(Takes place during "Buddy's Book", the day after "Know Your Fusion", and two days after "Kindergarten Kid")

"Camping?"

"Camping."

"Camping?"

"Camping."

"..."

"No seriously, P. Camping."

Pearl blinked in bafflement at both Amethyst and the huge messily stuffed backpack beside her and crossed her arms. "Since when do you camp?"

Amber, Pearl could understand given her affinity for nature. Peridot as well to an extent on account of her and Lapis living out on the countryside. Amethyst though, for all her enjoyment for getting down and dirty and shapeshifting into animals, never expressed explicit interest for the human activity.

"Uh, since Sparky reminded me that nature is super cool and stuff?"

Garnet, standing beside Pearl, set her hands akimbo. "You based your decision off that human that lets himself get stung by various Earth insects, didn't you?"

"Eh, he's already gotten past that. I just feel like getting down to earth with Mother Nature."

Pearl opened her mouth to protest, only to think better of it and sigh in defeat. Who were she and Garnet to deny Amethyst intimacy with the world that birthed her? That and the slimmer Gem suspected her purple teammate wanted an excuse to take a break from all the drama going on lately, much less the people responsible.

"Please don't try to get a rise out of the wildlife," Pearl wearily advised. She doubted Amber would appreciate that.

Amethyst threw a dismissive hand. "Chill, P. You know I'm the 'can't beat 'em, join 'em' type. 'Sides, humans are way more fun to mess with."

Pearl perked a skeptic brow, deciding against listing off all the times Amethyst messing with humans turned out with less than comical results.

"That and P-dot needs somebody ta keep the critters distracted long enough for her to jot down stuff in her nerd book."

Jot down? Pearl arched both brows now, curious. "Peridot intends to observe Earth fauna - specifically?"

Then again if Pearl recalled correctly, there had been that time during Peridot's 'redemption arc' (Connie's words, not hers) when the green stone expressed a strong albeit abrasive interest in studying the organic life of this planet. Perhaps being around Amber had reignited that desire.

"Yep! Said Camp Pining Hearts got her interested in doin' the real deal."

Of course. Pearl sighed once more, resisting the urge to eyeroll. "At least Amber will be there to supervise the two of you."

"Aww, now Pearl!" Amethyst cooed as she cupped her face in her hands in a cutesy manner, "What trouble do you expect me and Peri to get into outdoors?" At her taller teammate's unimpressed stare, the whip-slinger wagged a finger. "Don't answer that."

A knock at the door cut the conversation short, prompting Pearl to walk over and open it, revealing Amber and Peridot armed to the teeth with camping gear.

"Greetings, fellow Crystal Gems!" the latter quipped, "We are here to pick up Amethyst!"

Amethyst held her arm out as though presenting a work of art. "Here and ready for the pickin'!"

The technician craned her head back and forth, eyes scanning the house. "I take it Steven won't be joining us for the festivities?"

"Nah, the little dude tagged along with Connie to the library. he told me he kinda got his fill of the outdoors after doing the tango with that looney-toony Gem the other day." Amethyst shrugged at Peridot. "Surprised ya don't feel the same."

Peridot concealed a bright-green blush with her hand, pretending to be stroking her chin. "Y-Yes well while I certainly am in no rush to try my hand again at quote-on-quote wrangling corrupted Gems, looking back I found that I rather enjoyed interacting with the natural environments of this planet." That is as long the environment didn't cause her bodily harm. She then drew a prideful smirk and put a hand to her chest. "I thought this would be a more opportune means of reliving that experience." The verdant Gem twirled her other hand. "Besides, Lapis has errands elsewhere and making meep-morps isn't nearly as fulfilling by oneself."

Amber got out her notebook from a side pocket of the backpack and flipped to a prewritten page. You got everything you need?

Amethyst hoisted the backpack over her shoulder. "You know it! Let's move!"

Garnet gave a lopsided smile and flicked her hand goodbye. "Have fun, you three."

"And behave!" Pearl added as she waved as well.

We'll be back by tomorrow noon!

Amethyst flicked a blasé hand in return without looking back before shutting the door behind her.

Pearl and Garnet barely turned away from the door when a knock came a few seconds later, much to their surprise. Did the others forget something? Pearl shared a look with Garnet before going to the door to open it.

"Ah, Pearl, Garnet!" Uma chipperly greeted, "Good morning!"

"Um," Pearl waved a hesitant hand, "good morning?"

"I was dropping by to see if anyone here could help this old woman with the watering? Kurtis will be at the library for most of the day for a research project, Marcus chose today of all days to come down with the flu, and since Amber will be off camping with her friends 'til tomorrow noon..."

"Oh! Um," Pearl looked back at Garnet, who shrugged, and then at Uma with a blush, "we're very flattered you considered us, but our...'work schedules' can be a bit erratic at times so I can't say Garnet and I would be a good choice."

Uma waved her hand dismissively. "That's quite alright, dear. Shame, though. Marcus was hoping you'd be joining."

What? "He...was?"

"Well, not in many words. He did say something about you and Kurtis talking the other day and if I recall Marcus' words right, you and my grandson both sounded civil with each other."

