And now, having thoroughly savored all of the delicious suspense you gave, it's finally time to reveal the answers!

Once he was out of Lion's mane, Steven went to his house to lie down only to see what used to be his bedroom strewn about the rubble. He walked past the other Crystal Gems as they tried to catch him up to speed or congratulate him on a job well done. It took Connie running up to him to get him to stop moving.

"Steven, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I did…" he whispered, his eyes still staring a thousand yards ahead. Connie tried to get him to elaborate even as he trudged past her and eventually walked over to It's a Wash where Greg's van was still parked. He hopped himself into the driver's seat and let all of the exhaustion from the day take over him and passed out.

What he wanted was not sleep. He wanted a quiet place where he could have a nice, very long chat with his mother. It took no time at all for the former rebel leader to appear before him looking very guilty.

"Steven," she said, "Look, I'm sorry it took so long but-"

"Hold on," he said before looking down at a spot beneath his feet in the white void around the two. Thinking that this was more or less a dream, he figured he could manipulate the area into whatever he wanted and so made a replica of his bed appear. He simply one of his pillows over his face before screaming as loud as he could. The world around him shook and Rose cringed as her son's shout went on for a full minute before finally stopping.

"Sorry," he said, now sounding much more relaxed, "Didn't want to do that in front of the others. Now... go on."

"Okay, this is going to take a long time. Guess it's for the best you got comfy…"

Rose then summoned a chair for herself, sat down and finally got to her story. "It all started about 800 years in the rebellion. Both sides were at a constant stalemate. Even I couldn't tell you how many losses both sides had sustained. This was not long after I sealed away Bismuth over our dispute over the Breaking Point. I felt horrible lying to the rest that Bismuth perished in battle, but it motivated me to end the conflict in my own way. I decided to start spying on Pink Diamond personally."

"Really? How'd you do that?"

"Well, Pink refused to let the other diamonds help for the longest time. Once word got out to them, she sent false reports downplaying how serious my forces were. I started sending a few small squads of Crystal Gems to scout around for Pink's base and it turns out her spaceship was parked right in the middle of a desert."

"Was it hard to find?"

"Considering it was a massive pair of neon pink legs sitting in miles of yellow sand…"

"You mean… That place you stored all of your stuff was-?!"

"Yes, the whole time it was her ship. Since it turned out to be so easy to find, and it had no patrols or guards whatsoever, I soon found myself trying to get inside."

As Rose kept talking, her mind soon started drifting and the dreamscape around them responded. Soon the white void was replaced with the metallic interior of the massive vessel and Steven and Rose moved with the vision. The bed and chair moved them through the monochromatic hallways until they both came into the inside a large central chamber. On a raised set in the back wall of the room sat a throne with Pink Diamond herself and a matching pearl dutifully standing next to her.

Having never seen an image of Pink Diamond before, he was taken aback. Her appearance, however, was not the surprising part. Her being twenty-five feet tall, her rather loud getup that reminded Steven of a ballet dancer or those same black diamond pupils that looked identical to the others barely fazed him. No, the surprising part to him was that she was slouching in her chair and flicking through holo-screens with a face that screamed she was bored out of her mind.

"My Diamond," spoke the pearl next to her, "Yellow Diamond is waiting on the prognosis of your Beta Kindergarten."

"Hm?" the diamond said, not even looking at her, "Oh, tell her it's fine… Whatever."

"Surprised, aren't you?" said Rose, snapping the boy out of the memory that he was watching on his stomach from his bed.

"Yeah. I mean, I only heard about Pink from Jasper and I just guessed she was… Well…"

"Exactly like the other diamonds?"

"Pretty much."

"Trust me, it isn't as bad as my reaction. Just look."

Steven turned his head towards the entrance to see another version of Rose Quartz enter through the same hallway. Unlike the one in front of her, this one was dressed in full plate-armor and had her sword in its scabbard strapped to her back. The boy quickly realized he was looking at his mother at the time as she infiltrated the ship. He also noticed how her eyes were darting around all over the place and was sidling along the walls until Pink Diamond spotted her.

"Can I help you?" she asked Rose, still flicking through the screens even as her eyes were on the new gem in the room. The other Rose, meanwhile, looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Um… Never mind!" Past Rose panicked as she immediately ran away clear out of the ship. The present version of the mother just put her face in her hands while Steven had to resist giggling.

