"And…you're sure we won't just be blasted into smithereens as soon as our ship breaches the atmosphere?" Amethyst asked, narrowing her eyes as she, Garnet, Freshwater, and Steven stared out the window at a steadily nearing Homeworld.
"Assuming Gold Pearl told White that Steven has Pink's gem? Probably not." Garnet said, crossing her arms.
"But he's not Pink." Amethyst protested. "Even if White believes that he has her gem, that doesn't mean she'll believe he's Pink."
Steven shook his head. "Honestly? I think she might. I mean, Blue and Yellow believed us when we said Pink and Rose were the same person, but they still didn't call me Steven." he said, hugging himself and looking away. "I'm not my mom. I know that. You guys know that. But I don't think they know that. And while that is…very frustrating, it's probably going to be the main thing that's going to keep her from shattering us on sight since I'm not my mom." he said, perking up slightly.
"maybe I can talk to her about the Perfect Pearl experiment! If she thinks I'm Pink, she'll listen to me, right? If I tell her how much I hate what's been going on and what I want, maybe they'll call Era 3 off since the whole reason they even wanted the Perfect Pearl experiment to be completed was because of Pink. Maybe if I tal-"
"Wait, wait, wait, hold on." Freshwater asked, holding a hand up and glancing at Steven, with eyebrows raised in shock.
Steven's optimistic grin froze on his face, immediately shifting into one that looked like he was a deer caught in headlights.
"Yeah man, I know Rose was….controversial at best. But I thought she just knew about the experiment." Amethyst said. "You mean to tell me she's responsible for all this mes-" Amethyst's inquiry was cut off by the loud sound of an alarm that made all of the gems jump and exchanged worried glances before swifty running over to stand and gawk at the URGENT - INCOMING BROADCAST MESSAGE FROM THE DIAMONDS that was flashing aggressively across the Sun Incinerator's window, accompanied with the blaring sound of an alarm and the diamond insignia.
"We'll have to table this discussion for now." Garnet said, putting a comforting hand on Steven's shoulder, the boy biting his lower lip as his heart thudded in his chest as the alarm abruptly stopped and the diamond insignia faded, instead being replaced with Gold Pearl's all too familiar face. "Aah, greetings gems! If you're receiving this it means you breached Homeworld's atmosphere and are now about to gaze upon the glory of the creation of Era 3! Unfortunately, I am far too busy to rub victory in your face directly. Being in charge is a lot of hard work and has so much responsibility. Anyhow, welcome! I'm sure you're probably very confused as to what you traitorous gems missed since you last were on Homeworld, so allow me to catch you up to speed," the gem said, reaching up and pulling a bubble into frame that made the gems gasp in shock.
"Radiant, is it not?" Gold Pearl said, holding White Diamond's gem close to the camera. "Unfortunately, this system is far more broken than I thought, so I figured I could step in for the Diamonds and do their job for them. Do it better than them." she said, releasing the gem and allowing it to float skyward as she kept her eyes glued to the camera with that ever present smile.
"As you can see, Homeworld is…under new management. As much as I would have loved to serve White Diamond, she is as corrupted as Blue and Yellow are. Abandoned the mission with a swiftness that disgusts me." she said, a dark cloud washing over her face before disappearing again. "No matter though! Things are back on track now that I'm in charge and they will stay that way. But I, like the Diamonds, am merciful. I have given the gems here the fantastic opportunity to see the building of a new Homeworld - and I will offer you a similar grace. I know I could tell you to turn around and go back to your pathetic rock until I return to wipe you out officially myself when Era 3 is up and running. But you will not do that. No, you stand by your freedom. It's cute. So, come on in. My gems will not stop you. In fact, I am glad that you, too, will be able to gaze upon the beauty of this creation because it will go down in history. Should you have any questions, my second in command will assist you. She is quite a busy gem,but I have instructed her that the Crystal Gems are guests here and take top priority. Especially you, Pearly." she said, Freshwater feeling a shudder run down her spine.
"Anyhow, this welcome is becoming quite long. Enough of my blabbering. Stay as long as you like and you are free to leave when you wish. But should you make things….unpleasant," she said, her form flickering to reveal the dark form the gems were familiar with. "Things will not go well for any of you." she said in a low voice before returning to her Pearl stature with a smile. "Anyhow, please park your ship in the closest docking bay where my assistant will be there to answer any questions you have and show you to your rooms should you decide to stay for an extended period of time. Now that all of the formalities are out of the way," she said, clasping her hands together. "Let's get you gems settled in. Relax. Enjoy yourselves." she said, Freshwater getting the distinct feeling the gem was talking to her directly as she locked eyes with the camera and continued. "I'm sure you're going to love it here." and with that, the gem kissed the camera goodbye before the message ended right as the ship finally breached Homeworld's atmosphere, leaving the gems to sit in stunned silence as the ship soared closer and closer to the ground. After a while the gems turned to their own devices, Garnet sitting deep in thought while Amethyst lounged in a chair next to her in an attempt to fool herself into relaxing enough to get a last minute power nap while Freshwater and Steven peered out the window at the landscape before them that was full of tall buildings, statues of Gold Pearl, landing pads for ships, and bases as the eye could see
"Wow…this place looks so much different now." Steven murmured. "Before, there were so many gems running around and completing their missions, but now…" he said, feeling a shudder run down his back. "I wish we could have done more to stop the ball from even happening."
