They were answered with a building chuckle. Cinnabar, who’d been frozen moments ago, allowed a fit of laughter to rack her body. Her blazing eyes trailed up and down Tourmaline’s body in one gloating motion. “And this… changes anything? You’re hardly standing!”  She swung her sword in an emphatic arc. “And not for long, at that.”

Cinnabar dropped her smiling face to the ground, and savored the moment that she drove her toe into a loose gem shard. “Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if you just let me put her down? We do this with Gems in the Refinery all the time. It saves them the agony of dying.” Cinnabar flashed her eyes back to the group. Her smile had vanished, and the line of her mouth was firm as stone. “Unless you want to die with her.”

Tourmaline stepped forward, past Pearl, within Cinnabar’s range. “Go ahead, then, do it! Who cares what happens to me anyway? You don’t. Homeworld doesn’t. What good is killing me? What good is it when you should be more concerned about yourself?”

Tourmaline took another step forward. “Let me make a few things crystal clear about what happens after you crack me.” Tourmaline swung their fragmenting arm toward the house. “One: Peridot dies. They’ll crack her straight through - not that you care about her...”

Tourmaline nodded. “And yeah, I do know you didn’t bring any technicians with you. It’s written all over your face.”

“Empty threats. I can fix the ship myself.” Cinnabar growled.

“No you can’t,” Tourmaline answered with certainty. “Seven other Gems were on board with you, and no technicians. They’ve been downsizing you. You had to borrow that peridot directly from Yellow Diamond because the warp pads were down and you had no one to fix them. You can’t fix a ship.”

Cinnabar took her sword in both hands. “The Diamonds will notice my absence. I only have to wait. And I need to kill you, since you plan to kill me. I have nothing to lose.”

Cinnabar responded with a level stare. “How hospitable of you. I’m wiping away tears of joy.”

“I’m serious. They’re not gonna kill you once I’m dead. No… they’re gonna do to you what they did to Peridot-2F5L.” Tourmaline arced their arm out, displaying their body. “You never asked! You never bothered figuring out what happened to that little peridot! Are you interested at all? Do you want to know what happens to Homeworld Gems who get abandoned on Earth?! I’ll tell you!”