2. The Tunnels.

The group had been quietly heading down a rocky, winding slope for the last few hours, pausing only when they had to hide in the holes in the cliff alongside their trail whenever activity was heard above. And activity there was. It was becoming more and more common to see a robonoid or two, or at least a faint red glow flying around in the upper canopies, and at odd points, they began to hear the faint sounds of husky voices searching for tracks off in the distance. Even though they were ostensibly looking for Steven, (or his mom or at least his gem or whatever,) Lars knew, the odds were slim that him or his friends would be any better off if they got caught.

The lower their elevation, the thicker the atmosphere and the darker and more misty it became.

"So... what if we fall?" Lars asked, trying not to trip on debris.

"Don't fall," came Padparadscha's cheerful suggestion as she walked slightly ahead of him.

"Here," said one of the Twins, quietly, pointing in the near-darkness. "We need to get over to that column, descend further..." "And then there'll be a tunnel through the wall that will take us out of here and into the next kindergarten."

Rhodonite hurried ahead a little, spying below them a rocky bridge-like protrusion leading from their trail over to the column in question. "Oh thank the stars."

Out of nowhere, a whirring sound. They stopped and hid, as they had done many times before, as a robonoid appeared from around the other side of the column. The Twins, Padparadscha and Rhodonite piled into the back of an exit hole while Lars used his meatshield and the narrow space available to nervously guard the entrance, while Fluorite scrambled down and clung caterpillar-like to the underside of the spiraling ledge they'd been traveling down - an ability that Lars wouldn't have thought the giant fusion would have, but there you go.

The strategy that appeared to work best was to minimize all movement as soon as possible and wait. Lars' purpose in these situations was to hide his companion's gems and distract the robonoid until it decided that it's purpose was better served somewhere else. Attempting to whack the machine with the club was only to be used as a last resort, but he lifted it into batting position anyway since doing so made him feel better. It was this last movement that caught its attention, and it approached the hole. He heard the gems behind him cringe and groan as he was scanned, which always made him feel nervous, but all the tension left when the robonoid turned its attention elsewhere.

Lars noticed it was probably going to look underneath the ledge, and instantly all that tension came straight back. He dropped the club as he scrambled out of the hole, and threw a rock at it to attract its attention once again. The rock clattered off the back of it's cone-shaped chassis, and it spun around to meet its aggressor.

"I'm over here you evil flying ice-cream cone!"

He held still as it scanned him once again before flying off, upwards this time. He watched, squinting, until it disappeared up beyond the mist.

"I think it's gone, guys."

"Stars above," whispered Rhodonite as she assisted Padparadscha out of the hole. "That one really snuck up on us."

"I predict Human Lars will succeed in protecting us once again! What an amazing being!"

Lars couldn't help but blush deeply at her comment. "Ahhh, stop. And, just call me Lars, okay?"

"Lars," Padparadscha repeated. "So modest, too!"

Fluorite slowly climbed back around onto the top of the ledge once more to join them as the Twins emerged from the hole.

"Thank you, Lars. Let's keep going," Fluorite urged. "Not far now."

They continued down the rocky corkscrew at a brisk pace, and Lars found himself astride the Twins. The one closest to him glanced over. "How are you managing, Lars?" "Wouldn't organics lose energy fast because they don't have gems?"

"Aah," suddenly Lars looked worried. He had lost track of time, but he reckoned it had been hours since he was brought back to life. Hours of walking and waiting and worrying and adjusting, not to mention days before that since he had last eaten. But was he really adjusting? Or was he purposefully involving himself in the moment so much as to not give himself space to think? In any case, he tried his best to clear his head and posit a response.

"I actually think I'm okay. Usually I guess I'd be worn out by now 'cause I don't exercise much. Maybe being pink has changed that. I don't even feel like sleeping even though I've been awake for.." He attempted to count, but couldn't bring himself to settle on a number. "Hmm. It's hard to keep track of time when you're on a different planet."

"Uh, what's sleeping?"

"Wow. It's like, when you're very still and your eyes are closed and not aware of what's going on and you're just resting."

"Is that the same as being poofed?"

