Chapter Two
Sunlight was like nothing Spinel could have imagined.
For her, the only lights had been the ever-present glow of the lab walls, and the shine of computer monitors and screens. Sunlight was so much… more. A single bright ball of yellow in a pure blue sky, which nonetheless somehow managed to fill up and light the entire world. It was warm against her skin. Warm and glorious.
She knew her dallying could only get her hurt, but she couldn't help but stop, tilt her head up towards that warmth, and let the light soak through her, filling her up.
Nobody shoved her or told her to keep moving. When she finally came back to herself, Steven and Garnet were just standing there, watching. Garnet was still unreadable, but Steven had a sad little smile on his face. "How… long were you in there?"
"I don't know," said Spinel. "My whole life."
Steven's mouth opened and closed. "Oh," he said. "Well then, welcome to the outside! Isn't it cool?"
"It's quite warm, actually," said Spinel.
"I mean… isn't it nice to see?"
"Oh. Yes. It is."
The two of them led her onwards. Garnet remained silent for the entire trek, but Steven talked and talked and talked. He pointed things out to her, one after another, telling her their names and how they worked. There was dirt and trees and birds and vines and rivers, and Spinel barely had anything to say. All she could do was listen and listen and try to take it all in.
"And this is a warp pad," Steven said, rather needlessly, when they arrived at a blue crystal platform. Spinel had never seen one, but the scientists had mentioned them enough times that she probably could've deduced what it was.
"Where are we going?"
"Our base," said Garnet, speaking for the first time in a long while. "There will be two other Gems there when we arrive. Pearl and Amethyst. They're our friends."
Garnet's tone was mostly even, but Spinel did not miss the clear warning hidden in it. She just nodded in understanding.
When they stepped onto the warp pad, Spinel wasn't really sure what she's supposed to do, but it turned out she didn't need to do anything. Steven held out his hands a little, and there was a rush of blue light. Spinel felt her whole body begin to float up. She laughed at the sensation. She never felt so light- so free.
But it was over too quickly. Gravity returned, and the world reformed into solid colours. Spinel found herself out of the forest and inside a building completely unlike the lab. No more cramped spaces or clinical white surfaces. Everything was in warm browns and reds and pinks. Big open spaces, soft edges everywhere…
As promised, there was an Amethyst and a Pearl waiting. But the Amethyst was small- much smaller than any other Quartz that Spinel had ever seen. And the Pearl's head was raised, her smile bright and on display. The two were sitting side-by-side, touching each other.
"Yoooo," the Amethyst said.
"Welcome back!" chirped the Pearl, then her eyes widened. She stood up. "Who's that?"
oOo
"So she's a Homeworld experiment," the Pearl said, once the explanation had been given.
Garnet nodded. Steven grimaced. Spinel did nothing. She was standing away from them, in the 'kitchen' area, where there was a large counter between her and the other Gems.
The Crystal Gems, they called themselves. It was a name Spinel had heard before. The name of the rebel group, of the broken Gems who were brought for her for fixing.
Were these Gems broken? They weren't acting the way Spinel expected them to, the way that the scientists and supervisors in the lab had acted. But hey weren't yelling, or crying, or fighting. And they weren't hurting her.
They didn't seem broken.
"So what?" asked the Amethyst. "We were all basically Homeworld experiments. Y'know, except Steven."
"This is different," said the Pearl. "None of us can control minds."
"I can't control minds," Spinel protested. "I can simply alter memories."
The Pearl rolled her eyes. "That distinction is essentially meaningless."
Spinel hadn't thought a Pearl could roll her eyes. She hadn't thought that a Pearl could be threatening .
Maybe that was why Spinel found herself rather transfixed by the Pearl, who intrigued her even more than the 'fusion' Garnet or the odd Steven or the tiny Amethyst. She'd seen a few Pearls before, in the lab. Silent shadows, trailing behind their owners who had come to watch the miraculous experiment work her mind-altering magic. None of those Pearls had been like this Pearl, however. She stood tall and carried a trident and spoke her mind and demanded people listen to her.
(No one except that one other Pearl, tiny and grey, who'd screamed and protested and fought- until at Spinel's touch, all that beautiful fury had just drained away.)
"Well, I think it sounds cool," said Amethyst. She gave Spinel a lazy grin. "Could you really make anyone remember anything?"
"I think so," said Spinel.
"So, could you make someone think they're like… a penguin?"
"I don't know what a penguin is, but probably."
"It's a kind of bird," said Steven helpfully. "Only instead of flying, it swims under water."
"Oh." Spinel considered the odd proposal. "Yes, I could do that."
"Cool! Let's see then."
"Amethyst!" cried the Pearl.
"Relax, P, I just wanna see if it works."
Garnet shook her head, moving forward a few steps as if to create yet another blockade between Spinel and the Amethyst. "Pearl's right," she said. "This power is extremely dangerous. It is not something to be played with."
The Amethyst's mouth twisted, but she didn't say anything to protest.
"Spinel's already promised not to use her powers," chimed in Steven. "Right?"
"Right," said Spinel.
Pearl's grip on her spear tightened. She'd summoned it the moment she learned about Spinel's capabilities. "That's just her word. I would appreciate having more reassurance than that. Or else, who knows what she could make us all think?"
"How about clothes?" suggested Steven. "We could give her a nice long sleeved sweater, some gloves…"
Spinel stiffened. Gloves and bandages and coverings- just like in the lab.
But the scientists had never let her walk around.
"I'll wear whatever you want," she said. "But first... Steven said he could heal me. I want- I need- to see that first."
All the Crystal Gems exchanged looks.
"I... suppose," said Pearl.
"But no touching," said Garnet. "Steven, spit onto a tissue. I'll be the one to apply it to her gem."
It was rather gross, seeing Steven shoot a big glob of mouth fluid onto a piece of paper. It was even grosser, having that applied to her gem. The liquid was warm and rather viscous. But as it seeped into her gem, it glowed and sparkled and...
...and maybe Spinel was just imagining it, but she thought she felt something dark in her mind recoil.
Garnet stepped away. Spinel carefully raised the back of her hand up, inspecting her gem critically, turning it side to side to catch the light in its facets. It glittered, pure bright red, completely smooth and whole- even the little nicks and scratches from where the scientists had taken samples were completely gone.
It was true. She'd been healed.
Steven bounced up past Garnet's shoulders to try and get a look. "Did it work?"
"It did." Spinel closed her eyes against the hot burn of tears. "It did. Thank you. Thank you so much."