They settled into the ship carefully, one after the other.

Lars paused by the control panel at first, typing something into it to bring up a few more seats so that everyone could settle inside. Steven stood for a while, watching as the others bunkered down; Berry eventually took Bismuth's place at the control panel, herself, and Lars retreated to a chair in the center of the ship, crossing one leg over the other and watching with a frown as the Ruby lifted them back up into the air and sent them flying again. Steven looked out the window for a moment, just staring, and frowned. For just a second, he was reminded of the trip to the Pyrope Colony, going back and forth on ships as they fought… none of this was easy, he noted. Every little thing reminded him of the one battle he'd been in, a week's worth of non-stop fighting. Most of his anxiety had been effectively churned into anger and determination, but a lot of it, he noticed, had gone frighteningly numb. A part of him wanted to fight more than anything. The rest of him, he found, wished with every facet in his gem that he didn't have to.

He continued to stare, continued standing. Lemon Lime settled in on Berry's other side, watching her run her fingers over the control panel to steer the ship. Poppy ended up wandering forward to stand on the Ruby's other side, peering over her shoulder to watch her without quite getting close enough to touch. "You're pretty good at that," she commented suddenly, and Berry jumped, pupils shrinking, and glanced to the side to look back at her. "I don't know how to pilot."

Berry paused, calming down before she'd even had a chance to get riled up over being startled. Steven couldn't help but smile for a moment as he watched her cheeks flush, a darker shade of red dusting across her face as she tore her gaze away again. "It's not hard. Quite simple, really."

"Maybe you could teach me sometime?" Poppy offered. "When we're not in mortal peril."

Berry snorted and rolled her eyes, but Steven caught the corners of her lips tugging upwards, though it didn't quite form a smile just yet. She just shrugged, looking ahead. "Yeah… maybe."

Steven exhaled, finally relaxing enough to take a seat beside Clementine. He looked up again when a bright blue glow suddenly enveloped the ship, briefly overshadowing the green; his gaze fell on Aqua's gem, cradled carefully in Poppy's hands, and the Ruby immediately stepped back and opened them up a little so that the gem could rise up into the air, spinning as they reformed. Steven watched carefully, intently, save for a few glances toward the windshield every now and then, until the gem had finally reformed completely and landed, ever so carefully, on their feet. They looked just about the same, he noted, except their outfit. Their shoulders were left uncovered, the sleeves curving inwards until they reached just above their elbows. Their skirt was cut off in the front, as well, now more so looking like a cape that hooked around their waist. They still had what resembled the shape of a diamond at the top of their outfit, close to their neck, but Steven noted that there was also a star printed across their left hip, colored blue.

Their hair turned white the moment they formed, which slowly melted into orange when they got a good look around. Poppy, looking relieved, wasted no time in grabbing the gem and pulling them into a hug, much to Aqua's surprise; Steven watched for a moment, eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you okay?" Poppy pulled back, hands on Aqua's shoulders, and checked them over.

Aqua blinked, looking up at her, then turned to look around. Their bewildered gaze tracked everything, from Lars, to Garnet, to Fluorite and Padparadscha, and then back to Berry. They blinked a few times, eyebrows slowly pinching together, and turned back to the Ruby; the orange in their hair finally faded back to its neutral grey, but the confusion didn't leave their eyes. "I'm… fine? What happened?" They looked around again, worried. "What's going on?" Steven, admittedly, tuned them out for the most part as Poppy began explaining the situation to the poor gem, straightening up in his seat and peering ahead at the windshield for a moment. He did, however, hear Melanite's name get dropped, and couldn't keep himself from narrowing his eyes in time. That gem. That gem was going to pay for what she'd done - Steven was going to make sure of it. They were all going to make sure of it. He couldn't wait to see her bubbled.

Or, he thought, as his gaze flicked toward Clementine for a moment, taking in her stony expression as the Jasper glared out the windshield, whatever punishment she might deserve. As long as she's brought to justice… He curled his fingers against his shirt, pressing against his gem lightly, and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Then I don't care what they do with her.

The hybrid took a deep breath, leaning his head back, and frowned as another thought occurred to him. He allowed his eyes to flick toward Bismuth, who had taken her seat beside Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, on the other side of the ship. As much as he wanted to go sit with them, he found an odd sense of comfort in being closer to Clementine. Again, he was starkly reminded of the trip to the Pyrope Colony, seated beside Tangerine with Clementine and Mandarin behind them. Once again, he found himself wishing Tangerine was there. And Agate and Sage. The hybrid sighed, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment, then leaned forward.

