Garnet smashed the warp pad.

"What are you doing?!" yelped Amethyst.

"They might have been watching the warp stream," Garnet explained with a forced calm. "Even if they know which exit we used, they won't know where it leads. This will keep them from following us here."

Amethyst tsked. "I guess we have to walk here from now on."

The group heard the beat of wings above and turned to see Lapis Lazuli swooping down to land near them, Peridot following close behind on foot.

"What are you all doing here so late?" Lapis asked.

"And why did you destroy the warp pad?" Peridot added.

"We've had a run-in with Emerald," said Garnet. "The temple is no longer safe. Let's get inside and we can talk there."

Lapis and Peridot exchanged surprised looks, but neither protested as the Crystal Gems moved past them towards the barn.

"How did you lose control of the temple?" asked Peridot. "I knew Emeralds were powerful—"

"She had an army of Onyxes." She quickly explained what happened at the beach house.

Peridot nodded as Garnet finished. "That explains the warp pad. Smart move." She looked around at the group, then stopped. "Wait. Where is Steven?"

The Crystal Gems paused. "He was on Lion," said Pearl, worry plain on her face. "They teleported somewhere during the raid. Did they not arrive here?"

"No," said Lapis, eyes wide. "Are you saying Steven is out there somewhere alone?"

"Technically, Greg's with him," said Amethyst, though she didn't even try to sound reassuring.

All six gems exchanged looks, then looked back at the destroyed warp pad. Garnet adjusted her visor. "There's no use worrying about him," she said. "Lion knows how to get here and we can't find them; they could have teleported anywhere." She resumed moving toward the barn at a fast walk. The other gems hurried after her.

"What are we going to do about the temple?" said Pearl, wringing her hands and trying to drag her thoughts away from Steven. "We have a lot of gems and equipment stored there. What if Emerald's control ability can be used to access the temple?"

"Like, she just flips the switch on the Rose Quartz gem to get in?" said Amethyst. "That would be bad."

Garnet shook her head. "The gems in the temple door are artificial so she shouldn't be able to activate the Rose Quartz gem without a proper Rose Quartz. I doubt her powers extend to false gems."

"I can tell you for a fact that Emerald gems don't radiate Rose Quartz power," said Ten. "If the method of opening the door is just straight power emanation, Emerald is out of luck."

"Still," said Pearl, looking off in the direction of Beach City, "we're not far from her. If she sends those creatures out to find us... She certainly has enough of them to perform a wide-area search."

"If we see any Onyxes out by themselves, we need to poof 'em and bubble 'em," said Amethyst, smacking her fist into her palm.

"No," said Garnet and Peridot simultaneously. Garnet motioned for Peridot to continue. "Emeralds are one of the most cunning and intelligent gems in existence," she said. "I have no doubt that she keeps detailed records of where each of her Onyxes go and will know when and where one has gone missing. It is what I would do, and my intellect pales in comparison to an Emerald."

"A rare admission," said Lapis, causing Peridot to give her a dirty look.

"I thought Homeworld was having resource issues," said Pearl. "Emeralds are intelligent, have unique and powerful abilities, are huge… How can the Gempire spare the resources?"

"They can't," said Peridot. "Not anymore, at least. Production started on the Emeralds near the end of the rebellion when the Gempire had more to spare. They are incredibly resource-intensive gems. The first batch of Emeralds had entire kindergartens devoted to them."

"Entire kindergartens?!" said Amethyst. "But that's enough material for thousands of gems!"

"Tens, or even hundreds of thousands with the right conditions," Peridot amended, "all focused on the creation of a single gem. As you can imagine, they were powerful beyond anything short of a Diamond—one assumes, anyway; the Diamonds keep knowledge of their true power nebulous at best." Peridot rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "The only weakness that I can think of is possibly their single-minded pursuit of their goals. The downside to that is that their goal is right there." She hiked a thumb over her shoulder at Ten.

The others looked at Ten, who simply looked exhausted. "They just keep making me run," she grumbled.

"We'll get 'em to stop, Chicken Ten-ders." She offered Ten a fist bump, which Ten half-heartedly accepted.

"You need to work on your nickname game."

"Hey, I got one syllable to work with. Gimme a break."

Lapis spoke up. "You said the first batch were made from entire kindergartens. What about the other batches?"

Peridot gave her an excited grin. "Are you actually interested? Rare admissions, indeed."

