The house is engulfed in a thick and heavy silence that lingers in the air long after Sapphire has left. Seconds drag on into minutes and still no one moves. Twoie fends off the growing feeling of guilt that threatens to pull him under and suffocate him in a sea of regret. He steals a glance at the faces of the other occupants in the room, each expressing varying levels of shock and guilt.

Pearl's gaze is glued to the warp pad as if she were expecting Sapphire to return at any moment and apologize for her outburst. A wave of sympathy washes over him at the expression of disbelief she wears. Even with his knowledge of the future it was still difficult to watch Garnet, a gem who was renowned for the love that her components had for each other, unfuse so abruptly and argue.

Amethyst was always better at hiding her emotions and pretending to be unfazed by most situations, but Twoie could tell by the way her body tensed and her eyes widened slightly that she was just as surprised at the way events played out as Pearl.

It's Steven who breaks the silence, his hurried footsteps causing the floorboards to creak under his weight as he rushes over to console the distraught gem. Another stab of guilt pierces his heart as Ruby's weeping continues; it's a low and pitiful noise laced with sadness and grief. It quiets down slightly when Steven takes a seat on the floor next to Ruby and places a comforting hand on her shoulder, but the shudders that racked her body told him that Ruby was still crying.

Twoie really wanted to go comfort Ruby, but feared his presence would only make things worse. Garnet was still struggling to accept the fact that he really was Steven and not some Homeworld spy before she unfused so he was unsure of where he stood with Ruby, who seemed to have the most hate for him before the truth was revealed.

Steven's actions seemed to snap Amethyst out of her shock, "So, Rose was Pink Diamond? That's… wow." she chuckles, probably in an attempt to get rid of some of the tension in the room, "If you told me Rose invented cotton candy, I'd believe it."

"I-is that a bad thing?" Steven asks, continuing to talk when no one answers, "Mom was a Diamond, b-but that doesn't mean she was bad, right?" He turns to look at him, eyes pleading for reassurances that his mom wasn't a bad person.

A familiar buzzing in his cheeks told him that he was glowing pink again. He could practically feel the worried stares of his family as the pink glow engulfed more and more of his face. He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath, willing his face to go back to normal before answering. It was no secret that he had… complicated feelings toward his mother and while he wouldn't go as far to say that he hated her, he also no longer idolized her like he did as a child.

Staring into the eyes of his younger self fills him with a feeling of dread as he recalls how absolutely crushed he was at the revelation that his mom wasn't the flawless being that the gems and his father always told him stories about. Disappointment and anger quickly followed when he realized that for the entirety of his childhood he had been attempting to live up to the memory of someone who didn't even really exist. He didn't want to lie to Steven about what kind of person their mom was, but he also did not want to reveal too much about her in fear of upsetting him.

"Mom wasn't bad," he begins, choosing his next words carefully. "But sometimes…"

"You have so many worlds and I don't even have one! It's not fair! I. Want. One! I want my own army! I want my own planet! I deserve it! I'm just as important as you!"

"She did things…"

"You didn't even tell them! You bubbled me away and didn't ever tell your friends... My friends…"

"That weren't always good."

"I never want to look back. So, for my last order to you as a Diamond, please, let's never speak of this again. No one can know."

"She wasn't perfect."

An emotion he can't quite decipher flashes in Steven's eyes before his gaze flicks back to a weeping Ruby.

"We need to go find Sapphire." Steven says.

Pearl finally breaks her silence at the mention of Sapphire and turns to face him, "Twoie, you were right. I should have listened to you, but I thought that if I explained…." she trails off. "I'm sorry."

He blinks, taken aback by her apology.

Sure, it had been Pearl who spilled the beans on his mom's greatest secret, but she was only able to do so because he decided to tell her the truth. He could have kept his mouth shut or tried to come up with another lie, but he was just so tired of lying to his family. The suspicious stares, the hushed whispers behind his back, the cold and distant attitudes toward him were making him miserable. So when he saw an opportunity to gain an ally he foolishly took it.

The discovery that Rose Quartz was actually Pink Diamond wasn't supposed to happen for a few years, but because of him all of the Crystal Gems and Steven knew the truth. He longed to change the timeline for the better so that Steven wouldn't have to live with all the trauma that he went through, but he couldn't do that if things changed too much. If he completely altered events then his future knowledge would become useless.

"It's not your fault." he gently tells her. "Nothing you could have said would have changed Garnet's reaction. We should focus on finding Sapphire."

