The moment Twoie stepped into the living room he knew he was screwed. It was far too quiet like a peaceful calm before a deadly storm. The air was thick with an uneasy tension that threatened to swallow him whole.

Steven, usually a bundle of energy, sat motionless on the couch and refused to meet his gaze. His small hands were clutching the cushions next to him like a lifeline, his eyes fixated on a stain on the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

Garnet stood closer to the warp pad with her back facing him, hunched over and mumbling things he couldn't quite hear. Even though he could not see her face the small tremors that ran through her body told him that something was wrong. He chewed the inside of his cheek, the memory of her recent split still fresh in his mind.

Seated atop of the kitchen island was Amethyst whose fingers tapped against the countertop impatiently. She stopped when she noticed their presence and promptly jumped onto the floor sending Pearl a small smile and sending him a harsh glare in greeting. He quickly schooled his expression into one of indifference hoping he didn't look as hurt as he felt.

Her quiet footsteps were loud, almost deafening compared to the silence that dominated the small room. She strode over to them with a confident, almost smug expression on her face.

Pearl asked the same question he'd been wondering since their arrival, "What's going on here?"

There was playfulness or humor in Amethyst's voice when she answered, "We unlocked his phone and we found something."

Her words sent him reeling as he searched his empty pockets for a phone he knew wasn't there. A ice cold bucket of dread pours over him causing a shudder to run down his spine. He steals a glance at Steven, his strange behavior finally making sense. The only possible way the gems could access his phone was if someone with the password unlocked it for them. He never told Steven his password, but he hadn't changed it in years so it probably wasn't that hard for him to figure it out.

At Pearl's question Garnet finally turned around. She was gripping his phone with so much force that he was surprised it didn't split in two. Fear flashed across her usually stoic face before she hid it under a mask of anger and revulsion.

Through the reflection of her visor he could make out a picture of him with all three of the Diamonds. He was dressed in the elegant pink outfit that had once belonged to his mother. A dazzling smile adorned his face, arm extended out in front of him in a peace sign.

Pearl tensed, inching forward to stand in front of him. A wave of nostalgia washed over him at her protective actions. He was reminded of when he was younger and he used to tag along on dangerous missions. Pearl always fretted over him constantly checking to make sure he was safe except this time she wasn't defending him from a corrupted gem. This time it was Garnet who was stalking over toward them, gauntlets already summoned.

"You're working for them. You've been in contact with Homeworld this whole time."

He wilted under her intense gaze, suddenly feeling very small, "I'm no-"

It all happened so fast. Pearl let out a shout of surprise as she was pushed aside. He was yanked off the ground, suspended in the air by the collar of his shirt. His teeth clicking together painfully as his head crashed against the wall.

"Don't lie to me!"

"Twoie!" came Steven's desperate cry as he rushed over and engulfed Garnet's leg in a tight hug, "Garnet, stop!"

Garnet's face softened momentarily as she looked down at Steven, "He's dangerous. We can't trust him."

"He's not dangerous. He's my friend!"

"Steven…" Amethyst murmured, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Steven angrily shrugged off her hand and hugged Garnet's leg tighter as if that alone would prevent her from harming Twoie. "Steven, this creep has pictures of himself with the Diamonds. He's not a good guy."

"You said you just wanted to talk to him. You promised!"

His heart clenched painfully in his chest when he caught sight of the glare Amethyst was sending him. The warmth and playfulness that he had come to associate with her was gone, replaced by a look of contempt and disgust.

His heart pounded against his chest as he squirmed under Garnet's grasp. He stole a glance at Pearl who had been quiet throughout the interaction, her fearful eyes darting between himself and Garnet. Her hands twitched next to her side, an internal debate raging in her mind.

He made a subtle shaking motion with his head when he saw her mouth open, but she ignored him. Her hands curled into fist and her face steeled in determination.

"Garnet," Pearl said. "Put him down."

Other than a small quizzical frown gracing her features, Garnet did not visibly react to her words. She pressed his body even harder against the wall, "We need to poof and bubble him before he sends more information to the Diamonds."

"I'm not working for the Diamonds! Look at the other pic-"

"Enough of your lies!"

He flinched at her harsh tone whatever protests he had dying in his throat. The visor concealed her eyes, but he didn't need them to be off to feel the glare she was giving him. It pierced through his body, chilling him to the bone.

Even on the rare occasions when Garnet was upset with him, the incident when he freed Lapis from the mirror came to mind, her anger had never been directed specifically at him. She always lectured him to do better and was more disappointed with his actions rather than at him, but he could detect no hint of disappointment in her now.

He was close enough that he could see her jaw clench which he knew was a sign that her patience was running thin. The living room was filled with a cacophony of noise as everyone attempted to shout over each other. He could make out Steven's desperate pleas for peace that were overshadowed by Amethysts much louder shouts of confusion; She had apparently gotten into an argument with Pearl at some point.

