CHAPTER 1: A NEW HOME

"I'm so happy you came back…" Steven whispered in Pearl's ear as he hugged her tightly.

"Me too Steven… me too…" Pearl said as she buried her face in his hair and hugged him back.

Steven and Pearl held each other for what it seemed to be hours, just enjoying being there for each other, just enjoying the fact that the nightmare they had been moving through during the last days had finally come to its end. There wasn't any ship in the sky, there wasn't any Jasper of Yellow Diamond, there wasn't any Homeworld… indeed, Homeworld hadn't been defeated, but right now it didn't matter, there were just the two of them, finally together, free from the nefarious Homeworld leader's grasp.

"I'm… so sorry Pearl for what I have done… I wish I could be stronger…" Steven said as he lowered his head, he couldn't still believe he had actually hurt his family.

"Steven!" Pearl almost yelled, startling Steven, who flinched back a little.

"P…Pearl?" Steven asked as she gently placed a hand on his cheek.

"Don't even think it's your fault… you couldn't do anything against her…" Pearl said as Steven clenched his fists.

"That is the problem! I'm… I'm just too weak…" Steven said, but just as he tried to lower his head, Pearl gently raised it and gave him a slight kiss on the forehead.

"Hold your head high Steven… what would have happened if you weren't there to help me? What would have happened if you hadn't changed Peridot's mind? You are strong Steven, stronger than you think, you can do things we could never do… me, Garnet, Amethyst, we could have never changed a Homeworld gem, but you could do it! And you did it twice! In both Peridot and Lapis we couldn't see anything but enemies, but not you! You always manage to look beyond our differences and see the beauty in each of us! And you had been strong enough to break Yellow Diamond's grasp and come back to us… believe me Steven, I couldn't be prouder of you…" Pearl said as Steven looked at her, a slight smile now on his face.

"Thank you Pearl…" Steven said as they both stood up.

"You are welcome sweetie… now come… Garnet and Amethyst are going to be back soon…" Pearl said as she and Steven began to walk towards the house.

As Steven climbed up the stairs, he stared at the mirror in which Lapis's gem was embedded. He hoped Lapis was ok, he couldn't imagine how much scared she had to be right now, trapped inside of another prison, after such a short time passed being free. Pearl opened the door and sat on the couch as Steven put the gems on the table but kept the mirror in his hands. He looked at its back and saw the beautiful blue, tear shaped gem stuck into it. How could be Homeworld so cruel? After some moments, he placed his hand o it and began to pull. After some moments, the gem broke away from the mirror. As soon as it did, the mirror shattered and the gem began to raise in the air. Pearl and Steven both watched as a thin silhouette formed around it. As the flash of light vanished, Lapis fell on her knees. Almost strengthless, she was going to fall on the floor but Steven managed to catch her before it happened. She slowly raised her head and, as she saw who was helping her, her eyes went wide. She moved her hand towards Steven and rested her hand on his cheek, as if she was trying to understand if what she was staring at was real. As Steven laid his hand on hers and smiled, she gritted her teeth as countless tears began to stream down her face. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and embraced him tightly.

"It's ok Lapis… you are safe now…" Steven said as he hugged her back.

Lapis couldn't believe her own eyes, she was really out of the mirror, she was free but most importantly, she was with Steven, the only person she had truly ever loved. She didn't know what had happened while she was trapped in the mirror, she was too afraid to even open her eyes, but know, she was safe, she was safe and she couldn't just let him go, she didn't want to, she didn't want anything bad to happen to him again, all what had happened to her, it was just too much, and even if she wanted, she couldn't just stop crying, but as Lapis continued to sob loudly, suddenly an idea popped in Steven's mind. As he continued to hug her, he gently began to sing.

"She was trapped in a mirror

And it couldn't be clearer

She wanted to leave this place

And get herself back in space

And someone may be thinking she's a criminal

But her friendship comes through subliminal

Lapis Lazuli, you fled into the bottom of the sea

Lapis Lazuli, you were so mad, but then you came around me

Lapis Lazuli, you may be scared but now, I am here…"

Steven continued to hum the melody as Pearl watched the two with a weak smile on her face, he truly was Rose Quartz's son, always so loving and caring. Steven heard Lapis's sobs becoming more and more calm, until she stopped and slightly pulled away from the embrace, looking at Steven, and even if a few tears were still streaming down her cheeks, now she was smiling.

