Steven, Lapis, Peridot, and the Crystal Gems all gasp as the Ruby starts looking around.
"Ruby? Whoa-?"
Garnet grabs the back of Steven's shirt and pulls him away. Everyone retreats back inside the barn as a Ruby with a gem as an eye lands on the ground, growls, and walks away. Another Ruby with a gem on her shoulder jumps out of the hatch and begins making fighting noises and poses.
One of the many Rubies picks up a flower and kicks it. "Hi-ya!" She cartwheels away
One the Rubies pops out and gasps with excitement. "What a lovely planet!" They walk away happily
Another Ruby sticks her head out nervously. "Wait! So we just... get out and walk around? Whoa-!"
The nervous ruby gets shoved out of the eye by a higher rank ruby. In the background, the ruby with an arm gem can be seen kicking a twig.
"Now, where's the Gem the scanners locked on to?" The high-ranking ruby looks around."Let's fan out and search the area!"
Steven peeks out of the door from inside the barn to look at the five rubies from Homeworld.
"Whoa, look at 'em all!" Steven says
Peridot peeks over, too, on top of Steven, Turquoise peaks over Peridot as well. "I knew it. They're after me! This is THE END of the line!"
"You really weren't kidding." Lapis says
"I disobeyed a direct order from Yellow Diamond, and I called her a clod... to her face." Peridot says freaking out a little
"Oh, honestly, you call everyone a clod." Pearl says
"Hey, she never calls me a clod," Turquoise says slightly offended
Turquoise looks down at Peridot
"It's because I like you." Peridot says honestly
"True."
"but not everyone has command over all the armies of Homeworld waiting for the word to shatter me!"
"What about me? If Peridot had never heard of a turquoise before me, what would happen if one of those Rubies sees me? What could that mean for us?" Turquoise asks
Peridot scampers to a box of baseball equipment, dumps out the contents, and hides inside the box.
"Peridot, we won't let them get you." Turquoise lifts up the box
"But haven't I caused you enough trouble?" Peridot asks, hiding her face in her arms
"Of course not," Turquoise kneels and picks Peridot and holds her hands
"Don't worry, Peridot. It's our sworn duty to protect anything that calls this planet home." Garnet says
"And that includes... clods like you." Turquoise says with a smile
Peridot whispers, "That's my word..."
"Listen up, everyone. I have a plan. Or should I say... We have a plan." Garnet holds up her hands and giggles. She then begins to unfuse, separating into Ruby and Sapphire, holding hands with each other.
"Hello, everyone." Sapphire greets everyone
"Ruby! Sapphire!" Both Pearl and Amethyst say excitedly
"HUUUGS!" Steven Runs up to Ruby and Sapphire and hugs them.
"Hello, Steven!" Sapphire giggles
"Care to Introduce me? I've never...met Garnet unfused..." Turquoise kneels beside steven
"Turquoise, Sapphire. Sapphire, Turquoise, " Steven says as Sapphire shakes Turquoise's hand
"And you must be a Ruby?" Turquoise asks, shaking Ruby's hand
"Yep! Nice to finally meet you. " Ruby shakes Turquoise's hand
"So, what's the plan?" Amethyst asks
Sapphire turns to Ruby. "You got this. Just act casual." Sapphire kisses Ruby on the cheek
"Yeah." Ruby bumps her fist against her palm,"Casual." Ruby runs out the barn
"What was that?" Turquoise asks whispering and leaning next to Sapphire
"Good luck kisses." Sapphire whispers
"Hmmm," Turquoise thinks to himself about good luck kisses
Ruby starts walking awkwardly towards the Homeworld Rubies, who are gathered and chattering among themselves, the higher ranking one standing on top of the Roaming Eye.
"Focus, Rubies! This is an important mission from Yellow Diamond, so we can't mess it up." The high rank, Ruby says
Ruby slides up next to the ruby with a naval gem and begins conversing with them nervously.
"Eh, hey, hey! Uh... What are we all doing over here?" Ruby says nervously
The Homeworld Rubies glance at Ruby in great suspicion.
The ruby with a gem on her leg raises her hand. "Yeah, what ARE we all doing here?"
"We're here to retrieve the leader of the Earth mission!" The higher ranking Ruby raises an eyebrow."Hey, wait a second. It seems like there are more of us... than usual!"
"There's supposed to be five of us." The naval Ruby says
The arm Ruby holds up her palm and clenches it. "Five Rubies!"
