Steven stepped down from the warp pad in the center of Little Homeworld, his head hung low. The footfall of Connie, Lars and his crew trailed behind him. They had warped from three star systems over to avoid the Alloy's tracking Emerald's ship. Just as he feared, the Diamonds were among the first Gem's to greet him.
White gave Steven an eager smile, "Oh, you're back! How did the negotiations go?"
Emerald stomped her boots loud on the ground before Steven could respond. He turned to see the tall green Gem beamed up at the Diamonds with her obedient salute, "My Diamonds! It is good to see you again after such a long time! I am here to deliver Pink Diamond back safely, and report that the Alloy forces have infiltrated the boarder of Gem controlled space."
Steven allowed himself an internal sigh before addressing the now shocked Diamond audience. "The Alloys are a hive mind, so lower ranking members can't be negotiated with. The next step is to speak to Magnetar himself."
"What happened to your ship?" Yellow demanded.
"Blown to bits," Lars grumbled. "These things are ruthless. I can't imagine what the head honcho is like."
Rhodonite blurted out a panicked rant before Steven could get a word in to calm the growing panic, "They also say they are going to restore every Gem they capture back into pure energy and funnel it back into White Diamond when they find you!"
"Say whaaaaa?!" Spinel gasped from Yellow's shoulder.
White noticeably startled, and the attention left Steven to instead land on her. "That…isn't possible," White insisted to the inquiring eyes, "I couldn't take back the Energy used in Gem production even if I wanted to."
"Well, this Magnetar guy seems to think he can do it for you," Lars said with crossed arms.
White knelt down next to Steven, a gentle finger laid on his shoulder, "These Alloys tried to kill you even after talking to you? I don't want you going back out, not on my behalf. I'll-"
"You can't talk to Magnetar alone," spoke the firm voice of Garnet. She stood behind the group, but her resolve was absolute.
"Why? What did you see in the future?" Yellow demanded on White's behalf. Her arms crossed promptly over her chest, and Spinel mirrored her, scowl and all.
Garnet hesitated, "You just need to keep your distance. We are dancing a fine line regarding the future. Every scenario I see involving White talking to Magnetar, doesn't end with the result we want."
"So, what should we do? Let them punch themselves out?" Amethyst asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Find a weakness and exploit it," Garnet answered. "I see it taking a long time to find, sometime after Homeworld is taken-"
"Homeworld will what?!" White gasped.
Yellow stamped her foot which shook everyone off balance. "When! We will have a counterattack ready before they can get close!"
"Hold on!" Steven yelled over the blooming argument, "Garnet, there is a way to keep this from happening, right?"
Garnet shook her head. "The only chance for us to buy more time is to evacuate Homeworld and spread Gems across colonies to hide."
"Evacuate ALL of Homeworld?" Blue Diamond gasped.
"Without a fight first?" Yellow snapped back.
"It's out of the question," White said sternly. Steven saw her face had darkened at the prospect of Garnet's prediction. "We are Gem Kind, and we won't be bullied from our Homeworld. Even if we have to surrender our peaceful stance."
"White," Steven protested. "It's not to late to talk. We can evacuate Homeworld just as a precaution. We aren't giving up anything. Then I can go there and talk to Magnetar when he arrives."
"If I could offer my battle expertise?" Emerald announced with a smug air. She smiled wide when the Diamonds looked down at her. "My Diamonds, why not combined your power in a Diamond Blast before the Alloys land on Homeworld? If the Alloy's are resistant to our weapons, they may corrupt, and then they will be mindless beasts trapped on their ships. Problem solved!"
"Absolutely not," Steven snapped, "Remember how much damage the corruption blast had on Gems. We don't know what it will do to the Alloys. It may destroy them completely. We'll find another way, I promise," he was comforted by White's nod, and took the look as her agreeing. "We'll try to communicate with Magnetar's ship from Earth again. We need to take this slow."
The group dispersed for Little Homeworld with the Diamonds trailing behind. White was looking at Emerald as she strutted ahead. Steven caught the solemn look White flashed at Yellow and Blue, and all three nodded. Steven wasn't reassured by the unspoken promise they had just made.
Lars watched his crew from afar in the expanding Gem colony that neighbored Beach City. Little Homeworld had changed a lot since he had been there last. With a grimace he realized they would now be spending much more time here, since they had lost the Sun Incinerator. Just the thought cut him deep.
"Hey," said a familiar squeaky voice nearer his feet. The small green Gem had her arms crossed as she gazed up at him, lips pursed and eyes studying him from behind her star visor.
"What's up Peridot?" Lars said.
