This kind of calls for a part four at the end, doesn’t it? As if I don’t have enough stories to write. This is going to have parts that will not be for those who hated A Chance, because its almost as bad. If not worse. Sorry! Mentions of miscarriage, gem egg hell, and body horror.
Five. Five out of thirteen. The rest were cracked, shattered, or otherwise destroyed. Peridot sobbed out and held the remaining ones close to her, because there was nothing else to hold. The runt had made it, a small orange geode that spoke volumes as to where it had been sired from, while the remaining four were green, one with lighter stripes across the shell and another with darker. Sapphire couldn’t dare to look at the mess that had came out of her, because it was bloody and disgusting, and she knew it had- in a way- been their fault.
The green gem had herself to blame, really. She took off instead of staying on the ship, and if she had, then she wouldn’t have crashed. Which meant the geodes would have made it. However, there was no changing it now, and she refused to let herself feel sympathy for the space gem before them.
Pearl seemed to be more uncomfortable with it than she was, but she was staying by the sobbing carrier gem and trying to comfort her. Whether it was because they shared a class or because she didn’t want to bring her to the house a mess- if they had to at all, Sapphire would have been fine with leaving her there and letting the remaining geodes rot, if Steven never had to know- she had wrapped an arm around her and whispered soft words that seemed to help stem the tears.
“I’m going to get Ruby and Amethyst,” she finally told the two of them after watching the gems for a few minutes, and Pearl could only offer a nod as Peridot seemed to start sobbing harder. Her hands gripped the geodes closer to her chest, and Sapphire was vaguely aware of the fact they wouldn’t make it anyways.
Too much trauma aside, their government had removed the protein that allowed their geodes to develop correctly. Some gems like herself didn’t even have the problem anymore. She hadn’t in a long time. Her dear Ruby though, she still suffered with it. Most of the time, they couldn’t be fertilised, and when they were, they never hatched, no matter what they tried, because the protein was lacking, and nothing would save the little ones from never getting to be.
By the time they had finally gotten Peridot to the temple, she had passed out and the sun had set. Steven was with Greg, thankfully, and Pearl easily moved the unconscious form and the geodes clustered with her to the heart of the temple. Since their little boy had no clue that they had found Peridot, it would be easy to bubble her useless spawn and her gem. Just as she picked up the runt to do so, their prisoner stirred, and she wished she had stayed asleep. Would have made things easier.
“H-huh? Where am…” Her surroundings seemed to catch up to her, and a strangled noise escaped her upon seeing the geode in Sapphire’s hand. She wasn’t sure why. It was an empty husk without the protein her body wouldn’t produce, so why was she so upset about them anyways. “Please! Don’t smash it! I… I’ve only got a few left as is… I was supposed to… Please, just let it hatch… I don’t care what you do with me, but-”
“It won’t hatch,” Ruby snapped sharply, and she grabbed her hand, calming her lover down slightly by simply pressing their warm gems together. Geodes were such a hard subject for her, especially with her own starting to form, and Sapphire wished that they would, just once. “They never do.”
“Huh? Of course it will! They assured me when they gave me the vial that it would, and it would be an easy mission and a safe place to–”
“Whoa, whoa. What are you talking about?” Amethyst chipped in, and she was quite confused herself. Geodes had been all but erased for a reason. What was the green gem talking about?
“I… I’m a carrier gem. When I entered my first heat, they found out, and wanted to use it to their advantage. So they… They gave me a case with these vials in it, and assured me that as long as I mated with another gem while in heat, the geodes would hatch… My mission was supposed to be with Jasper on our way here, and… It was supposed to be my first clutch…”
“How old are you then?” Excellent question, Pearl. She couldn’t have asked better herself.
“I-I… I’m almost five Homeworld revolutions.”
“You’re practically a child!” Pearl screeched, and her world seemed to freeze. She was even younger than Steven. Steven was approaching upon his sixth revolution in a few rotations, and she wasn’t even five. It hurt her head to think so, but everything made sense. If they thought Earth was abandoned by gems, it would be an easy mission for a young gem, especially one that would be carrying at the time. Everything seemed to blur together at that as it consumed her thoughts, and she noticed at some point that someone took the geode away. Whatever.
Before she knew it, Peridot had opened a section of her arm and produced two vials filled with bright green liquid. She briefly considered joining in the conversation, but knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on it if she did so, instead focusing on the gentle hold Ruby had on her hand. It almost seemed fragile, like she was scared. A gentle squeeze to her hand, and the red gem turned to smile at her weakly and wearily, before their prisoner offered a vial to the two of them, and part of her knew it was a good idea to pay attention then.
“You’re… You’re in heat. I can feel it. Not too far along, because you wouldn’t have gone to find me if you were, but… You should take it. I don’t need the extras, and… Think of it as an offering. If not to let me live, then to let them. Please let my girls live.” Ruby took the vial, and nodded silently, and she was glad her lover had been paying attention to the young gem. The vial seemed so small and insignificant, but her fighter held it with great care.
When the made it back to their room, the vial was the main thing on Sapphire’s mind. Ruby stared at it, sitting across her gem, and her emotions were hard to read. Why wouldn’t it be? A possible future rested in her hands, a way to save the ones developing inside her, and she knew what her lover wanted to do. She wanted her to do it too.
“Drink it. I know you want to. This time, we can save them, and your efforts won’t be wasted.”
“Should I, though? I don’t have the right to bring them into this world with the war coming up. I don’t… I couldn’t raise them right. We wouldn’t even know what to do, and… And…”
“And you’re scared.”
“Yes.” It was so soft and defeated, and she pulled Ruby into a tight hug, which was returned with one arm. After a moment, she pulled away, and the other barely met her gaze, holding the vial tight. “I… Should I? Really? Are we ready for this?”
“Oh, hun,” Sapphire mumbled, pulling her lover close again and feeling the way she melted against her. “I think we are. We’ve been together for thousands of years, and if humans that have only been together a few are, well… We sure are.”
A nod, and the vial’s contents were downed. Sapphire knew it would take a while, and hoped it wasn’t too late for those that were developing inside of her wonderful and perfect lover. Only time could tell.