The world turned on its head, spinning and twirling at a breakneck speed. Twoie threw his arms out in front of him, grasping at the air in an attempt to reorient himself, but it was hopeless. He was surrounded by darkness, stuck in a cold and empty void with no hope of ever escaping. Was this his punishment for interfering with the flow of time?

It's not fair, he thought bitterly. Then again, when had anything in his life ever been fair? Something in between a laugh and a sob spilled out of him, but it was muffled by the oppressive shadows surrounding him.

The world spun again, and his stomach churned. When the spinning stopped, he was able to make out a faint speck of light far out in the distance. It could have been nothing, or it could have been his ticket out of this place. It didn't matter, because he was heading towards it anyway.

The trip was slow and arduous, the darkness stubbornly restraining his movements, but he soldiered onward. Not that he had many other options. The speck soon became an orb and, eventually, a small portal. He reached out, the tips of his fingers just barely brushing against the light.

His foot found air, and his face found sand.

Twoie skidded across the ground, staining his clothes and bruising his side, as he popped back into existence. He sat up, spitting out mouthfuls of sand, and choking out barrels of relieved laughter. He took in lungfuls of fresh air, immensely grateful for every gust of wind and grain of sand. A quick scan of his surroundings revealed he was at the center of a large crater, the moon and stars his only source of light.

The timepiece lay on his lap, a large crack running across its surface. He pocketed the damaged artifact, deciding it wasn't a priority at the moment, and focused instead on climbing out of the sandy pit. It was surprisingly easy. There were no aches or jolts of pain that accompanied his every step, no constant throbbing headaches, and best of all-he felt energized, alive.

Once out, the recognizable sandy shore of a beach became visible. He'd been thinking of home when he activated the timepiece, but couldn't see the beach house anywhere. Dread settled into the pit of his stomach, but he kept walking, speeding up every second he failed to find home. Just when he was beginning to give up hope, he saw it. The statue of Obsidian, far out in the distance, watching over the beach.

Twoie took off into a run, heart pounding in his ears as he bolted toward the statue. He could make out the dome of the newly constructed green house and the wooden balcony leading to his room.

There was no doubt about it, he was back home.

With a single jump, he leapt over the stairs and flung the door open, his blood running cold at the sight that greeted him.

It looked like a tornado had made its way through the living room, hurling books and paper in every direction. The kitchen was no better, flies swarmed around a rotten bowl of fruit, and Twoie gagged at the putrid smell. A flick of a switch revealed that the lightbulbs were dead, faint sparks of light brightened the room before snuffing out. A fine layer of dust covered every surface.

The house was abandoned.

"Guys?" He paused, waiting for a response, but none came. "Pearl? Amethyst? Garnet?"

He made his way over to the familiar temple door, rapping his knuckles against its cold surface. Again, no response. Using his gemstone, he entered the temple, searching each room until he was certain nobody was around. He moved on to searching the house next, leaving no cupboard or closet unchecked. He found nothing.

Slightly panicking now, Twoie pulled his phone out of his pocket with the intent of calling one of the gems, but he ended up staring at his screen instead. He had thousands of missed calls and texts. His phone nearly crashed trying to load them all at once.

He managed to read a text as it flashed on screen, Where are you?

Is everything okay?, another text read.

Text after text flashed on his screen, faster than he could read them, each message becoming more worried as time went on.

Call me back.

This isn't funny.

Please come home.

He stared incomprehensibly at the steady stream of messages, and attempted to wrap his head around the situation. He had assumed that he would be sent back to the moment right after he left, that no one would even notice his absence, but the truth was slowly starting to dawn on him. For all those days, all those weeks he had spent in the past, he had also been missing from his time.

"Oh no…" Guilt hit him like a truck at the realization. The gems, Dad, Connie, they all must have been worried sick about him. Were they out there right now, searching for him? He wasted no time and pulled up the long list of missed calls, tapping on the most recent one without even looking

His pulse raced, as he waited for someone to pick up. There was a crackle on the other end immediately followed by a gruff voice, "Where are you?"