Pearl looks like she wants to argue but nods instead, "Do you have any idea of where she might have gone?" she asks.

"Well, when this happened in my time Sapphire went to Rose's fountain. You and Steven should check there first."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Steven asks, already moving to stand on the warp pad.

He shakes his head, "I'll stay behind with Amethyst and keep an eye on Ruby."

The last time this had happened it had taken a whole journey of self discovery for Ruby to decide that she wanted to be Garnet and even after that they hadn't actually fused until their wedding. He actually really liked the idea of pretending to be a free cowboy in the west, but there was no time to do that. They needed to get ready for Jasper.


Steven's steps are slow and careful as he approaches the now frozen over fountain. The ground is wet with ice and Pearl has to catch him a few times when he almost slips. He relaxes a bit when his eyes catch sight of Sapphire exactly where Twoie said she would be. She was seated on the edge of the fountain, face buried in her hands.

She must have heard them coming because she makes a swift gesture with her hand and suddenly a large slab of ice appears in between them. He jumps back in surprise. Sapphire wipes at a stray tear, parting her hair so she could gaze at the statue of his mom.

Her voice strains under the weight of her fury, "Everything we were running from, she was right there all along using us for her little war. Smiling at us with those knowing eyes. Making me believe in a better future that I couldn't see, because it wasn't real. And now here we are, our friends, shattered! And corrupted!" She barks out a laugh, it's hollow and bitter, "Of course she was a Diamond. What a long road she took, to torture us all like this…"

At the mention of Diamond, Steven places his hand over his navel where his gemstone rested. It wasn't a quartz gem like he had been led to believe his whole life. It was a Diamond — he was a Diamond. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but he did know that his mom wasn't bad. She couldn't be bad.

"M-mom wasn't like that." he says, voice coming out weaker than he would have liked. "She didn't want anyone to get hurt."

She finally turns to look at them. Her face, usually as expressive as a brick wall, is marred with anger and betrayal, "I don't know that! I clearly don't know anything!"

He follows Pearl as she walks around the wall of ice and takes a seat on the fountain next to Sapphire, "You deserve to know everything." she turns to look at him, "You both do. I was given to Pink Diamond a few thousand years before she was given the Earth. I was supposed to make her happy, I just... never could…"


Twoie shifts his position on the couch for what must have been the hundredth time since Steven and Pearl left, but no matter how comfy he got the dull throbbing in his head refused to leave. It started shortly after Garnet unfused, slowly creeping up on him until the pain engulfed his entire head. He rubs at his temples in an effort to get the pain to go away, but it proves ineffective and only leaves him feeling frustrated.

He distracts himself by looking over to the floor near the warp pad where Ruby was still seated. Her crying had all but stopped except for the occasional sniffle. Amethyst had tried cheering her up but all her attempts were met with meek nods and half hearted smiles.

Ruby's voice was quiet, "Can I have some paper and a pen?" she asks no one in particular.

Amethyst, who had been standing awkwardly in the living room up until that point, perks up at the question, "Sure, dude." she says eagerly rushing up towards Steven's room to retrieve the requested items. She comes down a few moments later, pen and paper in hand.

Ruby sniffles, the last of her tears disappearing, "Thank you." she says briefly glancing up at Amethyst before turning her attention back to the sheet of paper.

He watches as she drags the pencil over the parchment, her writing coming out sloppy but legible. When she's finished she folds the letter up and writes Sapphire's name on it in big, blue letters. She leaves the letter on the floor, eyes flitting towards the warp pad before she stands up and heads toward the door of the house.

Twoie, knowing what she was planning, rushes over to stand in front of the door, "We should all stay put until they come back." he tells her.

Ruby blinks, her gaze focusing on him for the first time since Garnet unfused. She looks taken aback at his presence as if she'd forgotten he existed.

Her words come out shaky and unsure, "I… I have to go." she says, refusing to meet his gaze for longer than a second.

"Look, I know you're upset about everything that happened with Sapphire, but Pearl and Steven will be back with her any second now."

"Yeah, dude just relax." Amethyst says. "I'm sure after you talk it out with Sapphire she'll agree to be Garnet again."

Ruby shakes her head, "That's the thing… Sapphire was right. We really did stay Garnet because Rose told us we were the answer." her face falls as fresh tears stream down her cheeks. "I-I need some time to think. I can't stay here."

