And now it's time to start picking up the pieces of that bombshell. Here we go!

After a night full of helping out civilians, the Crystal Gems soon found Steven awake early in the morning and asking for everyone to gather so he could share some important news with them all. They expected some news about another diamond plan or an explanation about how he got that new transformation and saved The Cluster with it.

What they did not expect was the news that not only was Pink Diamond still alive after all this time, but she and Rose became allies who tried to convince the Great Diamond Authority and the entire shattering was staged. The reactions to this bombshell varied.

For Greg and Connie, the only two humans of the group, their reactions were also quite mixed. Greg knew that Rose had quite the mountain of baggage with her, but this latest bit took the cake. Even still, it did little to shift his views on his lost love. Connie was clearly taken aback at the info at first, but it already seemed to be agreeing with her. The gears were turning in her head on how it all made sense especially with what she knew of Rose's old sword.

The gems with the least connection to Rose Quartz, Topaz and her crew, Adamite and Cinnabar were stunned but the news mostly agreed with them. It was nice to know that Rose was that virtuous a gem to try and reform one of the infamous diamonds and only turned to staging a shattering instead of turning her back on a friend.

Peridot and Lapis, having spent much more time on Earth, were far more surprised. Lapis had very mixed feelings about hearing that a good chunk of the war that led to her being imprisoned was staged even if she knew from Steven's explanation that her incarceration was long before that point. Peridot, having been a loyal Homeworld gem for millennia and thoroughly believing the stories of Rose shattering a diamond, was more expressive.

She was currently running in circles around the group as they sat, repeating "Oh my clod!" over and over again and kicking up sand while occasionally smacking herself in the face as if she was waking herself up from a dream. The others did not have the heart to stop her.

Amethyst, having not been part of the war but was still very attached to Rose, had a face that looked like she swallowed a whole garbage can and actually tasted it. While a small part of her was happy Rose never had to act so cruelly, the thought that she hid this the entire time Amethyst was around made her feel awful. Was she worried Amethyst was going to blab to the other Diamonds?

That left Bismuth, Pearl and Garnet, the three veterans of the original gem war, with the worst feelings. Out of the three, Bismuth was the most positive about it. Deep down she had always felt a sense of hypocrisy after learning that Rose ended with the war with shattering Pink. It was wrong when Bismuth suggested it but not when their glorious leader did? While it still hurt being locked away for so long, she actually had a better view of Rose now. So why did she still feel angry enough to smash a mountain in half?

Garnet was clutching her shoulders, trying to keep her voice down as her body spasmed. Inside her head, Ruby and Sapphire were having a screaming contest over the issue. Ruby wanted to just move on since they cannot change the past and they have bigger things to worry about. Sapphire was furious at Rose for deceiving her for so long and never letting them learn until after her passing. It was the knowledge that Steven, and by extension the people, needed Garnet that kept them from splitting up.

The worst reaction, however, was Pearl. Hearing that Rose Quartz, her idol and inspiration, had outright lied to her? She remembered the day Rose left for her fateful duel with Pink Diamond, could still hear herself pleading on her knees to accompany her and then outright asking to be sent in Rose's place. And now it all meant nothing. Her eyes leveled into an icy glare at whatever was in front of her, making everyone do their best to avoid her gaze lest she snap and rip into whatever earned her wrath.

Once Steven finally told the entire tale, the day was still young and yet the boy felt like he just ran a marathon. He just caught his breath while the others soaked in the news. Each second dragged by at an agonizing pace, but he eventually spoke up again.

"Guys, I'm really sorry you all had to find out like this. I…"

"Steven, don't bother," said Connie, "Nobody blames you for this."

"Right," agreed Lapis, feeling better since Adamite placed an arm on her shoulder, "But… Wow that's a shock…"

"I never imagined something like that," said Rutile's right head, "But now what? So Pink Diamond is still around but what does that mean for us?"

"It means we can finally put an end to this fighting," said Steven, pulling everyone out of their stupors.

"Um, kiddo?" wondered Greg, "How do you think we do that? We aren't just gonna let you turn yourself in."

"I know that and I know that isn't going to work either. I meant we give Pink Diamond back."

