Steven looked over the edge of the balcony that was situated on the side of the tall pink tower White Diamond had sent him to for what had to be the millionth time. All of Homeworld was laid out before him and the structures below him seemed to go on for miles, their size and colours eventually fading into a white blur in the distance. It reminded him of some futuristic city you might see in a movie and he thought it was beautiful, but being trapped in a tower like some fairytale princess with the constant worry of your friends made it hard for him to really appreciate the view.
His eyes soon fell on the giant structure of White Diamond. It was hard to miss, it had to be the biggest building on the entire planet, and he figured he must have been in one of, if not the tallest. Her giant white silhouette seemed to glow in the distance. He remembered seeing it when he was falling into the Kindergarten with Lars in Blue Diamond's Palanquin, but it was only for a moment and he had more important things to deal with.
He hoped that Connie and the Gems were okay, they were still over there and it was all his fault. He was the one who wanted to come here, not even Yellow or Blue Diamond wanted to come, and Pearl even told him that it wasn't a good idea, but he didn't listen, and now who knows what's going to happen.
He looked down again. He had thought about jumping off and floating down, but White Diamond probably knew he would do that, and she would be ready to capture him. Why else would she have built the balcony if she wasn't prepared for something like that?
Steven sighed and walked back into the hexagon shaped room. He had looked around multiple times for a door or anything that could help him escape, but he found nothing. He wasn't even sure how long he had even been in there. Half an hour maybe? It felt like he had been stuck in here for years.
He leaned against one of the pink walls and slid down to the floor, his legs stretching out in front of him. He put his head back and looked up at the ceiling. Light pink bubbles floated above him as they twinkled in the light. He stared at them as he became caught up in his thoughts.
He thought about Connie. He had brought her along because she was his Jambud and they were supposed to have each other's backs. He also didn't want her to stop talking to him again, like she had after he came back from the trial. He still felt bad about that and how upset he made her feel. He had tried to keep her from getting hurt, when in the end, he was the one thing that really hurt her.
The gems must be so worried. He wondered what sort of futures Garnet saw. Were they going to get out of this? Or be trapped here forever? She didn't even get the chance to finish her wedding. Steven had wanted it to be amazing, and it was until the Diamonds showed up, and the only reason they attacked was because of him. Sure he worked things out with them, but still, he wanted Garnets day to be perfect.
He wondered what Amethyst might be thinking about. He has really grown closer to her in the past year, they even fused, which Steven wasn't even sure he could do with other gems. Though he knew she would never admit it, she must be scared. She had been excited to come to Homeworld and maybe find some more Amethysts, but now her and the others were who knows where.
He thought about the look on Pearls face when Yellow Diamond mentioned White Diamond. She almost looked scared. She had kept Roses secret for thousands of years, and he couldn't imagine what she must have went through. All this time he thought of her as a Pearl who had broken free from Homeworlds clutches, but in reality, she was never really free at all. Everything made more sense now. Pearl devoted her life to Rose, but not just because she loved her, but because she used to be her Diamond.
Steven had thought that this was going to be a simple mission, but of course it couldn't turn out like that. Connie didn't even have her sword, well his moms, no... Rose's sword. It was still hard for him to really figure out the whole 'Rose is Pink Diamond' thing.
Throughout his whole life, Steven knew his mother as Rose. Whenever he would hear the word 'mom' he would think of Rose, and whenever he would look at the portrait above his front door, he saw Rose as his mother, and even though he might not have agreed with some of Rose's actions, he knew she was still his mother and he loved her. But now there was Pink Diamond. Should he think about her as his mother? Or Rose? Or maybe even both? They were the same person, but they were also different. It shouldn't have been so hard to figure out, but it was.
Steven turned his head and looked at the curtains that were on each side of the doorway that lead to the balcony. They ruffled lightly in the wind. Why did Homeworld have an atmosphere anyway? Gems didn't need to breathe, or do anything that humans did for the matter. And why was the planet in pieces? It looked like it had been blown up or something, like that other planet he, well Stevonnie had seen from the Jungle Moon. He guessed that was what gems did to planets. He remembered the blueprint for Earth he and the gems had seen at Pinks moonbase. It was hollowed out with giant holes through its crust, but it was still a functioning gem civilization and he guessed that's what happened with Homeworld.
Steven stayed leaning against the wall for a while. He hated not being able to do anything and he was really starting to think that jumping out might be his only option. He was about to get up and make his way over to the balcony when he heard a noise. It sounded like something moving quickly and quietly moving through the air. He got up and ran over to the balcony, but he had to jump out of the way when a white orb, just like the one White Diamond and her Pearl had used, came into the room.
