now that's two stones, with one bird

Rainbow rushed out of the way, hidding behind a doorway to avoid being seen by moonstone, unfortunately his umbrella sticks out and trips moonstone. He practically squeaks in panic as he tries to scramble out of her sight

Moonstone stood up, stepping behind the umbrella. She swiped a hand across her gem, a bright, crisp ray of white light materializing in her hand. She protectively glanced towards the white bubble, it’s yellow-violet contents floating silently.

rainbow leans dramatically to look at the bubble “oh! that’s probably important isn’t it?” he looks around “we’re you delivering something?” he bares a wide grin, gesturing lightly at the bubble with his umbrella

“Oh!” He put his hands to his face in shock. “I’m sorry! If you’d like I can try and help you get around in this maze of a building” he gestures to the gem on his forehead “I think pearl knows this place pretty well”

“of course lass! let’s have a bloody brilliant time!” he flails his umbrella around with excitement. “my name’s rainbow quarts by the way, but most people call me rainbow” he smiles as he grabs moonstone’s arm while he leads the way “what’s yours?”

rainbow notices the slight discomfort on moonstone’s face and lets go of her arm  “why thank you moonstone!!” he smiles back. “so… if you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your friend there?” he tries to look to make sure he isn’t stepping his boundaries.

rainbow covers his mouth a sorrowful expression draping his face. “well that won’t due, let’s save your friend asap!” he grabs her hand and straddles his umbrella “rainbow quarts powers, activate!!” suddenly moonstone and rainbow are propelled forward at top speed! around corners and through doorways until finally, they reach the closest chamber to heal the hurt gem he quickly lets go and turns to smile at you “we’re here!~” he sing-songs

Rainbow moves behind her to try and peek through the door. “Had something happened?” He looks at moonstone and her friend with a questioning glance

“oh dear!” he exclaimed, finally getting a look inside the chamber. he took a cautious step inside as he examined the room. “I don’t think we’re the first ones who’v been in here…”

“A mystery indeed!” He exclaims “do you think we can still fix your friend with all this damage?” He looks over to moonstone

he puts a hand on her shoulder “how are you feelin’ luv’?” he tries to make eye contact with her. fighting back his urge to be silly

“what! what is it!?” he tried his best to whisper, but his volume was barely below a yell. he tries not to panic by running his hands through his hair

“wha- I can try my best to lead you to another chamber but you have to tell me what’s wrong…”

he nods “got it, hang on!” he once again grabs her arm and blasts away as fast as he can

“how about…. here!” he stops sharply, still holding her hand to stop her from falling. “but the door seems to be stuck..” he starts to examine the door

he gasped and gave a sour look before thinking to himself “yes…” he covers the gemstone on his stomach “I'v been requested to be…trained..to..be useful because of…cutbacks” he lies through his teeth trying not to snap with anger and cause moonstone any trouble

rainbow follows behind moonstone, glaring at the peach pearl as he walks past her

“I wouldn’t want to cause you any trouble now lov’. it’s no big fuss” he whispered back “don’t worry about it” he settled with standing besides her trying not to fidget

before moonstone could respond rainbow cut in “why would they mention moonstone!” … “I-i mean my moonstone??”

rainbow got into a fighting stance “what’s going on!” he screech reaching for his umbrella

“what’s wrong!!” he steps in front of moonstone, hands on her shoulders. he quickly spins on his heals, umbrella at the ready to strike if need be. “say the word and I’ll have us out of here, pronto!”

“Oh! A new friend!” His protective attitude was immediately replaced with happiness at the though of making a new companion

“you may call me rainbow quarts!” he struck a dramatic pose “or rainbow for short~ and I assume you are amertrine! moonstone mentioned you!” he smiled

“okay! where to captain!!” he does a small salut with the word captain

rainbow followed close behind, dramatically swiveling his body to look around the halls

“So, where exactly are you from, Rainbow?” Moonstone asked, a bit curious about this new gem. They had seemingly come out of nowhere, though she couldn’t say it was a bad thing, considering how helpful they had been.

“Well, I’m from earth!” He smiled “I’m actually only hear to visit, you see pearl wanted information on how this place was holding up since she’d left” he says matter o’ factly! “I was doing a pretty good job not being noticed.. Until y'know, I tripped you” he rubs the back of his neck

“Oh, it’s fantastic. The gems there are free! You get to wintess the natural life there grow up and change, such an incredible power they have. The water there is cool and reckless and not just used for the lapis lazuli’s work. Flowers bloom without strict orders!” he takes a breath, then sighs. “It’s a truly wonderful place to live” he perks up “Oh but that’s just me rambling” he claps his hands together to signify he’s done talking

“One day I’ll have to take you there haha!” He said as he continued to walk down the hallway. “Either that or I’ll have to keep visiting my two new friends here on homeworld!”

“Powder blue?” He tilts his head in an inquisitive motion. “What are we doing here anywwho?” He smiles

“Powder Blue is a pearl that tends to hang around here- really, quite a sweet gem,” Moonstone sidetracked, before realizing their second question. “Ah, we’re because there’s been two attacks in one day, and I need to check the records on this- it’d be a safer place to be, and I might be able to find a way to get you back to earth.”

