Notes:

Not much to say here, except I was certain this would be the most boring chapter to write. I am pleased to tell the world I was wrong! This one's been the most fun I've had so far.

Amethyst was in no rush to receive her message. Pearl had successfully warmed her up to the concept, but that made the task itself no less harder than it already had been for the quartz. Out of the OG Crystal Gems trio, Amethyst was by far the closest to Peridot. Once they rehabilitated her to their alignment, she went from deadly foe to a little sister figure almost overnight. Like Steven, she enabled Peridot to try new things and take in the joys that life on Earth offered. The trade-off was that she also enabled Peridot's mischievous nature, which yielded varied results. Amethyst learned that the hard way when her enabling Peridot to comically roast her fellow gems resulted in a very hard blow to her ego and insecurity of her identity. Thankfully, that incident was smoothed over by Peridot making the effort to apologize.

There were many ups and downs in Peridot's life since becoming a Crystal Gem, and Amethyst was around for nearly as many of them as Steven had been. She did consider the three of them the Shorty Squad for a reason. But all of those fun, fond memories Amethyst had were exactly why she hesitated to see Peridot's final message to her. And in a way, Amethyst could sympathize with the currently-asleep Steven for not wanting to see it… at least not now.

She glanced over to Steven's phone on the table a few feet away from where she sat. If Steven insisted on being that far away from his phone, then this was a cause for concern. Amethyst was not looking forward to browbeating Steven into this; she felt so hypocritical even thinking of doing it. Maybe her efforts wouldn't be needed; Pearl and Garnet obviously had no qualms about facing their message. She thought back to how she spotted Steven and Peridot sharing a kiss right in the midst of total pandemonium in the terminal hosting their exit from Homeworld; that was mere minutes before she and Pearl agreed to fuse so that Opal could clean house faster. And obviously, given the situation, Pearl had too many other more pertinent things in mind at the time to even acknowledge that detail while she shared a single mind with Amethyst. So she couldn't be too surprised Pearl only learned of this moments ago.

Of course, long before seeing it in action, Amethyst suspected Peridot had more than just a strong bond of friendship with Steven. She knew Peridot too well now; the technician had no hope in hiding such sentiments despite her efforts. Even though she was genuinely confused for a bit… Amethyst wasn't there to see that. Perhaps Lapis or Bismuth might have seen some of that out of her while the quartz was held prisoner in a bubble. Amethyst considered asking either or both at a later time… when they could spare the time to enjoy some gossip. She knew full well they were going back to Homeworld soon; Amethyst was no more or less terrified of that by itself than anyone else. She understood now why Peridot was so quick to take the lead when their positions were swapped around. Lapis was distant with chronic commitment issues, and Bismuth just hadn't been back long enough to feel how Peridot felt when she first heard everyone was in trouble. Given the options at the time, Amethyst wasn't surprised Peridot took charge. She was proud of her Shorty Squad mate for going so out of her way, and honestly out of her reach to lead such a crucial rescue effort.

And like the others, Amethyst was sure Peridot was still alive. It seemed painfully obvious White Diamond would use Peridot to bait the others back straight to their doom. So no, Amethyst didn't believe for a second that Peridot was dead, so no need to worry there. What was a cause for concern was how Peridot fared right now as a hostage. Since showing on multiple occasions now that the Diamonds no longer frighten her, Peridot has had a terrible habit of running her mouth at them, and it never ended well for her. That's how she got poofed in the first place. It would be awkward for Amethyst to watch a message from her friend who fully believed she would be long dead by the time her friend accessed the file, when Amethyst herself didn't believe it. The quartz wouldn't rule it out, of course… she just highly doubted it. Why bother getting depressed over something that probably held no real validity to it? Then again, Pearl insisted there was some comedic gold both in her message as well as Garnet's. And of course, she had mentioned Steven in both as well.

Amethyst conceded it was worth a watch for those reasons, at least. While she pondered on when she should buckle down and watch, she felt the counter top vibrate multiple times in a rhythm. She glanced over to Steven's phone again to see it was indeed sliding along with every buzz: someone was calling him. But Steven was asleep, and Amethyst knew the poor guy needed a good, long rest before jumping back into this mess. The quartz snatched the phone before it could fall off the counter and saw Connie's picture on the screen. She smiled and decided to play secretary for the day.

