The Gems were in the Kindergarten. They hadn't arrived early that day because Steven had taken Lapis to some strange place, supposedly so she'd get used to living on the beach and wouldn't stay cooped up inside as usual. Little by little, Lapis was becoming dangerously otaku, and that worried Steven more than any intergalactic threat.
The three of them walked calmly through the corridors of the old facility, a routine they adopted periodically to ensure that no Gem from Homeworld could reach Earth undetected. It was a strange, almost tense, but necessary habit.
Amethyst looked around with her usual detachment while chewing on something only she knew where she'd gotten it from. She wondered if any enemy Gem would actually dare to come here. If she remembered correctly, Peridot had already been in the Kindergarten, though not physically, but her presence had left its mark on all the mechanisms in the place.
Pearl, on the other hand, observed each projector with meticulous care. Each one illuminated fragments of the past, memories that emotionally transported her back decades. With each light, she seemed to question a thousand possibilities. Garnet had been clear about them: they had to stay alert.
Garnet walked with a firm step, adjusting her glasses with an air of calm leadership. The futures she had seen kept shifting, branching out, and expanding uncontrollably. It wasn't something that surprised her, but it did demand that she stay focused. Most of the important scenarios, the good and the bad, the awkward and the strange, always seemed to converge in the kindergarten. It was as if fate insisted on dragging them here.
That's why, she said in that deep voice that always commanded calm, it was best to be vigilant and keep her guard up.
Amethyst snorted with exaggerated enthusiasm, as if she already felt like she was in the middle of a fight. She was ready, in her mind at least, to throw punches without thinking twice. She even squeezed through one of the holes in the wall as if she were exploring a playground.
Garnet, however, lowered her voice gravely. She recalled that one of the Homeworld gems was considered perfect in combat. Ever since she had left the Beta Kindergarten, her skill had been flawless in every way: precision, strength, efficiency. She was a gem made to win wars without fail.
Amethyst puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes, making it clear that she was used to those kinds of comments. She knew she wasn't perfect, and it didn't bother her as much as it used to, but hearing the comparison still stung. She said it listlessly and wearily, that yes, she already knew she was imperfect, that there was no need to repeat it so much.
Silence enveloped them as the three advanced toward the enormous hole in the wall, the same one left by that colossal robot. The Kindergarten breathed an ancient, heavy stillness. It was a place that held secrets, memories, and warnings.
And the three gems advanced in that stillness, knowing that at any second something could change.
Amethyst was the first to speak, observing from above, assuming her bird form for a better view of the terrain. She declared that this was the place, her voice echoing in the empty space. From the skies, she turned her head in every direction as if searching for invisible signs. The three of them quickly entered the enormous chasm in the structure, that silent hole that revealed absolutely nothing. It wasn't clear whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Pearl rushed forward immediately, nearly tripping over what remained of the main console. She said they needed to know what those Homeworld gems were looking for here, her fingers already frantically scanning the destroyed panels. She ordered Amethyst to help her move the fallen columns and rearrange the cables, because they had to work quickly before someone unexpected appeared.
Amethyst responded without complaint, which was unusual for her, and hurried to Pearl to begin lifting cables and clearing away pieces of machinery. It was rare to see her so focused, but even she understood that something important was at stake there.
Meanwhile, Garnet ran both hands along the walls, analyzing every crack, every mark, every lingering vibration. Something in that place stirred an uneasy feeling within her gem, almost as if an ancient voice were calling her to investigate. Her future vision had shown fragments, disconnected pieces she couldn't quite grasp, but just by touching that wall, she felt she was following the right thread. Something was hiding there, something that had yet to reveal its form.
Suddenly, a sharp sound echoed throughout the Kindergarten. The three of them tensed immediately. It wasn't a loud crash, not an attack, but it was powerful enough to trigger their fighting instincts. They all spun toward the source of the noise, ready to defend whatever was necessary.
What they found wasn't a monster or an enemy machine. It was Peridot.
The small green gem trudged clumsily, irritated, through the Kindergarten hallways. Her transport machine had broken down… well, fifty Earths ago, according to her own exaggerated calculation. It was hard to tell if she meant it literally or was just annoyed, but judging by her expression, probably both.
