"A Peridot." (Y/n) repeated, watching as Pearl lowered her hands. A giant pink sword arose from the smooth water surface of the fountain and flew into her hands.
"Yes, a Peridot." Pearl concluded, handing the weapon to the girl. "This was once Rose Quartz's sword, it won our greatest battles and was afterwards passed onto your grandmother, unfortunately it was returned to me before we disbanded since Connie worried your mother wouldn't have been capable of using it."
(Y/n)'s eyes widened as she took hold of the weapon, slipping the strap that the scabbard was stuck to around her waist. "It's yours now, since you rightfully inherit it from your grandmother... I have no idea why she didn't just keep it but, it's here now." Pearl hesitantly bit her lip. "You look just like her."
(Y/n) rubbed the back of her neck, beginning to make her way across the small floating islands. "Thanks?" She asked, jumping slowly.
"Wait a second." Pearl called, gracefully leaping from one point to another, grasping hold of (Y/n)'s hand. "It's much safer this way." She jumped into the air, pulling (Y/n) along as she practically flew to the main land they were headed, slowly decreasing in fall as they touched the ground lightly. (Y/n) gasped.
"That...was rather effective." She noted, following Pearl down the path she had earlier ascended.
"Well yes, that was logically the quickest route." Nothing more was said after that, they walked in a somewhat semi-awkward silence as (Y/n) began to burn with questions.
"How did you survive in isolation for so long?" Pearl laughed.
"Gems don't need company to survive, nor food or water, we get our energy from our gems and if we are hurt it doesn't matter as much since we are manifestations of light with mass." (Y/n) didn't why she hadn't thought of that before but it made sense, somewhat.
"I see..." (Y/n) began, "And so what did you do?"
"Well I trained... of course I lost practise and technique but I'm sure others could say otherwise, I've been told that I like to over exaggerate and that I've got quite the OCD, but that's what to expect from a pearl I suppose."
"There are more than one kinds of a gem?"
"Well yes, but I'm the only one to have stopped being a servant." (Y/n) nodded as they continued to walk, the little rocks causing (Y/n) to stumbled ever so slightly occasionally until they reached the bottom where the warp pad laid.
The two stepped onto it, (Y/n) tucking her limbs to her side. "Good idea, it's very cold and unsuitable for humans to be sticking body parts out of the light." Pearl nodded.
"Yes, I learned that myself actually..." she began to pull the warp whistle out.
"Oh we don't need that, only humans do but since you have me..." the warp pad immediately lit up and sucked the two into the airy void. (Y/n) felt her feet lift the ground for but a second. The travel time seemed to be faster as well, probably since it didn't have to be so vague.
And they both landed, feet on the platform and light disappearing to show the beautiful country scenery and lots of overgrown crops. (Y/n) took a breath of the fresh country air. "Someone's been busy." She said, beginning to wade through the overgrown plants. Pearl sighed and pulled (Y/n) back.
"Oh honestly, we won't get anywhere near the barn at this rate." Impatient was one way to describe Pearl, summoning her spear and aiming it at the ground. "Stand back." She warned, a white spark produced at the tip of the curved blade as it shot through the field, destroying the plants and creating a dusty path.
(Y/n) astonishingly looked at Pearl, "Well...that's one way to do it." They began their journey, walking and pushing stubborn plants aside as buzzing sounds filled the air. It was as if the burst of energy had triggered the sounds which only seemed to be growing louder as they grew closer to the barn, in view at the end of the path lines with crops.
And then small circular robonoids with little arms and propellers came into eye view, little gun like arms aimed at the pair.
"PERIDOT!" Pearl yelled over the whirr of machines, watching as they froze in place. A small rustle between plants and a head poked out, eyes narrowed and shielded by a visor, a green gem in the middle of her forehead, framed by a lime-yellow hairdo up in a tetrahedral shape.
Her skin was tinted green, along with the body suit she wore, yellow highlights were also added to her leggings.
"Oh my stars! How in a millennia is this possible?! Pearl?!" The voice was nasally and somewhat high in pitch, belonging to an incredibly short gem. Peridot, as (Y/n) assumed had a tablet floating in air beside her, a single flick of the wrist and it flew away to the barn behind her, as well as the spherical drones above.
"Nothing for years, left to descend into my own madness and then boom! You and a..."Peridot inspected (Y/n) carefully, "Human? Pearl, who is that?" (Y/n) waved slightly.
"Hi...um Peridot, I'm (Y/n)..." (Y/n) began.
"(Y/n)?" The gem questioned. "Wait, why are you two here?" Pearl sighed and bit her lip.
"We need to get the Crystal Gems together." She answered. Peridot's eyes widened.
"Crystal Gems?! You're not serious!" Peridot said, "We said we'd stop protecting humanity! We fell out!" a hand raced to her hair as she pulled at the blonde strands. "Y-you left! E-everyone left! W-we f-fell! Apart and, and, and, I was left here! Lapis..." Her pupils shrunk. "She left." Her voice was a whisper.
