Twoie led a distressed Pearl over to the couch, taking care not to seat her anywhere near Lapis who still blamed the Crystal Gems for the thousands of years she spent imprisoned in a mirror. Despite his efforts, Lapis still stood up and moved away from the couch. She shot Pearl a glare before stomping off to sit near the window.

Twoie sighed. It would take a long time for Lapis to warm up to the Crystal Gems. Still, it was nice to see her again even if she wasn't the Lapis he knew.

"Are you sure we should be letting Jasper near Steven?" Pearl asked, her concern gaze glued to the odd pair in the kitchen.

Steven had dragged Jasper there after he found out that she had never eaten anything before. He now chatted happily at Jasper as he shoved boxes upon boxes of snacks in her arms, giving a small explanation as to why he liked each one.

"You don't have to worry about Jasper." He said. "She won't hurt Steven."

Pearl wrung her hands together, her eyes never leaving Steven. "How can you be so sure?"

Jasper tried taking a bite out of one of the boxes.

"She takes her responsibilities very seriously."

Pearl turned to him. "But what if Jasper…"

Pearl continued to talk, but her words came out muffled and warped no matter how hard he strained his ears. His stomach churned as the room around him started to spin. He clenched his fists and willed the bout of dizziness away, but it only got worse.

A searing fiery pain coursed through his body, intensifying with each breath. An uncomfortable buzzing static filled Twoie's head and muted the world around him. He was faintly aware of the pained cry that escaped his lips before his body tumbled onto the wooden floor.

Darkness swirled at the edges of his vision threatening to pull him into unconsciousness. The worried shouts of those around him were drowned out by the high-pitched ringing in his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the pain to subside.

He didn't know how long he was laying there on the floor, but based on the concerned blue eyes that greeted him when he finally did open his eyes he knew it must have been a while.

Pearl placed a hand on his shoulder. Her voice was soft and tinged with worry. "Twoie?"

He blinked up at her, his vision cleared. "I'm fine." he reassured before she could even ask. He moved to stand up, but failed to notice how shaky his legs were and almost fell back down. A pair of large arms caught him and helped prop his body up, allowing him to stand.

"Is everything alright, my Diamond?" Jasper asked, an undercurrent of worry in her tone. Her eyes were narrowed at Pearl in accusation.

"I…" he paused. Everyone had gathered around him, even Lapis eyed him with concern. She hovered close enough to see him while still remaining a good distance away from Jasper.

Steven had tackled his legs into a hug and was peering up at him with worried eyes. "What happened? I heard you scream and when I looked over you were…"

What had happened to him? One moment he was fine and the next he was doubled over in pain. It wasn't the first time it had happened either, the other times being when Garnet split and when he unbubbled Bismuth. Something was clearly wrong with him, but he plastered on a smile and ruffled Steven's hair.

"I'm fine." He avoided Pearl's intense gaze and focused on comforting Steven. "I just have a… headache," It wasn't a complete lie. Twoie's head did hurt, a lot actually, but he wasn't going to tell Steven that. "I'm sure it'll be gone in the morning."

Everyone except for Jasper gave him varying looks of disbelief.

"I'm fine, really." He insisted. To prove his point, Twoie detangled himself from both Jasper and Steven and walked back to the couch with, thankfully, minimal wobbling from his legs.

His head stubbornly continued to throb.


It was no secret that Pearl didn't trust Jasper. She was a gem who was still loyal to Homeworld. A pink Diamond was proudly emblazoned on her uniform serving as a constant reminder of her reasons for joining them: Twoie and Steven. Jasper was unwavering in her belief that both of them were Pink Diamond and had pledged her loyalty to them.

Since then, Jasper had appointed herself as their personal bodyguard and followed them around like a shadow. It did little to ease Pearl's fears about their safety especially since Steven had gone and formed some sort of odd friendship with her. The positive attention Jasper received from Steven only emboldened her.

Lapis had moved back to her spot near the window and Pearl understood why. Jasper was intimidating. Even now, as Steven worried over Twoie, Jasper glowered at her. Pearl had been sitting near Twoie when he collapsed and that was sufficient enough evidence for Jasper to blame her.

She placed her hand on Twoie's forehead to check his temperature. Jasper sent her a sharp look, but she ignored it. Twoie was a little warm, but didn't have a fever. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

His eyes darted to Steven. "I'm fine," he said.

Pearl frowned at the obvious lie.

Twoie avoided her gaze. "It's really late." he turned to Steven. "You should probably go to bed."

