//------------------------------// // Rebooting System ... // Story: My Little Universe II // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// Pink Diamond. Ruby. Sapphire. Pearl. Amethyst. Jasper. Lapis Lazuli. Peridot. And Spinel. That was the line up that they got going when they all returned from the fields of battle to the Beach House. All of the gemstones they've managed to keep safe were kept lined up along the table within said Beach House, Steven himself still sitting there and keeping watch of them throughout the night, and into that morning. For those that remained, it was mainly a waiting game for when they'll come back, all of them putting what work they could on hold for the morning at the least as they waited for the moment the Gems would come back. Some were pacing, some were passing time with TV, others were just sitting there and watching. Whatever the case, they weren't gonna just leave them behind. "I can't believe this," Steven sighed at one point, "First I run away, and when I come back this happens. … How long did you say until they can reform again?" "It's gonna take a while Steven," said Bismuth, "Just be glad they're all in one piece. I mean, I still remember it taking weeks for Pearl to come back from reforming." "And hey," added Connie, "Garnet's alive after all, so that's gotta count for something." "I guess so. It all just happened so fast. … Well, soon as they come back out, I can apologize and we can work out what to do from there," Steven concluded, holding one of the Gems in his hands. In this case, Amethyst and Lapis Lazuli. Bismuth wasn't so sure though on that remark, but before she could say anything, they all then heard the beach door open up, revealing not only Flint coming back, but a few of the Off-Colors too. "Steven, you are back. Flint said something - … HOLY SSSSSSHE GOT THEM ALL AT ONCE?!" gasped Rhodonite. "Pretty much what I said," agreed Starlight from by the TV. "Oh yeah, all in exactly one song sequence. Such a twisted way to do it," Pinkie explained. However, the ponies weren't too sure on what kind of item she was using, though they did keep it with them for safe keeping by the counter top. Which Twilight herself levitated to try and check it out. "Speaking of which, what even is this? Is it some kind of destabilizer, or -" "Be careful with that!" Bismuth suddenly said, grabbing it away when Twilight tried looking through the smaller opening, it aiming at her eye. Bismuth held it properly. "It's a Rejuvenator," Bismuth stated, activating it so it extended, and showed the eerie scythe that took them all down in the first place. A few stray sparks shot out of the scythe's light-glowing blade upon release, everyone seeing it was there. "These were once used on Gems who started steppin outta line. One hit with this … and you're back to how they made you," Bismuth explained, as she got the weapon put away and retracted before anyone could get hurt by it again. "Back to how they made you? … So, just reforming then. That ain't bad, you guys do that all the time," shrugged Rainbow Dash, as Bismuth placed the Rejuvenator down back in the kitchen, glancing back to all the gemstones on the table. "It's not the same as just getting poofed out in the battlefield. If you get hit with one of these, then you won't even remember the fight. You won't remember how you got there! … You right back at square one, right when you first come out." For a moment, they all took a bit to realize just what exactly Bismuth meant as they looked to the fallen Gems. It was a bit to swallow, but as Steven looked to each and every one of them … well … was it his friends he was looking at anymore? "So … they won't remember anything when they come back? They're just completely reset now?" Steven asked. However, as this information fully sunk in, one pink mare brought up something that only added even more escalation. "Holy moly, and Twilight was holding it!" Pinkie gasped, "You could've lost all your character development! … Wait a minute. Hey Steven, you were hit, how'd you keep your memories?" Steven stopped cold on that question. He hadn't forgotten that Grogar did strike him during the last fight yesterday, a weapon that was supposed to "reset" him. Garnet he knew now must've been reset to some degree, but him? "I … did I? ……. Oh no." "Oh no what? Oh no what?" Pinkie gulped. "I don't know if I did. I did get hit, but I'm half Human. … Give me a second, I wanna try something," Steven said, getting up and taking a few steps away from them to try it out. This information left a rather scary theory floating in his head, and as far as he knew there was only one way to test it. To make sure it wasn't as bad as what he thinks. Steven Universe took a breath, and then with a motion made an attempt to summon his shield. … And all that came up was a glitchy mess of a shield, which only lasted for about five seconds before it fizzed out completely. "Steven?" "I knew it: my Human half survived but … my Gem. It took the hit! I've been reset, I don't have any control over my powers anymore!" Steven concluded, in dismay over this news. Whatever control and grip he had over any of his abilities was now completely gone on him again. No more shield, no more healing, nothing. Just a regular boy with a gemstone. However … "Wait, maybe this is a good thing," noted Starlight. "HOW'S THIS ANY GOOD?!" Steven exclaimed. "Wait wait, just hear me out. I mean, you didn't lose your memories after getting hit right? Just your powers. Maybe that's all that happened to them," Starlight hypothesized, pointing to the gemstones. Was it a long shot? Probably, but it didn't sound like it was too far off either. It was wishful thinking at least, but they couldn't just ignore the other possibility either. "That does make sense if you want someone to stay in line … but even more sense if you don't want them to know why they're out of line," figured Flint. "Well we'll just have to see when they do come out," Bismuth replied, Steven taking a seat back on the couch again. Suddenly the hopeful idea of just "apologizing" to them on reforming no longer was a thing. Steven could only hope they even remember who he was, let alone anything else. The dismayed look on Steven's face wasn't ignored for too long, Connie picking up one of the Gems himself. "Don't worry Steven, we'll all figure this out. Sooner or later, all of them are going to reform and come back, better than ever," Connie said, trying to be supportive. And just as soon as she said that, suddenly one of the Gemstones actually started to glow and float up into the air, catching everyone's attention. "Good call, Connie, here she comes!" said Fulgurite. However, while most Gems would just pop up right then and there, the Pearl here didn't technically just "come out" right away. Her gemstone was floating sure, but it seemed there was a bit of a delay in actually rebooting up. "Uhh … any moment now," Fulgurite muttered, but the gemstone didn't come up right away, not rushing the process. Instead, a shape began to form up on the gemstone itself, or rather around it. Not entirely the human body, but instead … "... A … clamshell?" questioned Twilight. "Well this is new," said Rarity. Okay, this is weird. And since Connie was the first to touch the gemstone, she could only presume that this meant it was for her, so she was the one who spoke after some hesitation. "Ms. Maheswaran?" Connie said, shrugging. "Umm … w-what am I supposed to say here? Guys?" Connie quietly asked, still blind-sided by all of this. They don't remember anyone mentioned about this kind of feature to a Pearl, even with the Pearl distribution known of already. Was this unique only to their Pearl? "Don't look at me," shrugged Starlight. Well here we go. The clamshell moved out from its original spot to make some room, the others having to move out of the way for it to do so. The clamshell landed softly on the ground, opening up and only then did the gemstone