Chapter Twenty-Four: Epilogue

Earth, Rose's fountain. Era 3, Year 1.

Emerald opened her eyes. In the shimmery blue light she seemed to be surrounded on all sides by smooth white walls, and she sat on a smooth white floor. Slowly, she brought her hand over to her gemstone. As she ran her fingers over the green gem, she realized that her fingers were clawed, and a bushel of quills extended from her wrist. Worried, she examined the rest of herself, but found nothing amiss. Her other hand was normal. Her teeth were no longer fangs. She only had two eyes. It would seem her corruption had almost completely vanished.

It was at this point Emerald realized she was underwater.

She got to her feet, and saw that she was not alone. Dozens of Gems surrounded her, engaged in conversations with each other. Emerald looked down at her left hand, then back up at the Gems surrounding her. Almost every single one of them had some sort of feature similar to hers. Many had fangs, horns, or other monstrous features, while a few were completely unrecognizable from their base forms, but all of them, regardless of class or type, looked more than happy to be there.

Thinking she couldn't be surprised any further, Emerald looked up, and saw all three Diamonds sitting in the pool. Startled, she staggered back, and fell over with a splash. She rubbed her eyes, unsure if what she was seeing was real. Yellow, White, and Blue were still there, chatting amongst themselves. Yellow and White looked happier than Emerald had ever seen them, and Blue looked happy, period. Emerald looked to the sky, and...hang on-was she on Earth? What was going on?"

"My Emerald?"

Emerald gasped. She slowly turned around. At the edge of the pool stood Onyx, Tanzanite, Nines, Tenrit, and Pearl. "Pearl…" Emerald said. "Is this...am I…?"

Onyx chuckled. "No, you're not dead, if that's what you're wondering. Actually, it's kinda the opposite. See, it's like…" She struggled to find the words. "Tanz, you wanna take this one?"

"Certainly," said Tanzanite. "My Emerald, your corruption has been cured. As has the corruption of the Gems caught in the Diamonds' attack on Earth."

"Wait, you mean…" Emerald looked around. "This is...What happened to me happened to all of these Gems?"

"Looks like it," said Nines. "Oh, and uh, there's a bit more you missed. See-"

"Maybe we should ease her into this," suggested Tenrit, seated at the edge of the pool, staring at his reflection. "She's had a tough enough time as it is."

"Am I…" Emerald glanced at her hand once more. "Am I really back?"

Pearl lowered herself into the water, walking over to Emerald. Slowly, she reached out her hands and wrapped them around her, nuzzling her head against Emerald's chest. "I think so," she said. "For good this time, too."

Emerald took a moment to let all of it sink in. "I'm back," she said quietly. "I'm...I'm back!" She couldn't help but laugh in joy and relief, lifting Pearl above her head. "I'm back! We're all back!" She spun around, both her and Pearl laughing with tears of joy in their eyes. She pulled Pearl into a tight hug, each Gem holding the other close. "But how? How did you...did anyone...what happened?"

"I think I can answer that." Emerald turned around, and was greeted by Goshenite in the pool as well.

"G-Goshenite," said Emerald. "You're here too?"

She nodded. "Of course. I had to fix my gemstone after that scuffle, didn't I?"

"What scuffle?" asked Emerald. "Wait, did something happen to your gem?"

"Goshenite, don't confuse her more," said Pearl. "It's nothing you need to worry about, My Emerald. Everything's okay now. More than okay. The Diamonds made peace with Earth!"

"Peace? With Earth!?" Emerald exclaimed. "How did that happen? Seriously, what did I miss!?"

Goshenite approached, putting a hand on Emerald's shoulder. "That's the secret, right there." She pointed over towards a small human sitting in the pool, surrounded by many of the Gems. "He's the one who made this all possible."

"I...Rose Quartz?" said Emerald.

"Actually, Pink Diamond," said Pearl. "But actually Steven. That's what he calls himself."

Emerald stared ahead for a moment, before chuckling to herself. "Someone's going to have to sit me down and explain everything I missed, because none of this is making any sense."

A splash to her side alerted Emerald that Onyx had entered the pool. "Hey, don't worry about that," she said, throwing her arm around Emerald. "The Interlopers are gone, the empire's at peace, Era-3's off to a good start-and like you said, you're all back. Why don't we take it easy for a bit, huh?"

"I agree," said Goshenite. "I could use a break. I think we all could."

"You got that right!" said Tenrit, entering the pool beside them. "Hey, it's good to have you back, Mera."

Emerald smirked. "It's good to be back."

Onyx laughed. "Hey, everybody get in here!" She threw out her hands, scooping Pearl, Emerald, and Goshenite into a massive hug. Tenrit joined in, and Tanzanite and Nines came over to join them, as did Topaz and Cairngorm. Although a million questions raced through Emerald's head, right now, she was content right where she was.

