I just want to quickly say, that last week chapter 6 was published, by removing the old A/N that had been there and putting chapter 6 in, in its stead. Last week, and even a bit before that, the site was having some problems, when it came to showing the updated chapters. Because of this, some you might have missed the fact that the A/N was replaced by an actual chapter. I will, therefore, recommend that you quickly go and read chapter 6, just to make sure you didn't miss it and won't get confused in this chapter.

Also, for now, this chapter is the longest I have written yet for the story yet.

I hope you all enjoy it!

Lapis POV:

As I saw the moon getting closer, I could feel my energy disappearing more and more. I knew I would need to rest for some time as soon as we landed, but at this rate, I wouldn't be able to do this again before in two weeks. 'And I don't think I have that much time,' I thought. When I had prepared for this plan, it had only been for Peridot and me on this journey, plus the barn. And while Amethyst isn't as big as a normal Amethyst, I still need more energy to have her travel with us.

When we landed, I made sure we were as far away from the moon base as possible, without being on the dark side of the moon. Peridot had told me that the energy source she had made, would need sunlight, so while it was tempting to hide on the dark side of the moon, it was no longer an option. 'Please contact us soon Steven'.

I tried to make the landing as soft as possible, but I was completely drained before we touched the ground. And while the gravity of the moon helped to soften the landing, I still heard the grunts from Peridot and Amethyst from inside the barn.

My wings evaporated shortly after the water around the barn did. 'Damn… I won't be able to transport the barn anymore without more water. And I'm not going back down to Earth to find some. It would be a waste of energy and would attract too much attention. Our only hope now will be that Homeworld will come and pick us up swiftly and will be considerate enough to let us take the barn with us.' Gravity carried me down to the ground, as I had no energy to move.

"Lapis!" Peridot ran out of the barn. "Are you alright?" She ran over to me and kneeled by my body. She didn't seem to know what to do.

"I'm fine," I told her, smiling. "Just get Amethyst and have her move me inside the barn. I need to rest, so we might be able to travel later." There was no way I was telling her that travelling with the barn was no longer an option.

"Alright!" Peridot did as I asked and ran back towards the barn. I looked back up into the nothingness that was space. 'Once again, I am running away from the Crystal Gems. Some things just don't change, do they?' I thought bitterly. Noise from the barn caught my attention. I turned my head and saw Peridot and Amethyst running my way. 'No, some things do change. This time, I'm not alone.'

"Lapis!" Amethyst said as she came closer. "Give me a moment and I will carry you inside." She transformed into what I think is her wrestling form and carried me inside the barn. I was put into a hammock to rest.

"I will be outside, setting up the wailing stone," Peridot said trying to lift the wailing stone. Amethyst sighed and walked over and took the wailing stone.

"I got this. Take the energy source instead," she said and walked outside, with Peridot on her tail with a weird metal box… thing…

I turned my back towards them and closed my eyes. 'Time to do some of that sleep Amethyst and Steven is always talking about…'

"… pis… apis… lapis… LAPIS!"

I fell out of the hammock and hit my head… and the rest of my body.

"Lapis!" Peridot shouted in my ear. "I am sorry to wake you up, but Steven has contacted us again!"

I followed Peridot out of the barn and towards the wailing stone. I then saw the metal box. But it was no longer a metal box. Yes, part of it was still there, but it now kind of looked like a weird toolbox, with these weird blueish-black panels. "What is that?"

"Those are solar panels," Peridot explained, while we walked closer. "I stole them from the neighbouring farm. While they won't give us a lot, they have saved enough while waiting, that communication for a few minutes will be possible." I nodded.

"Hey guys," Steven greeted through the tv screen. "How are things going so far?"

"I used up way more energy than I thought I would, getting up here," I told him. "I will need time to recover before being able to transport us again."

"How long do you think it will take before you can move?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"If I am only transporting Peridot and Amethyst, I could do it in a couple of days maybe. But with the barn? I would say two weeks, one-and-a-half at the earliest." Steven sighed.

"That isn't good news. While we should be able to get to your part of the solar system quicker than Rose did, the chance of us getting there before the Crystal Gems notices your absence, and potentially your hideout, is small," he told us. He seemed conflicted before you got a determined look on his face. "I will send someone to get you immediately."