Pearl blushed cyan. "W-Well, in all fairness, your grandson was only trying to be polite..."

"A little politeness goes a long way," Garnet commented in an amused tone as she walked up and put a hand on Pearl's shoulder. "No harm in a few more human friends, right?"

Pearl sighed in defeat. "I suppose we could spare a few moments." Besides, it would make Connie and Steven happy to hear their favorite people were all getting along.

However, when the two Gems followed Uma out of the house, a peculiar sight awaited them on the beach. Pearl took one look, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What are you three doing?"

By 'you three', she was naturally referring to Amethyst, Amber, and Peridot who were all in the process of setting up camp right there on the sand. They all turned at the taller Gem's voice.

Amethyst adopted a droll half-lidded stare. "Uh, did someone already forget our conversation from earlier?"

"Amethyst, it isn't camping if you're less than a mile from the house." Pearl gestured an open palm to the abode in question.

"Well, we are outdoors, are we not?" Peridot smartly countered with outstretched hands. "And how much more danger would we be exposed to here compared to a completely untamed piece of wilderness, what with all the corrupted Gems that come here on a near daily basis?"

Amethyst threw her hands up. "See?"

Pearl opened her mouth to retort until Amber's teeth tugged on her sash with an empathetic smile, prompting the taller Gem to look down at her.

Just let 'em have this, Pearl.

Et tu, Amber? Pearl tossed her hands up in defeat and tossed an exasperated look to Garnet, who merely shrugged her shoulders with a bemused half-smile. What were they going to do with these guys?

"Speaking of corrupted Gems that aren't Amber," Peridot continued, "someone needs to stay close by in case any of them emerge near the temple!"

Okay, point taken there, Pearl supposed. If that did happen, though, she didn't want her younger friends to take any chances. "If you spot any, at least make sure you have a way of signaling the rest of us."

Amber and Amethyst and Peridot responded with a group-thumbs-up, albeit more seriously in the case of the yellow and green Gems. Pearl shook her head in begrudging fondness before turning to finally leave with Uma and Garnet.

"Let's see," the elderly woman began once they reached the front door to the flower shop, "there are a few larger plants we've ordered in, but I'll need someone with muscle to carry those in along with the potting soil."

Garnet thumbed to herself with a smirk. "I can handle that."

"In that case—Pearl, could you help Lapis with watering the flowers in the meantime?"

Pearl cupped her chin. "Sounds doable. To be fair, though, Lapis alone is probably enough to have the task cover—" only then did Uma's statement register in her mind and make her freeze with wide eyes – "Lapis. Is in. Your house?"

Uma blinked and looked between Pearl and then Garnet, whose mouth went agape in similar surprise. "Would you feel better coming with me and Garnet?"

Pearl shared a conflicted stare with her leader, the Renegade and fusion equally unsure of the best route to take here. Turns out they didn't have to worry long over that decision because right then the front door flew open via giant floating water hand to reveal Lapis Lazuli, a round straw hat with a cyan ribbon tied in a bow in the back adorning her head, a watering can in each hand.

"Took you long enough," the blue rock deadpanned. "Are you gonna help me with the plants in the back or just stand there gawking?"

Pearl (who most certainly was not gawking thank you very much) shook her head. "W-What are you even doing here? Peridot said you had 'errands elsewhere'."

Lapis arched a brow. "These are errands, and this is elsewhere. Now," she tossed a watering can Pearl's way, the other Gem barely managing to catch it, "flowers. Get to it."

The commanding tone snapped Pearl out of her confused stupor. "Hmph! I sincerely hope you're not under the impression that I was brought here to serve you. In case you've forgotten, this isn't Homeworld."

In any other case, Pearl would have stayed clear of any reminder of estrangement around Lapis, but the Renegade could easily discern that Lapis could not do much to her if she intended to stay in this human family's good graces. Besides, Pearl hadn't quite forgotten the Grand Theft Aqua from long ago, let alone the resulting damage. As far as the swordfighter was concerned, her sassiness was well warranted.

Lapis remained unfazed. "Nope. I'm under the impression that we're not gonna dance around each other like cl—...idiots." She scowled at Pearl's knowing smirk. "I was going to say idiots." She pivoted on her heel, this conversation over (for now). "Besides," she mumbled while holding the door open for the others to come in, "even having you around beats having to listen to Dad Puns all day."

Pearl rolled her eyes as she followed Garnet and Uma into the shop. She faintly registered the tinkling of the bell above the doorway and the following thud of the door closing before Lapis' light footfalls fell into step beside her. She eyed the water-user with scrutiny. "I never took you as someone who enjoys human company."

Or any company at all besides Steven. Or Peridot. Or Amber. In fact, now that she factored all their absences together...

"First off, I don't," Lapis cut in, "I just find these guys less annoying than the average human. Second, I'm the one who suggested Uma ask you guys for help."

"And she agreed? Just like that?"

"Just like that," Uma confirmed in a tone too breezy for Pearl's liking as the group went through the shop and past the stairs towards the back door leading outside. "The dear felt now would be the best time to clear the air between you all. Or start to at least."

Lapis blushed a deep blue. She'd been hoping Uma would keep quiet about that part.