"Your crew says you're sad. Stop that. It's bumming everyone out." She ordered with a snort.
Despite the rudeness behind the statement, Lars laughed at the pushy request. "I'm just worried about my crew. Without our ship, I can't protect them."
"You have weapons," Peridot pointed out with a finger aimed at the laser on his belt.
"Yeah, but with a ship we could escape from danger," he retorted.
Peridot 'Hmmmmd' loudly, her chin in her hand. "Well, what if you had a new ship?"
Lars laughed again. He assumed she was joking. "Yeah, I guess that would fix the problem."
Peridot's face brightened. "Great to know, so do you want it the same green and yellow like the last ship, or-" she stopped when something behind them grabbed her attention. Lars turned towards the tall fusion Garnet as she walked to the Warp Pad in the center of town. She was in a hurry. "Garnet? Where are you going?" Peridot wondered.
Garnet answered without pausing her rushed pace. "Something just changed. I'm needed somewhere else to prevent that 'something' from happening."
"And if that 'something' happens?" Lars asked.
"Devastation," Garnet said, and Warped away without another word.
"That can't be good," Peridot said. She clapped her hands together and looked back up at Lars. "So, about the design of the new ship…"
Lars broke away and headed back towards Beach City. "I trust whatever you come up with. I need to settle something."
He heard Peridot exclaim. "Great! Then definitely double the laser power, and iPhone hookups."
Lars' boots left the sandy terrain and stepped onto pavement. Beach City had changed too it seemed. Despite the friendly faces, Lars couldn't manage more then a cheap smile. What would he do if the Alloy's found Earth? Titanium's promise to destroy all Gems, including his crew, sent a wave of panic through his seldom beating heart. Without the Sun Incinerator, they would just have to wait for whatever came.
He opened the door to his parent's house with the spare key he had attached to his belt. He hadn't used it in years, and the thought made him feel guilty. He should have called home more.
Lars heard his parents laughing to a stranger's quip in the kitchen. Of all the people he expected to see visiting, Ronaldo had been the last on his mental list. His old friend had aged, just like his parents, and had grown a patchy beard and mustache that failed to be the same hue as the hair on his head.
"Oh, Laramie!" his mom gasped, and he was sandwiched between his parent's embrace. Unlike his old self, he didn't pull out of the hug.
"There's our brave space man!" His dad said with a lighthearted punch to his arm. "Your friend Ronaldo has been keeping track of Gem frequencies when they reach Earth, keeping us in the loop. Sometimes even your ship shows up!"
Lars forced a smile. "Wow, that's, something. Glad to see you guys are doing well. I know I usually bring back gifts…something unexpected came up."
"Is it the Gem war with the Alloys!" Ronaldo announced, far to loudly.
"War?" Lars' mom asked. The wrinkles in her forehead became more pronounced when she was worried.
Lars tried to make his glare towards Ronaldo subtle enough for his parents not to notice. "Oh, nothing big. Just a skirmish. Steven and the Diamonds will have it sorted out by the end of the week, probably."
"Really?" Ronaldo demanded, "Because from what I have been picking up in the space frequencies-"
"SO how has Beach City been!" Lars interrupted with a grin. Thankfully, his parents took the bait.
"Wonderful! The electric bill has dropped to nothing because of the Mayor's work with Gem tech in our infrastructure. All the extra money let your father and I go on a long-needed vacation." His mom said.
"Any pictures?" Lars pushed.
"Of course," his dad said and jumped out of his chair from the kitchen table. "I haven't gotten the camera to work since the second day, you know how your old man is with technology…but I should get it working in a few minutes."
"I'll finished the smoothies while he's looking. You'll stay for a while, right Lars?" his mom asked hopefully.
Lars gave a wink and a thumbs up. When both his parents left the kitchen, his smile dropped to a frowned, which he aimed directly at Ronaldo.
"What? Not even a hello?" Ronaldo asked indignantly.
"Yeah, the war is bad, but I don't want my parents knowing about it. They are getting to old for this kind of stress!" Lars hissed under his breath.
Ronaldo blew off his concern with a wave of his hand. "Oh please. I bet you can handle whatever they have. You have the fastest ship in the fleet, which you STILL haven't let me pilot like you promised a few years back."
Lars groaned and sank into his chair. "That's going to be a hard promise to keep, since it was blown to atoms a day ago."
Ronaldo gasped, but Lars' warning scowl forced him not to exclaim. "What about this enemy?" he whispered overdramatically.
