"So, the traitorous Rose Quartz has come back, huh?" Jasper punched her fist into her hand, "Fine by me." The gems of Earth quickly slid into defensive stances.

"Hey you, step off!" Amethyst said.

"Aw, and you've brought your little friends with you?" Jasper said, "Good, now I can beat you all down at once!"

"You will not harm him, nor either of us!" Garnet warned.

"Y-Yeah!" Steven stuck his left arm in front of him, and his shield materialized.

"Please! Enough!" Spodumene shouted as she jumped between the two groups with out-stretched arms, "No one is going to fight anyone!"

"Spodumene, you'd better-" Jasper started.

"I had better what, Jasper?" Spodumene countered, "You were assigned guard duty both during and after I ran my errand. You were in no way given leave to engage in conflict with our guests. Now unless you'd like to risk deeper punishment than you're already in, stand down!" With each word, Jasper's face was twisted with more and more frustration. Finally she stepped away, giving the group a wide berth.

"Yeah! Don't mess with us!" Amethyst taunted. Feeling the immediate danger passing, Steven lowered his arm and his shield dematerialized.

"Don't start with me, runt... there could always be a next time," Jasper crossed her arms and a wicked grin spread on her face. The gesture nearly put Amethyst off further, but Garnet's hand on her shoulder held her back.

"Follow me, please," Spodumene placed her lower right hand on a console on the wall, and a blast-door opened before them. The four gems and Steven walked through, rather quickly if only to be sure Jasper was not following behind them.

"Okay, she is the LAST person... gem, somebody I ever hoped to see again!" Steven said once the door had closed.

"Hmm, I will say this; you almost might not have seen her again," Spodumene said.

"Why's that?"

"Well from what I heard, Jasper had went entirely against former General Jet's orders to hold position over Earth's orbit, opting instead to attack you four herself," Spodumene explained, "Needless to say, Jet was none too pleased with her actions."

"Really?" Garnet asked, "I'm surprised we're still seeing the likes of her around..."

"Ever since then, Jasper has been demoted from active duty to those of a common guard," Spodumene said as she led them down the hallway, "But enough of all that; I suppose a formal welcome is in order. You are standing within the prime gem warship of Crystarra's battle fleet." As they walked forward, the distant sounds of talk could be heard, indicating that others were present on-board the ship, despite not seeing anyone.

"This isn't the same one we were on, is it?" Pearl looked around the walls of the wall they walked in.

"No, it is not," Spodumene replied, "This one is our flagship. The gem council and certain other gems coordinate the fleet from this one."

"Really? All those ships outside?" Steven said, "You're able to keep track of them all?"

"It's not at all difficult," Spodumene said, "And it's not like only one gem has that responsibility. Most gems on the other ships have been, anxious at best, but we've all kept our patience and held our positions so far."

"Spodumene," Pearl said, "I know that we gems are a space-faring race, but... we're not really a space-'dwelling' race. How long does this plan to continue for?" Spodumene suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, the others stopping behind her.

"As long as we have to!" she said, "What has happened in just a short time has... never happened before! We have never..."

"Spodumene, it's okay," Steven put his hand against the the upper right hand of the yellow fusion-born, causing her to look down at him, "It's why we're here now, helping you. We'll find out what's going on with the gem home world and find a way to fix it!"

"I very much appreciate this..." Spodumene smiled, "But now, the gem council is directly through this door." The group had now stopped behind another door. Spodumene's hand pressed against a panel on the side, and the door opened, revealing what was inside.


The room was rather small, with view-ports dotting the walls to show space outside. The walls themselves were crystalline detailed, yet still bore a touch of technology beneath the surface.

Unlike the past rooms that Steven and the gems had entered into, this one was actually populated. A group of gems stood in the center of the room focused on a holographic display from a cylinder column that rose out of the floor.

"Council members, I have returned with the gems from Earth," Spodumene announced. Everyone was standing perfectly still as the council members now looked up. There were four of them: a short, red gem with a square-shaped head of hair and a headband tied off in the back, a cream, pudgy gem in a large yet tight-fitting white gown, a rich green gem dressed in a toga that contrasted her own skin color, and gold colored gem who looked all too familiar.

