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Chapter Text

“Garnet! Stop those gems before they get to the warps!” Rose Quartz commanded as she wielded her sword and shield against oncoming gems, trying to escape from Earth. She gritted her teeth and destroyed the physical forms of two gems in one swipe. This war wasn’t only physically tiring for her, but it was emotionally draining as well. She knew that these gems would be bubbled and that they would feel no more pain, but Rose couldn’t help but feel a sick feeling in her gut. Who knows when these gems she’s bubbled will have a chance to be free again? Locked in infinite stasis may as well be a death sentence for all the gems she’s poofed. And what about the shards left behind of her army? She tried to bubble all that she could find, but there’s no way she could’ve taken care of all of it. What would Homeworld do to them? And the feeling of pressure and trauma only got worse when she thought of what she did to Bismuth… what she did to Pink Diamond.
As she hacked and sliced at the Homeworld gems, a bright light flashed and a song of death was heard. She immediately summoned her shield to cover her and called for her comrades. But it was too late. Around her laid the thousand- no, millions- of gems left behind on Earth, slowly turning into monstrous beings.
“Sapphire? Please, oh god, please, what’s happening to you?!” A red gem known as Ruby mourned over the blue gem laying in her lap.
“It’s okay, Ruby,” Sapphire reassured, placing a gloved hand, already corrupting, on Ruby’s cheek. “I only wish we could have gone together…”
“NO! I can save you! I can- I can…” Ruby cried helplessly.
“No,” Sapphire spoke. “I saw this coming, I could have saved us. But at least we can see each other one last time before-” It was hard for Sapphire to speak. The corruption was up to her throat. Yet, she began to sing. She sang a familiar song that spoke of love and tragedy. Rose Quartz watched helplessly as the lovers became fully corrupted.
“Rose!” Pearl cried out. The white gem clambered over towards her. “Rose…” Pearl started to cry, staining Rose’s white dress.
Rose Quartz kneeled down and held Pearl in her arms. “Pearl, please, you can fight it, please just-”
Pearl looked lovingly into Rose’s eyes. Rose cried healing tears. Maybe just this once, she could save somebody. But nothing happened.
“Why isn’t it working?” She cried out. “WHY AREN’T MY HEALING TEARS WORKING?” But this only made her cry harder.
“Rose,” Pearl uttered. Rose wiped her tears away and brought her face closer to Pearl’s, wanting only to hear Pearl speak.
“Rose, the only thing I ever wanted to be was yours. I wanted to love you, I wanted you to love me.”
“Pearl…” Rose sobbed. “I already loved you. I loved you all along. You were just so special and perfect. And that’s why I loved you.”
“I’m not perfect,” Pearl said, her voice barely audible. “I’m just a Pearl.”
“You are perfect, Pearl,” Rose said firmly. “You’re my perfect, beautiful Pearl.”
“Yeah,” Pearl chuckled. She stared into Rose’s perfect eyes for a long moment and then finally kissed her. She had waited so long for this moment. And as she corrupted, she realized that she was finally truly happy.

Chapter Text

Lapis Lazuli wasn’t sure if it was tears or rain that was falling on her cheeks. Probably both. Why was she feeling this way? She should be happy. She finally worked up the courage to leave the toxic relationship she had with Jasper. Or maybe it was cowardice that made her leave, afraid of what might have happened if she had stayed any longer. So many doubts and fears washed over her, everything hurt. She weakly lifted herself off the ground and trudged through the wet and cold, following the coastline. Eventually she’ll get there… to Steven’s house… she’ll get there…
After miles of walking, Lapis finally collapsed at Steven Universe’s front door, hoping that the young boy was home and that he would open the door if soon, before hypothermia gets the better of Lapis’ bony body.
Finally, a small boy opened up the door into his cozy house. He gasped at Lapis’ condition and pulled her inside. Her black hair was drenched, and her mascara had run all over, and was starting to dry on her dark skin. He silently brought her a blanket and a cup of hot tea as they sat in front of the warm fire. Neither person knew what to do. They just stared at the fire in silence, nobody knowing how to properly break the ice.
“It’s been so long,” Steven finally said.
Lapis didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I don’t know how long I’ve been with Jasper… time blurs in a place like that,” Lapis sighed.
“It’s been a year and a month,” Steven swallowed. “She… Jasper… she must’ve been really horrible to you.”
“Yeah…” Lapis held her cup of tea tighter. “But I did the same thing Steven! I hurt her too, and it made me happy, seeing her suffer, seeing her try to leave and failing. I wanted her to… ugh, I feel so terrible.”
Steven took a step back.“Th-that’s not you Lapis!” He yelled, not willing to believe what Lapis was saying.
“But it is, Steven,” She admitted. “A-and I-I want to go back!” She started to sob. Steven hugged her tightly, Lapis’ teardrops falling on his shoulders.
“You’re not going back, Lapis,” He said sternly. “I won’t let you!”
“Then where will I go?”
