It was a beautiful morning as Lapis flew in the fresh air, going to see Amethyst and Pearl for the first time in a while. Lapis had Connie on her back, who for the first time, wasn't that happy about it. Connie sighed.

"What's wrong, Connie?" Lapis asked, glancing over her shoulder at the girl.

Connie shrugged. "I love hanging out with you, Lapis, but you've sorta been… hovering over me."

"But I'm below you." Lapis called in confusion.

"No, I mean you go with me everywhere now! You even started hanging out right by the bathroom when I'm in it! Not to mention you joining Peri in staring at me sleep when you think I'm not looking." Connie muttered, crossing her arms. She then remembered her scream and the sword plunged into Zircon yet again and shivered slightly. "I…. I handled myself fine with Zircon…"

"I'm not following you because of her, it's because of Garnet." Lapis muttered under her breath.

Connie caught the word 'Garnet' and frowned. "Lapis, you're strong enough to handle her when you're not distracted! She even told you that!"

"But she would distract me again if we ever did fight and my gem would be as good as hers." Lapis growled. "Not to mention that she'd go after you next! …I don't understand why we have to do this when she's still hunting you."

"It'll be fun to see Amethyst and Pearl again!" Connie smiled. "I'm sure they've done something lovely with the barn!"

"Oh yeah, when I think a lovely place, I just know Amethyst is living there." Lapis said, she was upset and sounded rather monotone at the reminder of her failure, Connie laughed still, hoping to lighten her mood. "She's probably totally wrecked-"

Lapis' words fell when they saw the barn. It was now painted a cream white with a beautiful yellow roof and pink curtains hung from the entryway, on one half. On the other half, it hadn't been painted at all. The left wall was gone entirely, and there seemed to be many heaps of various items piled up like mountains of treasure on that side. Pearl and Amethyst were yelling as they did something on their tv they must've stole from the Beach House, just like it seemed everything else in the treasure heaps.

"Hm, they actually split it in half! Cool!" Connie cried.

"This is a wreck..." Was all Lapis could say as she landed near Amethyst and Pearl.

"You are too much!" Pearl moaned, vigorously tapping her controller.

Amethyst gave a grunt in effort, sweating and smirked. "You shouldn't have let me get that turtle shell, P!"

"Shut up!" Pearl squaked.

Connie glanced over and saw them playing Mario Kart and giggled.

They paused in surprise and turned to see the two looking down at them.

"Connie, Lapis!" Pearl cried nervously, standing up. "We didn't know you were coming! Oh, if I knew we'd have guests-!"

"Hey kid!" Amethyst yelled in joy, putting Connie in a chokehold and giving her a noogie.

"You guys! This place is incredible!" Connie beamed, wrestling Amethyst playfully away.

Amethyst grinned and Pearl blushed.

"Oh, thank you, Connie! We worked so hard on it!" Pearl sighed with relief, adjusting a pink daisy she had placed behind her ear like she had dressed up. "You must see the inside, my half is so organized it will not literally blow you away!"

Lapis has her arms crossed and looked incredibly bored. Her eyes weren't their usual light blue when she was upset or annoyed. "Connie, can't we just go home?"

"Why, Lapis! You haven't even seen the barn! And while we're here, you and Amethyst should get to know each other! I'm sure you'll get along swimmingly!" Pearl said happily, putting her hands together.

Amethyst and Lapis looked at each other with narrowed eyes, making sure Connie couldn't see and both whispered, "... No."

Soon they entered the barn and it was a lot like the outside, split in half. The left was covered in junk and had food cartons and cans everywhere. Connie thought she saw a dinosaur skull and frowned.

The right was obviously Pearl's. It was clean and tidy, various weapons were leaned against the walls and unknowing to the guests, they had been some of the 'not good enough for my armory' weapons of fallen soldiers Rose had defeated that she had given to Pearl. Up in the loft there was a little table with two little chairs and a vase of pink daisies sat on it. The one thing that looked out of place was a rumpled pile of purple sheets. Connie was about to ask when Pearl gasped. "Oh! I almost forgot about the circular ship-looking puffs!"

Lapis and Connie looked at Amethyst with a look of confusion and she smirked. "She means cookies. You want some?"

"Cookies?!" Connie gasped in joy. "Oh, yes please!"

Lapis leaned against the wall, watching at Connie as the girl waited patiently for her treat.

Pearl hummed a little tune that sounded a lot like the first earthen song she sang as she went over to a tiny stove which stood in the middle of the room next to various baking supplies and took out a tray of cookies with her bare hands. Connie gasped but Pearl smiled. "Don't worry! We gems can withstand extreme temperatures!"

"But Jasper, Lapis and Peri wear oven mitts." Connie said confused.

Lapis gave a sigh. "That's because we have to set an example for you to always remind you of your fragile hands, Connie."