"Oh, is that so?!" said Peridot, still sounding half-hysterical as she pulled on her hair, "Do we send them the bubble via a warp pad with a little card attached saying 'Sorry for the misunderstanding! The entire past era of gem history is just a big oopsie?!'"

"No! I meant we go to Homeworld ourselves and show them that Pink Diamond is alive!"

"No," said Pearl coldly. Steven looked at her and all but squirmed as the same glare leveled at him. Even his memories of Pearl at her angriest from when he was younger did nothing to prepare him.

"But Pearl…"

"I said no. The last time we went into space it was to rescue Greg and that almost led to all of us being caught. We are not going to fly straight to Homeworld with you in tow on some insane idea that just showing them Pink might get them to leave us alone."

"Pearl," Connie said, "I get you're angry but-"

"NO! And that's final!"

Having heard that same response from her mother in the days when she was an overbearing parent, Connie felt a pit form in her stomach. She eventually learned that the real reason Priyanka used that line was because she had a personal reason to stop Connie from doing something but refused to say it. That line died after the incident at the hospital and now the good doctor actually told Connie her reasoning instead of just pulling rank on her as a parent.

Now, though, seeing her thoughtful mentor and good friend acting like this made Connie's temper boil over. She was not going to let that line stop her again. On top of that, she had a very good guess as to what Pearl's actual thoughts were.

"You just don't want to stop fighting, don't you?"

The whole group gaped at her statement, even Peridot who finally stopped her freak out, while Pearl somehow looked even angrier. If her pupils got any smaller, they would disappear.

"Care to explain?"

"You now have the best possible opportunity to put all this fighting behind you," Connie started, "And that not only means safeguarding the planet like you're supposed to, but it also means keeping Steven safe as his surrogate mother. And yet you, Ms. Logic and Strategy, that won't hear it."

"Connie, stop…" Pearl warned but the girl started marching towards.

"It's because it will make the whole truth real. It means you can't deny it."

"Connie, I'm serious, get back!" Pearl slowly stood up as Connie came closer.

"You can't accept that Rose lied to you, but you have to!"

"Connie, this is your last warning!" Pearl's hand reached towards her gem as the girl was only inches away from her.

"The whole planet's counting on you! Are you going to throw that away like some petty child?! What are you, a Diamond?!"

Pearl screamed in absolute fury as she whipped out her spear and swung right at Connie. The group tried to call out and stop the ensuing fight, but someone beat them all to the punch. A still trembling Garnet grabbed Pearl's weapon arm from behind as the tip of the spear was only an inch from Connie's face. The girl had changed herself into crystal, but otherwise remained completely still.

"Go," the fusion ordered, her own teeth bared, "Now."

"Garnet, let go of me!" Pearl snarled, "I won't let this stand! I'm her teacher and I deserve her respect!"

"No, you don't. Right now, you're acting like a toddler and you deserve nothing. Now go and cool off before I make you…" The hand clamped around Pearl's arm grew bitterly cold and crystals of ice began to form. Just as the others feared a real fight would break out, Pearl huffed and marched off towards the town. Steven was about to walk after her, but Bismuth stopped him.

"Give her space. She needs to unwind before trying to solve this or else she'll just spiral."

As much as it felt wrong, Steven sat back down and decided to try getting the conversation back on track. "So… Anyone have any suggestions on how to get to Homeworld?"

"I'm guessing you plan on taking everyone?" asked Topaz. When Steven nodded, the captain immediately saw a problem. "We'll need a bigger ship. With you, Greg and Connie on board, we'd need proper quarters and provisions."

"Not to mention a training space," said Rutile, "I don't know about you, but I wanna get the hang of my new powers."

"And we're going to need more advanced weaponry and shields," said Peridot, "I don't doubt that Homeworld has upgraded their arsenal. The Sun Incinerator was the pinnacle of their innovation when Lars first took it, but now they will have something that can surpass us."

"We also need some kind of backup plan for the Earth," added Adamite, "Unless we leave a reserve force, Homeworld would have free reign to attack the planet with us parsecs away."

"Plus, we can't just leave with everything here messed up," joined Amethyst, "There's a ton of damage those clods did. I dunno about you, but this is one mess I'm gonna clean up."

"A long journey…" summed Fluorite, "But the goal…"

"I absolutely agree," said Padparadscha, "The whole planet deserves to be safe after this."

