drillmaster

Oh well, at least Daughter of Darkness is supplying me with by Burchard kick at the present moment.

As the sun started to set on the dark Okayama landscape, a small car made its way through the wilderness and parked itself in its usual resting spot. It’s lone occupant got out of the vehicle, stretched a bit, and made his way toward the house he built.

“Well…the house doesn’t look damaged today…” he told himself.”Maybe the girls had a calm, peaceful day for once.”

He sighed as he walked down the path, clutching his briefcase as he went. The past year had been a crazy one for Nobuyuki Masaki. In that time, he had gained five house guests, saw his house get moved from the suburbs to the area next to his Father In Law’s shrine, and watched his Son grow into a man.

It was also a time of great reflection on his late wife, Kiyone.

Though he had been told of her true Juraian ancestry after they wed, nothing could have prepared him for the dark day she died. It was as if the planet didn’t agree with her. She told Nobuyuki to remarry once she knew that she was going to pass, but the man just couldn’t do it. He liked to play around with the various women in the house and take up the role of the lecherous pervert, but his heart beat for only one woman.

And now that heart beat only for his son’s continued happiness.

“Sounds like there is quite a commotion going on in there,” Nobuyuki observed once he got close enough to the house. “I wonder if Ryoko refilled the sake. Lord knows after the exhausting day I had I could use some.”

As he was about to open the door, Nobuyuki swore he heard…a violin? “Do I even want to know?”

He got his answer when he slid the door to the side and got a good view of his living room. A giant amp was being set up by Washu and a gentleman Nobuyuki had never seen before. While this was going on, a young boy and girl were playing on what appeared to be a ukulele and a violin respectively. They seemed to be putting on a small show while Sasami and another unknown person (with a rock on her forehead?) were bringing out copious amounts of food and liquor.

“What…what is going on?!” Nobuyuki asked in his native Japanese tongue.

The two children stopped playing and observed the mustachioed, bespectacled man. Then the boy clapped his hands and excitedly said “New person!”

“Wha?”Nobuyuki was clearly caught off guard by the change in language. “Tenchi, there are people in our house speaking English…and one of them is purple! Can you please explain things for your old man?”

“Well,” Tenchi started to scratch the back of his head in an aloof manner. “Washu…”

“Say no more. I understand Son,” he closed his eyes and nodded. “Aliens?”

“Some of them.”

“Ah.”

Washu crossed her arms and pouted. “What is THAT supposed to mean?!”

“Sorry for crashing in your pad without you knowing,” the balding man who was fiddling with the amp told him. “I mean, we thought that we were invited. It’s honestly really complicated and I can barely follow along, but I’m Greg. Greg Universe.”

He came up to shake his hand, which Nobuyuki readily accepted. “Nobuyuki Masaki. Make yourself at home. So, what are we celebrating?”

“It’s a welcoming party Nobuyuki,” Katsuhito, who had made his way from the kitchen, told him. “To show our guests how hospitable we truly are.”

Realizing he was not going to get a straighter answer than that, Nobuyuki shrugged and got himself comfortable while the others had their own conversations around them, save the tall woman with the sunglasses and the afro. She seemed to be keeping quiet in the corner. “So Greg, what do you play?”

“Oh, lots of things, mainly guitar. Washu here was going to build one with her computer doohickey so I could jam with my kid and his friend,” Greg said, pointing to the two children.

“Hello!” Steven waved and then went back to strumming his ukulele.

Nobuyuki smiled. “What do you know, another Father around here! I’m used to just women, but I guess it had to happen eventually. I assume one of the other girls here is your wife?”

Greg’s smiled faltered for a second. “The Gems? Nah, my wife’s no longer with us. She gave up her physical form to bring Steven here into the world.”

It took Nobuyuki a few seconds to mentally translate what Greg had just told him, but when it clicked, blank shock appeared on his face. “You are an only Father too?”

“Yep. I mean, Steven has the other Gems looking out for him and teaching him how to use his Mother’s magical powers…”

“…your wife was a magician?”

“Alien Gem actually. I know, crazy isn’t it?”

The elder Masaki looked from the boy to his Father and then to his own Son. “Holy crap. It isn’t crazy at all. I lost my Kiyone when Tenchi was very young.”

