Chapter 6

Naruto's Disappearance: Robonoid Invade!

I own Nothing

"Caaaan I look yet?" Steven asked, his hand covering his eyes.

"...Mmmmm, okay!" Connie said chipperly, presenting a book before Steven's covered eyes with gusto.

He quickly removed his self-made blindfold and looked at the novel placed before him. His eyes sparkled and he proclaimed, "BOOK!" cheerfully as he grabbed it, examining it carefully, "wow, cool cover." He said, reading the title - "The Unfamiliar Familiar".

"It's my favorite series!" She proclaimed loudly, gitty at the mere mention of her beloved series. "It's about this girl named Lisa and she's a witch, I mean, she doesn't know she's a witch at first, and she has a familiar. Which is sorta like this spirit companion that everyone in the world has, but her's is a talking falcon named Arcomicurus! She goes on this quest to find her father, who was kidnapped by a mysterious, one - eyed man."

Steven sat there, intently listening like a good friend would. "Wow, mystery." He said, in awe at both Connie's devotion to this story and the description he was given about the book.

"Here, let me get you started!" She said, taking the book from the young gem and opening it to Chapter 1. She flipped her hair, adding a dramatic flair to her tone, "chapter 1, The Morning Thief. Lisa awoke with a start, the echoes of her dream still dancing in her mind." She began, leading Steven to get more comfortable on the sand - he layed on his belly with his chin tucked on his two propped up hands, allowing her to continue. "The low thunder murmured through the quiet house." However, as if on cue, Connie's story was quelled by a sudden rumble, a rumble that was oddly reminiscent to what arrived the day that Obsidian disappeared. It was another Reconocen Robonoid, ripping through the atmosphere with reckless abandon.

"*inhale* Wow, this is a really good book!" Steven said, oblivious to what is to come.

"Ummm, oh alright. The house was deathly still. The only thing Lisa could hear was her heartbeat pounding in her ears. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled until suddenly-!" Her words were silenced when a massive orb crash landed into the ocean not 10 feet from them. They looked on, startled but at the same time curious.

"What the?" Steven asked, soon being showered by the excess water displaced by the creature's unwelcomed entrance.

Quickly, the Crystal Gems exited their home, each brandishing their weapon of choice. "What was that?" Amethyst questioned, only to be answered almost instantaneously as the being slowly rolled out from the ocean floor and presented itself to everyone. The Robonoid quickly activated it's legs - allowing it to stand in the sand. Seeing that shimmering orb once again sent a fire burning through Amethyst's core. She jumped from the balcony with a primal scream - "YOU FREAK, WHERE DID YOU TAKE OBSIDIAN!?" She landed harshly on it's surface, toppling its center of gravity and sending it to the ground, it's legs splayed outward.

"I-It's one of the marble robots," Steven said nervously.

"What?" Connie questioned.

Quickly, the orb began to spin under Amethyst's body, flinging her off with it's tork alone. Once the creature was removed from the orb's chassis, it began it's trek towards what appeared to be Steven and Connie's location. It's travel soon halted when Garnet jumped into action, blocking the creatures advancement with her gauntlets. "Amethyst, Pearl!" Without warning the two jumped high into the air, only to come down with tremendous speed on top of the stumbling Robonoid, imploding the creature with their strength alone.

Steven deactivated his bubble shield that protected he and Connie from the aftershock of their attack. "Are you okay," He asked Connie, who seemed star-struck at the display of teamwork and power the gems showed today.

"I love hanging out at your place," she said, practically speechless from what she just saw.

"Pearl," Steven called out, taking his possession next to his tall guardian, "do you think this was-,"

"One of Peridot's machines? Yes, I think so - only, they keep returning as these hulking monstrosities. Completely different from her original machines, why is that?" She wondered, stroke her chin in thought. Only after Naruto's disappearance did they begin to send out these larger probs machines, and yet if what Garnet and Amethyst believe happened is true, that Naruto was captured, why are they still sending robanoids down from the sky? There must be something else they are looking for, but what?

"I don't care how big they are, I'll destroy a million of them until I get the one that could have taken Obsidian!" Amethyst mumbled heatedly, flicking off the white substance that drenched her after their battle.

"Peridot? Is that the Gem you told me about?" Connie asked, looking over the damage caused by the impact of the machine - it's creator still steaming from its entry.