“Why that sounds delightful!” Rainbow spouted enthusiastically

“of course” he nods “lead me to victory!” he says, putting his trust in her

he waves goodbye to ametrine and practically skips behind moonstone. “where are we headed now?”

“Well, Mon Ami,” she drawled, finding that a bit Rainbow’s flamboyance has begun to ware off on her, “With us being on partial lockdown, the air hangars are likely closed- but, with your help, we might be able to sneak in.”

“ah yes! my help!” … “what should I do??” he looks around, doing a complete 360 turn “I don’t know what areas to head two since this place is on a weird lockdown” he gives a weary smile, attempting to stay calm

“so what should we do?” he asks “I’ve been away for so long, I don’t remember everything about this place” he flails his arms around with the word everything

He perked up, “well technically I’m a fusion of a rose quarts gem and a pearl but the rose quarts gem is… half human. It’s complicated realy” he gives a tired smile

rainbow paused “that must sound incredibly strange but, really it’s a beautiful thing” he twirls as he walks “humans can grow up, unlike us gems. and fusing with one-” he says with a dreamy voice “now that’s truly incredible~” he looks to her “fusion involve complete trust and synchronization between the two gems. if feels like,, i’m not two people, but one new experience! a bloody amazing experience!” he forcefully shoves a hand over his mouth “oop! there i go again, with the rambling! hahaha” a smile spreads across his face

he turns to moonstone “oh it is! …y’know, earth always welcomes new gems. you’d be free to fuse with who ever you’d like” he offers before turning again to notice the panel

“well have you even tried?” he starts to walk through the passage “if you haven’t tried then you’ll never know”

“well, I guess that’s fair… what a shame though” he squeezes by her “it would be nice to have an entire family of quarts on earth with us!” he would have added an elaborate hand motion but there wasn’t much room for it in the tight space they were cramped into

“hahaha! she could try, but I’m a crystal gem! we’ve fought gems like them for ages!” his voice slightly louder than normal speech. he quiets down “you can do what you do, but can it make you happy?” he whispers “isn’t that worth fighting for?”

He followed close behind, he practically smooshed himself on top of her! Not that there was much room to do much else “Where dies this panel lead to again?” He asked gently, trying to change his topic of thought

“Oh how lovely!” He followed, lifting himself into the platform as well. “ I honestly can’t wait to feel free again!” He clasped his hands together as he bared a toothy grin, reminiscing about his life in heart.

“That sounds wonderful, Rainbow,” moonstone said, before holding an arm out to stop him. There was a clattering from what seemed to be ahead of them. The ball of light in her hand lengthened and sharpened into a ray as Moonstone scooted forward.

“What is it?” Rainbow whispered “is there someone up ahead?”

Rainbow yelped but quickly prepared his weapon. Ready to fight

Rainbow turns to moonstone “I can woosh us out of here if you need it” he stated though it sounded more like a question

“That’d be-” Moonstone was cut off by a sudden Impact to the back of her knees, causing her to loose balance. Glancing back, she was startled to found that they were surrounded from both sides in the narrow hall.

He aimed at the enemies on the side the needed escape from and fired! Then grabbed moonstone’s hand “c'mon up you go lov’!” He said pulling her to her feet. He felt at the hilt of his umbrella, ready to open it if anyone decided to strike

“Oh dear!” He seemed surprised “Who are they?”

“No clue,” Moonstone said, dodging another throwing knife. Sending another periwinkle-white ray of light at the trio of gems. It hit the Citrine again, causing her to collapse back.

“What should we do??” He asks starting to get nervous

“I don’t want to have to hurt anyone, but we need to find a way past them,” Moonstone whispered. A ray of light held poised in her hand, and the trio of gems had their weapons ready, setting the group at a stand-still.

he speaks to the opposing force “what do you want to let us pass” he slightly opens his umbrella in case things go south

though thoroughly shaken up, he still held his head up. ready to protect moonstone. he glared at the sapphire  “y’know… I’m an earth fusion. but make not mistake, I will defend homeward gems like moonstone at all costs” he took a pause “I used to be the pearl that fought by rose quarts”

“are you sure?” he holds her up a little seeing as she seems dizzy

“I’m fine, let’s just continue,” she said, her tone steely. She twisted away from Rainbow, her freckles paling against her marble-pale skin. Wringing her hands, she walked faster.

“W-what’s wrong!?” Rainbow went to reach for her but pulled back and wrapped his arms around himself

“Th-that sapphire knows what I’ve done, she probably knows about Powder Blue and Ametrine…” Moonstone muttered in a daze, leaning against the wall. Images flashed through her head; an iridescent, white gem cracked, and the sound of shattering glass. A Benitoite telling her that every thing’d be fine, and that nobody needs to know.

“should we go back to get them!” he asks, his voice straining

“N-no, you need to get home, a-and it’s already too late,” Moonstone carried on, nails pressing sharply into her hand.

he stops her “I can always got home, but your friends might be in danger!!”