"What?" He thought back to the magical island Steven dragged him to once and, despite the unpleasant feeling in his heart when he thought about how she had protected him, felt like he understood. "Oh, you mean when your physical form disappears and your gem just falls on the ground?"

"Yeah!"

"I don't know. I guess you could try it without being having to be poofed. But, uh, maybe when we're somewhere safe."

"Maybe we'll try it?" One Twin asked the other. "Yeah, I'd like to try!" came the reply.

"I can't believe you don't know what sleeping is. One of the gems back on Earth sleeps wherever she can. I've found her sleeping in trees, on the roof of the Big Donut, in the dumpster behind the Big Donut-" And the implications of the conversation suddenly hit him. "You mean you guys have lived down here for thousands of years and you don't even sleep? Holy crap that sounds painful. How the heck did you pass the time!?"

"Meh. We're used to it." Came the simple response from a shrugging Rhodonite.

Meanwhile, Lars' mind was racing. Was he like that now, too? Unwilling to be left alone to think his own thoughts too long, he piped up again.

"So... what's on the other side of this tunnel?"

"One of Blue Diamond's kindergartens that we'll have to climb," replied a Twin.

"Oh yeah? And that will put us closer to the spaceport?"

"Unless Homeworld has changed, yes. But Homeworld never changes much."

"I heard Yellow Diamond built a new Extraction Chamber just a couple thousand years ago," said Rhodonite, earning the immediate attention of both Rutiles.

"What! This is the first time I've heard about this."

"No, I feel like I told you already."

"When?"

"Oh, at least a few hundred years ago, I mentioned it. I don't recall exactly when."

"Oh no," the Twins despaired. "If one thing has changed, how do we know that other things haven't changed too?"

"I predict you three will soon start being silly and will need to focus on the task at hand," Padparadscha said helpfully.

"How are we being silly?!"

"Padparadscha's right, we can't afford to squabble," Lars surprised himself by saying this. "If something's wrong with this plan, we'll just have to change it when we know more. We'll... figure it out."

Rhodonite and the Twins exchanged glances, and nodded.

Suddenly, a noise. They were almost at the bridge, and they could hear approaching footsteps. At least two sets. A quiet panic settled upon the small group and without thinking, they assumed their normal defensive positions. Positions that were effective against robonoids, but not so much against alert gems with eyes. While Fluorite clung to the underside of the ledge they were on, the four remaining fled right into the back of the nearest exit hole and huddled there awkwardly.

"I thought I heard something," for a moment, the hole-dwellers could see a purple figure moving past the outside. Luckily the exit hole lined up at about chest-level relative to the gems outside - as a result, they couldn't readily see in. "I think they're moving up the spiral!"

Another figure moved into view and stayed there a little longer. "I don't see anything," a husky voice cut the silence.

A third, unseen figure announced her presence in a more commanding way. "Get up there right now and check it out! We can't return empty-handed. You know what we're looking for - a couple of organics. Humans! Yeah, one has a gem, somehow, but either way it should be simple!"

"I don't even know what a human looks like."

"They're small, dull and weak and if we can't find them, what does that say about us? Now let's go! And don't forget to use your deflectors if one of those things targets you, or you're as good as shattered!"

"Right, boss!"

Immediately, the three of them leapt upwards, continuing the hunt. An unbearable moment passed before the three gems and human felt it was safe to even exhale.

"Amethysts," breathed Padparadscha. "They're coming!"

"Those are Amethysts? The one on Earth is much smaller."

"Those were Amethysts all right, huge warriors." Rhodonite shuddered. "I almost dissipated my form."

She started crawling out of the cramped space. "C'mon Padparadscha, after you."

Once they were all out in the open once more, they quickly ran for the bridge, crossed it, and soon entered the dark tunnel.

Rhodonite carefully placed Padparadscha on the ground and leaned against the wall, her chest gem lighting the place up. "Alright, head count. Fluorite? Where are you?"

She jumped a little startled at Fluorite's gigantic face came into view. "Here I am."

"That was way too close," said a Twin. "I didn't expect to see any other gems down here."

