Very late update because I was at a convention last week and then an unfortunate incident involving my laptop put me out of action and unable to reply to PMs or reviews!
I'm so sorry everyone! *bows*

As always, thank you for all your kind reviews and responses. The OC –featuring chapter is going to be chapter 15, in case you're wondering. I'll be sending everyone who wanted an OC featured in the chapter, just to clarify one or two things.

Whispered

"So…do I know her?" Jenny asked, leaning forward slightly, eyes glinting with a barely concealed excitement. "Like does she go to Beach City High or Beach City U?"

"No," Sadie whispered back, pretending to just be going through the bill. It was still a little thrilling to be talking to the most popular girl in Beach City; a girl who'd previously only ever called her doughnut girl. "She's from out of town. Way out of town." She bit back a small, bashful chuckle. "I haven't known her very long but I figure she might want to do something local with someone local? Is that stupid?"

"No! No, it's great," Jenny insisted, having to actively put effort into keeping her voice down. "So what's she like? Real cute? Smart? I bet she's a total sweetheart…"

Sadie shrugged, her smile seeming to be beyond her own control. "Well, she's a pretty awesome dancer…"

Across the counter, Sour Cream's headphones were neatly perched on his shoulders, effectively drowning out his friend's quiet conversation as he mulled over the best selections for the weekend's upcoming sets. Valentine's was always a hard occasion to play for because the crowd demanded he stay unique and relevant while still cranking out enough slow, smoochy, cheesey dance tunes to mark the date as it were.

In short, SC didn't hear a thing that Jenny and Sadie were saying nor was he trying to.

Lars, on the other hand, was covertly watching and straining to listen.
Eyes narrowed.

Home Truths

Garnet and Pearl had both given very specific orders regarding what they were not allowed to speak about with the kimberlite, should she be found.
(In hindsight, Steven found it a little strange that Garnet had found it necessary to remind them of this, just before they split from the group to pursue the gem-beasts headed towards the city. In fact…maybe it was a little strange that he and Amethyst had received these very specific instructions at all.)

"I've never walked this far without my gem protector…"

"Gem protector? That sounds like something a nerd would wear. So you're not here on like...official business?"

"Oh no, just tourism. My Diamond didn't sanction this visit in the slightest."

"Woah...nerd with a taste for danger..."

As their de facto leader had made them repeat, they were not permitted to mention the cluster, the drill and to generally avoid referencing that they were a group of Homeworld war criminals.

Everything aside from that, as far as the purple-tinged quartz was concerned, was fair game.

"So do you know what this is?"

Amethyst picked up a lone seashell left strewn by the side of the path, lifting it up and holding it under Kimberlite's hooked nose.

"No idea," the gem breathed, gingerly accepting the conch from Amethyst with mesmerised eyes. "What do you call it?"

"Oh, it's just a shell," Steven began. "It comes from…"

"It's the egg of a dangerous Earth creature called a Cookie Cat!" Amethyst chimed in suddenly. "That one looks as if it's already hatched but the poisonous membrane on the inside is probably still intact! If you touch it, it'll probably turn you inside out!"

"Gah!" Kimberlite squeaked, dropping the shell and darting away from it.

"Amethyst!" Steven chided, shaking his head but unable to conceal a smile. "Don't listen to anything she says, Kimberlite. Shells aren't poisonous…well, none around here are."

"Awwh, I'm just messing with you, home-girl," Amethyst laughed, scooping up another shell from the path and handing it back to the taller gem. "You're almost as funny as P-Dot."

"Uh…thank you?" Kimberlite said, a little uncertain as she delicately examined the shell. "So, this…Cookie Cat? Is that real? Will we encounter any around here?" She looked around at the passing trees as if waiting for some kind of oncoming attack.

"Nah!" Steven assured her. "Cookie Cats aren't a kind of animal. They're desserts…ice cream…something you can eat…"

"Oh snap," Amethyst interjected, nudging Kimberlite in the side. "You probably haven't tried eating yet, have you?"

