"So. The Diamonds are just actively planning genocide, huh?" Freshwater said as she and Pearl stared up at the darkening sky above. "Appears so." Pearl said bitterly. "Apparently their precious hierarchy of servitude and power isn't enough for them anymore. I thought them wanting us wiped out as an example of what happens to gems who go rogue would be enough to appease them, but apparently they want to ensure this kind of thing never happens again."
"You guys are planning on putting a stop to this, right?" Freshwater said, arching an eyebrow and smirking at the Pearl lying in the grass next to her.
Pearl looked away. "That's…actually one of the reasons I insisted on talking to you when we learned that Greg had been captured and you were at the Zoo with Blue Diamond." Freshwater tensed up, anticipating the gem's next words.
"Freshwater, you should come with us. I talked to the gems, and they - we want to give you another chance. You're a part of our family." she said, returning her gaze to the gem. Freshwater sighed, pushing herself to a sitting position. "Pearl…I can't." she murmured, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin on her arms as she stared up at the sky. "You and the others even being near me is a huge risk, especially since Blue Diamond is here. It's far too dangerous." she said, glancing back at the gem. "I…I want to though. I want to show you guys that I'm worthy of your trust and will never take it for granted again. I just…have to be smart about it. I don't want to run back to you and bring the Diamonds with me. I would never forgive myself for the turmoil that would result for that fiasco."
Pearl sat up as well, a sad smile on her face. "Honestly, the fact that you even want to is a huge change from the Freshwater I last spoke to who was so ashamed they had no interested in returning to Earth." she said, her eyes widening as she snapped her fingers. "Oh, speaking of returning to Earth - what are you even doing here? Steven said he saw you, Blue Pearl, and Blue Diamond when Blue kidnapped Greg. If the Diamonds are using you for something huge with Project Perfection, why are you here with the humans?"
Freshwater looked away, with a scowl. "Let's just say I'm glad you guys got here when you did, since I was ordered to come here with Blue to prepare for my trip to Earth to study my exit hole. They want to re-creating the conditions from my exit hole and use what they like about me and get rid of whatever is wrong." the gem said, White Diamonds words echoing clear as day in her mind. "Apparently they think you and the gems left a huge impression on me since they wanted to 'curb any excitement I might have and decrease the likelihood of me becoming interested enough to stay on that colony.'" she said, putting air quotes around curb and colony.
Pearl frowned. "I don't think they needed to change anything about you." she said. Freshwater smirked. "Not even that hideous form I originally took?" she said, creating a holographic image of the way she used to look. "Come on, Pearl. Ya gotta admit that's pretty abysmal." she said, waving the figure away in a flash of sparkling light.
"I don't think so." Pearl said simply, ruffling the gem's hair. "I like you how you are. Perfectly imperfect." she said, a small blue tint coming to both gem's cheeks.
"Freshwater! Pearl!"
The gems in question looked up, their eyes widening as Steven came running up to them, holding his dad over his head. "We gotta get out of here! The humans are trying to Choosen my dad!"
"I don't know what any of that means." Pearl said, glancing behind Steven, her eyes widening when she saw the swarm of humans running towards them in the distance.
Freshwater sighed. "This is a really shitty reunion." she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "Alright. You guys hide in that bush. The Famethyst guards will be here any minute now and during all that chaos you can slip out of here." she said, glancing at the door a few feet away. "Don't worry, I'll cover for you. Steven, nice to see you again. Greg, sorry I didn't recognize you at first. Forced amnesia and all, ya know how it goes."
"Good to see you again, Freshwa- wait, did you just say forced amnesia?" Steven asked, his eyes widening.
"I'll explain later." Pearl said, shapeshifting back into a Quartz soldier. "For now, though, you two. Hide. We'll catch up later." she said, pushing Steven and Greg into a nearby busy as the doors open and a flood of Amethyst soldiers rushed in and began to attempt to wrangle and console the humans.
"Give me one moment, please, your clarity. We will be off to speak with the Diamonds in a moment, but I need to fetch someone."
Freshwater froze when she heard the familiar sound of Holly Blue Agate as the gem stepped inside, the door sliding shut behind her. "Get those humans in order now. My Diamond has a lot on her plate, and she will not be disturbed." The gem snarled at one of the Amethyst guards before turing to Freshwater and Pearl, locking eyes with the Quartz soldier. "What are you doing in here?" she barked.
Pearl fumbled for a moment, attempting to make up an excuse as she saluted the gem. "My…Sapphire ordered me to spend some time in the Zoo!" she said, an idea forming in her mind. "You see, she foresaw Blue Diamond coming today, and she has always had a fascination with the place, so she instructed I try to learn about the humans in her absence and report back to her. She preferred her Amethyst guard to stay and guard the door."
Holly Blue Agate paused before nodding, a grin coming to her face. "Aah, fascination with the Zoo. Something she and Blue Diamond have in common." she said before glancing down at Freshwater, her gaze hardening immediately. "My Diamond requests you file your report before leaving, as White Diamond requests your presence when you get back to Homeworld." she barked, her eyes boring into Freshwater's.
Freshwater immediately looked down, refusing to hold eye contact with the gem. "Yes, Holly Blue Agate." she said, saluting the gem who appeared to take a small bit of satisfaction at the fact that even after years of separation and a memory wipe she was still able to hold control.
"Right then." she said, motioning for the gems to follow as they exited the Zoo, Holly Blue Agate launching into another rant about Blue Diamond a Ruby, a Sapphire, Pearl, and Freshwater trailed behind.
"It's nice to see you again, Freshwater. Though I do wish the first time we met unfused was under different circumstances." Freshwater looked down at the soft voice, grimacing slightly. "The feeling is mutual." she said, looking away. "I'm really so-"
"We know." Ruby interrupted. "Pearl talked to us about all the progress you made while you were together. While we won't forget what you did…we do forgive you." she said, her and Sapphire offering the gem a smile as they came to a halt in front of an office.
"This is your stop." Holly Blue said, staring Freshwater down. "Don't even think about doing anything stupid, as I have already instructed one of my Guards to stand watch. Alert them when you finish your report, and they will walk you back to Blue Diamond's ship."
"Actually, it may be easier if my Quartz soldier stood watch temporarily for a few moments." Sapphire offered, Freshwater and Pearl looking shocked. "After all, you have been incredibly kind and gracious to us, so I would love to return the favor. I'm sure the meeting with Blue Diamond will take about half an hour at most, and I have my Ruby guard to protect me so it really is no trouble."
Holly Blue clasped her hands together. "Finally! A gem who is able to recognize everything I do here and attempt to thank me for it." she said with a smile, glancing at Freshwater and Pearl. "Alright, you heard the gem." she said, glaring at Freshwater. "I'll be back to bring you back to Blue Diamond after we see this Sapphire gem and her crew off. That will be all." she barked, leading the way to Blue and Yellow Diamond.
"Well, on the bright side this report shouldn't take long to write." Freshwater said as soon as the door to the office closed behind Pearl, the gem immediately shapeshifting back to her original form. "Talk about earth conditions, what humans are like, and then…Lie to the diamonds about how likely it is that I'll be turning on them when I'm out of their sight and off planet." the gem's voice trailed of as she crossed her arms with a sigh. "How the hell am I going to do that." she muttered, plopping into the chair and staring at the small Robonoid on the desk. "I can't lie to them, Pearl." she said, looking up at the gem. "I mean, I can pretty easily bs and half truth my way out of a lot of the questions they ask, but the main focus on this report is about whether or not they can trust me. And, logically speaking, they can't. How am I supposed to write this report?"
Pearl hesitated, swiftly locking the door behind them and turning of the lights, Freshwater watching, confused. "Maybe you don't have to write the report." she said, locking eyes with the gem.
"What do you-" Freshwater froze as what the gem was suggesting hit her like a truck. "You don't mean…"
"I don't see why not." Pearl said, offering her hand to the gem. "Tahitian can write the report for you."
Freshwater eyed the gem's hand for a moment. "I will never understand why you keep sticking your neck out for me." Pearl scoffed. "Remember that line between bravery and stupidity I was talking about?" Freshwater nodded with a chuckle, taking the gem's hand and letting her help her to her feet. "Well, let's just say being around you blurs that line a lot more than it should." she said, hugging the gem.
Freshwater blushed. "I do stupid things when I'm with you too, Pearl." she said, returning the hug and feeling the familiar warmth in her chest from the first time they fuzed spreading throughout her body as a bright light filled the room.
…
"Well, look what the Beta Amethyst dragged in."
Steven and Greg let out grunts of discomfort as they were thrown to the floor in front of a room full of Amethyst soldiers, all staring down at them menacingly with cruel grins on their faces.
"Steven! Greg!" Amethyst yelled, wriggling in the arms of the Amethyst guard holding her as the soldiers in front of her stepped aside to show the gem back in her original form.
"Amethyst! Are you okay?" Steven asked, a look of terror on his face.
"No! You don't understand. These Amethyst guards are really…really….GREAT!" the gem said, her look of horror transforming into a huge grin as the gems around them erupted in laughter and released her.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I had to!" Amethyst said, rushing over to Steven and Greg and picking the boy up, hugging him.
"What is going on?" Steven asked, still looking at the Amethyst guards skeptically.
"Hey, they're cool, they're cool! These Amethysts are all from Earth! They're from the Prime Kindergarten. Tell 'em 8XL!" she said, the gem in question grinning.
"The Amethyst under me never popped out." she said, motioning to Amethyst. "We were all waiting, but nothin'!" Amethyst re-joined her friend group, grinning. "I'm 8XM! Facet 5, cut 8XM. That's me! This is 8XG, this is 8XH-" she said, motioning to the gems next to her. "I'm 8XJ!" one of the gems corrected. "Oh man, I'm sorry! I'm worse than Holly Blue!"
"Aren't we all?" 8XJ said, the gems laughing.
"There are gems from the Beta Kindergarten here too!" Amethyst said, motioning to Skinny, who waved with a smile. "We haven't heard this much laughter and fun in years. Your friend here reminds us of one of our own. You need anything, we got your back." she said, holding up Johnathon's note, a determined look on her face. "Things are going to start changing around here!" she declared, the room erupting into celebration.
"Well, we might need to take you up on that." Steven said as the chaos died down. "We need to find the rest of our crew. Sapphire, Ruby, and Pearl. We gotta get back to them and get out of he-" the boy froze when he heard the door open, Holly Blue, Sapphire, and Ruby on the other side.
"I'll only be a moment." The gem said as STeven and Greg scampered desperately to hide behind an Amethyst guard.
"What are you all doing inhere?!" The gem demanded, fire in her eyes. "Get to your stations. Even you hideous off-color betas, get out of your cubbies and into your places! It's the least you could do for the diamond that kept your worthless, sorry Gems in service!" she snarled, pausing to allow the gems to take in her words as she made her way to the door, opening it. "That's right! Blue is back already. Now go pretend your filthy vein of Quartz is capable of GRATITUDE! Go, go, go!"
"Yes Holly Blue Agate!" The gems said in unison as they flooded out of the room, Amethyst barely managing to shove Steven and Greg out right under her nose. "Just get out of here. We'll find you!" she promised before joining the Famethyst and watching as Steven and Greg ran off..
"What the hell happened to things starting to change around here?" Carmillian muttered, glancing up at Skinny, who scowled. "They will. They have to."
…
"Aaaaaanndd done!" Tahitian said as she hit submit on her report with a grin. "Man, we're a really good team. No wonder the Diamonds were so desperate." she said, standing and stretching. "Guess…that means we should unfuse now."
Silence.
"We're going to be able to do this again one day…right?" the fusion said, hugging themselves. "No, no, no. No need to worry about that. Of course we are." they said, staring at themselves in the mirror, determination on their face. "Even if we're worlds apart….we'll still be together at heart. No matter what happens." they said, the fusion smiling and feeling at ease as the room filled with light again, leaving Freshwater and Pearl standing in a dark room as there was a loud knock on the door. "Alright you useless chunk of Earth material." Holly Blue Agate snarled, throwing the door open just as the Pearl managed to get back into her Quartz form.
"Yes, Holly Blue Agate." Freshwater said, saluting the gem and following close behind as she motioned for the gems to follow her back into the hallway where Sapphire and Ruby were. "I still cannot believe we were graced with the presence of two diamonds in one day!" Holly Blue Agate gushed as she lead the way to the ship. "Can you believe it? Oh, forgive me of course you can. You probably foresaw the whole thing!"
Freshwater, Pearl, Amethyst, and Ruby ignored Holly Blue Agate as the gem launched into yet another rambling about the Diamonds, each doing their best to conceal Greg and Steven as Sapphire did her best to keep the gem talking and engrossed in her rant. Somewhere along the way to the ship, Amethyst rejoined them, she and Freshwater exchanging a look before the Amethyst guard offered her a small smile which was returned.
While Freshwater was positive the journey from the human's enclosure to the Zoo was a short one, the anxiety of trying to hide Greg and Steven made it feel like it lasted ages as they walked down hallway after hallway, the Famethyst along the way helping to conceal the humans whenever they could. As the gems exited the Zoo, Holly Blue allowed Sapphire and her crew to pass, Freshwater stopping behind the gem. As the Crystal Gems they quietly said their goodbyes to Freshwater, who assured them that she would be in touch.
They were so close until Holly Blue turned to the ship with a broad grin just in time to see Greg and Steven getting on board along with the rest of the gems.
For a moment, everyone in the room froze, all staring at Holly Blue. "What…is…THE MEANING OF THIS?!" she snarled, motioning to Greg and Steven. "Why are these humans outside of the containment area?" she snapped, furious.
"Holly Blue, I can explai-" Sapphire started, attempting to calm the gem.
"No need, Sapphire. Not even you could see how incompetant these Amethyst guards are." she said with a sigh. "Well. If you want something done right, you just do it yourself I suppose." she snarled, reaching into her gem and pulling out her whip, the crackling of electricity filling the air as she raised her weapon. "You two are coming with me!" she snarled, winding back for an attack and launching her weapon at the humans.
Before it could do any harm, however, Ruby and Sapphire grabbed hands and fused, catching the whip without even flinching to the shock of Holly Blue. "Greg, Steven, get on board. We'll handle this." she said, waving a hand over her face to summon her visor.
Holly Blue didn't even have time to react as Pearl summoned her spear and cut the whip, sending Holly Blue stumbling backwards. Grabbing onto the other half of the whip as it went slack, Amethyst used her spin dash attack to wrap the the gem in her own whip.
"I've been waiting to do this all day." Garnet said, summing her gauntlet with one hand before lightly punching her in the stomach with the other and sending her stumbling backwards and to the floor with a loud "oof" as the Amethyst guards who realized what was going on and rushed over to watch laughed as Holly's whip disappeared in a flash of light.
"More humans being taken from the zoo." The gem growled, pushing herself to a standing position as Amethyst and Garnet made their way back onto the ship, Pearl behind them. "You." The Agate said, turning to Freshwater. "You had something to do with this. Didn't you?" she said, Pearl freezing in her tracks as Holly Blue spoke as she walked towards the gem, forcing the gem to take a step back. "Hold on a second, everyone. I…need to handle something." she said, stepping out of the ship and ignoring the gem's questions as the door slid shut behind her.
"Aah, it all makes sense now." Holly Blue continued. "You still remember everything. Don't you? It's far to much of a coincidence that the Crystal Gems come to the Zoo the same day, and my once loyal gems have now turned on me - all on the same day. You're smarter than you look." she said, grabbing the gem roughly by the arm and raising her to eye level, feeling pride at the sheer fear she saw in her eyes.
"I knew you remembered me." she said with a grin. "Of course you would. After all, a good student never forgets their lessons." she said, summoning her whip to the due punishment, however, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, forcing her to immediately drop the defect, who scrambled backwards to the wall, hyperventilating. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what made her pass out first - the pain of the spear currently poking through her chest or the shock that hit her when she realized that the gem on the other end was the same gem from the Perfect Pearl experiment that had ruined her life.
"I've wanted to do that for a while." Pearl muttered with a small smile, leaning down and picking up the blue tear shaped gemstone before turning her attention to Freshwater, who was rocking back and forth, hyperventilating. "Hey. It's okay." the gem said. "She's gone. She can't hurt you anymore." she said, holding the gemstone up for Freshwater to see before tossing it to the side and offering the gem her hand.
Freshwater felt her breathing slow as she looked up at Pearl, taking the gem's hand and letting her hoist her to her feet.
"I won't let her hurt you again." she said, hugging the gem close. "I promise." Freshwater felt a wave of relief hit her as she hugged the gem back. "Thank you." she said, burying her face into Pearl's shirt.
"I'll take this off your hands." Skinny said, bending and picking up Holly Blue Agate's gemstone. "Things are gonna be run a little…differently from now on around here." she said, bubbling it as the door to the ruby ship opened and Amethyst poked her head out. "Yo, P, what's taking so lo-" the gem started, looking from Pearl and Freshwater to Skinny, who was holding Holly Blue's gemstone.
"Human Zoo under new management?" she asked, arching an eyebrow with a smirk. Skinny chuckled. "Guess you could say that." she said, tapping the top of the bubbled gem and sending it away. "Let me know when you're ready for me to take you to Blue. I'll…give you two a moment." she said, nodding at the pair before walking off.
"Bout damn time. Hey, Freshie." she said, glancing at Freshwater. "You…need a lift?"
Freshwater rolled her eyes a the nickname but smiled. "No thank you, Amethyst. At least…not yet." she said. "Blue Diamond's waiting on me and if I disappear now, it'll be way too suspicious." Amethyst nodded before pausing. "If Pearl trusts you, I trust you." she said simply before getting back on the ship.
"I'll keep in touch." Freshwater said, turning her attention to Pearl who smiled. "I know you will." she said, leaning in and kissing the gem on the cheek. For a moment, both gems stood in stunned silence, Freshwater's eyes widening as she stared at the taller gem in shock, both gems' faces darkening considerably. "I better…get back to Earth. And you better get back to Blu Diamond. Don't want to cause any trouble. I-I look forward to hearing from you!" she said, the words quickly tumbling out of her mouth as she made a hasty retreat to the ship, whispering "Why did I do that?" to herself over and over.
"Whoa, P, why's your face so blue?" Steven asked as the door to the ship closed and the ship roared to life. "I don't know what you're talking about." Pearl said, turning her attention to outside the ship where Freshwater stood, waving at the ship with a smile, her cheeks also a dark blue.
"You love her!" Amethyst blurted as the ship started to liftoff, Pearl somehow managing to turn an even darker shade of blue. "Aww!" Steven said, stars in his eyes. "I always suspected, but I didn't know for sure! Are you going to tell her? Does she like you back? When's the wedding?"
"I neither confirmed or denied having feelings for Freshwater." Pearl said, looking away.
"Fair. But the look on your face says it all." Garnet said, giving the gem a playful smirk while the gem in question did her best to hide her embarrassment. "Let's just focus on getting back to Earth." she said, rolling her eyes.
…
"You look exhausted, my Pearl." Blue Diamond said, looking up from her spot atop her chair in her palanquin as Freshwater entered, saluting the gem. "I am, my Diamond. My time in the Zoo was a quite productive one." she confirmed, bowing. "I have learned a lot in my time here and can see why you enjoy the area so much. The humans are quite interesting creatures, as are their rituals."
Blue Diamond nodded. "They are. Pink loved them, so the fact that a gem who thinks they know whats better for them than our Pink did angers me greatly." she said, clenching her fists.
Freshwater felt her heart skip a beat but remained silent as she motioned for Freshwater to drop the salute and stand upright.
"Well, you may spend the trip to Homeworld resting. As soon as we get there, you are going to talk to White to debrief you on your mission. We have managed to get a small team of gems together to go with you. They will be on an unrelated mission of their own, so we figure we can save on resources and time by having the four of you go together."
Freshwater nodded. "Of course, My Diamond." she said, bowing again before going back to her quarters and collapsing on the bed, immediately drifting off into a deep sleep.