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Chapter Text

The Fountain

"Are we rolling?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, good. Ahem. Welcome to my new video blog, The Crystal Gems and You!"

Ronaldo Fryman stood on the top of the cliff, the picket fence in the background. He wore his suit jacket and tie and carried a battered microphone that didn't actually work in his hand. Peedee stood in front of him, recording him on an old camcorder.

"Now, not many of you may know this, but this town is inhabited by a team of magical women called the Crystal Gems," said Ronaldo.

"I'm pretty sure people know that, Ron," grunted Peedee.

Ronaldo shushed him.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, "Real magical women, right in Beach City! But worry not, dear viewers, for these Crystal Gems are here to help us! Take this fence, for example."

He walked over to the fence, leaning against it.

"Are you sure you should..."

"Peedee, we're filming," said Ronaldo firmly, "Now, you might be asking, why would magical ladies build a picket fence? I have the answer."

He leaned further over the fence, looking down over the cliff.

"Inside this cliff is a colony of tiny, carnivorous tunnel monsters bent on devouring..."

"Ronaldo!"

Peedee jumped as Mr. Fryman stormed up the hill. Ronaldo turned his head to look at his approaching father but continued to lean heavily on the fence.

"You were supposed to be on shift ten minutes ago!" snapped Mr. Fryman.

"Daaaaad, I'm educating the public!" replied Ronaldo, "I have a responsibility to the people..."

"You have a responsibility to empty the grease traps!" grunted Mr. Fryman, "You can do your conspiracy theory stuff after work, but I need..."

"I need to tell people the truth!" retorted Ronaldo, "You just refuse to understand! This is my calling, dad, and you're chafing m-"

CRACK.

The fence gave way.

For a brief moment, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Ronaldo saw the beach about thirty feet below him - he suddenly realised how high that actually was. Maybe he shouldn't have leant on that fence after all.

Then gravity kicked in and down he fell.

Sadie Miller sat on the couch in the Beach House, gazing at the small box on the coffee table.

To say she'd had a rough few days would be an enormous understatement. If she were to tell someone who hadn't been there about it, they'd probably think she was mad. Over the course of just two days, her estranged father had returned - as a government agent on the trail of a mysterious object. A chance discovery of a photograph in his wallet had then revealed that her parents had found a crashed alien ship when they were first dating. She'd searched for answers and found nothing but lies and half-truths, until eventually, her parents had been pushed into a position where they had been forced to tell the truth.

The man she thought had been her father, Agent Clancy Miller, was not. Her true father was a gem, a Ruby designated 1GK - Kay for short. She had had an affair with her mother, and that affair had resulted in her. Only Clancy had attacked Kay at the moment of Sadie's birth, and as a result, Kay's gem - her gem - had had to be removed.

Now it sat in the box in front of her. She hadn't dared to open it - in any case, she had no key, though she waged a good hammer or rock would get it open.

Now she was here. Clancy had gone back to Washington and she couldn't face her mother at the moment, so she had opted to stay at Steven's place for the time being. She'd now been a guest at the Temple for three days. Steven and Peridot had done their best to make her feel welcome, but there was a dark atmosphere in the house - Sadie had not been the only one to have been lied to.

Amethyst lay on Steven's bed, staring at the ceiling. The Gems had left on a mission which Amethyst had refused to join, and Steven and Connie had taken Peridot to Funland to give them both some space. She almost wished they'd stayed - the house felt way too quiet.

"Hey, donut girl?"

Sadie looked up.

"You can call me Sadie, you know?" she said, "I mean, I don't even work at the Big Donut anymore..."

"Uh-huh," nodded Amethyst, "You ever think of just...running off and doing your own thing?"

Sadie shrugged.

"That's kind of what I'm doing now," she said.

"Yeah, but I mean leaving everything," explained Amethyst, "Like, disappearing. Leaving everyone behind and starting over somewhere else. Somewhere not in Beach City."

Sadie scratched her chin.

"Maybe?" she shrugged, "But I don't I think...I've got friends here. Like Buck, Sour Cream, Jenny, Steven. Lars when he gets home. And I guess I need them right now - they keep everything stable."

Amethyst blew a hair out of her face.

"Stable," she muttered, "Who wants to be stable?"

"I guess-"

There was a loud banging on the door.

"Ugh, mailman," grumbled Amethyst.

"But Jamie's already been, hasn't he?" said Sadie, getting up.

She opened the door.

"Peedee, what are you-oh my gosh!"

Peedee stood at the door, pale and shaking. Behind him, Mr. Fryman was carrying an unconscious Ronaldo over his shoulder - he was badly bruised, his arm bent backwards in a nauseating fashion. She could see several more injures, and he was bleeding from a gash over his forehead. She fought the urge to retch.

"What happened?" demanded Sadie.

"He was leaning on the fence," Peedee replied frantically, "And it broke and he..."

"Never mind!" interrupted Mr. Fryman, "Just get him an ambulance."

Amethyst walked down from Steven's bed as Sadie fished for her phone. She winced.

"Aw man, that looks bad," she said.

"You think?!" shouted Peedee, "He fell off a cliff!"

"What, near the lighthouse?" asked Amethyst, "But that's why we put the fence there..."

She snapped her fingers.

"Hey, donut girl, forget the ambulance, I got a better idea," she said.

"What do you mean forget the ambulance?" spluttered Peedee, "My brother might be dying, and I can't..."

"We've got Rose's healing fountain," explained Amethyst, "I mean, Garnet and Pearl said I'm not supposed to talk about that to humans..."

Her expression darkened.

"...but you know, who cares what they think," she growled.

"A magic fountain?" asked Peedee, "And it'll heal him?"

"Yep," nodded Amethyst.

"Does this fountain have a warp pad?" asked Sadie.

"Sure does."

"No," snapped Mr. Fryman, "Sadie, call that ambulance. I'm not going to risk-"

Peedee turned to Mr. Fryman.

"Dad, if we go to this fountain, Ronaldo won't have to go to the hospital," he said, "Maybe he'll have a better chance, and...and you know we can't afford..."

"Peedee," said Mr. Fryman.

Peedee stopped talking, but continued to look at his father with pleading, watery eyes.

Mr. Fryman turned to Amethyst.

"You promise me this fountain of yours will work?" he demanded.

Amethyst nodded. Mr. Fryman breathed in and out, closing his eyes.

"Alright," he said, "Take us there."

The fountain was an amazing sight. It was a great, walled courtyard, surrounded on all sides by towering mountains. At the centre stood the enormous fountain - water flowed from the eyes of a massive statue of Rose Quartz, gently flowing into the stone catchment below. Sadie had no time to take in the sight at the moment, of course - Ronaldo needed her help.

Mr. Fryman carried Ronaldo over as quickly as he dared, taking care not to knock him on the way. Amethyst went on ahead, stopping next to the fountain and patting the stone wall.

"Alright, just dunk him in," she said, "Let the water do the rest."

Mr. Fryman lay him gently on the side of the fountain. He gave the purple gem a meaningful gaze.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" he asked.

Amethyst nodded.

"Alright," he said, "What do I do?"

"Like I said, dunk him in," shrugged Amethyst.

Mr. Fryman turned to Peedee. He swallowed and nodded.

Gently, Mr. Fryman lifted Ronaldo up again, lowering him into the light pink waters of the fountain. As the water touched his skin, it began to glow softly.

Sadie gasped as she watched Ronaldo's wounds begin to heal. His gashes closed themselves, his bruises vanished and his arm reset itself. It was as if time was running backwards, every injury disappearing as though it was never there to begin with. It was like magic - no, it was magic.

Ronaldo coughed. Mr. Fryman jumped, accidentally dropping Ronaldo into the fountain. He landed with a big splash, drenching his father.

"Ron!" exclaimed Peedee, running over, "Are you okay?"

Ronaldo slowly sat up, rubbing his head. He slowly glanced up at Peedee.

"Come on, say something!" Peedee begged.

Ronaldo coughed again and cleared his throat.

"Uh...you...you got that all on camera, right?"

"Oh, Ronaldo, you dumb..."

Peedee didn't finish his sentence, instead embracing his brother in a tight hug. He laughed and cried at the same time - Ronaldo, somewhat confused, hugged him back.

Mr. Fryman shook his head.

"I...I can't...how do I thank you?" he asked.

"Well, you could fix the fence," suggested Amethyst.

"The f...yeah, the fence, consider it done," said Mr. Fryman.

Sadie stared at the fountain as Peedee helped his brother out of the water.

"So this can heal anything?" she asked.

"Sort of?" replied Amethyst, "I mean, I don't think it works if you're sick, because otherwise Pearl would've probably drowned Steven in this the first time he got a cold. She might not have thought of that though..."

Sadie nodded, deep in thought.

Mr. Fryman walked up to his son, putting his hands on his shoulders.

"Ronaldo," he said, "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

He pulled him into a hug. Sadie felt a slight pang in her heart - she had to turn away.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Peedee walked up, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I mean, I heard something happened with you and your mom," he said, "Are you okay?"

Sadie sighed.

"I'll be fine," she replied, "I'm just working through some stuff, you know?"

"Well, if you ever need anything, let me know," said Peedee, "Even if you just want some free food. It's the least I can do, y'know?"

Sadie nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said.

They warped back into the Beach House, finding Steven, Connie and Peridot watching something on Peridot's tablet.

"Amethyst, Sadie! There you are!" said Connie, "I...Ronaldo, do you have blood on your shirt?!"

"Long story," replied Ronaldo, "And you can read all about it on Keep Beach City Weird tonight!"

Mr. Fryman opened his mouth as if to say something, but he seemed to decide against it. Instead he put a hand on Ronaldo's shoulder and gave him a tired smile.

"Well, let's get you home," he said, "It's been a long day."

"What about the restaurant?" asked Peedee.

"Forget it," replied Mr. Fryman, "One missed dinner rush won't kill us. I'd rather just have a family night in with my boys..."

He led his sons out the door and off down the beach. Steven looked questioningly at Amethyst.

"Stuff happened," shrugged Amethyst.

Sadie walked over to the coffee table and picked up Kay's box.

"If Rose could take Kay's...my gem off," she said, "Could her fountain reattach it?"

Steven and Connie exchanged glances.

"I dunno," replied Amethyst, "I mean, possibly?"

"More like probably."

All eyes fell on Peridot, who was looking thoughtfully at the box.

"Rose Quartz could heal any physical ailments, right?" asked Peridot, "You not having your gem is a physical ailment. Logically, her tears could reunite your gem to your physical form."

"Like magic glue," nodded Steven.

Peridot winced.

"Yes, I suppose we could call it that," she said, "But it wouldn't be very proper..."

"It's worth a shot, at least," shrugged Sadie.

She shook her head.

"I probably shouldn't," she said, "Mom wouldn't want that. Garnet and Pearl wouldn't..."

"Sadie."

Amethyst spoke up, crossing her arms.

"This is your gem," she said, "And your body, and your life. It's not up to Pearl or Garnet or Barb. This is your choice. You wanna try putting that gem back on? I've got your back."

There was a long silence.

Sadie gazed down at the box. She knew that there was no guarantee that her plan would actually work. It was more likely that she was setting herself up for disappointment. Even if it did work, she had no idea what it would do to her. Would it simply attach? Would her body react badly to it? And would she then have to deal with emerging powers in the same way that Steven had? And could she be sure she wasn't just taking these risks to spite her mother and Clancy?

And yet this was her gem. Clancy had said as much. Now that she knew about it, she could hardly leave it out of sight and out of mind. And if Kay had been willing to have her, even despite losing her physical form, she must have intended for her to carry her gem, right? Surely this would just be setting right what had gone wrong. And if nothing else, she would have peace of mind when it was done, right?

She came to a decision.

"Tonight," declared Sadie, "We'll go tonight. Are you guys in?"

"Well, you'll need a certified kindergartener on hand, so yes, I'm in," replied Peridot.

"I'll ask mom if I can stay here tonight," said Connie, "It's not a school night, so she might say yes..."

"And I'll come too," nodded Steven, "Although I might be able to just spit on you see if that works."

"Thanks Steven," replied Sadie, "But I'd really rather you didn't."

Chapter Text

Complications

The new office made the gloomy office back in Washington look positively luxurious.

Agent Clancy Miller had been sad to leave the old Extraterrestrial Desk. Sure, the room was frigid in winter and baking in summer, sure you couldn't move your arm without elbowing another agent, and certainly the roof leaked over his chair when it rained, but in a way it was home. He'd miss the secretaries at the entrance to the building. He'd miss the curious people who worked in the other offices along the hallway. He'd missed the Head...

...actually, no, scratch that, he certainly would not miss the Head.

He'd been seen off with little fanfare. Agents Fletcher and Thompson from next door had stopped by to help him pack up (they weren't close friends but they had often met up in the break room), and one of the security guards had put his valuables in a safe for him. Other than that, he and Agent Bracknell left quietly in the early afternoon. He preferred it that way, really.

The new office was in a mothballed factory on the outskirts of Wilmingmore. It was the old foreman's office, overlooking the factory floor. They had made cars for the Tucker Corporation, building their highly successful 'Torpedoes' before the company moved production to Jersey in 1973. There were still incomplete car bodies on the rusting assembly line, weeds and flowers growing through them. No wonder the OSS had gotten the office cheap, Clancy thought ruefully.

Bracknell, who Clancy had gathered was irrepressibly cheerful and enthusiastic, had already claimed one of the desks (which thankfully had been refurbished - the OSS wasn't that cheap) and was now staring at the window at the factory floor.

"Do you think," he said, "If I took little bits from all of 'em, I could make my own Torpedo?"

"I dunno, Johnny Cash," grumbled Clancy, "Look, just set your desk up so we can go find where they're making us sleep."

He shook his head.

"Probably in a hammock or something," muttered Clancy, "And we'll have to share the..."

The phone rang. Clancy let it ring twice before answering.

"Clancy Miller."

"Ah, Agent Miller. Glad to hear you've arrived."

The voice was light and had an almost exaggerated Southern twang. It was like the old landowners and politicians Clancy had seen on the television as a boy in Appalachia.

"And who might I say is speaking?" asked Clancy.

"My name is Lieutenant-Colonel Bradshaw of the United States Army," replied the man smoothly, "I am heading up Task Force Gem by order of the President, and the OSS has graciously offered you assistance to our mission."

"Task Force...Gem?" said Clancy incredulously.

"Why yes, my boy," replied Bradshaw.

"I'm in my forties, Colonel," Clancy grunted.

"After your unfortunate failure to recover the Ruby, for which none of us at all blame you," said Bradshaw (Miller did not believe him), "The President decided that more proactive action will be needed in our relationship with the esteemed Crystal Gems."

"I hope that doesn't mean attacking them," said Clancy, "Because if I'm honest, you probably won't win."

"We don't intend to open hostilities, Agent Miller," replied Bradshaw, "Perish the thought that any of those fine women come to harm unnecessarily."

Yeah, thought Clancy, They're definitely the ones who'd get hurt.

"But we need Gem technology. You've seen it yourself, Agent Miller - these Gems, Crystal and Homeworld, have no respect for American sovereignty. They fly craft in and out of our atmosphere at a whim, and we have no recourse to stop them. We must,  we must catch up to their level."

You got a spare thousand years? thought Clancy.

"So what kind of tech are we thinking of, Colonel?" he asked.

"Anything you can get your hands on without attracting the gems' attention," replied Bradshaw, "If it isn't nailed down, we want it. I will send a man over in the morning to give you your first assignment. Good day, Agent Miller."

"Colonel, I don't think-"

The line went dead. Clancy frowned.

"Damn it," he cursed.

"Problem, sir?" asked Bracknell.

"Don't call me sir, I work for a living," replied Clancy, "I just got a call from an Army colonel. We've got GIs in our hair, Bracknell."

"Is that bad?" asked Bracknell.

"Let me put it this way," replied Clancy darkly, "He's military, we're intelligence."

"So?" shrugged Bracknell, "They go together, right? Military Intelligence?"

"One thing you'll find out soon enough," said Clancy, "Is that Military Intelligence is a contradiction in terms."

"There are smart people in the army, aren't there?" asked Bracknell, "I mean, my uncle was..."

"Oh yeah, there's smart people in the military," nodded Clancy, "And one perfect day, the generals may listen to them. But for now, be on your guard."

He looked out the window over the rusty assembly line.

"I've got a very bad feeling about this 'Task Force Gem.'"

"...well...I suppose it's alright. Just remember to eat something healthy for dinner."

"Yes! Thanks mom, I'll see you tomorrow!"

Connie hung up the phone.

"She said I could stay," she said, sitting down on the couch.

Sadie, Steven, Amethyst and Peridot were sitting around the coffee table, waiting for night to fall before they headed to the fountain. In the kitchen, Greg was packing some groceries into the fridge - he glanced over at them, looking a little worried.

"Are you sure you don't want me to tell Garnet and Pearl?" he asked, "I'm sure they wouldn't object to this..."

"Yeah Greg, that's why they didn't tell us for twenty years," grumbled Amethyst, "They really wanted this to happen, you know?"

"Well, they've got to have had their reasons, right?" shrugged Greg, "I mean, I'm not defending them, but..."

Amethyst sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

"Greg, can we talk outside for a sec?" she asked.

Greg nodded, putting down the bag of groceries and following the purple gem outside.

The sunset was a brilliant red, and the breeze was cool and gentle. A small tall ship could be seen a short ways up the coast - probably from one of those historical sailing clubs up around Lewes. It was the very picture of calm, which made Amethyst's clear unease a stark contrast.

She sat on the top stair. Carefully, Greg sat down next to her.

"Why aren't you mad?" she asked, "They lied to you, too. Rose lied to you."

Greg sighed.

"I guess I'm a little upset," he replied, "But I think...I think they were trying to protect me, and I can appreciate that. I don't think it was right, but I appreciate it."

He turned to Amethyst.

"But how about you?"

Amethyst sat back, looking up at the sky.

"It's not just that they didn't tell me," she said, "It's that they used me."

She scowled.

"Back when we first discovered Lil' Butler," she said, "I'd talk to the other Gems about it a lot. It drove Pearl nuts and I don't think Garnet really got it, but Rose...Rose always listened. She actually got a TV guide so that I could tell when it was on. And I was so happy about that, because I had someone who was interested in what I had to say. But now I think...did she just do that so that'd I keep you distracted?"

She rubbed a hand over her face.

"It's not even the first time they've lied to me," she said, "I mean, they've told me nothing about the war."

"It's probably hard for them to talk about," replied Greg, "War's pretty terrible, Amethyst."

"Yeah, but it's where we came from, right?" said Amethyst, "Heck, I didn't even know about what happened to Pink Diamond until Steven did! I just thought she'd been shattered in some battle, I didn't think it was actually some kind of assassination."

There was a long silence.

"Maybe they were worried about what you'd think of Rose if they told you," suggested Greg, "I mean, when Steven found out...he worried me for a while, Amethyst. He still kinda does. And maybe they didn't want you to go through something like that."

"Yeah," sighed Amethyst, "Maybe. I don't know."

She shook her head.

"Well, a little distance could help," suggested Greg, "Take some time away from Garnet and Pearl, work out what you think. Maybe absence will make the heart grow fonder?"

"That's a dumb saying," muttered Amethyst.

"Yeah, I was gonna put that in a song, but it was too cheesy," nodded Greg.

He stood up.

"Look, if you need to talk to somebody about anything, my door's always open," he said, "I'm willing to listen."

Amethyst allowed herself a small smile and climbed to her feet.

"What, are you a therapist now?" she asked.

"No, just a friend," replied Greg.

"Wow, that was cheesy," chuckled Amethyst.

They laughed and walked back inside.

The night was dark and the moon was full.

The warp pad activated, landing Sadie and her friends at the fountain courtyard. She shivered - the air was cold and the atmosphere was heavy. She felt chilled to the bone.

They walked over to the fountain without a word, Connie carrying the box in her hands. When they arrived, she gingerly placed it on the side of the fountain.

"Okay," she said, "How do we open it? I mean, we should probably be..."

Amethyst shifted her hand into a large hammer and slammed it into the lock. There was a loud crack as the lock broke open.

"...okay," nodded Connie, "That works too."

She stepped aside, allowing Sadie to gingerly open the box. She swallowed, her lips feeling dry, as she looked inside for the first time.

The Ruby resting on the padded interior of the box looked to all the world like an ordinary gemstone. There was an enormous, round crack in the middle of the stone; Sadie gathered that it was where the bullet had hit, and was surprised to see how little damage it had actually done. She'd expected the Ruby to have at least split in half. Carefully, she took out the gem, turning it over in her hands. It was light, but in a way it was heavier than anything Sadie had ever held.

"Kay," she whispered.

Peridot looked over the gem. She took it from Sadie, lifted it to her mouth and licked it.

"Is that really necessary?" asked Steven.

Peridot swallowed and nodded.

"Just below the collarbone," she said, "Like Amethyst."

"You can tell that just from licking it?" quizzed Steven.

"Steven, I'm a certified kindergartener," scoffed Peridot, "If I couldn't tell where a gem's placement was just from taste, I wouldn't have become such a big deal on Homeworld."

Amethyst snorted.

Peridot handed the gem back to Sadie. She looked down at the fountain and gulped.

"So what do I do?" she asked.

"Heal the crack first," replied Peridot.

Sadie lowered the gem into the fountain. It glowed for a second - she watch the crack vanish through the clear waters, her breath caught in her throat. Soon she lifted it out - it was in pristine condition.

"Alright," nodded Peridot, "Now press it to the spot. Just under your collar."

Sadie handed the gem to Steven and pulled her shirt down slightly. She breathed in deeply.

"Okay," she said, "Here goes nothing."

She nodded to Steven. He swallowed, and carefully pressed the gem against the top of her chest.

For a second, nothing seemed to happen. Then, as if caught in quicksand, the gem began to sink into Sadie's skin. She watched in wonder, feeling a strange, tickling sensation as the skin under the gem seemed to disappear, replaced with the cold, hard rock. Then, as abruptly as it began, the sensation stopped and the gem was still.

Sadie nodded.

"Well, that was easier then...then..."

She held her head, hearing whispers in her thoughts.

...inspection of the Cluster will proceed. Peridot 5XA will be in command with Ruby 1GK as her bodyguard...

...I still don't think this is the right course...

"My head," she muttered, her vision starting to swim.

"Sadie?" asked Steven.

...I don't care. The development of the Cluster will be continued; the weapon will be developed on schedule. I...Agate! Remove the Peridot and her guards, I wish to speak with Blue Diamond alone...

...Yes, My Diamond. Peridot! Ruby! Dismissed...

Through the darkness, towering above the mountains, Sadie swore she could see a giant, shadowed figure.

"Do you...do you see that?" she asked.

"See what, Sadie?" replied Connie, "Are you okay?"

The dark figured turned, and suddenly Sadie's whole vision was filled a brilliant white.

Pain.

Sadie clutched her head, screaming as her whole body was filled with searing, burning agony. She collapsed to the ground, curling into a ball - she could hear a cry, but could not tell who. The gem, once cold, now felt like the surface of the sun on her skin, and her mind swam with alien thoughts and strange images.

She glimpsed her hand - it looked like it was red hot, literally steaming from the intense heat. She clenched her fist, closed her eyes and screamed again. It was an echoing, ear-piercing shriek.

She opened her eyes again. She was on her back, looking up at a terrified, panicking Steven. She tried to reach up to him, but she felt too weak to lift her arms.

She screamed once more, and then merciful, blissful darkness took hold of her.

Chapter Text

The Vision

Sadie floated in a void of darkness.

She felt strange and slightly light-headed. When she looked down at herself, she found that she was wearing a strange outfit; a sleeveless, low-collared jumpsuit, through which she could see her red gem. It was red - light around her chest and darker around her waist - and was cut off at her knees. Emblazoned on her collar was a small, white diamond. Altogether, the outfit reminded her somewhat of Peridot's.

"Huh," she said to herself, "Weird."

Slowly, the void began to fade. She found herself floating in a massive, cavernous, red-walled cave, each wall littered with humanoid-shaped holes. Below her was a marching column - rows of five Rubies each, stretching on and on into the dark tunnels. At their head was a bigger gem - she was tall, white and ornately dressed, carrying what looked like a riding crop under her arm. She was bellowing orders at the top of her voice.

"C'mon, you lousy clumps of rock, keep time!" she thundered, "G3P, you are out of step! That is not acceptable! C'mon, left! Right! Left! Right!"

Before too long, Sadie could see light streaming out from high above. This gap in the carnivorous tunnels expanded and expanded as the Rubies marched on, until eventually they emerged into a massive clearing - it was like quarry mashed with a parade ground, onto which other white gems were leading their own streams of Rubies. It was like watching a gigantic military parade, the likes of which Sadie had only seen in grainy newsreels in history class.

She had never seen so many people.

At the centre of the clearing was an enormous white palanquin - it was perhaps the size of a small office building. The Rubies gathered around it - before long, the marching had stopped, and a deafening silence fell.

Before long, a tall, spindly gem stepped out. She was green and had an almost perfectly spherical gem on her head. She wore a brilliant silver uniform, criss-crossed by shiny black straps that ran diagonally from her shoulders to her waist. Her boots, also jet back, went right up to her knees, and she wore matching black gloves. She had no nose and a thin mouth; her eyes were glassy and featureless. She was completely bald. Two other gems, both green, spiky haired and with massive shoulder pads, flanked her on either side - they came up to her waist.

One of the white gems - the one Sadie had been following - marched forward. She snapped to attention in front of the tall gem.

"Seraphinite," she barked, "We have assembled this cycle's batch of-"

The tall gem's eyes flashed. The white gem screeched, falling to her knees and clutching her head.

"You will address me as Supreme Marshal Seraphinite, Agate," she said evenly - her voice was soft and melodic.

The Agate winced, but quickly got back to her feet and saluted.

"Yes, Supreme Marshal, please forgive me," she said somewhat shakily, "In any case, please allow us to present this cycle's batch of Rubies for inspection."

Seraphinite gazed out over the mass of Rubies. For a long time, she said nothing.

"I can see many discolorations, Agate," she said at last.

"S-Supreme Marshal, surely, I can't be blamed for the incompetence of a Peri-"

She clutched her head and screamed again.

"I am not here for excuses, Agate," said Seraphinite, "Your Diamond requested five thousand Rubies to reinforce her battalions on Homeworld. A cursory glance indicates that you will not even be able to provide half that number. This batch is remarkably poor."

The Agate got back to her feet again but said nothing - evidentially she had decided that it would be wiser to stay quiet.

Seraphinite looked over the Rubies again. Her eyes fell on the troop that Sadie had followed.

"Identify that unit, Agate," she ordered.

"The Third Cohort, Supreme Marshal," replied the Agate.

Seraphinite nodded.

"Prepare them for immediate transport," she ordered, "Destroy the rest and begin preparation of the next batch. If this happens again, this planet and all gems stationed here will be decommissioned. Is that clear?"

The Agate swallowed.

"Yes, Supreme Marshal."

She turned.

"Third Cohort will march to the transports immediately!" she bellowed, "The rest will..."

"Wait."

The Agate turned. Seraphinite had raised a hand.

"I have just received an order from my Diamond," she said evenly, "She will handle this matter herself."

The Agate's eyes widened.

"But...but...Supreme Marshal, this is highly..."

The palanquin's flap slowly opened. A brilliant white emitted from the inside - it was almost like staring into the sun, and Sadie found herself squinting.

The Agate shook, watching as the magnificent, pale form emerged from the palanquin. Sadie couldn't make out a single detail about her save that she was utterly enormous - it was like a gap in reality shaped like the outline of a person.

"My stars," gasped the Agate, "She's...she's beautiful..."

"You will be replaced in short order," said the Seraphinite, "Dismissed."

There was an enormous flash, and Sadie's whole world was consumed in a pool of white. She forced her eyes shut, bracing herself - she felt an enormous gust of wind crash against her, like waves in a rough sea. She heard an ethereal sound, almost like music...