"Yeah, we stopped her before but I guess she can still shoot stuff down from space." Steven answered, though, not very confident in his statement.

"And Amethyst, what does she mean by "finding Obsidian", what happened to him." Connie wondered,

Steven visibly stiffened at her question, "well, a week ago, one of those Robonoids attacked the Gems during the fireworks display. Obsidian was thrown from the side of the mountain top up there," he said, pointing out the top of his cliff side where the monument rested. "After the Gems destroyed the marble robot, they went to go see if he was okay...but their was no trace of him anywhere. It's like he up and vanished without a trace."

"And the Gems think he was kidnapped by one of these Robonoids while the first one acted as a distraction?" Connie speculated, putting two and two together.

"Amethyst does, Pearl still believes he just ran away. I don't even know what Garnet thinks," Steven answered, his gaze now aimed towards Garnet who is serveying the damage as well, knocking through the rubble the robonoid left behind.

"What do you think happened?" She wondered,

"Naruto wouldn't run away, I know he wouldn't. He promised me...something, something very important - why would he do something like that if he was just going to run away that same day?" He asked, though a part of him really wished for an answer. Was he right or wrong? Did Naruto infact leave them behind or was he stolen from them by these robanoids , everything seemed so confusing too him but he just wanted to believe, believe that Naruto wouldn't just leave them behind - so he did.

"What did he promise you?" Inquired Connie, surprised at how passionate Steven was about Naruto's disappearance.

"...Let's talk about this when the Gems aren't around. It's a surprise!" He said with a smirk, before he made his way to Garnet, leaving Connie with more questions than answers. "So, what do you think they were here to do?" He asked as he noticed Garnet rummaging through the wrecked robot.

She stood, discarding a piece of rubble she held in her fist, "we destroyed it, that's all that matters." Though Garnet tried to keep face, Steven, even with his lack of understanding at times, could tell something was wrong with not just Garnet, but with each Crystal Gem. Pearl seemed to be growing more anxious about these Robanoids from the sky, along with Garnet, and Amethyst - who doesn't really seem the same after Naruto left. She hasn't eaten, slept, or really joked with anyone since his disappearance - except for the few times she wanted to keep Steven from seeing her sad or upset, but even Steven could see it was merely a mask to cover up her true feelings.

Maybe Amethyst was hurt not just because of Obsidian's disappearance, but maybe Pearl's words of wisdom could possibly ring with some truth. Every Robonoid they've faced leaves them with nothing more than what they started with, questions and a missing Obsidian. Maybe he did leave them on purpose….maybe-

"Steven?" Connie called out, catching Steven out of his dazed state.

"Hmmm? Oh, hey Connie, what's up?" He asked, as the doubt he held slowly slips into the back of his mind.

"You were zoned out on us for quite some time." It seemed like only he and Connie was left on the beach. "Is...everything alright?"

"...No, I don't think so," Steven sighed, looking over his shoulder towards his home. "After those Robinoids started to show up and Naruto disappeared...they don't seem to be like themselves anymore."

She saw how much this change in the Crystal Gems caused him grief, so she tried to comfort him with a hand firmly placed on his shoulder. "I-It's okay, Steven. Once they find out why those things are coming to earth and find the one that took Naruto everything will go back to normal, I'm sure of it."

Steven looked to her, "you think so?"

"I know so," she stated firmly, before something came to mind, something that hopefully could distract Steven from his worries. "...So, since we're alone, do you think you can tell me what Naruto promised you?"

He inhaled with excitement, remembering the important promise his friend gave him. "Oh yeah, before Naruto's disappearance, he told me he was going to train me!" He said loudly, but trying to contain it within a whisper so the crystal gems couldn't hear his joyful proclamation. "I've waited to learn how to use my gem powers to their fullest for forever, and now I'll finally be able to help and contribute to the group."

"That's amazing Steven, I can't believe the other's would let him train you!" Connie cheered in excitement only to see Steven's features turn from it's usual cheeky grin to an anxious smirk.

"...Haha, well, that's kinda why I didn't want to tell you around the Gems." He chuckled nervously, his hand slipping through his hair. "They don't know that me and Naruto are going to be training together. We were going to train at night so they wouldn't suspect a thing."

"Do you think that's wise? Pearl's already really nervous about anyone being near Naruto, I don't think she'd be too happy knowing that he's training you under her nose." Wondered Connie, a bit nervous about this supposed promise. She has nothing against Naruto, in fact, the times she's been around him have been very enjoyable, but setting up a secret meeting point and using the cover of night to get away with something just didn't seem on the up and up.