inside started to form up on them. Pearl's form did start to slowly come to, the same shape appearing before them all. However, given how this was "default" setting, that meant that all the special details Pearl had beforehand no longer seemed to exist. No blue, no ribbons, not even a single star. Literally it was just a pale white outfit by default, one piece suit and shoes and her hair was left rounded out in a clean circle around her head. The ONLY thing she kept from before to now was the placement of gemstone, and even then that probably was just a universal trait for any Gem so that didn't help them that much. On fully forming, Pearl simply stepped off of the clamshell, the platform disappearing. Only then did Pearl open her eyes. "Pearl! Thank Celestia, are you feeling alright?" Rarity asked, being the first to go up to her. … Pearl walked right passed her, and directly over towards Connie. The only one she actually seemed to recognize one of anyone there, and not in the way they wanted. Pearl; How do you do? My "Ms. Maheswaran", Thank you for bringing me into the land, I am at your eternal service, Welcome to your new Pearl! "... Oooohhh noooo, what'd I do?! I-I didn't mean it, whatever I did!" Connie said, freaking out. She didn't want Pearl to be her, well, Pearl. "Connie, Connie, this is perfectly normal for Pearls you didn't do anything bad," Bismuth quickly said, not wanting anyone too freaked out. Pearl simply stood there at attention, oblivious to what the problem could possibly be. Far as Pearl knew, she just came back and was where she needed to be - with her master. "Pearl, don't you recognize them?" asked left Rutile. "Don't you recognize us?" added right Rutile. Luckily for the Rutile Twins, since Pearl just came out without much memory, so too was the natural fear a normal Gem would get out of these two. Though that didn't mean that Pearl didn't question the appearance of these two, thinking a little bit about it. "Hmm … well, I certainly recognize my Ms. Maheswaran." "Oh boy," sighed Connie. Pearl's main issue though would have to wait some more, as they then saw another light begin to glow some more. The others moved out of the way of the table, seeing that this time it was the red Gemstone Ruby who decided to come out. Upon reforming, Ruby stood there with the diamond insignia already formed with her hands. "Ruby?" asked Diopside. Ruby took one look though and it immediately put her on edge. "Who're you?! You're not my assignment," Ruby said, trying to look around for what assignment was there. Unfortunately, and eventually, Ruby pinpointed her target amongst the Off-Color crowd. Padparadscha. "Sapphire! As my sworn duty, and sole purpose, I will defend you with my life," Ruby proudly said. "Everyone, I predict that our Ruby won't remember who her Sapphire is!" Padparadscha said in worry. It may have just happened, but heck it was still such a mix up. "Oh geez, this is getting bad. Shouldn't she know who she is?" Connie said, getting a bit more troubled about it. "Allow me to illuminate," Pearl gleefully said. Pearl went over to Ruby and Padparadscha, their Ruby guard on edge and keeping between Padparadscha and Pearl. Pearl; A Ruby Guard, But just a single one, They tend to come in teams of three or more, A precious Sapphire, She sees the future, That's who the Ruby's for. Speaking of Sapphire, only now did the blue gemstone on the table start to glow and illuminate. Eventually, out came their Sapphire. While it was more clear that Ruby and Pearl were wiped clean of memory, Sapphire … they dunno. She didn't seem that much different, and as she looked around, Sapphire didn't seem very fazed by the strange surroundings. "Ok, Sapphire, I know this looks confusing, but I promise we'll try and get it all worked out. Okay?" said Flint to Sapphire, REALLY hoping that this one had at least some idea of what's going on. "I know you will." Sapphire simply said, which at first sounded easily like how Sapphire would normally act, albeit a bit more melancholy. … Only to turn around and say, "That's why I predict you patience won't last more than a week." "Huh?" "Come now," Sapphire said, stepping off of the table, and actually starting to "shoo" Flint away from the table. Good timing too, because this time two Gemstones started to form up at once. And with the MUCH LARGER shape, Rainbow Dash quickly flew and grabbed the remaining gemstones just before two Quartzes finished their reformation (and smashing the table with their weight). Jasper and Amethyst. Jasper looked alright for the most part, but Amethyst looked a bit funny, as if her form was incomplete: her joints on her arms and legs were lined, her suit was literally just two colors and nothing else, and her hair was short and scruffy. But one detail for both of them that was too far off: they both lacked a Cutie Mark. "Amethyst! Jasper! you're -" Pinkie was about to jump up for a good hug, but suddenly Jasper got on the offensive, and swatted Pinkie Pie away, knocking her through the Beach House screen. "Take that!" Jasper snarled menacingly, fist raised for another punch only for Emerald to jump and grab her arm. Nope, this wasn't the same Jasper, and strangely Amethyst was … kinda copying her. Same expression and stance and everything. Not that Jasper enjoyed it much either way. "Hey, Amethyst?" Steven said humbly, waving a hand. "Hey, Amethyst?" Amethyst said, basically doing the exact same thing. "What? No, you're Amethyst!" Steven insisted. "What? No, you're Amethyst!" Amethyst repeated. By this point, Pinkie Pie pulled herself back into the room through the window, very dazed and blind-sided. "Is it natural for Quartzes to act like parrots?" asked Rainbow Dash to Bismuth, only for her to shrug. Amethyst must've been struck down especially hard, or this was just her when she came out. Either way, she wasn't having many memories either. Still, Pearl came up between them. Pearl; You must be right, They are both Quartz soldiers, This Jasper is perfectly big and strong, this Amethyst is very different, Something is clearly wrong. "Geesh," said Fulgurite at the shocking insult. However, Amethyst didn't seem to care, and in fact only copied Pearl's end stance (a dumb smile with a tilt of the head, and a shrug). It wasn't until this point that Pearl actually started to wonder a little bit about her surroundings. "Something is clearly wrong," Pearl said, "What're all these creatures doing in this strange place?" "THAT'S what you think is wrong here?!" exclaimed Fulgurite, "Work with me Pearl, don't you know ANYONE here besides Connie?" "... Con … coonie?" "Ms. Maheswaran?" Fulgurite corrected after a groan. "Oh! Well I do recognize my master. As for you, hmm …" Unfortunately for her, Pearl couldn't seem to make any connections at all. Amethyst nearby copied the expression and peering look Pearl was making. Nothing was clicking in her head at all when seeing her. But this reformation train was not done yet, as Lapis Lazuli's gemstone started to glow and make its reformation before them. Though, her stone had to get out of Rainbow Dash's hooves first before she was capable of doing so. "Please have that memory in tact, Lapis," Steven hoped. Lapis Lazuli had a better memory than anyone else he knew, so something from their experience HAD to stick with her now, right? Well as with many of the Gems reformed so far, Lapis Lazuli no longer had any special features in her form, only reverting back to the original one she had at the very start. Lapis took a glance to the others nearby, wiping herself clean from … whatever dirt got on her. "Lapis? Hey, Lapis?" Steven said. Lapis didn't exactly respond that much except for a simple sideways glance. After getting herself cleaned up, she took a look around the area, and … "This place looks horrible. Whoever lives here obviously doesn't know how to." One could possibly hear the heart inside Steven shatter into millions of pieces by such harsh words. He might've