When she opened her eyes, she was floating in a great cloud of red dust. She heard Seraphinite's voice on the wind.

"...yes, My Diamond, most of the Third Cohort remains intact, albeit they have poofed...understood, My Diamond, I shall order them sent to Homeworld immediately..."

Sadie felt her eyelids grow heavy, and within a few seconds she had drifted away.

The main thing about space was that most of it was empty. Sometimes, they'd make a jump and find themselves in an asteroid field, or next to a dying star, or (in the worst cases) right in the middle of a Homeworld patrol. Most of the time, though, they'd end up in quiet, empty space.

Warp jumps tended to drain the engines, which meant they'd have to sit in place for a while and let them regain energy before jumping again. This gave the crew of the Sun Incinerator enough time to unwind for a moment; to let themselves recover from whatever incident they'd last been involved in. In this case, they'd just managed to dodge a pair of pirate-hunting ships off a Homeworld space station, so the respite was pretty welcome.

Lars sat on the captain's chair, nearly dozing. He didn't exactly need to sleep anymore - he could tire, but that was more fatigue than anything - but it helped him mentally centre himself. The rest of the Off-Colors were off doing their own thing - Padparadscha and Rhodonite were in the crew quarters, Fluorite was watching over the engines, and he didn't quite know where the Rutile Twins were - he suspected that they were probably walking around, as they tended to get restless when they stayed in one place for too long.

Lars yawned and stretched. He'd been thinking about home (no, he had not been trying not to cry - I mean, sure, his eyes were a bit wet, but it was space dust, honest). It had been a while since Steven had been round, and he wondered if everything was okay.

He shrugged. The kid was probably busy with Crystal Gem stuff. Beach City was probably completely fine-

He jumped out of his skin as Steven and Connie burst out of his head.

"What the- Steven?!" he exclaimed, "Geez, can't you let me know when you're coming?"

"No time!" replied Steven frantically, "Bend over, I need to grab someone else."

Lars blinked.

"Uh...okay," he nodded.

He bowed his head. Steven reached into his hair and quickly dragged a green gem out - Peridot, Lars remembered. Reaching back in again, he dragged out Amethyst, who was carrying the limp form of...

Lars gasped.

"Sadie?!" he spluttered, "What...why is she unconscious?! Steven, what the hell happened?!"

"Lars, I'm sorry, but a lot's been happening and I meant to tell you but things got out of control and we went behind the Gems back and now Peridot needs Homeworld tech and I thought I might find..."

"Steven!" exclaimed Lars, "Slow it down!"

"Unconscious," said Peridot curtly, "Gem. Need Homeworld tech. Wow thanks."

She rolled her onto her back. Lars' eyes widened.

"Sadie...has a gem?" he gasped, "When did that happen?"

"Well, do you want the long version or the short version?" asked Amethyst.

"I-I-I-whatever works, just explain it!" shouted Lars.

"We found out that Sadie's supposed to be part gem," replied Connie, "And when we tried to put it on she passed out."

"Okay, thank you, I get it now...I guess," said Lars, running a hand over his face, "But wait, if she's just...sleeping or something, can't you go into her head or something?"

"Well, I need to be asleep to do that," replied Steven, "And I've sort of got a lot of adrenaline right now, so..."

He trailed off. Sadie's gem was starting to glow a faint red.

"Is...is it supposed to do that?" demanded Lars.

"Well, my gem does that sometimes," replied Steven, "When I'm using powers or opening Mom's room and stuff..."

The gem suddenly flashed, filling the room with a blinding light.

Sadie was standing in a small, round room, like the bridge of a spaceship. In the room there were five seats - four regular chairs in front of consoles, and a bigger one in front of a window that looked like a captain's chair. Outside was a void of white.

"Huh," said Sadie, "Weird."

She turned around, looking for a door.

She froze.

A small, red gem was standing at the back of the room in front of a closed door. She had a square afro, and her gem was just under her collar. She wore the same uniform that Sadie did.

"Hello," she said, her voice quiet and shy-sounding.

"...dad?" Sadie whispered.

The Ruby - Kay stepped forward, smiling bashfully.

"Is that what I am?" she asked, "I thought we'd both be 'mom?' Human words are strange."

"I...you died, didn't you?" said Sadie, "Da...Clancy shot you! How are you here?"

"This is your mind, Sadie," replied Kay, "We're inside your gem..."

She scratched her chin.

"I think you're Sadie, right? Barb said that's what we'd call you if you were a girl, but..."

"But why am I here?" asked Sadie, "Am...am I dead?"

Kay shook her head.

"I just had a vision," said Sadie, "There were...hundreds of Rubies, and these white gems called Agates, and some kind of Seraphinite? She was a general, I guess?"

"Yes," nodded Kay, "That's where I was made. It was my Kindergarten."

"Kindergarten? As in school?"

"No," replied Kay, "All gems are made in giant processing facilities they call Kindergartens. Mine was the last batch. It was destroyed after the next cycle."

"But they only picked some of the Rubies, didn't they?" quizzed Sadie, "What happened to the rest? And what was the white thing?"

Kay looked at her feet.

"White Diamond," she replied, "She shattered them all. They weren't useful."

Sadie swallowed.

"Geez. And you?"

"White Diamond took me into her service," Kay said, "I was ordered to help guard a high-priority weapon project called the Cluster."

She blinked, a tear running down her cheek.

"I never told them about my mission," she said, "I got...I got so scared that Rose would cast me out, and that I wouldn't see Barb again. And then Clancy came along before I could work up the courage, and it was so stupid, and..."

"The Cluster?" interrupted Sadie, "Steven told me about something like that! Some kind of...mega-gem, I guess, that was gonna come out of the Earth?"

"They found out?" said Kay.

"It's okay," nodded Sadie, "Steven bubbled it. I mean, I don't really know what that means, but..."

"Steven?" asked Kay, "Who's Steven?"

Sadie smiled.

"Rose's kid," she replied, "I think you'd like him."

"Rose had a kid?" gasped Kay, "But...but she would have known because...because..."

The air around them seemed to shift, growing colder. Sadie looked around, watching as the walls began to fade away.

"I-I guess this is all the time we have," said Kay, "I'm going away now..."

"Going away? But you'll just be in your gem, right?" asked Sadie, shaking her head.

"I don't think it works like that," replied Kay, "It's like...I'm gonna be here, but it's really gonna be me...it's like when humans go to sleep, except..."

"But I just found you!" exclaimed Sadie, "I don't wanna..."

Kay stepped forward and pulled Sadie into a hug.

"It's okay," she said, "It's okay. As long as you have my gem, I'll always be here."

Sadie remembered the old, grainy video of Rose Quartz.

"And I need you to know that every moment you love being yourself...that's me! Loving you and loving being you..."

She returned the hug, her eyes watering. She choked out a sob.

"At...at least I got to meet you, right?" she said.

Kay smiled.

"I love you, Sadie."

She and the whole world faded, and she was alone once more. She felt like she was falling...falling...falling...

She opened her eyes.

She was on a spaceship again, this one green in colour. Steven and Connie were staring down at her - as was a tall pink figure, kneeling down, his face a grimace of worry. His skin and clothes may have been unfamiliar, but the face and the small tuft of hair was unmistakable.

"Lars?"

"Sadie?"

Sadie sprung up, pulling Lars into a hug. For a long time nobody moved, and the only sound was that of Sadie quietly sobbing into Lars' shoulder.

Chapter Text

A New Gem Glow

Lars took a deep breath.

"Wow," he said, "So your dad was actually not your dad, and your real dad was actually a gem, and you just glued that gem onto your body and now you're half gem."

"Well...yeah," nodded Sadie, "That's what happened."

They were gathered on the bridge - the Off-Colors had joined in now, and the room was beginning to feel a little crowded. Sadie honestly felt a little bit awkward, but she could feel the tension melting off her shoulders when she heard Lars' annoying voice. Even better, the whole lot was exceptionally kind - they were unconventional, certainly, but so was she.

One of the Rutile Twins - the left one - scratched her chin thoughtfully.

"Well, it's pretty fitting that you're a Ruby," she said.

"Your new gem goes well with your eyes," added the Right Rutile.

"My eyes?" quizzed Sadie, "But my eyes are green..."

"Uh, actually," said Steven, "They are..."

He pulled out his phone and turned on the camera, handing it to his friend.

Sadie stared into the screen. Her own face stared back, the same as it always was - save for the striking red pupils.

"...whoa," she whispered.

"If it means anything," said Amethyst, "I think they look pretty rad."

Sadie nodded slowly, swallowing. The reality of what she had just done sank slowly in.

"I...I guess I really did it, huh?" she said, "I...what now?"

There was a long silence.

"I dunno," replied Steven, "I didn't really think that far ahead."

"Well, you got your gem back," said Amethyst, "That means you've probably got Kay's powers now. So now you get to learn how to use 'em."

She shrugged. "Or don't. It's up to you."

"Well, maybe don't pressure her into diving right into this," snapped Lars, "I mean, she's just been through a pretty traumatic..."

"No," said Sadie, "No, I've come this far."

She looked down at her gem.

"I want to keep going."

Lars rubbed a hand over his face.

"Fine," he said, "Just… fine, whatever. Just...just promise me you won't hurt yourself, alright? And Steven, you've gotta promise me that you and your weird Gem family will look after her, alright?"

"Aye, captain!" replied Steven, saluting.

Lars turned to Connie.

"...and you look after him," he said.

"I-uh-yes, captain!" stammered Connie.

Lars chuckled to himself.

"And remember," Fluorite added slowly, "If things get too much on Earth, you can always come here..."

"Really?" asked Sadie, "I mean, apart from Lars, none of you know me."

"Well, if you're a friend of the captain," shrugged Rhodonite, "You've gotta be alright! Right?"

"Sadie's eyes have turned red!" exclaimed Padparadscha, "Amazing!"

Lars smiled at the small orange gem.

"Alright," said Sadie, smiling, "I… I'll remember that. That means a lot..."

"No problem," replied Left-Rutile.

"Us Off-Colors need to stick together," said Right-Rutile.

Sadie swallowed and wiped her eye.

"We should get back to Earth," said Peridot, "We'll need to work out how to explain this to Garnet and Pearl."

"We did it and they can live with it," snapped Amethyst, "That's what we're gonna tell 'em."

Lars bent down, pointing to his hair.

"Well, here you go," he said, "I...uh...good luck, Sadie."

Sadie hugged him.

"Thanks Lars," she replied, "You too."

"He-hey, don't make this lame, alright!" stammered Lars, "Just...just be safe."

Sadie chuckled, and one by one they climbed back through.

For the second time, there was a long silence, but this one was filled with a stinging sort of absence.

"Sadie's always welcome here," said Padparadscha sweetly.

Lars smiled.

"Thanks, Pad," he said.

The phone rang.

Drowsily, Clancy took his phone out of his jacket and answered. It was late at his new office - Bracknell had already gone to bed. Clancy had always been a night owl, and he liked the solitude of being the last one in the office.

"Agent Miller."

"Hello, Clancy."

"Barb?"

Clancy stood up, leaning against the desk.

"Is...is there a reason you..." he began.

"I thought you'd want an update," said Barb, "Sadie's gone. She's bunking with Steven and the Gems. I...I guess I can't blame her, Lord knows I'd do the same."

"I'm sorry to hear that," nodded Clancy.

He found that he genuinely was.

"Yeah," grunted Barb, "She took Kay's gem, which means it's probably only a matter of time until she tries..."

"Yeah, yeah, I'd figure," nodded Clancy, "I don't honestly think it's possible, Barb, but if I was her, I'd definitely try."

Barb snorted.

"I guess she got something from you after all."

"Hmm," said Clancy, "I'd always hoped she wouldn't. I'm a terrible role-model."

"Yeah, you are."

There was a momentary silence. Then Clancy chuckled, and was surprised to hear Barb do the same.

"Are you holding out alright?" asked Clancy.

"What's it matter to you, Clancy?" replied Barb, "We've been done for ages."

"I know," nodded Clancy, "I'm just asking."

There was another brief silence.

"It's quiet," replied Barb, "Heck, quiet enough to get me to call you."

"Hell, it's quiet enough here to get me to answer you," Clancy shot back.

He sighed heavily and sat down.

"What happened to us, Barb?" he asked, "We've got everything we wanted, didn't we? Why's it feel so..."

"...empty?"

"Yeah," said Clancy.

There was a long silence.

"You got anyone?" he asked.

"Not since Kay," replied Barb, "You?"

"Not since you."

He heard Barb swallow.

"Okay, let's cut the small talk, I still hate you, Clancy," she said, "But...look, if anything happens with Sadie, I'll...I'll let you know, alright?"

"I appreciate that," replied Clancy, "And I'll keep the OSS off her back."

"...thanks."

Clancy sighed and looked at the clock on the wall. It was stopped - it probably had been for years.

"Well, I'll talk to you later," he said.

"Yep," replied Barb, "Take care of yourself, Clancy."

"You too."

Clancy hung up and put his phone down. He sighed heavily and buried his face in his hands.

The room was white and featureless - in many ways, it was fairly typical of White Diamond's domain. At the end of the room was a giant window that looked out over the depths of space. This was a meditation room, available for use only by gems of knowledge like Sapphires, and it was aboard White Diamond's flagship.

Seraphinite listened, not moving a muscle, as the two gems dragged their captive into the room. They were both White Agates - one of them stepped forward, saluting shakily.

"Su-Su-Supreme Marshal," she said, "I...we regret to i-inform you that-that the prisoner has not spoken, ma'am."

Seraphinite nodded.

"Thank you, Agate," she said, "Leave the prisoner here."

The Agates threw the prisoner to the ground.

"Dismissed."

They walked away, and Seraphinite regarded the prisoner.

"Lapis Lazuli, isn't it?" she said.

Lapis stared up at her captor, battered and bruised. She shuddered as she realised what gem she was looking at - she swallowed loudly. Seraphinite could feel her apprehension, and thought she could detect the faintest hint of defiance.

"There's no need to fear, Lapis," said Seraphinite, sounding almost kind, "I believe we can help each other. You must forgive the poor treatment of my Agates - they are a violent and unsophisticated bunch."

She knelt down and put a spindly hand on Lapis' shoulder.

"You've been in contact with Rose Quartz, haven't you?" she asked.

"I-I-I don't know what y-you're talking about," stammered Lapis.

"Please don't lie to me, Lapis," said Seraphinite, "Yellow Diamond insists on turning Homeworld upside down looking for her, but Her Eminence White Diamond knows she has returned to Earth. Where is she, Lapis?"

Lapis swallowed, trying to stop her shaking.

"I...I can't, I'm sorry...she-he's not Rose, Supreme Marshal, Rose Quartz doesn't-doesn't exist anymore, I..."

"That is a lie, Lapis," said Seraphinite, "Rose has misled you. She was always charismatic in that way, you cannot be blamed for it."

"No, no, Steven isn't Rose! Uh...I-I mean, she's not R-Rose, Su-Supreme Marshal," replied Lapis.

Seraphinite shook her head.

"Lapis, My Diamond is willing to make you an offer," she said, "If you lead us to Rose Quartz, then you will have my word that you will be allowed to live freely, relieved of your commitment to your Diamond - Blue, I believe? She is even willing to spare the Earth."

Lapis swallowed.

"And Peridot? Would she spare her, too?"

Seraphinite nodded.

"I don't see why not."

Lapis stared, hands shaking. She seemed to be seriously considering Seraphinite's offer. Then she shook her head and looked at the floor. Seraphinite could sense her disgust - with herself, perhaps, for considering betraying Rose? Seraphinite couldn't guess.

"I can't," she said, "I...I won't. I'm sorry, Supreme Marshal, but I can't betray him like that."

Seraphinite nodded. She lifted Lapis' chin up, looking her in the eye.

"Your loyalty is commendable, Lapis Lazuli," she said, "If only it had not been so misguided."

Her thin mouth stretched into a grimace. She felt Lapis shake harder under her grip - she could just about smell the fear, and the intoxicating scent was almost enough to break her from her stoic demeanour.

Almost.

She stood up, hands behind her back. She gazed down at the gem on the floor, making sure to make herself as tall and intimidating as possible.

"You will still help us, Lapis," she said, "Willingly, in fact. Rose Quartz will be laid low, not simply by you, but by the pathetic humans she loves so much."

"I...I won't!" shouted Lapis.

Seraphinite allowed herself the smallest smirk as she reached up to her gem.

The object she pulled out was long and white - it was an ornamental staff, the shape of a diamond on the top. It was not her weapon specifically - Seraphinite's job and set of powers rather precluded the necessity for one. Rather, it was an object that she'd had the great honour of being bestowed upon by White Diamond herself.

She gently took it in her hands and pointed the diamond end at Lapis' head. Her eyes widened.

"Is that...is that a white..."

"This was made by White Diamond," replied Seraphinite, "For when she can't be present."

Lapis began to crawl backwards.

"No," she begged, "No, please, not this...not this..."

"You left me no choice, Lapis," replied Seraphinite, "If you will not behave, we will have to make you behave."

She placed the diamond on Lapis' head.

Lapis' jaw slackened as her eyes went blank. The room was filled with a brilliant light that radiated from the staff, and strange, ethereal music could be heard playing. Seraphinite barely listened - her sympathy was the feeling of mental energy being focused into Lapis' mind. They manifested as soft, rasping whispers.

Obey...obey...obey...

What Seraphinite was doing was not something that was ever done lightly. It was reserved for those gems too unruly and disobedient to be left unpunished, but too important to be shattered or incarcerated. Some might say it was shockingly cruel - but this was the will of the Diamonds, and how could a Diamond be cruel?

Loyalty...loyalty...

In any case, it left an obedient servant, willing to do whatever they were commanded to do, without sacrificing any of their intelligence or skills. It was like scrubbing the rebelliousness out of a gem, cleansing them of all negative traits while retaining the positive ones.

Except that wasn't really the case. The personality, unfortunately, could not be destroyed. There would always be a small part of the mind left untouched.

Hate...

Trapped in their own body.

Hate...

Watching as their very form acted against them. Impotent.

HATE...

Screaming.

The light died down, and Seraphinite withdrew the staff. Slowly, Lapis stood up - her pupils had returned, and it looked to all the world like nothing had happened.

"Lapis," said Seraphinite, "What is your mission."

"To capture Rose Quartz," replied Lapis calmly.

"And are you prepared to shatter her if necessary?" nodded Seraphinite.

"Yes, Supreme Marshal," said Lapis, "Anything for My Diamond."

Seraphinite felt emotions radiating from the mind of the blue gem, who looked so calm and at ease. It was like a caged animal thrashing at her bonds, desperately trying to make something, anything respond to her. She could taste anger, fear and total, utter despair.

Seraphinite closed her eyes and breathed in, the empty taste of air cleaning her palette of the traitor's inner turmoil.

"Perfect," she said.

Chapter Text

No Smoke Without Fire

"Amethyst! You have no idea what might have gone wrong!"

"It was her gem, Pearl! It's not up to you if she puts it back on!"

"And what would have happened if she'd died?! How would you explain that to..."

Garnet shut the door, muffling the argument of the two furious gems.

"Are they gonna be okay?" Sadie asked nervously.

Garnet didn't reply. She led Sadie to the balcony, Steven, Connie and Peridot following awkwardly behind.

It was early dawn, the sun slowly rising over the sea. There was a breeze in the air - it was just cool enough to make the hairs on Sadie's skin prick up, which combined with the heavy atmosphere made her feel deeply uneasy.

For a long time, nobody spoke - the only sounds were the muffled shouting inside the house and the distant calls of the seagulls. In the silence, Garnet's expression spoke volumes. Sadie almost wished she'd start yelling at them or lecturing them; as it was, the quiet gnawed at her, and her mind began to imagine a hundred catastrophes that could emerge from the coming conversation.

"Did you know we'd do this?" asked Connie.

"I knew you might," nodded Garnet, "And it's done now."

She turned to Steven.

"Pearl will calm down soon," she said.

"And Amethyst?"

"...will take a little longer," replied Garnet.

The door flew open and Amethyst stormed out. Muttering angrily to herself, she walked down the steps and along the beach, towards the town.

Peridot glanced to Garnet, who nodded.

"Hey Amethyst, wait up!" called Peridot, running after her friend.

Garnet watched the two small gems disappear before turning to Sadie.

Sadie swallowed, seeing herself reflected in Garnet's visor. She didn't think the gem was angry per say, but she certainly seemed a little bit disappointed. In many ways, that was actually worse - if she were mad, Sadie would at least know where they stood.

"You're a gem now," she said.

"Heh," gulped Sadie, "Yeah, i-it's been a night..."

"You need to train," declared Garnet, "Your powers could be dangerous if they're not properly honed. We will train you."

"Okay," nodded Sadie, "Uh, thanks, I..."

"Good," said Garnet, "Because training starts now."

There was a shrill beep, and Sadie pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Buck? What's he...oh my god, I totally forgot!" she exclaimed, "We're supposed to be recording a music video tonight!"

"...training starts tomorrow," said Garnet.

For the briefest of moments, Sadie thought she saw her smile ever so slightly. But before she could tell for sure, she had turned her back and was walking away.

Greg had decided to get some lunch. It had been a long morning - one of the farmers from outside Beach City had decided to take their tractor in for a wash. He was dirty and worn, and he was definitely going to charge more for washing farm equipment in the future.

He'd sprayed himself with the hose to clean off and wandered to the boardwalk. He considered picking up some of Peedee's tater tots, but decided he was a bit hungrier than that and walked down to Fish Stew Pizza. He figured he'd sit near the window - it was a nice day and it would be good to bask in the sun for a while.

He stopped at the window. Barb was sitting at the table next to it. She looked haggard and worn, and her eyes were red rimmed.

For a moment, Greg thought of leaving her alone. But she looked so sad and so lonely that he couldn't bring himself to just walk past.

He walked inside and sat across from her.

"Hey Barb!" he said.

Barb mumbled a reply. Greg could smell her breath - there was a faint hint of red wine.

"Long night, huh?" he asked.

"What's it to you, Greg?" muttered Barb.

He said nothing, and she sighed.

"It's just so damn quiet, Greg," she said mournfully, "I come home at night and there's nothing."

She leaned forward, clutching her temples.

"I should have just told her, Greg," she sighed, "But I thought I was protecting her..."

Greg put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing slightly to calm her down.

"You did what you thought was the right thing," he said, "No one could've asked you to do more."

"I'm a terrible mother," groaned Barb.

"Terrible?" replied Greg, "Barb, you've always been there for Sadie. You did everything a mom's supposed to do and more. Any yeah, she's upset right now, and there's not a lot you can do about that, but she'll come back. Just give it time."

He smiled.

"And until she does," he said, "You're welcome to come talk to me. Anytime."

Barb swallowed and nodded, sitting back up.

"It...it means a lot, Greg," she said, "Thanks."

"No prob, Bob," chuckled Greg.

He crossed his arms and smirked.

"So, you up for cards tonight at Vidalia's?" he asked.

Barb smiled back.

"Yeah," she said, "I just about reckon I am..."

A few miles north of Ocean Town was an old freight depot.

Once upon a time, the depot had been served by the Delmarva & Northern Railroad. It served a cannery, farms, a few small factories and even a brewery in Ocean Town. Trains would ferry these goods north, to Wilmingmore, to Jersey and Empire City, and even far beyond into New England. But things changed - the cannery closed, the farms turned to trucks, the brewery burnt down. Eventually, the depot was no longer viable, and the company quietly closed it. Now, the old rails rusted quietly away, and the grey and brown buildings slowly fell apart, forgotten by all the world.

It was a perfect backdrop for a music video. Onion, apparently, had told Sour Cream about the place, and he had scouted it out. It was, in his humble opinion, pretty rad.

They filmed in the old goods shed, among the shapes of rusting wagons. The wooden platform served as a stage, and a rusty black steam engine was their backdrop. Sadie looked over the elderly locomotive. It was a miserable sight; the funnel was bent out of shape, and much of the cladding that covered the boiler had been stolen. The smokebox door was slightly ajar, exposing the corroding tubes inside. It looked worn out and depressed - a little bit like how Sadie felt, actually.

Self-consciously, she adjusted her collar, making sure to hide her gem. The concept was simple enough - she was an undead engineer, cursed forever to roam the rails in a fruitless attempt to reach Chattanooga. Buck, Jenny, Sour Cream and Steven played the train crew and passengers - as did Connie, who was providing a string accompaniment to the song.

Sour Cream and Steven were setting up the cameras, while Jenny and Connie were comparing notes. Sadie was left alone.

She heard footsteps, and glanced to her left to find Buck approaching.

"Hey Buck," she said.

Buck didn't reply, looking thoughtfully at the engine.

"Pretty cool backdrop, huh?" he said, "I think it's a Baldwin E2 Atlantic. Early 1900s. Pretty rare, huh?"

Sadie raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Never took you for a train buff," she said.

Buck shrugged.

"I used to sit in the corner of the library during recess as a kid," he said, "Train books had the biggest pictures."

He buried his hands in his pocket.

"I didn't have many friends back then," he said.

"But what about Sour Cream and Jenny?" asked Sadie.

"Dad sent me to a different school," replied Buck, "A private school in Ocean Town. It got pretty lonely."

"Geez, sorry to hear that," said Sadie.

"Don't be," replied Buck, "It made me who I am."

He adjusted his sunglasses and smiled.

"But how about you?" he asked, "You doing okay?"

Sadie tugged at the collar of her stained-brown tunic, shuffling her feet slightly and gazing intently at the engine to avoid eye contact with Buck. The old rusting machinery around her seemed to grow taller, the shadows darker, the air denser. She began to wonder what she was doing here; how was she supposed to focus on singing when her thoughts were still racing?

She closed her eyes and breathed in.

"I...no, I'm not," sighed Sadie bitterly, "I'm just...not. Everything's messed up and I have no idea where I am."

"Yeah, that's pretty rough," nodded Buck.

He put a hand on Sadie's shoulder.

"Word of advice," said Buck, "It's okay to be..."

"Sad? Yeah, I get that," said Sadie, "I..."

Buck put a hand on her shoulder, and the touch seemed to her unusually sympathetic. She imagined her expression must be more severe than usual to elicit such a reaction from Buck Dewey, of all people - the teen's stoicism was rivalled only by Garnet.

Then again, it could be a by-product of literally having eyes the colour of fire and fury, but who was she to say?

"Not sad," said Buck, "Angry."

Buck's face set in a frown.

"Sometimes you've just gotta get really mad before you can start feeling better," said Buck, "If you feel like you need to scream, Sadie, then scream. Scream it all out."

He said it all with the save even tone he always spoke with, and Sadie wondered if he was joking.

"Uh...thanks, but I've never seen you mad, and..."

"Then you've never seen him play Superb Slam Buds," laughed Jenny, walking up to them.

"That game is rigged," grunted Buck.

"Just because you can't beat Smirby doesn't mean it's rigged, Buck," said Jenny dryly, "C'mon, everything's set up."

Buck nodded.

"Remember what I said."

He and Sadie walked off down the platform.

Sadie took a deep breath, clenching her fists. She felt her emotions building within her; confusion, betrayal, fear of the unknown, sadness and, yes, a little bit of anger. She put her hand over her chest and felt the still alien sensation of her gem. She thought about her mother and Clancy; how they'd hid this from her, and how Garnet and Pearl had helped them. They thought they were right to do it, and maybe they were, but it still stung.

Maybe Buck was right; maybe she did need to blow off some steam.

The filming went well. Sadie had appreciated the opportunity to let loose and do something she loved, and her feelings fed into her portrayal of the cursed, ghostly engineer. There were a few problems with the lighting, but Sour Cream had managed to fix them - other than that, all went smoothly.

