Note: I'd like to apologize to everyone for the abrupt removal of this chapter yesterday. It hadn't occurred to me that I got a canon detail about Morgana wrong until a reviewer pointed it out, but I finally found a way to rework it into the story.

As much of an excuse as it had been, turns out her parents had heard about what happened with that Gem.

Ann needed an hour to talk down their concerns once they met back up.

By then, the sun had already gone down; plus, her mother had insisted on dinner at a restaurant since their whole family hadn't had a chance together all day and be it far from Ann to reject opportunities for family time. Then came the family games and movies back at their hotel room in the nearest city, which took a couple hours, straight into the night in fact.

No surprise that it took Ann almost until bedtime to check her phone. With her mother in the bathroom while her father checked with the staff downstairs about when breakfast tomorrow would be, Ann took the chance to check on her teammates.

AT: Guys, anybody still awake?

She didn't need to wait long.

HO: Oh, you're up!

AT: Yeah, sorry for taking so long. How are things with you guys?

FS: Oh no, totally cool. Just had to fend off a fellow hacker off your phone a while ago.

Hang on, what? Ann scrunched her brow and peered at Futaba's message, not sure whether she was reading it right.

RS: She ain't foolin'! All the messages went movin' on their own! Scared the crap outta us!

MN: Futaba was able to block the source, but there's no telling how long that will last.

FS: I also managed to trace it before the culprit could slip away. Turns out they're coming straight from Beach City!

Wait, as in right where Steven and all the Gems are?

Frowning in worry, Ann did a quick mental checklist of all the people she'd met or heard of today, human and Gem alike, who could be responsible. None popped out to her at first.

That is until Peridot came to mind.

The friendliness the green Gem displayed to her earlier almost convinced Ann to scratch her off the list, but then a second thought gave her pause.

Because come to think of it, Peridot did give off some Futaba vibes during Ann's chat with her this morning, not to mention had rattled off about technical innovations happening around Little Homeworld.

Even then, though, why would she or any of the Gems go snooping on her phone?

Then Ann remembered the piercing gaze Garnet gave her earlier after Steven fled in the wake of his outburst, when the taller woman had caught the girl texting on her phone. Ann felt so much like slapping herself for, once again, not being more careful.

HO: We're sorry, Ann! We would have called you earlier, but given what happened, we figured it'd be safer to wait.

AK: Especially since you needed to lay low for a while.

Despite her frustration, Ann smiled. Count on her friends to think ahead, let alone pick up on her slack.

AT: Thanks guys. Anyway, you all saw what happened, right?

YK: Yes, that one Gem's personality supposedly changed in an instant.

MN: Not her personality, her morality.

RS: Yeah, she went apeshit on someone just for having a different opinion.

FS: Whoever's doing this, they're either growing stronger or they're done warming up.

MN: We need those keywords as soon as possible.

HO: Agreed! Have you heard from Connie? She hasn't responded to any of our messages.

Oh right. Come to think of it, Ann realized as she checked past messages, she hasn't checked back in with me either.

SY: Maybe she's been spending time with her family like Ann-sempai has.

YK: Even so, it would help to know she is doing well after everything that has happened.

Ann couldn't disagree there. Besides, for all any of them knew, Connie might have stumbled across new clues in the meantime.

AT: Lemme send her a text, to make sure.

She barely got through typing a prompt in before Connie's icon, an eagle in flight against a purple background, popped up.

CM: You still up, Ann?

AT: Oh, hey Connie! I was just about to call you! You OK?

No response at first, not for the first minute. Ann was about to send another text out of concern when a response finally came.

CM: Can we meet at Dewey Park tomorrow? I'm free all afternoon.

AT: Sure?

CM: Cool. Thanks. G'night.

Then her icon left.

Ann took a moment to blink at the screen, taken aback by the other girl's abruptness. The others shared her sentiment.

FS: OOOOK, that was weird.

MN: She seemed as though she were in a rush.

YK: Perhaps the Gems infiltrated her phone as well?

The idea made Ann furrow her brow, skeptical.

AT: No, I think they trust her too much to do that.

RS: Well, something's got her worked up.

AK: Can't be helped.

MN: Agreed. Whatever's going on with her will have to wait. Anyway, there's another issue we need to address.