"Eating? No, but I've tried ingesting coffee!" she replied proudly. "It was an enlightening experience."

"Well, that's an ok start but we need to get some fries into you…and a taco…and maybe waffles…"

"That all sounds very exciting but… I've never eaten before. I don't have the necessary experience, I fear."

"Hey, I'm practically an expert at eating- ask anyone. With my training, you'll get there."

"You'd really be willing to teach me?"

"If I've got the time," Amethyst winked up at her, briefly revealing her normally hooded eyes as she tossed her hair proudly. "Who knows, we might work our way up to the wonders of pork chops…"

"My stars!"

Steven was happy to see the two of them palling around so much.
His instincts about the grey gem hadn't been proved wrong yet; Kimberlite was decidedly harmless and after some initial, (pun aside), rockiness regarding Amethyst's size, she was happy to accept the Earthgrown gem as her tour guide.

Often taking her advice quite seriously.

"And do you, uh…?" Kimberlite hesitated, looking a little bashful. "Do you think the ability to eat these "pork chops" effectively might impress a human? Uh…er….any humans who happen to be watching, I mean?"

"Kim, Kim, Kim," Amethyst sighed, slinging her arm around the back of the grey gem's waist, (unable to quite reach her shoulders). "Eating's basically one of the greatest talents humans have and I know from experience that they happen to find eating your weight in pork chops extremely attractive."

Steven bit back a small peal of laughter that had been building up in his lower throat, feeling a little like he should intervene but deciding against it when he saw Kimberlite awkwardly stoop to place her arm around Amethyst's shoulders.
The purple gem cocked an eyebrow at the closeness but didn't do anything to push her away.

The gesture was forcing her to walk bow-legged but she didn't seem to care.
The physical contact appeared more important to the Homeworld gem than walking normally.

It wasn't long before Homeworld became a topic of conversation with Kimberlite casually remarking:

"This is the closest I've ever been to a quartz type gem. Your hair is so soft."

"Thanks, I regularly soak it in junk water. So do you come from a part of Homeworld where there are like, not a lot of quartz or something?"

"Oh, I wouldn't know, I'm afraid. I live in an underground section of Blue Diamond's temple so I don't see many other gems aside from my personal staff. I wouldn't be allowed to come near them anyway. On Homeworld, touching is considered…inconvenient."

"Huh, personal space is still a thing for the Home-slices? Go figure. And, woah, you live underground? Doesn't that get like…dark or something?"

"No, not at all. We have compressed sulphur diodes on the walls. Just like the ones all over the main arenas. When is the last time you were on Homeworld, Amethyst?" Kimberlite asked, a little timidly. "Is it not fresh in your memory?"

Amethyst shrugged. "I was never on Homeworld. Made here. Raised here. Always been here." She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. "Like Steven."

Kimberlite looked from the small quartz to the smaller quartz with incredulity.
"What? Neither of you have been to our Homeworld? Ever? But it's our…home…world…"
Her speech was about as staggered as her gait.

"Your home-world," the purple gem corrected her, waving a finger in Kimberlite's face. "Our home is Earth."

"Gems can live on Earth…" Kimberlite murmured quietly, as if the thought had only just occurred to her and she was still trying to process the new information. "It's not a colony but you can live here…" She smiled a little. "You know, it's so funny. I didn't expect to meet other gems here. Gem life on Earth was supposed to have ended centuries ago and while I've heard the odd, urban rumours about all the "demon gems" of course." She paused, giggling slightly at the supposed absurdity of the thought. "But you've both been a nice surprise…"

"…what do you mean by "demon gems?" Steven asked slowly, a cold wave of unease slowly washing over him.

Before Kimberlite could reply, however, a plane flying overheard caught her attention and caused her to scarper away into the nearby shrubbery in panic.

"Another beast!?"

Steven had no idea how the rather tall gem had bundled herself into such a small bush and had it not been for the look of terror on her face, he might have found it a little funny.