“I think I might know just the place.” Steven smiled.
* * *
“What is she doing here?!” Lapis cried out as she entered the small apartment.
“Ah! Lazuli! I have been expecting you!” A face peeked out from the top of the bunk bed. “I am Peridot!” She jumped down from the bunk, tripping when she hit the ground. “And this is my humble home!” Peridot stuck out her hand for Lapis to shake. She wore big, yellow-tinted glasses, a green hijab, and overalls that didn’t quite match her “I don’t believe in humans” shirt.
“Steven!” Lapis whined. “You said this was going to be my home!”
“It is!” Steven cheered. “You’re...uh… you’re just going to have to share it with Peridot for now.”
“Yes!” Peridot smiled, without a hint of negativity. “The view of the ocean here is incredible! Well, as long you imagine that the brick wall blocking it is gone. Oh! And you’ll just LOVE Camp Pining Hearts! Plus, you won’t have to pay a cent of rent!”
“I don’t care about that!” Lapis snapped.
“What?”
“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have met Jasper. We had our little freak squad for a while, but you didn’t even care when me and Jasper were locked up in a leaky apartment with no sunlight for a YEAR. You didn’t even care! You never cared about your friends! You just cared about yourself! Why would you think I would want to be with you now?”
“I’ve changed, Lapis. I really have! I’ve made friends, like Steven! And I’d do anything for them!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Lapis rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard this before. You just want social status. Don’t lie to me.”
“No!” Peridot cried out. “That’s not true! Please, I wouldn’t lie to you anymore!”
“She’s not lying, Lapis,” Steven piped up. “She may still have her problems, but she’s really sorry.”
“Lazuli, I realize I’ve done so many things wrong, but I want to change that. We’re so similar! We both used to be really bad people, but we’ve both changed! Together, we can be great friends!” She rummaged through her pockets and took out an old, cracked iPhone 4. “I don’t want any more secrets between us. I’ve logged my every thought for the past 4 months onto this. You can listen. You can see how I really feel.” Peridot pressed the play button and handed it to Lapis.
“Log date 5 22 16….” The recording played. “I have often wondered the properties of the pink rose quartz gemstone attached to Steven Universe’s navel. It doesn’t seem to have any functional purpose but-”
“NO!” Lapis yelled, stopping the recording. “I don’t want your trash!” She ruthlessly hurled the cell phone at the ground, right in front of Peridot’s eyes.
“I-” Peridot started, and then took a deep breath. She glared at Lapis, and then stomped out of the room.
“Wow, Lapis!” Steven yelled, the first time Lapis had ever seen the normally optimistic boy angry. “Now you’ll really have no place to go!”
“Steven, don’t be upset…” Lapis tried to sooth him.
“No! You’re the one who shouldn’t be upset! If you really trust me, why can’t you trust Peridot?”
“Steven, she’s just-”
“I don’t even really want to know Lapis. Just, please, please, just trust me right now. This is the only place you can go that’s safe for you.”
Lapis sighed reluctantly. She walked down the hallway and found Peridot crouching down next to the vending machine, trying to piece back the shards of her phone.
“I’ll pay for that, if you want.” Lapis offered.
“No,” Peridot said, not looking up. “You don’t have any way to pay for it. I needed a reason to buy a newer version anyways.” Lapis slid down next to Peridot.
“Are you okay?”
Peridot looked up at Lapis. A wide smile spread across her cheeks. Lapis blushed and looked to the side.
They were both okay, and that was all that mattered.
* * *
A TV on a bunk bed was quite convenient. Lapis and Peridot binge-watched every season of Camp Pining Hearts until two AM, with Peridot’s many commentaries.
The two finally got settled into their respective bunks and stared at the glow-in-the-dark wall decals Peridot had stuck on the ceiling.
“After watching so much Camp Pining Hearts, I wonder, is there a Percy to my Pierre somewhere out there? Someone who will love me like that?”
“I don’t know,” Lapis answered. “I’ve never felt that… romantic love, I mean. I don’t think I even can. And ever since… recent events… that feeling’s only grown stronger.”
“So… you’re like aromantic or something?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“That’s cool.” Peridot nodded. “Probably for the better, anyways. I wouldn’t risk accidentally running into Paulette, even if it is for true love. She is a clod.”
Lapis snickered and the room was filled with silence, and then a light snore coming from the bottom bunk. On the top, Peridot was imagining all the Percy’s to her Pierre. It was silly, but still an entertaining thing to think about in the darkness of the night.
She never expected what the future held.

Chapter Text

“I’m home….” Lapis moaned as she trudged through the door. She kicked off her sneakers, whispering something under her breath about her hatred of shoes.
“So…” Peridot smiled, looking up from the television screen, which was playing Camp Pining Hearts reruns. “How was your first day of work?”
“I served coffee,” Lapis said dully. “What did YOU do?” It certainly looked like Peridot had spent the entire day analyzing Camp Pining Hearts.
