As I take refuge in one of the many holes in the kindergarten wall I allow myself a quick break. It has been two months since I left the Temple in search of my sister, in search of the fusion that has become her prison. I scoured almost the entire ocean covering this side of the hemisphere, I was crossing through the kindergarten to get to the other side of the continent so I could transfer to the next largest body of water. I dare not use the warp pads for fear the others will track me, nor do I linger in areas with a nearby warp pad out of the same fear, in fact after I have my little break I intend to head out without stop until I reach the western coast.

But, I block that out… I've went the entire two months without break, this is my first… and… I feel… so… tired...

"This way!" my eyes shoot open when I hear a voice, Steven's. Did they find me already? I hope they didn't, I don't think I can look Pearl in the eyes after the way I had left…

I scoot further into the wall, maybe they won't scour every hole. Whenever Steven rushes by, Rose's bubble activated, I go into a strange state of being both worried and relieved. However, worry becomes the stronger emotion when the next things to rush by me have thunderous footsteps and roar as they streak past me.

My body, of it's own accord, shoots out of the hole. I no longer was thinking about my sister. A new mission entered my head, 'Protect Steven.'

I catch up to the monstrous parade as Steven and another Gem within Rose's bubble turns a corner. The beasts, of which I assume to be multiple corrupted gems trapped in fusion, don't make the same turn as I throw an arm in that direction and yank it it back, causing the side of the canyon wall to swing out like a door and sent the fastest of them tumbling into their compatriots.

They all recover from their sprawl rather quickly and turn their attention towards me. I clear my mind so I can properly fight. For added measure I shift my form to create a blindfold over my eyes.

A cloud of smoke, a second, a third, Emerald then appears in the middle of the swarm. They all turn on their prey and begin to converge, a fifth, a sixth, Emerald drops his recently summoned weapon in favor of one of the beast's appendages. He lifts it with some effort, grunting because of the stress, and swings the mighty creature in a full circle, a seventh.

The beasts all roar their own shrill, warbling cries. Emerald falters for a moment, their warbled cries making him tremble, not out of fear but out of what feels like sorrow. He doesn't get time to focus on it, the air grows stale as it is cut by a clawed hand, Emerald barely avoids decapitation and throws a punch, an eighth.

The air grows thick as all the beasts attempt to once again crash onto him, so Emerald disappears under the stone as if it were water. Three spikes of stone sprout from where he once stood, a ninth, a tenth, an eleventh.

Emerald appeared once again, but when he threw an arm back in preparation he felt his elbow strike physical light, he would know what that felt like, he was made of physical light after all. He raised his hand slightly and felt the sleek cover of a visor, "Garnet! I'm assuming the others are with you, Steven is just past these things, take a left you at that unseemly stone wall behind me.."

Garnet stared at her friend, only giving a small ok in acknowledgement, Pearl and Amethyst's moved past him as she did. Emerald knew they stared at him as they did, he felt his heart tug as his thoughts turned towards how Pearl must be feeling right now about him; he dared not to even think about how Ocasio must be feeling right now. But, he quickly shoved those thoughts out his head and turned back towards the task at hand, quickly dispatching the final four beasts

Hours Later:

I am once again seated in Steven's home, quite awkwardly I might add. Pearl hasn't spoken to me since we've returned from the Kindergarten and to the Peridot's explanation of the Geo-Weapon that the Diamonds had so generously gifted Earth as a last ditch effort to win the war, long-run style. She even refuses to let me see Ocasio… it pains me but I can understand.

Eventually a plan is made to get components from the kindergarten seeders to make a drill in order to first get to the cluster, then we destroy it. I had many rumors of Geo-Weapons such as these back on Homeworld, but they were just that, rumors. To learn of the truth, and to learn of those beasts I had fought were prototypes for a thing that was essentially a giant ball of forced together gem shards… it kinda put another number on me.

After the little chit chat, everyone heads to the barn to get things in order. I pull Pearl over to the side of the barn to try and make amends, but she isn't hearing it. "I usually be able forgive your antics, and under normal circumstances I could also forgive you for that," she clenches her fists, "But you… what you did not just affect me or the others…"

She doesn't have to finish for me to get what she meant. I cast my gaze to the dirt below, I feel lower than it, "How is she doing?"

Pearl sighed, I acted like a complete arse but she knew I at least deserved this information, "She's doing just fine, she is sleeping in the room." Pearl cast her glance to the side, "She's wondered where you've been."

"Oh…"

"Emerald," I flinch, knowing where this going, "I understand you were hurt by us not telling you about your sister… but you didn't even consider the thought that we had been searching for her as well."

I am momentarily surprised, I did not think about that. I feel even more like a piece of kark now, "Pearl… I'm sorry…"

She gave me another sigh, "It's fine…"

"It can't be."

She shook her head, "It has to be." and with that said she walks away from me. Leaving me to deal with my own folly.

The early morning sun begins to rise, signaling to me it has been an entire day since the others started making their plan a reality; since I was shunned every time I offered a helping hand from all but the Peridot I have taken refuge on top of the cylindrical tube called a silo.

The one good thing to come from this though is, surprisingly, the solitude of it all. I've been able to clear my head many times from the vantage point this roof gave me… though the beautifully silent moments do not last long as with every sound of construction I am reminded of the reality I live.

