1946

It was another day in Plyazhnyya, a small town within Soviet Russia most don't pay mind to but provides a simple life for those who call it home. The fields were always quiet in the morning, perfect for young Konni Makhesvaran to read in peace — about to start the third chapter of her novel. It was only a few months ago when she and her family had to make their new home here. They believed life in the countryside would be perfect for their daughter to grow up. But she has chosen to live a more introverted life, with barely any real friends. She has become content with this lifestyle.

The ground began shaking. Konni struggled to get onto her feet, wobbling from the tremor, as it seemed to grow more violent. "Earthquake?" She questioned as she fell onto her back end. The girl then saw a long, large mass of earth push itself up as if something was crawling underground. Konni forced herself back up and ran for her life. She stumbled but kept finding her footing to stay as far away as she could from whatever's coming after her. Konni tripped and fell face-first onto the ground — leaving a small tear on her dress. She looked behind her and saw it rise from the ground. It was a giant worm with a circular maw of razor-sharp teeth. She couldn't move. Every part of her common sense was telling her to get up and start running. But fear paralyzed Konni from head to toe.

"There it is!" Konni looked over to where the voice came from and saw three figures off in the distance, charging towards the worm at superhuman speeds.

The one in the lead — leaping forward and punching the creature's head with a spiked gauntlet — was a maroon skinned woman with cube-shaped hair and three-lensed spectacles. She wore a black and crimson sleeveless bodysuit with a star in the center of her chest and combat boots.

The one behind her was short — around Konni's own height — with lilac skin and long messy hair. She wore a mauve and black variant of a U.S.S.R. soldier uniform, but with a star shape cut-out around the chest to reveal an elaborate gemstone. She wielded and cracked a whip against the beast.

The third and final member — not as tall as the first one, but taller than the second one — was porcelain pale with short hair and had an egg-shaped gemstone on her forehead. She wore a full blue and gold bodysuit that covered her entire figure, as well as a belt with a star buckle, and a transparent skirt. In her hands as a spear that she used to stab at the creature. She was also the first one to notice Konni was there, and shouted, "You! Human! Get out of here! It's dangerous!"

The creature let out a roar and swatted the pale and purple fighters away with its tail-end and tried to slam its head on the maroon woman. But she jumped out of the way as if she was anticipating it. The worm contorted its body to continue tailing after her. But as it did so, it lifted its tail, right over where Konni was still standing. Before it came crashing down on her, the girl was pushed out of the way. It happened so fast that she didn't have a chance to process it, but it was by something quick and strong, but also had a gentleness to it.

The next thing Konni knew was that the sky and grass around her suddenly had a pink tint. She was further taken by surprise to see a young boy lying on her stomach. He appeared around Konni's age and had dark brown hair. He wore a green sweater with a red star in the center, a pair of jeans and boots. The boy eventually looked up, and when he saw the situation he was in, he immediately got off her with a blush enveloping his face. "I'm… I'm sorry." He apologized bashfully, then asked, "A-are you okay?"

"Oh… I'm fine." Konni answered. "Are you the one who saved me?"

"I was just trying to get you out of the way. I wasn't trying to bubble us on purpose."

"Bubble us? We're in a bubble? How did… Who are you?"

"I'm Stiven. Stiven Vselennaya."

The confused girl took a moment to process all of this before she introduced herself, "I'm Konni Makhesvaran."

"Nice to finally meet you, Konni."

"What do you mean, "finally meet me"?" Before she could get her answer, the creature roared once more — the two kids felt the ground rumble as they watched the three women continue their fight against it. "What is that thing?"

"Don't worry, the Gems will save us," Stiven assured.

"Gems?"

"Yes, they do this all the time. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl won't let anything happen to us."

"How do you know?"

The boy lifted his sweater up to reveal a pink gemstone in his belly. "I am one."

As the two kids watched from a safe distance, the figures Konni assumed to be Garnet and Amethyst worked together to force the monster down. Garnet gripped one end of Amethyst's whip and swung the smaller woman around the monster's body. Then Amethyst pulled the beast down.

But the creature managed to force itself up and send Amethyst flying in the air. The last Gem, Pearl, jumped into the air and caught her. She spun around like a ballerina and tossed Amethyst, who curled herself up into a spinning ball at the worm. She struck it like a high-speed ball, causing it to wail in pain.

