Chapter Nine: Pay no Mind
Emerald wasn't entirely sure she liked her new temporary home. It was comfortable, sure, but…that was partially the problem: it was too comfortable. On Homeworld, everything had a mostly ascetic feel to it, with no more or no less than she needed at any given moment. But here, with the warm glow of the setting sun shining through the window of the one-room cabin, a soft bed for resting on, even a fire roaring in a specially-designed containment apparatus, it felt…homey. And even though that should have been a good thing, it still felt alien to her. "And this is…mine?" she asked.
"Sure is!" replied Bismuth. "Figured you deserved one of our first completed cabins! I know you said you gotta head back to Homeworld soon, but feel free to crash here 'til then. If ya want, we can keep it warm for you in case you ever decide to visit again, or we can lend it to someone else once you leave."
She went over to the bed, letting out a contented sigh as she laid down on its softness. A part of her felt guilty, knowing there was still more work to do. She quickly returned to the present, still hesitant to succumb to comfort. "T-thank you, but that won't be necessary. There are far more deserving Gems of a home like this. But…I think I will stay here. For the time being. Until I return."
Bismuth shook her head quizzically, grinning nonetheless. "You Homeworld types are all business," she said. "Not that I can't see where you're comin' from. Just holler if ya need anything!" She stepped out, gently closing the door behind her.
Now that Emerald was alone with her thoughts, she sat up in the bed, pondering the fire. She was alarmed at first that a lit fire was allowed inside a building made of such flammable materials, but Bismuth had assured her it was perfectly safe. For something that she had seen as an instrument of destruction for her entire life, there was something oddly soothing about the fire. The warmth it emitted, the way its dancing set the cabin aglow with a flickering light, even the soft pops and cracks that sometimes came from the burning wood.
On a nearby table, a small human device was emitting strange sounds. Peridot had called it a 'radio,' named after the signals it received. She had learned it was typically used to broadcast music to hundreds of listeners, which it now did to Emerald. Like the fire, the Earth music was quite alien to her ears, but there was something oddly soothing about it. A quiet voice crooning about lost love…
Before she knew it, Emerald had fallen asleep, curled up on the bed.
By the time she was awoken by a knock at the door, night had fallen. Emerald pulled herself out of bed, feeling sluggish yet rested. "Mmrph, C'ming," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. The knocking repeated once more, and she angrily stomped over to the door. "Alright, alright! What do you wa–Oh."
Her anger disappeared when she saw a nervous-looking Amber at the door. "Ah, Emerald! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you… Hang on, were you busy?"
"No," she said, which wasn't exactly a lie. "What's up? You look…stressed?"
She let out a small laugh. "That's one way of putting it. So, the three of us went into Beach City to meet the locals, 'cause most of us have never met an organic before. Onix has, but never in a peaceful context; anyway, Topaz seemed kind of disgruntled through the whole thing, like she was upset about something and hiding it, which she hardly ever does. We split up at one point, and then me and Onix met up, but we don't know where Topaz went, and I'm worried she might have something a little…extreme planned."
Having fought Topaz before, Emerald already had a bad feeling. She stepped out into the air, letting Amber lead her into town. "Extreme how?" she asked, even though she already had an idea as to the answer.
"Extreme in the sense of drastic anti-Homeworld measures," Amber moaned. "Me and Onix always sort of stood out among Zirconium and her Gems. We preferred to do things peacefully–relatively speaking–something that none of the others shared. We're worried she isn't taking this truce well, and might be planning something to undermine it."
Considering Topaz's weapons were bombs that could be planted like mines, and her speed allowed her to cover distance quickly, they were right to be worried. "Where did you last see her?"
"By the pier, in Funland," explained Amber. "Onix is asking around if anyone saw her leave, and I went to get you. You seemed like the most equipped to handle this."
"And what about the Crystal Gems?" she asked. Considering Topaz and Emerald were enemies not long ago, and maybe still were, she felt like there were better options to ask for help.
Amber looked away nervously. "W-we didn't know where to find them…" she admitted.
The two soon arrived at Funland, finding Onix standing out front. "Excellent, you brought her. I trust you were already briefed?"
Emerald nodded. "I know the situation. Did you find anything?"
"I have good news and I have some bad news," Onix explained. "The good news is, someone saw Topaz leaving not long ago. The bad news is, she was following Steven Universe."
