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andrewmoocow · 2 years

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Little Homeworld Life chapter 2: Two Birds on a Wire (originally posted on August 22, 2022)

AN: Now that we introduced, or reintroduced, some of our cast for Little Homeworld Life, it's time to do what every serialized cartoon these days love doing and get the ongoing plot of this season started while sprinkling in some lighthearted fun and games here and there. Not going to lie, when Bluebird Azurite made her debut back in Bluebird, I legitimately thought that would lead up to a team-up between the enemy Gems that haven't been turned good throughout the series only for her to never show up again. Correcting that has been one of my favorite parts of this, and I'm more than happy to give my own spin on her origins.

Synopsis: Eyeball is forced to choose between sticking with Black Rutile & Aquamarine as they embark on a mission or living happily ever after with her fellow Rubies

Cast:

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball, Navy, Doc, Army, Leggy

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

Larissa Gallagher as Bluebird Azurite

Kimberly Brooks as Dalmatian Jasper, Forest Fire Jasper

Zehra Fazal as Zoisite

Lena Hall as Bloodstone

Maddie Ziegler as Serpentine

Michaela Dietz as Cloudy Quartz

Toks Olagundoye as Mayor Nanafua

It was a warm summer afternoon in Little Homeworld. Classes had finished for the day, and the Gems were ready to relax until the school day would start again tomorrow. However, one Gem had other plans in mind. Perched atop the entrance to the Gem village, Aquamarine waited patiently as she watched Eyeball and Navy group up after class.

"So, how has gardening with Peridot been for you today?" Eyeball asked Navy.

"Quite intriguing!" Navy replied. "I have learned so much about plants today!"

"Whatever." Eyeball rolled her eye before she saw a limo pull up to Little Homeworld. "And look who's finally showing up."

"Well, this is your stop." Mayor Nanafua Pizza said as Doc, Army, and Leggy got out of the limo. "You go on and play with your potentially evil friends now."

"Thank you, Ms. Mayor." The mayor's three Ruby bodyguards replied in unison before the limousine drove away, leaving the trio to meet back up with their traitorous comrades.

"Hi Ruby, hi Ruby." Leggy greeted Eyeball and Navy. "How have things been for you today?"

"Oh, you know, same old same old." Eyeball replied nervously, trying to hide her true intentions from the others until the time was right. "I guess you've been doing the same, eh?"

"Yes, Mayor Gunga's a good boss." Doc responded. "Her family are nice people too. It's like we're extended members."

"Strange, and here I thought humans were mindless sheep you can turn into hateful mobs with a mere word." Eyeball whispered to Navy. "Don't quote me on that."

"What was that?" Doc asked.

"Nothing much!" Navy lied when she saw Aquamarine flying towards her and Eyeball. "Oh hey, Aquamarine is here!"

"Rubies, I have the most brilliant news!" Aquamarine exclaimed happily. "You two must simply come with me to Black Rutile's house!"

"I wonder what kind of news it is?" Eyeball asked.

"Don't leave us in suspense." Navy added.

"Hey, can we come too?" Doc asked the tiny, blue Gem.

"I'm sorry, but this is between just us three." Aquamarine frowned at Doc. "None of you can come with."

"Aw, but I wanted to see what the news was." Leggy frowned in disappointment while Army patted her on the back.

"Oh, don't worry, guys, you'll see what we're talking about in time." Navy grinned sinisterly at her old teammates as the two rebellious Rubies were taken away by Aquamarine.

"Come on, come on." Black Rutile muttered to herself at her house as she watched some old videos on her new visor. "Give me some clues, please."

"What will all those backed-up files I saved onto your visor do for us?" Holly Blue mumbled as she lay on the couch with Cat's Eye by her side. Holly was holding a handful of ice to her face to recover from the wounds she sustained as Jasper's training dummy, while Cat helped the Agate recuperate. "This is taking forever!"

"Tut tut, no need to move a muscle, Holly. You're already hurt enough." Cat's Eye chided her fellow former aristocrat.

"We don't even have those!" Holly Blue complained. "We're not even flesh and blood creatures!"