"Totally!" Cinnabar jumped in, "But couldn't we just send Pink Diamond to Homeworld by the warp pad or something?"

"And have them immediately send it back with a bomb?" retorted Bismuth, "I mean, I wouldn't believe it unless I saw her with my own eyes and the diamonds will blow something up if it looks at them funny."

"That and they could easily track us that way," supplied Peridot, "Take it from me. Warp pads are monitored constantly and no doubt they have ours on lockdown."

"But didn't you redirect a bunch of bombs they sent us?" asked Lapis.

"Yes, but that basically worked by sending them to a random warp pad in the same region. Homeworld's pads are made so that they can accept or deny any traveler."

"So that means a spaceship it is," mentioned Greg, "But how do we get another one?"

"Well, there was a ton wreckage left over from the attack," said Bismuth, "I'm sure we could use that to reverse engineer something."

"Okay then, we have a plan," said Garnet, seeming to finally calm down now that there was something positive to focus on, "First off, we need to clean up here and then we focus on getting to Homeworld."

"And Pearl?" asked Amethyst.

"She needs some time, but someone should check on her in a bit. We'll need her to get things organized."

With their meeting done, the group split up to look for tasks to complete. The Off-Colors looked for Homeworld ship parts to salvage, the other Crystal Gems went to fix things around Beach City and the nearby area while Connie and Greg took it upon themselves to finally break the news to Priyanka about her husband.

It was sure to be a long road to completing their mission, but the group now had a definitive goal to cling to. If Steven's ambition worked, then they could finally put this infernal war behind them.


Priyanka Maheswaran considered herself a reasonably strong woman. Whether it was at work where she diagnosed and treated a great deal of conditions as a practitioner or at home as a dedicated mother who put her daughter and husband first, she kept her composure no matter what. It was both the crux of her profession and her personality. While she had learned to open her mind when it came to her daughter, she refused to back down in the face of adversity.

In the past 24 hours, though, she felt that resolve tested more than the rest of her life combined. She had her eyes glued to her front door at every available second so she could see the moment her family walked back in safe and sound. The only reason she stopped was to make a small something to eat, drink coffee to keep herself awake or use the restroom.

Finally, after ignoring every sign of exhaustion her body was giving her, the door opened and Connie walked in. The mother wasted no time throwing her arms around her daughter.

"Mom…" Connie started but she stopped when she heard her parent sob and run her hand through her hair.

"I'm so glad you're okay…" The two stopped there for neither knows how long until Priyanka stood up, expecting to see her husband around as well, only to look outside and see Greg waiting on the porch.

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt," the former rock star said.

Priyanka wondered why he would be here until she realized she did not see Doug's car either. Her brain put the pieces together in a few seconds and soon she was gasping for breath.

"Where's Doug?" she asked them both, getting no reply. She stepped back, almost tripping on her own feet, and gradually started heading towards her room upstairs.

"Doctor…" started Greg, "I'm really sorry but…"

"NO!" screamed the mother, rushing upstairs. Connie followed her and found she was scrambling for her phone to call her husband only to get nothing in response. The girl remembered the phone call he took right before he was caught and could only guess between getting ambushed and then flung out to sea where his device was destroyed.

The mother then frantically dialed the security company Doug worked for, hoping that he just went there to recover. All she heard from them was that they had not heard from him. She called the hospital in case he had gotten injured, but there was no record of him arriving there even as they were getting swamped with people.

"Mom…" tried Connie but Priyanka just threw her phone against the wall, smashing it into pieces as she completely broke down on her bed. The daughter was floored as she watched the woman who regularly worked eighty-hour weeks and dealt with everything life through her with a plan turn in a bawling wreck for several minutes straight. After she calmed down to sniffling and choking out the occasional sob, Connie moved next to her.

"Mom…" Connie said, placing an arm around her in comfort. She was surprised as Priyanka quickly smothered her in response and quickly found her voice again.

"Honey… I love you. I love you so much… I feel like… I went so long never telling you that…"

"M-Mom, you don't need to say that…"

"Yes, I do. Connie, you've been a wonderful child your whole life. And for so long, all we… I… could think about was what could go wrong. Heh… I'd would've probably had an aneurysm if I knew what your life would be like a few years ago."

