Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Peridot huffed a sharp sigh of agony, shaking like a leaf in a storm. Sweat beaded on her green skin and her hair was messy, both from the crash landing and the birth of Geodes. She had never felt so tired, sore and humiliated, sprawled on the floor of a dusty cave with a Jasper holding her Limb Enhancerless hand as she winced in pain. It was a drawn-out pain, periodic and torturous, making her regret ever thinking about her Jasper escort in any way other than strictly professional. 

A small part of her brain knew she was going to get Geodes from this, but that didn’t stop her from hating every bit of it. The other part of her brain knew these Geodes meant no returning to homeworld. They meant being stranded. But that wasn’t their fault..

Once all four of the tiny things had been birthed, Peridot finally got a look at the things making even the smallest task difficult. The eggs were so small… So small and fragile. Little orbs of precious crystal that could break apart and spill their contents at any moment. 

Peridot was exhausted from carrying the things and then expelling them from her small form, but she still felt a fierce protectiveness over them. She practically bit Jasper when she tried to get closer to them, but soon saw reason. The conflict was dimmed by the taller gem allowing Peridot and her Geodes to rest on her, her warmth and comfortableness perfect for the rest the technician needed. 

Peridot had known about her Geodes for a little while. It had been roughly two months since they had crash landed, and in that time her body had rapidly developed the little creatures that would one day be fully functioning gems. Gem pregnancy took roughly two to six months depending on the clutch, and Peridot had been carrying four. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t stressed when her babies decided they were ready earlier than predicted. They had been growing for roughly three or four months by the time they decided to scare her. 

Both she and Jasper had crash-landed after those Crystal Clods had wrecked her ship, but their paths after that incident had been rather different. For a short while, Jasper had fused with the Lapis, forming Malachite, but that fusion hadn't lasted long. Jasper had wound up ashore near the cave Peridot had holed up in while she waited for her Geodes to be done growing. She had landed on the coast too, but far enough from the Crystal Clods that she needn’t worry about being found. 

A slit in the cliff had been a good enough hiding place for now, with a small stream forking the ground into segments. Occasionally, a piece from the hand ship would float in, and Peridot could construct things for the geodes, her protection or her entertainment. 

When Jasper had floated in, soaked from the waterfall that protected her current place of hiding, she’d certainly been surprised. Jasper got an earful from the technician when she awoke in the form of a long, stress-fuelled rant about her Geodes growing up with one parent. Honestly, the only thing Jasper got from it was that the small, angry blonde was worried about her, and it was infuriatingly adorable.

Now the duo watched a clutch of four eggs sit under a heat lamp, varying in hue and texture. Two were green, one lime green and the other darker with rings, and smooth, shimmering under the glow from the makeshift heat lamp Peridot had constructed a few weeks ago. One was a rough shade of red, and the shell felt like sandpaper when Jasper picked it up to examine it. The last one was a mix of a light green and deep red, both smooth and rough. 

All four eggs were tiny, much too small to be usual. Peridot had a fleeting thought that these Geodes wouldn’t be useful to gem society, that they were off-colour and flawed. They ought to be cast out. But then she gazed at them and thought about the gems they would become. She couldn’t harm such little creatures. Little creatures that in a few days would become gems. They would be their own gems, and they would have her and Jasper for parents. They would be loved and raised to know how to learn and fight. They would know trust and betrayal, but most of all, they would know love.

Peridot shifted positions, careful to keep her geodes near her. Jasper, assuming Peridot was sleeping, placed a hand on the smaller gem’s head gently. Usually, Peridot would protest, but something about the touch made her excited as if Jasper had electrocuted her with joy. Much to her dismay, she pressed herself closer to Jasper for the warmth her geodes needed. The display of vulnerability made Jasper continue with the petting, and Peridot had to admit, she did lean toward the bigger gem. What could she say? Jasper was warmer, it was good for their Geodes. That was the only reason. Definitely not because she was growing fond of Jasper.

Jasper eventually shifted Peridot off of her, careful of the Geodes. She often left the cave with no explanation, and this time, Peridot was going to follow her. Where did Jasper keep going? Why did she never explain where she went? Peridot never questioned it, she just complained about being left. She tolerated it because Jasper always brought back scraps from the ship, but she was curious. Where did her companion always go?

As soon as Jasper left the cave, Peridot carefully shifted the Geodes over to the patch of light created by the heat lamp. Part of her didn’t want to leave her shimmering eggs, tugging at her emotions like an invisible string, but she pressed on. The waterfall covering the exposed wall on one side of the cave seemed like the only way in, but Peridot and Jasper knew there was a slit in the wall that lead past the roar of water. Peridot donned her limb enhancers as she exited, making sure Jasper didn’t hear her. She would’ve left her Limb  Enhancers behind, but if something happened, she would need them. 

Jasper wasn’t hard to follow. The orange gem left footprints in the sand as she gathered scrap was easy enough to follow. This was all well and good, but what concerned Peridot was the way her footsteps veered off the sand. She was clearly heading toward something, but Peridot couldn’t figure out what.. That was until she saw the tell-tale flash of blue light coming from what must’ve been the warp pad on the top of the fallen hand of the Temple’s statue. Peridot muttered a curse under her breath and readied a propeller, pushing off the ground with a small jump. 

No one was home, clearly, because if they were, gems would be racing to the warp pad before Peridot could even consider following Jasper. Luckily, there was one location Peridot knew Jasper would head for, and that was the homeworld warp. Jasper knew there was no way back without abandoning the geodes, and her! Peridot was still weak from carrying them, and scanners would surely notice her emotions pulling her back to her precious babies.

They would get caught, but Jasper wouldn’t. Jasper wouldn’t be caught with the signs of Geodes. She was just the other parent. Other parents in Geode creation could leave with no signs they’d ever created such precious gems. Peridot landed on the stone hand with a sigh, staring at the crystal warp with a longing to follow, but with the knowledge that all she would do was get Jasper caught. So Peridot headed back. 

As she headed back to the cave, waves crashed along the shore, leaving patterns in the sand. Her footsteps were washed away as she walked, making sure no one could follow her to the Geodes. As she walked, she kicked a shell in frustration, tripping over due to completely missing her aim. More angry muttering lead her to just storming home, completely disregarding the idea of being followed. Sure, later on she could’ve sworn she noticed someone nearby, and there was the sound of footsteps.. but she’d been so sure! No one was following her to the geodes. 

Chapter Text

Once Jasper had returned, Peridot was already curled around the Geodes again as if nothing had happened. She had made a nest a while ago, made of whatever soft things she could find, but that was pretty difficult when you were in hiding. It was mainly sand and leaves, but occasionally fabric from the singed remains of the ship would wash in, or Jasper would leave to steal something from the nearby town. 

Peridot was curled so carefully around the little things, hoping the heat lamp was enough to keep them warm. They were so little… So little and fragile. So easily destroyed, lying there against her lime skin… As much as she wanted to snap at Jasper for risking herself, she knew she couldn’t do anything that had even a chance of putting the Geodes at risk. Snapping at Jasper had a high chance of escalating into something bigger, and that could definitely put the Geodes in danger. 

So Peridot just huffed a sigh of annoyance, poking the little eggs gently. They were warm and humming faintly with energy, which she assumed was a good sign. They were so little- Peridot was sure at least two of them were defective, and that green one with the stripes? She seemed too big… Jasper often avoided looking at that one, too. The little, dull, mixed one might not even be a proper geode, and the red one seemed… Quiet. 

Of course Peridot had produced defective geodes. Of course she had doomed her babies to a life of defectiveness. Just like her. But Peridot had made up her mind. She would love these little goobers, even if they were defective. It wasn’t their fault. They were just babies, not even born yet. They depended on the warmth of her skin and her gem’s energy to grow, all until they hatched. Dependent little leeches that made her exhausted. Adorable little leeches. Fragile little leeches. 

Peridot guessed it would be a few more days until they hatched. They’d probably hatch individually, one at a time to increase her anxiety. Or they’d hatch together… Her logs didn’t have enough information in them to ease her worry about anything. Geodes hadn’t been recorded since the end of era 1, and the capability of era 2’s producing them was thought to be naught, but here she was. Four geodes.

Some part of her knew something was wrong. There felt like there should be more than four, and she shouldn’t feel so bloated still, but it was probably just her era 2 form getting used to the existence of Geodes. Everything was probably fine, she was just overreacting. She was bloated from before, and she had all four of her geodes in front of her, no need to stress. It didn’t matter that her tiny clutch was unhealthy, she’d carried these babies and she had known there would be four. She had known. Her clutch was okay. 

Once they hatched, they would need to be transported to a kindergarten where they would incubate for a small while until they emerged as gemlings, the truest baby gems. Or at least, that’s what the report said. Peridot had never seen a baby gem before, just overbaked quartzes and era 2 Peridots. That was the closest she came to… “children”. Geodes were fiercely guarded by their mothers, hardly ever seen by any other than the other parent. All Peridot knew was not to be alarmed if they were small. She had only come close to a “Steven”, which seemed child age in human standards. Perhaps gemlings would be the same. 

Jasper huffed a sigh, dropping something at Peridot’s feet. She looked up sleepily, an annoyed scowl crossing her face as she pulled the geodes closer to her. What was the big idea, dropping something so close to her babies?! But before Peridot could snap, she realised what Jasper had brought her. Not only was it foraged scraps from the ship, pieces of highly important tech and metals that could be built together to make tools and gear, but she’d also brought a whole host of abandoned or stolen human goods to make a nest out of. 

Without giving it another thought, Peridot added to her nest, only resting once her Geodes were swathed in dirty blankets and ripped cushioning. The heat lamp, which had been slowly losing power for days, was now running on new energy fashioned from scraps Jasper had picked up. It was shining brighter than ever, and even the dull egg that had previously been quiet was beginning to hum along with her siblings. 

Once she was satisfied, Peridot sat with her clutch in her lap like a proud avian. She only gently moved them when she looked back over at Jasper, occupied with wrapping a wound Peridot hadn’t even noticed previously. …Jasper must’ve fought someone for these. She hoped Jasper hadn’t led anyone to their cave but… No, Jasper wouldn’t. She knew better than to let herself be followed. That must be why she’d taken so long when she was out.

Peridot got up, leaving the confines of her nest to tend to Jasper. The warrior gem was taken by surprise when the technician walked over, a scrap of fabric in her small hands. She hardly ever wore her limb enhancers around the Geodes, so Jasper knew what she looked like without them on, but there was something so surprising about a small Peridot approaching her hulking warrior form with that mildly frustrated look she always wore. 

“Give me your hand.” Peridot muttered, holding out her own small green hand for Jasper to pass. She did as she was told, too surprised to do anything else. 

Peridot took Jasper’s large hand in her own small ones, wrapping the still-bleeding wound on the quartz’s forearm neatly. She may be a technician, but she knew how to treat battle wounds. Jasper suppressed a smile, replacing the swell of emotion for a ruffle of Peridot’s triangle of blonde hair. The little technician huffed a sigh of indignation, making a small growling sound before stomping defiantly back over to her clutch of eggs. If Jasper wasn’t going to take this seriously then she wasn’t going to help. 

“You need to be more careful.” Peridot muttered, rolling her eyes as she turned to lie on her stomach, “You could have lead someone to our place of hiding.”

“But I didn’t.” Jasper responded harshly, though a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, “I’m not a complete idiot, P.”

“Do not call me that.” Peridot hissed, curling on her side again as the feeling of something inside her made her want to crawl out of her skin. Conversation was a good distraction. “And besides. There’s more to it. You… You could’ve gotten seriously hurt.” She muttered, before blushing and quickly adding, “W-Which would be less than optimal, considering Geodes require two parents the majority of the time and-“

“Yeah, Yeah, I love you too, P.”

A splutter from Peridot was enough for the quartz to chuckle, the little technician frowning adorably and blushing furiously. She just settled back down around her eggs, muttering to herself.

Peridot was perfectly content sitting here in the dark with nothing but the heat lamp and her babies for company. Oh, and don’t forget the odd feeling in her stomach, not unlike the first time she’d been close to having her geodes. But she could ignore that, curled under a blanket Jasper had left beside the nest. She could ignore it until that familiar agony hit her like a human transportation vehicle. More geodes were coming, and she didn’t know what to do.

Chapter Text

Peridot didn’t want to go through this pain again. It has been torture the first time, and this part of her clutch had had longer to develop. They were bigger and healthier, waiting longer than their impatient siblings, which of course meant more pain for her. Peridot half considered doing something to crush the geodes before they had a chance to put her through misery again, but she knew she could never bring herself to do that. These were simply baby gems. They didn’t know what they were doing until they hatched. 

When the pain had first started almost an hour ago now, Peridot had managed to get the point across that more geodes were coming before the agony crushed her so much that words made her feel the need to spill her nonexistent stomach acid onto the stone floor. Jasper sat behind her, tiny hands in her large ones as she murmured the closest thing to reassurance she could muster. Jasper wasn’t the most empathetic gem in the world, relying more on instinct and battle strategy than words and emotions. Peridot didn’t care, as long as Jasper let Peridot bite her arm she was content.

“These idiotic- CLOD-“ Peridot yelled, biting down hard onto Jasper’s arm to stop herself from giving their hiding place away. She hissed, sweating and shaking as she leaned back into Jasper’s chest. “I don’t want to do this again-“ Peridot whimpered, not for the first time. Jasper just ran her spare hand through the little gem’s hair, murmuring the most comforting thing she could.

“You’ve mentioned. But it’ll be over before you know it. The pain won’t last forever.” 

“It feels like it will-“ Peridot’s voice went up an octave toward the end of her statement as another wave of agony cramped her abdomen. Jasper was more than welcome to be a chew toy for her technician, especially if it meant their geodes were safe. 

It didn’t take long for the first egg to arrive, joining the others with its rough red shell and small size. It was definitely bigger than the others, but nowhere near as big as the green-striped one. Peridot had a small break before the next two came back to back, both orangey-red too, with stripes like Jasper. Peridot had hoped that would be all, but finally, the littlest egg arrived to nestle amidst her sisters. She was a bright green egg, with a smooth shell and no stripes or imperfections, just a tiny, solid lime egg. 

“That’s all of them.” Peridot finally murmured, curling up in Jasper’s lap with a wince, “All the eggs. They should hatch soon, but for now, I’m going to sleep. Keep an eye on our eggs.”

That last comment sounded more like a threat than a request, and Jasper was more than willing to oblige. She shifted around the clutch so she could huddle around them, mindful of the resting gem on her lap. They were so small, perfect and shimmering under the heat lamp. Jasper had never felt such love before, not just toward her babies. She was ashamed to admit it, but some of that love was definitely directed towards Peridot now, despite the amount of times the technician had snapped at her or bit her. 

When Peridot awoke, it was to the sounds of cracking. At first she assumed the worst. She assumed Jasper had broken the precious delicate shells of her geodes, but upon opening her eyes and sitting up faster than she should’ve, Jasper shushed her before she had a chance to snap. In front of her was her clutch of eight geodes, all perfectly intact, their pristine shells shimmering under the heat lamp, except for one of the reddish ones. It shook gently, rocking back and forth as it tried to break free from its containment. 

A perfect split ravined through the rough rock that made up its shell. It was the reddish one from the first clutch, smaller than its siblings but just as tough. Peridot watched in awe as a little gem tumbled from the shell, a little jasper gemstone in a sea of unhatched geodes. Jasper’s hands hovered above the clutch, as if she was scared to touch the gem in the blankets, as if one touch could shatter the little thing. Peridot picked it up with careful hands, turning it over a few times to get a better look at it before carefully handing it to Jasper. 

“She’s so… Little.” The quartz soldier breathed, holding her baby like it was the most precious, volatile gemstone in the universe.

“She’s just a baby. A little Jasper.” Peridot replied, sitting up fully now, “Of course she hatched before her siblings. Impulsive little gem.”

That got a playful shove from Peridot, who scowled in response. Before she could retort back about handling the gemstone with care, the next one began to hatch, the red and green one this time. Her gemstone was mostly orange, Jasper’s gemstone in shape but flecked with green. She was smaller than the previous Jasper, but just as perfect.

The next to hatch were two of the newer clutch, the orange-red ones, hatching in sync. They were almost identical, small Jaspers, though bigger than the gems that had hatched before them. Next was the last rough red egg, though this one didn’t hatch as a Jasper. Her tiny gem was Peridot shaped, though it was deep red and not unlike a Quartz. It was unusual, certainly, but considering what looked like a combination of their gems had already hatched, it wasn’t the strangest thing they’d seen.

Now all they were waiting on was the green gems. Peridot was concerned about the tiniest green geode, so much smaller compared to the large geode that was the dark green one, and the collection of shimmering oranges and reds that were her hatched siblings. Jasper was keeping them warm in a blanket on her lap, the heat lamp just catching them as they kept it on the other geodes so they would hatch too. 

The larger lime egg hatched first, and lo and behold, it was a tiny peridot gemstone, lime green and almost identical to her mother's. Peridot scooped it up in small hands, holding the strangely warm stone just as Jasper had. She was mesmerised by the little thing, turning it over and over in her hands until the next one began to hatch. 

It was the littlest one, breaking through the shell and landing in the mound of blankets as the tiniest Peridot gem Peridot had ever seen fell beside her siblings. It was a perfect replica of her own gem, smooth and green, standing out amongst her rougher siblings. She was clearly the runt of the litter, tiny even next to her fellow Peridot, but she was perfect either way.

The last to hatch was the largest egg, cracking just after the littlest peridot. It split open from its shell carefully, as if the tiny gem was hesitant to exist. When she finally did break free, bringing the empty shell count to eight, the little gemstone was teardrop shaped, like a Lapis, though it was dark green, with stripes of turquoise and lighter green. Jasper went to examine it before hesitating, hands slightly shaky as Peridot went to pick it up instead. It was warm, like her sibling, but larger. She joined her siblings as gently as the little peridot had, falling softly to the blankets. 

Peridot didn’t dare speak, she just let her instincts take over, collecting the gems together and curling around them protectively. They would plant them in the kindergarten tomorrow, for now, they would sleep. 

Chapter Text

“I swear, the footsteps just… ended!” Pearl, a tall gem with pale skin, curly peach hair and a neat outfit, paced, running a thin hand through her neat curls. She had just returned home from scouting the beach because she was certain she had heard something, and now she was relaying what she had learned. 

She had seen footsteps—large, mechanical footsteps in the sand, not unlike Peridot and her Limb Enhancers. Jasper’s footsteps had seemingly been nearby too, but both veered off the path and vanished near the Warp Pad. Clearly it wasn’t Jasper, Jasper was fused as Malachite at the bottom of the ocean–wasn’t she? Pearl was certain she’d seen the warp pad activate. They had only just got home when Garnet was able to follow the perpetrator back to their place of current hiding, however, so they had no concrete evidence of what Peridot had been doing. At least, they were almost certain this was Peridot they were dealing with. She was a threat, certainly, but they were threats they could deal with. 

“Oh, Garnet…” Pearl sighed, sitting down at last, “If she really is trying to reactivate the warp…”

“She won’t.” Garnet sat up, adjusting her sunglasses, “If she causes any trouble—if she uses the warp again—if she even thinks about trying, we’ll be there to stop her.”

Pearl gave the fusion a small smile. It had been such a hectic last few days, what with the search for Peridot increasing with the threat of her trying to return to Homeworld, and with the stress of Malachite constantly looming over them… Well, safe to say this wasn’t a welcome burden. 

If Peridot was nearby… why would she be? To fix the warp? Peridot didn’t have any of her robonoids. To ambush the gems? She was trapped, wherever she was—trapped in hiding until she would be found. She would be found soon, knowing that gems, she would give herself away. But Pearl had to admit, it was rather unlike her to be this silent. She wondered if something had happened to the gem… if something had, it was concerning, certainly, but also… rather convenient. 

Now, if those other footsteps really were Jasper’s… well, they had another problem on their hands. Jasper was supposed to be at the bottom of the ocean as Malachite, and with no signs of Lapis? What if something had gone wrong? What if Lapis was hurt? What if this was just a ruse and Jasper was still trapped? “Garnet–” Pearl began after a moment of swift pacing.

“You saw Jasper’s footsteps.” Garnet interrupted, her expression unreadable, “I know. But we have no way of knowing that it was Jasper for certain. We can’t go on a gem hunt without proof.”

“I just don’t understand how she could be free! Lapis was holding her down so well… she managed to convince Jasper, and with a will to stay fused that strong? I mean, something serious must have split them apart…” Pearl murmured, pacing again. Her hand was placed on her chin thoughtfully as she spoke, her hair growing messier by the moment. It was clear this was puzzling her. 

“We know Peridot is trying to get back to Homeworld. She sent that signal at the communication hub,” Pearl flinched,  “But the escape pod hasn’t sent up any flares since, and she’s shown no signs of appearing aside the ship and aside from those footsteps.” Garnet’s expression was thoughtful, considering options, “She’s been uncharacteristically quiet. Something’s clearly happened to make her stop trying to return. Whether it’s something good or something bad, I don’t know, but if she tries to do anything, we’ll be there to stop her.”

Pearl gave Garnet a thankful smile, her expression tired and weary. This whole debacle had gone on for weeks at this point, starting with the crash of the Hand Ship, followed by Malachite, and then what had happened with Sardonyx and the Communication Hub, and now Jasper being free? It was one hell of a few weeks. She was glad she and Garnet were speaking again, because if she sat on this in silence for another hour, she would’ve burst. 

“Oh, for my sanity, I hope you’re right.” Pearl pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, resisting her urge to pull at her already frazzled curls, “Let’s… not tell Steven about this. Not yet. Not until we have proof.”

“Proof about what?” A voice called as someone kicked open the door ungracefully. Much to Pearl’s mixed happiness at who it was and dismay at the timing.

“Oh– nothing!” Pearl lied, unconvincingly, “Just–“

“Just corrupted gem things, Steven.” Garnet butted in, lying much more convincingly, “Nothing exciting.“

“Aww, are you sure? Proof stuff sounds exciting!” Steven pressed, beaming in that way that made Pearl crack, “C’monn, haven’t I proven I can go on missions well enough by now?”

“I’m sure,” Steven slouched and Garnet just smiled, getting to her feet, “Come on. You should be sleeping. Let me and Pearl worry about other things.”

