White observed Little Homeworld with a smile. 'A quaint little place,' she noted as Gem's hurried about their lives in the early morning light. She decided the change of scenery was just what she needed to distract from the events the night before. Even as the last whispers of the pervious night faded under the horizon, What White and Steven had discovered still haunted her thoughts. She also decided not to share what she learned with Blue and Spinel. It wasn't their burden to bear. As always, she knew she had to shoulder it alone. It's what a good leader would do.
Steven had led them all too Little Homeworld, after the sun rose and he had gotten a few hours of his mandatory sleep. He had a plan, which White didn't doubt at all. If anyone could unravel the nature of these Alloy's, it was Steven.
"Steven!" announced a green blur that buzzed out of a nearby building. The blur jumped off their hovering device to hug Steven just as they arrived in the center of Little Homeworld.
"Hey Peridot," Steven said and reciprocated the embrace. "I meant to visit yesterday, but something came up."
White watched Peridot look up at her, then to the others in tow. Her smile brightened when she spotted Connie. "Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet, and the Diamonds are here along with Connie. Are we going to have another wedding for you and Connie?"
Connie laughed. "Most humans strive to only have one wedding in a lifetime, or at least we try to."
Steven stopped the conversation before it could wander farther from their reason for being in Little Homeworld. "Peridot. There is a new race of advanced nonorganic aliens that have posed a threat to Homeworld and I need to talk to their leader without them tracing us back here to Earth. Do you still have the long-distance communication's array with the location scrambler?"
Amethyst held back a snicker. "You know, the one you tried to update to include human TV channels and ended up broadcasting Camp Pinning Hearts to every TV on the planet for a whole four weeks?"
"Of course, I still have it," Peridot said with a shrug, not put off by Amethyst's last comment. "What do our new enemies want? Our conquered worlds? Our tech?"
"Just White of all things!" Spinel blurted to loudly with a gloved finger pointed up at the Diamond. White had to resist the need to purse her lips in annoyance as everyone looked at her. Even Gem's not involved in the conversations stopped to stair.
"It would seem," White said with a forced smile.
"And what do they want her 'majesty' for, dare I ask?" the voice of another Gem chimed in sarcastically.
White saw the source was a Bismuth seated above their heads on a roof. It seemed she had been fixing something when she took it upon herself to eavesdrop.
"Hey Bismuth," Steven greeted, and it defused whatever tension the Bismuth had brought. "We don't know what they want yet. That's why we need to find a way to talk to the Alloy's leader without them tracking us back here."
Yet another interruption. Someone swooped down from the roof tops on water wings and scooped up Steven. White recognized the Lapis, and she hugged Steven tight from the air. The reunion distracted everyone, except Bismuth. She stood from her perch, her arms crossed, and eyes squinted at White. "Why didn't you just send these Alloy's packing to the next galaxy over, White? Still wanting us Gem's to do your dirty work?"
Spinel stomped her foot at Bismuth. "That isn't even almost true! White tried to shatter the jerk and it didn't work. She's not lazy!"
"Spinel, dear," White began to say in hopes of silencing another outburst.
"You couldn't shatter them?" Bismuth demanded of her. The silence that followed the question was deafening. "Did your attack do anything?"
"Bismuth," Steven said. "It doesn't matter what happened, we are here to make everything right with the Alloys."
Bismuth shook her head and jumped down from her perch. "That's not my point. These creatures are unaffected by the oldest and strongest Gem. White is one of the three that corrupted thousands of Gems with a single blast, and she couldn't take down one enemy flunky? This is bad. That means these Alloys are stronger than we are."
"More reason not to start a fight," Steven insisted. He turned from Bismuth to Pearl. "Can you help Peridot with the communication's device?"
"That should expedite things," Pearl agreed with a nod. "It'll be just like old times like when we worked on the drill." She added with a laugh. "Though, let's not start this off with a robot fight."
"Don't worry Bismuth," Peridot intoned with a large grin. "We'll set up communications with the Alloy's, and Steven will straighten everything out. Plus, we are all out of practice with fighting, even the Diamonds. A little bit of training and I'm sure a Jasper could send one of these Alloy's packing, let alone a Diamond." Peridot jumped on her flying disk and rushed off with Pearl close behind.
'At least some of my Gem's still have faith in me,' White thought bitterly.