“I took an old eye ship some rubies brought to my home” he took a pause “it would take a while for it to be fixed though”

“An eye ship…” Moonstone mused. “I heard about one of those going missing a few months back, I don’t know if they ever found that one.”

“trust me, they didn’t” he smirked “well, not until i brought it back broken, to get here i mean”

“well rose quarts needed to get to earth somehow! haha!” he looks to her with a silly grin “we shape shifted into rubies” he giggles to himself “they had no idea!”

“what do you take me for!?” he fakes disappointment as he dramatically swirls around and laughs “where to captain?”

“oooo~ plan time?” he hops in place “tell me all about it!!

“yeah, i can do my fair share. but not for to long” he whispered back.

“o-okay! what’s the plan?”

“We’re going to have to shapeshift so that the Guards will be looking for somebody else,” she paused, her face flushing a light sky-blue “because I’m technically not allowed to use the Warp pads… and won’t be for a while.”

"What gems are aloud to use the warp pads here?" Rainbow questioned, ready to shap shift.

Rainbow rushed out of the way, hidding behind a doorway to avoid being seen by moonstone, unfortunately his umbrella sticks out and trips moonstone. He practically squeaks in panic as he tries to scramble out of her sight

Moonstone stood up, stepping behind the umbrella. She swiped a hand across her gem, a bright, crisp ray of white light materializing in her hand. She protectively glanced towards the white bubble, it’s yellow-violet contents floating silently.

rainbow leans dramatically to look at the bubble “oh! that’s probably important isn’t it?” he looks around “we’re you delivering something?” he bares a wide grin, gesturing lightly at the bubble with his umbrella

“Oh!” He put his hands to his face in shock. “I’m sorry! If you’d like I can try and help you get around in this maze of a building” he gestures to the gem on his forehead “I think pearl knows this place pretty well”

“of course lass! let’s have a bloody brilliant time!” he flails his umbrella around with excitement. “my name’s rainbow quarts by the way, but most people call me rainbow” he smiles as he grabs moonstone’s arm while he leads the way “what’s yours?”

rainbow notices the slight discomfort on moonstone’s face and lets go of her arm  “why thank you moonstone!!” he smiles back. “so… if you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your friend there?” he tries to look to make sure he isn’t stepping his boundaries.

rainbow covers his mouth a sorrowful expression draping his face. “well that won’t due, let’s save your friend asap!” he grabs her hand and straddles his umbrella “rainbow quarts powers, activate!!” suddenly moonstone and rainbow are propelled forward at top speed! around corners and through doorways until finally, they reach the closest chamber to heal the hurt gem he quickly lets go and turns to smile at you “we’re here!~” he sing-songs

Rainbow moves behind her to try and peek through the door. “Had something happened?” He looks at moonstone and her friend with a questioning glance

“oh dear!” he exclaimed, finally getting a look inside the chamber. he took a cautious step inside as he examined the room. “I don’t think we’re the first ones who’v been in here…”

“A mystery indeed!” He exclaims “do you think we can still fix your friend with all this damage?” He looks over to moonstone

he puts a hand on her shoulder “how are you feelin’ luv’?” he tries to make eye contact with her. fighting back his urge to be silly

“what! what is it!?” he tried his best to whisper, but his volume was barely below a yell. he tries not to panic by running his hands through his hair

“wha- I can try my best to lead you to another chamber but you have to tell me what’s wrong…”

he nods “got it, hang on!” he once again grabs her arm and blasts away as fast as he can

“how about…. here!” he stops sharply, still holding her hand to stop her from falling. “but the door seems to be stuck..” he starts to examine the door

he gasped and gave a sour look before thinking to himself “yes…” he covers the gemstone on his stomach “I'v been requested to be…trained..to..be useful because of…cutbacks” he lies through his teeth trying not to snap with anger and cause moonstone any trouble

rainbow follows behind moonstone, glaring at the peach pearl as he walks past her

“I wouldn’t want to cause you any trouble now lov’. it’s no big fuss” he whispered back “don’t worry about it” he settled with standing besides her trying not to fidget

before moonstone could respond rainbow cut in “why would they mention moonstone!” … “I-i mean my moonstone??”

rainbow got into a fighting stance “what’s going on!” he screech reaching for his umbrella

“what’s wrong!!” he steps in front of moonstone, hands on her shoulders. he quickly spins on his heals, umbrella at the ready to strike if need be. “say the word and I’ll have us out of here, pronto!”

“Oh! A new friend!” His protective attitude was immediately replaced with happiness at the though of making a new companion

“you may call me rainbow quarts!” he struck a dramatic pose “or rainbow for short~ and I assume you are amertrine! moonstone mentioned you!” he smiled

“okay! where to captain!!” he does a small salut with the word captain

rainbow followed close behind, dramatically swiveling his body to look around the halls

“So, where exactly are you from, Rainbow?” Moonstone asked, a bit curious about this new gem. They had seemingly come out of nowhere, though she couldn’t say it was a bad thing, considering how helpful they had been.

