Chương 79: LOG-074.

It had been about two and a half days (give or take a few hours) since the end of what I was already beginning to refer to as the Great Clusterfuck in the privacy of my own mind. Thankfully, that day and a half had been well spent.

Emerald and the Citrines had managed to slowly go through the rest of the crew (released one by one under direct supervision of the Crystal Gems) and talk them down, Rose had finished crying all over the remaining Avians in order to heal them up and I'd managed to call up my regional manager and explain my absence as that of a family emergency. He'd been completely supportive and understanding about the whole thing, and had even offered me some paid time off if I needed it, bless his soul.

"So we just... get in the water?" I shook the loose thoughts away and glanced at the Ruby, taking care not to stare at her visibly elongated and limp arm, or the various other deformities currently plaguing her fellow Gems (the direct results of the cracks and chips on their respective gemstones. The bombardment hadn't been kind to the smaller footsoldiers, but at least no one had been shattered by the end of it, thank the Stars) before turning back to stare at the calm pool's worth of liquid that I vaguely understood to be (in all likelihood) diluted Diamond essence, carefully contained within the boundaries of the fountain itself.

"Yes. Rose Quartz's lacrimal essence induces significant physical restoration upon even short term contact with a damaged Gem. You three are the last ones left, the rest of the crew have already had a dip and are waiting for you." The red Gem pondered that for a moment, before nodding with a wide smile on her face.

"Okay!" And just like that, all three of the little buggers were throwing themselves into the water without even a hint of hesitation, letting out various woops of excitement before promptly sinking to the bottom while I stepped to the side in order to dodge the subsequent splash. That was all fine though.

Compared to the singular Peridot that had apparently somehow managed to take a nasty gash to her own gemstone while being nowhere near the bombardment (she'd mumbled something about tripping and smashing her shoulder against a particularly sharp stone which... yeah), and had subsequently chosen to interrogate me on each and every specific function and attribute of the fountain and its properties, this particular session was fairly easy to deal with.

Idly pulling out and munching on a donut (and once more allowing the massive smile that always accompanied the action to stretch my features apart), I waited for a moment or so before reaching over and fishing out the trio one by one, setting their soaked but thankfully intact lightforms to the side with my free hand. Soaked quickly turned to steaming however, before the excess moisture finally evaporated entirely as the three flexed their inherent pyrokinesis.

A solid reminder that the stocky little Gems were inherently made for warfare, no matter how silly they acted sometimes. Gulping down the remainder of my snack, I glanced over the newly healed trio one last time before nodding.

"And that's that. Alright, back to the Warp pad. I have a shift to get to and you three need to get situated back on the Retaliator for Pearl's 'living on Earth' lesson. Plus I'd rather not be late." As one, the three of them snapped to attention, already filing into a line to follow along behind me as I began to stride away from the fountain.

"Yes Viridian!" Hmph. Cute.

"And that's why I'm really thinking of getting into politics, you know? The current mayor barely does anything at all and I'd say its about damn time for a change!" I slowly nodded along to one Bill Dewey's various arguments and reasons for why he wanted to ditch his current plan of a law degree and instead enter the viper's pit known as politics, before slowly sliding forward a donut. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"I think you should follow your dreams, Bill." The man grinned, one hand depositing the necessary price for the frosty confection while the other scooped up the snack itself.

"Thanks Viridian, it's good to see you're alright after that whole alien invasion debacle." Ever so subtly (reading: not at all), the man glanced behind him, squinting his eyes at the large figure standing next to the door leading out of the store, before shooting me a concerned glance.

"You sure those new magic ladies are on the up and up? I've seen some of em grabbing things out of the garbage you know, following that purple friend of yours around." I pursed my lips at his words, repressing a sigh.

"Probably the Jaspers hanging out with Amethyst. I'll have a talk with them, thanks for the info." The (potentially) future mayor just gave me a quick nod, before quickly retreating out of the store, shying away from the tall Gem all but guarding the exit. But then he was gone, and said Gem was striding forward to stand in front of the counter and stare down at me with that ever perplexed look of hers. She seemed to have found her cape at some point, at the very least. Good for her.