"So far, they have stronger tech then the Gems," Lars explained. "They are made up of these metal scales that can reform their bodies in seconds. They are also massive. Bigger than the Diamonds, massive. They seem to be indestructible, like they can shed their previous form and come back stronger. Their radar signature doesn't show up unless we are sitting right on top of them too. Right now, it's pretty bleak." Lars glanced up from his intertwined hands, to see Ronaldo looking at him with his mouth hung open. "Um, what's your problem?"
"They have scales?" Ronaldo demanded as his back went ridged.
"Um, yeah?"
"They are unstoppable…. have advanced tech and can regenerate their bodies using metal scales after shedding their forms, like….Oh. My. GOD." Ronaldo jumped out of his chair with such force it flew backwards onto the kitchen floor. He rushed out of the house without another word, almost crashing into Lars' parents on the way out.
"Wow," Lars said. "Ronaldo has been rendered speechless. That's a first."
"Everything is ok, right?" his mom asked.
Lars sighed. He did promise them before he would be more honest with them. "Things are complicated, but I still have my crew, who always have my back. Of course, we have Steven, who always has a plan. We'll get through whatever comes."
His mom placed a wrinkled hand over his pink wrist and smiled. "Thank you, for trusting us to know. And we know you have it under control Laramie."
"We trust you, son. And we're proud." His dad promised.
Lars gave them both a sincere smile. His parents trusted him. That was new. Today was a day of firsts it would seem.
"I knew it all along! HAHAHA!" Ronaldo shouted as he pranced by Steven, Connie, and Greg in the street.
Steven watched him rush out of town, headed for the lighthouse, not having time to say hello or ask why he was manic.
Greg whistled, "You know, that kid has never been right."
"He's still his old self," Steven laughed off, though the jovial mood washed away when he noted his dad's worry.
"Steven, I know you want to settle this war peacefully, but do you think you can talk sense into this Magnetar guy? Some people are just beyond help."
Connie snickered, "That's what Pearl said about White Diamond the first time we met her."
"Very true," Steven said. "I know not everything can be talked through peacefully, but before we attack, we need to at least try."
"Speaking of White, where is she going?" Connie asked suddenly.
Steven spun around to see White walking from Little Homeworld by herself. She wasn't headed for Beach City to find him, but rather his house. The only thing she would find there would be the Galaxy Warp. "I'll be right back," he told his dad and Connie before he rushed to intercept her.
"What's going on?" Steven asked White, jogging by her side when she didn't stop.
"I know we have discussed this, but I am going back to Homeworld," she explained.
"White, wait," Steven started to protest.
"I've made up my mind," she huffed in a hurry, shrinking her form so she could fit through the hole they had made in the house for the same Diamond related reasons. "The Gem's look to me for leadership, and here I am sitting on my hands waiting for these Alloy's to walk all over us. I have been around a long time Steven. I know how to handle a threat."
"Garnet foresaw things going bad if you went back to Homeworld," Steven reminded her. "I can't stop you, but at least let me come with you. I can be packed in a few minutes."
"I already told Yellow and Blue to stay behind," White huffed. "I am Magnetar's target, and his forces almost hurt you. I don't want to risk anyone else getting hurt." She arrived before the Homeworld Warp but hesitated to step on. Steven looked up to see the apprehension plain on her face. She still didn't have her memories related to Magnetar. She was going into this blind. He knew she knew that. "I want to do this peacefully, Steven. But I intend to protect my Gems no matter what it takes. If that happens, will you hold that against me?"
"I won't, but it won't have to come to that." He promised.
With a nod White stepped onto the Warp Pad, ducking out of the way of the ceiling's broken glass. "We are team, remember that White. I know this is weighing heavy on your mind, but you don't have to face this alone." Steven added.
White rewarded the statement with her plaster smile. A gesture Steven had learned meant she was hiding her worry. "All will be fine. I'm a Diamond after all. I'll be back in a flash."
She activated the Warp, and Steven huffed a sigh of defeat. Then they both stared at each other as the light beam that surrounded White failed to teleport her away. White glanced down at the Warp at her feet with a quizzical expression. "Odd," she muttered, and stepped hard to activate it again.
Both jumped when the energy warped with a static pop. White deactivated the stream, and gazed at Steven, befuddled. "Something is wrong with-" the Warp activated again, without White's intervention.
Something was very wrong. White went to step out of the stream. It Warped her away before she could gasp.
"White!" Steven jumped onto the Warp intending to follow. Warps didn't activate against Gem's control, unless there was something wrong. Steven had a sinking feeling there would be something on the other side of the Warp, waiting for White to step through.
He waited for the Warp to come to life. He even stomped his foot a few times in a desperate attempt to make it light up and take him to White. The Warp didn't activate again.