Steven huffed a sigh of annoyance, but he headed off to bed anyway, making a detour to the bathroom so he could brush his teeth. Pearl and Garnet were left to talk, discussing ideas quietly. They probably should check to see if Peridot is around there, but considering the footsteps tapered off toward a cliff and then disappeared… the chances of them finding her were slim. She would slip up and make herself known at some point. A gem that irritating? She was awful at being–

A knock on the door–three sharp, hurried knocks, as if someone was in trouble–broke the evening silence, piercing the peace and causing Pearl and Garnet to leap to their feet defensively. Pearl rushed over, peering out the window, but a storm had begun to pelt down outside. Rain lashed at the windows, and the low light level from the time and the clouds certainly didn’t help. They had no clue who was at the door, and the weather certainly didn’t help. 

Garnet opened the door hesitantly, ready with her gauntlets, and oh she needed them. In the doorway was a sopping wet Jasper, her mane of hair plastered to her shoulders and arms. Her expression was unreadable, her gaze obscured by her fringe, but it was clear something was wrong. Something was obviously wrong! Jasper was here! In her arms she cradled a bundle of fabric, muddy and slightly sandy, swathing something tiny. Tiny and precious. A miniscule Lapis-shaped gemstone. And it was cracked. 

Chapter Text

No, no, nonono this was all wrong! 

Peridot’s hands shook as she scooped up a gemling’s gem, holding it in her little lime hands as it glowed. It was one of the Jasper gems, small and kite-shaped. The surrounding area glowed brightly until it formed the ragdoll shape of the tiniest little Jasper either of them had ever seen. She was minuscule, a tiny clone of her mother, but her orange skin was barely striped. Her arms bore one or two, but the rest of her was just a solid orange. Her gem was placed on her right shoulder and glinted in the morning light from the cave entrance.

The gemlings shouldn’t be forming yet. They were much too young! They need to be implanted in the ground to grow and thrive, but… now Peridot had a baby in her hand, barely the size of her palm, as she curled herself up against her mother’s warmth. Jasper was looking at it with varying degrees of love and… disgust ? Why did she look disgusted? This was her child! It was meant to be the light of her life! It was the reason she was–

It was the reason why she was trapped here—why they were both trapped here. The gemlings. Tethering them to earth and their duty to protect these creatures. But Jasper could leave if she wanted, they both knew that. She would be fine, eventually growing out of the instinct to protect the babies. But this little creature was one of eight tiny beings that had freed her from Malachite. She wasn’t leaving. She owed them that much. 

Peridot gently placed the baby down by her stomach, the steady stream of orange hues from the sunrise washing everything in a bath of colour. Peridot’s own gem shimmered brightly before the sun was blocked by the next baby forming. A peridot, the larger of the two. Its lime skin was broken by dark, infrequent stripes of a darker green, and its little Peridot gem was placed over her eye. Her yellowish hair was shaped like a square, not unusual for a Peridot, which typically had odd hairstyles, but peculiar to see on a baby. She was already feisty, nipping at her siblings with little blunt fangs she’d inherited from her mother. 

As the second gemling rested among the blankets of Peridot’s rather comfortable nest despite the circumstances, Peridot was hit with a wave of her instincts. It was a primal feeling, blinding her with the need to protect her young. She’d been like this when her geodes had first been born, but she’d been easily won over by the promise of a warm nap to nest in. Now her babies were actually in front of her? Peridot glared at Jasper, letting out a growling noise she didn’t know she was capable of making. 

Jasper had seen her like this before, she knew to back off and give her space, but that didn’t even seem like enough. Peridot prowled closer, snapping at Jasper as if she’d never seen this gem before. Her gemlings chirped behind her, and she looked back briefly in a cloud of clarity, before immediately snapping back to getting Jasper to leave. 

“Peridot, Can I-” Jasper began, tone mildly annoyed as she tried to get closer to the nest despite knowing it would go wrong. She was swiftly interrupted by a sharp hiss and an attempted bite.

 “Right, but-” Once again, she was interrupted, feral instincts clouding Peridot’s thought process to just ‘Protect the gemlings.’

“Alright, fine. I’ll stay away. Just… yell? Chirp? When I can come back over.”

Apparently over the stream on the other side of the cave was enough, because as soon as Jasper had crossed the threshold of where they stored items they didn’t need, Peridot let out a contented chirp before heading back to the nest. 

Jasper’s mother instincts had always been strong. They were the reason why she was here with Peridot and their gemlings and not trapped at the bottom of the ocean as a toxic fusion. The sheer agony of being apart from her geodes—of which she hadn't known had existed until she’d found Peridot—was enough to make them separate. It had surprised Lapis. It had surprised her a huge amount, feeling an agony almost rival her own in intensity coming from Jasper of all gems. That coupled with Jasper’s manipulation and practical begging to be free had caused them to split, sending them both drifting away. 

It was painful to listen to the chirps of her gemlings without being able to see them, but Jasper had enough self-preservation skills to leave a gem with new gemlings alone. Peridot may be small, but she certainly knew how to bite, and those teeth were sharp. All Jasper could do was wait for Peridot to settle, which could take anywhere from an hour to a week… 

The next geode to hatch was another Jasper. This one was an exact clone of her mother, right down to the stripe placement. She tumbled forward, a mane of blonde fluff getting dusty as she joined her siblings. Her little gem was placed on her left arm, opposite to her Jasper sibling. The growing pile of gemlings chirped and wriggled, fighting for who got to be closest to their mother’s warmth. They barely seemed to notice when a fourth joined their ranks.   

It was another little Jasper, except this one was oddly pale. Instead of orange and red, her skin was a pale peach and a light pinky-orange. Her hair was messy already, falling in front of her little face and making her squeak defiantly. Her gem was on her nose, just like Jasper. She tumbled too, falling on her stomach helplessly until Peridot nipped the back of her neck gently with her teeth and pulled the little gem around with her siblings. 

Peridot couldn’t help but worry this gemling was defective… she herself was defective, a fact not even Jasper knew. She was an era 2 gem, which automatically made her too small and too powerless, but she was worse than her fellow Peridots. s. She was weaker and slower, less preferred for missions. Peridot had been sent on the cluster mission because she had little to no way to fail it, and yet here she was. Peridot was stuck on Earth with her babies, her instincts and a Jasper she’d defiled with her gemlings. She was the worst Peridot, and now her babies were defective, too. 

Next formed the littlest Peridot. She was absolutely tiny, and the fact that she was the runt of the clutch was clear as day. She barely even made chirps as she nestled in Peridot’s palm, so tiny she could fit comfortably on one hand. All the babies were small enough to fit in one hand, but this one was especially tiny… She, like her Jasper sibling, was a clone of her mother, though of course this one resembled Peridot instead of Jasper. Her gem was placed on her forehead and her hair was a little triangle, ruffled by her first time forming. 

Realising that hit Peridot harder than any instinct. She was meeting her babies for the first time. Her tiny, tiny squeaking gemlings all fighting for her warmth. Her little creatures, feisty and wriggly, clambering over each other to reach her. They were helpless, and so, so small. Peridot couldn’t get over how small they were. The sight of the five already formed was enough to make her tear up. Oh, they were adorable. Her mind may be so clouded she could barely think, but thinking about her gemlings was easy. 

Just as she rested to examine her babies, the little red gemstone began to float. She was definitely a Quartz, her little form bulky and strong. Her skin was such a soothing red, like Jasper’s stripes but darker and, well, red . She had a short floof of cream hair that fell in front of not-yet-opened eyes and caused her to sneeze, startling her siblings. None of the babies could see each other due to their eyes not being opened yet, but they all knew these were their siblings. They had that instinct. 

A little peridot shaped gemstone floated above the group, her tiny form oddly quartz-like. It was the unusual gem, the orange dotted with green. It could almost pass as an oddly shaped Jasper, but the green… And as her form formed around her, instead of one set of Quartz-y arms, she had a littler set of arms underneath her regular ones. She looked like a fusion. A fusion of Peridot and Jasper. She was a little fusion baby, her skin orange dotted with green. As she opened her mouth to chirp, two mouths opened, one smaller than the other but still bearing little fangs, and a loud chirp. She was still a gemling, just a little… peculiar.

Okay, her babies were definitely defective. A fusion baby?! Gemlings were just supposed to be copies of their mothers! Why were they skipping so many steps and ignoring so many blatant rules of being gemlings?! Oh, Peridot wanted to scream. These little things had been driving her insane for the past few months, and now they were stressing her beyond belief. She’d passed her defectiveness onto them. They’d never be helpful in gem society. Except, they’d never be allowed in gem society. They were much too defective. Much too abnormal. Much too definitely not allowed. 

The last to form took a minute or two longer than her siblings, but when she did, she was significantly bigger. As her form sprawled out in undetailed white, she seemed normal at first, with a mane of hair and little arms… until she formed her lower half. She could only be described as almost centaur-like in appearance, her main torso, head and upper arms above her lower half, with a horizontal torso and four more arms for legs. She had little spines along her back, and a tail ended her body clumsily. She had four little eyes, all closed as she fell to the ground, sprawling out with a squeak. Her skin was a deep ocean green, striped with darker greens and turquoise that glowed in the dim light. As Peridot went to pick her up to help her to her siblings, she felt a layer of fluff coat the baby, a surprising addition to the already unusual gemling. 

Great. Two fusion babies. Her clutch really was defective. And… Wait. 

Wait, wait, wait.

This baby– 

This baby was Malachite. 

This fusion baby was an exact replica of Malachite, the toxic two-gem fusion that had kept Jasper trapped for so long. Peridot had seen her briefly when fleeing the wreck of the ship, and the sight was terrifying, especially when one half of that fusion was the mother to her gemlings. Of course, she hadn’t know she was carrying geodes at the time, but the pull of grief and worry was enough to know something was wrong. She was wrong. And now Malachite was incarnated in baby form, mewling and squeaking as she clambered with tiny claws to her mother for warmth. 

She wanted to hate these things. She wanted to discard them for being wrong like Homeworld did to so many. But as she settled down for the evening, all she could feel was overwhelming love. Her babies were formed. They may have formed wrong and absolutely stressed her out, but they were here and they were perfect. Little chaos beings, adorable and dependent. They, too, were settling down, curling up to her as she pulled a blanket around them. Her little chirps were met with a chorus of baby squeaks, and that was enough to calm her. Her family. 

Chapter Text

It took a day, but soon enough, Jasper was allowed near her gemlings. It was good timing too, because the weather had taken a cold turn and even Jasper was close to shivering and gems didn’t react to temperature. The gemlings certainly did, curling closer to Peridot until their nails were digging into her skin. Jasper, a Quartz and therefore naturally rather warm, had the hidden power of generating heat. As she sat around Peridot, the warmth radiating off her was enough to make them both sleepy. The gemlings loved it, glad to have a buffer for the weather billowing cold into their safe home.

When Jasper had first seen her babies, it had been a bit of a shock. Peridot was proudly surrounding them, biting the scruffs of their necks when they got too rowdy, unaware that one of her babies looked exactly like a certain fusion. A certain fusion that had kept Jasper trapped for weeks. Little baby Malachite. She was clearly a baby, eyes not even open yet as she nipped at her sibling to clamber closer to Peridot’s warmth, but she was undeniably Malachite. Even down to her little gem and her skin tone, all green and striped. Granted, she was adorable. Definitely a very cute prison fusion, but there was no denying the almost spitting image similarity. 

Jasper avoided looking at little Malachite, but holding the babies she could? That was wonderful. They chirped and purred contentedly as they settled into her palm, practically melting into her warmth. Peridot did the same, leaning backwards into Jasper’s chest as the gemlings wriggled and stirred in her lap. They liked to sleep, which was odd for a gem, but everything was unusual with these gemlings. They were one of a kind. Era 2 Peridots, Jaspers, fusions… they were precious, every last one. And stars , were they adorable. 

Peridot didn’t speak, she simply made noises. These babies were draining her energy in order to grow, and it was forcing her instincts to kick in again. Her instincts were made up of these intense feelings, leading to far more animalistic traits than gems often showed. They were there for gemlings’ protection. The gemlings were adorable little leeches, as stated before. This cave was their temporary home, but some part of her knew they couldn’t stay forever. The jagged multi-grey walls were too sharp for a gemling, and the roar of the waterfall could be deafening and definitely dangerous if you got too close. Peridot had panicked when she’d first realised she was carrying geodes, hoping it to be some kind of trick played by her defective form, but now? Now she would do anything to protect these helpless gems.

Peridot was wearing her limb enhancers again now, too dependent on them to leave them off for any longer. She no longer had geodes to be afraid of breaking, instead she had little gems. It was easier to wear her limb enhancers, with their blasters and flight capability. She could more efficiently protect her babies like this. It was a tad disappointing to see, but Jasper valued the extra strength. 

Peridot’s nest was growing untidy, the amalgamation of blankets shifting and moving as the gemlings did. Peridot huffed a sigh of annoyance, but one look at the pebbled ground—highly dangerous to small creatures—and she was ready to forgive their transgressions. It was an easy fix, just a shift of fabric here, a gentle manoeuvre of a gemling there…neat! …Until the gemlings messed it up again, creating gaps in the fabric until the cave floor was showing. 

This cave was truly beautiful sometimes. The walls were made of different sedimentary rocks, layered and smoothed in some places from the erosion that took place years before Peridot arrived. The floor bore shallow rivulets from where the stream had once flowed, but those pathways had since dried up to reveal banks of sand, silt and smooth grey waves. The waterfall shone beautiful patterns of light onto the walls of the cave, illuminating their evenings and mornings with oranges and reds. The gemlings, who so far had never seen a sunrise or a sunset, loved the warmth of the sun rays against their skin, and it was an adorable sight to see them seek out the patches. 

Peridot had one worry, a continuous one following her since she’d realised she had geodes. What if they were defective? She knew at least one of them was, and don’t get her started on the fusion babies, but… well, her Quartz babies had fluff. They were fluffy. If you lifted their hair up, it continued down their neck and shoulders in patches of cream fur. It was adorable, don’t get her wrong, but the worry was deep-rooted and stressful. Jasper had assured her it was normal for a Quartz, but she’d never heard anything about this happening before, and she knew most things. All Peridot could do was hope Jasper was right.

Malachite squeaked loudly, interrupting her train of thought as she tried her best to clamber closer to Peridot. She tumbled forwards, letting her tiny claws latch onto Peridot’s leg in an attempt at hoisting herself up. Due to being less than a day old, she didn’t have the best upper body strength, barely managing to get her head up before she fell backwards again. Jasper smirked, barely registering it was little Malachite until the gemling was squeaking defiantly in her hands. She was certainly a feisty gemling, nipping and squeaking until she was placed by her mother once again. 

“She likes to escape, that one.” Jasper murmured, pressing a kiss to Malachite’s fluffy head before letting her rest, “Keep an eye on her.” Peridot opened a tired eye, glancing at Malachite, then Jasper, then back at the gemling. Jasper almost smiled, but the sight of Malachite was enough to stop that warm feeling. She was a clone of her prison, part of the reason she was free but a prison nonetheless. Oh, but who could stay mad at that face?

Malachite’s siblings loved using her as a vantage point, much to her dismay, but right now? Right now, she seemed more than willing to let them clamber over her. She didn’t seem tired, per se, more… defeated. She barely squeaked as one stepped on her miniature tail, flicking it lazily instead of defiantly. She settled down, resting her head on her top set of arms, squeaking feebly. In the quiet of the cave, not much could be heard aside from the waterfall crashing, the gemlings squeaking, and the echo of a gem cracking. 

Chapter Text

Peridot shot up, scanning her gemlings for who’s gem was broken, before a cloud of mint appeared and a little lapis gemstone fell to the blankets. As the cloud dissipated, the weight of what had happened hit Peridot. A crack bore through the centre, damaging the gem just enough that she was forced to retreat inside. Her baby was cracked. Among her siblings, she was tiny. Absolutely miniscule. Damaged, fragile and so, so tiny. And she was a gemling. She was the moon and stars to Peridot. And she was hurt. 

“Peridot–” Jasper spoke in a hushed tone, frozen in place.

“I know.” Peridot replied, slipping off her arm attachments as quickly as she could before scooping up the tiny gem with shaky hands.

“I mean, Peridot–” Jasper spoke again, louder this time. 

“I know.” Peridot’s voice caught, choked with emotion. Her gemling was hurt. Her gem was cracked, and there was no logical reason as to why! Could it be because she grew too fast? Her form was too big for her gem to power? Had Peridot done something wrong? No, no she hadn’t done anything wrong. This wasn’t her fault. Her baby would be okay. She had to be okay. Malachite had to be okay, because she didn’t know what she would do if she wasn’t. But how were they going to remedy this?! Gems couldn’t be healed, especially when trapped in a cave as an illegal gemling–

“Peridot, stop.” Jasper gathered a blanket in her hands, gently scooping the gem from Peridot’s hands with it, “She’ll be okay. She’ll be okay. You did nothing wrong.” Peridot had never heard Jasper so reassuring. She sounded so calm–so correct. Peridot was still shaky, unaware her panicked internal monologue hadn’t been so internal. It was odd for Jasper to be so gentle, but Peridot needed this. She had these babies to look after, and Jasper had an idea.

“Peridot, look at me.” Jasper instructed, cradling the baby to her chest, “I’m going to get Malachite help. I need you to stay here with the gemlings and without your limb enhancers. I…” Jasper hesitated, glancing at the little gem with a mix of unreadable emotions, “I need to find the Crystal Gems. Rose Quartz knows how to heal, I’ve heard about her healing cracked gems in her army. Maybe little rose can help us.” Before Peridot had a chance to protest, Jasper pressed on, “I know, I hate this plan too, but our baby needs help. We need help. We don’t know what we’re doing! If they insist on following me back to the cave to harm you, or if I somehow get poofed, and they come to find you without me, we’ll say you’re my prisoner. They’re much less likely to harm you, because of the gemlings. And our babies need at least one mother.”

“This is absurd!” Peridot hissed, taking one look at her squirming babies, realising one of their siblings was missing and beginning to squeak in worried protest. They needed her. Malachite needed her, but those Crystal Clods?! Was Jasper insane?! “Are you insane?! Have you lost your cognitive ability? Because this is going to end terribly! I don’t need to be a Sapphire to see that this won’t work!”

“Do you have a better plan? Or any clue how these things work?” Jasper asked, harsher than she intended. After a stuttered response of “…No.” from Peridot, Jasper continued.

“Exactly. Keep your enhancers off. Keep the gemlings close. They’re young and small, the crystal gems won’t hurt them.”

Peridot hesitated, but reluctantly nodded, taking off her leg enhancers to shove away from her. Jasper kicked them gently to the other side of the cave, instilling an anxiety in Peridot she didn’t know she had. Being apart from her one defence she knew could protect her babies was intimidating. If the gems did enter the cave, all she could do was hope they took pity on her. She and her babies that had made this situation escalate far past the regular threshold.

Honestly, so much had happened in the past few weeks. She’d crash-landed in a field with no hope of getting back to Homeworld, plagued with tiredness and mental fog as she attempted to get various old gem tech spots back online. The kindergarten had been crudely destroyed, the panels and cores generating energy to the facility damaged beyond repair. When she’d tried to connect to the system, her gem had… hurt? It had been as if someone was physically keeping her out, disallowing her to reach the backup power.

This had been around the time her symptoms had shown. General exhaustion, brain fog, minor swelling, occasional surges of energy. It had impaired her cognitive and physical abilities, hindering her ability to do most tasks. Unfortunately, due to the singular log on geodes, it had taken her a disappointingly long time to realise that her form wasn’t furthering its defectiveness, but was, in fact, carrying geodes. 

Her next bet had been sending a broadcast through the old communications hub. It had been frustratingly destroyed years ago, and the power needed to restore it was intense. Her limb enhancers drew energy from her gem to power. It was fine, not at all taxing on a gem with typically more energy than most due to needing to power several machines frequently. But with her geodes leeching her energy like adorable parasites, the sheer amount of energy required had made her exhausted by the time she’d sent the broadcast. 

The ship had been an entirely different story. She’d decided by the end of that debacle, almost missing a foot and drained, that she should just wait in the cave for her geodes to be born. It was a solid plan, despite the Crystal Gems thinking she was planning something. When Jasper had shown up, It had been such a relief to know she wouldn’t be alone through this. She couldn’t tell her that, obviously, but the emotion was there, warming her better than any fire or nest could. 

“Don’t get killed.” Peridot muttered, pulling the squeaking group of gemlings closer to her chest as she sat up. The babies were still freaking out, scrambling over each other to try to find their missing sibling. It was distressing to them, not knowing what poofing is. They just knew their sister was gone, and they wanted her back. “Because that would be less than optimal.”

“I won’t. And if I do, you know the plan. They’ll take pity on our babies.” Jasper took one more look at the gemling in her hands and took a double take. Malachite’s gem was Lapis shaped. She had a little Lapis gemstone. Granted, it was green and striped, not blue flecked with gold, but it was clear as day that Malachite had inherited Lapis’s gemstone. It almost made Jasper reconsider helping the little gem, but no. No, that was horrible! She was obviously going to help baby Malachite, and they would get the help they needed with the gemlings. 

Chapter Text

Rain was falling heavily, a weather phenomena Jasper was used to by now. It made the sand under her feet mushy and water drip from her mane. Peridot had never seen rain before, or any weather on earth for that matter, but Jasper had emerged here. She knew more about earth than most. The rain was inconvenient, beating down on her skin in an icy sheet, but it wasn’t unusual to her, just a quirk of this planet. 

As Jasper ran, she held the tiny gem close to her warm chest. The bundle of a blanket and a little green Lapis stone hummed faintly as it was shielded, as if glad Jasper was here. The babies loved Jasper’s warmth, curling up against her with their little squeaks of contentment. This little gemling was no different. She might be poofed, but her gem responded to the shift in her environment. It was enough to make Jasper smile. This miniscule Lapis gemstone trusted her–felt safe with her. She was glad. It almost made her feel better about the whole Malachite situation. Almost. 

