The walk to the Homeworld archives was a lot more exhausting than Steven could have ever predicted.

It wasn't the extremely long time it took to get there, as Steven was sure that he could outwalk any human on Earth by at least a hundred miles, or the constant stares he was getting from other Gems, thanks to White's message to the universe that everyone should keep their distance. No, it was Spinel. She was practically clinging to him the whole time, seeing the walk as a perfect opportunity to ask Steven questions on what he had been doing while he had been away from Homeworld. (So basically, what was going on overall.)

And she just didn't stop.

"So, Steven, what's the best way to make friends with people? I've been trying, but when I start making jokes, everyone looks at me funny and tries to sneak away in secret."

"Steven, why do humans live for such a short amount of time? Why can't you be immortal like Gems?"

"So...Steven...got a girlfriend?" (That one earned her the dirtiest look Steven had ever given someone, resulting in her somehow shrinking down to the side of a pebble, Gem included.)

And these were only a small sample. So it warmed Steven's heart when Yellow announced, "We're here", and the three of them came upon a very large door, disguised to look like a wall. Yellow pressed her hand against a secret panel, the door slid open, and Steven suddenly felt like he had inhaled a huge amount of dust the next time he took a breath, causing him to wonder just how old the air was in that place and how long it had been since someone last went into it.

The trio entered, and Steven was visibly shocked by what he saw. Forget the Throne room. Forget anything he had seen in the Temple. Forget everything. This room was the biggest room he had ever seen, by far. So big that it shouldn't even be able to fit inside the wall, considering the size appearance from the outside. He couldn't see the end of it, and the ceilings were so big and tall that small clouds were forming at the top of it, carrying water vapor thousands of years old. Steven made sure to step around the areas these clouds were over, lest he suddenly get drenched.

But what was most impressive was the shelves. There were giant shelf-like storage units lining the room, as one might see at a Home Depot. They reached the ceiling and were packed full of small glowing cubes, which flickered on approach. Steven thought he could hear voices coming from one of them and inched back, his immediate assumption being that they were somehow alive.

Yellow noticed his reaction and chuckled, walking over and taking one between her thumb and index finger.

"Don't worry, Steven." She said. "They're not going to bite you. These cubes are simply storage devices, and the voices you're hearing are recordings. Some of them are recordings of events, some of them have written knowledge, and some of them have...other things." She mumbled, waving this off. "But regardless, everything you see here is the sum total of all knowledge gathered by Gemkind. Pick one up and see what you find. Pink used to do the exact same thing for fun, playing a game to see what she got each time and trying to predict which cube held what."

Steven, although slightly irked at the comparison between him and his mother, listened to Yellow and grabbed a nearby cube, feeling it in his hands. It was a lot heavier than he expected, maybe weighing a little over twenty pounds, and felt warm, like it had just been put through a dryer. Steven turned it over in his hands a few times before tapping expectantly on one side, and instantly the top of the cube opened up, and a light shined from within it. Steven dropped the cube in shock, and the light solidified until it took the form of a large screen, with files similar to the ones he had sent in the moon base computer showing up. He glanced up at Yellow, who smiled and gestured for him to go further, and so he tapped on one of the files and it opened up, displaying pages and pages of written knowledge.

Of course, the only problem was that he couldn't read it, as it was in a much older dialect of Gem writing that he couldn't understand. But there were still pictures, displaying images of what looked like kindergartens, along with several types of Gems.

"Ah," Yellow said. "A kindergarten performance report. There are millions of those in here. You may as well put that back and look for something more interesting, Steven. Most of those are repetitive repeats of "everything is fine and the colonization process can proceed", written over and over again." She explained, chuckling again.

"I think I'm good," Steven said, tapping the cube again and causing it to close itself. He placed it back where he found it and turned to the two Gems, where Yellow was still looking at him and Spinel was sniffing and then repeatedly licking one of the cubes for whatever reason.

"...I think we should head to our two sections." He said. "So where in this room can me and Spinel find information on that Lab? I assume there had to be something here about it…"

"Oh, most certainly," Yellow said. "However, you won't find it here. These archives are the more...public ones, so to speak. Restricted for elite Gems only, but still. The ones we're looking for, old information about Earth, is limited to Diamonds only. We had it all classified to the highest level after the end of the Rebellion. And I'm sure you noticed, we had most information about Pink...covered up."

"Yeah, I did notice a distinct lack of awareness about her among some of the more recent Gems I came across so in the past," Steven said, recalling the majority of the Ruby squad's ignorance of who she even was. "But how do we get there? Some secret elevator?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. That's exactly it." Yellow said. "You and...well, I suppose it's alright for Spinel to come with us as well. We made these archives fully public after you arrived, but unfortunately, hardly any Gems have taken a liking to them. Only the more scholarly ones."

"Probably because hardly anyone knows where to look for anything…" Steven mumbled. "But okay then. Where is this elevator?"

"We're standing on top of it," Yellow said, and before Steven could ask what she was talking about, Yellow clapped her hands twice, and immediately the floor began to shake. Spinel dramatically grabbed Steven for balance as he froze up in horror from the several dozen earthquake stair flashbacks that were unleashed upon him, meanwhile Yellow just smiled as a large circular area of the floor suddenly had a line formed around it. It shook for a few more seconds before slowly lowering itself, and the main room began to fall out of view as a new one presented itself. This one was much darker, with the only source of light being the cubes, looking like a million fist-sized fireflies flickering in the dark. It was much smaller than the room above, but still massive enough that it made even the Diamond mech look small in comparison.

The lift eventually reached the bottom after a minute or so, and Yellow stepped off, before frowning as she noticed Steven's expression, the same one a person might make if a polar bear was charging at them.

"Steven?" She asked. "Are you alright? If that shocked you, I'm sorry. I suppose I should have told you about the elevator beforehand, but I knew how much Spinel liked secret entrances, so I thought-"

"No, it's fine. It just...reminded me of a bad dream I used to have." Steven said shakily, before deciding that he better change the topic before Yellow got any more suspicious. He wasn't sure if she knew everything that had happened in his dream like the Gems, but he preferred that she not, lest she go to the rest of the Diamonds and they descend on him in a storm of worry. "Also...Spinel likes secret entrances?"