"Bismuth," he called, and the rainbow-haired gem turned in his direction, raising her eyebrows expectantly with a warm, genuine smile on her face. "Did you see Melanite's Breaking Point?"

Bismuth blinked, looking confused for a moment, and then understanding. "Didn't'cha see that scythe she was holding? That was the Breaking Point." Steven froze for a second at that, startled. It hadn't made any sense to him before, why she had a scythe instead of the weapon he'd been shown so long ago. It didn't resemble a Breaking Point at all. And it also meant, even more disappointingly, they wouldn't be able to get it from her. "Which is why everyone needs to be careful," Bismuth added suddenly, glancing around the ship. "That thing is more deadly than a regular weapon. One slash from that… jeez, it could probably cut you in half. Your gem, too."

"Definitely," Clementine mumbled, and Steven's heart sank at what that implied.

"Well, that makes things harder," the hybrid finally mumbled, biting the inside of his cheek. "I still don't understand why… why she's here. Why she wants me to come back to Homeworld. Why…" He shook his head, baffled, and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to think.

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense," Berry chimed.

Silence fell for a moment, tense and contemplative, and then Lars spoke. Steven blinked his eyes open, turning toward the pink human as he listened. "How many gems did she bring?"

Steven furrowed his eyebrows, exchanging a glance with the others. Amethyst frowned, narrowing her eyes faintly, and Garnet adjusted her visor and leaned forward in her seat. "A full platoon. More than we've got," she added, and Steven twisted his mouth sharply, frowning. Lars narrowed his eyes, looking thoughtful, as Garnet sat back in her seat and went on, "we don't know how many she brought with her. That was only the one ship," the fusion added quickly. "But we didn't see any others…" She looked toward Bismuth, who shook her head slightly.

"Then she only brought whoever she could spare," Lars mumbled after a few seconds. "They're still fighting Homeworld. There's enough rebels to fuel about a hundred battalions, but if she didn't even bring a full battalion…" He lifted a hand, rubbing it over his mouth, and looked up. "It really… doesn't make sense why she's here. She's a bitch, for sure, but she's not the kind of bitch to just up and abandon her own army in the middle of a war. She's usually the first on the field." Steven narrowed his eyes a little at that, glancing away. Yeah, he knew that. She'd been on the field, after all, on the Pyrope Colony - even when Blue Diamond herself wouldn't fight.

"Well, you heard her when she first arrived. She thinks you're Rose Quartz," Candy began, and Steven lifted his gaze again, running his tongue over his lips. "And they had an argument, right? About the Diamond thing… but then you ended up on Homeworld, and she knew that. Maybe she thinks now there's a chance that you'll join her in helping take the Diamonds down."

It sounded plausible enough, and yet… Steven let his gaze trail toward Pearl for a moment, watching the pale gem sink back and fold her hands over her mouth, eyes falling to the floor. He let his gaze linger for a while before he replied to Candy. "I don't know. Something's not… right. Even if that was the case, I… I still don't get it. It wouldn't make any sense for her to come all the way here just to try and get me on her side. Not when the Diamonds were supposedly her first priority." He gestured slightly at nothing in particular, rolling his shoulders back with a frown.

"Then maybe she's working with the Diamonds now," Connie suggested. "She's all about deals, right? Maybe she struck a deal with them. Bring you back and get something back in return."

Bismuth scoffed at that. "Melanite would sooner shatter her own gem than work with them."

"Whatever the case," Clementine cut in with a scowl, finally tearing her gaze away from the windshield to look back at them. "She just brought the war here. And it doesn't matter what she wants you on Homeworld for." Her gaze sought Steven's out, meeting his eyes steadily, and the hybrid inclined his head in a silent agreement as he studied her expression. "What does matter is taking her down. Your pink human friend's right, she doesn't even have a full battalion now." The Jasper paused and frowned, knitting her eyebrows together. "The only thing to do is fight. So, we fight. And we show that coprolite that we're not afraid of her fancy little army."

"Coprolite?" Steven couldn't help but grin a little despite himself at that, while both Berry and Candy whistled and laughed, seeming just as pleasantly surprised by the insult. "Nice one."

Clementine smirked a little then, a brief flicker of amusement entering her gaze. "Thank you."

"And you're right," the hybrid continued, looking away to glance around the ship again. "Whatever she wants, she's not gonna get it. What matters most of all right now is neutralizing the threat, right? We've evacuated Beach City. We're outnumbered, but we've still got a chance if we play our cards right." He closed his eyes again for a moment, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. The others hummed their agreement in response as Steven struggled to think. "We can do this," he muttered, mostly to himself, and blinked his eyes open again with a soft sigh. "We don't have a choice. We're doing this. We just need to figure out what to do right now." He glanced toward Rhodonite, then the Rutile twins gems, and frowned. "Once everyone's here."