Steven opened his mouth to protest, but ended up yawning instead. "But I'm not even that tired." he said.

"Twoie's right." she said. "You need to rest."

Steven pouted. "How come Twoie gets to stay up?"

"Twoie is going to bed too." she said.

Twoie frowned. "Pearl, I'm fine. I'll sleep later. I still have things I need to do."

"You're both half human," she said. "so you both need sleep."

Twoie stared at her. She stared back.

His shoulder slumped in defeat. "Fine," he said. "I'll go to bed after I check on Bismuth and the others."

Pearl wanted to protest, but knew Twoie had already made up his mind so she just nodded instead. Steven bid everyone goodnight before leaving to his bed. Surprisingly, Jasper did not follow after him. She stayed near Twoie who was still a little pale from his earlier fainting spell.

Twoie teetered for a moment after he stood up, a sign that he was more injured than he let on. "Jasper, watch over Peridot." he said. "Don't let her near the handship if she reforms."

Jasper bowed and saluted. "Yes, my Diamond."

Twoie sighed, but otherwise said nothing. Pearl followed him into the temple and tried not to think about how unfazed Twoie had been by Jasper's behavior. It was as if he were used to being treated like a Diamond. Her mind flashed back to the outfit he arrived in. Just how much of Rose's responsibilities did he take on in his future?


Twoie stifled a yawn, the events of the day finally catching up to him. His muscles ached from the intense fight with Jasper and his head pounded in protest to him being awake. He probably should have listened when Pearl told him to go to bed, but he just couldn't sleep until he made sure everyone was okay.

The trip to Pearl's room was a short one, something he was thankful for, because his legs were still weak from his earlier incident and he didn't think he could walk much farther without collapsing again. He could feel Pearl's worried stare everytime he stumbled or stopped, but he stared straight ahead and ignored it.

They soon arrived at the topmost fountain in the center of Pearl's room and were greeted by the sight of Amethyst and Ruby. Amethyst turned to look at them, relief flooding her features. She patted a sullen Ruby's back before walking over to greet them.

"Good, you guys are back." she said.

"Is everything alright?" Pearl asked, glancing at Rby.

"Yeah, it's just... I have no idea how to cheer up Ruby." she said.

Twoie grimaced, a rush of guilt washing over him. "Is this because of what happened with Garnet?" he asked.

Amethyst nodded. "I was hoping one of you guys would know what to say to her."

"I'll go talk to her." he said. "It's my fault she's like this so I should be the one to fix it."

He attempted to walk over to Ruby, but a hand pulled him back. Pearl gave him a worried look. "You don't still blame yourself for what happened to Garnet, do you?" she asked.

He didn't respond.

"Dude, it's not your fault Garnet flipped out." Amethyst said.

"For once, Amethyst is right." Pearl said. "You can't control how others feel and you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened."

The guilt weighing on him lifted a bit. "Thanks guys." he said. "I really needed to hear that."

"No probs, dude." Amethyst said. "You gotta stop being so hard on yourself." She turned to Pearl. "What do you mean 'for once' I'm right?"

Pearl flushed blue. "Well, what I meant to say…."

Twoie cracked a smile and walked over to Ruby with newfound confidence. He tuned out the playful bickering of Amethyst and Pearl and focused on helping Ruby.

He cleared his throat to catch the small gems attention. "Hey, Ruby…"

"Ahh!" She screamed and shuffled backwards, clutching Sapphire's gem close to her chest. She must have been so lost in thought that she didn't notice him.

"It's okay, it's just me," he told the startled gem.

Ruby eventually relaxed, although she still appeared a bit uncomfortable. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as she struggled to find the right words. When she finally did speak her voice was meek and hesitant. "... Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't mean to startle you."

Ruby shook her head. "No, not that. It's about…" she hesitated. "how we, how I treated you as Garnet. I should've trusted you more."

"Maybe you should have." Twoie admitted, recalling some of Garnet's impulsive and aggressive behavior. Ruby's face crumpled. "But you were only trying to protect Steven, so I forgive you."

Ruby's shoulders sagged in relief and she looked much more comfortable than she had before. The awkwardness around them had disappeared. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while with Ruby caressing the blue gemstone in her hand.

"Are you thinking about Sapphire?" he asked.

Ruby sighed. "I miss her. During the fight with Jasper I kept worrying about her and when she was poofed…" she shuddered. "I don't know what I would do If I lost her."

"Does that mean you want to be Garnet again?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just want things to feel different from how things used to be; back when someone told us to be together."

