Chapter 11

The Aftermath: A Group Divided

I own Nothing

The air hung deadly still over the people of Beach City, each city dweller returning to their city to see their homes and stores alike damaged in some way by this unholy siege of their world by otherworldly beings who decided to use their home front as their playground. Families held themselves close, restaurant owners ran through the damages caused and those who were here for this devastation, well, they were too busy with their own worries to even noticed the human's had returned.

One such distracted gem sat atop the statue that loomed over the Universe Residence, a distinct gem flowing behind him in it's own darkened bubble. His eyes were closed to the beautiful scene before him, a glimmering ocean full of life and empty of the gigantic gem ship that filled it a day prior. His breathing was even, taking in air through the nose and releasing it through his mouth, adding an even rhythm to his chest. He sat cross legged atop the statue's hand as he left his thoughts to drift, hoping to free his mind of what troubled him.

"Quit fighting it, just stop it!"

His closed eyelids twitched as his quiet mindset was interrupted by the words of his past. He breathed outwards and shifted in his spot, hoping to calm himself, as he closes his eyes tighter and focuses on the sound of the coming tide.

"Quit pretending to be something you're not! These...Crystal Gems have stuffed your head with lies! You're not a defender, you're not a rebel...you're my Obsidian,"

His teeth visibly clenched as he recalled at the memories, his hands now gripping the sides of his pants in frustration.

"Then why do you resist!? Why do you keep pretending like none of that meant anything to you?!"

"N-No!" He murmured through his gritted teeth, vigorously shaking his head in hopes that he could lose these voices that are bleeding through his subconscious. The voice of Jasper continued to ring through his head no matter what he did, his mind was a now a minefield, setting off memory after memory of that final battle between the two strained friends.

"GIVE UP!"

He now physically shook each time he recalled the devastating hits he took on the receiving end of Jasper's emotionally driven rampage against his face. However, his recoiling soon came to a stop as her last words clung to him, refusing to let him ever forget them.

"P-Please…D-DON'T!"

A plea, the strongest Gem he's every had the pleasure to work with used her final words to ask for mercy, her couldn't comprehend such a thing. A part of him was furious, Jasper begged for him to stop even after what she did to him and yet...he'd be lying if another part of himself didn't feel guilt for what he had to do. This was his problem, the confliction; no matter how much he told himself what he did was justified he could not forget the look in Jasper's eyes before he popped her, a sense of fear, a sense of desperation and worst of all, a sense of anguish.

A single tear rolls down his face, a simple whimper squeezing past his tightly clenched lips - it happened, it finally happened - the walls he placed around those memories had finally crumbled, revealing the feelings that he had for his now bubbled friend that he's been denying to himself this whole time. Interactions, missions, fusions, jokes, banter - all of it now flashed before Naruto's eyes like a heart wrenching slide show, all of this was created with the same gem he puffed a day prior.

*Ring, ring, ring ring ring!*

Naruto's lamenting meditation was soon cut short when a light hearted jingle caught his ear, turning back to see Steven standing behind him, his phone in hand and a distressed look across his face. "S-Steven," Naruto muttered, wiping his face clean of tears before addressing his young pupil again. "You scared me, you can't sneak up on someone like that."

"Sorry," he said, his voice dull as his eyes wavered to the ground, seemingly unable to make eye contact with his teacher.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked,

"Long enough," Steven took a few steps forward before taking a spot next to Naruto.

"...Is everything alright?" Steven held on the question for a bit, merely shifting in his spot on the statue. As he went to answer, his phone rang once again, leading him to stare at it or, more specifically, the name that was printed on it. "Aren't you going to answer that?"

Steven's response was a quick swipe of his phone, cancelling the call. "I can't,"

Obsidian cocked a worried brow at his pupil's answer. "Can't?"

He hesitated, before he answered him. "I don't want to put Connie in anymore danger,"

"Danger?" He questioned once more only to come to the realization of what his student has been trying to tell him. "Oh, I see. You're afraid that she'll be hurt if she's close to you,"

Steven's eyes widened just a hare before returning to his mournful expression. "How did you….i-is it that obvious?"

