CHAPTER VII: ASKING FOR HELP

"It's okay to be scared."

And indeed, it was okay, and that made Lars snap out of it, and make his next decision.

"Get through my hair." Lars said.

"What?!" His crew exclaimed in disbelief.

"You heard what Emerald said, soon the Diamonds will be here and I won't let them catch you. You have to go, on Earth you'll be safe and you'll have the time to think about a plan to stop them."

Fluorite, Rhodonite, the Twins and Padparadscha looked at each other for a moment. It would have been the most rational thing to do, why stay and be destroyed when their own captain was offering them a chance to leave and be safe?

"We won't do it."

That is why. Because Lars had taken so many risks on their behalf, because together they had accomplished so much. They stole a high decorated Homeworld captain's ship, they managed to escape from the planet that held them prisoners for thousands of years and now… now freedom was closer than ever. But they would have reached it together, all of them, without leaving anyone behind. That was the difference between them and the ones who were holding them back.

"But-" Lars tried to speak but Rhodonite chimed in.

"You won't convince us Captain. It's true, we're scared, I mean… I'm probably the most scared gem in the entire universe in this moment… b-but! But we won't leave you, just like you never left us. There has to be a way to solve this! Come on Captain, think!"

"We know you can make a plan to get us out of here!" The Rutile Twins encouraged him.

"We trust you Captain Lars." Padparadscha said hopefully.

"You… can… do… this… we… can… do… this!" Fluorite cheered.

Lars fell silent, a smile on his face as he wiped his cheeks. His crew was the best.

"Guys… I think I have a plan, but we'll need help…"

"Help? But we're the only ones here!" Rhodonite looked around, trying to figure out what her Captain was planning to do.

"Yes, we're the only ones here, but not here…" Lars pointed at his hair. "Rhodonite, I need you to go warn someone about our little problem…"

On Earth, some moments after:

"That's why I'm here! Captain Lars need your help, and so do the Twins, Fluorite and Padparadscha! If we don't do anything, the Diamonds will shatter them!" Rhodonite explained, holding her breath as she saw Garnet assuming a thinking expression.

"We can't let them get caught, the Diamonds won't show them any mercy, we know that." Garnet concluded.

"Alright! Let's kick some Homeworld butts!" Amethyst incited.

"Yeah! We'll save everyone!" Steven said, stepping towards Lion's mane alongside Connie.

"Not you two." Garnet declared as she stepped in front of the two younglings.

"What?! B-but Garnet, Lars is our friend!" Steven tried to convince her.

"If the Diamonds are coming, I don't want you to be there. If there's even a single chance of them catching you, and trust me there is, then I want you to have nothing to do with this, and I think I'm talking for Pearl and Amethyst too."

"Garnet is right Steven, don't worry about us, we'll save them and come back in no time." Pearl tried to reassure the young boy, who seemed still deeply conflicted about the plan.

"No worries Ste-vo, we're more than enough to help donut boy." Amethyst said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Alright gems, let's move." Garnet said, stepping inside Lion's mane alongside Pearl, Amethyst and Rhodonite.

And all of the sudden, Steven and Connie were left alone in the living room. Both of them didn't like the idea to stay here and do nothing while the gems risked their lives helping Lars, but they didn't feel like questioning Garnet anymore after her latest outburst.

"What do we do?" Connie asked.

"I know what we can do." Steven replied, assuming a determined expression.

"Oh no, Steven don't tell me you're thinking about what I'm thinking." Connie spoke in a worried tone of voice.

"I know it's the right thing to do, the gems are always scared of my ideas but only because they fear something bad might happen to me, but I have a good feeling about this!" Steven explained.

"Steven…" Connie exhaled, rubbing her temples.

She made the error to look at Steven while he performed the most adorable puppy face ever done, and that was enough to convince her.

"Oh alright…" Connie groaned.

"Yes!" Steven exclaimed happily.

"But if something goes wrong…" Connie muttered, putting a hand on the hilt of Rose's sword.