"Well, when this happened in my time, you decided to get married." he smiled, recalling how beautiful the reception and the vows had been. "We threw a wedding and invited a bunch of people from beach city. There was good music, food, and dancing."

"That sounds nice." Ruby admitted.

"Yeah, it was great," he said. "We don't have to do the wedding right away if you don't want to. The important thing is, it will be your decision to be Garnet."

Ruby's eyes sparkled, a small smile tugging at her lips. "My decision…" she stared at the blue gemstone in her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Well, if I'm making my own decisions... Then, I'll decide I wanna be with Sapphire. I mean, I've gotta ask her first."

As if on cue, the gemstone in her hand began to glow. It hovered in the air and cycled through a few appearances before settling on the familiar form of Sapphire. Ruby immediately rushed over to Sapphire and started spouting apologizes at her.

Sapphire looked taken aback. "Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who should be sorry." she said, her voice remorseful. "I should have never said those awful things to you. That we didn't matter anymore; I shouldn't have pushed you away like that. I was wrong."

"I said some pretty awful things too. We were both wrong, but that stuff is in the past and I want to focus on our future."Sapphire…" She clasped the blue gems hands in her own. "Will you marry me?"

"What?" she said. "Marry you?"

"Yeah! This way we can be together, even when we're apart! This time, being Garnet will be our decision. What do you say?"

She smiled. "Of course."

They embraced each other and erupted into fits of laughter which eventually turned into a passionate kiss. Twoie's cheeks tinged pink at the affectionate display and he averted his gaze. From the corner of his eye, he could make out the bright light that he had come to associate with fusion. He turned back to where the couple had been a few moments earlier and was rewarded with the sight of a beaming Garnet.

Pearl clasped her hand together in excitement. "Garnet!" she exclaimed and she ran up to greet the fusion. "You're back!"

"Sup Garnet," Amethyst said a large grin on her face. "long time no see."

"It's good to be back." Garnet said.

They exchanged hugs and laughter until Pearl's attention was pulled to the rainbow gemstone.

"The only one who hasn't reformed is Bismuth." she said.

The surge of relief he received upon learning that Bismuth hadn't reformed was accompanied by feelings of guilt. He should want Bismuth to come back. He did want her to come back, but at the same time he worried about her reaction to Rose Quartz's true identity. Would she believe him when he told her Steven was a different person even if he possessed the same gemstone? Or would it be like last time…

The heat from the lava that surrounded them made the lower level of the forge unbearably hot. A sheen of nervous sweat covered his forehead. He held up his shield and braced himself for Bismuth's attack. Her blade hand slashed at his shield with enough force to knock him back onto the ground.

The scent of burnt flesh filled the air. He ignored the searing pain radiating from his palms and pushed himself up. "W-Wait!" he cried. He shuffled backwards taking care not to walk into the lava. "I'm not my mom! I don't know what she did, but, I'm sure she didn't want to hurt you."

Bismuth's face darkened. "It's too late." she said, her voice was cold and had a tone of finality to it that made his heart jump. Bismuth stalked toward him, her eyes brimming with a silent fury that looked out of place on the usually cheerful gem. "I don't believe you anymore!"

She swung at him, the sharp blade that was once her hand sliced through the humid air of the forge. It was headed straight for him. He needed to do something, or else he was going to—

A gentle hand rested on his shoulder. He jerked away, nearly falling over in his panic.

"... Twoie?" a concerned voice called.

Three sets of concerned eyes were on him. He immediately straightened up and tried his best to smile. His smile wavered as Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl continued to stare at him with identical expressions of concern on their faces.

"Did something happen?" he asked when they remained silent.

"Dude, you kinda zoned out there for a sec." Amethyst said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just… thinking."

Pearl and Garnet shared concerned looks, but thankfully didn't press him for more information.

"About… Bismuth?" Amethyst guessed.

He gave a small nod in response.

"Where did you find Bismuth?" Pearl asked. "She's been missing for thousands of years."

He froze. He was tempted to ignore her question and lock himself away in his room, but he had to tell them eventually. So, he took a deep breath and tried to make his explanation as short and painless as possible. "Rose bubbled her away in Lion's mane."

The shift in mood was instantaneous.

"Rose bubbled her away?!" Pearl said. "That…. can't be right. She would never…."

Garnet frowned. "Rose said she lost track of Bismuth in the battle for the Ziggurat."

"That doesn't make any sense." Amethyst said. "Why would Rose bubble away one of her friends?"

