Violet chuckles. "Well, then, let's keep going, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's go, slowpokes!" I yell at Ryker and Pine and start sprinting up the hill with Violet by my side.

"Hey, wait up!" Ryker starts running after me with Jay close behind.

"You know, Stella, Pine and I usually don't have this much freedom, and I know that you and your brothers aren't used to it, either, but we still need to stay on the lookout for any gems. So far, we haven't run into any, since this territory isn't claimed by the gems yet, but-"

"You can trust us, Violet! You need to lighten up, though. You've been working so hard, and we have, too. We need a break, and for the first time in years, we finally just get to run on the grass! I don't care if it's dead grass, I have the sky above my head and the ground below my feet with my brothers right here with me! I don't remember the last time I've been up here without thinking about where to hide from the gems! For right now, I'm free, and I want to enjoy it!" I smile at Violet, cutting her off.

"You sound like our old friend," Violet tells me with a sigh. "She was always encouraging me to have a little fun once in a while."

I suddenly come to a stop. My brothers and Pine slow down, but Ryker still runs into my back.

"Do you see that?" I mutter.

Below us are huge hills of rubble. Gems are all using different weapons to chop at the hills. Even though they all look like the size of my hand from this high up, I can see that they're all in pain. On top of each hill is a larger gem who watches over the others, occasionally hitting them.

The five of us watch the gems slave away until Jay begins to run to the very edge of the cliff. Violet reaches out and restrains him.

"What? We need to help them!" Jay exclaims, struggling in the gem's tight grip around his arms.

Pine wordlessly turns and walks along the cliff's edge, somehow not breaking the skinny layer of rock keeping her from falling into the slavelands.

"Let's just-- we have to keep moving. It gets colder than it normally is after the sun sets, and I don't want you three to be outdoors during the night." Violet says quietly. Without waiting for us to share our opinions, the short gem gracefully chases after her friend. Of course, before she leaves, she lets go of her grip on my brother.

I pick Jay up off of the ground and carry him on my hip. I glance at Ryker, and we slowly follow the two gems. We both know that Pine and Violet are the bosses, and it wouldn't be smart to say no to them.

"Stella?"

I smile at my little brother, who I'm still carrying. "Yes, Jay?"

"What happened to those gems that we saw?"

I quickly look behind my shoulder. Luckily we're now far enough into a forest of fallen trees that we can't see beyond the cliff. "Well, Jay. They're what we would have been if we were gems."