They had packed everything up outside and were waiting for Greg to arrive to give them a lift back to town. This was going to take a while - it was game night at Vidalia's - so to pass the time, they gathered in the old shed and talked.

"Thanks for letting me help with the video," said Connie.

"No problem," replied Sour Cream, "You really killed it with that violin."

Sadie lay on her back and sighed. Jenny glanced over to her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.

"I'm fine," replied Sadie.

"You sure?"

Sadie took a deep breath.

"No," she declared, "I'm not."

She climbed to her feet.

"My mom spent years," she said, "Years, telling me that my dad was a low-life good-for-nothing scumbag who left her on her own. That he was just a pencil-pushing, careerist, cowardly suit in Washington. I spent so long thinking my dad never wanted me. And everyone who knew the truth went along with her - Garnet, Pearl, D..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Clancy," she continued, "Would it have killed him to at least pretend he loved me? So I didn't have to wonder what I'd done wrong? So I didn't have to look at Steven's dad, at Ronaldo's dad, at Buck's dad and your dad and Yellowtail and wonder what you had that I didn't?!"

"Uh, my dad's a jerk," interjected Sour Cream, raising his hand.

Sadie glared at him and he lowered his hand.

"My real dad was willing to die to have me," snapped Sadie, pacing back and forth, "Just like Steven's mom! And he always knew about her and I know that's not his fault but why couldn't they tell me about Kay? Why did it have to be a secret?"

Steven and Connie glanced at each other in concern. Next to them, Sour Cream looked rather confused, as if he was wondering where this had come from. Buck looked stoic as ever, but there seemed to be the faintest smile on his face. Jenny was leaning forward, looking both shocked and just a little bit proud of her friend's outburst.

Sadie gritted her teeth, stopping next to a big wooden support pole. She clenched her fists.

"And the worst thing is," she growled, "No matter how angry I get, no matter how much I want to, I...I wanna hate them, but I can't, and it's..."

She closed her eyes, screamed and punched the pole as hard as she could.

As her fist made contact with the wooden surface, it briefly felt slightly warm, as if she had submerged it in freshly-run bathwater. Odd - she'd expected it to hurt (and it did a little, but not as much as she'd expected.) She heard a startled cry behind her.

She opened her eyes.

The support pole had been engulfed in flames. She stepped back and looked at her hand - a few dying embers fell from her fingers, but it was otherwise completely unharmed.

As the fire spread across the wooden floor in front of her, she put a hand over her gem again. She didn't feel particularly hot. More than anything, she felt numb.

What happened next, she wouldn't really remember. Her brain seemed to have shut off. She vaguely remembered Buck and Jenny dragging her out of the shed, but that was about it. The next thing she really knew, she was sitting on the back of Greg's van, watching the Ocean Town Fire Brigade putting out the last of the flames that had consumed the old shed. The sky above was slightly red, and the air smelt like burnt wood. Steven was talking to her.

"...I know it feels bad, but it isn't your fault."

Sadie shook her head and looked down at her hands.

"...I...I did that," she breathed.

"Yeah, but it was an accident!" exclaimed Steven, "I did stuff like this all the time when I was learning my powers. It's fine, it's not your fault..."

Sadie lay back, burying her head in her hands.

"Oh, this week just gets better and better," she muttered.

She felt the van rock slightly as someone sat next to her. She didn't look.

"Steven, I just wanna be..."

"You alright, Sadie?"

She pulled her hands from her face. Jenny had sat down next to her, and Buck, Sour Cream and Connie were standing outside the van, looking concerned. Sadie sighed.

"I get it," sighed Sadie, "I set things on fire now. I get that you don't wanna be around me anymore..."

"And lose Sadie Killer?" interrupted Buck, "No way."

"You're one of us now," said Jenny, putting a reassuring hand on Sadie's shoulder, "We've got your back."

"Besides," said Sour Cream, "I got some of the fire on the camera. Might be able to edit it into the video."

"Plus, Greg called the railroad company and they said they're not gonna sue," finished Connie.

"Point is," said Jenny, "You wanna vent at someone, call us. You want someone to listen to you, call us. You want a shoulder to cry on, call us. We're your friends, Sadie - it's all good."

Sadie nodded, swallowing. She opened her mouth to reply, but all that came out was a choked sob.

"Aw, c'mere."

Jenny pulled Sadie close as she burst into tears. Burying her face in Jenny's shoulder, she let everything out.

Chapter Text

Learning to Fly

Clancy yawned and took a long sip of cheap coffee, shivering in the crisp night air. It was about three o'clock - far too early to be working, he thought.

Standing in front of the smouldering ruins of the old freight depot, the faint glow of the embers could still be seen on the ruined timbers. The police and the fire department were gathered around, milling over the wreckage to see what might be salvageable, and a woman from the Delmarva Railway Society was pointing animatedly at a burnt steam locomotive. For the life of him, Clancy couldn't work out why the OSS had called him out here.

"Shame about the engine," mused Bracknell, walking up behind him. He's shied away from coffee, and was sipping a cool bottle of cola. How he could drink a cold beverage outside this early in the morning was beyond Clancy.

"Eh," shrugged Clancy, "It'll probably be fixable. It's steel."

"Ten- shun! "

"Here we go," sighed Clancy, turning around.

Three men marched towards him from an army car that had parked just beyond the police line. The man who had yelled stood on the left - he was a grizzled, pale man, his face set in a perpetual frown. His deep brow was framed by the steel helmet he wore, upon which the insignia of a captain was printed. He wore a plain khaki jacket and trousers, hobnailed boots and leather gloves. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the two agents - he seemed to audibly growl.

The man on the right was a clear contrast. He was tall and handsome, and his skin was a deep tan. He had straight, well manicured hair under a peaked cap. His uniform was clean and tailored, and came in a royal blue - Air Force, Clancy guessed. His black belt and shoes were well polished and shone slightly in the moon light. His expression was stoic - he looked neither happy nor annoyed.

The middle man was the most striking. He wore enormous aviator sunglasses, despite the fact that it was night - it struck Clancy as quite impractical. He smoked a corn-cob pipe, and wore a tall khaki peaked hat. His face was set in stone - not in an irritated scowl like the captain, but an arrogant sneer. His uniform was minimalist - a brown tie over a khaki shirt, with trousers carefully tucked into his boots so that they puffed out slightly. He seemed almost familiar to Clancy, as if he was aping somebody else's image, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Bracknell tried to stand to attention. Clancy put a hand on his shoulder and he eased up.

"You must be the Gem Task Force," he grunted.

"That's Task Force Gem ," corrected the captain.

The middle man took his pipe out of his mouth.

"Agent Miller, Agent Bracknell," he said, "Lieutenant-Colonel Bradshaw. These are Major King and Captain Clark."

"Yeah, we spoke on the phone," replied Clancy, "You said you'd send a guy over to give us our first assignment. He never showed."

"My apologies," replied the handsome man (Major King, apparently), "The OSS gave us the wrong address."

"That sounds about right," grunted Clancy.

"Well, if you want an assignment, I've got one for you right now," said Bradshaw.

He pointed towards the ruins, furrowing his brow.

"Steven Universe was at the scene when the fire broke out," he said.

"That'd be my luck," muttered Clancy.

"He's Greg Universe's kid," snapped Bradshaw, "He's involved with the Crystal Gems. And what gem makes fire, Clancy?"

Clancy swallowed quietly but didn't answer.

"Rubies, Agent Miller, Rubies ," said Bradshaw.

"Like the one you lost ," snapped Clark.

"Colonel, you're not suggesting that the Universe kid deliberately..." began Clancy.

"I won't rule anything out, no," interrupted Bradshaw, "But if he did , this constitutes an attack on American private property. It can't go unanswered."

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Clancy.

Bradshaw frowned, his lips thin. Clancy took a little satisfaction from this - he wasn't going to let himself be walked all over by some arrogant brass hat, after all.

"Gather intelligence," replied Bradshaw, "I want a dossier - everyone the kid deals with. The kid here can do that."

"I...uh...yes sir!" said Bracknell, saluting.

"Don't do that," sighed Clancy.

"Don't do that," grunted Bradshaw.

Bracknell swallowed and lowered his hand.

"Meanwhile, I want you to scout out gem sites in Delmarva," continued Bradshaw, "Temples, ruins, labs - if they've built tourist traps , I wanna know about it."

"Sir, you realise gem relics are a global thing?" asked Clancy, "You can't just drive down the interstate and find..."

"Don't argue. Just do it."

Bradshaw's tone was final.

"You have my number," he said, turning around, "I want daily reports. Good luck, Agent Miller."

"Dismissed!" bellowed Clark.

Clancy rolled his eyes as the men walked away.

"Well, you heard him," he muttered, "We've got stuff to do, Bracknell."

"Where's the first gem site, sir?" asked Bracknell.

"Oh, we're going to the most sacred temple of them all," replied Clancy, "We're going to Appledee's. "

It was the crack of dawn.

Sadie yawned, a faint puff of mist emerging from her mouth. It was bitterly cold up at the Sky Arena, and she and Steven had both dressed warmly. Fluffy clouds surrounded the floating platform like moving mountains, lit in warm, yellow-and-red colours by the slowly rising sun. In the far distance, she could see the contrails of a plane. All was quiet but for the light rapts of footfalls, almost anxious in their urgency.

Garnet was pacing in front of her, hand on her chin. She seemed to be deep in thought - perhaps she was deciding where to begin?

She stopped suddenly and turned to her new pupil.

"Sit down," she said.

Sadie, somewhat perplexed, did so.

"Before we train your body," said Garnet, "We need to train your mind. "

"You mean meditation?" asked Sadie.

"In a way," nodded Garnet.

She sat down in front of Sadie, crossing her legs. She held out her hands.

"Take them," she said.

Sadie hesitated before placing her hands in Garnet's. She blushed slightly, but shook her head and concentrated.

"Focus on me," said Garnet.

Her visor faded, revealing three eyes. Bristling slightly, Sadie tried to mimic her opposite's stoicism, but it was still a little difficult. She knew that Garnet had three eyes - just about everyone knew - but to see them, to be beholden by them so pointedly, was definitely a little intimidating. Blue, red, purple - she never noticed they were three distinct tones.

Swallowing, Sadie tried her best to do as Garnet bid, focusing on her deep and piercing stare.

"Count to four," instructed Garnet, "Breath in. Count to four, breath out..."

Sadie did so, steadying her breathing. She continued to look Garnet in the eye, and as she carried out the exercises, she began to feel more at ease. The stillness no longer seemed so hollow or intimidating, but oddly humble. Distinct corners and gradients of color all fell out of focus, replaced by the rhythmic humming of air steadily leaving her lungs, only to re-enter again.

She blinked.

She was sitting in a wide-open plane, dimly lit in a rather comforting blue. It was cool but not cold; vast, but not terrifying in its immensity.

"What is this place?" she asked, finally breaking Garnet's stare.

Garnet looked to her left. Sadie followed her gaze, seeing a small, red figure standing next to them. It was a Ruby, but she didn't wear the same Homeworld uniform that Kay had. Hers was a plain dark red, with the front of the top a lighter red. She wore a headband around her hair. This, Sadie thought, must have been the Crystal Gem Ruby - the one that was now half of Garnet.

"You are a Ruby now," said Garnet, "Which means that you may have the powers of a Ruby."

"May?"

"You're half-human," replied Garnet, wearing a small smirk. "Like Steven. There has been nothing like either of you before."

"You may end up surprising us."

Sadie swallowed. She hadn't even been a gem for a week yet - she didn't really want to think about 'surprising' anybody.

"So, what can a Ruby do?" she asked, her tone nervous but with the slightest hint of excited curiousity.

Garnet smiled.

"Well," she said, "That's what you're here to find out..."

To their left, Ruby smiled, clenching her fists. Her arms burst into flames.

"Welcome to Ruby 101," said Garnet.

Time passed.

Peridot had watched Sadie's training by way of observation. The human seemed to be doing well. Every day, she'd head up to the Sky Arena with Garnet and Pearl; she'd return in the early evening, covered in sweat, dirt and more than a few bruises. Steven had taken to making dinner for her (or at very least ordering it from the Pizzas) when she got back, and oftentimes Peridot would join them to watch them eat.

She'd long decided that she liked Sadie. She reminded her a lot of Amethyst in some ways and a lot of Lapis in others, but mostly she seemed to be her own unique person, like most humans. In turn, she seemed to be getting along with her (as was to be expected - she was the Great and Lovable Peridot, after all).

And yet, Peridot was not at ease. While the conversations with Steven and Sadie were pleasant, they were marred by the absence of Amethyst. She still hadn't returned from Vidalia's house.

It had been a week, now. Peridot was only half-listening to Sadie talk about her training in pyrokinesis (apparently she was achieving a temperature warm enough to heat a "s'more" - what that was, Peridot had no idea - but it must have been some sort of accomplishment. Sadie could achieve it without even being angry.) She gazed towards the door, absently fiddling with a fork with her powers.

She sighed and stood up.

"I'm going to go check on Amethyst," she said.

Steven nodded.

"Can you tell her I said hi?" he asked.

Peridot nodded as she walked away.

It was a lovely evening. The sky was a mosaic of blue and crimson, and the sea breeze was pleasant. The walk to Vidalia's house should have been nice, but Peridot couldn't help but feel agitated. She knew that Amethyst was safe with her friend, but she missed her - and there was a part of her that felt somewhat irritated that she was spending so much time with the human.

Presently, she reached the house. A lanky youth with notably ill-fitting appearance modifiers paced outside the front door. He had a phone to his ear, and his tone seemed to flicker between excitement and impressively laid back. From what she’d learned in conversations with Amethyst, she guessed that this was Sour Cream.

"...yeah, that sounds pretty rad," he was saying, "And they can make sure it's... sweet. And your dad can handle this? I mean, he's not mayor anymore, so...great, tell him I said thanks!"

He glanced over to Peridot.

"Oh, someone's here, I gotta go. See you around, Buck."

He hung up.

"Hey!" he said, "It's Peridot, right? Crystal Gem?"

"Yes," nodded Peridot, tight-lipped. "I am Peridot, Current Leader of the Crystal Gems. And you are...Sour Cream? Onion speaks very highly of you."

Sour Cream smiled.

"You here to talk to Amethyst?" he asked.

Peridot nodded.

Sour Cream led her inside. They passed Onion on the way in - he was venturing out with a blowtorch and a pair of wire cutters. Peridot waved - Onion waved back.

They found Vidalia in the living room, reading a worn scrapbook. She smiled as her son lead Peridot in. Awkwardly, Peridot smiled back - she avoided the woman's eyes. Sour Cream waved and walked away, headed for his room.

"You must be Peridot," said Vidalia kindly, "Amethyst's in the bathroom right now; how about you sit down here while you wait for her?"

Peridot was about to tell her that gems didn't need to use the bathroom, but something in Vidalia's eyes told her not to mention it. So, reluctantly, she sat down next to her, her face set in a frown.

"So, you're Amethyst's friend," said Vidalia, "She talks about you a lot, you know?"

"She does?"

Vidalia nodded.

"Yep," she said, "Reckon she likes you a lot."

She smiled knowingly at Peridot, who merely stared blankly back, not quite understanding.

Vidalia chuckled and opened up the scrapbook to the first page. She slipped it over to Peridot, who studied it carefully.

It was a rough sketch - according to the date written on the corner, it was twelve years old. It was of two figures - one tall and wearing a leather jacket, the other short and round. They were leaning into each other, and for a moment, Peridot thought they were involved in some kind of staring contest.

"What kind of ritual is..."

She remembered episodes of Camp Pining Hearts, and it clicked.

"Oh. Oh. "

She blushed, shooting back into the chair and away from the drawing.

"Am-am I supposed to be l-looking at that?" she exclaimed.

"Well, that's why I gave it to you," replied Vidalia.

Peridot's eyes widened and she began to stammer incoherently. Vidalia laughed.

"Don't worry," she said, "Everything in that book's perfectly clean."

"And w-why-why'd you want me to look at this?" asked Peridot. Her face felt very warm.

"Turn the page," replied Vidalia.

Peridot nervously did so.

The scrapbook was full of pictures of Amethyst. They were mostly drawings, some very rough; some were from years ago while others were very recent. Some were normal pictures of her doing normal things - eating, sleeping, doing things around town. Others were abstract, with strange wavy lines and peculiar shapes. Some were... decidedly risqué, and a few were very personal indeed. She felt like an intruder as she looked through these pictures; as though she was rifling through Vidalia's innermost thoughts. As she read the book, Vidalia said very little, usually just clarifying things about the art style.

She reached the end and closed the book, running a hand over the leather cover. She liked the feel.

"Why did you show me this?" she asked.

Vidalia shrugged.

"Well, what do you think of them?" she replied.

Peridot looked down at the book.

"They're...uh...really nice," she said, blushing, "You have a real talent for...bringing out how b-uh- aesthetically pleasing Amethyst is. But-but that doesn't answer my question! Why did you show me this?"

Vidalia smiled.

"I wanted to see if you see her with the same eyes I do," she replied.

"But that's impossible. I can only see through my own eyes."

"Figure of speech," said Vidalia, patting Peridot's shoulder.

They heard a door opening.

They turned to the door - Amethyst stood in the arch way, dark, dried lines running over her cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy, and there was a hint of dampness on her nose. She looked at Peridot.

"Amethyst?" asked Peridot, "Are...are you okay?"

Amethyst smiled - an uneven, vulnerable smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Yeah," she said, "I...I think I'm ready to go home now."

Peridot smiled back.

Sadie lay on the couch in the dark beach house, gazing at the ceiling. She was listening to her tablet, her music playing very quietly through her headphones. The faint glow of the tablet screen lit her small corner of the room a soothing green. She'd never been able to sleep in pitch darkness - she'd been afraid of the dark as a child, and these days she'd become used to a dim light shining as she slept.

She was tired, deeply tired. It had been a hard, hard few weeks, and her trials showed no sign of slowing down. But she was learning - and as she learned, her thoughts began to surface with newfound perspectives. Sometimes good, but sometimes...

She still couldn't face her mother. She was no longer as angry as she had been, but the grim sense of betrayal still stung. As for Clancy, she'd be quite fine if she never heard from him again. But she couldn't help but sympathise with them - their whole situation had been so new and so difficult. The death of Kay must have been painful for both of them - perhaps part of their dishonesty to her had been due to their own unwillingness to reopen those wounds.

"Dishonesty wasn't exactly new to her, Sadie thought with bitterness while she rolled over on the cushions. She had treated Lars with a rather cruel amount of falsehood herself when they had been "trapped" on the island with Steven, over a year ago now. At the time, she had just been so invested in the opportunity, to revel in a few days away from the world, to forget about the challenges of family and her job and friendships... Lars wasn't perfect, but he had at least deserved better than that.

More and more, she felt Clancy not exactly as someone she wanted to forgive, but... maybe someone worthy of forgiveness."

But there was another thing on her mind. Everyone had made it very clear that she was under no obligation to become a Crystal Gem herself. Originally, she herself had no intention of joining. But over the past week or so, she'd begun to give it serious thought.

Maybe it was a chance for her to make something good of this whole, ugly situation.

Ah, but that was for another day. For now, she lay on her back, closed her eyes and listened to the quiet sound of the music in her ears.

I'm learning to fly,

Around the clouds,

But what goes up,

Must come down...

Chapter Text

A Trip to Wilmingmore

In the city of Wilmingmore, there was a enormous megamall. It was an enormous, grey concrete structure with a round roof, surrounded by a vast tarmac plain of parking lots and loading bays. It was if it resided in a gigantic black hole in the middle of the city, separated from the city centre and the docks by a ring of freeways, elevated roads and the railway line. It was the commercial heart of the state - it was called the Delmarva Centre.

Although the centre was vast, the stores inside needed space for their excess goods. On the eastern, dockyard side of the Centre were a series of warehouses for this purpose. They were old, dark and dusty, but they protected a sea of products from the elements.

That wasn't the only thing they protected.

Sometime in the previous winter, a corrupted quartz had lumbered down from Jersey in search of warmer climates. She travelled by night and slept by day, and incredibly had gone completely unnoticed by the time she reached the city.

She didn't like the city, however. It was loud, crowded and bright, and metal monsters screamed down the roads and railways at all hours. She had tried sleeping in the sewers underneath the city, but the dampness and the smell made her uncomfortable. So she wandered further along, cold and miserable, until at last she found one of the warehouses.

Inside, she found a bed in the corner. It was large and wooden, and she could just about fit inside, once she pushed out some of the strange trinkets that were already inside. Satisfied, she climbed inside, carefully closed the lid, curled up and went to sleep.

She slept for a very long time indeed. She was only awoken by a jolt as her bed started to move.

As it turned out, the crate belonged to an electronics store, and it was being moved inside the centre so that the contents to be added to the in-store stock.

Both they and the quartz were in for a nasty surprise...

"...yeah, I'm with Connie. I mean, fifty pages? That's way too much..."

"But Jenny, it's adorable! "

The van pulled into an empty parking space, and Greg turned off the engine.

"Okay, remember where we parked!"

Sadie climbed out of Greg's van, stretching her arms and legs. Wilmingmore wasn't that far from Beach City, but she was glad to be off the road all the same. In any case, she'd been looking forward to this for a while.

She, Steven, Connie and Jenny had come up to the Delmarva Centre to buy equipment for the band. Greg had suggested some new sound equipment, and they'd decided to make a day trip of it. Buck and Sour Cream hadn't been able to come (something about a project, they said), but that didn't mean they couldn't have fun on their own.

In any case, she needed the down time. Training back at Beach City had moved on to summoning her weapon. It wasn't going well, probably because she didn't have the first idea of what her weapon actually was . A day to cool off and focus on herself would probably be good for her - Garnet had even said as much herself.

"Okay," said Greg, "I'm gonna go pick this sound system up from WirelessShack - you guys meet me back at the van at about... three?"

"Are you sure you don't need help?" asked Sadie, "You're doing this for us, and..."

"Nah, I'll be fine," replied Greg kindly, "You guys enjoy yourselves!"

He wandered off in the direction of the Centre entrance.

"So," asked Connie, "What do you guys wanna do?"

"I'm pretty sure there's an arcade in there," replied Jenny, "I mean, if they haven't closed it or anything. I haven't been here for a year..."

"Or we could go to the LEGU Shop!" exclaimed Steven.

He held up his hand and Connie high-fived him.

Suddenly there came a low rumble. Connie looked at her stomach and blushed slightly.

"Well, guess we know what we're doing first," said Sadie.

She chuckled as they headed inside.

"...Seriously, you're making us come here so that you can use a payphone. "

"It's not my fault they didn't have one at the office!"

"Bracknell, before we leave, we're getting you a mobile phone. I mean come on... "

Clancy and Bracknell wandered the colossal avenues of the mall. They were in search of what Clancy reckoned might have been the last payphone in the city of Wilmingmore so that Bracknell could call his parents on his mother's birthday. Clancy would have lent him his phone, except he was under no circumstances to lend his OSS-issued phone to anyone else - his boss had repeatedly told him that it was worth more than he was. Besides, it needed his fingerprints to work.

In any case, he was privately glad to be out of the factory-turned-office. The metallic smells were often overbearing, and either Bradshaw or one of his lackeys  called him every couple of hours. At least now he had an excuse to ignore them - and if he got Bracknell a phone, he could claim it was work.

Eventually, they reached the payphone. It was nestled in a corner overlooking a massive, circular concourse. As Bracknell dialled his parent's numbers, Clancy walked over to the railing and peered over it - he felt like a bit of people watching.

It was lunchtime, and people were generally heading to the food court, which was on the other side of the avenue Clancy had just come up. Some were getting business from students, as the Wilmingmore University generally allowed breaks for lunch around this time. There were a lot of people at Cold Issue, for example, and a few more at GameShop. Comparatively, the WirelessShack just across from him was quiet.

Suddenly, a familiar person caught his eye.

Clancy cursed under his breath as he saw Greg Universe, a U-Bahn sandwich in his hand, wandering over to the WirelessShack. He was whistling a tune, and seemed to be in good spirits.

"Okay," Clancy whispered to himself, "Don't worry, Bracknell's gonna be on the phone for a while, I don't have to talk to him..."

"Yeah, I'll call back when I get my phone. Give Dad my love! Bye!"

Clancy's eye twitched as Bracknell hung up the phone.

"She's at lunch with Grandma," he said, walking over, "I'll call her back tonight after I set up my phone. So, WirelessShack?"

Clancy frowned deeply.

Greg stood in line at the WirelessShack, waiting for the man in front to finish paying for his TV.

It took a lot to annoy Greg, but this man was starting to do just that. He was a well-dressed man in a fine suit with no tie, his hair immaculately coiffed, and his voice underlined with a deeply aristocratic air. He probably could have ordered a TV online (or gotten somebody else to do it), but instead he insisted on insulting and abusing the staff at the counter.

"Hurry up, you!" he spat, "I want this television today! "

"Uh-y-y-yes sir," replied the cashier, "I-I just need to make sure your card is valid before I can..."

"Valid? Valid? Do you know who I am?"

Greg was about to open his mouth and ask the man to cool off, when he suddenly felt a soft kick against his heel.

"Ooh, sorry sir, my fault."

"Nah, it's fine," Greg said, turning around.

He paused.

He didn't recognise the man that had kicked him - he was a short, suited, dark-skinned man who looked friendly enough. Behind him, looking as though he wished he was absolutely anywhere else right now, was Agent Clancy Miller.

"Clancy?" said Greg.

"Uh...Greg, yeah," nodded Clancy, "I… uh… we were just getting this kid a phone."

"A phone," nodded Greg.

"Yeah."

"And you went a hundred miles from Washington to get it."

"I… uh..."

Clancy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not here about your kid, alright?" he said at last, "They just want me to keep watch on gem stuff."

Greg nodded sceptically.

"Is...is Sadie well?" asked Clancy hesitantly.

"She's-"

"I want to see it before you load it up!" barked the rich man, "Bring the box out here and make it quick!"

Greg shot the man the sternest look he could (which was hard, as he was not a naturally stern man) before turning back to Clancy.

"She's okay," he replied, "She's living with the Gems for now."

"Yeah, Barb told me," nodded Clancy, "Do you...check in on her?"

Greg nodded.

"Does she tell you anything?"

"I promised I wouldn't tell you or Barb anything she didn't want you to know," replied Greg.

"Um, sir, I'm sort of feeling a bit 'third wheel' here," interjected the other man, "How do you two know each other?"

"Stay out of this, Bracknell," grunted Clancy.

The older agent sighed.

"Look, Greg, just... make sure she stays safe, okay?" he said, "Not for me. For her."

"She'll be alright," replied Greg, "I promise..."

"Ah, perfect! Finally, some punctuality. Wheel it up and I'll look inside."

The rich man was looking at a crate that had been wheeled up from the back. It was about waist high and quite wide - it must have been a very upmarket television. A grumpy looking worker was unscrewing the bolts to the lid. The rich man leant over him, waiting impatiently to see inside.

"Come on, come on, we haven't all day! Let's see it!" the man snapped, with his holier-than-thou attitude that made Greg's skin crawl.

The workman muttered something under his breath as he unscrewed the last bolt. Then, slowly and carefully, he lifted the lid off.

"Wait," said the wealthy man, "That isn't..."

A blue blur flew right into the snob's face, knocking him hard onto his back. Despite the panic of the moment, Greg had to admit it was a little vindicating.

The creature standing on the rich man's chest resembled a very large, very furry and very agitated bobcat. It's fur was light blue with a sprinkling of darker blue spots. Instead of a muzzle it had a beak, and one of its eyes was replaced by a blue gemstone. At the end of its tail was a large, sharp spike.

"Corrupted gem," hissed Clancy.

As the store erupted in a cacophony of amazement, some terror and a few laughs at the annoyingly well-tailored man's misfortune, the gem's head darted around. She seemed to be shaking - Greg realised it must be terrified.