"Thank you Steven… it was wonderful…" Lapis whispered as Steven gave her a bright smile.

"No problem Lapis, we are always beach summer fun buddies, right?" Steven said as Lapis chuckled and hugged him once more.

"Of course, we will always be…" Lapis said gently.

Suddenly, a bright light came from Amethyst, Ruby and Sapphire's gems. Both Steven and Lapis stood up alongside Pearl and watched as their gems began to raise in the air. Their bodies began to reform and soon enough, Amethyst, Ruby and Sapphire landed on the floor.

"You're back!" Steven yelled joyfully as he ran towards Amethyst, Ruby and Sapphire and brought them into a tight embrace.

"S-Steven? A-are you…" Ruby began to speak but was cut off by Amethyst who raised Steven in the air, whirling him around as she laughed.

"Of course he's ok! We won!" Amethyst said while she continued to laugh alongside Steven.

"Are you ok?" Ruby asked Sapphire as she smiled her and nodded, then she took her between her arms and whispered in her ear.

"You know… we should be celebrating too…" Ruby said smirking as Sapphire blushed.

Suddenly, Ruby began to swirl her around, and as the two of them laughed and embraced each other, a bright light engulfed them as they began to raise in the air. After some moments, Garnet landed on the floor. Amethyst stopped whirling Steven in the air and put him down.

"Dude what happened on that ship?! I can remember you kicking our-" Amethyst said before being cut by Pearl.

"Amethyst!" Pearl hissed as she looked at Steven, whose smile began to fade, and then at her again.

"Hey don't worry Steven! It wasn't you! Plus, you don't hit so hard you know…" Amethyst said chuckling nervously as Pearl slapped her forehead.

"Well, Pearl managed to make me come back, after that we stood against Yellow Diamond, but Pearl's gem was cracked…" Steven throat became a little dry as he talked.

"I tried to defend her with my bubble but Yellow Diamond broke it, she was going to kill us, but then Peridot hit her with a destabilizer… she let us escape and… and she made the ship explode…" Steven said as Amethyst, Lapis and even Garnet's mouth fell agape.

"Are you serious?!" Amethyst almost yelled but calmed down as Garnet put her hand on her shoulder and moved towards Steven.

"Steven…" Garnet said as she kneeled down in front of him.

"Y-Yes?" Steven answered with a shaky tone of voice, frightened by what Garnet was going to tell him, but his fear vanished when she placed her hand on his cheek and gave him a slight smile.

"You never stop to amaze me, Steven, your mother would be so proud…" Garnet said as Steven smiled back.

After some moments, Garnet raised he gaze and looked at Lapis, her smile faded away as she stood up and began to walk towards her. Lapis began to step back until she stood against the door, she knew that Steven would have never let her hurt her, but she couldn't deny that she was afraid of the fusion who was now towering over her.

"Lapis… I need to talk to you… in private…" Garnet said as she gestured the door behind her.

Before the both of them could go out, Garnet felt something wrapping around her leg. She looked down and saw Steven, who was now embracing her leg and looking up at her with pleading eyes. She kneeled down once more and laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Steven… I'm not going to hurt her… just wait here…" Garnet said as Steven sighed in relief.

Garnet stood up and opened the door, letting Lapis out of the house, then, she followed her on the deck and closed the door behind her. She looked at Lapis, who had now her arms crossed and was staring at the ground. Garnet approached her and as she reached her… she extended her open hand at her. Needless to say, Lapis was shocked by what she was staring at. She looked for some moments at Garnet's hand and then, slowly, she shook it with hers.

"Thank you… for your help…" Garnet said as Lapis lowered her head.

"I did it for Steven… and for him only…" Lapis said as Garnet sighed slightly.

"That's why I'll let you go…" Garnet said as Lapis raised her face and looked at her in shock.

"W-what?" Lapis asked, being puzzled by what Garnet had just said to her.

