Hours passed in the station as Ruby, Sapphire, and Pearl slowly stewed under the watch of Holly Blue. This was now the longest time Garnet had spent split up in millennia, even longer than when they had had their fight at the motel. But, unlike during the baseball game, they had no trouble; they were much too worried for that. Both their minds had Fear in charge, sending them a constant stream of anxiety over everything. They were worried about Steven and his father, trapped inside the zoo; about Amethyst, stretched beyond her limits for too long, under the watch of fully-grown guards; about themselves, and their meeting with Blue Diamond, and how they she might recognize them even after all this time, or else they might accidentally give themselves away from being out of practice.
An alert sounded. The visitors whipped their heads up at the noise.
"No need to worry; that just means there's an issue in the zoo that needs to be dealt with," Holly Blue explained. "Perhaps the newest humans had trouble integrating with the others." She turned to a guard. "Take care of whatever it is!" she ordered. "Everything must be in order when Blue Diamond arrives!"
"Er, is this bad?" Joy S wondered.
"Hard to say," Fear S said. "Steven and his father might have fallen into danger… or perhaps the alert is simply them trying to escape. And for the guards to deal with it, they would have to open the door, providing an exit for them… but then again, they would have to somehow slip past the very same guards who are using it to enter."
"So many unknown variables!" Anger S yelled. "What's the use of having access to future vision if we can't actually use it to find out what's going on?"
As Blue Diamond's arrival became imminent, Holly Blue wanted to ensure that everything was prepared. She therefore made her way to the Quartz barracks, her guests in tow.
"Hold on," Fear S said. "Now that we have a better idea of where we're going, the scenarios on our future vision will be more accurate." She pulled several up. "See? There's the barracks, and… Amethyst's with them? And she's not even shapeshifted?"
"But it looks like she's getting along with the others," Joy S said. "Of course! They're her sisters and cousins from the Earth Kindergartens! No wonder they're so friendly to her."
"Holly Blue's constant abuse probably helped as well," Anger S added.
They reached the barracks. "I'll just be a moment," Holly Blue said, turning to face Sapphire as Pearl opened the door. And it was lucky she had turned, because there, scurrying to hide, were Steven and his father.
Joy S gasped. "They escaped!" she cheered. "Amethyst must have told the guards about them, and they rescued them when the alarm sounded!"
"What are they wearing?" Disgust S said.
"Who cares? For the first time since we got here, things are going in our favor!"
"Right," said Sadness S. "Now all we have to do is survive our meeting with Blue Diamond."
Joy S frowned. "You're a bit of a downer, you know that?"
As the guards scrambled to their stations, Ruby, Sapphire, and their guide headed to the meeting chamber.
"Okay, okay, we're just a group of undercover rebels heading to meet with one of the three most powerful Gems in the universe," Fear R said, breathing slowly to prevent herself from hyperventilating.
"Well, it's a good thing that Ruby's nervousness could be chalked up to being overwhelmed by the majesty of her ruler," Disgust R said, "because she doesn't really have the best poker face."
Pearl opened the door, revealing the chamber beyond where Blue Diamond stood—with Yellow Diamond beside her.
Fear R fainted.
"Seriously?" Anger R said as Sadness tried to revive Fear. "Every single thing that could possible go awry with this plan went awry!"
"Well, considering that, we've actually been quite lucky that we haven't been discovered yet," Joy R said, trying to inject a bit of optimism.
"But how long is that going to last?" Fear R murmured, opening her eyes.
"You'll be pleased to know that your Sapphire has completed your special delivery," Holly Blue said.
"What special delivery?" Blue Diamond said suspiciously.
Fear S whimpered. "Why couldn't we have been caught before this? At least then, we might have had a chance to fight back. But here? In the presence of not one, but two diamonds? We wouldn't stand a chance!"
The ground beneath Sapphire's dress began to grow ice crystals.
"She's freezing up," Fear R said. "And why wouldn't she? Blue Diamond knows she didn't send us for another human; Blue Holly will realize that Sapphire lied to her about Steven."
"Oh, what her emotions must be going through," said Sadness R. "If we were fused, we would be able to comfort her and help her through this…"
"We still can," Joy R said. "We just need to remind her that Ruby's here with her, that she loves her. She might not be able to show it much, given the circumstances, but even a small token should help…"
Ruby, taking care not to be seen doing so, took ahold of Sapphire's hand.
"Ruby," Joy S whispered. She turned to Fear. "Keep it together! We just have to come up with a halfway plausible explanation to get out of this mess, then we can grab the others, sneak back to the ship, and finally be able to fuse with Ruby again."
"Right," said Fear S. "Just keep calm, and we'll be Garnet again."
Sapphire claimed that she foresaw that Blue Diamond would desire more humans for the zoo and acted accordingly; the Diamonds seemed to accept this and dismissed them.
Joy R sighed in relief as the two gems joined up with the others. "That was a close one!"
"We still have to sneak Steven and Greg out past Holly Blue," Fear R said.
"Seems like she's too busy basking in the glory of her idols to pay attention to her surroundings," Disgust R noted.
Indeed, Holly Blue gushed about what an honor it was to be visited by two Diamonds all the way back to the Eye, not noticing the two humans at all—at least, not until they were almost in the ship.
Disgust S groaned. "So close…"
"What is the meaning of this?" Holly Blue exclaimed. "Why are these two outside the containment area?"
"Um…" Fear S glanced at her fellow emotions. "Can anyone think of an excuse?"
But there was no need; Holly Blue blamed the incompetence of the guards. "Well," she said, summoning a whip, "if you want something done right, you just do it yourself."
"You know," Anger R said, "I think we've spent enough time apart."
Ruby and Sapphire held hands and fused; Garnet caught Holly Blue's whip, which the other Crystal Gems used to tie her up.
"All right!" Anger R said. "Now she's going to get the beat-down she's been asking for!"
"No, wait," Joy S said. "I have a better idea."
So instead of using the massive gauntlet she had summoned to hit her, Garnet knocked Holly Blue down with her other hand.
Anger R gave Joy S a high-five.
"I'll report you to the Diamonds!" Holly Blue yelled. "All of you! You'll all be shattered!"
Pearl leaned down. "You're really gonna tell the Diamonds that you allowed a band of traitorous rebels to infiltrate a highly secure facility and escape from right under your careful watch? Doesn't sound like a wise thing to do, Holly Blue. So do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut. That will be all."
Joy R burst out laughing. "Wow, that was amazing!"
"Yeah," Disgust S said. "Pearl's definitely better than just a door-opener."
"We did it," Fear S said to her counterpart. "It was nerve-racking, and even frustrating at times, but we did it. And now we're on our way back to Earth with Greg. We're all together again."
Fear R looked at her fellow emotions, both from Ruby and Sapphire, as they caught up after their time apart. "Yes. Yes we are."