Voices softly ring out, the others are approaching. I tighten my knees to my chest in an attempt to minimize how much of me they can see. "Momma… who is that man?" I feel myself twitch, she couldn't have been here.

"Nobody you need to worry about right now Ocasio." I hear Pearl say.

I feel my heart begin to crack, my father finally speaks to me for the first time in the two months. He tries to console me but it isn't working. My daughter knew of me… no, she only knew I existed. After I hear them march past me I steal a glance to Ocasio, her clothes had changed from then, her hair was a bit longer, and she reached Pearl's hip in size now, but she still looked like the beautiful gemling I knew the day she formed.

It hurt, she didn't know me and it was my fault.

I awake to the sounds of terrifying shrieks and the darkness of a cloud-filled, moonless night, my instincts kick in and I fling myself off of the silo into the fray. Left and right I slice, hitting things left and right.

It was odd, this fight had happened so fast, what spawned it? I send energy through my gem and a vermillion spotlight illuminates the area around me. There were cluster beasts everywhere, how had they amassed so much so fast? Oh well, it didn't matter, they didn't fit normal gem rules or even corrupted gem rules for that matter.

The spotlight goes out, their grotesque 'faces' no longer visible. My body takes over, my arms flail wildly as with each poofed beast I feel the stress leave me. Each cut upon my body bleeds out my sadness, each strike against me steels my nerves. After what feels like eons I have felt myself return, my happiness is back, my nerves are calm.

Until I hear the screams emanate from the barn, "Help us!" It was her… she was in the barn. My vision turns white with fury.

The area fills with the scent of burnt ozone, the rage filled roars thicken the air. For a moment, barely even two seconds, every cluster beast and their respective shards had one collective bout of sane thought. They all looked to the blinding hurricane soil and stone that was Emerald

The Fury clears it's path to the barn in a matter of seconds.

Ocasio

The big meaty hand gripped my throat hard, Momma said we don't need to breath but it still hurt. I started to cry when I realized I was going to die just because I thought Peridot was lonely up here.

My vision began to fade, and as I did I called out for help one last time. In my last moments I wondered if Momma would miss me; I wonder where Daddy is, I guess I'll never know…

The last light is gone, I lose all hope. Then I hear a voice so full of wrath, so full of anger, "GET AWAY… FROM… HER!" The giant hand is gone from my throat, I feel myself drop into someone's arms.

My vision returns as my savior gently places me on the ground, it was that sad mister! He no longer looks sad, or angry unlike how his tone made him sound like. The only aspect about him that made me certain he was the one who saved me was the cloak of energy around him. "There… are you feeling better?" I can only nod affirmatively, he flashes another smile, "That's good. Now," he stands up and faces the barn's door, cracking his knuckles with a laugh, "Just stay here Topy, Daddy'll be right back"

He disappears with a flash, but it's obvious he ran out the door so I follow him. His words hit me moments later, 'Dad?'

Emerald was having a wonderful time, he had exchanged his previous weapon in favor of two swords of relatively short length. He bounced off the ground as if it were rubber, dug a sword into a cluster beast and kicked it into the other beasts behind it.

The explosion momentarily jarred them, giving Emerald, accompanied by three shades, the opportunity to slide on under many of the beasts with weapons raking all in their underbellies. Thirty simultaneous shrieks of death, thirty clouds of smoke.

Ocasio watches her father in awe, the Gemling had been told her father had been a powerful warrior, but just hearing about her absent father didn't come close to seeing him in action. He took out cluster beast after cluster beast, seemingly effortlessly. But it wasn't without effort, months without too much rest and almost constant energy expenditure was catching up to him. His movement became sluggish, his energy cloak sputtered and, seconds later, dispersed, he lost all his shades, and he began taking more hits than he doled out.

Ocasio's star filled eyes soon became filled with horror when she finally noticed, the main giveaway was the flowing blood and how he dropped his weapons, falling to his knees shortly thereafter. Her horror became dread whenever the monsters blocked him from view, she had just met her father and here she was about to lose him. Time slowed down as dread crept it's way through the young Gem's body, this was her very first time feeling it so the emotion hit harder than it should have.

But… something began pushing that dread back, another emotion she had yet to feel began to make itself known. Time slowly sped up as she took a step, then another, each step increasing the speed of time's wheel; for the second time that night a roar of fury, of anger, of wrath, sounded loudly, a blinding light once again accompanying that roar.

Emerald

As I awaited my death I heard a roar, it was almost primal, it kind of scared me. The light that followed did a good job of blinding me. After the glare darkened I looked around to see that the clusters were poofed. I wasted no time in ignoring this and instead searching for my daughter. I found her lying a few feet from the barn, her form was still intact so that was good news.

A sudden gust of wind pained my eyes, it began blowing so strong that pieces of the barn began flying off so I pulled Ocasio away from the shrapnel and placed myself in the way of it.

It feels like hours before the wind dies out, but the throbbing in my back tells me it's only be a few minutes. I open my eyes and I see something both horridly wrong and truly amazing.

Quartz, Jade, Amber, and Coral rise off of the ground on unsteady legs… three other gems follow suit.

Quartz is the first to meet my gaze, "Sir?"