Greg watches, wide eyed, as the ship that took his son from him comes plummeting once more into the atmosphere.
He holds his breath, not daring to hope. It was heartbreaking the last time, when all that came off the ship was the the one who took him in the first place.
It lands rather ungracefully on the beach, shaking the foundation of the house he built with the gems. That's a great sign, he thinks, and the hope inches it's way in, constricting painfully at his heart. He's seen Pearl fly a spaceship- this shoddy landing could definitely be her.
Greg waits with bated breath atop the hill, hoping desperately that the door will open and everything will be okay.
Finally, the engines on the ship quiet with a shudder.
The door drops open.
It's... purple! Greg leans forward excitedly, before sliding back behind view. Not purple enough, too light. He peeks around the corner. Peridot, again, and...
Ruby.
That can't be good, Greg thinks, but as bad as he feels about it, he just needs to see Steven. Everyone else can matter later, after he's got his boy back.
Steven comes out with Amethyst and Lion, squinting tiredly at the sun above.
Greg laughs, joyously, tears happily filling his eyes. He runs down the hill fast on the sand, slipping onto his knees before rolling back onto his feet and colliding excitedly with Amethyst to slow himself down.
"Woah," she laughs, "hey there, Gregory."
He pushes off her, pulling Steven into a hug.
"Hey dad," Steven says, quietly.
He clings to Greg, squeezing hard around his neck.
They hug it out for a good minute, before Steven begins to pull away.
Greg lets go, taking in his son's face- alive, here- one last time before glancing around at the motley group before him.
Amethyst, looking glad to be home; Ruby, looking stricken; Peridot appears to have been brought by force, judging by her bound arms; Lion- his hero; and some lilac gem he's never seen before.
No Pearl, no Sapphire- no Garnet. He's saddened and relieved at once by the turnout, but he knows Steven must be taking it very hard. He pulls his son back into a hug, standing to carry him towards the house.
"Let's get you something to eat and drink, okay buddy? When did you eat last?"
"I had some snacks in Lion, but they ran out yesterday," he mumbles, resting his head peacefully on Greg's shoulder.
"Well-" Greg finds he can't talk very well; he doesn't need to upset Steven further, so he says nothing else, holding his son tight and heading home with him.
...
Steven makes Greg talk, while he eats, letting the man's familiar voice wash comfortingly over him.
Connie's been calling, Greg says. He told her not to come by, and that he'd get back to her eventually. Mostly, he was just waiting around at the house, but at some point, Peridot came back.
"I stabbed someone!" Greg says, "The, uh, one you guys brought back. She's not going to try and get revenge, is she?"
Steven shrugs, glancing to the door, where Chalcedony strides in with Lion and Peridot. The green gem has her hands tied in front of her.
Lion nuzzles up next to him. Steven pets his mane softly, finishing his juice and hopping down from his barstool.
"We took a lot of gems home," Steven says, "Pearl's in here, but she's- she's like the others in the temple, apparently."
"Oh," Greg says, "...Rose always hoped she could cure those. Maybe you can."
"She didn't," Steven sighs, "and she had 5000 years."
He steps inside the glowing fur. Peridot sits, watching curiously.
One by one, bubbles come out. Chalcedony, a large, but kind looking gem, carefully moves them, grouping them by some apparent order.
First it's Pearl, then Sapphire's shards. They group together.
The rest are sorted into two other groups. They end with 13 in one group, and 4 in the other.
"Who are they? Greg asks, startled by the high amount.
"Friends," she says, sweeping her hands over red spinel, the rebel pearl, her other allies, "and foes," she says, pointing towards Spodumene, Beryl's pearl, and a couple of previously imprisoned gems that Amethyst reasoned might not be welcomed back, "he wanted to keep them, instead of crushing the Spodumene or putting the pearl and prisoners back. I wished to deal with all of the retreated enemies, but Steven left most of them there to be a problem for us later."
Steven climbs out from the mane.
"Maybe we can convince them to help us, in case Homeworld comes back..."
"Homeworld isn't coming back," Peridot sighs, "they're going to let the Cluster wipe us out, without their help."
"But you can stop it, right?"
Peridot shrugs, "I'd need some Earth-based information..."
"We'll get it for you," Greg assures her- he's unsure what the 'Cluster' is, but it seems bad.
"And then we'll deal with Homeworld when they realize the Earth is still standing," Chalcedony says, "somehow."