"Maybe it is high time we clear it."

"What?"

"WHAT?!"

Halted in their tracks, Lapis and Pearl stared at Garnet with varying degrees of shock.

"But," the fusion calmly stressed as she turned to the water-user in question, "on Lapis' terms. She's the one who arranged this, so it's only fair that she be the one who calls the shots here."

To say Lapis got taken back would be an understatement, but to her credit, she quickly shook off her surprise and regained aloofness. "Good. Cuz Uma needs extra muscle and I need extra hands."

Garnet gave a thumbs up before facing the Flores matriarch. "Shall we then?"

"We shall." As she and the fusion continued towards the back door, Uma gave on last look over her shoulder at Pearl and Lapis. "Play peaceful, you two."

Pearl blinked and gulped as Lapis sullenly led her to the greenhouse attached to the back of the house.

'Peaceful? Oh stars.'

XXX

"Oh stars."

Amethyst looked up after a swig of grape soda as she and her friends sat around a rock-enclosed pit, the wood within crackling from the fire while their completed tent stood in the early evening background. "What's up, Per-Bear?"

Peridot held back a lime blush at the nickname before shooting her fellow Gems a disgruntled gaze. "Whose idea was it to include these in our camping supplies?"

When the green Gem held up a bag of marshmallows, Amber gave a meek smile and raised her hand. Peridot arched an accusatory brow in response.

They're quintessential camping foods, the response on the phone in Amber's left hand asserted. The molehog side-eyed the younger green Gem with amusement. Why? Bad experience?

Nothing could hide Peridot's blush this time. "N-NO! No! I-I just…don't appreciate the textures when I consume them. Yes, that's exactly it!"

Amethyst gave an empathetic half-smirk and shrug. "It's not like you gotta eat them, dude."

Despite the assurance, Peridot bristled as Amber took the bag from her and popped it open. "Hmph, it's not as if I could ever bring myself to partake in these anyway."

Amber paused in snacking and blinked at Peridot in curiosity. Did the younger Gem share Pearl's distaste for eating?

Amethyst noticed the gold Gem's confusion and opened her mouth to explain, only to be halted by Peridot putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, Amethyst." The technician turned to the molehog with a vulnerable air. "You see, Amber, Homeworld wound up in a resource shortage after the Rebellion. As a result, Era-2 Gems such as myself wound up at a," she broke eye contact for a moment to think over her wording, "functional disadvantage, so to speak. It's why I'm so much shorter compared to Peridots you've seen before."

Realization and understanding flashed across Amber's face. Are you saying you can't shapeshift or fuse then?

Peridot opened her mouth only to pause and then close it back up a second later. "That's...currently debatable."

When Amber cocked her head, patiently waiting for an answer, Peridot closed her eyes with a sigh. "Back on Homeworld, I had to wear limb enhancers in order to insure my proficiency as both a technician and a Kindergartner. They proved quite useful since they allowed me access to a plethora of data – that is until I ... lost them during my escapades on this planet."

Amethyst rubbed her nape self-consciously. Amber decided not to push for answers there, even though she could hazard a guess on the connection.

Fortunately, Peridot rebounded with a proud smile. "However, the resultant struggles opened a myriad of opportunities for me! Why, I hadn't even been aware of my metal powers before Amethyst attempted throwing my tablet into the ocean!"

Or unfortunately on second thought. Amber threw the purple rock a questioning (and slightly reproachful) look, one Amethyst had the decency to wince under – at least until Peridot hastily cleared her throat, realizing she just put the Quartz on the spot.

"Did I forget to mention that Amethyst and I have made attempts recently to retrieve my limb enhancers? Since the data on them does pertain heavily to Homeworld technology, we had agreed that retrieving them would prove invaluable to our side."

Amethyst half-smiled in gratitude while Amber turned to Peridot with a warily sympathetic look.

Any luck so far?

Peridot paused before sucking a breath through her teeth. "I surmise it likely that longtime exposure to the salinity of these planet's oceans have rendered the inner workings useless by now, not to mention that the limbs were lost very near to this so-called 'Gulf Stream' you showed me the other day, let alone to any other currents. In short, my limbs enhancers could be anywhere on this planet by now."

"Hey, we did manage to snag your other foot last week and Pearl said we'd be lucky just to find one of the pieces," Amethyst admitted. "That's better than nothing, right?"

"Garnet suggested I'd be better off building myself new ones instead for that very reason," Peridot countered with a shrug. She looked off at the moonlit horizon in thought. "The gravity connectors alone won't suffice anyway as a basis since they lack the technical capacity of the other pieces…and given this planet's lack of the necessary resources, I haven't succeeded in building replacements yet."

Succeeded? So, she'd tried in the past, then. Amber reached out a hand to comfort Peridot – that is until the green Gem puffed her chest out.

"All the more reason for me to construct them more to my liking! Besides, I've come to enjoy my inherent shortness and subsequent induction into the Shorty Squad!"

The what? Amber scrunched her face in utter bafflement.

That is until Amethyst guffawed with a facepalm. "Oh! Duh, I can't believe we haven't told ya yet!" She held her hands up. "See, it's this thing me and Steven started up cuz, ya know, short folk solidarity and stuff, right?" She rolled her eyes playfully at Amber's bemused blink. "I know, we young people and our fancy-schmancy slang. You should totally join up!"

