29. Reunion

Connie felt like her heart would explode as she turned her head away, face screwed up in pain as thousands of dangerously animated Homeworld gems smashed and laughed through the pink carnage. The screen was bright and loud, filling the room and her brain with disturbing images. Most of the Rose Quartz were shattered before they even hit the ground, but a few unlucky ones stood in the madness, pink curls cascading around their pretty faces only to be ripped apart, screaming and pushing helplessly when weapons and hands started to pull them apart. It was like watching a horrible movie with zombies, a lone human in the middle getting ravaged by the mindless force of bloodlust.

The others weren't much better off, Blue Diamond returning to her seat and watching the pain break over all of them. Not only was Steven gone, presumably thrown into the chaos below, his own gemstone turned to pink dust, but they hadn't even been paying enough attention to know for sure. When Amethyst called their attention to the screen, he had already been gone, yellow chains hanging from the sides of the platform.

The dozen soldiers in the room were laughing at their expense, enjoying the strained silence. Blue Diamond's face was a perfect mask of disquiet, not an ounce of believable sadness present.

"Such a tragedy. I can't believe Yellow would do something like that." The Crystal Gems just looked at her, disturbed. Had she seriously gone mad? Did she plan this from the beginning, were her and Yellow Diamond working together? Why did she want them to watch this?

Blue Diamond just reclined in her seat, holding her head in an open palm, lazily admiring the petrified faces at her feet. There need only be three more and her collection would be complete.

As if on cue, Heliodor walked through the door. "My Diamond." She saluted respectfully and entered the room, alone.

"Where are the others?" Her voice was sharp, the displeasure on her face dangerous. Her Heliodor had never failed to capture a target – indeed, that was their purpose, and if a gem was unable to meet their assigned task...

The orange gem walked forward in the room, her posture straight but body language radiating with shame, kneeling at her feet. "Forgive me, my most respected Diamond. My abilities… I believe they are being disturbed by the emotional, erm, unrest across Homeworld. The Pearl and Lapis Lazuli were not where the Sapphire's predicted, and I cannot tap into their sentiments. There is too much chaos. As for the Peridot, I do not think she ever made it off the ship. I have not felt any remnant of her wavelength since the crash, and her kind typically do not take this long to reform."

There was a long silence following the speech. Blue Diamond's face was distrusting, eyes narrowed into slits, the air foreboding as Heliodor remained frozen at her feet. The four Crystal Gems were exchanging desperate looks, tears still staining many of their cheeks, frantic mixed with relief that Lapis and Pearl were safe. It hurt to hear about Peridot, but none of them were exactly surprised… The last time they had seen her was a horrible image, her tiny form impaled by a beam, and things must have only gotten worse when they were ejected from the ship.

No one spoke, waiting, expecting Blue Diamond to punish or forgive, but her mind was elsewhere. "Pearl, call Yellow. Use the direct diamond communication channel."

The wisp of blue that was her Pearl, off to one side of the chair, bowed her head.

"At once, My Diamond. I will retrieve the channel." She exited through a nearby wall, a new door that hadn't been used by the others.

The captured force sat there, quiet, waiting, unsure what would happen next. They were all, in their own way, lost in their memories.

Amethyst was angry and hurt, grinding her teeth together to stop herself from yelling. She wanted to rage and scream at everyone, for letting this happen, for Holly Blue Agate, for the Famethyst, for Steven, for Peridot, but she didn't want the others to be killed for her temper. It took every ounce of control to sit there, shaking from emotion, but quiet.

And Amethyst… Tell her I'm so, so sorry. She'll understand someday. I just…can't.

It was Steven's voice from Pearl's dream, remembering the way he flinched when he said her name, the way a tiny piece of her heart died the first time, wondering what he meant. Now, the rest of her heart had caught up, shattering in realization. It was the Famethyst, he was apologizing...

"Tsck." She had to physically bite her tongue to stop from crying, wanting to reach through her memory and shake him.