Lapis shrugged. "Yeah, it's kinda cool, I guess."

"Well," said Peridot, looking quite self-important all of a sudden, "the Diamonds realized that they simply didn't have the resources to spare for such large, powerful gems and had to cut back. By halving the physical size and being pickier with their abilities, production increased to four per kindergarten. These later Emeralds are quite weak in comparison to the first generation, but they are still powerful by any measure."

"Do we know what generation this Emerald is?" asked Garnet.

"Do we…?" Peridot looked puzzled. She turned to Pearl. "How tall did you say she was?"

"She looked fifteen feet tall," said Pearl, "but the only reference I had were the surrounding Onyxes. She was pretty far away."

Peridot tapped her chin. "That might be first-generation. Truth to tell, I don't know the height parameters of an Emerald, regardless of generation, but fifteen feet is quite impressive. Did you happen to see the other one?" The Crystal Gems all shook their heads. "And the one you knew of, was she larger or smaller than that?"

"Sounds about the same size," said Ten.

"Drat. The only option that tells us nothing."

"Two of them," said Amethyst. "And they can control gems as well." She looked at Pearl and Garnet. "We might be out of our league, here."

"You know it's trouble when even Amethyst can see that," said Ten. No one laughed, and Ten blushed and said no more.

"There are six first-generation and twenty-four second-generation Emeralds in existence," said Peridot. "None have been shattered as far as I know. They each have control of a specific type of gem. I don't know them all, but I'm sure the most common gems like quartzes and spinels have an Emerald. Certainly Rubies. Probably no carbonates, though. Probably a few of the worker classes too, like Pyropes and Bismuths…" She rattled off a few more gems under her breath, trying to complete a mental list.

"Are there any of us that don't have Emeralds?" Pearl specified.

Peridot looked between them. "I doubt there is one for servants like Pearls or aristocrats like Sapphires. Or Lapis Lazulis, for that matter," Lapis couldn't suppress a smile at that. "I don't know about Peridots. My own ego aside—" Lapis outright laughed at that, and Peridot continued with gritted teeth, "—we are engineer-class gems, but no significant threat, so I assume not."

"And knowing Homeworld's hatred of cross-gem fusion," said Garnet with audible disgust, "I'm sure we have no idea what those control powers do to fusions." Peridot made a gesture of futility. "I thought not. Let's hope this second Emerald isn't the one for any of our models."

"That still leaves us with a few question," said Pearl. She reached up to her gem, pulling from it a small, pink bubble. Inside sat a gem of a shape similar to Peridot's own trilliant-cut gem, though this was a ghastly purple-and-black thing.

"Whoa, you kept one of the Onyx gems?" said Amethyst in disbelief.

"Hold on," said Peridot, pushing forward and peering at the gem. She looked quizzically at Garnet, who nodded. "So you did notice. The others?"

"Dunno," said Garnet. "Pearl? Did you notice?"

"Notice what? Is there something strange with the gem?"

"It's corrupted," supplied Peridot.

Pearl rolled her eyes. "Well, of course it's corrupted. Any simpleton can see that. Why do you think I brought it along? You meant besides it being corrupted, right, Garnet?"

"What?!" blurted Ten.

"It's corrupted?" added Amethyst.

Pearl looked at them with genuine surprise. "You didn't notice?"

"No," said Ten coolly. "Apparently I'm lower than a simpleton."

Pearl laughed nervously. "L-Let's just forget I said that."

"Yeah, let's." Ten turned to Garnet and Peridot. "How can you be sure?"

Peridot indicated the gem as she spoke. "The gem is multi-colored in an asymmetrical pattern, mottled, contains unusual colors; I've studied a handful of corrupted gems thanks to my association with the Crystal Gems and I can assure you that this gem has all the necessary criteria. It is no surprise that Pearl and Garnet recognized it right away, though it seems like I gave Amethyst too much credit."

"Harsh, P-body."

"That can't be possible," said Ten. "I've been fighting Onyxes for thousands of years. They can't have all been corrupted."

"That is strange," admitted Peridot, "but the Onyxes I've read about are exactly as those described from your past and from the temple attack: feral, violent, and nearly mindless. It would therefore stand to reason that Onyxes are made this way purposefully. It may be that the kindergarteners who create them are the only ones who know an Onyx's true, uncorrupted form."

"But why? Why would they do this?"