“Well, I’m from earth!” He smiled “I’m actually only hear to visit, you see pearl wanted information on how this place was holding up since she’d left” he says matter o’ factly! “I was doing a pretty good job not being noticed.. Until y'know, I tripped you” he rubs the back of his neck

“Oh, it’s fantastic. The gems there are free! You get to wintess the natural life there grow up and change, such an incredible power they have. The water there is cool and reckless and not just used for the lapis lazuli’s work. Flowers bloom without strict orders!” he takes a breath, then sighs. “It’s a truly wonderful place to live” he perks up “Oh but that’s just me rambling” he claps his hands together to signify he’s done talking

“One day I’ll have to take you there haha!” He said as he continued to walk down the hallway. “Either that or I’ll have to keep visiting my two new friends here on homeworld!”

“Powder blue?” He tilts his head in an inquisitive motion. “What are we doing here anywwho?” He smiles

“Powder Blue is a pearl that tends to hang around here- really, quite a sweet gem,” Moonstone sidetracked, before realizing their second question. “Ah, we’re because there’s been two attacks in one day, and I need to check the records on this- it’d be a safer place to be, and I might be able to find a way to get you back to earth.”

“Why that sounds delightful!” Rainbow spouted enthusiastically

“of course” he nods “lead me to victory!” he says, putting his trust in her

he waves goodbye to ametrine and practically skips behind moonstone. “where are we headed now?”

“Well, Mon Ami,” she drawled, finding that a bit Rainbow’s flamboyance has begun to ware off on her, “With us being on partial lockdown, the air hangars are likely closed- but, with your help, we might be able to sneak in.”

“ah yes! my help!” … “what should I do??” he looks around, doing a complete 360 turn “I don’t know what areas to head two since this place is on a weird lockdown” he gives a weary smile, attempting to stay calm

“so what should we do?” he asks “I’ve been away for so long, I don’t remember everything about this place” he flails his arms around with the word everything

He perked up, “well technically I’m a fusion of a rose quarts gem and a pearl but the rose quarts gem is… half human. It’s complicated realy” he gives a tired smile

rainbow paused “that must sound incredibly strange but, really it’s a beautiful thing” he twirls as he walks “humans can grow up, unlike us gems. and fusing with one-” he says with a dreamy voice “now that’s truly incredible~” he looks to her “fusion involve complete trust and synchronization between the two gems. if feels like,, i’m not two people, but one new experience! a bloody amazing experience!” he forcefully shoves a hand over his mouth “oop! there i go again, with the rambling! hahaha” a smile spreads across his face

he turns to moonstone “oh it is! …y’know, earth always welcomes new gems. you’d be free to fuse with who ever you’d like” he offers before turning again to notice the panel

“well have you even tried?” he starts to walk through the passage “if you haven’t tried then you’ll never know”

“well, I guess that’s fair… what a shame though” he squeezes by her “it would be nice to have an entire family of quarts on earth with us!” he would have added an elaborate hand motion but there wasn’t much room for it in the tight space they were cramped into

“hahaha! she could try, but I’m a crystal gem! we’ve fought gems like them for ages!” his voice slightly louder than normal speech. he quiets down “you can do what you do, but can it make you happy?” he whispers “isn’t that worth fighting for?”

He followed close behind, he practically smooshed himself on top of her! Not that there was much room to do much else “Where dies this panel lead to again?” He asked gently, trying to change his topic of thought

“Oh how lovely!” He followed, lifting himself into the platform as well. “ I honestly can’t wait to feel free again!” He clasped his hands together as he bared a toothy grin, reminiscing about his life in heart.

“That sounds wonderful, Rainbow,” moonstone said, before holding an arm out to stop him. There was a clattering from what seemed to be ahead of them. The ball of light in her hand lengthened and sharpened into a ray as Moonstone scooted forward.

“What is it?” Rainbow whispered “is there someone up ahead?”

Rainbow yelped but quickly prepared his weapon. Ready to fight

Rainbow turns to moonstone “I can woosh us out of here if you need it” he stated though it sounded more like a question

“That’d be-” Moonstone was cut off by a sudden Impact to the back of her knees, causing her to loose balance. Glancing back, she was startled to found that they were surrounded from both sides in the narrow hall.

He aimed at the enemies on the side the needed escape from and fired! Then grabbed moonstone’s hand “c'mon up you go lov’!” He said pulling her to her feet. He felt at the hilt of his umbrella, ready to open it if anyone decided to strike

“Oh dear!” He seemed surprised “Who are they?”

“No clue,” Moonstone said, dodging another throwing knife. Sending another periwinkle-white ray of light at the trio of gems. It hit the Citrine again, causing her to collapse back.

