#gempathic

In an attempt at escape, Sayo finds herself sitting alone in a coffee shop. It’s not glamorous by any means, but it’s better than spending time cooped up in her room.

This place has also become lonely for her. She can’t find a single shred of beauty in her daily life.

That’s why, when she hears a young man playing an instrument and singing, she perks up. It reminds her of Jessica, who always wanted to create music.

But unlike Jessica, this person isn’t trapped. His voice is free, and nobody tries to stop him.

“Excuse me,” She walks over to him when he finishes his song, hands folded politely in front of her. “What song was that, just now? It was very beautiful.”

She clears her throat, trying to overcome her own shyness.

OK, so Jasper hadn’t wanted to be her best friend. And her gem wasn’t working right. And and she was having strange flashbacks she couldn’t make any sense of. That’s weird. That’s weird but it’s nothing to worry about, right? She’s a Spinel! She can... she can make new friends! I mean, someone’s got to want to be her friend, right? It’s what she was made for!

So why does she feel so... so... hurt?

Why does she feel like she’s gone through all this before?

The more she tries to make sense of it, the less sense it makes. It’s just like her arms - she can’t stretch them far enough to reach whatever it is she wants. That’s why even her ever-present smile is gone, replaced with huge, wet tears and an exaggerated, wavy frown, as she walks with her hands in her non-existent pockets - one can almost see the stormcloud over her head.

But... wait. What’s that noise? She’s never heard anything like it before... she can’t even describe the sound. Curious, she starts making her way towards it, and finds herself at a strange place. All yellow particles and blue liquid... sand and water, she thinks they’re called.

Sitting on the sand is another pale colored maybe-alien person. She’s (wait, is she the right word? What pronouns do you use for aliens?) holding some kind of long, brown object with strings on it, and is doing something with the strings, by moving her hand up and down across them. Is that what’s making those beautiful noises? She’s also making some kind of reverberation with her voice to go along with the string-noises, which is just as beautiful.

For a moment, she just stares. Then she walks up to behind the strange maybe-gem-maybe-alien and leanssssss over her, not caring or even considering that she could startle her.

“Howdy!” she shouts very loudly, all previous sadness gone. “Whatcha doin’?”

“heeeeeeeeeey steven, look at you big guy!! your neck!! It’s so long, I love it when you do that,” amethyst compliments, wrapping an arm around him in a tight hug, always finding amusement in his shapeshifting. so, she elongates her own neck about six inches.

“Oh yeesh, what kind of fresh nightmare is this place?”  Eda was quite grateful she’d managed to swipe a new pair of sunglasses off some poor pedestrian, because the Sun was absolutely merciless around here.  She stood before a sandy shoreline, citizens of the city scattered about- some splashing about among the waves that crashed ashore, others simply laying around and enjoying...being baked alive, she could only guess.  Maybe it was just the deathly pallor of her skin that made it feel that much worse for her, but she still felt like subjecting oneself to this kind of heat and all the bright light felt like one big exercise in self-torment.  Maybe they were more equipped to handle places like the Boiling Isles than she gave them credit for...

This was all... rather sudden. Rather confusing, uncertain- there were many words that could be used to describe her current situation, and absolutely none of them were making Pink Diamond feel any more comfortable with it. This didn’t seem to be Earth, and it most certainly was not any gem colony or base- and where was Pearl, or any other gem for that matter?

Carefully as she could, she’d made her way to a forest in the ward named Cotes. She needed to think-to figure out what was going on. She’d wanted someplace further away from all of that fragile organic life- but it would seem that she hadn’t managed to do that after all.

This new home she’s been...assigned to? That seems right. Is a bit of a step down in fanciness when compared to the hotels she’s used to wasting her time in. But a home is a home, especially in a strange new world. There’s just...one small issue.

When she entered the home, she found that she wasn’t living alone. In fact, a teenage boy asked her if she was there to “audition for his band.” When she cleared up that she’d actually be living there for the time being, he was pleasant enough, and showed her to one of the three empty rooms.

She’s tossed the phone and pamphlet she’s been given onto her new bed, and currently sits at her desk, examining the now useless Lapis Philosophorum keenly. Perhaps she’s been sent to some sort of purgatory, and that’s why her alchemy is failing her. She doesn’t know--but she’s going to find out, one way or another.

However, it becomes quite difficult to brood when there’s people happily jamming away on the floor below you.

Once the noise has died down a bit, Saint-Germain ventures down the stairs to see the teenager (introduced as Steven Universe) waving as another leaves the home. She doesn’t want to give a bad first impression to her roommate for the foreseeable future, but also...

Maybe she’s had an encounter that left her a bit shaken. She’s trying not to think about it. She’s catching a break in the ruins of a dark alleyway—Jasper, hiding! She’s trying not to think about it. Her hands have gone strangely numb, her form occasionally glitching out around the edges. She’s trying...

She can’t not think about it. Her gem is cracked; she can see it! Wherever she goes, whatever she does, from the moment of her creation, her gem has always rested within her line of sight.

Ahead, she sees the orange glow of a fire. Not a destructive blaze, but a controlled one. There must be humans here, resorting to their old ways now that the power has been knocked out.

It would be none of her business, but then a familiar figure appears, backlit by the survivors’ campfire. She’d recognize that boy anywhere. As if it hasn’t been only a few short years since she found out he existed. In some way, she’s always known him...

She freezes. The last time they spoke, he’d clearly told her not to follow him. But it’s not as if she’s here by choice, and these are especially dangerous times. And as for the damaged state she’s in... there’s no reason to be self-conscious. He’s seen worse.

It’s not as if she has any dignity left to protect.

“MY DIAMOND!”

Instantly energized, Jasper rushes to stand at Steven’s side, though keeping a respectful distance. What is this feeling she has? Concern? Relief? Dread? It doesn’t matter now. She has something outside herself to focus on.

“You’re here, too? You’re not having any trouble, are you?”