"Okay, everybody quiet down!" he said, "She's scared!"

At that, the rich man tried to sit up. He scowled at his assailant.

"Get this hideous creature off of my new suit! " he thundered.

The gem jumped and yowled. For a second she dug her heels into the man's chest, causing him to wince and yelp in pain - then she was off, out of the store and into the mall, bowling down everyone in her way.

Greg, Clancy and Bracknell watched it disappear towards the food court.

"We... we should get after that thing," said Bracknell.

Clancy sighed.

"So much for a day off," he muttered.

Sadie picked at her food and sighed heavily.

They were sitting in a restaurant in the food court - a fifties-styled diner, with an old jukebox and a lovingly restored roadster out the front. Sadie and Jenny sat alone in the booth; Steven and Connie had gone to try and work the jukebox.

"What's up, Sadie Killer?" asked Jenny.

Sadie stared at a fry in her hand.

"I'm starting to notice that everything seems to taste different," she replied.

"So you hate some of the foods you used to like?" asked Jenny.

Sadie nodded, pointing to an unfinished burger on the side of her plate.

"I never used to have a problem with them," she explained, "But now onions make me gag when I try to eat 'em. And it's not even just that! I don't need as much sleep as I used to or get tired as much, and I never feel like I'm too hot or too cold, and..."

In fact, it was more than simply the taste of the food. Perhaps she was being paranoid, but she was sure that people were looking at her differently - and why wouldn’t they? Her strange new red eyes, the gem that poked out from under her shirt - these were not things normal people had. She felt like everyone was judging her, silently fearing her - like she was something other than what they were.

She no longer felt like Sadie Miller (and in many ways she wasn’t - after all, Clancy Miller wasn’t even her father.) In many ways, she hardly felt like Sadie at all. She felt more a Ruby, less a human, the gem in her torso starting to weigh on the wires supporting her sense of who she even was. They grew tauter by the day, and she felt about ready to snap.

Jenny put a hand on Sadie's.

"Hey, girl, breathe," she said.

Sadie closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly.

"I just... feel less human ," she said, "And that's not fair, because I'm not any different from Steven and he never feels like he's not human... at least I don't think he does..."

"Look, Sadie," replied Jenny, "I'm not gonna pretend I understand this, but it's okay if you're scared of what's happening to you. I mean, change is freaky . But you're gonna get through it. You're not alone."

Sadie nodded and smiled weakly back at her.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I guess you're right."

Anything else she might have said was interrupted by the return of Steven and Connie.

"They unplugged the jukebox," said Connie, shrugging, "Someone set it up to play What's New Pussycat twenty-one times."

"Geez, really?" asked Sadie, "Somebody must've had a lot of time on their..."

A shriek echoed through the diner.

Sadie got up, looking out into the food court. Scores of people were racing for the exits, although a few had stopped and whipped out their phones and cameras. The cause of the concern was a blue monster, large and fluffy, that stood on a table. It growled at a security guard, who was very nervously backing away.

"A corrupted gem!" gasped Steven.

"Darn it, now? " exclaimed Connie, "But I left my sword at home!"

"You have a sword?" asked Jenny.

Connie shrugged.

"It's a long story."

The monster growled, stepping towards the security guard. It looked like she was preparing to pounce.

"Okay, we need to bubble her," said Steven, drawing his shield, "Just take it nice and easy, and..."

Suddenly, everything seemed to happen at once.

A young man in a black suit dove out from behind a table, aiming to tackle the monster. He missed, landing hard on his stomach and knocking over the table next to it. A bottle of ketchup crashed to the floor and sprayed him in the face.

The creature just about jumped out of her skin, shooting off the table like a startled cat. She roared and thundered towards the window of the diner. With a mighty crash she jumped through, landing right in front of Sadie and Jenny.

Before they could react, she roared again - this time, a sonic boom burst from her mouth, picking Sadie up and sending her flying into the back wall. She hit her head hard - she slumped to the floor, her vision swimming. Dust flew everywhere.

"Put him down!"

Sadie's vision cleared. She saw the monster - she had lifted Steven up by his shirt with her tail. Connie had picked up a stool and lifted it over her head - she was about to charge in.

"OSS! Stay back!"

A man stepped through the dust, carrying a crowbar. Sadie's eyes widened.

It was Clancy Miller.

"C'mere girl," Clancy urged, "C'mere. Nice and easy..."

The creature dropped Steven - he landed hard on the tiled floor. She turned to face to agent, growling again. Clancy braced himself slightly - he didn't seem to have noticed Sadie.

"Yeah, that's good, away from the kid," said Clancy, "Over here, I can make this nice and easy ..."

The monster pounced towards Clancy. He held up the crowbar like a swordsman parrying an enemy - with a sickening crunch, the crowbar bent out of shape as the monster caught it in her beak. She tore it from the agent's hands almost effortlessly and threw it to the floor.

"...oh," said Clancy, backing away, "Uh… shoot, um..."

The monster charged again. The agent shut his eyes.

Before she could tackle Clancy, he was shoved into cover by Jenny. They both landed hard in a corner booth, the agent knocking his head hard on the bottom of one of the stools. Instantly, the creature turned - it growled and prepared to charge once more. Jenny shielded the stunned agent and braced, waiting for the attack to come.

Sadie shook the dizziness from her head and grit her teeth.

This wasn't fair. She'd come here to get away from her problems, just for a day. Not only had a corrupted gem turned up to ruin it, but her once-father had also had the gall to turn up and make everything worse. Now her friend was going to get hurt, and she was just sitting here, watching numbly.

Jenny didn't deserve this.

Steven and Connie didn't deserve this.

She didn't deserve this.

It just. Wasn't. Fair.

"Get away from her!"

Sadie lunged to her feet, rushing towards the gem monster. Her gem glowed, and she felt something emerge from it. Without thinking, she grabbed it and pulled it out.

She lifted the short, red spear and buried it into the monster's back with all the force she could muster. There was an enormous puff of smoke, and she heard something hard land on the floor.

She landed on her knees, breathing heavily. As the adrenaline wore off, she gazed in wonderment at the weapon. It was a practical spear, no more than a meter long - it was dark red with a lighter red head. It seemed to glow slightly, but perhaps that was Sadie's imagination. She glanced from the weapon to her gem and then back again, her face going slightly pale.

"Did… did I make this?"

She looked over to Jenny and Clancy. The former had already gotten up and was running over to check on her friend (she seemed to be stowing her phone as she did), but Clancy was frozen in place, gazing in stunned silence at the half-gem.

"... my god ," he breathed.

Sadie wondered if he was in awe or horrified, but she couldn't help but suspect the latter.

They stared at each other in numb silence. Jenny was saying something, but Sadie couldn't process it. Steven was bubbling the gem, and Greg had arrived with the other agent - they were saying things too, but they might as well have been mute.

At last, Clancy spoke again.

"I can't… I… Bracknell, we need to go!"

He sprung to his feet, adjusting his tie with shaking hands as he walked briskly to the door. The younger agent - Bracknell, apparently - quickly followed, glancing back towards the ruined diner as he did. They passed several diner patrons and mall customers, none of whom paid them any attention.

All attention seemed to be on Sadie. She swallowed, her throat dry, and looked at her shaking hands.

She didn't want this. She didn't want this.

"Sadie?" asked Steven, his voice underlined with worry.

Sadie clutched her head, the spear vanishing as she let go of it. Her head was spinning again, and she felt like she was going to be sick.

"... I… I think I need to go."

"Sir," said Bracknell, "What the heck was that?"

They had driven back to the factory in utter silence, Clancy's hands clutching the wheel so hard that he feared he might crush it. Now, sitting in the parking lot, his partner had decided to break the oppressive quiet.

"She's not supposed to actually have a gem, Bracknell," replied Clancy, "I… she's supposed to be normal ."

He clutched his forehead and ran a hand through his hair, gritting his teeth.

"That's what Barb wanted, that's what I wanted, that's what Kay wanted!" he exclaimed, "She was supposed to have a normal life, and I told her about that gem, and I screwed it up! "

"It can't be that bad, can it?" asked Bracknell.

Clancy breathed in, shaking his head.

"The ruby I was supposed to get from Beach City," he replied, "The one I was supposed to find..."

There was a long silence, save for the sound of Clancy’s ragged, anxious breathing.

"Oh," said Bracknell flatly.

"Yeah," snapped Clancy, " Oh. "

He shook his head.

"And then I just ran off," he sighed, "She probably thinks I think she's some kind of freak. She doesn't need that, and..."

Hesitantly, Bracknell put a hand on his partner's shoulder.

"It's okay, sir, it's okay," he said, "Just… we'll figure it out, alright?"

Clancy shook off his hand.

"No," he said, sending his partner a sharp glare, "This is my mess, Bracknell. I don't want you mixed up in it."

He sighed again, turning the engine back on again. Bracknell bit his tongue and swallowed, not daring to speak up.

"Right, let's go," he said.

"Go where?" asked Bracknell.

"To one of the other Wilmingmore malls," replied Clancy, "We still need to get you that darn phone."

The sun was setting as they approached Beach City.

The van ride had been quiet. Greg had taken everything in his stride - he could always get the new sound system another day, after all. Steven and Connie had quietly discussed the bubbled gem and the possibility of getting a sword rack for the van for the next time they travelled.

Sadie had spent the whole trip home looking out the window - she felt absolutely miserable.

There was a soft beep from Jenny's phone. She checked the message and smiled.

"Yo, Sadie Killer?" she said.

"Yeah?" sighed Sadie.

Quietly, Jenny wagered a question.

"Feeling any better...?"

"No," replied Sadie.

"Well, I've got a little something for you," said Jenny, smiling, "Here, take a look!"

Sadie looked at Jenny's phone. On the screen was a picture of her in the diner, spear in hand. Her eyes seemed to glow like burning coals, and the discarded gem of the monster lay next to her. She frowned - could that really be her?

No wonder people thought she was a freak.

She was about to say something that effect when Jenny scrolled down, revealing a long list of messages received. She smiled earnestly as Sadie read through them.

looking good SK!!! that spear would make a rad prop in our next vid!

Buck is pleased.

SADIE!!! AWESOME SPEAR!!! WE NEED TO TALK, I HAVE TO PUT THIS ON MY BLOG!!!

omg jen?! she beat a monster! that's amazing!

Hello Sadie

Excellent work! We'll need to discuss how you did it, but I couldn't be more proud!

From Pearl

By Jove! She looks like a modern day Artemis! I'll have to cast her in my next play!

Sadie continued to read the long list of replies. It seemed that Jenny had sent the picture to just about everyone, and they'd all sent praise back. She shook her head - how was she supposed to process this?

"See?" said Steven, "Nobody in Beach City thinks you're a freak!"

"They do think you're awesome, though," added Connie.

Jenny put an arm around Sadie's shoulders.

"Sadie, it doesn't matter if you're human or gem or one of Ronaldo's sneople ," she said, "You're still Sadie, and that hasn't changed. All the people who matter still love you, girl!"

"Yeah!" Steven and Connie exclaimed.

"Yeah!" said Greg.

He paused, biting his lip.

"I wasn't listening, what's the conversation about?" he asked.

Sadie smiled.

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed, "Thanks."

She closed her eyes and put a hand over her gem, slowly breathing in and out. She still didn’t feel human - but just for a moment, she felt like Sadie again.

"It really means a lot," she said sincerely.

Chapter Text

Red Shift

Sadie stood in an enormous teal plane, surrounded on all sides by inky darkness. It swirled and rippling like a raging sea, and looking into it made her hair stand on end. She felt cold, but there was also a strange feeling of detachment - as if she was there, but she wasn't actually there.

She walked forward, travelling into the darkness for some time, but the room was so expansive and featureless that she felt like she wasn't moving at all.

"Hello?" she called, "Is anyone there?"

A tired, desperate voice called back from afar.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Sadie!" Sadie called back, "Where are you?"

The words tumbled from her lips before she could ask them to return with their own name, but then, she somehow felt like that question wasn't necessary. She knew who it was, like a fleeting dream beginning to disappear, if she just tried hard enough she might just grasp it...

The floor shook violently, and she fell hard on her back. Disoriented, she climbed to her feet and turned around - and jumped, startled, as she saw a figure that hadn't been there before.

She was blue and wore a dress, and she was suspended in the air by dark, warping cables. They seemed to shift and change orientation every millisecond - they made Sadie sick to look at them. It was as if they were a puppet's strings, shifting at phenomenal speeds to control the figure's every movement.

"Sadie..." the figure croaked.

"Who are you?" asked Sadie, "What's happening?"

The figure croaked out her name.

"Lapis… I'm Lapis… please, help me..."

Suddenly, and violently, Lapis was yanked backwards. For a moment, she reached pitifully for Sadie - then, with a despairing scream, she was pulled back into the swirling darkness. The floor gave way, and Sadie was falling, falling, falling...

Sadie awoke with a start, drenched in sweat.

She rubbed a hand over her forehead, panting. She'd had a lot of weird dreams over the last few weeks - the one in which she'd been a circus performer and Clancy had been the ringmaster had been particularly odd - but this felt different. It felt more visceral, more real - like she could feel the blue marionette's strings dance before her eyes, and Sadie was certain she could never have imagined that sort of desperation on her own.

Shaking her head, Sadie rubbed the lost sleep from her eyes and dismissed the silly illusions. Rubies - she didn’t have dream powers, and Steven hadn't turned up, so it certainly wasn't him. It was just a weird nightmare, nothing more.

She sighed and glanced at the dim illumination of time on the microwave, laying back on the couch. It read 1.05, and she had a sinking feeling that  she probably wouldn't get back to sleep tonight.

"Alright, I'm teaching you today," declared Amethyst, "Shapeshifting 101, let's do this."

Behind her, Peridot wheeled up a blackboard.

Sadie stood in the middle of the Sky Arena. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and fluffy white clouds glided gently by. Behind her, Pearl and Steven watched curiously - the former's arms were crossed, and her mouth was set into a deep frown.

"Okay, so, shapeshifting," continued Amethyst, "Every gem can change their shape. Like this."

She glowed brightly and her shape changed. A moment later, a purple copy of Pearl was standing in front of Sadie.

Pearl narrowed her eyes.

"Good afternoon, my student!" exclaimed Amethyst, in an exaggerated impression of her fellow gem, "My name is Pearl. I use a sword, and I'm the most elegant dancer in..."

"If you start twerking, you're walking home!" Thundered Pearl.

Amethyst chuckled.

"Shapeshifting's the best, man," she continued, "It's gotta be the most useful power we have, 'part from maybe fusion. You get the hang of it, and you can become anything..." she turned into a border collie, "... and anyone..." she turned into Connie, "... you want."

"Within reason," added Peridot, "Changing your shape uses energy. That's why you can't just turn yourself into a giant rocket and blast yourself straight into the Diamonds' faces."

"I'm telling you, Peri, it'd totally work," said Amethyst.

"... Sure," grunted Peridot, "Your mass is also an important factor in shapeshifting. If you turn into something bigger than you, it'll take up a lot more energy - and if you transform too much or for too long, you run the risk of… incidents."

"Yeah, one time Steven turned into a ball of cats," chuckled Amethyst.

"And a baby!" Pearl added helpfully, "And one time he nearly died of old age."

Steven winced.

"The point is," said Amethyst, "Shapeshifting is fun and good for you - ugh, I sounded like Pearl there - as long as you're careful with it. Other than that, have fun with it!"

She turned to Peridot, who Sadie noticed had been carrying a CD player under one of her arms. She dropped it and pressed the play button as Amethyst shifted back into Pearl's form.

Loud, bassy music began to play, and Pearl immediately turned pale.

"Alright, watch me break it down," said Amethyst, changing her posture and poise to a more - ahem - suggestive position than would be typical for their Pearl.

"AMETHYST!"

"I'm really sorry you had to see that, Steven," said Pearl.

She still looked haunted, her eyes wide and somewhat unfocused as she scrubbed the dish in the sink - the same one she had been cleaning for ten minutes. Behind her, Sadie and Steven sat at the counter, finishing dinner.

Sadie finished her bowl of instant noodles and turned to Steven, holding up her hand.

"Okay, maybe I can do it this time," she said.

Steven nodded, turning to his friend.

The lesson had taken all day, but by the end of it, Sadie hadn't managed even the smallest bit of shapeshifting. Pearl had told her she wasn't concentrating hard enough - Amethyst had responded that she had been concentrating too much. Their teaching styles had clashed all day, and in the end Garnet had had to come out and break up a nasty argument between them.

"Okay, let's try… lizard fingers," said Steven.

"Lizards?"

"I dunno, I'm just feeling lizards. They're cool, you know?"

Sadie shrugged and nodded. She gazed at her fingers and concentrated, trying to visualize her fingers turning into lizards - part of her marvelled at how strange such a thing was.

She stared and stared, but nothing happened.

Steven, on the other hand, had sprouted a small collection of bluetongue lizards from his fingers. He laughed, rubbing one of their heads with a finger on his other hand.

"No shapeshifting at the table, Steven," said Pearl.

Steven gave Pearl a very scaly thumbs up before dunking his hand in his glass of water. The lizards turned back into fingers.

"I just can't get anything to happen," sighed Sadie.

"Well, Kay could have been an Era-2, like Peridot was," mused Pearl, "I never thought to ask her, myself. Maybe you simply can't?"

"Ooh!" exclaimed Steven, "Maybe you have metal powers instead!"

"No, no, you have fire powers," said Pearl, snapping her fingers, "They probably wouldn't have bothered giving Kay those if she was Era-2..."

Sadie released a low exhale and stood up. She knew Pearl and Steven weren't trying to put her down, but their discussion of what her powers might be had started to feel rather dehumanising.

"I think I need to get some air," she said.

"Oh, of course," nodded Pearl, "Oh, if you come back by eight, Steven and I will be making pancakes!"

"I know it's normally a breakfast food," added Steven, "But Peedee sent me a new pancake mix recipe and I wanna try it!"

"Yeah, I'll remember that," said Sadie absently, walking out the door.

It was early evening - the sun hung low over Beach City, and the sky was a vivid purple-blue. A gentle breeze blew over the beach as Sadie walked down the steps on to it, and despite herself, she couldn't help but smile. She sat down against the side of the temple and closed her eyes.

It had been a long day, and she'd gotten nearly no sleep after the strange nightmare she'd had in the morning. Part of her felt like she could have dozed off there and then - but she couldn't. She wondered if a walk might help - she knew Buck was helping his dad with something at the Big Donut, and decided to head that way.

Her face fell as she thought again about her failed attempts to shapeshift.

"Everyone else seems so good at it," she sighed to herself, "I mean, even Steven can do it, and he's half-human like I am. What am I doing wrong?"

She opened her eyes and gazed up at the clouds.

"Maybe I've just got too much on my mind," she mused, "It's just like what Pearl said - I've gotta clear my brain and focus properly."

She yawned.

"Yeah... just like Pearl..."

Buck Dewey stacked the last box onto the pile and walked out of the back room, finding his father trying (and failing) to open the new automated cash register. He beamed at his son as he approached.

"Bucky, my boy!" he exclaimed, "Can you use your powers of teenage technological wizardry to open this thing? I just can't make hide nor hair out of this..."

Buck wordlessly pressed a red button on the register. With a cheerful ring, the cash tray opened.

"... Ah," said Dewey, "Well, now I know. Thank you, son!"

Buck nodded. He gazed out towards the front window, and saw a figure approaching from the beach. His father saw it too - he gasped.

"The Hot One!" he exclaimed.

He licked his hand and rubbed over the patch of hair on top of his head, perming it back. He then turned to Buck and grinned.

"How do I look, son?" he asked.

"It's never gonna happen, dad," replied Buck.

"I know," sighed the senior Dewey, his shoulders sagging miserably.

The door chimed as it opened, and they both regarded the customer.

Despite what Dewey had thought, this was not Pearl. Her clothing was the wrong colour, and her face looked slightly different. Most strikingly of all, her hair was much yellower than normal.

"Hello Buck, hello ex-Mayor Dewey!"

Sadie's tone seemed much more formal than normal as she approached the counter.

"... Uh... Hi," said Dewey.

"You look a little different today," said Buck, "Little taller."

"Oh, it's probably just a trick of the light!" chuckled Sadie, "This planet's sun can do that! Now, let me see..."

She studied the board intently, rapping her fingers gently against the counter.

"Buck," Dewey hissed under his breath, "This is getting weird, say something..."

"So," said Buck, "How's living with Steven going?"

"Oh, it's been delightful!" exclaimed Sadie, "He's such a wonderful boy, you know? And the Gems have been so helpful - especially Pearl, if I do say so myself..."

"Are… you gonna order anything?" asked Dewey.

"Hmm… no, sorry, I couldn't possibly stomach eating," replied Sadie.

"You probably could," replied Buck, "Let your hair down."

"... Hmm... no, I couldn't, thank you," said Sadie, "Well, both of you have a pleasant evening."

She waved and turned for the door, muttering quietly to herself.

"Letting my hair down... Maybe I should..."

The door chimed as she left. For a long time, Dewey and Buck stood in silence.

"... Aaaare you gonna call Universe?" asked Dewey at last.

"Yep," nodded Buck, taking out his phone.

Greg walked down the boardwalk, talking on the phone with Andy. It was a lovely evening, and his spirits were high; he thought he might check in with Steven when he was done, and perhaps see if Sadie was alright as well.

"...well, good to hear you're doin' okay, even if things are a bit weird," said Andy, "You still on for coffee on Saturday?"

"Sounds great, Andy," nodded Greg, "I'll see you around."

"You too, Greg, stay safe. Bye!"

Greg hung up the phone, tucking it in his pants pocket. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and smiled. Yep, this was a just a perfect evening.

"Hey, what up Greg?"

Was that Amethyst?

Greg opened his eyes and turned around.

She looked a bit like Amethyst, certainly, but her hair, skin colour and much of her face exposed her as Sadie. She seemed to have taken on the quartz' form, from the long hair to the style of her outfit.

"Uh... Sadie?" asked Greg uncomfortably, "You practicing shapeshifting or something?"

"Nah, dude, I'm just letting my hair down," replied Sadie, "So, what's going on with you?"

"I... um... I was thinking of visiting Steven," said Greg, scratching the back of his neck, "He sent me a message earlier. Something about pancakes?"

"Yeah, good ol' Ste-man!" laughed Sadie, slapping Greg's back (he winced), "Speaking of pancakes, you know if Peedee's still open? I meant to pick up some eats at the Big Donut, but... eh, I didn't for some reason."

"...I think he is?" replied Greg, "Um... just a quick question, but are you okay? You seem a bit... well... off."

"Oh, come on," grunted Sadie, "First Buck, and now you? Why do you all think I'm acting weird or something? I'm fine, Greg."

"I just think you're a bit... uh..."

"Ugh!" exclaimed Sadie, "What is wrong with people tonight?!"

Greg swallowed.

"Forgot it," Sadie continued, "I'm done with this. I'll come back when you're a little less lame, man."

She stormed off down the boardwalk, muttering angrily to herself.

"... Nobody tells Garnet she's acting weird. That must be nice..."

She turned a corner and was gone.

For a few moments, Greg stared at the place she had been, utterly bewildered. Then he heard a familiar shout, and turned to see Garnet approaching, Steven riding on her shoulders.

"Dad!" Steven called, "Have you seen Sadie?"

"I... think so," replied Greg, "What's going on, Stu-Ball?"

"Buck said Sadie had turned into one of my moms," replied Steven, "And I think he meant Pearl, and it's weird because she couldn't shapeshift earlier and..."

"Pearl?" quizzed Greg, "She looked more like Amethyst when I saw her."

Garnet nodded thoughtfully.

"I have an idea of what might be happening," she said, "Greg, tell me where Sadie went..."

Peedee was packing up the tater tot stand. It had been a busy day - he'd gotten all of ten customers, and was therefore doing a roaring trade. But it had now gone six-thirty, and it was time to close up.

He was just cleaning the ketchup and mustard nozzles when he heard someone approach. He turned to the counter.

"Sorry, I've just..."

A tall figure towered over him. Her hair was a square afro, her eyes concealed behind a reflective visor. For a moment, Peedee thought it was Garnet, but on closer inspection, she had a striking resemblance to Sadie.

"... Closed," finished Peedee, gulping.

Sadie leaned over the counter.

"Give me the bits," she said stoically.

A chill ran up Peedee's spine as he saw himself reflected in her visor.

"... Ah-I-I-I-okay, I think I have some left, let me check!"

He ducked down, frantically checking the fryer for any remaining fry bits.

"Sadie!"

Slowly, Peedee peaked over the counter. Steven, Greg and Garnet were approaching - the latter did not look pleased.

Sadie nodded, emotionless.

"Garnet," she said.

"Sadie, what's happening?" asked Steven, "I mean, you can shapeshift now and that's great, but why are you acting like the Gems?"

"I'm not acting like anything," replied Sadie, "And I am not shapeshifting."

"You haven't even noticed?" quizzed Greg, tilting his head.

Garnet stepped forward.

"Sadie, listen to me," she said, "You need to turn back to your original form."

"I am in my original form," replied Sadie, "I-"

Garnet reach forward and yanked her visor off of her face, staring straight into Sadie's eyes.

Unlike Garnet, Sadie only had two eyes - the third was missing, replaced with a tuft of stray hair. That was not what struck Peedee, however. Looking closely, Sadie's eyes seemed somewhat dull and unfocused, and there were dark bags beneath them. She looked incredibly tired.

"Tell me what time you went to sleep last night," ordered Garnet.

Sadie narrowed her eyes.

"None of you understand," she growled, stepping back, "You all act like I'm acting differently. None of you accept that this is who I am!"

She began to glow, and her form shifted.

"Just accept me for me..."

The glow faded. Sadie was now much shorter, and her hair was styled into a tall, triangular shape. She wore a yellow visor and jumpsuit, with a small diamond on the middle of her chest.

"... The great and lovable Sadie!"

She ran off in the direction of the beach, cackling loudly as she went.

"... What?" said Greg, flatly.

Garnet straightened her visor, nodding.

"I know what's happening," she declared, "I've seen Amethyst do this before."

"Is it a new power?" asked Steven, "Maybe some kind of 'personality shifting?'"

Garnet shook her head.

"It's much simpler than that," she said, "Sadie's conscious mind is shut off, and she is being controlled by her subconscious thoughts and anxieties. Most human experience this periodically, as do gems that choose to sleep. Most of the time, the body is shut off while this happens, but in this case, her subconscious has managed to access control of her body and powers."

Greg and Steven glanced at each other, confused.

"So... what does that mean?" asked Greg.

A hint of an amused smirk crossed Garnet's face.

"She's sleepwalking," she replied.

"Oooooh!" said Steven, "So the way she's acting is like... her subconscious impression of us?"

"Good thing she hasn't done Ronaldo yet," Peedee grunted dryly.

Garnet nodded.

"We need to snap her out of it," she said, "I'm going after her. Follow on in the van."

She bounded off towards the beach, leaving the three humans alone. Peedee leaned on the counter and sent Steven a sympathetic look.

"So, family problems?" he asked.

"Yeah, you start to get used to them," replied Steven.

Night had just about fallen by the time Garnet found Sadie again.

She was pacing back and forth on the sand, a few hundred yards from the temple. She muttered angrily to herself, clenching her fists in a fashion appropriately reminiscent of Peridot - Garnet couldn't quite work out the words until she got closer.

"...stupid Garnet, stupid Greg, stupid Buck, they just don't get it," she growled, "They don't get the value I add to this town and to this planet. They need to appreciate me more..."

"Sadie," said Garnet.

Sadie ignored her, carrying on with her rant.

"... Who cares if I can't shapeshift? It's a waste of valuable energy anyway. No wonder they didn't give that power to Era-2 gems - I'm much more significant and important the way I am..."

"Sadie!"

Sadie stopped and turned to Garnet.

