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andrewmoocow · 2 years ago

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Little Homeworld Life chapter 20: Famethyst Reunion (originally posted on May 8, 2023)

AN: For almost three years now, I've basically made Holly Blue Agate into my personal punching bag whenever I need a member of the Rutile Rebels to suffer, and frankly I made the right choice. Yellow Diamond says that an Agate must terrify, but Holly takes it to a whole new level with her abuse of the Famethyst. While it was amusing to see nobody give her any attention in the original Future now that she's been stripped of her privileges, Holly Blue was part of my initial roster of enemy Gems teaming up to get revenge on Steven that I came up with in the lead-up to the movie's release, so that's where she landed herself in the world of Alternate Future. But now, just like what Two Birds on a Wire was for Aquamarine and Eyeball, this chapter shall decide whether our favorite abusive Agate still has a place in Black Rutile's inner circle or if she should try making a change.

Synopsis: The Famethyst want to enroll in Little Homeschool, and Cherry Quartz is nominated to show them around. Desperate to be as far away from the Quartzes as possible, Holly Blue Agate tries to spoil the tour.

Cast:

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz, Jasper, Superfan Rose, Hippie Rose, Shy Rose, Skinny Jasper, Carnelian, Angel Aura Quartz, Zebra Jasper, Biggs Jasper, Dalmatian Jasper, Flint

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Famethyst, Blue Lace Agate, Ocean Jasper, Crazy Lace Agate, Tiger's Eye, Chert, Lace Amethyst

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

John Mulaney as Flipso

Estelle as Garnet

Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl, Volleyball

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Cristina Vee as Jay-Ten

Lamar Abrams as Wy-Six

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Jennifer Paz as Lapis

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Zehra Fazal as Zoisite

Toks Olagundoye as Mayor Nanafua

"Okay, class, now that we've reviewed proper pressure point techniques, I'd like one of you to come up and demonstrate what you've learned," Jasper said to her self-defense class one summer day in Little Homeworld. "Who would like to go first?"

"I do, I do!" Cherry Quartz eagerly said while raising her hand. "I've been listening the whole time!"

"Ah, Cherry Quartz, good to see such an attentive student." Jasper grinned at the spotted quartz as she walked up to Holly Blue. "Now then, remember what I have taught you and go from there."

"Okay, Cherry, remember what Jasper taught you." Cherry repeated to herself while examining the Agate turned unwilling training dummy, who was already sweating in terror and breathing shakily.

"Please go easy on me." Holly Blue whimpered pathetically before Cherry struck her in the chest, the knees, the eyes, and between her legs in short order. When Cherry decided to finish her off with a neck pinch, Holly had been the reluctant teaching assistant long enough to know something was wrong. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm giving you a neck pinch, just like Jasper taught us," Cherry replied innocently.

"No, no, no, stupid, you've got it much too high." Holly corrected while pointing to where her neck should be pinched. "It should be down here, where the shoulder meets the neck."

"Like this?" Cherry asked as she followed Holly's instructions.

"Precisely," Holly replied before she collapsed from the damage taken to her form. "Oh, someone just poof me now."

"I'm surprised you didn't after taking that many hits," Jasper observed the collapsed Agate before turning back to her class. "Okay, everyone, next time I'll teach you how to poof a Gem with just a few hits! That's all; now get out of here!" As the class began to leave, Jasper turned back to Holly Blue. "And that goes for you too. The thought of seeing you lie there makes me sick."

"No, you make me sick," Holly grumbled as she got up and trudged away from Jasper. "I hate everything about this planet so much."

"And you know what was worst about today?!" Holly Blue complained to Black Rutile as soon as she got home to vent her frustrations, even though she was hardly paying attention and was more focused on looking at Yatter on her computer while sipping some coffee. "Cherry didn't even get the neck pinch right, so I had to remind her how to do it!"

"Yes, yes, boo-hoo-hoo, woe is me and such." Black Rutile replied coldly. "I guess that's what happens when you've been abusing Quartz gems for thousands of years just because the Diamonds told you to."

"Yeah, I have to agree with Rooty on this one." Flipso agreed with his Gem partner while Black Rutile gave him a confused look for the nickname she was given. "I mean, were you always like this, or did you get so far up your big blue butt that you stopped caring for anyone else but yourself and your status?"