"Oh, definitely!" Spinel said enthusiastically, letting go of him and jumping off the platform like a slinky. "There are actually tons all over the palace, made by the builders in case they had to make a quick escape."

"Wait, why would the builders have to make a quick escape?" Steven asked. "In case the whole thing collapsed during construction?"

"Err...no," Yellow said sheepishly, putting on a rather shameful face. "White had a very specific building code back then, as she wanted the palace to be as perfect as she was, quote on quote. And unfortunately, since the only thing she could ever see as perfect back then was herself, those builders could never meet her insane guidelines. So they planned to finish the palace the best way they could and then flee using those hidden passages." She crossed her arms and gazed at the floor, her insane levels of shame radiating throughout the room through the form of an electric tingle on Steven's and Spinel's necks. "What was waiting for them on the other side was a squad of Quartzes, and I'm sure you can guess the rest."

"Why do you look so guilty?" Steven asked, still processing that massive info dump in his mind. "Wasn't White the one behind this, not you?"

"Steven, like most things White did, Blue and I stood by and did nothing while she shattered them," Yellow replied. "I try not to think of these things too often though. If I did, I would never have enough time to fix those horrible fusion experiments I made."

Steven was about to ask her what she meant by "fix those horrible fusion experiments", until he realized that they had probably wasted enough time already. He gulped and stepped off the platform, which floated back up the second he left it. All three of them watched it go until it clicked back in its original position, causing the entire area to be covered in mostly-darkness. Like a nice twilight setting on a hill, Steven could see enough to make out the two Gems standing in front of him, but not enough to see any higher or further than twenty feet away.

"Very well then," Yellow said. "Now, Steven, if you're going to be looking for information on this Traitor, then I believe that information on Earth should be about three shelves to your right. I'm not sure where the exact location of the lab data is, so I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to look normally."

"It's okay," Steven said, biting his lip so hard he drew blood, which healed itself a second later. "I have Spinel with me. With her helping, I'm sure we can find it in no time."

"Yeah! This is going to be the best fun I've had all day! Come on, Steven!" Spinel said, before turning to the right and running into the darkness, not waiting for Steven to follow. He stared at her as she disappeared from view, and then looked back up at Yellow.

"So where are you going to be?"

"The other side of the room," Yellow said. "If you need help, just call out for me. But please be patient." She requested. "Sound takes a while to travel in here."

"Yeah, I can imagine…" Steven said, before nodding and waving at Yellow. "Alright. I'll see you around. And...thanks, by the way. For doing all this for me. It means a lot."

"Of course, Steven," Yellow said. "We're your family. We'll always be up for helping you, no matter what the problem might be."

Yellow then turned heel and stomped away, her footsteps making the cubes shake in their holding spots. Steven stood silently as she vanished just like Spinel had, before turning around and beginning his walk into the darkness, wishing that he knew how to use his Gem as a flashlight like everyone else did. Ironically, what seemed like one of the easiest abilities for a Gem was also one that he never figured out how to even activate in the first place.

But as Steven kept going, he began willing himself really hard to do so. As Yellow's footsteps finally stopped, Steven suddenly felt very alone, as if someone was about to pounce on him at any moment. The light from the cubes even seemed to dim as any sign of Yellow presence vanished, as if they hadn't been programmed to see him as a Diamond. He suddenly stopped where he was, only one shelf down, and called out a specific name, knowing that there was another Gem lurking around in here. He felt slightly embarrassed doing this, feeling like a child asking for a nightlight, but the desperation to overcome the creepiness best this a thousand times over.

"Spinel!" He called out, his voice echoing throughout the room, as the pink Gem had vanished into the darkness soon after Yellow left. "Where are you?"

There was no answer. Some of the cubes lit up slightly in response to his voice, but then faded as it died away. Steven listened carefully for any signs of the lanky Gem, such as the rubbery sounds that usually accompanied her as she walked, but he heard nothing.

"She must be so far away already that she can't even hear-"

"Hey, Steven."

"GAH!" Steven exclaimed, literally jumping ten feet in the air at the sudden sound of Spinel's voice. Still floating, he whipped around and looked down to see her smiling up at him with a rather bemused expression. Once he realized that it was her and not some crazy ax murderer that had someone snuck in, he drifted back down with a sigh of relief, trying to restrain himself from throttling her.

"God, Spinel, you gave me a heart attack." He said, once both his feet were back on solid ground. "How did you sneak up on me like that?"

"I don't know. I was just as surprised as you were." Spinel replied, shrugging. "I guess you just needed to keep your ears open!" She then grabbed both sides of her head and stretched them into a vague ear shape, before enlarging them to be as big as her fist. She looked at Steven and giggled, expecting him to laugh back, but frowned and silently pouted when his immediate response was a stony stare.

"I was keeping my ears open." He then said. "You know what, just forget it for now. Maybe sound travels differently or acts weird in this place. But where have you been? Looking for the cubes we need?"

"No, I've just been scrounging about, following you, you know. All normal stuff." Spinel said. "What about you?"

"Looking for you, actually…" Steven mumbled, before sighing. "But nevermind that for now. Can you please stick with me from now on unless I say so? I don't think it'll be a good idea to get lost in this place."

"If you say so, Steven! Not, how close do you want me to be?" She asked. "Five feet? Three feet? One foot-"

"Just...where you are now."

"Oh." Spinel said, looking disappointed.

Steven felt a twinge of guilt for having put this face in Spinel, but he knew that she would break out of this mood the second he started moving again. So almost instantly, the two then started their long walk towards the end of the shelf again, Steven keeping a close eye on Spinel to make sure that she kept her promise and didn't vanish out of thin air again. But thankfully, she kept herself close to his side the entire time, as he requested, occasionally turning her head to peer at the various cubes that lit up. Every now and then Steven could hear voices from them like the ones above, although for some reason these voices sounded a lot more...staticky. Like they had been corrupted.

And once they made it past two shelves, after a ten-minute walk that felt more like an hour one, he stopped, resulting in Spinel almost running into his back.