Steven, it's not your fault! You didn't mean to, it was Holly Blue, I know you never wanted to hurt anyone… I'm sorry this happened to you, I'm sorry it happened to them, I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. It's not your fault…

Connie was having a bit more trouble steeling herself, thinking about Peridot and Steven and the loss swelled in her chest. The surprising bonding moment she and the green gem played in her head, making a sob rise in her throat.

When you love someone, you just try to put the pain to the side. Use it as fuel rather than dead weight. It's not that it's gone, but it's not as important as the way you feel about them.

She still believed her own words, but this was different. This wasn't missing them, this was mourning them. They were both dead – all of the love she had felt for him, that she never told him, dying with him in that suffocating pink cloud halfway across Homeworld. He was her first and best friend; what good was jam without a supportive, strong carrier? Just sweet nothing, wasted on the end of a blade that would never amount to anything.

And Sapphire and Ruby had a particularly difficult struggle, not only dealing with their loss but unable to reach the comfort of each other's arms, worried that the other might be shattered, that they would have to go on existing an incomplete life without each other… They had failed themselves, Peridot, Rose, Steven... And now, they had failed Connie and Amethyst, bound to Sapphire's left, at the mercy of this pathological tyrant, shatterer, murderer.

Blue Diamond had grown tired of waiting for Pearl, and reentered her neurotic harangue.

"Heliodor, rise. I will address your failures at a later time. If you wish to regain my favor, start by restraining the girl and the Ruby. All of you," she gestured towards the Quartz soldiers, who stood at attention. "Leave us. I must speak privately with Yellow Diamond."

Raising long blue fingers, she waved her hand towards the door, the command not leaving room for debate. Heliodor saluted and bowed very low, a show of gratitude for being, and moved to relieve the Quartz restraining Ruby. Then, in her iron grip, she walked to Connie and laced her long fingers into a vice around the human girl's hands.

Blue Diamond raised an eyebrow towards her Agate, who looked nervous and fidgety. "Agate, if you would, keep an eye on the rebels." Her voice was gentle and lethal, reminding Connie of those horror movies with creepy dolls. It was just too pretty, too knowing, too trustworthy. The whole thing made Connie feel sick, the way she smiled at them affectionately, like she was just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, when in fact she had been orchestrating this whole show.

Holly Blue Agate bowed, looking relieved to have a task, and hastily made her way behind Heliodor. Simultaneously, a sinewy blue figure appeared across the room through an opening in the wall, cradling a device a bit larger than a baseball. It was blue and delicate, reflecting the light in the room in a mesmerizing sort of way.

Eyeing them carefully, the blue terror examined their struggling faces as she lowered her hand to her Pearl, taking what could only be the communicator she requested. They were all squirming between anger, fear, hatred, sadness, guilt and loss.

Good.

Lifting the communicator to her face, Blue Diamond cast a final sweeping gaze over the rebels and examined the device in her hands. It took so much of her patience not to crush them now, one by one with nothing but her finger, but she had worked too hard to get to this. Her revenge was almost complete, so close, so Blue closed her eyes for a moment to calm the rage within her.

It will all be over soon, Pink. I'll give you the peace you deserve.

As the blue contraption buzzed lightly to life, Blue Diamond stood from her throne and faced away from them – it was not a move of privacy, but rather of authority. She had them so completely at her disposal that she need not even watch them herself.

Quietly, very quietly, Heliodor breathed into Connie's ear. It sent shivers up her spine, but this time the words did not make her faint.

"When she angers, escape." The grip on her hands loosened ever so slightly, and Connie's eyes went wide.

Why was this terrifying, loyal servant of Blue Diamond offering them a chance to get away? Was it a trick? She eyed Amethyst to her right and Ruby to her left nervously, but neither of them had heard the message. In a way, she wasn't entirely sure she had heard it herself, but the grip on her hands loosened just a tiny bit more.