As she made her way through the ancient injectors, which to her were nothing more than obsolete scrap, she checked her device with frustration. Her robonoid had marked this route as the last usable location, which meant she should continue with whatever Yellow Diamond had planned for this sector. But as she looked around, she began to notice the differences, the atmosphere, the history buried beneath the rubble. She hadn't given herself time before to process what these places represented. Five thousand years overlooked. Five thousand years ignored. And now they seemed almost… interesting.
She even thought this nursery could serve as a temporary base. It was remote, deactivated, and above all, silent. A quiet place, ideal for her experiments and her plans. But she quickly shook her head. This wasn't the time for distractions; she already had enough chaos in her mind without adding more.
Then she felt it. That familiar, unsettling presence. It was them.
The rebel gems.
She took advantage of their conversation to try and slip away unnoticed. She moved quickly toward a fallen column, intending to hide, though she knew it wasn't her best idea. Before she could conceal herself, she heard their voices too close and completely regretted it. She would have preferred to jump out of a window than be trapped there.
And as if the universe wanted to mock her, at the worst possible moment, her metal foot struck a piece of machinery, producing a clear, loud clang. The entire kindergarten seemed to rumble with that single impact.
The three rebel gems remained silent, tense, circling in unison like predators on alert.
And that was the exact moment Peridot knew she was lost.
The next second, three Gems were chasing her at full speed, unleashing absolute chaos in the Kindergarten.
Peridot ran as if her life depended on it, her shrill voice echoing throughout the Kindergarten as she told them to look toward another planet to betray, trying to slip between the destroyed columns in the absurd hope that the rogue Gems couldn't catch her. It was a futile attempt. Every move she made triggered attacks: whips that sliced through the air, giant fists that slammed into the walls generating shockwaves, and laser beams that grazed the metal of her limbs. Everything rained down on her as she simply tried to do her job.
As she kept running, something unexpected caught her eye. Very close, as if emerging from the darkness, Jasper appeared. Peridot barely had time to react before her own voice cracked in a desperate attempt at negotiation. She declared that if they destroyed her, they wouldn't be able to activate anything at the planet's core, that they needed her system, that if they killed her, there would be no way to complete the operation.
The sentence trailed off.
A chill ran through her entire torso. She lowered her gaze very slowly, as if her mind refused to process it, and saw the point of a spear piercing her chest. Her eyes widened in shock. She was still breathing when she looked up and saw Jasper, her partner, with a cold smile. It was an expression that meant nothing new: Jasper always enjoyed her work a little too much.
A soft crack echoed as Peridot lost her physical form. Her body dissolved in a small flash, and the gem fell to the ground, but the newly arrived Jasper caught it before it touched the stone. She took three steps back with her characteristic military precision.
The three rebel gems, who were already celebrating Pearl's victory over Peridot with her spear, froze at the sight of warrior perfection before them. The air grew heavy. Jasper's mere presence was enough to make every fiber of their being tense.
Jasper regarded the three with disdain. Her eyes scanned the area as if searching for a ghost, and when she didn't see Rose Quartz, she let out a snort of exasperation. Without a word, she encapsulated Peridot's gem in a yellow bubble, forcefully pushed it back, and raised her fist. She slammed it against the ground with such force that it kicked up a gigantic cloud of dust. The three were enveloped in smoke, blinded, unable to follow.
When the cloud began to dissipate, Amethyst was the first to break the silence. Her voice trembled as she admitted they were screwed.
Pearl didn't even try to hide her panic and replied, "Absolutely," while she considered the absurd idea of facing Jasper without a plan.
Garnet didn't say a word. She closed her eyes, invoked her future vision, trying to follow the trajectory of the perfect warrior. But the image was distorted. Jasper wasn't moving in a straight line, but teleporting to seemingly random points, dodging every visible future path, making it impossible to track her accurately.
Garnet clenched her fists. There was more determination than fear in her voice when she declared that they had to enclose them in bubbles. It wasn't just a plan. It was the only way to stop the inevitable.
End of Chapter 45.