"You… Uh… Aren't gonna like what I'm gonna tell you then."

Connie then explained how the Crystal Gems had a plan to fully stop Homeworld but that involved them flying to the hostile planet itself.

"And you plan on going?" Priyanka asked.

"Yes?" Connie closed her eyes, fully expecting her mother to explode only to instead to see her mother stand up.

"And the gem that did this to your father is…?"

"G-Gone…"

"Well, there goes that plan… Connie, I'll let you go on this mission on one condition."

"What is it?"

"I'm going with you."

"HUH?! Mom, that's insane! What about your job here?!"

"How long will the trip take?"

"I don't know! A few weeks, a month maybe?"

"I'm sure I can get that kind of time off especially after I tell them about… Doug…" her voice hitched for a second, but she quickly brought it back.

"But… No offense but you're just a normal human. I mean, I've never even seen you get physical with someone let alone jump into a battle!"

"There's an easy fix to that: Steven. That liquid he used to heal your injuries also gave you these superpowers, right? Why couldn't he do the same for me?"

"You'd really do that?"

"Connie, I'd be doing this for you. While a tiny part of me does want to get back at the scum that took… my husband… away from me… I want to do this for you. You aren't going to have much a future if attacks like this keep up."

The daughter smiled as she got up and left her mother alone to grieve for a bit longer. While she still felt like this whole incident was some surreal nightmare, it gave her hope to see that even now Dr. Priyanka Maheswaran was trying to move forward and find a solution to this problem like everything else in life. Before that, though, Connie knew she would need some time to cope with the loss of the love of her life.


The rest of the day slowly passed with the Crystal Gems helping out anyone around town who needed their assistance. The only exception was Lapis and Adamite who fused into Sandstone again with the intent to fix the field that Steven and Yellow Diamond tore apart during their fight.

To the others, though, it appeared as if Lapis and Adamite simply embraced each other and fused for the first time. Those outside of the ones who saw her before gaped as Sandstone grew into being.

"Whoa!" the Off-Colors went, even Fluorite looking surprised. Bismuth and Peridot were similarly stunned while Cinnabar actually applauded.

"Ah, much better… If you'll all excuse me," the fusion said before deploying a huge set of wings and flying off leaving the rest of the group speechless save for one.

"Wow…" Cinnabar said, "I can't believe they finally got together!"

"How do you feel about it?" asked Bismuth while she lifted up a trashed car to get it to the nearest garage, "I know you guys were buddies for the longest time."

"Oh, I'm not jealous, trust me! Even back then, I could tell Adamite wanted her, but she would always claim 'business comes first' or some crud like that. And I bet that Sandstone would be an awesome training partner!"

The only other major event of the day was Pearl. After her meltdown yesterday, she was still nowhere to be found and the group was starting to get nervous. They eventually elected for Steven, Fluorite and Padparadscha with the former being the most concerned and the two Off-Colors because they felt the others needed to stay and help Topaz on the ship. They were scouting around the whole country to find lost or injured people in order to help paramedics nationwide.

Steven took the lead and showed the two to places he knew Pearl liked to visit though her room in the temple was the first guess. Eventually the trio warped to the Strawberry Battlefield, although that was slightly tricky with Fluorite having to curl into a circle in order to fit on the pad and started looking around. Eventually Padparadscha came upon the first clue with seeing the scabbard to Rose's old sword was lying on the ground, dented and bent into being impossible to use.

"Uh oh…" Steven said, "Looks like she might still be mad."

"Perhaps," Fluorite said, "Or… This is from hours ago…"

"We will find evidence of Pearl here," Padparadscha predicted, "But we must keep searching. We have a lot of ground to cover."

As they searched around, the trio saw little in terms of evidence that their target was nearby until Steven looked down at one of the many bushes of berries. The shrubbery was sliced apart judging from the clean cuts made and many of its fruits were squashed.

"Hey guys!" he called out, "Look at this."

"Rather old…" Fluorite said, "But it's a sign."

Fluorite then slunk ahead and found more plants that had been butchered the same way and soon the other two were following behind the caterpillar gem. As they moved, they noticed the signs of destruction were getting fresher and soon it felt like they were getting warmer. After what felt like miles, however, they heard a familiar voice in the distance and rushed ahead to find Pearl on one of the floating islands above them.

