#author: pamo

[dramioneasks]

Poison - PaMo - not rated, 2 chapters - After the war, Hermione Granger finished her final school year and started her carrier at the Ministry of Magic. With her best friend Harry Potter on her side, she started an Auror program to become fierce solder to fight with the Death Eaters who still left to fight after Voldemort’s death. She never thought that one day, she will find that Draco Malfoy…former Death Eater himself was designated as her partner to work together.

[minijenn]

Universe Falls, Chapter 71

Yay! Arc 8 has at long, LONG last finally arrived! And with a pretty good chapter too (half of which I cracked down on and wrote over the course of today alone I swear to god). Anyway, I still really like it all the same and I hope ya’ll will too! Enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/187831200634/universe-falls-chapter-70-part-2

***

Chapter 71: Same Old World

UHV JAREH'K UHV FMMX SJ TO ZG EEXQK QEIUMPL MLT JLFF AG MEQOJFUBEI VSERZ ALW ZAMLRVZS EYJL, DRASEK EOBIKF M CAEFHE CVQS TLWBD RG FHX IFE OW NDC 8

With both Malachite and the Cluster finally subdued in different, albeit satisfying ways, the Gems and the Pines finally took the much-needed opportunity to relax and regroup. No longer needing to work toward a strict deadline to get the drill done, they all gathered out on the barn’s yard, casually sitting around and intently listening to Peridot zealously recount her, Steven, Ford, and Mabel’s recent, daring, underground adventure to the others.

“It was so intense down there. We were already a few layers into the Earth’s crust when suddenly—WA-PAMO! KA-POWIE!” the green Gem recounted with extensive dramatic flair. “All these gross Cluster limbs started clawing at the drill! So I whipped out my old photon blaster and PEW PEW! CHOW CHOW! Take that Cluster!”

“The sound effects are totally spot on by the way,” Mabel whispered to the others, completely enthralled by Peridot’s tale. “I should know, I was there!”

“A-and I guess the destabilizing hyperfield Ford added onto the drill also… ‘helped’,” Peridot remarked rather dryly. Even so, the author paid her no mind, only barely listening in as he instead casted very frequent glances towards the nearby barn. And he wasn’t the only one doing so either. “B-but anyway, then Steven was all ‘my feelings’ and then up and passes out on us! And then Mabel starts getting all bossy and serious-”

“Hey!” Mabel protested with a pout. “I was just doing what I had to. Besides, you know something’s not a big deal until I have to break Serious Mabel out. Which I don’t like doing; she’s scary.”

While this elicited an amused chuckle from the other Gems, Peridot simply looked to her, confused. “She’s you,” the green Gem pointed out, raising an eyebrow. “But you’re not wrong about the scary part. Speaking of scary, after that, everything started glowing and… well… wait.” Peridot took pause, unfamiliar with the specifics of what happened after that. Specifics that only Steven had really been apart of, given that herself, Mabel, and Ford had only really been spectators on the final leg of their mission at best. “I’m sure Steven can fill you in on the rest since he’s the one who saved us. You should’ve seen it, right Steven? Tell ‘em what happened here!”

Oddly however, the young Gem didn’t comply, his focused instead on the barn and his expression awash with muted concern. Mabel was quick to adopt that concern as she also looked over in that direction, knowing just as well as Steven did who had split off from the group quite some time ago to take up shop inside the barn with a very obvious reason as to why. A reason that, by all accounts, they both genuinely shared.

“Steven?” Peridot pressed again, urging him to pick up where she had left off.

“Huh?” Steven blinked, finally brought out of his distracted train of thought. “Oh, uh, sorry, Peridot. Hold on just a sec, I’ll be right back.”

At this, the young Gem excused himself, making a clear beeline for the barn, only to be stopped just shy of entering it by none other than Mabel. “Steven,” she whispered, grabbing his hand and pulling him back just a bit. “Do you… do you think he’s ok? That they’re both ok?”

Steven frowned at this, sparing another glance back at the barn. By all accounts, shortly after arriving back to the barn with Lapis in tow, Dipper had seemed to be in immensely high spirits, absolutely relieved to finally have his close friend back from the grasp of the toxic prison of a fusion she had trapped herself within. However, it wasn’t very long after the young Gem had healed his battle wounds, that he had quietly retreated to the barn, no doubt intent on staying by the still-unconscious blue Gem until the moment she awakened. And it was a vigil he maintained even hours still, one that rung far too familiar with both Steven and Mabel to another, much more miring attempt Dipper had made only hours after Lapis had first locked herself away in the lake in the first place.

However, things were different now. Lapis was free, returned to them once more from the unforgiving depths of her and Jasper’s once-shared mind. The thought alone that the blue Gem was finally back was incredible enough for Steven and Mabel, but they could only imagine just how much more momentous it all must have been for someone as close to Lapis as Dipper was.

“Well,” Steven said somewhat diffidently, taking the initiative towards the barn once more. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

Mabel nodded, opting to remain quiet as her and Steven slowly peered into the barn. They largely lingered in the door frame, taking in the silent, yet surprisingly calming scene that lay before them. Lapis was still completely out of it, softly resting on a pile of hay the kids had prepared for her as she continued seemingly sleeping. Dipper, however, was wide awake and alert, his back turned to the barn entrance as he sat just a few feet away from the blue Gem, carefully watching and waiting and most of all thinking, though about what was really anyone’s guess. Unsure of what to say or do, Steven and Mabel exchanged a brief glance, though ultimately, the latter was the one who worked up the most nerve to finally speak up first.

“Uh… h-hey, bro-bro,” she called with a gentle smile. “How are you and uh, Lapis, doing in here?”

Dipper flinched, letting out a small, startled gasp as he glanced over his shoulder at them. The briefest hint of a tear was in the middle of rolling down his cheek, though he quickly wiped it away in the hopes that neither of them would notice. Even though they both easily had. “Oh! Uh, I—w-we’re fine,” he said, looking back towards Lapis once more. “We’re fine,” he said once more, this time a bit distantly, not really addressing the pair at all as he repeated himself a third time. “She’s fine…”

The small, frail sob he let out at this was more than enough to prompt both Steven and Mabel into action. Without a second thought, they both rushed over to his side, comforting hands on his shoulders as they prepared themselves to console him, only to find an absolutely elated smile on his face instead, even amidst the still steadily-flowing tears.

“D-Dipper?” Steven asked, equally concerned and confused.

“She’s back, you guys…” Dipper said, unable to hold back a small, joyous chuckle. “After all this time, after everything that’s happened, I-I finally—we finally have her back. It’s kind of hard to believe it, but this is real. It’s not just some dream or wish or something; it’s actually happening. Somehow, through some crazy twist of fate or something, I-I guess I really did keep my promise to her after all…”

“Are… are you gonna be ok, bro-bro?” Mabel asked softly, still gripping her brother’s shoulder supportively.

“Are you kidding? Of course I’m ok,” Dipper shook his head with yet another incredulous laugh. “I mean, this is all I’ve wanted for so long now and I finally got it. It’s just…” His smile finally faded as he trained his sights on Lapis’ listless form once more. “I’m worried that Lapis might not be so ok once she wakes up.”

“What do you mean?” Steven asked.

Dipper sighed, shaking his head sadly. “Lapis was trapped down there with Jasper for so long… I may not know everything about fusions, but that’s gotta have some kind of an impact on a Gem, and probably not a very good one at that. Especially since Malachite wasn’t the most… stable fusion in the world…”

Mabel and Steven exchanged a fretful glance at this, both of them taking on the same sort of concerns for Lapis’ wellbeing in light of this fact. While the blue Gem seemed fine physically, there was essentially no telling what her mental or emotional state would be like upon awakening. What she had gone through as Malachite truly was traumatic, and chances were the mere act of freeing her from that twisted fusion in and of itself wouldn’t completely heal all the anguish she had been through. After all, that was a fact the kids knew far too well when it came to the varied trauma they had been through all their own.

“I see you’re all worried about your friend.” The kids all turned, surprised, to see Garnet, standing in the barn’s entryway and surveying the anxious group calmly.

“Y-yeah…” Steven nodded truthfully. “When I saw her in my dreams, it looked like she was fighting so hard to keep Malachite from escaping.”

“And even back on the island, Jasper just kept pushing her back down into Malachite’s mind over and over again,” Dipper added, his tone making his disdain for the orange Gem quite clear. “It was like she was trapped, unable to even control her own body at all. I know way too well just what that’s like…”

“Its true; Lapis spent an unbearable amount of time fused with Jasper,” Garnet said, adjusting her shades. “The emotional and physical strain of that type of fusion… I can’t even imagine. She’s gonna need a lot of time to recover. So it’s a good thing she has friends like you to help her do just that.”

Upon this reassurance, Steven and Mabel were both quick to perk up in the hopes that they really could help Lapis heal in some way, even if it was only a small one. “Right,” they both nodded, determined to do whatever they could for the blue Gem once she awakened.

“Now, come on,” Garnet encouraged with a small grin as she beckoned them out of the barn. “I’m dying to hear more about what happened underground.”

While Mabel and Steven easily complied at this request and began to follow after the Gem leader, Dipper opted to stay behind instead, something that the young Gem in particular noticed as he stopped short briefly. “Uh… Dipper? Are you coming?”

“No, I think I’ll hang out here,” Dipper said, waving the young Gem off as he turned back to face Lapis. “Just in case she wakes up anytime soon, you know?”

“…Yeah,” Steven nodded, completely understanding Dipper’s reasons for doing so. After all, he had been so long without the blue Gem that it only made sense that he’d want to linger by her side as much as he was able now that she had returned.

“But just a heads up, you’re gonna be missing out on one pretty epic story!” Mabel called as her and Steven left the barn, followed by Garnet soon after. The Gem leader did stop short, however, upon noticing another figure standing just shy of the barn’s entrance, largely remaining scarce so the kids wouldn’t notice he had been eavesdropping the entire time. Yet even so, Garnet, of course, hard.

“Ford,” she spoke up, only briefly glancing over her shoulder at the author.

“G-Garnet!” Ford exclaimed, startled and flustered and quite hard-pressed to explain himself. “I was just-”

“You don’t worry,” Garnet assured with a small, knowing smile. “I have a feeling she’ll be glad to see you again.”

The author said nothing to this, his eyes wide with alarm as he glanced between the barn door and the Gem leader before accepting her foresight with a terse nod and heading off. After all, his reunion with the blue Gem would come soon enough; far be it from him to take that first, much more important reunion with her from his much more deserving nephew instead.

***

True to his word, Dipper never left Lapis’ side, even as the hours wore on into the early evening and the blue Gem still showed no signs of waking any time soon. While he easily accepted the sandwich Mabel brought him for dinner as well as her and Steven’s company in watching over Lapis for awhile, he still remained in his spot, largely afraid that if he so much as even looked away, she might wake up without him knowing. In fact, he was fully prepared to stay up all night if he had to, a resolve that quickly fell through when the exhaustion caused by the immense physical strain and heavy flow of emotions he had been under largely all day finally hit him in full force. He wasn’t sure exactly when he had ended up laying back on the barn floor and eventually nodding off, but he had, largely content to have his first truly good night’s rest since the day Malachite had first been formed. Yet, soon enough a quiet sort of shuffling sound slowly roused him from his slumber. And as soon as he opened his eyes to see exactly where that sound was coming from, he was instantly wide awake.

“…L-Lapis?” he whispered, his voice barely even audible as he sat up, but she’d heard him all the same. From her spot near the hole in the barn’s side, she spun around, her wings summoned and her eyes wide as she looked to him, her own amazement seeming to equal his.

“Dipper…” she said, her shoulders dropping with what almost sounded like a sigh of relief. For what felt like ages, neither of them said anything, the nighttime silence echoing through the barn speaking volumes enough already. After all, what was there to really say anyway, when both of them had been waiting, dreaming of this moment that had always seemed so out of reach for so very long now?