Konni looked to Stiven and asked, "Shouldn't you help them?"

"They got it handled," Stiven assured her with a calm smile.

"No, I meant you're the same as they are, yes?"

Stiven turned to her and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, yes. But no... I'm still learning. Amethyst thinks I should help. But Garnet and Pearl say I'm still too young. I haven't even developed basic powers."

Konni spread her arms out. "Then how do you explain the bubble?"

"I was telling the truth when I said it was an accident. My powers appear by chance. I don't control when they come or go."

"If the Gems don't think you're ready to fight monsters, then why did they take you with them?"

"They didn't. I was near the area when the worm attacked. I hoped to find you here, actually."

Konni blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

A blush grew on Stiven's face. "I see you here in the mornings. I wanted to introduce myself for a while, but..."

"Nervous?"

"Yes. Everyone else considers the Gems and me strange. And I wasn't sure if you would find me strange."

"I won't judge. I can understand." Konni explained, "I try not to make friends because I don't know how they would think of me."

Stiven smiled and stayed quiet for a moment, before he finally spoke, "Well... this may not be the best time to ask this, but..."

"But?"

"Would… would you like to be friends?"

Konni blinked in genuine surprise. "R-Really?"

"Yes." Stiven chuckled lightly with a nod. "When I see you there in the fields, you always look lonely. I have the Gems, but they act more like mothers than anything else. I thought since we are awkward and lonely, that maybe we can be less awkward and less lonely together."

Konni let out a soft laugh. For as long as she could remember, she's always read fantasy stories about an ordinary girl meeting and becoming friends with someone magical in nature. She used it as an escape from her own lack of real friends. Now, here she was — in the most unlikely of circumstances — experiencing a real-life fairy tale. "Yes. I would really like that."

"Let's finish this!" Garnet told Amethyst and Pearl as they regrouped.

The worm charged at the Gems. Garnet jumped back as Pearl and Amethyst leaped into the air, in opposite directions. Pearl threw her spear down at the beast and pinned it to the ground, wailing in pain. Amethyst landed and wrapped her whip around the worm's head, followed by a ground pound. It was left wide open for Garnet to dash forward and deliver a quick, yet powerful, punch straight at it. The strike sent a shockwave through the worm's body, followed by a burst of smoke. The creature was gone.

"Oh yeah! That's right!" Amethyst cheered with obnoxious excitement and a dance.

"Yes, Amethyst, we won. But can you please not be so obnoxious about it? We still have to send it back to the Temple." Pearl scolded her.

"Aw, come on, Pearl, we just beat up a monster. Loosen up, already."

"We can do that after we make sure everyone in the area is safe," Garnet stated. She walked to where the creature once was and picked up a gemstone. She bubbled it, tapped the top, and it flew away. Garnet then turned to Stiven and Konni, still in the bubble. She, Amethyst, and Pearl walked over to the two kids. "Stiven, what are you doing here? I thought we always told you to run at the first sign of danger and let us handle it."

"And did you form this bubble?" Pearl asked with amazement in her tone.

"That's so awesome! Your first bubble!" Amethyst exclaimed with pride. She then looked over at Konni, whom she didn't notice before. "Hey, aren't you that girl Stiven's always watching in the mornings and had a hard time working up the courage to talk to?"

"Amethyst." Stiven groaned with the blush on his face grew deeper.

"Amethyst, you're embarrassing him in front of a girl he clearly likes," Pearl stated. The comment unintentionally made Stiven more embarrassed.

"Not helping, Pearl."

"He saved my life!" Konni spoke up, getting the Gems' attention. "If not for Stiven, the worm would have crushed me."

Garnet and the others looked back at Stiven. The firm leader tells him, "Good work, then."

"Thanks, Garnet," Stiven said in a chipper tone as his eyes lit up like stars.

"I'm Konni, by the way." The girl introduced herself to the trio

"Oh, could you get us out of here, please?" Stiven asked the Gems as another blush covered his face. "I… don't know how to turn the bubble off."

"I got you," Garnet told the kids as she cracked her knuckles, revealing the two gemstones on her hands. "Pearl. Amethyst. Hold the bubble still."

"You're not going to smash it, are you?" Pearl asked with obvious concern.

"Don't worry." A gauntlet manifested around Garnet's right hand. "It'll just be a love tap."