Greg suddenly caught onto what he was saying. “And he’s like some kind of alien royalty, right?”

The two men grew silent as the conversations went on around them. In this moment, both of them realized that they were both two of the only people on the planet that experienced the same tragic circumstances.

“Holy crap.”

*SM*

“Let’s play a game!” Washu said after the jam session where Greg, Steven, and Connie performed for a bit. The session had ended after Ronaldo (who had asked Washu to make him a synthesizer and an outfit comparable to Mark Mothersbaugh) attempted to join in and blew up the newly created speaker system and caused Ryoko to spill her drink all over Mihoshi.

“Games! I love games!” Steven clapped his hands.

“Good, then you’ll love this one,” she smirked. “Each of you is going to get a piece of paper. I am going to lock you up, two at a time, and you are going to have to ask and answer any and all questions you might have about each other.”

“Yay!”

Tenchi blinked and sighed. “That’s not how games work Miss Washu. That’s more of…”

He stopped when he saw the death glare that Washu was giving him.

“So…let’s see who’s first…”

*SM*

“So you can fly, walk through walls, shoot your hair like they are needles, create bursts of energy, merge into solid matter, summon ghosts, teleport, shrink matter, send telepathic thoughts, control the little bunny cat thing, balance your metabolism, create a floating hot spring, and can convert water so it can’t conduct electricity?” Ronaldo asked scribbling down everything he could on Ryoko, who could care less. “That’s astounding!”

“Oh,” she shrugged. “I forgot. I can also create an energy sword…”

She stretched out her hand and her gem glowed red. In a moment, the weapon materialized and Ronaldo’s jaw dropped.

“You…you made a LIGHTSABER?!”

“If that’s what you want to call it.”

“You are literally the coolest person I have ever met!” Ronaldo whispered with glee.

*SM*

“So what type of work do you do?” Greg asked Nobuyuki with interest.

“I’m an architect actually,”

“Get out!”

“Don’t tell me you’re an architect too?!”

“Nah,” Greg laughed. “But I DID help design and build Steven’s house.”

“No kidding?” Nobuyuki was floored at how alike the two men were. “Along the same lines, I’ve dabbled in singing from time to time. Can’t say I’m at your level, but I know my way around a karaoke bar.”

“What are you into man?”

“Eh,” Nobuyuki scratched his head, thinking of American music that he enjoyed. “The Beatles, They Might Be Giants, The Philosophy Majors…”

“Dude!” Greg interjected. “I think we just became friends!”

Nobuyuki thought about it for a half second before nodding. “Yup!”

*SM*

“…and then I turned on the weather machine and it started to snow inside! Miss Washu was mad at me for a bit but then she hugged me and we played around in the snow for a while!” Mihoshi could not stop talking. “Do you like the snow?”

“It’s alright,” Garnet gave a short nod. She had tried to be clear that she wasn’t going to get involved in this “game,” but somehow she had been placed with the ever persistent Mihoshi.

“I love the snow! It’s so fun to play in! It reminds me of my home planet where it snowed a lot sometimes! I used to play with my brother Misao before we joined the Galaxy Police and…”

*SM*

Washu and Connie sat down and regarded each other. The girl had impressed the genius with her tenacity and, as such, wanted to know more about her.

“Tell me something, does being involved with magic and aliens ever bother you? Surely it must be overwhelming sometimes,” Washu asked.

“Are you playing psychologist?” Connie rose an eyebrow.

“…and if I am?”

“Just curious. Honestly, I love hanging out with Steven and the Gems! My parents can be really strict sometimes, even though I know they are doing it because they love me, but sometimes I just want to be free! I’ve always read about stuff like this in my books, but to LIVE it?” Connie went on, really showing her passion for her friends. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

“Do you care if I play Devil’s Advocate for a moment?” Washu asked, sitting back in a chair.

Connie thought about it and nodded. “Only if I can do the same to you if I get the chance.”

“Done. Based on the weapons and up to date fighting styles, I am going to assume that the Gems often get into serious altercations.”

Connie nodded. “Yeah, there are a lot of Gem monsters that seem to attack them.”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting hurt, or getting Steven hurt?”

“Steven and I can handle anything together. I’ve been training under Pearl in the art of swordplay,” Connie smiled.