As the rain increased, the light level did the opposite. What she wouldn’t give for Peridot’s gem projection right now… Much to Jasper’s surprise, and then surprise at being surprised, the gem cradled in a nest of a now-damp blanket began to glow. Well, just her stripes were glowing, but that's besides the point. Clearly it was a light level thing, because the glowing just increased as they continued in the shadows. Now that got a smile from her. It had been a comfort as Malachite. Their stripes illuminated the deep ocean floor and the surrounding fish. Lapis hadn’t cared much, but it had been the one good thing down there.

Right, where was this temple? Jasper had been running along the coast for a little while now and had since slowed to a walk. She’d been too close to slipping too many times, and the gem in her hands was too fragile to risk. The temple should be nearby, Peridot had told her they were just along the coast, and she’d seen it herself, up the sandy shore and all the way to the cliff face at the end, but it was hard to navigate in such low-light conditions. Jasper was fearful of the lights that occasionally sprung up on the left, but she knew logically this just meant she was getting close. 

How had she got so turned around? She’d used a warp pad near the temple a few times, only stopping because the geodes had hatched! It was the rain, most probably. This wasn’t ideal, but she vaguely knew the way. No need to fear the town or the boardwalk, it just led her to where she needed to go. The temple.

The temple was a magnificent sight, a giant carved rock face of a huge, five-gem fusion. Its menacing expression bore down on any who dared walk by. Its stone curls hung loosely around its shoulders, curling in smoky patterns, as if on fire. Water dripped off the statue's stone palms, creating mini waterfalls onto the sand below. Nestled in the creature’s hands was a house with a set of steps leading up to it. It was a quiet little spot, cosy and nestled behind a cliff, but often home to chaos. 

As Jasper approached, she suddenly realised how vulnerable of a position this was. She was alone without a weapon, carrying a tiny gemling’s gem in the rain. Not only that, but she was heading into enemy territory entirely voluntarily! Oh, this could end so badly. But it was for baby Malachite. The miniscule creature in her arms was the only thing that mattered right now, and all the little creatures back at the cave with Peridot. 

And now she was here, at the door of the temple, a tiny gem in her arms. It was no surprise she was immediately met with hostility, seeing as she was supposed to be trapped in a fusion at the bottom of the ocean. And now she was standing here, holding a cracked Lapis gemstone, soaking wet from the rain and expression indiscernible. 

“Jasper.” Garnet growled, gauntlets posed threateningly as she approached, “You unfused.”

Jasper just nodded gruffly, too focused on the gently humming stone in her arms to form sentences that could give away the location of the rest. She couldn’t afford to slip up here.

“What are you doing here?! What do-” Pearl began, her irritating squawk of a voice ringing out over the thrum of rain against wood. She cut herself off however, soon noticing what Jasper was carrying. Pearl’s expression of hostility was soon switched for horror as she gazed upon the Lapis stone. “Is that…? Did you…?” 

Jasper shook her head quickly.

“No, no, this isn’t Lapis. It's… She’s…” Jasper hesitated, unwilling to outright call this baby a gemling. 

“A gemling.” Garnet finished, still not dissipating her gauntlets. She was stunned, looking at the baby with a mix of too many emotions for Jasper to decipher. This was a baby gem , tiny, fragile, illegal . Garnet didn’t even know it was possible for gemlings to be produced! And yet here one was…

“...Yeah. And she’s hurt– She needs– We need help. I wouldn’t come to your door if it wasn’t urgent, trust me. I hate being here as much as you hate me being here. I want nothing more than to–” Jasper cut herself off, too close to revealing the location of Peridot. Not yet. Get them to heal baby Malachite first. “Just help her.”

“And why should we help you?” Pearl hissed, eyes narrowing. She was quickly shushed by Garnet’s response, however.

“Because that’s a baby gem. She didn’t do anything wrong.” Garnet’s argument made Jasper relax a little, though she couldn’t let her guard down just yet, “We’ll take her to the fountain. Wait here. We’ll decide what to do with you when we’re back.”

“NO–” Jasper snapped, taking a step back as Garnet reached for Malachite. Her volume increased involuntarily, her panic evident in the way she clutched the gem to her chest. “No, I can’t leave her alone with you. You’ll heal her with me present.”

Garnet and Pearl shared a look, both frowning with hostility.

“Let me remind you, you’re outnumbered here.” Pearl slammed the butt of her spear onto the ground a little too harshly. Steven approached sleepily, a blanket around his shoulders as he approached. 

“What’s going on?” He asked, approaching the door with such a sleepy demeanour that it was a surprise he wasn’t asleep already. Upon seeing Jasper however, the tiredness was switched for shock. “Jasper?!” 

“Steven, why don’t you head into the temple for now? We’re just sorting something out–” Pearl’s tone was immediately different, soft and anxious as she dissipated her spear in favour of ushering Steven towards the temple. 

“Aww, but I can help!” Steven pressed, pouting, “You know my healing spit is back! It came back aaages ago– And I’m getting stronger with my shield!”

Before Pearl or Garnet could provide a counterargument, Jasper interjected, perking up at the prospect of healing magic.

“Wait– You can heal?” She asked, ignoring her biases and grudges in favour of helping this gemling, “Then you can heal her, no need for her to be taken!”

“No!” Pearl squawked, turning to glare at Jasper, “He doesn’t need to be involved in this! Just hand the gem over and we can be done with this!”

“But I can help!” Steven chirped, “I can heal her, whoever she is!”

Jasper knelt down as Pearl and Garnet reluctantly let Steven through. Garnet stopped Pearl from saying any more with a look, deciding this was the best course of action. They could still bargain with this. 

Jasper tensed as Steven picked up the tiny gem, fighting the urge to explain every way she could be hurt further. It was so odd, being so afraid in front of the Crystal Gems. This little gem was corrupting her, making her soft. Of course, she loved baby Malachite, but the way this gem was making her feel… She hated being scared. She was a decorated soldier, but a baby was making her weak. 

As Steven planted a kiss to the smooth surface of Malachite’s little gem, the crack healed almost instantly. Her gem was back to the shiny, green surface, little stripes glowing brighter than ever. Steven made sure to place the gem down gently for Jasper to immediately scoop up. As soon as she was against Jasper’s warm chest again, her little gem floated above the blanket and became her usual chirping mess of fluff and arms. The gems around looked at the gemling with mixed emotions, x as Malachite nestled close to Jasper, just glad to be safe and warm. She didn’t appreciate the noise, but Jasper was warm, and the blanket around her smelled like Peridot. 

“She’s just a baby!” Steven exclaimed as Garnet and Pearl took a horrified step back, “But… Is that… Malachite–?”

“So it’s her…” Pearl murmured, taking a step towards Jasper and the gemling. Malachite was already falling asleep again, making soft chirping sounds as Jasper held her gently. “Where is she? And the rest of them?”

Jasper didn’t want to tell them. She really didn’t want to tell them, but those were harsh weapons. Those were weapons that could easily harm her or her gemlings. 

“Look, I owe you. I’ll show you the gemlings, because we need the help, but you need to swear you won’t harm her or the gemlings. They did nothing wrong. She was just following orders.”

“We won’t hurt them.” Garnet assured, making her gauntlets disappear, “But this better not be a trap.”

Chapter Text

Peridot was frozen in fear. She knew she was safe, Jasper would protect her and her babies, but her limb enhancers were so far away, and she had no way to protect herself. Safe to say, she was glad to see Jasper entering the cave first, but she couldn’t relax immediately. Garnet, the fusion, the war machine , followed the soaking form of Jasper. Jasper let Malachite down by the nest, making sure she was safe before standing back up to attention, stood by the nest like a guard.

Garnet… Well, Garnet had been expecting Lapis. She’d thought Lapis had left Jasper with gemlings, or they’d somehow conceived gemlings when they’d been trapped. She hadn’t expected to see Peridot! It made so much sense now… Peridot had been shielding her stomach for the majority of their fights, and she’d been missing for days. It was clear as anything that she’d vanished to have her geodes, and then stayed missing whilst her geodes hatched. Now she was cowering in a corner, her tiny babies huddling against her warmth in a nest made of stolen blankets.

Peridot’s eyes were narrowed in hostility, and her babies copied it by hissing in the most adorable display of anger ever. It was clear Peridot was more scared than defensive, however, because as she narrowed her eyes, that glimmer of fear was still present. She was terrified for her babies, huddled around them as if they were truly the moon and stars. And she seemed so small… It was odd seeing the technician like this, scared and vulnerable. It was clear she was no threat.

“Peridot.” Garnet spoke with a neutral tone as she crouched to examine the gemlings, a note of curiosity grazing her voice, “I’m not here to hurt your babies.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.” Peridot snapped, pulling her gemlings closer to her. Before she could hiss an insult, Jasper shot her a look, and her fear-fuelled anger dissipated. She couldn’t do anything that would put her gemlings at risk. 

“Jasper said you need help, and you probably have information we need.” Garnet’s expression was unreadable, making Peridot uneasy. It was true, she had information on the cluster, but did she really want to give it to the gems? The very same gems who had put her geodes at risk? “And besides, you’re cornered. And outnumbered.”

Peridot’s eyes widened at the thought, suddenly realising how vulnerable she and her babies were. No amount of Jasper’s closeness or curling around her young would reassure her that she was safe here. Her babies had begun opening their eyes when Jasper had been out and she’d been so excited to show her! But now… Now she was just sad this was one of the first things her babies would see.

After a moment of hesitation and careful glances between Jasper and her gemlings, Peridot finally relented. They needed help. Their hands were tied with this. Either their babies lived in a cave until the cluster emerged or they lived in a warm home as prisoners until the cluster emerged. Well, at least they’d be warm in the temple…

“…Fffine. But I’m not telling you anything until my gemlings are safe. I’m not letting you harm them.” Peridot’s tone was wary, though that edge was still there. She wasn’t going to let the threats make her soft. She was snappy and irritating, she prized herself on that. “And,” She added, “You let me keep my limb enhancers.”

“We’ll help you move them to the temple.” Garnet stated, as if this was a fact Peridot would accept as if it was nothing, “And no. We aren’t giving you a way to attack us. You’re already on thin ice.”

“No! I don’t trust you clods with my gemlings!” Peridot hissed, pulling them closer, “Jasper and I will move them. I’m not letting you hurt them. And I need the protection. You clods can destruct with this planet for all I care, I’m doing this for my gemlings, and I don’t trust following you without my leg enhancers and my arm attachments.” 

“Fine,” Garnet huffed a sigh, irritation obvious, “But stay close. If you try anything, we won’t hesitate to poof you.” Garnet stood up, brushing herself off. Peridot didn’t doubt that threat. Garnet didn’t seem like the joking kind.

Peridot eagerly slipped on her limb enhancers, rushing back over to the nest to scoop up her gemlings. As Peridot scooped as many up as she could, she soon came across the dilemma that was holding eight wriggly gemlings. They didn’t like being removed from their cocoon of blankets, even if it meant being closer to their mother. Luckily for Peridot, Jasper was standing nearby and was fully ready to scoop up any stray gemlings. Jasper was much more capable of carrying a blanket, as well as six of their babies. Very convenient. 

Garnet led the walk back, with Pearl behind Peridot and Jasper to make sure they didn’t try to escape. Steven and Amethyst were in charge of gathering things to make a decently comfortable nest, because according to Pearl, gems with geodes or gemlings often feel a strong urge to make a nest. Given the gemlings had been in a nest when Garnet and Pearl had shown up at the cave, it seemed Peridot had that urge. 

It was intimidating, walking towards the home of the enemy with helpless babies in her arms, but knowledge that she had Jasper and her limb enhancers was helping. She wasn’t entirely vulnerable anymore, and that was a comfort. But there was still the fact that they were headed towards the temple. Jasper walked alongside Peridot, gemlings chirping gently in her arms. They should’ve been asleep, but the prospect of moving was too exciting to them. 

Peridot had been eager to wear her limb enhancers again, but actually wearing them was a different story. They drained her gem, leaving her already weak form exhausted. She could barely keep her eyes open as they headed toward the temple, but she refused to show weakness. The geodes had taken so much out of her. She was exhausted and drained, and had never felt so tired. Gems didn’t even need sleep! Yet here she was, being supported gently by Jasper as she stumbled tiredly.

Jasper almost tripped over a rock more than once because of how distracted she was by the gemlings, and who could blame her. The babies who had opened their eyes had jet black scleras and irises, gazing up at their parents with eyes like space. They all bore what seemed like a permanent frustrated expression, especially when moved from their familiar nest, but they settled upon seeing familiar green and orange shapes. The other gems around them scared them a tad, making them squeak defiantly whenever they got close. All in all, very adorable.

Once actually in the temple, it took all of Peridot’s self restraint not to immediately set up a nest. Steven and Amethyst had set up a mound of blankets and pillows by the window, a perfect spot for a nest, according to them. It was by the couch they never used, and far enough away from the kitchen so as to not cause trouble. According to Pearl, gems with gemlings were rather… territorial . Peridot was fiercely protective of her gemlings, but so far, she hadn’t really had a place to protect. Well, aside from the cave, but that didn’t count. Now Peridot was in a warm home, and she knew her babies would be at least somewhat safe here. 

Chapter Text

Note to returning readers : I have made updates to chapters 1 and 5 for lore simplicity and convenience. Some phrasing was changed in 1, but an entire paragraph was added to 5. Hope you enjoy!

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It took Peridot roughly ten minutes to make a nest, and then another ten to perfect it. Once Peridot had got the all clear to start building one, she’d spent that time in an instinct-fuelled frenzy. Her instincts had been extra strong because now she was alone. She was alone in this warm house, with her babies on the sofa next to her, as she perfected the nest frantically. The Gems had decided Jasper needed to wait outside to be interrogated. Peridot was glad to have her gemlings, of which she was currently moving one by one into the mess of blankets and pillows. She was too stressed about being alone to make a neat nest. 

A lot of the process was spent feeling fabrics and determining what was safe. It was a paranoid ordeal, stressing the Crystal Gems were out to get her. The base of the nest was always a thick blanket. The cold wood of the floor was too harsh for the gemlings, so Peridot dragged a blanket to begin. Next came fluffier or warmer blankets, fashioned in a circle and topped with pillows. Lastly came any stray blankets she could add, any insulation for the circle of warmth or any blankets that were safe enough to cover the gemlings in a situation that might require it. Only once she’d decided the nest was safe and warm enough were the gemlings placed safely inside. 

No matter how much her gemlings chirped, or Peridot asked, Jasper wasn’t allowed inside until after the questioning, and it took so long. Too long. At least Peridot had a good vantage point to overhear the interrogation. 

“Where is Lapis?” Pearl pressed, tone hostile but not necessarily demanding. Garnet stood nearby, but for some reason, she wasn’t asking any of the questions. 

“I don’t know. We split, and I haven’t seen her since.” Jasper replied, voice as calm as it could be when talking about Malachite. 

“And the gemlings, those are supposed to be a suppressed trait. Were they planned?” Pearl’s voice was cold. It made Peridot bristle. Why was she so hostile towards the idea of gemlings? Well, probably because they weren’t allowed. Of course, even these gems disliked gemlings. 

“Obviously not. I want off this miserable planet. The gemlings keep us both stuck here.” That made Peridot’s chest tighten. Of course, she knew the gemlings kept them both stuck, but hearing Jasper admit she hated being stuck here? It hurt more for some reason. 

A pause from Pearl as Peridot assumed she and Garnet shared a look. 

“Right. How do we know we can trust you?” Pearl’s voice was getting annoying now. This interrogation was taking too long, and it was making Peridot antsy. 

“You don’t. But I have gemlings to protect, and Peridot has information you presumably need. We won’t attack you if you keep up your end of the bargain, and in turn, the deal is you let us stay if we give you the information.”

Another pause from Pearl.

“Alright.” 

The door opened and Pearl entered, quickly followed by the heavy footsteps of Jasper. Oh, the excitement she felt over a Quartz rushing towards her to hold her and their babies in a hug… Neither of them were affectionate gems, but the love they felt at that moment was intense and true. It was just a moment of peace, reunited in a safe, warm home with their safe, warm gemlings. Perfectly content in this new nest. 

The house was quiet now, just Peridot and Jasper in a nest of blankets and small, wriggly gemlings. The Gems had left when Jasper had settled down to go on a mission, so the only other gem in the house was the Steven. He was doing something Peridot didn’t quite know, but it was making the house smell nice as she settled in.

It was odd seeing two such threatening gems hug each other like their lives depended on it. Jasper hugged Peridot tight, but not so tight that she was uncomfortable. Peridot pressed herself against Jasper, robotic arms barely able to reach around Jasper. She soon slipped off her arm attachments, hugging Jasper almost as tight as Jasper was hugging Peridot. Peridot even began purring, startling herself. She had no idea she could purr– It was strange and weird, but not unpleasant. It was just… odd.  It was a heart-warming moment, just two gems glad to be with each other again. That was until they were pulled back to reality by the rain growing louder, a jolt from Peridot, and anxious squeaks from the gemlings.

Truth be told, Peridot was absolutely terrified. The “weather” outside that Jasper seemed strangely fond of—clearly she didn’t know the gravity of their situation—reminded Peridot all too much of the signs of cluster emergence. It was terrifying, the idea that the cluster was emerging early, and right now! How could Jasper be so calm?! She obviously didn’t know the signs of imminent doom! They had no backup, and–

After another deafeningly loud rumble from outside, and another anxious squeak from her gemlings, the moment was interrupted by Peridot. Peridot instinctively tensed, scrambling out of the hug and behind Jasper so she was away from the window. She wordlessly scooped up her gemlings, hugging them tightly to her chest as she let out a fearful squeak. 

“The cluster!” Peridot squeaked, quietly enough so that only Jasper could hear it, “It’s emerging!” 

“Really?” Jasper replied, in an equally hushed tone. She took Peridot by the shoulders gently, an urgent look in her eyes, “How do you know?”

“What else could be making that horrible sound?!” Peridot dug her nails into Jasper’s arm, looking at Jasper in fear, “It’s going to destroy us–our gemlings!”

Jasper let out the breath she’d been holding and smiled gently, shifting so Peridot was in her lap instead of behind her. “Peridot, that’s just the rain.” Jasper assured, taking the gemlings that were breaking free from Peridot’s clutches, “It’s normal on Earth. It’s… It’s hard to explain.”

“Oh!” Steven looked up from whatever he was doing, empathy in his expression, “I can explain that! Come over here and I can show you!” 

Steven smiled eagerly, gesturing for Peridot to approach. She did so hesitantly, leaving her gemlings in the safe arms of Jasper. Her limb-enhancerless feet barely made a sound as she anxiously approached the “Steven”. Whatever he was doing became more visible as she drew closer, and it seemed like he was… making something? Whatever it was, it was definitely the source of the smell. 

Steven was making soup, not that Peridot knew what that was. It simmered in a pot on the stove, the lid above it gathering condensed water with the steam and heat. It was the perfect way to explain rain to a Homeworld gem!

“Peridot, look!” Steven took the lid off the pot and let the steam billow towards the rafters, “Pretend this soup is the ocean!” He began, moving over so she could see, “When the sun warms it up, it evaporates into clouds, like this steam.” Steven put the lid back on, letting water droplets accumulate on the lid again, “When clouds get real heavy, it makes rain, and that’s the noise! Well, part of it, anyway.”

Peridot gave Steven a puzzled look. “So… scalding water pours down from the sky–?”

Jasper snorted, but Steven just continued his explanation. 

“No, no, it’s just water, it can’t hurt you!” Peridot looked at Steven sceptically, narrowing her eyes, “Here, why don’t I just show you?”

Steven beamed, running toward the door and then outside into the… “rain”. Peridot rushed to the doorway but hesitated, unsure and uncertain. What if it hurt her?! What if this was some earth trick?! What if–

Something touched the top of her head, making Peridot look up inquisitively–and slightly accusatory. Her moment of brief irritation was swapped for anxiety as Jasper smiled down at her, stepping into the rain. In her moment of panic, all Peridot could yell was a quick, “NO- Jasper WAIT–” before the Quartz was outside too, letting the raindrops fall on her amber skin. As much as she disliked this miserable planet, and that irritating Steven, the rain was always wonderful.

Peridot hesitated. She knew Jasper had been in this weather before, but…

“COME ON!” Steven called, running around in the rain, “Look, I'm okay, it's just water! This is just something that happens on Earth! Isn't it cool?!” Steven laughed before subsequently falling in a puddle, crying out in mild alarm. Jasper was standing nearby, laughing at Steven’s slip and entirely not helping him. “WHOAAA! BWAH!” Steven got back up, still laughing, “YEAH! WHOOHOOOO!”

After a moment’s hesitation, Peridot tentatively reached a hand out. She let the rain fall on her lime skin, feeling the sensation for just a few moments before taking a step. And then another. And then another, until she was fully out in the rain. It showered down on her in a cold cascade that wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Because she was fine. She’d bested this ridiculous earth gimmick and was… fine. She was okay. 

“WOOHOO! YEAH! You did it! What do you think? Isn’t it cool?!” Steven seemed so proud of her, and Jasper even gave her a smile, though she could’ve just been thinking about Steven falling over. Peridot smiled a little, rain falling down her cheek as if she was crying. It was a strange sensation, and she was a little soggy, but rain sure was…

“Cool…” She murmured.

Chapter Text

Once back inside, Peridot paced whilst Jasper settled the gemlings. They were understandably a little afraid when they woke up to no mother, but upon Peridot’s return, they were a tired mess of fluff and limbs. They didn’t care that the gem giving them warmth was Jasper instead of Peridot, they just cared that they were safe and with someone who loved them. 

See, gemlings fed from their parents' emotions. They were too young to really have their own opinion, so they stole their parents’ feelings. If their mother was mad, they were mad. If their parents were happy, they were happy. They’d been feeling a lot of love recently, what with being absolutely adored by Peridot and Jasper. They wanted to love Steven and the other Crystal Gems–They were babies, they didn’t know the difference between friend and foe–but their parents’ unease made them hiss and nip whenever they came near.

Peridot made noises of thought as she paced, considering her options. This… Steven had clearly proven his worth amongst his inferior gems. He was worthy of hearing Peridot’s precious knowledge of the cluster. This information would save the world! Or… just prolong the inevitable. There was very little chance this thing was going to be stopped, but… 

“Steven.” Peridot declared at last, halting her pacing to face him. She glanced at Jasper, who gave her a gentle smile. “I’m going to say something.” Peridot took a deep breath, “Thank you.”

