18The Roaming Eye flew high above the ocean, piloted by Navy; refugee of the Rubies, along with Steven, Lapis, Peridot, and their pet, Pumpkin. Navy wished to start a new life on Earth, having grown fond of its plants, changing weather, and dirt.
"This is perfect!" Steven exclaimed. "The Crystal Gems finally have a pilot!"
Peridot was equally excited at the concept of teaching a new gem everything she knew about the Earth. She figured it was the perfect opportunity to take someone under her wing. The thought just sent chills up her spine as she looked up to her fellow barnmate, Lapis. "Things are going OK now, huh?" she asked.
Lapis had at first been skeptical of Navy's intentions, mainly due to her instant adaptability to Earth, but eventually, she decided to give her a chance. "Yeah, yeah they are," she said to Peridot.
Navy smiled, giggling with glee as she piloted the ship. "This is great! Doc hardly ever lets me fly the ship! He says I'm too naïve *pfft* the nerve!" she said.
"Yeah, my dad says the same thing with me and driving. That and he's afraid I'll get the van trashed by a corrupted gem," said Steven.
"Oh that would be terrible!" Navy said holding her hand to her mouth as Lapis walked over to her.
"Hey..." Lapis said meekly.
"Hello!" Navy said cheerfully.
"Listen, I want to...apologize again for the way I acted. It took me a long time to get used to Earth and when I saw you just accept everything so quickly, I just got angry and frustrated. But like I said, it's my problem and if you wanna live here, then you're welcome to stay with me and Peridot," said Lapis.
"Really?! Oh thank you!" Navy exclaimed.
"Well, I guess this means one more mouth to not feed. Hahahahaha...that was humor," said Peridot.
"Aahahahahaaa!" said Navy.
It was close to dawn by the time the gang had returned to the barn. Steven had to return home as it was close to dinnertime.
"What's 'dinnertime?'" asked Navy.
"It's a time when humans eat at night," said Steven.
"Oh, what's...'eat?'" asked Navy.
Steven didn't really have time to explain, so he suggested that Lapis and Peridot do so for him before he hopped onto the transpad.
So with that, the first official day of Navy as a Crystal Gem had begun.
Peridot walked over to Navy. "Well, welcome to the family," she said with a handshake.
"Hope you like it here," said Lapis.
"I will, I will! Thank you for letting me stay here!" said Navy.
Lapis and Peridot had already shown Navy the barn, the only issue was finding her a place in it to stay.
"What about the silo?" Peridot suggested.
"Hmm, that seems a little too big for her," said Lapis.
"What about the roof?" suggested Peridot. "Plenty of sunlight, lots of legroom, nice view of the stars.."
"But there's also the matter of rain," Lapis said, concluding Peridot's sentence.
Just then, Navy noticed the tent next to the barn. "Hey! What about this?" she suggested.
"What? The tent? I guess that could work," said Peridot.
"I really love the color and it looks so inviting," Navy said as she entered the tent.
"Well that settles it, Navy stays in the tent," said Lapis.
"YAY!" exclaimed Navy.
Later that night, the three, along with Pumpkin, decided to look out at the stars around the cornfield.
"So basically, humans used their nourishment compressors to disintegrate food and transfer it into their lower bodies," said Peridot.
"Amazing! You learn something new everyday," said Navy.
"Yeah, it's kinda weird," said Lapis.
"It's not weird, it's wonderful! I wanna learn everything I can about this planet!" exclaimed Navy.
"Well all you have to do is come us. The Lapis and Peridot Learning Barn is always open!" said Peridot.
Navy giggled before looking up at the stars again. "I never realized how pretty the stars look. Me and the other Rubies didn't think of such things. What with all the traveling and serving Yellow Diamond and plotting the destruction of Earth and all that," she said.
"Yeah, neither did I. Back when I had my limb enhancers, it was, 'get information here' and 'study this there' 'try to create new gems in the kindergarden.' Upon retrospect, that wasn't the most pleasant experience, I still have nightmares of what those things look like, ugggghhh!" said Peridot.
"Is that how you felt when you came here too, Lapis?" asked Navy.
"Yep. Truth is, I actually used to hate this planet. Being stuck in a mirror for centuries has that effect on you. But then Steven showed a different side to Earth and I decided I wanted to see more of it," said Lapis.