"You actually got permission?" I asked shocked. Three Gems, one a traitor, one a refugee and another a former Crystal Gems. I didn't see us being, what would be called, 'top priority retrieval'.

I noticed that I was the only one around the tv. Peridot and Amethyst must have left to get some rest, while I talk with Steven. I get why they would leave, but I would have thought at least Peridot would have stayed to listen. 'I guess she was more tired than I thought she was.'

"Uh, sure," he said. I didn't believe him for a second.

"Steven," I sighed. "Please, tell me you have talked and gotten confirmation for the Diamonds that you will be retrieving us."

"Don't worry about that," Steven told me. "While I doubt, they will let me get you myself, I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to send help as soon as possible."

"Steven," I started. "As much as I love you, you must understand how unlikely that is. How can I be sure that help will actually arrive? And what should I tell Peridot and Amethyst? Should I lie to their face, and tell them help is on the way, while I don't know if that is true?"

"I understand that Lapis," Steven started. "But you have to trust me. I know we had a rough start, but if I could help you get to Homeworld once, I can do it again!" I smiled at that. Memories of him healing my gem and watching me fly out into space, towards Homeworld, filled me to the core. But memories of what happened when I landed on Homeworld soon replaced those happy-go-lucky memories. Would this be any different, than last time? I shook those thoughts out of my head.

"I trust you," I finally told him. I had to put my trust in that he would do, what he is saying he is going to do. "Just, please come soon."

"I will," he promised. "Until then, just hold tight and stay on the moon as long as possible." I nodded, and with that, the transmission ended. And right on time, cause when I tried to turn on the tv, just to see if it had more power, it wouldn't turn on. 'No more power.'

I turned towards the direction of where I knew Homeworld lied. A billion light-years away, more or less.

'I trust that you will do everything in your power to get us, Steven. It's your Diamonds that I don't trust…'

Steven POV:

As I ended the call, I turned towards the Jasper I send to Blue Pearl. "Well, what did she tell you?"

"She told me that she would come to get you shortly. Luckily, the Diamonds are holding a meeting regarding future invasions, so you will be able to talk to them all," the Jasper told me. I nodded.

It didn't take long for Blue Pearl to get here. She seemed tired, but since the journey to the Diamonds was short, I didn't have much time to ponder on it. She opened the door and quickly let me inside. At the side, I could see Yellow Pearl seemed to be equally as tired as Blue Pearl, with White Pearl just wearing her empty smile as always. I quickly got an idea of why they were so tired.

"We cannot leave Earth alone," Yellow Diamond yelled at White Diamond. All the Diamonds seemed as tired as their Pearls, except for White Diamond and her Pearl, but they were trying to hide it more. No one could see their leaders looking like a small wind could knock them over.

"They can't do anything to us," White Diamond said. "From what we know, there are only four functional Gems left that are Crystal Gems, and two of them are constantly fused together. And then there are two rogue Gems there too, but they aren't necessarily connected to the Crystal Gems. Besides, with the resources available on Earth, they won't be able to travel further than maybe Mars, and that colony has been abandoned for eons. Everything has been cleaned up, so there will be nothing there for them to re-use."

"It doesn't matter!" Yellow Diamond insisted. "We know they exist. We know where they are. And we know who is with them. We should eliminate them while we can! Heck, let's eliminate the whole planet, just to be sure that they are really dead!"

"We are NOT destroying that planet!" Blue Diamond suddenly exclaimed. The others turned to her. "A lot of Pink's shards are still on that planet. That planet is to remain intact until all of those shards have been collected. After that, we will figure something out. Besides," she then turned towards me, "It would be bad courtesy to talk about destroying the home planet of one of our subjects, in front of said subject."

Yellow and White Diamond finally took notice of me. Yellow Diamond seemed to be a bit embarrassed, while White Diamond didn't seem to care.

"What do you want?" White Diamond asked

I swallowed the knot in my throat, before answering. 'This is now or never.'

"We have gotten in contact with Gems from Earth," I was about to continue when Yellow Diamond interrupted me.

"See!" She exclaimed. "If they can use simple Earth technology to get in contact with us, what do you think they could do with parts of that Rose ship she escaped to Earth with?" When she saw no one was going to answer that, she turned towards me. "Well, what did they demand from us? Tell me!"

