A/N – Hey guys, thanks for the awesome feedback. I've definitely got lots more chapters in the making so stay tuned for more fluffy stuff! Hope you enjoy this extra special chapter, it's a little different than the usual stuff

Chapter XVII

When we Found her

The gems walked at a leisurely pace around one of the abandoned temples. The walls were filled with ancient carvings and paintings, the marble floor cracked and full of newly sprouting moss, and the atmosphere around them was eerily silent. Although the ageing had definitely skewed the temple's beauty, specifically Pearl and Garnet brought it back to their Homeworld days.

"Oh I remember this place!" Said Pearl, putting her hands together and performing a twirl, "We used to hold ceremonies here where all the warriors would join after battle."

"It was definitely a memorable place." Garnet lowered her shades to admire an intricate pattern on one of the large pillars that surrounded them.

Amethyst, having not been to Homeworld before, or visited many of the gem landmarks kicked a stone along the floor, giving out an unenthusiastic sigh. "Can we go now? I know this is our day off from looking after Steven, but I'd rather spend it on the couch."

"Where you can eat junk all day and sleep, just like you would if Steven was here anyway?" Said Pearl, hands on hips.

"Nuh-uh! Steven is a lot of work, I need my beauty sleep."

Pearl snorted, "Really, you think Steven is lots of work? You should've experienced what it was like looking after you when you first joined us. You were completely feral!"

"Pfft, I wasn't that bad." Remarked Amethyst.

"Oh but you was." Pearl rolled her eyes.

"Was not."

"You were Amethyst." Said Garnet, chuckling. "It was one our hardest missions yet."

Arriving on the warp pad, the three gems slowly observed their environment.

"So this is where they've been making them." Said Garnet, disgust laced her voice.

"I knew there was a Kindergarten experiment happening, but I didn't realise they would actually grow on the Earth." Pearl looked at the injectors that littered the place, "This really is a dump, but it looks like no one has been here since the war, is there any point in checking it out?"

"Yes." Rose Quartz said rather distantly, she stared at the bleak horizon that was barely visible between the two black cliff sides, "We need to make sure that this place is shut down permanently."

They all trod cautiously, shuddering as they stepped on gem shards half-buried in the dirt.

"Why would they smash their own soldiers?" Murmured Pearl, hurrying to catch up with Rose and holding onto her arm tightly.

The little breeze that went through the metal objects and bounced into the holes on the cliffs played an eerie tune. It was a whistling that almost sounded like whispering.

Even Garnet felt chills run down her back as she thought of the many that were harvested here, and even smashed. The sudden stop of Rose startled her a little.

"Garnet, Pearl. I need you two to form Sardonyx, you need to—" Rose was cut off by Pearl who questioned, "Why not Rainbow Quartz? Surely she would be the most agile in a place like this."

"No." Said Rose gently, "When you form Sardonyx you'll be able to drill down to near the Earth's outer core. With Garnet's high temperature tolerance you should be able to retrieve and bubble any gems that are still planted there."

"But Rose—"

"This is just a precaution." Rose cupped Pearl's cheek and smiled, "Okay?"

"Anything for you." Pearl blushed and then went over to Garnet who had lit up her gems ready.

They both performed a short dance with Garnet doing bold robotic movements, swaying her hips from side to side and slowly going towards Pearl who did fluid, graceful transitions to join her friend in the middle. After Garnet lifted her up and span her around, they fazed into eachother producing a bright orange light and a much taller figure.

"Hello there Rose Quartz! I'll have drilled down to the Earth's core in a cinch, don't you worry about that!" Her voice boomed confidently, and Rose giggled at the display.

"I'll meet you here soon, thank you Sardonyx." Rose waved her off, as the giant gem summoned her weapon and began to dive into the ground, her drill pummeling through the soil like butter.

Rose wandered through the deserted grounds, her dress lightly skimming the uneven stone floor. She looked up at the large holes that had formed the black walls of the Kindergarten, which would have been the place where fierce gem warriors made for battle would have emerged. There were so many, which made sense since she had fought so many in the war.