Lion came up beside him, resting his head over the hybrid's lap, and Steven gently carded his fingers through the pink beast's mane as he leaned his head back and gazed toward the windshield. Peridot was the next one to speak up, sounding determined. "You know, we're not too outnumbered… and even so… they caught us by surprise, sure, but we're still capable. There's still plenty of us. At least enough to do some damage. So this isn't entirely hopeless."

"That's the spirit," Lars agreed, sitting up and leaning forward. "So-" He stopped mid-sentence, and Steven lifted his gaze from Lion to look over at him, momentarily concerned. But, following his gaze, he relaxed almost immediately; the Rutile twins were finally starting to reform. The hybrid ran his fingers through Lion's mane again as he watched, and Lars perked up while Rhodonite released the gem to let it float into the air and stepped back to give them some room. They landed a bit clumsily when they did finally reform, stumbling slightly on their feet, and Steven grinned to himself as he got a good look at their new outfit. The left one wore red, with half of a black star on the front, and the right one wore black with the other half of the star, which, of course, was red. They stood still for a second, looking shocked, and exchanged a glance before looking up toward Lars when the pink human raised a hand. "Welcome back."

Rhodonite practically threw herself forward to hug them, and both twins squeaked as they lifted their arms to hug her back, looking startled. "Thank the stars, I thought you'd never come back!"

"Never come back?" One of the twins echoed, perplexed.

"Of course we came back," the other replied, bewildered. "What's going on?"

"We were attacked!" Rhodonite rushed to explain, pulling away, and the Rutile twins' eyes widened as they exchanged another glance, looking horrified. "Melanite and the others - some of the others, anyway - they crashed in - literally - and ambushed us, and we had to retreat-"

From her seat, Padparadscha gasped, "the twins are about to reform!"

"Thanks, Padparadscha," Lars called, steepling his fingers under his chin. Steven chuckled.

"Wow…" The twins frowned, glancing at each other again, then looked around. "Is everyone…"

"... okay?"

"We got out alive," Rhodonite conceded nervously.

Steven nodded, settling his hands over his knees as Lion lifted his head from his lap and moved over to Connie, and leaned forward again with a sigh. "Speaking of getting out alive… we should check on the city first, make sure everyone's out," he began, biting the inside of his cheek. Berry let out a quiet grunt of agreement, shifting her hands to turn the ship around, and Steven, after watching for a few seconds, ended up pushing himself up to walk over to her. He took a seat beside Lemon Lime, looking down at the control panel but not touching it. "So, uh…" He hesitated, shooting a glance at Berry out of the corner of his eye. "Do you have a plan?"

"No." Berry stared ahead for a moment, eyes unreadable behind her visor. She lowered her head, some of her curls falling in front of her face briefly, and Steven saw her fingers curl slightly before she forced them to relax again and shifted her hands once more, bringing the ship higher. Steven bit the inside of his cheek as she continued, "but now we can make one. This isn't going to be pretty. It might not be hopeless, but the odds aren't exactly in our favor."

Despite himself, Steven let out a quiet laugh and gazed out the windshield, looking at the sky. "They never are." He twisted his mouth, thinking.

Lemon Lime drummed his fingers against part of the control panel, far enough away from the buttons so he wouldn't disturb anything. After a few seconds, he piped up, "I mean, is there a point in planning? You always say that there's no time to think in a battle. It's all action," he reminded Berry, and the Ruby inclined her head slightly in agreement, raising her eyebrows.

"Would you have us rush in blind?"

"No," Lemon Lime countered, frowning. "But are we blind? We know Melanite has a Breaking Point. And she's the biggest threat right now, isn't she? She didn't bring that many gems."

Steven narrowed his eyes, flicking his gaze over the clouds. "Angel Quartz was there."

Berry startled a little at that, and the ship jerked a little - the collective shouts from Rhodonite, the Rutile twins and Aqua made him wince - but the Ruby managed to get it under control for the most part again before she whirled her head in Steven's direction. "What? Angel Quartz?"

"And the ones that were with her before," Steven added, gazing at the sky for a moment longer before turning his attention back to the other two. "I bubbled Candy Cane, and… I saw Cherry Quartz just before we retreated. She took Angel Quartz's gem after I poofed her and ran." He ran his tongue over his lips and scowled for a moment, eyebrows pinching together. Berry glanced at him, an almost disbelieving expression on her face, then looked ahead again. "But I don't get it. I saw them on Homeworld. They were rejuvenated. I re-trained some of them."

