They approached the lone note, left by Ruby for Sapphire as they picked it up and read it.

"Sapphire, you were right. I need some time to think, so I am running away? Ruby." Double D read.

"This can't be happening." Sapphire said as she started to cry. "Oh Ruby! And before I could take back all those awful things I said!"

"Wait…we left two people here. Maybe they know where Ruby went." Tetsu said.

"Uh…problem with that." Eddy pointed up to Steven's room, where Amethyst and Nathan were playing video games together.

"Amethyst, have you or Nathan seen Ruby?" Fluttershy-2 asked.

"I did." Nathan spoke up. "I was whistling on the porch an hour ago when she walked out, said something about living a free life, and took off."

"Yeah. She asked me for pen and paper awhile ago. Why?" Amethyst asked.

"Because she…RAN AWAY!" Vector said as he showed the purple gem the note.

"Great, if it's not one problem, it's another." Mark sighed. "Sapphire, can you see Ruby coming back in your future vision?"

"Oh? Oh! Maybe! But... She's so wonderful... and spontaneous! I have no idea what she could- Why would she be a cowboy?!" Sapphire said as she started sobbing before clinging to Pearl.

"There, there. It's going to be okay. She's going to come back! She's got to come back! If she doesn't then... then, there would be no more Garnet. And... what on Earth would we do without Garnet?" Pearl said as she joined Sapphire in the crying.

"Right! We're forming a team to look for her." Mark announced. "If anyone wants to volunteer, say so now. Otherwise, you're keeping an eye on these four."

"Ugh…what?" Amethyst groaned.

"We'll be right back in no time." Jexi said as they headed out, leaving Nathan and Amethyst in the house as they looked at the crying pair.

"...We're going too, right?" Nathan asked.

"...Hey wait up!" Amethyst cried out as the two of them ran after the group.


"I don't think Ruby used the Warp Pad. She said she was running away, not warping away, and she's usually pretty literal." Steven said as the group was looking around the beach. "We just need to figure out which direction she ran in."

"So…three options are she either went into town, onto our ship or walked right into the ocean." Twilight said.

"Let's…save the ocean for last." Moltar suggested. "So, either town or ship."

"Nathan said she wanted to live the free life, so she wouldn't have gotten on the ship, so she must've gone into town." Mark concluded. "That's where we start."

They departed into the town as they started to look around.

"Uh…does he have to be close to me?" Nathan asked, noticing Hayase keeping close with a hand on his sword.

"You are still a prisoner and a Dark Garden member." Hayase said.

"You mentioned that name before…but I don't think I know what it is." Jexi said.

"That's fair, they try to keep their activities on the down-low." Nathan said. "Dark Garden is the largest Multiverse-spanning criminal organization around. There's a sector for every universe, with a main leader and four sub-leaders for each. Well, used to be until Dark Dungeon was eradicated during a failed assignment in the Jura Forest."

"Wait…that attack on Tempest Village by the Kingdom of Falmuth!" Mark remembered. "Dark Dungeon was a part of that as well!"

"Yep, and they fell hard. We're still trying to rebuild that sector, but it'll take at least a decade to get it up and running under the new organization protocol." Nathan said.

"Yes. I faced a number of soldiers from Dark Ocean. But only to attain information." Hayase said.

"Oh, is that how you're justifying it?" Nathan asked. "Look, we're criminals, don't get me wrong, but it's not like we're all heartless monsters or something. Most of us are just trying to make a living. If they attacked you first, I would understand. But you just went and cut at anything in your way. What were you even asking about anyway?"

"I heard that Dark Garden and its branches deal with black market goods from time to time. I was wondering if they had any of the Slayer Blades or if a leader held any. That was what I wanted to know." Hayase said.

"And they're worth it to cut people down if they don't give you an answer you like?" Nathan asked.

"For the record, I did not kill any of them. Merely wounded." Hayase said.

"Ah yes, and the survivor's accounts of you using a blade that could "slay anything using the attribute of water" was just them telling tall tales, right?" Nathan asked before he sighed. "Look, I don't know why you want these blades and I don't particularly care to know. If Dark Garden has the blades, you can just buy them like a normal person. You don't have to go all ronin, "for my honor of my house" or whatever, and kill people. Not every world works that way."

Hayase prepared to grab his blade before Tetsu stopped him.

"You are too heated. Go take a stroll." Tetsu said.

"Very well." Hayase said as he headed for the beach.

"...I…hit a nerve, didn't I?" Nathan sighed. "Dammit…"

"His father and grandfather…they were the ones who crafted those blades. Even a couple of the ones I wield." Tetsu said. "He's simply honoring his father's last wish to bury the hate as it were."

"Why isn't he cutting you up then?" Nathan asked.

