Chapter Ten: Homeward to Homeworld

"So, what do you think Mera's been doing without us?" asked Nines, looking out of the cruiser's window. While she and some of her compatriots had heard about the mass resurrection of all the corrupted Gems, as well as seen the changes to Homeworld's government as a result of the Diamonds' abdication, none of them had visited the Earth yet. Most of them were too busy because of these same changes.

Even those who weren't Gems had been busy, helping out mainly by choice. "Beats me," said Tenrit. "I can't imagine she'd be too displeased with the status of Homeworld now. She was always all for a more balanced society."

Cairngorm chuckled. "Yeah, but let's see what Goshenite thinks! I can't imagine she's too pleased with all that's happened!"

"Hey, didn't the Council meet a little while back?" asked Tenrit. "I would've thought we'd have heard more about that, considering the entire empire is going through such a massive shift."

Nines shrugged. "Eh, it's always been like that. The higher-ups keep all the rest of us in the dark unless it's something we need to know about. The more things change, the more they stay the same." She turned to their other guest, who hadn't spoken since they had left. "How about you? Anything to add?"

The large, red Topaz sat with her arms crossed, eyes closed. Whatever she was thinking, she hadn't been interested in sharing it with the rest of them. She opened one eye just long enough to glance at the one speaking to her. "Eh."

"Oookay then…" Nines turned back to gazing out the window. "Hope we get there soon," she added under her breath.

Indeed, it wouldn't be long before they touched down just outside of Beach City, within view of the small town that was being built not far from it. Having had no idea such a thing was under construction, they stared at it with varying degrees of amazement as the cruiser passed overhead. "Would you look at that!" exclaimed Tenrit. "It's like an entire Homeworld city!"

"Was that there before?" wondered Cairngorm. "The Crystal Gems didn't build it, did they? When would they have had the time?"

The four of them stepped out of the ship, further examining the city. The Jadeite piloting it took no time in taking off again–there was no shortage of Gems wanting to be ferried to or from the Earth nowadays, after all. "Wow…the architecture here shows incredible ingenuity!" said Tenrit, examining the buildings. "It's undeniably Gem-built, but made almost entirely out of local materials–I must find the architect behind this!"

"Easy there, bot boy, let's find Emerald first," said Nines, dragging the reluctant Valurian away from the side of the house. "Speakin' of which, none of you know where she'd be right now, do you? It kind of defeats the entire reason we came here if we can't find her…"

"Maybe the reason you came," said Topaz. "You've got your Beryl, and we've got ours."

After a little while of searching, Cairngorm was greeted by a very familiar voice. "...not like you won't have anything to do. I plan on having you help out with various tasks that need resolving once we're back home."

As well as an unfamiliar one. "I suppose it's better than being a glorified status symbol. Would probably be less boring, at least."

"Hey, that's her!" said Cairngorm, heading off in the direction of her old friend. The others milled after her, until they found the white Beryl two of them had been looking for. She was accompanied by a new companion, a black Pearl that none of them had seen before. "Goshenite! Hey, Goshenite! It's me! And the rest!"

She turned, surprised to see them. "Cairngorm? Topaz? The Valurian? What are you all doing here?" Black Pearl eyed the four judgmentally, but didn't say anything.

"We came here to see you," Topaz said. "Things have been real busy back on Homeworld with all the changes happening." There was a hint of bitterness to her voice. "We haven't had a break all week!"

Goshenite shook her head sympathetically. "I know the feeling. Things have been pretty hectic here, too. I'm grateful for just a moment of–wait, has it been a whole week already!?" Even to a Gem, to whom a century was no time at all, she felt like these past few days had flown by.

"More than that, actually," said Tenrit. "Almost ten days, going by Earth time. Speaking of…" He looked excitedly towards Beach City. "I've been looking for a chance to explore a human settlement!"

"Go on ahead," Goshenite said. "I imagine you're looking for Emerald? She and the others are taking care of some things in town."

That was all Tenrit needed to hear, almost bolting in that direction. "C'mon, Nines!" he called. "This is a pre-lightspeed society! You don't get a chance like this every day!"

"Wait, Tens, don't–ugh," groaned Nines. "Sorry about him. It's been a while since he's had some air."