Just then, a thought came to Navy's mind. "Hey! Do you think there may be others?" she asked.
"Others?" Lapis pondered.
"You know, other gems? On Earth?" asked Navy.
"Well yeah. The kindergardens produced a lot of them; Prime and Beta," said Peridot.
"So these kindergardens produced gems?" asked Navy.
"Yep," answered Peridot.
"Can we see them!?" asked Navy.
"Sure, if you want," said Peridot.
"You've told me about those kindergardens, but I've never actually seen one. It would be interesting to know where all the Earth gems come from," said Lapis.
The next morning, Lapis, Peridot, Navy, and Pumpkin paid a visit to Steven and the Crystal Gems. Steven had informed Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl about Navy's defunct from the other Rubies. Like Lapis, Pearl was skeptical considering their previous history with the Rubies, but Garnet encouraged her to give Navy a chance.
Peridot knocked on the door and was greeted by Steven and company.
"Hey guys!" Steven exclaimed.
"Yo!" said Amethyst.
"Hey," Garnet said.
"Hello," Pearl said unenthusiastically.
"Hello new friends!" exclaimed Navy.
Pearl groaned in annoyance before Garnet elbowed her.
Once inside, Garnet help a balloon that read, 'welcome to the party,' welcoming Navy as the newest member of the Crystal Gems while Amethyst gave Navy a 'welcome noogie.' Navy didn't know what to make of it, but like everything else, she liked it. Afterwards, Steven and the gems took a seat and got to talking save for Amethyst who went to get something to eat in the fridge.
Pearl eyed Navy pessimistically and started the conversation. "So Navy...what exactly made you wanna stay on Earth?" she asked.
"Well, it's just...the other Rubies take me for granted and they never take me seriously. I don't know why. Look, does this look like the face of someone not to take seriously?" Navy said, showing her big, ladybug like eyes.
"Yes," Pearl said bluntly.
"Oh," Navy said sheepishly.
"Ahem, anyway, Steven told us you've grown quite fond of the Earth," said Garnet.
"Oh yes! Especially this thing called, 'rain.' It's like the sky is crying! How cool is that?!" exclaimed Navy.
"Yes...cool..." Pearl said with snark and a curl of her lip.
Amethyst showed up with a club sandwich and sat down with the gang. "Aw chill out, 'P,' she seems legit," she said.
Navy noticed Amethyst eating. "What is that?" she said, pointing to the sandwich.
"This? This is a sandwich," said Amethyst.
"A sand...wich..." Navy responded.
"That's what earthlings call 'food,' said Peridot.
"Amazing! Would it ok if I tried some?" asked Navy.
"Hmm, sure, why not?" Amethyst before she tore of a piece of her sandwich and threw it to Navy.
The little ruby examined the piece of food, but was confused as to how to actually eat it.
"Hey, you just open your mouth and place it inside. Easy," said Steven.
Navy followed on Steven's instructions and placed the food in her mouth.
"Then you chew. Like this," Steven said, moving his mouth in a chewing motion.
Navy did the same thing, slowly. Her cheeks were puffed up like little tiny balloons.
"And then, you swallow," Steven said, showing Navy how to do so.
On that, Navy swallowed.
Steven and the other gems waited for Navy's reaction.
"That...was...INCREDIBLE! The feeling and the sensation in my mouth! I love food!" Navy exclaimed.
"Yeah, it feels especially good goin' all the way down," said Amethyst.
"It's quite gross if you ask me," said Pearl.
Navy had never experienced something like this before. She was so blown away by this feeling that she began cartwheeling around the house until she fell backwards on the stairs, landing upside down on her head.
"Aww," Garnet said subtly.
Pearl was not amused.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Steven went over to answer. To his delight, it was Connie.
"Hey, Steven! I got your message! Is it true?! Is there a new Crystal Gem?!" Connie asked.
"Sure is," Steven said gesturing his hand over to Navy who was still upside down.
"Hi!" Navy said to Connie.
"She's a new refugee from Homeworld," said Steven.
"Woah! Cool!" exclaimed Connie. "Sorry I didn't get here sooner, but my Mom was going on and on about my future. Typical mom stuff. She wants me to follow in her footsteps and be a doctor like her. Heck, when I was born instead of getting me a binky, she got me a stethoscope. She says I should enroll in Beach City Medical Academy, pfft."
