Chapter Five: Second Chances

"This shouldn't take too much longer," Goshenite said as she and Pearl headed inside the Capitol building. "Wait here until we're done, then we can stop at Emerald's place." There were a fair amount of Gems in the building, but not as many as there usually were, something that Pearl took notice of. It should have been busier than usual, given recent events, but for some reason, it was only moderately crowded.

"Will do," said Pearl. "Just curious…what exactly is it you still have to discuss? I figured with you taking over for now, things would be simple."

Goshenite tried to think of a way to explain this. "There's…still a lot we have to take care of. The Empire is vast, and it's spread across so many planets and outposts that even the smallest problem could turn ugly fast. Which is why we have to act just as fast, to prevent something like that from happening."

They had soon reached the room where the Council convened. Goshenite headed inside, while Pearl waited outside for her to be finished. While most would eventually grow bored in this situation, Pearl was used to waiting, so long as she had something on her mind. And everything that had been going on with Earth left her with plenty to think about. Goshenite had been right that the balance of the Gem Empire was in a precarious place–but Pearl also felt that this change could lead to a lot of good things. It had already brought White Diamond out of her funk, and led to all the Gems left on Earth being uncorrupted, not to mention freedom for off-colors and fusions. She looked forward to what changes would happen next.

To keep herself occupied, she made a game of all the Gems who came in and out of the doors. For every two that came by, she would imagine what their colors would look like mixed together, and then try to think of a Gem colored like that. It wasn't as fun as she imagined, being too easy for her. Luckily she didn't have to play for too long, as a certain pair of Gems who passed by were quite familiar to her.

A Jade and her Pearl, both inky black in color. She had heard them coming before she saw them, as they were arguing about something. Black Pearl was angry, furious even, shouting at her master–make that former master. The black Jade was dismissive, shouting as well but clearly trying to put whatever they were fighting about behind them.

"...just throw me out, like that, after all I've done for you!?" yelled Black Pearl. "How can you do this to me!?"

"It isn't my call," said the Jade. "It's what the Diamonds have decreed. I have no choice but to obey them."

Black Pearl tried to block her from walking out the door. "And now you listen to them!? Just a moment ago, you were saying how they aren't in charge anymore!"

The Jade shoved her aside, leaving her lying on the floor. "That was then, this is now. I know this is hard to understand, but at least try, Pearl. We all knew Era-3 would be different when Pink Diamond returned. The least we can do is try to make it better."

"Better? For who exactly?" asked Black Pearl, looking up at her Jade. Who, if things were going the way they looked, was not her Jade any longer.

For her part, there did seem to be at least a little bit of regret on Jade's face. It lasted for only a split second, before she turned around and headed out the door. "Goodbye Pearl. I do hope things go well for you from here on out." And she was gone.

"Not enough to stick around," Pearl said quietly. For a moment, it looked like Black Pearl was about to stand up, but seemed to give up halfway, slumping against the wall. She groaned, looking more annoyed than upset–but Pearl knew sadness when she saw it. After debating for a while as to whether this was really her business, she decided that she had to go and talk to her.

Although a few Gems had stopped to look at Black Pearl arguing with her Jade, any semblance of interest in her matters had faded away almost instantly. Pearl was surprised that nobody had even bothered to approach her. But she had, hovering over her for a moment until she looked up. "What in…?" Black Pearl was surprised to see her, which quickly turned into irritation. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a…long story," said Pearl. "I'm waiting for Miss Goshenite in a meeting, and I couldn't help but… Well, it looks like you're kind of…upset." She knew this was putting things lightly, but she didn't want to anger her further by overstepping.

"Ah. That." Black Pearl rolled her eyes. "Apparently, Pink, or Rose, or Steven, or whoever just made it illegal for Gems to own Pearls. Like, just like that! And apparently the other Diamonds are perfectly fine with such flagrant disregard for Homeworld customs! Era-3 is off to a rough start, and I'll tell you right now it's only going to get rougher."

Slowly, Pearl sat down beside her. She was sure that Black Pearl would protest or try to drive her off, but she didn't. "It sounds like it's deeper than that," Pearl said. "With you and Jade just now…what was that?"

Black Pearl's harsh exterior fell just slightly. "It's like I said, Gems can't own Pearls anymore. So she just…sent me away. I can't be with her anymore, because that's apparently against the rules. So after thousands of years of loyal service…that's it. I'm on my own." She sighed. "Where am I supposed to go, anyway? How is a Pearl supposed to make it with no master?"

This was the first Pearl had heard of this, at least to this degree. Thoughts of Pearls all across Homeworld and its colonies being kicked out and left behind flashed through her mind. She couldn't even imagine what would have happened to her if Emerald had never found her. "I…I don't know. But if you really don't have anywhere to go, you're always welcome on Earth."