"No need to worry," Goshenite said, ushering her to follow him. "Run along. There'll be time for us to catch up soon." Nines gave a quick wave as she ran after her companion, hopefully in time to stop him from interviewing the locals. "Now then, what were we talking about?"

Black Pearl was still examining Topaz and Cairngorm. "How about introductions?" she asked.

"Oh, of course! Cairngorm, Topaz, this is Black Pearl. She'll be something of an assistant of mine going forward." The Pearl in question beamed. "Pearl, this is Topaz, my bodyguard, and Cairngorm, my…er, friend. Our professional relationship is somewhat flexible."

"Hi!" said Cairngorm.

Black Pearl curtsied. "A pleasure to make your acquaintances! I look forward to working with you from here on out!" Something about her tone didn't strike Topaz the right way, who scowled at her. She scowled back.

Goshenite observed her two companions glaring at one another. "I hope the two of you aren't jealous."

Topaz and Black Pearl spoke in unison. "Jealous? Of her? Not a chance." They sounded genuine enough, but their stare remained unbroken. Cairngorm stepped in to ease some of the tension.

"Alrighty, seems like we're off to a bit of a rocky start," she said, standing in between the two. "Uh, Goshenite, why don't you tell us a little about the Earth? What exactly has been going on around here?"

"I'm glad you asked," said Goshenite, grateful she didn't have to break up a fight. She led the three of them down the main street of the small settlement that had been recently constructed. "This is Little Homeworld. It's a place for Gems of all kinds to come together and live in harmony, regardless of where they come from or how they were formed. Hopefully the first of many of its kind, towns like these will be the first steps of true peace between Homeworld and the Crystal Gems."

A dissatisfied grunt from Topaz. "So, we're just capitulating to the traitors, now? Seems an awful lot like we're just letting them have what they want."

"It's a lot more complicated than that," Goshenite added. "The Diamonds reached an agreement with the Crystal Gems. This is the result of a truce, as well as a reevaluation of Homeworld's core values. Trust me, this is all for the better."

"Sounds to me a lot like you're tryin' to convince yourself," grumbled Topaz, unconvinced.

"I, for one, am all for this new Homeworld!" said Cairngorm. "Everything's a lot more peaceful back home."

Topaz scoffed. "Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts!"

"Oh, can it, you two!" said Black Pearl. "Now, Goshenite, what was that you were saying about a support group?"

"Ah, yes, of course," she continued. She turned around to face the other two. "As I'm sure the both of you are aware, these many changes in the last few days have not been easy for any of us. Before you all arrived, I was discussing with Pearl an idea for a support group; a place for Gems to come and vent, talk, or otherwise be open about the various problems they might have with Era-3. Now that you're here, I was hoping I could have some logistical support with this little project. Might you be interested?"

Cairngorm was enthusiastic, offering a chipper "Count me in!"

Topaz, on the other hand, replied "Do I really have a choice?"

That was about as good as she was going to get, she figured. "Excellent. Then, let's get to work," said Goshenite.

Elsewhere, Tenrit and Nines made their way into Beach City, the former gushing over every minute detail. "Just look at the genius behind these vehicles!" he said, almost chasing after a truck that drove past. "I'll bet you anything these are designed to run on fossil fuels! The ingenuity of an evolving race–beyond fascinating to witness in person, isn't it? It's like stepping into the past!"

His partner didn't quite share his passion for xenoculture, but was definitely amused by his enthusiasm. "Sheesh, and here I thought you were more into Gem stuff. Has living on Homeworld these past few years got you sick of it?"

"Pssh, nothing like that!" Tenrit replied. "The culture and biology of Gemkind may be my passion, but that doesn't mean I'm not fascinated by other races! C'mon, let's go sample some of the local delicacies!"

"Um…but I don't need to eat, and you can't eat," Nines pointed out.

Tenrit's head slumped. "Doesn't mean I can't pretend," he moaned. "I miss not being a machine…"

Nines pat him on the back. "Hey, it's not so bad. You don't have to worry about getting sick, right? Or growing old? And now if you lose a limb, they can just fix you right up! Being a robot has its perks!"

Looking sadly at a pizza shop, Tenrit sighed. "I suppose. Let's just find Emerald so we can head home."