"So, brought them here, have you Spodumene?" Citrine asked. In a flash, she materialized her twin sais in her hands, "Good." At the sight of this, the four from Earth tensed into battle stances, or attempted to appear not intimidated.

"What? No-!" Spodumene started.

"No Citrine," the green gem next to her held her arm in front of her, "They will not be broken this day."

"Emerald, what are you saying?" Citrine protested, "These are THE gems led by Rose Quartz, who is here no less!"

"I'm aware of this... because they were requested to come," Citrine's eyes widened, as did those of the cream gem slightly.

"Well, this is... unexpected," the other previously-silent gem spoke.

"Indeed..." Emerald slowly walked around the holographic display column from the floor and towards the group. Unfortunately, the gems still did not relax despite Emerald's gait and posture not showing any hostility.

"Um... Hi, I guess..." Steven cautiously said, "The name's Steven. This is Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet. And, you must be the gem council Spodumene told us about?"

"Yes, 'we' are," Spodumene's voice behind him caught his attention. He turned to watch as the gem walked forward to stand along with the other gems. This hearkened back to what he had heard Spodumene say earlier, and his eyes widened.

"Wait, Spodumene?" he said, "You're one of them?" The fusion-born nodded.

"Hmmm..." Emerald put a hand up to cup her chin as she stared at the boy, "So this is what those 'humans' look like in person... But that is clearly Rose Quartz's gemstone," Emerald looked up at the Earth gems, "... Perhaps I'm still unclear about this; how exactly does a human, an Earth native, come into possession of Rose Quartz's gem?"

"Emerald," Garnet said in a low voice, "We may have come here of our own free will to help Spodumene, and to some extent yourselves, but details such as that are on a trust-basis."

"Very well then," Emerald resigned, "Perhaps it's better if I do not know the specifics... Since this is apparently our first meeting, 'Steven', introductions are in order. I am Emerald, de facto gem leader and spokes-gem for this council. You're clearly acquainted with Spodumene, head of the science department. This is Ruby Prime," she indicated to the small red gem, "head General to our fighting forces." The diminutive red gem struck a pose of putting her fists on her hips and thrusting her chest out.

'Oh my gosh! Adorable!' Steven thought, 'She's like a tiny Garnet!'

"Citrine here is the appointed leader in intergalactic reconnaissance," the gold gem crossed her arms with an indignant frown, "and lastly-"

"Chrysoprase, gem healer extraordinaire!" the last gem finished.

"What? You also heal gems?" Amethyst asked.

"Indeed, Rose Quartz was not the only renowned healer; I am just as proficient, for those who need it most, that is," Something in that implication was just enough to rub Amethyst the wrong way, "I don't recognize you as... Are you by chance a kindergarten gem?"

"Um... yeah, why?" Amethyst asked.

"Oh, it's nothing really," Chrysoprase said, "You have that distinct look about you..." Amethyst found that the frown on her face was growing the more Chrysoprase spoke to her.

"Well," Pearl said, "If anyone were to be leader of the Diamond Authority, I suppose you would be much better suited, Emerald."

"Oh, thank you, Pearl," Emerald said, "for being a once traitor to the old order, you flatter me. But there is no more Diamond Authority, as I'm sure you've gathered."

"Yeah, we're now the new government of gems," Ruby Prime said, "We were really starting to change how things ran on Crystarra, until everything went down, that is. In fact, why don't we show them what happened?" One by one the council members nodded, and led Steven and the gems back to the column. Once there, Spodumene tapped buttons on the interface before her, and the image changed to the rotating planet once again.

"About twenty four hours ago or so, the Crystal Spires suddenly became active, but in a completely non-standard way," Emerald said, "In fact, our above orbit observation seems to suggest deliberate wrongful tampering."

"Wait, hold on," Steven said, "I think I'm still behind on what these 'Crystal Spires' are, so..." Emerald and Spodumene briefly shared looks with each other, then the fusion-born tapped her console again. The image of the planet zoomed in rapidly until another single image took its place: a large, crystalline tower with a very small hole at the base.