Another? Ann cocked her head, attentive.

MN: Right now, we have no means of joining you there.

AT: So, what? Do I have to solo this?

Because Ann wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. Godly at magic as she was, she wasn't exactly the team's sturdiest fighter. She restrained a groan lest her mother overhead, but still hung her head.

FS: No worries! Remember, you're allies with somebody who knows aliens!

SY: Yes, they're bound to have some way of getting around quickly!

Oh right, I hadn't thought of that! Already Ann could feel her shoulders ease up in relief.

AT: Yeah, I'll definitely mention it to her tomorrow!

AK: Good to hear! Anyway, we better let you go.

HO: Yes, we all need to be ready for tomorrow. Good night, everyone!

AT: Night guys!

Once everybody else chipped in a goodnight of their own and logged off chat, Ann set her phone on the nightstand beside her and fell back on the bed with a sigh.

Why did she have the distinct feeling tomorrow won't be going smoothly?

XXX

When her parents dropped her off at the park the next day after breakfast and a brief tour of a museum, there weren't many people out.

In fact, as her eyes panned the somewhat forested area, she seemed to be the only person here. Curious, Ann started walking down the main cemented path, taking her time to avoid looking suspicious in case anybody besides Connie passed by.

Fortunately, she didn't have to walk far before she finally spotted Connie sitting at one of the park benches, elbows on the table while she propped her clasped hands in front of her face with a rather focused expression, a cup full of a steaming brown drink in front of her.

If not for the circumstances and location, Ann would have snorted at the other girl's resemblance to a certain SpongeBob meme.

With one hand waving overhead and another raised to her mouth, Ann called out. "Hey, Connie!"

The other girl responded started at the voice, jarred out whatever thought process her faculties had been in, but relaxed immediately at the sight of Ann coming over.

"Good. You made it." Though Connie wore a genuinely relieved smile as she said this, one could still see an undercurrent of nervousness (and guilt?) in her eyes, as though the other girl were bracing for something. "There's…something. We gotta talk about. A lot of somethings actually."

Ann was about to ask for clarification (though she already had a good idea of what a good number of those somethings could be), when she noticed another detail upon coming closer.

Connie had company, only they'd been sitting down on the grass below the empty space of seat to Connie's right, initially out of view of Ann's eyesight.

And when Ann took note of this person's magenta/pink color palette and spiky pigtails, recognition hit. "Wait a minute…aren't you that Gem from yesterday?"

The magenta person, who'd turned and got up on the seat after hearing Connie's response, greeted her with a smile. "You mean the one you guys helped out? Yep, that's me! Thanks for that, by the way! You're Ann, right? Name's Spinel, nice to meet cha!"

In the blink of an eye, Spinel extended one arm to Ann in a parabolic loop de loop. The taken back blonde blankly stared at then awkwardly accepted the eccentric handshake. She still needed to adjust to seeing so many wacky abilities outside the Metaverse.

"It's…nice to meet you too, Spinel. Huh," – Ann looked to Connie, more taken back than upset – "when you texted me yesterday, it sounded like it'd just be you and me."

Connie blushed at this observation. "I know, and I'm sorry! Some things…happened after you left and well…"

She sighed, figuring now would be the time to come clean.

"You better sit down for this. Oh, and could you see if your friends are up? I wanna make sure everyone's on the same page."

XXX

Connie had no idea what had just happened.

One moment, she'd been standing behind the fry restaurant, then in the space of a second the world seemed to melt and reconstruct itself around her until BAM, she's standing behind a pink and white striped tent.

The speed of this transition would have unsettled her if not for the distracting sound of…fireworks?

She gazed up to spot the source, only to gasp upon discovering a pastel pink sky full of huge, puffy white clouds. For a hot moment, she wondered if the phone had dumped her in the middle of Rose's Room.

No, she realized, then this place wouldn't already be here since that room needed Steven to will stuff into existence in the first place.

But that could only mean this was a completely different realm, though one still connected to Steven in its own way if the keywords were to be believed.

"Right, the keywords," Connie murmured to herself with a stern look at her phone. "Ann and her friends will want to know about this."

Again, the sounds of fireworks went off nearby, still viewable from where she stood. The noise almost tempted Connie to explore and see, only for common sense to kick in.