She tries maneuvering around him to get to the door, but he blocks her path. Her eyes dart between him and the door. Her shoulder slump in defeat and he relaxes thinking he's won the argument.

She abruptly turns on her heel and barrels to the warp pad.

"Ruby, wait!" He moves to chase after her, but is overcome with a sudden crushing pain that stops him in his tracks.

His eyes water, it feels like someone is trying to crack his skull open. He tries talking steps toward the warp pad, but finds his legs won't listen to him. A cold shudder runs down his spine causing his body to tremble. His mind vaguely registers the sound of a voice speaking to him before his legs buckle and his knees sink onto the floor.

He shuts his eyes and clutches at his head. The world around him begins to spin, his stomach churning in protest as the floor sways under him. A hand grips his shoulder. He opens his eyes when the voice grows louder and more desperate. Splotches of black decorate his vision growing in size until his world is completely engulfed in darkness.


The cogs in Steven's brain are working overtime as he struggles to comprehend all the information that is being thrown at him. The gems always became uncomfortable around the topic of their origins. Their explanations were always vague and they quickly changed the subject. He found it odd but never pressed them on the subject and now he knew why.

Not all gems were good like he assumed, a lot of them wanted to invade the earth. His mind flashes back to the location where Amethyst was made, a kindergarten, Pearl had explained. A place where gems were made by sucking the life out of the earth. Twoie and Pearl prevented him from going to one, but he remembers how even around the edges of the kindergarten it was dull and devoid of any color. There was no sign of grass or flowers, even the soil was hard and dead.

His horror grew the more Pearl revealed. His mom forced Pearl to keep the secret of her true identity for thousands of years and Pearl couldn't do anything about it because she was considered property. She must have seen the disgusted look on his face because Pearl rushed to reassure him that their relationship wasn't like that and that his mom valued Pearl as a close friend. His mom encouraged her to embrace freedom and always reminded her that she wasn't just a Pearl.

There was a zoo somewhere in space where they kept humans locked up. A gasp escapes him as he recalls Twoie's strange dream, a memory of the zoo he realizes. He resists the urge to call Connie when he recalls her presence in the dream. The Connie of his time was safe at home, but for how long…

The Diamonds, he learns, are the ultimate authority governing Homeworld; the planet where gems are from. He thinks back to the large gem who resembled Amethyst from Twoie's dream and how she saluted him. If Twoie was a Diamond then why was Connie in the zoo? Didn't he have ultimate authority too?

He'd never had any fear towards gem related things, acting somewhat recklessly at times because he was confident of his safety. He challenged gem monsters, like Centipeetle, head on because he was eager to impress the gems and hoped he would be invited on missions more frequently if he defeated them. The gems Pearl tells him about are different. They don't care about preserving life on earth, they only care about colonizing it.

He can't stop the creeping feeling of fear that invades his mind as Lapis' words of warning ring in his ears.

"There's a Gem looking for you, she even knew your name. I don't know how! I didn't tell her, I swear! She's on her way to Earth, and she's not alone."

He hadn't been overly concerned when he received her message because he had been preoccupied with trying to find Twoie at the time, but now her words haunted him — chilling him to the bone.

"Steven, Homeworld is not the way it used to be. Everything here is so advanced! I can't even understand it. There's no way anything on Earth can stand up to it. Please, don't put up a fight, It'll only lead to devastation!"

The Diamonds had tried to invade earth and his mom, Pink Diamond, was the one who led the colonization effort. He tries to imagine a completed earth colony, but stops when his stomach begins to churn; settling a bit as Pearl recounts the story of how his mom fell in love with the earth and rebelled against her fellow Diamonds. The earth was safe now, that was all that mattered.

"Before Garnet, Rose was only fighting for Earth." Pearl explains. "But Garnet changed everything. Rose wanted to fight for her, she wanted to fight for Gems! And maybe she was foolish, and maybe even... selfish! But she was-"

"Following us." Sapphire finishes for her, realization dawning on her face.

"What?"

"This whole time, we thought we were following her, but she was following us. How could she not after you swept her off her feet?"

"W-What?" Pearl sputters, cheeks flushing blue. "Me?"

"Are you kidding?" He says. "You took her on this whirlwind tour of Earth and then she wanted to live here with you forever!"

"That's just how I felt when I came here with…" Sapphire gasps. "Ruby! Oh no! We have to get back right away!"


