Beach City, Present day:
The door open, and Priyanka walked in, clearly tired from a long shift at the hospital. "Any word?"
Greg shook his head. "No, nothing yet."
Priyanka sighed and dropped her bag on the floor, slumping heavily onto the nearby couch beside Doug. "I can't believe it's been three weeks..." she muttered.
On the other end of the couch, Bismuth sat with Ruby and Sapphire in her lap. "Back during the war, Pearl was captured by Homeworld. It took her a couple of decades to get back, and she never really spoke about it, but she made it. Even if she needs to store them in her gem for a few thousand years, she'll get them home, don't worry."
Ruby nodded. "Yeah. They could just... walk in, or warp in, at any time. We just... we have to wait... Which is the worse part..." she clenched her hands, shaking with emotion.
Sapphire gathered Ruby's hands into her own. "But, Gems are very patient beings. If they did decide to just wait it out, Pearl would have to wait until she could be sure that they were no longer here, to avoid meeting themselves."
In the hallway outside the bathroom, Lapis and Peridot glanced at each other.
Lapis sighed. "I'm... not sure time even passes in there. It was a... strange place." she whispered.
Peridot gently placed a hand on the blue gem's shoulder, aware that her time in the mirror was a touchy subject for Lapis.
Greg came over with a cup in each hand. "Tea?" he asked, holding out the cups.
Priyanka and Doug looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, Greg."
"Yeah, thanks Greg." Doug gratefully took one of the cups, sipping at it with a sigh.
Greg returned to the kitchenette to collect another cup and settled onto the couch between the gems and the Maheswarans.
Bismuth sighed. "The annoying thing is... Pearl's the smart one. She'd know the most about how this whole time travel thing worked, and she can't even be here to explain it to us..."
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Japan, 10ad:
As the group landed, they shivered slightly at the cooler climate compared to the rainforest.
Pearl stood and looked around. "Hmm... Yes, we have a few hours. Come on."
With a curious glance, Amethyst, Steven and Connie picked themselves up and followed her.
Pearl glanced around the base of the ridge in the foothills and smiled. "Okay, I'll need to set up some sort of privacy screen, but..."
As they followed her around the ridge, the kids gasped. "A hot spring?!"
Connie threw a fist into the air. "God, yes! I need a wash so bad..."
Steven grinned, and started to shimmy out of his shirt as Connie quickly blushed and covered her eyes. "Last one in is..."
"Steven." Pearl held out a hand. "Wait until I'm done with the screen." she rolled her eyes.
"Oh... Okay." he shrugged as he pulled the hem of his shirt back down.
"There." Pearl stepped back and admired her handywork. She had removed a few sheets of corrugated metal from her gem, along with multiple spears and some rope. Tying the metal to the spears, with occasional use of some nearby vines, she had created a rough, but functional privacy screen. "Okay. Amethyst, help me get this into position."
Together, they manage to lower the sections into the water, cutting the small pool into two, securing them to the shore with two of Amethyst's whips.
"Okay... That should do it." Pearl nodded. Pausing, she took two clean towels from her gem. "Right. Each of you pick a side. Get undressed in the bushes, then hop in." she briefly eyed the various rips in their clothing as they grabbed for the towels. "I'll make some quick repairs while you get cleaned up." she added, taking out a small sewing box.
As Pearl settled down with her back to the water, Amethyst sat on a rock nearby. As Pearl deftly prepared a needle with some thread and started stitching, Amethyst sighed.
"Hey, Pearl?" she said softly, mindful of the fact that voices echo over water.
Pearl glanced up slightly. "Yes?"
Amethyst nervously scratched the back of her neck. "Uh... Just... Maybe we should... talk..."
Pearl blushed faintly. "Some other time... When the kids aren't around... Okay?"
"Woo! Hothothot!" Steven hissed after he dove in.
Connie was already in. "I know, isn't it great?!" she sighed happily.
Amethyst glanced quickly at the spring. "Uh... yeah, okay. Later..." she murmured.