Amethyst piped up before Berry could reply, sounding curious, "you trained gems?"

"Rejuvenated rebels, from the battle," Steven replied vaguely, frowning to himself now.

Berry shook her head. "Melanite could have used the fighting as a distraction to retrieve them." Steven glanced at her at that, and Berry frowned. "Rejuvenation isn't… one hundred percent."

Steven let out a quiet hum and sighed, glaring out the windshield for a moment. He rubbed his hands over his knees, thinking Lemon Lime's words over. He couldn't… disagree, really. He was right. After all, they couldn't stay on the run forever. They had to go back and face her again. They knew the threat they were facing, they understood the risks, they knew what to look for. Who to look for, even. Angel Quartz was a formidable opponent, and the rebels weren't exactly awful on the field, but… Steven would be honest, most of their strength, he thought, came from numbers. And their excessive use of explosives. Which he could only hope they didn't have… the point was, maybe the odds weren't in their favor, but they weren't too against them yet.

He took a deep breath and looked down, catching sight of the city below. He didn't say anything for a while after that, just took a silent note of how… barren the town was, so empty and lifeless. Doors to some buildings were left open, as if the citizens had rushed out in a panic without thinking. His stomach twisted a little at the thought; he knew how terrified they must be. He hated that they had to deal with these things to begin with; they were only human, after all.

"Looks like it's empty," Berry said quietly after a while.

Garnet leaned forward, staring out, and pursed her lips. "Look."

Steven trailed his gaze to where she was pointing, up at the cliffside, where the lighthouse was. Melanite's ship was parked just beside it, turned to look over the beach and the temple. Steven narrowed his eyes slightly, and Berry let out a quiet growl as she moved a hand forward over the control panel, sending them flying toward the cliff. She looped them around it, however, swooping down low toward the sand for a second before rising back up again and turning to face the temple. Steven peered down at the statue for a moment, then lifted his gaze to the ship, a good distance away from them now. It rumbled to life almost at once, lifting slightly from where it sat, a piece of the broken fence dangling from the bottom before it fell into the sand.

The ship moved forward, and Steven paused, watching the ends of the wings on each side glow as they summoned large, flickering masses of bright, white-hot energy. Berry stiffened, just for a second, and pushed her hand up against the control panel, moving them up just in time as a beam of light shot from Melanite's ship, just barely missing the bottom of the Sun Incinerator.

"Bitch," Berry hissed. "You wanna play dirty?"

"Go Berry," Lemon Lime encouraged, though he scrambled out of his seat and backed away. Steven leaned forward a little, undaunted, as Melanite prepared to blast at them again. Berry swooped forward, diving down and leaning the ship to the side to avoid another blast, and looped them back around to dive and take shelter under the temple gem's hand. She was quick to move them again, however, seeing another beam of energy rocketing toward them; she ended up bringing them higher into the sky, while Steven heard the familiar, unmistakable sound of stone snapping and crumbling, as the last remaining hand of the statue crashed in the sand.

A rush of pure fury flooded Steven's system, stomach twisting with rage, both freezing cold and scorching hot. But Melanite seemed more than satisfied, because after a second's pause, the ship suddenly lowered down to land in the sand just in front of where the broken hand had landed. Steven watched, furious, and Berry brought the ship to a stop, hesitating for a second. Then Garnet stood, reaching up to adjust her visor, and lifted her chin. "Land the ship," she ordered, and Berry glanced back at her. "She wants a confrontation. So let's confront her."

Berry nodded, narrowing her eyes, and landed the ship across from Melanite's, still with a good stretch of distance between them. Steven pushed himself back and stood up, turning away.

Candy walked over to open the door while Clementine joined Steven. "I want to shatter her."

"I wouldn't hold it against you," Steven replied honestly.

"Everyone ready?" Candy called, and Steven glanced back. One by one, the gems summoned their weapons; Connie drew her sword, Lion standing steady at her side. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot and Bismuth stood ready with their weapons. Berry summoned her knuckles, and Lemon Lime, after a second's hesitation, reached up and summoned his bow from his gem, holding it tightly in one hand while the other one fiddled with the collar of his uniform. Steven summoned his scythe as Clementine summoned her mallet, and Spinel already had her scythe ready as she made her way forward to stand beside them. The off-colors followed suit with their weapons, and Lars stood from his seat, drawing his sword, and looked back over his shoulder.

"Fluorite, stay here with Padparadscha."

"Aye… aye… captain…"

"We're ready," Berry called. Connie stepped forward, making her way to Steven's other side, and the hybrid spared her a glance and a hesitant smile before rooting his eyes to the door. Candy summoned her fan blades, holding them in one hand and pressing the other to the panel, then stepped back and shifted her grip to hold them with both hands as the door hissed open.