The sound of metal clattering against the floor is what wakes Twoie up. He opens his bleary eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. He is lying down on the couch. A large, thick blanket is draped over his body and he can feel something cool resting on his forehead. He tries sitting up and lets out a small groan of discomfort as his head throbs in protest to the sudden movement.

"You're awake!"

He whips his head around to the sound of the voice and whatever was on his forehead falls into his lap. Amethyst stood in the kitchen, her face flooding with relief at the sight of him. She hastily closes one of the many open cupboards around her before rushing over to him.

"I wasn't sure what to do and then I remembered Pearl used to do that when you got sick." she says, pointing at what he now recognized as a damp cloth in his lap. Amethyst must have been the one who put him on the couch then. "I was going to try and make you some soup, but I couldn't figure out how." she confesses, eyes darting to the messy kitchen behind her.

He blinks.

"... Thank you." he says, slightly taken aback by her rapid change in mood. Just a few hours ago she had been glaring at him accusing him of being a Homeworld spy, but now she was looking at him with a furrowed brow and worried eyes.

"Are you feeling ok?" she asks, her concerned tone grated on his nerves for some reason; he blamed the headache.

"I…" he trails off as he contemplates her question. Was he ok? What happened to him? One second he was feeling fine and the next he passed out. He pulls the blanket down and looks himself over. He didn't have any cuts or bruises and the stabbing pain in head is mostly gone, leaving him with a faint dizzy feeling. "Yeah, I think so." he eventually says.

Amethyst nods, but he could tell she was still worried. A sudden wave of anger rushes over him at her concern. Since when did she care about his well being? He shakes his head, clearing his mind of those negative thoughts.

His eyes dart around the room and his heart jolts when he notices Ruby is still missing.

"Where's Ruby?" he asks.

"I don't know. I lost track of her after you passed out."

His heart sinks, "We need to find her!" He shoots up into a standing position and nearly falls over as his head spins. Amethyst puts a steadying hand on his shoulder and guides him to the couch, making him take a seat.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine." he grits out, trying to control his rising anger.

They didn't have time for this; they needed to find Ruby. He attempts to stand again, but Amethyst's hand keeps him pinned to the couch.

"I dunno man…" She says, voice skeptical. "Maybe you should stay here and rest. I'm worried about you."

He roughly shrugs off her hand, "Since when do you care?!" he snaps, surprising even himself.

The second the words leave his mouth he wishes he could take them back. Amethyst's face crumples and he can feel the heat growing in his cheeks, except this time it's because of shame and not his powers.

"Amethyst, I didn't mean… !" he trails off, horrified by his words. "I-I'm sorry."

"No, you're right." Amethyst murmurs, guilt bleeding into her voice. "I'm sorry. For calling you a creep, for not trusting you more, for being a jerk, and for… everything"

Like a bucket of water her words extinguish his anger, leaving him feeling tired, "It did hurt when you didn't believe me." he confessed. "but I get why you did it. I mean I showed up dressed like…" he trails off and chuckles at himself, "What was I thinking?"

"Why were you dressed like that?"

He shrugs, not wanting to talk about his experiences on Homeworld, "It's what Pink Diamond used to wear."

She doesn't seem satisfied with his answer, but must sense his unwillingness to talk about it because she doesn't press him for more information.

"Still, I should have believed you." she says after a beat of silence.

"It's fine," he reassures. "I know you were only trying to keep Steven safe."

"But you're Steven, too!" She snaps and he is taken aback by the anger he sees in her eyes, anger he knows is directed at herself. "I should be keeping you safe, but instead I …"

"But you did take care of me." he gestures towards the disaster that is the kitchen. "Or at least tried to."

"Yeah, I guess…" she admits, but he knew that she hadn't forgiven herself yet.

"Thank you." He says after a pause. "For apologizing."

She almost looks mad at him for a moment before she lets out a small chuckle, her features softening, "You shouldn't have to thank someone for apologizing." She wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulls him close, "but… you're welcome."


The first thing Steven takes note of as the light from the warp pad fades is the state of the kitchen, usually pristine and organized it was now a mess; pots and pans are strewn across the floor, the cupboards have all been flung open, and a random assortment of food laid forgotten on top of the stove.

He's immediately on alert, scanning the house for signs of an intruder. Burglary wasn't something common in Beach City, but he didn't want to rule out that possibility. He relaxes at the sight of Amethyst and Twoie seated on the couch together, but his anxiety returns when he notices the absence of a certain red gem.

