CHAPTER 17 - … And Steven.

Morning came, but no one left their houses. When Connie and Lion walked into main street, she was dressed for battle.

Her forearms were exposed, but her shirt-mail was hard and weightless, courtesy of Bismuth. It was all dark blue, with a star symbol on her chest for good measure. Her hair was tied on a ponytail, even if she didn't really have to, considering it was shorter than last time she had a fight.

Her sword felt heavier than usual on her hands. Lion was agitated, darting his eyes around the place like he was about to be attacked. She felt it, too. This whole thing was like a nightmare.

"It's okay, buddy." She said, petting his giant mane. "I'm scared too. But we're in this together."

Lion purred, but the hairs on his body wouldn't come down. Nothing she could really do about it.

A Gem landed from the sky behind her, which startled her far too much for comfort. She turned around, sword in hand, only to find Garnet adjusting her glasses through a smokescreen.

"I've checked everywhere. Diamond is not at the beach, or the ocean."

Connie lowered the blade. "He's not in town either. And no one on Beach City has seen him."

"Amethyst and Pearl are guarding the local Warps. Our new friends in Homeworld have locked the Galaxy Network down, just in case." She looked at the Temple, worried. "Still no sign of Peridot, or Lapis. Bismuth is on that. Going through every old lab, haven or place they would go to."

The girl grimaced, feeling worry wash over her.

"Garnet, do you see anything…? Anything in the future?"

The red giant reached for her glasses again, but she hesitated. "I… don't know." She turned around, as if to hide her face. "I don't understand him. I don't know what he's doing. I just see random futures where sometimes it works out."

"And other times?"

Garnet didn't reply. She just took a deep breath and looked back at Connie.

"Either way, we have to keep trying. Diamond is on this planet, and he's not going to hide forever. The only thing we can count on is that he has a plan. None of this makes any sense if he doesn't."

Connie nodded, trying to look far braver than she felt.

It didn't work.

"It will be fine, Connie." Garnet said, touching her shoulder. "In fact, I was planning to join you for a bit."

"R-right." She replied.

"What's wrong?" Garnet asked, knowing fully well what was wrong.

Connie avoided her gaze. "Maybe I shouldn't have broken up with him."

"Connie…"

"No, I mean, I know it wasn't… him, but… maybe I should have talked to Diamond more. M-maybe then he…"

"Connie, listen to me." Garnet took her glasses off, looking at Connie in the eye. It didn't happen often. Connie wasn't used to it. "Diamond's choices are his own, and those were to ignore all of us, put us all in danger, and plan our demise behind our backs. I don't think he was ever listening to you."

"But he was." Connie argued. "When we talked for the last time, I saw… something inside his eyes, before Steven took over. Like it was the first time that he actually talked to someone."

"That happened to me, too." Connie recoiled. "And we're still here. We can't just assume we could have convinced him otherwise. He just… didn't want to listen."

Garnet put her glasses back on, signifying the end of the conversation. Connie, however, still had a thought in her head that wouldn't leave her alone.

"Steven would have gotten to him." She said, feeling sadder with every word. "He would have made him understand."

Garnet paused for a second. But they both knew how this ended.

"Yeah."

Diamond was surprised at just how hard it was for people to look up. Connie and Garnet really had no idea he was watching them from the clouds.

His mind hadn't been this sharp since his inception. The more Gems joined his collective, the more he felt truly alive. Less burdened by individual thoughts and more focused on the grander picture. Just the way it was meant to be.

Maybe that wasn't a metaphor. Maybe it was the way it was supposed to be. The thought was becoming more and more seductive to him, every minute that passed. Pieces of a chaotic puzzle fitting together, at last.

But enough dreaming. Reality called.

Diamond summoned Light-Lapis, who showed up flying at his side.

"Lapis, I need you to distract the Gems."

"Yes, My Diamond."

"Don't bother trying to capture them. None would try to fuse with you."

She didn't reply, simply raising her hand to summon water from around Little Homeworld. The rising sprays of water all over town caught the heroes' attention, and Diamond took it as his cue to leave.

"Lapis." Garnet said under her breath, summoning her gauntlets. "Connie, don't hold anything back. You know how dangerous she can be."

"You don't have to tell me." Connie stood on top of Lion, who roared.