"What?!" she bellowed.

"You need to settle down," replied Garnet, "You're not in control of your actions."

"Not in control of my actions?!" thundered Sadie, "I'll have you know..."

She trailed off.

"... I'll have you... oh, who am I kidding?" she sighed, "I'm not in control."

She fell to her knees, her form glowing and shifting once more.

"I'm never in control."

Garnet's eyes widened behind her visor.

The new form Sadie had taken was tall and lithe, with a sleeveless, flowing dress. She looked deeply forlorn as she stared down at the sand - it was a posture and a form Garnet immediately recognised.

But this was impossible.

Garnet shook her head. She'd think about that later. For now, she had a job to do.

She walked over, sitting down next to Sadie and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Sadie..."

"I don't even know who I am," said Sadie mournfully, "Mom lied to me, Clancy lied to me - even you lied to me. I thought I was Sadie Miller, but... but that's my dad's name, isn't it?"

"It's still your mother's name," reminded Garnet.

"Do I want mom's name? She knew who my real dad was and she was never gonna tell me!" reminded Sadie, "She denied me part of my identity! All the time I lived with her, I was trapped and I didn't even know it. And everyone tells me I'm still Sadie, but who even is that? Am I Sadie Miller? Sadie Killer? Sadie the Ruby? Am I supposed to be a Crystal Gem or a rock star or a donut girl or what?"

Her voice cracked.

"Just... who am I?"

Garnet rubbed her shoulder calmingly.

"You are you," she replied, "You aren't defined by where you came from or what people think you should be. You are your own person."

She smiled.

"And you are very tired."

She closed her eyes and began to hum softly. In her head, she heard Ruby and Sapphire sing the lyrics.

Take a moment to think of just...

Flexibility, love and trust...

Slowly and gently, Sadie's eyes closed. With one final glow of light, her form shifted back into her normal appearance, and she dozed off against Garnet's shoulder.

They sat there for some time, but eventually the silence was broken by a strange sound.

MAY-OR DE-WEY! MAY-OR DE-WEY!

The tater tot van rumbled down the beach, slowly pulling up in front of Garnet. Greg stopped the van and turned off the engine, and the obnoxious sound was silenced. Despite this, Sadie didn't stir.

"Yeah, sorry, I haven't worked out how to turn that off," said Peedee as he and Steven climbed out the back.

"Garnet!" exclaimed Steven, running over to them, "Did you find Sadie? Did you... aaaawww!"

He beamed, pulling out his camera and snapping a photo of the sleeping Sadie.

Sadie groggily opened her eyes.

She was lying on her side on the couch, buried under a couple of blankets. Cat Steven lay on top of her, snoozing peacefully. Steven, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot and Greg were gathered around the kitchen counter, a large pile of pancakes next to them. She tried to remember how she'd gotten here - she was sitting on the beach, and then... vague memories of Buck and Peedee?

"Sadie!"

Steven stacked a couple of pancakes onto a plate and ran over to her, putting them down on the coffee table in front of her.

"How'd I get here?" asked Sadie drowsily.

"It's a long story," shrugged Steven, "But you shapeshifted! Also you sleepwalked a bit, but you know..."

"I was sleepwalking?" asked Sadie.

"Yep," nodded Amethyst, "And the moment you stopped concentrating so hard, bam! What did I tell you, P?"

Pearl crossed her arms.

"I still think my advice had merit," she grunted.

"No, Pearl, Amethyst was correct today," replied Peridot, "Maybe you can be correct tomorrow."

Pearl frowned.

Sadie rubbed her head, wincing. It throbbed slightly, and she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

"How are you feeling?" asked Steven, concerned.

Sadie glanced at the pancakes and smiled wearily.

"...hungry," she said.

She and Steven exchanged grins as she picked up the plate.

Long, long ago, before they had re-met Rose and Pearl, Ruby and Sapphire had spent a winter in a small hideout they'd dug in the ground. Back then, they didn't know that snow was harmless, and had thought they'd needed to take shelter for their own safety. They'd long since learned, but every now and then they came back to this little den - it became a hideaway, and if things became to hectic at the Temple, they could retreat here to get their bearings.

Except the den was no longer in untouched wilderness. Two thousand years ago, an empire that was not unlike Homeworld arrived and built a town. Over the centuries, that town had grown bigger and bigger until it covered the whole landscape. In the past two hundred years, the humans had dug underground too, building a complex transport system to bring themselves closer together.

This was London, and Garnet's den now sat behind an iron door in a tunnel of the 'Circle Line'.

Garnet stood in the small, rocky room, studying a chart she had drawn on the wall long ago. It labelled the four diamonds - White, Blue, Yellow and Pink - with a few scribbles and notes about them and their courts. Pink was crossed out and labelled as shattered - perhaps it was wrong, but Garnet couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction about that.

More important were the big, simple words written under each diamond's name. The idea was simple - each diamond had control over one major concept. This was important, as Kay had come from the enigmatic White Diamond. Few had ever seen her - even Sapphire, who had been high ranking, had never so much as glimpsed this most powerful of being.

She read the chart again, frowning.

Blue Diamond - emotion.

Yellow Diamond - form.

Pink Diamond - life?

White Diamond - mind?

She'd heard rumours back on Homeworld about White's court - about a gem named Seraphinite, about strange methods of mental indoctrination, about how White kept her gems in line.

She hoped, for Sadie's sake, that those rumours weren't true...

Chapter Text

Beta Buddies

Philbert Bracknell was born in Keystone and grew up in Massachusetts - Boston, specifically. His family had been poor - his father had worked for the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, nearly three hundred miles away, and his mother survived on the pay packets the company sent home every week. As a result, he never travelled much - every second Christmas they went back to Eddystone to see Dad, and he'd been down to Fall River a few times to visit his cousin, who worked at the museum at Battleship Cove. He'd never really left the north-east until he was an adult - even then, that was just to work in Washington.

He'd never seen anything like the vista before him now.

The desert sands spread as far as the eye could see like a great ochre carpet. It was dotted in some places by dry shrubbery, and occasionally it was broken by roads, railways and dry riverbeds. In the distance, he could see towering, flat-topped mesas, backlit dramatically by the rising sun. It took his breath away as he watched it pass by from the window of the helicopter - he could only stare mutely, as if gazing upon an alien world.

"It's pretty amazing, huh?"

The co-pilot leaned back, flashing Bracknell a grin.

"Yeah," nodded Bracknell, "It... it's really something!"

The co-pilot gave him a thumbs up.

"Just wait until you get to Site Bravo," she said, "You ain't seen nothing yet!"

"What is Site Bravo, anyway?" asked Bracknell.

"Old gem thing," shrugged the co-pilot, "Nobody knows what it's for. Usually we'd keep our noses out of it, but the Colonel wants a detailed report. So we're gonna fly over it and get some pictures, and you're gonna take some notes!"

Bracknell had guessed as much. He'd been flown out at very short notice—Clancy had insisted that there needed to be an agent on station at Wilmingmore and declined to come. In any case, he'd told Bracknell there were 'things he needed to do.'

"Coming up on it now," the pilot announced.

Bracknell looked out the window once more. He gasped.

Below them was a truly enormous canyon. It stretched as far as the eye could see, like a deep scar on the landscape. Each side of the gorge was pockmarked by small holes - they varied in size and shape, but most were just a little bit larger than a person. Tubular structures that resembled gigantic needles were bolted to the sides of the canyon, each in varying states of disrepair.

"What is it?" asked Bracknell.

" La Cicatriz ," the co-pilot replied, "The Scar."

"We don't know what the gems actually called it," added the pilot, "But that's what the conquistadores named it. Name sort of stuck..."

Bracknell's attention was suddenly stolen by a strange vibration in the sand below them. It was as if something was running under the desert, but was just shallow enough to shift the dust and shrubbery above it. It was coming down from the north and getting closer.

"I think something's moving down there," said Bracknell.

"Eh, don't worry about it," shrugged the co-pilot, "Probably a coyote or something, nothing to worry—"

With a screech, a worm burst from the sand.

Bracknell didn't get much time to look at the worm—it was long and rusty brown in colour, with a mass of spindly limbs around it's gaping maw. It was gone before he could really discern any features, its spiked tail disappearing into the soil. The barb at the end of the tail flashed for the briefest second. The whole maelstrom of dust and dirt was set against the billows of a blood-curdling shriek that reverberated against the canyon walls, carrying to the helicopter in a deathly echo of distress. The pilot swore loudly.

"Problem?" asked Bracknell, voice shaking.

"I-I've lost all my instruments!" replied the pilot, "The stick isn't responding. Lynn?"

"Mine's out too," nodded the co-pilot.

Bracknell noticed the sound of the rotors was starting to cut in and out, and the helicopter began to spin. The pilot picked up his radio.

" Mayday, Mayday, this is Dog One, we have lost all control, " he barked, " We are going down over Site Bravo. I repeat, we are going down... "

Bracknell was pushed back against his seat, clinging desperately to whatever he could as the helicopter spun down to Earth. The world was a flurry of sensation, too much coming too fast; distraught yelling, bright flashes of the morning sun, hot air lashing his face, dust filling his lungs, so much shaking, shaking, shaking . The ground was getting closer, it was too close - he felt like he was going to be sick—why was it so loud?

He couldn’t decide if he’d gone deaf and the ringing was symptomatic, or if it there was so much roaring, shrieking, thunderous activity that he was going to lose his mind...

And then everything went dark.

"Gems," declared Garnet, "We have a mission at the Beta Kindergarten."

Amethyst perked up immediately as Garnet emerged from her room, Pearl just behind her.

"What's the 'sitch, G?" she asked.

She, Peridot, Steven and Connie had been playing a board game on the coffee table. Sadie hadn't been taking part - she was sitting at the kitchen bench, trying to come up with lyrics for a new song. That being said, she wasn't having much luck - she'd decided it was going to be about werewolves but that was about it. Still, it managed to be a pleasant morning regardless, and occasionally she would join in with the board game banter.

"Oh, nothing too taxing," replied Pearl, shrugging, "Just another corrupted gem. We heard some reports on the radio of a 'sand worm' near Beta and..."

"Wait, wait, wait, hold up," said Amethyst, holding up her hands, "You listened to the radio? "

"Yes, Amethyst," Pearl replied curtly, "It's very informative."

"Not even a music station?" exclaimed Amethyst, "You listened to the news? "

"Well, it wasn't quite the news," muttered Pearl, "It was more of a discussion..."

" You listened to talk radio?! "

"Amethyst, Pearl's taste in radio isn't important right now," declared Garnet, "We need to bubble this gem before it hurts anybody."

"But it's a big worm, so we're going to need everyone on this mission," added Pearl.

Connie glanced at her sword, which was leaning against the coffee table.

"So, by everyone , do you mean..."

"Of course we mean you too!" Pearl rubbed her hands together, "We need all the Crystal Gems today!"

Connie smiled and stood up.

"I won't let you down, ma'am!"

Garnet smiled and turned to Sadie.

"We'll be back by sundown," she said, "If Mr. Maheswaran comes early, let him know where..."

"Actually," interrupted Sadie, scratching the back of her neck, "Is it okay if I come too?"

There was a brief pause. Sadie swallowed, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable.

"I-I mean it's okay i-if you don't want me to! I don't wanna get in the way, y'know, and..."

"Yes," said Garnet.

"Are you sure?" asked Pearl, "She's still in training. She might not be ready for..."

" Nobody is ready for their first mission." Garnet's expression was stern and impassive. "The only true way to test yourself is to throw yourself in the deep end."

Sadie swallowed.

"Uh… thanks!” she stammered.

She walked over to the warp pad, stumbling slightly from a combination of excitement and nervousness. She stood next to Steven and Connie—they grinned at her, and after a moment of awkwardness, she smiled back.

Then, with a flash of blue, the beach house vanished.

Clancy walked down the boardwalk, hands in his pockets. It was about lunchtime on a Sunday - the boardwalk was busy as the townsfolk picked up their lunch, did their weekend shopping, or simply enjoyed the midday sun. Most people paid the agent no mind as he wandered along, but a few of the older people—the people who'd been here when he'd lived in Beach City—cast glares his way as he passed by.

He was just about to enter Fish Stew Pizza when the door flew open. He jumped back, just avoiding being hit in the face.

Captain Clark scowled darkly at Clancy before storming off down the boardwalk.

"Ugh, jerk ," grunted Clancy, "What the heck's he doing down here anyway?"

He shook his head and stepped into the restaurant.

The restaurant was mostly empty, but Clancy could already tell that something had gone wrong. A table had been knocked over - shattered dishes littered the floor, and a broken salt shaker littered the carpeting with glass and wasted flavour.. Kiki stood at the counter, Kofi behind her - she was ramrod straight, but her hands were visibly shaking. Greg was on the other side of the counter, talking softly to her.

"...he can't actually do that," he was saying, "He's just being a..."

He glanced over to Clancy as he entered.

"Uh, Clancy, this might not be the best time," he warned.

"What the heck happened?" asked Clancy.

"You tell me," Kofi spat, his tone venomous.

"It's fine," said Kiki, blinking slowly. "It's all… fine. Is there... is there anything I..."

Her voice cracked, and she clutched the counter. Kofi, clearly struggling between seething anger with Clark and sincere concern for his daughter, ultimately rested a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

"Kiki, why don't you take a break for a while?" suggested Kofi.

Still trembling, Kiki took a shaky breath before nodding at her father, appreciative, and turned to walk off to the back room. The door slammed behind her - Clancy couldn't help but wince.

" You ," snapped Kofi, turning to Clancy.

"I take it Captain Clark did something wrong?" sighed Clancy.

" Did something wrong?! " spluttered Kofi, his face turning red. "He marched into my restaurant and interrogated my daughter like she was some kind of criminal! "

"I... I apologise, Mr. Pizza, but we're running an investigation..."

"That does not give him the right to go after my family! " thundered Kofi, "That man threatened her! He told her he was going to arrest her! He flipped a table! "

Clancy winced. He felt very, very uncomfortable, and did his best to avert his gaze from both Kofi and Greg, not sure he could deal with the men's judgement just then.

"He... uh, he shouldn't be doing that," he explained, rubbing the back of his head, "As far as I was aware, me and Bracknell were supposed to be in charge of this sort of thing. I'll bring it up with Colonel Bradshaw, but..."

"I don't care who you bring it up with!" spat Kofi, "I want you to tell me that it will not happen again. "

Clancy bit his lip.

"Y-yes, Mr. Pizza," he replied, "I'll do everything in my power to make sure you're not bothered again."

Kofi crossed his arms.

"Make sure you do," he growled, "Your table's in the back corner."

Clancy nodded, walking over the corner table. Clancy wondered if Kofi had put him under a flickering light specifically to annoy him. Greg talked quietly with Kofi for a few moments before joining him.

"This is getting off to a great start," sighed Clancy, quickly tapping out a text to Colonel Bradshaw.

Why is Clark in Beach City?

"Yeah, I know," nodded Greg, "Hey, maybe it'll get better as it goes along?"

Clancy opened his mouth, a half-construed, half-apologetic, fully-exasperated comment forming on his lips, but he was interrupted before the first syllable passed through his lips. His interruptions were two-fold.

First, Clancy received a return text.

CPT Clark taking over why Bracknell is gone. Asked him to question locals. -LTC Bradshaw.

Second, the door opened, and Barb Miller stepped in. Her eyes immediately fell on the agent; if looks could kill, he'd be dead a hundred times over.

Yep , he thought, this is going to be one of those days.

The desert was warm, but not as warm as Sadie had been expected. Still, she was glad that she opted not to wear a jacket that morning.

She stepped off the warp pad, taking in the vast canyon around her. She remembered, very vaguely, visiting the Great Canyon in Aridazon with her mother when she was five, but this sight beneath the midday sun could not have been more different. An endless collage of holes in the cliffs, strange injectors in various states of disrepair, cliff faces that were just a bit too clean - all of these were indicators that this canyon was not one naturally wrought from rivers run dry, yielding beneath the weathers of time. No, this valley was made , a carving of stone that reminded her of those made by ancient civilisations - she was half-tempted to say they appeared “man-made,” but given her present company, she suspected gem -made would have been more accurate. Terrible though it was for the land around it, Sadie couldn't help but be a little impressed.

Peridot stepped forward, sniffing the air. Sadie watched quizzically as she stuck her tongue in and out, as if tasting the wind.

"It's been here, alright," she nodded.

"You can tell that just from sticking out your tongue?" asked Amethyst.

" Please , Amethyst, I'm a professional Kindergartener," replied Peridot. “I know worm-dirt when I taste it.”

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook violently. Steven lost his footing and nearly fell on his face - Amethyst managed to grab him just in time.

"Move," ordered Garnet, " Now. "

Sadie had barely started to run when the ground burst open.

The worm exploded out of the ground with an ear-splitting roar. Like an enormous, ungainly dolphin, it dived through the air, tunnelling into the left-hand side of the canyon. As the barbed tip of its tail passed the Gems, it screeched - a sonic wave blasted the group away, tossing them into the distant walls.

Sadie winced, sitting up. She had landed to the right with the other humans, Peridot and Amethyst, while Pearl and Garnet were far away on the left. They seemed to be dancing - Sadie rubbed the side of her head where it had made contact with the stone, sure she must be dazed from the impact. Now was not the time for dancing, but -.

Then there was a flash of light, and the two gems weren't there anymore. In their place stood another gem, a being so tall Sadie had to crane her neck to properly appreciate who - what - why they were there. A rounded triangular haircut framed a pointed face, with four aims and four eyes and a laugh so unexpectedly pleasant it turned Sadie’s lips up to an unwitting smile.

"Well, she's got vocal range," the giant woman said wryly, "But nothing in the way of style ."

With a gracious toss and a quick sway of her arms, the gem produced what looked like Pearl’s spear and Garnet’s gauntlets, but the movements were so swift and graceful Sadie hadn’t anytime to properly register what she was doing. A moment later, the cheeky-looking gem stood proudly, an enormous warhammer positioned squarely over her shoulders. "But don't worry, it's no treble at all. Just a little pitch change should do the trick. I think I'd recommend... going flat ."

And without another word, the gem leapt away from the side of the gorge, a trickle of laughter echoing over her shoulder. Sadie watched them go, torn between muted shock and awful chagrin. Terrifying in practice, and in humor - she reminded herself never to get on Pearl or Garnet's bad-side.

She leapt up into the air, landing on top of the canyon and bolting off in the direction the worm had tunnelled.

"So, they're just gonna go off without us, huh?" Amethyst grumbled.

Now back on her feet her feet, she helped Connie up. Steven and Peridot stood nearby - the former was digging through his backpack.

"Was that fusion? " asked Sadie in awe.

"Yeah, that's Sardonyx," shrugged Amethyst.

"That's amazing! " exclaimed Sadie.

"Eh," said Amethyst dismissively, "She's not that great. Kinda got an ego."

"No, I mean... they were two people, and now they're one person!" replied Sadie, "I mean, Garnet told me about it in training, but... but actually seeing it! "

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, yo," said Amethyst.

"Guys!"

Steven had pulled out a Cookie Cat branded walkie talkie. It was buzzing and crackling - Sadie guessed that it was picking up some sort of interference.

" ...Dog One, this is Dog... we have crash-landed... Site Bravo. Agent Brack... need medical assist... I repeat, this is Dog..."

"Somebody's here," said Connie, "They must've been attacked by the worm."

"Well, that is most unfortunate, but seeing as we've got a mission," shrugged Peridot, "Come on, gang, let's get that worm!"

"Peridot," said Steven, putting his hands on his hips.

"What?" exclaimed Peridot, "We're on Crystal Gem business! We can't..."

" Peridot. "

"Oh, alright!" grunted Peridot, "Let's go find them..."

Bracknell opened his eyes. He found it made little difference - he was enveloped in darkness. He was lying on a dusty floor - the air was cool but not cold, and it was rather stuffy. He tasted something metallic on his tongue and hoped it wasn't blood.

Carefully, he tried to sit up. As he put pressure on his left ankle, he felt a sharp pain - he nearly fell back onto his face, but managed to stabilise himself with the other foot. Well, that was probably broken - sprained at very least. Still, better pain than no feeling at all, right?

He managed to sit up, his hair just about brushing the roof of the small hole he'd found himself in. No room to stand, then.

He looked around for light, his breathing quickening. His arm brushed the side of the hole, and when he shifted he felt himself pushing against the other. Okay, so he was in a confined space. That wasn't ideal - it wasn't ideal at all, but he had to hold it together if he was getting out of here.

Pointedly, Bracknell closed his eyes and tried to focus on something else, something less panic-inducing. He remembered growing up, and his parents, and Eddystone, and poverty. He remembered arguments, and long days, and even longer nights. A single night stood out, and the memories came to seize him by the collar, gripping his windpipe, sending his heart-rate into a deafening spiral.

Once, long ago, Bracknell visited his father's workplace at Eddystone. Dad had been showing him the big diesel 'switchers' that they were making for some railway up in Vermont. They'd been called over by the foreman to discuss something, and the young Bracknell had taken the opportunity to take a closer look at the machines - far closer than his father would have allowed.

The company, at that point, was still building steam engines - very small, narrow-gauge ones for railways overseas. They tested them at Eddystone, and under the tracks where they were stored were deep holes called ash pits. Bracknell promptly tripped and tumbled into one. He'd broken his leg and arm, and the tight pit prevented him from climbing out. It took two hours to find him and another half-hour to pull him out.

Those feelings of terror and confinement were coming back, threatening to paralyse him. Fear was a luxury he could not afford at the moment, so he tried to focus on what he had felt when he'd been pulled out of the pit; when he'd seen his father after being stuck for so long. He'd been so afraid they'd be mad, but instead they just pulled him into a long hug. He didn't think he'd ever been as relieved as he had then.

Opening his eyes, reality rushed to greet him in the form of inky blackness, and a single, weak glimpse of light. Slowly and carefully, he shuffled over to it.

He was at the bottom of a shallow pit, about ten metres deep and fifty degrees steep. It must have been one of the small holes in the canyon's walls. If he'd fallen in after the crash, logically he should be able to climb out.

Nothing else for it, he thought.

Slowly and carefully, he started to pull himself up.

Barb studied Clancy as he took a sip of his drink.

He'd always looked a little stiff and formal, even when they'd been in college. Once it had been somewhat endearing, but now his government-issue suit and smooth, well-kept hair were nothing short of infuriating. He'd done well for himself - a government job, an apartment in Washington, a more than decent pay check - and all of it came from what he'd done to Kay so long ago.

"So," said Clancy, putting down his drink, "Sadie has Kay's gem."

"She does," nodded Barb, "And apparently federal agents are following her around."

Clancy ran a hand through his hair.

"My bosses don't know about her yet," he replied, "I've been trying to keep them off the scent. It's getting harder, though."

"Well, how noble of you," grunted Barb.

Greg bit his lip, glancing between them.

"So, there's one thing I don't get," he said, "How did Rose manage to remove Sadie's gem in the first place? I mean, I've always been told that Steven needs his gem to live, so..."

Barb and Clancy exchanged glances.

"Gem magic," shrugged Barb.

"Just... gem magic?" asked Greg.

"Just gem magic," Clancy replied curtly.

Greg frowned.

"That's not important," declared Clancy, crossing his arms, "The main thing is she's got it back. And that is very bad news. "

"How's it bad?" quizzed Greg, "It's part of her, isn't it?"

Clancy grimaced.

"Kay was terrified of Earth," he replied, "So why didn't she immediately try to get home?"

"...couldn't find a ship?" shrugged Greg.

Barb shook her head.

"She was scared of Earth, yeah," she said, "But she was petrified of going back. Going back meant returning to the... the network ."

"What network?"

"The psychic control network," replied Barb, "That kept the gems that belonged to White Diamond in line."

After walking for about ten minutes, the group found themselves approaching a crashed helicopter on the side of the canyon.

As far as crashed helicopters went, it was actually in surprisingly decent shape. It was on its left-hand side, the rotors twisted and misshapen by the impact with the ground. Parts of the chopper were smoking, but it didn't seem like it was on fire. It was coloured in a drab olive green, with the letters 'USAAF' stencilled on the bent tail. A woman sat a short way outside - she was wrapping a bandage around the arm of a man.

"Hey!" Amethyst called, "You guys dead or what?"

"No!" the woman called back, "But we need some help here!"

Sadie approached the wrecked chopper, taking care not to step on any pieces of wreckage. As she got closer, she could see a bandage around the woman's foot - no wonder she was sitting, then.

"We came down hard," explained the woman.

"Yeah, no kidding," said Amethyst.

"Darn worm took out all the electrics," grunted the man, "Must've been some kind of EMP or something. I got it back just before we crashed, but it was too late to save the bird."

He pointed his thumb to a small hole about twenty metres away.

"The OSS guy went down there," he added, "Haven't heard from him yet. We're both hurt pretty bad, so..."

Sadie nodded and wandered over, gazing down into the darkness. She could hear grunting, and could just about see two faint glints of light in the gloom - sort of like eyes...

"Hello?" she called.

A pained voice called back.

"Hey! Uh, little help here?"

Amethyst walked over, leaning down next to the hole. Her arms glowed and began to extend down into the darkness.

"Grab on," she said.

"Uh...eh, sure, okay!" the agent replied.

As Amethyst slowly pulled him out of the hole, Sadie took a moment to look around again.

"This is where gems come from?" she asked, "Just... holes in the ground?"

"It's more complex than that," replied Peridot, walking up beside her, "But yes, this is where all gem life begins. Perfectly cultivated by massive teams - most of the work's done by Peridots, of course. Everyone else just does the digging."

"But if you need big teams to make these... kindergartens ," Sadie scratched her head, "Then who made the first ones?"

"Only the Diamonds know," shrugged Peridot.

"Okay, he's out!"

Sadie turned as Amethyst pulled the agent out. He looked rather worse for wear - his jacket was gone as was one of his shoes, and his left ankle looked badly swollen. He was covered in dust and bruises. He was also very familiar - Sadie had seen him before, in Wilmingmore.

"You... you work with Clancy!" she exclaimed.

"Ah, yeah," nodded the agent, rubbing his agent, "Agent Philbert Bracknell. He's my partner."

"What're you doing out here?" demanded Sadie, "Why is he suddenly running around chasing gem stuff?"

"Colonel... Colonel Bradshaw wanted a report," shrugged Bracknell, "I don't think it's about you or anything, just... ugh, it's bright out here. I think I might have a concussion..."

An ear-splitting roar filled the air before Sadie could reply.

The worm burst from the cliff face, landing hard on the ground in front of them. This time it did not dig, and Sadie saw Sardonyx clinging to its tail. Looking closely at the barb, Sadie saw a square ochre gem on the side. It glowed, a shrieking sound filling the air - a second later, it pulsed once more, throwing Sardonyx off the tail and into the cliff. Dust and smoke filled the air - when it cleared, Garnet and Pearl were slumped on the ground, dazed and confused.

"Garnet! Pearl!" Steven exclaimed.

"Hold on," said Amethyst, determined, "I got this."

She took out her whip and flung it out, snarling the worm's tail. It began to thrash wildly, Amethyst holding on tightly to avoid being thrown by the gigantic monster.

"Okay..." she said, gritting her teeth as she struggled, "Somebody poof it."

Steven and Connie looked at each other and nodded. Sadie tilted her head as they began to dance in place - then her eyes widened as they glowed, their forms distorting and running together until there was only one there.

Stevonnie grinned and drew their sword, running towards the giant worm. They leapt into the air, jumping higher than should have been possible and landing on the tail. They raised their sword.

"Sorry worm," they shouted, "But you're- WHOA! "

The worm pulled fiercely against Amethyst. Sadie reached out to grab her in an attempt to help, but all that meant was that both were pulled forwards when the worm began to tunnel underground again. With a thunderous roar, they were gone.

Peridot and Bracknell stared at the enormous hole in the ground.