heard some harsh words from Lapis before, but this was just so sudden. "What? YOU live here, remember? You HAVE to remember something!" gasped Steven. Lapis actually looked insulted. "Excuse me? WHY would I live in such a quarry yard?" Lapis questioned. "You really don't remember, huh?" Steven sighed in dismay. Pearl, still under "order", went by Lapis Lazuli next with a hint of admiration. Pearl; Oh can it be? A Lapis Lazuli Terraformers traveling from world to world They are highly respected beings such an honor being with her Lapis only gave Pearl a pat on the head for the singing performance before she started walking on her way from there towards the Warp Pad. Bad enough they don't remember, they didn't need anyone just wandering away from them just yet. "Wait, wait, wait, where're you going?" Diopside asked, getting in Lapis's way. "Anywhere, that's not here," Lapis simply replied, bringing out some water from her wings to lift Diopside out of her way, dropping her behind her before getting on the Warp Pad. The others tried fetching her, but the Warp Pad already went off, so Lapis was already gone. "Clod it all," growled Flint, "... Ok, is that everyone?" "Nope," said Pinkie, just as another Gemstone started to reform, in this case being their Peridot. But as the humanoid body of Peridot began to take shape, something else started to happen around them. It started with the drawers, which opened up with all the silverware coming out on their own, floating. "Get back here you!" snapped Applejack, grabbing what she could with her hooves. However it was no use, and whatever she did grab simply forced themselves out. As the form kept shape, it seemed each silverware found its specific spot: spoons on the left arm, forks on the right, all knives on the legs and feet. On that they morphed into a simple pair of arm and legs. They weren't as long as normal Limb Enhancers, but it seemed Peridot wouldn't reform without something along those lines. Only after she got her enhancements did she reform completely, landing down on the table instead of the floor. "... uhh … huh?" muttered Starlight. "I don't even know anymore," Flint sighed, hand to gemstone. "Hmm … current conditions are of more primitive resources. Proceeding with material study." "You too Peridot? This house isn't that bad, really!" Steven gasped, not believing his ears as Peridot used her limb enhancers to cut a piece of wood off of the floor to better examine it. Again though, as with the others so far, Pearl got her word in, which actually made Peridot jump (first one to do so). Pearl; Correct again this is a Peridot Although a Peridot is tall yet new Even if she's presentable something's seems wrong here too "Not exactly "wrong" but the materials used to create this base seem highly inefficient. At least put in a few iron alloys in between the bonds instead of … this," Peridot said, pulling out a nail and flicking it aside, which landed in Twilight's mane. "Peridot. My friend. please say you remember something? Anything? Them, me?" Twilight asked. Peridot glanced over to all the Gems in the room, though she did cringe slightly on the Off-Colors present. "Hmm … depends. …" "Yes?" Steven asked hopefully. "... Is this an experiment station?" "Dang it!" the two thought, hand (er hoof in Twilight's case) to forehead. "Ok, NOW is it everyone? We're getting kinda crowded in here," said Fulgurite. Before anyone could answer, one more Gemstone started floating up. THIS time it was Spinel, floating out of the grip of Rainbow's hooves, keeping its upside down shape for a bit. Unlike the others, they were a bit more wary of Spinel, mostly given that SHE caused this in the first place, and who knows what'll come out this time. Some of them took a stand back from her, ready just in case it was a quick attack. Even Steven tried his shield, but that barely lasted a second. "Get back!" Flint warned. But as with the other Gemstones, a strange thing happened with this reformation. Before any could start, the gemstone flipped right-side-up, the heart now properly shaped, and only then did her physical form start to take shape, with some … notable differences, like what happened with Lapis and Amethyst already. Only here, Spinel didn't wait to suddenly stretch her arms out at the first person she saw, coiling him in her grip, and slamming them both onto the ground! Just for them to hear … "I'M SO EXCITED TO MEET YOU!" said Spinel. The exact look she had, in contrast, almost seemed more round than sharp: She had black cartoonish eyes and her hair was styled into a pair of heart-shaped buns. Her top was white with more rounded pink sleeves and her boots become a pair of big magenta shoes. Spinel's previous color palette is also brighter than her current one which uses darker tones. Overall, her appearance was similar to that of an old-fashioned cartoon … er, more so, anyway. And now this cartoon character was standing right on top of Flint with such a big goofy grin. "Huh? You're not mad still?" Flint asked. "Mad? Why would I be mad at my … BEST FRIEND!" Spinel beamed, all giddy and giggling at meeting her brand new friend, and getting off of him in a little bounce. And of course, Pearl was there as well, only here Spinel was dancing a bit to the tune of the song. Pearl; This will be fun! Aren't you the lucky one Her cut is perfect, and she's Pink as well She'll bring you endless entertainment your new Best Friend, Spinel! "... What a turn around," muttered Fulgurite. "So all we got left now is Pink Diamond," said Connie, looking to Pink Diamond in Rainbow Dash's hooves. At this point though, Pearl cleared her throat. Pearl; What have we here? It must be - "Ok Pearl, we all got it. You can stop singing now," Connie simply said. They got enough information out of her already, so Pearl simply gave a thumbs up, and a smile, no longer singing the introduction songs she'd been rattling on about. With all of the singing stopped, they took a breather to see what they were all dealing with now. The good news was none of them were angry at them, or saw them as enemies, but as far as they could see, that was as good as it gets. "Oh look, there's more Gems," said Spinel. "... Let's ask them to play." "Don't tell me. You don't remember anything either," Flint sighed. "Remember what?" Spinel asked, oblivious to the obvious problem. Flint pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance by this news. Well, at least Bismuth gave them a heads-up, otherwise this would've gone south a lot quicker. Still, Flint went right over to Bismuth, hand on her shoulder. "Well now what're we gonna do?" asked the troubled Rutile Twins. "Is there a way to change them back?" added Starlight. Bismuth looked around the others for a bit. "... I don't know. I never heard of any Gem that came back around after getting cut open by a Rejuvenator," Bismuth said in dismay. Well that was it then. The room was a bit split, leaving the memory-wiped Gems to one side of the room, except for Ruby, Pearl, and Spinel (they weren't leaving their respected Gems for any reason). The oldest members of their group, and all of them weren't even knowing who the Harmony Gems even were. And to think Steven was ready to apologize and try to make amends, just to have that taken away. "W-Well, we still got everyone back," Connie said, trying to salvage the situation. "... Did we?" Steven asked. That was all he had to say for the point to come across. It was then though that they took a look between Ruby and Sapphire. It seemed so strange now that they were so distant, and apart already with Ruby thinking Padparadscha was her assignment. "Garnet would know what to do … she always knows what to do …" murmured Flint, feeling a bit more hopeless now … before Spinel suddenly popped up by him. "Hey, don't be sad! Your new best friend~, Your new best friend~, Your new best friend! YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND SPINEL IS HERE!" Spinel beamed, shortly