Freshwater pursed her lips and looked away. "Nothing you could have done. When the Diamonds want something…they really want it." she said, the two of them lapsing back into awkward silence.
"Hey…Steven."
"Hm?"
"What did you mean back there? On the ship." Freshwater said, deciding to confront this head on as she turned to face the boy. "Do…do you really think Pink did this?"
Steven grimaced and looked away, remaining silent. "I…I don't think so. I know so." he admitted with a sigh. "Look…When Emerald and Hessonite shot the fighter jet down and we ended up on that weird planet for the night, we….we had a weird vision. It was kinda like the one we had while on the moon with Lapis." he explained, biting his lower lip as he finally turned to look Freshwater in the eye and tried (and failed) to read Freshwater's blank expression, who motioned for him to continue.
"Well…in the vision I saw Pink and Yellow Diamond arguing about how Pink thought she deserved her own colony because she was 'just as important as them.' " Steven continued, putting air quotes around the phrase as he went on. "Yellow snapped at her though because apparently they spoiled Pink rotten to the point that she started being given Pearl after Pearl since she thought none of them were good enough for her." he said, his face falling at the flicker of hurt that flashed across Freshwater's face before she went stone cold again. "Then…then Pink walked way and punched a window because she was so angry. In her mind, she deserved her own colony and army…and she deserved perfection." he finished, looking away again in shame. "I'm…sorry I didn't tell you. I just. I didn't want someone else hating me for what my mom did."
Freshwater stared at Steven for a long moment before turning away, doing her best to hide the hurt on her face. After a moment, however, she spoke again. "It's not your fault. This is just another one of Pink's shitty actions directly contributing to hundreds of deaths. Can't say I'm too shocked." Freshwater she simply, ruffling Steven's hair affectionately, still unable to meet his eyes. Steven flinched. "Yeah…" he murmured. Though the gem's words hurt, he had to admit she was right. Pink's actions had lead to a war in one instance and an experiment that had killed hundreds in another. Before the boy could get too lost in his thoughts, however,.the ship finally touched down on a docking bay and the gems wordlessly started to exit, all immediately stopping in their tracks when they saw a lone figure standing in the doorway with a canine-like smile.
"Greetings, Crystal Gems. Welcome to the start of a new Er-"
"Oh, cut the shit Agate. What are you doing here? I could have sworn I saw Pearl stab you through the chest in the human zoo." Amethyst snapped, instinctively stepping in front of Freshwater, who was frozen in place looking like a deer caught in headlights.
"Aah, yes, my shattering was…quite exaggerated." Holly Blue said, her smile not faltering even at the idea that an Amethyst had spoken to her with such disrespect. "Our kind and merciful leader is allowing us to help with the building of a new Era, and it is going to be glorious. As stated in her recording, none of you are enemies here. You are honored guests. Not prisoners. Especially you De-" Holly Blue faltered for a moemt before shaking her head.
"My apologies. Freshwater. Is that not your chosen name?"
Finally managing to pick her jaw up off the floor, Freshwater shook her head. "No. Defect is fine." She didn't want this gem to call her Freshwater. That name was for the people who cared about her. Not for…whatever the hell this was.
The Agate's smile faltered slightly, but the gem nodded. "As you wish, defect! Now that you are here," she said, reaching behind her head and for her gem, immediately freezing when the gems summoned their weapons, all aimed to strike at the gem.
"Aah yes. I…apologize." Holly Blue said, raising her hands defensively ands howing she was only holding two diamond lines and dropping them at her feet. "These are for you all to stay in contact with one another in case you get lost exploring this beautiful new Era. As well as to get in contact with Gold Pearl, as she wishes to speak with you, Defect. Also, Defect, please call off your crew. I suspect they are so….testy at the moment due to our past unpleasant interactions." she asked, glancing at Freshwater, who looked shocked.
"Damn right we are!" Amethyst snapped. "You spent years verbally and physically abusing a member of our family, and you think you can just-"
"Cool it, Amethyst." Freshwater said, putting a hand on the gem's shoulder. "It isn't worth it." she said, turning back to Holly Blue. "Why does Gold Pearl want to talk to me? What's this all about?"
"I do not know. She would not tell me, and I did not ask as it is not my place to question orders." Holly Blue explained. "She wished to give you these," she said, motioning to the diamond lines, "as a peace offering of sorts. So you do not feel blindsided or trapped here. You may wander Homeworld freely, with the only stipulation that you go to see Gold Pearl."
"Freshwater, this is crazy!" Amethyst hissed.