Garnet made a noise that he could only describe as a growl before looking over to the bickering group, "That's enough!" she roared, managing to stun everyone into silence. "We can discuss this after we contain him. He won't be able to contact Homeworld when he's in a bubble."

"No! Don't hurt him!"

"Garnet! Unhand him! You're making a huge mistake!"

"What is with you Pearl?! Why are you defending him?!"

Garnet grinded her teeth in frustration, "Quiet!" She sent him a victorious grin. "I've been waiting to do this since you first showed up."

She swung her massive gauntlet directly at his face with the intention of dissipating his form except his body wasn't a projection of his gem. He was made of flesh and bone that would crumble under the force of her attack. His eyes shut on their own, body tensing in anticipation of the hit.

To his surprise and immense relief he didn't feel any pain. His body fell into an ungraceful heap on the floor. The sound of clashing weapons pierced the air and made him open his eyes. Pearl's back was facing him as she took on a defensive stance, spear tightly gripped in her hand.

She had intercepted the attack.

Garnet's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, scrutinizing Pearl like she was trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle. Pearl held her ground, acting as a barrier between Garnet and himself. Steven darted past the two gems and tackled him into a hug. His eyes were shiny with unshed tears, guilt marring his face.

"Twoie, I'm sorry! I just wanted to know the truth. I didn't want anybody to get hurt!"

He returned the embrace and flashed him a reassuring smile to show he wasn't mad. Garnet's gaze snapped onto them.

"Steven, get away from him!"

Garnet attempted to push past Pearl, but the pale gem blocked her path.

"Pearl. Move."

Pearl shook her head, "I won't let you hurt Steven."

"That's not Steven."

"I'm with Garnet on this one, Pearl." Amethyst said. "This guy is working for the Diamonds!"

The purple gem shoved his phone with the pictures of the Diamonds in her face. Pearl took the device from her and began swiping at the screen. Her face twisted into a grimace as she swiped past more pictures of the Diamonds. She finally stopped when she landed on a picture of him with all of the Crystal gems; they were smiling brightly at the camera. She twisted the phone around to show Amethyst and Garnet.

"Twoie is Steven."

Steven was the only one who seemed to be taking the news well. The tension in his body disappeared at Pearls statement. His neck craned upward for a better view of the picture, eyes lighting up in relief and joy.

"See I told you!"

Amethyst snatched the phone back, "What the…" she trailed off, eyeing the picture in disbelief.

Garnet stood frozen like a statue, expression unreadable. Just when Twoie was starting to think she had not seen the picture she dissipated her weapons and clutched at her head.

"I don't understand…" she muttered, looking to Pearl for an explanation. "The Diamonds, his powers, my future vision…"

At the mention of her future vision, Twoie's eyebrow quirked upwards. Did Garnet see something in her future vision that made her suspect his motives?

"Garnet, there's something you should know." She put away her spear and addressed the whole room, "Something all of you should know."

"Pearl." he warned.

She hesitated, eyes flitting over to Garnet, no doubt recall his words of warning. Garnet was unstable enough as it was. The revelation that Rose Quartz was actually Pink Diamond would cause her to come undone except this time they didn't have the luxury of time on their side. He didn't know if the message from Lapis had arrived during his absence, but he knew that they didn't have much time before Jasper's arrival. They couldn't afford to have a weakened team.

He caught her gaze silently begging her to keep silent on the matter. There should be no doubt about his identity as Steven and the other two gems seemed to be coming to grips with that. Garnet and Amethyst would have questions about his future involvement with the Diamonds, but he could come up with an explanation that didn't involve revealing his mom's greatest kept secret.

There is no sound in the house as his silent conversation with Pearl continues. He ignores the way Steven's brows crease and how his eyes practically beg him for answers. He also ignores the confused and conflicted stares of the other gems.

Pearl's eyes are equally pleading, "They deserve to know the truth."

"And they will, but not now."

"It will be different this time. If I can just explai-"

"They won't listen and we don't have much time before…"

Garnet had recovered from her shock and was now looking at Pearl with an expression of distaste at being left in the dark. "Pearl. Explain."

Amethyst and Steven seemed less shocked at the revelation that Pearl was hiding something or maybe they were just used to information being withheld from them. They looked on silently, eyes brimming with questions as they waited for Pearl to speak.

Pearl flattered under all of sudden the attention, "I…"

"Pearl, please. They won't take it well."

Pearl sent him a silent apology before speaking, "As you know Rose kept many things secret even from her closest friends. It was her duty as leader of the rebellion to know just what to keep hidden from everyone she was trying to protect. She believed that all life was precious and worth protecting, that all gems were equals and she despised the hierarchy upheld by Homeworld."

The confusion on Amethyst's face only increased at Pearl's explanation, "What does Rose have to do with any of this?"