"Universe residence; this is Amethyst speaking, how may I help you, dude?"

"A-Amethyst?" Connie's voice shook with possible shock or embarrassment. "I thought for sure I dialed it right…"

"Naw, naw, you did," Amethyst assured her. "Steven's finally getting his z's in, so he's gonna be outta commission for the next few hours… I figure I'd just be your messenger."

"Right, sleep… I really should be getting some myself," Connie admitted. "But going to sleep in the morning, that's just… too weird for me."

Amethyst smirked. "I've seen human dudes try and balance that by spacing out 2-hour naps throughout the day. Eh, but take a gem's advice with a grain of salt and all that. I bet facing your folks took a lot out of you already."

"Yeah, kind of." Connie did sound just a bit tired, but a little too driven by the current events to let that get to her just yet. "At least we've gotten to a point where they're not putting me under house arrest now. I just wanted to check in with them real quick… let them know I didn't die out in space and all, but I planned on heading back here very soon. I honestly can't bring myself to sleep after what happened… it feels disrespectful to Peridot to just… sleep in the comfort in my own bed when she she's probably getting tortured by White Diamond right now."

"Ah, so you don't think she's dead either, huh?" Amethyst wasn't surprised. "I figured that'd be the case, myself…"

"Well, she could be, but in my honest opinion? It would be wasteful of White Diamond to do so," Connie noted. "She wants Steven - what better way to lure Steven back than using a captured friend? I don't want to think about the non-lethal ways Peridot could be suffering right now… at least I don't think she'll be made pallid. That condition sounds like a death sentence."

Amethyst hummed in agreement as she looked over to the bed, where she could just barely make out a sleeping Steven from her angle. "Well, Peridot ended up bringing us like, zillions of samples in bubbles home to us, so we stand a good chance in curing that now, or at least be protected from getting it ourselves. 'Cause I'm pretty sure that's one thing to definitely be afraid of when we head out next time."

Connie sounded so relieved. "I had no idea! Peridot's done way more for us than I thought… see, that's why I can't sleep. I need to repay her. You should have seen how bad her arms looked when Steven and I caught up to her group, Amethyst… apparently one leg got the same treatment. It was hard to look at… she's suffered way more than she let on."

"Well, I know of an extra incentive to get your butt over here," Amethyst mentioned. "We told Bismuth about how well you were using Rose's sword before Blue-Di broke it; Bismuth was a huge ally of Rose's back in the day and all. Bismuth's a legendary blacksmith, so she promised us she'd surprise you when you came back to us with something really nice…"

It was worth it to hear the joyous chuckling of the girl on the other line. "Seriously?! That's fantastic news. I need to start getting ready as soon as I can! I still wanna use my new hammer as back-up, though... that was a present from Peridot."

Amethyst didn't realize this, but she and Pearl were way on the other side of the room when that exchange happened. "Man, P-Dot spoils you," she teased. "Guess with all that newfound respect you've got for her, that means you already watched her message, huh?"

"A-actually, no… most of my time has been occupied with keeping my parents satisfied regarding what happened. They might not completely be aware that I'll be back in space soon enough, heh." Clearly Connie didn't like having to lie to her parents, but no good self-respecting parents would dare let their kid get involved in something like this again. "I also wanted to wait until I got to your place to watch it, anyway," she explained. "I know she wanted us to see these messages on our own, but I feel like it's only right to do it where she's living right now. She… is still living there, right? I heard about the barn."

Amethyst sighed. "Yep, she's back with us. This time around, probably to stay for good for a few reasons. Heck, I'm pretty sure Bismuth will be an official resident once we get this over and done with. Lapis… eh, that's a solid maybe at best. At best a part-time resident, knowing her. We're gonna have a lot of remodeling to do in the Temple once this is over…"

"Oh, can I help out with that when it happens?" Connie sounded excited. "Who knows? Maybe when I turn 18, I'll rent a room, too!"