Twoie's mind blanked, and any response he had immediately died in his throat. It was Jasper. He had been expecting Dad, Connie, or one of the gems to pick up. Hell, he wouldn't have even been that surprised if it had been Peridot, Bismuth, or Lapis who answered, but Jasper? He didn't even know she had a phone, let alone his number. Last he checked, she was still throwing boulders in the woods and refusing to attend Little Homeschool.

"Steven?"

"I… Jasper?" he answered, fumbling to find the right words. "Wha—how are you even calling me?"

"With a phone." If he didn't know any better he'd say she was teasing him. "Where are you?"

"Home… I think." he scanned the house, half expecting Steven to pop up behind some counter. Was he still in the past somehow? No, the kitchen had clearly been remodeled, and the staircase leading to his room was visible even in the dark. "What's going on? Where is everybody?"

There was another crackle, and the call ended. Confused, he attempted to call Jasper again, only to be greeted by a flashing battery icon. "Of course," he mumbled, pocketing his dead phone.

Twoie went up to his room, pulling open drawers as he searched for a charger. As he rifled through his clothes, a feeling of unease was starting to make itself known. Something was missing. More specifically, all of his Pink Diamond outfits were gone. He hastily plugged in his phone to charge, and continued to search through his clothes, but found nothing.

Unsettled, he began to carefully comb through his room. At a glance, everything was just as he remembered it. Several familiar posters lined the walls, an array of knick-knacks sat on a shelf above his bed, the painting of him and Garnet hung on a nearby wall.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The posters were hung in different places, the Garnet in the painting held a different pose than the one he remembered, he didn't recognize a few of the knick-knacks. Small changes, but changes nonetheless.

Before he could investigate any further, the door to his room was flung open. He turned, shield already raised in preparation of a fight, but was left gaping at the figure standing in the doorway. Jasper's face was scrunched up in an uncharacteristic expression of worry, but what had surprised him more was her lack of corruption scars. Her small horns and spots had vanished, no trace that anything had ever been there.

"Where have you been?" The relief in her voice caught him off guard, and he was left floundering for an answer. She must have taken his confusion for fear, because her face softened as she asked, "Are you okay?"

"I… Why do you care?" It was an honest question, lacking any malice, but Jasper flinched as if he'd struck her. He immediately hurried to explain himself, "I thought I was a 'puny human'. Isn't that what you said before our fight?"

"No, I—" Jasper frowned, eyebrows furrowing. "... Our fight?"

Twoie lowered his shield, dissipating its form. Jasper had never been one for deception, and her confusion was too genuine to be an act. No, if she was here to start a fight she would have done it already. "You don't remember?"

Jasper shook her head, and took a few tentative steps towards him. She stopped when he took a step back, eyeing him as she asked, "Are you hurt?"

He suddenly became aware of how unstable he must have looked. He appeared out of nowhere after being missing for weeks, covered in sand and dirt, babbling about events only he could remember. It was no wonder Jasper was approaching him like he was some feral animal. "I'm fine." He flashed her a strained smile, and took a seat on the edge of his bed. "Just… confused."

Jasper nodded, and slowly began to make her way over to him, pausing every few moments to observe his reactions. She sat next to him, the bed dipping under the added weight. She left him with enough room that he didn't feel smothered by her presence, but was close enough where she could reach out and touch him if she wanted.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked after a beat of silence. Again, her voice was laced with an unusual amount of worry.

"I fine—"

His head spun, and suddenly he wasn't in his room anymore.

He was seated on a fallen tree, a campfire in front of him, and Jasper seated across from him. She fumbled with a stick, glaring at a marshmallow as she skewered it.

"I won," she smugly announced, puffing her chest out in victory. "I defeated the earthling."

Laughter bubbled out of him without him willing it.

He wasn't in control of himself as he spoke, "That 'earthling' you just defeated is called a marshmallow, and you're supposed to eat them not fight them." He held his own marshmallow above the fire, waiting for it to turn a golden brown before taking a bite. "See?" he said, his voice muffled by the gooey treat. "It's tasty."

Jasper glanced down at her own marshmallow, eyeing it suspiciously before taking a tentative bite.

