"Hurry! Hurry," exclaimed Steven, rushing ahead of everyone.
Sardonyx soon passed him with her long legs. "I'm going as fast as I can, love."
Amethyst caught up with Steven and ran with him with Peridot's leg. "Do you think there's still time?" he said, "Do you think this'll work?"
"I dunno!" said Amethyst. "Why you gotta ask me? How'm I s'posed to know?"
As he ran through the lush greenery surrounding his mother's fountain, Steven noticed that everything had been trimmed and made symmetrical into a neat and functional garden; there was a clear path from the warp pad to the fountain.
Steven raced with Amethyst to Sardonyx. Sardonyx was kneeling. Running to her side, Steven saw her gingerly place Topaz's Gem in the fountain's waters. It sank when she let go. To the bottom. Steven held his breath as if he were the one at the bottom of the fountain.
Nothing happened. No flash of light. No beam of change. The gentle ripples in the fountain distorted Topaz's Gem at the bottom of it.
"We're too late," blandly said Amethyst.
Sardonyx said, "Now, Amethyst—"
"NO!" Steven screamed. "We can't be too late! Not after everything we've been through! Everything she's been through!" His tears were mixing into the fountain. Sardonyx suddenly split apart, back to Pearl and Garnet. Steven spoke to the water. "Topaz! You have to wake up! Come back! Peridot needs you!"
Garnet picked up Steven and consoled him. "Oh, Steven," she said. She started back to the warp pad.
Pearl and Amethyst were with him, too. Tears in her eyes, Pearl said, "We did all we could, Steven. Please."
"Yeah," Amethyst just said.
Garnet whispered to him, "Whatever you do, don't ever blame yourself. None of this is your fault."
Over Garnet's shoulder, Steven looked to the crying statue of his mother. It made him cry more. Everything was blurry and small.
Steven thought he saw his mother reach out to him. Her loving and strong hand reached out to him, consoled him, and made him feel less like he was falling apart. Despite how mysterious his mother was, Steven often turned to thinking of her in times of self-doubt.
And Steven did have his doubts, especially now, having failed to save someone's life. His mother would have known what to do. She could've done more, done better. Steven was just Steven and could only try his best. Sometimes his best wasn't good enough.
Steven wiped his eyes and looked up again. He saw the color brown. "Topaz?" he exclaimed. Everyone turned around to see her crawling out of the fountain. They ran over.
Topaz was on her hands and knees, soaked and dripping. Her long braid of hair was gone, but her small one was still there, surrounded by hair that dropped just past her ear on one side and fell to the nape of her neck on the other. The rest of her hair below her headband was an undercut. Wet, it covered her face as she collected herself. It didn't cover her Gem, and when Steven saw it looking pristine, as if it had never been cracked in the first place, he breathed out the color black, and his tears dried. Garnet set him down and summoned her gauntlets.
"Topaz, you're ok," said Steven. "How're you feeling?"
Topaz lifted her head and shoved her wet hair back out of her face. She had the most incredulous expression that could've been a mixture of many things; anger, maybe confusion, but more than anything, disbelief.
She stared wide-eyed at the Gems, and at Peridot's foot. "It's ok," said Steven, "we're not here to fight." As he said this Garnet stepped forward, her stance wide. "Garnet?" Topaz shot up from her knees, her stance wide, too, and her hands up.
Then Garnet stopped, and Steven overheard Amethyst gasp, "What?" He looked to Topaz again, and aside from her hair he didn't notice anything else different about her. Then Garnet's gauntlets vanished. Steven blinked.
And so did Topaz. She looked at Garnet, who dropped her fighter stance. Pearl put a hand on her chest. Garnet said it was ok, and stepped a little to the side so as not to be in direct line to Topaz. Topaz lowered her hands, then her shoulders. She took the Crystal Gems in with caution.
She started toward them slowly, rigidly. Then Steven saw it. The Yellow Diamond insignia on her chest was gone! He thought about what it could mean, and jumped to the possibility that she was on their side now.
She was so close now, and her tallness took him by surprise. The last time Topaz was this close to Steven he had accidentally cut her in half. She didn't look at him, but walked passed him, to Amethyst. She stopped in front of her and looked hard at her. She held out a hand and said, "Give it back."
Amethyst looked at Topaz with disgust. Then she looked to Garnet, who nodded. Amethyst was hesitant, but she smacked her gums and said, "Whatever," tossing Topaz Peridot's foot. Topaz caught it.
Everyone just stood and stared. Then Topaz scuffed up dirt, starting for the warp.
"That's it?!" said Amethyst, throwing up her arms. Topaz didn't stop.
Pearl put a hand on Amethyst's shoulder. "Amethyst, please."
Amethyst shook it off. "Excuse you?! We just saved that dirtbag's life!"