"This... is a Crystal Spire, Steven," Emerald said, "They feed directly into the planet itself, allowing access to its rich energy. Us gems are able to access that energy to use as a sustenance... actually, it's more that we have to."

"What do you need energy for?"

"Gem warriors are magic-conceived," Emerald explained, "And that magic is stored in our gems for the proper use of our powers. But it is not limitless, and even something minute such as projecting our physical forms uses that energy."

"Ok, I think I get it now..." Steven said.

"And as I have mentioned before," Spodumene continued, "our scouts had reported a suspect..." she tapped buttons again, and the imaged morphed itself back into the hooded figure in her forward dashing still-frame. At this, the other council members shared looks between each other.

"Oh yes, Spodumene," Citrine said, "Haven't you heard? There has been an update on what the scouts have identified since you were gone."

"What?"

"It's true..." This time Citrine pressed buttons from a console in front of her, and the imaged changed only slightly this time. This minor change however was enough to make almost everyone in the room gasp in surprise.

"It... it can't be!" Pearl said.

"Oh man, not her!" Steven cried out, "Diamond!"

"This... cannot be!" Garnet said, "We saw her get obliterated by... whatever that thing was that the Cosmic Beetles made!"

"So you claim..." Citrine softly said as she looked up at the holographic figure. This time the hood that once concealed all of the figure's head was pulled back enough to reveal the face. Diamond's eyes could be seen, still pupil-less with a sense of a dark void filling them. What was different however were the number of lines that seemed to run from the eyes off to the sides of her head.

"Are you absolutely certain about this?" Spodumene asked. Citrine looked at her with a frown on her face. She was about to say something until Emerald spoke up first,

"Unfortunately... We could hardly believe it ourselves when it was first discovered. But our scouts presented us with undeniable proof, right here before us."

"And yet it was this, human, who had bested her, was it not?" Chrysoprase asked in her strangely calm voice, "So it stands to reason that it can do it again."

"Maybe, maybe not," Citrine crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

"No, no, no," Steven took a few steps back, as if the holographic-still image of Diamond was just as dangerous, "She was crazy! And there were like seven of them last time!"

"How can you just say something like that, Chrysoprase?" Pearl asked, "Steven is just a human boy, while Diamond is the- 'was' the strongest and most powerful of gems!"

"Perhaps... something is missing here," Emerald said, "Steven, how exactly did you... best Diamond in battle as claimed?"

"What? No!" Steven protested, "What happened on that ship, it was all an accident! Yeah I fought her, but I never really 'bested' her..."

"So this was an illegitimate victory?" Chrysoprase asked with skepticism, "Garnet, since you were also present at the time, perhaps you would like to relate the truth?" Garnet looked at the council in a pause, then down at the boy.

"What Steven says is... not untrue," she relented, "Diamond nearly overpowered us, even with Jet and Lapis Lazuli helping."

"But I 'did' try, at least," Steven went on, "I ended up doing something that... I knocked one of the Diamonds into that weird orb and, it like sucked three of them in!"

"So then... what happened with the other four Diamonds?" Emerald asked.

"When the portal closed, the Beetles remained and destroyed them, along with themselves," Garnet said.

"I see..." Emerald said, stepping back in thought, "And now suddenly Diamond has returned from destruction to wreak who knows what kind of havoc on our home planet?"

"Grrgh! This is so pointless!" Ruby Prime suddenly exclaimed, "If she really is doing all this stuff to our planet, then we need to stop her, former leader or not!" The other council members gave pause, clearly at a loss for words to add. At this, Ruby Prime looked at the Earth gems, "Listen, you're going to help us with this, aren't you?"

"Um, I mean," Pearl stammered, "Well, what is it you expect us to do? You haven't really relayed any plan to us!"

"Actually, we did have a plan," Emerald said, "And now that your human has arrived, we can relay it."

"What?" Pearl looked at them, then down at Steven.

"Yeah, what?" Steven echoed.

