OPENING THE WINDOW──up front, [y/n] poked her head outside and looked around. when she saw no one, as she expected she would, she sighed and brought her head back in, readjusting the porcelain mask that rested over her face.

"everyone's out already, huh?" humming to herself, the girl hopped off of the couch she sat on and and yawned, rolling her shoulders and clicking her tongue soon afterwards before placing her hands on her hips and looking over to the kitchen.

"guess i'm making us breakfast, then," she decided.

•

•

•

"is it healthy to put this much syrup on a stack of waffles?" [y/n] paused for a moment after her own question; staring down at the breakfast treat with a blank expression before shrugging her shoulders and throwing a now-empty bottle of syrup to the side.

"i don't think the gems can get sick, anyway," she muttered, walking around the counter to stand in front of the door that led to─what she assumed to be─the gems' bedrooms.

"hey, garnet!" she brought her fist up and began to repeatedly bang it against the door's surface. "amethyst? pearl!"

no answer. [y/n] huffed and went back to the kitchen.

•

•

•

"ouch! shit!"

quickly dropping the streaming bags of popcorn onto the counter, [y/n] cursed under her breath and hissed in pain as she flapped her hands around in an attempt to cool them down.

"okay, maybe i should have actually waited for them to cool down. not my brightest moment, but . . ." [y/n] turned her head to stare out the window again, and she sighed, looking down at the popcorn bags before her.

"this is why i hate it when peedee's too busy to come hang out. he's literally, like, ninety percent of my impulse control . . ." she sighed again. "oh, well."

after waiting a moment, [y/n] finally took ahold of the bags once again, and she was very happy to discover them not being as hot as before. she opened each and every one of them one by one, and then proceeded to poor the contents atop the syrup-covered waffles on the plate next to her.

about five minutes of silence passed, and then [y/n] groaned before running over to the warp pad and crouching down in front of it.

"three, two, one, warp in!" she commanded, throwing her hands up into the air as if she were casting a spell.

nothing happened.

[y/n] groaned again and fell backwards onto the floor.

"man, i sure do love it when the gems decide to go out and save the world without me!" the hybrid child yelled to no one in particular.

no answer, still.

•

•

•

"look at you," [y/n] muttered, a small smile etched out across her features as she proceeded to make a rather tall pillar of whipped cream atop the waffles. "you're beautiful~" she sing-songed.

"in fact, you're so beautiful─" [y/n] suddenly ran over to the front door and slammed it open "─that i'm sure that PEARL AND GARNET WOULD LIKE A TASTE OF YOU! YEAH?"

silence.

[y/n] groaned, threw her head back, and then slammed the door shut as she headed back inside.

•

•

•

"okay, easy now . . ." [y/n] couldn't mess this up. the entire breakfast was at stake if she didn't get this right. taking a deep breath, she narrowed her eyes from behind her mask, steadied her hand, and . . .

"yes!" after finally finding the perfect spot to place the strawberry in, [y/n] grinned and pumped a fist into the air in triumph.

"i did it! oh, peeds, if only you could see me now─"

the child was cut off by the appearance of a stream forming on the warp pad, which in turn made her jump in surprise and lose her balance. she fell to the floor with a startled cry, and as she did, a certain gem with a square-shaped afro appeared.

[y/n] groaned, her hands grasping the edge of the counter and helping her pull herself up, her vision blurry.

"ugh. what . . .?" the hybrid's sentence came to a slow stop once she noticed the taller gem's presence, and she gasped, a grin spreading across her face.

"ah, garnet! there you are!"

[y/n] laughed and jumped over to the other side of the counter before picking up the morning meal she had prepared.

"i hope you're hungry!" the girl said, presenting the plate of stacked waffles to the stoic gem. "and listen, i know it isn't exactly the healthiest, but hey, it's in a stack! so, i guess you could call this a . . ."

[y/n] offered garnet a strained smile from behind her mask, "balanced breakfast?"

nothing. the gem's expression did not change in the slightest.