"Strange new place, no sword, and no backup," she quietly reminded herself. "Not a good time to be bold right now, Maheswaran."

Right, now was the time to leave. Now how to get this phone to send her—

SNAP!

Sudden sounds of steps in the still silence made Connie yelp, nearly dropping her phone. The odd distorted-sounding voices that followed did not help.

"I think I heard something this way."

"You sure?"

Oh yeah, definitely time to go!

Hastening, Connie rechecked her phone screen to discover the same app responsible still there much to her relief and pounded it.

Would you like to return to the real world?

"Yes! YES!"

And just as quickly, the world melted and realigned.

So quickly in fact that Connie didn't notice she was back in Beach City at first – not until the sound of seagulls made her take note of the early evening sky.

She sighed out of immense relief. Oh, thank Vishnu, at least this weird little app wasn't hard to use.

Unfortunately, it also wasn't hard to misuse.

"Note to self," she whispered as she walked out from behind the building and back into public view, eyes still on her phone, "blurting out keywords at this thing is a bad idea."

"Blurting what's a bad idea?"

"GAH!" Once again, Connie barely managed to catch her phone, only this time for a different reason, said reason jerking back as well in surprise. "O-Oh, hey Spinel. Sorry. Uh…I didn't leave you waiting there long, did I?"

"No, but I do got a question for ya." Only now did Connie notice the rattled expression on Spinel's face. "Did Steven and the Gems that got affected hallucinate or anything?"

The Indian girl eyed the Gem oddly. "Not that I know of, why?"

To her further concern, the anxiety in Spinel's expression worsened. "Yeah, I don't know if I'm coming down with it too, but I'm pretty sure seeing a whole-facet circus shimmer before your eyes ain't normal."

Connie stared at Spinel, eyes wide, and then the phone and then back. "You…saw a circus?"

"That's what I said" The pink Gem gripped her pigtails in building distress, mistaking Connie's mien as confirmation. "Ugh, I'm gonna go crazy too, aren't I? Again?!"

"Easy, easy!" Connie hastily assured her with hands raised in assurance. "You're not infected and you're not going crazy! It's…"

A pause followed as the girl stared down at her phone before she sighed, seeing no other way out. "You have time? Cause this might take a while to explain."

XXX

"You made it into the Metaverse?!" Ann gasped from across where she sat from Connie who finished regaling her little adventure, both their cellphones set on the table between them. Spinel sat cross-legged on one end of the table, watching the conversation.

FS: And figured out the last keyword?! Nice!

As of now, Futaba and Akira (and Morgana unbeknownst to Connie) were the only Thieves able to attend at the moment. No surprise considering right now had be like 6 or 7am over in Japan.

Connie nodded at both statements, albeit solemnly. "And got right back out. I don't know what's out there in…Steven's heart, but I am not finding out without my sword."

Now that she mentioned it, Ann noticed a pink scabbard set next to Connie's left, the golden pommel and purple hilt of a sword sticking out, a gold star emblem decorating its base. A sigh drew the blonde's attention back to Connie.

"I'm really sorry about being so reckless with the…Meta-Nav, right? I just thought it would flash a different color or something, not jettison me in from the get-go."

Oops, right. Ann blushed and rubbed her nape with an abashed chuckle. "Actually, we should apologize. The Nav takes the stuff you say pretty literally. I should have mentioned that yesterday."

FS: Ditto. Our bad.

AK: You also have to be careful no one's nearby when you use it.

Ah, otherwise you could get them pulled in with you without meaning to, Connie put together. Definitely a risk to keep in mind. All the same, she shook her head. "I'm also sorry if telling Spinel about you guys is upsetting. It felt like the right call after what she told me."

At this point, Spinel spoke up, holding both hands up. "Hey-hey-hey, I can keep a secret! I mean, it all went over my head, but I think I get the gist of it. You guys have some funky mind powers that can help Steven and all those Gems that've gone bonkers, right?"

Ann cocked her head at the description. Funky mind powers? Well, not the most inaccurate way the Thieves had their abilities described. She shrugged. "As long as you don't shout it from the rooftops, I don't see a problem with it."

AK: Same here.

FS: Thirded. Now then, Spinel, you claim to have seen a circus not long after Connie left, right?