Connie smiled with a blush. "You guys are the best moms ever."

Pearl then placed the cookies down, making Connie gasp in surprise. They looked… perfect!

"H-How did you do this?! They look amazing!" Connie cried.

"Oh, I went looking for something to help me make food and I found this helpful combined paper screens! I was made for following orders after all!" Pearl announced, her gem sparked and released a book from it. Connie then realized it was her cookbook that had gone missing. That also explained where her sheets, the flour, sugar, baking powder, and various other items had gone. Pearl and Amethyst had stolen them to make a house. They didn't know any better. The girl didn't mind though as long as it made them happy.

Connie gingerly took one before munching down and her eyes turned to diamonds. "Wow! These taste even better than they look!"

"I'm glad you and Amethyst will enjoy them!" Pearl hummed happily, putting a arm around Amethyst.

Connie was surprised Amethyst wasn't upset by it, but then realized it had been weeks since she'd last seen them. They probably had bonded. "Pearl, this is culinary art!"

"Pfft. Yeah right." Lapis grumbled as she walked up next to Connie. "It's just food."

"Just food?!" Connie and Amethyst gasped in horror. Lapis liked food!

"Art, food, whatever you want to call, I myself like the term Amethyst came up with." Pearl smiled happily.

"Brace yourselves, guys." Amethyst said, crouching down slightly as if to reveal a great secret.

Lapis grabbed a pole and then Connie's hands. "We're braced."

"I call it… tea-toop."

"Tea-toop?" Connie asked in confusion as Pearl pulled them over to a wall. There, underneath a painting of a nice looking couple, on the floor were many items that seemed to be lined up, Connie was surprised they weren't thrown into the junk pile with the rest.

"Our tea-toops!" Pearl repeated with pride, displaying their treasures. She picked up a broken tape recorder that Connie recognized from what felt like so long ago, the purple ribbon was still wrapped around it from when Amethyst had broken it. Yellow tape was wrapped around it as well. "I call this, Thank You So Much. It shows how Amethyst and I struggled at first, and felt broken! But the tape represents how Connie healed us and our bond! Also, it makes me feel guilty!"

"Heh, me too!" Amethyst smirked, walking over to another piece of art. She then lifted up a familiar broken tennis racket and smirked with utmost joy at her piece. "This tea-toop is mine, it's called, Suckers. I have it because I wanted to use it to beat those Homeword Jaspers to the ground because they called us lackies, they were suckers. Also, because that's the day I took charge of them! Heh, if they come back to get us again, I'll show them who's boss."

She then dropped the racket and picked up a feather. "This one is real special. It's called, Fact About Home. It reminds of that time where Connie gave me a feather and told me that I always had a home."

"Oh, Amethyst, that's so thoughtful!" Connie cried with little tears in her eyes.

She then noticed a shattered hand mirror next to it and frowned. "I'm guessing that one shows how badly you wanted to get out of that mirror after thousands of years, you know, we can talk-"

"Kid, I just broke that because I was rolling around the barn!" Amethyst laughed.

"Oh." Connie giggled with a blush, wiping away her tears.

"And our last tea-toop, we made this one together!" Pearl announced, pulling Connie to another piece.

This tea-toop was a dead flower crown and cracked black sunglasses on the ground with sword in between them.

"Um… what's this called?" Connie asked with a tiny laugh, not sure if she wanted to know.

"The piece is called, Chains No More. It symbolizes how Amethyst and I no longer feel we must please Rose or Garnet because we think they're better than us! And that now, we fight for Earth, and those two are dead to us!" Pearl cried, smiling happily.

Lapis' eyes widened and her teeth gritted at the mention of Garnet.

Pearl noticed this and smiled a little. "Lapis, you seem very tense! Why don't I with my new found love of baking make you something to fix you?" She twirled over to the makeshift kitchen and picked up the flour along with a measuring cup. She hesitated before pouring it though. "Amethyst, I believe I need instructions on a baked tea-toop, would you mind getting some for me?"

"Nah, let's just go with the flow." Amethyst said, walking up and grabbing a wooden spoon.

Pearl looked mortified, nearly dropping a bowl before placing the flour on the table next to the measuring cup. "Amethyst, there are clear instructions to follow! We can't just… make up things!"

"Sure we can, we're tea-toop masters, right?" Amethyst asked, opening the flour. "Besides, we don't even need to make food!"

"What would you like to do instead?" Pearl asked in confusion.

"Oh, I dunno…" Amethyst muttered, taking the flour and walking with it. She then twisted around and threw a handful at Pearl.

"Ugh! Amethyst!" She cried, wiping it off in fury while Amethyst giggled and Connie gasped in surprise.

Pearl started chasing Amethyst, grabbing the sugar and throwing it, trying to hold back laughter. "Take that, ruffin!"

