Hey guys! We're back with Luna and the gang as things are getting serious. What will they do now that both Greg and Jericho have been taken? Let's jump in and find out! :D
-Luna's POV-
Garnet, Steven and I warped back to the Beach House, Steven and I still in shock about what happened."I can't believe this is happening," Steven muttered next to me. I looked at him, still not able to wrap my head around the fact that our dads had been taken. I looked up and saw Amethyst, Pearl and Circo standing in front of us. Pearl smiled, relieved, "You guys are back!"
"Hey dudes," Amethyst said casually. Circo smiled but it faded when he saw how upset the three of us looked. Pearl furrowed her brow, saying, "We're sorry about earlier."
"Forget that! We have to catch up with her!" Steven shouted. Circo stepped back, "What?"
"Who?" Pearl and Amethyst chorused. I whispered just loud enough for them to hear, "Blue Diamond."
"Blue Diamond?!" Pearl shouted in shock. "O-O-On Earth?!"
"Holy smokes! They're all coming out of the woodwork," Amethyst said, sounding both shock and impressed. Circo glanced at Pearl and said to Amethyst, "Amethyst, you may want to turn into a chair. Pearl looks like she needs to sit down."
"She took our dads," I said, hugging myself. "She alien-abducted them and...it's all my fault."
"It's my fault too," Steven said, placing a hand on my arm. I smiled a little at Steven, appreciating him being a good friend. Circo shook his head, saying, "Wait, Blue Diamond took Greg and Jericho?!"
"H-How are we going to get them back?!" Amethyst shouted, starting to panic. Steven looked at the ground in worry, growing more and more panicked. "What did she even want them for? To eat them!? T-to put them in a zoo!?" Steven asked.
Pearl's eyes widen at Steven's questions. "Wait, that may be it," Pearl said firmly. Steven gasped and shouted, "She's going to eat them?!"
My stomach dropped and I looked at Pearl. But she shook her head, saying, "What? No. But there was a... No. No, it couldn't possibly still exist. Not since we-"
Garnet snapped her fingers, saying, "That's right! Pink Diamond's insidious human zoo."
"What?" Steven, Circo and I chorused. Garnet nodded, "During her reign on Earth, Pink Diamond stole humans from their families as trophies of her conquest."
"You got to be kidding me," Amethyst said, not believing her. But Pearl shook her head, saying, "Oh no. It was very serious. When I still served... Homeworld, I saw it myself. A private menagerie deep in space. Humans in captivity. We were never able to rescue them. We had no way to get to them after the war. But, that was over 5,000 years ago."
"You really think they're there?" Amethyst asked. Pearl looked at Steven and I, asking, "Steven, Luna, Blue Diamond wanted Greg and Jericho alive, right?"
"Yeah! She thought they were deserving to live?" I said, trying to remember what Blue Diamond said exactly. Pearl nodded, "I can't think of anywhere else she'd put him if she wanted to keep him, that is if the zoo's still there."
"It's our only chance! But, how are we going to get there?" Steven asked. Circo smirked and said, "What about that Ruby spaceship?"
"The Roaming Eye," Garnet said, nodding. But Amethyst looked at Garnet in worry, "Will that ship really work?"
"It will," Garnet said. "We're going into space, and we're not coming back without Greg."
-Time skip!-
"Let's see," Peridot said, looking inside the Ruby spaceship. "Rear pulsar trackers are tracking pulsars. The atmosphere shield seems functional, but you're not going to need that in space, obviously."
"Well, make sure it is safe for Steven, Luna and Circo," Garnet commented. Onyx gave Garnet a look and said, "Is it not safe for them?"
Garnet smirked, "Of course it is. We'll bring them back safely, especially Circo."
Onyx's cheeks darkened and she huffed in annoyance. Peridot poked her head inside the ship, saying, "They should be fine. But, I think I should go in and change the system preferences the Rubies set. How do you feel about green lights instead of red?"