Garnet took her other shoulder. "Amethyst…"
"No," she said, starting after Topaz. "Hey! You! Witch!" Everyone started after Amethyst. Steven called for her. "Is that it?! You just gonna walk away?!"
Steven pulled on her, "Don't!"
Amethyst grabbed him by the wrist. "If it wasn't for Steven, you'd be gone! The least you could do is show a little appreciation!" Then Amethyst got right up behind Topaz and said, "Bimbo!"
Topaz stopped. She put Peridot's leg down, standing it upright. She turned and came straight for Amethyst, grabbing her by her leotard and lifting her above her head. The Crystal Gems shouted for Amethyst and surrounded Topaz. Topaz just looked Amethyst in her eye. Steven pleaded for Topaz to let her go, but Garnet and Pearl had to take her to the ground to get her to do so.
Garnet and Pearl got off Topaz. The Crystal Gems stood together in front of her. Topaz got up and took back Peridot's leg. She continued to the warp. Amethyst huffed.
As soon as Topaz stepped onto the warp, she was gone.
"Well, there she goes," said Amethyst. She turned to Garnet. "Why? Why did you just let her go? She's dangerous! She could be anywhere! She… she could—"
"Let's follow her," said Garnet. She stepped up on the warp pad, and the rest of the Crystal Gems followed suit.
…
When the light from the warp dissipated, the world opened up again to the snowy mountains. Steven looked around perplexed, but then he saw Topaz trudging through the deep snow, away from them. She tore a ravine in her wake.
"She'll be back," said Garnet.
They waited. The cold felt refreshing, for Steven didn't realize how hot he was coming from the Rose Garden in his heavy winter wear. As they waited, Steven decided to get a little rambunctious and hurled a snowball at Pearl's back. She turned to him and Amethyst who were snickering to each other. Then a perfectly spherical snowball slapped Amethyst square on the nose. Amethyst's jaw dropped! But a nasty grin grew from her lips, and she started chucking compacted handfuls of snow at Pearl, who danced out of their way. Steven joined them, getting pelted by Amethyst and only ever grazed by Pearl.
After a while, Steven was feeling the abrasiveness of the cold on his face and it had reached him under his layers of sweaters and coats. The decision to quit playing was made with a big sniffle. Garnet hadn't moved from the warp pad. She was looking out where Topaz had left. Steven couldn't see her anywhere, though her trail was still there. Steven couldn't see Peridot. With another sniffle, he walked over to the warp pad. Pearl and Amethyst stopped when Steven stopped. "Cold?" said Garnet. Steven sniffled. "Come here." Garnet sat yoga-like and she and Steven embraced. Garnet was warm. Steven huddled up against her, and turned his head every now and then to warm his face evenly. Amethyst and Pearl came to sit with them.
Garnet made Steven warm and toasty. He was fading in and out as he was so comfortable he was about to fall asleep. But, then he heard Garnet say his name. He didn't know if he had fallen asleep at all, or how much time had passed, but he looked up and saw Topaz walking their way, through the same path she had carved earlier. She still had Peridot's foot.
Steven got out of Garnet's lap, and she stood and stepped forward. Topaz stopped before the warp pad and she and Garnet stared each other down. Steven felt a chill roll over him.
"She's left," said Garnet. Topaz didn't say anything. "She could be anywhere. Are you going to search the whole world for her? She could be one warp away. Or she could be thousands away. What are the chances of you choosing the right one?"
"Why are you here?" challenged Topaz.
"We are here," said Garnet in her tallness, "to protect Earth. From the likes of you. Why are you here?"
"You," spat Topaz, "do not have to involve yourself with me anymore, it's obvious. And you certainly shouldn't try to reach out to me."
"I could care less about that," said Garnet. "What I care about is what you're going to do. So, what'll it be?"
Topaz looked insulted. "You're not going to stop me."
Topaz started toward the warp pad, showing no sign of stopping. She walked right up to Garnet and looked her in the shades. "Move," she said. They glared at each other. Then Garnet stepped down off the warp pad, as Topaz stepped up.
Pearl and Amethyst didn't question; they did the same. But, Steven stayed. "Garnet?" he said.
"Come down, Steven. Let her go."
"But—"
Pearl interjected, "Steven, you come down here this instant!"
Steven turned to Topaz and looked up at her. Her eyes were colder than the boreal snow.
"Steven!"
"We have Peridot's escape pod," he blurted. "It can tell us whenever a warp is being used, wherever in the world it is."
"What are you doing?!" said Amethyst.
"We can help you," said Steven. Topaz glanced at Garnet, then back to Steven. "Until we find Peridot. You could stay with us."
Amethyst and Pearl both exclaimed in tandem, "OH NO! That's not even a QUESTION!"
…