Amethyst pulled Connie in and they soon were a mess of yelling, running, flour, sugar, and laughing as Lapis grew angrier.

Connie giggled and threw flour at Amethyst. "Ha, ha, got you!"

"This is war!" Amethyst yelled, and tackled Connie to the ground.

Lapis' eyes widened in anger seeing Amethyst tackle Connie and she snapped. "STOP!"

Pearl gasped and dropped her bag of sugar, seeing Lapis flying in the air, her hands out and her shadowy face looked like a dark storm at sea. Connie and Amethyst slowly got up, Connie placing her hands behind her back and bowing her head while Amethyst crossed her arms with a pout.

Lapis landed, clenching her fists in anger. "Garnet is still out there and you all are just… playing!"

Pearl and Amethyst merely blinked in surprise, unsure what to say or do. They didn't really talk about Garnet because, despite their tea-toop's meaning, they both still had a slight fear of her.

Lapis gave a sigh and grabbed Connie by the hand, pulling the girl away. "Come on, let's get you back to the house."

Connie stumbled slightly, looking back at Amethyst and Pearl. She then firmly planted her feet on the barn floor in stubbornness. "No."

Lapis turned with a frown. "What? Why not?"

"Lapis, I'm tired of being cooped up in there! You never let me leave the house anymore! You always make up some chore or task I have to do!" Connie growled, pulling away. "It's not fair, I'm NOT a baby!"

Lapis tightened her hands into fists and she turned her back to the girl. "I-I know that."

Connie stood in silence. Here they were again, upset at each other because of Garnet. She thought they'd gotten past that, or maybe all they had done was just stop the fight for a moment by sharing their inner disappointments. She wasn't sure. "Lapis, I'm…"

But when she looked up, Lapis was gone. She saw in the distance a winged figure hover over the water tower nearby, and then land in a sitting position.

"Hm. You two don't normally fight." Pearl muttered behind her. "She doesn't seem her usual happy self today."

Connie had almost forgotten that Amethyst and Pearl were there and turned to them. "I'm sorry you guys, we ruined a perfectly good house tour."

"Oh, Connie, it's alright." Pearl murmured softly, smiling weakly down at her. "But what I'd like to know is why Lapis is suddenly so interested in defeating Garnet."

"Duh, Garnet's a turd." Amethyst mumbled, turning away to look through her garbage to occupy herself.

"Well, yes, but Lapis is upset more because Garnet beat her in battle a few days ago." Connie explained and Pearl frowned. "She could've won if Garnet hadn't dug up her past and all her regrets. Lapis regrets so much, she was easy to be taken off guard by it."

Amethyst clenched her teeth in anger. She wanted to show Garnet a world of pain for all she had done to her, Pearl, and Connie, but she held herself back only because she knew it was a useless thing to try. Garnet would beat her in a instant, or worse, she wouldn't poof her at all, she'd force her to fuse again… That was worse than being poofed, far worse.

Pearl gave a sigh and looked up at the water tower. "Come along, Connie. I think I know how to fix Lapis."

The water gem lay on the tower, her eyes clenched closed. The only reason she hadn't flown off to find Garnet herself was because she had no idea where she'd be.

"Ahem, may I join you?" Pearl's voice asked, making her eyes pop open in surprise.

Lapis shrugged, as if saying 'You can, but don't expect me to talk to you.'

Pearl gently tucked her legs beneath her and sat down, watching the clouds. "You don't need to be caught up in the past, you know. Garnet uses memories to her advantage."

Lapis sat up and hugged her knees close, laying her head on them. "I see Connie told you about our run in."

Pearl nodded slightly, and exhaled before beginning again. "...Garnet is a powerful fighter, she's strong, confident. She has fame, titles… love. I envy her greatly."

"Wow. You're really making me feel like I'm so much better then her." Lapis growled, turning her head away. Pearl closed her eyes and sighed. The water gem glanced at her.

"You didn't let me finish." Pearl muttered, narrowing her eyes. "I envy her greatly for those things, but I pity her for others."

Lapis' eyes widened only a bit, and she looked up. "What do you mean?"

"There's something I feel you should know about Garnet, but I should tell it somewhere else. The information may help you in defeating her."

Lapis stood up and formed her wings, looking coldly at the sky. "Let's go."

Pearl suddenly stood and yelled as loud as she could: "AMETHYST, I'M LEAVING!"

They waited a moment before hearing a distant, "OKAY!"

"DON'T DESTROY THE BARN WHILE I'M GONE!"

"I WON'T!"

"ARE YOU CERTAIN?!"

There was a moment of silence and then a large, "NOPE!"

Connie, Pearl and Lapis landed gently into the Beta Kindergarten and looked around.

