• Published 17th Nov 2017
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My Little Universe: Season 6 - EquestrianKirin



New Gems, old foes, and a big mystery to tie them together. Who's ready for their big reprise?

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Renegade Gem vol.2

It had been awfully quiet over back at the Temple, and over in the Beach House part it was some extra time for some of the Gems to have their own fun over around the countryside. The barn was free for the moment since the Off-Colors were gone for the day, so some of the Gems decided to take this opportunity to have some fun time by the nearby pond. The springtime air had brought up a number of animals they hadn't seen in a while: some blooming lilies and some frogs to name a few things. Over by the pond edge, Jade sat there comfortably, looking down at a nearby lily as a Dragonfly stayed perched onto it. A fairly peaceful scene ...

"Coming at ya!"

A tremor off nearby ended up spooking the dragonfly away from the lily. Needless to say, Jade wasn't the only one who was there. Looking off over nearby, there was Jasper and Bismuth going at it with eachother in a fit of training. both sides were enjoying the training session, and off watching as some bit of an audience nearby was Diopside, Fulgurite, and Emerald, mainly just to get a good show.

Jade: third year Crystal Gem, and considered an emotional foil to her close friend Flint. Her favorite things include nature and plant life, and her current Gem weapon is a Wyvern Staff. Often considered as a supporter Gem when compared to the other Gem "frontliners", and as such isn't shown much in the foreground.

"What's going on?" Jade asked, walking over.

"Oh, hey Jade. Bismuth and Jasper are having a little contest over here, wanna watch?" Fulgurite asked.

"Oh. Well, no thank you," Jade replied, cringing when she heard one of them take a bit of a crash.

While some don't mind this, I for one feel unconvinced to her development, it's not exciting enough. It feels like there's something missing in her character arch!

And she got it: Before Jade could get back to her pond, eventually Star Quartz walked up to them with what looked like a note in hand. And good timing too, as Jasper and Bismuth called it a break, and took five to see what was up.

"Nothing like a good day training, eh J?" Bismuth said smugly, playfully punching Jasper in the shoulder.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Jasper replied. Soon, their eyes saw the letter in her hand.

"What'chu got there, Star?" Bismuth asked.

"Flint asked me to give a message to everyone before he left," Star Quartz replied, giving the letter to Diopside, who already began to open it up with her finger acting like a knife and cutting it open easily.

"Left? That workaholic's still going all out on this case of his? Even Garnet knows when to take a break," Fulgurite sighed.

"Does sound like him. So, where'd Flint run off to this time? The Commination tower, the Warp hub, the Strawberry battlefield," Bismuth wondered, waiting for whatever answer Star had. At this point, Diopside had the letter opened up and read it over top to bottom. On the end of it, when the others saw her, she looked completely horrified, almost shivering.

"Flint ... You can't be serious."

"What's up, Dio? Looking a little pale," Emerald said. Diopside can't even answer, and showed the message to Emerald. Fulgurite looked over his shoulder and read it over to.

...

"WHAAA?! He's crazy!"

The reaction out of them got them all to jump.

"Ok, stop it, where'd he go?" Jasper asked.

"H-He ... He went to Homeworld." Diopside, Emerald, and Fulgurite replied at once, all shaken, and all shocked that he would even do that. Bismuth and Jasper were a bit surprised on that themselves.

"Homeworld? give me that," Jasper replied, grabbing the message and looking it over with Bismuth.

Attention: I'm going to be gone for today. I know this is nothing new with what I've been doing, but this time's a little different: to further look into the matters of the Pink Diamond case, I'm going to have to head to Homeworld to gather information, and speak with our only ally as of now - Blue Zircon. I'm giving you notification, and I've already cleared it up with Garnet, so everything will be alright.

Flint.

"I doubt he actually told her," Bismuth commented.

"Oh, nevermind that, what do we do? If Flint gets caught, we're all gonna end up being used as gear pieces!" Emerald responded.

"We have to wait for him, that's what," Jasper concluded.

"Wait? you sure?" Diopside asked.

"Everyone, this is Flint we're talking about here. It's not like he has never gone in situations like this before. Besides, if we all go in after him, we'll get caught for sure one way or another. Or did you forget how our group got to know the Off-Colors," Jasper reminded. None of the Crystal Gems would want to even risk such a thing now. ... Well, none of them wanted to. It took a bit of time, and one of the Gems actually started to walk away.