"I still don't understand the point of this." Bringing up a hand and pinching the bridge of my nose (the gesture didn't actually bring any physical comfort, but living in the memory of it most certainly brought some level of mental relief, at the very least), I gestured to the register, already sorting the loose change inside of the machine.

"Human beings require food to survive. Generally, the vast majority of them utilize currency to purchase said food. By working at this station, the owners of this establishment pay me a sum of said currency in order to keep the facility running in their stead." Emerald's eyes narrowed slightly, glancing at the various examples of sugary goodness lining the wall behind me.

"That I understand. We both know that similar practices exist on both Homeworld and some of the more developed colonies, usually reserved for the suitably ranked or highest performing Gems. What I still fail to comprehend is why you feel the need to work here and align yourself with this Big Donut franchise. You have no need of organic currency." I blinked at her statement, before crossing my arms.

"I want it though." She leaned forward, incomprehension lining her features.

"But why?" Turning around, I snatched a singular (chocolate) donut from the wall, twisting back around and waving it at the admiral.

"So I can buy donuts like this. And other food." I held my ground (stubbornly stomping down a particularly 'Pearlish' desire to immediately duck my head and apologise) in the face of the frustrated uppercrust Gem, even as she leaned back in the face of my new weapon.

"Gems do not require sustenance the way organics do. Your consumption of these products is needless!" Narrowing my own eyes, I stretched my arm out further, all but brandishing the treat at the large green Gem.

"I know for a fact Onyx transferred over more than my sense of balance while we were catching up. Shapeshift some tastebuds and try it." Her face scrunched up in visible revulsion as she took a step back, shaking her head.

"I most certainly will not. I have observed the method in which both you and the organics eat them. Both Vermilion and that other Pearl have the right of it, the entire practice is utterly revolting." Leaning back, I placed one hand on the counter and promptly took a bite out of the donut, savouring both the taste and Emerald's subsequent flinch as I began to loudly chew, before swallowing and raising an eyebrow in response to her full body shudder.

"With all due respect, what's revolting is the fact that you and the others refuse to acknowledge the greatness of chocolate without even trying it. At least Brim and Amethyst have given it a go. Even if the latter tends to take it a little far." And the former was currently somewhat unavailable, busy as she was helping Quille and Talon set up a small enclave for the veritable flock of alien bird people currently attempting to make a living in the forests near Beach City.

In between helping the Crystal Gems and more combat inclined crew of the Retaliator in hunting down and bubbling some of the Corrupted beasts still loose in that particular region, of course.

"Hm." Now crossing her own arms, the rogue officer glanced to the side, idly turning to stare out the window as a pair of screaming Rutiles sprinted past the storefront, followed by an excitedly barking dog. Something that would have been concerning if this hadn't been the fifth time that particular scene had happened in the past three hours.

"Yes, well even if I wanted to, which I most certainly don't... my ability to recollect isn't exactly as flawless as yours. Most of what I could do as Onyx left along with her." I bit my lip in the sudden silence, tapping my fingers against the counter's surface before finally taking the plunge.

"Would you... maybe want to bring her back for a while? Perhaps this evening, after my shift is over and I finish having a talk with Pearl. It... could help jog your memory?" The excuse felt flat but at least saved me some small level of embarrassment as wide green eyes turned back towards me, the admiral now visibly fidgeting, even if ever so slightly.

"I... but for what reason would Onyx even be needed? There's no significant threat present at the moment. No problem to solve." I liked to think the dark green blush overtaking her face was a positive sign, even as I placed my elbows down against the counter, flashing her a small smile.

"Well... she's not strictly needed I suppose... I want to be her though. What about you?" I was definitely still tense around my former owner (for what I liked to think were fairly fucking obvious reasons), but that would in all likelihood fade with time as we all settled in. Especially in the face of the small awkward smile she gave me. Taking another quick bite of my donut, I savoured the taste of chocolate and the feeling of victory at her following response.

"I... I think it would be nice as well." Hmph. Things really were looking up for old Viridian, it seemed.

"Besides. Rose Quartz has been rather descriptive of these 'dates' she has taken with the Greg Universe. It will be nice to see what it's like." I choked.

"Snrk." Then I promptly threw what remained of my donut at the snickering clod.