[y/n] cleared her throat awkwardly. "damn," she looked away, feeling only partially embarrassed, "tough crowd. annnnnywaaaays, you got any idea where pearl and amethyst are? i was kinda hoping that we could all eat this together like a, you know, fam─I MEAN A COUPLE OF BEST BUDS WHO HAPPEN TO LIVE TOGETHER."

garnet gave no reply, still, and honestly, [y/n] couldn't help but feel rather thankful for that this time. swallowing nervously, the child released a nervous chuckle and began to subtly tap her foot against the floor to try and calm her nerves.

but then, after a moment, garnet finally spoke. "sorry, [y/n], i can't." if the gem had noticed the way the child had deflated at her statement, she didn't comment on it. "there's buisness to attend to inside the temple."

choosing to remain silent this time, [y/n] watched with a hint of disappointment in her eyes as garnet turned away from her and opened the door to her room. however, before the gem could even step through, [y/n] cleared her throat and began to speak up again.

"buisness?" she asked, swallowing when her voice came out as a bit too shaky for her liking. "like what?"

garnet─with her expression as blank as ever─merely turned around and finally unfurled the scroll, revealing it to have strange mystic symbols on the inside of it.

there were small whispers heard, then, and though they weren't as loud, [y/n] still couldn't help but feel a shiver travel up her spine at the sight of it.

the [hair color]ette looked away. "okay. nevermind. you can go do that, then. i won't stop you."

garnet, who had already begun to head into her room anyway, stopped in her tracks suddenly and turned to the young girl behind her, whose expression was hidden away behind her porcelain mask, as it always was.

a second or two passed, but soon either way, garnet turned back around and finally left into her quarters; leaving [y/n] to stand alone in the house once again.

at least, that was until a certain purple gem bursted through the front door.

"dumb police!" she hollered, snapping [y/n] out of her thoughts and causing the girl to whirl around and gasp, instantly taking notice of the water gun in the gem's grasp.

amethyst smirked. "annnnnd," she aimed the gun directly at [y/n]'s chest, "you're dumb!" she pulled the trigger.

"wha─OI!"

sliding out of the way of the water's trajectory, [y/n] threw the together breakfast up top to sit on her room's floor, before quickly pulling herself up to sit next to. she then picked the morning meal up once again and scooted farther away from the edge of her room, not wanting to give amethyst another opportunity to take aim.

from the floor below, [y/n] heard amethyst sigh.

"ugh. c'mon, man, you can't just run away from me like that! where's the fun in that?" the purple gem complained.

[y/n] huffed. "well, excuse me for not wanting my clothes to get wet, amethyst," the child sassed back, making the mentioned gem burst out into a fit of amused laughter.

"aw, lighten up, [y/n]! it's just a little water~" the gem teased, taking a threatening step up the staircase that led to the emerald-human hybrid's room.

all actions came to a halt rather quickly soon after, though, for the sound of a peculiar door opening was heard, and amethyst snapped her head over to see that the door being opened was none other than her own.

"hey!" the gem cried out, shifting back into her original form as she ran forwards. "that's my door!"

ignoring the annoyed look she was recieving from the shorter gem near the warp pad, pearl casually stepped through the door and out of amethyst's room, holding a sword in her hands carefully.

"oh, amethyst, there you are," pearl said, looking down at the purple gem as if she hadn't noticed her already. "care to explain why one of my swords was doing in your room?" the pale gem questioned, narrowing her eyes down at amethyst suspiciously.

the shorter gem rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders in a casual manner. "having a sword party? duh!" she answered, sounding as if it should have been obvious.

pearl huffed, her narrowed eyes hardening to form a glare. "oh, please!' the taller gem leaned down to amethyt's eye level, "you took it!" she exclaimed.

"i did not!" amethyst shot back stubbornly.

pearl sighed, straightening her posture back up straight and dragging her fingers along her sword's blade delicately. "it's okay. it's all in the past." she smiled and placed the blade over her shoulder, adding, "i forgive you."

amethyst only scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"also," pearl began, "i cleaned up your awful, awful mess. you're welcome."

amethyst's eyes widened in horror. "you did what?!" she ran around pearl and headed into her room, crying, "i have a system!"

and with that, the door closed behind her, and [y/n] sighed as she hopped back down to the lower floor, revealing herself to pearl.

"and there goes another one . . ." she muttered, walking over to the counter and placing the together breakfast onto it.

pearl sent the hybrid girl a curious look, tilting her head slightly. "is there something the matter, [y/n]?" she asked.

"no, it's just . . ." trailing off, [y/n] sighed again and turned around, crossing her arms as she leaned against the counter.

"i . . . guess i just kind of wanted to have breakfast with you guys, because we're, uh, friends . . . but, well, everyone keeps leaving, and . . ."