"There's no time for that! If it works, then let's just do it already!" Steven shouted, walking away from the ship. I glanced at Steven, seeing how he was talking to Connie over the phone. I bit my lip; I knew there wasn't any time from Connie or Amos to make it here, but it still would've been comforting if they could make it. I looked back at Circo and said, "To be honest, i agree with Steven. Who knows what's happening to our dads right now."
Circo placed a hand on my shoulder saying, "I'm sure they'll be okay. We'll get there as quickly as we can."
I nodded as Pearl said, "So, if I input the coordinates, it will take us right there?"
"It's a little more complicated than that," Peridot explained. "These aren't your Era 1 light kites. You're gonna be pretty much bending reality if you turn on the gravity engine. Come to think of it, I should really change the Ruby preferences on that, too."
"So what, so it's red! Come on! Come on! We gotta go!" Steven shouted, rushing past all of us onto the ship. Pearl looked back at Peridot, asking, "Rubies aside, will it fly?"
"Short answer, yes," Onyx said, responding before Peridot could. Amethyst nodded, "Alright, let's go."
Everyone started piling into the ship. Circo went ahead of me but was stopped when Onyx grabbed his wrist, saying, "W-Wait! Circo!"
He looked back at her, eyebrow raised. Her cheeks darkened and she said, "P-please be careful. I-I don't know if any of the Diamonds will be there but...i-if they are..."
Circo smirked and gently placed his hand over Onyx's. "We'll be okay. Don't worry," He said, nodding. "We'll be back before you know it."
Onyx nodded, still not looking convinced. Circo removed Onyx's hand from his wrist and, to everyone's surprise, gathered Onyx in his arms. He gave her a quick hug, saying, "I promise, we'll come back."
Onyx nodded, too shock to say anything. Circo let her go and walked into the space ship, not saying anything else. I smirked and followed after him. Garnet followed in last and soon, Pearl was flying the ship out of the Earth's atmosphere. Steven sat in a chair, staring out of the window at the shrinking Earth. Circo and I stood nearby, letting Steven have a moment. I stared at the window, feeling nervous about this rescue mission. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked, seeing Circo giving me a reassuring smile. "We'll find him," He said.
I nodded, "I-I know."
We stood in silence for a moment before I asked, "So....you and Onyx huh?"
Circo's cheeks slightly turned red and he muttered, "It's not like that."
"Uh-huh," I said, sounding skeptical. Before I could interrogate Circo more, the entire ship shook. Steven, Circo and I balanced ourselves and turned towards the Crystal Gems, concerned. We rushed over as Pearl said, "Sorry! Space turbulence!"
We all looked out the window and saw asteroids flying at us. Pearl managed to maneuver the ship out of the flying rocks. Garnet smirked, "Nice moves."
"Hold on," Pearl said, continuing to fly the ship. Finally, she got us out of the asteroid field. We all relaxed, glad that danger was out of the way. Steven looked at Pearl, asking, "Alright. How much further till we get to-"
He was cut off as there was a series of thuds! against the window. I jumped and looked, seeing three of the Rubies sliding off of the window and back into space. I cringed, feeling bad that they were still floating around. Garnet frowned, "We should really do something about them."
"We can pick them up on the way back," I commented. "Our dads come first. How much longer till we get there?"
Pearl looked back at the ship's controls. "Well, at our current speed," Pearl said, tapping various buttons. "We should be reaching the human zoo in approximately seventy human years! Just in time for Greg's 110th anniversary of being alive."
"Pearl, my dad's not healthy enough to live that long," Steven said nervously. I nodded, "And neither is mine."
Pearl blinked, "Ehh, do you think they'll be able to make it to 109?"
"Before we left, Peridot did mention the gravity engine," Circo commented. Amethyst smiled, "Oh yeah. She said it bends reality."
Pearl shook her head, "Oh, I'm sure she was exaggerating. It probably just alters the definition for speed by manipulating space-time, but what effect would that have on organic matter? It might flatten Steven's body into a pancake of skin and bones."
"Eww, bones are gross," Amethyst said, sticking her tongue out in disgust. Garnet raised an eyebrow, "You have bones in your bedroom."
"That's different. Those are my bones," Amethyst said, as if that made a difference. Steven shook his head, "If being a pancake means saving my dad, then bring on the syrup!"