"That was it?" he asked, "That was the first time you met Pink?"

"Unfortunately. I mean, you've seen what the other diamonds are like! Did you honestly expect someone like that to be heading the invasion of Earth?"

"Nope! But what happens next?"

The landscape around them answered for them. It showed the other copy of Rose pacing around her room, now back in her usual attire, as she went over the brief encounter in her mind. Her muttering was lost on Steven so present Rose filled him in.

"Basically, I assumed this must have been some kind of trap. I mean, I only had a vague idea of what Pink Diamond looked like so maybe this was all some ruse? The war went on for about another 80 years before I tried again."

Time flashed forward again this time showing Rose walking much more calmly into Pink's ship, but still dressed in her armor. Steven and his mother both watched as this time she entered to find the apathetic diamond looking more frazzled. Her already fluffy was in even more disarray and her pearl looked similarly stressed.

"My Diamond… I hate to inform you of this, but I'm obligated to say that Blue Diamond wants to have a conference call about the latest skirmish with the rebels. She's concerned with how many gems are being lost in combat."

"NO!" the diamond shouted, "I mean, tell her that it was a mineral defect or something! That's a thing, right?"

"Perhaps, but Yellow Diamond scanned this planet personally for you when you said you wanted a colony. She claimed it had among the highest purity of gestational resources she had seen in this sector of this galaxy."

"ARGH! I don't care! Just make up something!"

"Yes, My Diamond!"

The pearl scuttled off to cobble some excuse as Pink Diamond slammed her head back against her seat. She tried to focus on something her holo-screen was displaying, but it was apparent she was paying even less attention than before.

"Wow," Steven said, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I feel bad for her and it was my planet she was trying to take over!"

"It turns out this was Pink Diamond's first colony," Rose explained, "And before that, she was more or less the court jester of the Great Diamond Authority. Her primary duties were entertaining the other diamonds, hosting festivities and generally just lounging around."

"So, if the other diamonds are queens, then Pink was the princess?"

"Yes, that is very appropriate. It would explain why she was such an abysmal military leader. If it weren't for the sheer numbers advantage she had, we would have destroyed her in about a century."

The memory then continued as Rose's other self walked into the room, still looking puzzled as she approached the depressed diamond. "Um, hello?"

"Ugh, now what is it?!" Pink snapped, "As if I don't have enough problems! Let me guess, there's something wrong with the latest mining operation?"

"No, that's not it…"

"Then is there another battle being incited by those rebels?"

"Not that I know of…"

"And why are you dressed like that?!"

The other Rose looked down and realized she was definitely not dressed in the standard quartz soldier outfit. "Wait, I can explain!"

"Oh, forget it!" The diamond then got out of her chair and stomped over to a corner of the room where she started wailing on the wall. "This stupid planet is more trouble than its worth! I don't care about having a colony anymore!"

"Wait, really?!"

"Yes! Except I can't go back to Yellow or even Blue since I hassled them for so long to get this hunk of rock! If I try to get out of it now, they'll never take me seriously!"

"Hm, maybe I can help with that…"

"What? You?! What's an ordinary quartz supposed to do to help? Shield me from all my problems?"

"And that's when I started connecting with Pink," Rose explained as the conversation started to speed up. Steven watched as his mother managed to calm the frantic monarch down and soon left.

"I didn't tell her who I was, only saying I was concerned for My Diamond's well-being. I simply talked to her and gave her someone to vent to and soon I was seeing her every few years to cooperate with her."

"That's great, but… What about the war?"

Rose looked down in shame. "After what happened with Bismuth, I realized there were Crystal Gems who wouldn't accept a peaceful resolution. If she harbored feelings like that towards Homeworld, who's to say how many others did? I hated keeping this all from them, especially Pearl, but I didn't want them jeopardizing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this."

The room around them shifted to a pleasant hilltop overlooking a sunrise where the memory of Rose sat alongside Pink at the glorious view.

"Oh my goodness! This is so gorgeous!" the diamond gushed, "This is incredible! And this happens on this planet every morning?!"