The message was intended for only me… why? This doesn't feel right, but…

Connie bit her lip, looking between Blue Diamond, who now gazed into a large screen opposite of the yellow Pearl from the broadcast, the others, and Rose's sword in front of the unoccupied blue throne. If she was going to try it, should she go for the sword? Just grab the others and run? Where? The exit? The door Pearl had come through? Her mind was spinning with questions she couldn't ask, but her hands had started to sweat nervously as she thought about the possibilities.

Tuning back into the conversation, Yellow Diamond had just appeared on the other end of the channel. "The Pearl and Lapis Lazuli are still amiss?" She sounded less than pleased.

Blue Diamond shot a quick lash of anger towards her Heliodor for having failed, but returned her gaze to her fellow Diamond. "Yes, I'm afraid the tumult of the execution has disturbed my Heliodor's ability to tap into their emotional sentiments. No matter, they will turn up eventually. They cannot hide forever."'

Yellow Diamond raised a hand to her chin, thinking. "Then there is the Peridot, but…" she seemed to reach the same conclusion as the others.

Her tone flickering with mischief, Yellow Diamond's eyes lit up as she looked at Blue Diamond. "Your emissary was on time. In fact, she should be returning to me at any moment. I shall come to you when they arrive."

Blue nodded her head, saying nothing. Yellow continued, her tone darkening.

"And the traitors?"

At that, Blue Diamond gave her a small smile and turned perpendicular to the screen, unblocking the authoritative yellow visage from the Crystal Gem's view.

The look on her face made them all writhe with anger and hatred and passion, thinking of how she touted Steven around like a trophy, like a prize… How they made him watch the murder of White Diamond, used him as a tool for their own plot. At least for Connie, she had to bite the inside of her gums to keep herself from hissing, but the feeling seemed to radiate from all of them.

Blue Diamond found that amusing.

"Oh, Yellow, they are very unhappy with you. Especially my little Ruby, but they aren't exactly known for their temperance, now, are they?" Ruby was mashing her teeth together so forcefully that her mouth was drawn open, making her look like a restrained animal, but it's not like the others could blame her. She looked about as mad as they felt.

Another infinitesimal ounce of pressure was relieved from Connie's wrist, enough that she could slightly rotate her hands to ease out some of the tension in her uncomfortable hold.

She really is going to let me go...

Yellow Diamond spoke up then. "Very good. But that does make me wonder – have you conferred with your Sapphire's since, Blue? I would like to keep a closer eye on the future… things may be changing quickly."

Blue Diamond looked at her Pearl and gave her a nod, and the obedient blue gem retreated from the room through the same private exit.

"Ah – wait, just a… Wait, where are they?" Yellow Diamond was looking at something off screen, and it sounded like Yellow Pearl was speaking low in the background. The others were anxious to know what was happening, eyes and ears straining, watching Yellow Diamond's face grow from confused to fiercely angry.

Another ounce of force loosened from Connie's wrist. She nudged over carefully to Amethyst, feigning resting her head on her shoulder.

In a low exhale, Connie barely breathed out the words. "Escape, soon. Tell Saph."

Holly Blue clicked her heels against the ground, causing Connie to snap upright. Had she been heard? Was it too obvious? The orange gem's grip and composure did not falter, however, so Connie took that as a good sign. It was a long shot, putting so much trust in someone so enigmatic, but they were out of options.

Now Yellow Diamond was really raging on the other side of the screen, but Blue Diamond's face was a mask of calm, unreadable. "What is it, Yellow?"

Her nostrils flared while her eyebrows knit together, talking to someone off screen.

"…go and, - Blue. Something's wrong. My escort, the one's I sent to meet them, they're gone." Each word made her yellow face grow darker with ire, but the occupants of the blue room just looked confused.

Now Blue Diamond's poise was shaken. "What do you mean they're gone? There is no future where either of them made to escape. The Sapphire's will be here soon, but you must – wah?"