"It's written all over your face," commented Naruto, placing a caring hand on Steven's shoulder in comfort. "Fear and guilt are hard emotions to hide, Steven."

The young hybrid sighed, "...so, what do you think I should do?"

"What do you think you should do?" Naruto asked in return.

"...I-I don't know, I love Connie, she's one of the closest friends I've ever had but….at the same time, the closer she is to me the easier it is for her to get hurt." Steven answered, gripping his phone tightly between his clasped palms as if waiting for another call to come. "We deal with new and growing threats each week and...Connie's always at risk of getting caught in the middle of it all just because she's my friend. Isn't it...wrong?"

"Wrong?"

Steven's phone rings once more, this time it was a text, but he didn't take the time to read it; merely slamming down the power button for the screen to return to it's usual black screen. "To keep someone around you even though you know it'd be better for them if you weren't."

Observing this scene, Naruto couldn't help but feel for his young friend, "...I don't think I'd be the one you should be asking that question to," he answered, looking to the calming waves of Beach City to help him collect his thoughts on the matter at hand. "Because of me Beach City was used as a battlefield for a squabble between two thick-headed fools. My closest friends and allies were beaten and popped, dragged onto a spaceship and were nearly taken back to their homeworld where they'd surely face death….if I had left you and the Gems alone...maybe this wouldn't have happened,"

Steven didn't have an answer, all he could do was look out across the beach, his mood as somber as the ocean's tide. "...Amethyst told us that you were Yellow Diamond's right hand...is that true?"

That question hung in the air for quite some time, each passing second drawing out the tension of Obsidian's next word. "Yes, it's true." He muttered

From this answer, Naruto turned to face him. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Naruto looked to Steven before standing, extending his hand out towards him as if to offer him some assistance up. "Let's go inside, Steven. I think it's time I tell you all the truth about my past."

-Beach House-

Stepping through the home's threshold, Naruto now stands before the Crystal Gems, three individuals that seemed to be more than willing to avoid him since their little trip into space, well, two of them at least. Amethyst took her spot lounging on the couch, shooting Obsidian a sideways glance before looking back to the ceiling, as if it held more importance to her right now than Obsidian's entrance. Pearl, now standing in the kitchen using the bar to lean against, followed in her shorter teammate's footsteps and merely gave the newly arrived Naruto a glance before returning her gaze back to where it originally sat. Garnet was the only one who be willing to keep a consistent line of sight with the poor gem, giving Naruto a bit more ease about the whole thing, not much but enough to give him the confidence to continue with what he knew he needed to say.

Taking a seat next to the coffee table, Naruto let out a sigh before he began. "I've done something unforgivable to you four." He stated somberly as the group looked on in quiet observation. "Not only have I lied to you four on multiple occasions, I've put this whole group in jeopardy for simply being here. I could not ask for your forgiveness, because I know at this time I do not deserve it, but if I may, I'd like to try and start anew with you all, to tell you four the true story of my past and then we could go from there."

Expecting a wisecrack from Amethyst or a scoff from Pearl, Naruto was surprised to see the group merely exchange glances with one another before gathering around the coffee table in a subtle and almost disturbingly quiet manner. During the months he's been around this group he's grown quite accustomed to their little moments when their character shines through them like glass, they radiated their personality and they wore their heart on their sleeves but now….now they seem numb.

It slowly began to dawn on him as he looked around the table at the blank faces that the gems held, each member locking eyes with anything other than him, he was no longer a Crystal Gems, he was no longer a friend to the group, hell, he wasn't even an acquaintance anymore….he had broken their trust in him and it won't be an easy road to fix but he couldn't give up now. At least he knew that he had some semblance of a bond between Steven and Garnet, if their small discussion today and yesterday had any indication.

So, with another heavy sigh, Naruto closed his eyes and started to tell his story. "It has been a few years now since I've explained everything to anyone so, please, bare with me a moment." he prefixed before diving head first into his assorted past. "I suppose I should answer the question that I've...rather been avoiding since my time here. Yes, I was once the right hand of Yellow Diamond. I stayed her right hand for close to 4,000 years, coming to an end almost 6 years ago after they found out that I was working with the Gem Homeworld Resistance to sabotage their systems of oppression that has plague the lives of millions."