"You helped us and protected Steven, if you want, you can stay, but if you want, you can leave, Steven gave you freedom and I'm not going to take it from you, do as you wish…" Garnet said as Lapis looked at her, then at the sea, then at the sky.

Lapis closed her eyes and lowered her head, she sighed heavily and then, suddenly, she formed her wings. She turned around but as she heard Steven calling her. She saw him opening the door and rushing towards her. When he reached her he embraced her legs and buried his face in her stomach. After some moments he looked up at her with tears in his eyes.

"Please Lapis, don't go! Stay here!" Steven pleaded as Lapis looked at him, tears in her eyes as well.

"Steven, this, this isn't my home…" Lapis said as Steven grabbed her hands.

"That's not true! Home isn't a place!" Steven cried as Lapis's eyes went wide.

"W-what?" Lapis asked in disbelief.

"Home is where you feel safe, where you are free! Home is where you have people that care about you! That love you! And I care about you Lapis! You don't know how much you mean to me! Please, I… I know that you don't really like the gems but… they are great! Trust me, just… just stay here for awhile and you'll see that they aren't bad! They care about me just like you do! If only you could stay here for a while you would see that your differences are nothing in comparison to what you have in common! Please Lapis… stay with me…" Steven said as tears began to flow from her eyes. It was true, how could she be so blind? So… selfish? How could she have even thought to leave him? Steven was her home, and as long as they would have been together, she would have been happy, no matter where she would have been.

"Steven…" Lapis whispered as she kneeled down and embraced him tightly.

"D-does this mean t-that you'll stay?" Steven said as he gently pulled away from the embrace and looked at her.

"Of course…" Lapis said as she ruffled his hair.

"Yay! Now we are even a bigger team!" Steven said bouncing happily, but eventually calmed down.

"Ehm… I mean… if… if you want… to be part of… our team…" Steven said as Lapis looked at Garnet who nodded.

Lapis stood up and closed her eyes, she placed her hands on her chest and suddenly, a light blue star appeared on the top of her dress. Steven looked at her with stars in his eyes as she slightly chuckled. She knew that it wouldn't have been easy at first, being around the gems who kept her in that mirror for ages, but she also knew that being with them, she could have helped them protecting Steven, and this was the only thing she cared about now. Steven, Garnet and Lapis entered the house shortly after the discussion. As they entered, Pearl and Amethyst's eyes went wide as they saw Lapis, who was now wearing the Crystal Gems's symbol. Pearl quickly got up from the couch.

"W-why is she wearing Rose's symbol?!" Pearl hissed between her teeth.

"Because now she is part of our team…" Garnet replied calmly.

"WHAT?!" Pearl cried in disbelief.

"Pearl…" Garnet said, trying to calm her down.

"No! She hurt Steven! H-how can you let her wear Rose's symbol after what she had done to her son!" Pearl cried angrily.

"You mean after she saved all of us from Jasper trapping herself under the ocean? Or after she fought against Yellow Diamond and risked her life for Steven?" Garnet replied calmly.

"I mean after she almost drowned him!" Pearl yelled clenching her fists to her sides.

"I already said I was sorry for that! I wasn't myself! I was scared because of you attacking me for no reason! Steven forgave me so why can't you do that?! I forgave you for what you have done!" Lapis yelled back.

"I kept you in that mirror because you are a Homeworld gem! I had my rights! But you tried to kill my baby!" Pearl shouted, she knew that Lapis only wanted to protect Steven and was conscious of what she had done for him, but even if she was going to sacrifice her own life for him, she couldn't just forgive her for having hurt Steven.

"Pearl please stop!" Steven said reaching her.

"Steven stay out of this!" Pearl said gesturing his room.

"No! This is about me! Listen… it's true… Lapis tried to hurt me but she did it only because she was scared… I know how much you care about me but, please Pearl, she risked her own life… just like you did for my mom… don't… don't you think she would have forgiven her?" Steven asked as tears began to stream down Pearl's face, she knew that Steven was right, but hearing him talking about Rose, she just couldn't bear it.

"S-she doesn't even care about the Earth!" Pearl screamed, but a deadly silence fell in the room when everyone heard what Garnet said.

"And you fought alongside Rose because you cared about the Earth right?" Garnet said as Pearl's eyes went wide.