“For what?” Steven asked inquisitively, tilting his head to the side a little. The gemlings with their eyes open promptly copied, trying to drag themselves over to him before being swiftly stopped by Jasper. 

“For explaining this… ‘Rain’ business to me.” Jasper had to hide her laughter, but Steven didn’t. He laughed a little, but it was a lot more light-hearted than Jasper’s.

“Oh, you’re welcome!” He replied, beaming. 

“Yes, you’re a much more intelligent creature than I initially thought.” Peridot went back to pacing, “Much more useful than those… clods .” Peridot paused, but quickly continued, making Steven jump, “STEVEN! I’ve made up my mind! You have proven you’re worthy enough for my information. I have something to tell you.”

“Oh, I know you stole my blankets when you were in the cave!” Steven smiled.

“What? No! Well… yes– But that’s not the point!” Peridot snapped, “I have information pertaining to the Cluster.”

Now, at this point, this was the first Steven was hearing of a Cluster. Peridot had been doing a good job at keeping it all secret, but she knew that sooner or later the Crystal Clods would threaten her for this information. She’d made a promise, and she really didn’t want to go down that route. Willingly giving such precious homeworld information, it was. 

“Peridot, are you sure–” Jasper began, getting to her feet. Peridot wanted to glare at her, but her own conflicting emotions around the whole ordeal made the glare become more of a desperate glance. Her feelings surrounding Jasper were so complex, too. None of this was easy, but the Quartz, mother to her gemlings, was trustworthy. She’d proven that much. 

“If we can’t get off this miserable planet, then we have to stop the Cluster. For the gemlings. Our gemlings.” Peridot’s desperation was evident, “For us. The only hope is to reluctantly save this planet.”

After a brief pause, Jasper spoke. “…Fine. You can tell them.” Jasper muttered begrudgingly. She didn’t like the idea of the Crystal Gems having such precious information, but they had no other choice. 

Peridot nodded before speaking again, glancing back over at a wide-eyed Steven. “The cluster is an incubating geo weapon composed of millions of gem shards,” That made Jasper flinch a little. Peridot pulled up a screen with her limb enhancers floating fingers, gesturing to a diagram of a jagged shape in the earth. “Currently, it lies dormant, but it’ll destroy the planet when it emerges!” 

“I can’t stop the cluster alone, but you—You have knowledge of how this planet works!” Peridot took a few steps towards Steven, “You can help us stop the cluster!”

“You should really tell the Gems about this–” Steven began, his smile growing more anxious.

“NO!” Peridot interrupted, “I’m not telling those clods! You and Jasper have enough Earth information to stop the cluster!” Peridot hurried forward, putting her floating fingers on Steven’s shoulders, “You two are the only people I need! They–”

“Are right here.” Pearl’s harsh voice called from the warp pad, following the familiar chime of gem technology, “Get away from Steven!” 

Peridot squeaked, scrambling backwards so quickly she fell into Jasper, who had stood up by now. She would’ve activated a blaster, but the threat of four Crystal Gems standing within reach of her and her gemlings knocked some sense into her. The Crystal Gems, however, saw her intention as she momentarily raised her arm and quickly shut that down, advancing in an attack. Before they could harm her, a woosh of something transparent and pink enveloped Peridot, Jasper and Steven in a protective bubble. The gemlings were outside the protection–Steven couldn’t make a bubble that big–but the Crystal Gems wouldn’t hurt them, not like this. 

“Guys, stop!” Steven cried, lowering the bubble, “Peridot wasn’t attacking me! She has information!”

Peridot shrank, trying to make herself seem as non-threatening as possible. Sure, she did have information, but it wasn’t information she wanted to share with them ! Peridot just nodded anxiously. What else could she do? The Gems saw her as a threat, and she had promised information in exchange for shelter. She didn’t have much choice. 

“Fine. Crystal Cl–” Peridot sighed, “Crystal Gems, I have information to tell you about the Cluster.”

Chapter Text

Oh, it was just one bad thing after another, wasn’t it? These geodes—these illegal geodes—had led to yet another shift in circumstance. It was just situation after situation, even after Peridot had told the Crystal Gems about the Cluster. She’d given up such precious information willingly, and now this?! Oh, how Peridot wished she’d never left that cave. But of course, that would never have changed the timeline of Gemling events.

It had been roughly half an hour in earth time according to her limb enhancers since Peridot had told the Crystal Gems what she knew. They had left again, preparing things to stop the Cluster, so she was alone with Jasper. The sun was setting, dimming the light outside and making the sky become oddly peachy. The gemlings were growing sleepy, but not sleepy enough to stop causing issues. Their development was meant for a planet without order, and a planet in need of efficiency.

A flash of light drew Peridot’s attention back to the gemlings. It was the same tell-tale flash of light that came with a certain battle tactic…

The gemlings were fusing, luckily just two pairs, but they were fusing. Peridot knew what this meant in regards to Gemling development. Occasionally in larger, weaker clutches–like this one–Gemlings would fuse with their siblings to gain strength. It wasn’t like regular fusion. This was permanent, unchangeable. It merged two Gemling forms into one, and made a stronger, healthier baby. It was better for the survivability and strength of her clutch in the future, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. 

The Jasper that looked exactly like Jasper was first, clinging to her sibling like the world would end if she let go. She kept one tiny hand on her sibling as she wriggled in the blankets, getting a tad tangled. It was clear she was trying to sit up, but the little gemling was so small and weak she could barely manoeuvre. Peridot would’ve found it adorable if the gravity of the situation wasn’t so consequential.

The gemling fusing with the little Jasper was another Jasper. It was the baby with very few stripes, small and feisty but with an aversion to actual violence. She preferred to headbutt and squeak, clinging to her fellow Quartzes if she got herself in trouble. The Jasper pairs were always seen together, so it made sense that they’d fuse. Quartzes were naturally clingy when they first emerged, naturally seeking the companion of others. The little Jaspers weren’t the strongest among the group, but they had a bond. Well, as much of a bond as few-day-old gemlings could. The tightness in Peridot’s chest grew as a small flash of light interrupted her train of thought and the wriggly babies were soon replaced by one.

Jasper didn’t notice at first, but as soon as the flash of light happened, Jasper looked up. Considering Peridot was frantically scrolling through her log again, it was clear something was wrong with the gemlings. She’d practically memorised the thing–in fact, she probably had memorised it with her enhanced Peridot memory–so her scrolling through it was… worrisome. 

Jasper watched the gemlings intently, counting them and glancing at their gems with worry. Everything seemed fine… Until–wait, had there always been seven? Just as she was re-counting, the next pair of gemlings fused. This time, it was the two Peridots. The runt of the clutch and the gemling with darker stripes did their best to manoeuvre closer to one another, fusing as soon as they touched. They joined their Jasper sibling as soon as they were one, suddenly a bigger gemling than either of their previous counterparts

It hurt, seeing the babies fuse. It really did. Peridot of course knew they needed to do this, but that didn’t stop Peridot’s chest from hurting in a way she’d never felt. The new gemlings were a little Jasper with a few more stripes and her gem on her left arm, and a Peridot with square hair, dark stripes and a gem on her forehead. She watched the babies squirm and felt a pang of something. That odd ache of seeing her geodes and knowing they meant she couldn’t go back to Homeworld. Now it was slightly more intense knowing she had essentially just lost two gemlings. Well, she would love these new gemlings with the intensity she felt for the rest.

“Will… Will the rest do that?” Jasper murmured, watching the last four of the original eight with careful focus.

“No. No, it should just be those four. They were the weakest of the clutch. Gemlings only fuse when necessary.” Peridot replied, shuffling over so she was sitting beside Jasper, “But, who knows with these gemlings. They’ve already been born, hatched and formed early, and to top it all off, they’re defective. They probably got it from–“ Peridot cut herself off before she could call herself defective, “from me being an era 2 gem. Not enough resources for these gemlings.” She groaned, rubbing her face and falling backwards into the mess of blankets and pillows that swathed the gemlings, “I’m such a clod…”

“What makes them defective?” Jasper asked, picking up one of the gemlings a little too roughly for Peridot’s liking, “They seem fine to me.”

“Gentle, Jasper!” Peridot snapped, hands instinctively reaching up and scooping the baby to safety, “And just look at them! They’re so small…”

“They’re babies, Peridot, they’re supposed to be small.” Jasper countered.

“I know that!” Peridot snapped, causing the gemling in her hands to hiss, “But not this small–“

“You’re small.” Jasper unhelpfully pointed out, “They’re small. Don’t stress about it.”

“Counterargument, you’re not.” Peridot watched the little gemling in her hands. It was the Pale Jasper gemling, squeaking sleepily and attempting to nip at Peridot’s lime hands. 

“Good point. But how many cross-gem gemlings are recorded in your logs?” Jasper countered again. 

“Zero, but–” Peridot let the gemling drag herself over to Jasper, who had noticed the Jasper moving and had placed her hands nearby.

“And how many logs are there about any gemlings?” Jasper glanced at Peridot smugly, knowing the answer.

“...One.” Peridot huffed a sigh of annoyance. Jasper’s logic was frustrating sometimes. She was such a good problem solver, probably from her need to be a fast thinker during the war, and just generally in battle. She was a great person to be stuck on Earth with, even if she could be stubborn and hateful. She had the chance of possibly running off to Homeworld, but Peridot… Peridot trusted her. 

“Exactly,” Jasper murmured, “The gemlings are fine. Fusing is part of their growth cycle, or whatever. They’re fine. You’re fine. I’m fine. Just rest. They’re still your babies.”

“Our babies.” Peridot replied as she lay down, nudging the gemlings closer to her, “They’re yours, too. And I wouldn’t rather be stuck on this cloddy planet with anyone else.”

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for the Crystal Gems to find a place to make a plan. Peridot had one, but her method of ransacking the house for parts wasn’t the greatest. They needed a place to build, and Greg knew of an old barn that supposedly belonged to him that they could use, and so now they were just getting ready. They didn’t have an exact plan yet, but the vague idea was to build a drill. If they could break apart the fusion, they could stop the Cluster from emerging.

The Crystal Gems had spent the past day travelling, taking important tools and things Steven needed before heading back to help move the gemlings. Peridot was very hesitant to move the little gems, unsure if transporting them from the safety of their current nest to a whole other location would impact their development. Not to mention the journey with them all would be stressful. They were much too young to use a warp, and Peridot didn’t trust human transportation, so it was a task they’d have to face bravely.

Eventually, Peridot had made up her mind and decided she would only transport her gemlings if it was safe. Peridot spent as long as she could making sure the van was safe enough, but it could only be altered so much. All they needed was to declutter a little and add some blankets and voilà. It wasn’t the safest, and work still had to be done if Peridot wanted it to be as safe as it could be, but that would take too long.

Once the van was safe enough, Jasper carried Malachite and the Jaspers into the van, and Peridot carried the Peridot, the little red and green gem they’d named Unakite, and Carnelian. Jasper had almost hit her head on the roof of the cluttered van more than once already, but other than that, the van was safe. The floor of the van had been coated in a blanket, soft and familiar to the gemlings. They were rather sleepy from being near the warmth of their parents for so long, but the new smells and sights were fascinating to them.

They were much more awake than they’d been for the past few days, and Peridot was glad. It showed they were developing well, if not a little quickly. They’d mostly all opened their eyes by now, aside from the little Pale Jasper. She was currently being held gently by Jasper whilst her siblings growled at each other on Jasper’s lap.

“Come on…” Jasper murmured, running a thumb over the gemlings’ face. She squeaked indignantly, frowning as best she could. “Open your eyes…”

“Leave her alone, Jasper.” Peridot sighed, breaking up a play fight between Unakite and Carnelian, “She’ll open her eyes when she’s ready.”

Jasper nudged her gemling again, watching her intently as Malachite escalated the argument to pouncing. Due to Jasper being distracted, Peridot had to rescue the little Jasper, making Malachite nip at Peridot’s arm instead. The gemlings had clearly got their hobbies from Jasper.

“Peridot!” Jasper murmured after a moment or two, “Peridot, she opened her eyes!”

“Wow, your pestering actually worked.” Peridot replied blandly, though she was smiling a little.

“She’s adorable…” Jasper breathed, in awe of the little gemling whose first sight had been Jasper. The little gemling smiled, her entire face scrunching in pure delight. It was truly adorable.

“Yes, she’s adorable, now maybe leave her alone?” Peridot sighed, moving the gemlings to one spot.

They all seemed to settle a little when they were collectively spooked by a bump in the road. Malachite glared daggers at the little Jasper she’d been growling at, the fluff along her spine stand on end. The little Jasper squeaked smugly from her perch on Peridot’s lap, sitting alongside Carnelian. All the gemlings were troublemakers. The only reason Pale Jasper was excluded from this statement was because she’d only just opened her eyes, and Peridot would agree that yes, she was adorable.

The little Peridot and her Unakite companion were glaring at their siblings as they huddled together, pressing themselves against Peridot for warmth. They’d barely been in the van for ten minutes, and they were already arguing. At least it showed they were healthy. Healthy little gemlings with a tendency to fight everything. It was a territorial Quartz trait, a habit picked up from simply their nature. They had Jasper’s fighting instincts and Peridot’s irritable nature. They picked up on parent emotions, too, so the mild hostility they picked up was translated to hisses and pouncing.

Malachite stretched lazily, yawning to show her tiny baby fangs. All four of her eyes opened sleepily as she attempted to get to her feet and failed miserably. Next, she tried her elbows, trying to prop herself up, but for a gemling who couldn’t even sit yet, this was an impossible task. She was a little overachiever, trying to run before she could walk. Peridot nipped the back of her neck, sitting her up with gentle hands. She squeaked in protest, but the help was appreciated. Malachite had some difficulty with sitting, too, but it was a better effort than trying to crawl.

As she pulled up her screen, her gemlings hissed at it, greatly preferring Peridot’s attention over the hum of electricity from her Limb Enhancers. They were cold and took all of Peridot’s attention, not optimal for little gemlings who wanted nothing more than to be showered in attention and affection all the time. Instead, they had to settle by being scooped up in warm hands, being reunited with their Pale Jasper sister. Peridot was right, the van journey did dysregulate them, but once the gemlings fell asleep, the journey went smoothly. They were exhausted from the chaos of moving around so much, but they could always rely on falling asleep by their parents.

Actually getting to the barn took about half an hour, though with all of the stops caused by other human transportation vehicles, it took a little over. It was closer to forty-five minutes, resulting in eight gems asleep in the back of the van, limb enhancers abandoned to one side and gemlings curled cosily amongst the warm forms of their parents. It was a moment that was few and far between, but it was sweet. A moment of rest before they stopped the Cluster.

Chapter Text

Jasper huffed. Their transport rumbled uncomfortably beneath them, unsettling the gemlings over dips and bumps. It would halt and turn without warning, leaving the family victim to the weight of the planet, swaying amidst their meagre collection of blankets and pillows. The tiny red quartz gemling–Carnelian–shuffled in Jasper’s palm, her tiny claws barely-noticeable pinpricks on her mother’s skin. She let out a trilling whine in her sleep. In their box, it was difficult to tell what was happening outside. The thin-maned human pilot kept anxiously glancing back at them. Jasper shot a glare and gripped tighter on her family lest it try anything.

Carefully lifting Carnelian to eye level, she inspected the tiny gemling. A chest gem. Some of Homeworld’s most vigorous soldiers were. The little one often clung to her siblings. They were always sentimental. Sitting vulnerable in her hand, it was hard to imagine this gemling was the same as the Quartzes who boasted and wrestled in their cubbies. Jasper stroked a careful finger over her pale mane, keeping her claws retracted. Memories flashed of her using them to rend into another gem’s form, staring as their face contorts into a voiceless gasp before they retract into their gem. Carnelian, content and with a soft smile, snuggled further into her palm. Jasper shook the memory away. 

The finger, trembling, travelled down to where her fluff continued to her back, but this wasn’t connected to her head. No, it was attached to her neck and shoulders; it was fur.

Darkness, before a harsh light, bright and unyielding. She could barely open her eyes. Just outside, she could hear screaming. A stampede rumbled the ground, punctuated by crashing, then roars. Jasper could feel a fire building up in her gem; the fur on her back raised in anticipation. She didn’t know much–where she was, who was around her, her own identity–but she knew what she was created for. She leaped out of the warm cover of the earth and slammed into the gravel. With a cry, she joined the foray. The first thing she learned was what it was like to come into life. The next was how to take it away.

She followed the stumbling army to a singular gem glaring at them from above, whip in her hand. An Agate. Jasper thought she could still hear the fighting echoing across the canyon walls, feel light motes of enemies she dissipated sticking to her form.

“One of you, step up here!” A crack of her whip finished the command. One of the Quartzes–gem gleaming on her sternum, still laughing with one of the other soldiers, trading tales of victory–stepped up with a grin. The glow of a well-fought battle shone on her form. The Agate’s frown deepened. “All of you are to address me with a salute. Like this.” She wrenched the gem’s arms into a cross and contorted her wrists inward. The crowd quieted. “Next, you must fix your forms. Get rid of that hideous fur on your backs!” She struck her whip at the newborn Quartz, sending electric shocks through her figure. She couldn’t help the cry of pain before her weak body gave in on itself, disappearing in a cloud of dust and leaving her gem vulnerable on the ground. Jasper and the others quickly snapped their arms into a salute. “Another one of you, come up here!”

Jasper ran her finger up and down the vulnerable gemling’s back. As she fluffed the fur up, she felt the fuzz dig under where her claw hid. She smoothed the fur back down. As Jasper positioned her to place her next to her siblings, Jasper noticed a slight shine over the gemling’s hands. She took a closer look. Scales. It was barely-noticeable, the scales small and matching her skin well, but it was undeniable. They were slightly raised, with rough edges and noticeable divots in between. Either these gemlings are even more of freaks of nature than she thought, or Peridot has explaining to do. Or both. Jasper laid the baby on her lap. Still mostly asleep, Carnelian snuggled further into the pile. Jasper leaned back with a sigh and allowed her eyes to shut.

The transport jerked to a stop, rousing the family of gems. Jasper startled awake, scooped the gemlings up from her lap into her arms, then swung the exit doors open to scout out the grounds. They chirped in the open air, as if personally offended by nature.

“Geez, Steven,” Greg commented from the driver’s seat, “you ought to tell me what’s happened since I last visited the house.” He made sure Jasper was far out before he dared leave his van.

Peridot, slower to wake, stumbled after Jasper before being blocked by her partner. “You’ve done enough running around for the gemlings. Go rest before you focus on the drill. You need your strength for that.”

“Being trapped on this primitive Earth ship is plenty of ‘rest’ for me. I’m not some helpless organic, I can handle myself.” Peridot let Jasper carry the gemlings regardless and instead headed straight to Pearl, who was inspecting parts inside the barn.

The sun still sat heavy at its peak, chasing away the stubborn chill of the morning. The dew-laden grass hung in clumps before parting at the various gems here to claim this patch of countryside their temporary headquarters. Life fluttered in and out as their resting places were disturbed, flying clumsily into their intruders before settling once again. The rumble of the ocean was replaced by a soft, melodic buzzing. Jasper found her mind clear here, away from the restless sea and away from… 

“Ugh, we need to work together if we want to get this done. I know plenty about engineering a vehicle, and I’m more familiar with what humans have available here than you.” Pearl glared at Peridot, arms crossed and face tilted up while looking down in a manner not at all befit for a servant. Steven, perched atop a squeaking pedestal, wrung his hands in his shirt nervously.

“Like I would listen to a Pearl!” Peridot jabbed one of her robotic fingers into Pearl’s chest. “There is no conceivable way that you would be able to handle the mental fortitude required by the profession I was made for. You may go ahead and organize the pieces as you’ve mentioned earlier. I’ll make sure this drill gets made without inferior gems messing it up.”

“I’ve fought for thousands of years, bested the toughest of Quartzes and outwitted the smartest of Peridots. I did not spend my entire life fighting against gems like you to be on cleaning duty when a dormant geoweapon can rip out from the Earth’s core and destroy us all!”

Jasper butted in between them, looming over Pearl’s thin frame. “So, the Renegade Pearl is done playing Quartz? You want to be a Peridot, too, now?” She let out a scoff. “We may have a temporary truce on this dump of a planet, but I will not let a Pearl compromise this mission. Go watch the gemlings instead, I’ve heard from Peridot’s log that a Pearl should be perfect for that.”

“Hey! I’m not letting this deviant look after the babies!” Peridot protested.

“We’re wasting our time fighting,” Pearl said, ignoring Peridot, “if we don’t work together we’ll all be shattered. I’m not taking our chances on that.” Pearl’s face was pinched, two fingers holding the bridge of her nose, as if Jasper and Peridot were nothing more than headaches. Jasper forgot how odd of a Pearl this was. She had grown accustom to the meek, subservient Pearls that flitted quietly behind columns, neither seen nor heard. Any bold nature was immediately suppressed in the firm rule of Era 2. Pearl briefly glanced at Peridot, before returning her attention to Jasper, gaze resolute.

Good, Jasper thought, she remembers our places.

“You know what? Fine.” Pearl’s gem glowed a brilliant white, before an elegant, spiralling spear emerged. She grabbed it with a warrior’s familiarity before aiming it at the Quartz. “Jasper, I challenge you to a duel. I’ll show you what a Pearl can do!”

Jasper stumbled back. “Huh?”

“Oh yeah, Pearl, show her who’s boss!” Amethyst goaded, “Humble that stuck-up hunk of rock!”

Garnet’s mouth was twisted into a frown, arms crossed, contemplating. “Be sure you want to do this, Pearl,” she eventually stated. Her lips then turned up into a smirk. “But I know you can win.” 

“The Perfect Quartz is Homeworld’s best soldier. You really think any of you clods have a chance of beating her in a fair fight, let alone some defect servant? You forget yourselves. This will be an easy fight!” Peridot boasted.

Jasper gathered her wits about her as she deposited the gemlings at Peridot’s feet. The infamous Renegade, Jasper sneered, she has no shame. “So now you want to be a Quartz again? Pathetic. You may have survived your little rebellion, but without Rose Quartz you are nothing. I accept; I can’t wait to beat your gem into the ground.” She dug her feet into the too-slippery grass and summoned her helmet, letting it gleam in the sunlight.