Steven wasted no time jumping up to her and soon saw she had gathered many of the oversized weapons from around the field and furiously smashing them into the rock under her over and over again.

"Um… Pearl?" he asked, feeling nervous as she swung a thirty-foot tall battle axe over her head while screaming with every strike. Judging from the shattered bits of metal and deep gouges in the ground, he could tell she had been at this for a while.

When she finally stopped her attack long enough to notice him, she barely batted an eye before saying one word to him. "Go."

"Pearl, come on, snap out of it! We need you back home, there's a lot of stuff that needs fixing and-"

"Fixing?! You don't even know what broken is!" With one titanic yell, she spun herself around and threw the weapon in her hands until it was gone over the horizon. When she fell to her knees trying to catch her breath, Steven felt safe approaching her.

"Pearl… It's gonna be okay. I get it, it's a lot to take in. Trust me, I screamed for a solid minute."

"I know…" sobbed Pearl, suddenly losing all her composure, "I know it's already happened, I know there's things to do but I still feel this way! I feel like such a dead weight!"

"Pearl will blame herself for everything that has happened," Padparadscha predicted, having hopped up onto the floating platform right behind Steven, "And will need someone to comfort her to get better."

"I… I know… I just feel so wronged. Rose lied to me! ME! After everything I did for her, she couldn't trust me?! What could I have said to make her do that?!"

"That doesn't the make the war or her relationship with you any less special," Steven added, wrapping his arms around her, "And if she could come out here, she'd say the same thing."

"I believe you… I want to move on. I thought coming out here away from everyone would help."

"Did it?"

"No… All it did was remind me about the truth and made me angrier. I'm so sorry I snapped at you and Connie. You both feel like my children…"

"I know," Steven said hugging her, "And if you want to talk, we're all open ears."

"Pearl…" Fluorite said from down below, shocking her and Steven from their embrace. Both of them looked down to see her, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, thank you. I must admit, I'm surprised to see you here."

"I know you're feeling… Upset. I've been there… We all have. But you… You were inspiration to us."

"Me? How so?"

"You defied… Your destiny. A common servant… Was the second-in-command… Of the rebels. So many Off-Colors see you… As a hero. A legend who proved… Anything is possible."

"It's true," agreed Padparadscha, "You were living proof that we didn't have to stick to whatever slot the diamonds put us in. I understand your life has been hard, but be grateful you had it. So many gems would have jumped to be in your position."

"Wow… I never imagined I'd be some mythical hero," Pearl blushed, "But if that's the case, I better start acting like it."

"Exactly," Fluorite agreed, "You're an inspiration… If you can change… Why can't I?"

The three were about to head on their way before Fluorite shut all four of her eyes and her gemstones glowed. They wondered if her components were separating but instead the single blot of light grew until it was eye level with the island the three were on almost seventy feet off the ground. When the light cleared, there stood a new Fluorite with a massive humanoid body with four arms and two legs. Her body followed the same color scheme, only now there was a long sheer flowing gown running from her shoulders to her ankles.

"Well… What do you think?" the reformed fusion asked in the same tender voice as before, jarring the three out of their shock.

"Where did all this come from?!" gasped Padparadscha.

"It's an idea I've had for a while… I've been working on it… In my off time."

"Well I think it's great!" Steven approved, "But what are you gonna do now?"

"If Rutile and Rhodonite… Can pick up new skills… Why can't I? And I've heard… This Pearl is quite the teacher."

"Oh, well, I've never taught someone on your scale but I'm sure I can figure something out!" Pearl said slightly flustered, making Fluorite chuckle.

"Now then, let's return… I can't wait… To see Captain Topaz's face!"

As strange as it was, the three followed the now colossal fusion back. She did say on the trip that she could change back at will, a necessity given she would never fit in the Sun Incinerator like this, but needed to get the hang of having legs for the first time. That thought faded for Pearl as she already put her mind to work coming up with solutions even if a small part of her wanted to keep grieving. To her, that sentiment could wait until they finally accomplished Rose's original mission of ending the fight with Homeworld once and for all.

With the plan laid out and everyone on board, now they actually have to get there. First, though, there's a few things to deal with. See you next time!

Thank you so much for reading! Please feel free to leave any questions or comments you have in he review section!