Chapter Twenty-Four: Epilogue

Moridius, Glowing Forest. Era 3, Year 1.

"My Emerald? We're almost there."

"Hmm?" Emerald had been lost in thought as she stared out the window. With everything happening with the Interlopers, her own corruption and subsequent revival, and then her uncorruption, she had barely given this place a second thought. Sure, she had been back here once or twice before, but those visits had been all business. "Ah, good. You ready to meet her, Pearl?"

"Sure am!" said Pearl excitedly. "I've heard a lot about Yooperlite, but I've never met her in person. I can't wait to finally have met all of your friends!"

Not all of them, Emerald thought sadly. But she didn't need to bring Pearl's mood down on such an occasion. Reunions were supposed to be happy times, and this was no exception. Still, she couldn't help but feel somber when she realized that Pearl and Lefty would never meet. She was sure they would have loved each other.

Their small shuttlecraft descended to the landing pad on the small artificial island, situated amid the forest of stone spires. "Here we are, My Emerald," Tanzanite said, bringing them in for a landing. A small, humble home was all else on this island, where its owner stood just outside in waiting.

Once the ship had landed, Pearl and Emerald stepped out. "Man! Couldn't we have taken the trip in something a bit more roomy?" asked Onyx, pulling herself out after them. She cracked her back, letting out a satisfied groan.

Emerald sighed good-naturedly. "I'm not sure the Soul Evaporator would have fit on here. We could try to balance it, but I don't want to risk sinking my old friend's home before we've had the chance to meet again."

"Eh, I'm sure if anyone could land it here, it'd be Tanz," said Onyx.

Tanzanite disembarked behind her, neither confirming nor denying this.

The four of them turned towards the house, seeing Yooperlite walking over to meet them. "Hey, there she is!" called Onyx, as their old friend approached with open arms. Pearl was the first to reach her, having eagerly run over.

"Yooperlite!" she said, hopping up to return her hug like she had known her all her life. "It's so nice to finally meet you! Emerald's told me all about your time together!" Once their hug had finished, she added awkwardly "Oh! I-I'm Pearl, by the way."

Yooperlite smiled, chuckling softly. "I figured! I've heard a lot about you, too. I never woulda thought a Pearl could do half the things you did, but there you were, right up there with Your Emerald, huh?" Pearl beamed. "And speakin' of…!"

She and Emerald embraced. "It's been too long, hasn't it?" Emerald said softly.

"Way too long," Yooperlite replied. "About five thousand…shard, six thousand years too long! I've been worried about you, Mera!"

Onyx threw her arms around both of them. "Ah, you know Mera–no matter what she gets herself into, she always finds a way to bounce back! Not even gettin' corrupted could keep her down for long!" She and Yooperlite shared a shoulder-bump once the hug had concluded.

"That's right, you still gotta tell me everything!" said Yoop. "I only know what I heard from broadcasts, but you lived that all first-hand! I mean, fighting the Interloper, being corrupted, getting your own robot body–I have to know how that all went down!"

Tanzanite noticed that Emerald didn't seem to be in the mood to relive those memories at the moment. "Perhaps another time," she said. Yooperlite was happy to see her as well.

"Ah, there she is!" She pulled her into the biggest hug yet, lifting her off her feet. "Don't think I didn't miss you too, Tanz!"

Her face was still neutral, but she returned her hug. "I have missed you as well, Yooperlite."

Eventually, she set her old friend back down. "Where are my manners–come on inside, I'll show ya around! It's not the fanciest place, like they have back on Homeworld, but it doesn't need to be. I like it just like this."

The five of them headed inside her humble home. Indeed, it wasn't the most spacious of dwellings, but it nonetheless had a comfortable charm to it. Its architecture was very Era-1-inspired, Emerald noticed. Onyx whistled: "You built this whole place yourself?"

Yooperlite grinned at the compliment. "No, I had a team put it together. I did design it, though. When you've been to as many places as I have, you pick up a few things from where you go. It's…I guess you could call it my dream home."

"Well, I'd love to live in a house like this!" said Pearl, flopping down on the couch. "Hey, maybe after Emerald retires, we can move in with you!"