With a sudden tight squeeze followed by a complete release, Heliodor freed Connie's hands and took sudden flight, scaling Blue Diamond's throne, lunging forward, and kicked the communicator from her hand, smashing it into a wall. Too surprised to react quickly, Blue Diamond clenched her fist tightly but it was a moment too late – Heliodor was already bounding down towards the floor. Connie had made a mad rush for Rose's sword, while Amethyst tripped Holly Blue as she made to grab the human girl from behind. Going sprawling, Holly Blue cursed her hatred for Amethyst's to the stars above, but Ruby quickly kicked her in the mouth and bounded over to Sapphire; it was a very satisfying moment for the little red gem. They touched foreheads but couldn't fuse, eyes desperate and saddened at the realization – Sapphire's bracelet, the same one blocking her powers, prevented them from fusing.

"Enough!" Blue Diamond's voice demanded order in the room, but Heliodor was already two steps ahead, tucking Ruby and Sapphire under each of her arms and propelling herself towards the exit the Pearl had used. Connie used this as a signal to follow and Amethyst was already making a mad dash after them as Blue Diamond's hand came down to snatch her. Luckily, the purple gem was able to use her stature to her advantage, ducking low before the malevolent grasp could reach her. Connie almost made pace with Amethyst but they both were sent sprawling across the ground, skidding painfully across the floor as the metal began to warp and twist unnaturally under Blue Diamond's command.

"Connie!" It was Ruby, squirming in Heliodor's grasp from the doorway, the orange, blue and red gem watching Holly Blue approach her and plant a heel painfully into her back. Heliodor grimaced as she watched the Agate grabbed Connie's long braid and jerk her head up painfully, taking Rose's sword from her with her other hand.

With her arms bound, Amethyst could only watch as Blue Diamond began to laugh.

"Yes, good, kill the girl. She is just one extra, it makes no difference." Holly Blue grinned wickedly at the order, holding the blade up as she yanked harder on Connie's plait. It made her squeeze her eyes in pain and suck in a breath at the sudden motion, feeling cold pink metal against her throat.

No… Not like this…

"Finally, you humans are so intolerable. I've wanted to do this for so long."

Amethyst was stumbling towards them but the warped floor was impossible for her to traverse without being able to use her hands for leverage, and Heliodor had Ruby and Sapphire locked in her arms and made no move to save her; the orange gem might have wanted to, but it would be at the cost of at least two lives for the girl's one. All she could do was watch as Holly Blue tensed her arm, pulling Connie's head a bit higher and planting her foot a bit more firmly into the girl's back, wanting all of the onlookers to watch the blood spill from her pretty brown neck.

Connie held her breath as she felt Rose's sword start to move, tensed her shoulders and with all of the strength she had slammed her head forward, painfully bruising her own forehead, but the sudden movement had worked.

Staggering backwards with reverse momentum, Holly Blue still grabbed onto Connie's plait, but it no longer grabbed onto Connie; the quick change of force had redirected length of the blade to the base of her hair rather than along the skin of her throat. Without missing a beat, Connie raised herself to a push-up, kicked out Holly Blue's leg behind her and spun sideways to avoid being stabbed from above. A well-timed elbow to the blue gem's stomach sent her teetering backwards, but before she fell, Connie grabbed her by the wrist and smiled.

"I believe that's mine." Using her nimble fingers, Connie untwisted Holly Blue's bulky grasp from the hilt before returning the blade to her own comfortable grip.

Amethyst whooped as she ducked behind a piece of swelling floor to avoid being smashed from above by Blue Diamond, who was so enraged the room itself began to become angry, the floor waving, wobbling and rippling in unnatural patterns.

Connie was able to roll and leap her way to Amethyst, slightly aware of the tickle on her shoulder as her newly chopped hair danced along her neck. "C'mon!"

Grabbing the purple gem from by the arm, Connie and Amethyst staggered and tumbled their way closer to the door.

Ruby and Sapphire had been set down on their own two feet, holding each other but looking relieved that Connie made it away with Rose's sword and nothing but a hair-cut, but Heliodor did not look pleased at the chaos in the room. If they didn't leave now, they wouldn't be able to go at all.

"Ugh, why can nothing be simple with you all?" Her question wasn't directed at anyone, although Ruby looked offended. Before the red gem had time to retort her comment, Heliodor zoomed into the room and grabbed them both in a similar fashion, easily leaping over the swirling metal.