“What should we do??” He asks starting to get nervous

“I don’t want to have to hurt anyone, but we need to find a way past them,” Moonstone whispered. A ray of light held poised in her hand, and the trio of gems had their weapons ready, setting the group at a stand-still.

he speaks to the opposing force “what do you want to let us pass” he slightly opens his umbrella in case things go south

though thoroughly shaken up, he still held his head up. ready to protect moonstone. he glared at the sapphire  “y’know… I’m an earth fusion. but make not mistake, I will defend homeward gems like moonstone at all costs” he took a pause “I used to be the pearl that fought by rose quarts”

“are you sure?” he holds her up a little seeing as she seems dizzy

“I’m fine, let’s just continue,” she said, her tone steely. She twisted away from Rainbow, her freckles paling against her marble-pale skin. Wringing her hands, she walked faster.

“W-what’s wrong!?” Rainbow went to reach for her but pulled back and wrapped his arms around himself

“Th-that sapphire knows what I’ve done, she probably knows about Powder Blue and Ametrine…” Moonstone muttered in a daze, leaning against the wall. Images flashed through her head; an iridescent, white gem cracked, and the sound of shattering glass. A Benitoite telling her that every thing’d be fine, and that nobody needs to know.

“should we go back to get them!” he asks, his voice straining

“N-no, you need to get home, a-and it’s already too late,” Moonstone carried on, nails pressing sharply into her hand.

he stops her “I can always got home, but your friends might be in danger!!”

“I took an old eye ship some rubies brought to my home” he took a pause “it would take a while for it to be fixed though”

“An eye ship…” Moonstone mused. “I heard about one of those going missing a few months back, I don’t know if they ever found that one.”

“trust me, they didn’t” he smirked “well, not until i brought it back broken, to get here i mean”

“well rose quarts needed to get to earth somehow! haha!” he looks to her with a silly grin “we shape shifted into rubies” he giggles to himself “they had no idea!”

“what do you take me for!?” he fakes disappointment as he dramatically swirls around and laughs “where to captain?”

“oooo~ plan time?” he hops in place “tell me all about it!!

“yeah, i can do my fair share. but not for to long” he whispered back.

“o-okay! what’s the plan?”

“Watcha got there” said the fusion “is it important?”

Pink Avengurine looked at the vial. “It’s very important…” She paused for a moment, then quickly added, “To me, at least.”

“what’s in it!” he asks, tilting his head

“Well.” She raised the vial for him to see, the pearl inside shifting to the bottom with a soft clink. 

“Oh goodness!” He flinched away “what happened to them!?”

“You can tell me” he said with a tender voice “if you’d like, that is”

Rainbow’s tone was enough to persuade her. After all, it had been years since she’d had somebody to really talk to, and this gem seemed to be friendly. “To be entirely honest,” she shuddered, “I put her here when I was on Homeworld.” Her eyes closed. She liked to think what happened wasn’t her fault, and introspection was never easy for her.

He placed a hand over his mouth “Why would you do that?”

“It sounds awful, I know it does. Please hear me out. She continuously goofed off and broke rules, and I was constantly afraid she’d be punished. I figured if she couldn’t do that, at least until we were in space…She’d be fine.” It sounded like a ridiculous idea to her when she said it aloud.

“well that won’t do! you have to free her” he said, waving his arms around frantically

Her face reddened. “What do you think I’m trying to do? It won’t open, it won’t break, nothing I’ve tried has worked. It sure looks like a fragile container, but it isn’t.”

he takes a closer look “what is it made out of?”

“I can’t tell.” It was transparent, made from only a thin layer of material with the exception of two caps on either end, but it didn’t make any noise as she tapped it.

“I might be able to figure it out… But you’d have to follow me” he took a pause “I’m a long way from home”

“I’m willing to go however far we need to go.” She looked determined.

“Fantastic!!” He beamed “ Lets get to it!” He said as he grabbed her hand and rushed off

The vial was still tight in her other hand, and she smiled. “Yeah, let’s.”

She gasped, stunned, and looked down. Her eyes focused on the ground as it became distant.

he flew until he reached a pair of trian-tracks

As they arrived, she giggled to herself. It had been a while since she’d flown, and she wasn’t sure she had even flown like that. 

“okay! now then, we’ll have to catch the train” he closes his umbrella “but for now we can just follow the train-tracks” he smiled

“Oh, right.” She remembered what she was doing, and proceeded along the tracks. 

She shrugged. “I was coming here to study the planet, but that plan fell through after I got delayed. A lot happened here that presumably nobody was expecting. It’s a busy planet.” 

“Hmm” he listened as he nodded along “do you miss home world?”

“Not really. There wasn’t much to do.” She looked towards the sky. “Our purposes were all we had, but at times, it felt like we didn’t even have that.”

“Well, now you have me!!” He twirled enthusiastically as the tracks started to rumble

Pink Aventurine giggled, her voice audible this time. “You’re not wrong.” Her steps were lighter and more relaxed, though she moved at the same pace. 

“Wha- Okay!” She quickly scampered into an opening in the train.

She thought about her answer for a moment. “Earth…..is not as intricate as I had hoped, in some ways. The system of careers and way time is spent during the day is less than efficient. But, even though Earth could afford to fix a lot, it’s beautiful. I’ve grown to like most humans.”

he swayed his feet “that’s nice” he smiles “do you have a home here?”