"Alright. We're here. This is where Yellow said the cube we're looking for should be." He announced. "Spinel, start grabbing cubes and look through them, but be careful not to break any. I mean it. I'll do the same, and if you find anything that mentions a lab or humans, tell me so we can take it back to Yellow so she can translate it for us. I'm betting these are all going to be in that ancient language anyway…"

"Are you sure?" Spinel said.

"What, about the language?"

"No, about this being the right shelf." Spinel iterated said. "I'm pretty sure Yellow said that it was three shelves down, I think we're in the wrong place, Steven."

Steven paused after this statement and tried to recall what Yellow had said, eventually concluding that she had said two, not three. He was sure of it. And also, he trusted his own memories better than Spinels. He was willing to bet that even if this wasn't the right shelf and that they moved forward to the correct one, she'd make another comment on how it was right either.

"No, I think this is where we're supposed to be. If it's not, then we'll keep moving." He said. "So...start looking. And again, be careful. Yellow allowed us to poke around in here on our own, and I don't want to ruin that hospitality by smashing these Diamond-only ancient records."

Spinel, although briefly confounded by Steven's claim that she was incorrect, did what he said nonetheless and pulled off an Earth salute, before walking over to a random cube and tapping it. Steven didn't look at her any further to see what she had found, instead turning to his own line of cubes that lay vacant. He snatched up a random one and tapped it, causing a new screen to appear, this time with an image of Earth. He let out another sigh of relief and turned to show Spinel, who was staring blankly at her cube.

"See, Spinel?" He said, pointing towards the screen. "We're in the right place."

"..."

"...Spinel?" He repeated, just now noticing that she had stopped moving altogether, which was a very rare thing with her. He set the cube back down and slowly approached her, hoping that he hadn't activated some bad memories with that image. "Spinel? Are you okay?"

"..."

"Okay, Spinel, if something's wrong I need you to-"

"It's her…" Spinel said softly, her hands now trembling as the cube she was holding clattered to the floor and flickered out.

"Her?" Steven asked, suddenly getting a cold, sick feeling in his stomach, like he had just eaten a piece of raw chicken. "Spinel, who are you talking about?"

"...I was right." She said. "We're in the wrong section. It was three, not two. We're...somewhere else." She then turned around and glared at Steven, an almost angry look in her eyes. He stopped back on instinct from this stare, as it was one he hadn't seen in almost a year, when she was ready to throw him off the top of the injector. She motioned towards the cube and Steven looked at it cautiously, before slowly bending down and picking it up. Keeping his eyes on Spinel the whole time, he activated the cube, and this time it lit up with a pink light and an image of-

He gasped and dropped the cube just like Spinel had, and once again it clattered to the floor and switched off. He finally realized what she had been talking about. Because that cube had just shown him an image of Pink Diamond. And while this wouldn't be unusual for the Earth section, this wasn't a photo of Pink on Earth. No, it was just one of her being stuck in the tower, as he had been.

They weren't in the Earth section.

They had stumbled upon his mother's personal archives. Probably everything he had ever wanted to know about her was in here.

And he knew he had to get Spinel out of her as fast as possible before she threw a fit and started toppling shelves. Because if she destroyed these cubes, perhaps a very large portion of all the Diamonds had left of her, then things could get very bad very quickly when it came to his and her relationship with them.

"...Hey, Spinel." He said, trying to sound as casual as possible. "I think we should just get out of here and-"

"No," Spinel said. "No, we're not going anywhere, Steven."

"H-hey, now hold on," Steven said, taking a step back, positive that he was about to attack him for forcing her to live through god knows how many memories just now. "I know you don't like my mom, but we already went through this. Attacking me won't change anything. So just calm down, follow me, and we can forget this ever happened."

"...What? No!" Spinel said, shaking her head. "What made you think I was going to attack you? No, now that we're here, I have something else in mind."

"And...what's that?"

"I want to know." Spinel said. "I caught a glimpse of what that cube said. It said that Pink Diamond herself had written it down and placed this cube here. Don't you get it? I'm sure that every single cube in this section was personally put here by her! Her own little memory vault that she could come to at any time! And I...and I…" She repeated. "...And I want to know if she put a cube of her abandonment of me in here. If she left anything about me in here, in fact! Or if she just left me to rot both physically and informationally, fully intending to let Gemkind forget about me forever!"

"Spinel…" Steven started, ignoring the fact that "informationally" was a word that didn't exist. "I'm sure that she put something about you here. You were her playmate! The Diamonds gave you to her! Even if she didn't write anything about you, I'm sure either they did or they told someone else to-"

"Don't give me all that!" Spinel said, swatting his hand away as he tried to approach her. "They knew I existed and what I looked like, that's how they recognized me back on Earth, but we met only once! And you remember my story with White from earlier! That was hardly even a meet! I guess she just knew I was there since that's what Yellow claimed, but...but…" She growled and pulled on her hair. "...The fact that no one ever came to the Garden, despite them never seeing me again after that or asking Pink about me, proves that they forgot! If there's any information in here about me, it would have to be put down by her. And that...is final, Steven! So stay here and look for whatever you want! If I don't find my abandonment in here, I'm going to grab an empty cube and write it myself so anyone who comes down here knows what she did to me!"

And with that, Spinel walked back to the shelf and grabbed another random cube, opened it, inspected it for a moment, then tossed it on the floor. Steven was about to stop her, before realizing that now was not the best time to interrupt again, especially since she was clearly angry with him for accidentally bringing them here. He was about to walk off, fully content (but not really) with letting Spinel do her thing...

...Until he realized that there was a memory he wanted to see as well. Because Pearl had told him that his mother knew about the Lab and the Traitor, but never had the time to shut it down. If this was true...could she have made a cube of this event and sent a messenger to Homeworld to put it in this vault? Maybe? Possibly?

Hopefully?

And now that the thought was in his brain, Steven wanted to know. He wanted to know if she truly didn't have the time to do anything, or if she just ignored it. And of course, there was the third option, where he would find nothing about it in here, but just like Spinel, Steven had gotten sucked in. All this information...anything about his mother that he could possibly want to learn...it was all available to him.