"And something similar in the evenings," told Rose, "Although there is the occasional bout of weather that makes the sun and moon cannot be seen."

"Amazing… Is this something unique to this planet?"

"I can't say for sure. Different planets have different numbers of satellites and orbital patterns, but Earth only has one sun and one moon."

The memories continued to play for Rose and Steven and the boy was genuinely surprised to see it was more Rose spending time with Pink Diamond. Their faces made it clear both of them were having fun at every opportunity until it came to rest on the peak of a mountain where Pink Diamond sat with her feet dangling over the edge as Rose approached her from behind.

"I can't believe it," said the monarch, "How much this planet has to offer."

"Well," the Rose of the past started, "It's a shame the other Diamonds don't see it that way. Have you tried bringing this up with them?"

"Wait, what?! You think I should talk them out of colonizing Earth?! No one's ever done that!"

"But you're not like Yellow or Blue. They just see resources and numbers as the only things that matter. They've stopped badgering me, but that's because I've been getting my pearl to constantly write up false reports about the war. How many years has it been now?"

"About 900, give or take. My numbers are dwindling. Are they any dissenters you could… push away?"

"A few but that won't help. Going by my estimates, my forces outnumber yours about 4 to 1 even with how shabby that second Kindergarten. I was going to terminate the operation but then that one super jasper popped out who fights like a monster!"

"Terrific…" Rose drawled, only to cringe as Pink curled up into a ball and started sobbing.

"I don't believe this. This planet is the first time I've been happy in so long… And it's going to get destroyed!"

"Pink, listen, you can't give up! If you want to fight for what you believe in, you need to take some risks and go for it!"

"But Yellow… She's been breathing down my neck about this whole thing… What do I tell her?"

"Try to rephrase it a bit. Offer alternative solutions to colonization! Show her how interested you are in utilizing unique resources from this planet! Maybe even come up with another caste of gems to create like the Rose Quartzes!"

Steven saw the diamond's spirits lift instantly and soon the memory shifted to the inside of Pink's ship. He could see the other Rose sitting on the front end of Pink's workstation as the diamond typed commands into her holo-screen which later revealed Yellow Diamond on the other end.

"Well, well, Pink. It's quite rare to actually get you to answer."

"Yes, Yellow, and I actually have good news!"

"Do you now? Well then, go ahead. I'd love to hear you've finally been besting that rebel Rose Quartz."

"Actually, I've been doing to some personal analysis of the planet's mineral composition and got to drawing these new plans for how to extract them in a less environmentally damaging manner. I even came up with new gem designs utilizing the special components from this planet that grant them unique abilities!"

Pink then sent some images over from her side of the screen to Yellow's, much to Steven's surprise. She looked genuinely excited and while the images were just a bunch of pictures and nonsensical words to him, he could see that Pink clearly had a great deal of pride in her work. Unfortunately, that was lost on Yellow who just read through them for a few minutes before turning attention back on her fellow ruler.

"Let me get this straight. After literal centuries trying to make one colony, you come to me with this? Plans to essentially throw our operation away and reinvent our entire system?"

"Well… Yes."

Silence reigned for a few moments before Yellow burst into laughter, even falling out of her chair and pounding the floor from the sounds coming through the screen. Steven could literally see Pink's hopes go up in smoke as Yellow eventually came back into sight wiping a tear from her eye.

"Oh my goodness, Pink! I really have missed your jokes! I'll admit it, you really got me, but seriously how's the colony going?"

Pink just sat in her seat gobsmacked for several minutes until the situation finally sunk in for Yellow.

"Oh. You were being serious with all that." When Pink gave a single nod in response, Yellow just slumped in her own seat and rubbed her temples.

"So according to your little plan here… You want to completely reshape our entire formula and fabrication method for the sake of conserving one little planet when there are countless other harvestable worlds out there? And you bring this to me after spending literal centuries dawdling about with a rebellion that has wreaked havoc on our reputation?"

"Yellow…" Pink said, "It's my… first colony…"

"Now that is true. I ran into some difficulties with my first operation but it still took me one-fiftieth of the time you've spent on that miserable dust ball! And now you're here trying to make excuses for yourself?!"

