With Steven's strange act having been seen firsthand, the gems regroup to inform everyone of the troubling news.

...

It was a silent trip back to the beach house. None of the Gems wanted to discuss what had just happened. Pearl had texted everyone once they were planetside to inform them that information had been found on Steven. Once everyone was gathered in the main area, the group noticed the trio's tension, which did not help the already low morale. Finally breaking the ice, Bismuth had elected to address the issue.

"You guys alright? What happened on the moon base?

"We're fine Bismuth or at least as fine as we could be. As for what happened...we saw Steven" Letting that bit of info sink into the group, a mixture of joy and confusion flashed across the group. After giving everyone a chance to process that first bit of info, Pearl elected to drop the remainder of that bomb on the them. "Thankfully, he's alive and seemingly well but..." she paused.

Noticing her hesitation, Lapis spoke up. "But what, if you all saw Steven, then where is he?"

Pearl continued, "We don't know. It's difficult to explain, but he didn't quite seem himself. Rather than attempt to explain what happened, let me show you all what we saw".

With this, Pearl's gem began glowing, revealing a hologram of the moon base from her point of view. She recounted everything from their arrival to the kidnapped Peridots and Steven's appearance and attitude. Once Steven had left via warp pad, Pearl closed the hologram, leaving only silence in the house as everyone processed the events. Finally, after a few moments that had felt like an eternity to the Gems, the silence was broken.

"Well, that's a lot to unpack" Bismuth exclaimed. "But why was he even there to begin with? I mean, it seemed like he was hunting those Peridots, but why?

"We're unsure as of now. The only thing we really know is what little we heard from his quiet conversation with someone via what we believe to be an ear piece, and that something was wrong with his gem." Garnet explained.

"It's odd though", Peridot spoke." His gem was black. The only times anyone has reported seeing gem discoloration of that magnitude is during fusion, which we know this wasn't, with White Diamond's powers, which we can rule out since hers is a 'bleaching' color rather than a total blackout, and with corruption, which I would also rule out as he didn't appear to be corrupted in this sense, especially since his powers seemed to work just as well as before, aside from a bit of discoloration from the normal and also in that we've seen him...corrupt."

The room sat in silence once again. No one wanted to speak of his breakdown, even in comparison. Seeing the discomfort in the group, Garnet picked the conversation back up.

"I'd say it was safe to assume that his two sudden disappearances at the base were a result of his pink powers, specifically his super speed."

"Yeah, but this time he didn't glow pink or really any color for it to happen. I mean, we know he had been glowing pink less since his breakdown, but he still usually needed it to happen to access his newer powers" Amethyst added.

"Aside from his gem, that somewhat private conversation was concerning. From what little we could make out, Steven almost seemed like he was reporting to someone, like someone gave him that task of collecting the Peridots at the base" Pearl continued. "We can only guess who or why though".

"Did you all catch the part about a diamond?" With a mixture of hums and nods from the group, Lapis added, "Do we think the diamonds have gone back to their old ways?

"No way" Connie cried, who had been lost in thought for a moment about Peridot's comment about Steven not being a fusion. Although his fusion was far different then the normal variety, everyone that knew of his secret, which consisted of exactly three people, knew so little about mixture that she wouldn't absolutely rule out that possibility until a confirmation was received regarding his gem discoloration. "We've all seen how they act around Steven. Plus, they've been calling and getting updates from us whenever they can. If this was their doing, whether it was one or all of them, it still doesn't explain their panicked response at his going missing or his gem discoloration since we know none of the other three diamond's can do that."

Continuing the conversation, Greg took it all in slowly. He didn't know much about the gem stuff, but he had attempted to be apart of Steven's life, especially since his breakdown. Interjecting himself into the conversation suddenly, he had a thought. "Why don't we go and ask the diamonds? We know Steven did mention a diamond. Even if it probably wasn't intended towards the three we know, maybe one of them knows something we don't. Couldn't hurt to ask right?"

With a hesitant approach, Amethyst spoke up, "I don't know about that. They aren't exactly the same tyrants we all knew, but they still aren't exactly bearable to be around, especially without Steven." A majority of the group was in a silent agreement with her. Even though Era 3 was going well and the diamonds had long since began their attempts to make amends for their actions, there was still a tension between them and the Crystal Gems. It was difficult for either side to come to terms with what the other had done during their conflict. Regardless though, Greg's idea did stick with a few as they couldn't deny that they may be their only decent source at the moment.

"I believe it may be worth a shot. We all still have feelings towards the diamonds yes, but still, its a good possibility that they may know something about this, even if they aren't involved with this incident" Garnet mentioned. "

With a collective mixture of groans and begrudging agreeance, the group realized they didn't really have much of a choice. They could either continue their wild goose chase and continue to know just as much as they currently did with only a slight chance of hope or they could talk with the former monarchs and gamble that they might know something. As much as it hurt for them to admit, they needed the diamonds help. With this, they all moved to the observatory to contact the diamonds with the communicator Steven usually used. Seconds after making the call, it was picked up and the three diamonds were present on the screen.

"Hello everyone. I assume you all have an update for us? Yellow began.

Taking the lead, Garnet responded, "Yes, though the info we have is a bit alarming. We can say though we found Steven." With that news, a wave of relief hit the diamonds. It was good for them to know that their youngest diamond was still alive. No one wanted to even guess how they'd react if they had lost Steven forever.

"You say you found him, yet I get the feeling there's more to it than that." Yellow said.

"You'd be right. We found him, but only briefly on the moon base." As Pearl spoke up now, she went into detail the best she could about their incident at the moonbase. While only giving the most practical and important details as to keep the conversation brief, once she mentioned Steven's now black gem, this bit of info seemed to catch White's attention.

"My apologies, but did you just say his gem was black!?" With a confirmation, a grave look fell over White. "Oh my...Crystal Gems, I believe I may know what is happening with our starlight. Please, if you could all come to Homeworld, I wish to explain what I suspect may be happening."

With an agreement, the gems ended the call and made their way to the nearby warp pad. Leaving Greg and Lapis behind to keep an eye on things, the rest of the group gathered and began their journey to Homeworld.

...

Tune in next time for a talk with Giant Women on Homeworld.

Something that's getting me with these is dialogue. Its becoming painful to continue saying 'Garnet said or Pearl concluded'. Going to try to see with these later chapters if I can't get passed repeating this and attempt better transitions between characters.

Moving along though, I still like how the chapters are coming out. Think that they may still be rushed, but otherwise, feeling good with them aside from those two points.

Thanks for reading guys. See you all in ch. 6.

What's Next by Godsmack.