"Steven?" Emerald said, puzzled. "What would she want with him? If he really wanted to make a statement against Homeworld, why not go after someone like me? The Crystal Gems feel like the exact opposite of who she would be targeting."
"But, isn't he one of the Diamonds?" asked Amber. "Oh no…what if she's trying to hurt the Diamonds by going after one of their own? This could be the death of Pink Diamond all over again! This truce isn't going to last long!"
Onix placed a hand on her shoulder. "Calm yourself, Amber. Steven and his allies are not to be underestimated. He is still a Diamond, after all, and he is surrounded by competent warriors."
"Still, we probably shouldn't just sit around and wait for shard to hit the fan," said Emerald. "Come on, we have to warn them."
She led them down to the beach and towards the temple. Sure enough, two pairs of footprints in the sand led in that direction. "If the fighting hasn't started yet, don't say anything to set her off!" Amber warned.
"It may still be a good idea to be prepared for a fight," said Onix. "There's no telling what might set her off at this point."
The three rounded the corner towards Steven's house, preparing to summon their weapons. Although there were no sounds of fighting, there was still the possibility that Topaz was stealthily preparing an ambush. They ran up to the house, ready for battle, and saw…Steven and Topaz sitting peacefully in the sand. Steven's pet pink lion lay between them, purring as Topaz stroked his mane.
"...likes it here, but his favorite part is under his chin." Steven stood up when he saw the three of them arrive. "Oh, hey Emerald! Hey…Topaz's friends? Those are the guys you told me about, right?"
Topaz turned around, getting up as well when she saw them. "Yup, that's them! Hey guys, sorry I left so suddenly, I…had some stuff on my mind."
Realizing they were still in their pre-combat positions, the trio awkwardly stood down. "So…you weren't planning to attack Steven in defiance of Earth's alliance with Homeworld?" asked Amber.
"I…What?" Topaz tilted her head quizzically. "Why would I be attacking anybody? Even if I was, why would I be attacking Steven, of all people?"
Onix cleared her throat. "Excuse us, this is clearly a misunderstanding on our part. You seemed so uncharacteristically quiet about what was upsetting you earlier, and we may have jumped to conclusions."
Topaz was silent for a moment. "You're right. I did have something on my mind. So when I ran into Steven, and he offered to listen, I…well, told him everything."
"She told me that she is upset about things, but she doesn't want to be," explained Steven. "Which I get. Sometimes it feels like this all happened too easily. This sudden jump from war to peace gave a lot of people whiplash, even me. But just because your enemies want peace now doesn't mean you have to suddenly like them."
"You guys said you jumped to conclusions about me," Topaz said. "Thing is, they weren't exactly unreasonable. Don't get me wrong: I've still got a lot of anger at Homeworld, for the things they did to us. But Steven told me that's okay. The Diamonds are trying to change, but that sort of thing takes time and effort. Just because Steven forgave them doesn't mean the rest of us have to. But even though I still don't like them, we're at peace now, and things are getting a lot better for Gems like us. And I would never do anything to ruin that, no matter how mad I am."
Emerald examined the small yellow Gem: she seemed so different than the one she had fought all those years ago, and yet not much had changed. In a way, she reminded her of a smaller, scrappier Goshenite if she had been a renegade. "That's very mature of you," she said. "...Sorry, didn't mean to sound patronizing."
""S alright." Topaz stepped up to Emerald, preparing herself to deliver a speech. "Okay, so: Emerald, I don't like you very much."
"Understandable," she said.
"And I imagine you're not too fond of me either. We were on different sides, and I guess we sorta still are. But, like Steven said, that's okay. Amin–-Anino–Animosity doesn't disappear overnight, but I think we can learn to at least tolerate each other if we work on it. And at the very least, we can recognize that a peaceful resolution is the best outcome for the both of us." She turned to Steven. "How was that?"
Steven gave her a thumbs up.
"You really are a different Gem now," Amber said.
Topaz joined her friends. "I think we all are," she said with a smile. "Now, how about we continue our night on the town?"
"I think that is an excellent idea," said Onix. The three of them set off once more for Beach City. "Pleasure meeting you, Steven Universe. Thank you for helping our friend."
"You too! And no problem!" said Steven with a wave. Lion yawned and rolled over.
"And thank you as well, Emerald!" Amber called back.