He stared at the floor while he talked since it was easier than looking at the hurt that marred their faces. The news that Rose had not only bubbled their friend, but also lied to them about it must have been difficult to process. "Bismuth created a weapon, the breaking point. She wanted to shatter Homeworld gems-" he ignored their shocked gasps and continued. "-in hopes of winning the war, but when she showed it to Rose… they had a disagreement and it ended with Bismuth being bubbled away."

It was silent for a while after he finished his explanation. He finally built up enough courage to look up and see their reactions. Pearl's face was marred with a myriad of emotions that Twoie could not identify. Amethyst looked upset and contemplative. Garnet was the only one who appeared unfazed, but Twoie had known Garnet his whole life and could tell when something was bothering her. He could practically feel the conflicted emotions rolling off her.

Despite her inner conflict, Garnet remained strong. "Thank you," she told him. "For telling us the truth."

He nodded and turned to go to his room without saying another word. He was sure they had a lot to talk about and for once he didn't have the energy to stick around and help them process everything.


Breakfast was an uncomfortable affair filled with a tension and suspicion so thick that Twoie could feel it weighing him down. He sat sandwiched between Steven and Jasper in the only available chairs in the kitchen, leaving everyone else to stand awkwardly and watch them eat. Except for Amethyst, who had decided to sit on top of the kitchen island, occasionally picking food off his plate as she ignored the sharp glares that Jasper sent her way.

Pearl and Garnet stood closer to the fridge both of them watching Jasper like a hawk. Garnet was more subtle about it with only the occasional clenching fist or adjusting of her visor indicating her displeasure at their new ally. Pearl was the complete opposite, her face going through a kaleidoscope of emotions ranging from concern, to fear, and even anger.

If Jasper noticed any of the looks sent her way then she didn't seem particularly bothered by them. Her attention was singularly focused on Steven who had been especially excitable that morning since learning Garnet was back. He excitedly rambled on about his theories for the upcoming finale of Crying Breakfast Friends, only pausing to shovel more food in his mouth.

"... and that's why the Angry Lunch Enemies will be redeemed by the end of the season." Steven said, his words slightly muffled by the food in his mouth.

Jasper nodded in agreement to Steven's statement, but Twoie could practically hear the gears turning in her head as she struggled to process all the information thrown at her. Having a good time and relaxation weren't exactly encouraged in Homeworld, so the concept of cartoons must have been particularly confusing to Jasper.

"Peridot's back." Amethyst said, pointing to the living room as she stole another strawberry off his plate.

The gemstone that had been still on the coffee table began to glow. A green orb of light hovered in the air. It grew in size and took on the form of Peridot. She thrashed in the air before falling flat on her face. Jasper was quick and didn't give Peridot the opportunity to escape or even get up from the floor. She put Peridot into a headlock, ignoring the smaller gems cries of protest before casually returning to sit by Steven.

"Is that Peridot?" Pearl asked, confusion in her eyes at the sight of the noticeably smaller gem.

"Hey, Peridot." Twoie waved at her. "Do you want some pancakes?" he asked in an attempt to make her feel welcomed. Peridot ignored him, choosing to thrash in Jasper's hold instead.

"Oh my gosh…" Steven said, stars already forming in his eyes. "She's so… cute!"

Twoie winced at the compliment, recalling just how infuriated it made the Peridot of his time. This Peridot was no different. Her eyes narrowed into a fierce glare that was directed at Steven.

Amethyst laughed "I think even you're taller than her now, dude." she said, playful nudging Steven in the ribs.

Peridot growled in displeasure, but was more focused on her missing limbs. "My limb enhancers! Where are my limb enhancers?!" She squirmed in Jasper's firm hold desperately trying to free her head from it's prison, but her struggles got her nowhere.

"Aw, you're like an angry little slice of pie!" Steven said.

Peridot hissed. "Stop talking! I dema—"

Jasper silenced her with a hard smack to the head. "You will address my Diamonds with respect."

"That pebble is not Pink Dia—" she stopped. Her eyes were wide and confused when she finally caught sight of Twoie. Her focus continually darted between him and Steven. "There are two of you now?!"

"I'm from the future." Twoie explained. "A gem artifa—"

"Ugh! Never mind, I don't care!" Peridot said. "And you!" she sent a barrage of slaps to Jasper's arm. "How can you just stand there and take orders from these… these clods! Have you forgotten about the mission? Or do I have to remind you that the cluster is due to emerge soon!"

"The cluster?" Pearl repeated. "Due to emerge soon? What are you talking about?"

Garnet's voice was low and threatening. "Explain yourself."

