#pacexlikexaxghost: steven

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"Wow, you've known for ages." Four thousand years? They wondered just how quick at it she could be.

"Oh, titan, yeah," Valor said. "Let's head back." Everyone else here might be fine but they did not need Steven overheating in a forge with a literal magma waterfall. Magmafall?

Ah, this was going to be exciting!

❝The oldest looms were first invented in the 5th millennium BCE, so yes, it is that old.❞ Pearl laughs softly. ❝And I learned on a treadle loom about four thousand years ago.❞

Steven pipes up, ❝This conversation is fun, but Steven is getting very hot in here.❞

Pearl's attention immediately snaps to him, and she steps out from Bismuth's arms, taking a bottle of water from her gem at once and handing it to him.

❝Well, if Steven's overheating,❞ she says, ❝It's time to head back home! We don't want him to get heat exhaustion!❞

❝No that,❞ Steven laughs slightly, and wipes sweat from his face. ❝That sounds bad. I was good for a while, but it's way hot in here.❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"Halloween is not comparable to the Boiling Isles." Sure, it reminded them of the Boiling Isles, quite a bit, but there was a major difference between decorations and actual creatures that could kill.

Valor smiled back at her. "Thank you. More than anything."

❝But I love Halloween! Scary stuff doesn't bother me, I promise!❞

❝Steven, you've been scared by that mystery show with the dog,❞ Pearl says dryly, shaking her head. ❝I'm not saying you're not allowed to go; just not unsupervised.❞

Steven groans. ❝Fiiiine.❞

Pearl looks back to Valor, and smiles. ❝I'm going to get you two home, I can promise you that, now. It's just a matter of time.❞

[zenlesszonezero]

As the conspiracy reaches its finale, the Void Hunter joins the fight.

Uncover the Conspiracy in Zenless Zone Zero's All-New Version "A Storm of Falling Stars", S-Rank Agent Hoshimi Miyabi is here! With S-Rank Agent Asaba Harumasa Limited-Time Giveaway! Pre-register to obtain additional rewards.

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"Oh definitely the power loom then." It sounded like the power loom was going to be a whole lot easier to learn than a manual one. He'd have to learn how to tailor, too . . . Titan, he was going to have to learn so much just for this one project.

"It's that old?" Flicker asked. They knew it was old, but that old? "When did you learn how to use it?"

Pearl laughs softly at the request to teach him how to use a loom.

❝I could yes, but I will just build a power loom and teach you how to operate that; the process of doing it on a manual loom is rather involved. Weaving is a very specialized craft and very time intensive.❞ She shakes her head. ❝And that's not getting into the needed tailoring if you wanted to make clothing beyond just a cloak- which would mostly just be a matter of hemming the bolt of fabric to prevent fraying, so that would would be easy enough.❞

❝Do,❞ Steven asks through giggles, ❝You know how to tailor clothes too, Pearl? Because you're talking like you do.❞

❝Well... not... really? I've read some about it, but never in practice beyond mending your clothes a few times. If pressed I could likely manage, but it's not something I have experience in. I learned how to use a loom out of engineering interest as, even before it was powered, it's a fairly complex machine, and I was impressed by humans creating it so early on... Technically the earliest looms were being used when we first arrived to this planet! It's a very, very old piece of Earth technology!❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"Thank you!" Valor said as Swift chirped a thanks as well. This would be so cool!

Valor . . . very much did not know how to use a loom. Though he wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting when she said it'd need to be enchanted while crafting. At least Pearl knew how to use a loom. Though to come to her every time . . .

"A power loom would be better, yeah. I want to make more or less heated clothing for winter. I'd start out with two cloaks, one for me and one for Flicker, but eventually I want to expand into other things." But before he did that he'd have to learn how to even make other clothing in the first place.

He looked back at Pearl. "Can you teach me how to use one? That way I won't have to ask you every time."

Bismuth watches with clear interest as Valor and Swift consider what they want, and she nods at once as blades for her claws are suggested.

❝A solid choice! I can absolutely do that.❞

Pearl smiles. Knowing Bismuth, she'll have that started by the end of the night, especially given that the gemstone will take at least a few weeks to charge up, and possibly longer.

❝Fabric? Sure, I guess, but we'd need a loom, and someone who knows how to use one. The process works by imbuing while the item is being crafted. Or, whatever effect you have in mind, could just be on the gemstone clasp, but that will be overall less effective, as the clasp would have to be both magic storage and providing the effect.❞

❝I know how to use a loom,❞ Pearl says softly.

Steven laughs. ❝Why?❞

❝... I've had a lot of time to pick up random skills, Steven.❞

Bismuth squeezes her. ❝Well! If she knows how, then we can absolutely do that.❞

❝I could also build a Power loom, which would probably be easier over all, at least if you were wanting to make more than a single bolt of fabric for a single cloak...❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"Ah! Oh that'll be so cool!" They could make whatever they wanted out of it, so long as it had the light for it! She'd need a default shape, though . . . Valor and Swift looked at each other in thought. It could be anything. What would be good?