Without much else warning, Jasper charged at Pearl in a spin dash. Pearl leapt away and aimed crackling blasts of energy from the tip of her spear. They whistled through the air before joining the charred path burned into the grass.

“No!” Steven cried out, “We shouldn’t fight!” Steven was joined be a chorus of cheeping gemlings. The tiny pale Jasper had her face wrenched into a smile, fangs on full display as she chittered excitedly. Peridot kept her firmly in her hold as the gemling kept on trying to wiggle out to join her parent. Carnelian, on the other hand, furrowed her brows and let out nervous yips, burrowing herself further into Peridot’s arms. From her seat on the grass, Malachite simply held an intent gaze on the fighting pair. Unakite and the fused Jasper absent-mindedly kicked out their feet, imitating Jasper and Pearl. The little Peridot glanced back and forth between Peridot and Jasper, trying to see who’s emotions to emulate.

Jasper, claws out, swiped at Pearl, who was gracefully dipping in and out of range. “Coward!” Jasper roared. She was accustomed to the Quartzes who eagerly took hits head on and the wild aliens who scrambled without rationality. Pearl’s style was a distant familiarity.

Pearl retaliated with a jab of her spear that Jasper intercepted, wrenching it out of Pearl’s grasp and throwing her off balance. The spear quickly dissipated in sparkles of light as Pearl committed to a roll, leaping out of Jasper’s grasp once again.

Now a good distance away, Pearl paused and narrowed her eyes in concentration. Her gem glowed, but instead of a spear, a beam of light hit the ground and an exact replica of Pearl came to life, armed with a broadsword. The construct then split, forming 3 clones in total.

“You going to lecture me now?” Jasper taunted, “Going to make diagrams of your pathetic defeat?”

Not deigning Jasper with a response, Pearl sent one of the holograms to engage. As Jasper prepared to crush the light form, a second Pearl charged from behind. She barely had time to move away as the sword scraped her form. The gemlings let out worried cries, not used to their parent being hurt.

Jasper made quick work of the two with a strike of her claws before swinging around and smashing her helm into the third in its failed attempt to catch her off guard. Glitching forms lingered, the mangled parts hovering in the air before disappearing in ribbons. This is a Pearl, I will not let her best me!

A blast of energy smashed into her head. “Hell yeah! Get her, P!” Amethyst cheered. Growing sick of the back-and-forth, Jasper tucked into a roll and charged straight to the source. A fiery heat built up around her mane, sending licks of fire trailing behind her. Jasper had nothing but her singular goal in her mind as she charged ahead. She ripped through the grass with an eagle’s eye at Pearl, framed by that horrible barn with these traitorous gems in this cursed Earth–

Why wasn’t she moving?

She crashed into Pearl’s thin form, feeling it buckle beneath her. Jasper kept Pearl pinned down as they slid in the grass. The grass ripped as they tore through the ground, and the earth curled at Pearl’s shoulder blades and coated Jasper’s claws.

They skidded to a stop.

Jasper dug her claws further into glitching Pearl’s form.

Yet Pearl’s gaze was not on her opponent but instead behind her, a relieved glint in her eyes. Behind, back at…

Jasper whipped her head up. She was mere paces away from the gemlings; they shivered in Peridots arms, whimpering in fear. Peridot herself had her fingers floating about the gemlings on the grass, pulling them back in a weak attempt to protect them. Her face was frozen in a wince.  

Jasper scrambled off of Pearl, panting for oxygen she didn’t need. She retracted her claws.

“Hey, Pearl, I think this means you won!” Amethyst came up to help a battered Pearl to her feet. “Played that orange bully, jumping all over the place. Had her fighting the air!” Steven, meanwhile, squeezed Pearl in a tight hug, worried.

Garnet approached to congratulate Pearl as well, though fixed her gaze at Jasper, who was staring at her hands in horror. “You almost hit the gemlings, Jasper. That was reckless.” Jasper barely heard her.

A heavy pit grew in Jasper’s chest. Guilt, anger, and regret churned within her as she realized what she’d almost done. “You do what you want,” Jasper choked out. “I’m allowing it.” She walked past the Crystal Gems tending after Pearl’s wounded form; Peridot gripping the gemlings, trembling; and her babies, the energy in them lost, instead clinging to both their mother and their siblings. Looking for safety in each other. Safety from her. Jasper sought refuge in the depths of the barn.

“Hey, Jasper, you doing okay in here?” Peridot was met with silence. “Well, I’ll be building the nest now. Just so you know.” The sun was low now, and stripes of orange and pink settled at the horizon. The first stars peeked from up high, revealed by the dimming day. Warm laughter spilled from outside, and a crackling fire filled their soft moments of silence. Soft clunks of Peridot’s limb enhancers creaked the old wood underneath. In her arms were the gemlings, dozing off to sleep. She shone a light from her gem to inspect their temporary abode. 

No response. After inspecting every nook and cranny of the space–passing over Jasper, who was sitting amidst some not-yet-sorted airplane parts with a blank gaze on the floor ahead of her–Peridot found an adequate spot tucked into the left side of the barn, close enough to the entrance to let in sunlight for the growing gemlings while just a movement away from the sliding door to shut out potential intruders. She glanced over at Jasper–likely not moving anytime soon–and used her fingers to arrange the nest while her arms were occupied.

Peridot grumbled. “These blankets and pillows certainly aren’t adequate for such delicate gemlings. Those clods didn’t let me bring the Steven’s sleeping prism here, and the abandoned human storage space has barely anything soft!” She spread their fuzziest blanket over the chilled flooring, then arranged the pillows on its perimeter. A second, softer blanket made a ring inside the protective wall of pillows. Peridot continued to fiddle with the exact arrangement until she accepted she simply did not have enough material. She set the gemlings down with a sigh, then tenderly removed her limb enhancers, placing them outside the nest. Peridot had never felt so drained wearing them before. But ever since she had her gemlings, she’d been finding new limits to her energy levels.

The babies sniffed around, faces scrunching at the dusty bedding Peridot scavenged. The small Peridot let out a sneeze too big for her body and toppled back. Eventually they found their preferred spots and let their eyes shut; they were exhausted after a long day. With a final quick check on Jasper, Peridot settled in as well.

The rhythmic drone of crickets played in the night. The stars had finally conquered the sky, twinkling from their vast distances in space and time. The winds had settled; the grass rested frozen and undisturbed, with the exception of the tiny bugs emboldened by the protective cover of the dark that leaped from the blades. The Crystal Gems were off tucking Steven in for his own rest. The older human had already driven off. Only the Earth was still humming its tune.

Jasper finally rose. She padded over to her family, who were snuggled close in the small, bare nest. She stood between them and the entrance and hunkered down, keeping a careful watch outside.

She kept her fingers curled in her palm.

Chapter Text

Waking up to the sound of Gemlings crying wasn’t exactly pleasant. It was anxiety-inducing. Gemlings were such odd creatures. They had no verbal skills aside from chirping, and their                                          development was so scarcely tracked that most of the knowledge Peridot had was guesswork. The sound of them crying was a strange sound, and it was one of the few noises they knew how to make. They were loud and squeaky, their little faces scrunching up as they dug their claws into Peridot’s side. 

Amongst the blankets of Peridot’s nest, six tiny creatures wriggled and squirmed, their faces flushed and their voices growing hoarse from crying. Little fangs glinted in the early morning sun as they wailed. Peridot was left at their mercy, tiny baby claws digging into her stomach as Jasper sat to wallow in her own guilt. Peridot had never heard them cry so much. She was certainly glad when Jasper finally approached.

“What is that noise –” Jasper began, approaching the Gemlings cautiously. 

“They’re… crying?” Peridot answered, “The Gemlings, I mean. Very loudly. I don’t- I don’t know what they could want! They went into a dormant state for a satisfactory amount of time…”

Jasper sat at the edge of the nest, still not trusting herself to be next to the Gemlings. She could’ve hurt them! She could’ve torn through them like they were just another enemy to be dissipated. Another group of faceless warriors to add to her army of mistakes. The Gemlings seemed to be too focused on their own emotions to pick up on Jasper’s added concern for them, because they didn’t cry any harder.

“Are they hungry?” Steven asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He’d been asleep nearby, curled in a makeshift bed in the back of an old truck that had been left in the barn. Peridot was wary of having her Gemlings so close to the Steven, but he seemed trustworthy to a degree. “Human babies need to eat this special stuff! You gotta get this powder that you mix with water, or get this mush?”

“But these are Gemlings! They’re gems, and gems don’t need to eat!” Peridot picked up one of the Gemlings with gentle hands–the little Peridot–and shushed her gently. The gemling didn’t quiet, even when pressed against Peridot’s chest. She clawed at her mother’s arm with her little baby claws, trying to get what she needed, but to no avail. She just continued to cry alongside her siblings in a way that hurt Peridot’s chest oddly. “Then again… These Gemlings have been known to show a response to an increase and decrease in temperature…”

Peridot sighed wearily, stressed beyond measure. Her Gemlings were crying–rather loudly, she might add–and there was no logical conclusion as to why! They seemed so desperate and sad, and there was nothing Peridot could do other than wonder why they had woken her up with their metaphorical heart-wrenching cries. 

“Jasper, come here.” Peridot decided, opting to test whether the Gemlings were simply just cold, “They might be responding to the shift in their environment. They enjoy your thermal capabilities. Try holding them.” 

Jasper, still paranoid about almost poofing–or dare she even think it, shattering –the Gemlings, moved away slightly. She couldn’t risk hurting them. If she held them, she could crush them accidentally, or catch one of them with her claws, disregarding the logic that Jasper had them sheathed the majority of the time. She didn’t want to risk hurting the already upset creatures so dependent on her and Peridot.

“I don’t think…” Jasper began, hesitating, “They’ll probably get more upset, being away from you.”

“Jasper, what else can we try?!” Peridot cried desperately, growing more panicked by the moment, “They won’t stop crying, and my mind is so full I can hardly form a coherent thought–”

“Pass them here.” Jasper decided at last, watching Peridot tug at her hair desperately. Peridot perked up, carefully scooping each gemling up to pass to Jasper gently. Each baby quieted for just a moment, but soon enough, their desperate cries echoed throughout the space once again. 

“I don’t know what it is!” Peridot wailed, falling backwards in defeated. Her arms were beginning to sting from gemling claws, and the cries of her babies were drilling into her centre. She wanted to figure out why they were so upset, but her mind was so busy with her irritating instincts and mind fog she’d carried since the geodes.

The geodes had taken so much out of her… She’d been nothing but tired since she’d carried them, and her limb enhancers certainly weren’t helping. Her gem ached painfully, and she felt on the verge of involuntarily shutdown from how much these creatures had taken from her. It was so unlike a Peridot to be bested by her own limb enhancers. Granted, most of it was from her babies, but her machinery, the things that kept her a working Peridot, were draining her to a point where she was reduced to the role of a Pearl. 

Pearls, long before Gemlings had been banned for taking too much time, energy, and attention–and causing gems to defect due to love (a concept foreign to Homeworld officials)had been caretakers of Gemlings. They had looked after the little creatures when their parents had to go off to fight or do their jobs. Nowadays, Pearls had been delegated other tasks to help Homeworld with much more pressing matters. 

Just as Jasper was about to pass the gemlings back over to Peridot, she noticed something. Each baby was heading towards her lap, where her great mane had discarded rocks and pebbles that had clung to it. She’d been sitting near the edge of the barn, so it wasn’t surprising that such materials had been involuntarily collected. What was strange was the way the gemlings gravitated towards them. The babies clambered over Jasper’s arms, dragging their little forms with weak limbs to the collection of smoothened stones near their resting point. Peridot and Jasper watched curiously as the Gemling cries quietened a tad, and the babies reached what they clearly had desired.

What was even stranger was the way the Gemlings tussled with each other to get to the larger stones, squeaking indignantly as they got kicked and shoved. Once they had all found a stone satisfactory to their desires, they… put the smooth stones in their mouths–? The Gemlings each began to gnaw at their selected stone, their little fangs chipping the stone messily. It was clear they had been after this, because soon enough, the barn’s quiet was returned once again. The faint squeaks of gemlings were accompanied by the gentle buzz of insects as the world stirred. 

Peridot sighed, leaning against Jasper in relief. Steven beamed, scrambling down from the truck where he had been sleeping to watch the Gemlings eat. Usually, Peridot would be hostile to Steven being so close to her babies, but she was too relieved they had quieted that she didn’t protest. The Gemlings fluffed up, glaring at Steven and hissing the best they could, but upon noticing their parents’ relief, they went back to chirping peacefully. 

“Huh! Guess they were just hungry!” Steven beamed, shuffling closer to them.

“Yes… I suppose it’s probably from the fact that they skipped the incubation period. They never got the required nutrients needed for proper, healthy gemling development, so they’re consuming it through other means.” Peridot murmured, scooping up Malachite gently. She squeaked happily, her upper arms holding a rock whilst her lower arms clung to Peridot. She beamed, staring up at Peridot with innocent eyes as if she and her siblings weren’t complete menaces. 

“They really are adorable.” Jasper murmured, placing a hand on Peridot’s shoulder. She gazed at Malachite, who seemed to want to cry again very briefly, but soon regained composure. She was a baby, she didn’t know how to hold a grudge. 

“I think you mispronounced annoying.” Peridot muttered, but a smile infected her words. She wasn’t truly annoyed at the Gemlings, just getting over her stress. She was glad they’d solved what had made them so upset, because they were so adorable when they were happy. Seeing her family happy made her happy. 

Chapter Text

By the time Peridot was next interrupted, it was later in the day. The sun had risen, bearing down on the gems below, accompanied by a gentle breeze. The gemlings squeaked occasionally, but they were pretty content to remain asleep in their little pile of fur and warmth. Of course, fur wasn’t the only trait there, and Peridot knew it. 

Of course she knew, because the scales came from her. Lime scales ran down her arms in patches and coated her hands like gloves. More of them were hidden along her back, smoothly hidden under her jumpsuit. She’d done a pretty good job of hiding it, and she wasn’t going to stop now. The scales were a trait she’d had to hide for her entire existence, but Homeworld hadn’t bothered to poof her. She’d just been issued Limb Enhancers and sent on her way. 

The Kindergarten was silent, eerily so. A Kindergarten wasn’t supposed to be so silent. It was only broken by gems periodically bursting from a rock wall, stumbling to life precariously. The newest gem emerged, Peridot, 2F5L-5XG, sending a cloud of dark rock and debris scattered to the non-existent wind. She wasn’t met by harsh light, or crowds of similar gems, she was met by dim caverns and odd silence. That didn’t bother her. Some part of her knew it wasn’t unusual for a gem like her to emerge alone. What was unusual was how small she was. How weak she was. 

5XG surveyed her surroundings, and then herself. She was small–unusually so–with lime scales down her forearms and hands. Claws tipped her fingers as she clenched and unclenched her hands. She ran one over her scales proudly, before being harshly interrupted by a shout. It was loud, breaking the silence she had already grown accustomed to. She almost instinctively knew to follow it, a sense of fear already making itself comfortable within her.

5XG followed the sound, her fellow Peridots emerging nearby. They all grouped together silently, following an orderly line as the voice of another gem hurled insults and commands their way. Pebbles and rocks scattered as Peridots walked. Periodic dust clouds signalled the emergence of more of them, and soon they had amassed a small crowd. Not nearly as many as a regular group of gems, but enough to carry out menial Homeworld and Kindergarten tasks. 

As 5XG rounded the corner, she was met with the first sunlight she’d ever felt. It warmed her skin in an oddly cool way, and shimmered on her smooth scales. She almost smiled… before being shoved into place by the Peridot behind her. They all stood neatly in rows, staring up at a slightly elevated platform with a gem on it. The gem was an Olivine, Forsterite, by the looks of it. She stood tall, glaring at the gems below with harsh green eyes and an expression of hatred. These Peridots were unlike any she’d seen. They were clearly defective, the whole lot of them! They were small and scaled, a disgrace to Yellow Diamond’s name. 

The Forsterite looked… disgusted. These Peridots were horrific! They were defective, unusable drones, but they were unfortunately needed. They were the first group of Peridots that had emerged since they’d run out of enough resources, and so Homeworld needed to use whatever gems they could. As the Forsterite reached behind her, her gem glowed–presumably on her back–and summoned her weapon. It was a trident, with long, sharp ends perfect for poofing gems and crackling with dangerous energy. There was no use forcing these Peridots to suppress their traits, they were clearly going to be fitted with Limb Enhancers anyway. 

“Alright,” She snapped, malice coating her tone, “You might all be defective, but defective or not, Era 2 needs whatever gems they can, even if they’re defective Peridots.”

“Here!” Steven chirped, making Peridot jump. He held out an odd rectangular box, smiling. The box was grey with brighter buttons along one side, and a place for audio to come from on the front. Peridot eyed it suspiciously, curious yet cautious. She wasn’t familiar with Earth technology yet, and she had to protect her nest. “It’s a recorder! To replace your logs!”

“I can record my logs just fine with my Limb Enhancers.” Peridot scowled, narrowing her eyes. She was lying, her Limb Enhancers were still as draining as ever, but she wasn’t going to admit that. Steven could keep his recorder , she was fine without it. 

“But,” Steven began, tilting his head to one side inquisitively, “Jasper said your Limb Enhancers have been hurting! She said this might help because you love your logs!”

Peridot hesitated, unsure of whether or not to take the strange device. It was true, she missed her logs, but how would being open about a defect help? Showing she couldn’t use her Limb Enhancers put her and her gemlings at a greater risk of damage, not to mention how many things could go wrong simply by not knowing what a device–

Peridot snatched the recorder, turning it over and examining it carefully. Once satisfied with her examination, she pressed the record button, speaking clearly as to have the most optimised log.

“Log date, 7-11-2, The Steven has given me a primitive earth device. He says it can replace my Limb Enhancers… I’m doubtful.” Peridot paused as Steven spoke, butting in to her train of thought, “He also tells me he wants me to stop calling him “The Steven”.

“It’s just Steven!” Steven replied, smiling. He’d been trying to get her to stop for days, but she was adamant. Maybe this gift was some sort of ruse to get her to call him something else…

“I said I’d call him whatever I want.” Peridot hissed, the gemlings joining in, “He said that’s rude.”

Steven wagged a finger, “Rude.” 

Peridot glared, but there was no use arguing with so many gems around. She supposed, the gift of logs was enough to make her call the Steven simply…

“I suppose I’ll call him… Steven.”

Later on in the day, Peridot had migrated from her nest with her squeaking babies, to outside the barn. Jasper was sitting by the gemlings, keeping a close eye on the little creatures. They were a lot more active today, chirping and wriggling around to inspect their new environment. A few stuck close to Jasper, preferring her warmth over the harshness of a slight breeze, but the others, led by Malachite, bravely left the nest.

Pearl was standing near Peridot, working on a separate part of the drill. Peridot was so focused on what she was doing that she hardly noticed Pearl call her name. With a sharp glance up, Peridot generously gave Pearl a fraction of her attention as the taller gem listed off parts she already knew they needed. Yes, Defective Pearl, Peridot thought, I know what parts are required for a drill I was crucial in designing.

As Peridot got up, she sighed, heading to a pile of collected materials. Jasper was sat nearby, keeping an eye on the gemlings as work got done. They were young, and barely had any mobility yet, but they still did their darn best to get in the way of everyone. They loved to drag themselves around, pulling their tiny forms from place to place as they explored. Jasper had taken her eyes off them for just a moment, and Malachite had managed to drag herself out of the nest and towards Pearl, who had been stood nearby. Safe to say, Jasper had moved her before Peridot could notice. 

“Remind me why I’m answering to her?” Peridot complained, rolling her eyes, “She’s a Pearl . I was made to build. I’m a technician gem. She’s just going to mess this up!”

“Because I lost the duel. It’s only fair.” Jasper responded, matter-of-factly. She was holding two gemlings, both of the tiny creatures doing their best to clamber up her arm. They weren’t doing a very good job, but their efforts were adorable. “Just listen to her for now. Focus on the drill.”

“But you could’ve easily won that fight!” Peridot raised her arms in frustration, yelling when the microwave she was holding fell on her foot, “But…” She murmured, glancing over softly, “I appreciate you stopping before you hurt the gemlings. Thank you. Still doesn’t make me hate listening to a Pearl any less.”

“Well, we’re just gonna have to deal with it.” Jasper replied, smiling in response. 

Peridot huffed a frustrated sigh, collecting what she needed before sitting down next to Jasper. She could work over here for now, next to her family. It was a tad inconvenient, considering the Gemlings loved to intervene and cause the most amount of chaos they could, but they found the game of trying to get to Peridot only to be stopped by Jasper to be very fun. 

After a few minutes of this game, Garnet showed up, scanning the scene. Pearl and Peridot were both taking breaks, Pearl lamenting to Amethyst, and Peridot leaning against Jasper as she tinkered with a device. No real progress was happening, what with Peridot’s reluctance to answer to a Pearl, and with Pearl’s grudge against Peridot. 

“Alright.” Garnet called to everyone, “Time to get back to work. The drill won’t build itself.”

Peridot reluctantly got to her feet, turning to face Jasper to mention something. Before words could form, Peridot hesitated, noticing unease on the Quartz’s face. She glanced at Garnet uneasily, as if something about her just instinctively sparked caution. It was natural to be nervous around gems that had captured and imprisoned them, but the fact was, it wasn’t just that that made Jasper uncomfortable. It was the fact that Garnet was a fusion. 

Peridot looked between Garnet and Jasper, glancing back and forth until she made up her mind. 

“…Garnet.” That was this permafusion’s name, right? “Would you mind unfusing? You’re making Jasper uncomfortable.”

After that comment, Peridot had been confined to her nest, unable to leave unless approved by Garnet. Amethyst had been told to supervise, so Peridot was stuck. Stuck with whatever she could reach from the nest and trapped with her gemlings interrupting her tasks. She was insanely grateful to have Jasper in this situation, because without her, Peridot would’ve got nothing done. 

“So…” Amethyst began after a while of silence, “These are gem babies? They’re so… small .”

