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“How do we do this now?” Ruby asked hollowly, sitting back to back with Sapphire near the lighthouse. She closed her eyes, trying to take some comfort from the weight of Sapphire pressed against her, but it wasn’t working. Ruby wrapped her arms around herself.
“I don’t know,” said Sapphire. Frost spread along the ground beneath her, reaching Ruby and making her shiver. For a moment they were both quiet. Below them, mixed with the distant waves, Ruby thought she could hear weeping from the temple. Pearl again, and perhaps Amethyst too.
Ruby wondered what she would do if Sapphire disappeared.
No. She summoned her gauntlet, smashing it into the earth beside her. Grass flared in flame and then withered. She let her gauntlet dissipate, then buried her face in her hands, trying not to cry. Don’t think about it! she thought furiously.
“Garnet has to help them,” said Sapphire, her voice strained. The frost became ice, jagged shards jutting up from the ground. “There is no other way. The Crystal Gems have to stay together. For ourselves. For… Steven.” The unfamiliar name sounded strange from her mouth.
“But this hurts!” Ruby exploded. “I miss Rose, Sapphire!”
“I do too!” she said fiercely, turning around to face Ruby. Tears poured from her eye, dripping from her chin. She bowed her head. “But we’ve made it through loss before, Ruby. We can do it again.” She reached out a small, delicate hand. “Together?”
Ruby took her hand, trembling, and Sapphire leaned forward. She kissed Ruby’s forehead, her lips soft.
“Together,” Ruby mumbled, and they shifted as one, bright light glowing between them. Garnet opened her eyes, wiping the tears from them.
“I can do this,” she said. She rose to her feet, listening for the sounds of Pearl and Amethyst below. “I must do this.” She leapt over the edge of the cliff to the beach below, avoiding the waiting rocks, and landed in the sand. She straightened up and made her way to the temple, heart aching, her vision clear.