Blue Diamond had reached the point of rage that she had turned completely irate, screaming at the orange gem as she made off with two prisoners towards her private entrance.

"You will be shattered for this! You cannot run from me!"

But her last word came just a moment too late, the door latching shut with an echoing slam. Heliodor unceremoniously spilled Connie and Amethyst in a pile on the ground as she turned to the door and started typing into a panel. A large red "x" appeared on as the four watched her lithe fingers glide across the screen – and then, a moment later, a loud blaring and red flashing filled the hallway, followed by a loud click and the sound of compressing air.

Covering her ears, Ruby yelled at Heliodor. "Just what's the big idea, what is your deal?"

Heliodor scowled at her, obviously annoyed. "I just saved you. This," she gestured at the flashing light. "Signals a district-wide emergency. It won't buy us much time but all facilities lock from within to secure the area. We need to move, quickly, before the alarm is disabled."

She strode past them matter-of-factly, not bothering to acknowledge their stunned expressions as she marched down the hallway. There was only one thing left to take care of, and she was very close. Very, very close.

/

Everything had changed so quickly that Steven wasn't entirely sure if he was awake or dreaming, living or dead. One moment, he was chained to a platform, expecting to die any second, only for the world to turn from pink to yellow to black. His chest had started to ache like he had been the one stabbed, so he thought the blackness had meant death, too, but then after a while his eyes focused on an oddly familiar face, one of the last one's he expected to see right now.

"D—Dani? What's… going on?" She was holding him like a baby in her white arms, which felt a bit weird with her limb enhancers, grimacing with her eyes obscured behind her visitor. She was looking straight ahead, not at him, not at anything, trying to remember her assignment.

She glanced around them, behind her shoulder, and then looked forward again. Her voice was low, urgent. "Do you remember what happened?"

Now Steven frowned, his brows furrowed in concentration. There was a gap, now that he thought about it – how did he end up here, with her, alone? Where were they going?

"…There was Yellow Diamond, and the… crowds… and the Rose Quartz gems…" He gasped, remembering.

"White Diamond!" Steven's eyes grew huge and his breathing became short, his esophagus fighting the urge to vomit. Danburite didn't stop him like she used to, letting him rise through his panic. She had expected he would need a moment to catch up.

What… had just happened? Steven didn't necessarily like White Diamond, but she had given him answers to things about himself he had never known. She had given him clothes and water to clean himself and regular meals – as far as his time being a prisoner, there wasn't too much to complain about. Sure, she was absolutely terrifying to speak to and she could literally control his body, but, there was something about her that he couldn't explain that he respected. From the beginning, she could have just forced him to do whatever she wanted, Steven thought as he examined the white scars on his arm. There was no reason to give him agency, to talk to him, to bother to show him Yellow Diamond's exit hole… but she did. It was like she wanted him to know why she wanted such malign things, why she needed him specifically, why their re-animations had failed. There were so many more questions he would have liked to ask her, but now she was dead.

And Yellow Diamond? And the crowds? What was that? After the mourning loss of Pink Diamond, Steven expected an angry mob, but they had seem absolutely overjoyed that White Diamond had been shattered. He shivered at the thought, disturbed and confused, remembering the rabid faces of a million gems reaching and tearing at pink gemstones as they fell from the sky.

After several minutes of a stressful silence and Steven's breathing not getting any better, Danburite had started to grow genuinely concerned

"Are you okay?" Her usually flat voice was just a tad softer, and she tried to give him a reassuring smile. Both things felt wrong, but she did it anyways.

"I – wait, are you okay? I heard what happened, at the base – I can't believe you did that!" His eyes sparkled just a tiny bit, realizing that she wasn't being mean or punishing him; she was holding him like Pearl or Garnet. It was a comforting feeling, an action of caring, of trust. She had helped him, not once, not twice, but now a third time, and he was so relieved to see she hadn't been hurt because of it.