Peridot didn’t look up from what she was doing, she just glanced at her gemlings, careful to not let them wander too far. They were preoccupied with investigating a little bug that had wandered into the nest, chirping curiously. Two of them, the Jasper with few stripes and the little Carnelian, looked up at Amethyst, looking between Peridot and the new gem to gauge what reaction to provide. As usual, Peridot was radiating irritation in waves as she worked, rolling her eyes as Amethyst asked such obvious questions. The two gemlings focused on Amethyst and Peridot growled, however the other four were too preoccupied. 

“Yes.” Peridot replied, factually, “They are gemlings. They’re meant to be small. Helpless little creatures that rely on bigger, more capable gems to tend to their every need; they have no logic to them, but I cannot help but care for them anyway.” Little Jasper and Carnelian had their fur poofed up and were trying to paw over to Amethyst, though upon noticing Peridot’s changed mood, they immediately flattened their fur and returned to content, attention-seeking chirps. The leverage optimizer dropped from Peridot’s slacked hands. She shook her head and returned to her task.

“The gemlings are starting to be a little more… independent , however,” Peridot continued. “Now that their touch stumps are stronger they’ve been trying to climb all over the place.” The primitive radiation concentrator would not open. Peridot growled.

Amethyst burst into laughter. “Wait, wait– touch stumps ?” she choked out. “You mean fingers ?” She waggled them tauntingly in front of Peridot. The occupied gem missed her mark on the electron power converter.

“Different words to describe the same things,” Peridot grumbled. 

“O-kay, and what about this?” Amethyst pointed to the front of her head.

“Vision spheres. You’re blocking mine, now.”

“And these?”

“Gravity connectors. Which I may not currently use as you are trapping me in my designated gemling area.”

“Alright, fair, fair,” Amethyst chuckled. She swiftly scooped up one of the gemlings–Carnelian, who let out a tiny yip–and showed off her tiny hand. “What would you call this?” There, bare as day, was a tiling of miniature scales. They were easy to miss in the red of her skin, but they were undeniable.

“ Hey! ” Peridot launched herself at the Quartz, swiping at her with her claws and snatching Carnelian out of her hands. She clutched the tiny gemling tightly to her chest and hissed, baring her sharp teeth. Encroaching on the nest was a big no for anyone aside from Peridot herself, and Jasper. Amethyst crossing the threshold made Peridot feel the intense urge to attack the small Quartz. It was worse that Carnelian’s scales had been on show for all to see, creating a sinking feeling that settled uncomfortably within Peridot. 

Jasper, on the other hand, would’ve fluffed up if she still had her fur. She still had it suppressed, not at the point of revealing it just yet. She was surprised Amethyst had hers on show, but then she considered that the runt probably hadn’t encountered an agate when she’d emerged. Jasper instead pulled the remaining gemlings close, instinctively moving in front of Peridot and the nest. If any harm came to the babies, she was best suited to combat it. 

Carnelian sniffled, her little black eyes welling up with tears as she clung to Peridot’s chest. She let out a wail, her tiny squeaky voice loud and clear as she made her upset clear. Peridot’s expression immediately shifted to one of concern as she shushed Carnelian softly. The little gemling wasn’t having it, and only calmed down once reunited with her sibling amongst blankets. 

“Woah, Peri, I’m sorry–”

Before the argument could progress any further, Pearl walked over, checking a list. Peridot didn’t even look over, too shocked by her own behaviour toward Amethyst to pay attention. What snapped her back to reality was her name being spoken sharply. Oh, how Peridot hated Pearl and her demands.

“Peridot!” Pearl called, making Peridot look up at last, “We still need more components for this drill. We need…” Pearl paused, flicking through the notepad she was holding, “Well, mainly we need a drill head… Do you have any input on how to make one?”

Finally, the Pearl was valuing her greater intelligence. But before she could flex her ideas, Jasper, annoyingly, butted in. Now, Peridot valued Jasper very much, and she didn’t know what she would do without her, however, Peridot highly doubted a Quartz could have better ideas than–

“Why can’t you just use the drill heads from the Kindergarten?” Jasper asked, from where Unakite was trying to scale her, “Wouldn’t it just be more efficient?”

“Jasper, that–“ Peridot began, rolling her eyes, “–actually makes sense–”

Pearl interrupted Peridot’s train of thought by immediately shutting the idea down. 

“No! No, that’s far too dangerous!”

“Why give up a perfectly valid shortcut?!” Peridot asked incredulously, getting to her feet, “It just makes sense to get a drill head from a machine that already has one! It saves us time to work on other things, instead of trying to recreate something that Homeworld has already perfected!”

Pearl sighed, contemplating options. She couldn’t deny the logic behind that, but she still didn’t like that Jasper was the one to suggest it.

“I suppose… Alright, you can gather a drill head from the Kindergarten.”

“Not without a chaperone.” Garnet had walked over without any of them noticing, except for the gemlings, who had been looking between Peridot and the newest gem to approach for the past minute. 

“What?!” Peridot practically hissed, making her gemlings hiss alongside her, “You’ve got to be joking!”

“You’ll know when I’m joking.” Garnet had to resist the urge to smile at the gemlings, too focused on keeping up her persona, “Steven, Amethyst, I trust you two to keep an eye on her.”

“You can trust us!” Steven beamed. 

Peridot sighed, sitting back down to put her limb enhancers on. She’d need them for the outing, for added strength and for transporting the drill back. Before she could actually put them on, Jasper stopped her, taking them from the nest and out of her hands. 

“Wh– hey!” Peridot cried, scrambling to get them back. Annoyingly, Jasper held them just too high for her to grab them. “I need those!”

“You don’t. They’re just making you exhausted.” Jasper replied, a note of humour in her otherwise serious tone, “You’re no use to anyone when you’re on the verge of passing out, least of all, the babies.”

Peridot sighed again, this time out of irritation at the logic. Jasper could be frustratingly smart when she wanted to be. 

“Fine. I’ll leave them. But if I come back in a bubble, I’m blaming you.”

“I’ll come too.” Jasper declared, “It’s about time I’m actually useful.”

Before Peridot could eagerly reply, Garnet interrupted. She had a habit of swiftly shutting down any joy Peridot could find in a bad situation.

“Absolutely not.” She called, spinning around to face Jasper. She glared at the Quartz, gaze cold. “There’s too much risk sending you both to the Kindergarten. Too much can go wrong. One of you stays to look after the gemlings.”

After a moment of eye contact, Peridot reluctantly handed the gemlings to Jasper, untangling herself from their adorable clutches. They were annoyingly clingy, but adorable nevertheless. Peridot didn’t want to leave them as much as they wanted her to leave, but she had no choice. Save the world or spend time with her babies? The choice was difficult. 

“Log date, 7-11-2. The Prime Kindergarten is certainly… Impressive. It’s nowhere near the level of greatness that Homeworld Kindergartens get, but it’s still adequate. Possibly even still functional. It would’ve been the perfect place to incubate the gemlings. Jasper would’ve preferred the Beta Kindergarten.” 

As they walked, Peridot talked into her voice recorder, her tone rather analytical, but not in a harsh way. Amethyst stifled a laugh as she overheard the drawl. It frustrated Peridot to notice how the Quartz never seemed to take much seriously. Perhaps it was a symptom of her defect. Peridot knew all about Kindergarten gems, but she’d never gotten the chance to properly examine an Earth Kindergarten. Perhaps they carried differing properties…

“As for my company? Well, The Steven is… odd, to say the least.” She began, narrowing her eyes, “He appears to be some kind of hybrid? He is a cross between a human–the strangely dominant species on this planet–and a gem. It is unusual.”

Peridot paused again, looking around at her surroundings. They were dull and grey, the smooth walls precise and cut. It was clear a Lapis had been through here, as standard for any kindergarten. The walls bore no layers, simply showing smooth, flat surfaces as they cascaded upwards and along. Holes of previously emerged gems dotted sporadically as they walked, causing an almost dizzying effect to witness. The Steven still seemed amazed by it all, but Peridot just smiled smugly. These clods clearly had never seen the magnificence of a true Kindergarten.

“As for this cloddy planet? Well, it doesn’t offer much…” Peridot’s views on the planet were rather cynical, but the lime gem pressed on, attempting to find at least one positive attribute to assign to her current prison. “But I suppose it is rather beautiful. And, yes, I suppose, interesting to a degree. The gemlings seem to like it… Their development, however, is recorded on my Limb Enhancers, of which I don’t currently possess.”

“You recording more nerd stuff, Peri?” Amethyst teased, making Steven smile. That was often her goal, seeing the smaller Quartz smile. “I don’t know why you gave her that recorder, Steven. She had her limb things already. You’ve just made her more of a nerd.”

“Aw, she’s just having fun, Amethyst!” Steven responded, kicking stray rocks from his path. 

“Affirmative. Or rather, I was. I’ve ceased my log for now.” Peridot replied, matter-of-factly. She halted for a moment, opening and closing her mouth before opening it to speak again. “What is a… ‘Nerd’? Can you use it in a sentence?”

“‘Nerd’,” Amethyst began, stifling laughter badly, “You are a ‘Nerd’.”

“Amethyst!” Steven called from where he was attempting to scale an injector, “Cut that out!”

“As you can see,” Peridot talked into her recorder once again, tone bland and irritated, “This group of gems is heavily disorganised. An Amethyst answering to a Pearl and a Fusion? She’s the only worthy gem here!”

“Huh?” Amethyst questioned, quickly spinning around.

“Well, you’re a Quartz. You outrank the Pearl automatically, but you also outrank the fusion, too. It’s simple Homeworld hierarchy.” Peridot smiled smugly, flexing her Homeworld knowledge as if a Crystal Gem would value it. 

“Huh.” Amethyst echoed her previous statement, now mainly just amazed.

“Yes. It surprised me that you were still following their orders, but perhaps they underestimate you for your defect.” Peridot hummed, thinking. She clearly didn’t understand the gravity of her words, because she continued like it was nothing. “Your hole should be around here somewhere, right?”

“My… defect?” Amethyst asked, halting in her tracks. She had found her hole and was inspecting it, looking for any signs of defect. Not being a certified Kindergartener, she couldn’t see much, but those words stuck. “What, you mean how small I am?”

“Well, yeah.” Peridot paused too, looking up at the injector Steven had now successfully scaled, “Like m-” Peridot cut herself off, “Like most Earth Quartzes,” Great save, Peridot. Now, how are you going to continue your sentence? “You emerged here. Except, you emerged late.” 

Peridot had wandered over to Amethyst, picking up that this was her hole. It was certainly Amethyst-sized, but Amethysts were supposed to be big and strong. This hole was small, clearly the hole of a defective gem. It went too far back, and the gem inside had clearly incubated for too long. 

“See? Your hole goes too far back. You clearly emerged five-hundred years too late.”

“So…” Amethyst murmured, voice growing quieter. An edge of irritation sharpened it like a blade, words ready to cut. “What was I supposed to come out like?”

“Well,” Peridot’s eyes lit up as she spoke, as if this was her favourite subject, “Taller, obviously. Broad shouldered, strong… Like Jasper! Though, obviously, no gem is like her. She’s the Perfect Quartz… Clearly superior!”

“Peridot–” Steven interjected, trying to divert the subject, “Maybe you should stop talking about it now?”

“But why?” Peridot asked, spinning around to look at Steven. She tilted her head to one side, her triangle of hair smushed against her shoulder. She was genuinely confused why she had been told to stop, not understanding the other gem’s emotions at all.

“Because–“ Steven began, but before he could explain, he was interrupted by the sound of a weapon being summoned. The distinct sound of something heavy hitting the ground echoed loudly before Amethyst stormed off, clearly upset by Peridot’s words. Peridot didn’t even seem to notice. Emotions were clearly not her forte, especially not Amethyst’s emotions.

Once Peridot got back, she was met by a nest of crying gemlings. Jasper was sitting with them, trying to placate their cries to no avail. Peridot rushed over once she’d deposited the drill head and scooped up as many gemlings as she could. Their little faces were screwed up in upset, their baby fangs on full display. Tears spilled down their flushed cheeks, and their claws sliced at air as they searched and searched for whatever they were missing.

Peridot was what they wanted, but even when she held them close, they didn’t cease their cries. They clung to her arm and screamed until the warmth and smell of their mother had enveloped them enough. It had already been fifteen minutes before she could get back to work, and even then she had to make sure the gemlings were settled before she could do anything proper. 

Luckily for her, the gemlings had cried so much over the course of the day that they were exhausted once again. As soon as Peridot settled them in amongst the warm, familiar blankets, they closed their tiny, black eyes and fell asleep to dream about whatever babies dreamed about. It was adorable, and Peridot would’ve watched them sleep if she could, but she was on a time limit and that meant she had to get to work.

Where was Jasper in all this? Well, she was off with Garnet, helping to clear a space. Garnet had decided the cows in a nearby pasture would be too much of an issue for their drill building, so she was clearing them with Jasper’s help. Unfortunately for Garnet, Jasper’s ‘Fight Everything’ tendency wasn’t helping. She was a little rougher than just herding them, picking them up and carrying them for efficiency. That… could be worked on, Garnet decided.

Pearl had left too, except she’d left for a different reason. They were running low on various items that couldn’t be acquired by rummaging through an old barn and its junk. She’d gone to retrieve what she could, and in the meantime, considering Garnet was also busy, Amethyst was once again in charge. 

Peridot glanced over at Amethyst, a sense of unease settling in her stomach. Why did she feel so off? Was it the gemlings again? Or was it something else? It was clearly related to Amethyst being upset, so she could scratch out any unknown side effect of geodes. But she certainly didn’t like this feeling. So she made the executive decision to sort this out herself. Or, at least, try to sort this out herself.

“Amethyst…” Peridot began, holding something behind her back, “Check out this…” Peridot took the object from behind her back and held it out, revealing a hammer, “Rhythmatic pulverizer!?” Peridot snickered, hoping her “odd” words would cheer Amethyst up. Unfortunately, all she got was a sideways glance and a “Whatever.” before Amethyst walked off.

Steven, upon seeing Peridot and her nest unguarded, wandered over. He was much better at emotions than the Homeworld gem, whose first experience in emotions had been pure fear after failing. She definitely was not adept in reading other’s emotions. Not yet. She’d have to work on that one. 

“Why isn’t Amethyst providing the adequate response to my humour?!” Peridot asked incredulously, “She found my words funny earlier…”

“Well, you hurt her feelings.” Steven sat down beside the nest, smiling as the gemlings chirped in their sleep. “She’s not going to be happy with you.”

Peridot huffed a sigh, using the aforementioned “Rhythmatic Pulverizer” to wrench a nail out of a piece of metal that was being inconvenient. Jasper, who had just arrived mere minutes after Peridot, Steven and Amethyst had, was watching over the nest with fondness. She would’ve assisted with the Drill, but with her limited technological knowledge, she would’ve been more of a hindrance than a help. 

Peridot walked over, not for the first time that day. She sat down dramatically, leaning against Jasper’s arm for warmth and comfort. Peridot was still messing around with tools and various items, but none of it was important. She just needed to take her mind off of the drill for just a moment. And Jasper was the perfect distraction. She also proved to be a great person to vent to, surprisingly. 

“Ugh, Jasper…” Peridot sighed after a moment or two, “I don’t know what I did, but apparently I hurt Amethyst’s “feelings”? I didn’t do anything wrong! But now she’s ignoring me, and I feel… smaller.”

Steven looked up, overhearing Peridot’s vent, mostly by accident. It was a small barn, and what could he say? He loved seeing the Gemlings sleep whilst he worked. They hadn’t been adorable early in the morning when they’d cried because they were hungry, but now they’d calmed down? They were absolutely adorable!

“You feel bad!” He inputted, “That’s how she feels! You hurt her feelings, Peridot. You should apologise.”

Peridot just muttered something under her breath and got up, leaving her nest to work on the drill head. Who cares about nest confinements? She certainly wasn’t keeping such dangerous tech near her tiny babies. She was going to leave the nest because even though she was just a Peridot, she wouldn’t listen to the clods that outranked her!

Peridot continued to mutter as she worked, too focused on the drill to do much else. The only time she looked up was to glare at Steven, who insisted on watching. Apparently, she still needed supervision. It wasn’t like she could fashion this drill head into a ship and fly back to homeworld! Or could she… No, no, Peridot, now you’re the clod. And besides, that would mean leaving your gemlings, and you could never do that. 

Amethyst walked by again, and as she did, Peridot looked up. She froze, barely registering her hand about to lean on the console. Due to her distraction, instead of leaning on the side like she’d been intending to, she pressed several buttons at the same time. Almost instantaneously, Peridot was flung from the drill as it began spinning wildly. Her cries echoed around the space, halting once her small, green form landed harshly in the grass.

“The drill!” She cried, coughing from the dust. Steven immediately took the initiative and rushed forward, much to Peridot’s alarm. 

“Wait!” Peridot scrambled forward, but Steven was already closest.

“I’ve got it!” He assured. Peridot trusted him, but in the meantime, she had other things to panic about. Like the drill heading straight for the nest.

Jasper, being immediately defensive the second Peridot cried out, jumped in the trajectory of the drill. It hit her arm as she deflected it, scraping the light flesh and causing blood to well out of the wound. Jasper didn’t care, as long as her gemlings were safe. It next went careening towards Amethyst, whom Peridot realised would not have enough time to dodge. In a panic, she instinctively scampered forwards, leaping until she’d shoved Amethyst out of the way. 

Steven had finally gotten a grip on the controls, managing to rip out wires at random until the whole thing shut down. Peridot sighed in relief as he dragged himself out of the now defunct machine with “Don’t worry, guys! It was just a drill!” before falling. Good, his humour functions seemed to be intact. Peridot had not harmed Steven with her accidental rampaging mechanics. 

“...Peridot?” Amethyst murmured, from where she was still being pinned down by a very relieved Peridot.

“AH! That was an accident! A miscalculation!” Peridot stuttered, scampering off of the Quartz and getting to her feet. 

“It’s fine, Peridot!” Steven beamed, still a little dizzy, “We know you didn’t mean to start the drill!”

“…Yes, that was a miscalculation, too.” She mumbled. 

“We leave for a second and everything falls to chaos!” Pearl’s squawk of a voice exclaimed, “Oh, we never should’ve left…”

“I blame the cows.” Garnet added, hands on hips. 

The duo had returned without anyone noticing, causing all four gems to whip around in surprise. Still being dizzy, this caused Steven to fall over.

“No, no. This will be fine. We can rebuild. We can learn from this.” Pearl murmured, walking over to the deactivated drill to assess the damages, “We’ll add seatbelts!”

Peridot watched from the sidelines as Steven talked to Amethyst, both talking about how lucky it was that Peridot had been there. Unfortunately for her, Amethyst seemed just as unbothered as she had been pre-drill rampage. It seemed there wasn’t much Peridot could do now but try to articulate her words in a manner that showed remorse. She just hoped it was enough to garner a rekindling of relationships within Amethyst.

“Yes, It was very good that I spotted the drill headed towards you.” Peridot butted in, though that’s not what she wanted to say. After a second or two’s pause, she spoke again, directed at Amethyst specifically. “Look, I. um…”

“Just say it, Peridot.” Amethyst muttered, ready for more harshness. 

“You clods – Just, here!” Peridot held out her tape recorder, pressing play on a previously made tape, “Log Date, 7-11-2, This planet objectively… sucks , as those Crystal Cl- Crystal Gems would say. The behaviour of these gems I am stuck with makes absolutely no sense, especially the hierarchy of power. I am forced to work alongside them due to our deal surrounding my gemlings, but I can’t even get our truce right. Apparently, I “hurt” Amethyst’s “feelings”, which was not my intention. If I’ve damaged my standing with the best gem in the Crystal Gems, then I’ve made an obvious mistake. I’m still learning. I’m still learning about so many things. I hope you understand that. I want to understand. I am sorry. Peridot, Facet 5. End log.”

“Aww, Peridot!” Steven murmured, smiling. He was proud of her for that log. She was learning, and she’d clearly learned something from him! She’d apologised effectively, and from the looks of it, Amethyst had taken it well. 

“Peridot,” Amethyst began, “… Thanks. But you’re still a nerd.”

“Wow, thanks for the insight.” Peridot muttered, but the small smile indicated she wasn’t truly mad. She was glad Amethyst wasn’t hurt any longer. Her apology had worked, and she was glad. 

Steven turned toward Peridot, still smiling. 

“How do you feel?”

“Big.” She replied, her expression happy and relieved. The apology had done exactly what Steven had hoped it would. It had shown Peridot just how it felt to do something good. 

Chapter Text

Mornings were never Peridot’s favourite, especially since the gemlings sucked so much of her energy. She was so exhausted by the end of a day that she felt she needed to rest, like some kind of organic! Which meant that, like most humans, Peridot hated waking up. She didn’t hate what she woke up to, of course, she loved waking up to the gentle, sleepy squeaks of her babies! But the act of waking up? Decidedly unpleasant. 

It was even more unpleasant when she woke up to a cold nest. Alright, probably meant Jasper had work to do and hadn’t wanted to wake her, not a big deal. However, when she went to wake her gemlings, she reached down and stroked… the blankets?! Where were her babies?! No, no, no! She hadn’t lost them! She couldn’t have! 

“Jasper!” She hissed, shoving the Quartz awake. She had been resting on Jasper because of her warmth, but now she was in panic mode. Resting was the last thing on her mind. “Jasper, wake up!”

Jasper opened her eyes, lifting her head lazily as she woke up. She blinked, her gem shimmering beautifully in the early morning light as she pushed her great mane out of her eyes. Peridot had to take a second to tear her eyes away from Jasper’s Quartz brilliance to return to her panic. Her gemlings were more important than emotions, those could wait. 

“Peridot-?” Jasper hummed, sitting up fully, “What are you doing?”

“PANICKING.” Peridot snapped back. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration, messing it up more than sleep had, “The gemlings!” She explained at last, “They’re- They’re missing! I woke up and- and they were just… gone!”

Jasper was immediately more awake, practically leaping to her feet to join the search. 

“Well they can’t have gone far. They’re small and they can barely move, so they’re probably still in the barn.” Jasper assured, putting a hand on Peridot’s shoulder. Peridot flinched away, too focused on finding her gemlings to pay attention to affection.