"Why would you want to tell me out here?" Lapis asked in confusion, looking around at the red stone caverns and shivering slightly. She couldn't feel a drop of water in this place devoid of life.

"Because here is where her biggest regret is." Pearl said softly, motioning to the ground.

Lapis frowned. "I don't see anything…"

Connie then realized and bent down, putting her hand to the ground and closing her eyes. "It's the Cluster…"

"Indeed." Pearl muttered, beginning to walk the Kindergarden. Connie followed her while Lapis stared after for a few moments then ran after her.

"W-Wait, I thought the Cluster was her idea." Lapis said in confusion, her bare feet slapping against stone.

Pearl shook her head. "It wasn't hers entirely…"

Connie glanced around at the various holes and frowned. They were uneven, one hole was even curved around a wall, she wondered how that gem turned out…

They kept walking, Pearl softly explaining as if she didn't want to disrupt the quiet of the place.

"Garnet may seem calm and collected but really, she has so many feelings on the inside. She's the combination of Ruby and Sapphire, who are so contrast to one another, sometimes Garnet doesn't even know what to do!" Pearl cried with a nervous laugh.

Connie was still looking around when she noticed a broken injector. It's four legs had been ripped off. She was going to say something but Pearl contuied on.

"Crazy, isn't it? Garnet, unsure of herself. I've only seen it once, and it was when she met-"

"Jasper!" Connie cried.

They turned in surprise and saw Connie beaming behind them. The older gems mouths suddenly fell open, making her smile fade. "Um… it was Jasper, right?"

"That hole sure was…" Lapis whispered, pointing.

Connie turned and gasped in shock. There was a massive hole, much larger and taller than the rest of the holes. Instead of the arms being down like most had emerged, Jasper had come out with her arms up in a fighting pose.

"Wow…" Connie whispered in awe as the other two stared.

Pearl gave a slight cough and smiled. "This takes me back a ways! Um, did you two know that Jasper was supposed to be Pink Diamond's ultimate soldier? Rose was going to meet her a few weeks after she emerged but, uh, my Diamond needed Jasper to guard her that fateful day Garnet was formed and… well, I'm sure you both know the rest.."

Connie still stared and Lapis pulled away briefly, looking at Pearl. "You… said Garnet was unsure of herself, what did you mean?"

Pearl looked around nervously and then bowed her head. "Rose was the one who came up with the Cluster after seeing Garnet, and Garnet, even though she hated to force unwilling gems to fuse together, she did it so she would stay together as one. She did it to save herself. Why do you think she hates fighting other fusions? … It reminds her of the one that never had a choice to be made… She can only fuse for battles alone, just like The Cluster."

"... She… she has regrets about being made, just like I do." Lapis whispered, surprised.

"Exactly." Connie smiled. "Even she has her weaknesses!"

"She does…" Lapis murmured softly, clenching her fist. "... which means I can do the same thing she did to me."

Connie's smile faded at once. "What? No, no! That's not-!"

Lapis ignored her, twirling around to see the Kindergarden and punched the air in determination. "I'll beat her and she'll never go after us again! No more corrupted gems will be taken, no more worry over our heads! It'll all be-"

"This is wrong." Pearl suddenly interrupted. Lapis let her hands fall and turned to see Pearl was bent down, observing a large hole, much, much larger and wider than the rest. "This hole… it looks like it's been dug out, recently…"

Lapis and Connie walked after Pearl down to see the rest of the Kindergarden, wondering what they'd find, and then the gems gasped in shock.

There were large holes upon holes just like the one before, but they had bars on them… Connie recognized the injector legs. They weren't the first to visit this place recently.

"I-I don't understand!" Pearl whispered in shock. "These holes!"

"They're cages!" Connie finished with her hands over her mouth in surprise. She slowly walked up to one, unsure what it held. Suddenly, a green claw sprang out at her and she fell back with a cry. It was a corrupted gem, she saw it pushing against the bars, yearning for freedom. Lapis and Pearl had given cries and pulled her away.

They looked around in horror, seeing all the cages full of glowing eyes staring at them.

"C-Corrupted gems!" Connie whispered. "But why are they caged up?"

"Who would do such a thing?" Pearl asked, holding Connie by the shoulder, mostly to reassure herself.

Lapis was shaking slightly until she caught sight of something and she stopped dead. "She would."

The others looked over and then, as the dust cleared, they saw the tall fusion looking magistic with her back to them.

"Garnet…" Connie whispered.

Lapis bared her teeth and shoved Connie behind her, her wings formed. She took a breath and then exhaled.

It was time.

I hoped you guys liked this chapter! I had help with the name of tea-toop by one of my amazing followers, which reminds me, you all can send ideas and questions about the story if you pm me! Thanks for reading, I'm so glad my writing can make you all so happy! Every time I read a comment, a smile comes to my face! So thank you again!