"Now, what could be keeping Aqua and Ruby so long?" Cat pondered as she started texting on her phone. "I swear they'd be here soon."

Just then, the front door opened, followed by Aquamarine and the two Rubies entering the house. "You called?"

"Oh, speak of the devil." Black Rutile turned to her second in command with a smile. "Aquamarine, Rubies, you came at just the right time because I just made a breakthrough on the Vortexxer's location!"

"Oh yes, just what I needed to hear!" Aquamarine exclaimed delightfully. "Where is it?"

"Thanks to some old logs I have saved here, I have narrowed down where the Vortexxer is now." Black Rutile declared proudly. "Come, take a listen." She then pulled out one of those logs to play on her visor, dating back thousands of years ago.

"Log date 6-18-12, day 75 of our construction of the Vortexxer." A younger Black Rutile narrated in the log. "Over the past few days, Serpentine and I made some adjustments to our prototype of the device at the Diamonds' request after some of the Pearls we used as test subjects went missing on the other side of the portal. Though Serpentine believes that the machine is the problem, I'm insisting that we simply haven't found the right dimension. Every universe we detected was incredibly hazardous, like this one world where organics knew they couldn't change their society in a post-apocalyptic landscape, so they blamed these creatures called Beasts rather than reflect on themselves. Meanwhile, Bloodstone insists that Pink Diamond may still be alive somehow, but I'll have to look further into this before validating her claims."

"Black Rutile, the Vortexxer is ready again." Serpentine announced. "Hessonite has some more Pearls conscripted to serve as test subjects."

"I knew she would pull through." The younger, more cheerful Rutile beamed. "Get these Pearls ready for the portal, and tell Hessonite I give her my thanks as always."

"Wait, you guys, I just found a flaw in the portal!" Bloodstone cried. "We can't test just yet; we need more work!"

"Can this wait, Bloodstone? I think you might be too late to stop us now." Black Rutile answered unsympathetically. "Now, Serpentine, are the Pearls ready?"

"Affirmative, Black Rutile." Serpentine replied. "Though I must agree with Bloodstone here, maybe we should wait a bit before testing again."

"I said, are the Pearls ready?!" Black Rutile repeated angrily, indicating to the Rutile Rebels in the present day that Serpentine and Bloodstone were more ethical than their past lab partner when it came to scientific breakthroughs.

"Affirmative, Black Rutile!" Serpentine exclaimed in a scared voice before the Rebels heard her pull a lever and a machine activate. Just as Serpentine and Bloodstone feared, the machine started going haywire as their guinea pig Pearls began screaming in terror, followed by dead silence. "Where did they go?"

"According to my calculations, those Pearls wound up in some swampland world called Amphibia." Black Rutile observed before scoffing. "Whatever that place is, they're good as gone."

It was here that Black Rutile shut off the log and turned to her colleagues. "Now, after hearing all that, surely you must realize why the Vortexxer was believed to be so dangerous, correct?"

"Because none of you had the bright idea at the time to just scrap the whole project and start all over again?" Holly Blue suggested with her answer.

"Correct, Holly, though you probably could've sounded less condescending." Black Rutile answered. "But enough about my past failures. We need to find this machine and finish what I started thousands of years ago." She then switched out of her logs and presented various maps of Homeworld. "With help from my logs, I've triangulated the Vortexxer's location to my old laboratory in the Scientific District of Homeworld. We'll have to be stealthy since we've been essentially all but exiled from the planet for our various wrongdoings."

"We'll prepare for the excursion, my Rutile." Aquamarine curtsied to her boss before turning to Eyeball, who had looked a little unsure throughout the demonstration. "Something the matter, Ruby?"

"It's nothing, Aquamarine." Eyeball fibbed. "Okay, maybe it's just that I want revenge on Steven just as much as all of you. But here on Earth, I can finally stay together with my old crew where nothing can tear us apart! What'll they think when they learn I've been going behind their backs?"

"Oh, they won't ever be any wiser." Aquamarine replied coldly. "Besides, they're all a bunch of useless corun-dummies who can't tell a Gem from a colorful human, or a Jasper from an Amethyst shapeshifted into one."

