Fresh From Homeworld

To Start A Rebellion

Howlite's mouth gaped. "Y-you're alive?!" she stuttered.
"Keep it down!" Chrysoberyl hissed. "But... you remember who I am?"
"Only along with every gem on Homeworld!" Howlite exclaimed, though she was quieter. "What in the galaxies are you doing here?"
"I came to find you," Chrysoberyl said urgently.
"Why in the universe would you need to come to find me?!" Howlite hissed, still in shock.
"Pearl told me to. She said you could help me."
"Sure, whatever. Are you kidding me?" She took a deep breath. "Okay. Sorry. So was it your pearl, mine, that sapphire you stole the identity of-"
"No." Chrysoberyl cut her off.
"What?"
"Pearl. The renegade Pearl. The rebel, the Crystal Gem Pearl." Chrysoberyl clarified.
Howlite's pale white and gray flecked skin paled further. "W-what?" She stammered.
"This is the truth. While I was on earth, I met the Crystal Gems. I met another Homeworld gem as well. I'm here to start a rebellion on Homeworld. I'm here to turn gems against this class system, to find the rejected chrysoberyls-"
"There aren't any." Howlite frowned, trying to keep the rest of her bursting questions back.
"W-what?"
"I said, there aren't any!" Howlite shouted, clearly upset. Howlite sat down again, her head in her hands. "You don't know what you've done. How could you?!"
Chrysoberyl was shocked. She though Howlite's reaction would be happy. "I- I don't understand."
"You renounced your loyalty. That's the last thing you should've done! You should've waited! Think of how successful you could've been with that much power to start a rebellion. Because of you, you are no longer in power, you're in hiding, and hundreds of chrysoberyls that were made to replace you have been shattered. There. Are. None. Left."
"B-but the diamond's three chrysoberyls?"
"...of course they're alive... but what can you say for yourself?"
"You're right. I never thought things through. I was not patient. I was dumb and stupid and mindless. I didn't even know I was going to start a rebellion... but if I never renounced my loyalty, yes, they wouldn't have made chrysoberyls just to end up shattering them... but I would never have met the Crystal Gems. I would never have known that you were one. I would never have met Merlinite."
     "The gem you met on earth...? Where is she now?" Howlite questioned, taking everything in.
     "She's in charge of one of White Diamond's armies. I don't know which. I haven't seen or heard from her in a year."
     "Then what have you been doing all this time?"
     "Finding a believable, non-suspicious way to you."
     Howlite sat in silence for a minute, thinking. After moments of silence, a relieved smile appeared on her face as she burst into tears. "I thought I was the only one left!" she cried. "It's been over six thousand years... Wow..." breathed Howlite. "I heard in a report that the Crystal Gems were still alive, but their numbers were so small that nobody cared... but I did. I still don't understand how you're alive, though. I heard of a mission your gems had been sent on to make sure you were killed. The mission was reported successful, but a malfunction caused the ship to explode on the way back."
"No, we bubbled them, and then Peridot reprogrammed the ship to say those things. Merlinite and I used that ship to get here," Chrysoberyl explained. Howlite nodded in understanding. "Howlite, you said you thought you were the only one left, but Pearl said that you and others stayed behind because you didn't care for the life on earth as they did... so what happened to everyone else?"
"Many of those gems have long forgotten the Crystal Gems, they have lost hope of ever rebelling. Others, there has been no record of them for hundreds, even thousands of years. Perhaps they were shattered for not completing their duties, or fell into ship accidents, or perhaps they're still out there, but were never able to contact me. Only a century ago, there were two watermelon tourmalines who were still part of the rebellion with me. But their Rhodonite discovered them speaking of plans for the rebellion. They were caught and sent to be executed by Blue Diamond herself. That was the last I heard from anyone in the rebellion." She looked at Chrysoberyl. "But now you're here! And that Merlinite, you said? I'm so glad..."
"Howlite? There is still at least one chrysoberyl out there who will join us. Garnet showed me that in every path of the future, we will find her. She'll be the first gem to join the rebellion here on Homeworld," Chrysoberyl explained.
"Alright, then. The chrysoberyl kindergarten is abandoned now, but it is on a planet not too far from Homeworld."
     "Will you be able to take us all there?"
     "Us all? It wouldn't be a problem for you to go, but I'd need a really good excuse to be going to a place like that. Plus, my pearl would have to accompany me, and I don't know how we could get her off our backs. And I don't even know how Merlinite could get off her duties and come on a mission without any explanation. You... you're going to have to go alone. I'm sorry," Howlite apologized. "There's nothing else I can do for that."
     "Okay," Chrysoberyl answered bravely. "I've been on my own for this long... I can do it. You'll need to give me coordinates and some other information. And a way to get to you again."
     "I can do that. And as for meeting with me again, keep the identity of that sapphire. I'll make sure that you can come whenever you need," Howlite promised.
"Thank you so much!" Chrysoberyl exclaimed. "I'll see you again." She turned to leave.
"Wait!" Howlite called. "I- I uh," she laughed. "I actually need you to give me those files you stole from that sapphire. Our meeting was actually kind of important." Chrysoberyl complied, then laughed as well.