(Y/n) looked at Pearl worriedly. "Peridot." (Y/n) began, delicately placing a hand on the shorter gem's shoulder, she could feel her body shake at such overwhelming thoughts. "We need your help, that....Red Eye is here on Earth..."
"I know! I-it doesn't helped the stress levels at the moment!" Peridot wailed, losing composure.
"PERIDOT!" Pearl growled, snapping the smaller out of her state. "The Red Eye isn't here for humans, even more so a reason we need to get the Crystal Gems back together." Peridot froze.
"Then...who is it here for?" Her eyes trailed to (Y/n). "You?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so." (Y/n) nodded sheepishly.
"But then... who ARE you?" Peridot asked, her hand that pulled at her hair slowly releasing its iron grip.
"She is Steven's granddaughter."
"No way." Peridot's eyes dilated, "Oh my stars... you are! That's the only explanation...I can't believe it!"
"Well, the point it, I'm being hunted down for...you gonna help or what?" Peridot parted her lips slightly in thought, as if to say something.
"I-i..." she averted her gaze, fingertips touching, "You have to understand, there's been nothing for years and suddenly this...it's a little overwhelming." She took a deep breath, closing eyes for a second. "But I'll help in whatever way I can." She smiled lightly, (Y/n) grinning stupidly as she raced to pick Peridot up, hugging her smaller body close to her own.
She felt Peridot slowly wrap her small limbs around her waist and shoulders before returning the hug. "Thank you Peridot!" (Y/n) said, a hand running through Peridot's hair. Peridot shifted back a bit.
"No problem."
Pearl nodded. "Yes, thank you." She agreed, pacing in thought. "I suppose the next gem to find is Lapis."
Peridot's head shot up in excitement, squirming slightly in (Y/n)'s hold. "Lapis?!" She cheered. "Yes, that's a plausible idea."
"Someone's excited." (Y/n) noted. Peridot turned to look at (Y/n) again. "Well yes I mean, I haven't seen her for years since-" She cut herself off, biting her lip. "Since..." the memories seemed painful, causing Peridot's eyes to swell with tears.
Before (Y/n) knew it, she felt Peridot hugging her again and burying her face in the crook of her neck. (Y/n) repositioned her hands to hold under Peridot's bottom, bouncing her like a small baby.
"I mean... it was years ago b-but..." She sniffled, "I ca-an s-still remember... sh-she w-was br-oken... h-hurt. She thought that the C-crystal G-gems d-didn't want her...she-he's emotionally u-unstable a-and when I tried to get her back..." Peridot's sobs were muffled by more tears.
"If Lapis is in an emotionally unfit state then it's best we find her now, she could be doing who knows what." Pearl noted, empathetically patting Peridot's head. (Y/n) felt Peridot cling on tightly to her body.
"Shall we warp then?" (Y/n) suggested, looking at Peridot in her arms. "I don't think she's gonna be walking by herself for a while." She noted the shuddering. Pearl rolled her eyes.
"Oh please, she just needs to snap-"
"No, it's okay, I can carry her." Pearl raised a brow.
"You sure?"
"Yeah she's little, like a child." (Y/n) smiled. Pearl nodded and reached behind to pull out the book from (Y/n)'s pouch. "If it makes it easier, I'll carry the stuff in my gem." Pearl demonstrated her abilities by placing the bag inside a seemingly magic portal within her gem, leaving the book in hand. "Now, we need to decipher these squiggles-"
"Those are OBVIOUSLY waves for the ocean, um hello? Lapis Lazuli? Water bender and all-time best hydrokinetic gem ever to be made?" Peridot cut Pearl off and wiped her eyes, a hand supporting her as it leaned against (Y/n)'s shoulder. She blinked faster. "A-and I r-remember telling her th-that and sh-she thought i-it was co-ool and..." she began crying again as (Y/n) gently pushed her head down to cry on her shoulder.
"It's okay Peridot, take the time you need." (Y/n) bit her lip, looking at Pearl. "The ocean is huge, at least 10% of it is what has been discovered." Pearl tapped her chin in thought.
"If Lapis is emotionally incapable then she probably would be at the same spot Malachite came undone."
"Malachite?"
"Her fusion with J-"
"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" Peridot barked, "Sh-she h-hurt L-lapis.." more tears could be heard.
"Are we sure SHE isn't the emotionally distressed one?"
"It's probably because she isn't with Lapis, but I can assure you she's normal compared to what I've seen Lapis do. That Gem is able to manipulate water, capable of many things." Pearl said. "So this could be hard." (Y/n) nodded, rubbing Peridot's back soothingly.
"But we can do it." She nodded, "If we don't..." she trailed off, "I don't know."