Chapter Six: New Arrivals

When Peridot and Lapis had arrived on the nearby colony, it was only supposed to take them a few minutes: get in, find a ship, and get out. Simple. The thing is, neither of them had expected the colony to have been previously ravaged by Skeletor. And they definitely didn't expect to run into Hessonite, of all Gems.

Now, aboard Hessonite's cruiser, Peridot tried to brainstorm a way to return to Denebria to rescue the others, unaware that they had already been rescued. "Okay, now let's see…" the small Gem said, pacing back and forth beside a large window. "This ship doesn't have any escape pods, for whatever reason, so that's out. And we have basically no chance of fighting Hessonite and taking the ship by force. So that pretty much leaves stealing another ship once we get back to Homeworld."

"Are you sure she's even taking us to Homeworld?" said Lapis. "I've flown from Homeworld to plenty of other planets and back too many times to count, and she isn't headed in that direction."

"Then, where could she be going?" asked Peridot?

"What, you expect me to know?" said Lapis. "I guess we'll find out when we get there."

"Right," said Peridot. "And then we'll steal a ship."

Soon enough, the ship arrived at its destination: like Lapis predicted, they were not going to Homeworld. Rather, they arrived at a much larger ship, big enough to make Hessonite's look like a gnat in comparison. The ship landed at one of the larger vessel's numerous docking bays.

"Alright girls, this is our stop," Hessonite announced. "I hope you enjoy your home away from Homeworld!" She took a moment to laugh at her own wordplay.

"Well, this is...unexpected," said Peridot. "What is this place?"

"Oh, this old thing?" said Hessonite, having suddenly warped behind Peridot. The startled green Gem yelped, and jumped into Lapis' arms. "This is just a decommissioned mining ship we repurposed into a sort of sanctuary."

"A sanctuary for who?" asked Peridot.

Lapis set Peridot down. "Yeah, and who's 'we?'"

Hessonite chortled. "No need to worry, all will be answered in time. Now, follow me, let me show you around."

Both of them shrugged, and decided following her was their best option for now. The ship's door opened, and all three of them stepped out.

"Hey, this place looks sick!" said the Ruby who had accompanied them. She hopped out after them and ran up beside Hessonite. "So, what's this place for?"

"I was just about to explain that to your friends here," the orange Gem said. "Now, for those of you who don't know, I recently had a run-in with the Crystal Gems on Earth, to retrieve my Prism.

"Ooh," said the Ruby. "I didn't understand, like, three of those words, but that's pretty cool."

"Right, right, and Steven beat you," said Peridot. "So, who did you end up here?"

"I see, you'd rather have the abridged version," said Hessonite, slightly irritated. "To make a long story short, my defeat at the hands of the Crystal Gems made me realize I wasn't as perfect as I had believed. That was when I decided, rather than return to Homeworld, I would go on a journey of self-discovery. Do some soul-searching, that sort of thing."

"And what did you find?" Lapis asked.

"I found out that the Diamonds had lied to us about a lot of things, more than just my perfection," said Hessonite. "So, rather than continue following the orders of a group that doesn't care about us, I went rogue."

"Ah, I get it," said Peridot. "So you rebelled, like us?"

"'Like us?' I'm beginning to think you aren't the same Peridot who went to Earth with me," Hessonite said. Peridot glanced around worriedly. "But, no matter. And no, I didn't rebel, at least not openly. Rather than fight, we decided to take Gems who were downtrodden or oppressed under our wing. For example…"

Hessonite opened the bay doors into the main deck of the ship. Lapis and Peridot, and the Ruby to a lesser extent, couldn't believe it: inside were dozens of Gems of all different types. Many of them were those that Homeworld wouldn't accept in any capacity, like fusions or those that had been under- or overcooked.

"Wow," the Ruby said, taking in the sights. "So, it's like a sanctuary for off-colors."