Pearl looked up at her and sighed. "It's just... There's only a couple of ripples left. And the last one has a long wait... We can... we can talk about... that situation... at that point..."
Amethyst nodded. "Oh. Okay. That... that makes sense."
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An hour later...
Pearl shook out the clothes with a smile. "There, done." A cloud of dust was left hanging in the air, and she frowned slightly. "Well, not much can be done about that, sadly..."
"Yeah, the kids will turn into prunes if they're in there much longer." Amethyst chuckled loudly.
Steven glanced at his now winkled hands. "Oh no, the pruniness. It'll destroy us all!"
"It's already got me, save yourselves!" Connie laughed playfully.
Pearl giggled softly as she folded the clothes and walked towards the water. "Okay, I'll put these in the bushes. You've both probably been in there long enough. The next ripple will be soon, we can't afford to miss it, and we still need to walk back to the warp pad, so come on. Amethyst, put these over there, please." She added, handing Stevens clothes over.
Amethyst and Pearl returned to their spots and waited as the kids got dressed. She quickly bundled the wet towels into a bag and stored that away, ushering them back towards the warp pad.
Africa, 3000 years ago:
The rush of sand flying through the air took them by surprise. Quickly, Pearl threw her hands up and created a clear space around them, the sand kept at bay only by her powers.
"Great, we just got clean too..." Connie grumbled, shaking the sand from her hair.
Steven sighed and ruffled his hair up violently, shaking loose a puff of sand and dust as he blinked furiously. "Figures..."
Amethyst shook herself like a dog. "Ugh... I know, right?" she glanced up at Pearl, who seemed to be struggling. "Hey... you okay there?"
Pearl grunted. "It's... difficult... There's a... lot of sand... I'm just... one pearl... limited... control..." she panted slightly. "Warp pad... I'll try... clear path..."
With obvious effort from the thin gem, they saw the sand behind them swirl away. With a grunt, a gust of wind seemed to sweep across the ground, revealing the warp pad.
"Get on..." Pearl breathed, stepping back slowly and carefully.
As they all rushed onto the warp pad, they waited nervously for Pearl.
"Amethyst... warp... Kindergarten..."
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As the warp light faded, Pearl fell to her knees with a sigh. Amethyst quickly scurried to check on her.
"I'm fine... That was exhausting..." Pearl muttered, giving a tired thumbs up to the worried kids.
Connie looked around, taking in the deep dark canyon, the large strange machines and the human-shaped holes on the walls. "Uhh... What is this place? And when?" she asked nervously.
Steven glanced around. "Oh. It's the Kindergarten." he shrugged. "I dunno when..."
"It's about three thousand years ago, roughly. A small chance that a past version of Amethyst will be here, but the other... us... didn't encounter her." Pearl added as she began to massage her gem lightly.
Connie raised an eyebrow. "Kindergarten? I'm... guessing that means something else to you guys than it does to me..."
Amethyst glanced at the girl. "Hey, Pearl?"
The thin Gems hands paused. "Hmm?"
"Can I tell her?" Amethyst grinned.
Pearl glanced at her. With a smile, she waved a hand. "Oh, if you must. She'll probably need to know eventually anyway..."
"Yes! You gonna be okay here?" the purple gem paused, one hand on Pearl's shoulder.
Pearl nodded. "Yes. I just need to sit for a while. Go. Have fun. Don't traumatise her."
Amethyst grinned and jumped up. "Come on. School is in session."
As Amethyst jumped down to the canyon floor, Steven floated down with Connie.
Pearl sighed and half-crawled over to the edge of the warp pad, laying down with her hands folded on top of her midsection.
"Right." Amethyst clapped her hands. "This is the Kindergarten. It's where gems are made, basically."
Connie gasped. "Wha? Really?" she looked around with new curiosity.