"oh, that's nice, [y/n]."

snapping her head up to look over to pearl, [y/n] felt her shoulders slump once she realized that the pale gem had actually not really been listening to a word she had said, which in turn only made her disappointment grow.

"uh . . . pearl . . .?" said gem was already walking into her room, and [y/n] growled; grabbing the breakfast she had made all by herself and speed walking after the gem.

"you know what? screw it. i'm not gonna wait a couple of hours for you guys to actually take the time to listen to me just to end up having together brunch together . . ."

the door was beginning to close when [y/n] looked up. so, with a deep breath, the child quickened her pace and then proceeded to stick her arm in the doorway; keeping the door from closing all the way, while also allowing [y/n] to successfully slip into pearl's room.

needless to say, the place was . . . not actually something [y/n] could imagine pearl not having, if that made sense.

"whoa . . ." taking a couple steps forward, [y/n] could only take a moment to look around in awe until she finally saw pearl emerge from the water; the gem performing a short ballet as she summoned her swords, leaving [y/n] even more breathless than she already was.

"wow," [y/n] said, maybe a little too loudly. but it's not like she had anything to worry about anyway, though, because surely pearl wouldn't be able to hear her from all the way up there, right?

well, in truth, she probably wouldn't, but unfortunately for [y/n], she had underestimated just the sort of echo pearl's room had.

"[Y/N]!?"

[y/n] chuckled nervously and lowered her head, raising her shoulders to her ears awkwardly.

"uh, heya, pearl . . ."

"what are you doing in here?!" the elegant gem sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before waving one of her hands off to the side and opening her door to let [y/n] out of her room.

"[y/n], you know how dangerous the temple is for you! please, just head back into the beach house now, and─"

"no."

pearl startled, eyes widening in surprise due to the child's sudden change in tone.

"what?"

"i said no! i am going to come up there, and then me and you are going to get the others, and after that, we're all going to sit down and have a nice breakfast together!" [y/n] stated, her voice stubborn and her eyes blazing with determination as she walked closer to the water.

pearl's breath hitched. "[y/n], no─"

it was already too late. ignoring any sort of warning pearl had tried to give, [y/n] stepped into the water without even a moment of hesitation. she held the together breakfast high above her head to avoid it getting wet, although the hybrid child had to admit that trudging through water the way she was was actually a lot harder than she hoped it'd be without the assistance of her hands.

"[Y/N], NO!" pearl cried from above with a horrified expression. "please, you have to get out of there now, or─"

too late, again.

it was but a simple mishap. [y/n] had been doing good until then, when one of her feet accidentally ended up slipping on a small stone at the bottom of the crystal blue water. but still, the mistake was made, and with a shout, [y/n] ended up stumbling forward into some kind of current─instantly getting swept away as pearl yelled the child's name once again.

"[Y/N]!!!"

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU─wait hold up."

with eyes widening beneath her mask, [y/n]'s mouth went agape at the scenery around her. various waterfalls that seemed to be defying the laws of gravity itself swept through air around her, the light of the room reflecting off of their crystal clear waves.

"whoa . . ."

[y/n], in a moment of awe, slowly lowered her gaze to the ground below, and her breath immediately hitched in her throat at the sight of the many, many rocks that decorated the floor. she cried out, obviously panicked by the sight, and her fear only spiked once she felt herself getting swept away by the current, which was now descending toward the very ground she that had made her cry out in fear in the first place.

"AH!" instinctively, [y/n] lifted the together breakfast up above her head in hopes that it wouldn't come to a terrible end. "KEEP IT TOGETHER, BREAKFAST!" she yelled.

the waterfall [y/n] sat on tipped downward, then, and the girl nearly sighed in relief at the sight of a fairly large lake below, knowing that it would catch her and ( presumably ) cease the pain of her fall.

that is, until she remembered the plate of waffles in her hand, at least.

"ah, shit─" [y/n] had to hold her breath to brace herself for the incoming water before she could even finish her words.

•

•

•

"ha-HA!" [y/n] laughed in triumph, "STILL ALIVE!"

the girl sat up from the ground and shook her head from side to side, drying off in a manner that only a dog would after getting soaked to the bone.

"and, hey!" [y/n] grinned widely at the morning meal in her grasp, "you're still alive, too!" she paused, "somehow . . ."