"Steven, wait-" I started, but Steven grabbed a lever and pulled it. The ship suddenly started going faster and a sudden pressure hit my head so hard that everything immediately went dark. after a moment, I managed to regain my sight and found myself lying on the ground. I groaned and slowly sat up. I held my head, closing my eyes as I felt a headache coming.
"Steven! Luna! Circo!" I heard Garnet shout.
"You guys okay?" Pearl asked. I slowly opened my eyes as Steven said, "I'm fine. I-I think I just blacked out. Umm, are you guys okay?"
I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what I was seeing. Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet were shorter, looking as if someone had slightly pressed down on their heads. I looked to my right and saw Circo staring at them, trying to wrap his head around it too. Amethyst burst into laughter and Garnet said, "You tell me."
"Uhh, No! we're not okay!" Pearl protested. Circo stood up, but stayed crouched down. I tried standing up, but I felt the force keeping me crouched down too. Steven stood up, short enough where he didn't feel the pressure. Circo looked at the gems, asking, "Why do you guys look like that?"
"The gravity warp seems to be affecting our bodies," Garnet said simply. "And from what it looks like, it's sort of effecting you two as well."
"Please tell me this lasts forever," Amethyst asked, still giggling. Pearl placed a hand under her chin, thinking aloud, "Our bodies are made of light, and usually, they form a mass dependent on the air pressure and the level of gravity in the environment, but we're in a situation where the normal laws of physics don't apply."
"Who cares? It's funny," Amethyst said, shrugging her shoulders. Pearl spun on her heel at Amethyst, shouting, "In what way is this funny!?"
"So, you guys aren't doing this on purpose? Can't you shapeshift back?" I asked. Amethyst held up a hand, saying, "Hold on." She transformed into her wrestler form. But even if she did, she still remained the same size. "Huh, check it out. Puma cub," She said, smiling.
"The ship seems to be putting out some kind of energy keeping us in this shape," Garnet said. Steven snapped his fingers, saying, "Oh, I know what the problem is."
"You do?" Pearl asked, surprised. Steven nodded, "Peridot said the ship was calibrated for Rubies. It must be making you all Ruby-sized."
"Ugh! Why doesn't she tell us anything? This is why we don't listen to her," Pearl said, shaking her head. I raised an eyebrow at Pearl as Steven said, "Maybe I can change the settings."
"We should probably sit down, just in case," I said to Circo. He nodded and we both sat down on the floor. Steven went back to the controls, sitting in the chair. He pressed a button and the gems became the size of quartz soldiers. Steven flinched, saying, "Sorry."
Steven kept hitting the button, and the gems kept changing sizes until they became so big and tall, that their heads hit the ceiling. I sucked my breath through my teeth; that had to hurt. "This isn't working," Garnet said. Pearl then suggested, "Try changing it manually."
Steven pressed a button and, from where I could see, a series of buttons appeared on the screen. Steven's face fell as he said, "Uh, maybe this one?"
He pressed a button and immediately, the crystal gems' necks became really long and fell to the ground. I bit my lip and said, "Steven..."
"Okay, so that does that. Uhh, maybe this one," Steven said, pressing another button. The gems' arms grew long too, and I glanced at Circo nervously. He nodded and we both crawled over to Steven as he shouted, "Agh! Why is this so complicated!?"
Steven started pressing a series of buttons, causing the gems to change sizes and shapes at random. Circo and I reached Steven just as Amethyst changed into the shape of a noodle. She gasped, and groaned, "Guh. Hey, Steven! this is getting a little weird, even for me."
"Steven," I started. "Why don't we-"
Suddenly, a large red 'X' appeared on the screen. Steven looked at me, smiling, "I think I found the off-switch!"
"Steven, wait!" Circo shouted. But Steven slammed both of his hands onto the 'X', and suddenly, everything went dark. A wall of force hit Circo and I, throwing us into the back wall of the ship. We slammed into it as the Crystal Gems disappeared and only their gems hit the wall between Circo and I. Steven slammed into the seat up by the controls. He gasped in a panic, shouting, "Guys! Wha, what did I do!?"