"You really think so?" Jade finally asked, thinking hard about it.

"Come on, Jade, you know him better than any of us do, isn't he always getting into things like this?" Emerald questioned with a shrug. Jade thought it over her mind bit by bit, remembering not only his initial involvement with the Pink Diamond case, but also the Cluster beforehand.

"... Actually. ... He doesn't get involved in something like this so deeply. If anything, most of the time he tries to avoid subjects like this as much as possible," Jade said, thinking far back.

"But, he's really been involved in these. right?" Star asked.

"Well, yeah sure, but I don't think he could've gotten out of it even if he'd wanted to. These are problems he can't just run from: there's the Cluster which could destroy the planet, and now Pink Diamond's shattering is on his head," Fulgurite concluded.

"You mean on Rose's head?"

"Look, it doesn't matter now: if he did get there, then all we can do is wait it out until he gets back. He wouldn't want any of us following him anyway," Jasper concluded. Though she took this decision with a grain of salt, as staying behind was something she wasn't all too used to. But it was still better than getting harvested. Still, Flint was taking a very high risk for doing this, and they all knew it. Jade was the most troubled with this news, and began walking away from the situation.

"Where're you going?" Fulgurite asked, noticing her leaving first.

"I'm just going back to the Temple," Jade replied.

Yes! This is what she's been missing! A true moment in the spotlight! Yes, character development is bound to happen now!

"What're you doing, Pinkie?"

With a yelp, the mare stumbled back on seeing Emerald pop up next to her. Guess Pinkie's narration did get someone's attention after all.

.......

With the sound of the Warp Pad, Jade got herself back to the temple. With most, if not all of the group no longer there and doing their own thing, it did leave the place rather empty. The only single thing in there for the moment was lion, who was grooming himself when she got back. Jade stayed quiet at first, but instead of going into the beach house, she turned and went over to the back door. Lion, having nothing better to do, got up and followed her to the next room.
This part of the Temple was Jade's personal room, though it looked less like a room and more like a spaceport: a metallic room similar to one inside a Gemship. Mainly think of it as a futuristic bedroom. Anyway, Jade walked on inside for a bit, Lion peeking in from the main Temple Gate, as Jade sat down and thought over a few things, regarding to what Flint would be doing.

"Oh, Flint," Jade sighed. Though, in all honesty, she can understand why in a way. Lion simply stood there for a little bit, but eventually Jade got a few things from her room, and walked back out.