The pink haired girl nodded her head and gave a look of approval. “Impressive. It’s rare for a human your age to be able to keep up with a Gem. You should talk to Tenchi’s Grandfather while your here. Maybe he can give you some lessons.”

“Maybe I will. Mind if I ask you something?”

“It’s only fair.”

“Why do you stay here? Is it because of Tenchi, to be with Ryoko, or something else?”

The scientist thought about it and shrugged. “Can’t I pick both?”

“You can, but I’d know you were hiding something.”

“The truth is,” Washu sighed. “Tenchi is as much of a mystery to me as my gems. He has so many hidden talents that just don’t add up. I want, no NEED, to know what makes him tick.”

She regarded the confused expression on Connie’s face and smiled. “But yes, I do care deeply for my little Ryoko and dear Tenchi. You happy yet?”

“…maybe.”

The area in front of Funaho was still and silent. All eyes were on Steven, praying and rubbing with all of his might.

“What is going on?” Sasami whispered to Connie.

“Steven’s spit has healing powers…but it doesn’t always work,” the girl explained.

The girls walked over to Steven, who continued to cry. Connie went to reach out to him, but hesitated, not knowing what to do. Her eyes met with Yosho’s, who gave a stern nod, as if he was telling her that a hand on the shoulder might help.

When she touched him, Steven looked to her and gave a small sniffle. “I…I don’t…”

“Look Steven!” Sasami said excitedly. “Something is happening!”

Sure enough, the burned skin on Ronaldo’s back started to disappear and his natural skin reformed around it. Steven’s eyes grew wide as Ronaldo sat up and patted his back, feeling the hole the blast left in his shirt.

“Dang it! This is my only shirt!”

“RONALDO! YOU ARE OKAY!” Steven shouted loudly and hugged him tight. Ronaldo tried to fight it, but realized that there was no point.

“Did…did you just spit on my back?” Ronaldo started to shiver in disgust, but remembered what he had set out to do before he was struck by the mystery light from the sky. “Ahem! Steven…I’m sorry! There I said it! I was rude and I thought you were trying to make fun of me! Can you forgive me?”

“I don’t understand…why are you sorry? We are the ones who are sorry! I don’t know what we said that hurt you, but you are our friend! Friends don’t let friends get hurt!” Steven held his hand firmly after wiping the tears from his eyes.

“It seems to me that there is a lot of confusion going on,” Yosho said stroking his chin. “Perhaps it is best that we return to the house and sit down to discuss this interesting story.”

“But what about Ayeka and Ryoko?” Sasami asked. “If they are still fighting, they might hurt them again!”

“I will talk to them Sasami. They will need to curb their anger if there are guests in the house.”

The small cabbit started to meow and pointed her paw at the sky where a familiar spiky hair woman materialized. She looked at them and sighed. “Well at least one thing is going well today,” she muttered. With a voice as loud as she could muster, Ryoko yelled “THEY ARE OVER HERE!”

“The sake woman!” Connie pointed at her.

“And the one who almost killed poor Ronaldo here,” Sasami pointed out, motioning to Ronaldo, who was gazing in awe at the now flying woman.

“Teleportation…flying…what great material!” The lad had retreated back into his memory palace and had started to piece together information for his blog (KEEP BEACH CITY WIERD!)

“Ryoko!” Yosho barked sternly. “That was foolish of you and Ayeka! Do you not realize that our guests can be wounded and killed?! It is bad enough that you two constantly damage the house my Son In Law built for my daughter, but you have endangered the lives of innocent children!”

“Look Old Man, I just got chewed out by Tenchi, I don’t need it from you!” Ryoko rolled her eyes until she noticed the hole on the back of Ronaldo’s shirt. “Did…shit! Is he alright?”

“No thanks to you or Ayeka!” Sasami interjected. “If it wasn’t for Steven’s healing spit…”

“Ayeka?” Ryoko cocked her head. “I wasn’t fighting the Princess, I was fighting that Gem asshole!”

Connie and Steven exchanged looks. “You fought AMETHYST?!” Steven said in shock.

Ryoko threw her arms in the air. “I don’t know names! She’s the one with the thing on her head!”

“Pearl?” Steven asked amazed. “Pearl is here?!”