"It is as I have said before," Chrysoprase said, "As the one who bested Diamond in battle, this human should have no trouble doing it again!" As she spoke, Citrine directed their attention back to the hologram as it changed back into the image of Crystarra.

"From our scans, not every Crystal Spire on Crystarra has been affected," she said. The planet suddenly spun fast and rapidly zoomed in on one target: a massive crystalline structure that strongly resembled a castle, with many towers that branched off of its top. Pearl put her hand to her mouth upon seeing this.

"Um... I don't get it," she heard Amethyst say with a shrug.

"Oh Amethyst, don't you know?" she asked. With starry-eyes she looked back at the image, "That's the Citadel, still the pristine shape of magnificence!"

"Um Pearl, you forgetting something?" the purple gem asked, "Not from here, so I kinda don't care!"

"Anyway..." Citrine's voice got their attention, "The Citadel, or Crystal Spire Alpha, has not been corrupted, or even activated. So long as it remains such... it is the next target."

"Wait a minute," Pearl held her hands up, "Are you seriously implying what I think you're implying?"

"This is no mere 'implication'," Emerald said, "It would be necessary if your Steven were to assist in apprehending Diamond." No one in the room bothered to keep track, but the silence that followed felt like it lasted for eternity. The tension that built up almost felt suffocating.

"That... is... madness!" Pearl finally exclaimed, "You cannot be serious! Spodumene, surely this can't be your plan..."

"I'm... The plan was to enlist your aid, I do not deny that," the yellow-fusion relented, "But I had absolutely no idea the perpetrator was Diamond! I promise you!"

"So... you want us to be the ones to take down Diamond for you?" Amethyst asked this time. The council members stared at her, but Spodumene gave a small nod, "Then I say... sure!"

"What?!" Pearl and Steven exclaimed, and even Garnet turned to her with a look of surprise.

"Come on, guys," she said, "We said we'd help Spodumene, and we're here now! Besides, how hard could this Diamond really be?"

"You weren't there, Amethyst!" Pearl protested, "You don't know what Diamond was capable of! Why, it's-"

"And neither were you, Pearl," Garnet cut her off, "In fact, this decision is not ours to make, but..." She looked down at Steven as he looked up at her, then got down to his level, "Steven, you and I both know the risk here, more so than Pearl and Amethyst; do you still want to do this?"

"I-er..." the boy looked back and forth between Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst, and the gem council, "Diamond was really scary, and tough... and she said some really hurtful things... but, if it means helping Spodumene..." He nodded his head once in dramatic finality.

"Steven..." Pearl trailed off.

"Alright, little man!" Amethyst clapped her hand on his shoulder, "And the three of us will be with you every step of the way, right?" Her expecting look cast off in Pearl's direction. Pearl too was silent, but with closed eyes nodded as well.

"This council expresses its deepest gratitude to you," Emerald said, "As will all other gems once this threat to our kind has been dealt with. Now then, please follow Chrysoprase and Ruby Prime; they will relay the mission details to you as they take you for scanning."

"This way!" the short red gem announced. Steven and the gems moved to leave, but stopped when he realized the yellow fusion wasn't moving.

"Spodumene? Aren't you coming with us?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not, Steven," Spodumene replied, "I have duties here now that I must oversee, council member and all that..." The Earth gems followed the short and pudgy council gems out of the council room and into the hallway, the door closing behind them. Once they were gone, the three remaining gems turned back to each other.

"What's the status on the shuttle?" Spodumene asked.

"Your gem techs did their job," Citrine said, "They've equipped it with that plating to cover it entirely."

"Did they remember to leave spaces in between the rear thrusters?"

"How should I know?" Citrine asked.

"That is the most important step!" Spodumene insisted, "Otherwise that ship won't even be getting anywhere close to-"

"Then see to it yourself!" Citrine said, "It was your idea after all."

"Spodumene, are you sure this will work?" Emerald asked.

"For once, I am positive, Emerald," Spodumene replied, "The ships that were destroyed did not have necessary protection."

"And this shuttle being worked on will have it?" Spodumene nodded, "Then for everyone's sake, success is paramount..."