CLANK!

[y/n] perked up at the sudden noise and turned around to see none other than amethyst, who had thrown some items to the side and therefore messed up one of the many organized piles pearl had made for her.

"hm . . ." the purple gem smirked and placed her hands on her hips, satisfied with her work. "better."

"ayo, amethyst!"

the gem mentioned turned around and, at the sight of the [hair color]-haired child approaching her, smiled.

"oh, hey, [y/n]!" the shorter of the gems took a moment to glance up at the many waterfalls that flew overhead above. "did you come down from one of the waterfalls?" she asked.

the child-hybrid wasn't even given the chance to respond.

"pearl's gets so mad that i have her junk, but it's always falling down here," ranted amethyst, who sounded obviously frustrated.

[y/n] quirked a brow from behind her mask. "junk like . . .?" she trailed off, waiting for gem to go on.

amethyst smirked, mischief flashing about her one, visible eye. "junk like . . . YOU!"

suddenly, amethyst swooped [y/n] into her arms and lifted the girl up into the air, making the young hybrid cry out in surprise.

"i'm gonna throw you in the junk pile!"

"WHA─" [y/n] laughed, bringing the together breakfast closer to her to prevent it from falling as amethyst threw her into one of her many piles. "amethyst, the heck?!" the [skin tone] girl laughed again.

"isn't it awful?" amethyst made a face that [y/n] could only describe as disgust as the short gem took in the room around her. "pearl organized everything."

"really?" [y/n]'s brows rose unsurely as she looked over the room herself. "it . . . still looks pretty messy in here to me."

"aw, thanks!" amethyst giggled. "i try," she said, pulling her leg back and then using it to kick away one of the smaller piles closest to her.

"boom!"

chuckling in amusement at the purple gem's antics, [y/n] carefully slid down from the pile she had been thrown into, remaining oblivious to the pair of hungry eyes that had now befallen upon it.

"oh, what's that, [y/n]?" amethyst questioned, taking a couple of steps closer to the mentioned hybrid.

"oh, this?" [y/n] puffed her chest out pridefully. "just a little something i whipped up while you guys were gone. i call it a together breakfast, because─"

"alright!" amethyst suddenly reached her hands out, attempting to snatch the morning treat from [y/n]'s hands. "snacks!"

"what?!" [y/n] quickly held the together breakfast higher up into the air, preventing the short gem from taking it out of their possession. "no! it's for all of us to eat together! like a fa─BUNCH OF CLOSE PALS! HAHAHAHA!"

amethyst ignored the nervous laughter that followed after [y/n]'s words and grinned mischievously, already preparing herself to pounce.

"GIVE ME! GIVE ME!"

"ugh, amethyst!" [y/n] jumped back when the purple gem went to grab the together breakfast from her again. "no!"

frantically looking for a means of escaping the hungry gem's clutches, [y/n] immediately took notice of the cave that sat a little ways away from her, and she grinned; already turning on her heels and running into the mouth of it, with amethyst not hesitating to follow after her.

"did you not hear what i was saying just now, amethyst?!" [y/n] snapped, trying to quicken her pace. "this is a together breakfast! which means that we have to eat it together─"

suddenly, [y/n] paused, having finally taken notice of something that caused her to release a small, astonished, "whoa."

somehow, in some way, the duo of gems had found themselves running on the roof? as in they were currently upside down?? how . . . what . . .

HOW IS THIS THING NOT FALLING APART BY NOW?! came [y/n]'s thoughts as the hybrid-girl stared at the together breakfast before her in shock.

as if on cue, amethyst's laughter caught [y/n]'s attention, and just when the [hair color]-haired girl turned her head to see just how close the purple gem had gotten to her, the together breakfast left its place on the plate. [y/n] noticed this, of course, and cried out in panic before quickly moving the plate around to catch the morning treat, a sigh of relief escaping her lips once she noticed that it had been unscathed.

"haha! you can't outrun me~!" amethyst sing-songed from behind. "we both have short legs!"

"actually, i'm pretty sure that my legs are slightly longer than yours, amethyst!" [y/n] couldn't help but snark back, earning an offended gasp from the said gem.

"WOW, OKAY! I SEE HOW IT IS, [Y/N]!" amethyst yelled semi-playfully, throwing a pebble [y/n]'s way and managing to hit the back of the girl's head with it.