Peridot squealed and jumped off her bed. “So glad you asked, Lazuli! Wanna take a guess?”
“Peridot, please don’t make me do this…”
“C’mon… I’ll only tell you the answer if you guess….”
“Well, don’t care.”
“Please?”
Lapis sighed. “I don’t know? You found new subtext in episode 86?”
“Actually no… episode 54, but that’s not the point!” Peridot stood up straight. “That video game company I wanted to work at hired me!”
“Really?” Lapis asked, shocked. “That’s amazing, Peridot!”
“Yeah! We can get a better apartment! Maybe even a house! One with a studio for all our meep-morps, too!” She squealed, pointing to the messy pile of art she and Lapis had made in the past few weeks.
“This- this is amazing! We should go celebrate!” Lapis giggled.
“Celebrate?” Peridot asked. She rubbed her temple, trying to think of where to celebrate. “Why don’t we go to my Uncle’s farm?” She finally said. “A nice day out in the country!”
“I was thinking ice cream or something…” Lapis sighed.
“Oh, come on, Lapis! It’ll be fun!”
Lapis groaned, but the thought of a bigger living space motivated her to get up and do whatever Peridot wanted for the day.
“Yes!” Peridot cheered, after Lapis agreed to go. “We’ll have SO much fun!”
Peridot dragged Lapis to the train station and excitedly bought two tickets to Perlshaw, a small town near her Uncle’s farm, only a few hours away from Empire City, where she and Lapis lived.
On the train, Peridot looked out in wonder and fascination at the scenery the entire time as Lapis took naps between chapters of old books. People on the train slowly came off at their stops until Lapis and Peridot were the only passengers left on the train.
“We’ll be there in less than an hour!” Peridot said excitedly.
“Great,” Lapis mumbled, half asleep. Peridot stared out the window again when suddenly an emergency alarm started to sound.
“ALERTING ALL PASSENGERS: WE HAVE AN EXTREME EMERGENCY AND WE SUGGEST THAT ALL PASSENGERS EVACUATE,” The conductor screamed into the PA.
“Huh?” Peridot gasped, clutching Lapis’ arm, who was suddenly awake.
“WE ARE UNABLE TO SLOW DOWN OR STOP THE TRAIN, AND WE WILL TIP OVER IF WE APPROACH A TURN, SOMETHING WHICH WE ARE APPROACHING SWIFTLY.”
The doors of the moving train opened.
“EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY,” The conductor commanded.
Peridot peeked outside of the train and looked onto the swiftly moving ground. “No way am I jumping out of this! It’ll get us killed!”
“Peridot, we have no choice!” Lapis yelled over the wind.
“No!” Peridot sobbed, breaking down into tears on the ground. “No! I won’t do it!”
“We’re going to die if you don’t jump off quickly!”
“I can’t Lapis! I’m afraid I’ll- AAAH!” The bend in the track was fast approaching. Peridot grabbed Lapis’ legs for dear life. “I’M SORRY!” She shouted, before the train flipped over and was thrown onto the rocky ground.
* * *
In darkness, everything is peaceful. In darkness, you have no worries. You can’t feel the pain. You can’t hear the screams. You can’t think, you can’t breathe, you can’t touch. In darkness, the only thing that can happen to you is death itself.
* * *
Peridot felt herself being lifted out of the rubble by cold hands. She coughed and looked up to see Lapis, covered with dirt and ashes.
“Lapis….?” She croaked, coughing up dirt and rocks.
“You okay, Peridot?” Lapis asked. Peridot nodded. Lapis set her down and handed her a cracked pair of glasses.
Peridot her glasses on. They were cracked beyond belief, but at least she could see now. To her right, she saw the train she was on only moments ago- it may have been longer, Peridot didn’t know how long she was out- being eaten up by flames. When she looked back at Lapis, she noticed burn marks. More than there were before. Peridot tried to stand up, but soon fell down, shrieking with pain.
“What’s the matter?” Lapis asked.
“My ankle…” Peridot answered wearily. “I think it’s sprained.” Lapis shook her head sorrowfully, leaned forward and ripped off the bottom part of Peridot’s shirt.
“Hey!” She shrieked. “Rip up your OWN shirt!”
“Sorry,” Lapis replied, tying the t-shirt fabric around Peridot’s sprained ankle. “Taking any more off this crop top would’ve been a little too scandalous.” She finished tying the make-shift brace. “That should do it.”
Peridot tried standing up again. It still hurt like crazy, but at least she could walk, hopefully far enough to get to safety.
“Come on,” Lapis said, extending her hand. “Let’s follow the train tracks to the nearest town.”
The two walked for a while, following the train tracks, and despite her sprained ankle, Peridot didn’t complain. At times where your life may be at risk, it’s better to suck it up at try and find help before nighttime than to complain and slow things down.
Eventually, night came. The train tracks had led the duo to a large canyon devoid of life, with human-shaped holes blanketing the sides of the canyon. Not an optimal place to rest, but when it’s so dark you can’t see a foot in front of you, it’s too dangerous to continue.