"I… I just…"

"You know what? Forget it. I'll forget this whole little mess but you better shape up. No matter delusions of grandeur, no more absurd plans and no more lollygagging. Have that Rose Quartz handled and that planet colonized or I swear I will come down there and knock some sense into you! That will be all, Pink."

The line went dead and Pink stared blankly for a minute before Rose walked up next to her and placed a reassuring hand on her knee. With her failure finally sinking in, Pink Diamond slumped into her sea and started crying. It was no temper tantrum like Steven first saw, but the quiet sobbing of someone who just had all their dreams go up in smoke.

"Ouch," he muttered, only now turning around to see the present version of his mother looking firmly at the ground. "Mom?"

"Sorry. It's… very hard for me to relive all of this. Her plans were actually quite brilliant although I only have a base knowledge of gem fornication."

"Maybe Peridot would appreciate them?"

"She would, but you'd recognize the results. Remember Brookite?"

"No way!"

"I guess Yellow felt guilty only after they thought Pink was lost… Some love she apparently had."

The memory then moved forward again with the past Rose once again listening in out of sight as a much less enthusiastic Pink Diamond called someone else. Blue Diamond's joyful face soon filled the other end of the screen.

"Pink! It's so wonderful to see you! I heard some nasty things from Yellow, but I'm sure she's exaggerating. How are things?"

"She called Blue?" asked Steven.

"That's what she used to do," explained his mother, "When Yellow wouldn't give what she wanted, she called Blue and begged her to make it happen. Although from what I can see, she was far more bratty and demanding than this back then."

"Blue, I really need your help," Pink said in a sincere plead, "This planet should not be colonized. There are completely unheard-of resources here that could revolutionize gem production if we implement them, but that's not all. I believe there's a way we can extract these resources without sapping the world's lifespan! Think of how much less work we could have for greater results! Just please say something, anything, to Yellow about it! This could change everything!"

The older matriarch listened to every word with her eyes closed, clearly paying attention throughout. Even as Pink began explaining some of the finer points of her plan, none of it seemed to be ignored. When the younger of the diamonds was finally done, Blue opened her eyes. Steven was hopeful until Blue's expression turned into a grimace.

"Pink… How many times have you done this?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"How many times do you make some big fuss over something you want and then try to find a way out when you don't want to deal with it anymore?"

"That isn't what this is about!"

"You said the exact same thing about the zoo."

Pink's eyebrows furrowed until she just remembered the Human Zoo she opened hundreds of years ago. When she first met the inhabitants of this planet before meeting Rose Quartz, she thought on a whim they would make good pets. Before she could dwell on that guilt too much, Blue kept talking down to her.

"Pink, I really do love you, but even I'm sick and tired of this. You claim to want responsibility, we give you it, and then you pout and cry about it when it gets too hard. All you want to do is have fun, but life isn't all about that."

"Blue, I swear this isn't like that! Just look at my plans and-"

"And that's another thing!" Blue raised her voice, "Now you have the audacity to claim you know better than our whole system! I've put up with some outrages from you but that isn't forgivable! I have half a mind to agree with Yellow and show up and take that colony away from you!"

"Blue, PLEASE! This planet, it has so many incredible things on it! It's so beautiful, so unique, we can't just destroy it! I swear, I'll do whatever you want from now on! Do your paperwork, be your assistant, never cause any trouble, no more smuggling lifeforms in, anything! Just leave this planet alone!"

Blue was silent once again until a scowl appeared on her face. "Pink, I'm not falling for that again. Get that colony figured out or I'll let Yellow do what she wants and I won't lift a touch stub to help you. Goodbye."

The other diamond hung up and left Pink even worse off than before. Rose moved to comfort her again in the memory, but Pink stood up and suddenly walked towards the exit of her ship.

"Where are you going?" Rose asked as she followed her friend out into the desert. Rather than answer, Steven and his mother watched as Pink just ran out into the expanse of dunes as the other Rose called out for her to come back.

"I didn't see her for ten years," the observing Rose explained, "Never even heard from her. I was scared she'd abandoned all hope for Earth but she came up with one last idea."

"What was it?" asked Steven. His answer came when it showed one more holo-screen call with Pink in her chamber. Even though he knew gems did not age, Steven could swear Pink Diamond looked older as her shoulders sagged and clasped her hands until her call was answered.