Amethyst pointed at one of the large machines clinging onto the wall. "Those things have got some goop inside 'em. They ran up and down the walls, drilling into the ground and squirting the goop into the holes, sealing it up after. The goop hardened, and turned into a Gem. After a few hundred years, pop!" she made a noise and waved her hands. "The Gem glowed and took form, bursting outta the ground like a zit."
Connie watched as the purple Gem paused to the side of a small hole at ground level.
She pointed up at the holes above them. "All these holes were amethysts. My Famethyst." Pointing to the large one above them, she added. "That one was 8XL, she's at the Zoo." Lowering her hand to the smallest one, she posed. "This one's mine. 8XM." Amethyst said proudly. "It's me sized!" she grinned.
Connie watched in amazement as Amethyst stepped in front of the hole. Then, without moving her feet, she slid backwards, finally settling in the back of the small tunnel with a sighed. "Ahh... Hole sweet hole." she murmured. "It's almost like being home again..."
Connie shook her head in wonder. "I have so many questions..."
Steven nodded. "Yeah, there's some things I don't understand either..."
Amethyst stood and slid back out with a grin. "Well, ask me then."
With a glance at each other, Connie nodded. "Okay. Why did Pink put it here?"
"And how long did it take for Gems to start emerging?"
"Are all Gems – apart from pearls – made in Kindergartens, or just some?"
"Was mum made in one?"
Amethyst's face fell. "Geez... I dunno about any of that. It all happened before I emerged... uhhh... Pearl might know? She was around when Pinky started this place, right?"
Amethyst jumped back up to the warp pad with Connie clinging onto her back. Steven jumped up next to them. "Hey, Pearl? We have questions..."
Pearl sat up and looked at them. "Oh? Okay."
Connie sat beside her. "Why did Pink Diamond put this here? Instead of, I dunno... some other part of the world..."
Pearl shrugged. "Well, the fact that there was already a large canyon here played a major part in the decision. That saved a few decades of work, terraforming to dig out a good spot. Plus, the sheer amount of excellent materials in this location. Honestly, the ground here is full of silica, which is essential for the production of quality quartz Gems."
Amethyst grinned. "Like me!"
Pearl smiled fondly. "Yes, like amethysts." she pointed at the walls around them. "Actually, because of a vein of iron running through this part of the canyon, almost all of the holes in this section produced amethysts."
Amethyst's jaw dropped. "Whoa... That's a lot of me's..."
Pearl nodded. "Yes. A whole... mess, shall we say, of amethysts." she smirked.
"Oh, haha..." Amethyst rolled her eyes, grinning.
Steven raised his hand. "Pearl? How long did it take for Gems to start emerging?"
Pearl smiled. "Well, the amethysts started running around after maybe... a thousand years? Other gems, in different sections, took longer of course. And on the other end of the scale, there's a section for rubies deeper into the canyon. They started emerging after only around... five hundred years of growth. If memory serves, which it usually does."
Steven gasped. "Hey, was Ruby made here? Our Ruby, I mean?"
Pearl shook her head. "Oh, stars no. She didn't come to Earth until a few hundred years after the rebellion had started."
"I have another question..." Connie raised her hand.
Pearl turned slightly to face her. "Yes?"
Connie dropped her hand. "Well, are all Gems made in these places, apart from pearls of course, or just most?"
Pearl smiled. "Good question. Most Gems are produced in Kindergartens. There are some exceptions, one being pearls like myself. Ambers, for example, have a completely different process that can't be produced under Kindergarten conditions. As do jets, aragonites, and a few have more... complicated processes..."
"I have one more question." Steven tapped Pearl's shoulder.
"Yes?"
He nervously lifted his shirt. "Was mu-" he sighed. "-Pink Diamond, made in a Kindergarten?"
Pearl laughed. "Oh, hell if I know. Probably..." she shrugged.
The others glanced at each other. "What do you mean?"
Pearl shook her head. "The thing is... The Diamonds are supposed to be these... almost mythical beings. Completely above and unlike another Gems. They're... just supposed to have always existed. And anyone who says otherwise is considered a traitor." she huffed, crossing her arms. "Completely ridiculous, of course. Things just don't spontaneously burst into existence. Even the universe itself came from something."