"Such a waste of life" She thought, feeling pain and sorrow for the gems that were forced to fight. They had no other reason to live other than to battle, or face being smashed by the authorities.

Rose was so deep in thought, that it took a few seconds for her to react to the sound of quick footsteps. Expression stern, she kept a tight grip on her swords handle, ready to unsheathe it if necessary. Rounding a corner, she noticed a small contrast of colour sitting atop of a large grey rock. Slowly approaching, she saw a tiny purple figure sitting at its peak with its back to her.

"Hello?" She stood underneath it, eyes widening when the mop of light grey hair flicked round to face her. "You're an Amethyst, aren't you?"

"What's it to you?" The gem growled when Rose placed a hand on the side of the rock. "Paws off my rock, go get your own!"

Rose had to retain a chuckle, "She's certainly a feisty one."

"What are you anyway? I don't see many things come through here, did you come out of one of the holes?" The purple gem almost sounded hopeful, but still managed to aggressively glare at the unfamiliar intruder through her thick, untidy bangs.

"I'm a Rose Quartz, and no, I'm not from here." She noticed that the gem slumped her shoulders at that.

"I'm an Amethyst, but no else had come out of the Kindergarten for nearly five hundred years. It gets lonely here, y'know." Amethyst hopped down from her rock, and gazed up in awe at Rose who stood very much taller than her. Her eyes brightened and she began to run round in circles around Rose. "I really like your hair! Wow it's so pretty!" She went underneath the mass of curls and popped her head out, "I wish I had hair like this."

Rose laughed, which made Amethyst's eyes twinkle. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard, and gave a toothy grin.

"Would you like to walk with me?" Asked Rose, holding out her hand. Almost shyly, Amethyst took it. They further explored the Kindergarten, with Amethyst showing her the tiny hole she came out of, her favourite rocks, the rusty injectors and some of the ancient gem technology that had resided there. Rose gently pressed a few questions, finding out that there had been no gem activity here for at least five hundred years. She found Amethyst amusing and sweet, and felt a pang of sympathy in her heart as she described how lonely she had been these past centuries.

"I guess I was meant to come out with a bunch of other guys, but for some reason I stayed in my hole longer. It was pretty weird when I popped out and it was just empty." Amethyst sighed, but then looked at Rose. "So where do you come from, big lady?"

Letting out another chuckle, she replied, "From Homeworld, we made these Kindergartens to create other gems. It's not the best place to be as we shut it down."

"We?"
"Yes, me and the other Crystal Gems. We're a group who rebelled against our planet to save the Earth from places like these that began to deplete the Earth of all its life." Rose paused. "Would you like to join us?"

Amethyst's head was already spinning at this new information. She felt incredible small next to this gem, and not just physically. "I'm a bad thing, I've come from a bad place and made these gems leave their home. How can I join a cause when I'm the problem?" Her mind raced, and she began to stutter.

"I-I don't think I should. I'm bad, I-I'm not worthy enough to join you. I'm too small, too weak, compared to you I am nothing." She lowered her head, concealing the single tear that fell down her cheek. She felt ashamed.

"You are everything." Said Rose, lifting the gem's chin with a gentle hand. She stroked Amethyst's hair soothingly, then cupping her cheek. "It is not your fault you were a part of this, anyone but yours. You were strong enough to survive here for nearly five hundred years, strong enough to smile in the darkest place on Earth. We need you to help us, I need you. You will never be alone again."

"'Kay" Amethyst's voice was muffled as she hugged Rose's dress.

"What. Is. That." Pearl pointed a finger at Amethyst, who had bounded up to inspect her new team.

"An Amethyst." Said Rose, smiling innocently.

"A corrupted Amethyst?" She asked incredulously, stumbling backwards as the small gem ran towards her.

Rose chuckled, "No, she's perfectly fine. I found her in the Kindergarten, she will be joining our team from now on."

"What!?" Pearl looked at her in disbelief, only to be dive-bombed to the ground by Amethyst who sat on top of her.

"Hi! You must be Pearl!" She sniffed her face, "You smell weird."