In the end though, Dipper was the first to respond, saying nothing as he instead rushed towards the blue Gem, tears welling up in his eyes as he caught her off guard with a sudden tight, almost desperate hug. Lapis jolted, looking down at him with surprise, especially as he glanced up at her with a wide, tearful smile.

“I-I missed you,” he said, letting out a small, sobbing laugh in spite of himself. “So, so much. I just—s-sorry.” Embarrassed, he rushed to wipe his tears away as he maintained his embrace, one that the blue Gem herself never returned. “I’ve imagined how this moment would go so many times in my head, but now that its actually happening, I… I don’t even know what to really say. I-I’m just so glad you’re finally back.”

Upon hearing this, Lapis sighed once more, her expression sad as she finally, gently placed a comforting hand on top of the boy’s head. “Dipper…” she began, her voice still quiet as she subtly glanced away from him. “I-I…”

“You won’t believe all of the things I have to tell you!” Dipper continued brightly, hardly catching onto the blue Gem’s apparent melancholy. “So much has happened since you’ve been gone, b-but its ok if you need more time to recover and don’t wanna hear it all now. Either way, I-I just want you to know that I… I understand just how much you’ve been through, a-and I’m going to be here for you in any way I can, no matter what, I promise-”

“Dipper,” Lapis said again, much more firmly this time as she finally pulled out of his embrace to take a step back. Her aquatic wings still hovered behind her, glistening in the dull light of the moon outside just behind her. “T-thank you, but… I don’t think that’s a promise you’ll really be able to keep.”

“What are you talking about?” Dipper asked, aptly confused. “Of course, I-” He stopped short, finally taking stock of the blue Gem’s wings for himself, especially as she cast a small, longing glance out at the night sky instead of keeping her focus on him. “Y-you… you still want to leave… don’t you?” he asked, the bitter realization hitting him hard. All at once, the same sort of grief he had felt when she had nearly made this very same attempt before filled just about every inch of him, practically driving him to tears once more, though hardly ones of joy this time.

“I-I’m sorry…” Lapis muttered, rubbing her arm and averting his glance all the while. “But I can’t stay, you know why I can’t…”

“Y-yeah…” Dipper nodded and it was true. He did know exactly why the blue Gem wouldn’t want to stay on Earth any longer, especially after the torturous ordeal she had just been released from, all of which had taken place upon it. Yet even though he understood it, that didn’t mean he was anywhere near remotely ok with it. “B-but… I thought…”

A loud, tired yawn of all things, suddenly interupted the conversation, preceding Steven as he peered into the barn, wiping the sleep out of his eyes all the while. “I heard voices in here; is everything oka-” The young Gem stopped short, letting out a soft gasp as he fully opened his eyes to take in the sight before him. “Lapis! You’re ok!”

“S-Steven!” Lapis exclaimed, even more startled to be caught by the young Gem than she had with Dipper.

“Don’t get too excited, Steven,” Dipper said, his tone hardly bitter. If anything, it was forlorn as he finally looked away from the blue Gem. “She was just leaving…”

“What?” Steven looked to Lapis, bewildered. “Leaving?”

“It’s like I told Dipper, Steven…” Lapis shook her head, turning away from both boys. “I don’t belong on Earth, not with the Crystal Gems. I never have…”

“It’s ok,” Steven assured gently. “I understand. I just… wish we would have hung out more. I feel like we only get to see you when something horrible’s going on.”

Despite catching a critical look from Dipper over this remark, Lapis simply smirked at it, both amused and relieved to hear it. “That’s just how it is with me.” At this, the blue Gem stepped forward, readying her wings for takeoff though not before Dipper anxiously spoke up to forestall her flight. “Lapis, wait, I-” he stopped short as she turned to him, hints of guilt and fear both clear in her expression. Both reasons why Dipper ended up hesitating, even letting go of what he wanted to tell her altogether. After all, she had already been trapped for so long in so many different ways; how could he possibly try to trap her here again just because it was what he wanted? By all accounts, this was something he should have expected all along, but in the end, had never seen coming after months of toiling towards freeing her: the idea, or rather, the fact that he’d ultimately have to let her leave. “N-never mind.”

“Dipper?” Lapis asked, frowning.

“I-I just… wanted to say…” he trailed off, knowing that this was likely his last chance to say much of anything to her really. And yet, as much as he wanted to say to her in that moment, what he actually ended up saying was practically nothing at all. “I-I hope you find what you’re looking for out there.”

“…Thank you,” the blue Gem nodded with a small, sad smile. “Both of you.” And just like that, she was off, her wide wings sending her skyward into the vast dark expanse of stars above as she flew away, not looking back even once. Both boys watched her graceful ascent with shared amazement and sadness, stepping a bit out of the barn so they could keep an eye on her as she inevitably disappeared into the night. Never to be seen by either of them every again.

“Bye…” Steven whispered after her solemnly, though Dipper offered no such farewell. Instead, he continued watching Lapis, tears brimming in his eyes but never falling, until she was nothing more than another countless, distant, sparkling spec in the sky. Finally herself and finally free… and finally leaving him behind all over again.

“…H-hey,” the young Gem spoke up quietly, placing a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Are… are you ok?”

“Y-yeah…” Dipper muttered, even if he really wasn’t. But for Lapis’ sake, for his own sake, he resolved himself to be, no matter how much it really hurt. “I… I just need a minute…”

Steven nodded, offering him a small, comforting smile as he quietly departed to let him grieve in his own way. By all accounts, his grief was silent, awash in longing for all the time he thought they would have spent together, time that he had fought so hard and worked so steadily towards achieving, but now would never get to see it. Which was why, as a few of his sparse tears finally did start to fall, he pulled something small out of his vest, the one and only picture of himself and Lapis he had been able to fully piece back together after weeks of patient work. And, with a sense of mourning acceptance, he released it, letting it fly off into the open breeze of the night to wherever it might land next, just as the blue Gem herself had.

He let it go… and in the same way, he let her go.

***

With no reason left for any of them to linger at the barn anymore, both Pines and Gems alike packed their things up the following morning to make their return to the shack and the temple respectively. Much like the boys, Mabel was also quite upset to hear that Lapis had left, especially without bidding her any sort of goodbye, though her disappointment quickly changed tune when Peridot informed the group about her intentions to stay at the barn instead of returning to town with them.

“Oh, Peri!” Mabel gushed, eagerly climbing up onto the tractor parked inside the barn alongside the green Gem. “That’s so cool! Just think, you could start your own little farm out here! You could grow potatoes, and, uh… apples, and corn-”

“No thanks,” Peridot interupted. “I’ve had more than my fair share of dealing with corns since I’ve been on this planet. I don’t think I need to see anymore, especially not the uni- or -lepre- varieties.”

“…Huh?”

“Are you sure you wanna stay?” Steven asked the green Gem. “You could always head back with us and live in the shack’s bathroom again.”

“Again, no thanks,” Peridot crossed her arms. “I’ve seen what goes on in there, and simply put, I’m not interested. Besides, I’ve grown accustomed to this place. And… I should probably fix the hole I made with my giant robot.”

“Oh! Then lemme help you, Peri!” Mabel readily volunteered. “I’m the queen of redecorating; between you ‘n me, we’ll have this dusty ol’ barn looking spiffier than spiffy in no time!”

“Hm… yes, I like ‘spiffy’,” Peridot grinned, nodding in agreement with this plan. “Oh, can we utilize some of those ‘stickers’ you were telling me about? They’d add an undeniable layer of class to the place. Please?”

“Well, since you asked so nicely… sure!” Mabel quipped, already pulling her sticker book out so they could begin picking some out.

Steven couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at this as he turned to leave the pair to their work. “Well, have fun you two!” he called, grabbing his things before heading back over to his father’s van to join everyone else.

“Well, that’s everything,” Greg announced after the young Gem handed his luggage off to him. “And then some. Steven, you ready to go home?”

“All seat belts are fastened,” Garnet added, poking her head out of the van.

“Peridot said she’s staying,” Steven pointed out to the Gems. “And Mabel’s gonna hang out with her for awhile.”

“Aw, yeesh, her too?” Stan asked, pulling his car around with Amethyst riding shotgun. “That’s it! If both of those kids wanna hang around here so badly, then they can just find their own rides home. I’m officially done being everyone’s taxi! Unless someone wants to pay me for it, that is.”

“Heh, yeah, I’ll pay ya!” Amethyst goaded playfully. “Pay ya my respects for your speakers I’m about to blast to bits!”

“Hey!” Stan protested as the purple Gem suddenly turned his car’s stereo up all the way to a booming rock station. “Amethyst! Turn that racket down! Think about my hearing aid!”

As the conman recklessly drove off with the laughing purple Gem in tow, Ford briefly peeked his head out of Greg’s van, shaking it disapprovingly all the while. “Am I ever glad I decided not to ride with them…”

“You comin’, kiddo?” Greg asked Steven with a smile. “I’m pretty sure there’s a little room for at least… one more in here… maybe…”

“You guys go on ahead,” Steven assured, largely out of curiosity to see why Dipper had also apparently decided to hang back as well. “I’ll catch up with you on Lion later.”

“Whatever you say,” the former rock star nodded as he strapped himself in. “See you in a bit!”

Steven stood by, waving the group off with a smile that faded not long after they were gone. He was prepared to search the barn up and down for Dipper, still concerned with how he might be faring after Lapis’ unexpected departure the previous night. Fortunately, however, he didn’t have to look far before spotting him leaning up against the barn just a few feet behind him, apparently distracted by keeping his sights set on the sky.

“Dipper!” Steven called, hurrying over to him. “Are you… i-is everything all right?”

“Huh?” Dipper blinked, apparently caught off guard as he looked to the young Gem. “Um… yeah, I just… didn’t feel like heading back to the shack yet.”

“Oh,” Steven said shortly. “Are you… feeling ok after… what happened last night?”

“Yeah,” Dipper retorted just as tersely, crossing his arms tighter as he looked away.

“Do you… wanna talk about it?”

“Not really…”

“Oh, well, uh… do you wanna… help me look for Lion instead?” the young Gem offered with a small smile.

Of course, it took Dipper practically no time at all to see what Steven was trying to do here, and despite his rather low spirits, he couldn’t turn the young Gem’s kind, genuine attempts at cheering him up down so easily. “Sure,” he chuckled somewhat. “Why not?”

Steven’s grin widened at this, glad to accept his help in exchange for providing Dipper with what would no doubt be a welcome distraction. And so the pair began their search for the pink beast, scoping out the vast rolling hills of farmland stretching out before them for any signs of the telltale pastel mane. “Lion! Hey, Liiiiiiiiion!” Steven called as loudly as he could. “Leeeee-on! I have a big juicy steak right here in my hand for you! Whoops!” the young Gem exclaimed dramatically. “I dropped it and it fell out of existence!”

“Hm…” Dipper mused much more quietly as he looked around. “Maybe he’s out near the silooooooooh my gosh! Steven, look!”

The young Gem did so, instantly letting out a shocked gasp upon noticing the very familiar figure sitting high atop the barn’s silo. “No way…. Lapis?” Steven stopped, staring up at the distant blue Gem to the point that he didn’t even realize Dipper had already started running on ahead without him. When he did, though, it didn’t take him long to follow suit right along after him to catch up with her.

Once again, Dipper found himself having to fight back tears as he quickly scaled the ladder leading up to the top of the silo. Though unlike the tears he’d shed last night, these were filled with joy just as much as his elated smile was as he finally made it to the top to find that, sure enough, Lapis herself was there. The blue Gem sat, her legs pulled to her chest as she stared out at the open land before her, expression downcast, even as Dipper hurried over to join her.

“I-I can’t believe it,” he began, genuinely incredulous. “You… you actually stayed? I thought… all you wanted to do was leave…”

“I was leaving…” Lapis muttered dejectedly. “Then I realized, I’ve got nowhere to go. Who knows what they’d do to me back home after what I did to Jasper? I guess its finally time to stop kidding myself; I can’t go back to Homeworld… and I can’t stay here.”

“Sure you can!” Steven chimed in, finally making it to the top of the silo himself.

