The TARDIS materialized and Topaz stepped out, a box in his hands. The box was covered in strange markings and had gears moving inside of it. He looked around, then put the box down. He had landed on Homeworld during the war. He then knelt down and inspected the box. "Now, how do you work?" He asked. "No buttons, no levers, no dials. You really are confusing." He then turned one of the symbols on the box and heard more ticking. The box soon opened, revealing a large red button. Topaz put his hand on the large button, still unsure of whether or not he was making the right choice. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice said behind him. Topaz looked behind him to find 2001 Garnet. He'd forgotten she was also in the TARDIS. "If you had seen what happened, you might do the same." Topaz said. "She killed my family. I'm erasing what she's done. Every act of cruelty from this point on will be wiped away. The Gems and the Doctor will be saved." "And you may never meet us." Garnet pointed out. "I don't care." Topaz replied. "I don't care if I never see them again, as long as I know they're safe." "There are millions of innocent Gems here." Garnet said. "They don't deserve to die." Topaz didn't answer. He kept his determined face, but his hand began to shake. "Okay, there's clearly only one way I'll get through to you." Garnet said. She walked to Topaz and put her hands on his shoulders. The Gems in her palms began to glow, and Topaz saw what awaited him if he pushed the button. Gems burning, buildings crumbling, lives falling apart just because he couldn't bear to live with what he saw. When it was over, Topaz's face was covered in tears. "There's nothing I can do about this, then." He said. "I have to live with the fact that my overconfidence killed my family." "This is not your fault, Topaz." Garnet said. "And there must be something you can do." Topaz thought for a while, then had an idea. He closed the Moment, picked it up, and ran back inside the TARDIS, Garnet close behind. "There is something I can do!" He said. The TARDIS then took off.

Rose and Yellow Diamond had been battling for hours. Just as they were about to run at each other again, they heard the TARDIS. When it materialized, they both noticed a note attached to the doors.

Dear Rose and Yellow Diamond,

I have almost made the terrible mistake of burning Homeworld during the war, but I had a better idea. I have set specific coordinates on the TARDIS. Simply pull the big orange lever on the back panel of the main console, then push it back. I will further explain everything when you arrive.

