Bismuth had never felt this lonely in her life. After she left the temple, she had returned to the only home she had left, the forge. The blacksmith had thought returning to her forge would make her feel better, but the silence was deafening. Bismuth had spent the first day stress-building weapons to deal with the guilt of cracking Twoie. Then, she had thrown the Breaking Point into the lava. Even with the relief that had provided, it was hard to be in the forge by herself. She could still hear the echoes of laughter from memories long past. In an attempt to quell her grief, Bismuth had thrown herself into researching humans. She had discovered something called a "library" and had stocked up on books about humans. Stars, was she glad that she did. Bismuth turned the page on the book she was reading. The multi-colored gem sat comfortably by the lavafall, using its light to illuminate the words. She could hear the pattering of the storm outside and was grateful for the warmth of her home. Suddenly, loud knocking interrupted her quiet leisure. "Huh? I didn't expect anyone to be coming by?" Bismuth set her book down and walked over to the giant stone door. It opened at her command, and the sight that greeted her was the last thing she had expected.
Twoie gave her a sheepish smile and waved at her in greeting. "Hey, Bismuth."
She blinked a couple of times. "Oh, my stars! Twoie? What happened to you?" She was horrified by how different he looked compared to a couple of weeks ago. Then she noticed that his hair and clothes were plastered to his body by the rain. "Hold on; we've got to get you inside!" She ushered Twoie into the forge and gestured for him to sit on a stone bench she had made by the lava fall.
The warmth of the forge was both a blessing and a curse. Although Twoie could already feel his hair and clothes drying, the heat burned his icy skin. He did not complain, though, as he sat down. He forgot that the stone absorbed heat and set his hands down. Twoie winced at the pain from touching the hot stone, pulling his hands onto his lap instead. Bismuth flashed him a look of concern as she sat back down at her previous spot. Seeing that he was fine, she focused on a different concern of hers. "Hopefully, you'll dry off fast enough in here that you won't get sick." Twoie's eyes widened in surprise at Bismuth's concern.
"Oh, I don't get sick since I'm part gem, but I'm surprised you know that humans could." The young man shrugged his jacket off and squeezed the water out of it. The droplets evaporated quickly upon touching the floor.
Bismuth chuckled in embarrassment as she held out the book she was reading earlier. "Yeah, after everything that happened, I figured I should verse myself in all of the things that have changed while I was bubbled. And then, I wanted to see how humans work compared to gems. I mean, I know you're part gem, but after I…" She winced at the uncomfortable look on Twoie's face. "After I accidentally did... that… I realized I should know what made you different." She set the book down on her work table. "And stars, are humans different from gems."
Twoie relaxed a little at her exclamation. "So, you don't still think I'm Rose?"
The blacksmith shook her head. "No, I know now that you aren't." She smiled at him. "So, what brings you by the forge? I thought I'd see the others before I saw you, or at least one of them with you." Her happy mood fell when Twoie looked away. "Hey, what's wrong, Twoie?"
The time-traveler worriedly rubbed his arm. "C-can I stay here with you? Just for now?" At Bismuth's surprised look, he hurriedly continued. "I got in a fight with the gems. Not an actual fight, just an argument. They haven't been the nicest to me since I arrived here, and I ended up leaving the house. This was the one place I figured they wouldn't think to look."
Bismuth grimaced at him. "Oh, boy. That sounds like a real mess you've gotten into. And uh…" She gestured to his horns and claws. "I'm guessing this is tied into that too?" Twoie nodded, which made Bismuth sigh stressfully. "I don't really know what to do. I'd be delighted to have you stay with me, but I know the forge is way too warm for you." She rubbed the back of her neck in disappointment. "Steven made a comment about it when he was here, and one of the books I read said that humans could die if they're too warm." The blacksmith could see he was beginning to sweat, slightly. The heat of the lava was getting to him already. She could always try to bring in some furniture, but anything not made of stone or metal would most likely deteriorate pretty quickly. And she could tell that the stone bench was too hot for him as well. "I'm sorry, Twoie. You're welcome to stay while it's raining, but I don't think I can safely offer my home to you."
Twoie sighed. It hurt to be rejected, but he knew she was right. This was the only place he could go, though. "Okay, Bismuth. I'm sorry that I bothered you."
Bismuth furrowed her brows in concern. "No need to apologize to me! I'm happy you felt comfortable enough to ask me for help. I'm just sorry that I can't do more for you." She didn't expect the rain to let up for another couple of hours, which meant she had a couple of hours to try to cheer Twoie up. She picked up a little notebook she had on her worktable. "I'm really happy you're here. I told you how I was learning about humans, right?" At his nod, she continued. "So I've been writing down some things that confused me. Would you mind helping me out?"