"It wasn't the Crystal Gems," I quickly assured. "It was the Peridot and Lapis who was with the Jasper on the mission to Earth some time ago. They have been helping me for some time, while I lived on Earth. They, and a now former member of the Crystal Gems, contacted us in hopes of getting rescued from Earth and brought back to Homeworld. They are currently on the moon, but won't be able to stay there for long. I am here to ask permission to send a rescue ship right away."

"Absolutely not," White Diamond said, her smile turning colder. "We are not letting rebels, former or otherwise, on this planet. That Peridot has been deemed a traitor for siding with the Crystal Gems. And that Lapis is a refugee, who lead our prime Jasper into a trap. They will be left where they are, to fend for themselves. This is the punishment they will receive for defying Homeworld."

"You got to understand!" I exclaimed, desperate. "They aren't Crystal Gems. Peridot defied you because of me. I convinced her that loving Earth wasn't a bad thing and she tried to convince Yellow Diamond that destroying it would be bad. But she never officially joined. She only said she was a Crystal Gem, so you would leave her alone. Lapis sides with me. She never fully trusted anyone, not even me. But she still trusted me a bit, while having no faith in the others. She is just afraid. And Amethyst. She first emerged after the war was over. She never had the chance to join Homeworld, since she emerged too late. She only knew what she was. And Rose used that. So, I beg you. Please let me save the remaining family I have left!"

White Diamond started laughing at my misery. I looked over at Yellow and Blue Diamond and saw them looking conflicted.

"You fully expect me to carve under that sob story?" She asked with that cold smile. She didn't give me the chance to answer before she continued. "They have all defied Homeworld in one way or another. They deserve to be left behind. Those two former Homeworld Gems are nothing more than traitors who have found out the consequences of defying Homeworld. And that Amethyst is nothing more than an off-coloured Gem. She is worth as much as the worthless planet she came from."

That last sentence made me lose my cool. Had I looked to the sides, I would have seen Yellow and Blue Diamond looking angry and horrified over what had just been said.

"If you could get your head of your ass long enough, you would be able to see that it is behaviour like this, that caused Gems to follow a Quartz instead of a Diamond in the first place!" I screamed. "You are an egotistical prick, who serves no more respect than a rock being stepped on. Oh wait, that is how you treat Gems! I bet if you weren't so tall, no one would take all the shit you deliver to them! Heck, you are the first Diamond that was ever made, but the least liked! I thought the others were exaggerating when they said you were as cold as your colour, but I guess they were right! You don't see any value in life, because in your mind they can just be replaced! I wish you could just-"

I never got to say more, because suddenly I was squashed beneath a finger and poofed. I tried to re-emerge, but suddenly I got the feeling of being trapped in a small room.

'She bubbled me…'

I felt frustrated, angry and misery all at once. 'Now there is no way I can save my friends…'

That thought hung in my mind, as I waited to be un-bubbled. If I ever would be, that is…

I suddenly felt the barrier around me vanish. And after a few seconds, I re-emerged.

I was in Blue Diamonds room and in front of me stood Blue and Yellow Diamond. The looked solemn, but at the same time proud.

"How long," I asked them, wary of what would happen to me now.

"A week," Yellow Diamond told me. She smirked at me. "It would have been a lot longer, had we not calmed White down. You really went all out on her."

"Don't ever do that again," Blue ordered me, looking at me sternly. "We were able to convince her to let you off easy this time. But we can't promise that will happen next time. She already disliked you from the beginning, now even more so. You need to be more careful." I nodded at her words before their first statement caught up with me.

"Wait, a week!" I exclaimed. "Oh no! Lapis! Peridot! Amethyst! There is no way we can reach them in time now!"

"It wouldn't be possible," Blue Diamond said, before getting a mischief look on her face, "if we hadn't sent help the moment we could get away from White after she poofed and bubbled you."

"You mean…?" I said.

"Yes," Yellow answered with a small smile. "A ship left a week ago to rescue your 'friends'."

"Thank you," I sighed in relief.

"Don't thank us yet," Yellow Diamond said. "They still need to be found."

Lapis POV:

It had been a week since Steven last contacted us. No further contact had been made and it made me nervous.