"What are you trying to do? Get my life story?" Holly Blue asked confusedly and tried to walk away, only to turn around and discover Flipso giving her puppy dog eyes. "Ah well, since you seem so insistent, I'll tell."

When Holly Blue first emerged in the Kindergarten from when she was created on the planet Glados, she was given one purpose alone. To train Homeworld's Quartz soldiers to be perfect warriors, no matter how rough she may be. However, Holly was a bit tougher on the Quartzes she taught than expected; the Diamonds believed it was a necessary evil to create the soldiers they wanted for battle.

Eventually, when Pink Diamond was shattered and her human zoo was left without someone to watch over it and the Amethysts, Jaspers, Carnelians, and other Quartzes within, Blue Diamond needed someone to keep them all in line so they don't slack off on watching over the humans they kept prisoner. So naturally, she selected Holly Blue Agate for the job.

"I promise you, your grand clarity, I will not fail you!" Holly Blue eagerly declared, starting a career that would define her for the next couple thousand years. However, everything changed once the Crystal Gems infiltrated the zoo, and they ruined her life within just a few short hours. Because she was more focused on the Sapphire among them to notice that the Pearl didn't bother hiding the star on her chest, the Crystal Gems played her for a complete fool. They made their escape with the latest human prisoner while she was left to become a plaything of the quartzes, or the Famethyst, as the minuscule Amethyst called them.

Era 3 made things worse as not only did Steven convince everyone that Pink Diamond was his mother, he conned the entire Gem race into abandoning the caste system altogether, leaving Holly without anybody to take orders from as the Famethyst continued bullying her with no repercussions.

"I have to get out of here and fast!" Holly Blue panted harshly as she hid from some boisterous Amethysts in the containment area of the zoo. "Curse that Steven! He took advantage of my loyalty and played me like a total idiot! Now I have nothing else except for those off-color Gems always picking on me."

"Hey, Holly, you still want to play tag with us?" Carnelian giggled as she and her skinny Jasper friend searched the containment area for Holly Blue. "Come on; we'll let you be it!"

"Eh, I say we let her run." The skinny Jasper responded coolly, unaware that a shadow with half-shaven hair was looming before her. "Makes it more exciting that way." Just then, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder, and she turned around. "Uh, can I help you? How did you get here?"

"You left the door open." Zoisite coldly answered before socking Skinny Jasper in the face, knocking her out cold. "I had to fight through dozens of your friends to reach my target."

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Carnelian yelled as Zoisite pulled a destabilizer from her gem to stab Carnelian with, the intense electric shocks making the little red Gem shriek in agony before her physical form gave out and escaped to her gem.

"The big idea is that I'm looking for someone," Zoisite replied before she began calling out to Holly. "Come on out, Holly Blue Agate, you're safe now!"

"What, who said that?" Holly Blue asked meekly while peeking out of some bushes. "Zoisite, is that you? Where have you been all this time?"

"Oh, you know, fighting Gem criminals before a certain someone changed everything." Zoisite proclaimed. "That is why I came here and took down all those off-colors. I have a friend who is demanding that you come with me, and she won't take no for an answer."

"Now, just a second, Zoisite." Holly Blue stated. "You can't just barge in here, take down all these unruly Gems and expect me to do as you say! As much as I love taking orders, I refuse to listen to a mere assassin!"

"Well, you should because this assassin is your only chance at returning to your old life!" Zoisite began arguing with Holly Blue when she heard her communicator going off. "One second, I have to take this." She muttered before pulling out her communicator to talk to her partner Dalmatian Jasper on the other end. "Hello?"

"Zoisite, I got another Ruby and an Aquamarine." Dalmatian Jasper declared on her end of the call. "How are things on your end?"

"Not great," Zoisite replied glumly. "This Holly Blue is really grating on my nerves."

"You take that back!" Holly Blue yelled, starting another argument while Dalmatian Jasper kept watching.

"I can still hear their laughter when I close my eyes." Holly Blue whispered in terror. "Their insults, their cheering, the breaking of valuables. The horror, the horror."

"You can have PTSD in front of me later; I'm working here." Black Rutile said while reading from her psychology book. "Or maybe you're just being overdramatic because you refuse to accept change."