"He will get them…when I finally gain all the blades I need to break my immortality." Tetsu said.

"...Right, another rabbit hole I'm not diving into." Nathan said. "You people lead some crazy lives…"

"She's not here either…" Steven said, peeking through the window of Fish Stew Pizza, the local pizza restaurant. "This is where I'd go if I was feeling down... Pizza always cheers me up."

"So, why don't we get some?" Amethyst asked.

"But... We haven't found Ruby yet." Steven argued.

"Steven, it's cool you wanna help Ruby, but... What about you?" Amethyst countered, causing the half-gem to look down in reluctance. "C'mon, a little celebration for you coming back safe won't hurt!"

"I'm not hungry!" Steven claimed, only for his stomach to rumble. "...Maybe a little hungry."


Some of the group sat inside as a strange pizza was delivered.

"Here's your pizza with…literally everything on it."

"Yeah…." Amethyst said in excitement.

"You are way too into this." Nathan said as they were given spoons.

"Here, you're gonna need these."

"Ah, can we get one more?" Mark asked. "We're expecting someone."

"We are?" Steven asked before the door to the restaurant opened, Connie walking inside. "Oh, hi Connie!"

"Hey, how are Lapis and Peridot?" Mark asked Connie.

"They're doing fine." Connie answered. "It'll take some time to fix the barn up, but they told me to tell you that they can manage on their own."

"Well, that's good, though I'll offer some help once our rescue mission is over." Mark remarked.

"Uh… Connie?" Steven asked. "Hi! I'm back from Homeworld! I'm, uh…really happy to see you again."

Connie was silent as she picked up the extra spoon and started poking at the pile of toppings.

"Umm... A-Are you happy to see me, too?" Steven asked, sounding concerned.

"Of course I'm happy to see you, Steven." Connie said. "But…how could you just give yourself up like that?"

"I had to." Steven responded. "They were gonna take all those people. They were gonna take you!"

"We could have fought back. Training! Hero stuff! Stevonnie! Jam buds! We could have won!" Connie said.

"But this was different! I had to give myself up. And no one got hurt. Well, Lars did but no one else!" Steven said.

"But... I'm hurt." Connie replied.

"No, you're not. You're safe. You're here. I'm here. We're safe." Steven said. "Everything's fine."

"No, it's not." Mark piped in. "Connie's right, you messed up."

"...What do you mean? It was the-" Steven started.

"Don't give me that crap, Universe!" Mark snapped. "You knew T.C. wasn't taking part in the Olympics, you could've called us when things started to hit the fan!"

"And get you caught up in my problems? I couldn't do that to you guys!" Steven said.

"News flash, buddy! Your problems are our problems! We had this conversation the last time we were here, remember?" Mark reminded him. "Do you have some sort of selective memory? When the Gems keep things to themselves, it's a problem, but it's fine if you do it, is that it?!"

"Hey, that's totally different!" Steven said. "Besides, I made it out okay, didn't I?"

"You tell me! You're just acting like you went on a freaking vacation!" Mark said. "Why are you acting like it's no big deal?!"

"Because next to everything happening with this revelation about my mom, and Garnet's reaction to it, it's not!" Steven said.

"Yeah, how are you dealing with that by the way? I mean…your mom is a Diamond." Lan said.

"I feel... confused. I-I thought I'd really finally got it. That Mom didn't have everything figured out, even though everybody put her way up on this pedestal, but... now I guess she's royalty too?" Steven said.

"Okay…" Lan said.

"I'm relieved that she didn't shatter anyone, but... She lied to everyone. I mean... I'm not surprised. I knew she was a liar. But this is just... so much." Steven said.

"You…don't seem mad." Izuku said.

"I mean, I'm kinda mad?" Steven said. "I don't know... I can see how she was good and bad... and bad and good. But... What really matters right now is how hard Garnet took it."

"But what about you?!" Amethyst spoke up, slamming her fist on the table. "She's your mom! You were always under all this pressure to be like her! But... Was she even like her?! Was anyone ever like her?!" she said before digging her spoon into her pizza. "She was supposed to be so great! She was supposed to know everything! And... Ugh... She was supposed to make everything better! It's not fair! We shouldn't have to deal with any of this, we shouldn't have to fix any of this, we weren't around for a stupid war! This... is everyone else's problem... This has nothing to do with me…"

"Uh…Amethyst, are you okay?" Applejack asked.

"...and Steven! This has nothing to do with him! None of that stuff was his fault!" Amethyst added quickly. "Just saying how Steven might feel is all. Doesn't affect me. No."

"...I suddenly feel very out of place at this table." Nathan said.

Just then, the awkward air was broken by the front door opening, Hayase walking in.

