As the dust began to clear, a color that shouldn’t be their stood out against the cloud. That’s… impossible. She can’t have that! It’s mine! No other Gem has a weapon like that!

But I couldn’t deny what I was seeing. Protecting Mo, hovering in the air, was my shield. The warm pink fell away into pieces of light, but I couldn’t unsee it. How did she get my shield?

When she looked up, those thoughts were driven out of my head. The sight of Mo sent a pang of sadness deep into my core. Her face was twisted into a visage of pain, the kind so immense that it felt like I would drown merely from looking at it. She drew her arms around her, hugging herself as she shook. Tears fell freely from her eyes, but she didn’t make a sound.

She’s broken. Watching her was torturous. It was if she was holding herself together against unimaginable hurt, and the slightest slip would make her collapse. I couldn’t help but feel myself ache for her.

The sun dimmed, a shadow spreading across the beach. Something cold dripped onto my head and shoulders. Looking up, I found out why. A massive wave hung suspended over the beach, looming unnaturally. Lapis hovered over it, her arms spread wide, ready to drop the wall of water onto Mo.

I tried to shout, instinctively trying to protect someone who was hurting. The sound hadn’t left my mouth before a mournful howl pounded against my ears. The sound leaving Mo was awful, filled with her pain and grief. The smoke around her swelled before bursting, covering the beach like mist. I was lost. Flashes of shapes and colors appeared and disappeared too quickly, leaving streaks dancing against my eyelids. I wanted to run! I wanted to hide! I wanted everything to just disappear before it all came crashing down on top of me! I wanted it all to just stop hurting! Why won’t it stop? Why won’t they find me? Why is this happening? Why can’t I just do this right?

The maddening thoughts and raging emotions left as quickly as they had appeared. Lapis had somehow landed back on the beach, kneeling like her legs couldn’t support her weight anymore. The wave had spilled back into the ocean, the water soaking our feet before drawing back.

The smoke was gone, and Mo along with it. We didn’t have to wonder where she went for long. A bright light flooded through the windows of my house. She’s using the Warp Pad. We all tore across the beach and bursting into the house as the last of the light was fading. I reached the Warp right before it deactivated, reopening the path that Mo had just taken. I soared up, the others appearing below me moments apart.

When we all touched down, I let out a gasp. We were surrounded by a collage of houses and buildings of various forms of architecture. Replicas of national landmarks intermingled with houses and foreign structures. They were all made of the same material, the clashing shapes pulled together so that they had a bizarre harmony. We were in New Homeworld.

The scene was motionless havoc. Mo stood a short way off from the Warp Pad. Surrounding her were the occupants of New Homeworld, keeping their distance from the erratic Gem that of a large circle separate her from them. Recognition was clear on so many of their faces, mingling with fear, rage, and disbelief. They know Mo, and they aren’t happy to see her.

Mo’s hair was wild, the normally limp mass now sticking out at odd angles. She stumbled towards Watermelon, who retreated several steps to avoid her. Mo reached out to Biggs and Ocean next, each of the large Jaspers drawing themselves up to protect themselves. Her gaze drifted down to the Beetles, the pair inhaling sharply when she saw them. She stumbled backward, Tiger’s Eye and Larimar quickly moving aside even though she was still several feet away. Mo turned in a circle, staring out at the crowd of Gems, her former allies. Each one pulled away, too scared to go near her.

Mo went still. I could hear her breathing, the outtake of breath shallow and quivering. Garnet started to move towards her, but I placed my hand on her arm. She looked down at me.

“Please, let me try,” I pleaded.

Garnet was hesitant, but one more look at Mo seemed to make up her mind. “Alright, but be careful.”

I nodded, stepping off the Warp Pad. When they saw me approach, the Gems parted to let me pass. As I neared Mo, I felt the coils of smoke emanating from her form. Their comfort was gone, replaced with a tingling sensation that left my hair on end. When I was next to her, I hesitated. Doubt was worming its way into my head. I forced it aside as I placed a hand on her shoulder. Mo tensed but didn’t pull away. Her gemstone was smooth underneath my palm, not a single imperfection on its surface.

“Mo,” I started, my voice coming out weak. I cleared my throat and made my voice a little louder. “Mo, please stop this.”

“They’re scared of me,” Mo stated blankly, referring to the Gems around us.

I decided to go along with her train of thought, thinking it may calm her down. “Yeah, they are.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

“No,” She whispered, shaking her head. “It can’t because of that.”

“Mo, what you did… It was horrible.”

“But I didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?”

“I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t hurt any of them.”

I shook my own head, wanting to help even though she won’t let me in. “Please, Mo. Don’t do this.”

“I did everything for them,” She wrapped her arms around herself again, holding herself together. “My whole life was for them. I would give them anything.”

The smoke hung heavy around her. I could feel something through it, bottomless, trying to draw me in. “Let this end, Mo. No one else has to get hurt.”

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

“Mo, I-”

“Yeah, I thought so,” The next thing was so unexpected that I didn’t know how to react: Mo started laughing. The sound was miserable, born from grief instead of joy. “I wouldn’t believe me, either.”

“Mo-”

“I wanted this. I wanted it so badly.”

“What did you want?” I asked her gently.

Mo smiled at me, humorless and sad. “What you’re so lucky to have. I’ve tried. I tried so hard. I guess it’s just not possible. At least I was close.”

The smoke’s abyss was growing, gnawing away everything that seems to make sense. “Please, Mo. Let me help.”

She sighed heavily. “If only you could. Thanks for trying, if only for a moment. I appreciate it.”

Mo pulled away so fast that I couldn’t keep my grip on her. She reached for her gemstone, the jewel shining brightly. She pulled out a handle that materialized, a gem-studded whip trailing along. Mo spun, lashing out with effortless precision. The sea of Gems parted to avoid being struck. Mo ran through the opening created by them, straight at the occupied Warp Pad. Garnet lunged, already winding up her punch. Mo thrust out her hand, my shield appearing in the space between them. Garnet’s gauntlet struck the shield, a shockwave rippling out. Mo shoved my stolen weapon, pushing Garnet back with the barrier. Pearl was moving in to assist, but Mo hurled another shield at her, making her leap aside to evade the disc.

With a practiced movement, Mo went right from her throw to grabbing another whip from her gemstone. Purple flames alight along the length of the weapon. She lashed out at my friends that had just begun to move in. The stolen whip struck the ground in front of them, causing an explosion that knocked them off their feet. Mo leap past them and onto the Warp Pad. She raised her hands over her hand, smoke swirling around them as gray vortexes. As the Warp Pad activated, Mo slammed her fists against the device. A brilliant flash erupted from the point of impact, momentarily blinding me.

When I could see again, the Warp Pad was empty. I hurriedly jumped on, trying to open a channel to follow her. The Warp Pad didn’t respond. Traces of smoke clung its surface, turning patches of the Warp Pad gray.

Mo had escaped and we had no idea where she went.