There seemed to be air swooshing around her… Connie heard a loud ringing in her ears as she gained conscious. Where was this? What was happening?

Her body didn't want her to, but she slowly opened her eyes, beholding a blinding light and then… stars. So many stars and a few planets she was going by and seeing it all through a golden lens, was this a dream? She then saw the Jaspers and her mind raced into action.

The Temps! Where were they? Were they even nearby? How long had she been out? But the most important question, how could she breathe? The girl then realised she lay on the curved surface of her bubble, it must've activated the moment she went unconscious as a sort of instinctive safety net… So many things to learn…

The Jaspers looked in panic, they were being pulled by space and Connie was suddenly jolted into a free fall. She screamed in fear, feeling the world around her blur.

Suddenly, she stopped, slamming into something, or rather someone.

"Ow." Skinny grunted, having hit the bubble with her entire body. She then saw the surprised Connie and frowned, giving a mumble. "Oh, it's you."

Connie said nothing as the defect got up and walked on her bubble, seeing Earth in the distance.

"Home…" Connie whispered softly, feeling tiny and alone. She hugged herself tightly.

"Hey, it's your fault we're our here, not mine." Skinny suddenly said.

Connie looked up with a growl. "You all were trying to hurt my family, you knocked Lapis unconscious!"

Skinny rolled her eyes. " I didn't mean to. Someone opened the airlock."

"I didn't want you to hurt us, and I acted on impulse." Connie grumbled. "I thought we could win that way."

They sat in silence for a moment then Skinny sighed. "Yellow Diamond's definitely still alive if those gems are… Wish I could've seen her, tell her what she did to Homeworld… But, she'd never listen to me, I'm just a defect."

Connie said nothing, feeling guilty. Should she show her gem? … No. What was she thinking? That could get her killed. "Um… I'm the defective one, in the Temps."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Skinny asked, laying down and putting her arm around her head. She had accepted that she'd at least not want to die alone, that's why she hadn't left.

"When I was made, I was suspected to be strong and mighty, just like my mother, but here I am… I've been trying not to think about it. The Temps still see me as weaker in the group and they used to leave me out too." Connie muttered.

"...Rose did say there seemed to be something weird about you from the other humans. Must be the fact you feel loneliness like me."

Connie smiled, then nervously grabbed a piece of hair, stroking it slightly and whispered, "So… do you also feel like… you disappoint your team at all?"

"Yeah, all the time. They don't tell me, but I know they feel it, they got to if I'm feeling it." Skinny answered. "I'm just not what I was supposed to be. I'm not like your Jasper or any of the others, I'm just me. It's disappointing. So, what was so great about who you were expected to be like?"

"Well, I…" Connie then thought about it and then realized, she couldn't think of anything other than her mother's strength and boldness… She wasn't as merciful like everyone had said, there was nothing really kind or brave about her, all she had done was run and shatter. " I don't know…."

Suddenly, a small asteroid hit the golden bubble, making them gasp in shock. Then, more hit, and more.

"Asteroids!" Skinny gasped. She then got into a fight stance. "Kid, stay in that bubble! I'll protect you!"

"I'm not going anywhere, but you have to take cover!" Connie cried.

Skinny smirked and punched a small asteroid, making it crumble. She leapt over another, then destroyed one in front of her. They suddenly slung forward and Skinny nimbly avoid the asteroids in their path. Despite being defective, it gave her great agility. They suddenly approached a ramp-like one and Skinny leapt up, letting the bubble roll off the ramp then landed perfectly on top of it.

"Oh no!" Connie cried suddenly, pointing ahead at a humongous asteroid. Skinny would not be able to avoid it. They both screamed and clenched their eyes closed, waiting for the smash, but it never came. The asteroid was perfectly round and Connie's bubble went right through it.

Connie sat in confusion, panting and sweating hard. That was lucky… "We're… alright!"

"Well, yeah, of course we are." Skinny chuckled, wiping sweat away and trying to seem calm. Suddenly a small asteroid hit her straight in the stomach, hitting her directly on her gem!

"Skinny!" Connie cried as the gem fell of the bubble, grunting in pain. The girl then flung out her hand and her bubble at once expanded on its powerful mistress' command, catching the Jasper.

Connie ran up to Skinny, helping her sit up.

"Your gem!" Connie gasped, gently touching it.

Skinny saw her worry and gave a croaky laugh. Oh, that, that's fine. I'll get thrrrooo..." Her voice kept going and her left eye started to grow very narrow. She then seemed to start speaking in riddles. "Yako uoy era, won?"

"Oh no!" Connie cried.

"Ereh erew esor hisw i." Skinny sighed, but Connie of course couldn't understand. "Em laeh ot elba eb dehs."

"I can heal you!" Connie suddenly gasped land Skinny look shocked. The girl stuck to fingers in her mouth and then gently placed them on the cracked gem.

"What are you-?" Skinny then realized her gem was, in fact, healed. "... What? … That's impossible, you're human!"

Connie gave a sigh and shook her head. "I guess I have to tell you now, I'm no regular human, I'm a gem too, in a way…"

Skinny looked at Connie with terror, realization dawning on her. "No… Get off me!" The gem suddenly kicked away from Connie.

"Wait, don't be scared!" Connie gasped, reaching out. "W-We're sorta friends, right? This doesn't change much, does it? I'm still like you!"

"Like me?!" Skinny spat, eyes wide. "You're Yellow Diamond! Only the Diamonds and Lady Rose Quartz possess healing tears! You're just disguising yourself! You made me believe you for a second, I protected you! You took advantage of my weakness! I thought you were just someone that suffered like me, but you lied!"

"No! It's not like that!" Connie cried. "I-I'm not her! I-I didn't do it, I swear!"

