The next day, Champagne and Echo walked to the beach where Luster sat on a rock. Luster turned her head and her eyes widened. "What the heck is she doing here?" She walked up to Echo with rage in her eyes but Champagne stopped her by placing her hand on her stomach. "Luster, calm down. She's good." He reassured and Luster looked at him. "What? She almost killed me and disappeared with Champagne Diamond's palanquin. I can't just believe she's good now." She growled. Echo looked down then back up. "I know and I apologize. But I was being forced to do everything. I promise I'm good now." She held her hand out but Luster smacked it away. "I don't believe it." She said and Echo rubbed her hand. "Wanna try that again?" She walked up to Luster with her fist clenched and Luster pulled out her sword. "Come at me."
Champagne stepped between the two. "Both of you calm down. Luster, I was there. Hematite was going to shatter us with a ship but me and Echo fused–"
"Your first fusion was with her?!" Luster cut him off and Champagne smacked his forehead. "Wait, what I'm trying to say is that she's cool." He held Luster close and Echo close. "Come on guys, we're a team now. We have to fight if Hematite sends more ships." He smiled.
"Yeah sure." They said in unison.
The rest of the day, Luster and Echo couldn't seem to be in the same room without deliberately bumping into each other, their eyes locked in heated glares. Every time they crossed paths, soft mutterings of disdain slipped from their lips, tension crackling between them like an electric charge.
Meanwhile, Champagne lifted a piece of the ruined drop ship, tearing off chunks with ease. As he worked, a girl approached him. She looked about his age—short, slightly chubby, with silver hair that shimmered in the sunlight. A star-shaped pendant rested on her chest. "Um… excuse me?" she called hesitantly. Champagne ripped off another piece before turning to her. "Oh, hello."
She stepped closer, her wide eyes scanning the wreckage. "Whoa… what happened here?"
"A ship from another planet tried to destroy me." He said it casually, like it was just another day. Her mouth dropped open. "From space?! Wait, are you like those strong women who saved the world?"
He nodded, prying loose a metal panel. "Yeah, but apparently, I'm different from them." Lyra watched as he yanked out what looked like a seat and crushed it. "I'm Lyra. I'm homeschooled. What's your name?"
"Champagne." He glanced at her. "So, you get taught at home?"
Before she could answer, a faint beeping sound came from a damaged section of the ship. Champagne barely spared it a glance before slamming his sword down, silencing the self-destruct sequence. Lyra cleared her throat. "So… what exactly are you doing?"
He handed her his sword. "Hold this for a sec." She took it with both hands, surprised by its weight, and sat down in the sand beside her.
"I'm breaking the ship apart. Can't just leave it lying around," he explained, yanking free a glowing crystal power source. "This, though, I think I'll keep." Without hesitation, he placed it into his eye socket and blinked a few times, testing it.
Lyra picked up a small chunk of the wreckage, rolling it in her hands. "I was here for all the battles those Gems fought, but I was always inside. My mom doesn't let me go out much—she's terrified of the outside world." She pointed toward a small house nestled in the city.
Champagne pulled the trigger on a blaster he had salvaged, only for it to fire wildly into the sand. "Whoa!" He quickly let go of the trigger. "Yeah, I'm keeping this too." He tucked it away in his eye before turning back to Lyra. "So, your mom's scared of the outside? That must suck. Can't imagine not being able to leave the house."
Lyra absentmindedly touched her pendant. "Yeah, but she means well. My dad went outside once—for two seconds—and a piece of an airplane fell on him." Champagne blinked. "…Jeez."
"Yeah," she sighed. "I was really young when it happened, so I barely remember. But my mom… she never got over it." Champagne took back his sword from her and sliced through a piece of the ship's engine. "That sounds rough."
"It is, she tried therapy but it's online classes." She chuckled softly. "Do you want to be friends?" She asked and Champagne lifted the large head of the ship and crushed it. "Mhm." He grunted and ripped it apart. Lyra inhaled and exhaled. "Good, I thought you'd tell me to leave you alone." She sighed out of relief. Champagne began sweeping the destroyed pieces up and put them in a trash can. "Why would I do that?" He asked and wiped the dust from his hands. Lyra gripped the sand. "Umm, nobody really wants to be friends with me because of my mom." She said and Champagne wiped the dust from his hands. He then held his hand out and she held it. He pulled her up and she stood up.
"Yo Lyra," He said and she looked up. "Yeah?" She asked and he shook her hand. "This is a sign of friendship. I don't have a lot of friends but the ones I do have always shake my hand." He said and Lyra shook his hand. "I guess it's a nice way." She muttered and Champagne rubbed her head.
Champagne strolled through the streets of Beach City, hands in his pockets, while Lyra followed close behind.
"So, what's with the star?" he asked, nodding toward the pendant on her chest.
Lyra glanced down, fingers brushing over it. "Oh—this? It was my dad's. We were both really into astronomy. He used to ask the Crystal Gems all kinds of questions—where they came from, why they were here—but they never gave him any answers." She sighed, then turned her gaze up to Champagne. "What about you? Where do you come from?"