Steven summoned his shield and held it in front of him. The white sphere disappeared and Steven was surprised to see Pearl. She looked worried and confused, and even a little scared, but it was Pearl, and she was here with him now and he couldn't be more happy to see a familiar face.
"Pearl!" Steven shouted happily as he ran to her. "Steven!" Pearl said as she whipped around at the sound of the boys voice. He was running towards her with tears in his eyes.
Pearl took a few steps forward and caught the boy in her arms and hugged him, and before she knew it she was crying as well. Steven giggled as he buried his face in Pearls neck. She hugged him tightly in her arms, she never wanted to let go of him or let him out of her sight ever again.
Steven pulled away and wiped his eyes. "Are you okay?" Pearl questioned, trying best not to act too frantic, but she was just so happy to have him back. All she has done was worry about him. She guessed that White Diamond would have sent him here, and that she probably wouldn't hurt him because she thought he was Pink, but she still couldn't help but worry.
Steven got a confused look on his face. "Uh, are you okay? I left you guys with the Diamonds and, and White..." He said looking at the ground. The memory of her staring down at him with that smile flashed in his mind. He looked back up at Pearl. "Where are the others? Why aren't they with you?"
Pearl sighed. "White Diamond sent them away. She sent me because she thinks your still Pink and I'm still her Pearl." Pearl said looking down at Steven who she still held. "Plus the others talked her into it. She wasn't going to let any of us, not even the other Diamonds see you, but the others figured that because I was close with your mother, maybe she would let me see you and I was surprised when she said yes. White Diamonds not one to listen to others..." Pearl added.
"Do you know where she sent them?" Steven asked looking up at Pearl.
"I might... White Diamond has a place on her ship where she sends gems when they don't cooperate, it's restricted, but I'm sure I could get us in there."
"Her ship?" Steven asked sounding confused.
Pearl looked at Steven for a moment before walking over to the balcony. She put Steven down and looked out at Homeworld. Steven looked up at her and then followed her gaze. He remembered how excited Pearl had been when she said she was going to take him to Homeworld. She had wanted him to see it so badly, and he had wanted to see it too. Now they were here, but it wasn't as exciting as he thought it would have been.
"That's White Diamonds ship." Pearl said gesturing to the giant white silhouette in the distance.
"If the others are still on it, they would be somewhere near the middle of it."
"How do you know so much about the ship?" Steven questioned raising an eyebrow.
Pearl blushed slightly. "I uh, your mother told me." She said with an uneasy smile.
Steven could tell she was lying, but he would have to save it for later, they had more important things to worry about.
"Hmmm, well you wouldn't happen to know a good way out of here, would ya?" Steven said with a small smile.
"Your looking at it." Pearl said running her hand across the side of the balcony.
Steven sighed and put his arms up on the railing and laid his head on them. "That's what I figured." He looked down and he could just make out the ground. It wasn't the height that scared him, it was what would happen if he did jump. White would probably try to catch him and send him right back. Or she would send gems after him, either way they would have to be quick if they wanted to get out and save the others. Homeworld was huge though, and full of different buildings and structures. What if him and Pearl got separated, or one of them got captured, then they would have a whole other situation on their hands.
A thought popped into Stevens mind. He looked over at Pearl. He knew she could handle her self. She had taught herself to fight and do things that no other Pearl has ever done before, but the Crystal Gems always work better when they are together. And even though they weren't in a dangerous situation at the moment, he knew they weren't going to get out of this easily.
Steven opened his mouth to speak, but he shook his head instead. Pearl saw him out of the corner of her eye and turned to look at him. "Steven? Is everything alright?"
"Oh yeah, I was just thinking..."
"About how we're going to get out of this mess?" Pearl questioned.
Steven chuckled. "How did you know?"
Pearl smiled for a moment but it didn't last long. She sighed and leaned against the side of the balcony. "This is all my fault..."
Steven looked at her surprised. "What?! If this is anyone's fault it's mine."
"Steven..."
"No Pearl, I was the one who wanted to come here in the first place. You even warned me, and not even Yellow and Blue Diamond seemed like they wanted to come here. It's my fault we're all here, it's my fault we're stuck in this tower, and it's my fault that Garnet, Amethyst and Connie are gone." Steven said as his vision began to blur with tears.
It hurt Pearl to see him like this. She thought about what the outcome might have been if she had told him about who Rose really was sooner. It probably wouldn't have changed much. The Diamonds would have still came to the Earth at some point, and Steven would still want to help the corrupted gems.
"Oh Steven..." Pearl said as she got down on her knees and hugged him.
