Steven recalls the events that happened within the forge.

...

As the clouds continued swirling about, Steven moved his attention to the others.

"So, for this next memory, I did tell you guys about it after the fact, but I think it's only right you see firsthand what happened."

As he said this, the room had begun to take shape. As it formed, the room lit up as it formed several lava pools and metal weapons, to which the light from the room shined off of. Soon enough, the group found themselves positioned within Bismuth's forge. As the room finished making the setting, it added in Bismuth and Steven.

"It's time you see what happened with Bismuth and why she attacked me back then. Before I show this to you guys though, or really any other memories, I want you guys to promise me that your opinion of anyone we see won't change from how you think of them today because of what I show you. A lot of us did some horrible things, some of which we all still regret, but I don't want that to hurt our relations with anyone we know."

"We understand Steven...and we promise." said Garnet.

"Yeah man. We already know about a lot of this stuff from what you told us. I doubt us there's much here that could make us think otherwise." explained Amethyst.

"And even if it does, it won't tarnish the relationships we've built thus far. Like you said, we all have our regrets and we're all still living with them and improving off of them." Pearl said as she finished the words for the group.

"Thanks guys. Now with that out of the way, I feel better in showing you what happened in the forge."

With this, the memory began playing. P-Bismuth was standing with P-Steven as she showcased what she exclaimed to be her best work in the form of the breaking point. As she brought out several test gem dummies to use for practice, she showcased the power of the weapon. Showing off a look of pride, she handed the weapon to P-Steven to use. Before the weapon could be fired though, the group watched as P-Steven didn't 'pull the trigger'.

"Bismuth...I can't use this." said P-Steven suddenly.

As the memory continued playing, the group watched as the sudden declaration from P-Steven led to the two bickering about the weapon in that it could help win the war by ending it permanently, but would leave the Crystal Gems no better than Homeworld in the end. Hearing these words, P-Bismuth's anger began to grow, with the breaking point for her limit being shattered at P-Steven's refusal to allow anyone to use the weapon.

Seeing this and hearing his refusal to want the weapon to exist, P-Bismuth begins to accuse P-Steven of being a disguise for Rose, stating that she said the same thing before she was bubbled by Rose.

"So wait, just because you shared the same opinion as Rose, Bismuth's first thought was that you were her?" said a confused Amethyst.

With the memory on pause, Steven responded. "Yeah, pretty much. We didn't see eye to eye and I think she already thought that somewhat at the beach house when she saw my gem."

"Okay...but you barely look like her. Sure, you have some features from her and you also have her gem, but otherwise, nothing matches up to lead to that belief."

"You must remember Amethyst, Bismuth was gone for quite awhile. She felt frustration at losing all those millennia in a bubble and was probably weary of it happening again or having to even face such loses again at all. Rose never even told us about what happened either. She was basically shattered, with only our memories of her to remain. Besides...she wouldn't have been the first, nor the last to make that mistake. How many times did we think that Rose was still present somewhere in Steven and made it seem like he was basically just a smaller version of her?" explained Pearl.

"-sigh-, right."

"Thanks Pearl. And she's right. Bismuth wanted the best for the cause, and though her intentions were misplaced, she only wanted to stop watching such hardships. The breaking point might not have been the right answer, and thankfully she understands that now, but she still had the group in the forefront of her actions. She was punished by Rose because of it and believed that it was out of selfishness on Rose's part, that anyone who disagreed with her would meet the same fate when really it was because she couldn't see the truth in it, in why Rose disagreed with her to begin with. I don't think it was just to keep her bubbled for several thousand years and not tell anyone about what happened though. That part probably didn't help my situation in the forge." said Steven.