But...I wasn't always a resistance fighter, that happened later in my career. I first started out like most gems taken from a Kindergarten, in the field, fighting the wars our Diamond wished us to fight. I was stationed with Jasper, at the time I thought nothing of her, she was a strong and driven Jasper prepared to do whatever it took to make her Diamond happy. It was only until my 50th battle on what was suppose to be uninhabited planet that I truly began my rise.

Both Jasper and I were the last standing gems in a sea of enemies, we were trapped within a cave that we found moments before, only having seconds to close it before our enemies began to pour in; our separation from the outside world lasted for three days. We were cut off from any form of communication with the outside world or our ship that was hovering in orbit above that planet, we were trapped in the dark cave with only the dem light of our gems to keep us sane.

Neither of us knew each other back then, we were both grunts stationed together by happenstance and only by luck were we the remaining two to survive, but by the end of that 3 days I could honestly say she was the closest thing I had to a friend on the Gem Homeworld. The desperation and fear of being shattered drove us to do something that, if word got out about it, we'd be shattered on the spot. We fused,

It took hours of discussion for either of us to fully feel comfortable even discussing the topic, let alone actually doing it, but the fact that both of us could be shattered at any moment as more and more of them were slipping through the cracks of the cave drove us forward in our decision making.

We decimated their forces with our combined strength, they never stood a chance against us. We spent hours demolishing everything that planet had to offer up to us as a challenge until, in 5 days time, the planet was now truly uninhabited.

After that, we were brought back as conquering heroes, two gems taking on an entire planet by themselves with nothing but their wit and brute strength, we omitted our little dance together but overall everyone was impressed, including Yellow Diamond. From what Jasper told me, Yellow Diamond had an eye on me the moment I came to the Gem Homeworld; not because of my skill or drive, but my unusual gem type that had not been documented as of yet. Apparently Yellow Diamond has an eye for the exotic,

After that day, Jasper and I began to move up the ladder of succession one dangerous team mission after another. We had such a reputation that Yellow Diamond began sending us an exclusive three gem missions, a pilot to get us to the planet and us to eradicate the remaining population of said planet, that's how we met Peridot. She was assigned to our team to be the pilot of our ship and as a tech consultant. She'd send down hundreds of her Surveillance Robanoids to help us scout out our enemies before we'd ship down to the surface to wipe out our targets...however, this was when our my friendship with Jasper began to turn into something more...addictive.

The power Jasper and I possessed when we fused was...unimaginable, there was a sense of euphoria in our fusion, driving me to desire her companionship more and more, however….I knew that this was a problem. I could feel myself losing all sense of self when I fused with her, we started becoming one instead of the two I prefered us being and while I saw that as a bad thing Jasper couldn't have been happier.

Each time the mission was over I'd defuse immediately so I could finally be myself once again and each time I did this Jasper would get more and more frustrated with me. She wanted it to last longer each time, the more I denied it the more she'd find ways to make me fuse. The last straw was when she put both of us in mortal danger just so we could fuse, we stayed like that for 3 more days, having to defend ourselves against hordes and hordes of this planet's defensive measures. Once we returned home, I was gifted the title as Yellow Diamond's right hand for my bravery and Jasper was given her own personal army, something she desired for quite some time.

After that mission was completed, I began to ask Yellow Diamond for solo missions so I could keep my addiction in check, I blamed Yellow Diamond for our separation and went about my business, hoping my troubles would be over but I was horribly mistaken. After a few decades of moderate peace and ease across the Gem Homeworld, a radical group of resistance fighters began to make their presence known, destroying bases and buildings, defacing the ships of the Diamonds, abducting gem's from their homes and brainwashing them into becoming mindless drones of their ideas, at least, that's how Yellow Diamond described it to me before I given the mission to find and eradicate them.