The higher rank Ruby starts counting off the Rubies, except herself. "One, two, three, four, five! Tch, never mind."
Ruby sighs in relief.
"The leader of the Earth mission must be around here somewhere." The higher ranking, Ruby says
Ruby nervously sweats. "Well, she's definitely not in that barn!" She points at the barn, forcing a poker face
"Whoa, I didn't see that before. Maybe we SHOULD look around in there." The higher ranking, Ruby says
Ruby raises her hands in panic. "Uh, I'll go! By myself!" She runs away groaning
"Ba-Byee!" The naval Ruby says
Ruby stands at the doorway, sweating anxiously.
"They want to search the barn!" Ruby yells
"We heard." Steven says
"We saw." Pearl adds
"So I'm scared!" Peridot says, panicked starting to hyperventilate
"Hey, hey, hey... come here. " Turquoise picks peridot up and holds her as she rests her head on his shoulder
Amethyst holds up a baseball bat. "Let's ambush them!"
"No. No one needs to get hurt. Let's be sensible." Sapphire says
"I agree. I don't wish for any violence," Turquoise says, still holding Peridot, attempting to calm her down
"What do I do?" Ruby starts biting her fingers in panic
"Just go out there and tell them this is a place where humans live."
Ruby sighs. "I don't wanna go alone..."
"Hmm, Steven, your human go with her," Turquoise suggests, pacing back and forth with Peridot in hand
"Smart." Lapis says
"Oh! I'll come. I'll be your backup." Steven says
Amethyst hands Steven the baseball bat. "And here's some backup for your backup."
Ruby returns back to the Homeworld Rubies, carrying Steven with him.
Ruby plants Steven down and speaks nervously. "I checked the barn, and I just found a bunch of humans! Hah!"
Steven nods transparently. "Yup! Nothing in there but us humans!"
The high-ranking Ruby gets sceptical. "Really?"
"Looks like we failed...! It's time to go back home! Hah...!" Ruby says nervously
"I think we better double-check. You remember what happened last time." The high-ranking ruby says
"Last time?" Ruby asks
3 of the 5 Homeworld Rubies begin laughing.
"Oh, Ruby, you're so forgetful!" The naval Ruby says
"Alright, let's search the barn!" The high-ranking ruby says, adjusting her visor
"Wait!" Ruby begins to panic."You can't, beca-because..." she glances at Steven."Uh..."
"You have to... uh... play baseball!" Steven says
The Homeworld Rubies look at each other.
"Yeah! It's a human thing. I-If you win, you can go inside, and if you lose, you... gotta leave forever." Steven says
"Base... ball."
Ruby and Steven return back to the barn to announce to the Gems the change of plan, while Lapis stands away from the ground, leaning against a ladder.
"Baseball!?" Peridot, Amethyst, Pearl, & Sapphire all yell
"Baseball?" Turquoise asks, confused
Steven grins delightfully while Ruby facepalms
"I... saw that this was a possibility, though I am surprised that this is the path we're taking." Sapphire says
Steven blows a whistle. "Alright. My human baseball knowledge will lead us to victory. Let's just go out there and pretend to be humans. Except Peridot. You stay here in the barn and hide."
"O...kay."
"Everybody in?" Steven glances at Lapis."Lapis?"
Lapis chuckles. "This plan sucks."
"We'll need disguises," Sapphire says
Turquoise rummages through a box of clothes and finds a baseball jacket and hat with a blue "T" on it and a shirt. "01" he looks at himself in the mirror
"Hmm, what about my eye...?" Turquoise asks Steven
"Hmm, I know!" Steven looks through a box of old Halloween costumes and finds an eyepatch
"Here," he hands it to Turquoise
"Turquoise, take this to cover your gem." Pearl hands Turquoise a belt with a hip pouch it
"Interesting..." Turquoise puts it on looking in the mirror "Peridot what do you think?"
"You look good no matter what..." she says quietly
Steven, Pearl, Amethyst, Lapis, Turquoise, and Sapphire, all wearing baseball clothes, stand in a line against the Homeworld Rubies, including Ruby herself. Everyone then begins introducing themselves one by one
"We're the Humans! Steven!"
"Earl!" Pearl says in manly voice
"Amy!" Amethyst says with a growl
"Bob." Lapis says nonchalantly
"Turner," Turquoise says, unsure
"And Sophie." Sapphire blushes
Ruby also blushes at Sapphire's appearance and begins sweating nervously again.