"No, it's just a plane. Like a spaceship but not as cool," he assured her, helping Amethyst to pull her out of the thoroughly assaulted foliage. "Hey, it's ok…"

"I do apologise," she blubbered, plucking leaves from her hair, her eyes on the sky. "I've just been r-rather prone to misfortunes as of l-late…I probably should not have left my gem protector at my Sadie's house…"

"Heh...nerd," Amethyst muttered, laughing a little as the painfully awkward gem scrambled to her feet.

Kimberlite was too enchanted with the vapour trails in the sky to pass a comment on this remark- thankfully, Steven couldn't help but think.
Something had caught his attention when Kimberlite last spoke.

"Did she just call Sadie… "my Sadie"?" Steven asked Amethyst in a lowered voice, unable to stop a smile from coming across his face.

The gem shrugged. "Well, yeah. You musta noticed by now gems say it to people that they like. Humans never really seemed to come out with it so after a couple of decades I figured it was like a gem-only thing. Like a…what's the thing Pearl says? Term of endearment?" Amethyst hesitated a little, taking a long sideways glance at the young human before saying. "Rose used to say it a lot. My Garnet…my Pearl…my Amethyst…" Her voice almost trailed off completely before renewing with a grin. "Heh and then there's Ruby and Sapphire…my laughy Sapphy…didn't know Rubes could be such a sap sometimes. And P's pretty bad for it too. And then there's you…"

"Me?!" Steven raised a confused eyebrow, tearing his eyes from Kimberlite's graceless ambling to give Amethyst an accusative look. "When do I say it?"

The gem's playful grin became an undeniable smirk as she did her best imitation of his voice. "You stay away from my Connie! Don't say that about my Connie! I wonder if my Connie will like this?"

"Ok, ok," he insisted, chuckling bashfully as he batted Amethyst's arm. "You've had your moments too…"

The purple gem stopped in her tracks, looking genuinely stunned and a little expectant. "Oh?"

Now it was Steven's turn to offer his best impression of Amethyst: "Ahem….MI TORTA!"

She grimaced, sticking her tongue out at him and giving him a soft punch. "Whatever, little bro. Heh, if Kim's talking that way about doughnut-girl it must mean that she kinda likes her."

"Yeah, maybe," Steven said, his eyes travelling to watch Kimberlite ambling up the trail ahead of them, his thoughts a little distant.
He felt as though he probably actually ask the new-to-Earth gem what exactly she needed help with. Sadie had said that it had something to do with her ship so he had figured that it was maybe something that Peridot could help with.
He had been mulling it over for quite a while- unsure if he was afraid of the answer he might get even if he wasn't sure what that answer might be- but suddenly, his thoughts were preoccupied with something else.

By the time they reached the barn, Pearl, Garnet and Peridot, (the green gem probably unknowingly acting as more of a hindrance than a help), seemed to have concealed most of the evidence of their drill construction.
The cows were gone too, Steven noted.

That was probably for the better.

Pearl was the first sentient being to come into view, her normally fluid gait becoming notably slower as she surveyed the trio approaching her.

"Well," she began, letting out a small breath. "You all certainly took your time." Her round blue eyes darted from the two smaller individuals to the tallest of the trio. She took her time when speaking, her voice as melodic and careful as always but a lot slower. "So...you must be Kimberlite..."

"I am!" she responded cheerily, looking oddly excited to make Pearl's acquaintance, even going as far as to take her hand, wrapping the white gem's long, slender fingers with her own. "How are you?"

Steven let out a long breath that he'd been holding in for a very long time as warm relief coursed through him. He'd been dreading this since the barn had actually come into view, considering the rough patch that another certain Homeworld-biased gem had gone through with his dear guardian.
He really wasn't in the mood to do another Olympics, (robo or otherwise).
So when Kimberlite clutched Pearl's hand to her chest, smiling sweetly, Steven could feel nothing but a comfy warmth ripple through his skin.