“What?” Lapis looked to him, confused. Dipper was more than prepared to protest the young Gem’s earnest, but innocent attempts at convincing the blue Gem to stay, attempts that he had made himself on more than one occasion. But even so, he didn’t get much of a chance as Steven continued.

“You can totally stay here,” the young Gem said, sitting down next to the blue Gem with a smile. “It doesn’t have to be here here. You can live anywhere! You don’t have to stay here in Gravity Falls if you don’t want to.”

“Steven…” Dipper cut in with something of an anxious whisper, knowing that he was largely wasting his time. And yet, oddly enough, Lapis herself seemed to be listening to him intently as he went on.

“You could live in Relativity Creek, or Lake Trajectory, Acceleration Heights, Momentum Point, and that’s just the places I know of off the top of my head! Maybe me and Dipper could show you around so you could find a place that’s right for you!”

“Steven,” Dipper shook his head, doubtful of this plan. “I-I don’t think that’s-”

“Really?” Lapis suddenly interjected, intrigued as she looked between the boys. “You both would do that for me?”

“W-well, of course!” Dipper quickly changed his tune, amazed that the young Gem’s suggestion actually seemed to be working where his hadn’t before. “B-but I thought… didn’t you want to-”

“Yeah!” Steven chimed in preemptively. “It’ll be fun! We could find you an all-new place to live here on Earth! Somewhere where we’d be able to come visit you anytime we wanted!”

“Well… that part sounds… nice…” Lapis admitted, offering both of them a small, genuine smile as she stood.

“You… you mean you really might stay this time?” Dipper asked, trying his best to hide just how much he wanted to hear her say that she would.

“…Maybe…” the blue Gem, rubbed her arm, somewhat apprehensive about being so certain on the matter so soon. “Let’s just… go look first and we’ll go from there.”

Despite his previous reservations, Dipper couldn’t help but smile brightly upon hearing this, knowing that Lapis being the least bit open to the very idea of staying on Earth was more than enough to allay him. “Right. Then let’s get looking.”

“Ready Freddy?” Steven asked just as warmly.

“My name’s Lapis,” the blue Gem pointed out with a small smirk as she bent down to offer both boys a spot on her back.

“Um… Lapis? Are you sure we’ll both be able to fit?” Dipper asked, somewhat concerned.

“I don’t see why you wouldn’t,” Lapis shrugged, more than prepared to carry them both. “Hop on.”

After exchanging a brief glance, both Steven and Dipper did so, the latter mounting first before the young Gem pressed up close behind him. “You both ok like this?” Lapis asked, adjusting their shared weight a bit to make things more comfortable. While it was a bit of a tight fight, the boys both nodded all the same, and no sooner after they did than the blue Gem took off into the skies with both of them in tow.

Her rapid ascent caught Steven off guard in particular, to the point that he clung tightly onto Dipper just so he wouldn’t fall off. Dipper, on the other hand, was helpless to hold back a bright laugh as they took off, one that Lapis soon joined in on not long after she heard it.

“This is pretty familiar,” the blue Gem called up to him with a warm grin, perhaps the first genuine one she’d shown since being freed. “Isn’t it, Dipper?”

“Yeah,” Dipper said, still laughing as he glanced down at her, reveling in the treasured memory of that sweet, starry night that finally felt like it hadn’t been so long ago anymore. “It is.”

“Whoo!” Steven cheered, replacing his initial fear with excitement as they soared high above radiant acres of lush farmland. “Hey, Lapis! How about this? You could live out here in the country. There’s no noise, no rules, it’d just be you becoming one with nature.”

“Why would I wanna do that?” Lapis asked, curious as she flew a bit lower into the small forest ahead.

“It’s fun!” Steven grinned as the blue Gem continued navigating just under the canopy of the woods. “If you live with these trees, you could have a giant bird nest and have squirrels for pets. You guys could eat acorn pies every night!”

“Or, a bit more realistically,” Dipper interjected. “If you lived here, you’d only be a short flight away from me—I mean, from us. Plus, whenever it gets hot or rains, you’d have a pretty decent cover under all these leaves.”

Intrigued, Lapis looked across the far stretch of trees they were practically lost among, or rather, their leaves, watching curiously as each of them seemed to rustle on their own accord in response to the gentle breeze swaying them along. “Leaves…” she repeated quietly, having never seen anything quite like them before.

Wanting to get a higher view, Lapis glided above the tree line once more, leaving both boys on her back a bit disheveled from the leaves they had just broken through. Steven gasped as he plucked one such leaf he spotted out of Dipper’s hair, handing it over to him so he could present it to the blue Gem herself. “Lapis, look at this!” Steven exclaimed. “This leaf turned orange! This means the seasons are starting to change from summer to fall; soon, its gonna happen to all the leaves on the trees!”

“…Wow…” Lapis said, genuinely impressed that these simple ‘leaves’ could accomplish such a special feat.

“Oh man, summer really is winding down fast, isn’t it?” Dipper said, baffled by the realization. “Its hard to believe that in just a few weeks, me and Mabel will have to be heading back to Piedmont…”

“Piedmont?” Lapis asked. “What’s that?”

“Its where we’re from,” Dipper explained. “Mabel and I are only visiting Gravity Falls for the summer. Once it’s over, we’ll have to go back home. B-but don’t worry! Its only a few hours away, probably even less for you since you can fly, Lapis.”

“Hm, well, in that case… why don’t I just live there with you?” the blue Gem suggested with a small, if not somewhat innocent smile.

“W-what?!” Dipper balked, caught off guard by the idea.

“Oh, yeah!” Steven exclaimed, all for it. “I’ve never been to Piedmont before, but I bet its really nice! And you’d get to be roommates with both Dipper and Mabel! I wish I could do that! How much more lucky could you get?”

“Uh, yeah sounds great,” Dipper said, with a rather awkward chuckle. “Though I’m not sure our parents would feel the same way. I mean, Mabel already promised them she wasn’t gonna bring any new pets home, so what would they say if I brought an entire person, or Gem, I guess, home with me?”

“Oh yeah…” Steven deflated at this while Lapis raised a confused eyebrow, clearly not understanding Dipper’s concerns. “Eh, we’ll chalk it down as a ‘plan b’. But for now, there’s plenty of places we haven’t been yet. C’mon!”

The young Gem pointed Lapis’ way to the north, prompting her to fly onward and upward, out of the boarders of Gravity Falls altogether just as night began to fall. Their higher elevation made their travel time much shorter, and soon enough, they’d broken out of the dense Oregonian forests Gravity Falls was nestled within, exchanging them for much more urban sprawls until they happened across one of the state’s most well-known.

“Hey, what’s that shadowy place over there?” Lapis asked, nodding to the smoggy city they were flying above.

“Ugh… that’s gotta be Portland…” Dipper remarked with something if a begrudging sneer.

“Is it populated by all those tiny machines?” the blue Gem asked as she stopped so they could hover over the city.

“No, but it is populated by hipsters and way too many coffee shops for comfort,” Dipper deadpanned, his tone still quite dry.

“Those are bikes, Lapis,” Steven explained, pointing down to the many cyclists below. “They’re a really fun way of getting around and if you lived here, you could ride one just about everywhere!”

“But why would I do that when I could just fly?”

“…Good question,” Steven noted. “Anyway, you’d like Portland; the people here seem to hate authority figures too.”

“Hey! Get out of our skies, ya right-wings!” someone called from the ground, tossing a shoe up at the trio in anger. They retaliated however, with a teasing, unified raspberry, an all-too appropriate and unified callback to the blue Gem’s camaraderie she had formed with the kids while still in the mirror. Their shared laughter over this continued as they took off once more, seeing no reason to linger in a place like Portland any longer.

Their next stop however, was yet another city, though one that was much more impressive than the last. This one rested near the sea, pristine and glistening in the night as the trio glided in towards it. “What’s that?” Lapis asked, intrigued.

“That’s Emerald City!” Steven grinned. “Isn’t it cool?”

“…So its controlled by Emeralds then?” the blue Gem wondered, a hint of dread in her tone.

“Uh, no, Lapis, that’s just what it’s called,” Dipper corrected. “Still, I was never sure why they called this place that, I mean, its not like its even green or anything.”

“Its very bright,” Lapis pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s why they say ‘what happens in Emerald City never sleeps’,” Steven said boldly.

“I’m pretty sure no one says that, Steven,” Dipper remarked dryly.

“So what does happen in Emerald City then?” Lapis inquired.

“Well, let’s see…” the young Gem mused. “If you lived here, you could get a cool apartment, and be a single Gem taking on the big city. You could be a freelance artist with your own studio, and come home to a wacky roommate-”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lapis cut in flatly.

“Uh… why don’t we try something else, then?” Dipper suggested.

“Heh, I’m up for it if you guys are,” the blue Gem said, smirking back at her passengers.

“Of course we are!” Steven exclaimed cheerfully.

“Anything for you, Lapis,” Dipper said with an equally confident nod.

“Alright then,” Lapis’ smile widened a bit at this as she flew the boys up higher. “Then let’s go!” Both Steven and Dipper were surprised at the blue Gem’s sudden take off, but they knew well to hold on tight as she took up past the clouds, out into the starry open skies above them. The night air was crisp and rich up here, the dark colors of late nighttime creating a beautiful sense of serenity that captivated both boys alike as they took it all in.

“Wow! Lapis, its so beautiful up here!” Steven exclaimed, stars in his eyes as he looked over the ones surrounding them.

“Eh, its alright,” Lapis remarked with a coy, wry smile. “I guess I can see why you like it. Hey, speaking of which, can you still spot the Big Dipper, Dipper?”

“Are you kidding?” Dipper chuckled, immediately pointing out the constellation he was nicknamed for. “After the front row seat you gave me of it last time, how could I not?”

Lapis herself let out a bright laugh at this, one that grew daring as her wings drooped low in anticipation. “Speaking of last time… hold on tight!” With this warning alone, the blue Gem sped forward, darting across the skies with incredible grace and ease. Both of her passengers heeded her instructions and held onto her as she confidently soared upward, her wings wide and her laughter free and easy as she sailed towards the starts. The boys both joined in on her levity, even as she preformed a daring loop, essentially tossing both of them off her back in the process. This was intentional, however, as she caught them both, one with each hand, joining in on their exhilarated cheers as she let them dangle, lose, yet secure in her grip as she carried them high above the clouds, all three of them reveling in what felt like another world entirely, even if it was still very much the same.

That was a fact that Lapis in particular was reminded of all too soon as the clouds began to part somewhat underneath them, revealing the vast dark sea below it. “Whoa, when did we get out over the ocean?” Dipper asked, amazed as he stared down below.

“We must be out super far!” Steven exclaimed, pointing out the only sole feature that could be seen amongst the seemingly endless water for miles. “Oh, cool! The Galaxy Warp!”

“Huh, so that’s where it is,” Dipper noted, impressed. “Now I can see why we always warp out here. Its way faster than flying, though I gotta admit, nowhere near as exciting.”

Both boys shared a small laugh over this bout of humor, though it was one Lapis didn’t join in on. Instead, her gaze was fixated on the Galaxy Warp far below as they slowly flew over it, everything else seeming to fade away entirely, even the pair of boys she was holding onto. In fact, she was so distracted that her once-tight grip on them soon began to loosen, something that they both notice almost as soon as it did.

“Um… Lapis?” Steven asked, glancing up at the blue Gem, concerned. “W-we’re sorta slipping a little here…”

“L-Lapis?” Dipper tried again when he noticed she wasn’t responding, essentially gripping onto Lapis’ wrist to avoid falling. “We’re slipping! We’re gonna-”

“Sorry!” Lapis gasped, tightening her grip on both of them immediately just before the boys could fall out of it entirely. “I-I… I’m sorry…”

The blue Gem looked away, ashamed as she took them all in low. It was clear she was shaken, even as they landed on the silent, glistening warp hub, allowing Lapis to approach the broken warp at its center. “Lapis…?” Dipper ventured, worried when he noticed the distance the blue Gem was putting between them. A sort of distance that, for him in particular, was far too familiar.