"I-I don't know!" I managed to shout. Steven glanced behind the chair, seeing us. His eyes widen, shouting, "Amethyst!? Garnet!? Pearl!? Where are you!? What happened? Are you cracked!? Amethyst is usually back by now!"
"C-Calm down, Steven!" Circo shouted. Steven looked at Circo and I, shouting, "Can you guys move?!"
"I-It's difficult...too," I said, feeling the force of speed pinning me to the wall. We all heard a loud beeping, and Steven looked at the screen. A second later, we heard Steven shout, "Oh no. That's the zoo. Uhh, we're gonna smash right into it if we don't... slow... down!"
Steven struggled to lift an arm, but he dropped it next to him. He started to gasp for air, trying to calm himself. "Gah! Come on, Steven. You can do it!" Steven said, trying to convince himself. "I-it's okay! The Gems are gonna be fine! They gotta be fine! D-Dad's gonna be fine, too! Gah! I-it doesn't seem like it right now, but later, we're gonna laugh if I just stop the ship!"
I bit my lip and pushed myself, trying to reach Steven. I lifted an arm and reached to Steven, but immediately dropped it. I gasped and said, "S-Steven!"
But Steven started to hyperventilate, gasping and sobbing. "It isn't going to stop," He said, panicking. "There's no fixing this. It's all my fault! I rushed us! I pushed us into making stupid mistakes! It didn't have to be this way. I didn't have to not listen to Garnet. I didn't have to go to Korea. Dad! I didn't have to get you taken away forever by Blue Diamond. I, I wasn't trying to be selfish. I just wanted to know what was going on for myself for once! But now, I lost everyone. Dad! Dad! I want my dad! I just want my dad."
"STEVEN!" I screamed. Steven looked at me in surprise, as I shouted, "It's not your fault! Yes, you and I rushed things and got our dads kidnapped. But we'll get them back! You're not alone! You have all of us! But you have to accept that you messed up, and need to make it right!"
Steven nodded and looked forward. He pushed against the force of the speed, and pressed the screen. The moment Steven touched the screen, the ship slowed down and Circo, Steven and I all fell forward. Circo and I slammed into the floor, groaning in pain. We slowly stood up as Steven jumped up from the chair. He rushed over to Circo and I and we ran to Steven. The three of us hugged one another, glad that we were out of danger. Before we could break the hug, we felt more arms around us. We looked up and saw that Crystal gems were back and okay. We all stepped back, Steven saying, "You're back! Where'd you go!? We were was so worried!"
Pearl sighed, "I think in your attempt to fix our bodies, you may have accidentally shut off the calibration altogether. Our light-composed forms couldn't keep up with the ship moving faster than the speed of light."
"So, you were just lagging behind the ship this whole time?" Circo asked, putting together what Pearl said. Garnet nodded, "Yeah. Don't worry about it too much. Amethyst liked it."
"I never thought I could stretch so far! Hah! I think I kind of phased through a planet," Amethyst started. She then looked up and noticed Steven, Circo and I, teary eyed but smiling. "Uhh... Yo, guys. You heard Garnet. We're totally fine, dude."
"I-I was pushing so hard," Steven said, wiping his eyes. I nodded, saying, "We... we just wanted to get Greg and Jericho back so much, w-we almost wrecked the mission. This whole thing is our fault."
Garnet placed a hand on Steven's shoulder and looked at the three of us. "Steven, Luna and Circo. You three didn't kidnap Greg or Jericho. Blue Diamond did."
"Woah. Do you guys see that?" Amethyst said. Everybody followed Amethyst's line of sight, which was out the window of the ship. Floating closer and closer, was a large, pink space station. We all walked over to the window, eyes wide as we had finally reached our destination. Garnet smiled and said to Steven, "What you did? You got us to the zoo."
"Yeah?" Steven asked. I nudged Steven, saying, "And seventy human years ahead of schedule."
Steven looked at me and nodded. I looked back out the window saying, "We'll see you soon, guys. Hopefully."
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Whelp. Looks like they finally reached the space station! But what's going to happen now? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :)