Jet sat down next to the tree, pressing her back against it while Steven excitedly sat cross-legged in front of her. The young boy's eyes were filled with expectation. Stories, especially those relating to gems, were something he absolutely loved to hear and the chance to know more about Jet from the gem's own mouth was a huge bonus.

"Where should I begin…" she mumbled to herself, bringing a finger up to her temple while pondering on the issue "What did they tell you about gems in general? You know we're not from here, right? Do you know what a kindergarten is?" she asked the boy.

"Yea." Steven nodded though he didn't look too happy talking about such a place "It's where gems make other gems. I've been to one a couple of times."

"What? They've taken you to one at your age!?" Jet suddenly flared up "That's just irresponsible of—" she stopped and took a deep breath, there was no point in scolding those that weren't even there to hear it "No, anyway…back home I was in communications and information management. My job was to keep tabs on the numbers, send out reports to my superiors and such. I know, exciting stuff right? But I was good enough at it to get by so I never really complained." she paused when the excitement in Steven had gone down a level, showing his interest in that part of the story "Eventually I was sent here, to Earth during the construction of the kindergartens. I was pretty much just one of many intermediates of communication between this planet and Homeworld."

"Did you know my mom before the rebellion?" Steven asked innocently.

"I had heard of her, but our worlds were too far apart. I was just a little Jet in charge of writing and sending reports while your mother…well…she was Rose Quartz." even Steven noticed the slight frown on Jet's face when talking about his mother but let it go for the time being "Before the rebellion I had started to observe humanity. At the time they were incredibly primitive but there was a certain something to the way they lived their short lives that I quickly became enamored with. Compared to us gems, human lives end in the blink of an eye, yet they managed to live happier and more fulfilled lives in those short years than any gem I had known. It was…beautiful."

Jet moved a finger down and touched the tree's shadow. The darkness began to shift and change, taking different shapes according to her words. This made Steven's eyes grow wide in his awe. While Jet narrated, the shadows presented simple visual aids.

"When the rebellion started I joined to protect this world, to protect humanity. I know what some of the other gems thought and your mother's all-encompassing love but I just wanted to learn more about humans while keeping them safe." Jet's eyes looked down at Steven as he admired the moving shadows and a soft smile formed on her lips "That's not to say I didn't see the flaws that humans had, but it was that flawed nature that further drew me to them. As such, most of my time was spent with humans. Regardless of where my missions took me, I would always seek the nearest gathering of humans and watch over them whenever possible. The more I observed, the more I envied them…but also the more I admired them." Jet noticed Steven's head perk up and hesitated to continue, allowing the boy to speak.

"You're like what they told me about mom, you loved humans a lot." he spoke innocently, but was met with a poke to the forehead from Jet's finger.

"Please don't compare me to her, your mother's so called 'love' was always something that annoyed me greatly." Steven seemed confused and slightly hurt, but she continued "As far back as I remember your mother had always looked down on humans. She did love them, but it was never any different than how humans loved their pets. I heard the way she spoke of them, how they were funny and cute little beings that she loved playing with. She and others called it love, but all they felt was pity. None of them understood humans nor made an effort to do so, there never was any respect for them. They were always the poor primitive and defenseless inhabitants of this planet. Disgusting..."

Suddenly it hit Jet like a brick, she had lost herself and was spouting negative things about the young boy's mother. No matter how much she disliked certain aspects of Rose, she also knew how much those words could hurt him. Her eyes focused on him and she noticed that Steven was completely lost in thought while carrying a sad expression. She was not aware, but the young half-human was remembering his father's stories about his mother, how it felt like she talked down to him, especially during the fusion story. He was realizing that Jet might have had a point and that somewhat depressed him.

"But you know? Were it not for Rose, the rebellion would have never started so regardless of the reasons, of how she saw the ones she wanted to protect…the fact that she was a hero that protected humanity will never change. If there's still life on this planet it is only because she saved it." she tried to comfort the boy as best she could, yet did little more than garner his attention again until an idea lit up "And the simple fact that you exist is proof that Rose eventually grew to love humans…real love, as equals." she smiled and the boy perked up a bit "Half-human and half-gem, Steven you are the ultimate show of love between a human and a gem…I have no idea how Rose pulled it off but honestly, I'm kind of jealous. Maybe I'll ask her when things calm down."

Steven's smile turned into a frown almost instantly and he began to fidget with his fingers "My mom…gave up her physical form to have me. She's not around anymore." he solemnly said.