“This is where I was abandoned…” Lapis wrapped her arms tightly around herself, the sea winds lightly tussling her hair as she kept her back to the boys. Steven and Dipper exchanged a wondering glance at this, but ultimately approached her, curious to know more.

“W-what happened?” Steven asked gently, not wanting to push the blue Gem into such bitter memories if she didn’t want to revisit them.

And yet, she did so anyway, raising her arm as the ocean itself surrounded them, creating an all too fitting backdrop upon which Lapis could finally tell her woeful story. “It was thousands of years ago,” she began, the aquatic screen depicting the blue Gem arriving on a lush, beautiful spot of Earth. One that was all too quickly ruined by devastation and war.

“I was only meant to visit for a short time, but I got caught up in the middle of the war. I-it was awful! I tried to run, but…” She trailed off as an unknown Gem struck her from behind amidst the unfolding chaos, the heavy blow destroying her form almost instantly, leaving only her gemstone behind. “I was picked up by a Homeworld soldier and confused for a Crystal Gem and used as a tool.” From there, the blue Gem’s stone was carefully placed into the back of a familiar mirror, the very one she had been trapped in when the boys first met her. “They’d ask me, ‘show us your base!’, ‘where is your leader’? I didn’t know, and I couldn’t say I wasn’t one of them!”

“It soon became clear there was no hope of stopping the rebellion…” A mass exodus of fearful Gems unfolded at this, all of them racing for the warp that would take them away from the war-torn Earth and back to the safety of Homeworld, one of them dropping the mirror Lapis was stuck within in the process. “All of the Homeworld Gems fled, and in all of the panic of escaping Earth… I was left behind.” Just as the last rush of Gems hurried by, one of them thoughtlessly, carelessly happened to step squarely on Lapis’ gemstone, creating a deep, marring crack in its mirror-bound surface.

And just as Homeworld’s forces left, a bright, blinding flash lit up the sky, leaving a stark, empty silence behind in its place. “And there I stayed… Freedom in my sight, but out of reach for ages, until I was found…” By none other than Pearl first, who picked up the mirror from its longtime spot on the Galaxy Warp. Eventually however, the mirror exchanged hands, though apparently Lapis had never gotten a good look as to who she had been passed along to, for eventually, she ended up buried at the bottom of a dark, lonely box. That is, until the day she had at long last been found once again just a few short months ago… by Dipper.

At this, Lapis’ literal flood of memories finally came to an end, exhaustion weighing upon her as she collapsed against the Homeworld warp, the waves she had raised up crashing down along with her. While Steven instantly rushed to her side, Dipper hesitated, completely floored by everything he’d just witnessed and just how much insight it finally gave him concerning the blue Gem’s history. “L-Lapis, I…” he trailed off, wanting to say so much more than what he ultimately ended up asking her. “A-are you ok?”

“I-I’ll be fine,” the blue Gem shook her head to clear it, offering both boys a small, reassuring smile. “Let me take you both back.”

“You sure you don’t wanna take a minute?” Steven asked, concerned.

“It’s fine,” Lapis said, standing. “I just… wanna get out of here.”

Understanding the blue Gem’s reasoning behind this perfectly, both boys agreed, letting her carry them both away as they took off into the night sky once again. Things were quiet between all three of them for quite some time as Lapis flew back towards the direction of Gravity Falls, their shared manner solemn as none of them could really think of anything to really say. However, when this silence finally was broken, surprisingly enough, Lapis herself was the one to do it.

“For a moment,” she began, hope conflicting with grief in her tone as she kept her sights straight ahead. “I really felt like things could be different this time. I-I… I guess I started to think that even when I came back here the last time too, thanks to you, Dipper…”

Needless to say, Dipper was quite surprised to hear this, largely because he knew that his several earnest attempts at convincing Lapis that she could have a future on Earth never really amounted to much. And yet now, hearing Lapis admit that he had at least brought her to consider the idea made him realize. Perhaps all of the time and effort he had put towards the blue Gem in so many different ways really had mattered in the grand scheme of things after all.

“But things aren’t different,” Lapis inevitably crashed his hopes yet again, however as her tone turned bitter. “No matter where I go, I’m trapped…”

“No,” Dipper found himself interjecting largely without thinking, his tone firm and resolved as he refused to let the blue Gem drown herself in such suffocating thoughts any longer. “No, you’re not. You’re not in a mirror anymore, or in some lake, you’re finally free! You can do whatever you want now, no matter what-” He stopped short, his resolve faltering a bit as he looked down in shame. “No matter what anyone else might want you to do…”

“B-but I’m still on Earth!” Lapis protested tensely.

“Yeah, but nothing is still on Earth,” Steven cut in with a thoughtful smile. “Everything’s always changing: leaves, cities, even Portland changes; my dad said the coffee shops used to be pretty boring, but now they serve really good donuts!”

“The point is,” Dipper said, getting things back on track as he looked to the blue Gem, earnest. “Neither of us are trying to get you to stay here if you don’t want to. That’s your choice to make, Lapis. But what you should know is that… this isn’t the same world that held you prisoner, not anymore. A-and… even if it doesn’t feel like home for you now, well… if you give it a chance, maybe that could change too.”

Lapis didn’t respond to this as they finally landed right outside the barn just as dawn was beginning to break over the distant hills. “We know you can’t go back to Homeworld now,” Steven continued, handing Lapis the leaf they had shown her earlier. “But this time, if you stay here, it’ll be your choice to stay here.”

“And nobody else’s,” Dipper smiled, ready to accept that choice, whatever it might be.

The blue Gem remained quiet, focusing on the leaf in her hand as if it was the most incredible thing in all the world. And for what it was worth and all it represented to her at that moment, it might as well have been. “You know, its funny… For all this time I spent on Earth, I barely saw any of it…”

“That’s not funny!” Steven frowned sympathetically. “That’s super sad.”

“But you know…” Dipper said somewhat leadingly. “If you did decide to stay, then we’d have all the time in the world to show you everything you missed out on.”

Lapis finally smiled in full upon hearing this, her warm, beaming grin setting both boys’ hearts at ease as she looked out towards the rising sun with a renewed sense of hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe, things could be better this time. “I… I wanna see it.”

“R-really?” Dipper asked, awed by disbelief upon finally, finally hearing this admission.

“Really,” Lapis confirmed with a solid nod and a fond smile. “I wanna stay here!”

Once again, Dipper found his emotions getting the better of him as he let out an elated laugh at this, one that prompted him to rush to embrace her. A hug that she finally returned this time as they both knew it would at long last go without either of them having to say goodbye. Steven readily joined in on it, all three of them more than happy to celebrate the blue Gem finally deciding on her brand new home. “So, you’re gonna stay here here?” Steven asked, referring to the barn.

“Yeah,” Lapis grinned as the hug disbanded. “Here here!”

“Yes, ‘here-here’, everybody!” The levity was almost immediately, starkly interupted by Peridot and Mabel’s arrival, the latter clearly excited to see Lapis awake as she waved to her enthusiastically. Of course, what neither of them noticed was the absolutely baffled look Lapis was sending the green Gem all the while as they made their approach. “What are we talking about?” Peridot asked, completely oblivious.

“Y-You?!” Lapis exclaimed, aghast to see the green Gem again.

“Lazuli,” Peridot nodded cordially. “Nice to see you up and about.”

“Yeah! I’m so glad you came back, Lapis!” Mabel chimed in brightly. “Though it looks like somebody decided to go off on some sorta super-fun night flight without me.” She sent a pointed look to Steven and Dipper, though neither of them noticed as they were far too engrossed in watching the obvious tension build between the two newly-reunited Gems.

“W-what are you doing here?!” Lapis demanded, not hesitating to send Peridot a fierce, distrustful glare.

“This is my new home away from Homeworld!” Peridot proclaimed proudly.

“No, its not, its mine!” Lapis countered defiantly. “Steven, Dipper, tell her!”

Needless to say that, as caught up in the sudden awkward encounter as they were, both boys were hard pressed to say or do much of anything at all, other than exchange a terse, uncomfortable glance over the conflict they’d now no doubt have to resolve. “Oh boy…” Steven muttered, capturing just how difficult this situation would likely be to solve perfectly.

“Yeah…” Dipper admitted just as apprehensively, Mabel likewise realizing just how at odds both Lapis and Peridot would likely be with each other, given their history with one another. “We… really didn’t think this part through…”

***

“And then I’ll say ‘Hey, as one refugee to another, it isn’t so bad we can’t go back to Homeworld, am I right? Why don’t we watch the sun come up and figure out what we’re going to do with all this time, eh Lazuli?’” Peridot listed off the many, many points of her plan to her tablet, recording them for posterity and paying little mind to the audience she had as she did. “And then she’ll say ‘Yes, Peridot, as impressed as I was by you back on Homeworld, I am even more impressed with your new compact look and your capacity for friendship! I’m so glad we’re going to live together!’ Peridot, facet 5, out.”

Satisfied, the green Gem brought her recording to an end before she turned to face the others. “Ooo! Good plan, Peri!” Mabel chimed brightly. “You really thought this whole thing through!”

“Precisely,” Peridot smirked before addressing Lapis in particular. “So… let’s begin.”

“This isn’t going to work,” Lapis immediately stopped the green Gem in her tracks, her expression dry and bitter as she shook her head.

“Wait… what?” Peridot asked, caught of guard.

The blue Gem largely ignored her, instead anxiously turning to the trio of kids beside her instead. “I really thought I was going to be living alone here…”

“Yeah… but this is even better!” Steven professed as he came up with a sudden idea to make things work. “Oh! How about this? I saw this on an episode of a TV show once. I didn’t see how it ended, but I’m sure it worked out all right.” The young Gem took out a marker, drawing a clean, distinct line separating the barn clean in half between Lapis and Peridot. “If we split the place in half, then you can both have your own space! High ceilings, real wood floors, convenient location in the heart of the country… It’s perfect for you two!”

“Yeah, perfect outside of the fact that they’re still gonna have to see each other every day…” Dipper muttered, already knowing that Lapis wouldn’t be fond of the idea for a number of reasons. Either way, both Peridot and Mabel were fully on board with it.

“Ohhh! Looks like everyone’s full of great ideas today!” Mabel quipped excitedly, if not a bit obliviously.

“Yes, this will work fine,” Peridot grinned. “I like the cut of your gem, Steven Quartz!”

Lapis, however, was far from pacified with such a simple, thoughtless solution. “No. No way!” she protested hotly.

“What’s the problem?” Peridot asked, confused. “You’re the one getting all the good stuff! You’ve got the propeller and the cans on your side! You can do tons with those! Ohh—actually, I want the paint cans. You wanna trade something?”

“I don’t care about paint cans,” Lapis glowered dismissively. “That’s not the problem.”

“Eh…?” the green Gem raised an eyebrow, still not getting the point.

“What’s wrong, Lapis?” Steven asked, concerned.

“It’s her,” the blue Gem hissed, glaring piercingly at the green Gem. “She’s the problem. I can’t stand the thought of looking at her every day. She’s the reason why I had to run back here to Earth!”

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault!” Peridot exclaimed defensively. “I was headed to Earth anyway and I needed an informant. It should have been a simple mission. Things didn’t exactly work out for ether of us…”

“You interrogated me!” Lapis snapped, furious. “You used me like everyone else did!”

“But its not like that now!” the green Gem countered. “It’s different now. I’m different.”

“Yeah, that’s right!” Mabel cut in earnestly. “Peridot’s not only super cute and short now-”

“Hey!” Peridot interupted, disgruntled.

“-But she’s also really good and fun to hang around with! She doesn’t even wanna destroy us or the Earth anymore, isn’t that cool?”

“Its true, Lapis,” Steven agreed. “Peridot’s really come into her own since she’s been living on Earth.”

“Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it…” Dipper began with a small smile. “Peridot really isn’t that bad, at least not anymore.”

