Hello everyone! Here it is, chapter 3! Sorry for the pause, but here it is!

But first, answers to reviews!

bestpony666: No, not really. There is NO idea for new Shipping in the works.

Timeline15: Well here's hoping that Milo and I do it better. ;-)

Now that those are out of the way, here is the chapter!

Chapter 3: Diamond Family Reunion

The three members of the Diamond Authority had arrived on Earth near the Temple. They were patiently awaiting Steven's return, having been informed by Lapis beforehand that Steven was out and about somewhere. The three then looked to the new Gem-homes that were being built.

"So these are what lodgings on this planet are like?" asked Yellow as she inspected the foundation of a halfway-complete house, "They seem rather… shoddy."

"I find them rather charming," commented Blue, having been in an infinitely better mood in recent days, "Plus, it seems they are making the best possible use of their resources just as we would."

White, on the other hand, was staring past the temple impatiently. It was not like the grand matriarch of the Gem race was used to being left behind.

"Well, at the very least, we're involved with Pink's life now," shrugged Yellow, "So that has to count to something."

"Steven. Remember that she, I mean, he goes by Steven now," reprimanded Blue.

"'He?' Pink decided to change that, too?"

"If that's was Steven wants, than let it be. I'd rather lose my family all over again."

White winced at that last bit. Yellow looked like she had punched in the face.

"O-Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, you're absolutely right, Blue. We must be more tolerable of these circumstances unless we want a repeat of this whole mess," stated White, much to the shock of Blue.

"What is it?"

"It's just...I can't remember the last time you agreed with something I said."

White's eyes widened at this. She was not that harsh with the two of them, was she?

Suddenly the two heard the sound of an engine and saw a ship in the distance. It was quite familiar to them. Yellow and Blue were both shocked, and if White felt a sensation similar to what a human would describe as having your stomach drop.

It was Black Diamond's ship. It landed next to the temple at the shoreline. The ship then opened up to reveal Steven accompanied by none other than the lost Diamond himself.

"Uh, hey guys…" greeted Steven awkwardly, "Look who came to see me. Neat, right?"

The landing got the attention of all the Crystal Gems who stared at the unknown Gem in awe. The Crystal Gems all moved out of the way as Black Diamond approached, taking caution not to accidentally crush anyone underfoot.

"Black Diamond…" White said, contempt in her voice "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Yes. It has," Black replied, "I see that you are at least attempting some change for once… You're out of your ship."

Blue and Yellow were still in shock at seeing the defective Diamond before him.

The Crystal Gems, meanwhile, were all slack jawed seeing not only the main Diamond Authority suddenly show up on their doorstep, but a completely new Diamond with them. Peridot summed it up best, "Okay, I need to ask. JUST WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?"

Lapis simply walked inside, muttering how she would take a nap and only wake up once this whole mess was over.

"Um, Pearl, why is there a-" started Bismuth before Pearl gave her a look clearly saying she did not have the answers either.

"I wondered which part of the galaxy you ran off to after your exile," White said.

"That's surprising," Black replied, partial sarcasm in his voice, "Considering you never cared for us defectives back in those days… I assume your sensors picked it up too? The hijacked ships?"

This got White surprised, but she regained her composure, mostly, and said, "Yes… and I assume you also know who this all points too?"
"Correct."

"You don't mean…" mumbled Yellow Diamond.

"It can't be…" panicked Blue Diamond.

"Yes, and as much as it pains me to admit it, we will need to reconvene if we want to eliminate this threat to our empire."

"Excuse me, our empire?" snarked White, "The last time I checked, you have not provided anything to our cause in countless millennia. What gives you the right to claim any stake in our success?"

"Oh yes, clearly, you've been doing a terrific job since I departed. Is that why Pink Diamond essentially went rogue?"

"Please don't mention that…" mumbled Blue, trying to hold in her tears hearing that.

"That was a single incident!" yelled White.

"Guys!" Steven Piped up. The Diamonds looked to him, "I get that there's something between you guys, but what are you trying to say!? Who does it point to?"

Black then turned to the Crystal Gems nearby, "Well... some who can do worse than this… White… I still can't believe the three of you retaliated so cruelly…"

"Well, pardon us if we were unaware about what Pink was doing! We were caught off-guard since there had never been a case of a Gem leading any sort of organized rebellion before!"

"Wait a second, how do you know all of this?" asked Yellow.

"I've been intercepting Homeworld's communications, of course."

"WHAT?!" shrieked White, "You've been spying on us?! How dare you-"

"How dare I what?! Be informed of how you three essentially abused Pink, left her to run a colony unsupervised? And then when she refused to obey your commands, you scolded her to the point of genuine punishment. Then, when she was supposedly shattered, you tried to take out not only the Gem seemingly responsible for the deed, but also thousands of Gems, some of them your own troops, as punishment!? Perhaps YOU should have gone into exile instead!"

It was a long and cold silence that followed Black's dressing down. Blue was now freely crying and thus almost every Gem on the premises was as well. Even Jasper, though forced into it thanks to Blue's powers, felt a twinge of guilt hearing about just how horribly her boss was treated.

"Sooooooo..." muttered Steven as he tried to regain control of his emotions, "What were we talking about again?"

"... Someone capable of even worse than what he did," White Diamond said somberly.
"Red Diamond…" Black added with contempt.

Steven picked up on the tension the Diamonds felt upon that name.

"What?! That's impossible!" exclaimed Yellow.

"But we...she shouldn't be able to…" fretted Blue.