"Hey, I'm standing right here!" Navy yelled offendedly.

"Besides, remember when we first met, my dear?" Aquamarine asked, paying no attention to Navy taking offense to her insult as she looked back on the aftermath of the Era 3 ball.

Eyeball was absolutely outraged when she heard the news spread far and wide across Homeworld. Not only had Steven Universe decided to show his face on Homeworld again despite being declared a fugitive since last she saw him, but now he and the Crystal Gems started spreading lies about how Pink Diamond survived being shattered and was Rose Quartz the whole time. And the Diamonds bought it like complete idiots to the point of throwing a ball for him! Eyeball still couldn't believe her eye, because she saw Pink get shattered by Rose with that eye.

Because of this, she refused to join the other Rubies in coming to the ball. For the next few months afterward, since the beginning of Era 3, she had faced unjust discrimination for her attempted murder against Steven while they were stuck in space, even though it was all his fault to begin with that she was drifting there.

"Hey, look, it's the crazy Ruby!" a Cloudy Quartz jeered at Eyeball in the direct aftermath of Steven's confrontation with White Diamond. "Hey, you gonna try and shatter a Diamond again?!"

"No, I'm not!" Eyeball yelled at Cloudy and her friend Forest Fire Jasper. "This was all Steven's fault that you're all picking on me! I could've joined the upper crusts if I brought home his gem, and even had my own Pearl!"

"Yeah, sorry, Ruby, but that kind of behavior isn't going to fly these days." Cloudy Quartz scoffed. "Why don't you just run along and play with your Ruby friends? Oh wait, you don't have friends anymore!"

"Well, this kind of behavior won't win you any friends either!" Eyeball replied before she stormed off, leaving the two quartzes to laugh at each other as she kept walking away.

All around the belligerent Ruby, Gems glared suspiciously at her as they worked together to utterly overhaul the Homeworld she once knew. No more uniform, one-color buildings surrounded her; now, more and more of that putrid organic life was being installed to liven things up. It absolutely sickened Eyeball how the Crystal Gems had basically brainwashed the Gems she once called friends, allies, and family into abandoning their old ways, just like how Rose gaslit what would become the Crystal Gems into joining her.

Eyeball's moping would quickly be halted when, in the act of not looking where she was going, the Ruby bumped into a blue Gem that seemed as tall as she was and who happened to look just as furious. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Same to you, Ruby!" Aquamarine barked back when she finally realized who she had just run into. "Hey, wait a second. Aren't you that Ruby that Steven kept lying to and abandoning all the time?"

"Oh sure, that's how you remember me." Eyeball responded grumpily. "And aren't you that Aquamarine who captured a certain Steven after he lied to you about being Rose Quartz?"

"Why yes, indeed I am." Aquamarine smugly replied. "I could've been celebrated far and wide as the one who ended the Crystal Gems once and for all, but now I've basically lost everything. My Topaz, my wand, my destabilizers, all of it!"

"Oh please, you're an aristocratic Gem." Eyeball added unsympathetically. "I'm sure there's more where all of them came from."

"That's the problem. They're reclaiming all non-summoned weapons because they want to become more pacifistic, or something stupid like that." Aquamarine stated. "Surely you find that the least bit pitiable?"

"As a matter of fact, it isn't." Eyeball growled. "When Steven enslaved us all, Ruby, Ruby, and Ruby left me out to dry, and I'm not sure where Ruby went. They were like family to me, and now I have nothing!"

"You got to be kidding me." Aquamarine facepalmed in disgust. "Family, is that what those other Rubies are to you? I don't need such things. I had everything I could ever want!"

"Well, that's because you're a stuck-up little brat!" Eyeball began screaming.

"Oh, big talk coming from an expendable grunt!" Aquamarine screamed as well. "You want to go, little blockhead? Come at me, bro!"

"Alright, you two, break it up." A Jasper's distinct, growling voice stopped the pair's bickering before it could heat up. Although Eyeball feared she would have to contend with Forest Fire Jasper again, looking up, she discovered a Jasper with gray skin, black spots all over her body, a dark green poncho, and her gem where her left hand should be. "Bickering between Gems of differing castes, just like the old days."