"This is…" Her eyes brightened as she continued to chew.

"Tasty?" he offered, smiling at her excitement.

She nodded, and ate the rest of the marshmallow in a single bite.

Twoie blinked, the memory fading as he was thrust back into his bedroom. Jasper was still seated next to him, but her presence didn't bother him like it had a few moments ago.

"Jasper," he spoke, breaking the silence. "We went camping together, right?"

She looked confused at the question, but gave a nod in response. "Almost every month." Her face softened, a small smile gracing her lips. "I like it, it's… fun."

Their conversation was interrupted by the activating of the warp pad.

Jasper rose from the bed. "That should be the others."

"The others?"

"The other gems," she clarified before making her way downstairs.

Twoie immediately followed after her, nearly tripping in his rush to get to the living room. His mouth fell agape at the three figures standing on the warp pad.

His Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl had arrived.

He almost couldn't believe it. How long had it been since he'd last seen them? And now they were separated by a matter of several feet. A few steps was all it would take to close the distance, but he found himself unable to move, shock keeping him rooted to his spot.

He could only watch, heart thudding in his chest, as they approached him. They stopped in front of him, and stared, drinking in his image as if they feared he would disappear in the next second.

"Guys, I…" What was he even supposed to say? Apologize for going missing? Try to explain that he had been stuck in the past? It didn't matter, because they engulfed him in a hug, cutting off any explanation he would've given.

"Thank the stars, you're okay!" Pearl gasped out in between her relieved sobs.

Amethyst let out a shaky laugh. "Please let this be real. I swear, if this is another dream…"

"It's real." Garnet's voice was shaky and thick with emotion. "It's real, it's real," she repeated the words like a mantra, her body trembling as she squeezed all of them in a hug.

His thoughts were a jumbled mess. Tears welled up in his eyes, slowly leaking out of him. He tried to speak, but his throat had closed up and all that came out was a strangled sob. He clung to them with all his strength, afraid they would disappear if he let go.

They stood there embracing each other, tears streaming down their faces for what felt like an eternity. At some point, Garnet untangled herself from the embrace and went over to Jasper. They spoke in low tones and hushed whispers, occasionally stealing glances over to him, but he was too exhausted to even care.

Pearl and Amethyst, without breaking the embrace, gently moved him over to the couch. Twoie sat in between them, shaking like a leaf in the wind, as he tried to convince himself he wasn't dreaming.


The next time Twoie woke, it was to the smell of coffee and bacon. He sat up, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He was in a state of hazy bliss, unconcerned with anything, purely existing in the moment. That all ended when the door to his bedroom creaked open.

Dad trudged inside, looking older than he remembered him. Faint creases marred his haggard face, his shoulders slumped and weighed down by stress. Twoie straightened up, the remaining tendrils of sleep disappearing from his foggy mind.

At the sight of Twoie, his eyes bulged and his mouth fell agape, making him look like a fish out of water. "Steven!" He rushed over and wrapped his arms around him in an almost crushing embrace. "You're awake!" He cried, his voice equal parts teary and relieved. "You're okay!"

The world around him disappeared, as he was transported into a distant memory.

Steven sat next to dad on the porch of the house, watching the sun as it began to set, idly strumming at his ukulele. There was a tenseness in his muscles as he shifted positions, somehow failing to get any more comfortable. He was restless.

"This sucks."

Dad let out a strained chuckle."Is spending time with your old man really that bad?"

His eyes widened in horror, as he realized how he must have sounded. "What? No! That's not it! You know I love spending time with you…."

"But?" Dad pressed. He set his guitar down to the side, and patiently waited for him to respond.

"It's just…" Steven averted his gaze and stared out into the distance. "I wish the gems would let me go to Homeworld."

"Well," he began, pausing to collect his thoughts. "I don't know much about Homeworld or their society, but from what I've heard it's not exactly somewhere safe. The gems are just trying to keep you safe, kiddo."

He sighed, and in a much softer voice responded, "I know, but I can't help but feel like I'm letting them down somehow. I'm Pink Diamond, right? So shouldn't it be my responsibility to deal with the other Diamonds?"