after that going into a giggling fit as she cart-wheeled around him, standing on her head and clapping her feet together, each clap sounding like a squeaky toy. Although she was trying to make him happy, it was too bittersweet: so many veterans were just taken out so quick Flint couldn't think of anything else. "Spinel please, don't be crazy right now," Flint insisted. Hmm. … Crazy. Crazy like - "Twilight!" gasped Rarity. "Your memory spell!" "Memory spell?" Twilight asked, not getting it straight away. "Think back dear: before you got your wings, when Discord was ruling over Ponyville, tricking us all into being the opposite of our true selves. So …" Twilight thought a bit on that subject, hoof to chin. It seemed so long since they actually heard of Discord, nevermind remembering him as a tyrant. She thought about their involvement with him, going through a bit of a maze in trying to figure everything out (figuratively, and literally), even a brief moment when Twilight no longer was willing to try against Discord … and then it clicked. "I think we got our solution! Thanks Rarity," Twilight said, not hesitating to trot over to one of the Gems first. In this case, the first Gem to be approached by the Alicorn was Pearl, who at the point was probably the least hesitant or violent to her. "You think this'll work?" asked Diopside. "I dunno, but I got a Plan B worked out in case it doesn't," Fulgurite said. "Okay Pearl. We know you're in there, just give me a second, this won't hurt …" Twilight's horn began to glow. They all held their breath as Twilight's horn just barely touched Pearl's forehead. A lot of light shined for a bit more for about ten seconds before it eventually faded away. "Well, Pearl? … Anything?" Steven asked. and Pearl then spotted Connie off nearby. "Umm, is this invasion of privacy alright to you, Ms. Maheswaran?" A groan escaped quite a few of them, Fulgurite even hitting her head on the table. "Well that answers it," Bismuth said. "PLAN B, let's do it!" Fulgurite decided. Plan A clearly was a bust, so this had to work, and Fulgurite was already basically pushing them out the door before she could properly explain herself (if she was planning to do so). "H-Hey, where're we going?!" Flint asked. "To the only Diamond that can actually figure this out and has enough power to do it, that's what, now get a moving," Fulgurite said. She got much of the group just outside with the exception of the Off-Colors, who only watched them go down from the Beach House's hillside. "Hey you guys, think you can watch them for us so they stay put?!" called Fulgurite to the Off-Colors. "Um. OKAY, SURE!" called back right Rutile, left Rutile nodding. Fulgurite gave them a thumbs up, and so that was that. The Off-colors were left with the brain-wiped Crystal Gems, as the rest had to go off and handle whatever Plan B was. Hopefully this'll work. After the Elements of Harmony and remaining Gems leave the area, only Padparadscha came outside to watch them leave, with Ruby with her and keeping an eye on everything as her "life goal" seemed to be. Ruby did only one pace by her when she caught sight of something off by the corner of the beach house, Ruby acting on instinct and standing at attention between Padparadscha and the threat. Padparadscha didn't notice until a thud was heard nearby, and even then it took her a second or two to react. As for the "threat", a plant-like head quickly pulled out of sight once Padparadscha spotted her, not from Ruby growling at her. "Threat neutralized," said Ruby. ~~~~~~ Little Homeworld meanwhile was still in a bit of repair. A full day of all the Harmony Gems just stopping altogether did bring some bit of it to a screeching halt, and now the work was more of a pace for a walking mare than a galloping one. However, with this going on, there were still some that were left in disarray: the Diamonds all there even! Blue, Yellow, and White hadn't left Earth since the attack by Spinel, and now they were waiting in Little Homeworld like an anxious set of parents in a waiting room at the doctors. White Diamond was even sitting down on one of the sturdier buildings, foot tapping as she tried to wait it out, as Yellow Diamond was off nearby in pacing. Blue Diamond was beside White diamond, supporting hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her, but she was worried about it herself. During this while, Yellow, Blue, and Pink Pearl were standing aside and at attention, alongside both Priyanka and Doug who had gotten news of the aftermath last night. "Yellow, can you stop pacing, you're making me nervous," White Diamond finally said at a point. Yellow did stop at the request, but it didn't make her feel any better. "Not now, White," Yellow Diamond said. White Diamond gulped. "Yellow, I-I'm sorry about the injector, really I am. I didn't think Spinel would be able to control it," White Diamond said, but that didn't really help Yellow's mood much. "If you didn't make that Injector, we wouldn't even be out here!" Yellow Diamond snapped. White diamond gasped, but luckily Blue Diamond stood up and got between them before it could get any worse. "Yellow, restrain yourself please! We know you're upset, but yelling at White won't make their reformation go any faster," Blue Diamond made clear. Yellow Diamond only crossed her arms, but she didn't go any further than that. White Diamond knew she was right though: first Spinel, now the Injector. Both things she played part in making happen, one way or another. "I know," she grumbled. But it seemed timing was working for Yellow diamond today, because as they were all standing there, they then began to hear the sound of a "welcoming trumpet". "Master "Ms. Maheswaran" has now officially arrived." "We didn't need that, Pearl," said Steven. Finally some good news. Coming in from the direction of Beach City, the Harmony Gem team had gotten themselves back to Little Homeworld, though with a lot of them not with them which did give them some issue. However, seeing Steven there along with Connie was enough to give them a lot of relief. The first to reach them were the diamonds themselves. Connie's parents were heading over too once they realized she was there. "Connie!" gasped Priyanka. Only to suddenly have Pearl standing in way of her and Connie. "I'm sorry, but my "Ms. Maheswaran" is too pre occupied to see you right now, so if you could wait until her word, that's be appreciated." "... What? I'm her mother," Priyanka said, blind-sided by such a response. However, they all felt the ground shake when White diamond got down on her hands and knees. "STEVEN! Oh thank the stars, you're still okay, I thought something too terrible happened while you were away," White Diamond said. Of course, it didn't take long until they notice quite a few of them missing. "Is everyone with you?" asked Blue. "Well they are back, yes, but we had to leave them at the Temple. You see -" *poke* "-huh?