"Uh, can we help you?" Eyeball asked nervously, intimidated by the Dalmatian Jasper towering over her and Aquamarine.

"I'm gonna need you two to come with me. It's of the utmost importance." Dalmatian Jasper commanded. "A friend of yours led me to you, Ruby."

"Hi, Ruby!" Navy chirped sneakily. "Did you miss me?"

"Ruby, you came back!" Eyeball began crying with joy. "You finally came to your senses!"

"That's the thing, Ruby," Navy responded. "I kept them to begin with. Dalmatian Jasper here just helped me realize it."

"And now, the three of you will be part of something big." Dalmatian Jasper added before she turned away to make a call. "Zoisite, I got another Ruby and an Aquamarine. How are things on your end?"

"Not great. This Holly Blue is really grating on my nerves." Zoisite grumbled on the other end. While Dalmatian Jasper watched her bounty hunting partner argue with Holly Blue Agate, Eyeball and Aquamarine started conversing with Navy on why she was with the Jasper.

"So, what's the big secret?" Eyeball whispered to Navy. "Are we coming back or something?"

"I haven't really got an answer right now, but yeah, I'm thinking we're back." Navy replied before turning to Aquamarine. "You with us?"

"I'm not too sure about falling in with the likes of you two," Aquamarine said. "but if this big plan has something to do with Steven, I'm for it."

In the present day, the Rutile Rebels had successfully infiltrated the planet they were banished from while taking the form of humanoid snake-like creatures to disguise themselves. "Okay, everyone, as far as everyone here knows, we're all visiting Sneople dignitaries from Serpentes." Black Rutile stated. "I want all of you to act natural and not raise suspicion while we search for my old lab."

"Righty-o, my Rutile! I even got into character, too!" the disguised Cat's Eye exclaimed. "Sssssalutations good Gems. How'sssss your day going?"

"Okay, enough with the hissing. The Sneople find that ridiculously offensive." Holly Blue ordered Cat as the six Gems split up to cover more ground and keep anyone getting wary of them on their toes.

As the search continued, eventually, the Rebels' serpentine disguises were dropped as soon as they were sure no one could find them in the Scientific District. Eyeball saw fit to speak up as the group began getting warmer and asked Aquamarine something. "Hey, Aquamarine, I got a question for you."

"Make it quick. I haven't got all day." Aquamarine replied.

"I just want to know, are you happy with where you are right now?" Eyeball inquired. "After all we've been through together, fusing, fighting Steven, siding with Black Rutile, losing everything we ever had, are you still happy where you stand?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised I'm still content with my standing," Aquamarine responded. "I mean, outside of losing everything I've ever had, twice even, but at least I can stand by the side of a Gem who knows what she's doing is for the good of us all."

"Are you sure about that, or are you just ambivalent to how Black Rutile is pulling all of this off just to satisfy her petty grudge with Pink Diamond and her own superiority complex?" Eyeball added.

"Come again?" Black Rutile asked coldly, having overheard his two subordinates' debate.

"Nothing!" Eyeball replied innocently before the search finally concluded with the Rutile Rebels standing before a large black building that looked like it wasn't touched in years.

"Ah, home sweet home!" Black Rutile sighed in delight as she opened the entrance to her old laboratory. "Bloodstone was never good at keeping this thing locked up. But in any case, this is where the magic happened!"

"So, all of this was your doing?" Holly Blue asked as she looked around at the various inventions still left in the lab.

"Ooh, what does this button do?" Cat's Eye asked while eyeing a very shiny red button.

"Don't touch that, pussycat!" Black Rutile commanded Cat. "I designed this to activate all these bombs! If I didn't stop you, the Vortexxer would be destroyed, and all our efforts would be for nothing!"

"Speaking of which, I think I just found it." Eyeball announced as she stood before the very portal she had only seen in holograms just a few days ago.

"Good grief, how can we possibly transport that back to Earth?!" Holly Blue continued gasping at the size of the Vortexxer. "It's enormous!"