"Uh yeah? It stopped right before she popped back around too."

FS: And that includes the same tent the Meta-Nav dropped you at, right Connie?

"Exact same."

("Hmm…there might be a deeper connection between the Metaverse and Gems than we suspected," Morgana speculated to Futaba and Akira at their end of the conversation.

"You think the Crystal Gems might know?" asked Akira.

"Hard to say," Futaba replied before typing out her next response, "but at the least this little tidbit could come in handy.")

FS: Alrighty then, let's make a deal, Spinel: we need ta get into Steven's heart to help him out, but we need somebody to spot us.

Spot them? Spinel shifted her gaze between Connie and Ann in confusion.

"Basically, be our eyes here while we're over in the Metaverse," the latter explained.

Spinel rolled her eyes. "I know what you mean; what I don't get is why? Shouldn't ya be tellin' the Crystal Gems about this?"

A tense silence met her question, giving Spinel the impression that she may have asked something she shouldn't have.

Ann averted her eyes, guilty faced. "Well…"

"It's best they don't know for now," Connie stated in a tone firmer than she felt. "They've had a habit of jumping to conclusions when it comes to strangers."

Not an unreasonable precaution, considering those conclusions tended to lead to weapons out with only diplomacy coming later courtesy of Steven, who was currently unavailable. Perhaps less so now, but Connie had been out of the loop with the team for a while and she didn't want to take any chances.

Not when she and the Thieves had already made progress.

Spinel, to her credit, seemed to get the message judging by the dark magenta blush coating her cheeks. No doubt she'd recalled the Crystal Gems' tendency for 'jitteriness' as well. "O-Oh, well in that case, sure! I can look out for ya guys!"

Connie smiled in gratitude. "Thanks, Spinel. I do plan to tell them about all this; I'd just rather wait until we've changed Steven's heart."

That way, the Thieves would have solid proof – and a willing witness in Steven – for when the time came to tell Garnet and the others everything.

Once Spinel nodded to show she agreed to the plan, Connie clapped her hands, gung-ho. "OK, now that we've got that all covered, all that's left is getting me, you, and your team inside to—um, Ann, what's wrong?"

Ann, who'd been silent and attentive throughout Connie and Spinel's brief chat, had adopted a nervous look. "Y-Yeah, about that. The others are all the way in Japan, and it'd be kinda hard to miss if they all hopped on a plane to come over here."

"They all live in Tokyo, right?" Connie asked, recalling Ann's conversation with Ronaldo, Lars, and the Off-Colors yesterday. Ann nodded and Connie crossed her arms. "I've been mulling over how to help with that. I have this warp whistle that lets me use the Warp Pads the Gems use to travel—"

Ann perked.

"Except the nearest one is at the base of Mt. Fuji."

Then Ann sagged.

Connie gave a sympathetic grimace in turn. "Yeah, I checked on Google Maps. Pretty sure you guys wouldn't like having to travel over 2 hours."

FS: UGH, that's basically 4 hours of going back and forth minus all the Palace stuff! We don't have that kind of time!

AK: Hang on. Connie, how do you even know where the closest pad to Tokyo is?

Connie blushed. Right, that detail. "I…had to ask my friend Peridot for a map of Earth's warp system, told her I wanted to have one in case the culprits were sighted anywhere else on the planet."

Not a complete lie: the thought of the culprits hiding out somewhere on Earth had crossed Connie's mind. She only wished she hadn't had to give Peridot half-truths.

"Anyway," the darker girl continued with a somewhat forced smile, shaking off the sense of guilt, "don't worry about transportation. There's one option we can use, although it took me a while to find him."

Find him?

Before any of the three Thieves could ask, Connie turned to a nearby tree and whistled with her fingers. At first nothing happened…then came the sound of something big huffing and standing up, and from behind the tree stepped out—

"AAHHHH!" With that scream, Ann promptly fell out her seat and onto her butt, startling everyone present.

She could not believe her eyes. They weren't in the Metaverse, right? This was still their world, which meant this wasn't a cognition.

Which meant Ann was deadass staring down a giant pink lion – and it was coming towards her.

"It's OK, it's OK!" Connie hastily assured her with one hand out. "He's not gonna hurt you."

