large golden prison ship that held an uncanny resemblance to a human hand. Inside laid unearthly technology with a single being at the helm of this appendage ship, while another came storming through the control room, her face red with rage as she plants a mighty fist through one of the consoles. "I'm guessing that your meeting with Lapis didn't go as planned?" Peridot asked, masking her own seething rage at the blatant destruction of her equipment.

"Sealed away in a mirror?! Why did we have to pick up one of the most useless gems in the whole quadrant!" Jasper howled, prepared to rip another chunk of electronics and wiring from the walls. "She said that she doesn't know who Obsidian is or if he even landed on that damned planet."

"How unfortunate," Peridot said simply though her tone seemed to betray a different story. As much as she would despise to admit this, she was jus as hopeful that lapis knew something about their little runaway gem as Jasper was, but she knew how to keep herself composed and collected in these trying times.

"She's useless to our cause, I'd say jettison her, it would save on cargo for the other earth gems we are going to haul back to the homeworld," Jasper said, a billowing stream of smoke escapes her nostrils as she turned to one of her gem sisters in arms. "She said she was locked away by a group that goes by the name of the "crystal gems". Probably one of the cells of gems Rose has scampering around on that pitiful rock."

"Jettisoning a useful resource is not my idea of a strategic plan." Peridot quipped, her eyes scanning across her floating screens with little attention given to Jasper's tantrum. "If what she says is true, she would obviously wish to get revenge on those who imprisoned her, handing us an ally that knows the layout of this "earth" and the gems that inhabit it. Argo, I elect not to through Lapis into space."

"And who died and made you queen, Peridot?" Jasper said, her voice dangerously low as she moved from her spot leaning against the deck wall and now fully behind Peridot, quickly snatching up her robotic limb in her massive hand, squeezing it tightly as sparks flew and the metal crumbled under her might grip. "Have you forgotten your place, small fry?"

"N-No, of course not…..Luitenant Jasper, I-I was merely stating my meager opinion as your….humble advisor." Peridot whimpered, Jasper's piercing eyes bore a hole in her very souls as she crunched the metal limb enhancement and, subsequently, her small arm within the enhancement.

"An adviser that is very much expendable! The only reason you are here is because Yellow Diamond feels that I need help to track down my property, and I want you to remember that too. Once we catch him, he's mine. I'll crush anyone who thinks they can take him away from me, that's including know it all squirt like you, got it?" Jasper hissed, jerking Peridot's face towards her by her chin.

"Y-Yes, Lieutenant Jasper. I would never think of taking what is rightfully yours, I just want to do my very best to make sure I can bring you...closer to what is yours, that's all - I swear." Jasper, as the power hungry beast she was, finds Peridot's grovelling acceptable and releases her - dropping the robotic gem on the ground.

"Good, I'm glad we are on the same page." Jasper said, leaving Peridot to stumble to her feet. "and speaking of bringing back what is rightfully mine while I was busy with that useless Lapis, did you find anything that could lead us to him?"

"U-Unfortunately no. Many of my scans have shown up inconclusive for both his unique gem-etics or his ships beacon. I've tried practically everything." Peridot said timidly, turning to her screens for some unforeseen comfort. She found peace in the content information that sped past her visor which is something she desperately needed at this time.

"I don't care how many of those gems we have to torture or interrogate, I will find what is mine and bring him back home." Jasper seethed, gritting her teeth like a wild animal would, barring her fangs for the world to see.

"T-Torture is a bit excessive, don't you think?" Peridot flinched at Jasper's burning gaze, "L-Lieutenant Jasper."

"This coming from the gem who tortured Obsidian like a cold blooded robot," she said coyly, moving closer to the tentative Peridot, breaching her personal space with reckless abandon. "How many times did he scream out for you to stop? His former best friend now ripping at his gem like a rabid animal with the best torture tech we had to offer. He must have been yelling up a storm, but you sat there, as still as a statue."

Peridot wanted to recoil from Jasper but thought better of it, she knew the consequences of doing anything Jasper thought of as insubordination. "I-I was under orders to get information about the rebel base by any means necessary! I wasn't proud of what I had to do." Peridot shrunk in fear as Jasper leered at her, causing her to back down and lower her tone. "B-Besides, he lied to me - he tricked me into…..nevermind, it's not worth mentioning, Lieutenant Jasper." "But, about the search. It might be beneficial if I sent out a few of my Reconocen Robonoids to the 8 remaining planets, to survey the lands for any signs of intelligent life while also scanning for his distinct gem-etic signature."

"Do what you must, but it better get results, I'm tired of searching. The next quadrant that comes up empty will be obliterated." Jasper hissed as she left the room, leaving Peridot to her thoughts. Something is wrong with Jasper, something very wrong. As Peridot switches out her broken right limb enhancer, she couldn't help but think back on how Jasper used to be and how Obsidian's defection has twisted her once close friend into an abusive monster that wanted nothing but destruction and Obsidian bound and gagged at her side. Peridot feared for her life, feared for those around Jasper, and surprisingly, she feared for Obsidians.

Thank you all for your support, please review and PM.