"Well, there's another feature of the Vortexxer I didn't tell you earlier." Black Rutile stated as she pushed a button on the console of the Vortexxer and made it shrink down in size, allowing it to be disguised as a bracelet that she put on her wrist. "Size alteration for easy transport!"

"How utterly convenient." Cat snarked before she began gazing at her phone.

"Oh, scoff now, but we can go anywhere in the multiverse with this machine, as I already stated!" Black Rutile announced before she pressed on the shrunken Vortexxer to present the various universes she cataloged while testing it. "For example, here's our universe, which the Vortexxer dubs Earth-2020. And this other universe is nearly identical to ours, which it calls Earth-2013." After presenting the universe they live in now and its near-doppelganger, Black Rutile presented a world where the Crystal Gems looked radically different. Steven was a bit pudgier with pinkish skin, Garnet had long, straight hair, Amethyst had a completely different attire, and Pearl was blue-skinned with visible pierced ears. "This dimension right here, super weird."

"Well, we got what we came here for. Now, let's move it already!" Cat exclaimed when the Rebels heard a knock at the door. "Anyone wanna get that?"

"I'll do it!" Navy offered herself up to answer the door. However, the door was quickly kicked down, and the Rutile Rebels found themselves cornered by Jaspers, Rubies, and Amethysts crowding into the lab.

"FREEZE, REBELS!" Forest Fire Jasper roared as she brandished her weapon at the Rutile Rebels when she recognized Eyeball among them. "Wait, Ruby? You're still with them?"

"Of course I am; what about it?!" Eyeball replied angrily.

"We can trade barbs later!" Black Rutile declared. "We got what we came here for, now everybody scramble!"

"Don't let them escape!" Cloudy Quartz yelled as the Rutile Rebels made a break for it. "Everyone split up; we'll cover more ground easily!"

Escaping from the old laboratory, the Rutile Rebels split up once again to eventually tire their pursuers out. Eyeball, Navy, and Aquamarine took to the rose-colored skies away from a fleet of ships chasing them down, where Eyeball continued her debate with Aquamarine.

"Why did you say this was all an act to satisfy Black Rutile's ego?!" Aquamarine asked. "Have you lost faith in her altogether?!"

"Maybe I have!" Eyeball replied. "After we fused into Pietersite and got beaten by Orange Moonstone, I just couldn't move on anymore! I don't think it's worth it fighting a regime that will always do everything in their power to beat us, but I also don't want to leave you since you're the only one I have left in this universe!"

"You're the only one I have left too!" Aquamarine echoed.

"Hey, what about me?!" Navy yelled.

"Can it, Navy!" the two fusion partners barked at Navy before they started getting fired at, causing Aquamarine to lose her grip on the Rubies and making them start falling to the ground.

"Oh no!" Aquamarine yelled as she dived after the Rubies. "I got you guys!"

"Just leave me here to fall and die." Eyeball said depressingly. "Does it really matter what happens to me now?"

"Of course, it matters what happens!" Aquamarine replied. "You matter to me!"

"Are you serious?!" Eyeball asked.

"Yes, and our hatred of Steven matters just as much!" Aquamarine added, causing Eyeball to reminisce on the first time they fused into Bluebird Azurite.

"A five, six, seven, eight!" Black Rutile counted down as she trained Aquamarine and Eyeball in how to fuse in a private dance studio at her headquarters. Despite the Rutile's instructions, the Ruby jigged as the Aquamarine waltzed, and the Aquamarine twirled when the Ruby kicked. "Synchronize, you two!"

"Are you seriously ordering me to fuse with her?" Aquamarine groaned while shooting a glare at Eyeball. "She doesn't even have two left feet; her feet are where her hands should be!"

"You're just saying that because you're jealous of my superior skills!" Eyeball mocked with her tongue stuck out at the other small Gem.

"Look, you two, do you want to destroy Steven as payback for destroying your lives, or do I have to make you fuse?" Black Rutile threatened the pair by drawing her sword and some drones from her gem. "If the Gems are stronger together through teamwork, then the same should go for us as well. Is that clear?"

"Yes, my Rutile!" the tiny twosome shivered in fear before they turned to each other.

"May I have this dance?" Eyeball offered her hand.