"Starlight!" White Diamond said cheerfully, "What's your business with me?"

"Oh no…" paled Steven.

"Oh yes…" Rose all but snarled, still sitting even as she watched the other version of her listening in to this conversation as well.

"White, I wouldn't call you unless it was emergency. I've come to believe that this planet, Earth, is too unique to colonize. There are never-before-seen opportunities with this planet's resources that can be utilized in new ways! Ways that can not only create new gems that could be useful to us, but in more renewable ways! We'd be more efficient, more productive, more diverse and so much more but Yellow and Blue won't listen to reason! You, though, you keep saying how flawless your logic is! You can see these benefits for yourself!"

"Yes, I can. And I must say, I'm quite impressed…"

A small smile came to Pink's face until White spoke again. "…That you have so much arrogance."

"W-What?"

"You, of all beings in the universe, are telling me how to best run my empire? You, the lovable yet irascible infant of the lot who's scoffed at any responsibility thrown her way before? That is, without a doubt, the most humorous thing you've ever said!"

"No, White, please! I know it's out of nowhere, but I've learned so much from this planet! We can't just let it die!"

"Starlight, that's enough."

"White, we don't need to fight any rebellion! There's thousands of planets just like this!"

"Starlight…"

"Rose Quartz isn't our biggest threat! If we continue like this, we'll eventually have nowhere to go!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH! SILENCE YOURSELF, YOU WHELP!" White bellowed, Pink immediately ducking for cover as a blinding light filled the screen. Steven then all but cried as he saw the supposed conqueror of Earth hold her arms over her face to protect herself from a blow that never came from the much larger diamond. An agonizing silence filled the room until White spoke in the same pleasant voice as before like nothing happened.

"Now then… I see what your problem is."

"W-W-White?"

"It's your pearl."

"Huh?! How is-?!"

"She's been sending us false reports of your handling the rebellion. That must mean she's either defective or disobeying your orders and we can't have that, can we?"

"White, I'm sorry! J-Just please don't-!"

"Well, Starlight, the alternative is that you've been the one deceiving us and that pearl's following your instructions. Even you wouldn't be foolish enough to lie to my face, would you?"

Steven had half a mind to run up and stop this, but he knew it was all a recollection. His eyes turned to his mother who was now staring flatly at the floor. The boy could not see her face but he could somehow feel the sheer rage and hatred radiating off of her. Between that and White's thinly veiled threats, he felt so scared that his stomach would have been emptied if he had eaten anything recently.

He turned back as Pink remained completely silent while her pearl quivered in terror behind her. It looked like the smaller diamond was trying to choke something out but her voice failed her as White spoke up again.

"Ah, so it is the pearl. No worries, Starlight, I'll dispose of that for you and send a replacement straightaway. With that taken care of, I'll expect to hear about that Rose Quartz's demise very shortly. That will be all, Starlight!"

Pink did not have the courage to speak up again as the line shut off, but she stared straight ahead. She did not even move when the pearl then clutched her diamond's leg like a frightened child and poured her eyes out.

"My Diamond, please, I'm sorry!" she begged, "I never meant to get you in trouble! You're the best master I could have asked for! You've let me have so much freedom, don't let her take me!"

Pink still did not answer as Rose of the past stood up and left without a word. Steven could feel his heart break as he watched, and the run of memories came to an end. The room turned back into a white void and soon Rose got up and started walking away.

"Mom?"

"Steven…" she sighed, clearly trying not to let her anger show as she kept moving, "I'm sorry but I've had to spend a lot of time dwelling on things like this. I never meant to almost lost my temper like that."

"That's okay, but what happened to that pearl?"

"You've seen White Diamond's pearl before."

Steven was confused what that had to do with it until it clicked in his brain. Pink's pearl had the same side-buns for her hairstyle.

"Oh man…" he gasped, feeling sick to his stomach, "How long has she been like that?"

"It doesn't matter. From what I know of White Diamond's energy, it all but possesses a gem. Yellow can control a gem's physical form and Blue can manipulate their emotions, but White can control them completely. I doubt she even realize where she is or what's happened to her."