"Says you!" Holly Blue yelled back at Black Rutile. "You nearly destroyed the Earth because you refused to accept change!"

"Yes, but I believed that Steven would be a detriment to our society, that he was no better than Pink Diamond!" Black Rutile argued. "My utter Brobdingnagian hatred for Pink and how she wanted everything her way extended to her wretched spawn and how he actually succeeded in making everything his way!" Just then, a loud rumbling came from outside, followed by casting a large shadow over the Rutile Rebels' house. "What was that?"

"Either my mother-in-law is coming, or we're due for a plot development." Flipso answered as Black Rutile and Holly Blue looked out their window to discover the human zoo descending towards Earth. "I'll have you know; my mother-in-law is one of the most dangerous beings in the omniverse. Rumor has it she once made the One Above All cry."

"No, not them, anyone but them!" Holly Blue shrieked in terror and began breathing rapidly while reliving traumatic memories of losing everything because of Steven. "Why did they have to come back?!"

"What is happening here?!" Cat's Eye yelled as she, her cat Blake, Aquamarine, and the Rubies stepped into the living room to see Holly Blue curled up into a ball, having a panic attack. "And what's up with Holly?"

"No need to alarm everyone; she's just having a panic attack." Black Rutile assured her subordinates while looking through her psychology book again, even though Holly Blue was too shaken to hear her. "We'll just need to give her some space until she recovers."

"Wow, what a realistic portrayal of a panic attack; someone calls the film buffs on Yatter!" Flipso laughed as Holly Blue continued panting sharply and grabbed at her chest. She couldn't deal with them again or even think of them again. Nonetheless, it was the fate she was forced into the moment she was banished to Little Homeschool.

"Hey, I think she's coming back!" Aquamarine exclaimed as Holly Blue's panic attack subsided, and she was helped to her feet by Cat's Eye.

"So what was that all about?" Cat asked a panting Holly.

"My apologies, just some bad memories of my first encounter with Steven," Holly stated while hugging Cat's Eye tight. "Please don't ever abuse me like those rowdy Amethysts did, promise?"

"Well, look who's talking?" Flipso sneered at the touching scene before him. "We all know you're just making stuff up as you go along to make people feel sorry for you. Like my distant cousin, for example, they're like a child of the stars who claimed not to know diddly squat about death even though he gave a fascist Puritan dictator the means to commit magical genocide!"

"I'm not even going to bother comprehending what you're talking about." Black Rutile muttered in annoyance as she walked outside to see the Crystal Gems helping a large group of humans out of the zoo. "Wait, are those the zoo humans? What are they doing here?"

"Oh, is this that Black Rutile we keep hearing about?" one of them, a curvy blonde with green eyes, asked as she got awkwardly close to Black Rutile. "Hello there, my name is Jay-Ten; it is nice to meet you."

"Charmed, I'm sure." Black Rutile nervously greeted Jay-Ten with a handshake. "Now, can anyone care to tell me what is going on right now?"

"As part of atoning for their atrocities, the Diamonds have decided now is the time to dismantle the human zoo and relocate everyone in it to Earth," Garnet answered. "So we implore you and your friends to be on your best behavior, Black Rutile."

"Eh, behave this, you guys!" Amethyst cried as she turned to face her fellow Amethysts emerging from the ship. "Yo, Famethyst, welcome to Earth!"

"8XM!" the massive array of Amethysts, Jaspers, and one Carnelian yelled in delight as they began stampeding towards Amethyst, while Holly Blue could only stand and watch as her worst nightmares were now here on the same planet as her. The only thing she could do was collapse from shock.

"Amethyst, it's been ages!" Carnelian shrieked while grabbing Amethyst and spinning her around. "How has Little Homeworld been?"

"Been doing great lately." Amethyst laughed happily. "I am so glad you guys are going to stay here; we got so much on Earth to show you."

"So, you must be Jasper, eh?" Skinny Jasper said to Jasper. "Have to say, I guess the stories about you were true."

"A defective Jasper, huh?" Jasper nodded to her defective, skinnier counterpart while the other Quartzes of Little Homeworld were reintroduced to the Famethyst. "Never would I see the day."

"Hey, Holly Blue!" one of the Amethysts shouted to the passed-out Agate. "Something the matter?"