The only thing Peridot and Lapis could see in this blinding darkness was a glowing blue pad in the middle of the canyon. They stumbled towards it, holding onto each other for support, but eventually got there.
The two laid down on the crystal surface and stared at the starry sky as they tried to fall asleep. Peridot had never seen so many stars in the sky. It was incredible! And as she fell asleep, she stared at the stars endlessly…
* * *
“Ugh…” Peridot groaned, slowly waking up. She grasped for her glasses she placed beside her the night before, but her hands only grasped rocks. There weren’t supposed to be rocks under her, she was sleeping on a smooth surface! She opened her eyes.
“Are you a gem?” A face less than a millimeter from her’s asked urgently.
“Aaah!” Peridot screamed, jumping back. Even with the blur she saw without her glasses, she could see that the shape in front of her was purple.
It extended it’s hand, where it held Peridot’s glasses. “Are these yours?” It asked. Peridot snatched the glasses from it’s hand and put them on.
Oh, did she wish she hadn’t done that. The thing in front of her was some sort of monster! Purple skin, wild lavender hair, and an amethyst jewel on it’s chest, what else could it be?
“LAPIS!” Peridot screeched on the top of her lungs. “LAAAAAPIIIIIISSSSS!”
“Is that the other gem with you?” Asked the monster.
“Where did you put her?” Peridot hissed. “Did you kill her?”
The monster shook its head and pointed towards the blue surface Peridot had fallen asleep on, where Lapis was still sleeping. Peridot tried to run, but the monster grabbed her leg, the one with the sprained ankle.
“Get off of me!” She screeched in pain.
“Are these what other gems look like?” The purple monster asked, inspecting Peridot’s jeans. “I don’t see any gem on you.”
“Get off of me you clod!” Peridot yelled, kicking her leg free. Once the monster was not holding to her leg, Peridot tried to run away, hopping on one foot. She shook Lapis awake and pointed towards the monster, you was desperately running towards her.
Lapis stared groggily for a while before realizing what was happening, and started to run, grabbing Peridot’s hand.
“Wait!” The monster pleaded, blocking their way. “Please, you’re the only gems I’ve seen in my life! I’m not going to hurt you!”
“Get away from us!” Lapis spat. She tried to run, picking Peridot up in her arms so she wouldn’t be left behind.
The monster didn’t understand what was going on, she had dreamed of seeing another gem for the thousands of years it had been alive, now she had wasted her chance. From inspecting the Kindergarten logs in the control center, she had been lead to believe that all gems made in the Kindergarten would be found and put to use. But these gems were afraid of her. She wanted to chase them, make them stay, make them give her answers. But… she couldn’t.
The two gems who had ran away from her were finally out of sight, and the monster felt like crying. How wrong could an Amethyst be to make gems run away from her? From the moment she had came out of the ground, she knew that all Amethysts were made to be respectable soldiers. But all this Amethyst had ever achieved was scaring others away.

Chapter Text

“Sir, I promise we're not lying!” Peridot pleaded with the tired officer behind the large metal desk.
The officer sighed. “You're expecting me to believe that a purple monster with an amethyst gemstone in its chest kidnapped and attacked you?”
“YES!” Peridot shrieked. Lapis nodded.
The officer rubbed her temple. “Look, if you’re here to waste my time, I advise you leave immediately.”
“We're not,” Lapis said angrily.
The officer stood up. “I’m not going to waste my time on two little girls barely out of college. GET. OUT.”
The two sighed and trudged out of the police station.
“That's the fifth one who turned us away!” Lapis cried.
“I know.” Peridot huffed, kicking a rock with her uninjured foot. “Why can’t they believe us? We couldn't have thought of that on our own!”
“Well, it’s not like people see rock monsters everyday.”
Peridot sighed in agreement, sitting down on a bench in silence.
“Excuse me.” A man in a large black jacket walked up to the two solemn girls. “Were you just talking about rock monsters?”
“Yes!” Lapis said, suddenly alert. “It looked like a human, but purple, with an amethyst in it’s chest.”
“Humanoid?” The man pondered. He took out an old flip phone (which made tech-savvy Peridot cringe in disgust) and dialed a number.
“Dr. Garcia? Situation 402 reported in…” He looked at the duo. “Where'd you find it?”
Peridot pulled out her phone. “According to the FindMyWife app, I tracked Lapis’ phone, which says we were in these coordinates.” She pointed to a red marker on the map.
“...sector 27.” The man continued.
“You're tracking me?!” Lapis whisper-screamed. Peridot gave a sly smile and put a finger to her lips.
“...They say it assumes a humanoid form. Yes, I know we've never seen that before. Can we get a capture team or not? Great. Thanks.” He closed the phone and smiled at the girls. “Thank you. The threat will be safely captured and quarantined shortly.”
