(Once again, it's been a long time. I hit writer's block for the longest time; but then for the past several months, I've been completing, editing and touching up a remake for one of my Star Wars stories. Every draft of said story has turned out unsatisfactory; now I've finally come up with a good story, so now I can move on with other stories.)
Yellow and Blue arrived on Earth again, but with Spinel this time. The other gems noticed Spinel looked down (Blue and Yellow had broken the news to her before the warp) and suddenly expected some more bad news. As they got closer, Garnet and Amethyst then noticed Spinel's eyes welling up.
Blue put one of her hands up on her shoulders where Spinel was hugging to let her down, and Spinel hesitsntly stepped on. Blue hugged Spinel to her face one last time before setting her down next to Garnet and Amethyst.
"Gee, what happened that's got you down?" Amethyst asked, observing Spinel's sad face like a rarity.
"White informed us what we're up against, and we told Spinel before our warp. She'll be staying here with all of you." Yellow answered.
Garnet put a hand over her mouth as she suddenly, finally saw what was coming. She couldn't see much, but she saw the danger. Amethyst couldn't take the suspense, "Well what's the deal?!"
Blue looked around. "Where's Pearl?"
"Off to find Connie. We decided this is a conflict she shouldn't be a part of." The Diamonds had additionally told Spinel she might not see them again; as the current conversation went on, she slowly hugged Amethyst's arm and leaned her head on her shoulder; Amethyst instinctively put an arm around her shoulder. Then Amethyst asked again, "Okay, seriously, what's going on?"
"Black Diamond is going on." Yellow stated bluntly.
Amethyst never heard of anything like that before, but circumstances made the utterance of that name shake her to the core. 'Peridot was right.' She thought. She then also noticed Garnet hadn't said anything the entire time and looked to ask her. . . something; but she saw something she'd never seen in Garnet before. She was more than scared; she seemed hopeless.
Everyone felt the despair in the air, so Yellow decided to break the ice. "White, Blue, and I are going to make our stand on Homeworld. Black is after White, so he'll be heading there."
"He?!" Amethyst explained.
"White is the highest being of gem kind; she represents the light and color. And in such, there is an opposite. At nearly the dawn of time, he became dangerous, and White imprisoned him. He's evidently broken out."
"Won't you need all the help you can get?!" Amethyst asked, beginning to feel the panic.
"No." Garnet broke her silence. "Any more than them would just be a liability. I don't see a future where anyone else returns."
Garnet's phrasing piqued Spinel's attention. "S-So Blue, White, and Yellow will win, right?" She asked, a sliver of hope -as well as a quiver- in her voice. She didn't know Garnet phrased it that way on purpose, but Spinel caught on when Garnet didn't answer.
"We've accepted whatever fate we may meet." Yellow stated.
Connie's lessons had finished at Little Homeworld, so Pearl had to go directly to her house. . . and talk directly to her parents about the danger. Amethyst borrowed someone's phone to call Pearl to let her know what was actually going on, so now Pearl was way more nervous.
"I can't just sit out!" Connie exclaimed.
"It's out of the question, young lady." Doug intervened. "If there's anything I know, it's that Pearl doesn't underestimate you. If she has reason to have you sit it out, we should take her word for it."
"Well handled." Priyanka concurred, putting a hand on her nervous husband's shoulder. "We appreciate your input, Pearl."
"After everything I've been through-" Connie started.
"It's nothing compared to what's coming!" Peral interrupted sternly, albeit her tone a little shaky, which in turn shook Connie as well. "Not even my experiences can compare." She said more quietly.
In a silent huff, Connie ran up to her room to sort things out in her head.
"Honestly, what are the chances?" Priyanka asked Pearl, not feeling too optimistic.
Pearl sighed. "They're not in our favor."
"Is there any hope?"
"I suppose. . . our only hope is that the Diamonds can resolve the situation after all."
They stood in a moment of dreadful silence.
"There's really nothing we can do?" Doug asked.
"Only what is asked of us." Pearl clarified.
The gems worked together with Mayor Nanefua to get every human and gem rallied for the announcement. They had to fill everyone in on the emergency proceedings for this danger level. The gems and the mayor announced catacombs that had been dug and constructed around the same time as Little Homeworld in case some other extra terrestrial threat would visit them. The underground caves and storages were big enough to hide the whole town; everyone was encouraged to move below for safety for the time being.
Yellow and Blue joined White back at the Homeworld palace. They found her standing in front of the old thrones, staring at the remnants of the old days. Yellow sighed, then announced her and Blue's presence. "We're ready, White."
White breathed deeply. "It will only be a matter of time before Black learns of this planet, and how to use warp here."
"We'll be ready." Blue spoke with faux confidence.
"Indeed." White agreed, her newfound genuine confidence surprising yellow and Blue. "I have a plan." She turned around with a grin on her face.