“I do, technically, but I move around.” She pulled her hat down out of habit. 

“hmm, why’s that?” he looks over “if you don’t mind me asking”

She looked back at him. “Everything on this planet is temporary. There’s something I find comforting about being able to totally reinvent myself as many times as I want, especially since I’m not entirely sure who I want to be.” Her gaze moved to the ground.

“well, welcome to earth” he smiled at her and then looked at the skyline “it’s such a beautiful place

“Yep.” She hummed to herself, tapping the vial.

“so” he looks at the vail “do you know what that thing was for?”

“I have some sort of an idea. Most of the containers like this that I found already had gems inside, so I assumed they were for storage. I saw them get picked up and taken out of the room, and they always came back empty.” Her hand moved to her gem. “I wasn’t sure what opened them, but clearly they were able to be accessed somehow.” 

“hmm, how curious…” he looked up “did you see what kind of gems were opening them?”

“I didn’t see anyone specifically opening them, but it was mostly quartzes and sapphires that handled them.”

he mumbles to himself “yeah I might…” he trails off

She stared at him. “You might?”

“hm? oh!” he turns to you fully “I might know a gem who works with sort of stuff!” he smiles as the train bumps around

Pink Aventurine gasped, her eyes lighting up. “Wait, really?” 

The vial nearly slipped from her hands. “Oh my stars. That would mean everything to me.” She tried to sound casual about it, but there was obvious and undeniable excitement in her face.

he smiled then looked away “so, what were you doing before I found you?”

“I was just talking about this vial to everyone I could find. I’ve had a lot of free time lately, due to….well, it’s human stuff.” She fidgeted with her hat. 

“human stuff? I love human stuff!!” he beams “I mean, I am ¾ths human”

“Well, this wasn’t really fun human stuff. My old human friends went to college, and I went with them just because. After we graduated, though, we went in different directions and never saw each other again. But this was only about…a decade ago.” She shrugged. “I don’t even have a real human ‘job’.”

He thinks, mumbling to himself softly “maybe… we can do some fun stuff when we get to my part of town” he smiles

“Really?” Nobody she had known was this unconditionally caring at first, even though humans were usually way friendlier than gems. It made her wary, but she supposed she should give him a chance. “I’d like that.” 

“Cool!” He beamed, then turned back to the open scenery. “Just a few more hours and we’ll be home” he muttered, but mostly to himself. “So did you ever do anything for fun?”

“Well, of course! I…” Nothing came to mind. She had done plenty of things that she considered important or meaningful, but she couldn’t remember a time where she did things specifically for fun. “…Yeah, I did,” she lied halfheartedly.  

“like what?” he smiled at her

“I…used to write about the Earth.” Technically, it was true. It was obvious from her tone that it wasn’t particularly exciting to her, but there was a time when she did write frequently.

“hmmm, but was it fun?” he tilts his head at her, the tone in her voice already kind of giving him an answer

“Honestly?” She sighed. “Not really.”

“oh dear, well that won’t do!” he grabs her hand “i promise when we make it to beach city, we’ll have lots of fun!!”

She looked down at their hands, smiling faintly. “…Thanks. I’d love that.”

“Watcha got there” said the fusion “is it important?”

Pink Avengurine looked at the vial. “It’s very important…” She paused for a moment, then quickly added, “To me, at least.”

“what’s in it!” he asks, tilting his head

“Well.” She raised the vial for him to see, the pearl inside shifting to the bottom with a soft clink. 

“Oh goodness!” He flinched away “what happened to them!?”

“You can tell me” he said with a tender voice “if you’d like, that is”

Rainbow’s tone was enough to persuade her. After all, it had been years since she’d had somebody to really talk to, and this gem seemed to be friendly. “To be entirely honest,” she shuddered, “I put her here when I was on Homeworld.” Her eyes closed. She liked to think what happened wasn’t her fault, and introspection was never easy for her.

He placed a hand over his mouth “Why would you do that?”

“It sounds awful, I know it does. Please hear me out. She continuously goofed off and broke rules, and I was constantly afraid she’d be punished. I figured if she couldn’t do that, at least until we were in space…She’d be fine.” It sounded like a ridiculous idea to her when she said it aloud.

“well that won’t do! you have to free her” he said, waving his arms around frantically

Her face reddened. “What do you think I’m trying to do? It won’t open, it won’t break, nothing I’ve tried has worked. It sure looks like a fragile container, but it isn’t.”

he takes a closer look “what is it made out of?”

“I can’t tell.” It was transparent, made from only a thin layer of material with the exception of two caps on either end, but it didn’t make any noise as she tapped it.

“I might be able to figure it out… But you’d have to follow me” he took a pause “I’m a long way from home”

“I’m willing to go however far we need to go.” She looked determined.

“Fantastic!!” He beamed “ Lets get to it!” He said as he grabbed her hand and rushed off

The vial was still tight in her other hand, and she smiled. “Yeah, let’s.”

She gasped, stunned, and looked down. Her eyes focused on the ground as it became distant.

he flew until he reached a pair of trian-tracks

As they arrived, she giggled to herself. It had been a while since she’d flown, and she wasn’t sure she had even flown like that. 