Lapis and Peridot walked back to the apartment, relieved that the monster was going to be far away from them.
“What do you think will happen to it… that monster we saw?” Peridot asked, swinging her arms as she walked.
“I dunno… they probably took it away to some big lab somewhere, and they’d put it under a bunch of testing, with lasers and and needles and stuff, then when they’re done, they’ll lock it in a teeny cage for the rest of it’s life. Or, more likely, kill it, so it doesn’t hurt anyone,” Lapis answered.
Peridot gulped. “You don’t think they’d really… kill it?”
Lapis nodded. “Yeah, probably. Unless they find a male counterpart for it to breed with.”
“But it seemed so human!”
“Scientists don’t care,” Lapis finally answered. The two walked home in silence, functioning with no words for the rest of the night. Peridot was too afraid to talk, and Lapis didn’t want to push her. They watched a documentary on Animal Planet on a new species of coyote found.
“Scientists found the first male Cogitare coyote found by humans in recorded history in northern Canada, trapped in an ice landslide. Thankfully, the scientists brought back the coyote, named Dionysus, and nursed it back to health. The scientists looked everywhere for a female mate for Dionysus, and were unable to find one after months of searching. Cogitare coyotes are very unique, and have very different needs than most species of coyotes. The scientists were unable to figure out how to properly treat the animal, making Dionysus steadily more aggressive towards the scientists, to the point where it was not safe for anyone to be around him unless they are fully protected. We still do not know what made Dionysus so aggressive suddenly, but scientists now think that, unable to be with his pack, who most likely died in this ice landslide, he relapsed into deep depression. Eventually, the scientists, unable to study from him, and Dionysus showing signs of being extremely suicidal, put the coyote out of it’s misery.”
Peridot watched the show in horror, curled up next to Lapis, who was sound asleep. Was this how scientists treated animals? It’s probably even worse than what than what the show told her, scientists like to keep secrets if what they’re doing is harming another living thing.
“Lapis!” Peridot whispered as she shook Lapis awake.
“Huh?”
“We need to save it… the monster.”
“You’re crazy. Let me go back to sleep.”
“LAPIS!” Peridot yelled, shaking Lapis harder.
“Fine! What do you want?”
Peridot smiled and explained her plan to Lapis, who reluctantly agreed with the promise that Peridot would not force her to go to work for a month.
Later that night, the duo snuck up to a large facility.
“How do we get in?” Lapis asked.
“Like this,” Peridot said, punching in a code she wrote on her hand that opened a door. “It’s called hacking. Their database is embarrassingly simple.”
Inside, they saw rows and rows of cages with the most hideous, disgusting, pathetic creatures. They had gems on their bodies, just like the monster they saw earlier, but instead of taking on the shape of a human, they looked like animals, screeching in gibberish for freedom.
“I didn’t know there were so many.” Lapis gulped. Peridot stayed silent, her face portraying fear. Finally, she stopped in front of the cage of the first monster they ever saw. It was curled up in a ball, facing the wall.
“Greetings, monster!” Peridot said cheerfully.
“My name is AMETHYST,” The monster yelled.
“Right…” Peridot gulped. “Amethyst. Anyways, we have come here to save you!”
“Heh…” The amethyst continued to stare at the wall.
“Are you coming or not?” Peridot asked, irritated.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“You were the person who SENT me to this hellhole in the first place!” Amethyst yelled, whipping around to face Peridot.
“Well… we’re here to rescue you! So you’re not tortured and killed and stuff!”
“Well, they’ve already done enough painful experiments on me, there’s nothing more for me to lose.”
“Urgh! We’re trying to help you!” Peridot screamed.
“What side are you on?” Amethyst asked quietly. “What do you want from me?”
“I’m trying to save you for the wellbeing of science. If you stay here, you’re probably going to be killed.”
“So that’s why you want me to come?” Amethyst asked, heat rising in her cheeks.“Science? What the hell are you doing, trying to convince me you’re helping? You’re just as bad as the rest of them!”
“I am trying to SAVE YOU!” In anger, Peridot pressed the closest button to her. Suddenly, all the cages opened and monsters flooded out.
“Oh no…” Lapis gasped. As soon as Peridot looked back to Amethyst’s cell, she had disappeared. Peridot spotted a streak of purple headed towards the exits, and she ran.
“Peridot! Wait!” Lapis cried out. Peridot didn’t stop, she ran as fast as her short legs could take her. She would not let this amazing scientific specimen go to waste.
“Peridot!” Lapis called again. “Think about it! That amethyst… if nobody can study it, then what’s the point of saving it? If, at this lab, the best one the government has, they can’t figure out how to study it, then neither can you!”
Peridot stopped dead in her tracks. Her hands went cold. “B-but I’m saving it!”
“Just because you believe you are doing the right thing doesn’t mean you are.”
Peridot started to cry pathetically. She thought that finally, she could make a difference in society, but no, she couldn’t help anyone. Lapis patted her on the back as they walked away.