Ann shot the other girl an incredulous stare, only to yelp when she looked back to discover the lion was now right up in her face.

For a long agonizing moment, nobody moved.

Then the lion sniffed her – once, twice – before pulling back to resume staring.

OK, well her limbs and throat were all still intact. That was a good sign, right? Why was this cat staring, though? Did it want her to do something?

A quick glance at Connie for help only earned her an encouraging smile and nod, the other girl patting herself on the head to hint at the creature's expectations.

Petting? That was it?

Looking back at the beast, Ann gulped and hesitantly placed a hand on the lion's mane, right above the forehead. Other than the creature grunting upon contact, nothing happened. Ann lifted her hand for a moment and set it back, an awkward semblance of a pet.

The lion grunted again, this time the tip of its tail starting to wag. Did it…like this?

Feeling a little bolder, Ann sat straighter up and made more of an effort in her petting, even throwing in a few strokes.

A low rumbling emanated from the lion in response, clearly enjoying the attention. The sight alone proved enough to set Ann at ease enough that she even started to chuckle, amazed.

"Heh…heh-heh, his mane is so soft."

At this point, Connie came around from the table, phone in hand. Spinel followed suit, somersaulting from the other side until she landed into a crouch beside Ann. "I still don't know to this day how Lion does it, not with all the baths he's refused from me and Steven over the years."

She noticed Ann's blank stare and shrugged with a wry half-smile. "Steven named him. He's never been the best with naming stuff."

A beep returned Connie's attention to her cell.

AK: Well, Futaba's currently comatose from cuteness.

It took all Connie's willpower not to release a very unladylike snort.

CM: Sorry about that. Lion can have that effect on people.

AK: Don't worry, she'll snap out of it soon.

"Wait," Ann spoke up, remembering what Connie said just before she summoned Lion, "is he how we're gonna get the others here?" When Connie nodded, Ann simply shook her head in confusion. "But…how?"

A knowing smirk graced Connie's face. "You'll see soon enough. Is there a place where the others can meet up, someplace where they won't get noticed? Like maybe someplace with good cover?"

Ann hummed in thought, one hand still idly running fingers through Lion's mane. "What about Inokashira Park?"

Another beep heralded Akira's response.

AK: That should work. I'm letting the others know.

Connie nodded. "Alright, see you soon then!"

As the other girl put her phone away once Akira hung up, Ann looked to Lion and shook her head, incredulous. "So…how is Lion here going to know where to find the others?"

Connie grimaced and walked up to give Lion's mane a pet as well. "Trial and error, dear Ann, trial and error."

XXX

About an hour later found the rest of the Phantom Thieves gathered at the park in question.

Akira, Morgana, and Futaba had just finished regaling their conversation with Connie and Ann and…well understandably were met with skepticism.

"A giant pink lion?" Haru asked at a slow pace, not sure she followed.

"Giant pink space lion!" Futaba corrected, still jittery from the secondhand encounter and eager for the firsthand.

Yusuke crossed his arms, shaking his head and sighing. "Compared to the situation at hand, let alone our experiences with the Metaverse, this would hardly be the most bizarre occurrence were it to be true."

Ryuji hung his head, exasperated. "I mean it's still kind of random, though, ain't it?"

"Even so," Makoto supplied, "from how you three describe…Lion? It seems like Connie really is banking on him to solve our transportation issue."

"That's another thing," Ryuji cut in, "who the heck names a Lion 'Lion'?! It's like us namin' Morgana 'Cat'!"

The aforementioned black and white cat peeking his head out of Akira's handbag shuffled his ears in a sort of shrug. "Really makes me appreciate having a proper name, I'll tell you that. Anyway, Connie said Lion and Ann should be here soon, let's be on the lookout."

Sumire cocked her head, a finger to her chin in wonder. "Right…um, Mona-senpai, shouldn't we be a little worried?"

"I doubt we'll have to worry about being eaten, if that's what you mean."

"No, no, not that! What I mean is" – she shuffled her feet awkwardly – "isn't a big colorful cat liable to catch someone's attention once it shows up?"

Especially with the noises it'll no doubt make.

Mona licked a forepaw, pensive. "I guess that depends on how Lion would even get—"

Out of literal nowhere, a reverberating pop sounded as a glittery starlit portal ripped through thin air and manifested right behind the group, startling them.

