Regret and Redemption

by Drakeot7

Chapter 2: The Intruder

2 weeks earlier...

Lapis woke with a start, as Peridot had somehow gotten stuck in one of the toilets off in the corner. Lapis was very tired as Peri and her had actually fell asleep during a CPH marathon. After pulling Peridot out of the toilet, Lapis went to work on the farm. She had recently stumbled upon several new seed types, and wanted to plant them right away. She took a few packets of seeds, and decided to plant the first one between the melons and the raspberries, as there was a cozy gap about 3 feet wide, big enough for a row of new plants. She held the first seed packet out in front of her, and was confused about the strange name it had. "Rut-e-bega?" Lapis asked herself. "Eh, I'll have Peridot explain it to me later." She planted the seeds, rained on them a bit, and went on to the next packet.

But right as she was about to plant the next crop, she heard screaming, and more specifically, Peridot's screaming. "AHHH! NOO! LAPIS, HELP! NO! GET OFF ME YOU STUPID CLOD! AHHHH! NO! NOT THE FACE! NOT THE FA-POOF!" She flew over, not knowing what the heck Peri was screaming about, or what that noise was at the end. When she got there, she was a little more than surprised. An unknown Ruby was standing there. She was a bit taller than Garnet's Ruby, with a diamond insignia on her chest like Peridot. Her gem was located on her shoulder, at the very top. She also had what looked like a large pouch on a belt slung over her opposite shoulder, into which the Ruby pulled out a diamond communicator, and had stored Peridot's gem. She turned towards the barn, and the screen from the communicator flashed up. Lapis quickly retreated backwards into the stalks of corn, hoping she wouldn't be seen as she watched. She wanted to try and fight the Ruby off, but wanted to see why she was here first.

"This is the Diamond communication line," started Yellow Pearl. "State your identity."

"This is Ruby, Facet – 2B4X, Cut – 9T3Z." Ruby stated, saluting. Yellow Pearl looked down at a tablet she was holding, and after a few seconds, looked back at the Ruby.

"What is your report on the scouting of Earth?" Yellow Diamond asked.

"The Earth is still intact, as our scanners detected. The cluster did not emerge."

"Is that all?"

"No. I have also caught and destabilized the fugitive Peridot Facet – 2F5L Cut – 5XG."

"Your excelling actions will be reported to your manager."

"Excellent. Ruby, Facet 4, out."

The Ruby saluted, and closed up the communicator, storing it with Peridot in her pouch. Lapis had seen enough. She stepped out of the corn stalks, surprising the Ruby. But before Ruby could react, Lapis surrounded her with a fist of water, and slammed her into the ground, over and over, making many small craters as she did. Eventually, the Ruby couldn't handle all the stress, and poofed. Lapis held the bright red gem in her hands and, mimicking the Gems' hand movements, created a light blue bubble encasing the Ruby.

She stood staring at her significant discovery of power, but quickly remembered Peridot's situation. She grabbed the gem out of the pouch on the ground, and held it up to the light, checking for any damage, to which she found none. She realized, however, there was still an elephant in the room. Where the hell did that Ruby come from, and why was she 'scouting'?

The Temple, 3 hours later…

Lapis had ran to the temple, telling everyone what had happened. Soon after, Peridot regenerated and was also filled in about the past few minutes. Peridot then warped to the barn, and warped back, her tablet hovering above her. She also came back with a tiny, strange looking gadget, which she plugged in the tablet. Apparently, the strange item was a memory drive built by Peridot that turned her tablet into a version of her old screen. She pulled up a radar application. Pearl and Steven looked at Peridot's flashing screen for the 7th or so time, not fully comprehending the information it held. It showed a circle, presumably the Earth, with several blobs of red orbiting.

"So that Ruby wasn't the only one coming? Steven asked, surprised. "There's going to be more?"

"I'm afraid not, Steven. There's more. A LOT more," Peridot replied. "And I think, from the information I received..." Peridot took a deep breath while looking at everyone else in the room, then continued, "I think Yellow Diamond is on her way. With an armada." The looks on everyone's faces were that of complete terror and shock. Just then, Garnet warped in from outside, with the retrieved bubbled Ruby gem. Everyone slowly looked at Garnet, who had not heard the news.

"What's everyone looking at? Something on our face?" Garnet said, a smile growing on her face, fond of her joke.

"Um..." Steven started, anxiously. "Yellow Diamond is o-on her way with an army."

"Oh. Okay." Garnet said, shrugging it off. She walked over to the bubble room to store the gem. Everyone couldn't understand her reaction. Was she joking? Did she hear them? No one knew what had just happened. That is, until they heard Garnet's true reaction. She had produced a massive scream, one clearly of fright, but that wasn't the last one. They then heard a second, more gravelly scream, coming from what sounded like a child. Though familiar, they couldn't figure where or who the voice was coming from, and before anyone could say anything, the voice's owner sprinted out of the bubble room, still screaming, abnormally fast, leaving fire trails in their wake. They went so fast, all the other saw just a small, red blur. They realized who it was, only when someone else walked into the room.