Though this was suddenly doused with a spray of cold reality when Kimberlite turned around, still holding Pearl's hand and asked with toddler-grade innocence:

"Who does she belong to? She's lovely." She turned back to a very flushed Pearl, happily adding: "You remind me of my Pearl. She has a nice, soft voice too."

Out of the corner of his eye, Steven could see Amethyst's jaw had come unhinged in shock and quick as a flash , he stumbled forward.

"Remember how I said that we do things differently here on Earth!?" he almost bellowed, his grin forced and his voice breathless. "How gems can be different?! Well...well..."

"That's alright, Steven," Pearl said, a little stiffly, slowly wrapping her fingers around Kimberlite's in return and pushing her hand downwards, out of her tenure. "You don't have to apologise for anyone else's behaviour." She looked at Kimberlite, releasing her hand and folding her own. "I don't belong to to anyone."

Pearl seemed a lot less jittery than the time Peridot had asked about who owned her.
Maybe she had some time to prep a good answer?

During the robo-lympics, between making popcorn and setting up a deck-chair, Garnet had mentioned something fleeting about Pearl not having to defend herself like that for a few thousand years or so.
"Homeworld was good at breeding biases. I'm guessing they still are, judging by our little green friend's two cents," she had said. "Pearl was always good at holding her own...though back then, she had Rose..."

Steven, with this in mind, held his breath and silently wished he had something else to hold on to besides the hem of his t-shirt.

"You...don't belong to anyone?" Kimberlite echoed, looking confused for a moment and then suddenly very sympathetic. "Did your owner leave you here?"

She reached out for Pearl's hand again but the white gem immediately moved her hands behind her back.

"I haven't had an owner in a very long time," Pearl said, a little more sharply than before. "And I don't think I really need one either."

Kimberlite opened her mouth as if she was going to say something with a heavy tone of pity but she seemed to rethink it a little, instead simply saying: "Oh..." Her head dipped to one side for a second, her expression unreadable before a slow smile spread across her face. "Oh. You're like Sadie and the Big Doughnut. Things are so different here on Earth."

"...yes," Pearl replied, looking a little confused at the statement before smiling faintly. "Yes, they are."

Kimberlite's eyebrows knitted suddenly. "You know, you look an awful lot like my Pearl...I think..."

The swordswoman inhaled through her nose, a little withered. "Gems of a certain type tend to look alike, yes."

"No, it's more than that," Kimberlite insisted, squinting a little behind her unruly grey fringe. "While you do look a little like my Pearl...I feel like I've met you before..."

Pearl's jaw slender jaw pulled taut. "I don't think so. I haven't been off-planet in a while."

A loud squeak sounded out from behind an upturned tractor, causing all four of them to jump slightly.

"The heck was that?" Amethyst demanded to know, looking around. "Does the barn have those giant rats again?"

"More beasts?" Kimberlite whimpered, looking to Steven expectantly. "Should you summon a weapon?"

Pearl rolled her eyes. "No. Nothing of the sort. Peridot! I thought we talked about this. Are you coming out here or not?"

After a few moments of shuffling, the engineer finally scampered out from behind the machinery, her eyes big as she approached them.

The human boy pondered her response for a moment, remembering how panicked she had been to learn that Kimberlite had arrived here.
They still didn't have proof that she was after Peridot.

"Uh...Kimberlite...this is Peridot," Steven said, deciding that an ice-breaker seemed vital. "She's a new addition to the gems here on Earth. Peridot, this is Kimberlite. She came here all alone."

Peridot walked rather robotically over to stand beside Pearl, staring up at Kimberlite with her hands in clenched fists. "Peridot, facet 2f5l, cut 5xg."

Kimberlite tilted her head. "...Kimberlite, facet 0a0a, cut 0aa." She smiled faintly. "I didn't actually come here all alone. As a matter of fact, I brought a Peridot with me too. Era 2, just like you. Only she was taller...and oh, you work for Yellow Diamond? That's interesting. I'm sure you and her would have a lot to talk about. She's a little jumpy though..."