Bismuth huffed as they left, and then patted Steven on the shoulder. "It's good to have you back. I'm going to reinforce new armor and weapons. Not that I don't trust your negotiation skills, but I like to be prepared." She marched off into her nearby forge without another word.
White noticed Steven's shoulders slump. She took the opportunity to try and input some encouragement of her own. "Just tell us how we can help! Consider us at your disposal for reliving some of the burden."
"Yes, of course," Blue intoned. "White and I can be good for lifting, and Spinel is always good entertainment." She said while Spinel began to tap-dance to prove her point.
Steven, can I have a word?" Garnet said. White was surprised. It had been the first thing the Garnet had said the whole day, and she was embarrassed to admit to herself she had forgotten the fusion was with them.
"Shoot," Steven said.
Garnet hesitated, her eye movement's unknown behind her shades. "In private, preferably."
Steven gave the remnants of their group a glance. "Sure?" he finally conceded and trailed behind her out of ear shot.
"Everyone seems very anxious," Blue said to White. "I wonder if we've offended."
"Nah," Amethyst said with a shrug. White had to look down to see the small Quartz was leaned against her own shoe's heel. "It's what Peridot said. Everyone's just rusty with fighting. No one is used to much more than the occasional attack from nonreformed Gems. Everyone will whip back into shape, just give em time," she nudged Spinel in the shoulder in a playful manor. "We were in a similar state when you first attacked Earth with your injector, and that turned out fine, remember?"
Spinel laughed through her nose. "Yeah, good times."
White wouldn't have offered to help wherever she was needed, if she knew it would lead her back into the presence of the Bismuth. But it would seem the weapon forger needed to know everything she could regarding their new enemy, if she as to craft weapons to combat them. White wouldn't have minded if it wasn't for every snark filled comment that would follow whatever White said. Currently, she sat primly next to the open doorway to the forge so she could speak with Bismuth. She could shrink her body, but she didn't feel like doing so twice in one week.
"So, we're against metal men? That's something new," Bismuth said as she pounded a slab of metal that illuminated red on the anvil. "I can sort of relate I guess, my Gem always stood out among other types. I wonder what the Alloy's have been up to this whole time before fate brought us together."
Spinel, who had been cartwheeling circles around the Forge and White stopped in the doorway. "They aren't anything like any kind of Gem! They disrespected White."
Despite Spinel's noble intentions, Bismuth snickered. "Ok, so then that's two things I have in common with them," She swung a new sword in the air to test it. "The guy you faced was Inconel, right? If he's named for the metal of the same name, like how we Gem's are, then that may give me an idea how to beat him."
"How ya figure?" Spinel ventured.
"Inconel metal is strong, heat and pressure resistant. A super alloy if you will," Bismuth explained without glancing away from her weapon. "But, it's rare, not even close to as common as steel. You explained he was made up of scales that broke apart when you poofed him? I can assume those scales are like an armor and are pounded thin to spread the amount of metal he has over a larger surface. That will make gapes in his defense more obvious."
"Inconel can't be the only type of enemy we will face," White insisted.
Bismuth scoffed. "Du, there are loads of other types of metals. But, that is the only guy you told me about, so I can't plan around others I don't know."
"The leader is Magnetar," White repeated. "What would his weakness be?"
"Magnetar isn't a metal, or not like metal you would find on planets," Bismuth huffed. Now she glanced at White to give her an annoyed look. White chose to be the bigger Gem and not get offended. "A magnetar is the gravitational power of a neutron star. Best I can figure, if he's like his metal men, he may be made up of the surface metal of a neutron star."
"Well what is that metal weak to?" Spinel pushed.
Bismuth laughed. "Um, nothing. The metal that forms on a neutron star is the strongest metal alloy in the known Universe. Save for something crazy, like a black hole or dark matter, it has no weaknesses. So, let's hope our big bad isn't at all like his namesake." She tossed the sword into a pile that had grown exponentially over the course of their conversation. "But luckily we have Steven. He can talk any loony down from the brink of war. Worked on you, right White? This Magnetar shouldn't be any different."
White's sour mood evaporated when she saw Steven again. He walked with his hands in his pockets and a contemplative expression. "Oh good, you're back! Blue went off to help with the communications device. What is it that Garnet wanted to say?"
Steven shrugged. "She wanted to talk about potential pathways in the future."
White considered that for a moment with worry. Garnet had wanted the conversation to be private. "well, how do we fair in our future?"