Unfortunately, walking home is a lot more dangerous than it looks. With gem monsters scattering the streets, the two humans were scared to death, making Peridot cry harder. She held on to Lapis, who tried her best to portray strength and dignity, but on the inside, she was just as scared as Peridot.
“Get away from me you piece of shit!” Lapis and Peridot whipped around to see a gem monster stepping closer to the amethyst, who held a whip in it’s hand. The amethyst tried to hurl the whip at it, but the monster didn’t budge.
“It’s not worth it, Peridot,” Lapis whispered into her ear. Peridot nodded slowly. She knew that she couldn’t help this poor amethyst, but something made her feel like everything was at risk if she let the monster kill it… her. Amethyst. She wouldn’t let that monster kill Amethyst. If it did she…
The monster lunged.
“Amethyst!” Peridot screamed. She jumped away from Lapis’ strong grip and pushed over Amethyst, out of harm’s way.
She was safe. Peridot felt a wave of relief, she was not dead. She suddenly felt so tired, she could just lie down and…
“Uh… human?”
“Ah!” Peridot jumped up, revealing she had fallen on top of Amethyst. She heard giggles from Lapis across the street.
“It was an accident, I swear!” Peridot yelled into the night, brushing the dirt off her shirt. “I didn’t mean to land on you…”
Amethyst frowned and turned away. She didn’t want to admit that this human has just saved her life.
Peridot sighed. “I’m.... sorry.”

Chapter Text

“Hi… Amethyst…” Peridot peeked into her and Lapis’ room, which Amethyst had taken residence of.
“Are you doing well?” Peridot asked sheepishly. Amethyst turned away, not saying anything to the other girl in the corner of the room.
Peridot’s heart sunk. It’s been almost a day since she saved Amethyst’s life. Why wasn't Amethyst responding? It wasn't fair. It wasn't logical. There is NO reason Amethyst shouldn't absolutely revere Peridot for what she's done! Peridot felt drained and tired. She stomped over to the couch in the kitchen and sat next to Lapis, who had her headphones on and was quietly singing along to her music.
“LAPIS!” Peridot yelled, yanking her headphones off. Lapis grumbled and tossed her headphones to the side.
“What do you want?” She asked reluctantly. Peridot opened her mouth to speak, but Lapis soon realized what the problem was. “Is this Amethyst again? Just give her some space. She needs it.”
“Why?” Peridot huffed, kicking an old soda can across the room. “I saved her life! She should be thankful!”
“You also were the person responsible for taking her away from her home.”
“But-!”
“Say what you want, but she has every reason in the world to hate you.”
Peridot sighed and fell back against the sofa. “It’s impossible, she’ll never forgive me. I’m hopeless.”
Lapis shrugged. “I forgave you. Well… sort of.”
“Wow, Lazuli, how helpful.”
“Well, why do you want her to forgive you?”
“Easy. For the advancement of science!” Peridot scoffed.
“Do you know how to study a new species?” Lapis asked.
“Uh…”
“Exactly. I know you have no idea how to do it. So do you still care if she forgives you?”
“I DO!” Peridot yelled. “I DO CARE IF SHE FORGIVES ME! EVEN MORE THAN HOW I WANTED YOU TO FORGIVE ME!” Peridot started to tear up. “I think I really hurt her, Lapis. I feel really bad. But I have no idea what to say to her.”
Lapis and Peridot sat together in the awkward silence for a while until Lapis passed Peridot her phone.
“Here,” She smiled. “Record what you have to say. It makes it a lot easier.”
“Thanks.”
* * *
Peridot slowly opened the door to the room where Amethyst was held, holding the cracked phone in her shaky hands.
“What do you want?” Amethyst snapped. Peridot jumped backwards, holding the phone out in front of her.
“What’s that?” Amethyst hissed, attempting to grab the phone from her hands.
“Stay away from me!” Peridot yelled. She looked back at Amethyst, who looked even more hurt. “Urgh, why are you monsters so difficult?!” She slammed her finger down on the play button.
“October third, 2016. Since we found you, Amethyst, my entire world has turned completely backwards. You haven’t shown a single instance of correct behavior since we first saw you. Barbaric, if I say so myself. But... I am no better. I took you away from your home and put you through completely immoral experiments, only ‘save’ you for the sole purpose of science. But I can’t even get that right. How could I even think that I could figure out what you are? I know that I have hurt your feelings, which was not my intent. If I’ve damaged my reputation with you, then I have made a serious mistake. I’m still learning. I hope you understand. I want to understand. I’m sorry. Peridot. End recording.”
The recording finished off, and the two stood in silence, staring at each other.
“So… you’re not going to send me away again because you can’t study me?” Amethyst asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Of course not!” Peridot exclaimed. “I think that you’re more valuable than science.”
“Thanks,” Amethyst giggled.
“Why are you laughing?” Peridot asked. Amethyst continued to laugh.
“Stop it,” Peridot said. Amethyst didn’t listen.