"It isn't 'like' a sanctuary, it is a sanctuary," explained Hessonite. "And you won't just find off-colors here. We accept all Gems, regardless of type of disposition, if they wish to be free from Homeworld's influence."

"You keep saying 'we,'" said Lapis. "Who else is running this place?"

"Hessonite, did you bring back more runaways? Again?" a voice said. "I swear, at this rate we'll run out of room! I know this is a big ship, but please!"

"And that should answer your question!" said Hessonite, walking over to the Gem. She had a similar shape, gem, and hairstyle to Hessonite, but was bright pink and lavishly dressed. Her gemstone was on her stomach. "Girls, I'd like you to meet Pyrope, my sister-in-arms aboard this vessel."

"Yes, indeed, so lovely to meet you," she said quickly, implying that it wasn't. "Anyways, once Hessonite here told me that the Diamonds weren't to be trusted, I immediately leapt at her suggestion to start our own colony-I-I mean, sanctuary! After all, obviously I was the best choice to lead, now that the Diamonds were out!"

"Incorrect," said a deadpan voice. This one came from yet another Garnet: this one dark green, with her gemstone on her head amongst her afro. Her lower half seemed to be entirely mechanical, and two large robotic arms accompanied her tiny real ones.

"And this is my other companion, Demantoid," Hessonite said. "Same story as with Pyrope, if you're wondering."

"Correct," said Demantoid. "Era-1 Gems such as the Diamonds spent all their time in needless frivolity, causing the ongoing resource crisis. As usual, it was a matter only an Era-2 Gem such as myself could fix."

"Oh, please!" said Pyrope. "It isn't our fault you're too tiny! Besides, you just wanted to help us so you could be in charge of something for once!"

"Look who is talking!" said Pyrope. Both Garnets began literally butting heads. "At least I do not spend my days reaffirming how flawless I am!"

"Wh-That's exactly what you do with your constant praise for Era-2!" said Pyrope.

"Girls, girls, please! This ship is a place of peace and positivity!" said Hessonite, separating the two. "As you can see, these two are still a bit at each other's throats. But don't worry, I'm here to keep them in check! They call us the 'Prism Sisters!'" Hessonite pulled the two in for a group hug.

"Approximately no one calls us that," said Demantoid.

"Aheh...well, in any case, Pyrope, do you mind showing our new arrivals around?" said Hessonite. "Me and Demantoid need to handle this 'Skeletor' situation."

"Oh, yes, because I'd love nothing more than to do that," said Pyrope, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Wait, Skeletor!?" Peridot suddenly shouted, drawing the Garnet trio's attention. "You know about him? He's why we came to the planet in the first place!"

"Why, of course we know about him," Pyrope said. "He's been attacking Gem colonies all over the galaxy! Half of the Gems here were displaced because of him!" Lapis and Peridot shared looks of concern.

"But why did you go to Yellow Diamond Colony #17 in the first place?" Hessonite asked.

"Well, you see, our friends are sort of stranded on this old planet called Denebria," Peridot said. "Lapis is the only one who could fly, so we needed to get a ship to rescue them."

"If it's a ship you want, I can arrange for that as well!" said Hessonite. "Pyrope, can you arrange for someone to go and retrieve this pair's friends?" Pyrope only groaned, walking away with the Ruby following close behind. "Ah, Pyrope," Hessonite said. "She seems pretty cold and aloof, but she's a real sweetheart once you get to know her. Provided you don't waste her time. Or upstage her in any way. Or make her angry. Which is quite easy."

"So, that hopefully takes care of that," said Lapis.

"I hope so," Peridot replied. "Heh, won't they be surprised when they get rescued by a ship with somebody they didn't even expect!"

"There is still the matter of ending Skeletor's reign of terror," said Demantoid. "As you two seem to be at the center of it, I surmise your input could be quite useful."

"I agree," Hessonite said. "Now, why don't you tell us about how you ended up in this mess?"

"Sure thing," Peridot said. "But it's kind of a long story…"