“You’re a Crystal Gem?” I blurted, unable to contain my surprise.

“Not just any Crystal Gem,” Bismuth declared. “Moissanite is one of the bravest, most loyal, most powerful Gems that were on our side. She was there when the Rebellion was started, before even myself or Garnet! Mo’s a Crystal Gem to the very core!”

“You’re exaggerating,” Mo countered meekly.

“And might I add extremely humble.”

Mo twirled a lock of her hair as she brushed off the compliments. “I wasn’t a big deal. I was just another soldier.”

Bismuth let out a single, explosive laugh. “You were so much more than a regular soldier. Tell me, who was it that took on an entire platoon of Citrines and came out unscratched.”

“Me.”

“And who was it that invaded a landing ship with me and battled our way through the whole thing?”

“Me.”

“Now who was it that saved me and Biggs from a five Topaz fusion and poofed the whole lot of them?”

“Me.”

“Do you get where I’m going with this?”

“Don’t pay her any mind, she gets ahead of herself when it comes to telling war stories,” Mo informed us. “It sounds more spectacular than it was.”

Bismuth slapped her on the back with enough force that would have sent any human flying. Mo didn’t flinch. “You never change.”

“Why have I never heard of you?” Peridot put it.

“Yeah, that’s a little weird,” I reluctantly added. “I’m sorry, but every time a Gem from the past shows up, they’re usually trying to kill me. Why didn’t you guys mention her?”

The cheer died instantly. Bismuth’s eyes turned upwards, then to somewhere in the east. “It… It was difficult.” Mo remained silent, digging her toe into the ground. “We were fighting just like any other day. Except, this was different. Our allies walked right into a trap that we hadn’t expected. When we got there, it was too late. Everyone was… they were all shattered.”

The air that had been ringing with laughter turned to stone, dropping an insurmountable weight on our shoulders. The Gems don’t discuss the war unless in vague terms. It was a terrible time, and they lost countless friends. Many of which ended up as Gem Fusion Experiments. “I see.” That was all I could say.

“How did you get out?” Bismuth asked Mo, her voice weaker than I had ever heard it. “We thought you were gone. What happened?”

Mo didn’t look up from the groove her toe had carved. “It happened so quickly. We were trapped and there were so many enemies. We fought, and we were losing. Before I knew it, they were shattered. I couldn’t save them. I had to… I had…” Her voice was breaking as fresh tears filled her eyes. “It was the only way I could get out. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t understand what she meant, but Bismuth clearly did. She guided Mo’s head to her shoulder and rubbed her back. “I understand. It’s okay. You’re okay now.”

Mo broke. Sobs wracked her body, muffled against Bismuth’s shoulder. She leaned heavily on the larger Gem, her legs unable to support her weight. Bismuth pressed her head to the top of Mo’s, hiding her face. I turned to Peridot and Lapis as we watched Mo’s composure crumble. Lapis’s face was twisted in pain, fighting back tears. She had been caught in the war, living a horrible experience that Peridot and I never had the misfortune to witness. Peridot laid her palm on Lapis’s wrist, and the ocean Gem wove their fingers together.

Eventually, we made our way into the Barn. The trio had added a mixed assortment of chairs and a small couch against the right wall, all facing a TV with a VCR. Bismuth led Mo to the couch while the rest of us took mismatched chairs. Mo’s sobs had lessened to occasional sniffles, but her grief was palpable.

It was Mo that broke the silence. “I wanted to come back. I tried to come back. I couldn’t. I was trapped. By the time I was freed, it was too late. Everyone was… gone. All I could find were monsters with their Gems. I couldn’t bring myself to poof them. I couldn’t hurt them. I looked for so long, but I couldn’t find any survivors. Then, I saw the broadcast about Steven and his friends. I was so happy. It took me a while, but I found Beach City and found out about the other Gems. I had to find you guys, but I wasn’t ready to meet the others again. I’m… I’m glad you’re okay.”

That’s awful. She spent thousands of years looking for her friends, unable to find any except for those that were beyond her help. She wandered Earth all that time, alone.

“You’re here now,” I said, resting a hand on her knee. “You found us, and you never have to be alone like that again.”

Mo wiped a hand over her eyes, managing a smile. “Thanks, Steven.”

An ear-splitting noise crashed over us. Mo pressed her hands against her ears. “What is that?”

“Peridot!” Lapis barked. “What are you doing?”

I hadn't noticed her get up, but Peridot walked back over with a violin, only that the body and strings were crafted from scrap metal, as was the bow. “I’m trying to cheer her up with music. This violin was admittedly not the best option.”

Bismuth rolled her eyes. “I made that to display, Peridot, not to use.”

“You should have said that. My ears will never recover now.” Peridot said as she levitated the instrument to some unseen cranny of the Barn. “Let’s try something else.” More instruments floated over, as mismatched as every other item in the Barn.