"I found Ruby." Hayase announced. "She's at Brooding Hill with Steven's father."

"Great, I'll get here!" Amethyst said, getting up quickly. "Let me handle this, Steven! No more adults should be putting anything else on you. Just let someone else take care of it for once!"

"Wait, Amethyst!" Steven said as the Gem ran out of the restaurant.

"Okay, that's it!" Mark said angrily. "I'm getting Steven to see reason one way or another!"

Mark ran out of the restaurant, looking around for his two teammates before he saw Amethyst, transformed into a helicopter, Steven holding onto her.

"Steven Universe, you come back here, this instant!" Mark yelled as he took off after them.

"Is it always like this with you people?" Nathan asked Jexi.

"Not…normally." Jexi said, grabbing Nathan and Connie. "Come on." he said, materializing wings as they took to the air.


"Geh uh- Euh! If you open up you'll feel so much better!" Steven yelled as he hung onto Amethyst's landing skid.

At that point, Mark arrived next to them, pulling Steven away from Amethyst. "Steven, will you stop trying to fix everything already?! That's not your job!" he yelled. "She doesn't want to talk to you!"

"Let…me…go!" Steven said, bringing up a barrier that pushed Mark away, the half-gem taking off to get back to Amethyst.

"Will you stop being such a moron!?" Mark yelled as he chased after him.

"Yeah…get out of my head!" Amethyst said.

"Am I getting too personal?" Steven asked.

"Dude, you are literally inside my head!" Amethyst said, Steven now in her cockpit.

"Look out!" Jexi called out as they approached the water tower.

But it was too late, Amethyst colliding with the tower, causing her to spin out of control.

"We're crashing!" Amethyst yelled.

"But... How does that make you feel?!" Steven asked.

"Steven, shut the hell up!" Mark yelled.

The two of them crashed right onto the beach as Amethyst changed back.

"You wanna know how I feel, Steven?" Amethyst said in anger.

"I was pretty clear about that." Steven said.

"I thought I was pretty clear too! I feel like I don't wanna say, "What about me?" Okay!? And I don't want to be bent out of shape! I don't wanna be stuck in the past, and I'm not responsible for what Rose did! None of us are! Not you... Not Pearl... And not Garnet! But I am responsible for me! And right now, I am NOT gonna dump another thousand-year-old complex on you or anybody else! I'm ending it right here! I am the ding-dong sunshine future; your friend forever! And I'm not gonna fall apart on you." Amethyst called out before she fell right onto the beach.

"Steven Universe!" Mark yelled. "If you don't stop burying your emotions, I swear to every god in the Multiverse, I will-!"

"Hold it, angry man." a voice said as Mark saw Nathan walk past him. "I got this."

Nathan walked up to Steven and looked him straight in the eyes. "...Look, I'm just gonna say what I've seen: you got some points right. That little midget with the wand… that was a fight none of you could win. Heck, the reports said she managed to incapacitate your three guardians fused together on her own! It was a split-second decision, or else you might've lost those people for good."

"...But?" Steven asked, sensing Nathan wasn't done.

"But… that doesn't change the fact that you pretty much betrayed your friend over there." Nathan said, pointing behind himself towards Connie. "She clearly thinks a lot of your little team, "Jab Buds", or whatever you call it. By giving yourself up, you might've saved her…but you also basically said you don't trust her. And you said she wasn't hurt? Maybe not physically… but I'd say her heart took quite a hit from that. So, maybe you should start sharing the load a little from now on, huh?"

Realization hit Steven like a rock as he looked ashamed. "You…you're right. I…I tried to act like it was no big deal, but it is."

Steven then walked up to Connie.

"I promised you we'd always be a team, and... I let you down. I'm sorry. Jam buds?" Steven asked.

"...Jam buds." Connie replied, the two hugging as Mark looked on, turning a surprised look at Nathan.

"Why the heck are you with Dark Future with people skills like that?" the half-angel asked.

"Eh…personal reasons." Nathan shrugged.

"And Amethyst…all that stuff you said…that was some mature junk you said." Jexi said. "You're probably the most mature member of the Crystal Gems right now."

"Oh... No...! Ugh, gross! That's what this is, isn't it?" Amethyst asked.

"Pretty much." Jexi said.

"No! No!" Amethyst said as she pretended to flail like a child as they started laughing.

"We…we should probably go and find Ruby." Steven said.

"Alright. Let's go." Amethyst said, punching a fist into her palm.


Soon enough, Amethyst had transformed back into a helicopter, Steven leaning out of her while the other members of the group flew alongside her.

"There they are!" Steven pointed to the top of Brooding Hill, where Greg and Ruby were sitting.

"Target acquired!" Amethyst said.

"Going in for a landing!" Steven said as they all started to converge on their location.