Skinny glanced down at the girl's hands, they weren't lit, and she wasn't angry. She remembered her own Diamond, and how Yellow had shattered Blue and practically ruined her creator's life. From what she had heard about Yellow Diamond, she wouldn't hesitate at shattering her too. The gem narrowed her eyes and her gem glowed. Suddenly, a flat staff formed and Skinny grabbed it.

Connie wished she had her sword.

"Why did the only two gems that care about me have to get wrapped up with you?!" Skinny cried and aimed her staff at the girl's chest where her gem was under her shirt. Connie ducked and rolled out from under her. The girl immediately felt the swish of air of the staff and crossed her arms in front of her face, blocking it. "Pink Diamond, that perfect Jasper, my perfect sister! You ruined them!"

"Stop! This isn't smart at all!" Connie grunted, ignoring the statements, and weaving out of the gem's weapon. "How will you even get to Homeworld and give me to your Diamond?!"

The girl blocked, kicked, and punched, landing a few good ones just like Jasper had taught her. Connie then ran around on the side of the bubble and leapt onto Skinny in a tackle. With Connie weighing slightly more, she easily toppled the gem, but then Skinny shoved Connie off and the hybrid fell onto her back. The Jasper then backflipped over her and slammed her pole straight on Connie's windpipe.

Skinny gave a growl in anger, shoving Connie up against the floor of the bubble. The girl could barely choke as the thing crushed her throat, having no idea that the girl was really going to die if she kept the pole there. The elder gave a yell in anger. "I just want you gone! I want you to pay for what you did to her! Argh! Just poof already!"

Connie desperately tried for air, and felt her vision grow blurry, pushing up on the rod. Her eyes then widened. She couldn't do this anymore! Skinny wouldn't listen! The girl let go of the bar, and felt it push even harder, but she then used all the strength in her weak body and shoved her hands up into Skinny's stomach, making her practically fly off. Connie took a deep breath and thrust her hands out making the bubble vanish.

The girl heard Skinny's cry in fear but didn't see the upset look on her face that craved for vengeance.

Connie's bubble formed around her again and she gasped for air, gripping her stomach as she heaved and shivering from the cold. The girl was dizzy from the lack of oxygen and her brain was fighting to try and stay awake.

She wondered if she was finally safe, and gently placed her hand on the bubble before grabbing herself and collapsing to the floor of the bubble, her last thought being, 'I don't want to die out here…'

"C-Connie? Hey, wake up… Come on, open your eyes, kiddo, please… Please open your eyes…"

Connie wasn't sure how long she had been out for, but when she did open her eyes to Jasper's voice, she wondered if she was in a dream, because Jasper and Peridot were there, and she was in the Jaspers' ship. The girl turned and saw Lapis was watching her with tears in her eyes, and she realized that the water gem must've woken up to panic when Connie had been gone and immediately had started flying around to look for her. Jasper broke into a grin and laughed in joy, and Peridot gave a whimper.

The Temps were complete again.

The tiny gem tackled Connie into a hug, whispering over and over again, thanking the stars that her baby was back and that she was safe. Connie leaned her head onto Peridot's shoulder, smiling while tears came to her eyes.

Lapis hugged her from behind, hard. She was alright… Her girl was okay… if anything had happened to the hybrid, the water gem honestly didn't know how she would've lived with herself.

Connie felt Jasper shove them both off and stared down at the girl with wide and surprised eyes, her mouth slightly opened in shock. There were small, nearly unseeable tears in her eyes…

The girl then was sweeped into the hardest hug she had ever received, crushing her. Jasper said nothing, but had her teeth clenched and tried not to cry. This one tiny human meant everything to her, she along with the other Temps, she had promised to never let any harm come to Yellow's child, but Connie was so much more than that. She was their child now, and they had never been so scared in their lives then when they thought they had lost her.

Lapis and Peridot joined in the hug and Connie felt tears roll down her cheeks and she gave a tiny sob in joy, she was safe and alive!

They were all crying now, and stood there, just holding each other for what felt like forever…

After many minutes of checking again and again that Connie was alright, the Temps were finally headed back to the Earth, their home, far away from Homeworld and Pink Diamond's grasp.

Connie stood by a window, staring out into space and then finally whispered, "..I know that my mother did some terrible things, like poofing Zircon, and leaving you all without a explanation, but… she couldn't have shattered… I thought it was too evil for her, o-only villains do that, right?"

There was a quiet that filled the ship and Lapis glanced up in surprise at Connie's statement while Peridot stared hard at the controls.

"...Your mom was difficult to understand, kid." Jasper grunted softly, walking up to put and a large hand on her tiny shoulder. "But what we could understand was that she loved the Earth, and she'd do anything, anything at all, to protect it from Homeworld. Even shattering… It wasn't for her, it was for Lapis to choose who she wanted to be, for me to be a individual, not just one soldier out of millions, for Peridot to be happy and love living as a gem, and for you to live and grow with us… We could never want anything more than that."

Connie gently put her hand over her gem and took a breath, accepting it. Her mother had shattered. It was a hard thing to accept after knowing that Yellow Diamond would grow to be merciful so soon after she had done it… was that even true? Had she not let the Temps see what she had really thought after the war? What if she had still thought from time to time how easy it would be to shatter a gem that disagreed with her? Connie was scared to even know…

Hello everyone! Can you believe it?! We're finished with season 3 on this thing! I often wonder if I push these out to quickly, but I love them so much! I think I should probably start separating the chapters into seasons as new stories, so everyone won't have to deal with scrolling all the time, but I'm not sure, what do you think? Also, tomorrow or the day after, the Q and A should be up! Thank you all for your amazing comments! And if you want to know what Skinny was saying when cracked, just read her words in reverse!