"We should keep moving," Lars wiped beads of sweat off the side of his head, and all of a sudden noticed his hands were empty. "Oh crap, my club!" He glanced back down the tunnel, realizing he'd dropped it somewhere in the hurry.

"Forget it," a Twin said as they started moving off into the darkness. "Let's just go."

Some time later - again Lars struggled to place a number on the exact amount - they approached the exit. Lars poked his head out briefly to see another really big kingergarten, much the same as the one they just left. This one appeared a lot quieter.

Rhodonite sighed. "We should wait here until we know for sure."

"Or," ventured a Rutile Twin, "Will the search soon spill over into this kindergarten," "When they realize there's no one in the other one?"

"That's a possibility," Rhodonite frowned.

"Where is the spaceport from here?" Asked Lars, brow furrowed in thought.

"It's all the waaaay up above the surface," Rhodonite replied, pointing up.

Lars took a step out of the tunnel and stood on the ledge, looking towards where Rhodonite was pointing, shortly followed by Padparadscha.

"Everyone, I've just had an amazing premonition. The Blue Diamond kindergarten - we will be much safer there for a while!"

"That cinches it," said Lars. "We gotta do this. Same plan as before. Let's go."

Although the ascent was slow, it was also much quieter but the group still kept their wits about them. Every now and then there would be some distant noise and it would send them scurrying into hiding, but they continued their interminable ascent and eventually pulled themselves up into the near-light of the planet's barren, shadowed surface.

Lars often went first. Not having a gem made him a tough customer for most of the things they'd seen so far. He'd been given a boost by Rhodonite and, after a first glance to ensure the area was safe, he pulled himself up and out once again back onto the bleak surface of Homeworld. He reached back down the hole to help Padparadscha, who was being hauled up by Rhodonite. The other gems followed suit.

"We'll need to get our bearings," said a Rutile as they pulled themselves up. "We need to reach higher ground."

"Hold it right there!" Growled a rough voice as a figure emerged from behind a stone pillar. An Amethyst. Her eyes widened as she started to take stock of what she was dealing with and revealed a destabilizer. "Fusions... Defectives!"

A second Amethyst appeared and joined her friend.

Rhodonite shook. "We're done for!"

"No!" "Please!" The Rutile Twins stepped back as Fluorite placed a hand on each of her friend's shoulders.

Padparadscha clasped her hands together solemnly. "My friends, I regret to say that I've had a very grim vision indeed."

Lars' mind raced. He recognized the weapon from his time in the ship that abducted him and Steven. Its' purpose was to 'disrupt a gem's physical form', he recalled the kid saying. Surely it couldn't hurt him... aside from looking a little pointy, he admitted. One call from this Amethyst could have the whole place swarming with her friends in a second. He made a bet with himself that the weapon couldn't hurt him, and took a step towards the newcomer with a thought in his head about somehow taking it from her. "H-hey, c'mon, we can talk about this."

The Amethyst clearly tried to pin a name on this strange looking being. "What are you supposed to be?"

Lars held up his hands and opened his mouth, but he did not want to say 'a human'. "D-definately a gem!"

Glaring, she swung the weapon around and pointed it straight at him. "Stay still! I'll disrupt you!"

Lars complied, and so did the terrified gems behind him. The second Amethyst, unable to take this much longer, looked at her friend.

"Remember what we were talking about? Yes they're freaks and rebels, but these are gems," she said softly, motioning towards the Off Colors. "Gems just like us. With, with feelings and thoughts."

A long moment passed, broken again only by the Amethyst who had just been speaking.

"I know you only want to prove yourself, 5EH. But... this?"

The first Amethyst groaned, defeated, and lowered her weapon before turning and walking away. "Just.. go. Get out of here."

"What?!" Piped Rhodonite.

The other Amethyst glanced back at the group. "We're only looking for some loose organics, one is supposed to have a gem somehow," she explained. "Have you seen anything like that around here?"

The five Off Colors all silently shook their heads.

"Okay," sighed the Amethyst and she started moving off, following in the direction her friend had gone. "Good luck."

They stood and watched, tense with disbelief, as the last Amethyst disappeared around a nearby corner.