Lion saw that she had a sort of notebook in hand. ...

~~~~~~

"... Well. Here it goes."

How long has it been since she last seen such a place herself? A good century probably, millennium perhaps. Either way, the minute Jade went through the main Warp Pad from Earth, her first sight of her Homeworld was as breathtaking as the Crystal Gems described it. At first, Jade simply took a moment or two looking around and taking in her surroundings, but she wasn't there simply to sightsee. After the minute had passed, she looked to the notepad she had with her. She saw huge buildings to the nearest city, and for her, the potential for a dropship load of information. She kept her nerves together.

"Alright. This should be Blue Diamond's city. How do I get to her?" Jade wondered. Well she wasn't gonna figure that out simply by standing there. Jade began a quiet walk towards the city, her gaze looking around the borders for the quickest way to the palace. It sure was easier said than done.
As she walked along though, with her thoughts still trying to work out an answer, something far off to the right caught her eye. Something entirely new. From her position it looked fairly small, but she surely didn't remember it being on Homeworld the last time she was here, nor did any of the other Gems actually mentioned anything about it.

"Wait. Is that a tree?" Jade thought. It wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but hey, if it could help her out with the situation, then that could make all the difference. So, instead of going to the city, she went off and headed straight to said tree.

It surely took a while for her to get there, and seeing the tree itself was out of place. No way, no how, could any plant grow on Homeworld, so Jade took the time to study up on said tree for a little bit.

... Jade. Jade. ...

Jade quickly stopped herself on the odd echoing voice, looking around for some sort of figure, but only finding nothing. Where was the source of this noise? Eventually, Jade began to turn and focus on the tree itself, which was the only thing around here, only to see the tree opening its eye to see her. A typical Gem would freak out, but Jade had seen her fare share of freaky and magical figures off back in Equus and Earth, so she stayed firm, if not slightly humbled by a talking Homeworld tree.

"Um ... H-Hello?"

... Do not be afraid. I have the answer you seek. ...

The answer? Sure Jade had some questions but how did this tree know about them? Well, take what you can.

"Well, ok. ... Can you tell me then?"

The tree was very silent at first, but then it closed its eye and for a moment looked like any other normal tree. Jade took a step back, but then the eye of the tree opened up again, but instead of a normal eye, it looked more like a screen of sorts, a little static at first like a screen off an old TV. Eventually though, as Jade watched, a image started to play out.

-------

Much to her surprise, it actually showed Flint apparently inside one of the many buildings within Homeworld! Blue Zircon and Flint both were sitting down across from eachother for this discussion in Blue Zircon's chambers, probably the only main spot where they could remain together without too much trouble from outside forces. Blue Zircon still felt slightly uneasy, since she was practically sitting over by a wanted criminal, but she was still willing to hear him out.

"Yes, that is quite an enigma. Why would there be both a Cluster and a Diamond Attack at one time?" Blue Zircon wondered, in deep thought.

"That's what we're trying to figure out, Zircon. Considering you worked rather close to the Diamonds and the royal court, maybe you might have some thoughts on the matter?" Flint questioned. Blue Zircon got up and soon enough, she started to pace around a bit more.

"Well, any Gem could look at this and simply say that it's the Diamonds trying to destroy the planet completely, and after the Diamond Attack didn't work, they resorted their hopes into the Cluster. Which also didn't work. ... Uh, if I may ask, would this have anything to do with some previous involvement?"

"Zircon, you were there at the time, and we did manage to retrieve Blue Diamond after some effort. I'm sure you know that much."

"And yet you're still banished from Homeworld? Blue Diamond welcomed you all fairly easily, yet White Diamond still is keeping to her punishing word. Something she would do, but ... It doesn't make sense!" Zircon realized.

"I know it doesn't make sense, Zircon," Flint repeated. Blue Zircon started her statements as if she was in the middle of a court session, pacing and thinking over the situation.

"Yes. Yes, it doesn't make sense. Rose Quartz is a Gem who would have everything to gain from shattering Pink Diamond: safety of Earth, protection of the humans, freedom of Gemkind on said planet. But even if she wanted to ... could she?" Now Flint was getting interested, leaning forward a bit.

"Go on."

"According to your Lapis, not any other Gem was at the scene when it happened apart from a selected few. Flint, had, or had not anyone sense her approach? You'd think a Sapphire would've predicted this, or a quartz raising an alarm, or her own Pearl at least saying "WATCH OUT, MY DIAMOND!". But according to Lapis ... nothing like that happened."

"I see. So whoever would've done this had to be someone Pink Diamond had complete trust over, and someone who would have to have full access, and able to actually isolate Pink Diamond from her own Pearl. Whoever did it had to have some big control to do that," Flint said, thinking over what she just said herself.

"Agreed. It's hard to get a Pearl away from her own Gem if not directly instructed to. And to be in the line of sight of Lapis Lazuli at that moment, just long enough for her to make her report to Blue Diamond afterwards upon the event," added Zircon. This was getting very interesting to both Blue Zircon and Flint, with what they got here anyway.

-------

The tree ended the message there, and when it looked with its normal eye, it saw Jade quickly writing down the information she had just gathered. Something like this could be proven useful to this case of theirs that needed solving. A good start, and at least she knew that Flint wasn't in any trouble, for now at least. Once she finished though, Jade looked up to the tree.

