The Crystal Gems entered the space station—Pink Diamond's human zoo—where Steven's dad had been taken to. In the hangar, stationed in front of the door that lead to the rest of the station, were two Amethyst guards.
"Of course," Anger S grumbled. "It can never be simple, can it?"
"Well, time to fight," Anger R said, cracking his knuckles.
"Er, I'd prefer keeping that as a last resort," Fear S said.
"Besides, we don't know if they're actually hostile," Sadness R said, placing a hand on Anger R's shoulder. "They might just be like Ruby was; just a grunt following orders because she didn't know anything else."
"So then how are we supposed to get past them?" Disgust R asked.
"By playing the roles they expect from us," Fear S said. "Steven will pretend to be a regular human and Sapphire will be delivering her; Ruby and Amethyst will be her muscle and Pearl will be her Pearl."
"Are you sure?" Fear R said. "Because remember the last time we tried this. We could barely stand being apart."
"It will be tough," Sadness S said, "but what other choice do we have?"
"Don't worry," Joy S said. "We won't have to be split up for very long! We can fuse again once we get past the guards."
Ruby and Sapphire unfused and informed the others of the plan.
"Is this really going to work?" Pearl wondered.
"Er…" Fear S scrolled through scenario after scenario in her future vision, each possibility ending with their ruse discovered and having to fight back. "I don't think it is…"
"Whatever!" Joy S said. "Sapphire's future vision is a useful tool, but the actual future is unpredictable! She might see one thing and wind up falling in love with a Ruby and permanently fusing with her!"
"Or wind up playing a baseball game against her," Disgust S remarked.
"Exactly! So let's go and change the future!"
The group exited the ship and approached the guards. "State your purpose," one of them said.
"I'm here to make a delivery to the human zoo," Sapphire said.
"Bad news; the human zoo shut down," said the guard, leaning in close to Steven, "which means we'll just have to throw you in space."
"Er, we'd better get Steven out of here," said Fear R. "And figure out where Greg could have been taken, if not here…"
But the guards started laughing, revealing that it was a joke.
"Oh, of course they were messing with us," Anger R said. "Why wouldn't they? That's what our Amethyst would do in this situation."
"Sapphire would have realized that right away," Sadness R sighed. "It's such a disadvantage not being Garnet; I miss it already."
A Holly Blue Agate, presumably the one in charge of the zoo, emerge from within. Upon seeing Sapphire, she kicked and scolded the guards for not informing her right away.
"Well, their joke was kind of mean," Sadness S said, "but she's still treating them way too harshly."
"You'll have to forgive them," Holly Blue laughed. "They're from Earth." She made the guards apologize.
"No use dwelling on the past," Sapphire said. "I've brought a new human for the collection."
"How unprecedented! Nothing for millennia, and then two humans back to back!" Holly Blue said. "I'm sure Blue Diamond would want to thank you personally, but you just missed her."
"Thank goodness," Fear R said, sighing in relief. "Can you imagine us trying to stay composed in front of Blue Diamond? We'd give the whole thing away in seconds!"
Holly Blue was about to order one of her guards to put Steven into the zoo, but Sapphire intervened, asking for a tour.
"I would be honored!" Holly Blue said, and after making Amethyst stay to guard the door, the group entered the facility.
"Does your Pearl always walk next to you?" Holly Blue said suspiciously.
Pearl chuckled nervously and moved behind to her proper position.
"Ugh," Disgust S said. "I'd forgotten just how awful Homeworld is."
They continued down the corridor until they reached a closed door. "Is she going to do it or should I say something?"
"Oh, that's right," Fear S remembered. "On Homeworld, Pearls are expected to open the doors for their superiors."
"Yeah, really forgotten how awful they were," said Disgust S.
"You are so patient with her," Holly Blue remarked as Pearl opened the door. "How do you do it?"
"As a Sapphire, I know it will happen eventually," Sapphire responded.
"I feel really bad for Pearl," Sadness S said. "She doesn't deserve to be treated like this. No one does."
Sapphire made a point to whisper her condolences to Pearl as she passed by.
They continued the tour, with Blue Holly explaining the faculties.
"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?"
"Er, of course," Sapphire said.
"Ick. Just agreeing with praise for Blue Diamond feels wrong," Disgust S said.
"I'm more worried with how Ruby's taking it," Sadness S said.
Ruby wasn't taking it well.
"Merciful? Giving?" yelled Anger R. "If Ruby was fused with Sapphire, I would… I…"
"Calm down, Anger!" Sadness R said. "We have to play our parts. And if that means standing idly by when others compliment a tyrant, we just have to deal with it."
