Garnet accompanies the Peridot to the moon base while the Earthbound gems have a talk with Connie.

...

Once the group was Earthside once more, Garnet and the Peridot from the diamonds departed to the moonbase. Upon their arrival, Garnet surveyed the area before allowing Squaridot to begin, as to ensure there wouldn't be any unexpected visitors to interrupt them. Once she gave the all clear, the skilled technician began her work, letting the fusion know that it would take sometime, but no too long to complete. With those two on the moon base and progress underway, that left the remaining portion of the group at the temple. Once they got Lapis and Greg up to speed with what they knew, the group elected to take the time to relax while they waited for results. Sometime had passed. Everyone was still located within the main area of the beach house when Pearl had elected bring up a certain topic.

"Connie...are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine...or at least as fine as one could be considering everything that's happening."

"That's not quite was I'm referring to. I meant with the event a few years back in White's head. She had mentioned that you knew what she was talking about."

Knowing from the get go what Pearl was referring to, a look of discomfort crossed the young warrior. "Look, I'd rather not talk about that one. Once we rescue Steven and he's ready, he can tell you guys about it in detail."

"But Connie, knowing what happened might be able to give an idea on the third option White mentioned and how we might attempt it...should we need to in a worse case scenario."

Sensing some tension growing between the two, Bismuth attempted to keep it from growing. "Pearl, maybe now isn't the be-"

"It won't come to that." Connie interrupted as she looked at her mentor with a fierce determination mixed with a hint of sorrow and anger. "We'll find another way to save him. Besides, its not my place to say what happened. I was just a witness for the event, not the victim."

"Connie...I know the burden of keeping secrets more than anyone. Its unhealthy and it can tear you apart.

Losing her patience with her mentor, Connie spoke with pain in her voice. "You also know how difficult it is to break a promise Pearl. You literally had to find a loophole to break yours and although keeping yours wasn't your choice, this one is my choice, as well as Steven's. It may have tore you apart to have to bear the knowledge you knew, but for us, it hurts to have to even think about, much less share it, even between each other. We discussed that day in detail on several occasions, sometimes even months or years after so we might find some kind of closure. It took me months to only stop having nightmares about it. Steven though, he's still haunted by what happened in White's head. That day may have given us the victory we went there for, but it came at the worst cost. Because of what happened back then and the effect it had on him, I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone what happened...at least not until he was ready to share it himself. My parents don't even know. Only four people know of what happened that day: Me, Steven, White, and my therapist, and she doesn't even know all details or that it even happened to Steven. I had to keep that discussion as private and void of direct details as I could, so I could actually tell someone about it so I might attempt to even get over it. And this wasn't even something that directly happened to me. Like I said Pearl, I was merely a witness. Imagine how Steven felt, having his gem and human halves separated. It nearly killed him and its killing me not to be able to share the details with anyone, so that Steven could get the help he deserves. But I can't Pearl...I just can't. It would ruin me...and it would destroy him to share those details so soon. If he couldn't tell you guys about it, then I won't be the one to break his trust.

The room grew silent. No one wanted to interrupt the conversation turned argument between the two as they were also curious about any kind of details, but no one wanted to push the young woman either.
Finally, it was Pearl who spoke up.

"Connie, I'm sorry. Your right. I had to keep my promise not to speak of Rose's millennia old secret by order alone, not choice. I can't imagine the pain you two must have gone through...or the pain either of you still have. I hadn't realized that it was that dramatic, even for you.

Having calmed down, though still somewhat tense from having to talk about it, Connie gave a soft smile. "It's fine Pearl. We all just want to save him and see him get better. I will say though...it would be best to avoid that option. It has too many risks, both physically and mentally. All we can do is hope we can find Black Diamond and break his control over Steven."

With that said, the group continued minor conversation to pass the time. After about another hour, with it being nighttime outside, Garnet and Squaridot returned.

"So Garnet, what's the word?" Bismuth asked.

"We have a location and its on Earth." The group was glad to hear it was still planetside. Having to perform a galactic search would prove more difficult.

"Well, what are we waiting for, lets go. We have a Steven to rescue." Peridot exclaimed. Having any sort of information regarding his potential rescue was motivation enough for the group to spring to life once more. Thanking the technician from Homeworld, Squaridot bid farewell and warped back to Homeworld, but not before offering her services again should the need arise, even going as far as to offer a communicator similar to that of the diamond's version in case the group required any sudden technical support that the Crystal Gem Peridot could not solve.

With her departure, the group, minus Greg, moved to the warp as well to go to the coordinates that were found. Upon warping and arriving at the location, the group found themselves within a dense jungle area. The Gems could guess that the area was a decent distance from the temple as it was now day light versus the nighttime setting they were just in. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary at first, the group elected to spread out and see if they could locate either Steven or something that might point in his direction. After sometime of searching, Lapis found something, and had alerted the group.

Upon regrouping on Lapis' location, the group noticed a structure. It was a decent sized building which seemed to be of Earth design rather than that of Homeworld architect. The building appeared to be a two story structure, with no windows and a front door, which was currently open on the front of the building. The building also had some overgrowth on it from the nearby plant life, giving the group an idea as to how long the building had been here. No signs of security nor recent activity were noticed in the area. Without much other options, the group cautiously advanced towards the facility, attempting to keep any commotion they may make to a minimum. Once at the front door, Garnet took point and glanced into the building, which thankfully had some lights on. Once giving the all clear, the group entered the structure, hoping that they would be able to get any sort of info to help save Steven.

...

What will the group find in this mysterious facility? Be a shame if they were to advance the plot in anyway.

Thanks for the growing support guys, really appreciate it. Since I ain't working this weekend and my schedule looks like butt for next week, hoping to at least plan and write out a few chapters so that y'all have content on my busy days. Hope to see you all in the next chapter.

Secrets by OneRepublic