Her smile faded, replaced by a thin line that looked nervous and guilty. Danburite wasn't exactly proud of trying to sabotage his friends, and then her own people, but she was really confused and just trying her best to follow orders without stepping too far out of line.

One of her little white fingers flew away from supporting his side and rose to her face, pulling her visor away. Her eyes were hard, sad, and shockingly beautiful. Steven had never seen her face fully before, and her eyes were an amazing shimmery blue, like the ocean on a sunny day. Such a simple act of transparency in this maelstrom of madness made Steven forget about the destruction and chaos raging around him for just a moment.

"Half-human… I, we, don't have much time. After… Yellow Diamond brought you to me, here," she gestured around at the ceiling, which was the same shade of soft yellow as everything else owned by the Diamond of the same name.

"I was to make sure you did not die, and then bring you back to her. I didn't want…" she lowered her eyes, unable to look at him. "Forgive me, child, you are very sweet, not like the human children when they are reared at the Zoo. You were unconscious, and I gave you a supplement to wade off the malnutrition, but…"

Danburite's voice was the epithet of conflict, pulling at her heart as she quickly strode down hallway after hallway. It was obvious that she was being sincere, that she was only trying to help, but the way her voice trailed off spoke volumes.

I should have let you die – it would have been a better fate than this.

Steven sighed, closed his eyes and released a half-hearted chuckle.

"It's okay. I get it. Thank y-you, I mean it." He stopped and coughed, then continued. "I wouldn't want you to not do what you're supposed to do for my sake, you could get in a lot of trouble. And… you never had to be nice about any of this, so thank you."

Steven opened his eyes after a pause, and Danburite was looking down at him with an odd expression on her face – blank, but she looked like she wanted to say something else. He gave her a small smile, trying to let her know he didn't blame her for any of this – honestly, he didn't blame anyone but himself.

Her pace slowed to a walk, eyes searching his tired face. She never wanted to be a part of this, just to remain a dutiful maintenance gem, her attention consumed by her research of the humans. She was content to continually to respect Homeworld from a distance; it was never supposed to turn into this. First, there was the child, who she was only told needed to stay alive in her infirmary, who treated her like a friend, who said he just wanted to protect everyone. Then, there were the intruders, who just wanted to help him, but Danburite knew they weren't supposed to be there. Her Diamond had warned her they might come, but she did not receive military back-up – if the intruders hadn't shown compassion, she would have easily been killed.

And even after she sent them away, when she tried to do one thing right by the child, they came back anyways, determined to save him, too irresponsible and stubborn for their own good. Danburite had acted as conspirator then, trapping the Quartz sent to protect her and the humans, and freeing the blue and green rebels. Instead of using the opportunity to flee like she had hoped, she had come back later to find the room mangled and empty. All of the soldiers had been destabilized and the child's protectors had fled with the Hand Ship.

Oh how she had hoped that was going to be the end of things – that her conscious would rest knowing she had tried to do the right thing, twice, at the risk of her own life and status. And then there was another message, urgent, directly from Blue Diamond herself.

My Danburite, you have worked with the hybrid child, you know his needs?

Yes, my Diamond, he is not unlike the other humans, but his gemstone also sustains his life force. They work in symbiotic harmony. If I may, my Diamond, it is quite a marvel of physiology.

Yes, very good, but I have need of you again. I am sorry to take you from the work you do, but I need you to come to Homeworld at once. You are the only one who knows the hybrid's needs enough to keep him from dying, and I am afraid he is close to death once again. You will need to be here as soon as you can.

Yes, my Diamond, of course. I will leave right away.

Excellent. Yellow Diamond will be waiting for you in her Research and Development district. It should have some supplies for you, but bring anything easily transportable that might be helpful.

The transmission had ended then, but her brain had started to pick up speed. Not only was she leaving the comfort of her home and her work, but she was back in this again. It was just an unfortunate turn of fate that she was the one Danburite to work with humans, to study and understand them, and it landed her here, with the half-human child. But, in spite of her allegiance, her duty to keep him alive only so he could meet a more painful end, he was being nothing but kind to her once again. She was literally escorting him to his death, and he still treating her like a friend.