I didn't tell Peridot and Amethyst that help might not be on their way. I couldn't let them lose their hope. It was bad enough that I'm pessimistic, they can't be too. But as more time went on without confirmation from him that help really was on their way now, the more I thought of plans to travel down and getting more water from Earth and then taking the others and travel as far as I could until I poofed from exhaustion.

I was sitting at the entrance of the barn when I saw something in the distance. I went outside, conjured my wings and flew a bit up to see what it was. And what I saw terrified me.

Rose, Pearl and Connie, walking outside of the Moonbase and towards our location. Connie seemed to be wearing some kind of spacesuit, but I didn't really care about. What I cared about, was the fact that we had been spotted.

I quickly flew back into the barn and woke the others up.

"Guys!" I yelled. They quickly looked up from their resting places. "We need to leave now! Rose found us!"

The others quickly went into action. It was as I noticed them packing the barn, that I remember I didn't have any water to transport the barn with.

"Guys," I said in a soft tone. They stopped and looked at me, confused. "I won't be able to take the barn with us. We have to leave it behind."

"We can't!" Peridot said, looking close to tears. "This is our home. Remember all the memories we have here? We can't let her take that away from us. We can't…" She didn't continue before she started to sob. I quickly took her into my arms.

"I am sorry Peri," I told her, using her nickname for the first time," but we have no other choice. We will come back for it. I promise." She nodded into my stomach. I quickly got her on my back, before turning to a teary-eyed Amethyst.

"Summon your whip and wrap it around my waist. It will be a bumpy ride, but it is the only way I can get us away from here," I told her. She nodded and did as told.

We moved out of the barn, saying our goodbyes. We would get it back, eventually, but who knew when that would be. As Peridot moved off my back to hug the side of the barn, I noticed that Rose and the others were getting closer.

"Peri, we need to leave right now!" I yelled at her. She hugged the barn tighter for a second before she ran back to me and jumped onto my back. I looked over at Amethyst and she nodded at me, tightening her grip on her whip, signalling me to go.

I propelled myself as high as I could. Just as I was high enough, a spear flew past me, almost severing Amethyst's connection to me. I looked down and saw Pearl making another one and getting ready to throw it. I started to fly towards Mars as fast as I possibly could.

'We will be safe there for the time being.'

The flight to Mars was harsh on me, but we didn't have time to waste. I needed to get us to safety, but even then, I knew we would not be there for long. Only long enough for me to have enough energy to take us to Jupiter. I had also been hoping for there to be some water, but I had forgotten that Mars had been cleared out during the war.

So, we only stayed there for two days, before I convinced the others to get moving again.

I don't know how far we got from Mars before I could feel myself shutting down. 'Leaving Mars was a mistake,' I thought to myself at the time. I knew I was going to poof soon, no matter if I stopped or not. But someone must have decided it wasn't time for us to be lost in space.

Because right as I thought that, we were surrounded by light. Light from a ship. A Homeworld ship. We were being rescued.

I don't remember the journey. I poofed and first re-emerged when we were close to Homeworld. Peridot and Amethyst seemed happy that I was back. They must have been afraid, especially Amethyst, at being surrounded by so many foreign Gems.

The landing was rough, but that was soon forgotten as the hangar opened. And as we were led out, we all saw Steven.

We ran towards him, who while looking a bit different, still smiled at us with a smile that screamed Steven.

And as we embraced, I finally felt hope that everything would be alright.

Third POV:

The long-lost friends hugged each other. For Amethyst, Peridot and Lapis this hug was a reassurance that this was really Steven and that Rose had been lying. If he really was nothing more than a Gem who had taken Steven's body and remodelled it, then he wouldn't be hugging them like this right now. For Steven, this was happiness that a part of his old life could become a part of his new one. He had come to enjoy Homeworld and was getting to know other Gems. But to know that there now were Gems here, that he had known longer than any Gem on Homeworld, gave him a lot of comfort.

"Welcome to Homeworld," Blue Diamond greeted happily, making them end the hug. Lapis hadn't noticed the Diamonds until now, and she had to suppress the instinct to step back. Her last visit to Homeworld hadn't been pleasant. She looked at Peridot and saw she was having the same reaction as her.