“okay! now then, we’ll have to catch the train” he closes his umbrella “but for now we can just follow the train-tracks” he smiled

“Oh, right.” She remembered what she was doing, and proceeded along the tracks. 

She shrugged. “I was coming here to study the planet, but that plan fell through after I got delayed. A lot happened here that presumably nobody was expecting. It’s a busy planet.” 

“Hmm” he listened as he nodded along “do you miss home world?”

“Not really. There wasn’t much to do.” She looked towards the sky. “Our purposes were all we had, but at times, it felt like we didn’t even have that.”

“Well, now you have me!!” He twirled enthusiastically as the tracks started to rumble

Pink Aventurine giggled, her voice audible this time. “You’re not wrong.” Her steps were lighter and more relaxed, though she moved at the same pace. 

“Wha- Okay!” She quickly scampered into an opening in the train.

She thought about her answer for a moment. “Earth…..is not as intricate as I had hoped, in some ways. The system of careers and way time is spent during the day is less than efficient. But, even though Earth could afford to fix a lot, it’s beautiful. I’ve grown to like most humans.”

he swayed his feet “that’s nice” he smiles “do you have a home here?”

“I do, technically, but I move around.” She pulled her hat down out of habit. 

“hmm, why’s that?” he looks over “if you don’t mind me asking”

She looked back at him. “Everything on this planet is temporary. There’s something I find comforting about being able to totally reinvent myself as many times as I want, especially since I’m not entirely sure who I want to be.” Her gaze moved to the ground.

“well, welcome to earth” he smiled at her and then looked at the skyline “it’s such a beautiful place

“Yep.” She hummed to herself, tapping the vial.

“so” he looks at the vail “do you know what that thing was for?”

“I have some sort of an idea. Most of the containers like this that I found already had gems inside, so I assumed they were for storage. I saw them get picked up and taken out of the room, and they always came back empty.” Her hand moved to her gem. “I wasn’t sure what opened them, but clearly they were able to be accessed somehow.” 

“hmm, how curious…” he looked up “did you see what kind of gems were opening them?”

“I didn’t see anyone specifically opening them, but it was mostly quartzes and sapphires that handled them.”

he mumbles to himself “yeah I might…” he trails off

She stared at him. “You might?”

“hm? oh!” he turns to you fully “I might know a gem who works with sort of stuff!” he smiles as the train bumps around

Pink Aventurine gasped, her eyes lighting up. “Wait, really?” 

The vial nearly slipped from her hands. “Oh my stars. That would mean everything to me.” She tried to sound casual about it, but there was obvious and undeniable excitement in her face.

he smiled then looked away “so, what were you doing before I found you?”

“I was just talking about this vial to everyone I could find. I’ve had a lot of free time lately, due to….well, it’s human stuff.” She fidgeted with her hat. 

“human stuff? I love human stuff!!” he beams “I mean, I am ¾ths human”

“Well, this wasn’t really fun human stuff. My old human friends went to college, and I went with them just because. After we graduated, though, we went in different directions and never saw each other again. But this was only about…a decade ago.” She shrugged. “I don’t even have a real human ‘job’.”

He thinks, mumbling to himself softly “maybe… we can do some fun stuff when we get to my part of town” he smiles

“Really?” Nobody she had known was this unconditionally caring at first, even though humans were usually way friendlier than gems. It made her wary, but she supposed she should give him a chance. “I’d like that.” 

“Cool!” He beamed, then turned back to the open scenery. “Just a few more hours and we’ll be home” he muttered, but mostly to himself. “So did you ever do anything for fun?”

“Well, of course! I…” Nothing came to mind. She had done plenty of things that she considered important or meaningful, but she couldn’t remember a time where she did things specifically for fun. “…Yeah, I did,” she lied halfheartedly.  

“like what?” he smiled at her

“I…used to write about the Earth.” Technically, it was true. It was obvious from her tone that it wasn’t particularly exciting to her, but there was a time when she did write frequently.

“hmmm, but was it fun?” he tilts his head at her, the tone in her voice already kind of giving him an answer

“Honestly?” She sighed. “Not really.”

“oh dear, well that won’t do!” he grabs her hand “i promise when we make it to beach city, we’ll have lots of fun!!”

“Watcha got there” said the fusion “is it important?”

Pink Avengurine looked at the vial. “It’s very important…” She paused for a moment, then quickly added, “To me, at least.”

“what’s in it!” he asks, tilting his head

“Well.” She raised the vial for him to see, the pearl inside shifting to the bottom with a soft clink. 

“Oh goodness!” He flinched away “what happened to them!?”

“You can tell me” he said with a tender voice “if you’d like, that is”

Rainbow’s tone was enough to persuade her. After all, it had been years since she’d had somebody to really talk to, and this gem seemed to be friendly. “To be entirely honest,” she shuddered, “I put her here when I was on Homeworld.” Her eyes closed. She liked to think what happened wasn’t her fault, and introspection was never easy for her.