Amethyst snickered; she could already picture it. "Hey, the door's always open here! Ah, I can already see Peri being the overbearing boss bickering with Pearl on that already…"

That prompted Connie to laugh out loud. "Well, now I can't miss this!" Her voice abruptly became somber a moment later. "H-hey, is it really okay to come over this soon? I know you said Steven's sleeping now, but… he really didn't look like he was in a good place before I went home."

"Eh, you're not wrong…" Amethyst felt uneasy all of a sudden. "He's refusing to see Peri's message outright, but that might just be the shock and grief and all that. He might be in a better mood when he wakes up, he might not. If he's not… well, we'll beat it outta him. I'm thinkin' of a really nice secret weapon we can use on Steven if he gets to the point of being super-stubborn about it, but I won't know how good a weapon it is until we all watch our Peri messages."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, so far Pearl and Garnet watched their Peri messages, and both of them had her ramble about Steven to some degree. Pearl just said Peri gave her a great wake-up alarm in hers, so I'm thinkin' we attack Ste-man with all of our Peri messages - like, specifically the part where she talks about Steven in 'em, because I suspect all of 'em, yours included, will have her talk about Steven for a little while when she's supposed to be talking to somebody else. I figure all that at once will finally guilt-trip our dude into watching his so we can get on with the rescue. But I need to see if that really is a consistent thing with Peri's messages or if it's just a coincidence that happened in 2 of the 8 messages. I'm gonna strongly believe it's the case if it's in mine, and if I hear the same outta one more person, then it's gotta be true." Amethyst cooked up a devious plan for dealing with a difficult Steven alarmingly quickly.

"Hmm…" Connie sounded intrigued. "Well, I'll be sure to look out for that in mine when I watch it. I'll report straight to you, okay? My gut's telling me Steven's not going to come around easily when he wakes up. He's taken this harder than everyone…"

Amethyst let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah… I'm not used to seeing him so negative and bitter. Can't be havin' him like that for the mission, so yeah. The snooping's totally for a good cause. It's only been a few hours since the dude conked out, though, so you can come over whenever. You can crash on the couch if you need to sleep at any time." The quartz glanced at the clock; it wasn't even noon yet. "You need a ride over? I can hunt down Greg and give him something to do; I assume the 'rents aren't exactly gonna be okay with bringing you over so soon."

"I hate to impose like this, but that would be great," Connie admitted. "But I guess Steven's dad could use someone to talk to after everything that's happened. I'm surprised Peridot brought him along to Homeworld…" Connie hummed, deep in thought. "I'll come in a few hours; how about that? I can text you when I'm ready so you can let Mr. Universe know to pick me up."

"Sure thing; text either me or Steven's phone, since I think I'm gonna be in possession of both for a while," Amethyst said with a smug smirk. "Text us both just because you can, whatever! Guess I'd better watch my Peri message while you get ready, then. Thanks for hangin' in there with us, Connie."

"Cool; I'll check mine out once I settle in over there," Connie confirmed. "Thanks for keeping me up to date on everything, Amethyst. I really appreciate it. I feel like I didn't really pull my weight last time… I swear I'll make up for that when we go back."

Amethyst stood up. "That's the attitude to have. We're gonna need a good team motivator; I might just hire you. Seeya when you're ready, Connie."

Once the farewells were said, Amethyst hung up and kept both phones in her possession for the time being as promised. She was glad Connie's held out as well as she had considering what happened, and now Amethyst had a solid objective to complete during downtime. It would be fun for her, and effective for the mission ahead. Rarely do those two factors coincide.

Although tempted to just settle in the living room, Amethyst figured she should honor her Shorty Squad mate's wishes and keep this to herself for now. The living room was a rather bad place for anything private to take place. It might even wake Steven up.

So, Amethyst decided to make use of her room - for something other than storing junk inside. Since she talked about Peridot, Bismuth, maybe Lapis, and eventually Connie getting their own rooms here, Amethyst thought perhaps she should just be grateful she has a proper room in the Crystal Temple while her poor friend's had to make do with the bathroom all this time. As much as she claimed to "like" it in there, Amethyst knew if Peridot ever actually got a good look into the Crystal Gems' rooms that she'd be begging for one of her own.