Jet's eyes widened in realization of what she had just said, watching the very obvious emotions displayed on the boy's face. Her first instinct were not comforting words but to reach out to him. Her arms wrapped around Steven, surprising him, and she pulled the boy to her lap.

"Uuh…Jet?" Steven asked but was immediately shushed by the gem.

"No talking, hug time now. Only hugs allowed." she said in a gentle tone while resting her chin on his fluffy hair.

It took a moment for Steven to process what was happening, but when he did his arms moved under Jet's and hugged her back. Neither of them said anything, Steven simply buried his face in her chest while Jet gently brushed his hair. It was only after a few minutes that one of them spoke again.

"So many things happened, so many things have changed…it's a bit overwhelming." she commented while still hugging the boy.

"I'll help." he plainly said.

"Thank you, Steven." she smiled and hugged him tighter "You really are a kind boy."

Steven's grip weakened and in response so did Jet's. He pulled away from the gem a little bit and looked up at her. Jet gave him a gentle smile but could tell that something else was on his mind. Her hand moved to his cheek and her forehead touched his.

"I have a feeling you want to ask me something, go ahead." she said.

Steven hesitated for a bit, feeling the warmth from her gem but eventually said what was on his mind "Why did you start absorbing gems?"

Jet's eye twitched and she immediately pulled her head away from him. Steven was startled by her sudden reaction and by the way she looked at him in horror. Jet slowly pulled away from him and stood up, using the tree for support. The boy also got to his feet but with eyes filled with worry.

"I'm sorry! You don't have to—" he began but stopped when Jet grabbed her own shoulders and looked away from him.

"I wanted to hurt them." was all she said.

"Hurt who? Homeworld? Why?" Steven asked.

Jet said nothing for moment but then turned to face Steven. Her look scared him, the sudden shift from the gentle and kind expression to one filled with hatred and malice was enough to make him take a step back "I wanted to hurt them, like they hurt me. I wanted them all to feel the same pain I felt." her words were as dark as the shadows she controlled and Steven began to worry not for himself, but for her.

"Why? What did they do?" Steven asked, but right as he finished, a voice called out to him.

"Steven!" it was easy to recognize it as Garnet's voice, coming from above.

Both Steven and Jet looked up, seeing Garnet grabbing a branch with her already armored hand. Suddenly something shot at Jet and wrapped around her arms and chest, a purple whip. Their eyes immediately shifted down to the wielder of the weapon and saw Amethyst standing a few feet away. Then another voice called out and Pearl grabbed Steven from behind, pulling him away from the fight.

"Steven! Are you alright!?" Pearl screeched as she lifted him off the ground and away from Jet.

"No! What are you guys doing!?" Steven shouted, trying to squirm away from Pearl's grip but she held on tightly this time, making sure not to let him go as she ran in the opposite direction of where he wanted to be.

Steven watched Jet as she did him. The last thing he saw of what was happening was Garnet dropping down on Jet, fist first, causing dirt and dust to rise up from the impact. Pearl didn't stop until she reached the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. From there Steven could see Beach City and the boardwalk not far, meaning that he and Jet had not traveled very far in the first place.

"Pearl! Why do you keep attacking Jet!?" Steven shouted angrily, finally getting free from Pearl's grip.

"She kidnapped you! Who knows what she's planning!" Pearl retorted, her hair a mess.

"Because you wouldn't listen!"

"Steven! I was being cautious! You don't know how Jet was during the war, she could have been after your gem all along!" the volume of her shouts matched his and were only dwarfed by the occasional explosion of force in the distance.

"We were just talking! If Jet wanted my gem, she could have taken it any time she wanted! But she didn't!" he turned to face the direction they came from but Pearl quickly grabbed his arm.

"Steven, you don't know that!" Pearl responded.

"I do!"

"She absorbed me and tried to do it to Rose! I won't let her do that to you too!" the gem shouted and Steven's head immediately turned with shock.

"What?" he asked confused.

Pearl released his arm, seeing how he stopped trying to leave and turned her head, her hands shaking. It was clear to the boy that Pearl was quite perturbed from just thinking about it.

"It was…horrible. When Jet absorbed me, even if it was only for a few moments I could hear it all…hear them all, all the gems she had absorbed." she dropped to her knees and moved her hands to her ears "So many voices, crying out. They were angry, desperate, grieving, mad and in pain…all of those voices, screaming at me and no way to make them stop. If it weren't for Rose…I…" she didn't continue, instead Pearl just hugged Steven tightly "I don't want you or anybody else to go through that."