So I, along with three Rubies for backup, went out across the Gem Homeworld in search of them. After weeks of searching, we came across the only lead we could find, an unusual frequency coming from the 4th moon that surrounded our homeworld. I rushed to go tell Yellow Diamond about this discovery but before I could even make it out of my ship I was popped by my so called 'help' and before I knew what was happening, I was in front of the main leader of the resistance. She was a Rose Quartz, and she was far beyond the Rose you've old me about. the Rose Quartz I met was ruthless, prepared to do whatever to whoever if it meant the freedom of her people.

While I was trapped with this group they began discussing what they wished to do with me, many wanted me shattered so the homeworld would lose one of their strongest figures while a few wished to brainwash me so they could have a mole in the highest rank.

However, Rose decided to do something that none of her members thought of, the told me the truth behind the people I followed. I didn't believe them at first, I thought they were speaking but lies and heresy but soon as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months their supposed heresy was nothing but the cold facts that surrounded my entire existence.

I guess you could say after I began to realize how much of a lie I lived I began to grow more and more sick of myself the longer it dwelled within me. How many species of creatures have I slaughtered under the banner of Yellow Diamond? How many worlds have I sentenced to death by 'my' Diamond's command? I was a monster, a cold hearted killing machine that merely needed to be pointed in a direction and released so I could do the beading of a sociopathic leader. I was beside myself, I refused to move from my spot for hours at a time, just staring at a wall as I reflected on my so called 'career'. It had gotten so bad that I even thought of shattering myself but I couldn't, seeing as I was still retrained.

After a day of self reflection Rose came into my holding room, sat down in front of me and did the one thing I never thought could happen at the time, she gave me a purpose. She told me that yes, I've done awful things in my past and not, merely repenting for them will not make the things I've done any less real but if I help them destroy the rule of the Diamonds from the inside out I could make sure that no gem would have to face the reality that I had just faced.

So, I turned on my Diamond, my friends and the gems I swore I'd protect so I could free them from themselves. I spent decade after decade implanting resistance members through the ranks of Yellow Diamond's forces, sabotaging any and every mission I could get away with and most importantly, every ounce of information I got my hands on was directly linked to the resistance base. I played my part as the obedian hand perfectly, I never would have thought Yellow Diamond would suspect me, I had grown too cocky for my own good.

I gave word to the resistance that one of Yellow Diamond's many pet projects was about to be finished, she had tasked several individuals to begin work once again on forced fusion experiments and, from the information I could gather, they had made a breakthrough and should be able to stabilize this experiment by tomorrow morning.

With such little time to act, the resistance couldn't do much but send a small group to infiltrate the building and somehow destroy this damned experiment before it was fully operational...by morning, the small infiltration team was captured and were awaiting Yellow Diamond's orders. I tried to pursue Yellow that she could use them for their information so maybe then I could buy enough time to free them but she was too set on shattering them, she wished to make a statement to all who would oppose her and what made it even worse was that when we arrived to see who was captured, Rose was one of them.

I was desperate, Yellow had demanded I shatter them - everyone their was cheering for me to kill them like insects, the wanted to see what the the 'right hand of Yellow Diamond' could do...so, I did what needed to be done. I freed them and bought them some time to escape before I was set upon by Yellow Diamond's wrath. I could barely lift my weapon in defense before I utterly decimated by her. I now know why nobody double crosses a Diamond,

After I was subdued, I was brought back to her chambers where Jasper and Peridot were waiting for our return only to see me in shackles. They tried to defend me before Yellow Diamond, blaming the brainwashing done on me by those 'damned' resistance fighters, that I'd never turn on Yellow Diamond or her cause...it was painful yet heartwarming to see them defend my honor so vehemently...but I couldn't continue living that lie anymore. I told her that I did this on my own volition and that I would never rest until I saw her and all the other Diamond's topple.


"And...I guess you all know the rest, I was tortured for my information, I escaped and I crash landed here on earth." Naruto uttered, his long tale of his past now finally coming to a close.

"That was….quite a lot to take in," Garnet quipped, gripping her chin in thought over all the information she was just given.