Pearl ran towards the temple's door, disappearing into her room, her face buried in her hands. Steven tried to catch her but wasn't fast enough. As he reached the door, he began to pound on it.

"Pearl please! I'm sorry!" Steven shouted but stopped when Garnet placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Steven… she knows you are right… she just needs her time…" Garnet said giving him a weak smile.

Steven tried to convince himself of that, as Garnet began to cook something, after all, it was dinner time, Amethyst went to her room after thanking Lapis for what she had done. She admitted that without her, they probably would have been already dead. After dinner Garnet greeted Lapis and Steven and entered her room, needing a break after all what had happened.

"So… ehm… Lapis… d-do you want to stay here or-" Steven tried to ask but Lapis cut him off with a soft giggle.

"I'll just stay down here for tonight Steven, thank you…" Lapis said laying down on the couch.

"Oh… ok… good night Lapis!" Steven said before hugging her.

"Good night Steven…" Lapis whispered before letting him go.

Steven went under his covers and quickly fell asleep, but not Lapis, she never enjoyed sleep, she always dreamed about her imprisonment, so she just laid on the couch for a while. After some hours, Lapis got up and silently climbed the ladder of Steven's bedroom. As she reached his bed, she gently sat down and looked at him with a slight smile, he seemed so peaceful, even after all what had happened. Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from behind her, she turned around and noticed Pearl, who was standing on the top of the ladder, staring back at her. Lapis began to stand up but Pearl stopped her gesturing her to remain seated.

"No… stay…" Pearl said as she sighed and sat down next to her.

"I'm… I'm sorry for the way I acted before…" Pearl said staring at the ground.

"I don't blame you for that…" Lapis replied coldly.

"No… no… but… you should… to many times I questioned Steven's decisions and every time I did… something bad happened to him… I'm… I'm sorry…" Pearl said lowering her head, but as she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder, she suddenly raised it and stared at Lapis.

"If… if there is a thing that Steven taught me… it is to watch beyond people's faults and forgive them… even if their faults seem to be unforgivable…" Lapis said lowering for a moment her head.

"He… he… he is amazing… isn't he?" Pearl said smiling softly at him.

"He sure is…" Lapis whispered laying gently her hand on his hair.

The day after, Steven met his dad, who had just come back to town after the evacuation that morning. Greg spent almost an hour hugging Steven and checking him for injuries, and the same did Connie, during that afternoon, when Steven opened the door and found himself on the ground, arms wrapped around him, the small girl sobbing slightly with her face buried in his neck. As the days passed, Lapis began to become nearer to the gems and finally, with a little help from his beach summer buddy, she became friends with them as they earned her trust, and she earned theirs. She finally saw the Earth as her new home, she didn't really like it all that much, but as long as Steven would have been there, she would have never wanted to be elsewhere. One evening, Steven was sitting on the beach, looking at the sea.

"Steven?" Pearl said as Steven turned around.

"Oh, hi Pearl…" Steven said smiling weakly.

"Is something wrong?" Pearl said kneeling down beside him.

"No… it's all right…" Steven said as he looked down.

"Are you… sad because of Peridot?" Pearl asked smiling weakly to him.

"I just wish… she didn't… I wish she was here with us now… she was good…" Steven said looking at Pearl.

"I know Steven… I was wrong… she cared about you and none of us will never forget what she had done for us…" Pearl said as she caressed his hair.

"Thank you Pearl…" Steven said as a small smile grew on his face.

"Do you want to come in with us? We were thinking about creating a room for Lapis in the temple… we would really like you to help us…" Pearl said hoping to cheer him up. "I'd like to help… I'll reach you…" Steven said smiling to her, as she did the same and began to walk towards the house. "Thank you Peridot…" Steven whispered as he smiled, looking at the sea… and his smile grew even bigger… when he noticed a green light… coming from the waters.

"P-Peridot?!" Steven yelled in disbelief as he saw the green light coming from the sea.

Steven ran as fast as he could towards the source of the light, he plunged into the waters up to the neck and finally sunk his head underwater. What he saw… made him happier than even… a green gem, enlightened by a bright light… a thin silhouette forming around it… but… something… wasn't right… her physical form was much smaller than before, now she was as tall as Steven and her robotic arms and legs had disappeared, revealing much more shorter but normal limbs. Steven quickly grasper the green gem by her shoulders and dragged her on the beach.