Black Pearl shot her a look. "Why would I want to go to that shardhole?"

"It's not as bad as a lot of Gems think," replied Pearl. "It's not too crowded, people are pretty accepting, and lots of pretty views. I'm sure we could find a spot for you!"

I don't…eh, why not?" said Black Pearl. "At this point, what do I have to lose?"

"What most concerns me," said Bixbite, "is the notion that Homeworld must dismantle its military. It should go without saying that such a thing would leave us far too vulnerable."

"For once, I have to agree with Bixbite," Heliodor said. "It's too risky and impulsive of a move; Homeworld is vulnerable enough as it is."

"And yet, I doubt the Diamonds would want to disappoint their new Pink Diamond," added Maxixe. "We will have to find some sort of compromise."

All this talk of dismantling Homeworld's major endeavors had Goshenite thinking. Maybe instead of thinking like a Gem, she should be thinking like Steven. Everyone was concerning themselves with what he was asking of them, but they weren't thinking about why he was asking these things. "Okay, let's think…what is our most pressing concern right this second?"

"Our most pressing concern? All these Diamond-forsaken demands!" exclaimed Morganite. "This Steven is gutting our empire!"

"No, I mean in terms of outside issues," Goshenite explained. "If we want to move forward in Era-3, what should be our main priority?"

"The Interlopers, obviously," Emerald added. "Until we deal with them, they'll keep doing what they have been doing for these past five thousand years. And in our weakened state, they'll have no trouble–"

"Then that's what we should focus on," Goshenite said. "We scale back our military, yes, but we set aside the extra resources to fund a task force, one specifically designed to handle the Interlopers. And other threats, should they appear."

"An interesting proposal," said Maxixe. "An organization that works for Homeworld, while not necessarily working under Homeworld. I like it."

"As do I," said Bixnite, "but who will be in charge of such a force? If it falls upon us to run the empire in the Diamonds' stead, hunting for the Interlopers will surely take up too much of our time."

After a brief moment, Heliodor and Morganite looked at one another. "Emerald," they both said in unison.

Emerald looked up. "Hmm? You think that I…Oh. Nevermind." She seemed slightly disappointed.

With that, Morganite got to her feet. "I think that more or less settles things. We all have our jobs to do, so let's get to doing them! We'll convene again in two weeks, or if there's an emergency."

After wrapping things up, the six of them went their separate ways, milling out of the conference room. Goshenite was glad they had found a solution, but was unsure if Emerald would want the job, given that she had spent so much time fighting the Interlopers already. She was back in the lobby when she found Pearl, and noticed that she wasn't alone.

"Ah! Miss Goshenite, we were just talking about you!" said Pearl. "So, how'd it go? Did you find a solution to all the empire's woes?"

"More or less," Goshenite said. "I see you've made a new friend." She gestured towards the other Pearl.

"Something like that. You remember Black Pearl, don't you, Miss Goshenite? So, it turns out that…why don't you explain?"

"Gladly," said Black Pearl, though she didn't seem to mean it. "To make a short story short, My Jade dumped me in the street like yesterday's trash, so I need a place to stay. Mind if I come to Earth with you?"

Goshenite blinked. "I-I don't see why not. Earth is very open these days, I'm sure you'll fit right in."

"I'll try not to take that as an insult," Black Pearl said dryly. Goshenite liked her already.

"Excellent. But before we head out…" Goshenite looked at Pearl. "...we have something to take care of first."

Emerald's house. Once, it had been a place of respite for the Beryl to recharge between missions, but lately, it seemed like her life had been one continuous mission. Only after succumbing to her corruption had she gotten time to rest, and that was likely far from relaxing. The three Gems had made their way down to the lowest level, where all the Gems bubbled by Emerald sat.

Pearl scanned the bubbles, picking out three of them. "There." She reached upwards, and the green bubbles floated down into her hands. She wanted to set them free, but recognized it would be better to take them to Earth first. "I'm ready, we can go now."

"I'm confused," Black Pearl said. "Why do you want to release these guys? Aren't they traitors to Homeworld?"

"So were the Crystal Gems, and now we're allies," said Goshenite. "Times are changing."

"Yeah, but didn't they also side with the Interlopers and try to kill you?"

"Well…" Pearl looked down at the three gemstones. One was yellow, barely recognizable as a Topaz for being bent and misshapen. Another was the shape of a Pearl, but the color of an Amber. And the last was an Onyx, broken and held together many times over. "Since the war's over, I think we should try to let bygones be bygones. It's what Steven would want, right?"