"Schtuball," his voice was surprisingly firm as he spoke, "You're not Pink Diamond. All that stuff with the Diamonds had nothing to do with you."

"But—"

"But, nothing," he said. "I understand that you want to help, but this isn't your responsibility." Steven's shoulders slumped in defeat, and he went silent. Dad pulled him into a hug. "The gems are made of tough stuff, they can handle a few meetings with the Diamonds."

He nodded, feeling slightly better, but he couldn't help but wonder, what would Twoie do if he were in his place?

Twoie blinked, head spinning as he was thrust back into the present, his dad still embracing him. He had questions, dozens of them, but he doubted Dad would know any of the answers. Instead, he hugged Dad back, savoring the moment.

Dad pulled back after a few more seconds, wiping at his teary eyes, as he asked, "Where have you been? We looked everywhere for you."

"I was… here."

"Here? At the house?"

Twoie nodded, still reeling from the new memory. Everything was so different, but at the same time strangely familiar.

"We shouldn't have abandoned the house," Dad said, frowning. "If someone had been here then maybe we wou—"

"It wouldn't have mattered. I wasn't at this version of the house."

"'This version' of the house?"

"I didn't even have my own bed. I was sleeping in mom's old room, and the gems didn't like me very much at first. They thought I was a Homeworld spy." He chuckled, all too aware of how unstable he must have sounded. "Me, of all people. Can you believe that?"

"I don't… is this gem related?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," he said, pulling his dad in for another hug. "I'm finally home."


After a quick shower and change of clothes, Twoie was treated to the most extravagant breakfast of his life. Heaps and heaps of steaming food, more than he was even capable of eating, was laid out on the kitchen table. Pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and every other food even loosely associated with breakfast was being served by an ecstatic Pearl.

"Help yourself to anything you'd like." Pearl piled more pancakes onto his already comically tall stack. "A growing boy needs to eat."

"No growing boy can eat that much." Dad was seated next to him, eating a reasonable portion of pancakes. He eyed his stack of food with a mix of awe and amusement. "Don't eat so much you get sick, kiddo."

"Amethyst will eat whatever you don't finish." Garnet sat in between Dad and Amethyst, a small plate of diced fruit in front of her. Amethyst uttered something that sounded like agreement, her words muffled by the food stuffed in her mouth. "Pearl was… excited to make you breakfast."

Pearl sat down with them after tidying up the kitchen. "I'll admit, I may have gone a bit overboard with breakfast."

Amethyst snorted, shoveling another plateful of bacon into her mouth. "A bit? P, you only stopped cooking 'cause you ran out of ingredients."

Pearl flushed blue, but didn't refute Amethysts claim.

Twoie smiled. "The food is delicious, Pearl. I haven't had a proper breakfast since… In a while. Thank you."

Pearl returned his smile, but dimmed at the mention of his absence. In fact, everyone at the table seemed to deflate at his words.

"You were missing for months," Garnet said, her tone somber. "No one had any idea of where you went."

Twoie placed his fork down, suddenly losing his appetite. Garnet and, by the looks of their poorly concealed worry, everyone else at the table wanted to know where he had been. They deserved to know, but he wasn't ready to relive what had happened.

"Where's Jasper?" he asked, changing the subject. The incident with White Diamond and his near death was still fresh in his mind, and he didn't trust himself to talk about it without breaking down, something which would only worry the gems and Dad even more.

"She's helping Peridot and the others finish with the preparations," Garnet eventually said.

"Preparations? For what?"

Garnet froze, going silent.

Dad flashed Garnet a reassuring smile, before turning to address him. "We were going to keep it a surprise, but—"

"We're throwing you a party!" Amethyst happily announced. "The Diamonds wanted to throw you a lame Homeworld ball, but we—"

Twoie nearly choked on his orange juice, because how could he have forgotten about the Diamonds?

"Woah, slow down there, dude," Amethyst said, getting up to pat his back. "Wouldn't want you to drown in juice."

"The Diamonds," he coughed out, shrugging off Amethyst's attempts to help. He stood, making his way over to the warp pad. Pearl stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"We've already told them that we found you," Pearl said. "Sit down, finish eating."

