Hey, everyone. Ellis here.

So, I received a very excellent question of whether or not Penelope will encounter the Crystal Gems. She will soon. But, I won't say much more than that.

On to Part 6!

Penelope slammed her gauntlet against the rock that was thrown at her, shattering it into slightly larger pieces.

"Is that all you got, Pinky?! I know your sorry gem can do better than that! I want to see you make pebbles out of these rocks! Do I make myself clear?!" Jasper yelled at her like a drill sergeant ready to make you work til you can't even move the next day. She would know, that was her on day one. It's been a week since she asked Jasper for her fighting wisdom, her body burned from the intense workout and her arms burned in pain from punching rocks. She hated the pain, but that didn't stop her one bit.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" She yelled at the top of her burning lungs.

Jasper threw another large boulder at her and she gave it her all. This one broke into smaller pieces, but it wasn't enough. She'd called it an improvement if she wasn't so focused on the rocks Jasper was throwing. The thing with Jasper is that she rarely stopped, and won't stop till she is satisfied with your progress. She, definitely, wasn't kidding when she said she wasn't going easy on her. But, nevertheless, she'll give it two hundred percent and nothing less!

After five more boulders, Jasper sighed, "Alright, that's enough! Looks like we hit your limit for today."

"No! I can keep going!" She begged, her knees were shaking, though.

"You're barely keeping yourself up! We've been at this for two hours. Rest!"

"Then, one more! Just one more rock and I'll quit!" She persisted, knowing she can hit the last one! She can feel it!

She and Jasper were locked in a staring match for a minute before Jasper sighed, "Fine, but don't come cry to me if you poof yourself!"

"Don't go easy on me now, Auntie! I got this!" Penelope said, readying herself for the last boulder.

Jasper chuckled as she picked up a boulder a bit bigger that the previous ones. Penelope steeled herself, but couldn't help the nervousness that fluttered at her stomach. She might have bitten off more than she can chew. It was too late to back down now, though. 'I can do this.' She thought, 'I will be strong.'

Jasper threw the boulder. As it came closer, time seemed to have slowed. She cocked her fist back, aim, and struck as it drew close enough. The minute her fist connect with the boulder, she was blinded slightly by a bright pink light. That didn't distract her from her target, though. The boulder started to crack and slowly broke apart into smaller and smaller pieces as the light grew brighter, blinding her completely. It wasn't until a minute later that she realised her gauntlets were faintly glowing, the boulder was reduced to gravel, and Jasper looked flabbergasted. She blinked.

"I… I did it…" she said, softly. A grin slowly spread on her face, "I did it!"

She tried to jump and raise her fists in victory but succeeded in falling on her face instead. "Ow…" she muttered, forgetting that she hurt all over as her gauntlets disappeared.

Jasper came over, still looking shocked, "What… was that?"

Penelope lifted up her head to face her, "I don't know, but I did smash it into tiny bits!" She grinned at herself for her achievement.

"No, you don't understand. I saw a bright pink lion coming from your gauntlet and shattering that rock to bits!" Jasper explained, her current expression sudden making sense to Penelope now.

Then she registered the words. "Lion?" she questioned, her eyes twinkling with a familiar look that Jasper knew well.

"Oh, Diamonds! No!" Jasper exclaimed, terrified.

Penelope giggled, "No, no! I'm not going for your hair again… Although, it is really soft. No, I just really like lions! They're like giant fluffy cats!"

"Right..." She said, a little uneasy, "So, why are you still on the ground?"

"It needed a hug. It's a very emotional moment." Penelope stated, sarcastically.

Jasper chuckled, "Uh-huh. Do you need help?"

"Yeah, you might as well just carry me. I can't feel my body at the moment."

"Why not just retreat into your gem for healing?" Jasper asked, picking her up and carrying her inside.

"You can do that?" She asked as she was settled on the couch.

"I can."

"Well..." She started, "I don't think that I can. I mean, I have gotten badly hurt to the point of limping once and I still haven't poof!"

"Heh. Then, that just means you're a tough one like me," Jasper chuckled, smiling, "Jaspers don't give up till we get what we want."