"We are so glad that we came in time. I hope you can excuse us from not getting to you sooner. There were some… complications," Blue Diamond said, starting in a happy tone, that slowly grew uncomfortable. A thing Lapis noticed, was that Blue Diamond didn't seem as sad as usual. Her hood was still up and there still was a lingering sadness in the air, but the sadness was now an afterthought instead of almost soul-crushing despair. Was this Steven's work?

"There is nothing to excuse, my…" Lapis trailed off. She didn't know what to call her. Before her capture, during the war, she had been a part of Blue Diamond's court. And when she first travelled back to Homeworld after Steven releasing her, she had planned on still being a part of Blue Diamond's court. But her welcome had been anything but warm at that time. Could she still be under a Diamond who had treated her with nothing but a side glance, before sending her back to Earth to capture the Crystal Gems ?

"Ah yes, we will have to talk about that later," Blue Diamond said sadly, after noticing the hesitation. "Until then, just say our title. We will not find it disrespectful."

"Uhm, excuse me, Diamonds?" Amethyst spoke up, shyly. "What are we gonna do now? Cause I know next to nothing about Homeworld and I am sure that Lapis needs to be updated."

"And I no longer have my limb enhancers," Peridot pointed out, making sure not to look up at Yellow Diamond. She was sure that she would be punished for the words she spoke when she reported back from Earth. "That means we have lost all data that I got from my time on Earth. And while I know I can replica some of it from memory, there is no way for me to give you the information I got from some of the technology from the kindergarten."

"That doesn't matter right now," Steven said, still smiling from when they first hugged. "All that matters are that you are here and that we don't have to be apart anymore. You will love my team and you will be intergraded back into society in no time!"

"Not so fast, Steven," Yellow Diamond interrupted. "There is no guarantee that they will be on your team."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked. "Why shouldn't they? Can't you just, you know, put them on the team? You are the leaders after all."

"We are two-thirds of the leaders," Yellow Diamond said solemnly. "But there is still White Diamond. Normally, we would win in this situation. But because we went against orders and helped you rescue your friend, she will have more of a say in this than we do. Combine that with the argument you two had, there is a chance that she will split you apart just to spite you."

"What argument? And what do you mean that you went against her orders?" Lapis demanded. She knew that Steven hadn't asked the Diamonds when she last spoke with him, but when they were rescued, she was sure that he had gotten permission. So, what had he done?

"Steven didn't take White Diamond's refusal of rescuing you too well and started verbally insulting her. He was poofed and bubbled as a result and was only released shortly before your arrival. It took us a lot of begging to have him released. We were, however, not permitted to send out a rescue team. We went against orders and there will be consequences for me, Yellow and Steven. Maybe even for you," Blue Diamond explained.

Lapis looked over at Steven and saw him looking down at the ground. He looked like a child who was being scolded, but still thought he had done the right thing. When he noticed that she was looking at him, his frown depended and he turned his head away from her.

"Why does White Diamond have to know?" Amethyst asked quietly. All heads turned to her with wide eyes. She started sweating nervously and looked to the side before continuing. "I mean, we can just hide for a couple of weeks and then show up and say we came on our own. She doesn't have to know."

"While that would have been an option, I can guarantee that it wouldn't work," Yellow Diamond answered. "She has spies everywhere. She is paranoid and for good reason. Out of all the Gems that rebelled in Rose's rebellion, most of them were from her. They wanted a kinder ruler, someone who would take their opinions into consideration. When the war was over, she was the one who advocated to have all rebel Gems shattered. She felt betrayed and wanted the ones responsible to suffer. But we needed numbers and still do. But since then she has been careful when choosing her court and her soldiers. And the few Gems she has, are completely loyal to her. I wouldn't be surprised if they have already told her of your arrival. She is probably on her way now."

"This is bad," Peridot whimpered. "White Diamond is a true military leader. She thinks of the survival of the nation, and if she thought it would help, she would kill half of Homeworld!"

"But she is also, mostly, predictable," Blue Diamond added. "She follows her logic. And her logic will tell her that it would be lost resources if she just shattered or bubbled you. We should only be worried if she is letting her emotions take over."

"This is all my fault," Steven whispered. "I should have asked first. I should have done it when you weren't together. If I had just asked you or Yellow Diamond, this wouldn't have happened."