He wasn't just about to walk away from it. Not while he still had the chance. So Steven took one last glance at Spinel, who now had a pile of cubes three feet high beside her, and turned to the shelves, setting his eyes on the first cube he saw and opening it. Just like the last time, an image of Pink Diamond showed up, and just like the time before that, scribbles that were actually a language he couldn't understand appeared below it. But this didn't matter. Steven knew what he was looking for, and the images alone gave him a good idea of what was going on.

For instance, this one was obviously the transcript of a meeting between Pink and the other Diamonds, as it showed several images of such an event. Pink appeared to be begging for something, and Yellow and Blue were clearly having mixed feelings about whatever it was. Well, only Blue was. Yellow was just scowling at her. Steven was about to put the cube away, until he scrolled down a little further and saw an image with a triangle symbol on it. Intrigued, he pressed it and immediately the image sprung to life, with sound bursting out of the cube. After a brief moment of shock, Steven realized that he had just activated a video, so he tapped it again to pause it and then walked a little further away, not wanting to disturb Spinel with...whatever she was looking at now. The pile of cubes next to her was now almost as tall as he was, and Steven hoped that Yellow wouldn't be upset when she saw it.

But once he was a decent distance away, Steven tapped the screen again and set the cube down on the ground in front of him before taking a seat, like a person at a movie theatre. The figures on the screen moved again, and Steven heard a voice coming from one of them that he hadn't heard in a very long time.

"Please, Yellow!" Pink begged, looking ready to fall to her knees. "I'm just asking you to help me and Blue preserve life on this planet! We can't do it alone! There are too many organics here, and-"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Pink." Yellow interrupted. She then turned to Blue and scowled. "Why did you agree to this again? Giving her an entirely new planet to put all the organics from Earth no? What were you thinking giving in to her demands? Next she'll be asking for a whole solar system to put those creatures in!"

"Yellow, Pink said that this is what would make her happy, so I don't want to take it away from her," Blue replied. "She requested that we move all the organics from Earth to a previously colonized planet that was still capable of supporting...this kind of life, and told me that she just needed our help to do so. A few hundred dropships, that's all. Nothing she can't handle."

"A few hundred?!" Yellow screamed. "Ludicrous! Pink, you can barely fly your own ship! How do you expect to order around a whole fleet? Not to mention that most of the organics on that world don't seem to take too kindly to our colonization efforts, so attempting to move them all is impossible!"

"It won't be!" Pink contested. "Almost any Gem we sent to collect them will be stronger! It doesn't matter if they don't want to go, we can simply make them! And while I…" She looked away and lost her momentum for a second. "...Don't want any of them to get hurt, it's for their own safety! This way, we can combine the Earth, obtain all its resources, but still save all the life! So please, Yellow, let me do this. And then we can carry in with the colonization! It's as easy as that!"

Yellow growled and pinched her forehead between her fingers. "I'm sorry, Pink, but no. This is too much to ask for. Maybe one or two organics would be acceptable, but every single one on the planet? If I remember correctly, and from what you've shown me, there are billions of those filthy creatures running around! It'll be ten thousand years before you even manage to collect half of them, and in the meantime more will show up! And if White caught wind of this…" She shook her head and stood up perfectly straight. "...She'd come to Earth and colonize it herself, without a care for your precious organics. Do you want that to happen, Pink? For White to take charge of what was supposed to be your first colony, one that you begged us for who knows how many times?"

"I...no," Pink said softly. "I don't. But I also don't want to abandon the creatures on Earth! They have lives of their own! One species even shows signs of intelligence! They've built cities and made tools and created a language! They've even communicated with us!"

"We've come across "intelligent" species on our own worlds before, Pink, and they were nothing but trouble." Yellow spat. "I don't care if these creatures have invented space-travel, if they're actively getting in the way of the colonization process and fighting back, I want them exterminated. We once fought a war with an organic species that managed to occupy their entire solar system. Hundreds of Gems were shattered by the time we managed to kill them all. Blue's Gems, destroyed by those disgusting creatures and humiliating our empire. I will not allow that to happen again. Destroy them, Pink, or I will send a warship there and do it myse-"

"Now hold on," Blue interjected, getting between the two of them. "I think I may have a solution for this. Pink...these "intelligent" creatures. Are they the type of organic that you want to save most of all?"

"Well...yes…" Pink admitted, looking like she wasn't sure where Blue was getting with this.

"And will saving them make you happy?"

"I guess…"

"Then here is my solution." Blue started. "Yellow is right. That many dropships are too much to ask for. When you told us you wanted to save life on Earth, I didn't think you meant all of it. Just some of it. But then you asked to meet and...well, here we are. But yes, I agree with Yellow. We can't save all of Earth's organics, or even a hundredth of them. There are too many."

"What? But, Blue…" Pink whined. "Just a few minutes ago you were fully onboard to-"

"No, she's right," Blue interjected. "Saving all the organics on Earth is nothing more than wishful thinking, Pink. But like I was talking about, there is a solution. If you want this...intelligent species-"

"They're called humans."

"Very well. If you want these humans to be saved so much, then I believe…" Blue leaned forward and smiled as if to comfort Pink, despite not actually being in the room with her. "...That we can make a sort of "zoo" for a handful to live in."

"Wha…a zoo?!" Pink said incredulously. "What do you mean?"

"Well, on some planets, there are structures called "zoos" that hold the remaining organic life forms in them," Blue explained. "I propose we build one for these humans, in space so they don't get in the way of the colonization process no matter what...and put enough of them in there so their type doesn't die out and you can have as many humans as you want, forever."

"It's "species", not "type"," Pink said. "And that's not what I want! Even if we take a hundred or so, there will still be hundreds of thousands of them that we'll have to...exterminate…" She growled, forcing the word out. "...In order to finish the colony! I know you said it's impossible, but taking a few and ripping them away from their families is just as cruel as leaving a few behind! It's...I don't want this, Blue!"

"Pink," Yellow said sternly. "Blue has offered you a solution to your little organic problem. One much more generous than White or I would give you. You wanted to save these humans. You care about their existence. Blue is giving you a chance to do that. A hundred or a hundred-thousand, their "species" will survive, and isn't that the point? Isn't that what you want?"