Neither saw Diamond fly away towards the Temple, but that didn't stop the other interlopers from throwing spears at him.

The weapons hit him straight on the chest, but didn't damage him that much. He looked around, annoyed, and saw the two plagues that he should have probably expected would be involved.

"Good shot, Pearly." Zappy said, trident in hand. Both Pearls were standing atop a rooftop, having apparently been hunkering down, following Connie around.

"Thank you, Zappy. You too." Pearly summoned another spear, a long and pointy stick that looked more like a harpoon than anything. "It seems obvious he is responsible for our recent experiences."

"Full volley?"

"Full volley works."

Both summoned multiple of their weapons, scattering them around their rooftop. Diamond was so genuinely confused, the situation actually stunned him.

"Do you think you can win?" He asked, charging a lightning bolt on his hand. It was a moment after he stopped talking that a flying fist made full-on contact with his chin, coming from below.

Garnet summoned another gauntlet, smiling to herself. Behind her, a stream of water came to push her away, but Connie broke it with Lion and her sword.

Diamond came back to his senses, dazed and irate. His eyes glowed yellow as his fists crackled with electricity.

"This isn't a fight." He said, furious. "You have no chance. If I wanted to, I could just finish you all."

He raised his hands, and Lapis imitated him. Towers of water raised from the street, and the nearby ocean in the horizon. Garnet tried shooting Lapis with her fists, but the water witch simply absorbed the blow with all that she had summoned. Lion roared and opened a portal in front of himself, turning around, picking up Garnet and jumping into it before any attacks had time to connect.

Little Homeworld was flooded with all the water Lapis could muster, and then electrocuted by Diamond's barrage of lightning. Pearly and Zappy watched, horrified, as the water levels rose quickly to the rooftop they were on. They quickly found themselves jumping to an adjacent, taller roof, but the attack didn't seem to want to let go.

Diamond watched them scuttle for safety, switching to Blue's laser bolts. Two dead-aimed ones would be enough for—

And then the sharp pain of a bite interrupted every thought he had, as Lion's weight brought him down through sheer surprise. The animal had teleported above him, biting down on his descent.

Garnet, with Connie on her shoulders, jumped from Lion's back just enough to gain attitude, and came down on his head with both her gauntlets. The sheer force he was hit with would have been enough to crack a weaker Gem. He didn't expect them to go all out, considering Steven was still a part of the package.

Or maybe they assumed the contrary. Maybe it was therapeutic. What really mattered is that Lion was really biting into him, and it was becoming impossible to maintain proper flight. He tumbled down, struggling with the creature to what was now a current of water, rushing through the buildings like a flood.

Light-Lapis stopped feeding the stream, and directly attacked Garnet and Connie. They had landed on top of a small house that was already being drowned by the current. The human girl jumped on top of Garnet's gauntlet, which then became her own flying platform, going straight towards the attacker.

Whatever water barrier Light-Lapis tried putting in-between her and the projectile was quickly decimated by Connie's sword. Before contact, Connie jumped over the blue Gem, slicing downwards as to try to poof her. Lapis managed to put up a shield above her body but was too distracted to dodge the rocket punch. It hit her body in full, making her fall on her own stream of water.

Connie had nowhere to land, so she found herself taking a dive as well. She put the sword on her back and realized, horrified, that there was nowhere she could swim, and that Lapis was now in her element. Within her vision cone, she could see Garnet jumping on the water as well, fists aimed at an almost-drowning Diamond. The villain was still struggling with Lion, who wouldn't let go of his relentless attack.

Diamond was holding the animal's jaws open, but even if he was heartless enough to kill it, the creature was incredibly strong. He was managing his weight enough to not go down into the water, which he knew would make some of his powers practically useless, considering they involved aiming carefully or electrocuting things.

And then came Garnet, and she seemingly didn't care about the terrain difference. Lion bit down on Diamond's hands, and he had to let go of his head. Garnet made her fists almost as large as the animal, and launched them at Diamond at point-blank, crushing him downwards and sinking him like a rock.

Connie found herself being dragged by the current. It got weaker by the second without Light-Lapis' influence. She managed to hold to a flagpole that she knew was several meters above ground level. And then, suddenly, she was holding on for dear life as the water level lowered drastically.