"...Well, what they don't know won't hurt them, right? Besides, I'm doing this for them. I want to be strong enough to help them, and to protect the people that mean everything to me, like you, dad, and all of Beach City and I can't do that by just sitting around hoping and praying." Steven announced proudly.

Connie sighed, "I understand and believe me, I'm all for it. I know how much this means to you, you've been waiting to do something like this for a long time...I just didn't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Don't worry, Naruto wouldn't do anything that he doesn't think I couldn't handle." He said

"It's not just that, don't you think maybe pushing yourself too hard when your gem isn't ready is kind of a bad thing?" She wondered.

"But it is ready, I can feel it." He said confidently, laying his hand over his rose quartz, a light pink glow escaping under his shirt. "I've used my Rose Shield twice now. Sure, I wasn't controlling it, but still - it shows that my weapon is ready to be used, I just need to bring it out."

Connie looked at her friend and smiled, his confident words resenating wihtin her. "...You're right Steven, I guess I'm just overthinking things again. I know you'll do great when you start your training."

"Thanks, Connie, I don't know what I would do without you." He said, turning swiftly to catch the girl in a warm, encompassing hug that brought a blush to her cheeks.

"N-No problem," She mumbled, dazed by his sudden show of affection. She slowly came into the hug, "I'll always be there for you Steven, always."

"Connie!" Pearl called out from the porch.

"Yes, Pearl?" Connie asked,

"Your mother just called, she wants you back home as soon as possible. She said something about dinner plans or something to that effect." Said Pearl, leaning against the railing.

"Oh man, I totally forgot!" She said, releasing the hug that Steven clearly wasn't prepared to leave. "We have dinner plans with my whole family, they only come around 4 times a year. Sorry steven, but I gotta go."

"Oh okay, see ya later Connie!" Steven said, waving her off as he watched her leave. As we went to go inside, he noticed the stake of books laying in the sand, "Wait, Connie." He called out, quickly collecting them before rushing off to stop Connie.

"Yeah, Steven?" Connie asked,

"You forgot your books," Steven said, presenting them to her with outstretched arms.

"No, I want you to have them, for now at least." Connie said, lightly pushing the books back towards Steven. "I want you to love the Unfamiliar Familiar just like I do. Call me up if you have any questions about the story, okay?"

- Two Days Later -

"Connie, the Steven Universe boy would like to speak with you." Dr. Maheswaran called out to her daughter from the kitchen. "I swear that is not his real name," she mumbled to herself as her daughter bolted down the stairs, delighted to hear that her best friend has called.

She quickly takes the phone from her mother's hand, a smile etched in her features - "Hey Steven, what's up?" She asked, "Have you read anymore Unfamiliar Familiar?"

"Yeah, but I'm-" Steven tried to answer but he was cut off by a squeal from his friend.

"*Squeal* Isn't it amazing?! How far did you get?" She asked, excited to hear all his enjoyment of her favorite book series. She's never really had anyone around her who was interested in the things she was, so having Steven enjoy the books was very important to her, then they stay up all night talking about the characters, the subtle details placed in the books, and the terrible ending - it sounds like so much fun to her!

"I'm in the middle of one of them, but I'm really confused. They keep talking about this Plinkmen guy who died, am I supposed to know who he is?" He asked, only to hear a pause on the other end of the line.

Connie began to wonder why on earth Steven would be talking about Plinkmen in the first book, "Plinkmen? But that's Lisa's dad," but then it hit her, "...Steven, you're reading them in order, right?"

"There's an order?!" He gasped, "oh man, I just started with the one with the coolest cover." He said, gripping the "Destiny's End" book, which was the 4th in the Spirit Morph Saga. "Hello?" He asked, but heard nothing as Connie stood on the other end, her words failing her at the moment. "Hello? Connie, you still-" His question was cut short when a familiar sound shook his very house. "What the?"

The Gems quickly came from their respective rooms, Garnet leading the charge. "Something just entered the Atmosphere," she said, as they team headed outside to see the burning form of something in the morning sky.

"Look, up there," Amethyst said, pointing it out to everyone - a burning comet bursting through the morning sky, leaving a trail of smoke towards it's intended trajectory.