"Friends!" Melanite called pleasantly. "I was starting to think I'd scared you off for good."

Steven scowled, knitting his eyebrows together, and moved forward to leave the ship. The others filed out quickly behind him, one after the other; Melanite raised her eyebrows, smirking as she glanced them over from where she stood in front of her ship, and her eyes lingered on him for a few seconds as she cocked her head to the side and pulled her lips into a toothy grin. Behind her, on either side of the ship, stood the rebels; gems of all colors and sizes, holding all different sorts of weapons. Angel Quartz stood at Melanite's right side, idly twirling her pickaxe. Cherry Quartz was on Melanite's left side, tossing her dagger up and catching it by the handle.

There were so many of them. Steven forced himself to stand tall and steady, trying to appear undaunted, but despite knowing they still had a chance, he knew not to underestimate them.

He knew not to underestimate her.

"Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot." Melanite sighed and smirked, summoning her scythe. She lifted it up behind her head, holding both ends, and lightly hooked the handle around the back of her neck as she went on casually, "maybe I was a bit overzealous, and I'm sorry for that! I kind of lost my gem there for a second, I'll admit. I was wrong. Talking is more your thing, isn't it?" Her gaze lingered on Steven for a moment, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, let's talk," Clementine sneered. "Let's talk about why I shouldn't shatter you right now."

Melanite paused then, eyes straying toward the Jasper. A glimmer of recognition finally crossed her face, after a few seconds of staring, and the corners of her lips tugged upwards into a pleased smile as she tilted her head. "Say… I remember you…" Clementine stiffened at this, and Steven jerked his shoulders back. "You're the gem that other pretty little Jasper called out to, aren't you? 'Clementine'? Yeah! Remember? She squealed your name just before I put-"

"That's enough!" Steven yelled, watching Clementine out of the corner of his eye for a moment. The Jasper's expression spasmed, mixtures of pain and grief and anger flickering across her features, and it was a wonder she hadn't lunged and attacked yet. "I'd advise you to shut up."

"Ooh." Melanite grinned, looking back at him. "Okay, your royal highness."

Steven took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Stars, the fury he felt toward these gems. And Melanite in particular just seemed to know exactly what buttons to press to drive all of them insane. He shifted a little where he stood, adjusting his grip on his scythe, while Melanite just let out a sigh and crossed forward a few steps. The hybrid bared his teeth and growled, a low, animalistic sound - and he heard Lion do the same, actually - but the gem didn't appear fazed. "Look, there's no need to get feisty," she called. "At all! I already told you, I'm willing to strike a deal. And if I were you…" Her face split into a grin again, cold and empty, as she glanced them over, and Steven rolled his shoulders back. "I'd reconsider. You don't want me as a problem, dear. Sooo…" She looked back at Steven expectantly, winking. "Ready to book your flight? One-way ticket to Homeworld, babyface, and your friends can stay here safe and sound."

"Well, as much as I appreciate such a generous offer, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline all the same," Steven retorted, and took a brief moment of satisfaction in watching Melanite's smile waver, just for a second. "You've got no right coming to my planet demanding anything from-"

"Your planet?" Melanite cut him off, and Steven startled a little at the amount of venom in her voice, existing in such stark contrast to the false sweetness her tone usually held that it took him a few seconds to realize that he may have just genuinely pissed her off. The pleasure that flushed through him, churning through his chest and stomach and making his spine tingle in response, was almost as terrifying as seeing the grin on her face melt into a cold, dangerous scowl, the morbid amusement in her eyes replaced with contempt. "Darling, let's get one thing straight. I was made here long before the Earth was yours. Make no mistake…" She lowered her scythe and stepped forward again, lifting her chin and narrowing her eyes down at him. Steven simply stared at her, meeting her dark gaze steadily. "The Earth was my planet first."

Steven narrowed his eyes, peering up at her through his lashes, and stepped forward. "Well, it's my planet now. And you already made yourself our problem the moment you stepped foot on it. So let's skip the deals and the villain monologuing and the whole back and forth thing." He glanced past her, fixing his gaze on the other rebels for a moment, and met Angel Quartz's eyes briefly before he looked back at Melanite. "Actions speak louder than words, right, darling?"

Melanite stared at him, an almost blank expression on her face. Then, finally, she just smiled, devoid of humor, devoid of the fake sweetness she'd been displaying, and raised a hand.

"Right," she replied, and the rebels attacked.

Steven spun his scythe, summoned his shield, and the Crystal Gems lunged.