"Maybe there could be a less blunt way of…"

"Relax, Pearl," Amethyst interjected as she wrapped her arms around the bubble. "Garnet knows what she's doing."

Pearl, still unsure, let out a sigh and helped hold the translucent sphere in place. Garnet leveled her gauntlet a few inches above the top of the bubble. She lifted her arm up and down ever so slightly, trying to judge how much force she'll need. She knocked on the sphere like a wooden door, and it popped like a balloon.

"Thanks, Garnet," Stiven told the tall woman.

"You said your name was Konni, right?" Amethyst asked the girl.

"Y-yes." She replied.

Amethyst took her hand and shook it with a big grin on her face. "The name's Amethyst. I'm a Crystal Gem. But I'm sure Stiven already told you that."

"And I am Pearl." The pale woman introduced. "It's so wonderful to see that Stiven has a friend now. He always seems to have a hard time talking with Humans around his age."

"Well, we met in a strange way," Konni told her.

"But I am glad he now has someone to socialize with. I've read books that state it is imperative for mental and physical health for someone young as him to make a friend."

"What about me?" Amethyst asked. "I hang out with Stiven a bunch."

"I was referring to Human friends. He should be allowed to grow outside of our sphere of influence. Unless we think said sphere of influence is dangerous from his growth, that is. That reminds me…" Pearl turned her attention back to Konni and pulled a pencil and notepad out of her gemstone. "Would you mind answering some questions about yourself? So that I can make references for…"

"No, Pearl," Garnet told the pale Gem.

"I just want to know a few things about her, so we know how to schedule future meetings between her and Stiven. Does she have any hobbies? What's her favorite tea? What does she think of Premier Stalin? Or…"

"She's Stiven's friend. And he doesn't need us constantly looking over his shoulder right now. Let's just leave him, and his friend be."

"Yeah." Amethyst chipped in. "Let him hang out with his friends."

"That includes you too, Amethyst." Garnet picks both Pearl and Amethyst off the ground with ease.

"But Garnet…" Both Gems moaned in protest.

"No, buts." Garnet looked back to Stiven. "We'll be back at the Temple. Have fun."

"Wait before you go!" Konni spoke up.

Garnet turned to the girl and asked, "Yes?"

"Sorry if this sounds rude, but I have to ask. What are you?"

Garnet bluntly replied, "I assumed Stiven told you that we are Gems."

"I think she meant, what does that mean?" Stiven tried clarifying.

"It means we go around, fight monsters, and protect people and stuff." Amethyst threw in.

"The more accurate answer is protecting citizens of Plyazhnyya and elsewhere from attacks and capturing the monsters before they hurt anyone or themselves," Pearl stated. "We've been doing it for well over several thousand years. And you're welcome."

"So, you're all like "superheroes" from those American comic books?" Connie asked as her eyes lit up with excitement. "Are you all superheroes for the Soviet Union?"

Garnet looked to the girl, and straightforwardly told her, "No."

"No?"

"We swore an oath to protect all life on this planet, no matter what. But we will not tie ourselves down to any form of government. And we will not take sides in any conflict between nations. We believe it to be better for all if we stay out of Human affairs entirely. You may not understand it now, but it is for the best." Garnet looked ahead and leaped away with Amethyst and Pearl in tow, covering a large amount of distance within a single jump. The jump created a small burst of wind that forced Konni and Stiven to shield their eyes.

"I don't get it either," Stiven spoke up.

Konni looked at her new friend and asked, "Don't get what?"

"The Gems. I love them, but sometimes I do not understand their reasoning. They want to protect people, but they do not want to make real changes to the world. I think they're wrong for not taking sides. They know more about the world than anyone alive today, but they choose to not share that knowledge or strength with those who could truly benefit from it. The Soviet Union wants to ensure equality among all people and protect them from danger. I wish I could make them see that. I wish I could have the power to make that difference. If only I could control my powers, then the dream of a peaceful world could become a reality."

"With what I saw do today, I think you do have that power."

Stiven looked at Konni. "Really?"

Konni nodded. "Not now, but I think you should give your powers to the state, Stiven. You could be the hero that not only the Russian people deserve, but the whole world."

Stiven smiled at Konni, and she smiled back. The two of them left thinking about the great changes that are now coming to both of their lives.