"It's another one of those things," Pearl added, watching as comes to a steaming halt over the horizon line of the ocean.

"It landed on Moss Island, let's move," Garnet ordered as the crystal gems stood on the warp pad, quickly ascending towards their target.

"Connie, I'm gonna have to call you back!" He said, tailing the gems as quickly as he could.

- Moss Island -

They travel quickly to the landing zone where they were quickly met by their target as his stumbled and fumbled around the area, almost as if it was trying to find something. "...Is it looking for a warp?" Pearl wondered, looking to the warp pad under their feet.

"We have to stop it," Garnet ordered, each member of the Crystal Gems charging the marble machine with their weapons drawn, destroying it in a show of force, as they've done with any other they've seen.

"Dang, what are these things trying to do?" Steven asked, wiping his face clean of the white substance that is housed in those machines.

"We're not...really….that sure," Pearl answered, though, not really. This the first time in quite some time that Steven wasn't the only one confused about what was happening, and weirdly enough, it seemed like the gems were more scared of it that Steven.

"It's not trying to do anything right now," Garnet said sternly as Steven looked on, seemingly more unsure about this plan of attack than he was when it started.

- 1 Week Later -

It has now been 2 full weeks since Naruto's disappearance and time has not helped the group get over his absence. Amethyst, as usual, was still searching as much as she could to find him, breaking through each marble orb and searching through the wreckage to find nothing but broken pieces and a feeling of uncertainty. Garnet was growing far more nervous about these roaming creatures each time she destroyed one, was this what they must do from now on, constantly destroy these things in a never ending cycle? Was it really worth it? And even Naruto's continued allusiveness was affecting her, well, more Ruby than herself, but she would have to admit that even she felt a bit saddened at his absence. Pearl wasn't really all that affected by his disappearance, not surprisingly, but she was growing ever tired of these constant attacks, it felt never ending - like a terrible dream you could never wake from.

"So, you've read the first three books in order, do you like them?" Connie asked, hopping from the counter.

"Yeah, they're awesome!" Steven said, "I really love Lisa's familiar, he's my favorite. I am confused about one thing, though,"

"What's that?" She wondered,

"...What is a familiar?" He asked tentatively,

"Nooooooo," she sighed, deflating at Steven's question. Another burst of force cut the two's conversation short. "Was that another one of those marble things?"

The crystal gems ran from their rooms, exhaustion clearly visible on their face. "Yeah," Steven answered.

Amethyst snarled, "what is with these things? This is the 5th one this week? Why do they keep coming back?!"

"Well find it in the desert," Garnet said, using her future vision to lock down a location.

Steven fumbled from the couch, ready to head off with the Gems. "Connie, I gotta go, I'll talk to you later, bye!" He said, throwing his phone on the couch, "wait you guys, wait for me," but he was too slow as the gems teleported away, leaving Steven to follow.

- The desert -

Steven arrives on the scene to an unusual sight. Pearl was perched on the top of the orb, bashing it with the tail end of her spear, Garnet, who stood in front, was pushing against the marble machine with her gauntlets, keeping it locked in place; and Amethyst, who stood behind it, had wrapped the orb in her whip and began pulling it backwards, helping Garnet lock the autonomous mineral orb in place. All in all, this scene was a far cry from the Crystal gems a week ago who had the energy and the drive to destroy these things on sight.

"Stop. Coming. Here. You. Stupid. Balls!" Pearl yelled, bashing the orb with rather weak strikes from her spear.

"I'll crush every last one of you stupid things!" Amethyst hissed through gritted teeth, but her threat was rather weak considering her pulls were doing nothing to the orb other than keeping it slightly in place.

"Guys, guys, guys! Stop!" Steven yelled, thrashing his arms around to get their attention, which seemed to have worked. "How many more of these are you gonna have to fight?"

"We don't know!" Pearl said, practically exhausted. "They just keep coming and coming and we have no idea what they are or what they want, we don't know anything."

"...That's okay, I don't know anything all the time. It's like, my whole life." Steven said with a chuckle, "but I've got you guys to tell me about gem stuff, I got Connie who can tell me what familiars are, and dad tells me weird dad stuff."

"But nobody knows what these things are here to do," Pearl stated defeatedly, unsure of what to do or what has to be done.

Steven looked at the machine, "wellllll, it probably does." He pointed towards it as he watched it fumble and squirm, trying to find away around the gems and head towards it's desired location.