Emerald laughed at this suggestion, but in actuality, that didn't sound so bad. Maybe one day, when all of this was over, she could see herself spending her days in a place like this, just the two of them. But she put the thought away for now, as that was a long way away. She still had work to do.

"Actually," said Tanzanite, "might I ask why you decided to choose here, of all planets, to live? Considering all that happened…"

Yooperlite responded with a solemn nod. "See, that's a bit hard to explain. I've been traveling across the stars for my entire life, been to more places than I could count. Back when I was–when we were stuck here, it was miserable, but it was different, too. All that time, as much as I wanted to escape, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful this planet was."

She looked out the window at the stone spires rising out of the sea. The sun had begun to set, turning the sky a gorgeous shade of orange that made everything feel warm. Emerald remembered exactly what Yooperlite meant about this planet being beautiful.

"So when I was told I didn't have to fly ships anymore, it was kind of a relief, y'know? I didn't have to hop from place to place, only seeing glimpses of 'em. I could stay there, really get a chance to take in the scenery. And I picked here, because…well, that's what Lefty would've wanted. Actually, speaking of, c-could I show you something?"

"Of course." Emerald got to her feet, following Yooperlite into an adjacent room. It was more of a closet than a room, with only enough space for the two of them to fit–the other three looked over their shoulders. It held a single shelf, on which were dozens of pictures showing the local wildlife. Emerald recognized most of them: sandscampers, burrowfish, even thalassaraptors. "I-is this…?"

"Mm-hmm," Yooperlite said, smiling bittersweetly. In the center of all these photos was the largest one, depicting both Lefty and Righty, side by side. They each had an arm around the other, smiling for the camera. Behind them, Emerald recognized the spot that would become the Prime Kindergarten, where she would later be formed. "Somethin' to remember her by. Both of 'em."

There was a moment of somber silence as they contemplated the altar, in acknowledgement of their fallen companion. Neither Pearl nor Onyx ever got to meet Lefty in person, but could still feel the gloom that fell over their fellows. Tanzanite slid between everyone into the small room.

She placed a hand on the central picture, looking as melancholy as she could. "Thank you for everything you did for us, Lefty," she said. It wasn't often that Tanzanite seemed to be holding back tears…but it wasn't often she paid respect to a fallen friend, either. "May you always watch over us from the stars above."

Once she had said her farewell, Tanzanite silently stepped out of the room, walking over to the other side of the house. "U-um, is she okay?" asked Pearl, worried. "Should we go after her?"

"I'm sure she's fine, but let's give these two a minute alone," Onyx said, momentarily meeting eyes with Emerald. She took Pearl under her arm, and the two followed after their friend. Now Yooperlite and Emerald stood in the closet alone, looking over the tribute to Lefty.

Emerald was the one to break the silence. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Eh?" Yooperlite looked up, confused. "What do you have to be sorry for? You've been through a lot these past few millennia."

"That's no excuse for never checking up on you," she said. "I was dealing with my own stuff, but…so were you. I wasn't the only one affected by the Interlopers, or by Lefty's…" She trailed off, distracting herself by gazing intently at the photo in the center. "How have you held up?"

"Honestly, just fine," Yooperlite said with a small smile. "I didn't run into much trouble, all things considered. My ships almost never got attacked, which honestly, I'm pretty surprised by. From what I heard, it sounds like you had a much harder time than me. It's good to see you're doing better now, though."

She looked down at her left arm, which still sported quills and bestial claws. "Yeah. No, I-I am doing better. But that's…" She sighed. Yooperlite could pick up on her unease–she seemed…guilty? "I…I have something to ask you. It's not a favor, I promise."

Yooperlite perked up, looking over at her. "What's up?" she asked. "If you need help with something, ask away! I'd be glad to do whatever I can to help!"

Another pang of guilt from Emerald. "It's just, I don't want you to think I came here with an ulterior motive. I really did want to see you again, I swear, but… Okay, so essentially, Teptromina's still alive.

"Teptromina…" She felt like she had heard that name before. "Isn't he the Interlopers' leader? I thought Goshenite destroyed their home base!"