Peridot shrugged. "Who knows? The Diamonds can be cruel at times, but they are also efficient. Perhaps Onyxes are the only gems that can be ordered around when corrupted. Perhaps they are simply created corrupted, or even the source of corruption itself. Or maybe they are just the right combination of destructive and effective to be worth the risk."

Garnet pondered for a moment. "Could the second Emerald be the Onyx Emerald?"

"That is possible," said Peridot, "though I wouldn't assume that the first is the Rose Quartz Emerald just yet. You know what they say about making assumptions: don't do it, idiot."

"I don't think that's how it goes," said Amethyst.

"I'm summarizing."

"Shouldn't we be concerned?" piped in Lapis.

"Of course we should," said Pearl. "We have two Emeralds with powers and abilities we aren't even sure of—"

"That's not what I'm talking about. What I mean is that you saw Emerald, right?"

"Right," said Pearl in a tone that suggested she wasn't sure where this was going.

"So she was certainly close enough to see all of you, then?"

"That makes sense, sure."

"Okay. Then it also makes sense that any one of you could be under Emerald's control right now."

"Hey, yeah!" said Amethyst, looking at the others. "Any one of you could be working for her right now!"

"Same goes to you, shrimp," said Ten.

"Uh, I think I'd know if I was under someone else's control."

"And that's exactly what you would say if you were under her control."

"Shoot, you're right. That's totally what I'd say!"

"Is there any way to prove we aren't being controlled?" asked Pearl.

"None I can think of," said Ten. "Emerald has complete control once she's in. If she wants to hide that she's in control, she just won't prove that she is and there's nothing we can do."

"I can prove I'm not being used," said Garnet.

Ten looked skeptical. "How?"

"Simple." With a smirk, she held up her hands palms-out. She began to glow, her two gems swirling apart. Her larger body separated into two smaller ones, splitting apart and drifting down to the ground, hand in hand. The light faded, and in her place stood Ruby and Sapphire.

"Cool," said Ten, kneeling down. "I knew she was two different gems in theory or whatever, but it's weird seeing her split into two different gems."

"Hey," grunted Ruby, "it's not weird! It's perfectly normal and amazing."

"It is quite amazing," said Sapphire, her hand moving softly to Ruby's arm. "A pleasure to meet you, by the way."

"Oh, right. I guess you know me already, but just to be safe: hi, I'm Ten." She offered Sapphire her hand, which the tiny blue gem grasped momentarily with a light giggle. She then shook with Ruby, then stood back up. "So how was Garnet—or you? Wait," she put a hand on her head. "How do I refer to Garnet?"

"You can refer to her as her own person," said Sapphire. "She's more than just the two of us put together."

"Wow, that's so we—" she saw Ruby's eyes narrow, "—eeeeuuunderful. Wonderful, is what I was saying." Ruby seemed to believe her. "Anyway, Garnet was saying she could prove she wasn't being controlled. How?"

"Simple," explained Sapphire. "Emeralds can only control one type of gem, so even if her control of Ruby or myself lets her also control a fusion like Garnet, then splitting apart would free at least one of us." She turned to Ruby. "Ruby, were we under Emerald's control?"

"Nope," said Ruby proudly, hands on her hips. A silence followed during which Sapphire cleared her throat. Ruby looked around. "Uh, what was I supposed to do again?"

"Ask me the same question, silly."

"Haha, right. Sorry, the plan made more sense when we were fused. So Sapphire, was Emerald in control of Garnet?"

"No, she wasn't. Therefore, she also has no control over either of us now."

"If you say so, I believe you," said Ruby, causing Sapphire to laugh.

Peridot nodded while Ruby and Sapphire began to dance together. "Their logic is sound," she said. "Even if Emerald controlled Ruby and thus Garnet—which we still do not know whether that is possible or not—the breaking of their fusion would, at the very least, nullify control over Sapphire. And, if your history is any indication, gems that have their physical forms altered via destabilization sever Emerald's control as well."

Ten stared at Peridot. "How do you even know my story? I've never told you."

Peridot gave her a sly look. "I have my secrets, Ten. Secrets that I shall not divulge."

"Steven told us," said Lapis.

Peridot sighed and shot Lapis a dark look. "Yes, fine, Steven told us."

Ten tsked. "Dang, I thought it was because Emerald was controlling you and slipped up."