It didn't take long for Amethyst to find a spot to prop up her phone and get comfortable while she watched her close friend spill her heart out. Unlike the past two videos, this one took place in the evening. Peridot was on the beach; the house nowhere in sight, nor any thing behind her that indicated any work being done. Peridot did look quite irritable from the get-go, though… she was sitting in the sand cross-legged… just from her expression, Amethyst knew she was in for something good. Although abruptly, Peridot forced herself to look extremely jolly when she started to speak.

"... Log Date TTC: 9 hours…

Hey there, Amethyst! How ya doin'? Hopefully better than me, because I'm dead! HAHA…. HAHAHA! Haha… hah…

Oh stars, that was terrible. Should I- n-no, no. This is the 17th crudding take… if I don't get on with this now, I'll never get this stupid thing done…

Oops, did I say that out loud? Haha, I'm totally kidding, you know. Do you really think someone as witty and intelligent as I could screw up an introduction that many consecutive times?! It's not like there's any PRESSURE or anything… g-geez, of all people I'm sending these dumb post-death messages to, you should be the easiest one to make one for! I mean, you actually get me, Amethyst! How hard could this be, right?

… I guess a little harder than I'm making it out to be. Here's the thing, Amethyst: you're the 4th one I'm doing this kind of log for. You'll probably be the last one I make while we're still on Earth; our ship production is going along a lot faster than I anticipated… and since I'm heavily involved in making it, I don't exactly have that much time to spare doing this crap for you all. I can only be gone so long "on an errand" before the others start tracking me down. That's what I get for taking control, I guess… yeah, that's right, Amethyst. I can actually say I'm the leader of the Crystal Gems and mean it this time. I'd feel more prideful about it if I had some actual competition, mind you… Bismuth's a field commander who's just how adjusting to life in general after being in stasis for who-knows-how-long, and Lapis… pssht, Lapis was set to run off until I browbeat her into the operation. Yeah, it's us three and Steven's paternal unit. We're your only hope now, Amethyst. So hopefully you'll be able to look back on this and laugh, and you can say to yourself "Well NO WONDER Peridot was obliterated in that rescue mission; just look at the help she had going in!"…

I guess I'm being too hard on them both. Well, Lapis I don't really feel bad about. After what she put me through, I'm treating her way better than she deserves. I could have just not told her there wouldn't be any water on Homeworld for her to use, making her the most worthless teammate in history, but that level of pettiness cuts heavily into my sincere desire to rescue you moronic clods. I can't afford to be picky, but oh I wish I could be. I'm sure she'll get back into my good graces eventually… I guess Steven would be mad at me if I didn't get over the grudge, but… nyrrrgh, he saw exactly what she put me through! Stupid impartial-

… Sorry about that. No, really, I'm glad to have the kind of help I have. We've got water here we can take with us to Homeworld, but obviously not that much if we're to be rescuing 5 of you. So I made sure Lapis learned how to fight with limited amounts of water. Bismuth is helping me make the ship, and she's never built a space ship in her life. It's coming out really good, all things considered. We did luck out having a lot of Diamond ship tech to pilfer from, I'll admit. But I'm sure you'd agree that it's too hard to resist doing something that just spits on the Diamonds' faces, right?

Gah. I usually don't ramble this much off-topic… okay, I'll be straight with you, Amethyst: the videos I've made so far are to people who I haven't conversed with on a consistent basis. Ones that I might have issues with and I held it in all this time… or questions I was too afraid to ask. Ones I never took the time to really get to know… but I actually speak to you quite frequently, Amethyst. You're right behind Steven and probably equal to Lapis in that regard. You know me, and I like to think I know you. At the very least, I know a good deal of things I shouldn't bring up with you because of my subpar social skills…

I suppose you and Steven are to be credited for by improvements in that regard. Clearly, as you can tell in this video, I'm still just average at best. If I knew I'd be leaving you all this soon, I would've put forth a lot more effort into it… so I'm sorry about that, Amethyst. You've been very patient with me; I probably haven't really given much back to you by comparison. Like I told you before, I'm still learning… or I guess, was learning. I know the Shorty Squad's not going to really be a squad without me, and I apologize for that as well… but, mm, here's an idea: just have Connie take my place! There you go; problem solved from your dead and lovable Peridot.