Light-Lapis was behind her, several meters away, raising the water above ground to construct a giant, with her inside of it. The water lowering revealed Diamond with his feet on the ground, cracking the rocks in his efforts to hold Garnet's giant missile with his bare hands. Lion and Garnet landed on the ground by him, and with the absence of water, the perfect Gem's hands turned blue once more.

Lasers shot in rapid succession towards all directions, as he didn't have time to truly aim. Lion roared once again, taking him and Garnet out of harm's way, but not without its cost. The creature was getting tired of running and attacking, and when it landed back on the rooftop the Pearls were stranded on, it stumbled to find its footing.

"Lion, reach Connie and retreat. Get the others here now!" Garnet said, to which the pink creature nodded and roared once again. The portal almost didn't open. "Pearls, keep Lapis busy. She can't reach us."

Zappy and Pearly were already stockpiling their weapons to throw at the hulking mass of water Lapis was hurling towards their position. Garnet jumped high to avoid the ground lasers that were still coming out and landed on the giant rocket-punch that was keeping Diamond down. She only had a few seconds.

In that short time, her gauntlets became covered with blue lightning, which covered the rocket as well. Diamond screamed in agony, losing his footing and facing the explosion in full. She was hurled away herself, unable to really protect her body from the rocket's impact.

The Pearls threw multiple tridents and harpoons at Light-Lapis, which made short work of individual projectiles, but struggled to maintain her form through their volley. She aimed her fist of water at Connie, still stuck on the flagpole, and the human girl knew that short of a miracle, this was the end.

The walking life-saving miracle known as Lion roared behind her just in time to bring the pole down and grab her. The creature's body was hot and static when they landed, which was incredibly weird for her. But if the silence behind Connie meant anything, is that Garnet wasn't going to stop Lapis for them.

"Lion, can you get me near Lapis?" She asked, to a concerned, confused roar from the battle cat. "I have a plan, don't worry!"

He hissed, which, for his size, sounded terrifying. "It's either this or she drowns both of us, we don't have a choice!"

Lion looked at the giant and did whatever the cat equivalent to sighing was. A large roar rumbled through the streets, opening a portal to wherever Connie pointed at. Which happened to be right in front of the giant's center, and Light-Lapis' main control hub.

The clone startled, but not enough to lose her balance. She made a grabbing motion that unleashed two spirals of water, originating right in front of Connie. But the girl expected something like that.

Lion moved his body to throw Connie towards Light-Lapis, sacrificing his safety and being hit in full by the attack. Connie prayed her friends was alright as she sliced through the water body.

Light-Lapis was so close. She was close enough to realize she could lose to a human girl in less than a few seconds, if she didn't do anything. So she did what she knew would work — instead of fighting her directly, she closed the water around Connie, and held her in place with chains. She felt the water separating her from her sword.

Connie was drowning. The last time she'd fought Lapis for real was when she first left the mirror, and this had been the result, as well. The Gem held her with a water bubble and made sure she couldn't move. She was so close; it was so frustrating.

She almost didn't realize Light-Lapis had been crying this whole time.

It was almost imperceptible within the water body, but Lapis was clearly distressed. Her face was a mosaic of sorrow and pain, but her body kept obeying Diamond's wishes immediately. It was like she could do nothing to stop him from killing her friends.

Connie didn't know what to make of that. She didn't know what to do.

And then a harpoon entered the water body right around her open hand. She, of course, didn't hear Zappy and Pearly high fiving to celebrate a good shot. Connie knew what she had to do.

She grabbed the harpoon and struggled enough to pierce Light-Lapis with all her strength. In the clone's last moments, Connie thought she saw her wording something like thank you.

The clone poofed, and the water giant lost all consistency. Connie caught herself thinking that, since it was from that high up, she'd probably feel no pain.

She suddenly felt enveloped by very delicate hands, and her face touched soft fabric that almost felt like it wasn't there. Her deadly fall ended up being a safe, if rough landing, and she found herself grabbing Zappy's body for dear life.

"Thank you!" It sounded silly, but it was the most she could come up with. Her heart was beating too fast.

"You are welcome." Zappy felt too good about herself to really mind how much Connie talked.