"I'm not hallucinating, right?" asked Bracknell, "Because I'm pretty sure I've lost a bit of blood here..."

The more Greg heard, the more he wished he hadn't.

It was clear that neither Barb or Clancy knew the full truth of the 'psychic network', but what they did know turned his blood cold. Clancy's description was clinical, as if he could see a brutal logic in the idea - to him, it was a psychic network to which the minds of all of White Diamond's court and underlings were connected to. White had implemented it after the Rebellion - after all, if a mere Rose Quartz could cause so much trouble, she couldn't risk other gems showing such independent thought. As a result, complex emotion and rebellious thoughts were suppressed, while loyalty, dutifulness and a dull sense of personal satisfaction were amplified.

What Barb told him was less clean. She described what Kay had confided to her (and apparently, sometimes Rose as well) - the constant, biting feeling that something was wrong that you could never quite explain or address; the dull numbness that often overtook you and drowned independent thought (usually when performing tasks that were 'critical for the Empire'); the sudden emergence of everything that had been suppressed when you escaped it, the vortex of feelings and thoughts that threatened to drive you mad, and then when you got a hold of yourself, the fear that you might lose it and again be drowned in the network.

"How did Kay get away from it, though?" he asked.

"Even White Diamond couldn't control the whole universe, I guess," shrugged Clancy, "They had nodes, I think - high-ranking gems, towers, little devices in their ships. I guess the one controlling her must've been destroyed when her ship crashed."

"There was one gem she mentioned specifically," mused Barb, "Starts with an S, but I can't remember her name..."

"Doesn't matter," grunted Clancy, "Look, there's one thing we can all agree on here. We need to keep Sadie safe - safe from White Diamond, safe from Bradshaw, safe from anything. We need a bug out plan."

"A bug out plan? What is this, America's Wackiest Doomsday Bunkers?" exclaimed Barb, "Clancy, she lives here. This is her life! We need to defend it!"

" Defend? " spluttered Clancy, his voice dropping to a whisper as he glanced around the restaurant. "Barb, Bradshaw has troops! Guns! Tanks! And that's not even going into what White Diamond has! What're you gonna fight them with, you and Skinny the Mailman?!" Yeah, maybe they'll laugh themselves to death."

"It's better than tearing her from everything and running to... Appalachia or something!" exclaimed Barb.

"Appalachia is beautiful and I resent that," snapped Clancy, "And she'll be safe! "

He turned to Greg.

"You've gotta understand, Universe," he continued, "Colonel Bradshaw says he just wants to 'observe' but he'll go after the Gems at first opportunity. And yeah, he doesn't have a chance of taking them on, but Sadie's half-human! Your kid is half-human! They don't just poof when they get shot. And if White Diamond comes, this town's pretty much doomed anyway!"

"But if we take her and run," shouted Barb, "We're never gonna stop! Eventually they'd come for her in Appalachia, or wherever we took her! She'd be going from hideout to hideout forever! She'd never be able to make a life for herself!"

"She'd be surviving," growled Clancy.

"But she wouldn't be living! "

Barb stood up, her chair crashing to the floor.

"You don't get it!" she thundered, "Because all you've ever done is run! You ran from your home! You ran because you couldn't face what you did to Kay! You ran to the OSS so you could hide behind the 'just following orders' excuse! And look at you know! You've got everything, and you hate it! You hate yourself! "

Clancy paled, eyes wide. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Barb, that..."

"Yeah, maybe she'll be in danger here!" exclaimed Barb, "But you know what? I'd rather she be in danger here than be a coward like you! "

There was a long silence.

"Maybe," said Greg, very quietly, "You should ask what Sadie wants."

Barb took a deep breath.

"I need to go," she said, "Or I will probably hurt him."

Clancy bit his lip.

Barb began to march towards the door. It was already opening - Greg swallowed as he saw Captain Clark march in, his face red. He look straight at Kiki, who was back on the counter - she went pale.

"Alright, I reckon you've been holding out on me," he shouted, "So I'm gonna teach you a little lesson , you little-"

Barb marched right up to him and booted him in the stomach. He yelped and fell onto his back, wincing and rolling around in pain.

"Don't dish out what you can't take," snarled Barb.

She marched out the door, leaving the restaurant in dead silence.

Sadie clung to the monster's tail for dear life. Above her, Amethyst had grabbed the barb with her whip. It was burrowing along underground, and Amethyst couldn't tell how long it would be before it emerged again and used its strange sonic attack.

"Stevonnie!" she called, "We need... the sword!"

Stevonnie was holding on much further back. They tried to climb forward, but the worm jolted violently and forced them back again.

"I can't make it up!" they shouted.

Amethyst looked back at them - she narrowed her eyes in determination.

"Okay," she said, "I think I've got an idea, but you're gonna have to trust me! I mean, really trust me! You get what I'm saying?"

Stevonnie swallowed and nodded. Amethyst grinned and looked down at Sadie.

"Take a look," she said, "'Cause you're about to see some Crystal Gem history!"

She recalled her whip and jumped towards Stevonnie, holding her arm out.

Please work please work please work...

She grabbed their hand and looked into their eyes. They nodded, and their gem glowed. Amethyst's vision was filled with light, and she closed her eyes.

They soon reopened them, one of their four hands gripping tightly onto the worm's hide. They stole the briefest moment to look at themself - they had a slightly darker skin tone than Smoky Quartz, although the freckles were about the same. They had two eyes, and their hair was somewhat neater, although still very fluffy. Both arms split into two at the forearm, which honestly looked pretty neat.

Yeah. This works.

"Alright, giant worm!" the new fusion exclaimed, "Meet Smokonnie Quartz!"

They blinked.

"Yeah, that's what we're going with, I guess," they shrugged.

They pulled a pair of yo-yos from their gem, thrusting them out towards the barb on the monster's tail. The two objects whipped around it, entangling it firmly.

Light streamed into their vision as the worm burst from the ground again, roaring once more. Smokonnie leapt into the air, retracting the yo-yos and pulling themself towards the barb.

We only get one chance at this...

They grabbed onto the barb, swinging their sword with their free hand. The gem glowed - they closed their eyes.

Poof!

There was a sudden feeling of vertigo as they fell.

Oh man, I gotta make this look cool.

Flailing in the air, they somehow managed to land on their feet, grabbing the falling gemstone as they did so. With a loud thump, Sadie landed next to them.

"Oh yeah, probably should've caught you too," Smokonnie said to themself.

They smiled as they watched Sadie climb to her feet.

"Still, one heck of a debut, huh?" they said cheerfully.

"You... that's the first time you've done this?" asked Sadie incredulously.

"Yep!" nodded Smokonnie, "Smokonnie out! "

They glowed and split up, Steven, Connie and Amethyst appearing in their place. Connie laughed and tumbled to the floor, shaking her head.

"Oh my gosh, that was amazing! " she exclaimed.

"Yeah," chuckled Amethyst, "Who said you had to think before doing something awesome?"

"Steven!"

As the smoke around them cleared, they could see Garnet and Pearl running up to them. As it turned out, the monster had re-emerged right next to the helicopter - maybe something about it had attracted the worm?

Amethyst shrugged, quickly bubbling the gem and sending it off to the temple. It wasn't her problem anymore.

"Good work, gems," said Garnet, "Nice fusion."

"Garnet, you think all fusions are nice," said Steven, blushing bashfully.

"They are," Garnet declared matter-of-factly, "But Steven fusions are the nicest."

"Yes, good work all of you," said Pearl, "Now, I don't mean to leave in a rush or anything, but I think we should be getting those humans to a hospital..."

"I'll call mom," nodded Connie.

In the end, Bracknell and the helicopter crew had not been hurt badly. The pilot's arm was broken, but Bracknell and the co-pilot had gotten away with minor sprains.

Bracknell was now in a wheelchair in his ward, waiting to be picked up. The doctor, Priyanka Maheswaran, was waiting with him - apparently she needed to be there when he checked out. He didn't like hospitals - they were overly sterile environments and the food was awful, so he was glad he wouldn't be staying overnight.

The door opened. Clancy walked in - he looked strangely pensive.

"Bracknell," he greeted, "Doctor."

Priyanka offered him the sign-out form.

"He needs rest," she told him, "No field work for a week."

"Heck of a way to get the week off, Bracknell," grunted Clancy, signing the forms, "So the Crystal Gems took him in?"

"Yes," nodded Priyanka, "Apparently he was stuck in the desert. They probably saved his life."

She looked strangely proud. Bracknell noticed a similarity between her and that Connie girl who'd been with the gems - perhaps they were related.

"I'll be sure to thank them if I see them," said Clancy gruffly, "Thank you, Doctor."

They briefly discussed some pain medication he'd need, but before long Clancy was wheeling him through the hallways to the parking lot.

"So apart from this, how'd it go?" asked Clancy dryly.

"Site Bravo was incredible," replied Bracknell, "I've never seen anything like it. Are all gem sites like that?"

"Beautiful? Bracknell, it's a hole in the ground. There's nothing anybody can use in it."

He snorted.

"So I guess we can only hope the Gem Task Force stays around there for a while," he scoffed, "Where they can't hurt themselves."

He sighed.

"Are you okay?" asked Bracknell.

Clancy shook his head.

"I've got a lot on my mind, Bracknell," he replied, "A lot on my mind..."

Once again, Sadie lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling. It was dark, and the moon cast long shadows in the beach house, but sleep simply would not come.

So had that been her first mission? It hadn't gone as expected, but she didn't actually know what she'd been expecting in the first place. She hadn't actually done much - in fact, all she'd really done was be there. And yet, she felt strangely elated by it all. She wondered what it'd be like to fuse - to be one with Amethyst or Garnet or Pearl. How would it feel? Would it be her but more , or would she simply be replaced by someone else for a while? Would she ever be able to take on a gem as big as the worm, either fused or on her own?

Was she a Crystal Gem, now that'd she'd been on a successful mission?

She turned on her phone, pressing play on the music app. Perhaps a song or two would lull her to sleep.

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow,

Don't stop, it'll soon be here,

It'll be here better than before,

Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone...

"Lieutenant Colonel Bradshaw speaking."

"..."

"Yes sir, I understand."

"..."

"Agent Miller has advised against such a move, sir..."

"..."

"Satellites picked it up near Pluto, you say?"

"..."

"Yes, I understand the urgency. I'll tell Miller immediately. Goodbye, Mr. President."

Colonel Bradshaw hung up the phone and opened his desk drawer. He pulled out the folder on top and looked it over, nodding solemnly.

TOP SECRET

Operation SLEDGEHAMMER

For the institution of martial law in Beach City and surrounding areas and the immediate apprehension of the Crystal Gems.

Chapter Text

Sledgehammer

Two jet fighters roared over Wilmingmore.

Clancy frowned as he watched them soar through the dawn sky. Not having slept well, he decided to get some coffee before Bracknell woke up and went out for an early breakfast. He had just driven back into the factory parking lot when he'd seen the jets, silver streaks against the reddish-blue sky. They were headed due south, and he wondered if they were bound for Beach City. Perhaps they had cameras attached, and they'd be taking pictures for Colonel Bradshaw - he wouldn't be surprised if they were.

He was just about to head inside when he heard another growling roar, this one far closer to the ground. He turned to the parking lot entrance - a convoy of olive drab army trucks rumbled through the gate, pulling up in front of the factory. Shouted commands filled the air as soldiers piled out of the backs, assembling in the empty car park - behind them, a jeep rolled in, pulling up in front of the bewildered agent.

Colonel Bradshaw climbed out of the back, joined by Major King. The major handed the colonel a folder, which he promptly handed down to Clancy.

"What the hell is this?" demanded Clancy.

"The situation's changed, Agent Miller," Bradshaw replied, "We have orders from on high."

Clancy looked over the unassuming manila folder, emblazoned by the golden and navy accents of the Presidential Seal. That, he thought, certainly couldn't be good.

"The gem situation has become untenable," continued Bradshaw, "We've had the fire at the rail depot, an attack on a public mall, the worm destroying our chopper, the assault on Captain Clark..."

"Poor man," said Clancy, entirely unsympathetically.

"...not to mention the abductions and the loss of that Barriger kid," finished Bradshaw.

"Barriga, sir," corrected Major King.

"Yes, thank you, Ernest," nodded Bradshaw, "Point is, we need to bring this situation under control."

Clancy let the words sink in, his tongue soured with the bitterness of their meaning. No, this was not good. Not good at all.

That being said, Clancy had been in the game long enough to know when to argue outright and when to… persuade. Men like Bradshaw don’t take well to defiance, he had learned that the hard way. The only realistic option he had was to try to appeal to reason.

He cleared his throat and feigned something that sounded like deferential disagreement. "With all due respect, sir, the situation is under control. As I advised you, the Crystal Gems have it..."

"The Crystal Gems have hell, Agent Miller!" snapped Bradshaw, "How many more people are gonna be dragged into space while they have things under control, huh? How many more government artefacts are they gonna steal?!"

"We have no evidence that they stole that Ruby, Colonel Bradshaw," growled Clancy, struggling to keep the venom from his tone.

"Well then, who did, Agent?" demanded Bradshaw.

Clancy didn't reply.

"No more, Miller," snarled Bradshaw, his eyes narrowing, "I'm taking control of the situation. That folder details Operation Sledgehammer. I have a mandate to bring Beach City and the surrounding area under military law..."

Clancy opened the folder, reading the contents. His face paled - they couldn't seriously be thinking...

"...as well as to either capture the Crystal Gems," finished Bradshaw, "Or terminate them with extreme prejudice."

Steven laid out the rug and put down the picnic basket.

He and Connie were out in the forest, about a mile away from Beach City. It was a lovely morning - there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun shone brilliantly through the canopy of trees. While he continued to set up the picnic, Connie checked the weather on her phone. There didn't seem to be any change in the forecast - the sun would shine all day.

It was a good chance to finally scale things back for a day and focus on themselves.

Connie was just about to close her phone when the news app flashed quickly.

No-fly zone enacted over Southern Delmarva due to hijack threat, POTUS says.

As if on cue, the silence of the forest was broken by the dim roar of a fighter jet. Connie looked up, watching it roar through the deep blue of the sky and off into the distance. If she squinted, Connie could just about make out its shape - it had a pointed nose like a dart, and a pair of wings towards the back of the fuselage. It was long gone before she could make out any more details.

"Huh," she muttered.

"What is it?" asked Steven.

"Nothing," shrugged Connie, "Just saw a plane."

She sat down as Steven handed her a sandwich.

"So, things have been pretty hectic lately, haven't they?" she said.

"Mm-hmm," nodded Steven, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

He swallowed, clearing his mouth.

"I'm just glad Sadie's getting used to everything," he added, "But I hope she talks to her mom soon."

"I don't know," mused Connie, "I'd be pretty mad if it was me. I mean, it'd be like..."

She thought back to Stevonnie's dream on the jungle moon base and smirked.

"...if my mom actually was Yellow Diamond."

Steven chuckled.

"Wow, that'd be weird," he said.

"I know, right?" replied Connie, "Can you imagine my mom as an alien dictator?"

She picked up her phone and held it to her ear.

"No, Doctor West," she said in an impression of her mother, "If that patient isn't ready by the time I arrive I'm gonna have you shattered!" She lowered her phone. "Okay, Connie, I need you to be ready for tennis practice in an Earth hour." She raised the phone again. "Shattered, I tell you! Shattered!"

The two burst into laughter. Steven wiped a tear from his eye.

"Aw, I shouldn't laugh," he admitted, "But hey, funny's funny."

Suddenly, they heard a thump and a rustling from the bushes. Steven glanced over - he saw nothing.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Squirrel?" shrugged Connie.

Steven got up, walking carefully towards the bushes.

"It could be hurt," he said, "I just want to make sure it's okay."

Connie's phone beeped. She picked it up; the news app had flashed again.

Martial law instituted in Beach City and Crossroads areas. Army command advises all citizens to return home immediately.

"Uh... Steven?"

Steven wasn't listening. He leaned down next to a bush, carefully pushing the branches aside.

"It's okay, little fella," he said, "We'll make sure you're feeling better, and we'll give you a name! You can be called San..."

He pushed aside the last branches.

"...dy..."

Connie's eyes widened as she took in the tall, blue figure crouched behind the bush.

"...Lapis?"

Peedee watched warily as a column of army trucks rumbled onto the boardwalk. Each of them found a spot to pull up and deposit their cargoes of heavily armed soldiers. It was surreal - it was like one of those old films about America being invaded, but this time, the occupying force was their own army.

A jeep screeched to a halt outside Fish Stew Pizza. Nanefua and her bodyguards were already stepping out to meet the blue-uniformed officer that jumped out the back.

"Mayor Pizza," he said officiously, "Major Ernest King, U.S. Army Air Force. On behalf of the Gem Task Force, I've been asked to inform you that we are taking over the running of this town, effective immediately."

"Under whose authority?" demanded Nanefua.

"Under the authority of the President of the United States," replied Major King, "Furthermore, Colonel Bradshaw would like to brief you immediately regarding the situation with the Crystal Gems. Please be present in your office in half an hour."

He saluted crisply and climbed back into the jeep. It sped away before Nanefua could reply.

The Mayor shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Rude," she muttered before walking back towards the restaurant.

Peedee furrowed his brow and turned on the radio. Perhaps that would explain what was going on.

"...am Lieutenant-Colonel Bradshaw," a voice said, his voice light and slightly Southern, "Gem Task Force, United States Army. As of this morning, the townships of Beach City, Ocean Town, Charm City and Crossroads are being placed under martial law under the orders of the President. I assure you that this is being done in a humane and professional manner."

An ear-splitting crash filled the air. Peedee jumped and looked up the boardwalk.

A tank had sunk turret-first into the boardwalk, which had splintered under its weight. The commander was standing in the hatch, looking sheepishly from left to right.

"Uh... nothin' to see here, folks," he said.

Greg had just finished washing down a car when they came.

Two armoured vehicles screamed around the corner. Greg stepped back in shock as the lead vehicle rolled on top of the car, crushing it beneath the treads. The commander leaned out the hatch, looking at the wreckage - he grinned mischievously.

"Ha! Nice," he said.

"Nice?! That was somebody's car!" exclaimed Greg.

"Yeah, well, you got bigger problems, Mac," shrugged the commander.

The rear hatches of both vehicles opened and a squad of soldiers emerged. Boots clicking loudly on the pavement, they swiftly took positions around Greg, encircling him on all sides. He swallowed - everywhere he looked, he could see somebody pointing a gun at him.

"Uh... I think you've got the wrong guy?" he said nervously.

"Greg Universe?" replied the commander.

"Uh..."

"Yeah, thought so," nodded the commander, "You're under arrest by order of Colonel Bradshaw and the Gem Task Force."

"But... why?!" exclaimed Greg, "What have I done?!"

"Heck if I know, Mac," grunted the commander, "But I hear the Colonel wants you pretty bad."

He smirked unpleasantly.

"Unless you don't wanna come?"

Slowly, Greg put his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, okay, I-I'll come quietly..."

Sadie watched from the top of the lighthouse as the army vehicles rolled into and around Beach City. She clutched the rail with shaking hands, listening to the radio.

"With your help, we will see the Crystal Gems apprehended safely. Remember, the army is here to help. Thank you."

The radio switched off, replaced by the tones of the Emergency Warning System. Jenny switched it off and joined her next to the rail.

It had supposed to be an easy day. The band had met at the lighthouse to talk about their next song (Sadie was still pretty into the werewolf idea), and while that meant trying not to trip over Ronaldo and ignoring his 'True Werewolf Factoids', the atmosphere in the old building was lovely. The sun was shining high in the sky, and looking over Beach City in the brilliant sunlight was quiet relaxing.

At least it had been, until the tanks rolled in.

Sadie could see them rolling across the beach, cutting off access to the Temple. They seemed to be stopping a few hundred metres away from the Temple itself - Sadie wondered if they were waiting for the Crystal Gems to surrender. Not very likely, she thought.

"Man, this is surreal," muttered Jenny, watching a helicopter land in the town square.

Sadie nodded.

"Why now, though?" asked Jenny, "The Gems have been here since, like, forever. If they'd wanted to start something, they would've done it years ago. Where were they when that big green hand showed up and we had to evacuate? That at least would have made sense."

"Something must've changed," mused Sadie.

She thought back to the wrecked helicopter in the Beta Kindergarten. Surely that couldn't have been it? It had only been one helicopter, and they'd saved the crew, hadn't they?

Distantly, she heard loud boots on the stairwell. She turned to the window, and moments later a few soldiers entered the lantern room. She glanced to Jenny - they nodded and headed back in.

The leader of the soldiers, a man in a blue uniform, was talking politely but firmly to Buck, Sour Cream and Ronaldo.

"...this lighthouse has been appropriated for use by the military as an observation post," he was saying, "You will need to vacate the premises."

"But I live here!" exclaimed Ronaldo.

"We can talk about compensation when the crisis is over," replied the officer, "But you'll need to leave. We need this building for use against the Crystal Gems."

"Use against the Crystal Gems?"

Ronaldo crossed his arms.

"I'll have you know that I used to be a Crystal Gem," he declared.

The officer and his troops exchanged glances.

Five minutes later, the officer shoved a handcuffed Ronaldo into the back of his jeep. He turned and nodded to the other kids.

"Sorry for the disruption, kids," he said.

He climbed into the jeep and drove away.

"Dang," said Buck.

"So," asked Sour Cream, "What do we do now? I mean, we can go to my place, but I kinda don't think I'm up for anymore song-writing..."

"We can go check in with Nana," suggested Jenny, "She's the mayor now, so she'll know what's happening, right?"

"Unless she's been arrested too," said Sadie darkly.

"I still don't get why they're doing this now," said Jenny, scratching her chin, "It just doesn't make any sense..."

Sadie thought back. She remembered the Delmarva Centre and the incident with the corrupted Quartz...

"OSS! Stay back!"

A man stepped through the dust, carrying a crowbar. Sadie's eyes widened.

It was Clancy Miller.

Sadie narrowed her eyes.

"Clancy," she growled.

"This is Captain Wayne Clark of the Gem Task Force!"

Pearl rolled her eyes.

She, Garnet, Amethyst and Peridot watched as the loud, angry captain bellowed into his microphone. He certainly seemed confident, which might have had something to do with the squads of troops that surrounded the Beach House, backed up by a half-dozen tanks. She wondered if they actually intended to attack the Temple.

"We have you surrounded on all sides!" the Captain thundered, "If you do not come out by sundown and surrender yourselves to our custody, we will be forced to assault your base with extreme force. I repeat, you have until sundown to comply!"

"What does he think he is, a cowboy or something?" asked Amethyst.

"He looks nothing like a cow," added Peridot dismissively.

"He's definitely confident." Pearl turned to Garnet, frowning. "Do they have a chance?"

Garnet shook her head.

"Not in a direct battle," she replied, "None of their weapons could penetrate the Temple door. We wouldn't even have to fight them."

"I get the sense there's a 'but' coming up, G," said Amethyst.

Garnet nodded.

"They seem willing to use our allies to get to us," she said flatly. "The humans in town. Greg. Connie..."

Pearl's hands flew to her lips, covering the tiny gasp that escaped her lips.

"Steven," she whispered.

Garnet only nodded, looking particularly severe as she gazed out of the window.

Beside them, Amethyst fidgeted uncomfortably. "I-I mean, they wouldn't actually do anything to the humans, right Garnet? They're supposed to protect them - like Greg and Connie are both humans! They couldn't just attack them, right? And Steven, too..."

"Steven isn't exactly human," Peridot corrected, though her usually poindexter attitude seemed awfully bitter.

Pearl looked about ready to draw swords, so Garnet raised a hand to stay their worries.

"There's a number of possibilities... I can't know for certain how this will play out. But we need to plan."

"There's a gem who wants to escape Homeworld," said Lapis, "I'm trying to help her."

Lapis' return had been met with laughter and hugs from Steven, which was understandable - but Connie had been less ecstatic. It seemed strange to her - Lapis had left because she was afraid of the Diamonds returning. Why, then, would she come back? And why would she recommend another gem come here? It just seemed too good to be true.

That having been said, it'd didn't look like Lapis was lying. Connie had learned the facial tics that people sometimes made when they weren't telling the truth, and Lapis had none of those; and there certainly wasn't any sign that she was brainwashed or anything. Still, something about this made her feel uneasy.

"Lapis, that's so nice of you!" exclaimed Steven, grinning broadly, "I'm sure the Gems would be thrilled to have her!"

Lapis smiled.

"I hope so," she replied, "I mean, they might not be glad to have me, after everything that's happened..."

"Water under the bridge," chuckled Steven, "You get it? Water? Because... because you do water stuff?"

Lapis laughed.

"No," she said.

"Well, I'll explain it to you one day," shrugged Steven. “C’mon, we’ve got to go back to the Temple right now! Peridot is there, and she’ll be so --”

“No!” Lapis flinched away like Steven had hit her. “N-no, I can’t face her. Not… not yet. We should help this gem first. She stole a ship and is just waiting for a signal to come down to the surface… I didn’t know where might be a good place?”

Connie tapped her chin, thoughtful. "Well, away from the army, at any rate."

She winced as she heard another fighter jet scream overhead.

"How about the warehouse?" asked Steven, "They probably won't look there, right? The only things there are Mr. Smiley's stash of old wrestling magazines!"

Connie nodded.

"That might work," she agreed, "Okay, let's go set it up for... Lapis, who was this gem again?"

"Seraphinite," replied Lapis.

Greg winced as the soldiers shoved him roughly to the office floor. He looked to his left, and found himself next to Doug and Priyanka - he swallowed and grinned nervously at them. Thankfully, they seemed more focused on being angry at the military officers than being angry at him.

"Major King's bringing the last one up now," one of the soldiers said.

"Good," nodded Bradshaw.

He was sitting behind the Mayor's desk, Clancy Miller and Philbert Bracknell behind him. The former looked as though his temper was threatening to burst through the dam of self-control - Bracknell, for his part, just looked confused. In front of them, Nanefua paced angrily, giving Bradshaw a piece of her mind.

"You have no right to detain my townsfolk," she snapped, "They haven't done anything wrong!"

"That's for me to decide, madam," replied Bradshaw, "I have orders to neutralise all threats. Other countries would've handled this in a far more violent fashion, and..."

"That doesn't make you right!" growled Nanefua.

The door opened. Major King marched into the room and pushed Ronaldo onto the ground next to Greg - for his part, he seemed to be slightly less forceful than the other soldiers. Slightly.

"Ronaldo?" quizzed Greg.

"I'm a person of interest!" said Ronaldo excitedly.

"Alright," said Bradshaw, standing up, "Douglas and Priyanka Maheswaran, Gregory Universe née DeMayo, and Ronaldo Fryman alias 'Bloodstone...'"

Ronaldo beamed.

"...you are charged with association with treasonous alien elements," he continued, "You will detained until..."

"Warrant," snapped Doug.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Bradshaw.

"Warrant," Doug repeated, "Where is it?"

"My warrant," snapped Bradshaw, "Is the power vested in me by the President of the United States. My warrant is my oath to the people, who I am sworn to protect."

He turned to King.

"Where are their kids, anyway?" he demanded.

"If you touch a hair on Connie's head," thundered Priyanka, leaning forward, "I swear..."

"...you'll go to prison for assaulting an officer," grunted Bradshaw.

"We couldn't find them, sir," replied King, "I've got men looking for them now. I've ordered them to use discretion to prevent..."

"Discretion?" snapped Bradshaw, "Does this look like the time for discretion?"

"...they're kids, sir," said King.

"They're a national security threat," replied Bradshaw, "I understand it's not easy, but I need Steven and Candy..."

"Connie, sir."

"Thank you, Ernest - Steven and Connie in custody."

Major King swallowed.

"Yes sir," he said, "I'll... I'll handle it myself, sir."