A half-hearted scoff escaped Amber. You're not worried I might cramp you young uns' style?

"Hah, hardly!" Peridot haughtily barked, "Our squad's style is virtually impervious to muscular spasms! And with your wisdom and experience, we'd be virtually uncrampable!"

Amber shook her head with a silent huff and shrugged her shoulders in a 'sure' manner. Why not? It's been a while since she'd been part of a crew.

A worried look suddenly crossed her face though. I don't have to go through some crazy and/or gross initiation, do I?

Amethyst waved her hand. "Chill, Sparky. That ain't how the Shorty Squad rolls. You short, you in. That easy!"

Amber released a sigh heavy with relief. Oh, thank stars.

Peridot rubbed her chin in thought. "That does pique my curiosity about a relevant matter, though. Did the Crystal Gems require anything from either of you when you joined them?"

Amethyst and Amber shared a significant look.

Nothing formal if that's what you mean. So long as you proved yourself loyal to the Rebellion's cause, you were as good as in. Amber put a claw to her chin. The only official-esque thing they had you do was this sort of induction ceremony where you recite Rose's Manifesto.

A flash of recognition shot across Amethyst's eyes. "Fight for life on the planet Earth?"

Amber turned to Amethyst in wonder and surprise. Defend all human beings…

"…even the ones you don't understand…"

Believe in love that is out of anyone's control…

"And then risk everything for it," the violet Quartz finished in time with the text on Amber's phone.

I didn't think Rose had you recite it. Not much point when there's currently no war.

"She didn't," Amethyst confirmed with one hand on her nape, "Pearl mentioned it right after they took me in. Rose went on about how she came up with the words and how wonderful hearing it from so many Gems was. She made it sound so cool." She lay back on the sand after a forlorn exhale, careful not to spill her drink. "Sometimes I'd mumble to myself when I had some me-time. It always made me think about if I had emerged back then. If I'd had stuff like that to go back on, maybe I wouldn't've felt so outta place, ya know?"

So deep in thought, the Quartz only faintly registered two new presences lay down beside her: Peridot on the left, Amber on the right.

The former twiddled her thumbs. "Regrettably I cannot relate to your plight – at least not in the same context. Back on Homeworld, my role and loyalty to Yellow Diamond provided all the belonging I needed. Naturally, that fell apart after I called my former matriarch a clod to her face." She noticed Amber's look of shock. "Yes, that legitimately happened."

Amethyst smirked and gave Peridot a playful punch to the shoulder. "Yeah, but now you're part of somethin' way better." Those words caused her to retrace herself, leading her into second thoughts. "We're all part of somethin' better."

Part of something better. Peridot mulled over her fellow shorty's words and smiled in agreement.

Amber smiled as well – except some of the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. One claw drifted to her gemstone, self-consciousness.

"Still," Amethyst continued, "it'd be awesome gettin' to know another Amethyst from Earth." Not another Amethyst in general considering that would mean putting up with more Homeworld rhetoric. "Ya think they'd care about me bein' a runt and all?"

With some slight hesitation, Amber held her phone out with the screen facing downward so the other two could see the text.

Earth Quartzes always seemed like a close-knit bunch to me. Even after the raids on Beta, I'd see how the Gems there stuck up for each other during fights, even the defective ones. Didn't matter whose side they were on.

"Huh." Hearing that made Amethyst feel a little better. Still kind of iffy on the off chance of meeting others of her Gem type, but better. It also made her wonder about something else. Someone else. "Are Ambers the same way?"

No new text. Amethyst turned to the blank-faced molehog in confusion. "Sparky?"

Do you think those Ambers back in Treasure hate me?

While Peridot scrunched her brow in confusion, Amethyst sat up in concern. Where did that just come from? "Whoa whoa-whoa-whoa there, Cheese Ball! That's kind of random – and jumping to conclusions, don't ya think?"

Amber shuffled awkwardly, not making eye contact.

A contemplative hum emitted from Peridot, the technician sitting up as well and rubbing her chin. "You may be basing that assumption on how uncharacteristically distant they've been in behavior. From both a personal and objective standpoint, I can see some of your reasoning."

When the other two Gems turned to her, she continued. "This may or may not surprise you, Amethyst, but Ambers are probably among the friendliest and most welcoming Gems one can ever meet. You might even say they're the Stevens of Homeworld."

The comparison almost made Amethyst chuckle at first – the thought of an army of Stevens befriending everyone in sight crossed her mind – until she recalled everything Amber shared about the Gem type's role the day after the beach fight with Jasper. The thought of someone like Steven (hell Steven himself) being subjected to that treatment made her torn between shivering and bristling.

Peridot's face reflected essentially the same feelings, albeit more sedate. "They're also not the strongest. They're built to be as versatile and manageable as possible to maximize their utility. As a result, it's always been common practice to use them in groups, mass in fact, even though the latter option became much rarer in Era 2. Hence why their greatest strength lies in numbers."

Amber nodded in faint recollection. That'd been one advantage from the Rebellion she remembered well.