After a long moment, Swift lunged her claws out to Valor, first one, then the other, in quick succession to demonstrate her thought as she warbled. Valor's ears perked and he looked to Bismuth. "Maybe adding blades to her claws? Like scythes."

No one would expect to get sliced by getting hit with a seemingly blunt weapon.

"I know it's not exactly your forte, but do you think the same process would work with fabric? Like . . . a cape with a clasp that has a gemstone on it."

❝It'll have a default shape- whatever you think is best I can do- but yeah, could be anything within the limits of how much light the crystal could produce.❞ Bismuth steps close to Pearl to put an arm around her and squeeze her. ❝Pearl helped me figure out that one for shapeshifting weapons back in the day; if it has a magic source and a mind to connect to, I can do it.❞

❝You overstate my contributions,❞ Pearl says, smiling up at Bismuth. She did help with that, but it was really just providing a tiny snippet of code to be added to charged stones that makes the shapeshifting work. Pearl didn't develop it; just pulled it from Kindergarten base codes. The rest was all Bismuth. She really is brilliant.

❝Wouldn't have happened without you, Pearl.❞ Bismuth responds immediately. ❝I didn't make many of those because it took a long time to charge up enough magic- don't exactly get much of it in here- but they certainly were a fun concept, and works perfectly for this.❞

At the question of if she can teach Valor to enchant things too, Bismuth tilts her head. ❝Sure thing, but something tells me you don't just mean weapons, eh?❞ She chuckles. ❝Either way, the way I do it involves imbuing the magic during the crafting whatever; sticks better that way, and if you really want it to stick, you're including something crystalline.❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

Valor's ears perked further. "So, like, it could be anything she wants instead of a few set shapes?" Oh that would be SO cool! They could do so many things with that! It didn't even have to be for fighting! Ohhhh this was so exciting! He dissolved his staff and Swift perched back on his hand and chirped at him. She seemed excited about it too!

Flicker grinned at Steven's agreement to their suggestion. "It would!"

"Can you teach me how to enchant things too?" Valor asked quickly. He wished so badly to have winter clothes enchanted to be warm. Heated clothing to make being out and about in the cold far more comfortable.

❝For a gemstone small enough for her to wear; just projecting a little light that can meld in with her, but,❞ Bismuth grins. ❝I'm positive I can make it so she can shapeshift it that the way Gems do, even while she's a staff, so really a lot.❞

Bismuth is clearly very proud about Flicker's excited reaction, and that joy is infectious for Pearl. Seeing Bismuth this happy, and after so long really does wonders to erase the strain of the last couple days.

She's still not ready to face whatever bombshell about Rose Bismuth has for them yet. That can wait.

❝Definitely come back to her after you have looked into other polearms; I guarantee you she'd be thrilled to make other attachments for you.❞

❝Oh,❞ Bismuth laughs, ❝absolutely.❞

Steven tilts his head as he ponders Flicker's idea for his shield, and he also mimes throwing it.

❝That would be so cool.❞

Bismuth seems hesitant for a second, but then grins. ❝Well, I can definitely do that. You've got a different style than your Mom, for sure.❞

❝Oh, I should teach him how to use a sword, given that he has access to Rose's...❞

Steven bristles uncomfortably. ❝Just don't get poofed by holo again.❞

❝I won't!❞

Bismuth is quiet for a moment in response to Valor's question, then nods. ❝Yes. It was a tricky enchantment. Took several years to get that one just right, but it was what Rose wanted. I could replicate it faster now, but that's still a few months of magic collection needed for it.❞

[zenlesszonezero]

As the conspiracy reaches its finale, the Void Hunter joins the fight.

Uncover the Conspiracy in Zenless Zone Zero's All-New Version "A Storm of Falling Stars", S-Rank Agent Hoshimi Miyabi is here! With S-Rank Agent Asaba Harumasa Limited-Time Giveaway! Pre-register to obtain additional rewards.

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"I'm not doubting it! I was requesting!" If Bismuth made all the weapons for a rebel army and could make things within minutes then she was obviously very skilled.

Valor's eyes lit up. "Yes please!" If she could control it that'd be even better. And if it was fit to her then it shouldn't fall off. Ohhhh he was getting excited for this! Titan he still had to figure out what he even wanted it to do. He should talk with Swift, too, see if there was anything she wanted. "How many things could you make it do with a single gemstone?"

Flicker had stars in their eyes when their staff was returned to them. "That's so COOL!" They laughed giddily and tested out how it worked as Bismuth explained it to them.

Flicker stepped back when Bismuth's attention turned to Steven, putting their newly improved staff away. "When you do get better at your shield she could put, like, spikes on the edge or something," they suggested. "That way you could toss it." They mimed the position one would take immediately before making a giant frisbee throw.

The description of the sword caught Valor's interest. "So even if you hit the gem directly you could just poof them without risking permanent damage?" That sounded incredibly helpful. She was good. He'd already known that but wow.