Why?

Steven was looking up at her, concerned and a bit uncomfortable as she stared at him. He untangled his newly-bandaged arm, the bloody tatters of his shirt replaced by a real bandage, and shook her arm gently.

"Dani? Are you okay? I can probably walk if you need me to…"

That was enough to bring her back to reality, puzzled and distressed as her eyes refocused on his innocent face. He looked so exhausted, pale and weak… He didn't deserve this.

Returning her visor to her eyes, she let her mouth fall to a frown and came to a stop completely.

"It's… Steven – that's your given name, right?" Her monotone had become a barely audible whisper.

The bags under his eyes lifted slightly, his mouth turning up in a small show of happiness.

"Yeah, it is. And I guess I never asked if it was okay to call you Dani, I just sort of assumed. Sorry."

Pressing her lips together tightly, Danburite couldn't stand it anymore. This just wasn't fair to him, to her, to anyone. She had heard the rumors of Rose Quartz and the rebellion and all of the lost lives. But this was just a child, not an ounce of cruelty in his body.

"No," she said. "Don't be. I like it." She gave him a quick grin, an odd expression for her, but it also felt right.

Looking behind her shoulder again as they stood in the yellow hallway, Danburite cradled him a little closer. "Steven, listen. I can get you out. All of you – the others too, if we can find them. Is that what you want?"

His face darkened when she said, looking away from her. Steven wasn't able to see her eyes anymore behind her visor, but he wasn't concerned about her trying to deceive him.

"It's… more complicated than that. I don't want you, or them, or anyone else to die. Blue Diamond promised me that if I took responsibility for what my mom did, if I offered Homeworld closure, she would leave the others and the Earth alone. Do you…understand? I can't go, even if I want to."

Danburite was thoughtful, ready to suggest something when a sudden voice made them both jump.

"Going so soon?"

Both of them stared wide-eyed ahead of them, an unexpected disturbance appearing in their yellow sea.

There were two Quartz soldiers, faces hardened and serious, and another, more familiar gem stood in between them. Both of them knew her, and both of them recoiled at the smile on her face.

/

Lapis fidgeted nervously, rubbing her arm, tucking and re-tucking a section of hair behind her ear, looking into the small light above. Sitting to her left was Pearl, back up against the wall and head in her knees.

"I don't know about this…" The blue gem didn't find Pearl's dejected attitude very reassuring.

Pearl did not look up or respond to her query, so Lapis sighed and sat opposite to her at the bottom of the hole.

Lapis gazed at her counterpart carefully, unsure of what to do. Sitting here, waiting, felt worthless, but what choice did they have? They had followed that Heliodor through the warp pad and was told to wait here, in the bottom of a hole twenty feet below the ground? It didn't make any sense, and then there was the Homeworld Peridot again, tinkering with something and muttering to herself, surrounded by flask robonoids that idly waited for her command. Perhaps worst of all, there was the pressing darkness that surrounded them, the only way out a soft light from above. It was claustrophobic, and Pearl's company did little to help ease her worries.

They both winced as an unexpected muttering broke their meditative silence, Peridot looming above the hole nearby.

"…stupid, useless…" They heard metal make contact with metal, and the blue and white gem jumped as a single robonoid went flying down into the dirt next to them. They exchanged a look, and then returned to their private thoughts in silence.

Eventually, voiced one of her nagging thoughts with her eyes closed in concetration.

"Why do you think we're here? Like, right here, why this hole?" the blue gem asked. There was no response, so she opened her eyes and focused on the gem across from her.

"Pearl?"

"It doesn't matter, Lapis." Pearl's voice sounded… mean, almost sinister. Why was she acting like this? They had both agreed to go through the warp pad, and now it felt like Pearl was just punishing her for this. Lapis grimaced and said nothing, choosing to brood rather than be wrongfully blamed for something she had no control over again.