Okay. Okay, they couldn’t have gotten far. They were small. They could barely drag themselves around, they couldn’t climb, but they had unfortunately inherited Peridot’s smarts. This still crossed out many places. They were seeking out something they wanted, so probably… warmth? It had been pretty cold at night. The gemlings must have found Peridot and Jasper less than adequate, because as Peridot followed a trail of claw marks, they… lead up a makeshift ramp?

The ramp was a makeshift thing made to help Steven up and down off of the truck fashioned into a bed for him, but it seemed like the gemlings had used it, too. They’d dragged themselves from the nest and up the ramp to the top, where they’d… Well, Peridot didn’t know. 

As Peridot approached, the morning sun illuminated an adorable yet nerve wracking scene of all six babies curled up peacefully, all surrounding Steven. Steven was none the wiser. He was fast asleep, and so were the babies. They hadn’t slept so well in days, but sleeping next to someone Peridot didn’t fully trust yet? These babies wanted her to panic!

“Jasper,” Peridot murmured, sighing in relief as she carefully scooped up a gemling with gentle hands. The gemling–the tiny Peridot–squeaked at being moved, but chirped softly as Peridot held her close to her chest. “I found them. They’re over here. They must have paused their dormant period momentarily and resumed it up here. Perhaps they were cold… I was concerned about a draft last night. Our gemlings must have felt it and come here for warmth.”

Peridot supported the tiny creature carefully, one hand holding her up, the other supporting her back and head. The little Peridot opened a sleepy eye, face scrunched up in annoyance at being moved, however, she calmed once noticing it was Peridot who had disturbed her. The gemling beamed adorably, nuzzling against Peridot as she resumed her sleep once again.

Jasper chuckled as she approached, gazing fondly at the babies. Steven was beginning to stir now, and as he did, he was swiftly assaulted by tiny gemling hands. They disliked his audacity to awaken, but their efforts were in vain. All they did was make Steven laugh at the adorableness alongside Jasper. Peridot even smiled!

“Peridot, why are your babies up he-haha!” Steven paused to laugh, detaching Malachite from where she’d gotten entangled in blankets. Her tiny claws tried to claw at the fabric, but the fleece that ensnared her just got further caught under them. “I don’t mind them! They’re adorable! But, I know you get kinda… territorial when you don’t have them.”

“...Yes. The gemlings have decided they wanted to resume their dormant state away from me. It seems they like how warm you are.” As Malachite was lifted with careful hands, she squeaked in protest, trying to grab at Steven, but to no avail. “They may join you again, apologies in advance. I can’t control their peculiar behaviours.”

“It’s alright!” Steven assured, “They didn’t wake me! If anything, they probably warmed me up!” 

Jasper carefully scooped up the rest of the gemlings, keeping a close eye on Steven as she did. Peridot held Malachite and the little Peridot, and the other gemlings nestled comfortably in Jasper’s arms. They had slept well beside Steven, but they were certainly glad to be reunited with their parents. 

Chapter Text

This drill was frustrating. In fact, it was beyond frustrating. These clods weren’t even helping! They were just sitting there, staring at nothing! Well, Peridot was going to keep working. She was going to keep her focus. Jasper was looking after the gemlings, so she had time to work on the drill and save this cloddy planet. But she did feel bad… She felt bad that she was devoting her free time to the drill. Her stupid instincts tugged at her gem, but she had to do this. She had to complete the drill. It was for her gemlings, so they actually had a chance to grow up. 

Peridot sighed as the drill sent angry sparks her way, proof of her incompetence when away from her babies. As the drill refused to work again, Peridot decided she would walk, just to clear her mind. She hated taking breaks, but she was the only one working. Sigh. Peridot got to her feet and walked over to Steven, frowning thoughtfully. She looked over at Jasper, smiling softly as she carefully stopped one of the babies from escaping. Then she looked over at Steven and frowned. 

“Steven.” Peridot began, still frowning. Her tape recorder was in one hand, clearly previously being used to record a log–that, or she was about to record one. “Why is no one working on the drill?!” 

“Peridot!” Steven jumped a little, but smiled at the gem approaching, glad to see her prying herself away from her work. He was strumming on his Ukulele, but paused as Peridot wandered over. Maybe he could teach her about it… “We’ve worked hard, we deserve to take a break! I mean, just look at that view! It’s beautiful!”

“It’ll be DESTROYED if we don’t finish the drill, along with–” Peridot paused, making a soft sound of sadness. She didn’t finish her sentence, but she did glance behind her, down the hill all the way to her family. 

Steven’s smile faded a little, understanding Peridot’s want to rush the drill. She’d been working so hard–harder than the rest of them. She deserved a break, too! But she was thinking of her babies. She was thinking of her family tucked safely in the barn, Jasper pressing gentle kisses to the Gemlings’ heads as they squeaked impatiently at her. The little pale Jasper kept trying to escape, but her plans were swiftly thwarted by Jasper picking her up and placing her beside her siblings. Malachite seemed to be having fun pinning her sibling in place best she could. 

“Peridot, you’ve gotta take a break sometimes, otherwise you won’t be able to work well!” Steven light-heartedly scolded, “I know you’re a gem, but I know Pearl still takes breaks. The gems take breaks all the time!”

“It’s my purpose! I was created to work! I don’t need breaks!” Peridot was honestly pretty exhausted, but she wasn’t going to admit that to Steven. She wasn’t going to admit that to anyone! Except maybe Jasper, if she asked. But she wasn’t supposed to get tired! She’s a Peridot! Peridots are meant to work, no matter the situation!

Steven opened his mouth to add more evidence, but paused when he glanced at his Ukulele. Hmm… If she wouldn’t listen, maybe he could distract her into taking a break. 

“Everyone needs a break!” Steven insisted, “C’mon, sit beside me. I have an idea.”

Peridot narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but sat down beside him in the grass. The sun was  warm on her face and gem as it set, casting the still not-too-familiar orangey-red glow upon the evening scene. The grass felt cool under her hands, and the sound of bugs chirping framed the peacefulness. The air smelled fresh, unlike the metal and smoke smells that the drill produced. It was a different kind of fresh to the smells of Beach City, too. Beach City smelled like water and salt. It was fresh, but this was peaceful. 

Peridot watched closely, observing as Steven strummed a chord on his instrument. She went to say something, but the noise he made with the strange, small instrument distracted her so much, she accidentally leaned on her tape recorder. It recorded a short snippet, before immediately playing back its captured audio like a prize. It harmonised nicely with Steven’s next chord, sparking an idea. 

“Woah…” He murmured, smiling at Peridot’s recorder, “Hey! We harmonised! Here, record this.”

Steven played two chords this time, and Peridot did as she was instructed. Steven was still smiling, but this time he had his tongue poked out a little in concentration. He played another chord after instructing Peridot to play it back. Once again, it harmonised like a well-rehearsed song. It sparked something in Peridot, like she was working on a particularly unusual or difficult puzzle. Those were her favourite; the puzzles where she got to think less formally. She was solving an abstract puzzle surrounding pleasing notes that made Steven happy. Truth be told? She was happy, too. 

Once they got that down, they moved on to more complicated harmonies, eventually convincing Peridot to hum along. Peridot did so willingly, swept up in the theory of it all. The musical, artistic puzzle and challenge of abstract notes combining into something so beautiful made her happy. It was almost like the drill, except this was fun as opposed to stressful. 

Once they got the hang of that, too, they joined the Crystal Gems around a small fire. The sun was setting, and the gemlings were growing impatient, but sleepiness was taking them. The gems were more than happy to listen to the little song Steven and Peridot had composed, despite Peridot’s awkwardness. It was the first time Peridot had smiled around them, aside to smile at her gemlings. She was learning how to relax. 

After Peridot’s musical escapade in learning how to rest, her gemlings were eagerly awaiting her return to their safe spot. Jasper smiled fondly as the smaller gem rested against her chest, picking up each baby individually to shower them with affection. Despite being rather tired, they still found great joy in clambering all over her. She didn’t mind. She’d missed them all day; even their crawling and clambering was a glad sight. 

Peridot was glad when she got to settle down, curling around a soft pile of sleeping gemlings. They were absolutely adorable, huddled together in a pile close to their mothers. Jasper provided as a core part of the nest at this moment, allowing Peridot to rest on her. She was grateful for the extra warmth–and the security that came with being around the Perfect Quartz. Safe to say, it didn’t take long for the family to fall asleep. 

X

Peridot was awake before the sun rose, debating. Steven was allowed near her babies–she trusted him–but the others? Definitely not. They hadn’t proven they were trustworthy. However… Peridot nudged her babies awake gently, mainly focusing on little Carnelian. She was curled up adorably, fur sticking up in places and crimson gem glinting in the sun. She opened her eyes sleepily, glaring at her mother who had dared disturb her. Her anger was swiftly interrupted, however, because she was soon scooped up by the scruff of her neck. 

Peridot left the nest, ignoring her babies complaining as she headed up the hill on all fours. It was a little like her instincts had taken over again, except all she was doing this time was showing her trust. And so she headed up the hill to a purple gem sat alone, Pearl and Garnet observing from a short distance away. Peridot wordlessly approached, startling Amethyst, but before the quartz could say anything, Peridot dropped Carnelian gently on her lap. Carnelian looked like she wanted to cry for a moment as Peridot sat on the grass, but she was swiftly distracted by a new gem.

Carnelian recognised her as well as a baby could. She smiled, chirping happily as she reached little clawed hands up at the purple gem. Amethyst didn’t know what to do, but Peridot’s not-too-aggressive stare told her she wasn’t being too hostile. She was just awaiting Amethyst’s choice of action. 

“Uhh… P-Dot, what do you want me to do?” Amethyst asked tentatively. Upon getting no response, she just added, “...Alright, then.”

Adding to the list of gems that had startled her today, Pearl accidentally snuck up on the scene, hoping to add some clarity to the situation. Peridot narrowed her eyes, focusing a glare upon the taller gem. She didn’t want this gem anywhere near her young that she had entrusted to Amethyst for the time being. This was Amethyst’s introduction to the gemlings, not Pearl’s. 

“Relax, Peridot. I’m not here to take the Carnelian,” Pearl scoffed, “I’m merely here to explain to Amethyst that this,” Pearl gestured to the baby still grabbing for attention and growing more frustrated with it, “is a peace offering. She’s trusting you with her gemlings, Amethyst. Like a cat might show a trusted human their kittens, she’s showing you her young. I don’t think she expects anything particular from you, she just clearly trusts you. It makes sense, too. She seemed so desperate for your approval the other day…”

That got a hiss from Peridot. She might be relying on her instincts right now, but she could still understand conversation. 

“Huh.” Amethyst murmured, “Well, thanks, P-Dot. I’m glad you trust me, I guess.”

Pearl soon left the scene, heading back over to Garnet, whilst Amethyst inspected Carnelian. She bit Amethyst’s hand playfully, peering up from her pedestal on purple palms. Her fur was still a mess, and her little scales were still on show, but right now? Peridot didn’t seem to mind. She only minded once Amethyst tried to spy the scales trait on Peridot herself, then she started growling. Okay, scales trait. Sensitive topic. 

Carnelian seemed to have great fascination with Amethyst’s own fur, running her hands through it like it was the most amazing thing on the planet. She was simply amazed by a gem like her, with fur like her. Amethyst even had a chest gem like her! Safe to say, Carnelian was certainly a happy baby around Amethyst. She was especially happy when she discovered that Amethyst could also control her temperature–though hers was more sporadic. Jasper could control the level of heat she emanated for the babies. Either way, Carnelian was happy. 

Other than that, the display of trust went well. Peridot took Carnelian back once the little gem had had enough of Amethyst, making soft sounds of contentedness. It was clear Amethyst had done something right. She had passed this makeshift test-slash-display of trust. Now, Peridot brought Carnelian back to the nest so she could get back to work. 

X

Peridot sighed, content with her hard work. After days of working tirelessly, they had completed the drill! Oh, it was a wonderful machine, built by all of them and ready to drill. It was core-ready, prepared to break apart the Cluster for the safety of earth and the gemlings. Peridot had to admit, she wasn’t just doing it for her babies any more… And fine , perhaps she tolerates the Crystal Gems now. But she certainly wasn’t one herself. 

“It’s finally complete!” Pearl exclaimed, “Oh, our hard work has come to fruition! Is everything completely ready for tests, Peridot?”

Peridot frowned for a second, thinking, before clambering to the top of the drill. Inside was a little compartment, the roof open right now for inspection. Peridot was able to easily clamber inside and check that all the components were ready for drilling. 

“All ready for tests!” Peridot called, “But for the actual drilling of the Cluster?” Peridot stuck her head out, looking down at the small crowd below, “We still need coordinates.”

“Right, and the terminal in the Kindergarten is broken…” Pearl glanced at Garnet awkwardly, “There is another base, but it’ll be difficult to reach.”

“Why?” Steven asked, only just hearing of this second gem base. They were Homeworld-built, but now claimed by the Crystal Gems mainly for safekeeping. 

“Because it’s on…” Pearl looked up at the sky, twinkling with late-night stars and the bright, beautiful moon. It was clear what she was implying, and it was clear Steven picked up on it. 

Steven gasped, “THE MOONNNN!”

“Yes, Steven, it’s on the moon.” Pearl sighed. 

X

Steven had deduced that the best method of reaching the Moon was via Lion, a literal pink lion with warp abilities. This mode of transport was definitely unsafe for gemlings, but Jasper decided to stay back with them anyway. Neither of them wanted to take the babies to the Moon! Either way, Jasper had been left with the task of babysitting. She didn’t mind, she just warned Peridot to be careful and still wouldn’t let Peridot use her limb enhancers. 

The travelling to the Moon was the most daunting part. Peridot thoroughly disliked warping through anything other than a Warp Pad, a fact she learned the hard way. By the time they were actually on the Moon, Peridot wanted nothing more than to be back in the barn with her babies, safe and warm and not unnaturally travelling to a different floating rock. Safe to say, she was certainly glad to get out of Lion’s mane and look around the Moon base. 

“Woahh…” Steven murmured in awe, looking around, “Are we actually on the Moon?!”

Before Peridot or Pearl could respond matter-of-factly, Amethyst unhelpfully opened the door to the Moon base, causing the air to woosh out into the beautiful, star-speckled sky of their space backdrop. Amethyst made sure to close the door quickly as to leave Steven air to breathe, and Pearl let out the unnecessary breath she’d been holding. 

“Yep! Definitely on the Moon!” Amethyst replied. 

Steven’s face lit up, immediately going for a running leap as Peridot and Pearl projected light from their gems. He let out a short cry of joy as he landed softly, immediately jumping again. This time, his mid-air adventure was accompanied by a cheerful tune.

“I’m a Moon Boy!” Steven cried, doing a few flips before crashing into a wall and falling to the ground. Almost immediately, Amethyst tried to do the same, but she just jumped regularly, and regularly crashed into a wall. 

“Aww, I wanna be a Moon Boy too. Why can’t I be a Moon Boy?” She asked, turning towards the other gems in the group. 

“Gems’ forms are light-based. Our forms don’t need gravity, we simply gravitate towards the surface of the planet we are on, dependent on the atmosphere or pressure of an environment.” Peridot replied, matter-of-factly. She was rather proud of her facts. 

“Boring.” Amethyst scoffed, but it was clear this was more directed at her lack of being a Moon Boy rather than Peridot’s explanation itself. 

“Never mind that, Amethyst.” Pearl tutted, “We have work to be doing here. Now, where is that terminal…”

As Pearl, Peridot, Garnet and Amethyst all looked around, Steven inspected a wall mural, gasping in awe at the towering figure depicted. It was the magnificent and graceful image of a tall, blue gem, surrounded by an impressive aura and carved out of shimmering, iridescent materials. Steven had no clue who this gem was, or their significance, but by Peridot’s gasp, it was clear she did. 

“Who is it?” Steven asked inquisitively, peering up at the gem once more. 

“Blue Diamond… But– Wait, does that mean…?” Peridot replied, soon switching to muttering as she looked around, gem projection lighting her way. “Aha! Here! Um… Yellow Diamond. My Diamond.”

Peridot seemed… less enthusiastic than Steven assumed she would be. She seemed to feel some kind of conflict between how she should view her Diamond, and how she actually did. It was true, Peridot was conflicted on the matter of Homeworld. She was made to serve, just a lowly Peridot in the grand scheme of an entire galactic empire, but on the other hand? Her loyalties had changed. She had a family to think about now. A family banned by Homeworld. 

“Peridot.” Garnet warned, “We have to find the terminal.”

“Right, yes. I won’t explain about the magnificence of my Diamond then.” Peridot muttered. 

After a little while of searching, the group of them reached the terminal. It was all the way at the top of the structure, past a strange room featuring an orb, and right at the top of an irritatingly long staircase. Peridot kept smiling, before shutting herself down, before smiling again. She was clearly still fighting some kind of thought around this situation, but Steven had no clue what she was thinking. 

The room was nothing short of grand. It was stark white and cold, lit by a magnificent view of space through a glass dome roof. A gigantic seat sat in front of a terminal, dormant and lifeless as it lay inactivated. Peridot couldn’t suppress a giggle as she explored, feeling a rush of either excitement or rebellion from walking in the footsteps of a Diamond. It was probably excitement, she reckoned. 

“Right, we’ll gather the coordinates, and we can head back home. I don’t think I can handle Amethyst almost blowing us into space a second time.” Pearl called, observing the glass dome above them. Steven was in awe, beaming as he watched the view outside. It was magnificent to anyone who hadn’t seen space hundreds of times before. …But Peridot would admit, it was a beautiful sight. 

“How does it work?” Steven asked, eventually tearing his gaze away from the dome to wander over to the terminal. 

“I… have no idea.” Peridot admitted, “But we’ll figure it out. It can’t be too hard… It looks practically new! Though of course, this old tech would never compare to the greatness of–” A glare from Garnet cut her off, “Anyway, my point is, I still have no clue.”

Steven gasped lightly, clambering up onto the great white seat to get a better look. Peridot opened her mouth to protest, but that odd feeling conquered the urge, and she didn’t say anything. 

“Woah, look! There’s one of those glowing hand dealies!” Steven inputted, helpfully. Peridot lit up, hesitantly clambering up alongside Steven to place her hand on the terminal. Sure enough, it activated, lighting up with all sorts of information. Peridot accessed it, flicking through information with only her thoughts. 

It took Peridot mere seconds to find information on the Cluster, but that wasn’t the only thing she was looking for. Whilst she searched, she muttered to herself, mainly about the Cluster to keep the Crystal Gems off her back. She murmured about locations, all whilst digging and digging for other information. Right before she was about to dig deeper, she was pulled out by Steven removing the Diamond Communicator from the armrest next to him and utterly terrifying Peridot. 

“Put that back!” Peridot snapped anxiously, taking the device from Steven. Another glare from Garnet. However, instead of actually putting the device back, as the rest of the gems gathered around the terminal, Peridot put it in her gem whilst she hoped no one was looking. Considering no one said anything, she assumed they probably didn’t… 

“Did you find the coordinates, Peridot?” Pearl asked, a note of concern in her voice. Oh stars, had Pearl noticed? There was no way… Unless she’d taken too long… 

“Yes! Yes, I found it. Insertion point, Facet Nine, Beta Kindergarten.” Peridot informed, “Jasper’s Kindergarten.” Peridot smiled smugly.

“But where is the Cluster now?” Pearl pressed. It was frustrating how smug one Peridot could be.

“Hmm…” Peridot entered the system once again, this time deliberately activating the screen to display her searching, “There it is! It's embedded deep into the mantle, relative to the barn, it’s roughly two thousand five hundred units down. All we need to do is feed this data to the drill, and we should be all set.”

“Well done us, mission accomplished!” Pearl exclaimed. Steven shuffled off the seat, cheering in victory, as Amethyst waited at the bottom to catch him in case he fell. 

“Before we go, could I–” Peridot began, before being interrupted by the sound of the terminal being destroyed. Being shattered. Crumbling to pieces. Losing all information within. All of that archived Homeworld information, only a Diamond is supposed to see. Including Gemling information. 

Peridot spun around, mouth wide in shock. “WHAT IN YELLOW DIAMOND’S NAME ARE YOU DOING?!” Peridot exclaimed, anger boiling over. She could’ve been able to learn about her babies! She could’ve learned vital information around how they form, their nature, what they need and so much more! And Garnet had just… Just destroyed it all carelessly!

Peridot launched herself at Garnet, fully prepared to attack in a blind rage. Her claws dug into Garnet’s skin, unable to break the surface, but not for lack of trying. Before Peridot could do any actual harm, the sound of Garnet’s gauntlets being summoned echoed throughout the room, and she was swiftly grabbed by the back of her jumpsuit. 

“We saw you searching for Homeworld information!” Pearl hissed, summoning her spear to point at the now-cowering Peridot, “We aren’t going to let you contact Homeworld so blatantly!”

“I wasn’t looking for Homeworld information!” Peridot snapped, quickly, “I was looking for Gemling information! I only have one log on them, and I need more! I barely have any information on my own babies! I was so scared when my form first started displaying symptoms… I have one log to help me, and this! This terminal could’ve had old, buried logs! But you CLODS–” Peridot lashed out, and as she did, Garnet and Pearl simultaneously attacked, poofing her into a cloud of mint. Her small, green gem fell into Garnet’s palm, and Steven let out the weary sigh he’d been holding. He’d been hoping this would go well…

“We should take her gemlings when we get back.” Pearl stated, “She clearly doesn’t know how to look after them properly.”

Garnet made a noise of approval, bubbling Peridot’s gem as they headed back down the stairs. A pit of worry made itself comfortable in Steven’s chest as he realised it would take a lot longer for Peridot to trust the other Gems now, but there was no talking them out of this decision. He would just have to persuade them to let him look after the gemlings…

Chapter Text

Sigh. Why did they have to poof Peridot? This was the first time Jasper had ever been so gentle around a poofed gem. Poofed gems around her usually meant a battle won well, but this gem was Peridot. This was the mother of her gemlings. This was Peridot. This was the gem that had given her the little creatures she was so attached to. Some part of her blamed Peridot for that, the part that grew further and further agitated the longer she was separated from her babies, but no. This wasn’t something to be mad at Peridot for, this is something to be mad at the Crystal Gems for. 