Penelope laughed, though it hurt to, "That does sound like you! So, are there a lot of gems on Homeworld?"

"Tons. Granted, I only met a handful of them. Others..." Jasper paused, her voice softening, "Others were lost in battle..."

Penelope stared down at her battered hands; at her belly, where her gem lay. She gave out a weak laugh, "War's the same no matter where you go, huh?"

Jasper smiled, bitterly, "That pretty much sums it up, sister. Sometimes, I forget how clever you are. I even forget that you are not a normal gem. You're different."

"Is that a bad thing?" She asked, concerned.

Jasper sighed and sat down next to Penelope, "There was a time where I thought it was. Now," She shrugged, "I'm not that sure. Maybe, I'm growing soft on this planet. Maybe, it's because I was made here. I'll never know."

"You're from here?!" Penelope asked, both shocked and confused.

Jasper nodded, "Was made about five thousand years ago in the Beta kindergarten. We were in the middle of war, then. See, this planet was, originally, Pink Diamond's, as all gems were made to serve the diamonds and them alone. It was going to be a wonderful colony, but there was a group of gems. They like the planet just the way it was. They didn't want to see it turned into a colony. It started as a rebellion, nothing really personal. Until the leader of the rebellion, Rose Quartz, shattered her: Pink Diamond. The war started after that."

She grew quiet now. Penelope was afraid to talk for fear that Jasper wouldn't say anymore. This was most she got out of Jasper, as she rarely talked about the things that plagued her. Still, curiosity got the better of her.

"How did it happen? Her shattering?" Penelope asked, cautiously.

Jasper looked at her with a defeated expression, "I don't know. I was still incubating in Beta at the time; still underground. But, I heard rumours that she was ambushed when it happened. I woke up to a war zone and been fighting ever since."

Penelope stared down at her lap again, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make more painful for you."

She felt one of her big hands ruffling her hair and looked up to find a sad smile on the bigger Gem.

"It's not your fault. It was thousands of years before your time." She said.

Penelope hugged the bluff gem, "But, she was your Diamond; one that you never got to meet... I know you can't change the past, but I wish that things were different; that we can keep the planet the way it is and you can still have your home, your Diamond, and that you didn't have to ever go through that!"

She felt her gem and heartache as said that. It felt like her heart broke for Jasper, for the rest of the Gems that never got to meet their leader, and for the ones lost in the heat of war. She didn't know why, but she felt like she was guilty in some way. She couldn't figure it out, though. But right now, Jasper came first.

Jasper hugged her back and let out a small laugh, "Such a strange little Gem you are. I don't even know what your gem is nor what you are."

"That's okay. I prefer it that way. I don't want to be judged by my gem nor what I am, I rather be liked for who I am. That's all that matters to me." Penelope said, gently, "Besides, I really hate my gem. It's caused me so much grief in the past that I avoid looking at it. I know its a part of me, though. But, I still can't bring myself to acknowledge its existence. That's why I was upset when you asked me what my gem was. I just wanted to be me. You can call me strange, but it's part of who I am."

"I don't that there is a point with accepting yourself or not. But, with you, you are your own gem in a sense. As I said, you're different. But, it fits you well. Maybe, you should make yourself to a point where you can accept your gem again. But, you'll still be the strange little pink gem to me." Jasper said, ruffling her pink hair more till she was in a fit of giggles.

"Thanks, Auntie."

"No. Thank you, Sister."

After a moment, Penelope felt like she can walk again and went to take a quick shower. She came out of the bathroom wearing a pink t-shirt and shorts and had her first aid kit in tow. She was covered in scratches and cuts from their training. Jasper was helping her bandaged up her hands when she asked about the pink bubbles in the ceiling.

"Those? They're the mon- I mean, corruptions that I fought since coming here. They come back if I leave their gems. So, I bubbled them to keep them from coming back. It stays quieter that way." Penelope explained.

"Have you ever hunted them down before?" she asked, thinking.

"Only if they cause trouble in my area, but they, mostly, just stay near the ruins. So, I never had to leave with them. Why do you ask?"

"I think we should see how you do against them now. I 've ran out of rocks." Jasper said, smiling.

So, what do you think will have next?

Night,

Ellis Alpha