"You're talking about them like they're one giant being, not individuals with thoughts and feelings of their own!" Pink protested. "So no, this isn't what I want! Either send the dropships to Earth and save all the organics, or I'll-"

"You'll what?" A sudden voice hissed, and everyone immediately shut their mouths and turned towards the sound of the voice. There, standing in the doorway of the moon base, at the very bottom of the steps, was Pink's former Pearl, now bleached White and possessed by...White. Pink's eyes widened as she stood up and backed away in fear, Pearl tensed up and tried not to stare at her damaged predecessor, and Blue and Yellow took the most formal expressions they could muster, any pretense of anger, or any other emotion for that matter, gone. Just how White liked it.

"W-White," Pink said shakily, as the possessed Pearl floated up at the stairs and came to a stop no less than five feet away. "What are you doing here? I thought-"

"Oh, Starlight, look at the mess you've gotten yourself into," White said, ignoring Pink's question entirely. "I would say I'm disappointed, if I hadn't seen this coming. I should have known that you would grow too attached to these lower-life forms. And you two..." She turned towards Blue and Yellow, who flinched under her gaze. "...I am disappointed in you, for not realizing this would happen. You were well aware of Pink's fondness for her pets, yet you let her colonize a planet rich with them. Unacceptable foresight, on your part. I'd say you are just as much to blame for this obsession as she is."

Both of the Diamonds immediately looked terrified at this accusation, and for a second Steven (who was, frankly, wishing he had brought some popcorn) thought they were about to fall on their knees and beg for mercy. None of that happened, surprisingly, but they certainly were quick to open their mouths and try to explain the situation.

"Forgive us, White, she tried to goad us with her-"

"Then she started making complaints left and right-"

"And now she wants to use our dropships to transports every organic-"

"And she refused my generous offering of a zoo for the humans-"

"And then-"

"And then-"

"And then-"

And then they both spoke up simultaneously, saying the exact same thing in the exact same tone.

"It's not our fault! Please forgive us, White!" They both shrieked, and for a moment, all was silent as White took this in before nodding her head. Just once, as if she was simply lowering it.

"Perhaps." He said. "We shall discuss this later on in more detail, when we have finished dealing with the problems at present." She turned back to Pink, who gulped and did this sort of slow bow-nod thing at White. "Pink. Is what they're saying true? That you want to help all the organics on Earth, and that you refused Blue's offer of creating a zoo for these humans?"

"...Yes," Pink replied hesitantly, knowing there was no purpose in attempting to lie. "But you have to understand, White! You know how much my...pets mean to me! This colonization process will kill them all, and I can't bear to see them-"

"Hush, Starlight. I understand." White said. "Which is why I'm offering a solution of my own. Yellow wants to exterminate all of these creatures. Blue wants to save a small portion of them to satiate you. And you want to rescue them all. I think I may have an option that works out for all of us."

"What is it?" Pink asked.

"Simple," White said. "I take over this colony, and you go back to Homeworld."

"What?!" Pink exclaimed. "How does that work out for "all of us", White?! What are you-"

"I'm not done yet, Starlight," White interjected. "You will go back to Homeworld, and I will erase your memory of this little Earth incident. No more memories, no more organics. No more organics, not more problems. No more problems, no more imperfections on your part."

"Wha...WHAT?!" Pink, Blue, and Yellow exclaimed, before White snapped back towards the latter two and they immediately shut up again. Pink, however, did not. "What do you mean, erase my memories? How would you even…?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you, Starlight?" White asked. "I would imbue you with my White light, fix everything that needs to be fixed, and when you go back to your old self, you will have forgotten everything about Earth. It will become one of my colonies, and I will colonize the way it should be. And the first step, of course, will be to exterminate all these organics. Before you're even aware Earth exists! This way, you don't get sad over their deaths, and they will never bother you again. Everything will go back to normal."

For a moment, everyone just stared at White, shocked at her proposal. Finally, after what felt like hours of silence, Blue spoke up, her voice trembling like she was being held at gunpoint.

"White…" She started, and instantly all eyes were upon her. "I think this is too extreme of a method. I understand that it will...solve all these problems with the organics, but don't you think you're taking this too far? Pink is a Diamond! Even if she is acting this way, she shouldn't be treated this way! Not like that!"

"Treated this way?" White echoed, before chuckling. "I find it amusing that you should say that, Blue, considering how many times you've locked Pink away in that tower without my permission for her "organic problems". Shutting away the light of a Diamond is no minor offense, Blue, and especially without the say of all the rest."

"I…" Blue started, leaning back and then looking away. "But you knew about it and you never complained and so I thought-"

"That I was okay with it?" White said. "Blue, you should know by now that you should always ask me about matters when it comes to Pink before deciding them on your own. Our precious Starlight shouldn't be shut away like that, kept from the light of her home and her Gems. It's not right for a Diamond to be put in such a place."

"Then...then I promise I will not do it again?" Blue offered, praying that White would be merciful. "I don't understand why you haven't commented on this before, but if you don't want time to do this, then I will absolutely not-"

"I was waiting to see if you could figure it out by yourself. I was waiting to see if you realized that your pathetic excuse for a punishment wasn't working. It seems I waited for nothing." White said, before shaking her head and smiling even wider. "After this is over, Blue, please come to my chambers. We need to talk."

"I-! You…...yes. Of course." Blue said softly, accepting defeat. "It will be done."

"Excellent," White said. "I trust that we will come to an agreement with this situation. Now then…" She looked back at Pink. "Pink. What do you think of this solution?"

"I-"

"Good. I'm glad we agree." White interjected. "Now, Pink, please hold still. This will only take a moment. Yellow, Blue, you may look away if you wish." The Pearl's eye then began glowing bright white, and Pink felt a surge of fear rushing towards her as it aimed its head directly at her Gem. Blue and Yellow gasped but didn't turn away as White said they could, instead watching with wide eyes, as if silently saying, "Is this really happening"? Pink, meanwhile, was too scared to move, completely unable to dodge what was coming. And as for Pearl? Well, she was standing there with a horrified expression on her face, looking like she was about to tackle the possessed Pearl to the ground.