"Thank you, tree. ... Did Flint tell you what he was doing?" Jade asked.

... His presence is known throughout my roots. ...

... So, that was most likely a no. Still, for the moment, Jade felt that she had a pretty good thing here, and started to head off just a little ways back to the Warp Pad, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt that ... well, she needed a bit more than this. Flint would keep running around here if this was all they had to work with, and no doubt in her mind if he was going to start coming back on a whim then he would do it again.

"Flint. Oh, I wish there was some way I could help ..."

And that thought was heard easily by the tree. Jade began to hear a strange rustling up in the leaves, despite having no wind blowing by. Jade turned around to the tree, and actually began to see something fall out of the branches. She expected a few of the leaves, but what was surprising was what also came down with it: paper. In particular, a number of pictures of individuals that had landed down nearby her feet. Jade picked up a few of them and found that each one of these pictures were of Homeworld individuals, different Gems amongst the Diamond city with a full body shot and even placement of Gemstone just to be sure to signify who was who.

This could shed some new light onto the case.

"Witnesses. ... Thank you very -" Jade paused when she looked back to the tree, which suddenly looked like a regular tree all over again, albeit a bit thin in leaves. Well, what else could she do? Jade gathered up each one of the pictures scattered on the ground and got them into her notebook for some reference. It was good to have some method of guidance in this investigation, be it for a detective or a reporter.

"Well, let's begin."

.......

"Still nowhere to be found."

A long patrol through Homeworld downtown, and according to the hybrid soldier patrols, there still was no sign of the Crystal Gems or the Mane Six since their previous escapade in homeworld. Pearlis and Onyx were out at the moment, Pearlis trying her absolute best to find out where these criminals had gone. Onyx though was a bit more chill about it, just leaning over by one of the buildings, not caring too much for the situation, unlike Pearlis.

"This is completely ridiculous, they couldn't have gotten out of the Supreme Kindergarten!" Pearlis said, completely stressed out from the lack of results.

"Maybe you should freak out some more, that's really gonna help us find them," Onyx commented. a comment not passed up by Pearlis's ears, and the Gem was quickly on top of her.

"I can't believe your attitude, Onyx. And now you're just slouching over here doing nothing!" she snapped.

"Hey, it's not my fault the Crystal Gems aren't there. Why do you have to make things worse by squawking at me?!" Onyx snapped.

"I don't squawk! Pearls squawk!" Pearlis insisted ... though she was technically part Pearl.

"Yeah, you're squawking at me and commenting on my posture!" Onyx replied. As they were bickering and squawking amongst eachother, one of the Carnethysts tapped Pearlis on the shoulder, catching her attention.

"Yes. What is it?" Pearlis asked, trying to sound calm but on the inside being on her last nerve. The Carnethyst brought her attention away from Onyx, and over to the street down a ways. Pearlis didn't really notice too much when it came to anything interesting, but as a few larger Gems moved aside, the Gem her Carnethyst did see made Pearlis a bit more accomplished in the task. Onyx simply stood nearby and watched, and Pearlis began to head right towards her with a few of the hybrids behind her. If there was one Crystal Gem, then there's got to be more.

"Stay calm, stay calm," Jade told herself. It didn't take her long to have noticed the police coming her way, and soon a good several Carnethyst officers surrounded her.

"Crystal Gem! You didn't think you'd get away that easily, would you?" Pearlis informed, triumphant in finding the first Crystal Gem since their last escapade. Jade tried to keep herself together, but the officers weren't making it any easier for her. She stared up at the officials, notebook held over her mouth.

"We warned you about the consequences of returning to Homeworld. Take her away and have her harvested," Pearlis instructed. Jade felt them move in towards her, and Jade had to think of something. What would Flint do in a situation like this? ...

"I-I didn't do anything wrong!" Jade got out, but she had to look to her feet first so she wasn't staring up at anyone.

"You just did, my young Jade: you thought it would be a good idea to come back after you've been banned."

"B-But wait, it doesn't imply to me!"

... Pearlis raised her hand to make the Carnethyst stop.

"... And how does it not imply to you?"

"I-I wasn't there, that's why. Y-You implied that to all the Crystal Gems I heard, and I wasn't there, right?" Jade really was relying on thin hope for this excuse. Pearlis, lucky for Jade, tried to think of a rebuttal but that argument proved just a little too complicated for her to sort out properly. That, and who was to even say that Jade was even a Crystal Gem to begin with? Onyx nearby overheard it.

"She got ya there," she commented. Pearlis simply groaned, and with a snap of her fingers, the Carnethysts moved back.

"My apologies. ... Though if you do find any Crystal Gems here, inform me or one of the officers, and that would be very much appreciated," Pearlis said, sounding very disappointed. Guess it was back to square one in their look around, and soon Pearlis, Onyx, and the Carnethysts went off on their way. Jade didn't look up until after they had gone a good twenty feet away, and she gave a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank the stars," she thought, hand to her head as she tried to calm down. She can't freak out now, not with her task at hand. On the bright side, at least Jade won't be getting thrown into harvesting for being here. So, after that, she began to look over the pictures she had on retainer. Now she had the rights to go around Homeworld without any trouble.
So, where to begin?