Champagne scratched his cheek, thinking. "Well… I don't know much about the Crystal Gems, but I do know about the Diamonds. There were four of them—White, Blue, Yellow, and Pink. Pink Diamond got tired of colonizing planets and wanted to explore Earth, so she faked her own death and became Rose Quartz. The other Diamonds weren't too happy about that because they believed that Rose Quartz killed Pink Diamond. They then tried to wipe out Earth, but the Crystal Gems fought back. A lot of gems were shattered in the war."
He kicked a stray pebble across the street before continuing. "To replace Pink Diamond, the Diamonds created Champagne Diamond. He was powerful—like, really powerful. Even they were scared of what he could do. He had the ability to create and manipulate gems, and that made him dangerous. So, naturally, they decided to shatter him."
Lyra's eyes widened. "What happened?"
Champagne smirked. "He found out. And instead of waiting around to be shattered, he made one final creation—me. He put all of his power into me and sent me to Earth with his Pearl. Since I was born here, I guess that's why I'm half-human." He shrugged. "Still don't understand all of it, to be honest."
Lyra stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "That's… wild."
"Yeah," Champagne muttered, glancing up at the sky. "Tell me about it."
Champagne handed a few bills to a nearby ice cream vendor, grabbing two cones before passing one to her. "Here," he said.
Lyra accepted it with a small smile. "Thanks." She took a lick, then glanced at him. "I just think it's fascinating. My dad would've lost his mind if he knew I got to see a real spaceship up close." Her voice carried a mix of excitement and nostalgia.
Champagne shrugged, taking a bite of his own ice cream like it was no big deal. "There's not much left to see, but sure." He turned on his heel, already heading back toward the wreckage.
Meanwhile on the beach, Luster and Echo stood before the water. "There has to be some way we can co-exist. I'm just trying not to get shattered." Echo explained and Luster shrugged. "I only know one way." She pulled out a sword. Echo cracked her neck and walked up to her. "Fine, bring it on."
Back at the wreckage site, Champagne lounged on a bench, idly eating his ice cream while Lyra explored the remains of the drop ship. She wiped her hands on her shirt and struggled to lift a metal panel. As she finally managed to shift it, she noticed an imprint of a champagne-colored diamond.
"Hey, what's this?" she called out.
Champagne walked over, crouching beside her. "Looks like Champagne Diamond's symbol. Hematite must be really loyal to still be using it," he muttered.
Lyra knelt down, examining the emblem before sighing. "You were right—nothing here worth researching." As she moved to stand, she tripped over something buried in the debris. Before she could fall, Champagne caught her by the arm.
"What is that?" he asked, eyes narrowing at the object.
Lyra dusted off the strange device and handed it to him. It looked like a pair of binoculars attached to a rod. Champagne slipped them on and tilted his head toward the sky. His eyes widened.
"Whoa… you can see Jupiter's crust with these things," he marveled, adjusting the lenses.
Intrigued, Lyra took them from him and peered through. A soft gasp escaped her lips, and a nostalgic smile crossed her face.
"It's beautiful, Dad," she whispered, lost in the sight.
"Can I keep these?" She asked and looked at Champagne. Champagne shook his head and Lyra tilted her head. "Why?" She asked and Champagne grabbed the binoculars. "If an enemy sends something to you to kill you, never keep anything that they use to find you."
He unscrewed it with his sword and revealed to her a tiny camera. Lyra's eyes widened. "How'd you know?" She asked and Champagne pulled the camera out.
"I was gonna analyze it anyway." He looked at the camera. "Listen up all of you on Champagne diamond's planet. None of you are kidnapping me, stop now or I'll be forced to destroy you." He crushed the camera and wiped his hand.
Meanwhile, across the galaxy, Hematite sat on her throne, watching the monitor as the screen went dark. Her grip tightened on the armrest. "Champagne Diamond or not, no one steals my gems and threatens me," she snarled.
Back on Earth, Champagne walked Lyra to her house as she fished out her key.
"Well, thanks for today," she said, unlocking the door. "Didn't think my first time outside in forever would involve watching someone tear apart a spaceship with their bare hands." She chuckled.
Champagne smirked. "Stick with me, and you'll see a lot more than that. Maybe even more ships."
Lyra pushed the door open and glanced back. "See you tomorrow?"
He nodded. "Yeah." As he turned to leave, the door creaked open again, and an older woman peeked out, eyes narrowing at him.
"You're not the one with the three eyes, are you?" she asked, clearly referring to Garnet.
Champagne let out an awkward chuckle. "Nope. Just two."
"Good. Keep them to yourself." She slammed the door shut.
Champagne headed back to his cabin, only to find Luster and Echo sitting together, bruised and battered—but laughing.
"Champagne!" Echo called out excitedly before pulling him into a hug.
He raised a brow. "So… you two are cool now?"
Luster smirked, stretching out her sore limbs. "Yeah, I just had to fight it out a little." She chuckled, rubbing her ribs.
"Well it's cool that you're cool now." He walked to the cabin.
The end