But then at the last second, just before White fired, a wild scream stopped it all.

"WAIT!" Yellow interjected, and the glow from the Pearl's eye faded and the smile turned into a frown as everyone looked at Yellow, who knew she only had a second to respond before she faced a punishment ten times worse than the one Pink was about to receive. "White...wait. You don't have to do this. It's too early. If you...do that, then she will never learn her lesson. I have an alternate solution."

"Is that so?" White asked, her voice emotionless but somehow tingling with rage at the same time. "What is your proposal, Yellow?"

"Pink loves organics. She refuses to see them as the inferior beings that they are, and that they shouldn't be interacted with, but eliminated." Yellow stated, before swallowing hard. "I propose that we send her to a planet that will show her that organics are nothing but inferior, mindless beasts, and soon I'm sure she will see all organics this way. Then...we send her back to Earth, and have her personally wipe it clean of the creatures."

"Wait, WHA-" Pink started, but White interjected again, something that she had a clear talent for.

"An interesting proposal." She noted. "While it may take longer, I do suppose it will take care of her love for these lower-life forms once and for all. Having her experience it firsthand would be a good way to show Starlight the truth. Blue, what do you think?"

"I...I think it's a good idea." Blue said quickly. "I think-"

"I'll do it! I'll let you build your zoo!" Pink suddenly said, staring down at the ground with a dark expression. "I'll let you build your zoo, and I'll wipe out the rest of Earth's life forms. You won't have to worry about me caring for her after that. I...I promise."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Are you sure, Starlight?" White asked. "Yellow's proposal is a much better idea. If you successfully colonize this world, then your love for organics might come with it, and will be in your mind when you eventually colonize others. It will continue to be an imperfection unless we stop it."

"Then I'll stop it myself," Pink said. "I'll personally make sure that by the end of this colonization, that I have no love for any organic beings. But not by erasing my memories, or showing me how horrible they are, or personally eradicating them all."

"Then how?" Yellow asked.

"I...I'll figure that out. But this is still my colony, no matter how often I ask for your assistance or advice." Pink said. "I have to shape up and do things...myself. Like a Diamond would."

"..."

"..."

"...Well, I'm glad you finally made your choice," White commented. "Although I don't think this "zoo" is a good influence. You might visit these creatures after the colonization and they could rekindle your likeness for them. It is too much of a risk, and one I won't allow you to-"

"White," Blue said. "If Pink says she will take care of this organic problem of hers alone, and the starting point of that is to make this zoo, then...I think we should allow it. As long as Pink can give us a very good explanation as to why it should exist. Right, Pink?"

"What? But you were the one who suggested-" Pink started, before the look on Blue's face indicated that this was the only way she was going to win this conversation. She promptly shut up and then put on her best formal tone, one she had spent hours practicing in the mirror beforehand. "...Yes. Of course. I think we should create the zoo...for study."

"Study?" White said quizzingly. "Pink. These are lower-life forms we're talking about. What could we possibly have to learn from them? What point is there to studying them if anything we learn is pointless?"

"Because...they're intelligent!" Pink pointed out. "Yellow told me that you once encountered an intelligent organic species that caused the shattering of hundreds of Gems. And since I believe most organics are the same when it comes to the most basic components, so maybe these humans in the zoo could be used to understand how organics work, and that information could be used in our favor if we ever come across a moderately advanced species again that attempts to fight back."

"So what you're saying is..." Yellow started. "We should take these creatures and observe them, and hopefully that will give us some information on any weaknesses that these filthy things as a whole might have in the extremely rare occurrence that we find another that is space-faring?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." Pink beamed. "Any war with them will be over before it even begins if we know how most effectively to get rid of them. No Gems will be shattered, and Gemkind won't be disgraced at any sort of defeats or casualties that we might suffer under them. And…" She turned towards White and played her trump card. "...It will show the perfections of the empire, and the imperfections of the lower-life forms."

"..."

"So...is this okay, White? Can I make my zoo?"

"...Very well," White said, after a brief moment of thought. "You are correct, Starlight. The study of these humans could be useful to us down the line, and any future wars will indeed show that our empire is perfect and unbreakable, even against the most determined of foes. I agree with your proposal. This zoo of yours can be built. However, you must build and design it yourself, with no help from the others. Understand, Pink?"

"I understand. Thank you, White." Pink said, before gulping and asking one last question. "By the way...why did you come here, instead of just appearing on a communication screen like Blue and Yellow?"

"In case I needed to do this," White said, and the Pearl's eye flashed for a second before fading away. "But I am happy that it did not have to come to that. But next time, don't expect me to be so lenient, Starlight. I only allowed this because it is your first colony, and you made a good case. In any future ones, I expect you to eradicate the organics as needed. With no hesitation. Understand?"

"I...understand, White," Pink said, clenching her teeth together. "You won't have to worry about that."

"Good, good…" White said softly, before floating backwards down the stairs. "Then I will be taking my leave now, Starlight. I hope that I don't have to hear about this again. However...you should know...that if you complete this colony, create your zoo, go to another one, and attempt in any way to save organics there…" White's smile then grew even wider, as if she was taking great pleasure in what she was saying. "...Then I will send a fleet of ships to destroy that zoo and any organics you have inside, along with all your Gems that you will station there. Do you understand me clearly?"

"...Crystal."

"Good," White said for the final time, and without a moment's hesitation, she drifted out of the room. Pink waited a minute or so until a large white orb appeared outside the window of the moon base and floated until it hit the horizon and disappeared, evidently traveling wherever White's ship was parked. After a few tense seconds, she flopped down in her chair and breathed an immense sigh of relief, with the other two Diamonds doing the same.

"How did she even get here without the base's sensors picking it up?" Pink asked, towards no one in particular. "Did she really move that orb halfway across this moon just to sneak up on me like that?"

"I wouldn't put it past her…" Blue mumbled. "Although I am glad we came to a solution, Pink. Now we can create that zoo, grab a few humans, and forget that any of this ever happened. Right?"

