4. The Cape.

Up ahead stood a relatively humble building, by Homeworld's standards. It was unguarded.

Also up ahead a bit beyond - a trio of giant warrior woman gems. They were orange, and gave Lars a police-y vibe. They hadn't been seen yet. The four fugitives took this slim window of opportunity to jump into the doorway. Pearl worked the panel briefly and soon they were standing inside. The door slid shut just as the citrines passed by.

It had a very pretty interior, fabrics flowing from ceiling to floor in all manner of colors and patterns. There were crates and boxes filled to the brim with soft furnishings. Lars found himself quite taken aback by it all, having until now only seen very hard, sharp and solid designs and architecture since having landed. The last thing he ever expected to see in a world like this one, were cushions.

"Weird," he muttered to himself.

"Who's there? You're early!" A greenish-blue gem stepped into view on the other side of the room.

Pearl gasped quietly. "A Turquoise!"

"If you're here for your Emerald's silken throws, you'll need to- wait."

The new gem stood still, having not expected guests.

"What- Oh! Greetings! I'm sorry, My Clarity." The gem performed the diamond salute hastily. "I certainly wasn't expecting a visit from a Sapphire, especially such a... a rare one as yourself."

Pearl, Ruby and Lars gazed from the stranger down to their little friend Padparadscha. After a moment, the orange gem smiled.

"Oh! I'm hav- I had a premonition you wouldn't be expecting me." She nodded briefly. "That is understandable."

"To what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Turquoise smiled awkwardly.

The Off Colors all looked at each other. They hadn't really thought that far ahead.

"Our, our Emerald," began Pearl, "Was..."

"Concerned!" added Ruby, "About..."

"The... quality," supplied Lars, "of-"

"The previous shipment!" Finished Pearl.

Turquoise stared for a moment, and then all of a sudden looked like she had just been stabbed. "Oh! Oh no! W-what was the problem? I can assure you that-"

"If I may be so bold as to speak on behalf of my Sapphire.." Suggested Pearl in a meaningful way.

"You may," Padparadscha responded happily.

"We've been sent ahead to personally check the new shipment before it leaves this facility."

Turquoise, looking personally wounded, nodded. "O-of course. Please, come right this way."

She led them deeper into the facility into a docking area where many great crates stood, filled to the brim with beautiful furnishings. The far wall was open to the outside - clearly a docking station. They soon stood around one in particular as Turquoise twiddled her opposable touchstumps anxiously.

"Cushions, drapery, I think you'll find that the contents fit the order we received."

"Yes," admitted Padparadscha after a few moments. "It appears it does."

Pearl cleared her throat. "But, My Clarity, what about..."

Padparadscha stared and Pearl glanced at the other two, struggling.

"The... appearance... modifiers?" ventured Lars.

Padparadscha smiled for a moment, and then frowned. "Of course!"

Pearl turned to Turquoise. "Surely you received the second, special order?"

Turquoise's countenance dropped. "W-with respect, Clarity, we don't usually craft appearance modif-"

"That's what the other place said," bullshitted Lars.

"Which is why Our Emerald thought she could entrust you with the order," Pearl finished, trying hard not to look pleased.

Turquoise looked devastated. "Right, right! Well, I can fix this! Please, just, wait here, give me a moment to liaise with my team and we can have this whole debacle sorted out swiftly."

Without awaiting a response, she ran off at full tilt.

"Okay," breathed Lars, after they were completely alone. "What are you doing?"

Pearl looked confused. "But we have to wait for-"

"Heck with that!" Lars raised his arms. "Let's take stuff and run!"

"But this isn't-"

"The longer we stay here, the more likely we're going to get caught out somehow. Believe me - that's how I got a two-year ban from Totally Games."

"Huh?" Enquired Ruby.

"We'll learn how to sew or something! It'll just be an extra step. Let's go!"

Pearl immediately set about stowing the contents of the crate in her gem, while Ruby and Lars cast about and grabbed up all the tools they could find. They exited quickly through the doors and off into the sunset.

They ran until they were back within the apparent safety of the barrier.

"No one will think to look for a bunch of unruly gems in this blocked-off side street," said Ruby, breathing a sigh of relief while hugging Pearl. "Maybe we're safe for now."

Rhodonite reformed in a flash. Lars blinked.

"Oh! I'm back," Rhodonite laughed nervously. "I didn't mean to... not yet."

"It's okay, I guess it's safe for now until we have a new plan," said Lars, glancing around. Even though the daystar was setting, Homeworld was still bright and glimmering. He could see, off in the distance, an area with a steady stream of spacecraft coming and going.

"Speaking of, is that it?"

"Yeah," replied Rhodonite. "It's a bit further away than I imagined. But that can wait. How are you doing? Are you tired yet? Do you need your food?"