~~~~~~

Witness#1: Aquamarine

Well, who'd of thought she would end up here? To find this particular Gem, she needed to go from the basic streets and to the highest court in the city (not something she would do otherwise). Just being near the palace was a bit unnerving for her, but if the chit-chat from the Crystal Gems were anything to go off, then maybe it wouldn't be as bad as expected. Then again, Jade had never been this close to the palace before, even during her days as a Homeworld worker. Jade took one more look at the first eyewitness.

"Well, she's the closest one here. Hopefully this works out," Jade told herself, trying to keep relaxed, and she went over to the palace. However, as she neared, she was almost immediately confronted by some of Blue Diamond's Amethyst guards.

"You have business with her clarity?" one of them asked.

"Eh ... Well uh ... I-I'm looking for someone," Jade said, and soon she presented the picture of Aquamarine to them. Both guards looked it over for a brief moment.

"Oh, that all? Well you're in luck, she's already inside," said one Amethyst.

"But they're in the middle of a meeting right now, so you might have to wait until she's done," added in the other. Jade didn't expect them to act so casual so quick, but she did have a friend that was an Amethyst so perhaps that was come to expect. At least Jade had the idea on where Aquamarine was.

"Oh. Uh, thank you," Jade replied, walking by them both as both guards allowed her inside.

Pretty soon the little reporter was inside the Blue Diamond palace. Even if she had visited Homeworld recently, this was her very first time roaming around inside Blue Diamond's main palace, looking at just how huge it was compared to the tiny Gem. It was like a mouse running around a home, and Jade just as curious as a mouse would be in such a place. Still, as much as she either wanted to leave or wanted to explore, she had to find where Aquamarine was to get some information. The little Jade ... really had no idea where she was going.

"Aquamarine. Well, she has to be around here somewhere ..."
Jade kept her gaze down to the notebook and pictures she had been given, a little too long as it turned out as she accidentally bumped into something big. It had enough bounce back to knock her to the ground. When Jade got her stuff together and looked up, she was met with a very large Homeworld Gem. He looked very thicc, similar to someone like Bismuth, or even Smoky, maybe even bigger in such a sense, though he was fairly tall at about Jasper's size, possibly a foot taller. clearly a Gem bigger than much of the Crystal Gems she knew. His skin had a strong yellow color to it like Yellow Diamond, hair cut like those humans found in the military: only at the top and cut to a flat surface. His legs were a bit stubby like Smoky, and arms were thick and muscular. Like Fulgurite, he had a set of gemstones rather than a singular one, each one disk-sized, and on the sides of his head as if they were his ears. Jade surely felt humbled on seeing this Gem, and the serious expression on his face didn't help any, standing firm and on guard.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jade said. The large Gem didn't exactly answer, but still looking down at her like any other Gem on Homeworld. Jade kept her composure the best she could do, and noticed that this guard was right by one of Blue Diamond's doors. Seeing that, she pulled out the picture and presented it to the large Gem, hopefully getting an answer on her location.

"Do you happen to know where she is? I just want to ask a few questions to her," Jade asked, keeping her gaze down to her feet again. The Gem stayed quiet still, but Jade really had to wonder what kind of Gem would have this kind of guard, if this was indeed Aquamarine's guard. Jade looked over to the door he was standing at, and decided to test something out. It was risky, but she might as well see. As he was confirming the picture, Jade started to slip by and head to the door, only to be met with a Gem weapon slamming down in front of her to keep her back. The weapon looked like a double-ended staff, each end with large gemstones on it.

"Yep. The meeting's behind that door," Jade thought. Why would a Yellow Diamond guard be at Blue Diamond's palace otherwise?
Jade could hear voices inside the room, but she couldn't exactly make out what they were really saying. And it probably wasn't a good idea to stand right by the door either.

*bang*

"Ow!" Wouldn't you know the door would hit her face. Jade stumbled back, rubbing her forehead from the hit. Guess this meeting was all finished up, and much of the royal court was exiting the room, meeting done. Not many of them really bothered with Jade, Jade simply standing there and watching the multitude of Gems walk past.

"Topaz. Come on, you boulder," called a voice, as she came on out from the meeting room.
What Gem came out next was clearly a member of Blue Diamond's court, and pretty significant at that with a cyan blue tint to her skin, and an almost doll-like look to her (no nose or ears visible). her hair was short, light cerulean and bobbed, accompanied by a dark blue bow. If Jade was considered a Kimono in appearance, than this Gem had a more school prep uniform: a blue skirt, white gloves and stocking, midnight blue shoes, and a dark blue diamond symbol at her chest with white triangles alongside to resemble a "tie". An aristocrat if Jade ever saw one, with her Gemstone mirroring a teardrop right under her eye. But there was one detail that Jade would never of expected. ...
She was only as big as she was. In fact, she may be even smaller.

