Peridot brushes off the citrines when she arrives back at the house, heading to collect her limb enhancers from the spot she was brutally cut down with an exaggerated calm.
"What happened?"
"I was kidnapped!" Peridot snaps, "No thanks to you!"
"By what?"
"By... a very large and intelligent organic beast," Peridot says, "two, in fact. I got away, with my superior intellect- no thanks to you."
The citrine with the gem on her shoulder looks annoyed.
"Do you want us to kill it for you?"
"No," Peridot says, "I just want to get off this stupid planet- come with me to the Kindergarden, so I can finish here."
The citrines clearly have more questions, about where she's been, how she was clearly made to regenerate, seeing as she lost her limb enhancers, about the house she wouldn't initially allow them to enter, but a big part of a guard's job is not speaking. She fears they'll tell Yellow Diamond; no use leaving this out of her report, then.
She steps onto the warp alongside the quartz gems, in case the Greg activates it again while any of them are on alone, leaving her defenseless once more.
Pulling up the coordinates to the Kindergarden on her screen, Peridot activates the warp.
...
Amethyst follows the bigger amethyst down the hall, glaring at the overt stares by gems they pass.
She gets it, she's short.
She could still kick any of their asses.
"Where we goin', boss?" Amethyst asks, dropping the moniker to take the edge off her question.
"To visit a friend."
Amethyst can't imagine this lady has any friends, but she keeps her mouth shut and follows along, making purposeful eye contact with anyone she passes. Many of them look away, deciding their rank below an amethyst puts even the runt above them, but some look right at her, and Amethyst can hear the word defect echo back in her mind, one she's heard a lot since coming here.
They eventually arrive at a metal door- the short, round gem guarding it steps out of the way at the senior amethyst's command, allowing her to swing it open.
There are a line of cells on both sides of the wall, and it hits Amethyst that they're visiting her own friend, not the purple giant's.
She follows quietly, shooting sympathetic looks to the two miserable gems trapped in the cells by the door. She's not sure what they're in for, but she's sure it's high five worthy in any other situation.
They turn down a hallway, and the bigger Amethyst stops before a lit force field.
"What'd'ya want?" A small, scratchy voice asks.
Amethyst is waved over by the other, and she comes to stand by her hip. She keeps her face stern, neutral, as she lies eyes on Ruby,
She looks angry. It's not new, for the fiery red gem, but this kind of mad is more terrifying than the loud tantrums Amethyst had seen on the rare sighting.
It's a quiet rage. No volume, no stomping. Just a hard look in her sorrowed eyes.
Amethyst can feel the heat emanating from inside of the cell.
"Oh," Ruby says, "hey."
"Hi."
She shrugs at the gem towering above her.
"What did you want me to do, exactly?"
"You know this gem," the amethyst announces- it's clearly a test of loyalty, "why don't you convince her to cooperate as nicely as you've been doing?"
Ruby seethes.
"I ain't know this gem," Amethyst says, pretending she doesn't care at all for the friend before her, like she doesn't care about the bad state she's in, "I barely ever met her, just Garnet."
"GARNET'S NOT HERE," Ruby snaps, jumping to her feet and lunging at the field.
The larger amethyst steps back, but the Crystal Gem was prepared for Ruby's temper and stays still, playing it cool.
She stops short, focusing her intense, sad gaze directly on Amethyst.
Amethyst can guess why she's upset. She struggles to maintain an angry face, in case she hears news she never wants to hear.
"And why not?" The amethyst asks, stepping forward; Amethyst thinks she's embarrassed about being startled a second ago.
Ruby can't seem to answer that, sitting heavily down, instead.
"Why not, Amethyst?" The larger one asks.
Amethyst takes a slow breath in, struggling to keep her breathing strong so her voice doesn't crack and give away that she cares.
"You broke her."
"Good," the amethyst says, smirking at Ruby as she turns her back to them both, "you're right. That's what we do with abominations."
Amethyst stops breathing, so there's less risk of tears. It's more of an energy strain, but as long as she doesn't take breath, she thinks she can pass as apathetic.
"This one's due soon, too," the amethyst says, turning on her heel to leave.
Amethyst shoots a look at Ruby, taking a quick glance around to see if there's any subtle way to get her out, any way to shapeshift and put the field down without the amethyst noticing, any way to do anything at all.
There's not. Amethyst doesn't look back as she leaves.
...
The bungalow fills with a bright blue glow as the warp activates, dropping a human and a pink lion onto the pad.
Greg looks around for gems, but relaxes after a moment when no sounds or visuals occur.
"Do you think they left?" Greg whispers, walking sneakily over to the window.
The large green hand is still there. He heads back to the pad, looking down at the warp whistle in his hand. Nervously, he takes it to his lips and gives it a blow.
They find themselves between dark cliffs, full of holes and scattered with gem technology.
Greg knows this place.
"Shit," he mutters, blowing the whistle once more.
Fortunately, the last place the Kindergarden warp had been was the temple, and he finds himself back in the comforting familiarity of Steven's home.
"Okay," Greg says, "hopefully they're still there doing... whatever. Now's our chance."
He steps outside, gazing at the sunset, for what he worries will be the last time.
Greg heads down the hill quickly to the ship, locating a way in at the extended finger. It won't open. He tugs, and hits the door, but to no avail. It's clearly not moving.
"Tools?" He asks the Lion, speaking aloud for his own sake rather than the animal licking itself beside him, "Man, I knew I should have followed Peridot sooner. She probably left the house ages ago."
Greg kicks the door once more before reluctantly turning away to find some power tools.
"Coming with, boy?" He asks.
The Lion has finished cleaning himself, but now is doing a funny motion by the door. He backs away, lifting his butt further into the air and putting more weight onto his front paws.
Suddenly, with a sharp roar, Lion opens up a bright hole in the space in front of him, leaping inside.
"Hey, wait!" Greg yells, but before he can even make it halfway, the hole disappears, leaving him alone on the beach.
Greg slouches unhappily, more afraid now that he's not accompanied by the magic lion.
He turns, slowly heading away from the hand, before a familiar light comes through the windows of the house.
"Shit!" Greg mutters, breaking into a run to hide.
He hopes Lion is having more luck; the deserter.