Steven ran back to his bed to grab his blanket. As childish as it was, he needed something soft and comforting to counteract the chill spreading through his body. It was helped by Rose sitting next to him and wrapping her arms around her. Once he felt like himself again, he spoke up.

"So that's how it happened. After that bit with her pearl?"

"Yep. Pink finally had enough and was convinced the other diamonds just didn't care about her. She told me if they wouldn't protect the Earth, she'd make it a colony she could run her way."

"Would you run it with her?"

"More like advise her. The idea being that once Homeworld thought she was gone, we'd be able to end the tensions between both sides eventually and then we could incorporate gems into human society since they weren't very advanced yet."

"How'd you convince them she was dead?"

"Actually, that was Pink's idea. She got fake shards made and then challenged me to a one-on-one final battle for the fate of the planet in writing. It took a lot of convincing Pearl and Garnet to go along with it, but I did. Then it was just a matter of poofing her with my sword and hiding her bubble until the diamonds were convinced she wasn't coming back. I hid the key in my gem and was planning to hide it for centuries if the others insisted on looking for Pink."

"But then the Corrupting Light happened…"

"And there was no point," Rose sighed, "Instead of a force of hundreds to bring together, it was just me, Pearl and Garnet. I was so broken up about seeing all those gems lost that I didn't have the heart to let her know what happened to all of her soldiers."

The mother and son sat in silence as Steven soaked in all of the information and Rose just looked weary. While she did feel better finally letting someone in on the truth, it also meant she had to live with that guilt and loss for so long. She was taken out of her stupor when she saw Steven get up and suddenly look up.

"Steven, what's the matter?"

"I just thought of something. You didn't shatter Pink, right?"

"Unless somehow being bubbled for so long did something to her but Bismuth was trapped for longer."

"Right, but what if we told Homeworld that?"

"What?! Steven, they wouldn't believe you!"

"They don't need to believe me! We've got her gem! There's no denying that kind of evidence!"

"Steven…"

"That's what all of the diamonds are angry at us, at me, for! If we just give Pink Diamond back, they'll finally drop the subject!"

"That's a really nice thought, Steven, but I'm still me. I'm still the lone rebel of Homeworld, the one gem who overturned their system and led thousands astray. In their eyes, I'm a virus that can only be cured with aggression."

"It's worth a try, Mom! It's the best shot we've got about making things peaceful!"

"Peaceful?"

"Yes, peaceful! When we were dealing with The Cluster, you said you loved how I tried to end everything with words, right? Well that's what I'm gonna do! I'll fly to Homeworld and return Pink Diamond to them as a peace offering!"

"Steven, that's insane! You might have a spaceship but that's a massive journey! Any gem who spots who will attack you on sight especially after what you did to Yellow!"

"I know that, Mom but I have to try! How much longer do we have until they try something else? We got rid of The Cluster but what if they build something worse? Everyone here deserves to finally put this war to rest. Us, the other gems, even the diamonds."

"You feel bad for them?!"

"Yellow looked so heartbroken when I talked about Pink. And Blue makes a pilgrimage to this planet every year to mourn her after all this time. Okay, they might not have treated her the best, but things change."

"Steven, I kind of doubt that…" Steven then hardened his look at stared right at her.

"And there's nothing you regret? You said you had a lot of time to think things over in here." Rose wilted hearing that, but knew he had a point. Of course, she wanted a resolution that did not end in all-out war, but she simply resigned herself that peace was out of the question.

"Mom, I promise I won't have to end this the same way you did. I'm going to make peace with the Diamonds, all of them, for good." The boy spoke with so much weight to his words that it moved Rose to her core. The sheer determination in his stance and smile made him look far stronger and wiser than his rounded body would suggest and made her overwhelmed with pride.

"Steven… I believe in you," she said with a smile, making Steven beam as his body suddenly flashed.

"Looks like your body is waking up," Rose answered, "Remember, though, that I'm always here for you."

"I will. I just wish you could explain everything to the others." As pleasant as that thought was, Steven opened his eyes feeling refreshed as he came to in Greg's van. It was a long trudge ahead of him, but now he had a clear plan to bring this chaos to an end after far too long.

Next time, it's Steven having to break the news to others and then starting to turn his diplomacy mission into a reality. See you next time!

Thank you all so much for reading! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below!