"Yeah, it's a bit much to...ya know, process." Steven muttered as he swiped the 'end call' button once more on his phone, his attention split between two important instances in his life at the moment.

As a silence returned to the beach side home the group merely exchanged looks, none of them seeming to know what needed to be done. However, one of the gems who decided to break the silence was none other than the most silent of them all that day, Amethyst. "Why?" She asked through gritted teeth as she peered towards Naruto through her hair. Unbenounced to any of the gems in the room, the more Amethyst learned about this secret past of Obsidian, the more she began to grind her teeth in frustration. "Why did you lie to us?!"

"I'm...a bit curious about that too," Pearl added, trying to keep a level head in this time of confusion and mixed feelings.

"I think we all are," Garnet finished as all eyes shifted towards the gem in question.

"I lied because...I guess my past still weighed on me," he muttered as he hung his head low, feeling defeated as he explained his reasoning. "Here, on earth, I could become something else, a gem far detached from my sins of the past but...unfortunately, my past began to haunt me, both mentally and physically. Night after night I was gripped with visions of my past deeds, I'm kinda glad my secret was revealed in a way, I'm just not too thrilled with the outcome."

"that's it? You just wanted a...different life?" Steven asked,

"For the most part, yes." He answered, "but I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't a bit afraid of what you four would do to me if you heard that I was the right hand of Yellow Diamond."

"That sounds a bit cowardly," Pearl quipped, her original cold personality beginning to shine through once again.

Naruto retorted, "could you honestly say you would have trusted me if I told you that when we first met, Pearl?"

"I still don't trust you." A bit of a denal on her part but Obsidian was in spot to argue.

"...Fair enough," he said somberly. "*sigh* I've been thinking a lot today, about my past and how to go forward with who I am and what needs to be done and I think I came to an understanding. I….I-I don't belong here. You four, you've created a family with one another, a bond that cannot be broken so easily while I just…showed up out of the blue, with only Amethyst's word to keep me on your good sides. What I'm trying to say is that….I think it's time for me to leave,"

Without warning, Amethyst shot forward, her eyes nearly bulging out of her eye sockets as she yelled, "WHAT?!"

"Wait now, let's not get ahead of ourselves, here." Pearl began, trying to calm Amethyst while also addressing Obsidian's wild claim

Garnet was next to speak, trying like Pearl, to be the voice of reason in this situation. "Pearl's right, there's no need to jump to any conclusions."

"I know it seems sudden, Garnet, but I haven't jumped anything. I've been thinking about doing this for a long time now," Naruto stated firmly, "I need to find out who I am and I can't do that here,"

"Wait, wait - hold on! Before we start jumping to conclusions I think I might have the perfect solution!" Steven proclaimed, grabbing everyone's attention.

-Barn-

"Your father's...barn?" Naruto asked as he, Steven and the rest of the crystal gems stood before the barn in question.

"Yeah, it's perfect. You get your own little piece of land to do your soul searching while still in arm's reach." Steven stated matter of factly,

"I mean...that's not a bad idea but...isn't Lapis staying here? Remember, you told her she could stay in the barn after she helped move the Warship here?" Well, that gigantic hand-like warship had to be put somewhere and what better place than Greg's barn full of junk and old memorabilia. Thanks to Lapis's power over water itself, moving the massive ship from the water's of Beach City to Greg's barn wasn't too difficult a feat, now, breaking it down was a bit more of a challenge. To make sure that this ship would never see space again, the gems along with Lapis and Obsidian took it apart piece by large piece, leaving only a few piece still in average condition such as the palm and wrist that made up the ship's core. It wasn't really because they wanted to keep it one piece, but the found that if they tried to separate those pieces the ship's core would start oozing strange yellow chemicals that probably wouldn't be good to leave dripping out of a giant space ship.

Steven merely shrugged, "well, yeah but what's wrong with that? You'll have a roommate to keep you company,"

"Soul searching doesn't really involve company, Steven." Naruto chuckled half heartedly only to regret his little laugh when he saw how distraught Steven's features began.