-" *poke* "- what the?" "SURPRISE!" said Spinel, coming out and holding Flint's arm after playing one of those "poking" games with him. Flint could tell this was gonna keep happening all day. "Here she is. Our new best friend, Spinel," sighed Flint. Now they THOUGHT that Spinel would try and act differently since White Diamond was standing right there, but she looked more bewildered if anything at all. Not even the diamond insignia or anything. "Wait. Isn't that the same Spinel that tried shattering all of us yesterday?" Yellow Diamond questioned. "I did what now?" Spinel asked, not getting it at all. The memory wipe seemed worse than they thought if they couldn't recognize their own DIAMONDS at this point! "Is this a joke?" Yellow Diamond questioned. Spinel was pulled back by Flint by that point. "No," said Fulgurite, "Turned out that weapon Spinel was using was a Rejuvenator, and now they don't remember anything. But don't sweat it, we got ourselves a solution!" "You do? Well that's great, what is it?" "You!" Fulgurite revealed, pointing right up to her, and making White Diamond freak out a little. "You can give them their memories back! Just use whatever diamond stuff you did on Gems before -" "But I can't give them their memories back!" exclaimed White Diamond. Suddenly they all went silent. "... What?! … Wait. WHAT?!" "I can't do that. It's …" White Diamond checked to see not too many others were around them at the moment, so she could talk a little more freely, "not easy." "Wait, wait, are you serious right now?" exclaimed Steven, "What about all that stuff you did on Orthix when you brainwashed everybody into being your puppets?" "Puppets?" "Or when you altered Gems' memories before the Gem War so they wouldn't know it was you who started it?" added Flint. White Diamond flustered up all over again, which she tried in vain to hide with her hands just in case Gem company was around to see her outside of the Harmony Gems. Humbled still, she tried her best to explain. "Mind alteration, and mind restoration are two different things. I mean, anyone can erase someone's memory and then put in what they want. But giving them their pieces back exactly how you found them is more … complicated." "You are White Diamond, aren't you?" questioned Rainbow Dash. Since when ever did White Diamond say she couldn't do anything? She at least seemed willing to try anything while she worked against them before. Still, White Diamond wasn't very thrilled with her own reasoning either, but facts were facts … as stupid some facts are. "Hmm … missing pieces, huh? …" Bismuth thought. Pondering. "Do you at least know a way to turn this around?" Steven asked, "I mean, there is a way to fix this, right?" White Diamond didn't know how to answer any of them. She never actually tried to fix a Rejuvenator's effects before, so even she wasn't too sure. "Can't you at least lie to me and say there's something we can do?" "OH! OH! Over here!" said Spinel nearby, her hand raised like a frantic kid in class, hand waving like crazy. They didn't have any other ideas, so … "Yes, Spinel?" Flint asked. "What if it's like a puzzle?" Spinel asked. "Puzzle? Spinel?" wondered Connie. "The giant lady said their stuff's pieces. If we give em' all the pieces, eventually, they'll get the full picture," Spinel said, her hands looking as if they're framing a picture. They doubted that White Diamond literally meant actual pieces to their memory, but this random idea started to work its way into them. "Spinel, you might be onto something. If every experience they lost is a piece of who they are, we just have to give them back all the pieces, one experience at a time," Steven concluded. "And how do you propose we do that?" asked Flint. Before anyone could answer that question though, another question was soon brought up when Blue Diamond looked out from Little Homeworld towards … something. "Lapis … she was struck by the Rejuvenator wasn't she?" Blue inquired. "Yeah she did, but she kinda walked out on us so we might have to find her," admitted Steven. "That isn't gonna be hard," muttered Diopside, who did spot what Blue Diamond did. And they all soon spotted the water tower beginning to form farther away. "Oh no," gulped Twilight. "You guys go and handle that, I'll keep track of things here," Connie said. "Thanks. Come on," said Flint, ready to go off to handle the situation. He was joined by the others, but then he suddenly felt someone just grab him by the arm, only to find Spinel with him. "Don't forget your best friend, Spinel!" said Spinel with a wink. Flint huffed. "Spinel, just wait here for me, we need to handle this," Flint said, getting her to let go of him only for a second, until Spinel grabbed him again. "Yep, we gotta go and handle things together," Spinel said with a big smile. Flint made her let go again. "I can handle it, you stay here and play with them for a bit. Come on Jade," Flint said, getting a running head start before Spinel could say anything. Spinel paused briefly, seeing Flint go away, and despite what was actually going on placed a hand on her side. "If you wanna come, you need to help us with this. Okay?" Jade asked. "... YAY!" Spinel beamed, before springing off to join them. "We'll be back soon, diamonds," Jade answered. ……. A GIANT, pillaring tower of water. That was the main thing that they saw once the group got back to the Temple. The whole tower, top to bottom in ice cold sea water, was already itself gigantic in size by the time they all got there and checking it out, easily reaching heights matching the hillside of the Temple itself, at least seven different levels matched by a single pillar of water connected to the structure, each one flatly-topped and flowing like a waterfall. Along the beach they could already see water retreating much farther than usual, probably because the water was being used for said tower. "WOWEE! That this sure is big! … You wanna climb it or somethin'?" Spinel asked, bouncy and ready to spring up to play. "Only Lapis can make a tower like that. But where is she?" Bismuth wondered, not seeing her anywhere at first. No one out on the beach with them to actually make this happen, and no one inside the Beach House they remember could do any of this either. Eventually though, as Diopside glanced upwards, her keen Gem eye just managed to catch sight of a figure standing on one of the Temple's hands. "There she is. WAY up there on that hand," Diopside said, bringing everyone's attention straight up to see the very figure in question, hands out to manipulate and work the tower itself. "What in tarnation's she doing? All that water's gonna be gone the way she's going," asked Applejack. "It's something she's made to do: Lapis's terraform, they change the planet to suit the Diamond's needs … at least, I think she's doing it for the diamonds," explained Jade, as more water from the beach was lifted right out of the coastline, and added to the tower itself. "Well not today she's not. Come on, maybe we can talk some sense into her," Twilight decided. Since they were the only ones that could fly technically, the roster that arrived up there were Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Starlight thanks to her magic, and Emerald thanks to his hexagon plates. Everyone else had to wait down below as they went right on up to the land. When they got up there, they quickly found Lapis Lazuli standing right there, focusing on the tower much like a painter would to a canvas. "Lapis!" shouted Rainbow Dash. Lapis did flinch on the voice, but didn't stop her work. "Oh. You again? What do you want this time?" Lapis questioned, a hand still raised to keep the water from collapsing to the ground. "To know why you're just taking the ocean! We've only been away from you for twenty minutes," said Rainbow, hoof pointing right at the tower she was creating. "And what an impression you've made. ... Hmm, it's leaning a bit," Lapis noted, getting some water from her wings to even out the structure of hers until she felt satisfied. "Lapis. Can you please stop making this?" Fluttershy asked, walking up next to her. Lapis looked down to Fluttershy like a spoiled royal. "Why? It's not hurting anybody important," Lapis said nonchalantly. They did feel a sting on her adding "important" to that sentence, but they had to keep going. Twilight tried next. "Okay if you won't listen to her, maybe you'll listen to me," said Twilight, "I'm the princess of Friendship, a royal like you. So, as one royal to another -" "You're not a Gem," Lapis simply said. Another stab. Well so much for using the princess card. "Ok how's this: Blue Diamond wants you to cut the cord on this operation. What do you say to that?" Emerald made clear. "I'd say "who's Blue Diamond", along with "I don't care". Now if you don't mind, I got work to do." "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Emerald thought. He swore the Diamond card would work, but that didn't seem to get through to her at all either. "But you're hurting