He placed a hand over his mouth “Why would you do that?”

“It sounds awful, I know it does. Please hear me out. She continuously goofed off and broke rules, and I was constantly afraid she’d be punished. I figured if she couldn’t do that, at least until we were in space…She’d be fine.” It sounded like a ridiculous idea to her when she said it aloud.

“well that won’t do! you have to free her” he said, waving his arms around frantically

Her face reddened. “What do you think I’m trying to do? It won’t open, it won’t break, nothing I’ve tried has worked. It sure looks like a fragile container, but it isn’t.”

he takes a closer look “what is it made out of?”

“I can’t tell.” It was transparent, made from only a thin layer of material with the exception of two caps on either end, but it didn’t make any noise as she tapped it.

“I might be able to figure it out… But you’d have to follow me” he took a pause “I’m a long way from home”

“I’m willing to go however far we need to go.” She looked determined.

“Fantastic!!” He beamed “ Lets get to it!” He said as he grabbed her hand and rushed off

The vial was still tight in her other hand, and she smiled. “Yeah, let’s.”

She gasped, stunned, and looked down. Her eyes focused on the ground as it became distant.

he flew until he reached a pair of trian-tracks

As they arrived, she giggled to herself. It had been a while since she’d flown, and she wasn’t sure she had even flown like that. 

“okay! now then, we’ll have to catch the train” he closes his umbrella “but for now we can just follow the train-tracks” he smiled

“Oh, right.” She remembered what she was doing, and proceeded along the tracks. 

She shrugged. “I was coming here to study the planet, but that plan fell through after I got delayed. A lot happened here that presumably nobody was expecting. It’s a busy planet.” 

“Hmm” he listened as he nodded along “do you miss home world?”

“Not really. There wasn’t much to do.” She looked towards the sky. “Our purposes were all we had, but at times, it felt like we didn’t even have that.”

“Well, now you have me!!” He twirled enthusiastically as the tracks started to rumble

Pink Aventurine giggled, her voice audible this time. “You’re not wrong.” Her steps were lighter and more relaxed, though she moved at the same pace. 

“Wha- Okay!” She quickly scampered into an opening in the train.

She thought about her answer for a moment. “Earth…..is not as intricate as I had hoped, in some ways. The system of careers and way time is spent during the day is less than efficient. But, even though Earth could afford to fix a lot, it’s beautiful. I’ve grown to like most humans.”

he swayed his feet “that’s nice” he smiles “do you have a home here?”

“I do, technically, but I move around.” She pulled her hat down out of habit. 

“hmm, why’s that?” he looks over “if you don’t mind me asking”

She looked back at him. “Everything on this planet is temporary. There’s something I find comforting about being able to totally reinvent myself as many times as I want, especially since I’m not entirely sure who I want to be.” Her gaze moved to the ground.

“well, welcome to earth” he smiled at her and then looked at the skyline “it’s such a beautiful place

“Yep.” She hummed to herself, tapping the vial.

“so” he looks at the vail “do you know what that thing was for?”

“I have some sort of an idea. Most of the containers like this that I found already had gems inside, so I assumed they were for storage. I saw them get picked up and taken out of the room, and they always came back empty.” Her hand moved to her gem. “I wasn’t sure what opened them, but clearly they were able to be accessed somehow.” 

“hmm, how curious…” he looked up “did you see what kind of gems were opening them?”

“I didn’t see anyone specifically opening them, but it was mostly quartzes and sapphires that handled them.”

he mumbles to himself “yeah I might…” he trails off

She stared at him. “You might?”

“hm? oh!” he turns to you fully “I might know a gem who works with sort of stuff!” he smiles as the train bumps around

Pink Aventurine gasped, her eyes lighting up. “Wait, really?” 

The vial nearly slipped from her hands. “Oh my stars. That would mean everything to me.” She tried to sound casual about it, but there was obvious and undeniable excitement in her face.

he smiled then looked away “so, what were you doing before I found you?”

“I was just talking about this vial to everyone I could find. I’ve had a lot of free time lately, due to….well, it’s human stuff.” She fidgeted with her hat. 

“human stuff? I love human stuff!!” he beams “I mean, I am ¾ths human”

“Well, this wasn’t really fun human stuff. My old human friends went to college, and I went with them just because. After we graduated, though, we went in different directions and never saw each other again. But this was only about…a decade ago.” She shrugged. “I don’t even have a real human ‘job’.”

He thinks, mumbling to himself softly “maybe… we can do some fun stuff when we get to my part of town” he smiles

“Really?” Nobody she had known was this unconditionally caring at first, even though humans were usually way friendlier than gems. It made her wary, but she supposed she should give him a chance. “I’d like that.” 

“Cool!” He beamed, then turned back to the open scenery. “Just a few more hours and we’ll be home” he muttered, but mostly to himself. “So did you ever do anything for fun?”

“Well, of course! I…” Nothing came to mind. She had done plenty of things that she considered important or meaningful, but she couldn’t remember a time where she did things specifically for fun. “…Yeah, I did,” she lied halfheartedly.