With this, the memory continued as the two began fight. As P-Bismuth threw several strikes, seemingly with the intent to seriously harm and/or shatter as several gem dummies were turned to pebbles during the clash, P-Steven continued his attempts to talk her out of it, only to find his efforts were in vain. Soon enough, P-Steven was thrown into a wall as a dummy was thrown as him. Still surviving the impact though, he warned P-Bismuth as he threw the object back at her, bringing the fight to a pause. With the breaking point in hand, P-Steven, who had several cuts and injuries on his being, tried to talk P-Bismuth down yet again.

Finding that the gem wouldn't be calmed, P-Bismuth yanked the breaking point from his grasp and brought the weapon up as a warning that she would use it on him. As P-Steven staggered at the thought, he tripped over Rose's sword. With a quick movement, the two brought their weapons into one another. Rose's sword impaled P-Bismuth while the breaking point had missed it's intended target. After a short round of talking between the two, P-Steven promised P-Bismuth to tell the other's everything. Soon after, Bismuth poofed, leaving the boy alone in the forge. As he bubbled the gem, he began moving to exit the forge, leaving the memory to start to dissipate again and return to the normal setting of the room.

"I know it wasn't easy for you guys to hear that back then, and I'm sure it still isn't easy now to see how it played out, but what happened then, it hurt. To have to be compared to Mom again, to have to fight another gem that I believed could be an ally...to almost have to face death again...that memory stuck with me for much longer than I thought it would. Heck, it was even part of the problem during Stevonnie's struggles during our fusion practice at the sky arena. Seeing you guys so happy to have one of your friends back only to have to take her away from you again...I don't know, it just didn't sit well. None of these memories did...or do.

"We're glad that you rose above your mother's actions and told us about what happened with Bismuth. Your still doing it now even as your telling us everything we don't know. And although your not your mother, like Bismuth said back then, you are better than her Steven. We don't want you to forget that." said Garnet.

"Facing the truth isn't always easy or fun, but sometimes it's what we need. I still love Bismuth despite seeing this in real time, but having the info both on it's happening and how if affected you, it helps." Pearl explained.

"I know. I just wish it didn't have to happen this way. Part of me just wants to forget all of this and hope that it won't happen again or that anything won't happen at all."

"You know it won't work that way though Steven." said Amethyst. "This is something that happened...and it helped make you and all of us who we are today."

"Even if we don't like the means of how we got here, they still happened and that's something we all need to come to terms with just as much as you." said Pearl.

"-sigh-, Your right. I know you are. It just doesn't make it any easier to deal with, you know."

"We do, at least somewhat. While we might not know the exact pain any of these memories had on you, we can still help you through them." said Garnet. "And the only way to do that, is to stay strong and keep facing the facts as they are."

"Heh, yeah. I suppose your right." said Steven. "Thanks guys. Now, let's keep moving. We...still have several more stops to make." said a nervous Steven as he knew the events that would continue to be showed continued to get worse as they came and went. With this, the clouds began to swirl again as he returned his attention to the room in preparation of the next memory.

...

So, something I feel I should point out, I will by trying not to do an exact play by play for each memory. I'm assuming most of you know what happened and the point of this isn't just 'the cast watches the show' but rather Steven addresses some of his traumas, in that what the gems don't know or what they should be informed of. While there are still quite a few stops to make still and revisit, I am going to try and convey the emotions and thoughts of the group rather than 'watch the memory in it's entirety and let Steven explain his thoughts on it and let the gems comfort him'. While that will be the case in some aspect for many of these, the main point is also to get the gems caught up so that they know everything, as Steven believes that this will help them be able to better help him. Whether or not this'll be the case though is to be seen. After all many of these memories will be a bit hard to watch for the trio of guardians. When you really think about it, there's a lot they probably don't understand as to why Steven became damaged in the way he is.

Besides that though, we are past Bismuth and the forge. Felt that this memory had a particular weight on Steven as we did see him recall it on a couple occasions after in the show, even as Stevonnie."

Thanks for the read and support everyone. Happy Saturday, hope its going good. Hope to see everyone again in number 9.

Season 3: Bismuth.