everything on the planet. If you keep adding water to it, there won't be any water on Earth, that cannot happen!" Twilight made clear to her. That might be pushing it given the current look, and Lapis seemed to know that so she didn't comment on her with that one. "And there's so many creatures that live in the water too," added Fluttershy, "they won't have a home to live without it. All those poor sea creatures." "That's not my problem," Lapis scoffed, bringing her arms forward, and then up. Like a shifting titan, the tower started rising higher and higher upward until it was about tall enough to peak the height of the Lighthouse, much to their trouble. "Drop that tower, princess!" Emerald demanded. "Or. What?" Lapis questioned. "Oh you don't wanna know what we'll do! We faced a lot of bad guys, and if you wanna step right up, then go right ahead!" Rainbow said, flying off the ground and right in Lapis's face. Lapis raised an eyebrow on the remark. "... OK. Allow me to rebuttal that in the following way." … "AAAAAAHHHHHH -" *SPLAT* And just like that, Lapis sent them all flying back down to the beach in a water balloon, leaving them all soaking wet, cold, and slightly dazed. So much for talking things out with her, Lapis wiping her hands clean of the dirt she just threw aside as she got back to work. "She's not going to listen," concluded Fluttershy, trying to get the water out of her wings. Rainbow Dash shook it off fairly quick, wings flapping to get the water. "Did you use the princess card?" asked Pinkie. "Let me put it this way, not even the Diamond card worked," Emerald stated. Time to tackle this bull by the horns. "Spinel? Think you can make your hand into a megaphone?" Bismuth asked, though she had a more serious look to her face. "Oh, sure I can. … What's a megaphone?" said Spinel. "Big, round, cone-shaped, about yee big," described Fulgurite, making her hair in a similar shape. Spinle immediately got it on seeing it, and as before her hand morphed into the exact same shape. She even allowed Bismuth to grab it and bring it up to in front of her, aimed directly towards Lapis. "Lapis! We know you're our friend, and we get what you're made to do, but no one's giving you ANY order to start anything here, especially a giant water tower! So, if you don't get rid of that thing right now, We're gonna come right up there and tear it down ourselves!" Bismuth warned. Lapis simply stared down at them from her pedestal, not remotely scared of the threat to her creation. It was a look that a disappointed queen would give to her failing subjects. However, she didn't bother with a verbal response, and instead dropped something down to them in the form of a water ball, which Twilight was quick to catch. And what did the message say? "... "Challenge accepted." …" "Alright, you asked for it. Come on crew, let's take this tower apart!" Bismuth said, bringing out her axe hands. Not thinking of another way, Bismuth charged forward first. But this tower had a few more tricks up its watery currents. Just before Bismuth could reach the actual water tower, something actually came out right then and there, meeting with Bismuth half way. Bismuth. Another Bismuth, made completely out of water! The water clone stopped the real Bismuth on the spot, her own axe arm clanging against Bismuth's own. The strength was equally matched until the water Bismuth got her other arm, and launched Bismuth back with a direct blow to the stomach ala water cannon. And this water Bismuth wasn't the only one: merging out from the water wall just by the Bismuth clone emerged, to sum it up, a watery copy of the entire team! Ponies AND Gems were all copied to a watery doppelganger. And NONE of them looked too happy to see them. "Ooooo, it's a Changeling Fight all over again," Pinkie said, bewildered Lapis could even do this. Spinel shared the same bewilderment, but everyone else was on edge. Steven tried arming up, but his shield didn't come out again. "Steven, get behind us. Rest of you, don't let them separate -" before Flint could even finish, suddenly a loud *BANG* echoed in the air, and Flint was shot right off the beach, right into the rocky wall of the cliffside thanks to his watery counterpart. "ALRIGHTY, this is happening!" Fulgurite said. The speeding Gem tried at her counterpart next in a mighty leap, but the water clone already proved a tough challenge with the same long hair used as weaponry. They both tangled halfway and landed into the water. With that, the two teams quickly broke into a skirmish. With all water clones confronting their real life selves, both sides were left at almost equal odds, the water clones having the advantage of being made up of water. Any projectile launched by any of the Harmony Gems was simply mirrored in water form by the clones, blasting away. This became most apparently after Twilight made a magic blast at herself, actually strong enough to blast off the eye and side of its head … only for it to slowly grow back. It was everyone fighting mirrors, the exact same moves right on eachother. "Ok, this is just creepy," Starlight muttered after seeing that, her own clone took this distraction to its advantage, getting a shot dangerously close to Starlight from the air. "BACK OFF!" Rainbow shouted, bucking the Starlight clone aside with a swift fly by, leaving nothing but the hooves on the ground until they became water completely. Rainbow Dash was ready for another fly down, but the Pegasus was quickly blind-sided by not just her own clone, but Fluttershy's clone as well. Rainbow Dash, almost growling, raced off after those two from there. Nearby, Fluttershy, Steven, and Jade were struggling with the Steven and Jade clones, each one ready to come in and attack them easily. Unlike the current Steven, his clone had its own form of attacks, with its arm launching forward at them both and making all three jump back. Some of the clones weren't … well, fighting. Grant it, neither were their counterparts. "Spinel, Pinkie, we need help over here!" Steven shouted. However, both didn't really jump at the clones of at first. In fact, Spinel was actually beginning to do a bit of a copying game with this clone. "Ok, ok, try this," Spinel said, suddenly standing on her one hand as she twisted her legs in a DNA-like shape, only for the water clone to morph and do the exact same thing. "Wow, you're really good! Do me, do me!" said Pinkie, her suddenly starting to pull a "tails" move, her tail spinning like a helicopter to float off the ground, just for her water clone to do the same thing. The clones made many of these moves attacks, but Spinel and Pinkie were just turning this into a game of giggles. "You gotta try this guys!" Spinel called, seemingly oblivious to the danger. "Spinel, stop fooling around and help get rid of these things!" shouted Flint, just before shooting back his own water clone. Suddenly Spinel remembered what Jade said earlier. "Oh yeah. ... WILL DO," Spinel said, with a big smile on her face. What happened next was no short of crazy: with a whistle tune, Spinel grabbed her and Pinkie's clone with one giant hand, and packed it down into a round water ball. With a beachball-sized ball o two water copies now in her hand, she wound up the pitch with multiple spins of her arm, a keen eye checking the entire group all around her. "Spinel's up to plate! Here comes the pitch!" Pinkie shouted, ducking just in time before Spinel launched the ball ahead of her, one eye open. However, she didn't technically released the ball, more her arm extending and stretching all over the place, clocking and grabbing water copies left and right, the real counterparts getting well clear of the water ball forming, bigger and bigger the more water copies added to it like snow to a snowball. Eventually the water ball was the size of a van. Keeping the ball still, Spinel then popped her finger in her mouth and brought it back out to test the wind. All she had to do then was turning