"See that you do."

King saluted and left the room.

"Now, we have a conundrum," said Bradshaw, scratching his chin, "We got a couple of Crystal Gems who aren't coming out of their hole. We need to coax them."

He turned to Greg and grinned.

"I think I know just how to do that," he continued, "Bracknell, take the other three to the town square - I'm sending them to Fort Raleigh for detainment, you're gonna make sure they make it intact."

Bracknell turned to Clancy, who nodded.

"Don't rock the boat, Bracknell," he whispered, "I'll sort this out as soon as I can."

Bracknell swallowed. A couple of soldiers barged into the room, pulling Priyanka and Doug to their feet. Greg watched as they were dragged out - as they left, he just about saw Priyanka mouth something to him.

It's not your fault.

He sighed in relief as Bracknell escorted Ronaldo out of the office. Nanefua shot the agent a dirty look as he left.

"And where," she demanded, "Is Fort Raleigh?"

"West," replied Bradshaw, "Clancy, grab Mr. Universe. We're going down to the beach."

Clancy furrowed his brow.

"The beach?" he replied incredulously, "You're not seriously thinking of..."

"If it gets 'em out, Miller, then yes."

"Sir, that breaks just about every protocol in the book!" exclaimed Clancy, "You can't..."

"What the President doesn't know, won't hurt him," replied Bradshaw.

Watching the malicious smirk play at the Colonel’s lips, Greg felt his stomach drop.

Sadie marched up the street, the Cool Kids struggling to keep up as she purposefully made her way to Barb's house. Her face was set into a deep scowl. They encountered Onion going the other way - he gulped when he saw Sadie and quickly crossed the road.

She opened the fence and marched to the front door. She knocked three times, with a lot more force than was probably necessary.

The door opened.

"Sadie?" Barb gasped, "You came back?"

"I need to talk to Clancy," replied Sadie, her fists clenched, "You have his number. I'm calling him... and then I need to go again."

She sighed, calming down slightly.

"I'm sorry, I just... I'm still not ready to talk."

There was a long silence as the Cool Kids caught up.

"Uh... apart from that, though, how's it going, Ms. Miller?" asked Sour Cream.

Clancy sat in his car, waiting for the soldiers to finish bundling a handcuffed Greg into the back of the Colonel's jeep. It wasn't so much that Greg was struggling - they'd blindfolded him, and he couldn't find his way into the car. The soldiers were trying and failing to direct him, and their sergeant's face was starting to look something like a swollen plum as he watched his troops fumble. It'd have been funny if the situation wasn't so serious.

His phone rang. Clancy grit his teeth and turned on the bluetooth speaker - now simply wasn't the time.

"Agent Clancy Miller?"

"What the hell is the army doing here?!"

Clancy winced. That was Sadie's voice.

"Sadie, uh, this-this isn't the time, I-I'm very busy..."

"Yeah, I noticed. Why are they going after the gems? What did you tell them?!"

"I told them to leave it well enough alone!" snapped Clancy, "It's not my fault they can't listen to their own advisors!"

The Colonel jumped into the jeep and it started. Clancy grunted, driving along behind him.

"Look, this is a really bad time," he said, "I'll get them out of here, but I need time..."

"What, you're just gonna give them the Crystal Gems?" demanded Sadie.

"They can't take 'em in a straight fight," replied Clancy, "You know..."

"So you'll just let other people get hurt! Just like you always do!"

Clancy winced.

"I'm working on it," he replied, "I... it's hard, okay! Talking to Bradshaw's like talking to a brick wall, and if I push too hard, he might... he might figure out I'm covering for you."

There was no reply, so he continued.

"They already think I know where the ruby is," he continued, "One step out of line and they could find me out. They could find you out! I-I want to help people, I want to stop them for from getting the Gems, but... but I won't do anything that leads them to you."

He sighed.

"I don't know if I can save everyone," he finished, "But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I couldn't save you. I've done enough to hurt your family."

He pulled up at the end of the road, just in front of the slope up to the lighthouse.

"Look, I have to go," he said, "Just... lay low until this is finished, okay? I'll work it out."

"Clancy, you... I can't..."

He looked up. Bradshaw had climbed out of the jeep and was walking towards him.

"Sadie, I gotta hang up," he said, "I..."

Bradshaw leaned against the window. He was grinning now, like a shark who had just cornered his prey. Clancy furrowed his brow - what was he so happy about?

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a phone, pressing a button on it and pulling it to his ear.

"You didn't seriously think we wouldn't have bugged your phone, did you Clancy?"

"So, Sadie Miller."

Sadie's shivered as she listened to the voice on the other end of the line. It maintained the facade of military protocol, but there was a hint of grim, sneering satisfaction. She glanced over to her mother on the other side of the kitchen table - her face was set in a frown.

"I imagine you have my ruby," he said.

"It isn't yours," replied Sadie, trying hard not to sound as nervous as she was.

"Oh, but it is, Ms. Miller, and you're gonna deliver it to me," replied Bradshaw, "Or Clancy here is going to be in a bit of trouble..."

Faintly, Sadie could hear a dull thud and a cry of pain.

"And what if I can't?" asked Sadie.

Barb gritted her teeth and mouthed a reply. Don't tell them.

"Oh, I believe you can," said Bradshaw, "In fact, I believe you can take that ruby wherever you want. Ain't that right, 1GK?"

Sadie's blood ran cold.

"How long have you known?"

"I've suspected since the fire at the depot," explained Bradshaw, "But I knew after you drew your weapon in a public mall at Wilmingmore... oh come on, Clancy, you're a secret agent, you wouldn't tell me if you suspected me of something..."

Sadie swallowed.

"So what happens to me?" she asked, "If I give myself up?"

There was a long pause.

"I'm not at liberty to say."

Sadie closed her eyes and nodded.

"If I come," she said, "You leave the Crystal Gems alone. You let Clancy and everyone else you've kidnapped go. You leave Beach City and never come back. Got it?"

"Sadie, no!" exclaimed Barb.

"...deal. Half-an-hour, outside the Temple. Come alone."

The Colonel chuckled.

"I look forward to making your acquaintance."

The line went dead. Sadie collapsed into her chair, rubbing her forehead.

"Sadie!" exclaimed Barb, "You can't give yourself up! I'm not letting you..."

"Mom."

Sadie stood up.

"I've just had dumbest idea in history," she said, "And it's really dangerous, and I'm probably gonna have to wing most of this, because I haven't thought it through..."

She took a deep breath and offered Barb a shaky smile.

"...and I'm gonna need your help."

Barb stared for a just a moment, as if processing what Sadie had said. Then, very slowly, her face broke into a smile.

"That's my girl," she said.

Lapis paced back and forth in the warehouse, occasionally looking up into the afternoon sky. Connie watched her dubiously - she knew Steven trusted her completely, but she couldn't help but feel that something was distinctly off about her behaviour.

Quite suddenly, they heard a rustling outside the warehouse. All eyes fell on the door, which started to groan ominously.

"What's going on?" asked Steven, "Who is that?"

The door flew open with a loud crash. A squad of about six soldiers, led by a man in a blue uniform, burst into the warehouse, weapons drawn. The blue uniformed man advanced on the three, shouting a warning.

"My name is Major Ernest King!" he shouted, "I have orders to take Steven Universe and Connie Maheswaran into custody. Do not resist!"

"What?!" exclaimed Steven, "But we're innocent!"

"Where the heck is your warrant?!" demanded Connie.

Lapis narrowed her eyes.

"No," she said, "You can't be allowed to ruin this."

"This is a military matter, ma'am!" snapped King, "And... wait, you're a gem..."

Lapis raised her arms. The sea by the warehouse began to rise into the air, like a gigantic tsunami in slow motion. The soldiers looked up in horror as the foamy water twisted and formed into a giant fist, ready to smash down upon them; Connie's eyes widened as she realised that she and Steven were also in its shadow.

"Lapis, no, don't hurt them!" shouted Steven, running up to his friend.

Lapis turned to him, her face twisted into a dark scowl. For the briefest moment, Connie swore she saw a speck of white in her pupils.

"I'm sorry, Rose Quartz," she snarled, "But I won't allow anything to stop Seraphinite."

A sonic boom filled the air, shattering windows for about a mile around. Connie would have given it a lot more thought, except for the fact that it was swiftly followed by a much closer boom as the fist of water came down. She heard shouts and scream, a few scattered shots rang out, and then she was consumed by water. For a minute, she struggled desperately for breath, thrashing in the endless blue void.

Then, mercifully, she fell into darkness.

Chapter Text

Reckoning

Private Gordon Watson had long dreamed of joining the army and becoming a hero in some foreign war. He'd turned up to the recruitment office with lofty dreams and endless enthusiasm, absolutely determined to give his all for America and its values.

The army had responded to his plucky enthusiasm by putting him in a truck.

Watson sat at a red traffic light, tapping on the steering wheel. It had been a long drive from the supply depot to Beach City, and he could just about feel himself aging as he waited for the light to turn green. Still, he wouldn't be in this one-horse town long. All he had to do was run to the beach, give the jarheads at the front their ration boxes and clean water, and then run all the way back up to Keystone.

Bitter? Him? Never.

Quite suddenly, he heard a knock on his door. He leaned out the window, making eye contact with a middle-aged blonde woman. She held a wrench in her hand - maybe she was a mechanic?

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Your taillight's out," said the woman.

Darn it, that was all he needed.

"Hang on."

He sighed and climbed out of the cab, wandering to the back of the truck. He leaned down, studying the left taillight. Odd - it certainly seemed to be working...

"I dunno, it looks pretty intact to-"

Something hard slammed against the back of his head, and everything went black.

"You're sure that wrench didn't hurt him?" asked Jenny.

"Ah, it was just a light tap! Worst he'll have is a concussion."

Barb was propping the unfortunate truck driver against a tree, carefully moving his cap so that it looked like he was sleeping. To Sadie, he looked almost peaceful.

They had gotten very lucky with the truck. Not only was it big enough for Sadie's plan (which might more accurately called the beginnings of a plan), but a few crates in the back carried spare helmets and clean uniforms - perfect disguises to get past the military cordon on the beach. They'd taken it to Vidalia's house, and now Sour Cream and his mother were busy lifting a heavy object in a large black box into the back.

"You sure that'll work, Sour Cream?" Jenny called.

"This thing?" Sour Cream grinned. "This rig could raise the roof of the Empire City Building!"

"Right," nodded Jenny, "In that case, I'm gonna go grab some earplugs."

She headed inside.

Barb finished positioning the driver and nodded in satisfaction.

"Yep," she said, rubbing her hands together, "Works every time."

Sadie decided not to ask when her mother had done this before.

"Okay," Barb continued, "Come sit with me."

She sat down on the curb. Sadie hesitated - she knew that her mother wanted to talk, and she still didn't think she was ready - but slowly, she sat down next to her. They sat in silence for some time.

"You lied to me," said Sadie at last.

"I did," nodded Barb.

"Why?"

Barb pointed at the white star emblazoned on the door of the truck.

"I guess I wanted to keep them away from you," she replied, "Them, White Diamond... I didn't want you to get hurt."

She snorted.

"Heck of a lot of good that did," she sighed, "But I guess more than that, I wanted you to be... normal. I... I see how Steven feels about his gem, and..."

"You do?"

"I'm a mom, of course I do," Barb chuckled humourlessly, "Anyway, I didn't want that for you. I just wanted you to be... you."

Sadie looked down at her hands. She noted they were shaking, and with a strained flex of her knuckles, forced the tremble from her fingers. A small dance of warm light caught her eye, her gemstone waving a scarlet glimmer towards her periphery. It had gotten easier to understanding the way it felt, but seeing it, sometimes, still tied her stomach into knots. Excited or weary, she wasn't even sure anymore.

"And who am I, mom?" she asked, pulling her shirt down slightly and giving her gem a conflicted gaze, "Am I human? Am I a gem? Am I still Sadie Miller, or am I someone else?"

Barb sighed.

"No one can answer that but you," she replied, "But for what it's worth, you'll always be my little Sadie. Human or gem, that's the most precious thing in the universe to me."

Sadie looked her mother in the eye.

"If you could do this again," she asked, "Would you still have lied?"

Barb's mouth opened, but nothing came out. For a moment, she sat there, staring mutely at her daughter - then her face fell and she looked away.

"I don't know," she replied, "I honestly don't know."

Before Sadie could reply, Jenny and Buck emerged from the house. Both were dressed in the olive-green uniform and pot-shaped helmet of an army soldier - in Buck's case, it hung low over his eyes.

"What do they put on these uniforms?" asked Jenny, "They reek!"

"I think I need a bigger helmet," Buck said flatly.

Barb got to her feet.

"I better get changed," she said.

She was already halfway to the door before Sadie could reply.

Barb gritted her teeth as the truck approached the beach.

A checkpoint had been set up on the other side of the road from the car wash. About six bored-looking soldiers manned it, backed up by a small tank that had been parked on the sand. Clancy's car sat a few yards away - it had been impounded, as if the worst thing he'd done was park illegally.

"Hope these disguises hold up," she whispered.

Buck, who was sitting next to her in the cab, nodded but said nothing.

Carefully, Barb pulled the truck up next to the lead soldier. He wandered over, yawning as he did.

"What've you got?" he asked.

"What have you got, sergeant," replied Barb testily, pointing to the stripes on her shoulder.

"Uh... yes, sergeant, uh... wh-what're you carrying?" the soldier corrected anxiously.

"Thank you," nodded Barb, taking some satisfaction in his nervousness, "Private Dewey, the manifest."

Buck passed her a clipboard that the original truck driver had left in the glove compartment. Carefully, she handed it to the soldier.

"Let's see here," muttered the soldier, "K-rations, water canteens, ammunition; 7.62mm, spare rifle parts; M14, fire hose and tank..."

Barb tuned him out, watching the other soldiers and especially the tank. They paid her little heed - three of them were playing cards, and one sat on the curb playing a handheld games console. The tank's engine was turned off, and the commander was missing - perhaps he had gone in search of dinner, as sunset was not far off.

They weren't prepared for an attack from outside their perimeter. Good.

"...seven boxes of... what? What the heck do they think we're doing down here?"

She turned back to the soldier.

"I'll never understand the army," he muttered, handing the clipboard back, "Anyway, seems good, drive on through."

Barb nodded, driving the truck onto beach. It rumbled as it met the loose sands, skidding for a moment before driving onwards. She took a deep breath - this was it.

"Sour Cream," Buck called into the back, "Start getting it ready."

Slowly they turned the corner and approached the Temple. Barb swallowed - arranged outside the beach house in a roughly semicircular formation was a platoon of soldiers, backed up by about three machine guns and two tanks. They stood with bayonets fixed, and Captain Clark was positioned in front of them, revolver drawn. Clearly they were about to attack.

Behind them, Bradshaw stood next to Greg and Clancy, who were handcuffed and forced to their knees by a pair of soldiers each. He seemed to be lecturing them, although Barb couldn't make out his words. A few jeeps and trucks were parked next to them - slowly, Barb pulled the truck up by the Colonel's jeep.

Bradshaw looked up and wandered over. He looked decidedly annoyed.

"Does this look like the time for a resupply?" he demanded, "I'm about to launch an infantry assault!"

"Well, they waved me through," shrugged Barb, "Unless you don't want seven boxes of..."

"Unless you have the Miller girl, I don't care what you have!" snapped Bradshaw.

"If you touch her, I swear to god..." thundered Clancy.

"You're in no position to make demands, Agent Miller," said Bradshaw.

"Look, she's not here yet, right?" said Barb, "Why not just get this out of the way?"

Bradshaw sighed.

"Fine," he grunted, "Pull up behind the central machine gun post. They'll help you unload. I want you in and out in ten minutes."

Barb smiled and drove forward.

As they drove up in front of the temple, they saw the Crystal Gems on the balcony. Amethyst and Peridot were positioning a strange, pink cannon under the railing, while Garnet and Pearl were whispering something between each other. She couldn't see Steven, and absently wondered where he might be.

Before long, she'd pulled up behind a small hole in the middle of the perimeter. A machine gun had been placed on the rim of the hole, and the two gunners climbed out to help unload to truck.

Buck tapped the back of the cab.

"It's time."

The soldiers pulled the canvas flap on the back of the truck open.

"Wait, what the-"

BWAAAAAWUUBWUUBWUUBWUUBWUUBWUUB

The soldiers screamed and clutched their ears as the dubstep screeched over the beach. At the back of the truck was a truly enormous speaker, on top of which Sour Cream sat. He whooped and held up a pair of glowsticks, and pandemonium reigned.

Sadie leapt out of the truck, spear drawn. She swung into the heads of the two soldiers, knocking them both to the ground. Jenny jumped out after her, carrying a fire hose. She sprayed it towards a couple of soldiers that had begun to run over to them - the force of water sent them sprawling backwards.

Captain Clark staggered, clutching his ears. He bellowed out an order in an admirable attempt to be heard over the speaker.

"What are you scumbags doing?! Shoot them!"

He pulled his revolver, pointing it at Sadie.

He never got the chance to fire. Garnet leapt down from the sky, smashing down on him with her gauntlets. She pulled the revolver from his hand, crushing it as she made a fist. A particularly optimistic soldier charged her with her bayonet - she grabbed the barrel of her rifle, twisted it upwards and then punched her out.

The machine guns opened fire. Garnet raised her gauntlets, deflecting the bullets.

Pearl jumped into the air from the balcony, aiming her spear in midair. A series of four quick, aimed shots knocked out both of the machine gun teams before she landed. She raised her arms, lifting a cloud of sand into the air, and hurled it towards another half-dozen soldiers, blinding them.

There was a loud bang, and a tank shell flew over her head. One of the tanks was rolling forward, and she glanced over to the balcony.

"Cannon's ready!" shouted Peridot, "Say the phrase, say the phrase!"

"If every pork chop were perfect," bellowed Amethyst, "We wouldn't have hot dogs!"

The cannon fired in a plume of light. The beam slammed into the tank, blasting it upwards and flipping it onto its turret. Like an upside-down turtle, the tracks rolled helplessly against the sky.

The second tank began to roll up. Peridot turned to it, smirking. With a loud bang, it fired - Peridot held up her hands, and the shell froze in midair.

"No thanks," she said, "You can keep it!"

She turned the shell around and flung it back at the tank. It went right through the front armour and into the engine, setting the big machine ablaze. The crew leapt out of the hatches and dove for cover.

Amethyst grinned and jumped from the balcony, swinging her whip above her head. She landed and swung it out, entangling about eight soldiers and throwing them over her head. They landed hard on the sand, and Amethyst quickly retrieved her whip.

The last remaining soldier, hand shaking, pointed his rifle at Sadie. He pulled the trigger - it clicked uselessly, having jammed from the sand thrown up from the fighting. He cringed, throwing his rifle away and reaching for his pistol as he backed up against the truck.

The truck door flew open, slamming into the back of his head and knocking him out.

"You stay away from my girl!" Barb snapped, climbing down from the cab.

As the dust settled, Sadie found herself standing with her mother, her friends and the Crystal Gems in the middle of a beach strewn with unconscious, groaning soldiers. She had to be honest, she'd never seen herself ending up somewhere like this, but it felt strangely satisfying.

A slow, sarcastic clap filled the air.

Colonel Bradshaw stepped up, stepping over several of his own troops. Behind him, soldiers dragged Greg and Clancy towards them. They dropped them in front of the group, and Bradshaw drew his gun.

"Very well done," he said, "Very well done."

He pointed the barrel of the gun at Greg's head. Steven's father gulped, sweating. Sadie clenched her fists and grit her teeth.

"You went back on my agreement, Ms. Miller," he said, "But I'm gonna give you a chance to walk that back. You have five seconds to..."

"Sir!"

Bradshaw frowned, drawing his radio.

"What is it, Ernest?"

"...need backup... unidentified gem at the warehouse... has the kids... I don't think-no, stay back, stay back, I'm arm-"

The radio cut out abruptly.

"Warehouse?" Bradshaw whispered to himself.

All eyes turned to the ruined warehouse across the bay.

As if being painted onto a canvas, a starship uncloaked just above the building. It was roughly cigar shaped with a smooth, featureless surface, save for a small hump on the top which Sadie guessed might be the bridge. It was painted pure white, and an enormous symbol was emblazoned on the nose.

It was a white diamond.

Seraphinite was in a very good mood this evening.

She stood over the unconscious form of the treacherous Rose Quartz, wrapped securely in chains of water with his human friend. The human soldiers had mostly fled or been knocked out, but their leader - the one called Ernest King - was restrained a small distance away.

Reading Rose Quartz' mind was... strange. Ordinarily, Seraphinite could read a gem's personality, emotions and memories like a book, but looking at Rose was like gazing at a swirling sea of ink. Everything was indistinct and slightly wrong - some shapes she could vaguely recognise, like Pink Diamond and her palanquin, but others bore no resemblance to anything she'd ever known. It was as if her pristine gem psyche had been contaminated by the pollution of humanity. She felt slightly ill.

More worrying were the humans. If a mind was a book to her, full of pictures and words and poetry, than those of Connie and King were like padlocked diaries to which she had no key. She had never attempted to read a human before, of course - what reason would she have to? - and the idea that she might not be able to was... deeply concerning.

This would have to be reported. Reported and studied.

"The traitor's human ally," she declared, "Will be coming with us."

She glanced at Lapis, who nodded. She could feel the true emotions of the blue gem - anguish, fear, constant fruitless straining against her mental cage. It was an intoxicating feeling.

"What about the other human?" asked Lapis, "The Major King?"

"His fate," replied Seraphinite, "Shall depend on what happens next."

She turned to the ship's ramp, motioning for Lapis to follow.

"Come," she said, "It's time we met the Crystal Gems face-to-face."

Sadie's eyes widened as the white ship began to move.

It turned almost on a dime, like a record spun and then immediately stopped, and began to glide over the harbour towards them. It didn't hurry, advancing almost casually towards them.

Garnet's face was set into a frown, her teeth gritted. She turned to Peridot and pointed back up at the beach house.

"Get to the cannon," she ordered, "Now."

Peridot didn't comply. She stared at the oncoming ship, her face pale.

"That's a Coalescence-class command ship," Peridot replied, her voice shaking, "Your laser light cannons won't put a dent in it."

"Command ship?" Amethyst tilted her head, the tone of her voice attempting and failing to sound casual. "You mean like... like a diamond or something?"

Pearl was shaking, one hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide and haunted - it looked to Sadie like she was about to burst into tears.

"Seraphinite."

Colonel Bradshaw took off his cap and ran a hand through his thinning hair, sighing heavily. His shoulders hunched slightly. Sadie took some satisfaction from the idea that he seemed to be having an increasingly bad evening.

"Clancy," he asked, "You mind telling me what that is?"

Clancy shook his head.

"I've never seen that ship," he replied, "But I've seen that symbol..."

He got to his feet, the soldier behind him immediately aiming his gun at his head in response. Clancy ignored him, facing the Colonel - his eyes were wild and his face was an ashen white.

"Whatever you want, Bradshaw, you can have it," he said desperately, "The gems, this town - you can drop a nuke on it for all I care! Just let Sadie go!"

"Oh wow," grunted Jenny, "Thanks Mr. Miller."

Sadie opened her mouth to add to that, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up - Barb stood there; she too looked like she'd seen a ghost. The ship was just about over them now, and it seemed to be slowly lowering...

"Sadie," she whispered, "He's right. You need to run. Run and don't look..."

An ear-splitting screech filled the air.

Sadie grabbed her ears and fell to her knees, wincing. She could hear screams around her, but she couldn't identify who they were. The sound that filled her ears was indescribable - like a sonic screech, nails on a chalkboard, a thousand vuvuzelas and the BHX logo sound all at once. It was like sandpaper running through her head, scratching and grinding her very thoughts, screaming, screaming...

And then it was gone.

Sadie looked up, her eyes watering. Amethyst was on the ground in front of her, hands over her head. Not far away, Garnet was helping Pearl to her feet, and Peridot was clumsily trying to pull herself up. Strangely, Bradshaw and his men were standing upright as if nothing had happened, and so were Greg and Clancy...

"...Sadie! What's going on, what happened?!"

Sadie sat up, looking at her mother. She was kneeling down next to her, rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her pain. Buck, Jenny and Sour Cream stood nearby - they too looked unharmed by the strange sound.

"Didn't... didn't you hear that?" asked Sadie.

"Hear what?" asked Buck.

"That noise!" replied Sadie, "The one that just..."

There was a deep, hydraulic hiss, and Sadie looked towards the ship. It was hovering low now, and a ramp had descended from the bottom of the hull. A gem marched down, tall and green with a silver uniform. Behind her was a blue gem, and Sadie couldn't help but think she'd seen her before.

"Lapis?" gasped Amethyst.

Lapis smirked, an expression that looked entirely wrong on her face. She held up her hands, and three bound figures floated down the ramp onto the beach. One was the military man Sadie had seen at the lighthouse, struggling desperately against his watery bonds. The other two were very, very familiar.

"Steven!" exclaimed Greg.

"Connie!" shouted Pearl.

"Don't give them anything!" shouted Connie, "We'll get out of this, just don't listen to her!"

The tall gem stepped onto the sands, her arms behind her back.

"Greetings," she said, "I am Seraphinite. I am here to see that justice is done."

Before anyone could reply, Bradshaw stepped forward.

"My name is Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Bradshaw, United States Army," he said, "State your business."

Seraphinite frowned.

"I am here," she said, slowly and deliberately, "To see that justice is done."

"And what do you mean by justice?" demanded Bradshaw.

"This gem," replied Seraphinite, pointing to a struggling Steven, "Is the most wanted war criminal in our society. She will be returned to Homeworld to complete her trial."

"Oh no you don't!"

Peridot stepped forward, dodging Garnet's attempts to hold her back. She pointed angrily at Seraphinite, her face twisting into a defiant scowl.

"Steven's a Crystal Gem!" she shouted, "And if you think you can just step onto this planet and capture one of our own, you have seriously miscalculated our combat prowess! Now back off, or we're gonna-"

Seraphinite drew a staff and pointed it at the green gem, nonchalantly firing a beam at her. It hit Peridot square in the chest - she disappeared in a plume of green smoke, her gem falling to the sand.

"Peridot!"

Amethyst ran forward and grabbed her gem, cradling it in her arms.

"Okay," nodded Bradshaw, "And why exactly do you want that little girl? Or Major King?"

"Sir, please, don't let them take me!" shouted King, distraught.

"I'm working on it," Bradshaw called back.

"I wish to interrogate her," replied Seraphinite, "And ascertain her connection to the rebel. As for your officer, we really couldn't care less about him - although he'd be an interesting test subject."

Bradshaw nodded.

"And if I were to give you the Uni... Rose Quartz and Maheswaran, would you leave the Earth?" he asked.

"What?!" exclaimed Greg, "You can't just give them Steven and Connie! I-it's not your decision to make!"

"I thought you're supposed to be protecting people!" shouted Steven, "This isn't protecting humanity!"

"It is," replied Bradshaw, "In a very pragmatic way."

Seraphinite sneered.

"I would have no reason to return," she replied, "There'd be... nothing for me to come back to."

Bradshaw scratched his chin.

"Fine," he said, "Take them all. I'll throw in King to sweeten the deal."

"Sir?!" exclaimed King.

"Take them all," repeated Bradshaw, "And don't come back."

Seraphinite nodded. "Very well."

"But... but, sir, you can't... you can't!" screamed King.

"Sorry, Major, but saving the planet requires sacrifices," shrugged Bradshaw, "Goodbye, Emmet."

King's face fell into a look of utter shock and betrayal.

"...Ernest, sir."

Bradshaw smirked.

"Thank you, Ernest," he replied.

Seraphinite clicked her fingers, and King was floated up into the ship. Slowly, Steven and Connie began to follow.

"Amethyst! Pearl! Garnet!" called Steven, "Dad!"