“Urgh! Why did I even-”
Amethyst wrapped her arms around Peridot in a tight hug. Peridot felt heat rising in her cheeks and stepped back.
“Why did you do that?” She asked, blushing furiously.
“I had no idea gems were like this!” Amethyst smiled. Peridot couldn’t help but notice how much brighter everything looked when Amethyst smiled.
“Uh… gems?” Peridot asked, refusing to let herself get distracted.
“You don’t know what that is?” Amethyst placed her hand on the stone on her chest. “You’re not a gem?”
“No,” Peridot asked. I’ve never seen anything like it, except for maybe-”
“Oh,” Amethyst sighed, sitting on the ground. “I guess really am the last one.” Amethyst buried her face in her arms. “I was SO happy when I saw you. I thought that someone was there to rescue me, but-”
“No!” Peridot cried. “Please don’t cry.” She placed her arm on Amethyst’s shoulder to reassure her.
Amethyst wiped her face. “It’s just… really hard.” Peridot shifted uncomfortably on the floor. She didn’t exactly like being put into these positions. She never knew what to say. But she did know that sometimes the best thing to do was to get a bit distracted. She started braiding Amethyst’s hair and humming a song she had heard on the radio.
“What’re you singing?” Amethyst smiled at Peridot.
Peridot blushed. “You really want to hear?”
“Yeah!”
“Oh, um… okay then.” Peridot took a deep breath.
“Maybe you’re better off with her
I think she’s better for you
I guess I forgot how great it felt to be us
I guess I got carried away
I tried to use you to make me feel strong but I don’t care about that now
I see a tower built out of my mistakes and it all comes crashing down
Is there something I can do?
Is there something I can do?”

“Can I make it up to you?” Amethyst finished. Peridot blushed and turned away.
“You’re a really good singer.” Peridot mumbled.
“Singer?” Amethyst cocked her head in puzzlement.
“Music.” Peridot smiled, realising Amethyst probably had never heard anything like it before. “That was music.”
Amethyst smiled, looking out of the window. The sun was about to set. Peridot edged closer to her. “There’s so much Earth has to offer. It’s amazing, you know? After thousands of years, I barely got to see any of it.”
“It’s pretty amazing.” Peridot agreed. Amethyst turned to her and laughed again. Her laugh was so beautiful… So were her eyes, and her hair…
Peridot found her face barely a millimeter away from Amethyst’s. She felt her warm breath against her face. Up close, Amethyst was even more beautiful than she had seen before.
Realizing the closeness of the situation, Peridot stepped back. “S-sorry,” She mumbled in embarrassment. Amethyst blushed as she turned away.
Peridot walked towards the door. “Are you okay?” She asked finally.
“Yeah,” Amethyst smiled weakly. “I’m okay.”
Peridot was about to close the door on her way out before Amethyst stopped her.
“Do you want to watch the sunset together?” Amethyst asked nervously, hoping that Peridot would stay.
“Y-yeah!” Peridot blushed. She sat down next to Amethyst, their fingertips barely touching.
“The sunset is so beautiful tonight.” Peridot smiled in awe. Amethyst agreed. The sunset was clearer than any in her thousands of years at the Kindergarten. But as the two girls watched the sun set over Empire City, Amethyst realized that there was someone more beautiful than the sunset sitting right next to her.

Chapter Text

Ding-dong
“Steven’s here!” Peridot exclaimed as she scuttled over to the door to open it.
“Peridot!” Steven smiled as Peridot opened the door.
“Steven!” She smiled back. “How nice it is to see you! So much has happened since you've visited last.”
“It's messier…” Steven mumbled. “Somehow…”
“Well, Lapis and I have been meep-morping in our spare time, which could be considered a 'mess’ to someone who doesn't truly understand art.”
“Hey… I understand art…” Steven said, slightly offended. Peridot brushed it off quickly.
“Have you meet Amethyst?” Peridot asked excitedly.
“No. Who is she?”
“She's purple!”
“Purple purple, or just dressing up?”
“Purple purple, of course,” Peridot scoffed.
“Hey.” Amethyst waved from across the room.
“Woah!” Steven exclaimed, running across the room to her. “You really ARE purple!”
“Uh… yeah. I’m purple!” Amethyst mumbled sarcastically.
“And you have a gem like me!” Steven lifted up his shirt to reveal the rose quartz gemstone embedded in his stomach.
“Woah,” Amethyst gasped. She had never seen another gem like her. “I guess I'm not the only one.”
“Yeah. I thought I was the only person like me alive. Although I'm only half-gem.”
“Half-gem?” Amethyst cocked her head to the side. “What's that?”
“Well, my mom was a gem, but my dad isn't… uh… it’s a little difficult for me to explain.”
“Oh, okay.”
“What's it like being a gem?” Steven asked.
“You're a gem, shouldn't you know?”