"ah!" [y/n]'s shoulders grew tense. "i'm ( somewhat ) sorry!"

looking on ahead, [y/n] gasped all of a sudden and skidded to a halt, her shoulders physically deflating at what had been awaiting her in the next room.

"oh . . ." the girl's expression turned into that of a deadpanned one behind her mask as she took in all of the floating platforms around her, "you have got to be kidding me . . ." she muttered.

"oh, [y/n]!" amethyst cackled from afar, "i'm hungry~!"

"oh, god damn it─"

inhaling sharply, [y/n] took a step back to at least catch some momentum, before running forward and landing on the closest platform in front of her. despite feeling a bit breathless after this ( oh, god, that endless void below was not helping ), the [skin tone] child continued on with this and proceeded to jump from platform to platform, a panicked yell escaping her everytime she thought that she was going to miss a jump.

thankfully, though, the jumping came to an end rather quickly, and [y/n] found herself at the mouth of yet another cave, where a strange substance was traveling into via the help of some glass tubes. the girl rose a brow at this, yet that didn't stop but a small shiver from traveling up her spine at just how . . . ominous the whole thing felt.

the gems aren't actually apart of an occult or something, right? [y/n] wanted to laugh at the small joke her mind had come up with, but she decided that that could wait for later when she noticed that amethyst had begun to catch up to her, much to the gem-hybrid's growing frustration.

"oh, come on, amethyst!" [y/n] whined, starting to run off down the ominous cave. "can't you at least wait until i find garnet, or something?" she asked, almost sounding desperate.

amidst her feelings to escape, [y/n] impulsively jumped onto some sort of crystal pole and wrapped her arms around it; clinging to it tightly and preparing herself to slide down.

that's when amethyst finally stopped, her eyes widening with alarm as she lifted her hands up in surrender. "hey, wait a second!" the gem called out, taking one slow step closer to the hybrid-child and acting as if one wrong move would scare her off.

( which, to be honest, is probably what would happen. )

[y/n] scoffed, her hold on the pole tightening stubbornly. "what? so you can steal my breakfast from me?" she asked, totally not feeling bitter for no reason at all in the slightest. "yeah, right."

"[y/n]!" came pearl's voice from the other side of the room, "there you are!"

"ah, pearl!" [y/n] forced a snicker past her lips. "nice of you to join us!"

"oh, oh!" a worried look donned upon pearl's pale features the moment she took notice of what exactly [y/n] was currently clinging to. "[y/n], be careful!"

"pfft. why?" [y/n] chuckled and shook her head. "it's not like this thing's gonna come to life or some . . ." [y/n]'s words began to slow down when she lifted her head up to face the ceiling, ". . . thing . . ."

sitting right above the trio in the room, much to [y/n]'s shock, appeared to be a heart. and from the sounds of it, it was actually beating, meaning . . .

"what the fuck?"

"language!" pearl squawked, only to be blatantly ignored by the user of such inappropriate words.

"how─why─"

"you really shouldn't be in here, this is the crystal heart!" pearl said, sounding worried. "oh, it's connected to the most dangerous areas of the temple! hold on tight, [y/n], and don't look down."

"don't look down?" [y/n] repeated, already proceeding to do the opposite. "why? there something scary below me─oh." [y/n] had never wanted to slap herself more in her life. "yeah, i probably should have expected that . . ." she muttered, her eyes never leaving the dark abyss that sat silently beneath her.

"[y/n] . . ." pearl began, taking careful steps toward the unmoving girl. "listen, knowing you, this may seem tempting, but─"

"i'm out."

"NO!"

pearl and amethyst rushed forward with panicked cries, but it was already too late. after sending one last cheeky look towards the two reaching out for her, [y/n] tightened her hold on her breakfast and then slid down, feeling rather petty all of a sudden.

"they don't wanna listen to me? fine." [y/n] huffed to hide just how disheartened she felt by the day's events. "i don't have to listen to them, either."

after sliding past rocks, minerals, and other things that [y/n] didn't feel like naming, the girl eventually found herself surrounded by a vast amount of shrubbery. her eyes widened in surprise at this, and in a moment of her awed state, she turned her head to the side and noticed a very familiar door sitting at the other side of the room she was in.

"is this─" [y/n]'s eyes widened with realization. "is─is this room─"

it was gone the moment it had appeared.