"I know but...this is the only way we can still be, ya know…" he paused, shifting his sandel against the grass. "A team,"

Naruto was taken aback, for some reason he hadn't even considered how much this would mean to Steven if he left the group, hell, he didn't even think about how the others would react to it. He believed that they hated him after such a lie that he thought ti would be best if they never dealt with him again, for him to vanish from their lives so they could return back to their normal lives. I guess you could say that he's always thought that, that his mere existence was keeping the group from living the life the used to he never thought that...he could possibly be a part of their lives as a mainstay. "Oh Steven….." He cooed as he brought the boy in for a hug, seeing as after this ordeal he needed one desperately. "Alright, I suppose I can do a bit of soul searching here," he conceded as a large grin stretched across Steven's chubby cheeks, "….let's just hope Lapis will be just as excited as you are." And with that, Steven rushed into the barn, prepared to explain the 'great' news to Lapis with Naruto following in toe, or rather, he was going to follow until he noticed Pearl and Amethyst taking their leave of the place, heading directly towards the warp pad. Seeing this as an opportunity Naruto called out, "Amethyst, please wait. I can explain-"

"Don't," she muttered as she stopped in her tracks, "I don't want your explanation!"

"...A-Amethyst….I'm sorry," his dismissal apology fell on deaf ears.

"You don't get it do you?" Amethyst fired back, whipping around to meet him eye to eye, her's now streaming large droplets of tears that broken poor Naruto's heart. "After all of these months together, all the time we've spent with one another you still didn't trust me with this! You lied to my face again and again without even batting an eye, everything you've told me about your life on homeworld was just one big ploy to just...protect yourself!...The Obsidian I knew would never have done that. And what's worse is what you did after you decided to tell us all the truth, you decided to rather run away from us then try to stay and fix this!"

"...Amethyst, it's no-"

"No, Jasper was right...I was wrong about you, I was just holding on to a fantasy," and with that, Amethyst left, running to the warp pad where Pearl waited for her to arrive before ascending through the blinding beam of light.

With a heavy heart Naruto stood by and watched her warp away, unable to come up with a single sentence to condone his actions. "I really messed up, haven't I?" He questioned as Garnet walked to his side.

"She's hurt; she wants you to feel the same pain that she feels inside herself right now. Give her time, you two will build back the relationship you once had or maybe even a better one." Garnet said with a grin, placing a comforting hand on the gem's shoulder.

"How do you know?" He asked, only to answer his own question. "Oh, future vision."

"You don't need future vision to see that, Obsidian" she remarked, "….I mean, Naruto."

"That's the first time I've ever heard you call me that," He smiled, as both he and Garnet started their trek towards the warp pad.

"I thought it was about time I started calling you by the name you wish to go by." She retorted before her face turned more seldom as she addresses her blonde gem once more. "Do you think you'll be alright tonight?"

Naruto nodded in assurance, "I should be fine, Lapis seems alright with me bunking with her just as long as I keep to my side of the barn."

"I wasn't talking about your sleeping arrangements," she remarked. "Are you going to be alright after everything that's happened in the past two days?"

Naruto sighed at the question, "...do you want my honest opinion?" She nodded, "I don't know, yesterday really threw me for a loop. Now not only have I popped and bubbled someone I once considered my closest ally, I've also lost the trust of my friends…..*sigh* I just don't know how to feel right now, Garnet, and I really wish I did. I'm worried about what the future holds, for our group and for what is to come."

"What do you mean?" She wondered,

"Call it a gut feeling but I don't believe homeworld will stop at Jasper," he answered, "Yellow Diamond wants me gone and there's plenty of people that would love to be the one to do it for her,"

Surprisingly, Garnet chuckled, catching Naruto by surprise. "You must have anger quite a lot of people back on homeworld,"

He smiled back, nodding in agreement "yeah, don't remind me. I'm just not too keen on sitting on my hands and waiting for the next strike, ya know?"

"I can put your mind at ease if you'd like," she remarked,

Naruto's eyebrow cocked, "how so?"

"I can give you a glimpse into the future as I did with Steven," Garnet offered, surprising Naruto yet again. "if that's something you want to do, of course."