❝You think me an amateur?❞ Bismuth grins. ❝Of course I can make it retractable.❞

Pearl chuckles. ❝Don't doubt her skill. She's extremely capable.❞

Bismuth hands Valor back his staff, and nods. ❝It will take a bit to charge up the crystal for it to work, but I could do a lot with that. Might even be able to make it controllable by her.❞

She doesn't give Flicker's staff back spinning it in her hand, while grabbing some materials.

❝And I figured I'd put it on a small chain fit to her.❞

It's quick work for her to add to Flicker's staff, adding a spear point that comes up around the crystal on the end in four pieces, but flicks down into a decorative detail under the crystal, all points turned inward, and likewise, the sharp bits are inaccessible when Bismuth retracts the staff and hands it back to Flicker.

❝There you go! Your staff can now be a spear.❞

Pearl smiles softly at Bismuth as she excitedly explains to Flicker how to switch it between being a staff and a spear, and how to remove the attachment and put it back on should they want to.

It's been a rough couple days, but this is the best possible outcome for all of this. Just watching Bismuth's love for her work here in the forge takes Pearl right back to those happy days, in the beginning of the war, when she had hope and friends.

Her eyes flick to Valor, then back to Bismuth. Friends. Stars, it's been a long while, hasn't it?

❝You've got anything for me?❞ Steven asks, and Bismuth looks his way.

❝Depends what you're packing, Meatball.❞

Steven laughs nervously. ❝My bubble? I'm not very good at the shield yet. But technically all the stuff my mom had.❞

❝Bismuth made her sword that you have inside Lion,❞ Pearl says quietly.

❝Oh, the one we used against the robot shooty thing?❞

❝Yes.❞

❝Ah, that sword was my finest work. Could cut through the form of any gem effortlessly, but would never so much as scratch the gem...❞ Bismuth trails off, staring at the floor. The she shakes herself. ❝I don't have anything for you right now, but I'll think on that!❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

He laughed at the pun as well. "I'm looking forward to it."

Flicker perked up at Bismuth's words about their staff. She could make one? That was good to know. If they were going to be getting into more dangerous situations, then knowing that it could be fixed if it got broken was very good. ". . . I'd have to look up the different kinds of polearms. But a spear for now would be cool! Can it be retractable?" They didn't want an open blade on it when they were storing a fully retracted staff on their person, nor did they want to accidentally slice someone in a spar.

"Really?" Valor asked in clear interest. He'd have thought the shifting would make it more difficult, but the fact that it would actually help . . . The fact that she could meld it with projected light? That was incredible. Titan, forget making weapons. Learning any kind of metalwork that involved magic would be amazing.

"How would you keep it on her?" was his question about her wearing a tiny gemstone. He didn't want it to restrict her in any way, or damage her if it needed to be embedded, nor did he want it to just hang loosely like a necklace, lest it fall off.

❝Glad to have you on! I'm not as good a teacher as Pearl, but I think I could get the job done! I look forward to getting down to Bismuth!❞

Steven giggles at Bismuth's repeated pun.

Pearl watches with interest as Bismuth takes the offered staves. She's so intensely curious about palismans, and if anyone is going to be able to figure out more about them, it would be Bismuth.

She's studying each of them carefully, turning them over in her hands. ❝Now this one,❞ she gestures with Flicker's, ❝I think I could just make; a more complicated enchantment. I'd have to run the magic collectors a while, but I could do this, and adding to it? Easy. Anything you'd like? Want your staff to double as a spear, or some other kind of pole arm?❞

❝You could make that?❞ Pearl repeats her softly, her mind already spinning. If Bismuth could duplicate Flicker's staff, could they learn that kind of magic so readily? It would be very helpful to be able to cast spells for herself in the R&D for the portal stabilizer...

❝What, you doubt me?❞

Pearl blinks, then laughs, shaking her head, ❝Oh, never.❞

Bismuth then gestures with Valor's, and Pearl is at full attention. ❝This one?❞ She laughs. ❝It'll take a bit of development time, but the ability for it to shift like that gives me a lot I could work with. I think I could get it to straight up meld with projected light to do just about anything.❞ She grins. ❝Would your little friend mind wearing a tiny gemstone.❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

Flicker sighed dramatically. "Fiiiiiiiiine."

"You know what? I think I'll take you up on that," Valor said. He was starting to actually get into this. "We leave tomorrow morning but I'll be back." Especially if they actually could figure out how to use the warp pads on their own.

It seemed everyone was getting new additions to their weapons. Though Valor's ears perked when Bismuth offered it to them, too. "You think?" He lifted his arm and Swift skittered down it, forming into her staff the moment she reached his hand. "Mine's wood, but . . ."

He looked to Flicker, who had already extended their own staff of metal and gem, clearly excited to see what new additions Bismuth had to offer.