"Wait a minute! There's another new Diamond?!" exclaimed Steven, regaining the attention of the massive Gem monarchs.

"New, isn't quite correct," explained White, "Red Diamond was, for lack of a better word, insane. Like Black Diamond here, she was looking to 'improve' Gem-kind with unique enhancements provided by other planets. She had a habit of kidnapping organic life-forms from uncolonized worlds and using them to-"

"Augment them, to put it politely," continued Black, ignoring the glare White was giving him, "Like me, she was willing to look to outside sources for inspiration. Her methods, however, were… horrifying."

"If Pink brought any organic life around, Red would kidnap them for her experiments! And then gloat to Pink that she did it! Then she would lock herself in her room and cry until either Yellow or I promised to get them back!" remembered Blue, "It was so traumatizing for her."

"We tried over and over again to discipline, but nothing ever stuck," added Yellow, "Eventually, we all agreed that she was too unstable to be left to her own devices and deemed her Off-Color. So, we eventually poofed her and launched her gem into space. Our plan was for it to eventually be destroyed by a celestial object, be it a star or a meteorite."

"And yet, it seems she somehow escaped and reformed," contemplated White, "With the obvious intent on giving comeuppance for her exile and resuming her unscrupulous ambitions. She's already claimed hundreds of Gems from several colonies under construction for test subjects and resources."

"Exactly," confirmed Black, "She poses an enormous threat to our empire. We must halt all further efforts until Red Diamond is apprehended and, if necessary, shattered."

"Simply put," Black Pearl whispered, "She's a madman…"

Steven noted the looks of concern, worry, and even fear in the Diamond's faces.

"All evidence suggests she's heading here. To Earth…" White Diamond said. All of the Crystal Gems all paled hearing this. As a sense of panic began to permeate the crowd, save for Jasper who was still kicking and struggling in Black Diamond's hand.

"Okay then, so you obviously want our help," commented Garnet, hoping to put some of the group at ease.

Yellow agreed. "Yes, as much as we would rather not admit it, we will need every advantage against Red Diamond. Now that you have a respectable number to your forces, we figure it was appropriate to warn you of this threat and lend assistance."

"Wait, why can't we just talk to Red and convince her to stop?" asked Steven.

"I tried. Once," Black Diamond said, "She laughed at the very notion of halting her projects, deluding herself into believing that they were for the good of all Gemkind…"

"Yes, as much as it pains me to admit it," remorsed Blue, "There's simply no reasoning with her."

"But you guys thought White was impossible to talk to, and now your all better!" argued Steven, only to get a grimace from Yellow.

"While she has no doubt improved her behavior in recent times, she still has… reservations about certain aspects," she said.

"I still have duties to perform in regards to Homeworld's operation, you know, and while I am capable of many things I cannot just abandon my position!" White argued.

"Really? You seemed content with leaving it to these two for eons…" drawled Black. He rebutted before she could even make a retort, "And while I may not be involved in those proceedings, I don't deny my flaws either! You've been painting yourself as pure perfection for the longest time and frankly, it was unbearable to listen to! Come to think of it, it was actually a blessing in disguise in hindsight."

"Guys!" Steven got their attention again, "Just how long will it take for Red Diamond to come to Earth?"

"... A while," Blue answered, "But she'll find other ways to do as she pleases until she actually arrives. We should all stay alert."

Miles and miles away from the current meeting of the Diamond Authority, there was an intimidating vessel lazily floating through the cosmos. The enormous red vessel once resembled an ordinary hand and forearm, but has since been modified so many times it was hardly recognizable. Bits and bobs were fused and tacked onto every square foot of the exterior with the only consistency being the color.

The interior looked sickening, a mismatched mixture of different dark shades of red. Many areas looked like the color of blood and all of them were haphazardly thrown together with no rhyme or reason.

Aboard the ship were hundreds of Gems, but ones unlike any previously seen. In fact, if it were not for their signature stone located on their bodies, many would assume they were a random assortment of aliens from all walks of life. Some were humanoid and could pass for unique varieties of Gems, but they were the rarity among the hoard. Some resembled beasts, others plants, and other creatures just barely resembled anything familiar at all. They walked on any number of appendages, some of them were incapable of speech, and a small selection of them were feral almost to the point of mindlessness.

The only clean and remotely sanitary part of the ship was a central laboratory where holographic diagrams of lifeforms of various description illuminated the walls. Shattered gem shards, containers full of entrails in varying states of decay and horrific machines were cluttered around the floor and worktables. In the midst of all this chaos was one enormous figure happily working among the mess. She stood fifty feet tall with a massive crimson overcoat covered in stains and splotches from her work, but she never seemed to notice them. Her gem was located atop her forehead with a sinister red glow...

"My Diamond," a voice rang out to the figure. The voice came from what looked like a Pearl. This Pearl, however, looked emotionally blank. She wore a simple one-piece dress with a belt as if she were dressed for something formal. However, her outfit also included accessories befitting a nurse such as a lab coat and an elegant variation of workboots.

"Yes, Pearl? I'm working, so this had better be an emergency."

"We have had a small disruption in the holding cells. One of your unrulier subjects escaped and began picking fights with the others."

"Hmpn, I suppose the subject has lived it's course… terminate it…"

The Pearl simple nodded, expressionless before summoning her weapon from her Gem, a sword with a dark, wavy blade. She then ran out of site.

"A pity," the Diamond said, "All these experiments are getting stale… however…" She then looked at a monitor showing the planet Earth, "This new planet, it's full of possibilities. I wonder what new results my projects will yield… upon the surface of this new world…"