Peridot was either oblivious to the amount of danger she was in or simply didn't care because she stuck her tongue out at Garnet. "I don't take orders from insufferable half-formed traitors!"

Garnet looked one insult away from pummeling Peridot into a cloud, and Pearl already had her spear out. Even Amethyst seemed fed up with Peridot's hostile behavior. Twoie ignored the spectacle and focused on finishing his breakfast, tuning out the shouts of the gems around him. If events unfolded the same way as last time then they still had months before the cluster was a real threat.

The interrogation of Peridot continued for a few more minutes with each member of the Crystal Gem seeking to get information out of her, but Peridot was as stubborn as a mule. She refused to impart any of her knowledge about the cluster, taking great pleasure in calling everyone around her a clod all the while trying to escape from Jasper's hold.

Steven watched the argument break out with a small frown on his face. His gaze moved to Jasper and his eyes lit up. "Aren't you also from Homeworld, Jasper?" he asked.

"Yes, my Diamond."

"So do you know what the cluster is?"

The shouting around them died down at Steven's question, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to Jasper.

Jasper shook her head. "I don't."

Pearl scoffed. "You expect us to believe that you have no knowledge about the mission you were specifically sent to earth for."

"Yeah, that's pretty suspicious." Amethyst said. "Especially since we were literally just fighting like a few hours ago."

"Pearls right." Garnet said. "As a soldier gem you should have been briefed on your mission after you were given your orders.

"My orders were to eliminate the remaining Crystal Gems on earth." Jasper said, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "I was never briefed on the cluster."

"I explained it to you multiple times!" Peridot said. "In great detail!"

Jasper shrugged. "Never listened."

Peridot sputtered. "Never… Never listened!?" the knowledge that she'd been ignored was the last straw for Peridot. She freaked out. "Ugh! You clod!" she scratched, slapped, and even bit at Jasper's arm. She thrashed wildly and threw a barrage of insults at everyone.

Twoie was almost impressed by the sheer amount of times the word 'clods' left her mouth. He finished up his breakfast and waited a few moments for Peridot to simmer down before speaking.

"I know what the cluster is," he announced.

Immediately, everyone's eyes were on him.

"There's no way a pebble like you knows anything about the cluster." Peridot said. "Its contents are classified to everyone except me."

"Dude, we've been trying to get Peridot to tell us for like ten minutes." Amethyst said. "How come you didn't say anything?"

He glanced at Steven. "I didn't want you guys to worry. Plus, the cluster shouldn't be a real threat to us."

"What is the cluster?" Pearl asked.

"It's a geoweapon." he said.

Peridot's mouth fell agape. "How did you know that?" she returned to hitting the large gem that held her captive. "Jasper! Have you been divulging classified information to the enemy?"

Steven tilted his head in confusion. "What's a geoweapon?"

"Yeah, and should we be worried?" Amethyst asked.

"The important thing is that everything is going to be fine." he said.

"Fine?!" Peridot screeched. "When the cluster emerges we're all going to be shattered!"

"Shattered?" Pearl said. "Twoie, what is she talking about?"

Twoie sighed. He had hoped to avoid going into detail about the cluster, but it seemed there was no avoiding it. "Embedded deep inside of the earth is a geoweapon that was put there by the other Diamonds. It's made up of…" he cleared his throat and quickly moved on. "Well, the point is it's really dangerous. If it emerges then the earth will be… destroyed."

Steven's eyes widened. "Destroyed?!"

Twoie rushed to reassure him. "Don't worry, Steven. The geoweapon isn't due to emerge for a few months."

"We only have a few months left before the earth blows up?!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"No!" he paused. "Well, yes bu–"

Steven paled. "Am I going to die?!"

"Nobody is going to die." he said. "Everything is goi–"

"We're all going to be shattered!" Peridot shrieked.

"Nobody is getting shattered!" he shouted. "Or dying! Everything is going to be fine. I know how to stop the cluster, but-" he looked at Peridot. "-I'm going to need your help."

Peridot sneered at him."Why would I ever help a clod like you?"

"Because you love the earth and want to do the right thing?" he asked, hopefully.

Peridot gave him a blank stare before erupting into laughter. Even though he had been expecting her to refuse, Twoie couldn't help but feel disappointed.

He tried again. "Because you're stuck on earth and you don't want to get shattered."

Peridot stopped laughing.


Author's Note: So, there are like two more chapters left in this fic, but I might have to add more. If I don't add any new chapters then the last two will just have to be really long and because of that It might take me longer to update.