"She did," replied Emerald. "But apparently, all that did was slow them down. They're still out there, rebuilding, waiting for another chance to strike. We need all the help we can get to hunt them down. So what I came to ask is: do you want in?"

Yooperlite answered far quicker than either of them thought. "Absolutely!" she said, fire in her eyes. "I've been waiting for an opportunity to stick it to those frackin' robots for a while now! You can count me in, Mera old chum!"

"A-are you sure?" Emerald said, slightly taken aback. "Please, don't feel like you're obligated to. And remember, it's going to be extremely dangerous."

"I'm not doin' this because you're askin' me to," Yooperlite assured her. "But trust me, I'm more than grateful for the offer. I'm doin' this 'cause I want to. It's not just an opportunity to strike back, it's a chance to spend some time with you again."

These last few words caused another burst of guilt to run through Emerald's Gem. "Yooperlite, I…I'm sorry if it seems like I only came here to ask for your help. I really did want to see you, honest. Don't feel like you have to do this–"

Yooperlite placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you kidding, Mera? I just told you why I'm doing this! You don't have anything to feel guilty for, okay?" She pulled her into another hug, which she soon returned.

"T-thank you," she said softly, pulling away. "I can't tell you how sorry I am for not coming to see you sooner."

She shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You're still my friend, you just…went onto bigger and better things, is all." Though there was an ounce of sadness in her voice, she didn't sound bitter at all. "I'm just glad you're here now. And I'm looking forward to working with you from now on."

Emerald was touched by the sentiment. "So am I, Yoop. So am I."

"Hey, Emerald! Come check this out!" shouted Pearl from the other side of the house. "You've gotta see this!"

A knowing smile crossed Yoop's face. "Ah, the moment we've all been waiting for. C'mon, I wanna show you something!" She headed over to where the others had gathered, motioning for Emerald to follow.

Before she did, Emerald gave the picture of Lefty and Righty one last glance. The sight of them so happy made her smile; "Thank you," she whispered. She then followed after Yooperlite to see what all the fuss was about.

Pearl, Onyx, and Tanzanite were all gathered around a window, transfixed by the view on the other side. Yooperlite had joined them, as did Emerald soon after. And the moment she looked through the glass, she immediately knew why. Night had since fallen, and with the absence of sunlight, the rock spires had begun to glow.

Upon seeing them, she knew instantly why Yooperlite had chosen this spot to make her home. She was reminded of the time the four of them had sailed through this very area, enamored by the glowing spires. Lefty had been overjoyed by the sight, explaining how tiny organics caused the glow by consuming minerals. It all made sense now.

"Where's that coming from, even?" asked Onyx. "Are those, like, magic rocks or something?"

"No, not magic," Yooperlite said with a small laugh. "Just the beauty of life."

The same beauty Lefty had taught Emerald to admire, and Steven taught everyone to protect. She was glad that some part of her home, pre-colonization, had survived. All her worries about the future, anxieties about the past, in that moment, it all faded away. She and Pearl snuggled closer together as they all enjoyed the sight.

"My Emerald, I suggest we begin preparing for our next mission," said Tanzanite. "We will need an early start if we want to get the drop on the Interlopers."

"Just a few more minutes, Tanz," Emerald said. "The Interlopers can wait–we don't get moments like this everyday."

All five of them, together again. Indeed, moments like these had been rare for much of Emerald's life. But thanks to Era-3, things were finally starting to look up. "Hey, check that out!" said Yooperlite, pointing to a star shining brighter than the others. "I think that's Homeworld!"

"To think that whole time, we could see it from where we were," Emerald said wistfully. "Our home was right up there all along."

"Yeah. It was." Yooperlite looked over at everyone. Emerald and Pearl, so close together. Onyx, confused but also mystified by the glowing rocks. And Tanzanite, a look of wonder visible beneath her stoic expression. "But right now, home's right here."

AN: My friends, I give you the conclusion to Emerald's origin story! Sort of...this is more connecting it to the modern era, but still! We'll pick up post-Movie next time we check in on Emerald, but first, back to BAINE! See you soon!