“That’s the one! Ayeka was fighting the tall one with the glasses. We were fighting and she swatted one of my energy blasts this way and…” Ryoko took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry I hurt you kid. I wasn’t trying to…you know…”

It was clear that Ryoko was not used to apologizing. However, while Sasami and Yosho were surprised by her apology, Steven was more surprised by what she said.

“Pearl did this? Pearl hurt Ronaldo?” He whispered.

As Steven considered the possibilities of this revelation, the small caravan of aliens, half aliens, and Greg had made their way to the giant space tree. Leading the pack was Pearl, with a face that was a mixture of relief and regret.

“Steven! You aren’t hurt!” She said, rushing over to the boy. She tried to hug him, but Steven took a step back, clearly hurt.

“Pearl, do you know what you did?” Steven told her in a voice he rarely used. This clearly caught the Gem off guard.

“Steven…I…”

“Ronaldo’s shirt…aw phooey, the Frymans are going to kill me,” Greg groaned. Pearl turned her attention to the bespectacled youth’s back and realized the gravity of her action.

“Frybo! Are you…”

“His name is Ronaldo, Pearl!” Steven yelled. “And you hurt him! If my spit didn’t work, it could have been really bad!” Tears started to stream down his face and onto his red shirt. “How could you?!”

Internally, the tears pierced Pearl’s heart like a sword. She had considered herself to be the knight that protected his Mother, and now she had failed her by failing him. All of her insecurities had started to bubble up and take control. She had failed as a knight. She had failed Rose. She had failed Steven.

She really was a defective pearl after all. She didn’t deserve the love that her family gave her. As such, she could not control the stream of tears that followed. She looked imploringly to the boy, hoping that they could move past this, but she knew it would take time to heal wounds that not even Rose’s magic could touch.

“Let her be Amethyst,” Garnet told her companion. “The two of them will need time. For now, we have other priorities. Ronaldo, are you uninjured?”

The lad was still muttering to himself, factoring in new details into his (now somewhat justified) theory about the world around him. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

There was an awkward silence as nobody quite knew how to proceed from here. As everyone was either confused, upset, or angry, it threw off the peaceful serenity of the landscape. Finally, it was Yosho who broke the silence.

“I believe that it is time we received the full story about this meeting Miss Washu,” he stated simply. It was not a request.

“I believe you are right,” she conceded. “I’m going to make an interdimensional doorway that will access my lab. We can discuss it there. Stand back everyone!”

The pink haired scientist started to move her fingers directly in front of her. At once, a black, computer looking device appeared. It was only partially visible and all of those around her could see the brief flashes of light that emanated from it. Finally, a square doorway materialized from seemingly nowhere. Washu opened the door and motioned to enter.

“Step inside folks. I’ll try to make this as painless as possible,” she told them. When she noticed the worried looks on the faces of the guests she hastily added “Not literally!”

*SM*

“What. Is. This. Place?!” Ronaldo asked, stepping out if the door into the scientist’s lab.

The room was wide with seemingly no boundaries beyond the scientific equipment that filled up the space. From giant engines to containment tanks filled with animals the likes of which Ronaldo could comprehend, he had realized that this whole place was possibly the weirdest place on the planet.

“You are now in a separate dimension created and cultivated by me for scientific use!” Washu explained. “Subspace can be so easily manipulated as long as you have the right equipment!”

“SUBSPACE?!” Ronaldo could barely control his excitement.

“It’s like something out of one of my books!” Connie managed to get out after the shock of the situation passed. “Do you believe this Steven?”

He looked around in amazement. “I can’t Connie! It’s beyond my imagination! I feel like I’m in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory or something!”

“Well, the Temple is pretty amazing too, right?” Pearl offered hopefully.

Connie observed Steven’s smile disappear and turn into a frown. It was clear that the momentary distraction the lab provided had disappeared and Steven was reminded of the harsh reality of his annoyance at Pearl’s earlier actions.

“We are in outer space?!” Greg asked worryingly, not picking up on Steven’s behavior. “Wait, how am I breathing right now? Am I breathing right now?”

“Don’t get her started,” Ryoko groaned. “She’s such a show off.”

“What did you say Daughter of mine?” She asked venomously. “You know that you aren’t anywhere near out of the doghouse yet!”

“Cram it Ma!”