"Oh. ... Are you, uh, Aquamarine?" Jade asked, perplexed more than anything at seeing Aquamarine.

"And who's this? As if I don't have enough trouble already," she griped. Guess this meeting, whatever it was, didn't suit Aquamarine very well. At least Jade can look to Aquamarine without her looking down at her. Anyway, she got herself together, and opened up her notes. She made a quick comparison between the picture and the Gem, and found it matched up pretty well.

"Uh, My name is Jade, and I want to ask you a few questions, is that ok?" Jade asked. Aquamarine then smiled, though this one was less friendly and more of a knowing look.

"Oh, can the lesser Gems leave me for one moment? Alright, what do you want to know about me?" Aquamarine asked. Jade just took a moment and began to look over the main questions she had, getting a writing pen ready.

"I want to know your involvement in the Gem war," Jade began. Aquamarine's smile disappeared into a more annoyed frown.

"Oh. Just that. Why don't you talk to my Diamond if you want to figure that out, then? A Gem as important as myself has a pretty busy schedule," she said, waving her away as if she was some stray cat or something.

"W-Well. I would, naturally, but I wouldn't want to trouble our Diamond with that sort of thing, so -"

"So you'd rather trouble such a special Gem? Topaz, let's go," Aquamarine said. This Gem actually had some water wings on her which came out as she said this, though they looked more like a butterfly wing than a bird wing. She flew right up to Topaz's head and sat down comfortably as if Topaz's head was a chair. Topaz nodded and began to walk by her, but Jade quickly skimmed through the questions she had. If she was going to get anything, she might as well try to get to the point. She plucked up courage.

"Can't you answer just one question?"

Aquamarine rolled her eyes and sighed, and reached for her bow. When she grabbed it though, the "bow" changed in a flick of the wrist and turned into what looked like a dark blue magic wand. Jade thought she was gonna blast her and quickly bolted aside, but still got caught in a tractor beam. Jade was lifted up and moved in front of Aquamarine and Topaz.

"Please make it quick," Aquamarine stated, as they went along. Jade, who was still floating there, looked to her notes at the question.

"Do you know anything about Pink Diamond?"

Aquamarine paused for a moment or two, trying to work out her memory about the subject, though she was surprised about Jade asking that out of nowhere. Topaz stayed silent as they went along, though he looked a little surprised as well, but tried not to show it.

"Pink Diamond? This have anything to do with that trial?" Aquamarine questioned.

"Well ... no, just curious. You were apart of the Gem War ... right?"

"And you immediately assumed I knew about Pink Diamond. Blue Diamond's the lucky one to have me. I only seen Pink once or twice myself."

"Really? Tell me about it. ... Please?" Aquamarine would rather toss her aside, but for the sake of her questions, Aquamarine just groaned.

"Fine, if you have to know to be on your way. Blue Diamond had me sent down to Earth during the rebellion to get some of Pink Diamond's soldiers properly sorted. Of course, who'd be better than me? And a good thing I did, her quartzes were scattered all over the place, not having the slightest idea on what they're doing. Another time me and my beloved, sweet Diamond visited Pink Diamond to another colony a galaxy or two away, and Pink kept trying to fiddle with the controls. To tell you the truth, I had the obvious privilege of showing Pink how they work," Aquamarine's unique chit-chat didn't reveal as much as Jade would like, but it was something, and she took note of it down fast. Though admittedly, Jade was surprised that Aquamarine was talking about Pink Diamond like she wasn't too special. Jade finished up, but before she could continue, Aquamarine moved her aside and dropped her.

"Well, you got your question, I got my admiration, I call it even. Now good day," Aquamarine stated pompously, as she and Topaz walked away, leaving Jade sitting there for a moment or two. An interesting report from a pompous Gem. As annoying as hearing her ego was, Jade got up and began to head on out with what information she got. Surely Flint can find a connection once she would get back, and Jade marked Aquamarine off the list.

Onto the next one.

Witness#2: Ruby-1F4 Cut-4ND

"One! Two! One! Two! You got it Rubies!"

