The red gem is yelling again.

She's in a different room than him now, but she's loud. Usually what she's yelling sounds like "Sapphire"- the gem she was desperate to find when he broke them both out, but now it's mostly just noise and what sounds a bit like muffled curse words.

Steven wasn't sure what his plan was upon getting out, but he thought Garnet, Amethyst, or Pearl might know. As it was, he never got farther than the hallway before a meaty arm wrapped around his neck. The red gem stopped in her tracks, showing enough apparent concern for the boy she'd just met to follow Jasper back into her cell. Steven feels bad about that. He's not sure why she cared, when she had her friend to find, but he thinks he'll have to thank her when he sees her again.

The yelling gets softer and softer until he can't hear it anymore. It's quiet, then, for a while- even the perpetual hum of the engines shut off an hour ago, just before the yelling started up.

Steven waits, thinking about how hungry he is. He's been stuck for two days on the ship, with nothing to eat. Pearl says that he needs to eat even more than humans do, because he's consuming so much energy being half a gem. He wonders if he'll poof, if he doesn't eat soon.

Steven's thoughts are interrupted by the heavy footfalls of Jasper.

"I'm hungry..."

"Yes, Lazuli says you're a human- organic. I suppose you'll die without?" Jasper sighs, "We'll get you something to eat. Come with me."

She turns the key in the physical cell, swinging the barred door open. Her large, strong hands remind him of Garnet until she takes a hold of his arm. Garnet is gentle and caring.

Jasper twists his arms behind his back, securing his wrists with a piece of metal, which tightens almost painfully as she locks it. Steven twists to catch sight, and is horrified to see the glint of a gem from the cuffs.

"Hold your breath, it's not oxygen here," Jasper mutters, pulling him quickly through the airlocked door, which has popped open, and onto the warp-pad before them, "breathe," she commands, once the light has faded.

He's marched forward, Jasper's hand on his shoulder, until he comes face to face with Peridot and a large yellow gem. She's about Garnet's size, and wherever her gem is, he can't see it. He wonders if it is on her back, like Lapis', or in her hands, like Garnet. He wonders where the gem on his wrist placed hers.

"Who was she?" He asks, walking forward with Jasper's hand on his collar.

"Who?" Jasper asks, looking puzzled; Peridot seems to catch on, glancing behind him.

"Looks like a Hackmanite- pretty good shapeshifters," Peridot tells him, "they're good for shackles, because then the cuffs can size up or down with you if you decide to shapeshift out of them."

"I'm not even a good shapeshifter! I once turned myself into a pile of cats by mistake," Steven says, hoping they're not imprisoning this gem for his sake- Lapis seemed to really hate her mirror.

"Pile of... cats...?" Peridot repeats, "What's a-"

"Stop talking to the prisoner!" Jasper snaps, "Peridot- you're an earth expert, aren't you? Go find something organic that he can eat that won't kill him."

Peridot looks offended at her task, but slinks off, muttering insubordinately the whole way out of earshot.

"Are we on homeworld?" Steven asks, amazed.

"No." Jasper growls, leading him to another pad, "that'll take another couple warps."

Two more times the light fades, and Steven is sure they've arrived. Unlike the first room, this one is ornate and busy. The large yellow gem hovers behind them as Jasper opens the door behind the pad with a glow of her gem. It splits into yellow fractals.

"Pearl!" Steven yells, excitedly; his eyes water with relief at seeing her.

Pearl's head snaps over to look at him. Her hands are also pulled behind her back, and she's being escorted by three gems that are around her own size.

"Steven?" she says, as one of the gems shoves her forward to leave the room.

Pearl responds by throwing her head back, hard; there's a sharp crack as she makes contact with the gem's face. Steven wonders if she's cracked her gem, before he realizes that it's on her chest and the noise was the guard's nose breaking. Pearl uses the distraction to pull away, but before Jasper even has a chance to hit her, the other two gems pull her to the ground. Pearl grunts as her jaw hits the hard ground, head held up a bit to protect her gem during the fall. Steven's anxiety about the whole situation increases.

Pearl's logical- she had to know she couldn't save him just like that. So if she's trying, Steven thinks it must be bad.

"I'm sorry Steven," she yells, crying, as he's taken from the room.

Peridot is waiting outside, gaze directed through the doorway and not at them.

"Where are you taking him?" Pearl yells, and Jasper drags him farther and farther away, "He wasn't even alive during the war! He has nothing to do with-"

Steven stops, turning as he hears Pearl's yells cut abruptly off. Jasper wrenches him forward, keeping them moving, but Peridot looks a little sick, like she did when Jasper pulled the gem destabilizer on Garnet.

"Where are you taking me?" Steven croaks, tears running down his face.

Peridot shrugs, and both of their gazes shift to Jasper. She looks at them, acknowledging the question, but says nothing.