“I’m not bad at all now!” the green Gem assured firmly. “I sabotaged by own mission! I helped save the Earth! I even yelled at Yellow Diamond! She’s probably sending a whole fleet here to find me and shatter me right now. So as you can see, I’m kind of a big deal; a big anti-Homeworld deal!”

Despite this lengthy list of proud accomplishments, Lapis simply scoffed at them, rolling her eyes as she stepped over to the kids. “Sorry, you guys,” she said, her tone much more gentle as she addressed them. “But I really don’t think this is gonna work.”

“Aw, but, Lapis!” Mabel protested with a pout. “You and Peri would make the cutest pair of roomies ever!”

“Uh… maybe we could put up a curtain…?” Steven suggested, trying to come up with really anything at this point. Even so, Lapis simply gave the pair an apologetic smile as she shook her head, stepping out of the barn before summoning her wings to fly towards her former perch on top of the silo.

“Ohh man…” Dipper sighed, scratching the back of his neck. “Maybe I should go talk to her. I can’t make any promises, but maybe I might be able to smooth things out here?”

“Hey, no one knows Lapis better than you do, bro-bro,” Mabel grinned in support of this plan.

“Ugh, I’m up for anything if it gets her to understand…” Peridot muttered, crossing her arms.

“Well then… here does nothing,” Dipper said, venturing off to follow after the blue Gem once again. At the same time, Steven let out a disappointed sigh all his own as he looked away from the equally dejected green Gem.

“Er, sorry, Peridot…” he said. “I thought this was gonna be ok. I guess we all forgot that the last time you two saw each other… wasn’t so ok…”

“That was in the past!” Peridot growled, annoyed. “Its not like that now!”

“Aw, Peri,” Mabel began sympathetically. “You’ve changed so much since you’ve been here on Earth with us! We all know that.”

“But obviously she doesn’t!” the green Gem motioned towards Lapis, still afar off atop the silo. “She’s the one who needs to know! I want her to see that I’ve changed just like all of you have!”

“Oh, Peridot! That’s really sweet!” Steven smiled, endeared by Peridot’s honesty and effort. “That’s the you you need to show her!”

“Show her my sweet…?” Peridot asked, confused.

“Yeah, sorta,” Mabel chuckled. “You just gotta show her how much you care!”

“…How am I supposed to do that?”

“Don’t worry,” Steven grinned, throwing an arm around the green Gem’s shoulder as Mabel did the same. “We got you.”

***

“So even though most people just naturally like me because of my magnetic personality,” Mabel explained proudly as her, Peridot, and Steven congregated on the barn floor. “I still consider myself to be something of an expert in getting people to other people to like each other, especially when it comes to getting creative!” At this, she whipped out a large bag of various craft supplies of all sorts, from crayons to paint to of course, glitter of every single color there was.

“Oh… I see…” Peridot nodded in understanding. “We’re going to decorate Lazuli, just like we did to the barn!” At this, the green Gem pointed out the small corner of the barn her and Mabel had been working on, which was laden with stickers and paint and glitter to create a colorful, eye-catching nook.

“Um… no,” Steven frowned, pulling out a large sheet of paper and folding it in half. “We’re gonna use this instead. Cards are a great way to tell someone something if you can’t be face to face with them! Or… if they don’t wanna see your face. But this is a perfect way for you to give her a taste of that sweet version of Peridot! Here, look!” The young Gem held the card up as he finished scribbling on it. “Its you and Lapis holding hands!”

“…Where are our noses?” Peridot asked, not quite taken with Steven’s unique interpretation.

“Oh, that’s kind of part of my style lately.”

“Is not having fingers also part of your style?”

“No, I-I’m just bad at drawing hands.”

“Tsk, I appreciate the effort, Steven, but I think ya might just be a bit out of your element here,” Mabel shook her head. “Move over and let a real pro take a crack at it.”

The young Gem did so, allowing Mabel to make a fresh start on a new card. Both Steven and Peridot watched her curiously as she worked rapidly, but precisely, crafting out a ‘masterpiece’ in not just markers, but also in pastels, paint, and everything in between. Then, once her work was complete, she topped it all off with a healthy dose of glitter for good measure before stepping back to appreciate it. “There! If that doesn’t get Lapis to like you, Peri, then I don’t know what will?”

“Ohh! That looks way better than my card!” Steven exclaimed, impressed. “You’re such a great artist, Mabel!”

“Aw, shucks…” Mabel grinned, blushing deeply at such a warm compliment. “I-I’m not that great…”

“Uh… why are there so many hearts surrounding me and Lazuli?” Peridot asked, bewildered.

“Oh, never mind those right now,” Mabel grinned with a knowing wink. “I have a feeling that if you two take off, you’ll get the point of them sooner than you think.”

“So here’s your part,” Steven handed off a marker to Peridot herself. “Write an apology inside to Lapis so she knows how sorry you are about before and that everything is ok now. If you write from the heart, your feelings will reach her!” This advice was completely lost on the green Gem however, as she looked to him, utterly confused until Steven clarified. “Just… try to be sincere.”

“Hm…” Peridot mused, taking a moment or two to mull such an apology over. Soon enough, though, she began writing it out, allowing herself to be as sincere as she knew how to be, all in the hopes that it would finally let Lapis get a glimpse of who she truly was. Of how she’d truly changed for the better.

***

Even if Lapis had gone up to sit on top of the silo to more or less get a peaceful moment alone, she absolutely didn’t protest at all when she noticed Dipper climbing up to join her. Instead, she sat up, welcoming him with a small smile as he came to sit next to her.

“Hey,” she greeted him casually, fondly.

“Hey,” he returned, a bit less warmly and a bit more worriedly as he looked over at her. “How are you feeling?”

“Ok, I guess…” the blue Gem shrugged. “I’ll feel much better once she leaves, though…”

“Lapis, I…” Dipper began apprehensively. “I don’t think Peridot’s going to leave.”

“Why not?” Lapis asked, disgruntled. “She can’t stay here with me. I won’t let her. Not after… what she did…”

“But… that’s just it,” Dipper said, still making sure to tread carefully as not to upset the blue Gem anymore. “Even if she was pretty awful back on Homeworld, she really is different now. Believe me, I used to hate her just as much as you do, but… she’s not the same Gem who interrogated you. She’s actually pretty ok once you get past that massive ego of hers.”

While Dipper let out a small chuckle at this, it was one Lapis didn’t join in on as her tone grew even more bitter. “But how do you know that’s not just some act she’s putting on?” she asked coldly. “How can you just… trust her, even after everything she’s done?”

“Because she’s changed, Lapis,” Dipper rationalized evenly. “She may not be perfect, but she’s proved to me, Steven, and Mabel that she wants to be better.”

“So what if she has?” Lapis asked, crossing her arms. “Even if she has changed, that doesn’t change what she did. I can’t just… forgive her for that like it never even happened! And to be honest, I don’t see how you can either…”

Dipper faltered at this, wanting to explain to Lapis just how truly bitter he had once felt towards Peridot, how he had largely blamed her, almost as much as himself, for the events that had led up to her lengthy, miserable stint as Malachite. But at the same time, he wanted to explain everything that Peridot had done to shatter his original perception of her entirely, how she had evolved, grown, even gained his respect and perhaps even friendship through it all. And yet, despite all of that, it largely seemed as though Lapis had already made up her mind about the green Gem. And that there would be no changing it any time soon.

“Hey! Lazuli!” As if on cue, Peridot’s shout sounded out from the base of the silo, eliciting another aggravated groan from Lapis as she turned her nose up, ignoring her completely as she continued to call out for her. “Laaaazuli! HEY! Ugh, why isn’t she responding?” Peridot asked Steven and Mabel, frustrated.

“I’m not sure… I thought both her and Dipper were up there…” Steven frowned before making an attempt at getting the blue Gem’s attention himself. “Hey! Lapis! You up there?!”

“Huh?” Lapis turned, much more concerned with the young Gem’s call than she had been with Peridot’s. She didn’t waste a moment in gathering Dipper before she flew them both down to the ground to meet Steven and Mabel. “Yes, Steven? Mabel?” she looked between the pair curiously, still intentionally not paying Peridot any mind whatsoever.

“Well… go on…” Mabel urged the green Gem with a wide smile, pushing her forward a bit.

Peridot stepped up to Lapis, awkwardly clenching the card in her hands before stiffly presenting it to her with a tight, forced grin. “Mabel did the outside, and I did the inside!” she proclaimed, proud of their handywork. However, the moment Lapis opened up said card, a large pile of glitter sprinkled out of it, accumulating at the blue Gem’s feet.

“I also supplied the glitter!” Mabel quipped, though she retracted upon catching a disapproving glance from her brother. “N-not that it matters…”

Lapis’ expression was dour and hard as she glanced over the card, ultimately opting to read what Peridot had written inside of it aloud. “‘Sorry I interrogated you. You were just so full of useful information. That’s a sincere compliment. Peridot.’”

The blue Gem made no further comment on the card, instead sending the green Gem a dry, critical glance over its contents. A sign that, despite her best efforts, this first attempt clearly hadn’t worked at all.

***

“The glitter!” Peridot huffed as she paced around the barn moments later, still quite perturbed over her recent failure. Steven and Mabel stood by, watching her worriedly as she ranted off her theories as to why the card hadn’t amounted to anything whatsoever. “One can only conclude it was the excessive amount of glitter! It seems illogical to me that it would be any of the writing elements! It took me over an hour to compose it, and I was the most sincere as per Steven’s instructions!”

“It could be… she’s just not much of a reader?” Steven ventured, uncertain.

“Oh! I got it!” Mabel raised her hand enthusiastically. “Why don’t you try giving her a gift!?”

“Another approach, yes!” Peridot exclaimed daringly. “But what…?”

“Hm… think of something that she likes?” Steven suggested with a shrug.

“Oh! I know something!” Mabel raised her hand once more. “She likes Dipper!” She pointed out to her brother, leaning up against the fence outside as he continued chatting with the blue Gem. “But it’s not like we can just wrap him up in a pretty box and give him to Lapis… can we?”

“Hm…” Peridot continued thinking. “Well, Lapis Lazulis are typically partial to water and flying, so… aha!” Both Steven and Mabel gasped in excited anticipation for whatever the green Gem was about to purpose, though in the end, she backtracked on whatever idea she’d had in mind. “No…”

“No?” Steven frowned.

“Nu-uh,” the green Gem shook her head. “But WHAT IF-”

“Yeah?” Mabel asked, curious.

“…Nah…”

“Oh, yeah, totally no.”

“Yeah, that’d probably be overdoing it…”

“Ugh…” the trio let out a unified exasperated groan, none of them able to really come up with much of anything. Until…

“Water…” Steven mused, looking outside of the barn to the large hole the drill had dug into the soil there and seeing a prime opportunity within it. “You know… I think you might just have something there.”

***

As soon as Steven and Mabel had finished relaying their latest plan to Dipper, he complied with his part of guiding Lapis towards it. He did so rather carefully though, since he had somehow managed to convince the blue Gem to shield her eyes with her own wings so that Peridot’s ‘gift’ would remain a surprise.

“We’re almost there,” he assured. “By the way, you can’t actually see through those, right?”

“Actually yes,” Lapis admitted with a small smile. “But its very blurry.”

“Good to know,” Dipper returned her grin as they both came to a stop. “Ok, here we are.”

Lapis unfolded her wings at this, though her smile was quick to disappear completely when she took in the sight before her. Mabel and Steven stood by, tossing celebratory confetti in front of Peridot, who was casually floating on an inner tube atop the newly created pool of water the trio had just filled in. “H-2-Oh my gosh!” Peridot exclaimed proudly, pulling down the sunglasses Mabel had given her. “It’s a smaller-than-average lake!”

“Uh… don’t you mean ‘pool’?” Dipper pointed out.

“…What?” Peridot asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“It’s from the hole we drilled,” Steven explained. “Peridot, Mabel, and I sealed it and filled it with water.”