Navy got to her feet and walked over to Connie. "What's an a-ca-dem-eee?" she asked.
"Oh. It's like school, except a lot fancier and with more carpets," said Connie.
"A school? What's that? It's a place you go to learn things, like what you've been learning about the Earth. Think of it like an advanced version of kindergarden with less naptime," said Steven.
Mentioning the word, 'kindergarden' reminded Navy of her, Peridot, and Lapis' other plans and she brought it to their attention.
"What's goin' on?" asked Amethyst.
"Peridot and Lapis promised to take me to the prime kindergarden! Isn't that great?!" said Navy.
"What?!" Pearl shouted in shock. "Why would you go there?!"
"I wanna see where all the Earth gems came from," said Navy.
Upon hearing this, Pearl called Steven, Connie, and the other gems, sans Navy, for a group huddle. Pearl wasn't exactly fond of the idea of a 'refugee' going into a place like the kindergarden.
"Pearl, what's wrong?" asked Steven.
"Do you really think it's a good idea to take...her..to the kindergarden?" Pearl whispered.
The gang all looked at Navy who just smiled and waved at them.
"Sure, why not?" asked Steven.
"Why not? How about the fact that there are a lot of Peridot's experiments left behind there," Pearl pointed out.
"Yeah, but most of those gems I created are useless anyway. They can't harm anyone," said Peridot.
"I don't see any harm in taking her," said Connie.
Pearl was still skeptical.
Garnet decided to give her say. "Listen, Pearl. I know you have your doubts, but we owe it to Steven to at least give her the benefit of the doubt," she said.
"I had my doubts about Navy too, but she really seems to wanna stay here," said Lapis.
"And I already made these welcome signs!" Paridot said, holding up a wooden sign that read, 'Welcome New Barnie.'
Taking Navy to the kindergarden still didn't seem like the smart choice as far as Pearl was concerned, but since everyone else seemed to be pro Navy, she figured it probably wouldn't hurt to let her go, as long as Lapis and Peridot kept a close eye on her and if she accompanied them.
Lapis and Peridot agreed to Pearl's conditions.
"HOORAY!" exclaimed Navy who suddenly appeared in the huddle.
Pearl gave one last annoyed groan.
The three along with Pumpkin and Pearl teleported to the kingdergarden. No matter how many times she came here, garnet always had an unpleasant feeling when she came here. Her lack of trust for Navy was the only thing bringing her here, so she just wanted to get in and get out as quickly as possible.
"So this is the kindergarden? It's...big," said Lapis.
"Former home to hundreds if not thousands of gems," said Peridot.
The group exited the warp pad and began touring the kindergarden.
As the fog surrounded her, Navy had a strange feeling. She looked up at the canyon walls, feeling dwarfed by their height, noticing the many holes and injectors that littered them. To say she was astonished, would have been a great understatement.
"So thousands of gems were born here? Wow!" said Navy.
"They weren't born, they were created. Created to be weapons," said Pearl.
Lapis flew up one of the injectors. Pearl explained to her what it was as she observed one of the holes.
Navy amazed at this concept. Thousands of gems constructed on Earth. She couldn't help but wonder why they would stop.
"So why did they put an end to this? It seemed like it was very useful?" Navy asked.
Pearl stormed over to her. "Because it's an abomination! Hideous creations were forged in this awful place! There was one good thing that came out of here though," Pearl said.
"Who?" asked Navy.
"Amethyst," said Pearl.
"Aww," said Navy.
Pearl blushed at Navy's reaction before giving a huff and turning her back to her. "Anyway, I think we should be going," she said.
Just then, Lapis flew in from around a corner and approached the gang.
"Lapis, where have you been?" asked Steven.
"Shhh. You're not gonna believe this," Lapis whispered.
"Why are you whispering?" Navy asked, whispering herself.
Lapis gestured her hand, telling them to follow her; slowly and quietly.
They stopped at the corner and peeked over. Their eyes widened with shock at what they saw.
"Could it be?" Pearl said.
It was. It was indeed. Other than Peridot and her experiments, no others had been seen, but there she was; a gem.