If there was anything Garnet had told him that was alarming, Steven didn't show it. "Lot's of paths to consider is all. Hey White, I need to ask a favor."
"Anything," she promised.
"Did you intended to return to Homeworld soon?" he asked her.
White tilted her head. "well, I suppose I may return tonight, just to check in-"
"Actually, I could really use you here on Earth." Steven insisted.
Bismuth stopped her hammer midair before it could collide with the anvil again. "She told me everything. She might as well go home."
"There's plenty more to do," Steven insisted. "I'd rather we have you here, to help. The more hands the better."
"What did Garnet see in the future?" Bismuth questioned. Her tone was cold, but worried.
The Warp Pad in the middle of town illuminated and provided a much-needed distraction. To White's delight, Yellow stepped out of the beam. Spinel rushed over to leap onto her shoulder.
"Oh Steven!" Yellow said with a large smile. "Look at your new form. Extraordinarily strong!" she praised. "I do have to apologize though. I broke the ceiling in the Galaxy Warp room back at your house. That will have to be made bigger for us Diamonds."
Steven took a deep breath before he answered. "No worries…It's good you're here. We were going to have a team meeting near the Communications device to check progress. I'll lead the way."
White noticed Yellow looked drained. The war arrangements must have been hard on her. She placed a gentle hand on Yellow's shoulder as they followed Steven to the outskirts of Little Homeworld. They arrived to see Blue had helped stack a temporary tower made up of crystal beams for Pearl and Peridot's work. The tower glowed, meaning it was working. Blue knelt on her knees, watching Pearl and Peridot bicker about something trivial.
"How's it coming?" Steven asked them.
"Could be worse," Pearl said with a shrug. "So far, we are picking up Gem frequencies, which means it is working, but stretching it beyond that…."
"It'll work," Peridot promised them. "just need to tune it right," she stuck her tongue out between her teeth as she fumbled with their invention.
"In the meantime, I can share what's going on back home," Yellow intoned. "Zircon has agreed to reposition the army. We are taking a defensive stance around the colonies until peace is achieved."
The wall of a building suddenly burst in the form of a large Gem. When the dust cleared, White saw it was a Jasper. The scars of corruption still touched her light form. She looked up at the Diamonds, and then at Steven. She saluted them all before she spoke. "I've been waiting for this day, my Diamonds. I promise to join the fight against this new enemy. Just give the word."
Steven held up his hands. "Thanks Jasper, but there isn't any need for that. We'll end this peacefully. I'm sure the Alloy's can be reasoned with."
"Bingo! We got something!" Peridot cheered. The tower glowed teal. It pulsed with an intense light that gradually became faster.
Pearl fumbled with the controls; her brow pressed down. "I don't think it's enough to communicate, but we're picking up a recent transmission. It's not Gem in nature; it could be the Alloys."
Then the Tower's glow warped, and the hum transformed into a screech. The horrific din produced brought the team to their knees. White shielded Spinel with her hands from the dreadful sound, while Blue retreated into Yellow's grasp. Soon, the auditory assault cut off. In the stillness there was a voice. Deep and commanding. The sound of it made White feel ridged as space ice. Somehow, she knew the voice belonged to Magnetar.
"To all Alloy war ships," Magnetar's voice slithered over the airwaves. The sound of him threatened to make White back away from the tower, as if he lurked nearby, watching her. "White Diamond has been confirmed to be alive. All troops will diverge from assigned missions and instead use all available resources in the search to locate White Diamond and return her safely to the Father Ship. Everything that gets in the way will be eliminated on sight. There will be no exceptions."
The tower squealed again. Chaos erupted from the other end of the transition. They had intercepted a Gem ship's SOS.
"This is Nephrite scout ship #367XG to Homeworld requesting immediate assistance! We are under attack from an unknown vessel that has tracked our ship's crystal core engines. They are demanding the location of Homeworld! Our shield isn't holding up and our hyperjump is offline! We're outnumbered, please send-"
The transmission cut. The tower's glow shuttered until it dimmed to nothing, it's energy already depleted from it's connection to the enemy frequency.
White stared at the silent tower with her mouth agape. Those around her were in a similar state.
Then Jasper's knowing laughter broke the silence. "Our enemy sure does sound like a 'reasonable' guy. He's declared war before he ever even met you, my Diamond. Peace was never an option. Now when do we launch our counterattack?"