"You may." Aquamarine agreed, and the two began to dance awkwardly to Black Rutile's delight.

"Excellent cooperation, you two!" Black Rutile exclaimed. "And now, for the fusion!"

"We're trying, my Rutile. No need to be so impatient!" Aquamarine responded before she faced Eyeball again. "One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three."

"Can you stop that? I can barely concentrate." Eyeball asked.

"Just trying to keep the rhythm." Aquamarine answered. "Not like you ain't got rhythm."

"I do too! Watch!" Eyeball dared as she took Aquamarine for an unexpected spin, carrying her with such unexpected grace and style for a Ruby before the two began glistening, and their forms merged to form what would become known as Bluebird Azurite.

"W-what is this? What happened?" Bluebird asked herself before being presented with a mirror showing her the fruits of her components' labor.

"It worked; you really fused!" Black Rutile celebrated the fusion. "Welcome to the world, Bluebird Azurite!"

"Bluebird Azurite?!" Bluebird repeated in alarm while examining her reflection further, taking notice of her four legs, the splotches of red and mint green on her body, and the goofy bowl-cut hairstyle. "I look ridiculous, and it's all your fault, Ruby!"

"My fault?! You weren't following my lead!" Eyeball's side of Bluebird Azurite began arguing with Aquamarine, causing the two to un-fuse and push into each other.

"Status update, fusion successful." Black Rutile muttered her findings to herself. "However, the components need work sticking together."

Upon remembering the first time they fused, Eyeball got a taste of how far she and Aquamarine had come. From bickering Gems on different social castes, to forced fusion partners sharing a common goal, to shameless rebels against the Crystal Gems, all the way up to now. They were now the only friends each other had left, brought together by tragedy, and now they could only stay together if they cooperated.

"Quick, take my hand!" Eyeball cried out as she extended her arm towards Aquamarine, who readily accepted the Ruby's hand. They held each other close, allowing them to fuse into Bluebird Azurite again.

"Haha, Bluebird is back in business!" Bluebird excitedly cried upon rebirth before looking down at Navy, still falling through the air. "Do not worry, Ruby. I'll save you!" After taking down her pursuers with her ice cutlass and flaming chisel, Bluebird quickly dove after Navy and saved her in the nick of time.

"You saved me!" Navy cheered before she got a look at Bluebird for the first time. "Wow, that's what your fusion is like? Looks kinda weird."

"Yeah, I get it; now let's find the others and get outta here!" Bluebird replied before flying away with Navy in hand to locate the rest of the Rutile Rebels and flee Homeworld.

"I knew those rebels would still be trouble!" Cloudy Quartz cursed as she and Forest Fire Jasper tried to pick up after Bluebird. "We need to inform someone immediately!"

"But they'll never believe us!" Forest Fire Jasper urged her partner.

"Then we'll make them believe us!" Cloudy proclaimed. "That Black Rutile can't escape justice for long."

A while later, under cover of night, the Rutile Rebels privately returned to Little Homeworld and began installing the Vortexxer into their shared house. Black Rutile was eager to finally finish what she, Bloodstone, and Serpentine started all those centuries ago for her quest for vengeance against the Crystal Gems, but now, she just needed the right parts to get it started.

"I'm so glad the heist went off without much of a hitch! With this portal, we can finally reign supreme!" Black Rutile proudly declared. "No gods or Diamonds, only Gems!"

"Ooh, I cannot wait to see what universes we can travel to with this!" Holly Blue added just as excitedly.

"Hopefully, we can find someone with enough manpower to help us." Cat's Eye replied while taking a nap on the couch when she realized someone was missing. "Hey, where are Aquamarine and the Rubies?"

"Oh, they told me that Ruby has some unfinished business with her team." Black Rutile answered. "Ruby said she's been questioning my ideals since Pietersite lost to Orange Moonstone, but I hope she's got a grip now."

Elsewhere, Doc, Army, and Leggy were patiently awaiting the return of Eyeball and Navy in their house, which looked like their old scout ship. "Where could those two be?" Army asked. "It's not like Ruby and Ruby to show up so late."