"Oh, don't mind her; she's just too traumatized to interact with you." Black Rutile said while picking up Holly Blue and shaking her awake. "WAKE UP, YOU WORTHLESS DRAMA QUEEN! DON'T YOU DARE HAVE A MOMENT OF CLARITY THAT WILL CONVINCE YOU TO CHANGE YOUR WAYS ON MY WATCH, YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Give her a bit. She'll come to." Chest Rose answered relaxedly. "Oh hey Pearl, long time no see, babe."

"Ehehehehe, hello Rose Quartzes." Pearl laughed nervously, pulling at her shirt collar while surrounded by the three Rose Quartzes who accompanied her, Steven, and Volleyball to the Reef, along with dozens of others. "It's a pleasure meeting you all again."

"Well, if all these Quartz Gems want to know more about Earth and Little Homeworld, then it's only logical that a Quartz shall give them the tour." Peridot stated. "Any volunteers?"

"I'll do it!" Cherry Quartz accepted the proposition. "I call dibs!"

"Hey, I saw them first!" Tiger's Eye added competitively, followed by Blue Lace & Crazy Lace Agate, Ocean, Zebra & Biggs Jasper, Lace Amethyst, Angel Aura Quartz, and Flint & Chert crowding around Cherry.

"Good to see you're all so eager," Lapis responded as the human zoo Quartzes all gathered around the Little Homeworld Quartzes, and they began showing them around Little Homeworld. "Now then, while Cherry and Tiger's Eye is giving them the tour, let's try and get these humans situated here."

"Just as long as Ga-Reg doesn't show his face and refuse to choose us again!" Wy-Six added sourly.

"You know, we should start thinking of expanding the place soon." Bismuth pointed out. "I mean, with this many Gems excited to move in, I'm not sure if Little Homeworld can fit all of them without having to move some out."

"Uh uh, no, thank you!" Holly objected to the notion. "Only a few Quartzes causing trouble is enough; imagine how much chaos even more of them could cause!" Unfortunately, nobody was listening to her, much to Holly's anger as she growled and stomped away.

"Hehehe, look at him go!" Flipso chuckled as he played a video game about running cookies. "Go, little Earth snack, run from that witch!"

"You there, jester!" Holly Blue yelled as she barged in on Flipso's gaming session, interrupting the chaos god's train of thought and giving him a game over. "Help me with my problems, now!"

"I was in the middle of something, lady!" Flipso complained as he switched off his game and stomped up to Holly Blue. "What do you want?!"

"I require your assistance because I'm currently facing a crisis." Holly Blue answered. "These Amethysts that have menaced me in my time as overseer of the human zoo are moving to Earth, and they're sure to make my life a living nightmare once again. Are there any spells you have that could just poof them away?"

"Oh no, sistah, I may be a psychopathic wielder of all-powerful chaos energy, but I got a specific set of rules I made for myself to follow!" Flipso stated as he presented a large purple book with 'DA RULES' written on the front and opened it to read its contents. "Rule #24601, my powers are not to be exploited for petty gain. Any attempts at that will result in me stabbing whichever schmuck tries to do it in the back and possibly preventing them from ever existing. Depends on my mood, though, so consider yourself lucky."

"Wait for a second; you have a set of rules?" Holly asked, trying not to laugh at such a concept. "Since when?"

"I've been causing chaos for so long; even I keep forgetting." Flipso remarked while putting the book away. "Which reminds me, would you care to hear how my powers have influenced human history? I once destroyed Pompeii after using Mount Vesuvius as a barbecue pit. There was also a little game of pigskin with the boys where someone threw the football a little too hard, and that became the meteor that killed the dinosaurs. Ooh, I also once caused that earthquake in east Japan followed by that tsunami because I was in the bathroom after eating some bad taquitos. And I also once had a cold, and I sneezed on some rats who started spreading the Black Plague. Also, do you want to know why Pluto is no longer considered a planet? That was me!"

Holly Blue could only stare in shock at the audacity of this being as he cheerfully reminisced on the death and destruction that he played a part in over the centuries. This was different from what the Diamonds formerly did because it was their duty; this creature acted like this was a hobby he indulged in every day. No wonder Black Rutile wanted to free him; he was just as ambivalent towards the safety of others as she was!

