The faded purple and gray of the Kindergarten were drowned out by the myriad of colors that assaulted my vision. Gems with dozens of different hues of blue, green, and red tried to sort themselves into groups while being herded by several Peridots. Just like Semidot, some of these Gems seemed to be matterless as parts of their bodies vanished into the stone without them even seeming to notice. The dazzling colors and overlapping limbs weren’t what made me stare. It was the variety of the Gems assembled that made me stop. Not a single Gem was like another, but each of them bore the symbol of a Diamond. The normal, standard-issued Homeworld Gem forms had been discarded. Some bodies were massive, others were tiny. Some of them had long, gangly limbs while others had stout figures. Some had wild tangles of hair, some had braided buns, and many more had styles that I’d never seen before. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene playing out in front of me, my brain refusing to believe what I was seeing.

Semidot approached another Peridot who seemed to be directing the ones trying to organize the mismatched Gems. This new Peridot had a large bush of hair trimmed to form eight perfectly measured sides.

“Let me guess, that’s Octidot?’ Amethyst whispered, somehow managing to speak as we watched the scene unfold

Semidot tapped Octidot on the shoulder. Octidot spun, momentarily ceasing her rapid-fire of orders aimed at the remaining Peridots. A triangular gem was embedded in her cheek. “What’s your report?”

Semidot pushed her screen over to Octidot, who read over the hologram with a souring expression. “All defective!” She roared, tossing the screen aside, the projection blinking twice before it vanished. “How is this possible? An entire Kindergarten, planned to aching perfection, producing nothing but Off-Colors? Who’s going to answer me?”

The other Peridots shot worried looks at the fuming Gem, redoubling their efforts to corral the sea of Gems. Because they don’t know what type of Gem they are, I realized. If what Octidot said is true and all these Gems are Off-Colors, then they don’t match the normal description of their Gems.

A fresh wave of terror crashed over me. Were these Peridots using the Kindergarten to create more Gems? Are they sucking the life out of the planet to build some sort of army?

Before I could voice my suspicions to Amethyst, the entire scene flickered. It was brief; I barely caught it as I blinked. The Gems in the clearing glitched like a faulty television screen, the static lasting less than a second, before returning as if nothing had happened. Before I could think anymore on that, a cliff on the opposite end of the clearing began to shift. The mass of rock became steeper and narrower, bunching itself together like a spring. The emerging holes rearranged themselves slightly, still in that immaculate layout but altered to fit the dimensions of the cliff. All of the holes were of different shapes and sizes, but a large patch of in the middle of the holes remained bare.

No one noticed the glitch in reality or the instant terraforming. The Peridots continued their jobs while Octidot continued to yell at Semidot, who was unfortunate enough to have been the closest to the angry Gem. “Who was responsible for gauging the soil samples? No, choosing the location of the Sigma Kindergarten? No, the Injectors!” Octidot seemed to have found a base for her fury, that wild gleam in her eye like a bird locked onto prey. “Which Peridot was responsible for transporting the Injectors?”

Semidot seemed to shrink in on herself, trying to disappear as the other Gem fumed. “Th-that was m-me.”

Octidot paused, her agitated arm-waving ceasing. She turned her head slowly to Semidot, approaching with barely contained rage. I don’t know what’s happening, but it seems like these Gems are just projections. Even so, Octidot's mood seeped through into the present, making me recoil inwardly. “What kind of moronic placement schematic did you order that would result in this many deficiencies?”

Semidot took half a step back, her stature seeming tiny even though Octidot was the same height as her. “I-I’m sorry. I-I have no idea w-what’s causing all of th-this.”

Octidot bared her teeth as she shoved Semidot. “You’re sorry? You have no idea what you’ve done! You shirked your duty and allowed one of the Injectors to become damaged! You didn’t mark the damage in a report before the Injectors planted samples! You may have just squandered an entire Kindergarten, and you’re sorry? Thanks to you, we’re all likely to be shattered!” Octidot brushed past Semidot, grasping at her hair. “White doesn’t take incidents like this lightly! The last time one of her Kindergartens produced an Off-Color, she punished every Gem within the vicinity! Imagine what she’ll do when our Diamond sees this!” Octidot gestured to the mass of Gems that failed to meet Homeworld's rigid standards. “The full wrath of White Diamond will fall on us! We’ll be-”

Octidot cut herself off, her eyes going wide as she stumbled. Semidot, cowering from Octidot’s descriptions, struggled to stay on her feet. Around them, each of the swarming Gems held onto each other or trying to grab the stone to keep themselves from falling, their limbs phasing into the rock. Was that… an earthquake? I didn’t feel anything, but the Gems acted as if the ground had shifted under their feet.

A flare caught my attention, tearing my eyes away from the crowd. On the far cliff, the one that had shifted on its own, light poured out of the stone. That bare spot was suddenly alight, the gathered Gems staring as they struggled to stand upright. The flare grew brighter, becoming a nova moments before the stone exploded. A cloud of dust and debris shot from the source, drifting down onto the heads of the masses. The spot where the explosion had occurred had altered, leaving behind a hole unlike the others. Even from here, I could tell that the sides were sleek and shiny, and tiny white stones outlined the hole perfectly. A hand emerged from the hole, grasping the edge as its owner dragged themselves into the light.

I gasped, Amethyst making some kind of yelp beside me. The figure’s outfit was nothing like I knew her to wear. It was a bodysuit identical to the other Homeworld Gems, lacking any other colors besides black, minus the White Diamonded insignia on her collar. Smoke poured from the hole like a waterfall of vapors. She stared down at the assembled Gems, her face as blank as a slab of ivory.

Mo had just emerged, and this is the first thing she ever saw.