"..."

"Pink?"

"Right," Pink said. "We'll just forget about it."

"Well, if you two are finished, then I will be taking my leave," Yellow said, sounding annoyed with the whole situation. "As White said, I will be taking no part in the construction of this human zoo, and if your organic problem is solved, Pink, then there is no reason for me to waste my time here. Goodbye. And next time, Pink, when you have a problem, it better not be about these creatures. Because if it is…" The screen Yellow was on faded and sizzled out, although her voice remained for a moment more. "...Then I'll come to Earth and burn away the entire surface until there's nothing left for anything to live on."

And with that, Yellow vanished, the pedestal her screen was projected from switching off and reverting back to its natural full white coloring. Pink sighed and sat back in her chair, before glancing up at Blue. A question in her eyes, said without any words. And Blue was more than happy to answer it.

"Don't worry. I'll help you with the zoo behind their backs." Blue said. "Such an enormous project shouldn't be made by you and you alone. All the capturing, and studying, and the needs of those creatures...if you like, I can do it all myself, and make it look like you were the one to create it."

"That'd be great," Pink said, although there was a hint of disdain in her voice. "Thanks, Blue."

"Anything for you, Pink. And, ah…"

"You don't have to say anything about the Tower," Pink muttered, knowing full well that Blue was about to spout some half-assed apology. "I don't care about it."

"Oh. Well good." Blue said. "Then goodbye, Pink. Good luck with your colony. I'll be calling back soon so you can inform me of where to best find these humans. But as for right now, I have other futures to attend to."

And with that, Blue vanished just like Yellow, and the video ended a second later, leaving Steven sitting there with an intrigued expression on his face. He thought about everything he had just seen, before shrugging and deciding that it really wasn't important. Sure, it was interesting that Pink had wanted to save every organic and had considered moving them all off-world (was there a reason Pearl hadn't told him about that?), as well as the fact that White attempted to mind-wipe her just like she had done to Blue, Yellow, and probably countless other Gems throughout history. Also, she could erase memories? That was new. But if this was the case, then what exactly was she planning to do to Pink Steven if she managed to possess him…?

Steven shook his head and got this thought out of his head. It could come later. He quickly scrolled down the rest of the page, as it was mostly more gibberish that he couldn't understand, and he was about to turn off the cube entirely and grab a new one when-

"Please enter credentials for access."

"AH! What the-!" Steven started, jumping away in shock from the device at the sudden sound of the electronic voice. He backed up until he was a few feet away and stopped, fully realizing what the voice had said and wanting to remain cautious unless it electrocuted him or something in the chance that he didn't have "credentials".

"Please enter credentials for access." It repeated, and Steven gulped before slowly stepping forward and tapping the screen, realizing why the cube was asking for such a thing. There was another video at the very bottom of a file, a screen of static covering the "thumbnail", and showing nothing else.

"Why would I need credentials?" Steven wondered aloud. "Does it not recognize me as a Diamond or something? I mean, I'm not complaining, but still…"

Steven then tapped the video screen, and a small icon appeared in front of it that looked like a microphone.

"Please say password to gain access." It requested, and Steven was immediately left dumbfounded. Assuming his mother had created this file, it would have to be something related to her right?

"Uh...Pink?" He tried, leaning in to make sure it captured his whole voice.

"Access denied."

"Dang it. No, that would be too obvious." Steven said, chiding himself. "Hmm...Pearl?"

"Access denied."

"Oh, come on. She'd totally make that the password!" Steven complained, before settling down. "Okay. Think. It's her file. It can't be too obvious. What would she put? Lion? No, he probably came thousands of years after she made this. Earth? Eh...too obvious again. Hmm…" He hummed, before leaning in again. "Screw the Diamonds?"

"Access denied." The machine repeated, although, for some reason, Steven thought he could hear a giggle at the end of that voice.

"Of course." He sighed, before a realization hit him in the face. "Wait. Why would she want a file restricted just to her? What's in here that she would want to hide from everyone else?" Steven then contemplated all this for a second more, before taking a deep breath and leaning in for the final time. "Rose."

"Access granted." The cube replied, and Steven sucked in his breath. The video loaded for a second before taking over the full screen, but this time Steven didn't sit back. Instead, he sat forward with his head only a foot away, fully captivated by whatever he was about to witness. And it was a great surprise when the static faded and the first frame came into view, looking like this video had started off directly after the end of the last one.

"So, that didn't go so well," Pearl said, to which Pink didn't respond. "But look on the bright side, My Diamond! That zoo will be created. Not all Earth life will be lost. Only...errr...most of it."

"If that's your attempt at humor, Pearl, I can say that I don't find it funny," Pink muttered, facepalming and resting her elbows against the console.

"It wasn't meant to be so, My Diamond," Pearl said quickly. "I was just trying to be optimistic."

"There's nothing to be optimistic about here," Pink said. "And Pearl...you don't have to call me "My Diamond" every time you speak. I've already told you this."

"Ah…" Pearl said nervously, briefly looking away. "I apologize, I wasn't sure if you were serious or not, My...I mean, Pink Diamond."

"Well, I suppose those are the drawbacks when half of the lines that come out of your mouth in front of others aren't meant to be taken seriously…" Pink sighed, leaning back in her chair. "But how did White get here without us sensing it? Even if she parked that ship of hers halfway across the moon, the sensors should have picked it up."

"Perhaps she parked the ship even further than that," Pearl suggested. "She has the patience to move the orb for hours, or even days to get here without being detected. I wouldn't put it past her."

"I wouldn't either," Pink said. "But hopefully it doesn't happen again. Especially considering all the things I'm going to be saying to myself about her." She then looked around nervously and gulped again. "You don't think she has cameras in here, do you? Watching us all the time with some cutting-edge technology?"

"She did construct this base for you…" Pearl said. "And it would explain how she always seems to know what you're calling the other Diamonds for, even when she's not invited to said meetings. Which is...every time."

