Standard/Future Universe, Earth, Beach City…
"Wow…it's so…bright and shining." Rarity said.
"Yeah…a city by the beach…makes sense Steven would call this place home." Jexi said.
"Look, guys. I know I overreacted but I'm cool now." Mark said as he was tied to a chair. "Can you untie me now?"
"Not until we land." Jet said.
"This is for your own good, Mark." Bardock said.
"Right, right…" Mark sighed.
"As long as we're still landing, we should probably have a recap as to what's going on around here." Eddy said. "Right, so you all already know about what Gems are, so we'll get right to the history lesson."
Thousands of years ago, The Diamond Authority, the rulers of the Gem-kind from Homeworld (yes, that's what their planet is called), had a colony built on Earth, run by Pink Diamond. This would've pretty much destroyed the planet and all the life on it. But, one Gem by the name of Rose Quartz, decides that she doesn't like that, so she gets a bunch of Gems who wanted to be free to do their own things and form the Crystal Gems to run the Diamonds off Earth.
So the two factions fight for a while, and it seems like the Crystal Gems are winning. Rose even managed to shatter the colony's leader, Pink Diamond. But, this got the other three Diamonds really, REALLY steamed, so they launched an attack that caused every Gem on the planet to become monsters. Rose managed to save Pearl and Garnet, but they were the only three Crystal Gems left.
So they hang out on Earth for a few thousand years, picking up a newly-formed Amethyst along the way. They eventually wind up in Beach City and Rose decides she likes it there, so they stay. Then they meet Greg Universe, an up and coming rockstar, who takes a liking to Rose. The two fall in love, and bing-bang-boom, Steven gets born by Rose sacrificing her Gem for him.
So, Steve gets taken in by Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst, and they live their lives, fighting corrupted Gem monsters, going on adventures, all that stuff. Then, The Gems on Homeworld find out that there are still Crystal Gems around on Earth, and time doesn't NOT heal all wounds in this case. So they send Gems after them, including the ruthless control-freak turned loveable control freak Peridot, and the big, use-your-head-literally type super-Gem Jasper. Oh, then there's water-using Lapis Lazuli and Steven's best friend Connie, they're there too.
And now we're here: some crazy-OP Gem midget was trying to kidnap humans close to Steven, so he gets the bright idea to tell them that he's Rose Quartz, letting himself be captured so the humans go free. Now he's on his way to Homeworld to be shattered or worse, and we gotta to save him!
"...and that's about the main parts." Eddy finished.
"Wow…that sounds…so amazing!" Luffy said.
"A whole planet of women…I'm in." Sanji said.
"Techniclly, they're genderless, but you do you." Scarlet said. "Can't guarantee you'll get anywhere, though…"
"Anyways, we're here to pick the other Crystal Gems up, then we're heading straight to Homeworld to rescue Steven." Gohan said. "The Diamonds have gone too far, so it's time for a direct confrontation."
"Yeah! And we'll get everyone's help!" Asta said as they approached Steven's house. "Cause giving up is never our thing." he said as he went and kicked down the door. "And we're the best at never doing that."
"Why did you kick the door down? It was unlocked." Pit asked.
"I saw it in a movie once." Asta said.
"Guys, you made it!" the voice of Connie said as the group saw her, Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, Peridot, Lion, and Greg standing in the main room.
"Connie, Gems, we all heard from Mark." Bardock said. "Get up, we're heading out immediately. Double D has calculated that the King can reach Homeworld in three, maybe four hours, less if we overclock the engines."
"Yeah…hey wait, I don't remember us talking about…" Franky said.
"Wait, I tried to tell Mark, but he disconnected before I could tell him." Pearl spoke up.
"Tell him what?" Tanjiro asked.
"Lapis… she left." Peridot answered, looking down.
"Wait, what do you mean Lapis left?" Frisk asked.
"When the ship carrying Steven left, Lapis… had a crisis." Garnet explained. "She wanted to chase after the ship, but fear kept her back. She's left Earth."
"Hmm… she's gotta be close. Did she take anything with her? Maybe she's hiding." Twilight asked.
"Yeah…the barn. She left with that." Peridot said.
"Hmm…a barn huh? Doubt she'd carry something like that across the universe." Twilight said before looking up at the moon. "I think I know where she went."
Soon enough, the King landed on the moon, Sci-Twi and Mark being the first two out, both wearing spacesuits.
"Okay…look around carefully. Shouldn't be too hard to find a barn on the moon." Twilight said.
"I don't know, the moon's pretty big." Eddy said. "Could take us a while to look over the whole-"
"Land ho!" Ed declared, jumping on Eddy's head and pointing out into the distance, the barn being where he was pointing.
"...Never mind." Eddy said. "Hey, Lapis! It's us!"
The group made their way to the barn, the building still as they last remember seeing it, but being devoid of Lapis.
"Hey, Lazuli! You can stop keeping vigil, we're here!" Eddy called out. "...Well, she ain't home. Where the heck could she go out here?"
