Today marks an important moment in my life, as I am graduating high school today. And here I am, more excited about my story than finishing the four worst years of my life. Just when Ash finally finds a true father figure, he's abducted by Blue Diamond. Can Ash and the Gems rescue their friend from their mysterious enemy? And who will protect Beach City in their absence? *I DO NOT OWN STEVEN UNIVERSE OR POKÉMON*
Garnet warped Ash and Steven back to the Temple from the Korean forest.
"This can't be happening" Steven said to himself as Ash placed his hand supportively on his friend's shoulder
"Steven, you're back!" Pearl welcomed them "we're so sorry about earlier"
"Forget that! We have to catch up to her!"
"With who?"
"Blue Diamond"
Pearl looked as if she had been hit by a truck at the mere mention of her name "Bl-Blue Diamond? On Earth?!"
"Holy smokes!" Amethyst remarked
"Amethyst, turn into a chair, I need to sit down" Pearl said leaning down on the short purple gem, sounding short of breath.
"She took Greg!" Ash shouted
"She alien abducted him! And it's all my fault!" Steven shouted in agreeable with Ash
"Our Greg?" Pearl asked collecting herself
"What other Greg is there?!" Amethyst screamed to her. "How are we gonna get him back?!"
"What does Blue Diamond even want with him anyway?" Ash asked "to eat him? To put him in a zoo or something!?"
"Wait, that might just be it" Pearl stated
Steven gasped "SHE'S GOING TO EAT HIM!?"
"What? No, there was a, no no there's no way it could still be functional after all these years"
"What is?" Ash asked
"Pink Diamond's personal human zoo." Garnet answered him.
"What?" Both boys asked at once
"During her reign, Pink Diamond stole humans from their families as trophies. She put them all in what was nicknamed as "The Human Zoo" Garnet explained.
Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing, a human Zoo? That was something he heard Ronaldo ranting about before, but he never thought he'd ever be right about something like that.
Apparently, Amethyst also agreed with him "you've got to be kidding me"
"Oh no it's real" Pearl stated "when I still served Homeworld, I saw it with my own eyes. A private menagerie deep in space. Humans in captivity. We were never able to rescue them. We had no way of getting to them after the war. But that was 5,000 years ago, it couldn't possibly still be intact could it?"
"You think Greg's there?"
"Boys, Blue Diamond wanted him alive?"
"Yes, she liked him or something like that" Ash explained.
"Well there's no other place I could think she'd put him if she wanted to keep him" Pearl concluded
"But how are we gonna get there?" Ash asked
"With the Roaming Eye" Garnet said
"The Ruby's ship?" Amethyst asked
To be honest, Ash had completely forgotten that the Gems had simply left the Ruby ship at the barn following the incident with Stash and Eyeball. The Gems all immediately began to make their way to the barn with Ash walking side-by-side with Steven.
"It's all my fault Ash" he mopped
"No it's not bud" he said placing his hand on Steven's shoulder, "how were you supposed to know Blue Diamond would find Greg, crush on him, and take him to her intergalactic zoo to keep as her pet? Ok just saying that out loud sounded crazy, but we are going to save him, and make Blue Diamond regret the day she came to Earth"
"GUYS IM HOME!" Ash shouted to his roommates, who all ran out to welcome the barn's original occupant back.
"How was Korea guys?" Brock asked
"Geez, who died?" James asked once he saw the worry and dread on the Gem's faces.
Once they were all filled in on the situation, Peridot began her inspection of the ship to see if it would make the trip to the zoo, and if it was safe for Ash and Steven.
"Let's see" she reported "rear pulsar trackers are tracking pulsars. The atmosphere shield seems functional, but I'd doubt you'll need that in space" she said with a smug look
"Is it safe for Steven and Ash though?" Garnet demanded
"They should be fine, but i should probably change the system preferences the Rubies set just in case. How do you feel about green lights instead of red?"
"So what! If it works then let's go already!" Steven barked as he began talking to Connie on his phone "sorry Connie but we can't wait," Ash heard him say to his friend as he retreated to the back of the ship out of hearing distance.
"Ash, can I talk to you for a second?" Garnet suddenly asked him
"Uh, sure what's up Garnet?"
"It's about your Pokémon, Sapphire has foreseen this plan to be a stealth mission, one where your Pikachu will jeopardize the entire rescue, in every single one of my visions, I've seen Pikachu getting gravely hurt. For his sake, I beg of you to leave him behind here with the rest of your Pokémon, this mission can't and won't end well if you bring them, please Ash" she said removing her glasses to show the pleading in her three eyes.
"Well Pikachu, you heard her. I can't have you get hurt buddy. Sorry but it's for your own good" he said removing his belt with his pokeballs on it
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu began to protest
"I'm sorry Pikachu, but you're going to have to sit this one out" Garnet said looking down with worry at the small Pokémon, who finally understood the situation.
"Lapis, Since Brock, James and Serena can't carry more than six Pokémon each, would you care for my Pokémon while I'm saving Greg?" He asked his girlfriend trustfully
"What do I have to do?" She asked nervously
"Just make sure they get some exercise and Brock will tell you how much food to feed them, oh but keep an eye on Glalie because he'll try and trick you into feeding him twice, but aside from that, I know they trust you and they should listen to you"
Lapis looked at the five pokeballs now resting in her hands, before she finally nodded and agreed
"I love you so much" he said
"Alright let's go!" He heard Steven scream as they began to board.
"Lapis, Peridot, Brock, James, you four are going to have to protect Beach City if something happens while we're gone" Garnet commanded to them.
Lapis gave an understanding thumbs up
"You can count on us!" Peridot exclaimed determined to prove herself
"Right!" Brock shouted, raising his fist in the air agreeing with her
James clapped his hands and made his expected gleeful neigh
"Pika!"
Ash took one last look at the new Crystal Gems and boarded the ship. "Don't worry Greg, we're coming to get you" he said to himself as the familiar feeling of weightlessness overcame him, indicating the ship had taken off.
"Alright," Steven asked "how long will it take to get to AHH!" He screamed as an object collided with the ship. They all looked out the front window to see Doc the Ruby was now splat on the windshield. The speed the ship was going caused the Ruby to fly off the ship, as they collided into Army and Navy as well.
"We should really do something about them" Garnet suggested
"We'll grab'em on our way back, dad comes first. Alright Pearl how much longer till we get there?"
"Let's see, at this rate we should be arriving in approximately seventy human years! Just in time to celebrate Greg's 110th anniversary of being alive" she excitedly told Steven
"PEARL MY DADS NOT HEALTHY ENOUGH TO LIVE THAT LONG!"
"Before we left, Peridot mentioned a gravity engine" Garnet suggested
"Oh I'm sure she was exaggerating. It probably just alters the definition for speed by manipulating space-time, but what effect would that have on organic matter? It might flatten Steven and Ash's bodies into a pancake of skin and bones."
"If being a pancake means saving my dad then bring on the syrup!" Steven exclaimed slamming his fist down on the control pad
"Steven wait!" Ash began to object, but the ship suddenly lunged forward causing Steven to black out. Ash fell to the floor and was barely able to stay conscience before Pearl was able slow down the ship.
As he slowly got up, he noticed something odd about the Gems, as in he was now the tallest person in the room. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl had been flattened into miniature versions of themselves, about as tall as Steven.
"Dare I ask?" He said barely able to contain his laughter
"The gravity warp seems to be affecting our bodies" Garnet explained
"Please tell me this lasts forever" Amethyst chuckled
"Our bodies are made of light, and usually, they form a mass dependent on the air pressure and the level of gravity in the environment, but we're in a situation where the normal laws of physics don't apply." Pearl added
"Who cares? It's funny"
"The ship seems to be putting out some kind of energy keeping us in this form"
Steven thought for a minute before he approached the control center again "I think I know the problem, Peridot said the ship was adjusted for Rubies, well then it must making you Ruby sized"
"Of course she didn't tell us that, this why we don't listen to her" Pearl groaned in annoyance
"Maybe you can change the settings" Ash suggested
Steven began playing with the controls, and changed them to Quartz, the Gems grew larger and bulkier in size, similar to Jasper. He then tried again, and they quickly shrunk into a small gem type, smaller than Peridot, before he finally switched it to Diamond, turning them into Giants.
"This isn't working" he said
"Try adjusting it manually" Pearl suggested looking down at the boys.
He swiped his hand across the screen and more settings came forward on the display. He toyed with them while Ash watched the consequences of his blind use of the device unfold on the Gems. Garnet flattened out into a disk, Pearl inflated into a large ball, and Amethyst began to stretch into some odd shape.
"Hey guys," she told them with worry "this is getting weird, even for me"
"I think I found the off switch!" He heard Steven exclaim as he prepared to press the large, red "X" on the panel
"Wait Steven, big red X's usually mean!" But before he could finish his warning, Steven smashed his palm onto the screen, and the ship once again rocked into a great speed. The Gems lost complete control of their forms and retreated into their Gems. Ash also went flying, hitting his head against the wall and began to lose consciousness as a red light began flashing.
As Ash began to wake up, he looked to see he was no longer on the Roaming Eye, but was now lying in the Viridian Forest, just as he was when he last saw Rose and Arceus. He stood up slowly, his head still aching, expecting to see Arceus and Rose Quartz standing before him. Instead he saw another person standing in the distance with his back turned to him. The familiar looking, skinny boy looked like he was Ash's age, with blonde hair and a baby blue jumpsuit. Ash recognized him as the gym leader of Lumiose City in the Kalos region, and as one of his closest friends.
"Clemont?" He asked cautiously approaching his friend.
Clement turned to face him, looking as if he had been through hell and back. His face was badly bruised and cut up, one of the lenses of his glasses were smashed, blood dripped down his mouth in a crimson stream. But the worst part was the look of pure fear and hopelessness he gave him.
"Forgive me" he whispered to him
Before Ash could ask what had happened to him, or what he needed to forgive him for, the vision of Clemont and the Viridian Forest disappeared, as he was jolted awake by Pearl.
"Are you alright Ash?" She asked with concern
"Yea I'm fine, what happened?"
"The ship lost all its calibration and moved faster than the speed of light, our forms couldn't keep up and we just dragged behind it" she explained
"We're here" Garnet said looking out the window to the sight of two large, purple women guarding the door to a hangar bay they were in.
"What are those?" He asked
"Amethyst soldiers" Garnet answered
"Right, like we could've just waltzed right in as an ownerless Pearl, a fusion and two humans" Pearl remarked
"We just need disguises, call me Esteban Universidad" Steven suggested
"Steven, it doesn't matter what your name is, the point is we're all gonna stand out"
A bright light filled the ship as Garnet unfused into Ruby and Sapphire
"We won't if we play the parts we were meant to play" Sapphire stated "I'm a Sapphire, on orders from Blue Diamond with my Ruby guard and my Pearl, to deliver Esteban and Ash to the human zoo."
"What about me?" Amethyst asked
"You're accompanying us as our extra muscle"
"Muscle like them?" She asked referring to the two Amethysts guarding the door. "But I've never even seen another Amethyst before, what if I do something wrong?"
"Just look the part long enough for us to rescue Greg"
"Sapphire, is this actually gonna work?" Ash asked
"No"
"WHAT?!" They all shouted
"Just play along, and maybe we can change the future. Alright let's go"
Ruby grabbed Steven while Amethyst shifted into a larger version of herself and grabbed Ash as they marched from the ship to the Amethysts at the door.
"State your purpose" the first one said sternly
"I am here to deliver these humans to the zoo"
"Bad news, the zoo's shut down, which means we'll just have to throw these two into space" the guard said with an evil grin. Ash and Steven looked at her with extreme fear before she broke into a chuckle and turned to her companion "I can't believe they believed me"
Their joke went noticed however, by a new gem that appeared through the door, she had on a blue colored shawl with her hair styled in buns, and had an angry and annoyed look on her face
"What are you doing?" She asked as angry as she looked
"Nothing Holly Blue Agate" they both said saluting her.
He gaze became fixed on the group, before she saw Sapphire and turned to the guards "why didn't you tell me here? What have you miscreants been telling them!?"
"Nothing Holly"
"You'll have to forgive them, they're from Earth" she said with a chuckle "apologize now!"
"Forgive us" they said in usion before Holly Blue punched them "forgive us your clarity"
"No use dwelling in the past, I've come to deliver these two humans to the zoo"
"How unprecedented!" She said with excitement "nothing for millennia, then four new humans in such a short time span! Though it's probably for the best, the first two weren't in the most prestigious condition, and from what I see this one isn't that well off either" she said referring to Steven, "but the other one" she said turning her gaze to Ash, "this one appears to be quite the specimen"
Steven began to thrash at the mention of the newer humans "one of them's got to be dad!" He shouted before Ruby shushed him
"Oh their incessant barking, the other two were rather loud as well, all that thrashing about, but again, the other one seems to be quite content, he seems to understand his place," she once again referred to Ash. "I'm certain that Blue Diamond will want to thank you personally, but you just missed her. Amethysts take these humans to the-"
"Wait!" Sapphire interrupted her "we've traveled so far, and it would be a shame to leave so quickly, perhaps you'd grant us a tour of the facility?"
"I'd be honored" Holly Blue enthusiastically said "right this way your grand clarity"
The group began to follow, but she stopped Amethyst from going with them "Amethysts are to stay and guard the door"
"But"
"The door" she commanded as she lead the group, leaving Amethyst with the two guards.
"Does your Pearl always walk next to you?" She asked
"Oh," she awkwardly said "I'll just be back here" she said as she retreated to the end of the group.
"Chatty for a Pearl, anyway, this facility originally belonged to Pink Diamond, and houses and staffs the otherwise useless Quartzs that were produced on her colony. But Blue Diamond and her trusted Agate, that's me, have been maintaining this place since the dawn of Era 2." She explained as they approached a closed door, she waited a few seconds before addressing Pearl again "is she going to do it or should I say something?"
"Oh yes, Pearl, the door"
"Huh? Oh yes" she said as she walked to the door and began toying with the control pad
"You are so patient with her, how do you do it?"
"As a Sapphire, I know that the job will eventually be done"
Pearl eventually got the door open and they continued with the tour.
"The bottom half of this structure is devoted entirely to specimen containment. Apparently, humans don't take well to captivity, but once you understand their needs, they're easy to control. It's tragic that Pink Diamond's existence in this universe ended up being so finite, but what a selfless act for Blue Diamond to step forward and spend her own time and energy preserving this place in Pink Diamond's memory. It's a real testament to Blue Diamond's merciful and giving nature. Don't you think?" She asked with extreme passion
"Uh, yes"
"And of course on the rare occasion that we'd need to enter the zoo, we'd use this door here" she said pointing to a large door on the wall next to them.
"Looks like that's how we're getting in," Ash whispered to Ruby "we'll need a distraction"
"On it" she waited for Holly Blue to continue talking before shouting "EXPLOSION"
"Pardon me?"
"I just remembered, I accidentally left the gravity engine idling. Sorry my Sapphire, I am so forgetful and disposable"
Sapphire immediately caught onto what Ruby was trying to do and played along "Yes. It is going to overheat and explode. The damage will be massive"
"My word! I don't even know why anyone trusts Rubies with those ships, this is what happens"
"If we hurry, we can prevent any damage from occurring and stop the explosion"
"Of course, this way your clarity, although I'm sure you don't need my guidance, i trust your Ruby and Pearl can watch this fine specimen" she once again said looking at Ash, "and the other one should be easy to maintain as well" she said before escorting Sapphire back to the ship
"Okay if she flirts with me one more time I'm going to scream" Ash said angrily once they were gone
Ruby was also fuming "I can't believe all that stuff she said about Blue Diamond. She's a shatterer! She yelled at Sapphire! She hates love and fusion!"
"I know" Steven agreed "but we have to stick to the mission! This could be our only chance!"
Pearl began to try the door, while Ruby began bashing it with her feet while Ash and Steven kept the lookout for Holly Blue to return, sure enough she and Sapphire began to make their way back and they returned to their original positions.
"Did you see the Amethyst that did this?!" She asked in rage upon seeing the damage to the door "really we have guests"
"HOLLY BLUE AGATE!" Two different Amethysts shouted as they ran towards them urgently.
"We do not run or shout in these hallways!"
One of the Amethysts with a reddish skin tone and a chipped tooth spoke up "I-I'm sorry it's just that"
"How am I supposed to understand you if you're mumbling!?"
"Blue Diamond is on her way!"
"Oh my stars! She's back already!? You two! Best behavior! Shoulders squared, backs straight! Minds cleared! And surely Blue Diamond will want to thank you personally for this delivery your clarity"
"Yes, of course"
"Well don't just stand there you useless chunks of earth! Make yourselves useful and escort those humans to the assimilation bay!"
The two abused Amethysts obeyed and each grabbed Steven and Ash as they began to drag them off.
"But, the tour" Sapphire attempted to intervene
"Oh your graciousness you flatter me, but we must prepare for Blue Diamond's arrival" That was all they heard as the door closed
"Lets us go you bigger Amethysts!" Steven squirmed
"Man, these newer humans are so spunky" the red one said as they threw them into a small door "in ya go"
The floor around both of them began to move as they were brought before a pair of what appeared to be fingers, similar to Peridot's old limb enhancers. The fingers began to inspect the two, flashing lights and feeling them around like they were getting a check up at the doctor's office. The fingers suddenly began tearing their clothes off until they were both in their underwear.
Near naked, the two saw at the end of the line, was a crushing object pounding up and down. Ash and Steven both screamed and embraced each other waiting for the object to crush them, but instead, the machine pressed new clothes on them, which appeared to be blue loincloths.
Ash felt a sharp pain in his ear, as the machine finished by piercing a purple object to both of their ears.
"Steven, what is going on!?" He shouted as the cramped room suddenly filled with water, and sucked them both down a large drain, finally launching both of them into a rainforest environment.
They both looked around in the shallow patch of water
"I think this is it, the human zoo" Ash said out loud "your dad could be anywhere in this place, we should probably split up or some-"
"Found him" Steven said pointing to the edge of the forest to the sight of Greg, in similar loincloth as the boys now wore, having his hair braided by two other humans.