Freshwater pursed her lips. "If Gold Pearl wanted us dead, she would have done it herself. She wouldn't have sent Holly Blue." she said flatly. "If we can talk to her…If I can talk to her. It's worth a shot. Maybe we can still put a stop to all of this by cooperating."
The gems exchanged a look. "Okay…fine." Garnet finally relented. "But. We stick together. And if we must separate, we each have a buddy. Me and Amethyst, and you and Steven. At all times. Understood?"
Freshwater and Steven exchanged an awkward look before Freshwater nodded, narrowing her eyes and turning back to Holly Blue Agate, motioning the gems to put their weapons away.
"Glad to see you gems have come around!" Holly Blue said, clasping her hands together excitedly. "Now, first things first - your living quarters."
…
"Well, I've got good news and bad news.." Bismuth said, clasping her hands together as the Off-Color's ship lifted off behind her and shot off into the sky. "Bad news? We have a lot of work to do. When we fight, we fight hard, and Yellow and Blue's ships reflect that." she explained, starting to pace back ad forth in front of the small crowd of gems.
"But…but we can fix it right?" Jonathan piped up, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Damn right we can, Lieutenant." Bismuth said, reaching downand ruffling the boy's hair affectionately before standing up straight. "See, here's the thing. Blue and Yellow's ships are identical in everything except color. If we had more time, we could probably repair both ships and fly them to Homeworld. Unfortunately though, time is not on our side here. So what I'm thinking is we can probably inspect both ships to see which is most salvageable and less time consuming to fix. Then we can go through and basically raid it for parts. Then, if we still need parts, I can forge some of the stuff we might need with some of my materials from the forge."
"Wait, how will we know which ship is more damaged? I mean, just looking at these ships I don't see anything that can be saved." Lars piped up, glancing at the wreckage.
Bismuth grinned. "Now, that's where you're wrong, bucko. See, a gem with the right knowhow could inspect this ship top to bottom within a few days. But a gem with the right knowhow and a trained crew can do it in a few hours. The way I see it, we've got two Bismuths who are born with the knowhow, an Onyx who was taught the knowhow, and a whole lot of hands who are able to learn." she said, puffing her chest out proudly.
"But…Pearls aren't meant for building. What if we mess something up?" Blue Pearl asked, wringing her hands together.
"She's right." Yellow Pearl said, putting a hand on the gem's shoulder. "If they're going to need backup, wouldn't it be better to let the professionals handle it?"
"Finally, someone gets it." Tourmaline muttered, crossing one of her pairs of arms and rolling her eyes. "Listen, Bismuth. as cute as the idea of us all coming together to build a ship is, I don't want people who don't know what they're doing absolutely wrecking what little hope for freedom we've g-"
"Gems, let me ask you something." Bismuth said, interrupting the gem and holding a hand up. "Do you think we would be where we are today if we only relied on the information we were born with? Gems, if we would have actively refused to learn new things just because the Diamonds told us we weren't made for it, half of us wouldn't even be here. I mean look at the humans!" she said, gesturing to Lars and Jonathon, who exchanged awkward looks at being put on the spot.
"She's right." Lars said, rubbing the back of his neck with an awkward laugh. "Before me and Jonathon were kidnapped, neither of us knew anything about leading a crew. We just had to do our best and learn along the way, because we knew if we had just stayed in our comfort zone and refused to learn, we'd probably still be on Homeworld. Yeah, it sucked knowing my opponents knew everything about Homeworld while I still didn't know who even Pink Diamond was sucked, but I had to learn so I could help Jonathon make the best decisions for our crew. If we had chosen not to learn, we wouldn't even be here."
"Look…the point is." Lars said, glancing at Blue and Yellow Pearl with a small smile. "Being born with the knowledge of how to do something is great. But not being able to learn and adapt is just as important. And as far as I'm concerned, this whole Diamonds trying to destroy the planet is a situation where we probably should adapt to avoid getting killed." he said with an awkward laugh.
"Well said, Captain." Bismuth said, clapping Lars on the back and sending the boy buckling to his knees. "So….will you guys let us teach you?" she asked, turning hopefully to the Pearls, who exchanged a look.
"Well…okay. As long as you help us along the way and don't just throw us into the deep end." Blue Pearl said with a small smile as Yellow Pearl nodded in agreement.
Bismuth grinned. "Of course. What about you, Yellow? You down to lend a hand?"
"Fantastic!" Bismuth said with a grin, clasping her hands together. "Now that that's settled, the next step is someone needs to teach you all how to properly inspect a ship. I need to head to the forge and get the spare materials that we can use for the ship, and that's going to take a few hours. So," she said, glancing at Tourmaline. "Do you think you can handle helping them? Between an Onyx and a Bismuth I'm sure you can educate these gems and we get to work while I pack up the forge."
Tourmaline's eyes widened slightly at the suggestion, glancing around the gems, her grimace still present. When her eyes fell on Jonathon, however, her gaze softened and the fusion spoke up, Jet's voice far more prominent.
"Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."