"W-What—" Morgana stuttered in surprise.

"—the—," Makoto gasped.

"—hell?!" Ryuji exclaimed.

Oh, today's craziness was just getting started because soon after the huge pink cat in question burst out of the portal, landing gracefully on the grass while the portal shrunk and winked out of existence with a twinkle. And riding top the beast was none other than an awkward-faced Ann, along with a strange-looking punk magenta girl who literally had her arms wrapped around Ann like rope.

Yeah, nothing abnormal whatsoever.

"Uh, hey guys," Ann greeted with a nervous chuckle.

Absolutely no one moved for the next few moments, too stunned to speak.

That is until Futaba let off a happy squee, dancing in place, before dashing over to Lion.

"Futaba-chan, wait!" Makoto cried out in alarm, reaching a hand out but too late to stop her younger friend.

"OH, MY FREAKING GOSH, HE'S EVEN CUTER IN PERSON!" the tech girl cheered as she got right up in Lion's face, much to the big cat's discomfort, the younger girl's eyes going starry. The magenta girl held back snickers at the sight.

Haru, albeit more warily, also approached Lion for a closer look. The big fluffy beast seemed friendly enough. Lion regarded her next, merely blinking.

"Um…"

Ann noticed the older girl's hesitation. "It's OK, he's actually really nice once you get to know him!"

After another moment's hesitation, Haru timidly stuck a hand out. Lion craned his head to sniff, staying that way for a second, before leaning his forehead into it, much to Haru's surprise. She gasped once her hand met his mane and smiled.

"Oh, he's so soft."

"No fair!" Futaba cried out with a pout, "I wanna pet him too!"

At this point, the other Thieves neared as well, no longer seeing the need for caution.

Yusuke made a frame with his fingers and peered through, admiring Lion. "The monochromatic palette, the sweeping curves, and the roundness of its body structure…truly a mesh between elegance and power."

"So…," Morgana muttered, "a giant pink lion that can also teleport. Must be quite the story behind this guy."

Akira rubbed the back of his own head at his feline friend's comment, seconding that notion. That seemed to be a running trend concerning everyone in Steven's life, Connie included – and the gang hadn't even gotten into the Metaverse yet.

No noticed Spinel craning her head, confusedly trying to discern the voice.

Makoto crossed her arms, thoughtful. "I can imagine. Did he really warp here all the way from America?"

"By roaring," Ann simply added with a nod. The irony of such a straightforward travel method was not lost on her. "Took him a while to find this place, too! Anyway, we better get moving."

"Oh right," Sumire hastily added, having lost herself in petting Lion alongside Haru and Futaba, "before anyone notices us!"

No doubt that roar attracted a great deal of attention.

Ryuji hung his head as he eyed Lion, incredulous, before gesturing a hand at everybody else. "Uh yeah, how many of us are here again?"

Futaba sweat-dropped, seeing his point. Lion only had so much room for passengers after all. "We're definitely gonna need a few round trips."

Akira cocked his head, humming. "Three at a time?"

"That sounds reasonable," Makoto readily agreed. "You have Morgana with you anyway, so technically that's four. That would leave five more, so—"

"Actually," Ann interrupted, albeit a little hesitant, "we can all go at once thanks to Spinel here."

The magenta chick heartily waved a hand and gave a big smile upon noticing everyone staring at her (as if they weren't already before).

All the other Thieves looked at the girl, baffled, and then to Ann, who averted her eyes with a nervous expression.

"How so?" Yusuke asked, curious and a touch apprehensive.

XXX

Apparently by having Spinel tie her arms around everyone else's waists, having them all trail behind as Lion raced through the trans-dimensional tunnel, the Thieves all clinging onto the stretchy limbs like the world's most bizarre form of jet-skiing.

Only Futaba, clinging to Spinel from behind, and Morgana, cradled in the bag in her lap, were the ones who got to ride shotgun with Spinel and Ann.

Also yes, everyone besides Akira was screaming.

"YOU HAD TO FREAKING ASK!" Ryuji shouted.

"M-MY APOLOGIES!" Yusuke yelped.

"WAKE ME WHEN IT'S OVEEER!" Futaba screamed.

Thankfully, the ride was very soon.