❝Yes, I would advise against that,❞ Pearl says with a soft laugh. ❝Heat resistance to that degree would be extreme. It's a fairly rare ability amongst gems, and we're generally very temperature resistant; I can't fathom that it would be to that degree for you.❞

Bismuth had walked away, digging around in a chest, but she looks over her shoulder at Valor's words. ❝Most people can't; I've got a few advantages, but I could teach you to do it at a slower pace, if you wanted.❞ She pauses. ❝Ah ha! Still here!❞

Pearl catches the forked object thrown her way, and Garnet likewise catches the brass knuckles thrown her way. Pearl summons her spear into it immediately it fusing together into a trident.

❝Oooo!❞ She grins up at Bismuth. ❝Thank you!!❞

Bismuth asks Amethyst what she has and takes her whip while Pearl is inspecting her new trident, and testing the addition's ability to vanish and summon with the spear.

Bismuth's work is impeccable as usual.

After she swiftly knocked out an addition for Amethyst's whip, she flashes a smile towards Valor and Flicker. ❝So the two of you are magic too, huh? Any chance that staff of yours is magic? I might be able to do something with it.❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"Huh. That's interesting. I mean, sucks what they refuse to teach you now, but if it used to be normal . . ." What individual gems did was so baked into their forms, especially considering the way Bismuth just reshaped her entire hand, the thought of it having once not been, or at least not as horribly strict . . .

Titan, if White was considered the first, as Pearl had mentioned when she mocked her earlier, then if Pearl's hypothesis was correct then what happened to cause her to change their society to be what it was now?

"Well, I don't make just keychains. I also make pins or just . . . the pieces of art themselves without any attachments." Steven wanted a handmade keychain of lion . . . "When's your birthday, again?" It was soon, right?

He chuckled. "Weapons take up a lot more space than little trinkets. What would I do with the buildup if I did it as a hobby?"

He followed Bismuth with clear excitement, Flicker following behind him. Seeing where everyone was gathering and that she'd said they should go, he asked, "Is this a warp pad, then?" Pearl had mentioned them but he'd never actually been shown one yet. This was the thing they were going to try to see if a spell could activate, then.

❝Hard to say; my hypothesis has always been that the innate weapon was something from the earliest gems, and our society hasn't always been... like that, and once upon a time it was normal for all gems to be able and know how to summon a weapon,❞ Pearl says quickly, clearly eager to share her thoughts. She has considered this at length before. ❝It's not an easy trait to remove; very tied in to the projection of our bodies in the code. In every case that I know of where it was, it's because it was replaced with something else.❞

To demonstrate, Bismuth turns her hand into a hammer, and Pearl nods quickly.

❝Yes! In Bismuth it was excised because in it's place, specific set alternate body shapes were added. Or, for another example, lapis lazulis have wings instead. But the point is, the code it nigh impossible to just remove without replacing it with something else related to projected light from the gem. The most they can usually do is erase knowledge of how to summon it from non-combatant gems.❞

In pearls she knows they keep it because it's where accessories are slotted in, should their owner chose to buy one, replacing the weapon.

Pearl is very glad Pink not get any of that. If she'd been stuck with some tacky ribbon wand or something-

❝It's hard to confirm, because no historical data that old is around, but it's the only thing I've been able to come up with that makes any sense.❞

❝Code?❞ Steven asks, and Pearl glances his way.

❝Uh. Think of a gems mind as a very complicated computer program animated with magic. It's not... quite that, but for a simplified explanation...❞

❝You guys are AI!?❞

❝Uh,❞ she blinks. ❝Well, we're a created species, so... yes? I suppose. Our intelligence is rather inherently artificial.❞

❝Woah.❞

Steven looks no less interested as Valor describes what he does.

❝I have no keys but it'd be super cool to have like, a hand made key chain of Lion or something. That's so neat!! I wish I could do things like that!❞

❝Everyone starts somewhere,❞ Bismuth says. ❝And you don't have to, but I will say; what's wrong with doing it for hobby anyway? I find it quite fun. I'll keep doing it even once there's nothing to fight.❞

She only now lets go of Pearl, headed over to the warp pad. ❝Well if you want to see my forge, we should go!❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"You didn't even know a huge part of your natural defenses?" Valor asked in surprise. "Why did they make you with them if they didn't want you knowing about them???" This wasn't like someone refusing to tell a person about some, like, venom or something that they would always have no matter what; the gems had to be actively made to have innate weapons. If they didn't tell them about that, why did they give them them in the first place?

He smiled softly at the two of them as they conversed. He was very glad to have helped Pearl get her friend back. He could almost forget the troubles with Rose, with how happy they seemed to be in each other's presence.

Ahhhh oh no now people were interested. What if he didn't meet their expectations? "Just like. 2D depictions of animals, usually. From both here and the Boiling Isles." Sometimes he tried 3D, but he hadn't done much with that yet. He certainly wasn't experienced enough with it to want to mention it to them. "Our dad owns a scrapyard, and he lets me use little pieces from it to make things."