“And we even found some fun pool toys in the barn you guys can use in it!” Mabel grinned as she presented a pair of floaties to Lapis. “Ta da! Water wings to go with your real water wings! They’re even blue, just like you are, so you’ll be perfectly matching and totally styling, if I do say so myself.”

“Heh,” Lapis was unable to hold back a small chuckle at this as she accepted the floaties. “Thanks, Mabel, but…” her expression turned bitter once more as she looked back to the pool. “What’s the point of this?”

“It’s a gift, for you!” Peridot quipped cheerfully. “You know, cause water’s your thing. Pretty good, right? The barn’s out here in the country, but now you can get your moisture fix whenever. So you can do… all that water stuff you do!”

The blue Gem narrowed her eyes at this, her tone incredulous as she looked over the pool once again. “…Water? Seriously?”

“Yeah!” Peridot chimed enthusiastically.

“You do realize that I spent the last few weeks trapped in a lake, right?”

“S-sure,” the green Gem’s smile turned awkward at this. “B-but I thought-”

“It was an endless, crushing darkness,” Lapis said, her voice low and dark as she relentlessly described the barrage of horrors she had been through. “Wet and bleak and suffocating. Water was the tomb I lived in for those weeks.”

Unsure of what to say to this, Peridot sunk a bit into her inner tube, embarrassed as she realized all of the many places she had gone wrong with her earnest gift for the blue Gem. “T-tomb, you say?”

“Yeah,” Lapis remarked, her tone flat and cross once more. “So I’m kind of taking a break from water right now. But thanks… for the ‘lake’.”

By now, Peridot was beyond mortified as she finally ended up flipping over in her tube, falling right into the lake to add insult to injury. At the same time, the kids exchanged a frantic glance, none of them having expected for Lapis to take their latest approach with such a harsh reception.

“Don’t worry, you three,” she quickly assured them warmly before shooting another disdainful glance back at Peridot. “It’s not your fault.”

With that, the blue Gem simply summoned her wings and flew off once more, leaving them, and especially the green Gem behind, awash what remained of yet another idea that had gotten her absolutely nowhere.

***

“A pool?!” Peridot huffed, recording into her tablet as Steven and Mabel sat by once again, empathetically listening to her. “What a cloddy idea! Of course she wouldn’t like that! There’s nothing, nothing, NOTHING that will get her to like me!”

“Aw, Peri, you can’t give up just yet!” Mabel urged.

“Yeah, there’s gotta be something, something, something….” Steven mused, deep in thought for any sort of other angle they could go with. Quite a challenge indeed, since it was clear they were all too quickly starting to run out of viable ideas. “Maybe… instead of something she likes… give her something you like! A piece of you!”

“Um… ok?” Peridot looked around, unsure of what that piece should be. “How about… one of my Camp Pining Hearts DVDs?”

“Which season?” Mabel asked dubiously.

“5…?”

“Trash,” both Steven and Mabel refuted, crossing their arms judgmentally.

“I know,” Peridot groaned, letting herself fall backward onto the floor as she continued groaning all the while, even as she began recording yet another log on her tablet. “Log date—whatever, facet—WHATEVER! Clearly there’s nothing important enough for me to give to Lazuli! Ugh… at least I still have you, tablet…” she sighed, patting the device affectionately. Only a beat later, however, she gasped as she looked to it once again, realizing that perhaps the perfect gift for Lapis wasn’t so far out of reach after all.

***

“Ta-da!” Peridot smiled as brightly as she possibly could as she presented her next gift to Lapis. Steven and Mabel had helped her carefully box and wrap it, so of course, both of them, along with Dipper, were present to watch as she delivered it, knowing that there wasn’t a chance this plan could fail, not this time.

Expectedly, Lapis said nothing, instead continuing to glower down at the green Gem, even as she took another small step closer to her, still holding her gift up in offering towards her. “See, even the ribbon is even blue,” Peridot pointed out with a coy grin. “I got yo number!”

Still, Lapis said nothing, not making any attempts at moving to accept the gift as she instead maintained her cold, monotonous manner. Peridot grew somewhat nervous at this, but, upon a pair of encouraging nodes from both Steven and Mabel, she pressed on all the same. “Uh, h-here! I’ll unwrap it for you!” the green Gem did so, explaining the meaning behind the box’s contents as she did. “When I was stuck here, Steven and Mabel a ‘cell phone’ as a gift and after that was… unfortunately broken, one of Dipper’s friends gave me this as a replacement. I didn’t really get it at first-” Peridot finally unboxed the gift to reveal her own treasured tablet, which she selflessly offered to the blue Gem once more. “But it made me feel better just to talk about the weird stuff that was happening. A-and maybe… it’ll help you too!”

Of course, while the kids were all unanimously warmed by Peridot’s kind sentiments, Lapis didn’t really react to them other than finally taking the tablet with both hands, looking down at it dubiously. “You, um… press that button at the bottom, tap the microphone app, and then just hit record a-and then you talk to it,” Peridot explained, offering the blue Gem an expectant smile.

Lapis followed these instructions with surprising ease, her expression still harsh as she pressed record to leave a single icy, bitter message. “I don’t want your garbage.”

And with that, she gripped both sides of the tablet, bending it until it inevitably snapped clean in two, its glass screen shattering as it immediately powered off for the last time. Peridot, Steven, Mabel, and Dipper alike all watched in horrified shock as she dropped both halves of the ruined tablet, not even flinching as they fell to the ground at her feet, absolutely broken beyond repair.

Of course, Peridot was by far the most alarmed and upset to see her heartfelt gift not just be rejected, but completely destroyed altogether without so much as a second thought at all. “Augh!” she cried in heated frustration, glaring back up at the unshaken blue Gem. “What, were you trapped in a tablet too?!” Lapis finally flinched at this, clearly taken aback by such a bold remark, but even so, Peridot continued, letting out a long sigh as she tried her best to calm down. “Look, I get it, you know?” the green Gem said, her tone both sincere and frustrated. “You’re confused, you can never go back to Homeworld! This place doesn’t exactly feel like home yet. You’re alone, no one could possibly know what that feels like. Oh wait! I do! Heck, I even know what its like to be in a terrible fusion, just like you do, no thanks to one certain Pyrite…” Peridot shuddered at this, not catching the look of confused disbelief Lapis sent her way upon hearing this as she continued her emotional outburst. “Don’t you see? We’re the same, except… you don’t have to be alone…” The green Gem looked up to her, sad and hopeful, even as the blue Gem looked away angrily, just as she always seemed to do. “So tell me then… what you want from me! And whatever that is… I’ll do it.”

Lapis maintained her scowl, still refusing to let go of her animosity as she gave the green Gem the truth that she wanted, as hostile and hurtful as it was. “I want you… to LEAVE!”

Peridot gasped at this, as did the trio of kids behind her, but even so, the green Gem accepted this demand as graciously as anyone could have been expected to. “O-ok…” she closed her eyes, saying nothing else as she turned and walked off. Leaving the barn, the kids, her brand new home behind, all in a final, meager attempt to appease the blue Gem, one that she knew, just like all her other tries, would ultimately mean nothing in the end.

A long stretch of silence followed as the kids watched Peridot go, all of them floored by what they had just seen. Before, they had all understood, at least on some level, why Lapis had bore such ill will towards the green Gem from the start. But now, even after all the attempts Peridot had made at trying to prove to her she had changed, Lapis rebuffed and rejected her every single time without so much as budging from her bitter stance even once. And now, there was no question that in her stewing stubbornness, she had gone too far.

“Lapis… what the heck?!” Dipper, surprisingly enough, was the first to call the blue Gem out on her deplorable behavior, unable to look past it, even despite the significant trauma she had just been through. “I’m sorry, but, that… that was awful! Why would you do that?!”

“Why wouldn’t I do that?” Lapis asked with a flippant scoff. “I already told you, I don’t want her around here!”

“B-but you didn’t have to be so mean to her!” Mabel protested just as devoutly as her brother had. “She really is trying to get you to like her! And she’s serious about all of it!”

Unable to show anywhere near the same sort of hostility towards the kids as she had with Peridot, Lapis’ expression finally softened somewhat at this, taking on what almost appeared to be guilt for a moment before skepticism took its place instead. “W-why… why do you three care so much about her?” she asked, shaking her head. “Why does it matter so much to you that she sticks around? Why don’t you want her gone just as much as I do?!”

“Because we know her!” Steven scolded firmly, sharing the twins’ clear disappointment in the blue Gem. “Lapis, you’re not even giving her a single chance and that’s not fair! You should have at least gotten to know her before you decided that you didn’t like her! But now…” He sighed sadly, looking down at the broken remains of Peridot’s former tablet, something that Lapis mirrored with the slightest tinge of regret in her expression as she realized that maybe… just maybe, the kids were right about the green Gem after all. “Its too late. And she’s never coming back again…”

“AHHH!!!!” Peridot’s terrified cry suddenly echoed over the hills she had just disappeared behind, heralding her arrival even before she scrambled over them hurriedly.

“Oh, hey! She’s coming back again!” Mabel smiled, though it quickly faded as they all noticed the green Gem’s frantic manner.

“They’re here!” she shouted warningly, rushing past the group to retreat towards the barn. Everyone was unanimously confused at this, that is, until the overcast skies above were suddenly broken by a large, ominous, crimson pod, looming menacingly as it hovered down from above. The others were startled stiff as they saw it, or rather as it saw them, casting down a stark, bright yellow ray of light on all three of them.

“W-what is that?!” Dipper asked, both dumbfounded and terrified by the sinister-looking craft.

“Who cares? Run!” Mabel cried, grabbing both Dipper and Steven by the arms as they hurried off, Lapis following not too far behind. They quickly joined Peridot in hiding out in the barn, hoping that the ship, whatever it was or whatever it had come for, wouldn’t be able to spot them there.

“P-Peridot! What’s going on?” Steven asked, out of breath from such a short, hectic dash.

“I-it’s a Roaming Eye!” Peridot explained, trying to keep her anxious voice down. “A Homeworld tracking vessel! There’s no doubt Yellow Diamond sent it here to find me! I told you, I’m public enemy #1!”

Despite the group’s best efforts to slip away from the Roaming Eye, it all too quickly found them, its golden spotlight flooding in through the barns’ wooden ceiling. Everyone collectively held their breaths as it passed overhead, and for a moment, it seemed as though they were in the clear as the vessel apparently hovered right past the barn. That is, until it flashed directly through the large hole in the building’s side, easily finding the terrified group gathered within it once more.

Panicked, they tried fleeing from it again, collectively rushing out of the barn in the hopes of escaping from the Roaming Eye somewhere else. They didn’t get too far before the ship overtook them, however, coming to float directly ahead of them, its sinister spotlight bearing down on them all the while.

“N-no!” Peridot cried, cowering fearfully behind Steven, Mabel, and Dipper. The kids themselves, however, were also quite terrified, especially as the Roaming Eye’s light took on a much harsher pallor, turning bright red as its reticle focused in on all of them directly, no doubt in anticipation of a deadly attack.

“T-this is it!” Peridot exclaimed mournfully as she continued to tremble in terror behind the kids. “They’re going to wipe my precious grin off the face of this planet!”

“Not if we have anything to about it, Peri!” Mabel assured as confidently as she could.

“Just stay behind us!” Steven ordered, ready to summon his shield. “We’ll protect you!”

Ultimately, however, the young Gem didn’t need to call upon his shield, for right before he could, Lapis, of all people or Gems, happened to step forward instead. Her manner was calm and unshaken as she stepped towards the Roaming Eye, its crimson glow shading her red as the gale it created rustled her hair lightly all the while. Briefly, she paused, casting a brief glance back at the kids, or rather Peridot, her expression still cold and unyielding as she spoke not a single word. Instead, she turned back to the vessel before her, raising her hand silently as she called upon the water in the nearby pool to do the same, forming it into a hand to match her own. And then, in a single, simple move, she flicked the Roaming Eye with her aquatic hand, immediately halting its descent before she slammed it down, sending it plummeting, hard and defeated, to the ground.