As luck would have it, they ran into Emerald a few minutes later. She was sitting outside a cafe alongside Pearl, Onyx, Tanzanite, and a human. She was talking intently to the latter about something, and it must have been important, as he was listening just as intently. Not wanting to interrupt, the two silently approached, but Emerald stopped anyway when she saw them.

"...far as we know, there's no evidence to suggest they're lying about being our progenitors–Oh, look who it is! Nines, Tenrit, get over here!" She waved the two of them over.

"Mera, good to see ya!" said Nines. She and Tenrit pulled up some more chairs. "I take it things are going well for you here?"

"Better than well!" said Emerald. She showed them her arm, the last reminder of her corruption. "Still have a bit of a souvenir, but aside from this, I'm back to my old self. And as I'm sure you've heard, things have finally settled down between Homeworld and Earth."

"We've more than heard!" said Tenrit. "I've been up day and night just sorting through all the files!" He turned to the human. "I'm sorry, we just barged in here and interrupted your discussion. Should we step away for a bit?"

The human got to his feet. "No need, that should be all I need. Emerald, thank you for the information. I'll have to run it by Valdain. Be seeing you."

She waved as he stepped away. "You too, Captain Bridge. Always happy to help out a fellow defender. Now then where were we?"

"On our break, if you can believe it," Nines said. "The Agates running the committee actually gave us the day off! Crazy, right? I tell ya, I could get used to Era-3."

"It really does seem like everything's looking up for Homeworld," Tenrit said fondly. "Um…but unfortunately, not everyone back home sees things the same way. Half of the work we're taking care of is dealing with the general unrest The Diamonds' decision caused."

Emerald nodded. "I never thought for one moment that this would be easy. There are bound to be those who'll fight back against this."

"Some of them closer than others," Nines said. "Goshenite's big red friend came with us, and you could just tell she was bitter about the whole thing. She's barely said a word all week."

"Jasper has also proved unwilling to accept these changes," said Tanzanite. "I fear that if she chooses to stay here on Earth, we will have lost a major frontline combatant against the Interlopers."

"The Inter–You don't think they're still around, do you?" asked Tenrit.

Onyx shrugged. "Anything's possible."

"I'm not worried," said Pearl. "We don't need Jasper, or Steven, or the Diamonds or anybody, as long as we've got us!" She spread her arms out as though to hug everyone at the table. "If the Interlopers are still out there, they'd better be worried!"

"You said it!" said Nines. "Actually, on that none, how much longer were you planning on staying here, Mera? Not that you don't deserve a break, but some of the other Citrines were wondering when you'd come back."

"Actually, we were thinking about heading back home tomorrow," Emerald said. "Little Homeworld is coming along nicely, and everyone and everything here is just about squared away. I might as well head back to where I'm needed."

Tenrit held back a sigh of relief. "That's great news, because that committee of Agates we mentioned? They're not exactly the most adept at task management. I was almost assigned a construction job until they realized I wasn't the best at heavy lifting! You should've seen the looks on those Bismuth's faces when I walked in…"

"Sounds like I really am needed," Emerald mused.

Onyx got to her feet. "Welp, if we're about to head out, I'd better start packing. I bought a lot of souvenirs while we were here, like a lot of them. Hey Nines, you mind helping me carry some of the boxes?"

"Um, sure," said Nines, getting up to go with her. "What exactly did you buy?"

"Oh, a little of everything," Onyx replied. "Keychains, mugs, magnets, posters, tablecloths, donuts, potted plants, picture frames, animals, car parts…" She continued listing mementos as she walked off.

"Ooh, now this I gotta see!" said Tenrit following after them. "Maybe I could convince her to let me borrow some of these trinkets! I could use them to get a better understanding of human culture."

After an awkward silence, Tanzanite stood up to follow them. "I will observe to ensure no one gets hurt." With her gone, Emerald and Pearl remained seated.

Emerald turned to Pearl. "So, just one day left on our Earth vacation. Anything in particular you want to do?"

"Hmm…Let me think…" Pearl did just that. "Could we get some ice cream one last time?"

"Of course we can," Emerald said. "Any particular flavor you have in mind?"

Pearl grinned. "Strawberry, of course!"

AN: And that wraps up this little side-story. I had a nice time with this more slice-of-life approach, but from here on out it's story central! I'll be focusing more on Emerald in Book Zero, but stay tuned for some other new stories coming soon!