Beside him, Pearl gasps, "What happened here?" She asks, eyes darting towards the disaster in the kitchen before settling on the silent duo in the living room.

"Did someone rob us?" he asks.

It's Amethyst who answers, her cheeks darkening slightly, "I kinda overreacted after Tw-"

"That's not important right now." Twoie interrupts her, attempting to stand. He teeters, wobbling from side to side, looking as if he were about to fall.

Amethyst steadies him, "Not so fast, my dude. You need to rest." she says, pulling him back down on the couch.

The concern he feels for Twoie is overshadowed by his surprise at Amethysts sudden change in attitude. The usual suspicion she has in her eyes when talking to Twoie is gone, replaced by concern. Her face is pinched with worry and her hand rests atop Twoie's shoulder, ready to pull him down in case he tries to stand again. His heart warms at the sight, glad that something good came out of this disaster.

Twoie clutches at his head, face scrunching up in discomfort, "It's fine, I just feel a bit dizzy. It's nothing to worry about." Twoie attempts to reassure her but even he's not convinced.

"Nothing to worry about?" Amethysts frowns. "Dude, you passed out!"

"Passed out!" Pearl shrieks. "What happ-"

"It's fine, I'm fine!" Twoie insists. "We need to focus on finding Ruby."

"Where is Ruby?" he asks, but no one pays him any mind as they continue to argue about Twoie's health.

He hears a small sob over the bickering. He turns to the noise and is greeted by the sight of a distraught Sapphire, who had been silent up to this point.

"Oh no." she breathes out, her small frame trembling as she grips a letter tightly in her hand.

Concern wells up inside of him and before he knows it, he's standing next to her.

"Sapphire, What's wrong?" he asks.

"It's Ruby." she says her voice choked up with emotion.

Her words manage to catch the attention of everybody else. The room quiets down as they turn to look at Sapphire.

Sapphire's voice trembles as she reads the contents of the letter:

'Sapphire, you were right. I need some time to think, so I am running away. Ruby'

A tear streaks across her face, "Oh Ruby, I'm so sorry. You left before I can take back all the horrible things I said to you."

Pearl takes the letter from Sapphire and reads it again, her eyes widening in horror as the words finally sink in.

Her gaze snaps onto Twoie and Amethyst, "Did either of you see where she went?"

"She took the warp pad." Amethyst says and then in a much more frustrated tone, "She could be anywhere by now."

Steven, noticing the growing tension in the room, rushes to reassure everyone. "Everything's going to be fine. We just need to figure out where Ruby ran off to." He turns to Twoie, "Don't you know where Ruby went? You knew where Sapphire was going to go."

Twoie grimaces at the question, "No, when this happened in my time Ruby went to Brooding Hill with dad, but she took the warp pad, so…." he trails off.

He pushes down his growing anxiety and looks to Sapphire for guidance, "Do you see her coming back in your future vision, Sapphire?"

That was decidedly the wrong thing to ask because not a second later Sapphire bursts into hysterics, launching herself at the nearest person which happens to be Pearl. Pearl looks startled for a moment but quickly recovers and moves to comfort the gem. Sapphire tries talking in between her sobs, but the only words he can make out are "future vision" and "not working" which are enough for him to understand what the problem is.

Twoie pales at her words, "What do you mean your future vision isn't working?!" he gnaws at his bottom lip. "Is that even possible?"

Sapphire attempts to answer, but her words are incomprehensible. Instead it's Pearl who speaks up, "Sapphire's future vision hasn't been working for a while." she explains while patting the aristocratic gem on the back. "Garnet thought that… Well, she said that her future vision stopped working around the same time that you first arrived."

Twoie's mouth falls agape and he struggles to find his voice, "What? I caused this? But I… How?"

"Maybe it 'cause you're from the future." he suggests. "Connie says that time travel can have all kinds of weird effects."

Pearl detangles herself from Sapphire, who has somewhat calmed down, "Whatever the case is we should probably focus on finding Ruby first. Twoie and I will remain here."

"What? I can't just stay here!" Twoie shouts in protest. "I should be out there looking for Ruby."

Pearl shakes her head in disagreement, "I don't want you going out while you're injured."

"I'm not inju-"

"And we need to keep an eye on the warp pad in case Ruby decides to come back." Pearl says, her eyes pleading for him to listen.

Twoie tries to stand up one final time, he sways and almost loses his balance. Amethyst steadies him once more. He sighs in defeat, "Fine."