When Peridot reformed, her first thought was her babies. She was disoriented and a little confused–being her first time poofing–but she needed to make sure they were okay. When she looked down at an empty nest, however, an ache in her chest swelled and swelled until it was all she could think about. Jasper sat beside her–or rather, underneath her, considering she’d reformed in the Quartz’s arms. 

No no no no no! 

Where were her babies? Again??!!!

“The Crystal Gems took the gemlings whilst you were poofed.” Jasper muttered, looking at the nest with a somewhat sad gaze. She didn’t look particularly sad, but the glimmer was there. It wasn’t anywhere near the intensity that Peridot felt it, definitely not, but she had never been good at showing emotion. 

“How could you let them?!” Peridot exclaimed, accidentally digging her claws into Jasper’s arm, “How could you let them take our babies?!” 

“I didn’t have any choice. They outnumbered me, and could’ve easily harmed one of the gemlings. I had to think about their safety.” Jasper stated, allowing Peridot to get up and pace. She muttered to herself as she paced, thinking about too many ideas to form into one sentence. 

“Jasper, give me my Limb Enhancers, I need to get my babies back.” Peridot said at last, “This obviously isn’t going to be resolved peacefully.”

“Peridot, no. You’ll just get yourself poofed again!” Jasper argued, getting to her feet too, “I can’t let you do that. They won’t harm the gemlings if we stay peaceful. If you attack them,” Jasper resisted the urge to add “again.”, “They could hurt you and the gemlings.”

Peridot huffed a sigh, collapsing wearily in her now slightly messy nest. Jasper sat beside her, watching the smaller gem carefully. Peridot couldn’t think clearly. She just needed her babies back. Her gem ached longingly, the absence of the gemlings causing mind fog like she’d never felt. It was like her gem was stopping her from thinking about anything other than her gemlings…

“Oh, I’m such a clod.” Peridot muttered, “It’s my fault my gemlings are gone… If I’d just shown competence for a moment, maybe they wouldn’t be with those clods!”

“Peridot, you didn’t mean to get our babies kidnapped. You got poofed, there wasn’t anything you could do.” Jasper assured. This, however, didn’t reassure Peridot. 

“You weren’t there, Jasper.” Peridot snapped, far too harshly, “It’s my fault.”

Jasper didn’t say anything more, she just looked away, wallowing in her own pain. Her gem ached, too. Her gem yearned for her babies. For Peridot’s gemlings, as Peridot kept making oh so obvious. She’d switched her language to refer to the babies as just hers. Recently, they’d both been using ‘our’ instead of ‘the’ when referring to the gemlings, but now? Now Peridot had switched back, as if Jasper suddenly had no relation to the tiny creatures she missed so dearly. 

Peridot made a soft sound, sitting up to gaze longingly out of the barn. She hoped she’d be able to hear her gemlings and her gemlings would be able to hear her in turn, but no chirp responded. Jasper had moved away from the nest and was now sitting by the barn entrance, trying to ignore Peridot’s attempts at finding her young. It was frustrating. Jasper was frustrated. She cared for the gemlings. She was stuck here, too. She was forced to love and cherish small creatures entirely dependent on their parents. It wasn’t fair. She never asked to be stuck here with tiny, dependent creatures. Peridot had trapped her here with them.

“Maybe it is your fault.” Jasper muttered, much to Peridot’s utter shock, “Maybe it’s your fault. Because it’s your fault we’re stuck here.”

“Jasper, what are you talking about?” Peridot asked incredulously. 

“I’m talking about how you trapped us here with gemlings I never asked for!” Jasper snapped, “I never asked for the gemlings. I never asked to wash up on the shore by your cave. I never asked to be pathetic like you! I never asked to have my mind plagued with thoughts about some pathetic WEAKLINGS!”

Peridot huddled close to herself, instinctively trying to pull her babies closer, but, of course, they weren’t there. She was just left to hunch close to the wall, hoping the gem taller and stronger than her wouldn’t poof her. 

“Do you think I wanted the gemlings?” Peridot spoke up at last, voice dripping with contempt,  “Do you think I wanted to defect from Homeworld? Do you think I wanted the sheer terror I felt when my form changed, and I had no semblance of an idea as to what was happening? I thought I was corrupting before I found that log. You were there! You must remember my fear, even with your inferior Quartz memory.”

“The only reason I ever stayed, was because I had to.” Jasper stated coldly, “It hurts to be separated from the gemlings. I wanted to leave the moment I found you, but I couldn’t. And now Homeworld would never let me back because of you.”

“Well, good thing gemlings aren’t detected on the non-carrier parent, then.” Peridot hissed back. Her eyes widened as she said it, realising she had just given Jasper an effective way out, but she’d thought Jasper knew! With the way Jasper’s expression changed… It was clear this was new information. 

Jasper stared at Peridot with no emotion other than the usual threat she showed other gems. The emotion that Peridot felt in return formed a heavy pit in her metaphorical stomach, weighing her down almost as much as being separated from the babies. It hurt, knowing that not only was she without her gemlings, but a petty argument had caused Jasper to abandon her with the weight of the ache. 

As Peridot began to remake the nest, Steven approached, gaze empathetic. He felt bad for Peridot… He had no say in the kidnapping of her babies, he was just glad he’d been allowed to help look after them. At least now he could tell Peridot that her gemlings were okay, just a tad restless and clearly missing her. They had cried for a while, then they had tried attacking with their little baby claws, and now they were being fussy about everything, but they were okay. They were safe. 

“Peridot?” Steven called, “You there? I wanna talk to you!”

Peridot made a small, sad sound to alert Steven that she was still in the barn, but she didn’t say anything. She was still fixing her nest, making sure it was perfect for when her babies returned. Steven gazed sympathetically at her, sitting on the outskirts of her nest as she worked. Even with the nest empty, she was guarding it fiercely.

“…Your babies are okay.” Steven assured. It wasn’t what he had come to talk about, but it was clearly what she needed to hear because she paused her tidying. “I’m not gonna let them get hurt, don’t worry, Peridot.”

Steven gave a small smile and relaxed a little, enjoying the quiet sounds of the barn. Peridot sat down near Steven, but she kept a distance so she could keep watch. She didn’t trust any of the Crystal Gems anymore, even the gem who helped her baby. But… she supposed, any gem willing to bring her good information was good enough for her. 

“Thank you.” Peridot murmured, before pulling a blanket around herself to complete the nest. Now all she needed was her babies back.

Chapter Text

Months before the Geodes, on a Homeworld-issued Hand Ship somewhere in the vast abyss of space, a Peridot had been driving, rather well if she said so herself. Her job entailed a lot: keeping them on track, keeping the ship in check, and making sure they’d be fully ready to launch an all-out offensive attack. Of course, some things had gone wrong, but she’d done a very good job at hiding these mishaps from her designated backup, the perfect Jasper. How Peridot had managed to get the Perfect Quartz, a Beta Kindergarten Jasper like no other, she had no clue, but Peridot wasn’t complaining. She just almost didn’t feel worthy… Peridot hadn’t been around for the war, but she’d heard great tales, and many of those had centred around this very gem. 

It had all gone smoothly. It had all gone perfectly fine. No mishaps had occurred. …Except for when her and Jasper had had a… less than positive interaction. Long story short–because Peridot had zoned out through most of it–Jasper had been angry about something - something Peridot didn’t care to know about or listen to, and it was supposedly Peridot’s fault. When Peridot couldn’t care less, Jasper had gotten right up in her face and distracted her momentarily. This distraction was enough to make Peridot jolt the ship completely accidentally, and the two had fallen into each other. Their gems had collided, and aside from a brief flash of light, nothing much had happened. 

…And then Peridot’s dizzy spells had started. 

When the ship crashed, Peridot almost hadn’t managed to get into the escape pod in time. She’d been so dizzy lately. It came and went, leaving her stuck at a workstation with a head clouded with disorienting fog. Just as the ship had begun its descent, she’d been hit with another wave, and escaping was impossible. The ship had swayed and shook, already disorienting her without the fog. She had no way to work the controls. All she could do was hope the escape pod could stop her from being shattered as the ship made impact, and she was sent flying away from the main wreckage.

For some reason Peridot couldn’t comprehend, she felt a sinking pit of dread as she hit the ground, the external protection breaking apart as the pod bounced a few times on the sandy terrain. She clambered out of her destroyed means of escape, shaking her head to clear her mind. Pieces of scrap fell around her as she stumbled out, warmth and light assaulting her senses. Something inside of her ached, and she couldn’t figure out why . It was like her form wanted her to get caught by those clods! But as Peridot went to flee her crash site, a great roar caught her attention. From behind her, further down the coastline, a gigantic creature reared its great head, roaring to the dimming sky of this pathetic planet. 

Peridot stumbled backwards, watching as light formed hair and green, banded and ringed skin. A separate torso sprawled out behind the creature, supporting it on strong… strong arms ? The creature’s second torso ended in a great, spined tail, and although she was far away, Peridot was sure she spied some kind of fuzz on it. As it admired its form, it spun to get a good look at itself, and that’s when Peridot saw it. She saw Jasper’s gem. Right on the creature’s face. This was no alien, this was a fusion.

Peridot had fled after that, running to wherever she could. She ran all the way down the shore, her footprints left by her Limb Enhancers getting washed away by the planet’s ocean. When Peridot did find shelter, it wasn’t much. It was a cave she could base her plans out of. Just somewhere hidden to hide. She hadn’t suspected anything was amiss at that point, just that she was still having these dizzy spells, and her gem was beginning to ache… She just needed to recover from the crash. That was the logical conclusion.

As more time passed, more and more signs that something was definitely wrong started cropping up. For one, she missed Jasper. Why did she miss that cloddy Quartz?! She’d been nothing but trouble, and was probably the reason she was currently so dizzy. It started as just passing thoughts, but soon? It was a dull ache that followed her everywhere. It even infected her interfacing capabilities with gem technology, including her Limb Enhancers–Though Peridot suspected that was related to her ongoing problem of dizziness.

Next came the exhaustion, and it was oh so peculiar. It was scary, too, to feel her usually perfect form need to recharge and rest. The first time she had fallen unconscious had been terrifying. She was a Gem! She had no need to sleep until now! Falling unconscious in a dark cave, only to wake up a few hours later to see time had passed? That was a waste of time! How could she get back to Homeworld if she’s too busy being unconscious?

The pure confusion hadn’t been welcome. Of course, it hadn’t been welcome. Why would any of this be welcome? But searching through her logs hadn’t been of any use. It didn’t help that her scales–a natural Peridot trait–had climbed up her arms, and her mind had developed these new, animalistic instincts to build nests?! Why would she ever want to build a nest?! However, she found it almost impossible to ignore. Whatever had happened to her desperately needed to prepare for something . Peridot had no idea what it was, and that was absolutely terrifying. 

Eventually, Jasper had washed up, and Peridot’s instincts had mildly subsided, partially quietened by Jasper’s presence. Jasper had been… less than happy to see a puny Peridot to welcome her return to land. Peridot had been very on-edge around the Quartz, but who could blame her? She was stuck in hiding with a gem who could very easily poof her. Not that Jasper knew this, but Peridot also carried the fear of the terrifying fusion Jasper and Lapis had formed. Malachite. Making a fusion like that… it was unstable. Wrong . 

After a short while, Peridot’s symptom list had increased again. She’d begun to notice her form changing , beyond the aforementioned changes of her scales increasing. Her stomach had swelled slightly, and she could almost feel something moving inside of her. When she’d scoured through her logs, searching for any semblance of an idea as to what was going on, she’d come across what felt at the time to be her only answer. 

Corruption.

“Jasper,” Peridot murmured, one hand on her stomach as she approached the Quartz anxiously, “Jasper, I need to talk to you.”

Jasper huffed a sigh, but gestured for Peridot to speak. She was mildly annoyed with the smaller gem’s presence, but Peridot was… almost endearing, to a degree. …But she was mostly irritating.

“My form… It’s been strange. It’s been changing without my intention, and my mind has been so foggy– I scoured my logs, and… And the only information it gave me was surrounding corruption.” Jasper’s eyes widened, remembering seeing her fellow Quartzes fall as they were unable to escape in time, not hearing or not being given the order to retreat. She remembered as their forms contorting and shifting, muscles tensing and eyes closing in agony. Corruption was horrifying, and the possibility that Peridot could be corrupting? Jasper didn’t want to be there for that. 

“I… I don’t know what else it could be, but you probably know more about corruption than I do. So…” Peridot trailed off, turning her attention to fidgeting with her hands. 

“It’s probably not corruption.” Jasper lied, trying to sound as convincing as possible, “I don’t know what it could be, but corruption is not a slow process. If you were corrupting, we would know by now.”

Peridot sighed what sounded to be a sigh of relief, but from her tense body language? It was hard to truly tell. 

“I’ll keep looking, but if it is corruption–” Peridot was cut off by Jasper, her harsh voice suddenly the most calm Peridot had ever heard it. 

“If it is, which I highly doubt, we’ll figure something out.” Jasper replied, “Keep searching, you’ll find something eventually.”

And find something she did, in the form of an incredibly hidden log. It was almost like it had been intentionally hidden, suppressed and forgotten just with the sole purpose of making gems in Peridot’s situation suffer. And this experience hadn’t exactly been fun. It was terrifying and confusing, leading to a lot of panic and pain. But at last, she knew what it was. It wasn’t corruption, it was Geodes. 

It had been just over two weeks since the corruption scare, and things hadn’t improved. With Peridot’s gem hurting more and more–especially whilst interfacing with gem technology such as her limb enhancers–any hope of getting off of this planet whilst this situation was going on were hopeless.  Peridot’s condition had just worsened, and the fear of it all had increased more and more as it had become glaringly obvious that this wasn’t corruption, there was something inside of her. 

After hours and hours of searching, Peridot at last came across information, information that would actually help. Whatever was inside her had made her stomach protrude further, and it was noticeable now. Granted, it wasn’t by much, but whatever was inside of her had certainly grown to give her a small bump. It was inconvenient and worrying, but with this log, she had her information.

“...Jasper.” Peridot breathed, staring at the screen making her gem ache as if looking away would rid it of the information she so desperately craved, “Jasper, I know what it is.”

Jasper looked up so aggressively, her hair whipped around and fell partially over one shoulder. She flicked it back before looking over, getting to her feet. She didn’t say anything, but from her expression alone, it was clear she was as apprehensive as Peridot was.

“This log–it has all the information I need! It details every symptom I have, and it even explains…” Peridot paused, rereading a line, “It explains what happens next.”

“...So? What is it, then?” Jasper huffed, “What happens next? You need to be prepared. We need to be prepared, if I’m stuck here with you.”

Jasper would’ve left if she could, but much like Peridot’s gem, hers ached when apart from the other. It was like some part of them needed each other. They could only hope that this would fade with time, but for now? They were stuck in this dingy cave together. 

“Geodes.” Peridot stated, the fear in her voice was almost palpable. As she spoke, her tone grew quiet as she realised just what exactly was happening to her. “A long forgotten and thought suppressed means of gem production.”

Peridot took an unnecessary breath, hoping it would calm her. It did not. 

“Geodes…” Jasper echoed, “And? What does that mean for us? I mean– you?”

“Well, the symptoms already seen, but eventually, possibly soon, but probably later, they’ll be born, and then they’ll hatch.” Peridot replied, tone shaky, “We’ll have to implant their gems in a Kindergarten, and then they’ll form into… well, gems.”

A moment of silence passed between the gems. 

“Gems, huh?” Jasper murmured, “I think I’ve heard of Geodes before, but they are most certainly banned. And you’ve trapped me here with them.”

“...Yes.” Was all Peridot managed. She closed the log, having read through it all already, and quietly resigned herself to tinkering with something that she hoped would help their plight to get off of this planet. Of course, logically, she knew she could never go back–not now. She was carrying Geodes. The scanners on Homeworld would definitely detect Geodes. As for Jasper? She could go if she wanted to, but Peridot hoped she wouldn’t.

A few weeks later and Peridot was trying not to let emotions show and failing as the Geodes inside her tried to make their way out. It was excruciating, her form feeling ready to poof as wave after wave of pain crashed down on her. She barely had time to tell Jasper before she retreated to her nest and tried not to scream. She couldn’t scream, not even as Jasper gently repositioned her and took her hands in hers. Not even as hours passed, accompanied by increasing levels of discomfort. Not even as the first geode arrived, making the situation so much more real. 

Seeing the Geode… It was fascinating. It filled Peridot with momentary love and joy before the next wave of pain hit her, and she was back to her shaky, sweating mess of a reality. She had Jasper for comfort, but that was all she was allowed in this cave. She was allowed a moment to fantasise a situation where she had some comfort, or even better, a situation where this wasn’t happening. 

Peridot wanted to poof at this point. She had never poofed before, the safety of her technician job prevented that, but stars, did she want to. Jasper could easily poof her at this moment; she was vulnerable in this state. She had no way to defend herself, and now she had Geodes to think about. Her thoughts were spiralling, from wanting to be poofed as to not endure this, to thinking about the impact that would have on her babies. She couldn’t. She just needed to not get caught. 

When Peridot’s Geodes had all been born… they were fascinating. Unlike her log had described. They were small, and the feeling they caused was nothing short of euphoric. Some part of her hated them, but the other part? The other part would shatter for these Geodes. No matter how many disgusted looks Jasper gave the tiny creatures, Peridot still had a furiously strong instinctual love for them. 

Their cave home was dangerous, and Peridot wished so badly to be somewhere safer–her logs told her there used to be areas specifically for Geodes–but this was the safest she would get. Her Geodes had a nest, and she and Jasper were here to protect them. All they had to do was wait for them to hatch and form. 

Chapter Text

Mental note, never complain about Steven as a baby again. He was such a good child compared to these… these menaces!

The gemlings, all huddled together in a bundle of blankets and pillows, were distressed, and this was displayed in a lot of crying. These tiny creatures were very loud, despite seeming small and frail. They looked like they hadn’t been looked after, but that was in part due to being from a large clutch. Pearl knew basic geode information, but even that wasn’t enough to handle the chaos that was six of them.

All six were huddled by Steven and Amethyst–the only gems the Gemlings wouldn’t cry near–their sobs satiated by the presence of gems they trusted. They were hard to entertain, and even still, if Pearl or Garnet got too close, they would immediately get aggressive. Especially that little Malachite… It made sense, she was the biggest of the clutch, and seemed so protective of her siblings. It was almost like she’d been crowned temporary protector of her siblings until Peridot returned. If it wasn’t so distressing, it would be adorable. 

The gemlings still couldn’t move very well, so their attempts at escape were futile. They were limited to what they could grab, but even still, their tiny forms were too weak to drag themselves too far. They were, much like actual babies, surprisingly strong with their grip, however. Carnelian liked to grab Amethyst’s hair when she had the chance, and her siblings often followed suit. Steven’s hand had been claimed previously, resulting in many pinprick injuries from tiny claws and blunt fangs. It was a little harder to stop them from grabbing than it was to stop their cries, but once they were occupied by smooth stones to bite, or by tearing apart a stray piece of fabric.

All in all, the gemlings were still menaces. They refused to calm for longer than a few minutes, and they spent the majority of their time trying to escape the clutches of the Crystal Gems. They were highly unlikely to actually get anywhere, but the chances of them hiding… well, they definitely took advantage of how small they were. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t really know how to be quiet. Babies aren’t exactly known for how sneaky they are. 

The only time they stopped trying to escape was when they slept, and even then, they loved to wake up. Honestly, with the amount they cried, the Gems were just about ready to give the gemlings back. But, no. That would be giving in. These babies were clearly being mistreated, and it was their duty to do something about it. Their cries of hurt were gut-wrenching, though… Maybe they’d made a mistake.

“We didn’t make a mistake.” Garnet spoke, as if reading Pearl’s mind, “They would be in a worse position if we didn’t take them.”

Pearl hesitated. She did recall hearing yelling coming from the barn earlier… Luckily, the gemlings had been asleep, but it was almost scary. Pearl almost considered walking over to check neither of them had been poofed–especially when spotting Jasper walking off quite angrily earlier–but she decided against it. It didn’t seem wise… 

“I suppose you’re right…” Pearl sighed, “I don’t like considering the possiblity of what could’ve happened to them if we had left them…”

“They’re fine, though.” Amethyst called in reply, expression bored. 

“Yeah!” Steven added, “They’re fine! They’re just babies! They’re crying because they miss their parents!”

“Steven, please. Look at how small and dirty they are!” Pearl protested. In response, Malachite bore her teeth agressively. She didn’t necesarily understand what Pearl was saying, she just disliked the gem. 

“They’re babies!” He reiterated, “They’re small! They get dirty!”

“Steven, they’re–” Pearl tried to argue, but Amethyst butted in this time. She was holding Carnelian in her arms, and the tiny gem was copying her expression almost perfectly. 

“They aren’t gems!” Amethyst held up the gemling, “They’re gemlings! And stop acting like you know what they want. You know as much as we do, which is nothing!” 

Carnelian squeaked in protest and wriggled as the comforting warmth of Amethyst’s chest and gem dissipated, and she was met with the cold of air. She squeaked even more as Pearl drew closer, and Amethyst quickly snatched her back. The little pale Jasper let out an adorable growl, trying to get her sister back, but to no avail. She was too little. 

Pearl let out a cry of annoyance and stormed off, leaving Amethyst, Steven and the gemlings to sit alone. This hill was no place for babies, but where else could they go? The barn was occupied by Peridot, who was adamant she would not leave the nest, and Jasper who… frankly, none of them wanted to tackle right now. So, setting up camp on a hill it was. 

It wasn’t like it was particularly cold or anything. The gemlings were swathed in whatever blankets and pillows Steven could gather, and Steven had insisted on making a fort, but the gemlings still squeaked any time a light breeze passed. They were fussy, and they were being extra fussy because they didn’t like the gems they were stuck with. They had, unfortunately, inherited Peridot’s stubborness. 

This argument–the argument between whether or not they should’ve taken the gemlings or not–had been going on since they had taken the gemlings. It had been a while of arguing, Pearl and Garnet arguing that this was the right decision, Amethyst and Steven arguing against. It had driven a rift between the group, often leading to them working in separate areas, but this wouldn’t last forever. These gemlings needed to be returned eventually, right?