There was a splash beside them as a Gem rose from the water. "What did I miss?" asked Uvarovite.

Homeworld, Goshenite's residence. Two weeks later.

Goshenite stood on her balcony, overlooking the city. She wasn't sure exactly how, but it seemed like the lights of Homeworld shined even brighter now that they. no longer had to worry about going to war. Not with Earth, not with the Interlopers, not with anyone. There hadn't been peace in thousands of years, and the whole planet was just so...peaceful.

Sensing someone behind her, Goshenite grinned. "I already know you're here. No sense in hiding."

Cairngorm materialized, holding her hand over her gemstone and wearing a disappointed expression. "Aww, but I covered my gem and everything! How'd you know it was me?"

"Because I don't know any other Cairngorms," said Goshenite. "What brings you here?"

"I came to tell you that you have a visitor," Cairngorm said, leaning up against the railing.

Goshenite nodded. "I can see that."

"Not me," said Cairngorm, pointing towards the door.

"The door to the balcony slid open. "Hi, Miss Goshenite!" exclaimed Pearl, running over to the white Gem, Emerald walking behind her.

"Hey, there she is!" said Goshenite, as she and Pearl hugged. "Have you been helping Emerald adjust?"

"Mm-hmm!" Pearl nodded. "It's been really easy, actually-she says this is how she always wished Homeworld could be!"

Goshenite looked up at Emerald. "Well, maybe not exactly like this," said the green Gem, taking a place on the balcony next to Pearl. "But still, a lot like this. Off-colors no longer being persecuted, planets no longer being stripped of life. I had always dreamed of a Homeworld like this."

"I have to admit," said Goshenite, "I think I like this new Homeworld. Era-3 is definitely better than Era-2. Much more cheerful, at least."

"Mm." Emerald stared out at the skyline. "And to think, all it took was Pink Diamond coming back from the dead."

"You seemed to take that well," Goshenite noticed. "I honestly thought you would freak out when you heard that Pink Diamond was Rose Quartz. But you really took it in stride."

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far," Emerald said. "It was definitely a shock, that's for sure. But it makes sense in hindsight. Pink Diamond always did have a fondness for organics and their quirks."

"So do you," said Goshenite. The two chuckled.

"I suppose so," said Emerald. "I just hope that this Steven person is a good replacement."

"Hey, he finished what Pink started," Goshenite said. "If he could do that, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"True," Emerald added.

The two sat in silence for a moment, just admiring their surroundings. Eventually Goshenite spoke up. "So, I suppose you have a reason for being here? Showing up unannounced and all."

"Well, yes," said Emerald. "I do have something to discuss, but I really did want to see you. I wouldn't have come here in person if I didn't."

"Huh." Goshenite turned to face Emerald. "So does this mean we're friends now?"

Emerald thought for a moment. "Huh. I guess it does," she said. "How about that?"

"Never would have expected this," Goshenite said. "The two of us, friends."

"Of course," Emerald said. "You helped watch out for Pearl, after all."

"She did!" Pearl affirmed.

"I just wanted to return the favor," Goshenite said.

"Hmm? What favor?" asked Emerald.

"I...it's hard to explain," Goshenite said. "In the past few thousand years, I've been...sort of following your example. You've always been so compassionate, and determined, and I wanted to be like that too. I guess you could say I've been emulating you."

"Wow…" said Emerald. "I-I don't really know what to say."

Goshenite grinned. "Don't say anything, then. Except what you came here to tell me, of course."

"Oh, right, that," Emerald said. "It's nothing, really, just a rumor. Tanzanite tells me that there was some commotion around the Alpus sector. Word is that some Gems saw a fleet of Interloper transports in the area, but there's no evidence."

"You think it's true, then?" asked Goshenite. "You think they aren't gone for good?"

"Anything's possible," Emerald said. "If there's a chance that they're still out there, then it's our job to finish them off. Especially if My Diamond's talks of dismantling her armies are to be believed."

"I'll definitely help out!" said Pearl. "And I'm sure Tanzanite and Onyx will, too!"

"You can count me in," said Cairngorm. "I can go and fetch Nines and Tenrit if you'd like."

"Looks like this war of ours isn't over quite yet, eh, Mera?" said Goshenite.

"Not yet," said Emerald. "But you can guarantee that I'll fight to the last to protect this."

"Huh? Protect what?" asked Pearl.

"All of this," said Emerald, gesturing towards Pearl, and sweeping her arm across the cityscape. "My friends. My home. Because all of it is worth fighting for." She and Goshenite shared a glance. "What do you say we finish this fight for good?"

AN: And happy end! Thank you all for reading this, I really hope you enjoyed! And rest assured, this isn't the end of Emerald's story-nor is it the beginning. Wait, what does that mean? Well, maybe we'll find out in the next episode! Stay tuned!