"Captain's log. Star date, uh... Thursday… I don't really know what to say, except that our plan to get to Earth may take a bit longer than expected. The hyperdrive is fried… We just have to wait until we can get it fixed… if we can."

"I recorded your statement, Captain!"

Sadie's eyes popped open to see Idolite looking proud of herself, having written down word for word what Sadie had just said.

The Captain smiled. "Thanks, Idi."

Suddenly, Connie emerged with a pink box with a cry, landing gracefully despite still holding her package. "Everyone! I brought doughnuts!"

"Okaaay…" Sadie muttered, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"

"To celebrate you beating Chris, and saving Steven and I from the jungle moon, and being on your way to Earth!" Connie beamed. "Plus, I know it's only been a few days but I missed you again."

"I kinda missed you too." The teen smirked, taking out a glazed doughnut while the others stared the box in wonder at all the pretty frosting colors.

"These are called doughnuts, or a more vague term, food. You put it in your mouth like this and…"

The Homeworld branch of the Temps oohed in wonder when she bit down as she handed doughnuts out.

"Variscite would love making stuff amazingly disappear too." Aquamarine sighed, thinking of the leader they'd left behind.

Fluorite suddenly emerged from below deck. "Captain, I've finished... rerouting…"

"Power from the gravity engine to the hyperdrive?!" Sadie finished for her. "Great! 7XR, up and running, please!"

7XR swallowed her doughnut whole before punching a button.

There was a hopeful whirring sound that ended in an unsatisfactory clunk and the lights suddenly flickered off.

The crew and Connie sighed in disappointment.

"While we're stuck here, I've been wanting to introduce you all to someone special!" Connie smiled, lifting their spirits a bit.

"Are they going to be bigger than that those doughnuts combined…?" Sadie asked in worry.

"… They're like a bear claw doughnut…."

"…Is she bigger than you?" The Captain reframed, looking even more worried.

Connie thought for a moment and then smiled. "They don't have to be!"

Sadie stared at her in confusion. "Oka-"

Before she could even finish, Connie was diving into her hair.

A few seconds later, the girl emerged, with her twin.

"IT MULTIPLIES, DISGUSTING!" Aquamarine gagged, hiding behind Topaz who stared in wonder.

The orange Connie smirked before shapeshifting back into Jasper.

"Everyone, this is Jasper. She's the leader of the Crystal Temps, er, the Earth division." Connie smiled.

"I've heard a ton about you guys, I'm glad Sadie got such a great crew protecting her." Jasper smiled. She looked to Sadie. "You've grown up from the kid that wouldn't accept a high-five, good for you."

Sadie recognized her then as the woman she'd seen with Connie a few times and smiled.

"Good to see you all again… Even you, you somehow-redeemable caterpillar." Jasper forced herself to keep smiling when she saw Fluorite next to Rhodonite and 7XR.

"You're Topazes, right? I met a few back when I served Pink, but you two are my favorites!"

The Topazes had fused the moment she'd set her eyes on them, looking ready for a fight.

"And you're Idolite! I like your spirit, you don't let your creation hold you back!"

Idolite gave a cry in fear and hid behind Topaz when Jasper walked to close. Jasper frowned, moving on.

"And you must be-!"

"L-Leave us alone!" Aquamarine suddenly yelled before she could finish. She looked, for the first time Connie had seen it, scared.

"Ah… huh?" Jasper asked in confusion. "But… I didn't do anything…"

"Wait… are you all… scared of Jasper?" Connie mumbled, realizing everyone was uncomfortable not because of Jasper's usual lack of social grace, she actually did quite well this time.

"Not all Jasper, just her." 7XR muttered, crossing her arms.

"We trust 7XR, Rhodonite, Fluorite because we saved them but… but…"

"But otherwise… you guys are used to being punished and threatened by bigger gems like them…" Connie realized. "Pink Diamond sent her biggest toughest soldiers after you guys, didn't she?"

"They also poofed and took everyone else, and ran us out of our original base, don't forget that little detail." Aquamarine whispered.