His ears perked up at the mention of seeing her forge. "I mean- I don't know how relevant physical weapons would be since usually I'm not fighting anyone anymore, outside of sparring with staffs, though . . . I guess that's changing now, if I'm helping you guys. I'd still rather stick with my staff, though, and everyone else has had their own weapons for thousands of years." Even if other people joined them and needed them, Bismuth was here now to outfit them. "Even back in my home dimension, everyone uses wooden staffs." Magical wooden staffs, but still not metal ones. Aside from Flicker's. "But I would like to see your forge regardless." Just because he didn't really think he'd need to learn how to make entire weapons, the process itself still sounded cool.

❝Sure did!❞ Bismuth says to Valor's question, proudly. ❝We were a fighting force of mostly gems not made for it, so most of us didn't know the first thing about the innate weapons most gems have, so physical ones were important to have. I mean,❞ she squeezes Pearl. ❝How long did it take you to figure out that spear of yours?❞

Pearl laughs. ❝Two hundred years, and it was actually Rainbow Quartz who summoned it first; it probably would have taken longer if not for that.❞ She leans her head into Bismuth, smiling up at her. ❝I still prefer your swords, even if the spear is more convenient.❞

❝Of course, they're fine craftsmanship. Nothing could beat them. You wouldn't be the Terrifying Renegade Pearl without me.❞

❝Now, I wouldn't go that far,❞ Pearl giggles.

❝True, you were plenty terrifying even without a weapon of your own in that first fight. Taking that Citrine's axe from her hands and poofing her with it was something else to behold. I knew in an instant I wanted to be on your side.❞

Pearl's face goes slightly blue. ❝Oh, you flatter me.❞

Bismuth is clearly very interested- and so is Steven- when Flicker pipes up with the fact that Valor does some metalworking.

❝Making your own keychains sounds so cool! What kind of keychains do you make?❞ Steven says.

While Bismuth says, ❝Would you like to learn to do more? I could show you my forge.❞ She gasps softly. ❝Wait, oh I had surprises for the two of you!❞ She squeezes Pearl, and lightly elbows Garnet. ❝We should go to my forge!❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

There wasn't much for Valor and Flicker to say, so they stood back and let everyone converse for the most part. It was really good to see such a happy thing after the tension of the last couple days. Even if there were tinges of sadness and anxiety, what with losing so many people and the discussion of Lapis.

Valor nodded to what Pearl said about their meeting. "It's pretty incredible, honestly. I didn't think this realm even had magic, but then it turns out you guys have been here this entire time! Helping out yesterday was the first time we've been able to do anything with our skills that wasn't purely for fun."

"Every weapon and piece of armor?" he asked. "That's impressive." To outfit an entire army? And apparently multiple things for at least some gems, if Pearl had many swords.

Flicker wrapped their arm around their brother's neck. "You know Valor's something of a metalworker, too."

"Wh- I don't make weapons!" he retorted quickly, a blush rising to his face. "I make like, little trinkets! Keychains and stuff!" Nothing as impressive as what Bismuth did!

Pearl isn't listening, still hiding her face in Bismuth's shoulder, and forcing herself to breathe carefully.

Four seconds in, hold, four seconds out

Bismuth shifts to put her arm around Pearl, and Pearl hides in her side now. Neither yet says anything, but Bismuth knew Pearl was upset about something, and immediately moved to comfort her.

What's said is, ❝Yesterday? The newest of new recruits! And from another dimension, eh? Sounds like things have been strange without me!❞ She kicks at the floor. ❝And when did we start building bases out of wood!?❞

She's going to ask. Pearl has to ask. But... not... right now. She's had quite enough of stress for a while right now. If Bismuth is avoiding it, Pearl is going to let her.

❝The wood part is my house,❞ Steven says. ❝The temple is there.❞ He points at the temple door. This is all very strange! And he'd guessed that Bismuth and Pearl were close, but like... Pearl hasn't stopped touching Bismuth. She literally threw herself into Bismuth's arms.

That... belonging joke was... weird, as was Pearl stopping her from saying something to Garnet, but still. They were clearly SUPER close to Bismuth. Garnet hasn't stopped grinning.

❝So anyone wanna explain to me who this is?❞ Amethyst says, and that's what draws Pearl out with a little giggle into her hand.

❝This is Bismuth; one of the original Crystal Gems. The first to join after Rose and I started it. Bismuth, this is Amethyst, F-5 C-8XM, if I'm not mistaken, but we don't have any duplicates around. She was the last ever Gem produced on Earth. She was a late bloomer from the Prime Kindergarten.❞

❝You don't say!❞ Bismuth laughs. ❝Nice to meet all of you.❞ She pauses. ❝Where's everyone else?❞

Pearl just shakes her head. Not right now. Not right now.