I guess there is one thing I meant to ask you about and never got a chance… it sounds like whatever family reunion you had with the Amethysts that emerged from the same rock as you was a very good experience. You were so excited and energetic when you showed off their holes to me, even if you got the labeling completely wrong. The term "family" has been one I struggled to truly understand since I came to Earth. Steven and Connie have these… paternal and maternal units that I don't fully comprehend. And I've actually had time to talk to Steven's paternal unit lately since he's sort of been… I don't know, our moral support? I'm making him chauffeur of the ship just so he'll be contributing directly to the mission, but… it's weird. He's surprisingly easy to talk to, and I actually feel better after the fact. My first night on the job, he helped alleviate a lot of my stress and fatigue with this hot cocoa beverage… and it was nice to feel… I don't know? I want to say "cared for", but it's not like you all haven't cared for me. I tell him later I don't have a single atom of this "maternal instinct" in my gemetic makeup and then he points to Pumpkin and claims that's all the proof he needs to claim I was made with something like that! … hm, I should be saving this for my video for him… a-anyway, my point is… while I consider you all my family, of course, you seem to have 2 families. Us, and your fellow gems who emerged from the same rock. You held similar sentiments towards Jasper, as I recall.

I suppose what I'm getting at here is those… what did you call them? "Famethyst"? They seem more analogous to Steven and Connie's biological relatives. You never really met this other family until recently, am I not mistaken? You told me you were in your hole too long and they all left without you… and that was 5 Earth millennia ago. I suppose it's impressive you can achieve that… I just wonder what it feels like. I don't have distinct memories of my fellow Peridots who came out of the same rock I did. If I'm being brutally honest with myself, and… hey, at this point, I'm dead, so I won't have to regret saying this later, but… even by Era 2 standards, I came out as a very flawed Peridot. Notably smaller in stature than what was the set standard, but that's been a gradual effect, the more recently an Era 2 is made. And I've seen reports that suggest the batch I came out from was the very last they could make with Homeworld's depleted resources. Beyond that, I had seen a report that said my eyes were gemetically defective, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. My eyesight has always been fine, and I haven't seen anything to suggest the build of my eyes were terribly flawed. Still, I turned out to be very stoic and pain-resistant, so I suppose that's why I wasn't shattered from the start. I usually don't like bringing up these sorts of things - they're kind of depressing - but hey, if I'm dead, I'm sure this isn't making anything worse.

I'm not sure if my - and I'm calling this before you, Amethyst - my… fellow "Famidots"… are even alive. To my knowledge, I've never met 5XA through 5XF. That goes for the rest of the 5X series. At best, we were all together on the same assembly line when we got our limb enhancers attached. And if that was the case, then… I know at least a few of them shattered on Day 1 because they were being too fussy adjusting to the limb enhancers. Most Peridots claimed they were so uncomfortable or even painful at first. I called them pathetic whiners. We're supposed to be a resilient gem that's very hard to break - that's literally our other selling point beyond the technician function. So if I ever saw a Peridot even display a hint of discomfort, I denounced them on the spot. Maybe I shooed all the survivors off because I was born that callous. Thankfully, I don't have many specific memories of my worst years… I just have that constant feeling of disdain for the inferior Peridots, and an unwavering resolve to be better than all of them. Which, objectively, you can say I am.

It just hit me that I've pretty much given you, Garnet, and Pearl a lot of grief just to cover up my various insecurities. Every category of it. With you, I obviously put emphasis on your overcooked form because I didn't come out perfect, either. I gave Garnet grief over fusion because I didn't understand the point of it beyond combat use, and because I can't do it at all. I antagonized Pearl by making light of her status as a Pearl… y'know, treated her like a slave and all that because that's all I thought a Pearl could ever be… I did that because Peridots are even lower than Pearls in the Homeworld caste system. We are just… rock bottom. You'd have to be one of those failed fusion experiments to be lower than my kind.