"Um…no problem!" she called. She turned around, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, Emerald, your work here is done. Whatever work that was…"
"Hey, you wanna come inside?" asked Steven. "Connie and the Gems and I are having a game night, and there's always room for one more!"
Emerald shook her head. "Thank you, but I don't want to intrude. I have some business of my own to take care of," she lied.
Steven headed back for his house, Lion in tow. "Okey-Dokey then. Good night!"
"Good night," Emerald repeated quietly. Now alone, she headed back for her cabin, pondering what Topaz had said. Things were indeed changing, faster than seemed possible. And even if prospects looked good for her, for Earth, even for Homeworld itself, change was hard. Especially for those who didn't see it as good as she did.
Those three Gems had been off-colors, fighting for not just their survival, but the survival of all Gems like them. They had only known hardship for their entire life, but were now able to enjoy themselves, as though they had been living carefree lives this entire time. If they could relax, was it too much to believe that she could, too?
Before she left the beach proper, she was surprised to find Pearl, who was walking down the mountain beside Pearl and Pearl. They seemed to be chatting about something, laughing amongst themselves. They were representative of three worlds: Homeworld, Earth, and in-between, and yet were getting along like old friends.
"Oh! Emerald! I didn't expect to see you here!" Pearl ran up to her former master, current friend. "How are things going back at the village?"
"They're, um…just fine," Emerald said. "I was just helping those three settle in. Did you have any plans with your new friends?"
"Unfortunately, no," said Pearl. "I really should be getting back to Homeworld. But it really was nice getting to know you."
"You as well," said Pearl. "Well, Steven and the others have a game night planned, so I should probably get going if I want to dethrone Garnet as the reigning champion!"
"Bye Pearl, bye Pearl!" said Pearl, waving as the two of them headed in opposite directions. "Y'know, it's crazy how much the three of us have in common. So, how'd things go with our ex-con buddies?"
She led the way back to the village. "Honestly, they're adjusting much better than I thought they would. They seem to really enjoy Earth–I think they'll fit right in."
"That's great to hear!" said Pearl. "So, do we have anything else planned for tonight?"
"Actually," Emerald said. "I think we can just take it easy this time."
Initially, Emerald hadn't been too keen on the organic idea of consuming matter. However, this 'tea' was proving to be rather enjoyable. She slowly sipped the hot leaf juice as Pearl sat by the fire, rocking back and forth to the tune on the radio. "I take it you enjoy human music?"
"Do I ever!" she replied. "Homeworld music's nice when you're at a formal event, but this Earth stuff is the best for just…I think it's called 'grooving.' Do you wanna 'groove,' Emerald?"
She laughed gently. "Maybe if the right song comes on."
A few songs later, the right song had evidently come on, judging by Pearl's reaction. The moment she heard the first few notes, she jumped to her feet and began moving her body. "It's this one! It's my favorite one! C'mon Emerald, feel the beat!"
"She was dancing, she was smiling, roses blooming on her cheeks/In a quiet kind of litany she accepted some defeat/And then she twirled into the arms of disgrace and then repelled/Now she's fallen to her knees, but you couldn't ever tell/And then…"
Reluctant to dance, Emerald nevertheless relented when she saw just how much fun Pearl was having. She set down the cup and joined in, dance moves being brought from way back in her memory to the forefront as she let the beat carry her.
It had been millennia, perhaps longer, since Emerald had danced. All the way back in Era-1, when Pink Diamond would hold balls for just about every occasion. She worried her moves were a bit rusty, but she held to them as good as she could, adapting them to faster-paced rhythm.
"And then, she asked me how we got here, I told her 'I don't know!/And if you keep on asking, I'll just keep saying so'/This isn't what I wanted, it isn't what you need/Oh, let them keep on talking, just calm yourself and breeeaaathe!"
By contrast, Pearl had no specific moves in her repertoire: she just moved how she wanted to, doing whatever felt right with the music. Her wild, crazy style acted as the perfect contrast to Emerald's, as even though they were so different, they still seemed to be in perfect sync.
"Darling, this is something I should have told you long ago/I want to make you safe, I want to see you glow."
It wasn't long before the two of them were exhausted. Still, they continued on, dancing to the music without a care in the world. And in that moment, all of Emerald's worries about the future had vanished. Right now it was just her and her Pearl, dancing the night away.
"Just calm yourself and breathe!/Don't you pay them any mind!/Don't you pay them any mind/You know this happens every time/ Oh, don't you pay them any mind!"