"You know, guys. I think something might be wrong with them." Doc claimed nervously. "I mean, even after we welcomed them back, we still see them hanging out with that Aquamarine."

"Yeah, why would anyone want to hang out with someone so mean?" Leggy asked shyly.

"Why, indeed?" Aquamarine added as she, Eyeball, and Navy finally arrived at the Rubies' house, though they didn't have any warm greetings for the mayor's three bodyguards.

"Ruby, there you are!" Doc exclaimed to Eyeball. "We've been worried sick about you! And also, I think you should start staying away from Aquamarine from now on. I got a bad feeling she might be using you two."

"I think you got it wrong." Eyeball growled softly. "She's not using me. We're using you!" Eyeball then pinned Doc to the ground while Aquamarine and Navy kept Leggy and Army from helping their leader.

"What are you doing?!" Doc yelled as she struggled to free herself before Eyeball snatched her goggles off of her face. "Hey, those are mine!"

"No, they're mine now." Eyeball declared as she put on Doc's goggles. They were a near-perfect fit, though she struggled to fit them over her gem. "Look at me! I'm the captain now!" she announced. "And what I say goes! Which means you're under Black Rutile's control now by extension."

As Eyeball laughed evilly, the other Rubies trembled in fear at what Eyeball could have planned for them. Just what have Black Rutile and Aquamarine done to their teammate?

Talk about a chilling ending. Just when you thought Eyeball might redeem herself for real, ultimately her hatred of Steven wins out in the end, and now she's taken command of the Ruby Squad. What will she make them do as unwitting members of the Rutile Rebels? Well, that will have to wait as next episode, we shift focus to the fun and games part of this season and take some time to catch up with Jasper & White Topaz. See you soon!

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #little homeworld life #black rutile #aquamarine #eyeball ruby #holly blue agate #cat's eye #navy ruby #doc ruby #leggy ruby #army ruby

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bridgyrose · 4 months

Note

Is it bad that I’m imagining Tea Amidst Terrible Trouble is the Ruby Clone Army AU?

I feel like Ruby might actually choose to become someone else at the blacksmith because she believes that the Ruby Clones are just better than her.

(At some point I plan to get that far with this au, but I think you misunderstand if you think the Ruby Clones are better than here. Because, they're not better than her, just trained differently. No, the real problem is how easily they seem to replace her with everything. Which, yeah, if Ruby is that easily replaced, she'd definitely consider choosing to be someone else. That said, since here's a small continuation)

Ruby took a small breath as she stepped off the airship, feeling the cold, Atlas air hit her face. After a few days of resting and helping Pietro upgrade her equipment, she finally felt ready to take a mission with her friends to help Ironwood, and to take her mind off everything she’d learned. Clones of herself being used as weapons against the grimm, an army of huntresses that could be replenished at a moments notice, an army that would be loyal to Ironwood… it was almost as if she was being replaced.

She shook her head and let out her breath as she tried to clear her mind and spoke under her breath. “I dont need to worry about that right now.”

“Dont need to worry about what, Rubes?” Yang asked

“N-nothing,” Ruby said nervously as she started to make her way in front of her team. “Just excited for this mission!” She paused and shivered for a moment. “Though its a lot colder than expected.”

Harriet nodded and started to walk towards the dust mine. “Its cold enough out here that even with aura, the windchill is enough to cut through you. And without aura, well… try not to let your aura break.”

Ruby nodded and watched as her team made their way forward, following close behind them. Her heart raced with each step as she kept an eye out for any of the Ruby clones that might’ve been following them or sent ahead. It wouldnt have surprised her if Ironwood sent them out to start clearing the mine and let her and her team finish the cleanup. She paused in her step as she tried to take another shaky, deep breath as she tried to clear her mind again.

Weiss put a gentle hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “Everything okay? Ever since we’ve come to Atlas, you’ve seemed on edge.”

“I’m fine, really,” Ruby replied through a fake smile as she let out her breath. “There’s… there’s been a lot to take in since coming to Atlas. Ironwood being told the full truth, Penny being alive, the clones of me… it feels like I’m being pushed away and replaced.”