❝Pearly?❞ She says, her voice considerably softer than a moment before. ❝Everything alright?❞

❝Later.❞

Bismuth seems to hesitate for a second, but Garnet nods at her too, and she puffs out a breath. ❝Alright! So what's their story?❞ She nods at Valor and Flicker. ❝How'd we get tangled up with people from another dimension?❞

❝I saw Valor flying over the sea the night before last. They're, unfortunately, stranded here. We're going to help them get access to their home again, and they've offered to help us at times as well.❞

❝They already have!❞ Steven says, throwing his hands in the air. ❝Yesterday! There was this whole thing with Lapis borrowing the ocean that they helped us resolve.❞

❝A lapis lazuli is here?❞

❝Oh,❞ Pearl shakes her head. ❝No. She left, after Steven healed her gem. She just wanted to return home.❞

❝Why would she want to do that?❞ Bismuth snorts. ❝Pretty awful place, Homeworld.❞

❝... not necessarily at her rank.❞ At least, as she probably remembers it. Pearl can't fathom she'll have a warm welcome home, given that Homeworld put her in that mirror in the first place, but that might have been Lapis' first brush with the darker aspects of their home. She might not know. ❝... And you don't know who she might have left behind.❞

Steven is a little confused by the conversation. He doesn't know much about Homeworld- the gems being from space is still kinda new information from Lapis wanting to go home off planet- but Bismuth doesn't seem to like it.

But also this is kind of sad. He doesn't want things to be sad.

❝Soooooooo,❞ Steven says, drawing out the o, ❝Tell us a bit about yourself Bismuth! Obviously Garnet and Pearl know you, but the rest of us don't!❞

❝Well I was made to be an architect and builder,❞ she practically sneers the words, the grins. ❝But turned my skillset to making weapons for rebels instead. I personally outfitted every physical weapon and piece of armor the Crystal Gem army used.❞

❝I still have many of those swords you made me,❞ Pearl says, smiling up at her. ❝I take good care of them.❞

❝Maybe I should make you a new pair.❞

❝Are you trying to sweet talk me, Bismuth?❞

Both burst into giggles after that, and Steven rocks back on his heels smiling. Yeah, that's better.

[goldenbeastkeeper]

Valor and Flicker tensed when Garnet popped the bubble inside. What if-?

But she wasn't. She was fine, she was herself.

Rose bubbled a perfectly fine gem and didn't tell her closest friends.

Flicker didn't understand Bismuth's joke. They looked to Valor to see if he was as confused as them, but he was just watching the reunion with a soft smile.

Then the conversation took a more awkward turn. Especially for Steven. Titan, having to explain to someone that their friend was gone and he had her gem . . . That didn't sound pleasant. At least Bismuth seemed to be taking it fairly well?

Though Valor did take note of the fact that she hadn't answered the question as to what had happened. She asked where Rose, the person who bubbled her, was, but she never said what happened for her to have been poofed in the first place.

They were both surprised when Bismuth asked about recruits, implying more than just Amethyst. Was she talking about them?

Well. They did help out yesterday. Did that count as being a part of the Crystal Gems? It wasn't necessarily going to be a one-time thing, with Valor's offer to help with later missions if needed as well.

Speaking of Valor, he stepped forward to introduce them both. "I'm Valor, and this is Flicker."

Flicker raised their hand in greeting. "Yo."

"We just met everyone yesterday. We're also magic, and we're from another dimension."

Pearl is glad to find that Garnet is, in fact, in the temple. It would have been much more complicated had she needed to track her down, and Stars, she doesn't know how long she could stand to wait for that. Pearl considers herself a fairly patient person, but it is quickly running out for releasing Bismuth from that bubble.

❝Did something else happen when you finished asking Lion questions?❞ Garnet says the second Pearl drops into the bubble room. ❝The future has gone off the rails. I don't know what to expect.❞

Pearl laughs, though it's not really funny. ❝No, you wouldn't. The Lion himself was not the only secret Rose had there.❞

❝What?❞

❝He has an extradimensional space inside his mane that only Steven can open access to.❞ She takes a deep breath. ❝Bismuth was bubbled inside.❞

Garnet is grabbing Pearl's hand and pulling her towards the door in an instant, but Pearl- very reluctantly- has to resist.

❝Wait- Wait! We need to get Amethyst! She might be corrupted!❞

Garnet stops, then sighs.

Less time is spent explaining to Amethyst- it's not like she knows who Bismuth is- and then they all leave the temple from Amethyst's room.

Pearl finds her breath catching, seeing Bismuth in that bubble with her own eyes, rather than in a picture. A bubble so clearly made by Rose.

Tears threaten to return, but she grabs a hold of Garnet's arm and forces that back down.

Garnet has taken off her visor and approached the bubble slowly (Pearl not letting go of her arm and coming with), staring at it intently with all three eyes.

❝Well, wow, there was a bubbled gem in there,❞ Amethyst says. ❝Weird. We gonna pop that thing?❞

Garnet looks back at Amethyst, then at the bubble. Pearl is about to recommend they go outside when Garnet just takes and pops it.

Pearl springs back on instinct. What if-

Ah, but Garnet probably, at this point, saw that her being corrupted wasn't likely, now that she knew to account for Bismuth in futures seen.

And she's not, as the hopper crystal floats up from Garnet's hands, and forms into Bismuth, herself in every way. Not a monster.