Steven sat his head on Pearls shoulder and continued to cry. His tears fell onto Pearls shirt and left dark spots behind. "I just want to help the corrupted gems Pearl... The look on Bismuth's face when she saw what Biggs had become..." He said as he pulled away from Pearl.
Pearl smiled and brought her hand up to his cheek. "I know you do, and you will someday, it just might take a little longer than you'd like, but if anyone can help them it's you." She said as she ran her thumb across his cheek, wiping away some of his tears.
Steven smiled. He looked away from Pearl. "Earlier I was gonna say that maybe we should... What if we... What if we fused?"
Pearls eyes widened and Steven immediately regretted saying what he had. "W-What?!"
"I-I know that Rainbow Quartz is important to you, and I'm not saying that we need to or should, but what if we got separated? I know you could handle yourself, but wouldn't it be easier? Plus if they did try to find us, they wouldn't know who to look for if we were fused." Steven said with a nervous smile.
Pearl looked at him still a little surprised by the question. "H-How do you even know about Rainbow Quartz?"
"Dad showed me this old video of him and mom singing together..." Steven began to recall the footage from the VHS tape his father had shown him, but Pearl let out a groan and covered her face with her hands. "I forgot your father had videotaped that..." She said as a light blush spread across her face.
Steven put his hand on her arm. "Hey it's okay, I thought she looked really cool."
Pearl sighed. "I suppose she was rather cool..." She said with that look on her face she would get when she would reminisce about her and Rose.
Pearl stood up and looked back out at Homeworld. "Rainbow Quartz was my first fusion. It felt so strange, but in a good way." Pearl looked down at Steven and smiled. She thought about how she had reacted to Stevonnie, she had acted like it was wrong, when fusing with other gems is seen as some disgusting act, but after awhile she finally understood who Stevonnie was. They were Steven and Connie's relationship. They were like Garnet, and Rainbow Quartz was like them as well, maybe not in the way Pearl had wanted back then, but her and Roses relationship was still strong. She could only imagine how gems would have reacted if they knew a Pearl had fused with her Diamond.
"It felt so good to be doing something that other gems saw as wrong and disgusting. You should have seen some of the Homeworld soldiers faces when your mother and I fused this one time during the war..." Pearl had a smile on her face and Steven couldn't help but smile along with her.
Pearl blushed when she noticed Steven staring at her. She hadn't noticed that she had been quiet for so long. She straightened herself and cleared her throat. "Anyway... I-I think it's time we brought back Rainbow Quartz."
Stevens eyes widened. "Really?! You're sure?! I don't wanna-"
"Steven."
Steven looked up at Pearl. She smiled down at him. She held her hand out toward Steven and he looked at it before looking back to Pearl. She nodded her head and Steven nodded back. He grabbed her hand and after a few seconds there was a flash of pink light.
Two sets of eyes blinked open. They looked around the room and then down to a pair of pale pink hands that flexed in and out of fists. There was a flash a white light and a silver hand mirror appeared. A pale pink hand reached out and grabbed it and turned it around. Rainbow Quartz was met with the reflection of them self. They stared at their face which was framed with loose light brown hair that sat near their jawline. They looked down at their body. On their feet was a pair of light purple flats, much like the ones Pearl wore, but without the socks. They wore a pair of yellow denim shorts and a light purple skirt that was open in the front. Their shirt was white with short sleeves and a neck that went up to the middle of their neck. Over top of it was a sleeveless top that was a slightly darker shade of purple with a yellow star on it. The outfit was tied together with a pink sash around their waist that was tied in a bow.
They brought the mirror back up to their face again and they smiled and giggled. After a long moment of being caught up in the feeling of this new fusion they gasped. "I wonder what my weapon is!" They said excitedly. Their left hand reached up and grabbed onto a spear from their forehead and a shield appeared on their right arm. They spun around and brought the two weapons together. They combined and Rainbow Quartz gasped in excitement. "Oh cool an umbrella!"
They paused for a moment as they looked at the new weapon in their hands. "Actually it's a parasol." They said as they moved their hand up the light purple rod of the parasol and pushed it opened. It made a satisfying 'fwump' noise as it popped open. They smiled as they began to twirl it around in their hands and brought it up over their head. They brought it back down and jabbed the air hard, which caused it to close. "This will definitely come in handy..." They said as their eyes moved to the balcony.
Rainbow Quartz stood up straight and held the parasol so it rested on their shoulder as they walked over to the balcony. They jumped up on the edge of it and teetered slightly before catching their balance. They brought the parasol out in front of them and popped it open again. They took in a deep breath and released it. "Let's go get the others." They said before they jumped off the balcony and began to float down into Homeworld.