The literal light at the end of the tunnel twinkled and came rushing at breakneck speed until Lion and all his passengers in tow reached and burst through it, emerging back in not Dewey Park but instead in a patch of forest near someone's house, the town's water tower nearby.

Connie had stood patiently by the road, sword and scabbard strapped to her back. Now she became alert at the sight of not only Ann, Lion, and Spinel's return but the plethora of revealed (and shaken) faces of her up until now unseen allies.

None of whom she could understand at all.

("Well," Sumire shakily stated as Spinel released her grip on everyone, "that was an experience to be sure."

Ryuji clutched his mouth and stomach, holding back the urge to retch. "I think I lost my breakfast back there.")

"And probably three of my nine lives with it," Morgana uttered in a daze.

Connie narrowed her eyes at the last voice, unable to pinpoint the source. Did someone else in Ann's friend group speak English too? She shook her head, putting this question on the backburner, before approaching the group with her cellphone at the ready.

"Hey, Ann! Glad to see you all got here in one piece!"

Much to her relief. She'd been worried the travel arrangement would result in someone getting lost in transit, but it seemed like Spinel had taken extra care to keep everyone securely in tow.

Ann nodded with a sheepish chuckle. "All thanks to Spinel here. She really saved a lot of time for us."

The pink Gem in question giggled, waving a hand in a 'aw shucks' manner.

Without warning, though, the blonde male in the back had recovered enough to undo his bending over and fix an annoyed frown on Connie.

("I'm gonna take a wild guess say that was your idea, wasn't it? Seriously, you couldn't spare like I don't know, a few extra space lions or something?")

When Connie gave nothing more than a blank stare, Ryuji rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to ask what was up with her lack of response.

"Ryuji," Ann interrupted in a chiding tone.

Fortunately, that's all her childhood friend needed to remember and realize his mistake. Eyes now wide, he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

("Oh right, she doesn't speak Japanese. My bad."

"To be fair," Haru spoke up, "I'd almost forgotten that myself."

"It would be understandable," Yusuke added, "considering the events of, well, the last few minutes."

"It's cool, guys," Ann assured with a chuckle, switching to her friends' language, "I can handle the translations from here.")

At this moment, Morgana chose to make himself known by leaping out of Akira's bag and landing on the grass. "Kind as always, Lady Ann, but please allow me to take over. You've done so much already after all."

That voice again. Connie had paid closer attention this time but once again couldn't discern who it came from. She noticed Spinel doing the same, the pink Gem shrugging at her in turn. Nobody else seemed to have been talking, so where—

A sudden paw at her leg drew her attention to a small black and white cat with blue eyes and a yellow collar, staring intently up at her. Curious, Connie kneeled down to be more eye-level with the furry creature.

"You guys brought a cat with you?" she asked, a little baffled.

Then the cat cocked his head, directed his attention to the tall boy with shaggy black hair, and opened his mouth.

"Says the one who has a magic lion."

It took approximately 1.5 seconds for Connie to register that the cat – the clearly not Gem-related cat – had just talked in plain English. She jerked back onto her hindquarters with a startled help, eyes wide.

Spinel also started at hearing Morgana speak, although more surprised than freaked out.

"D-Did…did you just talk?!"

Then to both her and Spinel's surprise, Ann and the cat reared back in shock as well.

"WHAT?!"

"You—You already understand me?!"

Spinel raised a hand, meek and a touch out of her depth. "Me too."

And like dominoes, the surprise spilled over onto everyone else.

("Say what!" Futaba gasped.

"FOR REAL?!" Ryuji naturally exclaimed.

Yusuke shook his head, disbelieving. "How is that possible?")

The cat hung his head, baffled. "I'm…not really sure."

Connie narrowed her eyes, realizing not only the cat was still speaking English but that everyone could apparently understand him? How?

"Wait," Ann spoke up, "does this mean you can speak English, Morgana?"

"Sort of. I'm basically a living translator," the team's feline member affirmed with a shrug, tail swishing in a meditative manner. "However I speak, whatever language a person understands best is what they'll hear. Don't ask me how I know, I just do."

He gestured a head to Connie and Spinel – "They hear English" – and then to all the Thieves – "the rest of you hear Japanese, although I imagine what Lady Ann would hear differs since she speaks both languages."