"Well, I'm different from those gems." Jasper said in self-defense. "Just like you guys, I met a awesome leader like your guys' Variscite, someone that changed who I was, showed me I could be more… Yellow Diamond."

The gems all gasped in shock and terror.

"You met Yellow Diamond?!" Idolite cried in terror. "She must've threatened you to join her!"

The Topazs unfused, hugging each other. "I only wear her uniform because I wasn't able to reform another, I'm not associated with that tyrant!"

"She shattered not only my Diamond but countless other gems!" Aquamarine moaned.

"But I thought you guys believed in her message…?" Connie asked.

"In her message, not the way she went about executing it, forcing control over all her subjects!"

"It wasn't like that at all…" Jasper frowned. She then smiled, hunkering down. "Alright, how about I tell you about the real Yellow Diamond?"

The others all settled slightly, wanting to hear her side of the story, especially Connie.

"In Era 1, the Diamonds, symbols of 'perfection'that they were, wanted to expand their control across the galaxy… This included the youngest of them, Pink Diamond…"

Connie imagined the four Diamonds all gathered together in their symbol.

"For thousands of years, Yellow Diamond felt their rule over planets was unjust, unfair to the organisms that lived on them, and denied Pink the opportunity. However, the other Diamond insisted upon it, disregarding Yellow Diamond, and selected the Earth for their spoiled one."

Yellow Diamond in the image hung her head behind Blue Diamond as she gave the delighted Pink Diamond what she wished, the planet Earth.

"Yellow Diamond wished to see the planet the others' selected to die… At first she felt pity for the planet, then joy at all the wonders it wrought, then love for these things… then disgust for the other Diamonds, and finally, disappointed in her that she'd allowed this beautiful planet to fade."

Yellow Diamond let the plants, animals, and humans surround her, her angry face turning to one of peace.

She then stomped away, up to Homeworld.

"'Yellow,' The leader Diamond started, 'you have started to neglect all your planets, refuse to speak with those in your court, even have begun to dismiss your army! Tell me, whatever lead to such foolishness?'"

Yellow Diamond was overcast by a white shadow, but she had no fear, she stood tall even in the face of such a giant.

"'The Earth, Pink's colony, has nothing to offer us..' Yellow Diamond lied through her teeth to defend Earth. 'Therefore, it would be smart to leave it be.'"

"The Diamond laughed at once. 'Sunshine,' She scoffed, 'you have grown jealous of Pink's Earth, of my affection more towards her now, have you not? Can't spare the spotlight for a moment, can you…? Don't worry, Sunshine, we shall find you a planet even better than Earth…'"

Yellow Diamond tried to protest but the Diamond took her by the shoulders, squeezing them until it seemed the golden one would be quiet again. She was sadly sent away.

"She then asked for Blue's support in the matter, to give the Earth a true look, but she was a coward when it came to defying anyone or anything, especially something they were so used to doing…"

Blue Diamond placed a hand in front of Yellow Diamond to stop her, furiously shaking her head before turning away, arms crossed.

"And so, Yellow Diamond made a bold move. She played along to being a Diamond until one fateful evening, the night of a ball where all gems were gathered. There, she stood from her throne and proclaimed: 'Gems of Homeworld! Aren't you tired of obey orders?! Well, I am tired of giving them! I say you should choose your purpose, go against your oppressors! If you do go against me, no harm shall come to you… but if you believe in me still, I offer you a purpose worth emerging for: protection of the planet Earth…!'"

The Diamond lifted a fist up to the crowd of thousands, them all cheering.

"That very night, Yellow Diamond left the Diamonds who insisted that they would make her come back, to see their ways once again. Blue Diamond, especially betrayed due to their once closeness, was the most furious, so she didn't hesitate to accept Pink's request for her to lead her forces on Earth…"

Her fellow Diamonds were shocked but then angry, reaching and clawing after their sister who shrunk down to the size of her fellow gems.

"But Yellow Diamond had support too: A Peridot who refused for her smarts to be taken advantage of any longer, a Zircon who was once a lawyer saw she defended the wrong side, switched over for true justice, and even a Jasper, one of Pink Diamond's strongest soldiers, who decided her strength should be used for the planet it was given from… and countless other gems."