Tears come again then, but they're joyful as she practically launches herself at Bismuth, her arms hooking around her neck, and Bismuth immediately, readily catches her.

❝Woah!❞ She tosses Pearl into the air and catches again as Pearl is giggling.  ❝The Pearl I know never jumps into my arms! Hey, did somebody lose a Pearl? Who do you belong to?❞

Pearl is torn between utter disbelief that this is real and elation at all of this as she confidently finishes the old joke, ❝Nobody!!❞

Garnet is grinning when she says, ❝Alright, settle down you two.❞

❝Oh, like you're one to talk, or excuse me, t-❞

She's cut off by Pearl putting a hand over her mouth and quickly shaking her head. This is not going to be how Steven finds out Garnet is a fusion, and Pearl could see where that joke was going.

Bismuth puts her down then, but Pearl stays very close, one hand on Bismuth's shoulder, the other on her arm.

She's afraid to ask.

Garnet isn't. ❝Rose said you were lost at the battle for the Ziggurat. What happened?❞

Pearl winces, and hides her face in Bismuth's shoulder. She can feel Bismuth tense up.

❝Where is Rose, anyway?❞

❝Uh,❞ Steven says. ❝Hi. She's not around anymore. I'm her son and I have her gem.❞ He pulls up his shirt to show her. ❝The rest is from my dad.❞

Bismuth looks surprised, ❝Oh, there she is.❞

Pearl doesn’t say anything to explain Rose’s actions, keeping her face hidden. Garnet says it, or more so says how they don’t have an explanation.

❝We don’t know why, but she made her choice.❞

❝… Rose really is something else! I mean,❞ she gestures at Steven. ❝She REALLY is something else!❞ She laughs. ❝So who’re the new recruits? Always good to have another Amethyst!❞

❝Uh, hi,❞ Amethyst says awkwardly, half raising her hand in a wave.

Pearl doesn’t hear much of what else is said. Bismuth didn’t answer. She didn’t answer. Garnet plainly asked her what happened, and Bismuth didn’t answer. Pearl knows the tactic of just talking about other related things well; she does it to avoid the order whenever Pink Diamond comes up.

Something happened, and it was bad.

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"Huh." What an incredible thing to possibly prevent. Even with magic, he never would consider that possible.

The two let Pearl and Steven talk for as long as they needed. Flicker nodded a thanks to Pearl when she explained how to move the bubble, and then they both followed Steven to Lion.

Flicker laughed. "I hope not. That was definitely an experience."

Valor and Flicker climbed into Lion's mane to retrieve the gem. Valor hopped into the tree and very carefully moved it further down, where Flicker took it the rest of the way out.

"She's been bubbled for a long, long time," Valor informed Steven and Flicker as they climbed back out into the house. Maybe they should move outside, in case she was corrupted . . . They didn't want to destroy the house in a fight.

Hopefully she wouldn't be. Hopefully she'd be okay.

❝Prevent the heat death of the universe,❞ Pearl says. ❝It was very early stages of exploring solutions when I left Homeworld, but the gist of it is that, since magic follows different physical laws than all non-magical matter-energy, that it might be able to be used to prevent that inevitability.❞

Steven seems reluctant to let her go, and she doesn't want to rush him, but she's antsy to get Bismuth out. She needs to get Garnet and Amethyst, and Steven needs to open Lion's mane for them to go in and get the bubble.

❝Steven, I really am alright. You don't need to fret like this.❞

❝Twice in as many days,❞ he says, holding tighter, and she sighs.

❝And that's all it will be for now, Steven. I am sincerely sorry, for causing you to worry.❞ She crouches in front of him, putting her hands on his shoulders. ❝I can't promise that it won't happen again; this was a thing long before you were born, and I've always managed it. It's not your problem to worry about.❞

She hates admitting that much to him, but she hopes it might set him more at ease, to know it's something she's been managing for a long time; that she can manage it.

Steven is quiet for a moment, considering that. ❝... why is the first I've ever seen this then?❞

She smiles faintly. ❝Because it's not your problem, Steven.❞

Pearl stands back up and starts towards the temple door, but she walks backward to look at Flicker. ❝And it's very fragile, but you don't have to touch it. Moving your hand close to it will move the bubble like you're touching it.❞

She disappears into the temple, and Steven sighs. Not his problem. Huh. How much has she hidden from him?

Connie knew what a panic attack was when she saw the one yesterday. He should ask her what she thinks.

Shaking his head, he heads over to Lion, and holds a spot in his mane open again.

❝... I'm kinda excited about maybe meeting another new gem.❞ He laughs slightly. ❝Hopefully she doesn't borrow the ocean like the last new gem I met.❞

[goldenbeastkeeper]

"Prevent dying to it or prevent the heat death itself?" Both things sounded incredibly impossible.

He returned her smile. "That's good. I'm glad it helped them." And it was certainly proof as to just how dangerous the concept of sentient organic life was to the Diamonds, truly. No wonder they kept such tight control on information about them.