("Why the heck didn't ya say so sooner?!" Ryuji barked, annoyed.

"Pretty sure that would have been handy to know," Futaba testily agreed.)

Morgana rolled his eyes. "Hey, all our targets so far have solely been in Japan, so I never saw a need to mention it!"

Connie and Spinel shared a look. OK, so everybody could understand the cat no matter what. Made sense…somehow.

(Akira put a hand to his chin, thoughtful. "It's the Metaverse, isn't it?")

"As usual, our leader is quick as a whip," Morgana praised. "Yes, as a matter of fact. Being born from humanity's hope, it wouldn't make much sense for the language barrier to be an issue for me."

Connie eyed Morgana in disbelief. Born from humanity's hope, what? Was this cat some kind of anti-Monokuma?

("So, you can understand and speak any human language?" Makoto asked, utterly amazed.)

"Speak, understand, read, write—so long as it's of this planet, as far as I figure."

(Huh, well that's pretty convenient, Akira mused. It would definitely make this mission a little easier, although now another thought occurred to him. "Does it carry over?")

When Morgana gave an affirming nod, Futaba perked immensely.

("Whoa, then my mom's theory about language and cognition was right!"

Yusuke eyed her curiously. "Theory?"

"Yeah, she hypothesized that since the Metaverse belongs to all of humanity instead of just one culture or group, it wouldn't matter there if you speak a different language. Everybody would understand anybody just fine."

Akira cocked a brow at this information. OK, that's even more convenient.)

All the while, Connie alternated gazes between all the Thieves, not able to catch up with the last bit of conversation.

"Um," Ann hastily answered, "basically Morgana can understand everyone here and vice versa because he came from the Metaverse."

"And once we're in the Metaverse, you'll be able to talk to everyone else normally as well," Morgana added. When Connie opened her mouth to ask, the feline beat her to the punch. "And as for why you can understand me…well your guess is as good as ours. You should only be able to understand me once you hear me talking in the Metaverse Basically, think of it as a veil being removed."

("Yet all it took was her being in the Metaverse already," Makoto murmured to herself, casting a studious gaze on Connie.

"And Spinel wasn't even there to begin with," Ann added.)

So…an Allegory of the Cave scenario, Connie mused as she shifted gazes between Ann and Morgana before sighing with a shrug. You know what, sure, why not? Best to just accept all these explanations at face-value lest she wanted to drive herself nuts.

Speaking of face…

"That reminds me," she spoke up. "I asked this last time but didn't get an answer: if you guys could hear us through the phones, how were the rest of you understanding us up until now?"

At this question, Morgana translated for the others. Futaba in turn whipped out her cellphone and started typing. Connie, catching on, looked at her own in response.

FS: Oh yeah. Aside from the custom Japanese-English translator I've got set up on all the team's cells, I've also got one on my desktop that does sound to text.

AK: Subtitles included.

FS: That's mainly how we kept up outside messaging.

AK: As for you already understanding Morgana, let's put a pin in that, shall we?

Fine by Connie. That seemed about all the details they needed squared away anyway.

CM: Then we're all good?

RS: Yeah, let's do this shit!

YK: Agreed. We needn't linger any longer.

In that case, Connie spared Spinel a brief glance. "I don't know how long we're going to be gone, so check back in every so often, OK?"

She didn't want the Gem spending the whole time waiting on them alone, after all. Spinel did a goofy salute before bouncing away, evoking a chuckle from Connie and even some of the Thieves.

Next, she regarded Lion. "And you…just do you. If anyone asks, hang outside one of the stores like you're waiting up on me."

If Lion understood, he gave no indication other than a chaste grunt before he strolled over to a nearby tree to continue napping.

Good enough.

And so, without further ado, Connie switched to the Meta Nav app. With a steely gaze, she cleared her throat and spoke loud and clear.

"Crystal Gems; Beach City and Little Homeworld; Storybook."

Input accepted. Searching for route to destination.

For clarification: Normally, you can only understand Morgana once you hear him talking in the Metaverse.

However, Connie could understand him once she'd simply been in the Metaverse whereas Spinel could understand him the whole time (even though she hadn't been aware at first that he could even talk).

Don't worry, the whys behind both will come in the following chapters.