"But where's Lion?" Her feet touched the ground, and she looked around in search of her friend.

There was a mass of pink fur laying on the ground nearby. Pearly was right next to Lion, seeing to his wounds the best she could. Connie ran while Zappy turned around and went to grab her sword back.

"Is he okay?" She asked, incredibly worried. Pearly nodded.

"He won't be your steed for a few days, but he should be fine. He's a very good boy." She petted his mane, and he purred, sounding incredibly tired. "Yes, you are."

Pearly's polite demeanor while handling large cats put a smile on Connie's face, but the grunts of effort coming from a nearby crater brought her back to reality.

Zappy approached with her sword, looking in the same direction. Diamond was waking up.

"I'll go." Connie said, grabbing the sword back. No sign of Garnet now that the water had gone away. "There's a bunch of Gems that must have poofed inside their own homes because of that electrical flood they pulled off. Can you girls make sure all their Gems are accounted for? I don't want anyone reforming in a crevice or something."

Pearly nodded, being helped up by Zappy and rushing into the nearest house. Connie didn't say it, but she also knew Diamond was less likely to hunt them down if he couldn't see them. He didn't seem to think too much of them.

The big hole on the ground where Garnet's rocket had exploded wasn't that deep, but Diamond was still a long way away from her while he came back to his senses. His cape was completely gone, and some cuts on his white uniform showed her that, yes, there was still some human aspect to his body, because he could bleed. He had dust and scratches all over, and his massive mane of hair was scraggly and damaged.

Connie slid down to meet him. She had never held her sword so tightly. Pearl taught her not to do that. Stressed her wrist too much. Then again, she didn't think there was anything she could do if Diamond decided to just attack her.

When she stopped moving, they were mere meters away from each other. He blinked as if he had a concussion, but still acknowledged her presence.

"Connie." He said, somewhat wobbly. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"What do you want, Diamond?" She asked, sounding more tired than she intended. "What did you do to our friends?"

"Friends…" He closed his eyes, trying to stand up. He had Steven's bloodied face. "I suppose they're my friends, too. They're in here with me."

Connie brought a fist to her chest. In her mind, she knew she was just posturing. She wasn't going to stab him.

"Just get out of here. Give us back what you took from us and leave us alone." Just sound threatening, Maheswaran, why are you so bad at doing that? "We've beaten you before, we'll do it again!"

Diamond seemingly remembered his own powers, kissed his hand and brought it to his own head. She saw the pink healing sparkles doing their magic all over his brain, and his eyes opened looking much fiercer than before.

"You have hope. I apologize for that." He said, cracking his sore neck.

"You didn't crawl into this crater on your own, Diamond."

"Certainly not. I was ambushed because I felt merciful. And what are you going to do now? Kill me?" He asked, approaching her face. She'd seen Steven's face from this angle so many times, but to feel this much fear at the same time was torture. "You won't even attack. We both know that."

Her grimace was faltering. Was she really that transparent…?

"But… neither will you." She concluded slowly, in a moment of panic and inspiration. "Otherwise I wouldn't be alive right now."

"Hmm." He grumbled, looking around. He took a long pause before continuing. "You beat Lapis. Very impressive. If only you were looking for a job. My bodyguards seem to have unionized."

Connie lowered the sword, exhausted.

"Diamond, please, just—"

"This is not something we simply talk about." He interrupted, irritated. "You have all made perfectly clear that you won't allow me to do what's right. And I have made perfectly clear that I don't care. Lapis, Pearl and Peridot are the first in a great—"

"Pearl? Peridot?! What did you do to them?" She yelled, sword back up.

"They're fine, Connie! They're all fine."

Diamond moved his hand to the side, summoning clones of all three. They were all motionless, and, more than anything, not looking fine. Lapis was still crying. Peridot and Pink Pearl looked like statues, unable to emote.

"Can you really not see how wrong this is…?" Connie asked, shocked.

She approached Lapis, completely ignoring the instinct to not show her back to the enemy. They were almost as tall, at this point. Lapis did not blink. She just kept slowly tearing up.

"Lapis, I'm… I'm so sorry." Connie muttered, touching her friend's face. "I'm so sorry this is happening to you again."

Diamond couldn't believe it when Lapis' hand moved to touch Connie's. He waved his arms again, and the clones disappeared.