Pearl blushed hard, and pushed the gem off her. "You have to be joking!"

"Afraid not." Rose shrugged, knowing how hard this would be for Pearl to accept this.

"Wow!" Amethyst next ran to Garnet, who had her arms crossed and looking neutral.

"Hello there, I'm Garnet."

"Hi! What are those things on your face?" The purple gem jumped up and yanked them off her face, receiving only a blink from Garnet.

"Aww cool!" She stuck them on her face, before shoving them into her mouth.

Pearl and Rose each covered their open mouths, only one of them to try and restrain laughter.

"You have three eyes…cool!" Amethyst shapeshifted a third eye on her head, "Now I look cool too."

Both Rose and Garnet dissolved into laughter, the latter eventually clicking her fingers and making a new visor reappear on her face.

Pearl's face was still in a frown, her brow knitted together in discontent. "Hmph."

The newly formed quartet entered the temple with Amethyst immediately running around wildly to check everything out.

"Don't break any-thing." Pearl let out a frustrated groan as the purple gem knocked over various souvenirs from their missions. "Amethyst" She thundered.

"Yeah? Wassup Pea?" She turned around innocently, then noticed the mess. "Oh that, I'll clear it up later."

Pearl cringed at her new nickname, hastily going to clean up the mess herself.

"Oooh! What's this?" Amethyst picked up what seemed to be a bubble with an object inside. She decided to barely look at it as she threw it in her mouth.

"Oh my stars why did you eat that!?" Pearl frantically ran over to her and picked her up, turning the gem upside down and shaking her.

"H-hey this is f-fun!" She burped and out came the bubble again.

"I should probably remind you Amethyst, that these are off limits for consumption." Said Rose, wagging a finger. "There are gems inside these bubbles."

"Gems?" Took a few steps back, "From the war right?"

"Yes."

"Oh good, I thought you went on gem hunts and I was your next victim." Amethyst then went to explore some more, with Pearl tailing her.

"Something like that" Thought Rose.

"Isn't she quite short for a quartz?" Asked Pearl, coming over.

"Hey! I can hear you y'know!" Amethyst piped up from underneath the stone bench.

Pearl carried on, ignoring her. "Do you think that's why she was the only one there, perhaps a failed experiment. After all she's not nearly as powerful as you or—"

She was startled by receiving a shove from the purple gem who had appeared beside her.

"What do you know, it's not my fault I'm not some fancy tall gem like you!"

She ran off out of the temple, leaving the everyone bewildered.

"What did I do?"

Garnet and Rose gave her a stern look.

"She seems very insecure about herself, Pearl She can't help being like she is." Said Garnet, "You should go and apologise if we want her to stay."

Pearl shrank a little at that, she knew how it felt to have insecurities.

She found the gem not too far down the beach, prodding at the lapping waves with a stick.

"Hey." Pearl almost whispered, afraid she would make things worse.

She only received a grunt in response, making her sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean to cause any offense…I-I know how it feels to be small and worthless. I-I-" Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, she was not the best at apologising. "I'm so sorry. We want you here with us, I want you here. You're something different, but the good kind. I guess I just need to learn to communicate better with other gems."

Amethyst peeked through her hair at the sorrow on Pearl's face and lent against her. She nuzzled into the gem's shoulder. "It's okay, you're not half bad considering your one of the first gems I've ever met."

Pearl gave a small smile, "Really?"

"Yeah."

They paused for a long while, watching the ocean wash in and out. Amethyst continued to poke it with a stick, not exactly knowing what seawater is. Pearl chuckled and wrapped her hand around hers, holding the stick together.

"I really like these things." Said Amethyst, plucking at Pearl's legwarmers.

Pearl blushed deep blue. "T-thank you."

"You'll have to get me some."

Although the idea of Amethyst doing ballet seemed comical, Pearl could also see how cute she would look in them.

"Of course."

They looked out onto the departing sun until Amethyst began to fall asleep on Pearl's shoulder. Her gentle dozing left Pearl relaxed, she had never experienced this with a gem before.

"I'm so glad we found you." She mumbled.