Flicker smiled softly as they watched Steven jump down to hug Pearl. Titan, did they know that feeling. They'd felt it so many times themself, waiting anxiously and then rushing over to embrace their brother the moment he reappeared.

Valor recognized it, too, in the way that Flicker would rush forward to tackle him whenever he checked in on them after Will helped calm him down from a panic attack. Though both Flicker and himself balked when they were initially told not to let Flicker help him with panic attacks any longer, he was glad they were told. He hated being the cause of any of Flicker's hurt. Calling him out for leaning on them so heavily had been important.

Flicker followed Steven at a slower pace, taking the stairs. "How fragile is the bubble?" How were they to move it without popping it?

❝We don't age and not much else would kill us naturally, so hypothetically a gem could live to the heat death of the universe,❞ she laughs slightly. ❝And I know there were researchers looking into ways to prevent even that, before the war.❞

Pearl nods quickly when Valor asks about convincing others.

❝It did! There were two particular ways we recruited to the Crystal Gems. It was through exposing countless gems to the truth of organic life, and through the promise of freedom. And the first often lead into the second, as gems willing to defend organic life led to radical thinking about defying the Diamonds beyond that, of really being free.❞ She smiles. ❝I know I was fighting for both, and so many others were too.❞

Pearl takes the offered hand to stand up, and dusts herself off. ❝Yes, please. Stars.❞ She is very glad they waited until she was calm, but waiting much longer will be unbearable.

She strides quickly over to the door, gently nudging Lion aside so she could open it and head inside, though Lion bounds through it the second she has the door open before she can.

She follows him in a second later. ❝Go ahead and get the bubble, but be careful not to pop it,❞ she says up to Steven and Flicker. ❝I’m going to get Garnet and Am-❞

Her words are cut off as Steven jumped down from the loft to tightly hug her.

❝Are you okay??❞ he mumbles into her.

She smiles softly, and strokes his hair for a second. He must have been worrying inside that entire time. She wishes he wouldn’t, but he wouldn’t be Steven if he didn’t worry.

❝I’m alright, Steven. I’m sorry for worrying you.❞

[zenlesszonezero]

As the conspiracy reaches its finale, the Void Hunter joins the fight.

Uncover the Conspiracy in Zenless Zone Zero's All-New Version "A Storm of Falling Stars", S-Rank Agent Hoshimi Miyabi is here! With S-Rank Agent Asaba Harumasa Limited-Time Giveaway! Pre-register to obtain additional rewards.

[goldenbeastkeeper]

Flicker perked up. "Sure!" They were always up for talking about video games.

Valor puffed out a breath in thought. "I know that there is magic, and I know that they have it, but the specifics . . . I was only in the demon realm for six years, and while I was created already having a lot of knowledge in me, it was all focused on the Boiling Isles, or were skills." Part of the reason he was so good at fighting was because he already had quite a lot of skill in it inherently. "It's the Boiling Isles that Belos is specifically out to get. He's never made any mention of expanding later on, and I'm not sure he'd be able to if other countries found out about him killing everyone in the Boiling Isles off."

He shook his head to clear the thoughts. They're not talking about Belos right now, they're talking about magic. "Regardless, there's natural magical phenomena that occur across the planet. Like . . . there's a famous clearing in a forest on the west side of the continent that's been turned into a tourist location, because every night on the full moon, gravity halves and people like to jump around in it. It's not the only place like that but it's the biggest and most famous one."

"Or, like, galdorstones. They're a rare, naturally occurring rock that dramatically increases the power of any spells cast while holding them." He paused, before admitting, "They're . . . actually one of the ingredients in creating a grimwalker. They're what make us run." He looked down at his wrist as he held it in his other hand. "We have them in place of hearts, and they keep our blood running at a constant pace, so . . . we don't have heartbeats, and we don't have pulses." He gave her a playful smirk. "So don't freak out if we're passed out and you can't find a pulse."

"And then, of course, there's also the other titans. Ours isn't the only one in existence, of course. Not all have had life evolve from their corpses, but they all are inherently magical in some way, and have the same effect of nonmagical creatures becoming magical in subsequent generations."

Steven very clearly doesn't want to do something to get his mind off it. He still REALLY doesn't like the idea of leaving it for someone else to solve. But he sighs in dramatic fashion and jumps up.

❝Do you wanna see my video games then? I have a game cube and a N64.❞

Pearl just nods quietly when Valor says she shouldn't have done that. Even if she did understand Rose's reasons (she doesn't) she would never think that acting without talking to any of them was... a good thing to do.

It just wasn't worth being angry with her over it when she had so little time left.

The prompt to ask more questions about magic is a perfect distraction, and she jumps on it.

❝Yes,❞ she says quickly. ❝You've told me a decent bit about magic in the Boiling Isles, and that it sourced from the titan corpse the country is on, but only mentioned the Mainland briefly. Do you know anything about magic elsewhere in the world?❞

It's a good distraction. They also need to figure out if they mean the same thing when they say magic still, as well.