"...What?" Pearl questioned as she and the gems stopped their assault to listen to what Steven had next to say.

"We can follow it and see where it goes." He said knowingly as the orb began too fidget under the gems. "If we're lucky, it could probably take us to Naruto, too. It's a win-win situation!"

Amethyst's grip on the orb began to loosen at the prospect of what Steven said being true. "...Steven's right, this is the only lead we might have."

" Are you two nuts?! Who knows what could go wrong!" Pearl barked, bashing the end of her staff impatiently against it few more times, ultimately doing nothing against its hard outer casing.

"We can't fight these things forever. Well, we can but I don't want to." Garnet sighed, letting go of the orb-like machine - allowing it to catch its barings. "Let's do it Steven's way."

"Yeah, Follow the funky flow~" He sang, they quickly mounted the orbed creature and allowed the marble machine to follow it's own path towards an uncurtain destination.

- Unknown Location -

"This must be the place," Naruto said as he peered across the plain full of tall, thick grass, but the grass could not hide the distinct golden design of his personal, single manned Starship. "It's been 5 years, and it still looks like it's brand new. I've got to hand it to the homeworld gems, they know how to make a ship that lasts." He manifests his weapon of choice and begins to reap through the grass as if he was a farmer going through bushels and bushels of grain until he reaches the entrance of his Starship. He was never one to need a massive ship, one big enough for him and a Hyperdrive was all he desired in a ship - which lead to his ship being designed after something small, fast, and gone in a blink of an eye, a Shooting Star. It was pointed at the tip and spreads out to the 8 spikes that held the thrusters for his ship, giving it the look and feel of what a sparkling comet looks like in the night sky. It's defenses were simple, it was more likely for him to outmaneuver his opponents than to tank their fire with shields and deflectors. His offenses was just the same, he had the standard cannons a registered Starship under the Homeworld's guidelines were given, but mostly he really didn't have that many, except for one that he truly enjoyed, a EMP Burst, it was so powerful that it could wipe out an inter platoon with a single usage, and it's quickly recharge time meant he was practically untouchable. That is, until he tried to escape the homeworld's planetary defenses. They damaged his ship beyond repair, it only had enough strength to bring him to earth before it's power supply shut down for the last time.

"You've gotten me out of a lot of sticky situations, Comet. I don't know what I would have done without you." He said kindly, dusting off one of it's many exterior thrusters. He quickly placed his hand on the outer hull of his ship as it shifted like clay to reveal it's opening, allowing him to step in and observe its interior. It had enough room for the main chair, it's control panel which was expansive to help him maneuver through tight situations, and a 6 foot by 4 foot empty space that he could possibly store a small amount of extra cargo, maybe another gem if need be. This small space also held some storage cabinets which used to hold his extra weaponry such as the shock baton - Jasper always insisted him bring it, but he would always seem to "lose" it. He never believed in using such a thing, it was crude and not a very effective method to get people on your platoon to trust you.

He walked over and took his rightful place in his ship's chair, the captain's chair, captain of one. He always loved this ship, he spent more time on this ship than he did on the Homeworld planet - there were days where he would take Comet out into space, cut the engines and just float to clear his head. He looked out the main window, envisioning the wide expanse of space in place of the tall grass and tree line that he was looking at now. "Hmm?" He said absent mindedly, noticing a small light blinking on the dashboard, it's glow almost none existent thanks to the buildup of dust. He wiped the button clean and under it read "Auxiliary power restore" plain as day in the language of the gems.

"Auxiliary power?" He wondered, pressing the button to activate it's stored away power - activating the amenities of the ship. The control board lit up along with the internal lights and systems, allowing him full access to anything and everything his on-board computer has to offer.

"Auxiliary Power: 5 Minutes Remaining" The on-board computer announced, giving Naruto a little startle. "Damn, I forgot about that." He said, before he quickly pulled up the holographic data pad his ship came with. He thought quickly and decided it would be best to go see if his access to the global homeworld data base was still their but stop abruptly. "If my access has been revoked, it will send a message to homeworld once I enter my non-valid code, they'll know I'm here." He thought, his fingers hovering over his keyboard. If he did this it and it worked it could give him valuable information that's been passed around through the intricate web from every gem from the homeworld, platoon stations, warp pad usage, inhabited planets, even Peridot and Jasper's locations at this very moment. However, if this doesn't work, which their is a 95% chance it might not, he'd be putting every single human, animal, and gem on planet earth in danger just on a mere guess.