"Stop with this nonsense." He barked, upset. "They're fine. That's just… some sort of leftover from their past lives. Over time, they'll…" He stopped, realizing Connie's gaze could pierce rocks. "What, are you going to attack me now?"

His words were trying to be disarming, but he could see that she was considering it. Obviously, it didn't matter, there was no scenario where Connie would kill him, but… he felt it, for a second. He felt incredibly threatened.

It was even more surprising when Connie put her sword down, sliding the blade into the floor like a sword of legend, and approached him. She never blinked.

"Can you even let my friends go?" She asked. "Are they part of you forever, like Steven is?"

The question caught him off guard.

"I don't know." He said, his pitch slightly higher than usual. A shadow of curiosity passed by his eyes. "I haven't tried. I don't think I can. Their Gemstones are gone."

Connie took a deep breath before continuing.

"Diamond, listen to me." She asked. More of a request than begging, but he could feel her desperation, far away from her tone. "Please give us a chance to stop this before it's too late."

"There's nothing to stop, Connie. This is how the future—"

"For the love of God, stop pretending you're so sure." She raised her voice; which he outright didn't think she could do. "If Steven's even one percent of what you are, I know there's conflict in you somewhere."

"There's no conflict in me because I know I'm right." He snarled, trying to ignore a feeling growing behind his head. It was like a stress headache that pierced a specific part of his brain. He couldn't deal with it now. "There's nothing bad about wanting a better world for every Gem!"

"Fine, Diamond, be like that!" She approached even more, at this point yelling. "Then make your Gem Empire, where everyone blindly obeys you! But don't tell me you're not tricking people into going with you! Don't tell me you're not enslaving and using others like they're tools! You think Gems and people are just children you have to take care of, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you'll hear how crazy you sound!"

"Crazy?" He yelled back, offended. "You people destroyed the Gem Empire and I'm crazy? You let White Diamond loose, and I'm crazy?! You told everyone things would be fine with no order, with no law! Gems don't work like that! We need objectives, we need a structure! I'm trying to give us what we need!"

"How? By making them a part of you? Robbing them of their lives?"

"Seeing as Amethyst apparently ruined my first plan, yes!" He opened his arms, frustrated. "If I can't trust Gemkind, then I'll be Gemkind, and I'll make sure everything works this time!"

"Do you seriously not hear how much you sound like White Diamond?!"

"MAYBE SHE HAD A POINT, CONNIE!"

Connie recoiled, frustrated. Diamond's mind was rushing too much to really keep calm. Some sane, logical part of him knew that Connie was not completely wrong. But going back after he'd already pulled the trigger, after he'd already done all of this… illogical was the word that kept coming to mind.

"You don't believe that." She said, looking him straight in the eye.

Stars, the girl was fierce.

"It's not perfect, but one day, it will be." He said, wanting to leave. Diamond's feet left the ground in prelude to his flight. "I'll make it work, and it will all be better."

"Diamond, wait. Don't fly away, just please, listen to me." Connie reached with her hand, which stopped him for a second. "Remember when I said I loved you?"

He looked at her in stunned silence, and utter confusion. Yes, that had been part of their last conversation, but it wasn't…

"I know how it sounded like, and I know we don't see eye to eye. I don't know you that well." She said, pleading. "But it doesn't mean I was lying. You're a part of Steven, you… stayed with me, you tried to make me feel better when I didn't know what was going on. I might not love you like I loved him, but… but I don't hate you, either. I don't have to hate you. We don't have to fight, ever."

He didn't really mean to turn around to face her mid-air, but it happened. This was a whole new experience. He had no idea what to do.

"I want to get to know you." Connie continued, tears in her eyes. "I want to try to be your friend, I want to talk to you more. You… you clearly feel alone, but you don't have to! You made a lot of mistakes, but we can still work through them if you stop before it's too late! That's what this whole town proves! You don't… it's… it's okay to let people in. I know the other Gems told you that, too. That's what we do."

The sound of approaching footsteps signified to him that reinforcements were coming. But he stood them, staring at Connie.

"Steven's never coming back." He said, feeling a heavy weight in his heart. "It doesn't matter how much you want him to. I can't replace him."