“None of us would ever replace you.” Blake stopped in her step and flashed a smile to Ruby. “You’re our teammate, irreplaceable as our leader. No matter what, we’ll always follow you.”

“Yeah, but… what happens when you dont?” Ruby pulled her scythe off her back, unfolding it and gripping the hilt as she looked into the blade at her reflection. She watched as her red cloak turned white, silver eyes flashing into a blinding light before returning back to normal. “What… what if every decision I’ve made is a mistake?”

“What do you mean?”

“I-I wanted to go to Haven Academy for answers about who Cinder was and why Beacon had to fall. And since then, we seem to keep getting in deeper and deeper without any clear answer about what we’re really doing. Salem wants me and I still dont know why, she cant be killed and we still dont have a plan to stop her, I… I backed Jaune up with stealing the airship and almost got ourselves killed doing it…” Ruby felt her arms shake for a moment as she remembered watching the cannon start to charge just before she took her shot. “And now we told Ironwood the truth, the same truth that we all had an issue with accepting. How do we know we’re doing the right thing?”

“We dont,” Yang answered. “All we can do is keep going and see if we can figure things out. Besides, Ironwood thinks he has a plan that’ll work and Uncle Qrow seems to trust him. And maybe having those clones of you will help us.”

Ruby looked up at Yang, her heart breaking at hearing that. “You… you cant be serious. He made those clones to replace me!”

“Only if you were dead,” Weiss rebutted. “And since you’re clearly not dead, those clones wont replace you. But that doesnt mean we shouldnt use them to our advantage.”

“Yeah but-”

“None of those clones will ever replace you,” Blake said as she started to walk deeper into the mine. “But right now, we need Ironwood’s help, so if that means we’ll need to get used to an army of yous at our side, then we should use that to our advantage.”

“I-” Ruby held her tongue as she watched her team walk ahead of her, deeper into the mine. For a brief moment, it truly felt like her team didnt need her, even though she knew that wasnt what they had meant. Finally, she let the words out as she followed behind everyone else. “I… just want to be careful about all of this.”

Ruby started to rush forward to keep up with her teammates, fingers gripping her scythe tightly as she ran down the tunnel. She stopped once she saw the geist in the main chamber, controlling chunks of dust. “Alright team-”

“We’ve got this!” Harriet yelled out as she joined the rest of the Ace-Ops.

Ruby slowly lowered her weapon as she watched the Ace-ops work flawlessly to take down the geist, Marrow using his semblance to slow it down, while Clover picked off chunks of dust that Harriet, Elm, and Vine caught. She quickly raised her weapon as she noticed the geist leaving the dust it possessed, making its way to another pile of rocks and dust. With her finger on the trigger, she tracked the grimm as Clover’s hook missed the mask… until a silver light caught her off guard, blinding her for a few seconds until she heard the sound of rock hitting the ground. As her vision cleared, she saw a couple of the clones rush in with their semblances to catch the remaining dust crystals.

“Got it!” one of them yelled out as they hit the ground.

Clover smiled and sheathed his weapon. “You both came just in time. And I’m sure you’ll be able to handle the rest of the cleanup, right?”

“Yes sir!” the clones yelled out in unison, saluting to Clover.

Ruby tightened her grip on her scythe as she let it fold back up. “My team and I will make sure the perimeter is cleared-”

“No need to worry about that,” Elm said as she put down one of the dust chunks. “If those two are here, then that means everything around us is clear. You and your team can head back to Atlas to rest. Tomorrow will be the start of a long week.”

Ruby slowly put her scythe onto her back as she watched the clones pick up some of the scattered dust crystals. Everything she could do, they were capable of. Just as fast as her, able to clear out grimm with ease, even able to use their eyes reliably. She lost focus on the clones as she felt Yang lightly hit her shoulder.

“We should make it back to the airship before it takes off,” Yang said. “And then we can play a few games before it gets too late.”

Ruby made a small nod as she looked away from the clones, putting up another fake smile as she held back the pain she felt. “That… that sounds like a… like a great idea.”

#rwby #ruby rose #rwby ruby rose #weiss schnee #blake belladonna #yang xiao long #harriet bree #drabbles #army of a rose #army of a rose au

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