"You need to assume that she's smarter than that," said Peridot. "And she apparently can access your memories and abilities, so she should be more than aware of what you've told others. And also: when would she have had the chance to capture me? I never leave this place. Lapis and I have been inside watching TV for the past week."

A newly formed Garnet placed a firm hand on Peridot's shoulder. "Then you've repaired the monitoring station?"

Peridot froze. Sweat beaded on her face. "Uh… I… may have gotten distracted?"

"Peridot." Garnet squeezed her shoulder.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry! It's just, Lapis and I were getting along so well and she wanted to watch Camp Pining Hearts and then we watched five seasons in a row and then we had this idea to use some of the items in the barn to make music and then—"

"Alright," said Garnet, silencing her. "Just please get to work on it again. Do you have all the parts you need for the repairs?"

"No," admitted Peridot, "which I belatedly realize is the excuse I should have gone with."

"It's fine. Just try to get it done soon."

There was a distant rumbling. The Crystal Gems perked up. "Lion?" said Pearl, looking around.

"That was definitely Lion," said Amethyst.

"Strange. That sound was distant, but clear. These hills and trees should have muffled the—oh, there they are." She pointed up moments before Lion landed hard on all fours. He stood for a moment, before collapsing, having taken a high fall from the look of it. Some distance above, Steven was floating downward with Connie clutching him around the middle. "What is Connie doing here?"

"Steven!" called Ten. "What are you doing with Connie?!"

Steven looked to be trying to call back, but they couldn't hear him. The kids floated down slowly, then about forty feet above the ground, they suddenly went into freefall with a scream from Connie. Garnet leapt up, catching them after they had fallen no more than ten feet, and brought them safely down.

Once on the ground, Connie fell to her knees, Rose's sword clutched tightly in her arms, and let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Garnet. Steven was so tired he lost his grip on Lion, then I think he fell asleep on the way down." Sure enough, Steven was snoring softly in Garnet's arms.

"Did Lion take Steven to your place?" Amethyst asked.

"Yeah. I guess he was pretty sick. Mom gave him some medicine that she said would help, but it also made him really drowsy. He and Mr. Universe seemed really excited about something but they weren't making much sense, so—" her eyes went wide. "Mr. Universe! We left him at the house! We need to go get him!"

"It would be better if he stayed there for the night, Connie," said Pearl.

Connie fidgeted with her nightgown. "My parents are going to find that really weird."

"Well, you can explain things when you get back. Lion!" She snapped her fingers for Lion to come to her. He gave her an indignant look and rolled away from her. "I don't know why I keep thinking that is going to work."

"You're sending me back already? I just got here." She tried to give her most eager puppy eyes.

"It's late. You should be in bed. And Steven too; you humans need your sleep. As soon as Lion is feeling better, please take Steven and go back to your home for the night."

"Take Steven? Why? He was in such a hurry to get back here. Is something going on?"

"We're going to be at the barn for a few days. Steven is sick and will be more comfortable in a bed with climate control and hot food."

"I guess that makes sense," said Connie.

"Yeah," Ten added. "Plus we can't send him back to the temple with the warp pad destroyed."

"What?!" shouted Connie.

"And even if it wasn't, the temple's been completely overrun."

"WHAT?!"

"Ten!" Amethyst slugged her in the thigh.

"Ow! What? What did I say?"

"You guys are trying to dump Steven from another fight!" Connie shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at them. "Steven and I have trained incredibly hard for just this sort of thing. You've got to let us fight, too."

"Oh, the little one's a fighter?" Ten was both pleased and amused by this.

"Connie, this is different," said Pearl, short on patience. "We've explained to you before exactly why Steven can't fight against these Emeralds. And since you two insisted on learning to fight together, that means you're out too. Besides, someone needs to take care of Steven and you and your doctor mother are just the people for the job. So once Steven wakes up, take him to your home, and get him feeling better, okay?"

Connie was about to argue, then sighed. "I guess you're right. He can't fight like this. He's going to be really disappointed, though."

"We can live with that," said Garnet.

Connie walked over to Lion, patting his mane. "I know Steven's asleep and you don't normally listen to me, but do you think you can take us to my house?" Lion looked up from where he lay, meeting Connie's eyes. He seemed to consider something, then rolled to his feet. "Thanks, Lion," she said, running to fetch Steven. However, no sooner had she turned away then Lion loosed a mighty roar, tearing a portal open in the air in front of him. "Wait!" said Connie. "We haven't gotten on yet!" Lion leapt through the portal, vanishing into the night as the portal snapped closed behind him.