So… I'm sorry I did that to you all, Amethyst. I already apologized to them separately in their respective messages, but I didn't realize just how bad it was until I added my transgressions on you into this. You all really have been patient with me. I'm not sure what you even saw in me, Amethyst. You and Steven did kind of lift the seal that suppressed everything in me up to that point, I'll admit… I felt things I never felt before… things I never would have felt if I had never left Homeworld. It's crap like this that kinda makes me envy you being a gem made from this planet. Is that why you're inherently the most fun gem to be around, Amethyst? Because you were made on a planet where all this freedom and joy existed? Guess that's another insecurity you can add to the list. Geez, you'd think I had some kind of complex…

You've been a big help in teaching me how to be an Earthling, and for that I thank you, Amethyst. I can't count how many times you've been there for me when I needed it, or given me advice I could actually understand, or when you were just there for the sake of having fun and enjoying being alive. I'll miss that the most… a-and maybe this is why I had a hard time focusing on you for this message, Amethyst. There's so much I'll lose and miss out on indefinitely if I'm dead right now, and- stars, I'm such a clod. I got through 3 videos without even coming close to shedding a tear, but here of all videos is where I'm gonna get misty-eyed?! If I'm getting like this with you, Amethyst, how in the world am I gonna get through Steven's message with a straight face?! I can't cry in his! It'll just make him cry! And it makes me want to cry knowing that my future crying is gonna make him cry even later on! I just-

You know, I should at least explain this to you… this thing I have so much trouble expressing to the others, because I have to make sure everyone knows he's important enough, and wonderful enough to be everyone's concern, and everyone needs to be there for him in my place so he doesn't have to suffer losing me as much- nynnngh! A-and I can't keep a secret from a Shorty Squad member, right?!

Everything that's been driving me right now… to head this mission, to do all these things I normally never do… that's because Steven's in trouble and I can't stop thinking about him. But that's a good thing, because thinking about him is what's keeping me grounded, like a competent leader should be! I-it's not to say I'm not worried for the rest of you. Oh, trust me… I'm gonna be freaking miserable until I see you all safe and sound. But when I'm about to break down, I… thinking about him puts me at peace. I remember why I'm doing this, and… h-he's so special to me, I don't even know how to describe it, Amethyst! I know what it sounds like, but it's so much more than that! I-I'll admit it to you, at least… I'm afraid, okay?! I'm terrified of defining my relationship with Steven.

It's not just one thing, you know? Calling him merely a "friend" is an insult! An unacceptable understatement of his contributions to my life! I can't just call him "family". I mean, he IS that. He IS a friend. And… geez, sure, why not… he's meant so much to me, I can't comprehend life with out him! So I love him. Grrrhhkkkk. Why did I say that? Even THAT'S an understatement! Do you see the kind of mess that little clod turns me into, Amethyst?! I-I want him as all these things, but… but I have to pick one, don't I? What happens to the others when I do? I don't… I don't want them to go away. How does one live without those other facets?! These are things I really need to know and I'll never know because I'm dead!

Nnnff… g-great, now I'm a full-blown sobbing mess. Thanks a lot, Amethyst! See what you've done?! As if this isn't the only slight you've made against me… oh yeah, don't think I've forgotten! Steven told me it was YOU who threw my limb enhancers into the ocean! Normally I'd be well past that, except they would have been SUPER USEFUL to have for this mission and now I don't get that option! I'll have to navigate Homeworld purely by memory, so that'll make it that much harder for me to save your sorry butts! It'll be harder for me to fit in with the rest of my kind now! If I die because I get lost or identified and you never get saved, you can just blame yourself for that one!

Oh, and that's not even the worst thing you've done! Not at all! Did you know I'm using the tablet to record this message right now? The tablet Steven gave to me out of the kindness of his heart because he actually felt bad for me, what with ALL of my tech being destroyed thanks to the Crystal Clods?! So he actually gave me something close to what I used to have! Now, what did YOU do that day he gave it to me? Hm, let's go back and YEAH, YOU REMEMBER NOW, DON'T YOU?! Had it been left entirely to your own devices, THIS TABLET WOULD HAVE BEEN CHUCKED RIGHT INTO THIS OCEAN! THE ONE YOU SEE RIGHT BEHIND ME! The only reason, the ONLY reason I didn't just poof and bubble you on the spot is because that triggered my metal powers! I still don't know how or why, but you have no idea what kind of PURE HELL you put me through! Just count yourself super LUCKY your needless cruelty gave me something unique; something I'd been looking for in myself all this time! I still haven't found any explanation for these powers, by the way! Such an ability has never once been recorded on ANY Peridot, Era 1 or 2! If there had been, I would've known about it! And I would've been trying to awaken it all this time, but I didn't even know it existed at all! Maybe that's part of my gemetic defectiveness; I don't know! SO WOW, THANKS FOR THAT, YOU OVERCOOKED CLOD!