As the now defunct Roaming Eye grew still and silent, the others were all left in stunned silence, absolutely baffled as they looked back to the triumphant blue Gem as she released her control over the water once more. “Holy smokes…” Peridot muttered to herself, beyond impressed and amazed at just how powerful Lapis really was. But what surprised her even more was when the blue Gem looked back to her once again, addressing her directly this time, her tone no longer bearing the same bitterness as it had before.

“Peridot,” she began, turning to face the green Gem fully. “…You ok?”

Peridot didn’t say anything, instead opting to reply with a wide, elated, beaming grin, knowing that even if they weren’t exactly friends or roommates or anything of the sort quite yet, this was a start. And a start was all she had really wanted from the get-go.

Upon catching such a warm grin, Lapis quickly grew flustered, her cheeks deepening in a dark blue blush that she quickly tried to hide away. Both Steven and Dipper laughed lightly at this, glad to see at least some form of civility between the pair, though Mabel by far was the most excited about it among the three.

“Yeesssss!” she cheered in a starry-eyed whisper. “Looks like pretty soon I’ll have another pair to add to my ‘Cutest Gem Couples’ list! Which is good cause so far all I have on there is Ruby and Sapphire, I really gotta buff that list up.”

“Kids!” A loud, concerned cry from none other than Pearl sounded out as Stan’s car pulled up to the barn, all three of the Gems, as well as the conman and the author piling out. “Are you all alright? We saw the ship and came out as fast as we could!”

“Yeah, chalk it up to yet another drive I had to make all the way out here,” Stan remarked crossly. “I swear, I’m starting to get really sick of this place…”

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Steven replied to Pearl’s worries. “Lapis saved us, but… it looks like Homeworld really has it out for Peridot.” He nodded over to the dormant Roaming Eye lying several feet away.

“I guess Lapis will just have to keep slam-dunking their ships until they get the message they’re not wanted here,” Dipper remarked with a small chuckle, one that Lapis returned with a bit of a laugh of her own. However, what neither of them initially noticed was the awestruck look Ford in particular was sending Lapis’ way, though the blue Gem caught onto it soon enough as she just so happened to look over towards him as well.

“N-no way…” Lapis gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stepped over to meet the author. “Its… its you! It’s really you!”

Ford started at this, every bit as shocked as the blue Gem herself was as they approached one another. “I—you… you actually remember me?”

“Are you kidding, of course I do!” Lapis exclaimed, though her incredulous smile soon faded into guilt as she looked away. “A-and… I’m sorry… for leaving you behind.”

Against all odds, the author caught the blue Gem off guard again, this time with a small, simple, accepting smirk. “If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. It was my botched plans that cost both of us a clean get away. But in the end, I suppose it all worked out; after all, we both still made it back here all the same.”

Lapis’ remorse was quickly set to ease at this as she returned his confident smile, glad to know that her own selfish escape hadn’t cost him his life after all. “Yeah. I guess we did.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” Mabel suddenly interjected, absolutely confused. “What in the actual hey is goin’ on here?”

“Yeah, seriously,” Dipper added, just as bewildered. “Do you guys know each other or something?”

“Oh! Dipper!” Lapis exclaimed, her smile widening in excitement. “This is him! He’s the human I was telling you about! The one who helped me when I was locked up on Homeworld!”

“­What?!” Dipper exclaimed, completely shocked to discover the answer to a question he had largely, admittedly forgotten he’d once had. “Great Uncle Ford, you’ve been to Homeworld?!”

“Ah, yes, I… I have…” Ford glanced down apprehensively, not catching the stunned glances he was catching from the Crystal Gems in particular as he admitted this. “But that’s a story for another time. For now, it looks as though we have other, far more pressing things to worry about…”

The author nodded over at the crashed Roaming Eye, smoke starting to emit from it as soft, thumping noises began to pound from somewhere inside its interior. Clearly, something was happening with the supposedly defunct vessel, and whatever it was, everyone was instantly on edge as they watched it closely. And it was a good thing that they did, for no sooner than a moment later, its hatch burst open, and emerging from its cockpit was a single Gem, its stone resting in the place where one its eyes should have been as it glared out across its new surroundings fiercely.

And that Gem was none other… than a Ruby.

Next:

[kenzymirror]

Fayose mocks Buhari, reveals Tinubu’s remark at APC rally against Fayemi

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has spoken on the July 14 governorship election and the roles of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu. The governor dismissed the influence of Buhari in the election, saying he is not the one who feeds the people of Ekiti. He also attacked the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Kayode Fayemi, saying he did nothing for the state as a federal minister. Fayose, in excerpts of an interview released by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, on Saturday said: “I am known for one thing in this state and will forever be remembered for it. I am a man of my word; I want to be remembered like Awolowo and others who have paid their dues. I employed about 6000/7000 during my first tenure. The people are celebrating my courage, my simplicity, my being accessible.

What opportunities has Fayemi’s being minister brought upon Ekiti in four years? How many people has he used his influence to employ? Do we buy bread with Buhari’s name here? If Fayemi understood what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said about him during their campaign, he would realise the game is up for him. How has Fayemi benefitted Ekiti? “The little we had is what I have used in turning Ekiti around, what can Fayemi point to as his project in Ikere?

The Mugbagba area of Ado-Ekiti that we beautified is being littered with sacrifices from Fayemi and his people, what did he do in Ado? If anyone is coming out to criticise the good work we have done here, it should not be Fayemi because he has no record here. Non of my aides should dignify them with any response anymore. Pet-Tim/Onala, Bawa/Police headquarters, Awedele/Bank Road beautification and so on are my handiwork.

If not that Fayemi is shameless, he would have kept quiet. Can you imagine a former governor saying our teachers came first in NECO because they bought questions from the exam authorities. All your strategies at pre-loading and ballot stuffing have been exposed. I have most of your plans here on my phone, as God liveth, you will fail woefully. The last of you will be 14/15 July, 2018. You have forgotten that the power of the people is greater than those in power.

Instead of telling people what you will do, you are busy destroying the reputation of our teachers. You will fail! Since I took over in October, 2014, there was no single political killing until Fayemi came to seek a second term. Kolapo Olusola is already the governor because God has ordained him.

Ideally when you want to employ people, you do an estimate of the numbers to be employed. When we got to the field, we discovered the number was huge. I am saying again that I will supervise the submission and other process very strictly. When APC was in power, people paid for form. I am telling you that within the next 10 days, I will send you transport fare to easy the process. Another set of forms will be sent to the LG where your name, serial number and account number will be filled. Keep the original and submit the photocopy. The crowd I saw coming out for the form shows the people needs credible hands to better their lives.

I am the governor of Ekiti State, I don’t know Obama and I won’t come here to deceive you. I call on Ekiti people to weigh our performance and be the judge. I heard they have started roaming the palace to name 3 projects they want, I dare ask them, “what did they do when they were there? Nobody from Ekiti South is supposed to vote against a Southern candidate, doing that will mean selling your right perpetually.

We have provided a platform by presenting Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka, a man with immense wisdom to be the face of the South agenda. “All politicians that intend to get to Oke Aye by stepping on the blood of Ekiti people will fail IJN. Some teachers are retiring and we won’t say because there is no money we are not going to recruit. Fayemi took #35b commercial loan in addition to N25bn bond. If not because those loans were restructured, we would have been paying over N2bn per month. Ko si eni to npa owo Oku pamo, workers brought the idea of employment into critical sectors and I bought into it. We believe God that our economy will improve such that we’ll be able to pay workers.

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[kenzymirror]

Fayose mocks Buhari, reveals Tinubu’s remark at APC rally against Fayemi

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has spoken on the July 14 governorship election and the roles of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu. The governor dismissed the influence of Buhari in the election, saying he is not the one who feeds the people of Ekiti. He also attacked the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Kayode Fayemi, saying he did nothing for the state as a federal minister. Fayose, in excerpts of an interview released by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, on Saturday said: “I am known for one thing in this state and will forever be remembered for it. I am a man of my word; I want to be remembered like Awolowo and others who have paid their dues. I employed about 6000/7000 during my first tenure. The people are celebrating my courage, my simplicity, my being accessible.

What opportunities has Fayemi’s being minister brought upon Ekiti in four years? How many people has he used his influence to employ? Do we buy bread with Buhari’s name here? If Fayemi understood what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said about him during their campaign, he would realise the game is up for him. How has Fayemi benefitted Ekiti? “The little we had is what I have used in turning Ekiti around, what can Fayemi point to as his project in Ikere?

The Mugbagba area of Ado-Ekiti that we beautified is being littered with sacrifices from Fayemi and his people, what did he do in Ado? If anyone is coming out to criticise the good work we have done here, it should not be Fayemi because he has no record here. Non of my aides should dignify them with any response anymore. Pet-Tim/Onala, Bawa/Police headquarters, Awedele/Bank Road beautification and so on are my handiwork.

If not that Fayemi is shameless, he would have kept quiet. Can you imagine a former governor saying our teachers came first in NECO because they bought questions from the exam authorities. All your strategies at pre-loading and ballot stuffing have been exposed. I have most of your plans here on my phone, as God liveth, you will fail woefully. The last of you will be 14/15 July, 2018. You have forgotten that the power of the people is greater than those in power.

Instead of telling people what you will do, you are busy destroying the reputation of our teachers. You will fail! Since I took over in October, 2014, there was no single political killing until Fayemi came to seek a second term. Kolapo Olusola is already the governor because God has ordained him.

Ideally when you want to employ people, you do an estimate of the numbers to be employed. When we got to the field, we discovered the number was huge. I am saying again that I will supervise the submission and other process very strictly. When APC was in power, people paid for form. I am telling you that within the next 10 days, I will send you transport fare to easy the process. Another set of forms will be sent to the LG where your name, serial number and account number will be filled. Keep the original and submit the photocopy. The crowd I saw coming out for the form shows the people needs credible hands to better their lives.

I am the governor of Ekiti State, I don’t know Obama and I won’t come here to deceive you. I call on Ekiti people to weigh our performance and be the judge. I heard they have started roaming the palace to name 3 projects they want, I dare ask them, “what did they do when they were there? Nobody from Ekiti South is supposed to vote against a Southern candidate, doing that will mean selling your right perpetually.

We have provided a platform by presenting Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka, a man with immense wisdom to be the face of the South agenda. “All politicians that intend to get to Oke Aye by stepping on the blood of Ekiti people will fail IJN. Some teachers are retiring and we won’t say because there is no money we are not going to recruit. Fayemi took #35b commercial loan in addition to N25bn bond. If not because those loans were restructured, we would have been paying over N2bn per month. Ko si eni to npa owo Oku pamo, workers brought the idea of employment into critical sectors and I bought into it. We believe God that our economy will improve such that we’ll be able to pay workers.

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[kenzymirror]

Fayose mocks Buhari, reveals Tinubu’s remark at APC rally against Fayemi

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has spoken on the July 14 governorship election and the roles of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu. The governor dismissed the influence of Buhari in the election, saying he is not the one who feeds the people of Ekiti. He also attacked the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Kayode Fayemi, saying he did nothing for the state as a federal minister. Fayose, in excerpts of an interview released by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, on Saturday said: “I am known for one thing in this state and will forever be remembered for it. I am a man of my word; I want to be remembered like Awolowo and others who have paid their dues. I employed about 6000/7000 during my first tenure. The people are celebrating my courage, my simplicity, my being accessible.

What opportunities has Fayemi’s being minister brought upon Ekiti in four years? How many people has he used his influence to employ? Do we buy bread with Buhari’s name here? If Fayemi understood what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said about him during their campaign, he would realise the game is up for him. How has Fayemi benefitted Ekiti? “The little we had is what I have used in turning Ekiti around, what can Fayemi point to as his project in Ikere?

The Mugbagba area of Ado-Ekiti that we beautified is being littered with sacrifices from Fayemi and his people, what did he do in Ado? If anyone is coming out to criticise the good work we have done here, it should not be Fayemi because he has no record here. Non of my aides should dignify them with any response anymore. Pet-Tim/Onala, Bawa/Police headquarters, Awedele/Bank Road beautification and so on are my handiwork.