"Understood. Our team is the Rubies! Consisting of... Ruby!" The head Ruby says
"Ruby," Ruby says
"Ruby!" The naval Ruby says
"Ruby!" The arm Ruby says
"Ruby." The Eye Ruby says
"And Ruby!" The leg Ruby says
The Eye Ruby walks over to Turquoise
"Turner, why do you have that thing on your face?!"
"It's... i got hurt really badly by someone..." Turquoise says nervously
"And what about the stripes on your skin?" The eye Ruby asks, raising an eyebrow
"They're...they're..." Turquoise can't think of an answer
"They're scars, from human injuries." Pearl helps answer the eye Ruby's question
"Here's the rules of the game. We take turns throwing the ball at each other. The batter tries to hit the ball with the bat, and then they run around the bases. Whoever gets the most runs wins." Steven starts
"Wait, I have to do something first..." Turquoise runs off into the barn
"Where's Turner going?" Steven asks
Turquoise runs into the barn, looking around for Peridot, eventually finding her
"There you are. I just need one quick thing," Turquoise says, picking Peridot up and putting her on some boxes
"What is it..." Peridot asks nervously
Turquoise kisses Peridot gently holding her waist. She puts her hands on his shoulders, before Turquoise quickly pulls away
"Good luck kisses." Turquoise says with a smile before running out the barn, leaving Peridot blushing and puzzled
Turquoise returns to the group
"Turner." Sapphire looks up at Turquoise
"Sophie." Turquoise replies, blushing
"Nice going." Sapphire smiles at Turquoise, knowing what he had gone to do
Steven uses the diamond formation caused by the crashed Roaming Eye as the baseball field, with the Eye being in the centre mould. The "Humans" plays defensive first, with Steven as the pitcher, Amethyst as the catcher, and the other Gems as infielders. Ruby, being on the offensive team, becomes the first batter. She readies her bat and winks at Steven. Steven winks back.
"You get three tries to hit the ball. If you miss..."
Steven throws the ball, and Ruby purposefully misses it. Amethyst then catches the ball.
"Striiiike one!" Amethyst calls out
"What?!" The arm Ruby yells out
Steven tosses the ball again, and Ruby misses again.
"Striiike two!" Amethyst calls out a second time
Steven tosses the ball the third time, and again, Ruby misses
"Strike three!" Amethyst, call out a final time
"Three strikes, and you're out!" Steven says
"Oh, darn!" Ruby chuckles."Guess I'm out."
Sapphire waves at Ruby, and she blushes. The arm Ruby then leaps in and punches Ruby in the back.
"You swung too slow!' The arm Ruby picks up the bat, as Ruby runs off "Do it like this."
The "Humans" continue to play defensive while Steven keeps explaining the rules.
Steven throws the ball, and the arm Ruby hits it so hard that it flies very fast past everyone, hitting Turquoise in the chest, knocking him off his feet and sliding on the grass
"Turner!" Steven calls out
Turquoise still lying on the floor raises his glove, holding the smoking ball
"...I got it..." Turquoise says, getting off the grass
"Out," Steven yells
"What?!" Arm Ruby yells and starts stomping and kicking grass
"If the ball gets caught, you're out!" Steven explains
Pearl efficiently catches a ball hit by the naval Ruby by sliding at it
"And if you get tagged, you're out!"
Steven catches the ball at a base and tags the eye Ruby as she runs over. She then growls angrily at Steven.
"Uhhh..." Steven backs away in fright."And after three outs, we switch sides!"
The teams switch sides, with the "Humans" on the offensive and the Rubies on the defensive. Amethyst is batting while chewing gum, and the higher ranking Ruby is pitching. She throws the ball, and as soon as Amethyst's gum bubble pops, she hits the ball, and it goes flying out of the field. She then spin-dashes around the bases and slides onto a home plate with a pose.
"Nice!" Pearl enthusiastically shouts.
"Wow! That purple human is really good!" The leg Ruby says
Steven chuckles nervously. "Us humans, we're full of surprises." Steveb pushes Amethyst away while whispering to her "Amethyst be careful."
Sapphire then runs into the field as the batter.
"Heeeeey, Ruby." Sapphire giggles
The higher rank, Ruby throws the ball, and Sapphire misses it.
"Strike ONE!"
"Huh?"
Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst turn to look towards Ruby and Sapphire, Turquoise is seen looking back towards the barn
"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Ruby asks Sapphire teasingly
"I don't know. I don't get off planet much." Sapphire replies
Ruby and Sapphire start laughing together as the high-ranking Ruby pitches the ball right into Ruby's glove. Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst watch on in confusion
"Strike TWO!!"
"What's going on?" Steven asks
"What are they doing?" Turquoise asks
Lapis walks in, in a monotone voice. "Flirting."
"Flirting?" Turquoise asks
"Yknow what you and Peridot do," Amethyst says
"I don't understand." Turquoise replies
"Heres a dictionary..." Pearl says, hiding her gem but pulls out a dictionary and hands it to Turquoise on the page with flirt on it
"Strike THREE!!!"
"Uhhhh..." Ruby and Sapphire look at the rest with embarrassment. Steven facepalms and Lapis gives a deadpan thumbs-up, Turquoise is reading the description of flirt
"...tease someone in a playful or not very serious way with whom you are in a relationship." Turquoise finishes reading the definition
The game continues with the Rubies on the offensive again. The eye Ruby, being the batter, successfully hits the ball, and Lapis easily catches it by moving just a tiny step to the left.
"Nice catch!" Turquoise says smiling at lapis. She blushes as Turquoise takes the ball and throws it back to the bowler
Ruby is the next batter, while the high-ranking Ruby, at the third base, yells at her to concentrate. Ruby then sees Sapphire cheering out at her and accidentally hits the ball, allowing the high rank Ruby to run to the home plate and score.
Steven whisper-shouting "What!?"
Ruby blushes in embarrassment as the Rubies gather around her in excitement.
YEAHH!! The arm ruby flexes in happiness
The game goes on with the "Humans" on the offensive, each taking turns to bat. When it's Lapis' turn to bat, she just holds her bat straight over the plate, letting the ball bounce off it and onto the plate. She then throws away the bat and walks unenthusiastically to the first base, as the Homeworld Rubies tackle and pile on top of the ball. Throughout the game, Ruby and Sapphire continuously flirt with each other and throw off the game. The "Human" and the Rubies keep playing against each other
Turquoise is up on the batting plate and reaches down, and picks up the bat Lapis had thrown behind her and gets ready to swing. The bowler Ruby throws the ball and hits the ball with little effort he swings at the ball sending it flying into the distance,Turquoise breathing heavily looks at the bat to see only the splintered handle of the bat.
"Ummm...oh stars...I broke it...sorry" Turquoise says covering his eye with his hat throwing the remaining handle of the bat behind him, he walks through all the bases and lapis meets him at the home base with a low effort high five
Steven then runs back into the barn to retrieve another bat.
"Hey, how's it going? Are we winning?" Peridot asks
"Ummm..." he chuckles nervously
Steven then sees Ruby instruction and giving Sapphire how to bat properly.
"Now, what you want to do is lead with your hips." Ruby says as Sapphire swings the bat."Yeah. That's pretty good. Let me show you again."
The eye watches Ruby and Sapphire, and then glances towards Steven.
"Well, haha..." Steven hesitates."We're doing just fine. Everything's gonna be A-Okay." He marches nervously back to the field
"You're lying to me!" Peridot cries out, closing her eyes
"To make you feel better!" He shouts back
"Thank you!"
The game eventually comes to the final match, with the scoreboard showing that the Rubies have 7 points, while the "Humans" have 6 points.
"Alright, it's the bottom of the ninth. We've got Lapis on second, but one more out and the game's over for us. We need to hit a home run." Steven thinks
Steven, Pearl, Turquoise, and Amethyst then see Sapphire, as a batter, still flirting with Ruby.
"Wait! I call a timeout!" Steven runs up in between Ruby and Sapphire Turquoise follows "Listen, you two, I know it's hard being separated, but we have to keep them out of the barn or they're gonna find Peridot. Remember?! Ruby, stop being cute, and Sapphire, keep your eye on the ball!"
"Pun...intended?" Ruby whispers
Steven glares at Ruby
"What did he just say?" Turquoise asks
The match continues. The high rank ruby pitches the ball, Sapphire swings the bat, but she misses the hit.
"Strike one!"
Steven, Pearl, Amethyst, and Peridot watch on in worry as the Rubies remain confident. Turquoise can be seen fiddling with his eyepatch seemingly uncomfortable with it on his face
"Come on, I know you can do it." Ruby shouts out
The high-ranking Ruby pitches, Sapphire swings again with Ruby's encouragement, but fails to hit the ball again.