"Strange…she left all the morps…" Gohan said. "But she's not here."
"Hmm…I wonder…is there any other structures here?" Twilight said.
"Hmm? Well, I think I remember Steven saying something about a moon base the Gems made…" Mark remembered. "It can't be too far from here."
They eventually found the building as they entered and soon heard humming.
"That must be her." Mark said as he headed up a flight of stairs, soon reaching a room that looked out of place with the rest of the base: it was the Earth's sky. In the center of the room, Lapis was kneeling, humming while looking at a spherical projection that looked like the planet the moon belonged to. "Lapis? Lapis!"
The Gem gasped in shock, as she shut down the projection. "Oh…it's…you." Lapis said.
"So this is where you were hiding." Twilight said. "But…I thought you wanted to get as far from Earth as possible. What with the Diamonds and all."
"I got…distracted." Lapis responded, looking to the side.
"Distracted from the Diamonds? By this thing?" ZS asked, approaching it and putting a hand on it. "What's this thing do? Is it some sorta-?"
"It would be easier to just show you." Lapis said as she touched it as the group suddenly appeared in the city.
"Wow! Reverse Space Telescope!" Ed said in delight.
"It's an observation deck. The Diamonds would use it to observe how things were going on in their colonies." Lapis explained.
"So what have you been…'observing'?" Sheer asked.
"This." Lapis said changing to footage of the gems on the beach training.
"Wait a second… did you exile yourself and decide to spy on the others?" Scarlet asked.
"Well I wouldn't call it spying…because that would make me feel bad." Lapis replied, looking ashamed.
"But you're here! On the moon!" Pit said.
"You kidding? The moon sucks. There's literally nothing here!" Lapis said.
"Then why did you bring the barn here?" Mark asked.
"...When Steven was taken, I knew I had to do something, go and save him. I tried to go, I tried, but… I couldn't." Lapis said. "I'm still scared of the Diamonds. I know what you all said, back on Maricopia Island, but… I'm still scared."
"I can't blame you for that, it's a deep rooted feeling." Mark sighed. "Things like that don't go away easily. We all know that."
"Wait, that still doesn't explain why you moved house." Eddy pointed out.
"I… I can't go back after that. I let the others down, I let Steven down." Lapis said. "What would Peridot say? What if they blame me for failing?"
"What if they don't?" Mark said.
Lapis looked down, contemplating Mark's statement.
"Honestly, Lapis, we all messed up here." Mark said. "We should've gone with you all. We should've been there, then maybe this wouldn't have happened."
"Now's not the time for shifting the blame, Mark." Bardock said. "It's time to crush this fear."
"Uh, Bardock…?" Double D asked.
"Lapis, listen to me." Bardock said. "You're scared, I can see that. But let me ask you a question: are you more scared of the Diamonds, or of being alone?"
Lapis looked up at this.
"We've all heard about your past, how you were trapped in that mirror, under the ocean with Jasper, and how Steven tried to help you recover from that. You and I both know that you've come to care for the Earth. Are you really going to let the Diamonds take this away from you? Like they changed the Homeworld you knew? Are you?"
"I…" Lapis started.
"Let me finish." Bardock said. "I get it if you're scared, we've all been there. Me, Kakarot, hell, even Vegeta. But we press on because we stand to lose everything if we don't. If you run now, you're never going to stop running. Is that what you want? To be alone?"
The room was quiet for a moment before Lapis started laughing.
"Uh, Lapis? You okay?" Eddy asked. "I really hope you haven't cracked mentally…"
Lapis stopped laughing, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
"I have a feeling we're about to have a song." Eddy said.
(Cue: That Distant Shore)
It all became so lovely
Those bluest skies above me
Those funny feelings I had never felt before I met you
I thought I'd stay a while
I tried to learn to smile
So many colors I had never even known
Maybe I'll find myself sitting on that distant shore
Maybe I'm not alone
Then I see the colors fading
Gentleness of light escaping
Shadows of my fear invading
Have I seen this all before?
I know that there's something residing
A terror deep inside me
I couldn't understand how you could be so bold
Maybe I'll find myself smiling on that distant shore
Maybe I'm not alone
(end song)
Lapis looked at the group members present and formed a small smile. "Maybe I'm tired of running away. Maybe I'd rather be with everyone and be in danger than be safe and... alone."
"That's the spirit!" Scarlet said enthusiastically. "No matter what happens, we got each other's backs! That's how the Hero Alliance rolls!"
"Yeah, no matter what happens, we'll face it together! The Diamonds, gods, that giant mech marching up the beach in the projection…" Eddy said. "...hold on a sec, what?!"
They looked to see a huge mech marching onto the beach.
"Is it from…them? Are they invading?!" Lapis said.
"Wait, they couldn't have gotten here this fast! Besides, that doesn't match any of the tech we saw in the Human Zoo." Mark noticed. "This is something else."