"Huh," Amethyst voiced at last. Well that surely shed light on Amber's behavior but not the Ambers' behavior. She turned to the aureate stone in question. "Didn't you tell us something about them not being like this with you before? Ya know, back at the barn after we got rid of those Rubies?" She received a nod and furrowed her brow in return. "Do you think Rose told them to act like that?"

Amber shook her head immediately. I doubt it. She made it clear to me that not all those Ambers were Crystal Gems before they got corrupted. Plus, she knew just as well as any of us did how crucial unity is to my Gem type.

Peridot pursed her lips, discerning. "Hmm, that would imply then that they're avoiding you out of their own volition. Did Rose Quartz ever give any indication of those Ambers acting differently?"

Amber shook her head. Nope. All I know is that they started avoiding me some time after that fight she and I had.

Right, the fight over Bismuth. None of the veteran Gems had been enthusiastic about sharing the details, necessary as it had been. Amethyst couldn't blame them after hearing about that mess. Yikes. "Maybe Rose didn't even mean to make them avoid you," the whip-slinger voiced, "Maybe when she told them what happened between you guys, they overreacted."

"That is possible," Peridot added, "Ambers are notorious for being awfully skittish." She caught the molehog's attentive glance and hastily added, "The ones reared by Homeworld I mean!"

Amber shook her head with a wry grin. It's alright, Peridot. We are very bad about that. She wiggled her feet side to side. Even after all this time with humans, I'm still tentative at times. In any case, it'd be best to let those other Ambers be. Especially if they were giving shelter to other corrupted Gems.

Amethyst and Peridot both agreed with a nod, and everyone fell back into companionable silence, watching the stars slowly emerge into view as night approached.

Slight shuffling sounded into the air.

"Penny for your thoughts, Peri?"

"Since we tapered off on the topic of letting others be…Lapis may or may not have been keeping her distance from me lately as well." The technician shrugged. "I haven't prodded into why, but…"

"Welp, it's a good thing then she planned out this whole shebang with you guys and Steven yesterday. Thanks for letting me tag along, by the way."

A good thing too Lapis, Peridot, and Amber happened to be waiting around in the house for Steven when Smokey Quartz – Amethyst and Steven's fusion – burst out of the temple with Pearl and Garnet in tow after the fiasco with fellow fusion Sardonyx.

To say Lapis and Amber got the shock of their lives at the fusion would have been an understatement. Amethyst, Steven, and Peridot had only mentioned the former two 'joining up' to beat Jasper back at the barn. Ames and Steven had wanted to save the surprise for Garnet and Pearl first, and that went out including Lapis' history with fusion and Peridot already having met Smokey once and Amber leaving after receiving a text from Ronaldo about some crazy 'cryptid' he spotted at the time.

Fortunately for everyone, Peridot proved invaluable in helping Amethyst and Steven explain once the two unfused. In turn, the green stone had helped Lapis and Amber share the details with Steven and (much to Lapis' reluctance) Amethyst. The three Gems had to lie about needing help with a 'project' at the barn to avert suspicion from Pearl and Garnet so that the five of them could get far away enough to collude.

No problem. Pearl will take priority. I mean she is the one who literally kept Lapis in mind for the last few millennia.

"True dat," Amethyst quipped. Pearl had the most to own up to between the three Crystal Gems concerning Lapis. The violet rock also hoped her playing along with this plan would get her into Lapis' good graces enough that when her turn to apologize came, the two of them could patch things up more easily (and less violently). "Let's just hope those high-strung string beans don't murder each other in the meantime."

If we see Pearl getting catapulted into the horizon, we'll have our answer.

XXX

I'm amazed she hasn't catapulted me into the horizon yet.

Or committed grievous harm in general, let alone the moment Uma and Garnet left. Since then Pearl felt as though she'd been tiptoeing through a mine field, on a tightrope over a spiky pit, and past a Diamond all at once.

Lapis hadn't spoken a word to her since they'd entered this room either, her face the supreme example of vague disinterest. Didn't help that whenever she handed Pearl something, she did so with a gaze intense enough that Pearl marveled her own gemstone hadn't split in two yet.

Nothing wound up destroyed so maybe Pearl was just worrying more than necessary. Wouldn't be the first time.

Still, would it shatter her to at least say something? the ballerina mentally sniped. Even a snide comment or passive-aggressive remark would do.

"Would you like to be a statue for the birds?" the hydromancer in question deadpanned. "You could pass for one at this point."

Oh, ask and thou shall receive. Pearl blushed cyan and hastily returned to watering a jasmine. She hadn't even realized how still she'd gotten during her reverie. "W-Well can you blame me?" She didn't take long to register what she just said and cringe. "I poorly worded that, didn't I?"

Lapis' stare virtually amounted to 'Yeah, ya did.'

Okay, now may be time to stop beating around the bush as Greg might say (even if Pearl still didn't get how assaulting plant life could be relevant here). With a deep breath, she steeled herself and spoke as clearly as she could without sounding holier-than-thou. "Even though I realize how long overdue this is, I want to apologize for keeping you inside the mirror for so long. It didn't hit me that there could have been an actual prisoner of war in there."