Garnet took everything in and looked to Tenchi. “It seems that you live an exciting life Mr. Masaki.”

“I could tell you stories,” Tenchi shook his head.

“Now then, if we are all at peace with the settings, we can begin,” Washu said with a snap of her fingers. On cue, desks materialized from the floor underneath the occupants, save Lion and Ryo-Ohki. As to be expected, the Beach City residents were confused while the folks from Okayama groaned, clearly used to this. “Did I mention I used to teach?”

“School? Oh man, I dropped out of community college so I wouldn’t HAVE to go back to school!” Greg grumbled.

Mihoshi started to laugh and pointed to Yosho, who looked ridiculous in his desk. “You look hilarious!”

“Quiet please!” Washu tapped the ruler that suddenly appeared on the desk…which also appeared out of nowhere. “We are going to discuss why we are all here today. Would anyone care to wager a guess?”

“Oh! Oh! Pick me! Pick me!” Steven waved his hand excitedly.

Washu nodded her head in his direction and he began to speak. “Because of Ronaldo’s blog!”

“That is only half right Mr. Universe, but thank you for guessing. Yes, his blog is the catalyst for our meeting, but I have long since desired to work with Gems. This was my first opportunity in over 10,000 years.”

“10,000 years?” Pearl asked, trying to keep her mind off of how she failed Steven.. “That was before the war!”

“I didn’t see a hand Miss Pearl!”

Pearl looked around. “…why would you need to see my hand? My Gem is on my forehead…”

“Pearl, in school you raise your hand!” Connie whispered hastily. “It shows the teacher that you know the answer or have a question.”

“You humans are so confusing…”

“But she isn’t a human…” Connie started before being interrupted by Washu slapping the board.

“Do either of you have a teaching degree? No? Then let me continue!” Washu snapped. “As you may or may not know, Gems are a race that tend to keep to their own kind. It is not often that they will extend hospitality to another species unless it is for the express purpose of claiming their planet…at least that is what it was before I was imprisoned but I’m getting ahead of myself.”

Tenchi took the moment to raise his own hand and stood up, rolling his eyes while he did it. “Miss Washu? I’m still confused. Are Gems living rocks or aliens with magical rocks embedded in them?”

This question caused Ronaldo’s eyes to widen. This was the moment he was waiting for: an elaboration on just what a Gem was.

“An excellent question Tenchi. The answer is quite simply this: they are living rocks that have the ability to create a physical projection of a body. Though they are genderless, most typically they identify themselves as females. That is not always the case as shown by our young half Gem over there, whose human half is clearly male,” she motioned to Steven, who waved and blushed. “Is there anything I missed in that brief overview Crystal Gems?”

“Minus shapeshifting and fusing, I think you got it girl!” Amethyst cheerfully told her.

The comment caused Washu to raise an eyebrow. “‘Fusion?’ Interesting development…regardless, did that make things clearer for you Tenchi?”

“As clear as it’s going to be…” He turned to the alien women and bowed. “Sorry if I offended you.”

“Don’t be bro. It’s all good,” Amethyst nodded.

“So you ARE polymorphic sentient rocks!” Ronaldo spoke.

“What does that mean?” Steven rose his hand to ask.

Ronaldo blinked. “…what?”

“That word…’polymorphic.’ What is that?”

“I don’t know either,” Connie admitted.

“Me too!” Mihoshi wailed.

Realization set in as Ronaldo finally pieced together why Steven didn’t tell him about the Gems. “All this time I thought you were just hiding the truth…and you just didn’t know what I was talking about?! Oh Steven! It all makes sense! I am sorry for doubting you and your love of the weird!”

“You know what’s weird?” Ryoko whispered to Ayeka, who was still pouting. “That guy.”

“Miss Ryoko, you nearly killed that boy and now you are insulting him?!”

“What does that mean?!”

With that, Washu threw two books at them, striking them in the head. “Is school supposed to be like this?” Amethyst asked. “It’s kind of awesome!”

“Moving on,” the teacher coughed. “It took me several thousand centuries, but I was granted an audience with a Gem scientist, Citrine, who invited me and a select few to visit her on your Homeworld…”

*SM*

“Professor Washu Hakubi, I presume?” The cold female voice spoke through the audio console in the cockpit of the small shuttle that Washu was currently occupying.