"Then we shall learn when we toppel the mech! Onwards, heroes!" Ed declared, the group rushing out to get back to the king. Mark then stopped and turned back to Lapis.
"Lapis, I think I have an idea." Mark said. "You up for it?"
"...What is it?" The aquakinetic Gem asked.
Back on Earth…
"Beach City…looks like this is the right place." said the pilot of the mech. "Alright, begin mission."
The pilot marched the mech towards the beach house under the statue, looking for any signs of his targets.
"Let's see… those Crystal Gems should be inside the house. Shame to smash such a nice-looking place, though…maybe I can make them come to me?"
"Hey, you in the mech!" the pilot heard a voice say, causing him to turn the mech around and see the group standing on the beach. "Mind telling me what you're doing here?"
"H-Huh?!" the pilot did a double take. "What're you doing here?! You're all supposed to be missing after the Olympics!"
"We were taking a little trip through the Sinnoh region. A sort of paparazzi-free sightseeing tour. You wouldn't get it." Sunset said.
"Oh. W-Well…normally policy says I should abort the mission now that you're here…but this is really important, so I guess I should take the risk. Sorry." the pilot said as he activated the mech's weapons systems. "Heat-seeking missiles!"
The missiles were fired right at them as Hayase diced them up.
"Huh? I don't remember someone like…wait…You! You're the one who attacked the Dark Ocean members on the extraction boat!" the pilot said.
"If you know that, then you also have ties to Dark Garden." Hayase said.
"You attacked without warning. I'm actually ordered to kill you if you show your face to any other branch." the pilot said.
"Whoa…hold it. Before we go off the ropes…just gotta ask…have you seen the Wizard of Oz?" Luna asked.
"Uh… yeah. Why?" the pilot asked.
"Just saying you're about to be playing out a scene from it." Luna said.
"What? The twister?" the pilot asked.
"No…" Odd said as the barn fell right on the mech. "The one where the witch gets crushed."
"Nicely done, Lapis!" Double D said up at the Gem, who was floating above them with her water wings.
The mech recovered, standing back up as it turned to look at Lapis. "Ah-ha, one of my targets. Sorry, but I have to capture you, Dark Future business!"
Lapis didn't respond as she raised her arms, causing the water in the ocean to take shape as a giant hand, one that dwarfed the mech.
"...Uh-oh." the pilot stated as the hand picked up the mech and started shaking it around, causing the pilot to start yelling in panic.
"Holy moly…" Scarlet said as the group watched the show. "Sorry Juvia, but I think you just lost your title of "team's most powerful aquamancer"."
"That's fine. So long as that harpy doesn't think of trying to make moves on my Gray." Juvia said.
"Hold it, Lazuli! Do not kill him! If he is indeed from Dark Garden, he could have information." Hayase said.
"Not sure he has what you're looking for, but that is a good point." Robin said. "Just pull him out of the mech."
Lapis did as requested, pulling out a young man with short black hair and matching-colored eyes, wide open in terror as he watched his mech get tossed far out of sight.
"Don't drown me, please don't drown me…" the young man silently begged as the hand let him go, letting him drop uncereismonly on the beach. He breathed a sigh of relief before dozens of arms grew out of him and pinned him down. "Oh god, this is even worse!"
"Oh don't worry. I promise I won't cause you too much pain." Robin said.
"Congratulations. You are being liberated from Dark Garden's employment." Sir Saiyan said. "Please do not resist."
"He's right. Or I'll rip off those." Robin said.
"...Robin, you're scaring me." Moltar said. "And I don't even have any."
"Ah, moving on!" Mark said quickly, looking down at the young man. "So, let's have your name first."
"It's, uh, Nathan." the young man answered. "I'm a private-level member of Dark Future, sector 7 of Dark Garden. I'm here on a mission."
"To capture the Crystal Gems?" Rarity asked.
"Well, that is the secondary objective." Nathan partially confirmed.
"Then what's the primary?" Jexi asked.
"Finding any information to Pink Diamond's current location." Nathan answered. "The Diamond Authority and Dark Future have come to the conclusion that she's still alive."
"Well your info is wrong. She's dead. Rose Quartz and the Crystal Gems shattered her." Pit said.
"Yeah, well, here's the thing: the story the Diamonds have doesn't make sense." Nathan replied. "I mean, a Rose Quartz Gem manages to sneak into Pink Diamond's room and shatter her, and no one saw it coming? She had Sapphires in her court, they can see the future!"
"This man is obviously lying to save his own skin." Hayase said.
"Actually, what he's saying does have some weird logic to it." Yaoyorozu said.
"She's right." Mark agreed. "I mean…Rose would never have the chance. Hope and I agreed that it sounded a bit weird at the time."
"And from what I've read, the only ones allowed close to the Diamonds are other Diamonds and…their Pearls." Twilight said.
"Pearl…" Jexi said as he thought it over. "Okay…let's go to the house. There's pieces of the story only Pearl can fill in."