"Don't regret that. As you just saw, even the simplest of encounters with her can end in total disaster. I also came close to having my memory wiped!" She exclaimed, like Pearl hadn't been there to witness the whole thing. She shuddered and continued, clearly unnerved by the experience. "I've seen what she's done to Blue and Yellow when they're under her control. Just like they locked me in the Tower for punishment, she took over their bodies for who knows how many hundreds of years until they "learned their lesson". I asked them what it was like. Once."

"And what happened?"

"They threw me in the Tower...for ten straight years. I was so weak and light-deprived by the end of it that I could barely walk." Pink explained. "I spent a full week in my room, recovering."

"I think I was more disturbed by how quickly she jumped to that option," Pearl commented. "I think she's growing tired of your antics, she's just not showing it. Or maybe she's disappointed in you. I…" She then paused and gazed at the ground. "I'm not sure what her full reasoning is. But she seemed more than eager to do it, that I can't say with certainty."

"She's always been like that. She may put on an emotionless smile at every second of the day, but deep down I'm sure she's a sadist." Pink complained. "The happiest I've ever seen her was when I told her that the first kindergarten on Earth was complete. And her smile grew wider at the exact second I mentioned that it had destroyed all organic life in the area. And I've seen her sentence hundreds of Gems to death with a similar joy. I'm not sure if she's happy because she sees those things as "imperfections", or if she just enjoyed watching other beings suffer."

"I think it could be both," Pearl said. "But I think we should get back to what's most concerning. What are you going to do now?"

"..."

"My Diamond?"

"..."

"Pink?"

"I don't know." Pink finally blurted out. "There. I said it. I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't order for the zoo to be canceled because it means that even if I don't miraculously save all life on Earth, that at least some of it will survive. So I'll just let Blue take some humans and put them there, even if it makes me furious. Ripping them away from their homes and families like that…actual caring families...I hate the thought of it."

"I suppose it was the best-case scenario though," Pearl said. "I'm surprised that White managed to get talked back into allowing it. As you mentioned, she enjoys watching others squirm with fear and pain. Even if that zoo is for "study" I'm sure she's going to find some way to hurt the organics inside."

"Not going to happen," Pink said defiantly. "When it's finished construction, I'm going straight back to Homeworld and telling White myself. That if she does anything to it or the organics without consulting me first, then I'll spill the entire Homeworld archives out to the masses."

"Won't she just possess you and mind-wipe you?" Pearl asked. "A threat has to be credible for it to actually take effect. By the time you'd have reached the archives, she'd have hit you with her eye beams ten times over."

"I know," Pink said. "I'll figure that part out when it comes to it. Or just think up a less insane threat. But regardless, it will be something that'll ensure she won't touch anyone here. Only Blue and I will be allowed. As for Yellow...well, I don't think she's going to take an interest in the first place."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Pearl said. "The whole reason she went along with White and approved it was because of the "study" part. While it may have been Blue's Gems that were defeated by those organics, she is still deeply ashamed by what happened because of how it made the empire look as a whole. Anyone could tell that she doesn't want something similar happening, especially to one of her colonies. And if those humans would help her with preventing something like that from happening, then I'm sure she'll be more intrigued by whatever "data" we get from them than anyone else."

"That's true..." Pink mumbled, before looking away. "I just hope Blue doesn't try to do anything with the organics…"

"I'm sure she won't. Not without your approval first." Pearl said. "But...overall...what are you going to do now? Are you going to finish colonizing the planet? Exterminate all organic life?"

"Of course not," Pink said. "I think...I need to think." She sighed. "A way out of this. I need a way out…"

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked.

"I mean I want to get out of all of this," Pink said. "Being a Diamond. Colonizing planets. Getting locked in that tower. Just...everything! I can't stand it anymore! I begged for my own colony for years, but now that I see what Gems are doing to planets...I regret ever asking in the first place. I have to come up with a way. A way to ensure that I don't have to be a Diamond anymore!"

"But how?" Pearl asked. "I don't think you can just quit being a Diamond, or the colony at all. If you do, then White will come in and finish the job herself."

"You're right...I can't just quit." Pink asked. "But what else is there? What could I do to-"

Pink then stopped, her eyes brightening up like an idea had come to mind. She froze in place, still as a statue, her mouth locked open on the word she was just about to say.

"Pink? My Diamond?" Pearl asked, stepping closer. "Are you okay?! Did White-"

"I got it," Pink said. "I know what I can do. What we can do."

"What...we can do?" Pearl asked nervously, as Pink lifted herself up from her chair and walked towards the Gem. Pearl didn't move a muscle as Pink approached and then crouched down, putting them both at eye level. She stuck out both her hands and grabbed Pearl by the shoulders, before staring at her, her irises swimming with stars.

"Pearl," Pink said, her voice tingling with excitement.

"Let's become...the both of us...someone entirely new."

And then the screen cut to black.

And Steven made a sound of disappointment that could be heard throughout the entire room. He let out a groan as the image of his mom and Pearl faded away, and grabbed the cube in anger, shaking it around like a baby with a rattle.

"Come on! Just when it was getting good!" He complained, before sighing and placing the cube back on the shelf. "Seriously, that conversation between the two of them had way too many loose ends. It was like they switched topics completely halfway through!"

The cube didn't respond to his complaint, only continuing to show the now blank screen. He let out another groan before tapping the top, causing the entire thing to vanish and the area to be bathed in mostly darkness again. He gingerly placed the cube back where it once sat and then grabbed another, staring at it blankly for a few seconds.

"Okay." He said to himself. "That took way too long. This time, if I find any videos, I'm just going to see if I can fast-forward through them and find anything that looks like the lab, or another argument between Pink, or something like that. Anything that could point to clues."

Steven then tapped the top of the cube and it opened up, although this time the screen looked much different than the last one. There was no text, only a single video. Steven looked at it, bemused, for a few moments before tapping it and getting ready to fast forward in case it turned out to be another useless thing.

However, once the video loaded and he saw what was on the screen, he froze in place and immediately felt like he was going to throw up.

Because there, he saw an image of his mother in her room on Homeworld, and Volleyball standing next to her. And her skin, just like his had been for months, was glowing a bright pink.

And worst of all, the crack that covered one of Volleyball's eyes was not there, in its place a perfectly normal one.