Connie was rooted for a moment, her hand frozen in the air, still reaching for Lion. Then she turned toward Pearl, a broad smile on her face. "That's too bad. I guess we'll have to stay here now. It's a shame, really, but we have to make the best of our situation."

"You look real broken up about it," said Amethyst, herself stuck between amusement at their predicament and concern for Steven and Connie.

Pearl looked livid. "Do humans still wear lion pelts?"

"Pearl, no."

"And you and Steven didn't teach him to do that, did you?"

"No, ma'am," said Connie. "I've honestly never seen him leave without us before."

Pearl rubbed the bridge of her nose. "We might as well fill Connie and Steven in on the details. But not tonight. You still need to go to sleep. Peridot, do you have something soft they can sleep on?"

"Just the couch, though 'soft' might be generous. You two don't mind sharing, right?"

"Not at all," Connie said, blushing slightly.

"Come on, then," said Garnet, carrying Steven inside with Connie on her heels, "let's find something warm for you two."

The gems watched them go. "Why don't we let the little one fight?" Ten asked.

"Wha? Connie?" said Pearl. "We are not going to let the children in harm's way. They're still too young and inexperienced and the Emeralds are far too dangerous. And besides, One of the Emeralds can control—"

"Steven," Ten cut in. "Yeah, maybe. A big maybe. But even if we don't know that, what we do know for certain is, no matter which Emeralds are here, Connie is safe from their effects because she has no gem. If she can fight, then she is the one and only person we can trust in battle."

"That's—" Pearl paused suddenly, surprise on her face, "—actually a good point. That would certainly be a solid advantage, especially if Emerald doesn't see it coming. But it just seems too reckless."

Amethyst said, "Humans don't regenerate. If the Onyxes get a hold of her…"

Ten raised an eyebrow. "You're against it?"

"Hey, I like Connie. And she's Steven's friend. I can't even imagine what seeing her being ripped apart by those crystal dogs would do to him. I mean, you've seen your friends killed and look how messed up it made you."

Ten shrugged. "Fair point. I won't push it, but you should take it as a serious option." She walked toward the barn to join the others inside.

They sat in silence a moment, Pearl in deep thought. "You okay there, Pearl?"

Pearl looked at Amethyst, then Peridot and Lapis. She blushed a little. "Ten might be right."

"What?" said Amethyst, shocked. "Did we switch roles or something here? You, Pearl, are considering letting Connie fight with us?"

"It's not as crazy as it sounds," said Peridot. "Having even one person that you know you can depend on could make all the difference, even if she only acts as a mascot."

"But there is no way that Connie fights and Steven doesn't," said Amethyst.

"There is that," said Pearl. She and Amethyst both looked frustrated.

"Well," said Lapis, "you can either take a risk with Steven and Connie, or you don't. Either way, you're looking at two Emeralds and forty Onyxes versus four to six of you, two of which might come under Emerald's control. No matter what, you're outnumbered big time. Might as well have more of you."

Pearl's shoulders slumped. "You two have no intention of helping, do you?"

"I don't fight," said Lapis, "and I also don't feel like sitting in the brig of an Emerald ship."

"And I can't fight," said Peridot. "What am I going to do? Levitate a counter-weighted fastener at them? Also, I don't want to. I doubt Emerald has any ill intentions for the planet as it has nothing to do with her single-minded mission of destroying Rose Quartzes—if, indeed, it even is the Rose Quartz Emerald. So no, I don't plan on helping." She waved a hand at the barn, "But feel free to stay in the meantime, until you get your temple back."

"Your generosity is overwhelming," said Pearl.

"Though I recognize that as sarcasm, I am going to say 'yes it is,' with an equal or greater amount of sarcasm: yes it is." Peridot turned and strode toward the barn. Lapis Lazuli followed, giving the two gems half of a lazy wave.

Pearl and Amethyst looked at one another. "I haven't even seen Emerald yet, but I one hundred percent hate her," said Amethyst.

Pearl sighed. "Come on, we need to talk to Garnet about Connie and Steven." And they, too, made their way inside.

The door to the Big Donut opened.