"wait!" [y/n] gasped and snapped her gaze upwards, where the room covered to the brim with plants had disappeared to. "wait, no, i have to─"

at long last, [y/n]'s movement had come to a halt; the pole she had been sliding on having bent over horizontally to allow the girl to sit up and look around.

about a mere few seconds of silence passed, and after it did, [y/n] slumped in her seat and looked down at her 'together' breakfast in disappointment.

"damn it, [y/n] . . ."

shaking her head at herself, [y/n] got ready to hop down from her perch and look for a way out, when a familiar head of hair suddenly passed by her from below, making the [hair color]ette quickly put a stop to her actions to watch.

"garnet . . .?"

pretending not to hear the mention of her name, the tallest of the crystal gems brought out the scroll she held under her arm and unfurled it before setting it into the lava and bubbling it; allowing the forbidden scriptures it held to burn.

"whoa . . ."

"what are you doing here, [y/n]?"

surprised that garnet had acknowledged her presence, [y/n] cried out in surprise and fell from her perch.

CRASH!

[y/n] gasped, ignoring the small cuts the shattered glass of the plate had created on her fingertips as she picked up whatever remained of her breakfast, her already ruined mood from before plummeting down even deeper into the negatives.

"ugh . . ." the girl curled her hands into fists and took a deep breath to keep herself from releasing an annoyed cry. "of course. this just had to happen, huh?"

another deep breath. keep it together, [y/n]. keep it together.

from above, pearl and amethyst appeared, having somehow managed to professionally descend to the whatever room [y/n] had managed to find herself in.

"[y/n]," pearl whispered harshly with a nervous glance being sent in garnet's direction, "we are getting you out of here."

"come on," amethyst urged from beside the pale gem, keeping her voice down to a low whisper as well.

"why?" maybe it was the bitterness. the frustration that had been building up from within her since this whole day had started. but for some reason, [y/n] suddenly felt like putting up a fight.

"so you can all go back to ignoring me again? so you can act as if i don't exist?" the [hair color]ette chuckled, the sound lacking the humor it usually did. "you know, i find this sort of situation ironic, in a way. for every mission you go on, i always ask you if i can come. but you know what you always say? 'it's too dangerous, [y/n]', 'you lack experience, [y/n]'! well, i can't exactly gain any fucking experience when you keep me cooped up in this stupid house all the time!"

pearl and amethyst gasped, their eyes widening in horror at not only the young hybrid's words, but at the fact that the bubbled scroll garnet had in her grasp was now trying to break free.

"[y/n], listen─"

"no!"

this time, it was garnet who had gasped, and pearl and amethyst were quick to run over to her side; attempting to keep the bubbled scroll of forbidden symbols from popping.

"i─i just don't understand!" breathlessly, [y/n] laughed and ran a hand through her hair, completely oblivious to the chaos unfolding behind her. "did we all just . . . forget what happened with the centipeetles awhile back? or─or about how i managed to turn on my mom's cannon!"

"[y/n]─" garnet grunted, the power of the scroll in her bubble beginning to push her and the other two crystal gems away. "now is not the time─"

"it's never the time with you!" the child finally snapped, angry tears finally rushing to fill the corners of her eyes. "this is what you always do, and i'm so sick of it! do you guys even know when i'll be ready, or are you just trying to hide the fact that you don't know shit about me at all?!"

POP!

the gems cried out, instinctively jumping away from the smoke that had begun to already spread out about the room before summoning their weapons to their hands.

"it's trying to escape!" called garnet, readying her gauntlets. "force it back!" she ordered.

the smoke expanded even more, surrounding the lava pit that sat in the middle of the room and slowly ascending toward the ceiling.

"what─" from the smoke, a large hand was created. [y/n]'s breath hitched when she saw it begin to reach out for her, and she─in a moment of panic─quickly picked up one of the broken shards of the plate nearby and threw it at the smoke-made hand, making it instantly draw back in pain.

"what is that thing?!"

the gems weren't given the time to answer, for before any of them could say anything, the smoke suddenly rushed over to the ruined breakfast meal on the floor; disappearing completely, and thus, leaving the room in silence.

"uh . . ." hesitantly, [y/n] stood back up to her feet and took a step towards the morning treat. "together breakfast?"

as if responding to the name, the breakfast began to move around on the floor; slowly clumping back together like the pieces of a puzzle. [y/n] rose a brow at this, feelings of both confusion and curiosity plaguing their mind, until their ruined breakfast suddenly began to grow in size─towering over the child in a threatening manner with a low growl somehow rumbling from its core.