Twoie blinked in surprise, then smiled. "Of course! I can't promise that I'll be able to answer everything, but I'll do my best." Bismuth mentally cheered as Twoie already looked happier with the distraction.
She sat down next to him on the bench and held the notebook in a way where they could both see it. "Great! So I was curious about this thing called a 'radio'…"
Steven felt like he was about to cry again as he and his group returned home. Twoie was not in their garden, nor that part of the woods in general. After searching the woods for an hour, he finally decided to call Dr. Maheswaran. The doctor had been frantic with worry after finding out Twoie was missing and promptly told him that she was on her way over. Although Steven hadn't meant to worry her, he was relieved to know that she was coming to help. If anyone could help Twoie, it would be her. But that didn't alleviate the pain in his chest about the great lengths Twoie had taken to remain hidden. The kid looked up at his dad and Pearl. They were quietly sitting beside him on the couch. Everyone was disheartened by their failure to locate their missing family member. Hopefully, Amethyst and Garnet found Twoie at the moonbase.
Just as Steven finished that thought, the warp pad lit up, and Amethyst and Garnet appeared. One look was enough to know that they hadn't found Twoie either. Both looked hopefully at the group on the couch before their expressions wilted. "What do we do now? We searched everywhere for Twoie, and we have no leads for where he is!" Amethyst brushed her hand through her hair in frustration.
Garnet placed a hand on Amethyst's shoulder. "I think we should take a break. This is very stressful for everyone, and pushing ourselves to find him will only make things worse." The smaller gem wiped her eyes and nodded. She walked over to the couch and flopped onto it, next to Steven.
"Dr. Maheswaran will be here probably by tomorrow. She said she wanted to help us look for Twoie, and she wanted to talk to him about everything that happened." Steven softly informed Garnet and Amethyst.
The permafusion nodded and sat down at the kitchen counter. "That's going to be a great help. I've been thinking about the cause of Twoie's condition, and I believe I have come to the most plausible theory." Everyone sat up straight at her announcement. Garnet dissipated her glasses and met their gazes with her fear-filled eyes. "I know we dismissed this previously, but I think he's corrupting."
Pearl gasped in horror. "But we saw his gem! It doesn't have the corruption marks like the corrupted gems do, and even then, corruption has been cured in his time. How could he possibly be corrupted?"
Garnet sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. The thought was tearing her apart, but it made the most sense. And that's what made it so terrible. "Amethyst and I saw that Twoie's condition worsened when he became angry." She turned to Steven. "Do you remember when I told you that corruption is similar to tearing the fabric of your mind?" At Steven's nod, she continued. "Well, if one was to become very distressed, their mind could be in such disarray that it would be akin to tearing itself apart. Twoie has been through a lot of traumatic experiences. And he has gone through even more by being sent into the past." Garnet realized the others were coming to the same conclusion she had. Their eyes widened in horror, and Greg hugged his son close, needing assurance that his youngest son was okay. Steven was beginning to shake in fear, but Garnet knew she had to tell them her theory. If she was correct, then they needed to find Twoie immediately. "I believe that Twoie is emotionally corrupting himself. It would explain why he does not have the corruption marks on his gem while the rest of his condition mimics what we have seen in corrupted gems. And why his condition has only worsened in recency. Everything would've started right around-…"
Amethyst sank further into the couch. "Right after the call with Yellow Diamond." Everyone sat quietly at the revelation. Twoie had been suffering for months, and none of them had noticed, besides Steven. Steven hugged his dad tighter. He wished he had pushed his brother a little harder to talk. The kid knew Twoie was blaming himself for a lot of problems and had many others that Steven knew he refused to talk about. Steven couldn't help wondering if he had been better, then maybe Twoie wouldn't be like this anymore. He shook his head. Twoie had told him that he couldn't help everyone. Steven had tried, but Twoie needed more than what Steven could do. That didn't stop the feeling of guilt, but it lessened it a little. He shut his eyes tightly. It wasn't nighttime anymore, and he wasn't looking at any stars, but maybe thinking of Twoie would be enough for it to work. 'Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might have this wish, I wish tonight. Please help me find my older brother. I miss him, and I'm really scared that he's alone and hurting. I need to find him.' Steven felt a little childish doing it, but the nursery rhyme made him feel a little better. Twoie always made things better for Steven. As the kid opened his eyes again, a bright light filled the room. Everyone turned to the warp pad in shock.
"Hey! I hope you don't mind me showing up uninvited, but I really wanted to talk to you guys about something important." Before Steven knew what was happening, Amethyst had jumped up and was standing defensively in front of Steven. Pearl and Garnet were also in defensive positions as they regarded the newcomer. Bismuth stepped off the warp pad with a wave and an awkward smile.