-Topaz

They were confused, but did as the note said. When the TARDIS landed, Yellow Diamond and Rose found themselves in a strange black room full of strange artifacts. They also noticed two boxes on a table. One was pink, while the other was yellow. Rose walked to the pink box, and Yellow Diamond walked to the yellow. Topaz stepped out from a corner. "Hello." He said simply. "Now, I only have one thing to say. Don't do this. I will take both of these boxes away. All I want is for the war to end. Yellow Diamond returns to Homeworld and stays there, Rose returns home, and Homeworld and Earth will have no more problems with each other." "No." Yellow Diamond said firmly. She and Rose both opened their boxes. There were two buttons in each. One was labeled 'truth', while the other was labeled 'consequences'. "Which button do I push, Topaz?" Rose asked. "'Truth' or 'consequences'?" "I'll never tell." He answered. "Welcome to the moment we've been waiting for. Make-your-mind-up time!" He turned to Rose. "One of your buttons will destroy all of Yellow Diamond's military facilities on Homeworld, delaying, if not preventing, a new Gem War." Topaz said. "The other detonates the nuclear explosive under the Black Archive, the building we are currently inside. Everyone in London will die." He turned to Yellow Diamond. "One of your buttons will provoke the Cluster, causing it to demolish the Earth within minutes." He said. "The other will burn Homeworld completely. I did this all of this on a very important day for me months ago. There are safeguards beyond safeguards." "This is wrong." Yellow Diamond said. "No, it's not." Topaz said. "You are responsible for your friends' deaths." "No, I'm not." Topaz repeated himself. "Yes." Yellow Diamond said. "No." Topaz said again. "You created this situation, Topaz, this is your fault!" Yellow Diamond said. "No, it's not." Topaz said. "It's your fault." "I've done what I had to." Yellow Diamond said defensively. "So have I." Topaz said. "I was treated like a monster." Yellow Diamond said. "So what?" Topaz said calmly. "I was forced off of that planet by weaklings." Yellow Diamond continued. "So were the rest of your forces." Topaz responded. "It's not fair." Yellow Diamond said. "Oh, it's not fair?" Topaz asked. "Well the TARDIS doesn't work properly, and I am literally heartless. I don't know what a real heartbeat feels like. But that's just the way it is. What happened to you is fair because it's your fault. You were treated like a monster because you acted like one. And you were driven from Earth because you didn't deserve to win. You just want cruelty to beget cruelty. You're not superior to those who were cruel to you on Earth. You and your troops are just a different bunch of cruel people being cruel to other people who will end up being cruel to you! The only way to end the cruelty is to be prepared to forgive. So just break the cycle!" "Why should I?" Yellow Diamond asked. "What is it you actually want?" Topaz asked. Yellow Diamond looked at Rose, then back at Topaz. "War." She answered. "And when this war is over, when you have a world free of humans and 'defects', what will it be like?" Topaz asked. "Because you're very close to getting what you want! I mean, if you're still after Earth, it can't just be over a silly outpost. Are you going to adapt to Earth culture? Will you live in houses? Will Gems go to work? Will there be holidays? Will there be music? Will Gems be allowed to play violins? Who's gonna make the violins? Are you just going to turn it into an outpost? Or will you just destroy it and move on?" Topaz waited for an answer, but there was none. "You don't actually know, do you?" He asked. "Because, just like every screaming child in history, Yellow, you don't know what you really want! So let me ask you something else. When you've killed all the bad guys, and when everything's exactly as you want it, what are you gonna do with the people like Rose? The rebels? How will you protect your revolution from the next one?" "We'll win." Yellow Diamond answered confidently. "Maybe you will win." Topaz said. "But you lost to Earth. Nobody wins for long. The wheel keeps on spinning. You can break the cycle." "Why are you still talking?" Yellow Diamond asked. "Because I'm trying to help you see." Topaz answered. "And I'm almost there." "Do you know what I see, Topaz?" Yellow Diamond asked, looking over at Rose. "A box with everything I need. A fifty percent chance." "For me, too." Rose said. Topaz smiled. "And they're off!" Topaz yelled. "Fingers on buzzers! Are you feeling lucky? Are you ready to play the game? Who will be quickest? Who will be luckiest?" "This is not a game!" Rose exclaimed. "No, it's not a game, Quartz, and I mean that most sincerely!" Topaz said, still smiling. "Why are you doing this?" Yellow Diamond asked. "I'd like to know, too." Rose said. "You set this up. Why?" "Because it's not a game, Rose!" Topaz said, his smile disappearing. "These boxes are a scale model of war! Every war ever fought in front of you! Because it never changes! When you fire that first shot, no matter how right it feels, you don't know who's going to die! You don't know who's going to scream and burn! How many hearts broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until you do what you always should've done in the beginning: sit down and talk!" Topaz put his head in his hands, then looked over at Yellow Diamond. "Listen to me! I just want you to think!" He said. "Do you know what 'thinking' is? It's just a fancy word for 'changing your mind'." "I won't change my mind." She said. "Then you'll die stupid!" Topaz said. "Alternatively, you could step away from the box, go back to Homeworld, and be happy with what you have there." "I won't stop this." Yellow Diamond responded. "I've already started. Do you think your friends will let me go after what I've done?" "You screaming kids are all the same!" Topaz said. "'Look at me! I'm unforgivable!' Well, guess what? I forgive you for all of it! I forgive you." "You don't understand!" Yellow Diamond said. "You will never understand." "I don't understand?" Topaz said, lightly chuckling. "Are you joking? Of course I understand. You call this silly thing a war? I fought in the Gem War, too, you know! I did worse things you could imagine! I saw what would happen if I burned Homeworld to the ground! When I close my eyes, I hear more screams than anyone can ever count! Do you know what you do with that pain?! You hold it tight, until it burns your hand! Then you say 'No one else will ever have to live like this! No one else will ever feel this kind of pain! Not on my watch!'" Rose, tears in her eyes, closed her box. "Thank you." Topaz said. "Thank you." "I'm sorry." Rose said. "I know." Topaz replied. "I know. Thank you." They both looked at Yellow Diamond. There was silence, then Yellow Diamond spoke. "They're empty, aren't they?" She asked. "The boxes. There's nothing in them. Just buttons." Topaz smiled. "Precisely." He said. "Do you know how you know that? Because we both think like him now. It's Hell, isn't it? No one should have to think like that. Not even the Doctor." "Well, now we know the boxes are empty." Yellow Diamond said. "We can't forget that." "Well, about that." Topaz said, pulling out his screwdriver. "You've said that the last six times." He soniced a hole in the ceiling, and there was a flash.