"Yes, right, but we still need help." Steven said.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When Jasper will reform, she won't be happy to see me, and if I manage to cure her, she'll be even less happy. We need to restrain her, and after I cure her, some kind of place where we can keep her until she calms down and she's ready to listen."

"Some kind of… cell…" Connie wondered out loud.

"The only kind of cell that can hold back a gem is the kind Peridot had on her old ship… when we cleaned up all the debris I think Amethyst conserved some of it in her room."

"But, surely it won't work, it'll need repairs. Who could do it?" Connie asked, before both her and Steven realized that they had the perfect gem for that kind of job.

"Peridot!" They both called her.

When she didn't answer, they walked up to the bathroom's door, knocking twice before waiting for the small, green gem to open. When she did, and her gaze fell on Steven, Peridot released a little yelp before immediately standing up straight, her arms bent into a diamond salute.

"Oh no, please Peridot, that's the last thing I need now." Steven said, not unkindly, gently placing his hands on Peridot's wrists to untangle her arms.

"I'm… I'm sorry… it just… it came automatic…" Peridot raised her eyes, meeting Steven's. Not that Peridot has ever been disrespectful towards Steven… well maybe sometimes… but now, the young boy noticed there was a different kind of respect in her eyes. It almost looked like… fear. He didn't like it much.

"Peridot look at me. It's me, Steven. It doesn't matter who my mom was, if she was a quartz or a diamond, I'm still me, nothing has changed." Steven explained.

"I know you're still you but… I mean… half of you is a Diamond! How was that expression… damn it… oh yes… that's a big deal! You're practically one of Homeworld's matriarchs! Well… patriarch since here on Earth gender seems to be a thing, b-but still!" Peridot began to ramble excitedly.

"Okay Peridot, calm down, we're… we're really not here to talk about this." Steven placed both of his hands on the small gem's shoulders, trying to make her calm down.

"O-oh… then what did you want?" Peridot asked confusedly, if not to obtain informations about his true nature from her vast knowledge of Homeworld and its matriarchs, what could he could he want?

"If we manage to retrieve some pieces of your old ship, do you think you could build a cell? Like the ones you put Steven and the gems in when you first came on Earth." Connie said.

"Okay, first of all I already apologized for that, it was very rude of me, I still was subjected to Homeworld's dogmas and didn't really understand what this planet could give to me. Second of all, of course I could built a cell, I'm one of the best engineers around, if not the best, am I not?" Peridot asked smugly.

"Of course you are." Connie answered rolling her eyes, although she was smiling.

"Yes! So, can you help us?" Steven asked in a hopeful tone.

"Of course but… why would you need a cell?" Peridot asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

"Ehm… it's… kind of a project I've been thinking about…" Steven knew he had to tell her, but he was very afraid of what Peridot would say, what if she didn't agree to help them?

"Oh, if it is a project that involves using Homeworld's technology, you've come to the right gem… but I'd still like to know more."

"You know how I discovered that I can cure corrupted gems?" Steven began, laughing nervously.

"Oh yes! That is really remarkable Steven, being able to repair damage made from the Diamonds themselves! Although with you being a Diamond it shouldn't have been such a surprise."

"I want to cure a gem, but she might be very, very angry, both before and after I cure her. We need to restrain her so that she gets to calm down before I… explain things." Steven explained.

"Oh, that's reasonable. And who would this gem be?" Peridot asked, still not figuring out the corrupted gem's identity.

Steven became silent all of the sudden. He knew they needed Peridot's help, but after all what they've been through because of Jasper, he didn't really know if she would accept. Connie noticed that Steven was struggling, so decided to help.

"It's Jasper. Steven wants to cure Jasper."

Here you go! The next chapter is already here! Will Peridot accept to help Steven and Connie in their plan to cure Jasper? Will the gems be able to save Lars and his crew from Emerald and the incoming wrath of the Diamonds? Who knows, it's like 2 a.m. here and I'm very tired, so good night, or good day, I don't really know, but I still care. To the next chapter and beyond! Remember, it comes out tomorrow! So stay tuned and be sure to let me know through comments if you like how the story is going! Bye!