For her part, Pearl wasn't intending to be so harsh, but her soul had turned bitter. She hadn't been to this place in a very, very long time, and every memory she's had here were bad ones. There was no way this was an accident, that Heliodor felt the best place to hide them was here, in an exit hole deep in the caverns of a Homeworld Kindergarten. The whole thing felt wrong, invasive, staged, but she was on her last nerve. Every piece of her resolve had been spent.

Pearl sighed and raised her head, face tired and eyes dull. "I'm sorry, Lapis. I just… I know this is our last shot, but what if it fails? What if he…" but as the tears began to well in her eyes, she heard voices coming from above. It sounded like, but no, it couldn't…

"…it was sick, I'm serious. And plus you got this sweet new do out of it? Makes me almost wish I had short hair again." It was Amethyst, laughing, and it sounded like Connie, too. High above the ground, the others were nearby, and Lapis and Pearl stared at each other with wide eyes before bursting into activity.

"Connie? Amethyst?"

Silence.

"PEARL?"

"Where are you guys? We're down here, hurry, follow our voices!"

Scuttling footsteps, then silence again. A new voice, too far away for Lapis and Pearl to make out the words entered the conversation. It was the same Heliodor, they both could tell – there was no mistaking that bone-chilling tone.

Garnet peered her head over the hole first, her hair casting a long shadow into the already dark hole, but Pearl's eyes welled with happy tears and Lapis gasped in excitement.

"Yes! I can't believe it! Are you alright?" Pearl shouted upwards, so pleased to see them, so relieved they hadn't been hurt or killed.

Amethyst laughed when she looked down at them. "What's with your hair, Pearl? It's like you and Connie decided to switch styles!"

The girl in question was beaming down at the two, though her face was cast in darkness from the weak light above. It was still so heartwarming to for both of them to see recognizing the outline of her, alive.

"Why are you in a hole anyways?" The purple gem turned to Heliodor, lifting her head from over the side of the hole, but she did not get the answer she wanted.

Instead, the three of them were pushed over the side and fell brusquely on top of Lapis and Pearl, all of them shouting at the sudden pushing and shoving of bodies.

Connie was the only one to see it, having landed the softest on top of Garnet's head, but the outline of Heliodor was etched clearly at the top of her vision.

The orange gem gave them all a hard stare, typed into a panel that she retrieved from out of sight, and a solid plane of metal appeared above them. It was mysterious, green metal – translucent, but the shifting and beeping of the robonoids became completely silent.

The hole was big, but certainly not large enough to accommodate two regular sized gem, a fusion, a human and their Amethyst, all of whom were smashed together in awkward angles. Besides a thin film of green that settled over all of their faces, it had become very dark, just adding to the claustrophobia. Confused and afraid, many of them started yelling and shoving as they knocked into each other painfully, only making the whole thing worse.

Garnet summoned her gauntlets and punched through some of the dirt around them, giving them a little bit of breathing room. Pearl's gem cast a soft white light over four angry, hurt faces, all of them acting a little less frantic as they had space to move. Lapis had a deadly expression of her own, flying up to the surface and pushing against the surface. Had she seen it coming, Pearl or Garnet would have stopped her.

"Don't bother, Lapis – it's lutetium. Aristocratic metal, reserved specifically for restricted access technology. It's nearly indestructible." The white gem had returned to her spot against a wall, slinking down to her feet and burying her head in her knees. The others exchanged looks, confused and surprised by Pearl's sudden misery.

She could sense their eyes on her. "I… can't explain it. But this is really, really bad. Something's wrong, I can just feel it…" Lapis was still hovering just below the metal, her hand resting ruefully against the cold surface, wishing she could will her way through it. Perhaps the worst quality of the mysterious surface was that it really looked like she could phase through it, more of a veil than a metal, supple and translucent. She could see some of the world outside, but it was so dark that she doubted the world could see her. If only she had Peridot… They could be Prehnite again, bend the metal to their will…

Looking at the dark outline of her hand against the world above, she gasped when a foot stepped right above her, causing an echo below. There was a voice, too, so Lapis urged the others to be quiet and pressed her ear against the barrier.