“Well, I summoned a shield eating ice cream once, and made a big bubble to protect this girl I like… Oh! My spit can also heal things, too. But these things only happen when I feel strong emotions, it's hard to control. What's it like to be able to control your powers?”
“Uh.. I dunno, man. I mean, I can kinda do this…” Amethyst summoned her whip from her gem. “And this…” Amethyst shifted herself into a cat and then back into her humanoid form.
“Woah…” Steven gasped. “I can shapeshift?! What else can Gems do?”
“Well, that's really all that I've done, but there's also this thing called fusion I saw once on the console in the Kindergarten.”
“What's that?” Steven asked excitedly.
“Well, its kinda like when you have to gems, and they do this dancey-thing and their forms sorta combine? Ugh, it’s super hard to explain.”
“Ooh! Can WE fuse? We're both gems!”
“No!” Amethyst snapped.
“Why not?” Steven tried to hide his disappointment.
“Because your a ROSE QUARTZ. A Rose Quartz can't fuse with an Amethyst!”
Steven frowned. “First of all, my MOM was Rose Quartz, I'm Steven, there's a difference. Second of all, says who?”
“Says Homeworld!”
“Well I don't really know who these homework people or whoever are. I think it would be really cool!”
“Amethyst, you said that you've never seen another gem before,” Peridot mumbled, sticking herself into the conversation. “How do you know what these people say?”
“The Kindergarten console,” Amethyst answered simply. “It tells every gem in the Kindergarten how to be useful to Homeworld and all the rules and punishments. If a gem fuses with a gem of a different type, they get shattered!”
“Oh… uh… okay.” Steven blushed. “But these Homeworld people aren't here are they?” Steven flashed a bright smile at the scowling Amethyst.
“Ugh, fine. I show you what I know.”
“Yay!”
Amethyst sighed and started to dance. Steven started to copy her movements as best as he could, despite it being very difficult. Finally Amethyst twirled and picked Steven up and held him in the air.
Nothing happened.
“Uh… Amethyst… nothing’s happening,” Steven whispered, trying to hold his pose.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Amethyst grumbled, dropping him onto the floor.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “I've never really done it before.”
“It's okay.” Steven shrugged. “It was still fun!”
“Yes!” Peridot reassured her. “Steven isn't even a full gem, who knows if he even HAS this power!”
“Yeah, I guess,” Amethyst mumbled, staring at the floor.
Suddenly, screams filled the air. They all rushed over to the window to see what was going on.
“It's one of those monsters!” Lapis gasped. “It's attacking that deli!”
Peridot balled her fists. “That's my favorite deli.” She turned to the group. “It's time for revenge.”
They all rushed out the door and down the steps. Amethyst was about to rush onto the street before Peridot stopped her.
“Amethyst, you can't go outside,” Peridot said seriously.
“Why not?” Amethyst scowled.
“Because they'll take you away again to that lab! You'll be tortured and put in a tiny cell! We can't let you be seen!” Peridot pleaded.
“No!” Amethyst yelled. “If anything, you’re the one who should stay away from the fight scene! I don't care if I get sent away, but I can't let you get hurt!”
“I'm okay with getting hurt!” Peridot fumed. “But whatever will happen to you is going to be a lot worse than what’ll happen to me.”
Amethyst ignored Peridot and ran past her into the fight. Peridot ran after her, trying to stop her from getting seen.
Amethyst summoned her whip and was about to hit the corrupted gem when she felt Peridot grab her arm.
“Peridot! What are you doing?” Amethyst yelled.
“I'm trying to save you!” Peridot screamed, trying to rip the whip out of Amethyst's hand. “You need to go inside, we can fight it!”
“No! It doesn't matter if I'm found. If I can't help you, this gem will kill you!”
“I don't care about me, I care about you!” Peridot finally pulled the whip out of Amethyst's hands and hurled it at the monster, who threw it to the side. It breathed a flame of fire at the deli.
“Oh no…” Peridot squeaked. The deli was now burning. People ran from the deli, escaping the burning building as fast as they could.
“Steven!” A voice from inside the burning restaurant screamed.
“Connie…” Steven's face went white.
An Indian girl reached her hand out of a burning window. The door collapsed and the window was too small to crawl out. Connie was the last person left inside, and she was trapped.
“My child!” A woman cried out. “She's trapped! Somebody help!”
Steven started to run towards Connie. He took a rock and started to break the wood with it.
“Connie! Grab my hand!” He yelled. Connie nodded through tears and ran towards him as pieces of burning wood fell from the ceiling.
“Steven, watch out!” Lapis yelled. But it was too late. Flaming wood fell from the ceiling and buried the two children.
Screams rang out from the crowd. Peridot could've sworn her heart stopped beating for a moment.
Steven, the brave boy who had only wanted to help others, was dead. Nothing could fix this.
“What’s that?” Someone yelled. Through the flames, Amethyst could make out a tall figure with a pink shield climbing out.
She gasped. They weren't Steven… they weren't Connie… they were Stevonnie.