"Mornin'," Sadie called from where she was stocking donuts. "I'll be with you in just—" she turned and froze. Standing before her was a large green gem, stooping to fit under the low ceiling. The gem smiled pleasantly and offered a small wave.

"Hello," she said in a singsong voice, "I'm Emerald. What's your name?"

"Uh, hi. I'm Sadie," she answered cautiously. She couldn't help but remember the last time an unknown gem had come to Beach City in their giant hand-ship. The town had been evacuated and suffered extensive damage. "Can I help you?"

"Yes you can, actually," she said, her large body approaching. She reached into one of the folds of her outfit and pulled something out. She reached toward Sadie, who pulled away instinctively. However, the only thing in her hand was a twenty-dollar bill. "I'm sorry," said Emerald, "I'm new here and am not familiar with your currency system. Garnet said I could procure some foodstuffs here in exchange for this. Is that true?"

"Oh," said Sadie, relaxing, "you're friends with Garnet?"

"And Pearl and Amethyst, yes. I was asked to purchase some provisions and meet them somewhere, but I think they gave me too much credit figuring this all out." She looked upset and slightly bewildered. "Can you help me?"

"Sure," said Sadie. "They usually buy a dozen donuts if they get anything. Here, I know their favorites." She started picking out a few donuts and putting them in a box, then sealed it up and handed it to Emerald.

"Wonderful," said Emerald, looking relieved. "I was afraid I was going to make a mess of this whole excursion. Will this one piece of currency be enough in exchange for this?" She offered the bill to Sadie.

"More than enough. I'll actually have some change for you." She took the twenty and gave Emerald her change.

"Oh, thank you," said Emerald. "You're so honest."

"Aw, I'm just doing my job. So why didn't they send Steven down? He knows what they like."

Emerald looked surprised. "Steven? Is that the boy's name? Oh dear, I've been calling him Sylvite! How embarrassing."

Sadie laughed. "I'm sure it's fine."

"Well, that just leaves me with finding where they said to meet them. I don't suppose you happen to know where that would be, would you? They've completely forgotten to give me directions. I could find them, I'm sure, but it would take a dreadfully long time."

"You mean the beach house?"

"No, darling, that is where I just came from. There is some other place they gather, apparently."

"I'm not sure I know," said Sadie. "Maybe you could try the barn?"

"The barn?"

"Yeah. It's somewhere outside of town. I've heard Steven and Connie talk about it on occasion. I don't know exactly where it is, but I'm sure someone does if you ask around."

"I think I will do just that," said Emerald with a delightful smile. "You have been a most helpful and gracious young woman. I hope you have a wonderful day."

"You too," said Sadie, waving as Emerald turned to leave. "And good luck with your search."

"Oh, my dear," said Emerald with a smile, "I don't need luck."

Emerald stepped outside, turned left, and went around the corner of the Big Donut. A half-dozen Onyxes were waiting for her there. "Go to the ship, get someone to look in the database and find out what a 'barn' is, then search the surrounding countryside for one. Report back to me by the end of the day." The Onyxes snarled and slavered, but they seemed to understand as they turned and raced off across the beach.

"Very good work," said the second Emerald.

"I was afraid after they destroyed the warp pad that their trail would go cold for some days," said the first. "It is fortunate that this appears not to be the case."

"Looks like you were right: watching their broadcast entertainment and observing their speech patterns has had a clear benefit."

"I have no doubt that your plan of threats and violence would have worked as well," said the first.

"Nowhere near this quickly," the other admitted.

"Thank you. I must say, there is just something so satisfying about manipulating others to do what you want. Keeps the hands from getting unnecessarily dirty."

The second chuckled and threw the box of donuts and money into the nearby trash bin. "This is true." They leapt upward, landing on the hill leading to the lighthouse, and looked out over the town. "Their primary position has fallen. We don't know how many more they have, but from their numbers, we can assume not many."

"If I had to guess based on their actions, their disabling the warp pad means that this is the only one remaining, otherwise they would have need of it for a quick escape. Also likely poorly defended, or else they would just destroy whatever came through the warp stream instead. Easy ambush."

"Agreed. If correct, we'll have all of their pitiful forces in one place and we can crush them in one strike, ensuring our target is eliminated."

"Yes," said the first emerald. "We'll wait until the Onyxes report back. Once we have an idea of their defenses and power, we can complete our mission: we shall attack and destroy that hybrid monstrosity, the so-called 'Steven.'"