"Steven isn't what makes friendship work." She said, crying. "Friendship just works. We can show you. Just please give us a real chance."

He stared at her as if staring at something completely alien. Every word she was saying hit him in an uncomfortable way. Something was missing, he could tell he was supposed to be reacting to this differently…

"Connie!" Amethyst's voice shrieked through the street. "Connie, are you— oh crap."

Diamond turned around, and the band was all there. Pearly held Ruby and Sapphire's Gems on her hands, but Amethyst, Pearl and Bismuth were all waiting for his move. Bismuth didn't seem like she would wait for long.

He looked at Connie one last time.

"I'm sorry, Connie."

And with that, he flew as fast as he could out of there. His heart wasn't getting better. It made him feel odd. The Gems in Little Homeworld would have to wait for their turn.

Peridot choked on sea water.

She awoke frightened in an unknown location; a pink beach with no discernible beginning or end. The sky was full of clouds and the horizon seemed to go on forever. The only sounds were the ocean water washing in and out, as if welcoming her.

What had happened? She was exhausted. Like something took all her focus away.

"You're awake."

Steps on the sand caught her attention. She turned to the side and saw a Pearl approaching, a hideous scar over one of her eyes, the other exuding a motherly gaze that went well with her small smile. She stopped approaching when a few feet away from Peridot.

"Wh…" The engineer's words failed her. Nothing made sense. She felt like she had passed out and woken up a few times already. "Where… are you… was I shattered?"

It was the only thing she could think of, but the sympathetic smile and head tilt the Pearl gave her reassured her of the situation.

"No, no. You are very much alive. May I be with you?"

Pearl pointed to her side. Peridot sat on the sand, scooching away from the water. Pearl kneeled gracefully, never losing eye contact.

"You must have a lot of questions." She started. "Some of them will have to wait, but I promise things will be alright. It might be difficult, but we'll make it through together."

"I remember coming back home." Peridot said, feeling a headache approaching. "There was an alarm, and…" And then it all hit her.

She got up, frightened of her memories.

"Lapis!"

"Yes, yes." Captain Pearl raised her hands as if dealing with a startled kitten. "It's alright. Lapis can't hurt you right now."

"Where am I?! What is this place?" Peridot demanded, looking around. "Is that… is that a house?"

"It's…" Pearl slowly got up, smiling less. "A better word might be tomb. But we are inside Diamond's mind. You seem to have been absorbed by him through some means."

Peridot stared at Pearl as if she'd said something impossible.

"But I fused with… was that not Lapis…?"

"Lapis is here too." Pearl looked over the horizon, as if scanning the sky. "She simply chooses not to come close to us, currently. She has also been through a lot. We will deal with her later."

The ballerina looked at Peridot again, who started to walk towards the house.

"I must ask that you remain with me, for now." Pearl said, approaching. "You won't be allowed near the place, either way. Steven wishes to be alone."

"Steven?" Peridot repeated. "He's okay…?"

Pearl winced. Peridot thought she was going insane, but she could swear the cracks on her face looked larger, for a second.

"No." She confessed. "Despite my best efforts, he has chosen death over bondage."

Peridot didn't care what Pearl said, she just started to run towards the edifice. It was pointless. She watched the beach extend, denying her closure. It was like a nightmare.

"I'm sorry, Peridot." Pearl eventually walked to her side, touching her shoulder.

Peridot turned abruptly, taking Pearl's hand off her. The short one's eyes were filled with sorrow and confusion.

"You keep not telling me what's happening!"

Pearl looked like she genuinely wanted to help. No words came to her.

Around that time, a pillar of light emerged from the house in the distance, piercing the clouds as if to reach for what lied beyond. Peridot's glasses protected her eyes, but Pearl had to avert her gaze somewhat.

After a while, a prism of blinding light came down.

"So, it's time." Pearl said to herself. "Steven is calling him down. We must go. I will leave you somewhere safe."

"Go?"

Peridot didn't resist her hand being gripped. Pearl guided her away from the house like a child.

"Where are we going? Who's coming…?"

"Somewhere I can control. Steven taught me how it's supposed to work. But I must leave you once we arrive." Pearl said, short. "Diamond is here."

"What…?" Diamond said, his vision blurred. One minute he was flying, the other he was… where?