"So, let me get this straight, Crystal Gems." Mayor Nanafua Pizza said to the Crystal Gems in her office. "These humans are from a space zoo owned by the Diamonds, but now they want nothing to do with the zoo anymore and have handed their humans over to you."

"Yes, that is exactly what we're doing here; we wish to have the Zoomans officially recognized as citizens so they can start a new life here, free from captivity." Pearl nodded before finding Wy-Six trying to eat a book off the shelf. "Hey, that's not food!"

"Then why does it look so delicious?" Wy-Six innocently asked as Pearl cleaned up the drool-covered book and returned it to the shelf.

"Some things just aren't meant to be eaten," Pearl advised Wy-Six. "Unless you're Amethyst. She once ate a cloud and became inflated like a balloon."

"I got hit by an airplane!" Amethyst laughed while remembering that event.

"Well, do they have any birth certificates we can find?" Nanafua asked.

"Not that we know of," Garnet replied. "As far as we know, the Zoomans are all descendants of the humans that were brought to the zoo, and no other human has been captured for millennia before Greg."

"Hey Gems, heard you guys were doing something about that crazy zoo up in space." Greg declared as he stepped into the mayor's office as if someone made him appear by saying his name three times. "You know, I'd be more than happy to help; you just need to say the-"

"Look, everyone; it is Ga-Reg!" one of the Zoomans yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Greg, who was left wide-eyed in shock at seeing them again. "You should know we refuse to forgive you for rejecting us!"

"Look, I said I was flattered that you wanted to choose me or whatever, but I just wasn't feeling it!" Greg nervously laughed. "Maybe we could start over?"

"Get him!" another Zooman commanded, making Greg run for his life from the stampeding Zoomans as they began chasing him across Beach City.

"I think someone has a ton of explaining to do." Jasper growled as she, Garnet, Lapis, and White Topaz followed the Zooman horde outside. "The rest of you take care of things here. We'll go save Greg."

"Figured he would've shown up at the wrong place at the wrong time." Garnet declared morosely.

"Though I must admit, it was pretty funny how they ganged up on him." White Topaz laughed.

"Oh, extremely funny!" Jasper chuckled before the four Gems set off to save Greg from the angry mob.

Back at Little Homeworld, Holly Blue was now digging a hole in the ground with rigorous tenacity, all while Cat's Eye watched with bemusement as she stroked Blake. "Uh, what are you digging a hole for? Are you planning to dig to China or something?"

"No, this is but a trap that I shall you to imprison those off-color Gems and finally get them out of my hair!" Holly Blue cackled. "Once they fall into the pit, I'll refill the hole and make sure they never find a way to get out!"

"Or you could just calmly tell them that their mistreatment of you has caused you extreme stress," Cat advised. "Seriously, I get that you're stressed, but this is a little much."

"Ooh, I got an even better idea!" Holly cackled evilly. "I'll get them all poofed, and then I'll put them in a box! Then I'll put that box inside of another box, and then I'll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives, I'll smash it with a hammer!" She let out another insane laugh, signaling to Cat's Eye that she has officially gone mad with either revenge, trauma, or, most likely, both.

"Holly, my dearest friend, your mouth is moving. Words are coming out. This is not good." Cat's Eye firmly stated as she grabbed Holly by the wrist and dragged her out of her hole. "Seriously, what did Dr. Sucrose say about this? Learning to stand up for yourself by being fair but still a little stern at the same time?"

"Do you really think that'll work?" Holly asked nervously. "For real life?"

"Yeah, whatever you just said, darling." Cat gave the Agate a sweet, feline grin while Blake let out an innocent meow.

"Fine, if it'll make you happy." Holly sighed as she walked away before stopping to turn her head. "Oh, and uh, Cat? You're a pretty good friend."

"You're too kind," Cat smirked as Black Rutile appeared. "Oh, hey, BR."

"What is Holly Blue doing?" Black Rutile asked the former lawyer. "I wanted to give her a new assignment."

"Oh, she's off to finally call out that Famethyst for their abuse of her." Cat revealed to her leader's shock.