If not that Fayemi is shameless, he would have kept quiet. Can you imagine a former governor saying our teachers came first in NECO because they bought questions from the exam authorities. All your strategies at pre-loading and ballot stuffing have been exposed. I have most of your plans here on my phone, as God liveth, you will fail woefully. The last of you will be 14/15 July, 2018. You have forgotten that the power of the people is greater than those in power.

Instead of telling people what you will do, you are busy destroying the reputation of our teachers. You will fail! Since I took over in October, 2014, there was no single political killing until Fayemi came to seek a second term. Kolapo Olusola is already the governor because God has ordained him.

Ideally when you want to employ people, you do an estimate of the numbers to be employed. When we got to the field, we discovered the number was huge. I am saying again that I will supervise the submission and other process very strictly. When APC was in power, people paid for form. I am telling you that within the next 10 days, I will send you transport fare to easy the process. Another set of forms will be sent to the LG where your name, serial number and account number will be filled. Keep the original and submit the photocopy. The crowd I saw coming out for the form shows the people needs credible hands to better their lives.

I am the governor of Ekiti State, I don’t know Obama and I won’t come here to deceive you. I call on Ekiti people to weigh our performance and be the judge. I heard they have started roaming the palace to name 3 projects they want, I dare ask them, “what did they do when they were there? Nobody from Ekiti South is supposed to vote against a Southern candidate, doing that will mean selling your right perpetually.

We have provided a platform by presenting Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka, a man with immense wisdom to be the face of the South agenda. “All politicians that intend to get to Oke Aye by stepping on the blood of Ekiti people will fail IJN. Some teachers are retiring and we won’t say because there is no money we are not going to recruit. Fayemi took #35b commercial loan in addition to N25bn bond. If not because those loans were restructured, we would have been paying over N2bn per month. Ko si eni to npa owo Oku pamo, workers brought the idea of employment into critical sectors and I bought into it. We believe God that our economy will improve such that we’ll be able to pay workers.

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[kenzymirror]

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has spoken on the July 14 governorship election and the roles of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu. The governor dismissed the influence of Buhari in the election, saying he is not the one who feeds the people of Ekiti. He also attacked the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Kayode Fayemi, saying he did nothing for the state as a federal minister. Fayose, in excerpts of an interview released by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, on Saturday said: “I am known for one thing in this state and will forever be remembered for it. I am a man of my word; I want to be remembered like Awolowo and others who have paid their dues. I employed about 6000/7000 during my first tenure. The people are celebrating my courage, my simplicity, my being accessible. What opportunities has Fayemi’s being minister brought upon Ekiti in four years? How many people has he used his influence to employ? Do we buy bread with Buhari’s name here? If Fayemi understood what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said about him during their campaign, he would realise the game is up for him. How has Fayemi benefitted Ekiti? “The little we had is what I have used in turning Ekiti around, what can Fayemi point to as his project in Ikere? The Mugbagba area of Ado-Ekiti that we beautified is being littered with sacrifices from Fayemi and his people, what did he do in Ado? If anyone is coming out to criticise the good work we have done here, it should not be Fayemi because he has no record here. Non of my aides should dignify them with any response anymore. Pet-Tim/Onala, Bawa/Police headquarters, Awedele/Bank Road beautification and so on are my handiwork. If not that Fayemi is shameless, he would have kept quiet. Can you imagine a former governor saying our teachers came first in NECO because they bought questions from the exam authorities. All your strategies at pre-loading and ballot stuffing have been exposed. I have most of your plans here on my phone, as God liveth, you will fail woefully. The last of you will be 14/15 July, 2018. You have forgotten that the power of the people is greater than those in power. Instead of telling people what you will do, you are busy destroying the reputation of our teachers. You will fail! Since I took over in October, 2014, there was no single political killing until Fayemi came to seek a second term. Kolapo Olusola is already the governor because God has ordained him. Ideally when you want to employ people, you do an estimate of the numbers to be employed. When we got to the field, we discovered the number was huge. I am saying again that I will supervise the submission and other process very strictly. When APC was in power, people paid for form. I am telling you that within the next 10 days, I will send you transport fare to easy the process. Another set of forms will be sent to the LG where your name, serial number and account number will be filled. Keep the original and submit the photocopy. The crowd I saw coming out for the form shows the people needs credible hands to better their lives. I am the governor of Ekiti State, I don’t know Obama and I won’t come here to deceive you. I call on Ekiti people to weigh our performance and be the judge. I heard they have started roaming the palace to name 3 projects they want, I dare ask them, “what did they do when they were there? Nobody from Ekiti South is supposed to vote against a Southern candidate, doing that will mean selling your right perpetually. We have provided a platform by presenting Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka, a man with immense wisdom to be the face of the South agenda. “All politicians that intend to get to Oke Aye by stepping on the blood of Ekiti people will fail IJN. Some teachers are retiring and we won’t say because there is no money we are not going to recruit. Fayemi took #35b commercial loan in addition to N25bn bond. If not because those loans were restructured, we would have been paying over N2bn per month. Ko si eni to npa owo Oku pamo, workers brought the idea of employment into critical sectors and I bought into it. We believe God that our economy will improve such that we’ll be able to pay workers.

http://www.kenzymirror.com.ng/2018/06/fayose-mocks-buhari-reveals-tinubus_23.html

[kenzymirror]

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has spoken on the July 14 governorship election and the roles of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu. The governor dismissed the influence of Buhari in the election, saying he is not the one who feeds the people of Ekiti. He also attacked the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Kayode Fayemi, saying he did nothing for the state as a federal minister. Fayose, in excerpts of an interview released by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, on Saturday said: “I am known for one thing in this state and will forever be remembered for it. I am a man of my word; I want to be remembered like Awolowo and others who have paid their dues. I employed about 6000/7000 during my first tenure. The people are celebrating my courage, my simplicity, my being accessible. What opportunities has Fayemi’s being minister brought upon Ekiti in four years? How many people has he used his influence to employ? Do we buy bread with Buhari’s name here? If Fayemi understood what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said about him during their campaign, he would realise the game is up for him. How has Fayemi benefitted Ekiti? “The little we had is what I have used in turning Ekiti around, what can Fayemi point to as his project in Ikere? The Mugbagba area of Ado-Ekiti that we beautified is being littered with sacrifices from Fayemi and his people, what did he do in Ado? If anyone is coming out to criticise the good work we have done here, it should not be Fayemi because he has no record here. Non of my aides should dignify them with any response anymore. Pet-Tim/Onala, Bawa/Police headquarters, Awedele/Bank Road beautification and so on are my handiwork. If not that Fayemi is shameless, he would have kept quiet. Can you imagine a former governor saying our teachers came first in NECO because they bought questions from the exam authorities. All your strategies at pre-loading and ballot stuffing have been exposed. I have most of your plans here on my phone, as God liveth, you will fail woefully. The last of you will be 14/15 July, 2018. You have forgotten that the power of the people is greater than those in power. Instead of telling people what you will do, you are busy destroying the reputation of our teachers. You will fail! Since I took over in October, 2014, there was no single political killing until Fayemi came to seek a second term. Kolapo Olusola is already the governor because God has ordained him. Ideally when you want to employ people, you do an estimate of the numbers to be employed. When we got to the field, we discovered the number was huge. I am saying again that I will supervise the submission and other process very strictly. When APC was in power, people paid for form. I am telling you that within the next 10 days, I will send you transport fare to easy the process. Another set of forms will be sent to the LG where your name, serial number and account number will be filled. Keep the original and submit the photocopy. The crowd I saw coming out for the form shows the people needs credible hands to better their lives. I am the governor of Ekiti State, I don’t know Obama and I won’t come here to deceive you. I call on Ekiti people to weigh our performance and be the judge. I heard they have started roaming the palace to name 3 projects they want, I dare ask them, “what did they do when they were there? Nobody from Ekiti South is supposed to vote against a Southern candidate, doing that will mean selling your right perpetually. We have provided a platform by presenting Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka, a man with immense wisdom to be the face of the South agenda. “All politicians that intend to get to Oke Aye by stepping on the blood of Ekiti people will fail IJN. Some teachers are retiring and we won’t say because there is no money we are not going to recruit. Fayemi took #35b commercial loan in addition to N25bn bond. If not because those loans were restructured, we would have been paying over N2bn per month. Ko si eni to npa owo Oku pamo, workers brought the idea of employment into critical sectors and I bought into it. We believe God that our economy will improve such that we’ll be able to pay workers. from WordPress https://ift.tt/2MQ9j3b via IFTTT

http://www.kenzymirror.com.ng/2018/06/fayose-mocks-buhari-reveals-tinubus_0.html

[kenzymirror]

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has spoken on the July 14 governorship election and the roles of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu. The governor dismissed the influence of Buhari in the election, saying he is not the one who feeds the people of Ekiti. He also attacked the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Kayode Fayemi, saying he did nothing for the state as a federal minister. Fayose, in excerpts of an interview released by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, on Saturday said: “I am known for one thing in this state and will forever be remembered for it. I am a man of my word; I want to be remembered like Awolowo and others who have paid their dues. I employed about 6000/7000 during my first tenure. The people are celebrating my courage, my simplicity, my being accessible. What opportunities has Fayemi’s being minister brought upon Ekiti in four years? How many people has he used his influence to employ? Do we buy bread with Buhari’s name here? If Fayemi understood what Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu said about him during their campaign, he would realise the game is up for him. How has Fayemi benefitted Ekiti? “The little we had is what I have used in turning Ekiti around, what can Fayemi point to as his project in Ikere? The Mugbagba area of Ado-Ekiti that we beautified is being littered with sacrifices from Fayemi and his people, what did he do in Ado? If anyone is coming out to criticise the good work we have done here, it should not be Fayemi because he has no record here. Non of my aides should dignify them with any response anymore. Pet-Tim/Onala, Bawa/Police headquarters, Awedele/Bank Road beautification and so on are my handiwork. If not that Fayemi is shameless, he would have kept quiet. Can you imagine a former governor saying our teachers came first in NECO because they bought questions from the exam authorities. All your strategies at pre-loading and ballot stuffing have been exposed. I have most of your plans here on my phone, as God liveth, you will fail woefully. The last of you will be 14/15 July, 2018. You have forgotten that the power of the people is greater than those in power. Instead of telling people what you will do, you are busy destroying the reputation of our teachers. You will fail! Since I took over in October, 2014, there was no single political killing until Fayemi came to seek a second term. Kolapo Olusola is already the governor because God has ordained him. Ideally when you want to employ people, you do an estimate of the numbers to be employed. When we got to the field, we discovered the number was huge. I am saying again that I will supervise the submission and other process very strictly. When APC was in power, people paid for form. I am telling you that within the next 10 days, I will send you transport fare to easy the process. Another set of forms will be sent to the LG where your name, serial number and account number will be filled. Keep the original and submit the photocopy. The crowd I saw coming out for the form shows the people needs credible hands to better their lives. I am the governor of Ekiti State, I don’t know Obama and I won’t come here to deceive you. I call on Ekiti people to weigh our performance and be the judge. I heard they have started roaming the palace to name 3 projects they want, I dare ask them, “what did they do when they were there? Nobody from Ekiti South is supposed to vote against a Southern candidate, doing that will mean selling your right perpetually. We have provided a platform by presenting Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka, a man with immense wisdom to be the face of the South agenda. “All politicians that intend to get to Oke Aye by stepping on the blood of Ekiti people will fail IJN. Some teachers are retiring and we won’t say because there is no money we are not going to recruit. Fayemi took #35b commercial loan in addition to N25bn bond. If not because those loans were restructured, we would have been paying over N2bn per month. Ko si eni to npa owo Oku pamo, workers brought the idea of employment into critical sectors and I bought into it. We believe God that our economy will improve such that we’ll be able to pay workers.

http://www.kenzymirror.com.ng/2018/06/fayose-mocks-buhari-reveals-tinubus.html