…

… okay. Okay.

I think I'm okay. … I think I really needed to get that off my chest. I feel so much lighter now… and calmer. And I'm not crying like a pathetic defect would anymore. I-I honestly didn't think I was going to make this out to you with any intent of screaming my head off at you, Amethyst. Sorry if any of that was too much, I just… wow. I've had that bottled up for ages. I think I can forgive you now.

Well… I'm not sure how much good this did for you. Y-you might be kinda glad to have me dead by this point. But… for what it's worth… I guess you helped me again, Amethyst. In a really, really, REALLY weird way, but… it was still help. And I want you to know I'm grateful for that. Just between us full gems, I'm pretty sure I'll miss you the most.

Sincerely, your best friend giving you best wishes, Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG."

"... that's the biggest emotional rollercoaster anyone's put me through." Amethyst was beside herself. At first it seemed like she would be getting exactly what she expected… then it shifted into something else entirely. Guilt was the first feeling Amethyst could identify, but it was tempered with the confirmed forgiveness Peridot offered her. But she felt a massive pain in her stomach, and Amethyst knew it wasn't what she just ate. That was a lot of intense sorrow and happiness, amusement, and surprise mixing into one emotional typhoon that felt like it was tearing the core right out of the quartz.

"You didn't stop the video yet, huh."

Amethyst was so embroiled in the side-effects of Peridot's words, she didn't realize the footage was still rolling. This time, Peridot never left the shot. She still sat in place; only her eyes shifted from one side to another during that period of silence.

"It's fine. I bet the others didn't, either. At this point I think it's just a tradition now to add something after my official sign-off. The last few times were just incidental screw-ups… usually by my clod-head teammates. I usually shoot these in the beach house. I decided I should try a new location for you… and that was probably a wise idea. Everyone would have heard me if I wasn't this far out. By the way, I've decided. I've chosen you and Steven to inherit my belongings. I trust you'll be able to come to an agreement with him, but I couldn't just choose one or the other.

Look, I… Amethyst, just don't worry about me, okay? It'll be fine. You'll be okay. I've not even been part of your life for one of your 5000-plus years. I'll fade away with time, all of this will… and you'll still be you. Awesome.

Just promise me you'll take good care of Steven. Be the sister for him that I never could be. I'll miss you both… more than any way you can define the sentiment."

That was the end. And honestly? All that did was encourage Amethyst to take some time out of her day to cry this out of her system.

She didn't even think Peridot was really dead. She still didn't, after watching thing. But it put a dark thought into Amethyst's mind: they could find Peridot all well and fine when they return for her… but given the circumstances that have changed between missions, there was a fairly good chance she could die as she's being rescued.

And that made Amethyst the most scared and vulnerable she had ever been.

Amethyst did eventually step out of her room, but it was already well into the afternoon by that point. Only now did she think to check Steven's phone and find that Connie had already texted her. 45 minutes ago.

Hurriedly, Amethyst made out an apology before making sure Connie was still ready to go. Connie was understanding, of course. It didn't take long to hit up Greg so Connie could have some reliable transport back to home base. Amethyst was set to greet the girl when she arrived, but before she opted to work on her Steven project in the meantime, it seemed like a good time to check on Steven himself.

He was still fast asleep; very little change from how he was a few hours prior. Amethyst just patted him on the head and set his phone nearby.

"I think it's been about 8 hours, my man. But you just sit tight. Big Sis Amethyst is gonna bring someone special soon who's really gonna wake you up."

[ NEXT LOG: CONNIE ]