"We'll get out of this!" Connie yelled, her brave words undercut by the tears beginning to run down her cheeks, "Tell my parents not to give up! We'll... we'll be back!"

Sadie watched numbly as they began to disappear from view. She felt so helpless - something had to be done, but everyone was standing around in mute shock. Somebody had to step up. Anybody!

She clenched her fists. She'd have to do.

Sadie leapt to her feet, drawing her spear once more. She screamed a battle cry as she charged towards the Homeworld gem.

"Sadie, no!" exclaimed Barb.

"Stay back, stay back!" shrieked Clancy.

Seraphinite smirked again. Her eyes flashed.

The screech filled Sadie's mind again. She fell to the ground, just inches away from Seraphinite's feet, screaming as she clutched her ears. Everything else was forgotten - all she wanted was to be free of this terrible, terrible...

It was gone again, but before she could even process her respite, she was yanked upwards up the collar, finding herself at eye level with the tall green gem.

"Interesting," she said, "You look like a human, but it seems..."

She pulled down Sadie's collar with her free hand, looking down at her gem.

"Ruby," she nodded, "1GK, Kindergarten 1-302-Sigma, Batch 21002. That was a bad batch, if I remember correctly."

"You... you got all that from looking at my gem?" quizzed Sadie.

Seraphinite pursed her lips.

"You'll require further study," she said, "You're coming with me."

"No!"

Barb ran towards them, fists clenched.

"You take my baby over my dead-"

BANG.

Barb screeched and fell to the ground. The sand around her left leg was slowly stained red - Sadie gasped in horror.

"Mom!"

She looked over to Bradshaw, who was holstering his smoking pistol.

"Please don't disrupt our diplomacy, Ms. Miller," he said smugly.

Sadie struggled against Seraphinite's grip.

"You dirty son of a... that's my mom, you bastard!" she began to scream, "If you... if anything happens to her, I..."

"Sadie..."

Barb was crawling across the sand, reaching for her daughter.

"I won't... I won't let them take you... I won't..."

She passed out in the sand.

"MOM!"

Seraphinite sneered.

"Does anybody else want to delay my departure?" she asked.

She looked over to Pearl. The tall gem was frozen in place, tears running down her face. Her hands were clutched over her mouth - if she'd had fingernails, Sadie reckoned they'd be cutting her skin. What was she doing? It wasn't like Pearl to freeze up, was it?

"Ah," said Seraphinite, "A gag order. How quaint. Let's see what Rose made you hide."

She gazed at Pearl, her eyes flashing again. Pearl screamed, falling to her knees and clutching her head. Her screech was primal and unsettling - from a gem that was always so melodic and rhythmic, hearing that horrific, guttural sound of utter agony chilled Sadie to the bone.

Seraphinite frowned.

"I see," she said, simply.

She snapped her fingers. There was a poof, and Pearl was gone - her gem landing with a dull thud on the sand.

"This changes things," muttered Seraphinite, "Lapis Lazuli, we must leave now."

She tucked Sadie under her arm and turned around. Sadie looked back, struggling against the gem's grip as she and Lapis walked up the ramp, floating Steven and Connie up next to them.

"No! I can't leave mom! I-I can't leave mom!" shouted Sadie.

"You can and you will," replied Seraphinite, "Try not to dwell on it. We won't be back."

Down on the beach, her friends were calling her name. Jenny began to run towards the ramp - in a swift motion, Garnet grabbed her by the shoulder and held her back. Greg was screaming Steven's name, trying desperately to escape his bonds. Clancy stared at the sand, his face weary and worn. A soldier was carrying Barb off the beach, but whether that was to help her or to get her out of the way, Sadie couldn't tell.

A cry followed them. It sounded like Garnet.

"You won't win," she said, "We'll get them all back!"

Seraphinite rolled her eyes.

"I suppose we'd better make sure they don't follow," she said.

Her eyes flashed. The screeching came again, cutting deep into Sadie's thoughts. She closed her eyes and screamed, weeping as the pain cut through her psyche. She tried to focus on something, anything but the pain.

Lars. The band. The fire. The mall. Shapeshifting. The worm. The army. Seraphinite. Her mother, bleeding from her leg. Your fault. Your fault.

Finally, Sadie drifted into a deep, blissful darkness.

Chapter Text

Prisoners

"...warning. Warning. Boarding party detected in Block Four. All units to defensive positions..."

The first thing Sadie knew was the splitting pain in her head. It was dark - too dark - and as she opened her eyes she was faced with a blurry stream of milky grey. There was a white blob swimming in front of her, vibrating and swirling wildly near a pair of purple blobs. She tried to focus on them, to discern their forms, but every attempt to clear her mind was met with agony.

"...get back to your positions immediately, I will not have these prisoners taken on our watch! I... hey, you! Back to your post, now, or I'll-"

A sudden rush of yellow swept into Sadie's field of vision, slamming into both of the purple blobs. They expanded for just a moment before disappearing like smoke. A second later, it had done the same to the white blob - now the yellow one was alone. It grew bigger and bigger, and Sadie heard loud footsteps.

There was a hiss. The blur split as a glass door opened up in front of her. She found herself looking at a big, square face.

A big, yellow, square face.

A big, yellow, very familiar square face.

"What... you?"

Topaz quickly put her hands on Sadie's shoulders and smiled awkwardly. She spoke in an unexpectedly soft voice.

"You're Steven's friend, right?" she said, "I... I'm getting you out of here, come on!"

Carefully and hesitantly, Sadie stepped forward. Immediately she missed her footing and tumbled face first to a hard, glossy floor. Her vision swam and she winced.

"Oh, oh my stars, I should've mentioned the step!" exclaimed Topaz, leaning over to help her up, "I... I'm so sorry!"

Sadie rolled over and rubbed her head. The room was dark and grey - not like steel, but like an ultra-modern phone store that had been painted a little too darkly. The room was small and utterly pristine - apart from the pod she had just fallen out of, it was completely featureless.

"Why are you helping me?" asked Sadie, "Where... where am I?"

"White Diamond's primary prison ship," replied Topaz, "Don't you remember? You haven't... you haven't broken your memory organ, have you? Can that happen to humans? I mean, I know you're a bit squishy..."

Sadie wracked her brain, thinking back. In a moment, the gears began to turn, her memories clicking back together...

The holding cell on Seraphinite's ship was dark and cold. There was a pair of dim lights over the doors, but other than that, it was completely unlit. There was absolutely no furniture - just the three of them, alone. Seraphinite had taken Major King for 'study' - the military officer had abandoned all pretence of stoicism, begging and pleading as he was dragged away. Even having experienced so much hardship at the hands of his fellow officers, it was hard for Sadie not to feel sorry for him.

The holding cell on Seraphinite's ship was dark and terribly, unnaturally cold. Not the sort of cold that would greet Sadie when she walked into the freezer at the Big Donut or on a particularly windy winter day along the coast. No, this air was different - not just cold, it was empty. There wasn’t any heat, because there didn’t seem to be much of anything. If not for the jagged feeling of the ice creeping down her throat, Sadie might have thought she had died, and that hell was not the haunting caverns that blazed with devils, but a frozen wasteland of nothingness. Nothingness, and a cold so deep and deficient that it was more maddening than it was painful.

Slowly blinking into awareness, more sensations started to emerge with her return to consciousness. Light. There was something - just barely - outlined in the inky blackness, cast in shadows by the dim illumination above… doors? Yes - there were doors. She continued her examination, taking a moment to study the gossamer ghost pass through her lips, brought forth by the numbing cold that sank into her bones. She was breathing, and there was air; more good signs that she was not dead.

There was pain, too. Awful, throbbing pain that should be warm at least - inflammation or something, right? Sadie inanely tried to recall her high school anatomy class and promptly chose to forget about it when another wave of pain crushed against the back of her head. This was definitely a sensation Sadie was not enjoying, so she squeezed her eyes tightly and tried for something a little less terrible.

Catches of conversation came next, something about a ‘Major King’ and an interesting choice for ‘study.’ A smile cracked at the corner of her frozen cheek, and Sadie realized she was laying on her side against the ground. Right - that was right. She remembered hearing something about Major King, that he had abandoned all pretence of stoicism. An image broke through the blackness, a memory - the man begging and pleading while he was dragged to who-knows-where by who-knows-who. She shuddered, and Sadie genuinely wasn’t sure if it was the cold or the recollection.

No, it was definitely the cold. She couldn’t say she felt very sorry for him.

Next, quietly, voices. They were near, and soft, and familiar; the first flicker of warmth finally returned to her chest, and unironically, it felt like it radiated directly from her gemstone.

"Guys, I'm so sorry this..."

"Steven, that's the ninth time you've said that," said Connie, "If you apologise one more time, I'm gonna scream."

Steven swallowed and looked at his feet. Connie's expression softened - she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Besides," she said, "It's not your fault. It's not like you asked Seraphinite to come get us, right?"

Steven nodded, glancing over to Sadie.

"Oh! You’re up again. How're you… feeling?" he asked.

Sighing, Sadie sat up fully. "My head still smarts. Apart from that... well, I'm as good as I can be, I guess."

Steven smiled wearily.

Without warning, the door vanished into the surrounding wall, entirely and eerily silent as it was absorbed by seamless metal. Sadie winced at the sudden, brilliant light - before she could react, the near-blackness returned. The whole thing was but a flicker of activity, but the contrast of dark-light-dark was making her head ache even worse. When her vision returned, she saw a thin, blue figure crumpled  on the floor in front of her.

"Lapis!" exclaimed Steven.

"Steven, be careful!" warned Connie, "She's the reason we're here, remember?"

"She didn't betray us on purpose!" replied Steven, "She... she'd never do that! She..."

A loud, strained cry interrupted him.

Sadie crawled carefully over to Lapis, whose body was wracked with loud, hard sobs. She looked like a mess, her hair and dress badly mussed. She was shaking all over, and Sadie reckoned that she'd throw up if she could.

"I'm sorry!" she cried out, "Steven, I'm so, so sorry!"

"Lapis, it's okay!" replied Steven, "Just... tell us what happened!"

"Seraphinite," replied Lapis, clutching her head and rolling up into a ball, "She took over my body."

"Like mind control?" asked Sadie.

"No... no, I could still see everything," replied Lapis, "I was still there, but I couldn't... I wasn't strong enough..."

"You couldn't control your actions," said Connie, eyes widening in dawning horror, "She turned you into a puppet."

She scratched her chin thoughtfully.

"Guess that explains the white specks I saw in your eyes," she said.

"It's okay, Lapis," said Steven, "We'll get out of this, I promise. We'll get you home."

"And what if you don't?"

The reply was soft and underlined by a tone of utter, crushing defeat. There was a long silence.

"Then we'll all go together," said Sadie at last, "We won't be alone. That..." Her voice broke. "...that's gotta mean something, right?"

She sat back against the wall, faintly able to make out her shaking hands. The gravity of the situation was sinking in, a terrible stone that dropped through her throat and into her stomach on her. Was this really the end? Was her life going to end here, in a bitterly cold room, trembling, unable to keep the warmth of her and her friends from slipping away?  A chill ran down her spine as any semblance of bravery vanished.

She didn't want to be a martyr on an alien ship. She didn’t want to hear her teeth chatter, and forget what her limbs felt like from the numbness. She didn’t want to watch herself wear away. She didn’t want to count watch the ghosts on her breaths become literal, to be forced to watch the small pieces of her lifeforce, steadily slipping away. She wanted to go home.

"We're... we're gonna die out here, aren't we?"

Steven opened his mouth to reply, but his response died in his throat, leaving only utterance a small, pathetic squirm. Sadie looked away, unable to face him. She cursed herself - what right did she have to break down on him, while Lapis was already going to pieces? A foul cocktail of fear, shame and despair was mixing in her being, making her sick to the stomach. Nausea and a headache. Great.

"Maybe that's okay," muttered Lapis.

"Lapis?" asked Connie warily.

"I mean, if they... if they shatter us," Lapis continued, her voice hollow, "At least that'll be it. At least we won't have to hurt anymore."

There was an extended quiet after that. The atmosphere felt denser, almost crushing. Steven stared at his friend, his eyes filled with shocked heartbreak at Lapis' words. Sadie wished she could say something, anything to make it feel better - but what could she say? How could she continue to sugar-coat something that she herself didn’t even believe? They were going to die.

They were going to die...

She didn't remember much of the remaining voyage. Perhaps that was for the best.

"You! You're that Aquamarine's bodyguard! What are you doing-AAH!"

A nearby Amethyst burst into a cloud of smoke with a solid, steady swing of Topaz' mace. Without missing a beat, Topaz ran down the dark hallway, Sadie following close behind. She couldn't afford to lose her unexpected escort - the hallways were twisting and featureless, each one looking exactly the same as the next. The big yellow gem clearly - hopefully -  knew where she was going, and Sadie would never have been able to navigate the ship on her own.

"Why are you helping me?" demanded Sadie, "You work for that little blue gem, right?"

"I don't want to do that anymore," replied Topaz, "I... I can't keep pretending everything's okay. I want to have my own lives - my own life, as me!"

"Really?" Sadie scratched the back of her head, "No offense but last time I saw you, you were pretty, well, loyal."

"Your friend changed my mind," replied Topaz.

"Steven's really got a gift for that, huh?" Sadie panted between breaths, struggling to keep up with the much-taller and much-longer-legged fusion.

"Yeah, he's pretty sweet," said Topaz cheerfully.

Suddenly she veered right, breaking through a door.

The room they entered was similar to Sadie's cell, only in this one, the pod was laid on the ground like a bed. Two green gems - Sadie recognised them as Peridots - were standing next to it, examining screens at the end of their limb enhancers. They jumped as Topaz burst in.

"Topazes aren't allowed in this sector!" snapped one, "State your business!"

"Probably lost her way," sneered the other, "Topazes tend to be cl-"

Topaz swung her mace across the pod and into them, sending them flying into the wall. They slumped to the ground, dazed and confused. Immediately, Topaz pressed a button on the side of the pod, and it slowly opened.

"Connie!"

Connie lay in the pod, blearily opening her eyes. She was a little battered and bruised, but was otherwise fine - save for the needles in her arms, that were attached to long tubes. She winced as they were automatically pulled out - then, carefully, she sat up.

"Ugh... Sadie?"

She looked up at Topaz.

"You?!"

Eyes wide, Connie fumbled for a weapon. Sadie put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Easy, easy, she's on our side!" she reassured, "We're busting out."

She paused and turned to Topaz.

"Uh... this isn't just you 'lone-wolfing' it, right?" she asked, concerned.

"Oh, no," replied Topaz, "I have help."

"...Block Four, Block Four, we have confirmed the identity of boarding party. The pirate is here!"

Connie grinned, raising her fists.

"Lars!"

Sadie offered a hand, helping her out of the pod. She stumbled momentarily once she was on two feet, but quickly regained her footing.

"Where's Steven?" she asked.

"We're going to him next," replied Topaz, "He's with that Lapis and that poor human."

"So, uh, what'd they want to do with you?" asked Sadie as they quickly departed the room.

"Well..."

Connie struggled as the Jasper dragged her down the loading ramp and into the cargo bay. Another two were manhandling Steven and Lapis, and Seraphinite was walking close behind. Up ahead, they could just about see an Amethyst dragging Major King away - Sadie had been taken off first.

"Please!" he shouted, "You can't do this! The Geneva Convention... you can't do this!"

The Amethyst carried him through a door, his voice cutting off abruptly as the door quickly shut behind them.

The Jasper stopped and threw Connie roughly to the floor. She winced as she climbed to her knees - and found herself staring at a familiar figure.

"Ah, the Connie!" sneered Aquamarine, "Looks like I've finally got you!"

"Back up, Aquamarine," barked Seraphinite, "Keep this professional."

Sighing, Aquamarine floated back. Looking beyond her, Connie could see her Topaz - behind her was a giant holographic screen that had been set up by a couple of Peridots. The cargo bay was completely deserted, apart from Seraphinite's ship - it was a brutal, cavernous void of reflective metal, bitterly cold and deeply chilling.

Seraphinite regarded Aquamarine with a cold, professional expression.

"Rose Quartz is to be placed under guard in stasis cells until White Diamond decides what to do with her," she said.

"Of course," nodded Aquamarine, "And how shall I report this to my Diamond? Permission to exaggerate my own involve..."

She trailed off under Seraphinite's withering gaze.

"Under no circumstances," Seraphinite said darkly, "Are Blue and Yellow Diamond to know of Rose Quartz' presence on this station. The official story is that she has been shattered. If I find out that you have told Blue Diamond..."

She stepped closer, her face inches from Aquamarine's.

"...there are worse fates than shattering," she said.

Aquamarine shivered and floated back.

"A-a-a-and the... the Connie, Supreme Marshal?" she asked.

"This... Connie," said Seraphinite, "Is no mere human. She has fused with Rose Quartz. You will take her to Stasis Pod Seventeen in Block Four. My Diamond has... plans."

"Ugh," Aquamarine winced, "Human-gem fusing?"

She sat down on Topaz' shoulder.

"Not even you'd be down for something so disgusting," she said, a cruel sneer on her face. Topaz frowned, ever so slightly.

Seraphinite tucked her hands behind her back and walked over to the Jasper holding Steven. The boy was looking at the floor - he said nothing, a dark, sad frown on his face. His expression just about broke Connie's heart.

"You," ordered Seraphinite, "Follow me. Aquamarine, lead Connie to her pod. Dismissed."

As the Jasper turned to follow Seraphinite away, Connie caught one last glimpse of Steven's eyes. There was a deep sense of sorrow, regret, hopelessness - but deep under that, just visible to her, was the tiniest kindling of hope.

As long as that ember burned, Connie reckoned they still had a pretty good chance.

"Topaz! This is Aquamarine! Get back to me right now, and maybe we can forget this little mutiny... are you listening? LISTEN TO ME!"

Topaz was not listening. She was vaguely aware of the voice on the PA system, but heeded it no mind. She was slamming through another door, right through a trio of quartzes into yet another cell - this one almost identical to Sadie's. She started to wonder how Topaz could possibly navigate this place. Everything just looked the same.

"Stop her!" thundered a white agate, "Don't let her get to P-"

Topaz thrust her mace over the agate's head, knocking her to the ground. Wasting no time, she twirled her mace and slammed it onto the staggered gem’s back, instantly poofing her. She swung round, pressing a hand on the panel, and stepping back as it opened.

"If they've hurt him," Connie growled, "I swear..."

The pod doors slid open, revealing a woozy Steven. He scrunched his eyelids and wearily responded.

"...just five more minutes, Pearl..."

"Yeah, he's fine," nodded Sadie.

Connie ran over to him, carefully helping him out of the pod. He shook and wobbled for a moment before steadying , eventually looking her in the eye.

"Oh," he said, "That wasn't a dream."

"No," said Connie, shaking his head, "But it's okay! We're getting out of here!"

"But how are we..."

He turned to Topaz and his face lit up.

"Topaz!" he exclaimed, "You came to save us!"

"Steven!" Topaz replied, pulling him into a hug (and inadvertently pulling Connie into a hug too.)

"All units, all units, they're breaching the... hey! Hey! Get away from that- argh!"

Sadie looked up as the PA crackled.

"...this is Captain Lars calling Steven Universe. We're parked in Docking Bay Four. Get over here before we get ticketed or something!"

"Lars!" exclaimed Steven, "Did... did you both... alright! Aquamarine's Ship Gang, back together!"

He cheered and ran out the door.

A few seconds later, he poked his head back in.

"Uh... which way's Docking Bay Four?"

"Stop them! Stop them!"

Sadie booked it down the corridor. Ahead of them lay an open door, and beyond that, the Docking Bay. She couldn't see much of it right now, and she wasn't paying attention to any specific details anyway - she could hear the trampling of footsteps behind her, and knew she hadn't much time.

They burst into the docking bay, and Sadie almost ground to a halt at the sight. A half-dozen quartz gems lay on the floor - beyond them was the Sun Incinerator, where Rhodonite was looking in shocked awe at Fluorite, who was already snaking her way back into the ship. She glanced from her to the poofed gems and then back again - Sadie wondered if the big fusion had... but no, she couldn't have...

There was a loud crash. Sadie looked up - Lars had leapt out a window, and was bounding dramatically towards the ground.

With a loud thud, he landed on his face.

"Lars!"

Sadie skidded to a halt next to him, leaning over to help him up. Lars grunted, taking her hand and stumbling to stand upright.

"That would've been a lot cooler if I'd landed on my feet," he admitted.

"You dork," muttered Sadie, shaking her head.

"Hey, I'm the dork who's saving your life," snapped Lars, "Rhodonite! Are we ready to take off?!"

"We've got the Lapis Lazuli and the strange, hairy human on board," Rhodonite called back.

"Strange, hairy what?" asked Sadie.

"Alright," nodded Lars, "Come on, let's get in before..."

A blue hue washed over everything, and Sadie found she couldn't move.

"I warned you about this, Topaz."

Aquamarine floated towards them - one hand behind her back, the other on her wand. Her features were twisted into an expression that oozed smugness, and Sadie felt a deep need to punch her. The little blue gem - or perhaps gremlin might be a better word, Sadie thought - floated up to Topaz, who was frozen mid-stride.

"I was going to forget this, Topaz," she sneered, "Why did you have to make it a big problem for the three of us, huh? Now I'm going to have to deal with so much holowork to clear this up, and you're going to have to be shattered..."

She made a big show of sighing theatrically.

"Oh well, I guess that's just the way it is," she declared, "Still, at least I'll get the credit for recapturing Rose Quartz and bringing in that hideous off-colour pirate..."

"Hey, you're not exactly good-looking yourself," snapped Lars.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Aquamarine chuckled, "Cockiness will get you nowhere, buccaneer scum. There is no-one who can save you-"

CLUNK.

A large piece of metal - it looked to Sadie like a pipe - slammed onto Aquamarine's head. She blinked, looked up, and then vanished into a puff of smoke. The blue hue faded, and Sadie found she could move again.

Connie wiped her brow with her free hand, resting the pipe on her shoulder.

"Sorry I fell behind," she said, "I was grabbing a weapon."

"...cool," said Lars, "I... cool."

"Come on!" Rhodonite yelled, her voice shaking, "Let’s get out of here before m-more reinforcements show up!"

Sadie nodded, rushing towards the Sun Incinerator. She stopped only to pick up Aquamarine's discarded wand and gem, although she didn't quite know why.

They bolted through the hatch, which closed behind them in a torturously slow fashion. By the time a reinforcing squad of quartzes arrived, the Sun Incinerator was already out of the hanger and warping back out into space…

Lars sat down in his captain's chair, mopping his brow. That had been close - closer than he'd liked, quite frankly. If Connie hadn't found that pipe...

The bridge was rather crowded. The Off-Colors sat in their usual positions, occasionally glancing warily at Topaz, who had slumped onto the floor as if the weight of what she'd done had just caught up with her. At the back of the room sat Lapis Lazuli, head buried in her arms and knees - she hadn't said a word since Lars had rescued her.

Huddled in the corner was the soldier - Major King, apparently. Lars winced whenever he looked at him. King hadn't been put in stasis like the others - he'd been experimented upon. His hair had grown long and wild, and he had grown a bushy beard. He wore the ragged remnants of his once fine uniform, which seemed at least a size too big for him; he rocked back and forth, muttering to himself.

He almost resembled a skeleton, his skin almost hanging limply from bones and stiff, atrophied muscles. He was deathly pale, his eyes underlined by dark bags, and his lips were cracked and dry. A stitched wound ran from his abdomen up to the top of his chest and dry red patches covered his body - Lars hoped that this was some kind of experimental fluid, but he frankly doubted it. The worst thing was the stench - he smelt foul. It was like nothing Lars had ever experienced, like a noxious cocktail of grime, sweat and dried bodily fluids. For a moment, he looked up. Lars met his eyes, and saw nothing in them - it wasn’t even that they were dead, they were simply empty.

It was like looking at a reanimated corpse - which, Lars admitted to himself, was pretty rich coming from him. But when he looked at himself in the mirror, he saw a living being - pink, but generally living. When he looked at King… he almost couldn’t recognise the man as human.

Lars shuddered and looked away.

"How'd you know we were here?"

He looked up. Sadie had walked up, rubbing her arm.

"I, uh... got a letter," replied Lars, "Through my hair."

"Wait!" exclaimed Steven, stepping up to them, "Lion let somebody else into his mane?! He must've been really worried about us!"

"Yeah," nodded Lars, "I guess. Oh, uh, Amethyst says hi. She's camping out in the Temple at the moment... that's your house, right? The Temple?"

"Yeah!" replied Steven, "We should probably get back there before..."

"Actually, Steven, there's something I should tell you," said Lars gravely, "In fact, none of you are gonna like this, but..."

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"You were in there for three million years."

There was a long, long silence. Sadie felt her blood run cold.

"...what?" she gasped.

"Yeah," nodded Lars, "We've been looking for eons. It's been long, hard and gruelling. Our only food has been crackers and a single box of cornflakes, and the only entertainment was an old Bee Gees record, and..."

Sadie clenched her fists.

"Lars!" she exclaimed, "You jerk!"

Lars snorted, covering his mouth as he giggled to himself.

"Yeah, I was kidding," he admitted, "It's been, like, three weeks, tops."

He turned back to Steven.

"But yeah, Amethyst said not to come back through my head," he explained, "Apparently there's still a lot of guys with guns around your house. You take one step out of the Temple and..."

He winced.

"So, you're gonna be piggybacking with me," he said, "I'm gonna get you back to a part of Earth that isn't gonna shoot you on sight!"

He stood up and pointed dramatically.

"Twins!" he exclaimed, "To Earth!"

There was a long silence.

"Uh, captain?" said Left-Rutile, "We... uh..."

"We're out of fuel again," finished Right-Rutile.

Lars groaned and sat back down.

"Okay," he sighed, "This might take a little longer than I'd hoped..."

Sadie looked out into the depths of space, pockmarked with stars and patterned by beautiful cosmic clouds and dust. She swallowed - she was going to have to get used to the view, for the time being...

When Seraphinite arrived, the warden of the prison did the only thing she could - she apologised, took all responsibility and begged for leniency on the basis of her previously spotless record. Seraphinite obliged - there would be no harvesting, no re-education, no... purification by her illustrious Diamond. No, she's get a far more merciful punishment.

Seraphinite nodded in satisfaction as the cloud of dust burst from the other end of the machine - the Grinder.

"Apology accepted, warden," she said stoically.

She nodded to the pair of Amethysts, who quickly took the boxy machine away. She was left alone in her featureless cabin. It was totally white and circular, with a retractable holographic screen in the wall that could be produced if she needed to contact somebody. For now, she was content to be alone with her thoughts.

She ruminated on what she'd seen in the Pearl's mind.

Rose Quartz was a lie - a well-crafted fiction, so convincing that her new form - this Steven - had no inkling of the truth. Seraphinite - and by extension her Diamond, for she told her everything - now knew of what might have been the greatest act of treason in the history of the Empire. But then, could a Diamond commit treason? The entire system, from top to bottom, was designed to benefit these matriarchs first and foremost. Pink had done what she'd wanted for herself - but in doing so, had brought incredible pain and strife on the other Diamonds.

It was certainly a conundrum. But her Diamond would tell her the answer soon enough. Until then, she would have to find the Sun Incinerator and observe it until new orders arrived.

And then there was the other one - the Ruby hybrid. The studies the Peridots and their ilk had performed on the creature while she was in stasis were... illuminating.

The mix of human and gem was not clean - not like Pink. Her very genetic structure was chaotic, misformed, irregular. It was almost sickening to behold. All science indicated that she should simply collapse into a puddle of organic mass and hard light - why wasn't that happening? The readings looked like a symbiosis that really didn't want to be a symbiosis.

Something was going to happen to that creature, and Seraphinite was morbidly curious to see what...