A sharp bark of laughter burst from Lapis, startling the other Gem. "Oh, that's rich! What, were you made on Earth? You expect me to believe that you never once noticed the live, sapient Gems being used as everyday objects on Homeworld?"

"Not all of them were like you!" Not the ones that were Harvested anyway, Pearl's mind reminded her with grim remembrance. "You were put in there by Homeworld and kept in by us out of suspicion! We had no idea who could have been in the mirror, let alone whose side they could have been on."

"Oh, so you just shut me away," Lapis spat with pure venom, "acting as though keeping somebody as an object was no big deal." How ironic of a Pearl.

Pearl nearly retorted – only to realize the same irony and look away. The memory-Rose from Amber's Chronicle Globe came to mind, and the Renegade could not help but murmur, "The rebellion may be over, but that doesn't mean the war is."

At Lapis' confused glare, she shook her head in lament. "Y-You're right. There was no excuse for keeping you in there, let alone for so long. When I found that mirror, I'd been elated at first. As much as following Rose had been my choice, it left me so homesick for everything I missed about Homeworld, about traveling the stars, writing you off as a tool took no effort at all."

"But the moment Steven made us realize there was a person in there, it was as if every lie we told ourselves – I told myself – got ripped away. Suddenly, everything I hardly stopped to question about the war came rushing back full force. It made me feel as if I never left those battlefields." Could it truly be a surprise then why she and Garnet reverted to those old wartime instincts? Pearl pinched her eyes in frustration at her past self. "Even after Steven freed you, the others and I still struggled with personifying you. It was easier to see you as part of some abstract threat looming over our heads."

Just like they'd done with Peridot before they learned of the Cluster.

Silence reigned. For a moment, Pearl swore Lapis tuned her out. Until a strange sound suddenly met her ears. Pearl blushed in mollification once she realized its identity: Lapis was laughing. Uproariously at that.

The swordfighter's whole face lit up cyan! "I-I fail to see the hilarity in any of it!"

Lapis took a few moments to regain enough composure to speak. "I was right after all. Everyone around me kept saying you were all some high and mighty heretics that wanted to prove they were better than Homeworld just because you felt like being unique…when all this time you were just ignorant idiots like me."

Pearl bristled, sputtering. "I-IGNORANT?! EXCUSE ME?!"

"Oh, come on. The Mighty Renegade, fatal elegance to countless Quartz, dancing to a symphony of destruction as shards upon shards rained in her wake…only to be some Pearl that never really escaped her servant mindset by allegedly risking her existence for someone else over and over?"

A twofold cringe took hold of Pearl at hearing all that. She well knew of the reputation she had during the Rebellion and (mostly) didn't regret it, but 'symphony of destruction'? Really? Also, ow – just ow. Not that Lapis didn't have a point about her at least but still. The Rebellion hadn't been fought on a whim! Pearl barely opened her mouth to retort just that before Lapis' next words took her for a loop.

"I mean, if it weren't for the fact that you Crystal Gems were causing problems for Homeworld, I would have almost thought you guys sounded cool." She mumbled the next part. "Goes to show how boring my life was back then."

Shock sent Pearl still, the watering can in her hands spilling its contents to the floor without her knowledge. Lapis noticed and in annoyance scooped the liquid up with her hydrokinesis and distributed it amongst the flowers. Pearl shook her head and leveled the watering can so nothing more would spill out before turning to Lapis.

"Are you suggesting you actually…liked us at some point?"

Lapis rolled her eyes. Best not let this get to the Renegade's head. "If by 'liked you' you mean like how Steven's human friend enjoys reading those primitive versions of holopads, then yes. Like I said, my life was boring back then, and when I got assigned to help terraform Beta, I'd assumed it' be quick and easy. I'd be home before I knew it and be back to treating the War like a story." Her eyes turned downward alongside a scowl. "I never thought I'd end up becoming part of it."

Pearl bit back the urge to correct the water user on not using Connie's name, suspecting Lapis just wanted to egg her on. "War has a way of dragging everybody into it." It didn't matter if you wanted to fight or not, let alone whether you were anywhere near the battlefield to begin with. "It's not like you could have refused to go to Earth in the first place."

"Oh no, I'm sure Blue Diamond would have been perfectly fine with me doing that," Lapis scoffed with an eyeroll. She adopted a singsong tone and smile, one hand on her cheek. "Oh, my apologies, my Diamond, but I'd rather keep my distance from a planetwide war that's been raging on for over a millennium than risk getting shattered or worse on behalf of our Empire."

Despite the context, Pearl found herself chuckling (albeit ruefully).

Lapis could not keep herself from doing the same. "I don't think I ever stopped to think how much the Diamonds contributed to me getting screwed over until I got sent with Jasper and Peridot back to Earth. Prisoner here, prisoner there, all because I had to be a good little Gem for my magnanimous, all-knowing leader."

Oh, and because also Lapis didn't fancy the idea of getting shattered or Harvested for simply saying no. Stars, had she ever had any say in her life? A disenchanted sigh intermixed with a sad half-chuckle escaped her at the thought. Lapis almost sounded like she wanted to cry a little.