Stopping in front of the warp pad Naruto paused in thought as a question came to mind, "...should I?"

Garnet returned his question simply, "that's a question you'll have to answer yourself, but I must warn you, seeing into the future can worsen your worries rather than lay them to rest."

He paused for a moment, strucking his chin in thought as they had made their way to the warp pad Garnet needed to get home. After a moment or two of thinking, Naruto had made his decision, "alright Garnet, I'd like to see what my future holds."

She smiled, "alright, close your eyes." He followed her commands as he shut his eyes tight, "now, you're first time can be a bit overwhelming so try to stay focused. Clear your mind, only listen to the sound of my voice." He nodded at her words of wisdom as he prepared himself for the flood of information that was to come….only to feel another sensation entirely, a pair of soft, plump lips pressing against his own, sending a shockwave of heat through his body like never before. Opening his eyes to the outside world he was blindsided by the image of the square mother laying a kiss on his lips, a sight he never thought he'd see.

However, almost at the exact moment Naruto realized what was happening the kiss ended as Garnet pulled back with a satisfied grin on her face while Naruto had a more...perplexed look to his. "W-W-W-W-Why did you-"

"Think of it as a 'thank you' from Sapphire and Ruby for bringing us back together again," she remarked before stepping onto the warp pad. "Well, I best be heading home or they'll start wondering what took me so long, I hope you have a good night and sleep tight, Naruto." And with a single wave goodbye, Garnet was off to go home in a stream of light created by the warp pad she stood on, leaving the flustered Obsidian to contemplate what just happened.

'S-She just….kissed me,' he thought as he raised his hands to his lips, grazing them with the tips of his fingers almost as if he didn't want to ruin the warmth she had left on his lips.

"Well, that was awkward," a voice spoke up during Naruto's...lip touching? Causing the dazed young gem to nearly jump out of his skin as he turned to the source of the voice to see non other than Lapis standing a few feet away.

"What the hell are you doing sneaking up on me like that, you nearly gave me a heartattack!" Naruto nearly screeched,

"I don't think you could even have a heart attack," Lapis answered numbly,

"It's a figure of speech," he murmured before an idea popped into his head, an idea that brought a crimson streak across his cheeks. "...W-What did you see?"

"Everything," Lapis answered, a small, cheeky smirk appeared on her features.

"Look, it's not what you think-" He began to explain only for Lapis wave off his words.

"I don't know why it happened and I really don't care, it's none of my business. I just came to get you so I can show you which side of the barn is mine, alright?" She explained, taking her leave of the area with Naruto tagging along behind her.

"R-Right," he answered as his mind began to wonder and his body walked as if it were on autopilot. "Today has been nothing but tiring, some sleep will really do me some good."

-Homeworld-

"PEARL!" A strong, aggressive voice cut clean through the silence that hung in the Yellow Diamond throne room. A larger than life figure sat within the throne itself, her legs crossed and her arm propping up her leaning head as she watched her loyal little subject run frantically to her call.

"Y-Yes, my Diamond?" Her said pearl answered,

The Diamond merely shifted her gaze downwards as a giant would stare down at an insect. "Any news on the whereabouts of Jasper?"

Pearl grew visibly worried as she bowed her head yet again and began to answer her Diamond's question. "N-No, my Diamond. Her signal has been lost in the Milky Way galaxy, several kilometers away from the third planet closest to the sun." She spoke once more, "we've tried everything to re-establish contact with her with little effect,"

"...Very well, I suppose I should have foreseen this outcome." Her Diamond said, her demeanor quite tame then she was previously. "Jasper's blind obsession with Obsidian would only lead to failure, I won't make the same mistake again."

Pearl sprung forward, her hands clasped together and began to plead, "m-my Diamond, please do not blame yourself for this Jasper's failures. She's-" but her groveling was unwarranted, merely silenced by the large hand of her precious Diamond.

"Pearl, I do not need your groveling. What I need is for you to bring me Black Agate," She ordered, taking the wind out of her Pearl's body.