Peridot, Zircon, Jasper, and many gems gathered around the Diamond.

"Yellow Diamond was our leader, the Earth our forever home… And those who attempted against the impossible odds, were forever known as the Crystal Temps!"

Jasper opened her eyes to see everyone looking in awe.

"Even though you were scared…" A Topaz started.

The other finished. "You didn't let that fear overcome you?"

"And you accepted all types of gems, no matter what." Idloite smiled.

"Yeah. And we fought, and fought… But, in the end, Blue Diamond's forces was too strong and we lost much. Yellow Diamond knew what she had to do."

Yellow Diamond looked sadly on before taking out her sword.

"She drew her rebel blade… and shattered Blue Diamond, giving the message to the youngest Diamond to forever abandon Earth…"

"Extraordinarily brave…" Aquamarine muttered aloud, surprising the others.

"Your mom was amazing, Connie!" Sadie whispered to the girl gave a weak smile to stop herself from saying she really, really wasn't.

"What happened then?" 7XR asked suddenly.

Jasper looked upset for a moment and then continued on.

"The other Diamonds were furious… In a last ditch attempt to wipe out the rebellion, they launched a direct attack against the Earth…and ended the fighting once and for all…."

Yellow Diamond saw the beam of corruption over take the Earth and hugged the survivors to her before forming a bubble shield around them.

"Wait, that's how it ends?!" Idolite cried in disappointment.

Aquamarine crossed her arms. "That was a terrible story!"

"This new version of the story is even worse! So she was great, and they beat her? What are we supposed to get out of this: that we can never win?!" Rhodonite moaned.

"We haven't won yet, but one day we will." Jasper promised them surprisingly gently. "You won't have to fear anymore soon. And in fact, you have very little to fear acceptance-wise out here, because you all are, what you are. You're rebels, unique, powerful, and including my team, we all create the Crystal Temps!"

"Great, I'd love for a Crystal Temp get-together, but unfortunately, we're like sitting ducks right now!" Aquamarine reminded them, flittering around.

Sadie nodded. "Fluorite, let's check that engine!"

"If we want to reactivate the hyperdrive, we need to restart the core." 7XR muttered.

Rhodonite and the others looked confused. "How do we do that?"

"We'll do it together!" Sadie proclaimed.

Jasper watched happily from the steps but turned at hearing Connie's small voice.

"Jasper… When Steven and I were on that moon, out there in space… Stevonnie had this super weird dream, or maybe a vision… Steven and I split up, and I was seeing everything through my mother's eyes… including who she was speaking with, the one who Steven played… was Blue Diamond."

Jasper bit her lip before nodding.

"Before, when I dreamed of Pink Diamond, it made my gem… my entire body ache with her power. And this vision made me feel the same way, except that I wanted to cry… forever and ever until I drowned. Stevonnie was too confused to feel it like I did… Could that mean… she's still alive?"

"Connie, your mom made sure Blue Diamond was shattered…"

"Then why did I have such a strange dream? Why did it feel like she and I were distant and then… suddenly so close…? So in sync, so… together?" Connie flopped down to lay her head on Jasper's lap, staring up at the gem.

"Because Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond were always together, inseparable. It wasn't like betraying her was easy for your mom. But Connie, you don't have to worry, Blue Diamond has and will never be a threat to you."

Connie smiled, feeling a bit better as she curled up. "Yeah… Yeah, I think I… knew that deep-down."

"Wooork!" Sadie begged the ship as she held the button in place.

"You're pushing the wrong button, pipsqueak." 7XR smirked, making them all look to her.

"Ah."

Sadie released the control pad and the ship suddenly roared with power.

"Does this means you can get back to Earth?" Connie asked hopefully.

"Not... quite... The hyper... drive... still... needs... repairs…" Fluorite mumbled.

Sadie smiled. "We can hit up the nearest colony for parts!"

"I suppose we could, but the guards there are awfully dangerous." Rhodonite reminded her.

"Don't think of them as guards, think of them as possible team members, or even just onlookers upon us. Because the Temps, in Space, Homeworld, or Earth, shine no matter what!"