The urge to put a hand on her shoulder came to Pearl but the Renegade bit it down, not wanting Lapis to mistake her understanding for pity. Besides, it wasn't as though Pearl deserved to offer her that.

Lapis still noticed. She shook her head with a half-hearted scoff. No, not a scoff. Another laugh – a soft bitter one but a laugh, nonetheless. "You know, Amber kinda let me have it when we got to talking about the Gem War and whose fault it was. Told me that no side's completely innocent or guilty." She pretended to ignore Pearl's look of empathy in favor of a trough lined with yellow flowers. "The real test lies in whether a society –"

"—can compensate for its brokenness," Pearl finished in pleasant surprise. At Lapis' look of curiosity, she blushed and rubbed her nape with an awkward chuckle. "She always was the more philosophical out of her sisters. Not that Icy didn't have her own moments but—"

Realization slapped Pearl's hand hard over her mouth and rendered her eyes wide! Oh – how could – oh stars, she really did it this time, didn't she?! How could she have forgotten all the attempts Amber made, even in the wake of her sisters' deaths, to seek out the location of a Lapis Lazuli with a tear-drop shaped gem on the back? Or how the yellow rock starkly avoided other Lazulis as if to spare herself something painful?

She opened her mouth to apologize –

"They didn't make it, did they?" Lapis asked point-blank with a voice and stare that could only belong to someone who knew deep down but severely wished they didn't. "Icy and Cherry."

The wide-eyed hesitation on Pearl's face said everything.

Lapis' soft laugh emerged once more as she put a hand to her face, sadder. "It's so easy to blame everybody but yourself whenever things go wrong. Even though they and Amber…they and Sunny lied to me about being loyal to Homeworld, I don't think anyone ever treated me like a friend the way they did. At least until Steven anyway. And when I found out? Heh, I'm sure you can imagine how that went. Funny thing is even after that, I couldn't bring myself to genuinely hate them…not after the feelings they stirred in me."

Pearl's face softened with a sad smile. "They knew you'd never defect to our side. That's why they asked me and Rose to help them add alterations to a raid on the Homeworld base you'd been reporting to. They wanted to stage their own betrayal of you so that you'd come out clean, looking nothing more than an innocent victim of the Crystal Gems."

Hearing that sent a gasp out of Lapis, who looked to Pearl shellshocked. "Was that what they were trying to do?" She looked to floor in deep heavy thought. "I-I mean they sure fooled me. Except," her face twisted between anger and regret, "they never counted on the Diamonds' paranoia making its way to Earth." Even after millennia, the blue stone could recall the cold distrusting eyes of the Tumbled Peach Agate clear as day, the sound of that riding whip cracking through the air, straight at her.

"They saved me, those three, even after I accused them of never caring about me. Sunny cleared a path so I could escape while Icy and Cherry kept back as many Quartzes as they could with their fusion." Her voice started to quaver despite her best efforts to refrain. "I just…I just never thought they'd go so far as to…"

Lapis did not finish. Dared not finish.

Pearl felt her shapeshifted heart clench. Her hesitation and need to think up an attempt at comfort left the room silent for a few merciful moments.

"You're free to blame me and Rose if it helps you feel better," she finally spoke, "Rose assured me the soldiers would believe the trio's act. She promised that we'd make it and the raid work at the same time." A grimace came to her. "I should have convinced her to have those three hold off their plan for the time being."

So many spiteful responses danced on the tip of Lapis' tongue. About Rose and Pearl's incompetence, about Amber and her sisters being naïve enough to think their plan would work, about those Quartzes for not being trustful enough to let Lapis off the hook. In the end, she turned and collapsed into a fold-up chair, her hair drooping down and obscuring her face. "Maybe I could have done something differently, too. I stole most of the Earth's oceans, yet I couldn't save a few Ambers, let alone myself. Talk about pathetic."

Oh, sweet outer cosmos, Pearl bemoaned in her head. Now would have been a nice time to have Steven here. Pearl never excelled at cheering people up, at least not to the same extent…but maybe she could offer something else.

Bracing herself, Pearl sat in the folding chair next to Lapis, hands in her lap and took a deep breath. "It's always easy to linger on what'd you do differently if you had another chance. You won't always approach a problem as rationally or calmly as you could have. You might get things wrong, might misinterpret or hesitate. It doesn't mean you're a lost case. It means you have to learn from and make up for your mistakes."

Lapis gave a faint 'heh', sarcastic yet halfheartedly so. "Gee, you sound like an expert."

Pearl coughed into her hand. "Y-Yes, well…I've had plenty of, um, experience in that regard."

More quietude followed. Neither Gem spoke: one waiting for a response, the other simply thinking.

"I caused a lot of damage to this planet when I first tried to get home," Lapis finally murmured, "Even though I put the water back in the end, what I did still messed up the currents. Climates and ecosystems all over got screwed up because of me."

Oh right. That. Pearl remembered with too much clarity Connie's distressed voice when the young girl brought up the news on droughts and floods in odd areas of the world along with the devastation she and the other Crystal Gems felt in realizing how badly they'd failed in keeping the Earth safe despite their best efforts.

She swallowed down the echoing guilt in her throat. "It's surprising to hear you express concern over that." Especially given the water stone's past vehemence towards the planet.