"I can't, I need t—"

"You can call them later if you'd like, but I'm not comfortable with you warping anywhere right now, especially not to Homeworld."

"But, I—"

"Dude, relax," Amethyst said. "It's not like the Diamonds are going anywhere."

What? Was she serious? He had left the Diamonds unattended for weeks, months, and no one seemed concerned. Why weren't they freaking out? He attempted to push past Pearl, but she stood firm. It was then when another memory resurfaced.

A screen in the shape of a diamond floated in front of Steven, the faces of three women staring back at him. The largest of the three, and the one taking up most of the screen, smiled brightly at him.

"Pink!" White Diamond greeted. "It's so good to see you."

Beside him, Garnet cleared her throat. She placed a protective hand on his shoulder, ready to pull him away from the call at a moment's notice. "His name is Steven."

White Diamond's smile flickered for a moment. "Steven," she began again. "It's so good to finally speak with you. You really should visit more often, Starlight."

"White, we've talked about this," Yellow Diamond said, an undercurrent of annoyance in her voice. "Steven will visit when he feels up to it."

"Yes, of course," White agreed. "I wasn't pressuring Pink—"

"Steven," Blue Diamond corrected. "Not Pink, Steven."

"Steven," White Diamond repeated. "I wasn't pressuring Steven to do anything. I was merely extending him an invitation to Homeworld."

The memory ended, and he was left with a sense of calm of the situation. The Diamonds were under control. They still wanted him around, White especially, but they wouldn't do anything drastic if he didn't monitor them twenty-four seven. The realization left him reeling, as he practically collapsed into the nearest chair.

"I don't have to go to Homeworld," he said, as if to convince himself. The gems and dad gathered around him, sharing concerned looks. "That's… wow."

"Are you feeling alright, Schtuball?" Dad asked, his brow creasing in worry. "Maybe you should go rest."

Twoie shook his head. The events of the past few hours finally clicked into place. The changes to his room, Jasper's friendly demeanor, the flashes of memory, everything was starting to make sense.

"I… do you guys remember Twoie?"

The sound of a pin dropping could be heard in the silence that followed.

"Your outfit last night…" Pearl muttered, realization dawning on her features.

"The other version of the house," Dad said, eyes wide. "You were talking about the past, weren't you?"

He nodded. "I got back last night."

"That's… I… " Garnet struggled to speak, and eventually trailed off into silence.

"Does that mean you're not Steven?" Amethyst asked.

"Yes, no—I… don't know." Conflicting memories of the same events flooded his mind. He remembered stopping the cluster, and the Diamonds willingly deactivating it. He recalled meeting Jasper twice, once as an enemy, and once as a friend. Was he Twoie with Steven's memories, or Steven with Twoie's memories? Already, it was becoming impossible to tell the difference. "I think… I'm both."

Amethyst frowned, eyebrows squishing together. "Both?"

"I keep having these… flashes, like memories, except they're of this timeline."

Pearl embraced him. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"We'll fill you in on anything you don't remember," Garnet assured him.

Amethyst let out a small relieved laugh. "For a second there, I was worried you'd gone crazy. I mean, willingly wanting to visit the Diamonds?"

He cracked a smile, and the remaining tension evaporated.

Breakfast continued without a hitch, although Twoie would occasionally find himself slipping into a daze as a new memory resurfaced. He wouldn't have minded much if the memories didn't return while he was in the middle of a conversation.

"...what do you think, Steven?" Dad placed a hand on his shoulder. "Steven?"

Twoie searched the room for Steven, realizing shortly after that Dad had been referring to him. He'd gotten so used to Twoie that being called by his real name almost felt wrong.

"Sorry, I zoned out." He flashed him a sheepish grin. "What were you saying?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go through with the party. You must be tired after… Well, everything. Nobody would blame you if you wanted to postpone it. It's your choice, so what do you say?"

The gems and dad stared at him expectantly.

The memories would come with time, he decided. Right now, all he wanted to do was spend time with his family. A gentle smile stretched across Steven's face. "A party sounds… perfect."