"...M-My Diamond, you cannot be serious." She murmured,

Yellow shot down a glare towards her lowly servant, one that almost felt like it shifted the very atmosphere in the room. "I don't believe I asked for your opinion, Pearl. Now, do as I command or I might be in the market for another Pearl!"

"Y-Y-YES MY DIAMOND, R-RIGHT AWAY MY DIAMOND!" And as commanded, Pearl scampered off and only returned when she was escorting the desired gem her Diamond wished to see. The gem in question now stood before her leader, her skin as pale as a ghost and her eyes as bright as diamonds. Her body was thin, almost disturbingly so, and her pale complexion clashed with her color scheme of choice, ink black. She wore a thick black trench coat and underneath was a Yellow Diamond sanctioned body suit with black and grey highlights with a single yellow Diamond resting in the center. Her hair stood up in a short, spiked style, fanned out in a neat little ponytail and resting right under her hair rested her black gem of choice, the Agate.

Bowing before her leader, she spoke softly, almost musically as she addressed her so, "you rung, my Diamond?"

"Black Agate, you were stationed under Obsidian, were you not?" Yellow inquired, tapping her temple in anticipation.

The Agate grimaced at her question but answered it as such, "unfortunately, yes my Diamond."

"Unfortunately?" She asked,

"Yes, I feel sickened thinking of being mere feet away from a traitor to our homeworld and yet I was clueless to stop him." She answered with so much venom you'd be surprised she didn't choke on it.

"Well then, you might have a chance to redeem yourself." Yellow stated as she gestured for Black Agate to rise. "A few cycles ago I sent out a Jasper and a Peridot to hunt down Obsidian and bring him back to me but it seems like that task was far too much for these two to handle. So, I'm turning to you, Black Agate; bring me back Obsidian and awaken the cluster in the Beta Kindergarten. If you do that, then you shall take Obsidian's previous position as my right hand."

"R-Right hand…." Agate's eyes widened in abject joy as a sickly sweet smile emerged on her face, as she bowed in respect from such a proposition. "I would be honored, my Diamond. If I may ask, is there a possibility that I can take a team with me? I think we'd have much more success if I could bring my trusty team of 10."

"Bring as much as you need, I was foolish to believe that only a mere Jasper and Peridot could capture one of my old right hands. How many do you desire?" She asked,

Agate merely chuckled, "just my 10, my Diamond. With them on my side, we shall not fail you."

"See to it that you don't, I will not tolerate another failure." She ordered, ushering the gem out of her throne room.

"Of course, my Diamond." And with that, Black Agate stands and leaves the room, hiding the twisted grin that began to creep onto her features. "Oh, and if I may, my Diamond, may I ask just one more favor."

"What is it?" She asked,

"My little...project I've been working on under your supervision, would you be okay with me taking it for a bit of a test run during this mission?" Black Agate asked, Pearl's eyes widening in fear and even Yellow's eyes opened a bit wider than usual.

Yellow sat in silent for a moment before speaking, "...do you believe it to be stable enough? Can it be controlled?"

"Trust me, My Diamond, I've ran every test and did every procession. Our pet project is completely under our command." She assured,

"Very well, it will serve you well on this mission." Yellow answered, "now go, see to it that Obsidian is before me once again."

With one more bow, Black left the room a twisted sneer grew larger and larger the further she was away from sight, "oh, don't you worry my Diamond, I won't fail. I'll bring back Obsidian piece by PIECE!"


Hey everybody! Long time, no see, am I right? But seriously, I'm sorry about how long it's been taking me to update, I won't give you a sob story or anything, it's just life that's making it harder and harder for me to sit down and do any form of writing but, so I could put a lot of people's minds at ease, I will not drop this story if I can help it. I have too much fun writing this story and I have so many ideas for the future of this story. Also, I'd like to say thank you all for all of your continued support for this story, the reviews and PM's really keep me driven to go forward with this story again and again. So, without further adew, I hope you all liked this chapter, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a review or a PM and I'll try to get back to you. If you can, please leave a review so I know how I'm doing and most importantly, thank you all again!