Detaching from a larger ship, Washu had been instructed to bring only the bare essentials for her meeting. As such, she had only brought the three unknown variables and her two assistants.

The first was younger man who’s long hair had been kept hidden by an ornate headdress.He was a Juraian by birth, but considered himself detached from the empire’s expanding interests and focused himself of two things: science and swordsmanship. The only indication that he was Juraian was the aforementioned headdress and Washu had hoped it would not be an issue.

Juraians and Gems did not get along. Go figure. She had debated on asking Yakage to stay behind, but she did not want to deprive him of one of the most important meetings of the century.

Her other assistant was a refined man who’s lavish green and purple outfit pegged him as a man of great taste. His long white hair contrasted the green cape rather nicely. Sealing the deal was the small pince-nez that rested on his nose.

Yes, Kagato was always one that caused people to stare.

“This is she, along with my two assistants. Is this Citrine, the renowned Gem scientist?” Washu replied.

“Affirmative. Follow the landing beacon and I will meet your craft. We have to be rather secretive about this, as this kind of meeting is frowned upon by my superiors,” the voice informed them.

This caused Washu’s smile to falter. Finally, with a theatrical sigh she responded with “Ah, so this is ‘off the records.’ No problem, we will maintain our present course and shall see you in no time.”

“Sounds like we are in for a shorter trip than we hoped Professor,” Yakage snorted.

Washu turned to him curiously. “Is that sarcasm or some of that famous Juraian prejudice I’ve heard so much about?”

“Professor, Yakage here has a point,” Kagato pointed out. “This world is so reclusive that the mere fact that we are allowed to be here is curious. It is obvious that the people of this word do not believe that non Gems are worth having around.”

“You seem to be rather interested in this, my former student. Is it just the scientific curiosity or is there something else?”

Kagato gave a short dismissive laugh. “Oh come now, you aren’t the least bit interested in the power these Gems contain? It is said to rival even Tsunami’s abilities.”

“Tsunami is a theoretical being Kagato,” Yakage reminded him. “If she exists, only the Jurai Royal Family knows of her.”

“I was referring to the actual space tree, not the mythical goddess of legend.”

“I see.”

*SM*

“I have a question!” Steven rose his hand eagerly once again. “Are you talking about the storm? Does this have to do with Lapis?”

The scientist turned to the Gems and Greg in the hopes he would clear up the second part of that question. “Lapis?”

“Another Gem. She can control water,” Garnet replied quickly.

“Ah. No, Tsunami is…uh, how do I put this in simpler terms…” Washu started to ponder the question.

“I can answer Miss Washu!” Sasami stood up. “Tsunami is the goddess of the Planet Jurai. She watches over its people and its space trees!”

“But you just said it WAS a tree,” Connie said.

“She’s both!”

“While the story is stopped,” Pearl gingerly rose her hand. “Did you say that Kagato was your assistant? As in The Ruins Buster?”

“Yes…but that doesn’t even matter…” Washu started to rub her temples and groaned. “This is getting us nowhere…may I continue? I’ll elaborate on Kagato later.”

*SM*

The shuttle landed on a discreet platform in the middle of a shining Crystal City. There were shimmering buildings made of glass and ornate temples designed out of a stone like material that was native to the planet. On the platform awaited two individuals. One was a yellow skinned female with thick glasses. She wore what looked to be an ornate lab coat. With her was another female with lime green skin and even lighter hair. She wore a streamlined set of glasses that allowed the visitors to see the green gem on her forehead.

“Welcome to the Gem Homeworld. It is great to finally meet the woman behind the science,” the yellow skinned Gem reached out her hand to shake.

“Likewise Citrine. These are the assistants I told you about: Yakage and Kagato,” Washu returned the hand shake and acknowledged her associates.

“Greetings gentlemen. I hope you do not mind me allowing one of my technicians sit in on this. Peridot here helps keep my machines up and running. Say hello Peridot.”

“I still have to raise my objections on allowing organics on the Homeworld Citrine!” the smaller Gem known as Peridot crossed her arms. “Especially one who appears to be a Juraian!”

Citrine’s yellow eyes narrowed as she studied Yakage very intently. “Good observation Peridot, but I see no sign of maliciousness from this organic. However, your objections have been noted and ignored. As women of science, it is our duty to answer the questions of the universe, including the interesting puzzle our guests have brought us.”