I can't run that risk." Reluctantly, he slowly removed himself from the data pad, allowing it to fade out from existence. "Auxiliary Power: 4 Minutes Remaining" The computer said as Naruto sat in his chair, dejected from his previous idea. He looked out the window once again, hoping that the calming sway of the tall grass in the breeze might sooth his mind, but he wasn't so fortunate. Before him, covering up his view of nature, was Jasper's face, her gem nose glowing with what looked like excitement. Naruto was paralyzed, his eyes widened in sudden fear in seeing her beaded little eyes staring into what seemed like his very soul. "What is this?" He wondered, staring at her unwavering glare and her etched in sneer, but soon, after the initial shock of seeing his captor's face appear before him, he realized that it was a mere projection, a video that was supposedly left for him.

"Wait, I-I remember this one." Naruto thought, tapping a button on his control panel that began the message anew, "this was her message to me after I arrived at my first off-world battle. I thought this was deleted with all the rest." As he looked through his on-board files that were saved to the hard drive of his ship, he found not one but three videos still saved to his drive, locked there by himself. "When did I do that?...Why would I do that?"

"Auxiliary Power: 3 Minutes Remaining" The computer reminded him, as he pressed play on the first video in his saved files. "Video Playback: Active - Video 01"

- The screen came to life, static filling it for a brief moment before Jasper's eye took up most of the screen. Her entire face was close up to the screen she was recording this on as she looked around it frantically as the angle continued to change as if Jasper was holding it with her bare hands and carrying it around with little care for the recording machine.

"Hello? Hello?! How the hell does this thing work? Hey, Peridot how do you work this thing? Peridot? PERIDOT?!-"

The screen soon cuts to another scene where the camera was a respectable distance from Jasper, who at this point was sitting at what looked like a captain's chair on one of the huge fregits only the most trusted officials were offered.

"-And now all you have to do is talk towards the optical sensor." The one holding the camera said, obviously Peridot who didn't sound all too happy about being pulled from her work to help a technologically inclined meathead send a video.

"Oh right, okay. Ahem, hey big guy, how's your first mission coming along? You miss me yet?" She asked, smiling towards that camera and in this view of her at this moment she seemed….normal. She wasn't the aggressive beast that haunts his nightmares but a normal, everyday Jasper who seemed positively...happy to even be sending this video out to him. this was the Jasper he worked with and laughed with, a kind but sometimes aggressive companion, someone he could actually call a friend way back when, that was before Jasper couldn't accept the fact that he only liked her as a friend, that was before he turned on them, this was before….she snapped. "I just wanted to send you this message to say...ahem, well, you know, that I can't wait for you to….come home so you can tell me all about your adventure! I know with you heading the charge, that stupid, primitive planet won't know what hit them! Yellow Diamond picked the right gem for the job, though I wished she would have sent me as well instead of making me watch over HER Peridot while she evaluates a few of our soon to be cultivated planets-"

"Are you saying that Yellow Diamond made a mistake assigning you as my protection? Do you wish for me to inform her of tha-"

Jasper visibly stiffened at Peridot's supposed threat, "Haha, no, that's not what I'm saying at all. W-What I meant was that I merely thought that it would have made the taking over of the planet Obsidian is going to a little easier, but what do I know? I'm just a Jasper….I-I don't think you have to report that to her, right?"

"Hmmm, seeing as you've been gracious enough to protect me while I oversee preparations for our next few planets we wish to colonize, I suppose I can look the other way."

"Thanks. Anyway, I'll make this video short. Just checking in, seeing how you are doing, and I can't wait to see how strong you've become after this little battle. See yeah!...Okay, is it off?-"

Naruto couldn't help but smile at how innocent this video was, there was no awkward baggage between the two back then, no hatred or anomasate, just two people who wished each other the best and watched each others back. There are times where he wonders what would have happened if he didn't know the dark secrets of the Homeworld, would he have stayed and been by Jasper and Peridot's side? Would he help the destroy even more planets, possibly even the one he rests on right now? The universe may never know.