Jade had to go around through the city for a little bit, and soon it quickly changed from aristocratic, to military, as Jade neared the quartz training grounds. A bit of a rough place to stop by, but all the same, Jade probably could find it a bit easier to talk to a Ruby over an Aquamarine, and once more, the description was a lot more distinctive over the last one, so finding Ruby would be easier too.
When Jade arrived to the area, it sure looked pretty busy with activity of multiple Gems: Jaspers, Amethysts, and Rubies respectively. With so many around though it was going to take a bit to figure out where her target was located in this -

"Ruby, you're turn!"

"Right."

Eh, nevermind. Jade looked over to one group of Rubies, and found the Ruby in question standing. As it turned out, the Ruby was actually Eyeball, and as before, this quiet Gem was on her game in the Ruby squad. At the moment, Eyeball Ruby was busily beating down a few practice dummies, the rest of her squad sitting aside and watching her. However, Eyeball was going a little slower than Army would like, and all of a sudden she came right up and punched her in the shoulder.

"You're moving too slow!" Army yelled. Eyeball didn't answer and walked away from there as Army demonstrated just how powerful and fast one should do in the battlefield. Jade stood pretty far away from it, watching the whole thing, but rather than sitting with her squad, Eyeball was actually already coming Jade's way.

"Can I help you?" Eyeball asked. Jade didn't expect Eyeball to have seen her from way over there, but found this easier anyway, so she went to her notebook.

"Eh, maybe. I'm looking for a Gem named Ruby 1F4 Cut-4ND."

"And you found her," Eyeball simply said.

"OH! Well, in that case, can I ask you a few questions?" Jade asked, readying her pen to write. She got a fresh page so the note separated from what Aquamarine had said. Eyeball glanced back to the squad not too far away, who were pre-occupied with Army's tough on fighting skills.

"They'll be expecting me."

"Well then I'll be quick: you were involved in the Gem War, right?" Jade began.

"I'm considered a veteran of Rubies, yes. Though many people keep thinking my boss has gone through more than I have," Eyeball admitted, and since she was further away, she could speak her mind a little bit without angering Doc (not that it mattered too much anyway). Jade nodded and went to the next question.

"Can you tell me a bit about Gem Colony Earth?" Jade asked. Eyeball took a minute to work out the details of Earth in her mind, giving a sigh.

"Earth was Pink Diamond's colony. Everything was going smoothly at first. Kindergartens were incubating their first soldiers. Big, warm pieces of Quartz - like the mountain of a Jasper you have - were being created from its rich minerals with great success. Then bam! One of Pink Diamond's very own Quartz soldiers started a rebellion and ... took it too far." Jade knew exactly what Eyeball meant by that, and it actually went through a few other questions right away, which was pretty good for Jade.

"Too far. ... I assume you mean ..."

"Yes. I was there myself, and I remember seeing Pink Diamond's shattered remains by her palanquin. ... Though ..."

"Though what?"

"... Well, it's a little hazy, but ... Rose Quartz looked bigger than usual when I saw her. Something ... different," eyeball stated, trying her best to work out the memory as best she could do. Jade wrote down every single word in. Compared to Aquamarine, this was a very good step in the case. And good timing too.

"Ruby, what're you doing?! Come on, we're waiting!" called Doc.

"Gonna have to cut this short. Good luck," Eyeball said, before heading back to the others. Jade nodded and went off on her way, marking off Ruby from the list of witnesses. Onto the next one.

Witness#3: Melanite

"Huh. Some things didn't change much after all."

Jade found herself up at the pearl distribution building, probably the first building that was still original from her own memory since she got here. While standing there, she took a minute to look over the last picture of her set. Aquamarine and Eyeball did a fairly good job in information, but it would probably be for safety's sake to get all three and get all sides to this story, according to the tree. Well, she did the only main thing to do, and knocked on the door. However, no one really answered at first.

"And you. Sentry to Jasper at 7G4."

Curiously, and hesitantly, Jade actually began to open the door herself. Jade was quiet on her entry, and soon she found that, over passed the main entry room, Melanite was actually getting a number of Pearls ready for distribution. Melanite was so busy with the test that she didn't even hear Jade come in.

"And you. Servant to Fire Agate at H72."

"Uh ... Excuse me?"

"And the five of you. Diamond service on sector 764."

"Excuse me?" Jade grew a little bolder and tapped Melanite's side. Melanite looked down to the little Gem standing there.

"Oh. Can I help you?" Melanite asked, glancing down to her. Jade stayed calm and went through the motions.

"You Yellow Diamond's Pearl distributor?" Jade asked.