"Peridot?! Peridot can you hear me?!" Steven yelled as he gently shook her by her shoulders.

"S-Steven?" Peridot whispered as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Steven!" She yelled as she fully woke up and understood who was holding her, but as she tried to get up, she fell back groaning in pain and, suddenly, her body form glitched.

"Peridot… your gem!" Steven yelped as he noticed a crack in her gem.

"Oh… oh m-m-my… i-i-is it c-c-cracked?!" Peridot began to panic after Steven said that.

"D-don't worry! I can heal you!" Steven said as he licked his hand and moved it towards Peridot's forehead, which was still without her visor.

"S-Steven wh-what a-are y-" Peridot tried to talk but was cut off by a strange sensation on her gem, she shivered but after some moment… she felt extreme relief as her gem returned intact… but there was something wrong.

"W-wait… I… I healed you… why… why are y-your arms and l-legs still missing?" Steven asked raising her head gently, noticing that the gem's limbs were still shortened.

"T-those weren't my real arms a-and legs…" Peridot replied embarrassed.

"T-they must be still somewhere underwater…" She whispered, she always considered herself like a normal gem… but deep down… she had been always ashamed of her... form.

"D-don't worry Peridot! Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl! Help!" Steven cried.

"Steven!" Garnet yelled as she opened the door and jumped down on the beach.

"G-Garnet please! You have to help her! H-her a-arms and l-legs… they are still underwater!" Steven panicked as Garnet remained motionless and stared at Peridot.

"Garnet please! I'm begging you!" Steven pleaded as Garnet looked at him.

Garnet slowly nodded and got up. She knew that Peridot was their enemy and that she even tried to eliminate them… but she also knew that without her not only Steven but all of them would be gone. She walked towards the sea and jumped in the water. Steven continued to comfort Peridot as he waited for Garnet to return. After some moments… Garnet jumped out the water holding four, busted, robotic limbs.

"Steven… take these… I'll help her…" Garnet said as she gave Steven the robotic parts and put her arms under Peridot, raising and holding her as they moved towards the house.

Needless to say, everyone in the house was shocked when they saw Garnet holding the familiar Homeworld gem. Pearl and Lapis jumped off the couch and Amethyst let the sandwich she had in her hands fall on the ground.

"G-Garnet?" Pearl questioned as Garnet approached her.

"Pearl… I know this will be hard… but you are the only one who knows and understands something about Homeworld's technology… can you help her?" Garnet asked as Pearl's eyes went wide.

"Pearl… please…" Steven asked as Pearl hesitated, but then, as all what had happened before came to her mind, she sighed and nodded.

While Amethyst and Lapis stomped away and entered their rooms, unable to bear the presence of the gem who imprisoned and tried to kill them, Garnet laid Peridot on the couch, then she leaved the room, leaving Pearl and Peridot alone. Before leaving, Garnet reassured Steven, saying that Peridot would be okay, but that Pearl needed to concentrate so, maybe he could have gone to Greg, or called Connie to spend some time with her, and maybe talk to them about Lapis and Peridot, since both of them still didn't know about their presence in Steven's house. Steven slowly nodded and went out the house. Pearl silently materialized out of her gem some of the tools she used to help Greg fixing his van, after all the times she helped him, she decided to keep some tools for her, especially after Greg forgot them during the last three times he asked for her help. Pearl kneeled down beside her and began to work. After some hours, Pearl managed to attach the robotic limbs to Peridot, also fixing the broken components. As she was going to finish her work, fixing the last broken cables in Peridot's left arm, she raised her gaze and saw the green gem looking at her with wide eyes.

'How can she be so capable in this kind of operations?' Peridot thought looking at Pearl with bewilderment in her eyes.

"So… am I still a clod?" Pearl asked giving her a teasing smile as Peridot looked away and whispered something.

"I'm sorry… I think I didn't hear you…" Pearl said as Peridot clenched her teeth.

"I said… thank you…" Peridot whispered as she heard the white gem slightly chuckle.