“If that is your wish,” Peridot grumbled.

*SM*

“PERIDOT?!” Amethyst shrieked. “You KNEW Peridot?!”

Washu blinked. “For about a half hour?”

“It might not be OUR Peridot Amethyst,” Garnet pointed out.

“This is true…but it sounds like it could have been her…”

“Wait, are all Gems named after the Earth names for rocks…or were our names based off of them?” Tenchi asked.

“Look, can I just finish the damn story?!” Washu growled, then she remembered who was in her class. “Er…sorry kids. Didn’t mean to swear.”

“Citrine…” Pearl tapped her finger to her Gem. “But that was…no, it couldn’t be…”

*SM*

The quintet of sentient beings made their way through Citrine’s lab. It was filled with all sorts of strange technology that Washu had never seen before. To describe them here would not do the mechanical marvels justice.

“This is certainly an impressive array of equipment! Is this standard in all Gem scientific communities?” Kagato asked, clearly taken back and examining all of the sights around him.

“It is. But you have not come her to look at our equipment, you came here with a question. I’d appreciate it if we stuck to the matter at hand,” Citrine said plainly.

Kagato bowed low. “I do apologize. I just find myself fascinated with Gem culture.”

“I see…” she narrowed her eyes. “Regardless, would you mind explaining to us just exactly what these ‘Gem like items’ are Professor Hakubi?”

The pink haired woman nodded and began to type on her own holographic computer. In mere moments, three red gems materialized into her hands. She passed them over to the Gem scientist, who examined them curiously. “I have no memory of who my parents were or where I was born. The only fleeting glimpse of the past I have are these three gems. I have spent my life thus far trying to crack the mystery behind them and I have come up with more questions than answers. This is why I sought out the Gems of Homeworld. Given the lack of data I possess on your species, I have no way of knowing if these originated on this planet or as a byproduct of your people.”

“Then allow me to correct a serious flaw in your hypothesis,” Citrine started as she put the gems into an intricate looking device. “This is not of Gem design. We have never encountered ANYTHING like this before. It…it is unnatural.”

“Unnatural?” Washu asked. “Care to elaborate?”

Citrine tapped her fingers to the side of her chin. She removed her glasses and put the tip in her mouth. “Gems are more than just beings with gemstones embedded in their bodies. We literally are the gemstone. The gemstone contains our being. This gem…does not contain life. It contains something else…raw power.”

“Power?” Kagato asked, suddenly far more interested in the conversation than the Gem’s lab. “What kind of power?”

“It is hard to say,” she admitted. “I believe that if this were linked up to a proper conduit, the energy would be able to be controlled and released.”

The sudden change in conversation excited the genius scientist. “What type of conduit are we talking about here?”

“Based on these preliminary examinations, I’d hypothesize that if a biological host were designed to merge with the gems, it would net a far higher output than utilizing artificial means,” she said as she had Peridot wheel in a display screen. “Thank you Peridot. Allow me to demonstrate.”

She pulled up various videos of Gems firing energy projectiles and summoning magical weapons. “Our gemstones are the source of our powers. For example, I have the ability to create a fine laser which I use in my research. Now, these gems could be used for a similar purpose, but while one gem is enough to rival even a Quartz gem, all three together would be…unparalleled in strength and power. You might hold the single most dangerous objects in all of our known galaxies.”

The Gem handed the gems back to Washu, who put them back into the pocket dimension she appropriated for that purpose. “I thank you for the insight on this. It is worth looking into. Perhaps a test run on something like Masses….”

Just then, a loud knock was heard on the door. “Citrine, open up! We know you are harboring off-worlders here!”

Before Citrine and the scientists could respond, the door blasted open and two large, muscular women marched in. Their intimidating image frightened Citrine and Peridot, and yet not the others.

“Carnelian. Agate. You have no right to be in my quarters” Citrine cried. “We are all Quartz Gems here…”

“Save it. You know our planet’s rules on off-worlders. They are either to be terminated or put to work. Do you wish to share their fate?” the orangey red Gem pointed her gem encrusted hand at her.