"Oh no, am I in danger of losing yet another minion?!" Black Rutile asked fearfully as she tried following Holly Blue. "Well, I won't allow th-AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Before she could walk any further, the Rutile fell into the hole that Holly had dug. "WHERE DID THIS HOLE COME FROM?!"

"You should've watched your step," Cat smirked at the Rutile's expense.

"NOW YOU TELL ME!" Black Rutile complained as she tried to climb back up.

"And right here, you have the best view in all of Little Homeschool." Cherry Quartz declared as she took the zoo Quartzes to the top of the whirlybird tower, where they all could see Beach City from miles away. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Killer." Chest Rose replied in amazement.

"Wow, it feels like I'm flying!" Shoulder Rose cheered in excitement.

"Don't get too excited, Rosie; I wouldn't want you to fall." Tiger's Eye said, trying to calm the super-eager Rose down. "We may be invulnerable, but we can't be too careful."

"She's right. We're really high up." Navy Rose agreed with Tiger's Eye, looking down at the ground way down below.

"Hey, wanna see who lands first?" one of the Amethysts suggested just as Holly Blue managed to find the Famethyst on top of the tower. "Let's use Holly Blue as a test!"

"Stop." Holly Blue firmly said, stopping the Amethyst where she stood. "Just stop."

"Whoa, she's not screaming in our faces for once." Skinny Jasper whispered to Carnelian. "She must be really serious."

"It's time we had a talk." Holly declared calmly, despite looking so enraged. "For nearly three years since the Crystal Gems came into our lives, you've treated me as nothing more than a punching bag because you think I deserved it for all the horrible things I did to you."

"Well, you do!" Carnelian exclaimed. "I mean, all the yelling and screaming and blaming us for stuff we didn't do! It's called karma, HB; get used to it!"

"And that is why I'm sorry!" Holly Blue finally shouted, much to the shock of the Famethyst, that she would say such a thing and without a hint of mockery too. "I'm sorry that I was so horrible to all of you; I only wanted to follow my orders to the letter, and look how that turned out! And I'll only follow through with this apology if you promise never to abuse me again! As of this moment, it's over. I'm finished being everybody's butt-monkey!"

"Wait, are you serious?" another Amethyst murmured in shock at Holly taking responsibility for her actions for once.

"Well, this got intense real quick." Navy Rose added.

"Hey, can I talk with the gang real quick?" Skinny Jasper asked as she and the rest of the Famethyst huddled to discuss Holly's apology. "So what do you think? Should we forgive and forget?"

"Look, guys, I know Holly seems like she genuinely wants to change, but I'm having second thoughts right off the bat." An Amethyst whispered her two cents. "Last I remember, she got in trouble for falling in with Black Rutile, and we all know how much of a liar she is. Why don't we just cut our losses and leave her up here?"

"Well, we should just keep an eye on her, just in case." Carnelian agreed before turning back to Holly. "Listen, Holly, just because you apologized to us doesn't mean we'll just instantly forget all the bad things you did to us. But if you really want to make a change for the better, unlike some Gems we've heard of, that's okay with us."

"And we promise to try and go a little easier on you." Skinny Jasper added, making everyone laugh while Holly Blue let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you all for understanding," Holly said gratefully. "It felt so good to just get that off my chest at last and maybe grow as a person along the way."

"There you are; I've been looking all over for you!" Black Rutile yelled as she reached the top of the tower to confront Holly. "Come with me now; I have a new assignment for you!"

"Wait, really?" Holly asked as she was pulled away from the Famethyst.

"I knew she'd still hang with her." Skinny Jasper muttered.

"Oh well, hopefully, she keeps her end of the deal." Cherry Quartz replied. "Now then, back to the tour!"

"What do you want me for?" Holly Blue asked Black Rutile as the two rebels against Era 3 walked to the bottom of the whirlybird tower. "I was just about to have a moment of clarity and possibly redemption here!"

"Not on my watch, Holly!" Black Rutile stated. "I'm not about to let Steven strip you of your ability to think for yourself because I have a new job for you!"

"What kind of job?" Holly Blue asked before Black Rutile presented her with a hologram of the Seer to the Void and Rasputina's grimoire from her visor.

"Just a little breaking and entering." Black Rutile answered. "The Seer to the Void and Rasputina's grimoire are currently located in the Burning Room in the Crystal Temple, and Garnet can only access it via her gems. If you convince her to let you in, you can take both those items and be home free."