Lapis ran a hand through her messy locks. "It's not as though the Earth itself took me from Homeworld and stuffed me in the mirror." Hell, if anything one could argue this place had been just as much of a victim of the Gem War and Homeworld as her. Lapis looked down at her right hand and clenched it. "I was just so…angry! At what happened to me, why it happened, the fact it found ways to keep happening…I got so sick of it all that the chance to make it happen to someone else for once…"

Toxic green and gurgled screams flashed into memory, raging pleading orange in the distance.

Lapis tilted her head back and closed her eyes, shoulders tense. "Needing to apologize isn't something I'm used to. When I was still with Homeworld, my superiors would always tell me and the other Lazulis not to worry whenever we terraformed planets. 'It's just a few organic species,' they'd tell us. 'Nobody will miss them,' they'd always say. For the longest time I never questioned it. Not like I had a legit reason to. What did it matter to me if some other species wound up hurt or dead because of my actions? I was only doing what I'm built for, weren't I?"

Pearl grimaced at the explanation, the words sounding a little too familiar for comfort. "That's the line of thinking the Diamonds made sure everyone believed. Anything for their view of perfection."

Anything, no kidding. Pulling her head back forward, Lapis draped her arms over her lap, eyes distant.

"There was never a reason to get attached. At least not to creatures that'd be gone in the blink of an eye anyway." Not that she ever went out of her way to be a social butterfly with other Gems either but still. "That's why I thought your Rebellion was idiotic and why I lashed out at Amber and her sisters once I found out the truth. What good would sparing one measly planet do in the end?"

The remorseful tone Lapis' voice adopted by the end did not escape Pearl's notice. The taller Gem chuckled weakly. "When you put it that way, it's no wonder you considered our cause selfish. The sad part is I understand that sentiment perfectly. I mean it," the ballerina insisted when the other Gem viewed her with skepticism, "When I fought in the Rebellion, I always treated Rose as top priority. I only fought for the Earth because victory meant staying here with her afterward…even if I took it to mean walking into my destruction time and time again like you said." Pearl looked away with a weak rueful chuckle. "Rose never liked when I did that."

Whoa. So, the rumors about the Renegade risking form and gem in battle were true. Lapis scrunched her eyes in begrudging interest.

Pearl shook her head. "It…took me a while to get my head on straight about that." Sardonyx came to mind as well. "About a lot of things, honestly. Taking ownership for oneself takes a lot of courage. No one enjoys admitting when they've done wrong." Pearl closed her eyes and sighed with millennia worth of emotion – and emerged through it with a smile. "It's also one of the most freeing things you can do for yourself."

Freeing. The word sat heavy in Lapis' mind.

"Is that why Rose Quartz shattered her Diamond?" No answer came and Lapis chuckled dryly. Figures. She turned her eyes to the opposite wall. "I mentioned the currents and wildlife already, right? After Steven changed my mind about staying here on Earth, I thought about making up for what I did by putting everything back where I found it, wanted to – except…"

Lapis facepalmed to hide haunted eyes. "Malachite. Part of me sometimes feels as though I'm still in that fusion. Controlling it. Like all it'd take for me to mess the planet up even more is just one bad moment." An angry shiver rippled through her body. "Jasper didn't deserve what I did to her and neither does anyone else. Go on and call me a selfish coward. It's not like it isn't true." Pearl did not and Lapis almost wished she did. "Besides, it's not like there's a line of people waiting to help me out."

Pearl could imagine since nearly everyone were people on whom Lapis made a less than pleasant first impression. She half-smiled knowingly. "Did you ever ask Amber, Steven, or Peridot for help?"

Lapis shook her head, hand departing to reveal her weary face. "Only Amber. Not that Peridot and Steven wouldn't have pitched in." Heck, those two would more than likely jump at the chance to help their Barn Mate/Beach Time Summer Fun Buddy on her path to redemption. The thought brought a bittersweet expression to her face. "I'd just rather fix this mess with someone who won't make excuses for me or walk on eggshells whenever I bring up the ugly stuff."

Pearl nodded in empathy. She recognized the desire to face reality without filter, even if from her own struggles to accept certain truths herself.

"Besides, she makes a better flashlight," Lapis added with an amused snort, "unless I wanna fly with my gem upside down of course."

That mental image made keeping a straight face very hard for Pearl to maintain. Lapis, too, couldn't help but emit a soft 'heh' at her own joke. For a moment, you could have almost mistaken the two for friends.

The humor passed before long and Pearl and Lapis found themselves back to watering the flowers. The past still lingered but for some reason the water Gem felt lighter. Just a little bit.

"I've been training Steven and his friend Connie in combat," Pearl gently voiced, "Garnet, Amethyst, and even Amber have joined in from time to time. Sometimes I'll catch Peridot watching from the sidelines as well. You're free to do the same if you'd like."

Lapis paused in the watering for a moment, thoughtful, until she nonchalantly continued with her chore. "I'll think about it."

Fair enough, Pearl mused with an amused smirk.

Focused on the flowers and their sort-of breakthrough, neither Gem noticed the distant drizzle of light showering upon the beach.