“Come now Carnelian, there’s no need to threaten Citrine here. She’s our top scientist in the field. She surely had a reason to allow such pathetic people to enter our planet,” the blueish black warrior did sneering laugh. “Perhaps they can be useful in our subjugation of the Planet Beta.”

The Gem strolled right up to Washu and got down to her level. “What do you say Junior? Want to help with the war effort?”

“Sorry, I’ve got better things to do tonight than die,” Washu laughed and teleported directly behind her. “I do believe we have all the answers we hoped for. Thank you Citrine. Peridot. It’s been a blast.”

At the mere mention of the word, Washu gave a quick nod to her companions. Kagato sent a small shockwave of energy into the ground, temporarily stunning the Gems. Yakage, on the other hand, produced a wooden sword which he used to knock out the two guards. They erupted into a small *POOF* and returned to their baseline Gem forms.

The trio ran out of the lab and made their way back to the ship. However, another Gem was in their way. She was roughly eight feet tall with curly, voluminous pink hair. She held a sword in her hand and pointed it at Yakage.

“Please put away your sword. You shouldn’t be here. If they see you, they will kill you,” she pleaded.

“What’s to say you won’t do the same to me if I put away my blade?” Yakage countered. “From where we are standing, you are an obstacle in our way.”

The woman laughed. “Quite simply, if I wanted to, you would already be dead. But Citrine is a friend of mine. If you were her guest, she must have had a reason. Now put that away and get out of here! I’ve already asked my Pearl to run interference for you, but there isn’t much time!”

“Listen to her Yakage,” Washu told him. “Thank you. We are sorry that we caused such a ruckus.”

“Don’t be Miss. Lately, it’s impossible NOT to cause a ruckus here. I hope you got what you came here for.”

“I can’t say…”

*SM*

“That was YOU?!” Pearl asked gasping. “I remember that day…they took Citrine away and…they cracked her Gem…”

The comment caused Washu to fold her arms and sigh. “Well that explains why I was never able to get back in contact with her.”

“And you met my Mom!” Steven giggled. “That’s amazing!”

“So let me get this straight: you based me off of Gems? No wonder Kagato used me as a tool…” Ryoko snapped her fingers.

“It also explains why you and Ayeka always fight!” Mihoshi added.

“…no, that would be because she destroyed Jurai,” Ayeka said bitterly. “And because she thinks that she has a chance with Tenchi.”

Ryoko started to laugh and retort, but Connie raised her hand. “So if that Citrine woman told you all she knew, why did you need the Gems?”

“An excellent question. Quite simply, now that my gems, or at least one of them, is in a host body, I wanted to see if that could help crack the code on what these things are and why I have them!” Washu announced. “So what do you say Crystal Gems: can you spare a sister some help?”

“Uh…” Amethyst started.

“I don’t think so,” Garnet said.

“What?!”

Pearl got up. “Miss Pink Haired Scientist Woman…”

“Washu!” Greg whispered.

“Yes, Washu, we wouldn’t even know where to begin with that kind of research. I mean, I know a little bit about mechanics, but this is a different level of experimentation! Gems are inherently magical…this is purely scientific!”

“You aren’t even going to try?!” Steven cried. “It’s clear that if anyone can help them, it is you guys!”

“But Steven…”

“No Pearl! First you hurt Ronaldo bad and now you are going to ruin our vacation! Why can’t you help them?” Steven pleaded.

Pearl fought back her own tears and sniffed. “We will do it.”

“What?!” Garnet and Amethyst said at the same time.

“We’ll do it for Steven…and to make up for our earlier behavior,” Pearl nodded. “I don’t know if we will be of any help, but I give you my word I will do everything I can.”

“That’s all I ask,” Washu smiled warmly.

From his own desk, Yosho, who has been largely silent throughout this conversation, observed Steven give a quick smile to both Sasami and Connie. “All of this learning is making an old man tired. I think I am going to retire back to the shrine…unless my Grandson is going to prepare that welcoming celebration he was talking about earlier.”

Tenchi blinked and shook his head. “What are you talking about Grandpa?! When did I…?”

His Grandfather shot him a fierce look and Tenchi understood what he was doing: creating a situation to lighten the mood and to mend strained relationships. Realizing that there was little more he could do, the youth sagged his shoulders in defeat.

“I guess we are having a party.”