Steven, anxious to rescue his dad, made an outburst, which Holly Blue dismissed as random noises.
"So, how do you get into the zoo?" Sapphire asked.
"Excellent question, your Grand Clarity!" Blue Holly said. "On the rare occasion that we would need to enter the containment area, we would do so via this service door."
She indicated the door.
Steven whispered to Ruby that they needed a distraction.
"Right! Distraction!" Fear R said. "We need to think of a distraction!"
"Explosions are distracting!" Joy R suggested.
"Explosion!" Ruby shouted.
"I think we'll need a bit more than that," Disgust R snarked.
"Hold on," Fear R said. "I think if we prompt the memory of the Roaming Eye…"
"I just remembered I left the gravity engine idling," Ruby continued. "Sorry, my Sapphire. I'm so forgetful and disposable."
"What?" Sadness S said, tearing up a bit. "She's not disposable! She shouldn't say such things!"
"No, wait," Fear S said. "She's just playing her role! This is a ruse to get Holly Blue out of the way!"
"That's our Ruby," Joy S said with a smile. "So resourceful and dependable."
Sapphire thus played along, continuing with a story about how Ruby's supposed carelessness put the ship in danger of overheating and blowing up; she therefore had Holly Rose accompany her back to the ship while the others stayed to watch over the human.
As soon as they were out of sight, Anger R slammed down on her controls, allowing Ruby to unleash a rant of frustration about Blue Diamond.
"She's a shatterer! She yelled at Sapphire, she hates fusion… and love…"
"I know, Ruby," said Steven, "but we don't have much time! We have to open this door!"
"Got a point," Disgust R said. "Better get it done before they come back."
But despite her best efforts, Pearl was unable to figure out the control pad.
"But if our hacker's of no use," Fear R said, "how can we get into the zoo?"
"With force!" Anger R stated.
So as Pearl continued fiddling with the control pad, Ruby and Steven attempted to knock the door down—but to no avail.
"Well, that didn't work either," Sadness R said. "Would have been nice if it had, though."
"I am so glad we're almost back!" Sapphire loudly announced, warning her friends of Holly Blue's return. "I was really enjoying the tour!"
"I wish we could have stalled her longer," Sadness S said, "but there wasn't really any way to do so without being too obvious."
"Hopefully, they were able to get Steven into the zoo," Joy S said.
Steven, however, was still with the others. The door remained closed, and judging from the scorch marks on it, they had been unable to open it, even by force.
"What is going on here?" Holly Blue demanded as she spied the marks.
"Uh-oh," Fear S said. "I'm not sure they can come up with a reasonable explanation…"
"Maybe if Sapphire berates them, she'll accept that they were just being nuisances?" Disgust S suggested.
"I don't feel right scolding them, though," said Sadness S. "Even for pretend."
"This might be the point where we have to resort to fighting," Fear S said.
Holly Blue addressed the others. "Did you see the Amethyst that did this?" she asked, attributing the marks to her own staff.
"Well, that's a relief," Fear S said.
"Yeah, but what are we going to do now?" Anger S asked.
They didn't have time to ponder this as two guards hurried up to announce that Blue Diamond would be arriving soon.
"Surely, Blue Diamond would want to thank you personally for this special delivery, your Grand Clarity," Holly Blue told Sapphire.
"So that's what we're going to do!" Anger S exclaimed. "Meet with one of the cruelest entities in the galaxy and be forced to kowtow to her!"
"Why did I suggest espionage?" Fear S wailed. "Why couldn't we have just have forced our way in?"
The emotions of Ruby's mind were in a similar state of panic.
"It would be so hard for Sapphire, having to face her Diamond again," Sadness R said.
"Welp, this heist couldn't have gone any worse," Disgust R said.
"Well, don't just stand there, you useless chunks of earth!" Blue Holly yelled at the guards. "Make yourself useful and escort that human to the assimilation bay!"
"You just had to say something!" Anger R yelled at Disgust R.
"Separated from Steven… from Amethyst… from Sapphire…" Fear R said.
In Sapphire's mind, Fear S was also quite upset. "We came here to get Steven's dad out, not get Steven put in!"
Sapphire attempted to dissuade Holly Blue by protesting about the tour, but the zoo manager was too concerned with making a good impression for Blue Diamond to listen. So she, Ruby, and Pearl watched helplessly as Steven was carried off.
Joy R looked around. "Well… at least he got into the zoo?"