"I need you all to understand that Rose really did believe in the message of the Crystal Gems. I wanted to tell you the truth for so long, but…" Pearl trailed off, her hands moved to her throat as she remembered the final order Pink Diamond had given her.

Steven moved closer to Pearl, his voice tinged with concern, "Pearl?"

She blinked as her eyes refocused on Steven. Twoie was tempted to interrupt her and prevent her from revealing the truth, but that would make him no better than his mom. He gave Pearl the freedom to speak the truth knowing that this could happen, but he couldn't bring himself to take that freedom away.

Pearl's next words were slow and hesitant. She kept glancing at her hands in fear they would latch themselves over her mouth. "Rose Quartz, your mother, was Pink Diamond."

The gravity of her revelation was lost on Steven. He knew very little about the Diamonds except that they were 'bad guys' and had some sort of leadership positions. He tilted his head to the side and opened his mouth to ask more questions, but was interrupted by Amethyst's surprised shout.

"Whaaat?!"

"Pink Diamond's final command to me was that no one could know. But Twoie knew and because of him I can finally tell you all everything!

Even though he had been expecting it he still winced when Garnet split. Her body shimmered and shook for a moment before she lost her form and two smaller gems were thrown away from each other. Ruby rubbed at her head looking disoriented as she took in her surroundings. Her gaze locked onto the small blue gem who had a tear streak running down her face. Concern filled her eyes as she rushed over to comfort the distraught gem.

"Sapphire-"

A flurry of ice and snow chilled the room and covered the floor in a thin layer of ice. Twoie grimaced and looked away knowing nothing would calm the aristocratic gem now.

"She lied to us! She lied about everything! She held our hands, looked at us right in the eyes, and told us to never question who we are as Garnet. We never questioned ourselves, or her!"

"We couldn't have known!"

"No, you couldn't have known. You never know what's going on. That's what I'm for!"

"Sapphire…"

"But I never looked into her, I trusted her... I let her make fools of us all!

Sapphire marched over to the warp pad.

"Sapphire, wait!" Ruby rushed after her, "Please... We can just stay calm a-and talk about this, right? Let's just... talk."

"Talk about what? How our relationship is based on a lie? What else is there to say…"

A flash of light later and Sapphire was gone.

Ruby's soft sobs filled the silence in the wake of Garnet's abrupt unfusing and Sapphire subsequent outburst.


5,300 Years Ago

Bismuth grinned as she showed off the Breaking Point, "What do you think?"

Rose tilted her head to the side, "What is it?" she questioned her eyes shining with curiosity.

"I'll show you."

She brought them to a lower level in her forge and summoned multiple targets, each with a fake gemstone on their chest. Her stone opponents were no match against her greatest weapon. The sharp steel punched through their bodies like butter, leaving only a pile of rubble behind.

She beamed proudly as she admired her creation, "I call it the Breaking Point. One shot from this baby will shatter any Gem in the galaxy, in the blink of an eye." she patted the weapon affectionately.

"Bismuth." Rose said in a gentle but firm voice. "You know as well as I do that shattering a Gem would destroy them forever.

"Exactly! The Homeworld Gems won't be able to fight back when they're reduced to shards. Even a Diamond wouldn't be able to stand up against this."

She handed the Breaking Point to Rose who hesitantly took it in her arms. Bismuth's smile faltered a bit at her unenthusiastic reaction. Rose held the weapon far away from her body almost as if she was disgusted by it.

"Bismuth, I can't use this." she confessed.

"What?! Why not?"

"Bismuth please understand that shattering gems," she gestured toward the breaking point.

"That this is wrong. If we shatter gems we will be no different than Homeworld."

"We're nothing like Homeworld! We'd be shattering them for the sake of our cause, to protect our allies, our friends; to free all Gems from Homeworld's tyranny!"

"Bismuth…"

She stared at Rose silently begging her to reconsider, to do the right thing. Rose hung her head low and avoided looking at her.

"Fine." she said, yanking the breaking point away from her. "If you won't take it, I'll find someone who will."

Her mind conjured up an image of Garnet. Surely she would agree with her. Together they would be able to convince the Crystal Gems to fight using a Breaking Point. They would defeat Homeworld and finally earn their freedom.

"Please don't do this Bismuth." Rose begged, stepping in front of the exit with her arms spread out.

Bismuth roughly pushed past Rose, "You'll thank me for this later, Rose. When we're vict-"

Bismuth's voice caught in her throat as something pierced her body. She stopped moving and slowly glanced down at her body in horror. A familiar pink sword was sticking out of her torso. She gently touched the tip of the sword in disbelief.

She slowly turned her head and was barely able to make out Rose standing closely behind her. Her hand tightly gripped the handle of the sword; her finest piece of work.

Rose's pink hair cast a dark shadow over her face, "I'm sorry, Bismuth, but it's not right." she whispered her voice full of sorrow.

"Rose?"

"I'm sorry."