Amethyst tilted her head. "So, Pink Diamond...?"
"Probably came from a Kindergarten. Maybe. But it's literally against the law on Homeworld to question the origins of a Diamond, so..." she huffed. "Officially, she just... appeared. Perfectly formed and better than any other Gem. Not counting the other three Diamonds, of course." she rolled her eyes as she uncrossed her arms and leaned back on them. "Personally, I thought Pink was just a massively overgrown toddler with no common sense or reasoning skills... but that's just a pearl's opinion." she added with a smirk to their giggled delight.
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The next afternoon...
"Okay... the next ripple will be here soon." Pearl gathered up and store all their supplies. "I was warned that we will need to get some height for this one, so..." She looked at the other three. "Right. Steven and Amethyst, you two can easily jump up to... that hole there should be high enough." she pointed up above them. They followed her finger to a hole in the second row from the top and nodded.
"Yeah, I can do that." Steven confirmed.
Pearl nodded. "Good. Connie, you'll need to hop on my back. We don't have much time, so you two go on up ahead of us."
As Connie nervously climbed onto Pearl's back, Amethyst laughed and ran towards the sheer wall, clinging on and scampering up with giggles. "Race ya!"
Steven laughed and took a running jump, leaping up as high as he could before grabbing onto the bottom edge of a hole. As he pulled himself in and prepared to jump again, Amethyst climbed past him. "Hey! Wait up!" Steven called, springing out and up, legs kicking as he steered himself back towards the hole above.
Connie watched in amazement as the two reached the second row and waited. "Whoa..." she whispered.
Pearl shook her head. "Those adorable little dorks..." she muttered fondly. "Hold tight, Connie." she sighed as she calculated the jump.
Suddenly, Pearl dashed forwards. Coiling her legs beneath her, she sprang almost straight up, eyes on the second row where the two Gems watched wide-eyed.
Connie's eyes widened and she tightened her hold on Pearl slightly.
Pearl reached the height of her jump just slightly above the second row, the arc of her fall allowing her to drop gently just inside the entrance. Standing to her full height, she smirked smugly at the shocked faces of Steven and Amethyst.
"That. was. so cool." Connie muttered into Pearl's shoulder as the Gem stepped forwards.
"The coolest." Steven nodded in agreement, his eyes sparkling.
Amethyst blushed and turned her face away slightly. "Show off..." she huffed slightly.
Pearl grinned as she let Connie slide down. "If you got it, flaunt it." she bowed gracefully with a laugh.
Straightening up, she leaned against the wall of the hole. "Anyway, I have good news and bad news. The good news is, this will be our second-last ripple. After this last wait... we'll be home."
Steven grinned. "Really?!"
Pearl nodded with a smile. "Really."
Connie cheered. "Yes! That's amazing news!"
"We're going home! We're going home!" Steven started dancing goofily. After a moment, Connie joined him with a laugh.
Pearl shook her head in amusement as Amethyst joined them. "We're going home!"
"Calm down, I haven't told you the bad news yet..." Pearl sighed. "This last wait will be a long one. Several weeks, actually."
The three stopped dancing and stared at her. "Wait, what?!"
Pearl nodded. "Yes. We'll have to wait a fairly long time for the next ripple to appear. Possibly... another three to four weeks, at least..." she added sadly.
"Oh no..." Connie sighed.
Pearl looked around at their disappointed faces. "I guess I should have started with the bad news first, huh? I'm sorry..."
A few minutes later, the shimmering ripple appeared high above the Kindergarten floor. Quickly, Pearl grabbed Connie and with a nod towards Steven and Amethyst, they leapt towards it. Pearl made it easily, and disappeared with Connie, but Amethyst started to fall too soon.
Kicking his legs furiously, Steven managed to float long enough to grab Amethyst's long hair that was trailing behind her and pulled her towards the ripple, both disappearing into it seconds before it vanished from sight.