It looked like the Pink Room, but it was different. The clouds were still in the expected shade, but the ground looked and felt like a beach. The sound of waves washing out sand overwhelmed the senses, yet there wasn't a single bird or other sound.

He was lying down on the sand, as if he had been stranded there. His limbs felt heavy, but he managed to get up just fine. The Pink Beach extended over the horizon, nothing but an infinite shore.

Diamond scanned his environment and found the Temple's house, right under what he could only assume was the Light of the Diamonds. The house existed without its signature mountain. The door was facing him, even if the building was relatively far.

He tried flying, but his powers failed him. Whatever this was, he was not in control. Not much else he could do, since no exit seemed to exist. Diamond got up and walked, wondering what this was all about.

The door was not locked, and it offered no resistance when he opened it. Inside the house a kitchenette with a desk, an empty chair, and Steven Universe were not exactly what he expected, but it made some sense. Steven was sitting on the other end of a family dining table.

The boy looked calm. He was looking at Diamond with a serene expression, his hands together on top of the table.

"Hi, Diamond." He said. "Take a seat."

Diamond stood on the doorstep, unsure of whether he was safe or not. As soon as he decided to move, the door closed behind him, almost hitting Diamond on the back.

"Sorry about that." Steven said, not looking very sorry. "I'm a bit jumpy."

Diamond looked around. The house hadn't been properly replicated. There was no second floor, Warp pad, or much of anything. It was just the living room and a bar kitchen.

"What is this, Steven?" Diamond asked. "What do you want from me?"

The room seemed to writhe for a second, as if it were made of some living mass that reacted to its environment. Things changed color, size and emitted a wild hum that made Diamond think he was about to get into a fight.

And as suddenly as it started, it was gone. Steven did not seem to mind.

"Please." Steven pointed at the chair in front of him. "I want to talk to you."

Diamond almost shrugged, but ultimately complied. The chair was too small for him, and the table touched his legs.

"I figured it out, Diamond." Steven said, letting his expression soften a bit. "I finally understand."

"Understand what?"

"Why things have been so tense between us. Why you do these horrible things. Why I'm even alive, right now." Steven smiled, but Diamond noticed a hint of anxiety in his voice. "It's my fault."

Diamond didn't even know how to respond to that. Steven was usually the emotive one. This calm, sterile version of his mortal companion was disturbing.

"My decisions are my own. You have done nothing." He said, trying to figure out what this was all about. "If you're feeling guilty for the other Gems, I…"

"No." Steven raised his hand, back to seriousness. "I feel guilty because you needed me, and I wasn't there for you."

Diamond could feel the beat in the air when he paused before answering.

"Steven, you're here for me at all times. I consult with you constantly."

"Not the way you need me to."

A knock on the door, perfectly synchronized to Steven's words. Diamond looked back to find Pink Pearl entering the room, looking as composed as ever.

"Pearl." He said, unsure of how to act. "I wondered if you were here."

She ignored him, walking with her hands behind her back to the side of the table.

"I'm ready," the human said.

Steven grabbed her hand, which made her take a deep breath. She offered her other hand to Diamond. The villain looked at her completely bewildered.

"Do it." Pink Pearl said, monotone. Diamond touched her hand, and—

All of it came crashing down on his mind.

Like a bolt of lightning hitting his head, his environment acquired a different tone of color. The sensation of the table touching his body, the texture of Pearl's skin against his, the smell of the Beach away from the house… the salt in the air, the things he had done, the things he wanted to do… for the first time in his life, Diamond felt not only himself, not only the world, but he truly felt. He appreciated it, he understood it, he— he hated it, he hated himself, he had done so much—

It was only a few seconds. He stopped touching Pearl immediately, backing away and knocking the chair behind him.

"What is this?" He demanded, his blood pressure rising. "What did you do?"

"Diamond, that's what it was supposed to be like." Steven said, getting up. "That's what I was supposed to have become. Your feelings."

He looked at the human like he'd just told him the sky was solid.

"I have emotions." Diamond tried arguing, turning on his problem-solving skills. "I can feel. Any measly Gem can… this is ridiculous, I'm completely fine."