Mo perked up. “Is that a drum?”

“You know how to play?” Lapis asked.

“A bit.”

“Here, take it away,” Peridot floated the drum and sticks over to her, gently placing them in her lap.

Mo rolled the drumsticks between her fingers for a bit before testing a single beat on the instrument. She followed with another, a gentle rhythm forming. It was slow, but it wasn’t sad. She kept the beat just right she that it didn’t drag into a sound of grief, but wasn’t filled with energy either. It was easy to follow, nothing extravagant.

Lapis plucked the tambourine from the air, keeping up with the drum and altering her beat, supporting rather copying. Peridot grabbed her triangle, matching the tone of the melody instead of her normal clamor. Bismuth started humming while I selected the ukelele I had given Peridot a year ago. We sat in our messy semicircle, letting the music lead us nowhere, steering us away from the hurt and confusion. The melody flowed and changed, morphing from one tone to the next. It was a song comprised of many, the incomplete whole from several parts. It was beautiful.

When it ended, that weight had lifted. Peridot insisted on giving Mo a tour of the Barn and farm, Lapis and Bismuth chiming in. She helped them tend to the crops, amused at the ways the pair bickered and chatted without any worry. Bismuth took great pride in showing every aspect of her home forge to Mo, making sure we went over every piece of noteworthy information. When that was done, we returned to the Barn to swap stories. I told Mo about what the Crystal Gems and I had done, especially these last few years, with the trio chiming in to help when they could. Mo, in return, talked about all the places she’d seen while wandering the planet and all the people she met. It was amazing to hear her recount the marvels she came across, and it made me realize how much more I had to see.

I knew the night was a success when Peridot popped in a tape of Camp Pining Heart that drew in Mo within minutes. After each episode, Peridot would ramble about her theories and favorite pairings, with Lapis running interference to protect their honored guest from spoilers. Even Bismuth was fond of the show, not to my surprise, and she and Peridot got into an intense debate over the outcome of a plot triangle, Lapis covering Mo’s ears the whole time. The five of us ended up huddled together, binge-watching the show late into the night. When Mo said her favorite pairing was Pierre and Percy, Peridot practically demanded that she come live in the Barn with them.

We finished the first season and about half of the second when Mo fell asleep. Peridot paused the show while Lapis and I unrolled sleeping bags and pulled out pillows. Bismuth carefully laid Mo snuggly inside the pug-shaped bag and placed a pillow under her head. The three of them hovered for a while longer until dispersing. Peridot disappeared behind her tablet in a corner, Bismuth had gone to her forge like she did every night, and Lapis fell asleep in her hammock by the aquarium-silo. I curled into my own sleeping bag, one shaped like an owl, and laid a few feet away from Mo. I fell asleep shortly after.

Sometime in the night, I woke up for one reason or another. When I turned, I saw Mo sitting up with her back facing me.

“Mo?” I croaked wearily. “Are you alright?”

She faced me, moonlight illuminating her subtle smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s… so nice. I can’t remember when I was this happy. I can’t remember when it was this easy. I thought for a long time that life was just meant to be difficult, an endless struggle with no reward at the end. Now that I’m here, maybe I was wrong. I guess I’m trying to say thank you. I feel so happy being here.”

Her smile is infectious; I could feel a grin crack through my groggy mind. “I’m glad. To tell you the truth, this is the first time some mysterious Gem hasn’t tried to kill me.”

“The thought crossed my mind, but I decided to skip over it.”

I chuckled at her joke. “If only all of them had done that.”

She chuckled back. Mo stared at the aquarium for a while, not a sound other than the distant clank from the forge. I think I may have fallen asleep for a spill, but the next thing I knew Mo was talking again. “What are they like now? Garnet and Pearl, I mean?”

“Pearl’s keeping everything in order and keeping an eye on me and Amethyst. Garnet is, well, Garnet.”

She nodded slowly. “They never said anything about me?”

Flashes of a withered garden replaced my vision, accompanied by those of a crying Spinel. “I’m sure they didn’t mean to hurt you or anything. They aren’t great at talking about the past. They wouldn’t-”

“It’s okay, Steven,” Mo spared me. “I’m not angry. I’m… worried.”

“Worried? What do you have to worry about?” I asked.

Mo’s finger found the stitching of her sleeping bag, tracing a thread without thought. “We were never on great terms. Frankly, Bismuth may have been the only one I was close to all those years ago.”

I hadn’t expected that. “What was the problem?”

“It’s… just how I am, I guess you can say.”

“What’s that mean?” I wasn’t tired anymore. I rose on my elbows to better face Mo. “Did something happen?”

It took some time, but Mo sighed. “It’s a tangent. Buckle up:”