"But what do you need them for?" Holly Blue asked again.

"It's finally time to unleash Flipso." Black Rutile declared before she let out an evil laugh. "I've kept him waiting long enough, and now his godlike power will be mine to control!"

"Everyone, please calm down!" Garnet yelled to the Zoomans as they continued trying to hunt Greg down for his transgressions. "Just listen to Greg, and we can work things out!"

"I'm starting to think this was a bad idea!" Greg exclaimed as he locked himself in his van to hide from the Zoomans. However, that didn't stop the rampaging humans from trying to knock it over. "The universe must have a really twisted sense of humor right now."

"This is going to take all day." Jasper groaned in disgust.

"No, feels like we were chasing them from eleven to thirty minutes now." White Topaz replied. "Lapis, got any ideas?"

"How about I just stick them all in a big bubble?" Lapis suggested. "That should keep them from running around town like crazy?"

"That sounds utterly crazy!" Jasper objected to the idea.

"Well, sometimes crazy works." Garnet disagreed with Jasper. "Go for it, Lapis." At Garnet's command, Lapis summoned water from the nearby shore to wrap the Zoomans in before turning it into a big bubble to contain them. "Nice one."

"Oh, thank you, Lapis, you're a lifesaver!" Greg sighed in relief. "So gang, ready to hear me out now?"

"Okay Ga-Reg, we apologize for our recklessness," Wy-Six replied.

"We just still can't stop holding a grudge," Jay-Ten added. "Hopefully, you can forgive us for trying to hurt you as you hurt us."

"Aw, I can't stay mad at you guys." Greg chuckled.

"Well, that leaves that plotline finally tied up." Garnet sighed in relief. "Time to see how Pearl and the others are doing."

"Hold on a second!" Holly Blue cried as she raced up to Garnet. "Garnet, could you perhaps spare a moment of your time to show me the Burning Room?"

"Well, this is very sudden and quite suspicious," Garnet remarked. "I hope you don't have any ulterior motives."

"No way, I just want to see how empty it is and whether you still have any corrupted Gems left over!" Holly lied through her teeth.

"Guess I got some time to kill." Garnet agreed, making Holly smirk at how the fusion bought her fib hook, line, and sinker. "Come with me. I'll show you around."

"I got a bad feeling about this." White Topaz declared fearfully as Garnet and Holly Blue departed for the Crystal Temple.

"Ooh, I love what you've done with the place!" Holly Blue gasped in amazement at the emptied Burning Room, which still had a scant few bubbles containing valuable objects floating around. Two of them, in particular, were just the ones she needed. "Ooh, what are those two?"

"That's the Seer to the Void that we confiscated from Black Rutile, along with the grimoire that belonged to the sorceress Rasputina," Garnet explained to the Agate, who was getting inordinately close to the two bubbles. "I'd like to know why you're so interested in them." Just then, her future vision clued her to Holly's true intentions. "Oh no!"

"Thank you so much for the invitation, Garnet!" Holly Blue laughed heartily as she raced out of the Burning Room onto the Warp Pad. "And the goodie basket was a nice surprise too!"

"Wait, stop!" Garnet cried as Holly Blue disappeared, no doubt returning to Little Homeworld to see Black Rutile. "I have to warn the others and fast!"

Holly Blue reappeared on the Warp Pad at Little Homeworld, where the Rutile Rebels eagerly awaited her arrival. "I got them, my Rutile." She said while handing the bubbles over to Black Rutile and taking a bow. "Now, he can be free to smite worlds as he did in days long past."

"Excellent work, Holly Blue." Black Rutile smirked deviously as she patted Holly Blue on the shoulder. "I knew you wouldn't give up on me."

"Finally, let's get this party started!" Flipso cackled in triumph.

The time has come for Flipso to regain his physical form and wreak all sorts of havoc on Little Homeworld, Beach City, and perhaps beyond if the Crystal Gems don't stop him! But is he really on the Rutile Rebels' side or has Black Rutile been cooperating with a force that she cannot control? What could this mean for her relationship with the Crystal Gems at large? We'll find out next week when Flipso takes the scene at long last! Wow, I can't believe we're only six chapters left already.

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