"No, you're not." Steven approached. "You know what feelings are. You understand them like you'd understand a show, or a character you can play. Some of them might even leak out from me and hit you. But they're not a part of you. They're separate, like you can just use them whenever you want. That's not how things are supposed to work."

"That's... this is stupid; Pearl, tell him what he's saying makes no sense." Diamond said, suddenly unsure if Pearl cared about what he said in this dimension.

"Steven is simply pointing out the basics of fusion, My Diamond." She said, disdainful. "All participants of the process become crucial parts of a whole, the sum being more than the elements themselves. The fact that he is here talking to you means that you have assimilated him as much as you have assimilated us. In other words, not completely."

Steven stepped right in front of Diamond, looking straight into his eyes. Diamond's every survival instinct was telling him to leave. The boy never looked this intimidating, regardless of Steven not threatening him.

"Every decision you've made so far has been about results. Everything you took from the Diamonds were their traits, their thought processes. But you're not just a Diamond. You're me, too."

His expression was a sorrowful one, but ultimately resolute.

"Think about it. You clearly like me. You like Lapis, Connie, and Gemkind. Why would you treat people you love like you have? Like they're just things you can use?"

Diamond struggled not to take a step back.

"You know you're supposed to do something with them. You know they're supposed to make your life better. You just don't know what that's meant to be."

"So what, Steven?" He asked, trying to defuse. "Say I believe you, and you're somehow the missing piece to my soul. Did you just call me here to tell me I'm incomplete? To shame me in front of my subjects?"

"Pearl, I can take it from here. Please go wait outside." Said Steven, ignoring Diamond's questions.

She nodded, moving away from the table. She took one last look at Diamond. Any pretense of chivalry was gone.

"I'll always know who you are right now, Diamond." She said, earning a look from Steven. "I'll never forget what you've done, even if the others forgive you. Even if the whole world forgives you. I want you to know that I will never have to do such a thing. Even if you force me, you will never truly speak to me again."

He followed her with his eyes. Pearl closed the door behind herself, and Steven and Diamond were alone.

"What is the point of this, Steven…?" Diamond asked, trying to relax around his counterpart. "Why are you doing any of this?"

Steven closed his eyes and took a big breath.

"Because this can't continue, Diamond. We can't keep living like this."

"We've done perfectly fine so far."

Steven didn't dignify that with an answer. Instead, he approached and hugged Diamond.

A trace of affection seemed to transfer from the boy to the Gem. Diamond's heart grew louder inside his chest, as if he'd been made aware of what was keeping him alive. This felt… strange. Ominous. Nostalgic. Like something about that hug was incredibly familiar, yet so far away in the past he couldn't quite pinpoint when it happened.

"Steven?" Diamond asked, although he instinctively hugged Steven back. "Why are you crying?"

The human looked up, tears in his eyes and a smile on his face.

"I'm saying goodbye. I'm sorry I took so long."

Diamond's eyes widened.

"Wait, Steven, what are you going to do?"

Steven let him go, and he felt a push in his mind. He was being kicked out.

The Light of the Diamonds was outside, at ground level. Suddenly, he knew. Immense horror hit him all at once.

"Steven, wait. Wait!" He asked. He begged. "Don't— wait! Stop pushing me out! Steven!"

"I can't keep watching you ruin your life, Diamond." Steven said, smiling. "I'm gonna give you what you're missing. I think you're right. Together, nothing can stop us."

The boy walked out of the house. The Light of the Diamonds shined so bright, Diamond couldn't even see. It all looked so distant. Steven walked towards the prism of light, almost touching it.

"They're good people. They're all so good. I love them so much." Steven said, crying. He never stopped smiling. "I think they'll love you, too."

"Steven! No!" He almost couldn't see. Everything was going back. He felt heavier and heavier. "Don't do anything! Please! Don't leave me alone!"

Diamond woke up, face down on real sand, like he'd just had a horrible nightmare.

He was hyperventilating. He was going to throw up and pass out. Everything felt wrong. The worst sense of panic and looming dread he had ever felt.

Steven was going to die.

Steven breathed for one last time. It wasn't real air, but it would have to do. If he was going to do this, he might as well do it when thinking of something nice.

Connie. Greg. Garnet. Amethyst. Pearl.

Steven Universe walked forward towards his last act of kindness.

Take care, everyone.