her legs into springs, and like a trigger-happy spring in a video game, she launched the ball of water clones clear out into the remaining sea. "Wanna go climbing now?" Spinel asked innocently. Everyone was just staring at her for a minute or two, wide-eyed at what just … kinda happened. "... You know what? Sure," said Flint. "YAY! Last one up's a rotten egg!" Spinel said, taking the lead laughing all the while. With the way cleared, everyone went straight for the water tower itself, giddy Spinel already bouncing and springing up the tower one hop at a time, arms and legs stretching to accommodate. Lapis Lazuli, meanwhile, wasn't going to stand by and watch them just wreck her creation. "Barbarians. I'll show you," growled Lapis. Now it was time to upend the steaks, and the entire structure started to come to life, watery sprouting hands jutting up wherever they could to try and grab them. Speedy Spinel found this just as another obstacle, and dodged each and every hand as if they weren't even there at all. The others tried to do the same, some finding it much harder on their own compared to others. However, Lapis's work on the tower was actually very efficient in getting aggresors off of it, one by one Harmony Gems getting shot back onto the beach. Some smaller ones such as Jade, were caught by the flyers of the group before landing too hard "Come on, you can't be THAT desperate over one tower!" shouted Emerald, just to nearly get shot out of the sky at least three times before being helped upward by Twilight Sparkle. "Got any idea how to break this down?" Steven asked, much of them now half way up. "She's the one making it, so we got to deal with her directly," concluded Bismuth. "Uh, hello? We just tried that, she tossed us down in a water balloon," Rainbow Dash reminded. But then they saw Bismuth's weaponry hands return. "Your words just didn't stick," Bismuth said. "Bismuth?" Steven asked. Bismuth looked up to Lapis, who herself stared them all down with anger for rushing around her terraforming. "Steven, you said to get their pieces back one experience at a time, didn't ya? Well far as I know, I'm her first big experience, so … Long as it's fine with you." "Ok, we'll keep her busy for you. But don't hurt her too much, please?" Steven asked. Bismuth understood perfectly. "Emerald, feel up for an airdrop?" "Already on it, B, hang on tight," Emerald said, bringing up the hexagon he was flying with. Bismuth held on with one arm, and took off from the structure. Flint grabbed Steven and jumped up before another water hand could grab them. Flint and Steven both got up one jump after another, Flint having to carry Steven up to the top. Turned out, Spinel was already up there. "Wow, you guys climb sssllloooowwww. Looks like I win, but you can have the win of you want for trying so hard," Spinel offered. They weren't sure if she said that from ego or being legitimately nice, but now wasn't the time for it. "Get off my work," Lapis warned, her hands clenching up as more water hands tried to get to them. "Spinel? New game: don't get caught by those hands!" Steven said, just before yelping and jumping away from a grabby hand. "I Gotcha!" Spinel said, bouncing away from another hand. Quickly Flint, Steven, and Spinel were more than keeping the water Gem busy and distracted. Naturally, Spinel found it the easiest compared to Flint and Steven, mainly thanks to her sporadic nature and spaghetti arms and legs making her go all over the place. Heck, she even seemed to "taunt" the hands a few times just so they can jump at her some more through funny faces. At least someone was enjoying this. As the trio were busy doing this, Emerald and Bismuth just managed to get themselves higher up, closer to Lapis on the same arm she was on. "Here goes nothin," Bismuth sighed, before letting go of Emerald's hexagon. Emerald flew off out of sight, as Bismuth slid down the arm, leaping closer to Lapis. The water Gem didn't realize until after Bismuth landed that she had more unwanted company. Without anymore hesitation, Bismuth ran forward to fetch her, but there still was one key difference between one encounter, and another: Lapis was prepared this time. All she had to do, was bring another hand out, and a ton of water grabbed Bismuth in one strike. "Nice try. Now if you all don't mind, I still got work to do," Lapis said, griping harder on Bismuth so she wouldn't escape. However, Lapis only had two hands, so … "BARBARIAN ATTACK!" shouted Emerald, jumping off his hexagon, and throwing it like a disk. Bismuth and the trio distracted Lapis just long enough to get this to even work, the hexagon clocking Lapis right in the head. Lapis gripped her head, still keeping one arm up for the tower, but this still got Bismuth free. Just enough time for Bismuth to lunge at her, and finally pin her down. Which means … "The tower's breaking up!" gasped Steven. No longer having a force to keep itself up, the Gems remaining on the structure found themselves on top of a collapsing water tower, every drop of it going straight back into the sea in a giant wave! Those on the ground had to try and avoid being swept out to sea, the beach house itself just tall enough to avoid being caught in the water. Flint and Steven were left falling to the world below, Flint immediately grabbing Steven, ready to shield him from what can easily be a lethal fall for him, bracing for impact. Until Spinel suddenly grabbed them both in a bungee-like arm and hands. The two then were pulled back up, Spinel already on the hand of the Gem Temple, whistling a tune as she pulled them in like a fisherman (her arm even looked like a fishing pole). "Well look who I reeled in," Spinel said, dropping Flint and Steven on the hand safe and sound. "Get off me!" Lapis shouted, trying hard to get herself loose from Bismuth's grip. Her large hand was enough to keep her under some form of control. Bismuth really didn't want to do this, but this was probably the best chance they ever got to getting Lapis to try and remember anything about them. Keeping Lapis down, she then readied her hand, it morphing into an axe, the blade hovering over Lapis's head. "If you're gonna harm our planet, you have to answer to us!" Bismuth said, trying to play the role of a Crystal Gem back in their war days. Bismuth raised her arm, and readied for the finishing blow. At least, it seemed like she was. However, fighting an enemy, and fighting a friend are two different things, and fighting an enemy that's supposed to be your friend is even worse. However, mighty Bismuth took a look at Lapis's eyes, seeing if this was enough to hit a memory at all. For a brief moment, Lapis looked scared, staring at the end of Bismuth's blade … "NO!!" And in a sudden burst of strength, Water shot out of Lapis's back, pushing not only Lapis off the ground, but forcing Bismuth onto her back. It all happened so quickly: one moment Bismuth was ready to finish Lapis, and the next it was Bismuth on the ground with Lapis standing on her, wings extended and even sharpened at the tips. This time, hesitation was out of the question. And neither was Bismuth. *POOF* A quick stab right through the stomach was all it took to get rid of Lapis Lazuli. The signature cloud, and the gemstone falling on top of Bismuth once all that was handled. It took a bit for them all to calm down, going over to Bismuth as she got herself up. "Close call. … I hope that was enough," Bismuth said. Though it was impossible to say that now, considering she wasn't even reformed properly. "That wasn't very nice," Spinel said, peeking over Bismuth's shoulder. "Yeah, I know …" "EVERYTHING OKAY UP THERE?!" shouted Twilight from way far below them. "We better get down there," sighed Steven. ~~~~~~ For the rest of the day, the world kept moving on forward: the Harmony Gems were left just taking some time to relax and comprehend on what to do for the remaining amnesia-ridden Gems. It wasn't gonna be easy, but they were gonna