"Strike two!"
"Just look at the ball." Ruby says
"I'm trying, but all I want to look at is you." Sapphire says back
"Don't worry, you can look at me when you're running for home." Ruby says
"Come on, Sophie! You can do it!" Turquoise yells."
Sapphire smiles at Ruby, filled with determination. The high rank Ruby lights the ball on fire and throws it at high speed towards Sapphire. Sapphire screams loudly and swings the bat, making an impact with the ball. Everyone gasps as Sapphire tries to withdraw against the force of the ball. Sapphire then freezes the entire bat and whacks the ball away, scoring a glorious home run. Ruby starts cheering as Sapphire begins running around the bases while Lapis walks casually.
"YEAH!"
Lapis returns back to home plate and gives Ruby a high-five. Then, he stood next to Turquoise, who was sitting on the ground.
The arm Ruby throws her glove on the ground in fury, as Sapphire continues to run towards Ruby.
Ruby is holding her arms out. "COME TO ME!"
Ruby and Sapphire start laughing together, and Sapphire jumps into Ruby's arms. They collide into each other and tumble on the ground. Steven and the others watch in shock as the two accidentally fuse back into Garnet.
"Hahaha...! Ha..." Garnet stops laughing."Whoops."
"They're GEMS!"
"We've been tricked!"
"What a turn of events."
The eye Ruby growls angrily
" Huh? W-what?"
Steven and the other join Garnet's side.
THAT'S IT! RUBIES... COMBINE!!!" The Homeworld Rubies join together and fuse into a single giant Ruby. She then roars loudly and glares menacingly at the Crystal Gems.
Turquoise hides behind Garnet
"WAAAIT!" Peridot can be heard yelling
"Peridot?" Turquoise asks
Peridot runs out of the barn. "Oooh, wait! Stop! Don't hurt them! Oof!" She falls to her face, falls again, getting up, and scampers over."Wait. Oh, please, please! It's me you're after, right? I'm not gonna stand by and let my friends fight my battles!"
"Awww, Peri loves us!" Steven smiles
"Are you the Peridot assigned to the failed Earth mission?" The Ruby fusion yells
"Not sure if "failed" would be the right word to -" Peridot starts but is cut off by the Ruby fusion
"Where is Jasper?!"
"You're looking for... Jasper?" Peridot asks, unsure
"Correct."
"Wait, but I'm the one who betrayed the mission, who called Yellow Diamond a clod; the new leader of the Crystal Gems?" Peridot explains
"I thought I was the leader this time," Turquoise says
"What?" Pearl asks
"Tell us where Jasper is NOW!" The Ruby fusion gets up in Peridot's face
"Jasper, umm..." Peridot looks at Pearl, who shakes her head."we know where Jasper is..."
"WELL?!"
"Uhhh," Peridot struggles to come up with an answer
"Neptune! The Jasper you're looking for is on the planet Neptune!" Turquoise points to the sky
Turquoise folds his arms as everyone remain silent as they glare at one another.
"... Well, why didn't you say so?" The Ruby fusion says
Steven sighs in relief as the Giant Ruby unfuses.
"We all here? One, two, three, four, and... ha!" The high rank ruby points to herself
"Five. To the planet Neptune!"
"Let's move out, soldiers!"
"What a lovely-sounding planet."
"But we just... got here."
"Let's go, newbie!"
The Homeworld Rubies return back inside the Roaming Eye. The eye then pops out of the ground, a small black cloud appears above it, and the ship warps away.
"Why'd you send them to Neptune?" Steven asks
"I read one of you human books and I read that Neptune is made of gas, so hypothetically they would be unable to physically GO there" Turquoise explains pulling a book out of his gem about the solar system
"What an excellent hypothetical I will have to read this human book later to know more," Peridot says, taking the book from Turquoise's hand
"Man, Rubies are dumb." Amethyst says
"Not all of them." Turquoise says, looking at Garnet with a smile
The Crystal Gems all head for the temple, leaving the barnmates Turquoise, Lapis, and Peridot
"Come on, let's tidy-up and get changed out these disguises," Turquoise says, picking up a baseball bat and ball
Lapis and Peridot look at each other and start to help as well.
That's chapter 15!!! See y'all in chapter 16. "Clean slate" is one of my favourite episodes
This chapter was a fun hit. The diamond is honestly hone of my favourite episodes, and I think I did it justice
Let me know what you think in the comments!!!
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