"We've heard," Garnet's low, placating drawl sounded out as the elegant fusion sauntered over. "She's not going to make any friends around here by shooting at the locals, even if she does thing that she's helping you out. But the question of the hour is, how can we help you out, Kimberlite?"

"This is Garnet," Steven proclaimed, smiling up at Kimberlite.
His smile slipped at the sudden look of fear in her big green eyes.

Kimberlite was staring at Garnet intently, a slow tremor running from the top of her head , right down her torso all the way to her knees.
Her stare travelled from Garnet's left palm to her right palm to her torso, fixating there.

"...hello," she said finally, her voice very quiet.

"Is something the matter?" Garnet asked, possibly preparing for a Peridot-esque outburst about fusions. Their leader seemed to have steeled herself to this kind of behaviour, similar to Pearl.

There was something different about Kimberlite though, Steven thought, worriedly.
She wasn't disgusted or annoyed...she looked afraid.

"I...I...just noticed...that, well, I thought you all might have worked for Yellow Diamond but...you all seem to have an affinity for that five-pointed shape..." Her voice dropped to a hush, her pupils turning to pinpricks and Steven's stomach dropped. "I've only ever seen that symbol once before...I...it belonged to..."

"Alright, Kimberlite. Listen to me," Garnet began.

The grey gem stumbled backwards, falling on to her backside and scrabbling at the dirt. "Y-You...you're all..."

"It's ok, Kim," Steven tried to say calmly. "You don't have to..."

But Kimberlite's eyes were already on the large, yellow star on Steven's t-shirt.

"You're... all war criminals..." She lifted a hand in apparent self-defence. "You all work for...her. Does that mean she's here?"

The words hit Steven like a blow to the face but swallowing back the sour feeling, he tried to reach out to take her outstretched hand.
"Hey...it's ok...no one is going to hurt you."

"Don't come any closer to me!"
Kimberlite waved her hand violently, a bright light suddenly tearing through the ground between she and Steven. The boy tumbled backwards, groaning on the ground
A deep black absess opened up in the ground, only inches away from the tip of Steven's flip-flop.

"That's a warp portal!" Peridot exclaimed doubling back. "Did she make that?!

Kimberlite looked just as a horrified as the rest of the gems but when Pearl took a step towards Steven, another wave of her arm caused a second giant hole to appear.

"I told you not to come any closer to me!" she shrieked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I don't need to get close to you to make you regret that, home-girl," warned Amethyst, reaching to her gem to pull forth her whip.

The sight of a weapon was enough to tear a scream from Kimberlite's throat and at least six more portals suddenly littered the ground around them, leaving them with only slivers of clean, solid Earth to stand on.

Pearl took a balletic leap across one of the divides and managed to scoop Steven into her arms, Peridot automatically latching on to one of her slim legs as an anchor.

"Cut that out!" Amethyst shouted, drawing back her whip, only to have her arm grabbed by Garnet.

"No...she can't help it...let me handle this..." Steven heard the fusion say, right before a long tremor in the ground sent Pearl toppling backwards and temporarily blinding him.

When his vision finally returned and he was able to untangle him, groaning and grunting, from Pearl and Peridot's hold, he was greeted by the sight of a stocky, red gem standing over him.

"Need a hand?"

"Ruby? What...are you doing here?"

Over her shoulder, she could see Kimberlite, trapped to the spot by a husk of ice around her gangly legs. She was breathing heavily now, a certain blue gem standing over her.

"Kimberlite. Stop. The last time we spoke, I warned you about letting your emotions get the better of you."

The grey gem's head jerked up. "Sapphire..." she breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"It's been a few years, alright," Sapphire replied with the same gentle smile that she often addressed him with.

A tear ran shivering down Kimberlite's cheek. "...they told me that you were broken."

Again, I am so, so sorry about the delay! I don't deserve your patience.
Any of it.

Things will be back to normal for now on.

For all interested parties, Kimberlite's portal summoning abilities also stem from real life Kimberlite's commonly being found in absesses in the ground.

Thanks again, everyone!