"Yeah, that's me. Though, I don't recall having a Pearl under your ID," Melanite noted, taking a moment to check her own list of orders.

"Oh, well, I'm not here for a order, I'm here for some questions," Jade said, opening up the notebook and with pen at the ready. Melanite checked the orders for the day first before looking down to Jade. For some reason, Jade wasn't as humble towards Melanite as she would to Topaz earlier.

"Well, I just got finished, so go ahead."

"Ok. Now, you were involved in the Gem War, right?"

"Top distributor during the war time under the Diamond's name," Melanite answered. Well that was pretty fast.

"Good to know. Now ... speaking of which, do you know much about Pink Diamond?"

Melanite paused on that particular question. Jade wouldn't jump to it right away, but Melanite did go through a few questions right away.

"Pink Diamond? Haven't heard that name in millennium. ... Anything in particular?"

"Well no, just whatever you want to share. I'm not going to make you if you don't want to," Jade made clear, mainly to not upset Melanite. The Gem tried to think a little bit, her screen going off a little bit as she tried to look back in her studies.

"Well, I did get a specialty order from her before the war started. It was supposed to be my biggest shipment ever."

"It was supposed to be?"

"Pink wanted every single Pearl in here, but of course the other Diamonds made her lower her options. You know how younger Gems are, always wanting more than they can handle," Melanite said in a joking tone. Jade paused on some memory reminder before going back to her questions.

"I see. ... Ok, one more question to finish. ... Well ... what do you know about -" suddenly, Melanite leaned in and took a closer look at the notes she had been doing The sight of a few notes and some pictures made her a little suspicious. Even more so when she saw her very own picture amongst them.

"Where'd you get these?" Melanite asked, more suspicious this time. Jade clammed up on the question, and her mind scrambled to find a answer.

"Eh, m-my diamond gave me those."

"... Really?"

"Yes, and she wanted me to ask those Gems these questions," Jade answered, trying to sound convincing. Melanite wasn't as gullible however.

"Which Diamond?"

"... Blue. Diamond?"

...

"Well, continue."

Jade was relieved and went onto the final question.

"What do you know about Pink Diamond's uh ... s-shattering?"

"Oh! ... Oh ... Here, let me think," Melanite said, trying to work her memory as best she could. Jade was ready with whatever word she had to say, patient and not willing to push anything out. Unfortunately, Melanite shrugged.

"I don't have very much for you, sorry. It's just too far back to remember," Melanite answered. Well that was pretty unfortunate for Jade to hear.

"Oh. Well, thanks anyway. Have a good day," Jade replied, starting to take her leave and leaving Melanite to finish up her work.

Once out of the building, Jade paused and marked off Melanite from the list she had. So that was Aquamarine, Ruby, and Melanite off of the potential witnesses, each one with their own opinions on Pink Diamond, yet only one with significant information on the actual thing itself. A bit odd that it was from a lower ranking Gem though.

"And now for home."

.......

"... What's it to you that cutting me down would bring? Would it make you feel ... more important? ..."

"... Don't take this personally, my dear. It's just business. ..."

Author's Note:

I have a confession to make. When someone takes criticism on their work, they either do one of two things: ignore it, or try to fix it. I'm one of those people who tries to fix it. ...

Anonymous commenter:

On another note, are we going to get any development for Jade this season? Aside from potentially racist background character of course. (I know, I know, but come on. demure and based on a valuable Asian resource? Don't tell me you don't see it a little.)

Let's just say The original idea to find the witnesses was going to go a bit differently then how it went here. I'll say this: it was supposed to be two chapters - one them finding the witnesses, and the second them talking to em. It's not the first time this had happened either. (least I got a funny anime reference out of it I guess, thanks Pinkie :twilightblush:)

And yeah, it's been five years in this timeline. BOY. 2/1/2018: I SCREWED UP, it's been three years. The time paradox should be fixed now
Don't know if he meant to, but I should thank him for pointing this out to me. Sometimes good criticism can inspire a particular direction in a story, and that's ... basically what happened here. So, hopefully this plot-orientated story kinda fixes a few things for Jade. If not ... well, I tried. :twilightsheepish:

Well that confession aside, here's some more of Homeworld again, and some new and old Gems (how long have we seen Melanite? :pinkiegasp:) amongst these witnesses for Jade to get her work on. Think this is the first Jade-focused chapter I got here (for better or worse). Well, hope this does her justice whatever the case.