"oh." [y/n] blinked behind her mask and couldn't help but feel the everlasting regret of bothering to wake up in the first place. "oh shit."

the grotesque monster that was once [y/n]'s breakfast growled again as it took [y/n]'s moment of shock to wrap the girl in syrup, making the child cry out in panic.

"okay, yeah─" nervously, the [hair color]-haired girl chuckled. "maybe i should have considered making something healthier, after all."

knowing that the monster was currently distracted, pearl used her given opportunity and proceeded to throw her spear at the possessed breakfast, which in turn drew its attention from [y/n], to her.

"it's taken refuge in organic matter!" pearl cried.

the together breakfast, with a mix of whipped cream and syrup, threw pearl into the farthest wall and stuck her there, much to the slender gem's disgust.

"now it has all the powers of a breakfast. we have to destroy it," garnet stated, the lack of emotion in her voice nearly making [y/n] snort despite her situation.

"ugh . . ." pearl drew her head away from the whipped cream that surrounded her to the best of her ability, her face coated with disgust. "it's horrible!"

pulling pearl's spear from its body, the monster easily broke it in half as garnet ran up to it and began to repeatedly punch it, hoping to at least slightly weaken it. to the gem's dismay, however, her gauntlets merely ended up getting stuck in the whipped cream of the monster's form, and she seemed to make a semi-disgusted face as well, with amethyst trying to pull her back out of the whipped cream's clutches.

"fuck, i─this isn't what i wanted, damn it!" [y/n] growled aggressively and began to kick her feet around, wanting to free herself from the monster's grasp. "i just─i just wanted to hang out with you guys!"

amidst [y/n]'s confession, the monster launched a giant waffle at both garnet and amethyst, successfully smashing the two of them into a wall.

"guys!" crying out in rage, [y/n] drew her fist back and then punched the monster square in─what can assumed to be─its face, making it roar in pain and release its hold on the girl.

dropping to the floor, [y/n] took notice of a fairly large rock that sat near her─the piece having assumingly fallen from the rubble created by the chaos of the room.

"i made you to bring me and the gems together!" the [skin tone]-skinned girl snapped, pressing the rock against the monster and beginning to push it towards the lava pit in the room. "not to tear us apart!"

with a sudden surge of strength filling her entire body, [y/n] pushed the monster one last time to the point where it began to stumble back, before whirling around and planting a kick in the center of it. as expected, the monster cried out and fell backwards into the lava with a hiss; nothing being left of it but remains of whipped cream and chocolate and maple syrup.

"hah . . ." [y/n] fell to her knees, the strength she had felt before immediately draining out of her and leaving her with nothing but exhaustion in return.

"i . . . will not . . . be having waffles . . . in awhile . . ." the girl panted out as the gems finally returned to her side.

"[y/n]?" amethyst began, placing a hand upon the mentioned girl's shoulder. "you, uh . . . good?"

"honestly?" [y/n] released a tired laugh. "i think i just wanna take a nap right now."

"oh, of course!" pearl clapped her hands together before lifting a finger into the air knowingly. "you must be in need of some heavy rest after such a long day! i'll make sure to prepare your bed," she told.

[y/n] only managed out a sigh. "okay, yeah─i'm fine with that."

silence.

but then, suddenly─

"and . . . well, only if you feel up to it when you wake up . . ."

[y/n] looked up to see that pearl was offering her a nervous smile, her fingers laced together.

"maybe, if you want to, of course . . . we could train . . . together?"

that made [y/n] sit up straight almost instantly. "really?" she asked, her words on the edge of both anticipation and excitement.

pearl's nervousness seemed to melt away almost instantly at the girl's quick change in attitude, and she smiled with mirth as she nodded.

"of course."

"YES!" [y/n] jumped back up to her feet and pumped her fists into the air. "LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" she cheered, already leaving the room with more pep in her step than any of the gems had seen before.

"er, wait! [y/n]!"

pearl rose up to her feet and gave chase to the joyous girl, amethyst laughing in the background as her and garnet watched the scene unfold.

"you don't even know which way to go! [y/n]!"

* * * * *

NEXT EPISODE:
" FRYBO "