Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe

Title: Forgotten, Then Sound

Summary: 'Until, one day, something walks by her hole. Not animal, something. She's seen mice and birds before, has seen them starve to death and fade away. This something is two-legged, large, and tall.' Rose goes to the Kindergarten to collect one of the remaining wailing stones. She finds that and more.

Author's Note: Epilogue, folks! We're in the home stretch!

...

Soleana- I know what you mean. I'll miss this story. If anything, I've got plenty of proofreading ahead of me. =)

20Last-Sparkle01- Really? I didn't know that. Either way, Amethyst made herself even smaller in order to make her playing more challenging back in the kindergarten. I laughed too. That's one of my favorite parts in the chapter, honestly.

Liliana Dragonshard- Indeed. Thanks for sticking with me! It's nice to see familiar screen-faces amongst the new people in new fandoms. Good luck in your own writing/reading endeavors! =)

Onikiba- Don't worry. Steven Universe will return from the war soon. =)

LibraryOfStars- It is, but it also makes her all the more human, you know? It's nice to see characters who react to new or uncertain situations in a realistic way (I.E.; badly.) Normally I wouldn't say something like that of a character who's technically an alien, but she's also been on our planet for thousands of years. She's bound to have picked up some human traits.

CreativeBacon- Thank you! That means a lot. (and I love 'acknowledging' comments; it's my way of communicating with people in fandoms. It's a way for me to see/read a bit about the people beyond the nice words and well thought-out reviews.)

...

"She still hasn't come out?" Rose asks, fingers intertwined together anxiously.

Pearl shakes her head. Garnet looks just as put-off. "I think she made her hole bigger. I thought I could grab her before, if need be; now I can barely see her."

"She's dug her heels in." Garnet says. "Literally."

"Oh, dear." Rose hums. "I knew we should've told her sooner."

"I can shape shift her out, if you want." Garnet offers. "Or I could un-fuse, if that's what it takes. Ruby could probably get to her if she stretched enough."

"No, no. That's a bit excessive. It'd probably scare her. Thank you for the offer, though." She sighs. "Let me talk to her."

Rose sees immediately what Pearl and Garnet are talking about. Before, Amethyst had always been within grabbing reach, usually sprawled out and content. Now she could just barely make out the lump covered by the blanket at the far back of the hole, which appeared to be much longer than it was before.

"Amethyst?"

Nothing. The lump didn't even twitch.

"Amethyst, we need to talk."

The blanket shifts, as though something were testing its mobility, before falling still once again.

"You can't stay in there forever." She warns. There's a pause. "Well, you can, but I know for a fact that you won't want to live that long without food."

That brings Amethyst out. She crossly pokes her head out of the top of her hole, eyes narrowed. She looks torn between the urge to cry and the urge to attack her, emotion warring with natural aggression.

So much like the others, yet so different... Rose thought.

"Come sit with me." She gestures to the pool the waterfall roars into. "Garnet and Pearl have been worried. Stirring up the water will give them some peace of mind."

Amethyst doesn't even bother to stand up. She marches on all-fours, head held high. Her dark eyes glisten, but she blinks away any tears.

"You have to understand, Amethyst." She begins, sitting down. Her feet slip soundlessly into the pool, while Amethyst dangles hers. "We weren't sure you would understand."

The smaller girl sends her an outraged look. "Amethyst, please. It's easy for a creature to respond to speech, but to comprehend what's being said..." She hesitates. "We weren't sure if you actually understood what we were saying, or if you were just copying us."

"Copy." She grunts thoughtfully, testing the word on her tongue.

"Right." Rose nods her head. "But now we know otherwise. You've done more than just understand; you've taught yourself to speak."

Amethyst looks away, flushing purple at the pride in her voice. "Little words." She says, then demonstrates; "War."

Rose flinched. "That's what I'm here to talk to you about."

Amethyst lowers her head. "Kindergarten." She trips over the word. Then, more smoothly; "Mistake."

"Who told you that?" She demands, concerned.

"Gems." She searches futility for the right word. Finally she gives up and holds her hands up like she were bubbling something.

"Oh, those gems." Rose knew very little about what all conspired during the small gem's detaining, but she can guess. "They were a paranoid bunch."

Amethyst stares at her, waiting for her to speak. "We shut that place down. The kindergarten, I mean. It's what started the war. I know that place is home to you, Amethyst, but it was destroying the planet. We- We thought they were all gone, honestly. We didn't know there was anything or anyone left."

The purple gem bows her head. "Sorry." It sounds more like she's biting the word rather than speaking it.

"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for." Rose glances at her. "You're oddly talkative now."

Amethyst clenches her fists. "Time."

She understands. It hadn't been right for her to voice anything before, but now it was. It was time for her to come out her shell. She was done with gestures and grunts.

It was time for a lot of changes, really.

"Come on. Garnet and Pearl have been tearing their hair out."

Amethyst isn't really surprised, per say.

She's known something was off. She's known she's different. She's known that there was something they hadn't been telling her.

So she isn't surprised. Ashamed, more like it.

Why didn't they just crush her gem? What had been the point of all of this; taking her away from a place she'd been doing no harm and thrusting her into a world where she was constantly forced to walk on eggshells?

Was there something she wasn't getting? An endgame or agenda her mind just wasn't comprehending? Were they just amusing themselves; like humans, when they pick up an animal to train?

She didn't think she'd ever understand. And maybe that was for the best. Maybe she wasn't supposed to.

Pearl smooths her bangs out of her eyes, face drawn in concern. She honestly looks apologetic for something that- in all actuality- isn't her fault. Pearl may have been a little foolish in her words, but she was speaking the truth. It's not her fault Amethyst isn't right.

"I'm sorry, Amethyst."

Amethyst ducks her head, shifts in Rose's arms, and accepts her fate of forever being just a little out of the know-how. She sighs audibly.

"S'okay."

Author's Note: As I've mentioned before, this story has no real ending or moral; it's just an imagined snippet of Amethyst getting used to life and being forced to come to terms with the fact she's not 'normal' by gem standards.

...Only to get smacked in the face a few thousands years later when she finds out she's defective. I'm not the only one who's pumped for the possible Amethyst-arc after what happened in 'Too Far', right?

The thing about this 'fic that I'm not if I've properly shown is that, in here, there are no real enemies. There are no bad guys. There's just people; adjusting to a completely new life and mindset.

Pearl wasn't trying to hurt Amethyst- she just wanted to protect her and Rose. Garnet didn't want to get Amethyst in trouble- she just wanted to help Amethyst by being 'the lenient, cool one.' Rose didn't want to shatter Amethyst's way of life- she just wanted to give her a possible place to live and love her like everyone else. Amethyst wasn't trying to shake things up- she just wanted to find comfort amongst all the new strange things.

Good-bye! Until the next story; Good karma and happy times be with you!

No flames! Don't like don't read! Review!