Chapter Nineteen: Return to Sender…For Now
The Gems sipped on some green tea as they rested in the sand, while some were playing on the seashore. Onyx's heart rate had gone up, but not by much. He knew it would soon return to normal.
The Shadow Gems, as the Crystals liked to call them, had finished packing their things, leaving some stuff behind in case they ever came back unprepared.
They said bye to the other Gems, and they got something for Steven: a weird device like Pearl's old one, the one that would clone objects. However, Steven's had a Cookie Cat sticker on it, and it came with one Cookie Cat ice cream sandwich in case he ever wanted to clone them, seeing as they were discontinued.
"Unlimited Cookie Cats!" he exclaimed, scaring away some gulls in sight.
Azurite and Silver had lumps in their throats, recalling fusion memories. After what seemed like centuries, they finally hugged and waved goodbye without saying a word.
Shadow snapped his fingers, creating another portal, but this one was a different shape and a different color. It looked like what you'd think a galaxy looks like, but it was a periwinkle-like color and the "stars" inside were a light blue, like the sky overhead.
"We'll have to find out who brought us here and why, but for now, this is goodbye," Shadow told the others. "Next time we'll bring… Da Bus."
Steven squealed in excitement, and he was starting to wish the Shadow Gems came back a day later.
But, as the days went past, Steven became bored of waiting.
And Azurite, who was depressed, didn't speak for days.
Malachite and Turquoise, however, kept taking walks on the beach until they were bored of it.
Steven probably cloned five Cookie Cats, because at the end of the day he was stuffed. He didn't eat the next day, as he was trying to get rid of the extra weight.
As he was jogging on the beach, he saw Connie, who he didn't see until he ran into her.
"Hi, Steven," she said, her nose somewhat red. Her eyes were baggy, and she coughed once in a while. She was probably sick.
"I couldn't come over until now. My cold kept me from… leaving the house…" she sneezed before she said "leaving".
"I hope you get better soon,then," Steven told her. "We have a lot of catching up to do, and I've fused twice since the last time I saw you. I'll have to describe that when you're healthy again…"
…
Lapis's room had colonies of coral in it, and there were giant bubbles holding small aquatic landscapes. Those same bubbles would then pop, drop the landscapes, and build Lapis's room piece by piece, but the landscape bubbles wouldn't go away, even when the room was finished.
An hour after Lapis's room was complete, Azurite was making chamomile tea, his favorite human beverage. It seemed like he didn't get much sleep since Silver.
He knew they'd come back soon.
Whoever brought them in the first place…
Was bound to bring them back.