have to figure something out, and hopefully soon. luckily for them, no more incidents occurred from there throughout the day and towards nightfall. Be that as it may, it wasn't only Beach City in contemplation. Isolated and distant from much of the world, the tyrannical ram Grogar was left in thoughts since he left Steven with his Gems and Ponies, his hoof still sore thanks to Spinel's injector and all of that mess. Even while just sitting there with a few of his troops, he could still feel the sensitive stinging under his back hoof. With him in the darkened field of the farmlands were Bray, Budgerite, Tempest, and two of his captains in Nichrome and Storm. "And the army's still hidden away," Grogar said at one point, his voice slightly hoarse. "Good as we kings can. But seriously, why are we hiding? Let's just bulldoze them to the ground, and we got ourselves free real-estate by tomorrow morning," Storm asked. This wasn't the first time Storm said this since leaving Homeworld, and he REALLY wanted to get going, but Grogar's ears were deaf to his demands, him only rubbing the bottom of his sore hoof. "Need some more massaging?" asked Budgerite? "No … Blasted pink goop, I can't feel a thing in this hoof," Grogar growled. He even tried biting into it with his own teeth to try and feel something, but the only thing he felt was his own teeth grinding against something. But nothing much came up from his hoof. He stomped the hoof down, again not feeling much. But then he heard a huff come from either Storm or Nichrome, both of which didn't look very thrilled, talking amongst themselves. "Something you two want to say?" "You know what, yeah I do," said Storm, "This plan stinks! I got every single storm troop out the wazoo ready to pummel and takeover, and you're making me hold back because you're listening to some fat little brat?" "That 'fat little brat' nearly killed him -" "ah ah ah, I'm sorry, was I talking to you?" Storm snapped, hand raised to shut Budgerite up. "But they are right, you power-hungry baboon," Grogar stated, "And I said he can have that pack of fools of his, and his doll-set he calls Beach City." "WHY?!" exclaimed Storm, "Come on, think chief, Sumu gave us gold info: you got only three Diamonds now, several Gems who don't even know their names, corrupted Gems up the heehaw you can use, not to mention an entire army waiting to jump in at the flip of a coin! Seriously, even by yourself, you can probably trample them without breathing hard." "Then Spinel would kill me. Is THAT what you want?" Grogar snarled, before getting up and starting to move off a ways, a small limp in his back hoof still. "Since when did that bother you?" Storm asked, confused. "Steven tried killing ya, and you didn't cry over THAT!" Grogar stopped altogether hearing that name. Those three words "I forgive you" replayed inside his head for just a quick moment, Steven extending his hand to him pictured in his mind before he quickly shook it away. "I planned for that in case it happened, you idiot," Grogar growled, getting right in Storm's face, "but Spinel's outburst and fight with me nearly ended me and my authority! And if I lose my authority … where will yours be?" Storm would surrender, but as he knew Grogar was willingly staying away from this brat, he quickly got himself together. "You know something? I don't need a hot headed ram telling me where my "AUTHORITY" is! You had Steven right there, and instead of killing him and calling it a day, YOU RAN! HA! I bet I can take over all of Equestria with an arm and a leg behind my back! And I won't be holding back." Grogar should've suspected this would happen. "Is that a fact, boy?" "Of course it is! I didn't get my crown by chasing my tail like a mutt," Storm said. Grogar wasn't amused by his confidence at all. Here was a boastful creature that barely did much to help him in the first place. Before he could speak though, Nichrome gave the king a nudge. Once he got his attention, Nichrome then whispered something to him right then and there. The idea Nichrome had seemed to please the ram. "Fine. Go. Try and take your kingdom. I'll even send you there myself. If you do it, then you can have it. But when you fail, you submit to ME." "And if I refuse this deal?" Storm questioned, eyebrow raised. "Then the Red Diamond can have you," Grogar warned. "Yeah, I dunno who that is, but whatever. Let's get this storm started! … Oh, that's pretty good, I should trademark that," Storm remarked, before starting off on his way. However, Storm stopped briefly and turned back to the unicorn. "TEMPEST!" "Coming, coming," Tempest said, though she wasn't thrilled about this either. Nichrome couldn't help but snicker, but Tempest just ignored him. Grogar, as he said, got out his hoof and made a good slice for Storm and Tempest to travel through and while Storm didn't hesitate to go through, Tempest only glanced back one more time before following the other king away. "Geesh. I wouldn't wanna be her right now," Bray commented. "May I have the honor of killing them, sir?" Nichrome asked, excitedly. Grogar was quiet for a bit. "You can have Storm if you want. … I'll deal with Tempest myself. ONLY when it comes to it. Now you three get back to the army. I got some more thinking to do," Grogar concluded. Nichrome, Bray, and Budgerite went off on their way from there, leaving only Grogar himself to his own thoughts. It was gonna be a long night. ……. "So now I got to wait for you," Steven said. Steven's room was mostly quiet for the most part, with many a Gem and Pony now off and doing who knows what. The least he could say was that he knew where the mind-erased Gems were (more or less), and with Grogar away they wouldn't end up in that serious of trouble. At least he was sure that Sapphire was keeping where she was, the blue Gem not moving off the couch since first settling down on it earlier that day. Too bad she was the only one who stayed put. Steven just laid there in bed, holding Lapis Lazuli in hand out in front of him for a bit until another sigh escaped him, bringing Lapis to his chest. "She will be back in the next couple of days," said Sapphire. "Thanks, but I didn't say anything," Steven said. "I predicted you would've asked me to look in the future, so I acted accordingly," Sapphire explained. Even if Sapphire seemingly behaved as level-headed as she usually did, Steven could still tell this isn't the Sapphire he knew and loved. Too monotone. "I need to write this stuff down," Steven decided. And write down he did. After fetching himself some paper, and getting some small light up in his room, Steven started to go right ahead and write some things down in the form of a list. There was a lot he had to do, and he couldn't afford to forget any of them now. Sapphire, while not seemingly noticing Steven doing this, did listen in slightly. "Ok, let's see … number one: recover my friends' memories. Number two: make a home for the Dazzlings … somewhere. Number three: finish building Little Homeworld. Number four: somehow heal the spot that Injector left. … umm …" Steven paused, seeing the list he was making so far. That was the bigger issues he was left with right now. "... number five: … handle Grogar." He will NOT go after him. Not yet. After finishing up the whole list of the big five, along with a few extra things, Steven gave his list a title, folded it, and placed it by his alarm clock. He'd put it in lion's mane or something, but his lack of power probably made that a problem to do anyway. Lion wasn't there too, so there's that. He placed Lapis Lazuli's gemstone over by the paper too so he wouldn't forget her either. He had to sleep on this … somehow … And he felt so close too. He was ready to just go to sleep. but not before one small verse ... Here we are, back together … He we are, back together, and it's wrong … we all could've enjoyed, could've sang this song … but now, they're gone … Because of them … Happily ever after, could've been ...