Lars narrowed his eyes. "No... and, no. I'm fine. Like, none of that was tiring. Or at least, it's nothing that a short rest won't fix." He paused for a moment, sinking at the shoulders. "I don't even know how long it's been anymore. This isn't normal, at all, by the way. I don't want you guys to have any weird ideas about humans. Usually we have to do these things as well as drink heaps of water or we, uh, die. Painfully."

Rhodonite smiled and patted his shoulder, trying to cheer the kid up. "Well, lucky you're pink now then because I have no idea where we'd ever go to get you more food around here. However, I am starting to feel like I could try that sleep-thing. That sounded relaxing."

Padparadscha bunched her dress together at the front before sitting down. "Me too. However, it'll have to wait until we are actually safe."

"You mean on Earth?" Asked Lars.

"On Earth," agreed Rhodonite, followed by Padparadscha seconds later.

"Padparadscha," asked Rhodonite, "Do you have any feelings about the future at all?"

The much smaller gem paused. "None. I never do. But for the very first time, I am excited to see what it will be like."

They sat together for a while, watching the city skyline glowing in front of them as the sky gradually became darker and darker. After a time, they decided they were safe enough to bring out their hidden friends and Rhodonite soon produced them from her pearl.

The Rutile Twins glanced around. "We're... out in the open." "It's safe?"

"For now," said Rhodonite.

The first Twin sighed. "Fluorite, you weren't finished making your surprise yet."

"That's okay, it's almost ready anyway."

A smiling Fluorite produced a deep red shirt, a pair of white pants, a pair of boots, gloves, and an extremely good-looking cape each in one of her extraneous graspers.

Lars gasped and stood up. "Wh- you made all this?"

The Twins smiled. "I helped." "I helped too!"

"This is amazing! I thought it was still going to have to be a whole 'nother thing."

"I used the Twins for general sizing. And there was a lot of green to dig through... but just enough red and pink tones to complement your hue. If anything is too big, I can still take it in. I'm almost finished the cape," Fluorite explained in her leisurely way before turning back to the cape with her needle and thread.

"Go on," said the Twins. "Put it on!"

"Yeah, okay!" He hesitated. "Um. Where can I get changed?"

He was met with questioning looks, since nobody understood.

"Uh. Privately?" He added.

"It's okay, we shapeshift in front of each other all the time," said Rhodonite.

"I predict Lars will be uncomfortable doing that, because it's different for humans."

"Oh, well, maybe behind that statue? And we won't look."

Lars glanced at the a beautifully intricate stone carving of a gem warrior a couple of yards from them, and then back at her, his whole stance uncertain. "Promise?"

"Sure, come on everyone. Let's look over here. Away from Lars."

As soon as even Padparadscha was facing the other way, he disappeared behind the nearby statue for a few minutes. When he returned, he cut a much more respectable figure.

"Guys, how do I look?"

Rhodonite carefully turned around. When she saw him, she smiled widely. "Wow!"

"Lars," said the Twins, "You look great!"

"You might be able to pass for a kunzite, if you're standing back a bit." Rhodonite was excited. "Maybe. O-or a pink tourmaline..."

"Possibly even a spinel or pezzottaite," contributed Flourite. "But, you know, from Era Two."

Lars squinted, mouthing the unfamiliar syllables and Fluorite continued fussing around him a little. "I still need to take the shirt in a little more, and-"

"Oh, Lars, this is a perfect vision! You could pass as some kind of rare pink gem!" chirped Padparadscha happily.

"Let's keep it vague," suggested Lars. "Still not a gem."

"Either way, you look pretty important." Rhodonite clasped her graspers together.

"That will mean the difference between getting to Earth and being broken," added Fluorite. "Ah, here's your cape."

He accepted the cape as she passed it to him, and held it out in front of him. "Hah, it's pretty cool, but why would I need a cape? It's too much."

Rhodonite looked confused. "Every captain wears a cape, Lars."

He snorted. "Me?" And then was blushing furiously. "N-no - I'm just some dumb kid, not a captain. I-I... The only reason I'm even here right now is because I ran away from-"

"Hey, I don't know what 'dumb kid' means," said a Twin, "but you're the whole reason we're out here, remember." "You're why we are going to Earth."

xXx

"What are you talking about?" Asked Emerald, having been stopped at the spaceport foot-exit and already bored. Her inferior relayed the message again, whispering it into her listeners.

"Hmm. Well, get back on the communicator and tell Turquoise that I didn't send any sapphire with an entourage to 'check' on the quality of the next shipment. I have never been dissatisfied with the level of quality I have received so far. Sounds like it was due to her own negligence that she was deceived by some rogue gems. I still expect my shipment to be at my chambers on Klavius VII when I return there in five cycles. Go let her know that."

The inferior gem saluted and shuffled away, and Emerald watched with disdain. Really, such issues happened to be beneath her. She had more important matters to attend to during her brief visit to Homeworld, and she had every intention of doing so as soon as she could.