"Auxiliary Power: 2 Minutes Remaining" The computer stated, as he pressed play on the second video in his saved files. "Video Playback: Active - Video 02"

"Hello Obsidian, it is I - Jasper…" A voice said, but unfortunately the camera was unfocused, making it difficult to make out who exactly this was, because based on the voice of the person speaking - which sounded like a child trying to deepen their voice to sound like their father - it was definitely not Jasper. "...I have decided to contact you so I can inform you that Peridot is one of the most spectacular Gems you could ever find and, of course, why wouldn't she be, she was handpicked by Yellow Diamond!..." The camera shook as the person holding it couldn't help but snicker, which escalated into a full blown laugh. Slowly, the camera panned over to reveal it was Peridot holding the camera and was trying to silence her snickers. From the apparent closeness the camera was to Peridot, it would seem like she had taken off her metal limb enhancements and snuck into a small compartment or something to that effect. Whatever it was, she seemed a bit too close to the camera for comfort. "...Hehehehe Obsidian, it's me, Peridot! Had you fooled though, didn't I? My impression of Jasper is spot on, if I do say so myself." She bragged in her usual snarky tone but surprisingly, Naruto actually smiled at this. This is the same gem that took it upon herself to torture him without mercy but...seeing her like this, how she used to be before his defection, it almost brought a tear to his eye.

"Peridot! Where are you? Give me back my recording device!" Jasper roared from the outside of wherever Peridot decided to hide. The bulky gem's scream caused Peridot to stiffen and hide the video light with the palm of her hand, only waiting until Jasper's stomps left the area to release the camera's light. She sighed and quickly lifted the camera up to her face.

"*sigh* She'll never find me, I've made sure of that….clod….don't tell her I said that, let's keep it a secret between one intellectual gem to another, okay?" "Now that I've taken the liberty of liberating Jasper's "camera", as she calls it, I need to inform you that, though Yellow Diamond's orders were for you to continue fighting even after your 50 cycles of deployment have expired, I would find much more enjoyment in my operation if you were assigned to be my protection than that bumbling clod. She's completely hopeless, she doesn't understand the concept of technology, it's like she doesn't even have a functioning brain! *sigh* If you were here, you would know what I'm talking about. All she cares about is fighting, it's like talking to a wall!...Anyway, I just wanted to inform you of my recent realization and...I-I hope you may finish your assignment effectively and swiftly so you could come back soon. Peridot ou-"

"There you are you little-"

"Auxiliary Power: 1 Minute Remaining" His computer warned, but even with his computers impending shut down, he did not move, he did not flinch, he did nothing but sit there, staring at the final frame of the video - a comically frightened Peridot being pulled out of her hiding spot by an even more comically frustrated Jasper. He sat there staring at it, his features blank of any emotion, no hatred, no sadness, no pain - a blank stare that would pierce a normal gem to their very core. A stir of emotions fluttered through his body as he watched the two videos, feelings that he has not felt towards this two for quite some time. Happiness, friendship, a sense of comradery, all of this came back too him as if it never left, that's why it was all the more bitter in his mind.

However, he was soon shaken from his stare and reached under the dashboard and pressed an unseen button that opened up a square area on the top of the dashboard, revealing three hard copies of everything on his hard drive. He removed the middle one and stored it safely in his pocket. "Computer," he said, standing from his chair as he rests his hand on the leather headrest one last, "Activate Protocol 10."

"Protocol 10 engaged - Password Verification Needed"

"...Amethyst."

"Password Accepted - Self-destruct in T-Minus 10 seconds."

"Farewell Comet, I'll miss you."

"9….8...7….6….5….4….3….2...1….goodbye" As Naruto makes it about 10 feet away from his ship, the comet blew in a colorful extension of hellfire and bits, only to be absorbed by the same force the sent them flying in a controlled implosion set by Naruto himself. If he ever needed to self destruct in his ship, he wanted to make sure nothing would be left to discover. He looked at the crater his ship rested in for over 5 years and sighed, "that was the last possible thing that could link me to this planet. Now, I guess I probably should just wait it out until they grow tired of sending robanoids….."

The ground then shook with the force of another robonoid entering earth's atmosphere, crashing a yard for his current position. He stared at the crafts harsh entry into Earth's atmosphere, contemplating his choices at the moment. "Of course, another one had to land near me." He said with a sigh, taking his leave of the area with quickening speed, "I need a place to hide, someplace they'd never find me, but where?"

Thank you all for reading, please PM me if you have any questions and please, please, please review! I'd love to know what you all think about it! Also, the next chapter might take a bit longer, just giving you all a heads up!