"She would still have intervened after their arrival," Blue Diamond said. "She would have done it on grounds of not including her in the decision. This would have happened either way."

"Indeed, it would have," a voice answered. They all turned towards the door leading into one of the buildings and saw White Diamond standing there.

"White, we just-" Blue Diamond tried to explain but was cut off.

"I don't care about what you were trying to do. You went against orders"

"You are not the supreme ruler!" Yellow Diamond hissed at White Diamond. "All three of us rule together. And just because you didn't agree because of things that happened in the past, does not mean we think the same. Two out of three rulers wanted to rescue Gems who are on our side. That is the majority."

"We don't rule on a majority," White Diamond said calmly. "We rule on agreements. An agreement wasn't made, so there was nothing we could or rather should have done."

"And then you would have gotten your way, huh?" Yellow Diamond muttered. "By not agreeing you would have gotten what you wanted. But it is too late now. They are here, and there is nothing you can do about it."

"While I can't throw them back into space, I can still do something about their situation," White Diamond asked with a cold smile directed to Steven. Steven shivered and kept his gaze on the ground. White Diamond looked over the newcomers. As she suspected, an off-coloured Amethyst, a second-generation Peridot and a Lapis. Two of them weren't in the best condition, but they could still be put to task if necessary.

"I want the Peridot and the Amethyst to be put to work," White Diamond said, and turned to the Gems. "Do you already have your numbers? And do you know them?"

"Yes, my Diamond! My number is Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG," Peridot answered. Amethyst just shook her head and answered: "I was made on Earth and first came out after the war, so I have no idea."

"When we know where to send you, we will find your number in the database," White Diamond said, before turning to Lapis. "Now, what to do with you…"

"I will take care of it, White," Blue Diamond answered. "She was in my court during the war. I should have a say in what happens to her." White Diamond nodded.

She then turned to Steven.

"You are under Blue Diamond's court and there is therefore little I can do. You have already been punished, but don't think that there won't be any consequences later on. Your punishment, for now, will be that you won't be working closely with your friends. But trust me, I will remember this." White Diamond promised. Steven bravely met her eyes, but on the inside, he was shaking. "Now," she continued, "I want you, Yellow, to take care of the placement of the Peridot since she was in your court if I am correct. Blue, you take care of the rest. I have more important things to take care of right now."

And with that, White Diamond walked away.

The remaining Gems looked at each other. The other Diamonds were used to White Diamond's behaviour. She had lived longer than them and, therefore, felt that she was more superior to them. That is why she was called the Supreme Diamond. Because she was bigger and was the first known Diamond to exist.

Steven wasn't as shocked as his friends. He had gotten to know White Diamond a bit and knew she was the strictest Diamond. As Peridot described, she acts like a military leader. She also had a high standard. From what he had seen, she only cared for the well-being of the colonies and making more Gems. And she had Gems who took care of that. If something wasn't important to her work, she would give it to Yellow and Blue Diamond. Because of that, they were always busy. Yellow Diamond with travelling to colonies and picking soldiers for training, and scouting for new colonies. And Blue Diamond with taking care of the inner workings of Homeworld, together with both her colonies and Pink Diamond's former colonies.

The Earth Gems were surprised. Even Peridot and Lapis who had lived under the reign of the Diamonds. She was stone cold and seemed to take pleasure in ripping the small group apart. A small part of them felt like they should just have stayed away. But a much bigger part knew that Homeworld was better than being by Rose's side. Her side meant death. And while this side could mean death too, there was a bigger chance of surviving.

"We need to get going before White gets too impatient," Yellow Diamond broke the silence. "Peridot, we should get going."

Peridot looked uncertain for a bit and looked between Yellow Diamond and her friends. She then turned and caught Steven in a hug. It quickly turned into another group hug between the four friends.

"I am going to miss you," Peridot cried. The others were also crying.

"Don't say it like that," Lapis said, giving her a watery smile. "We will see each other sometimes. Besides, at one point we need to travel together so we can get the barn back!"

Peridot smiled back, crying even more. "Of course! And we can find another planet and farm more things and live like we did on Earth!" Lapis nodded and the hug became tighter.

"I promise, when this is all over, we will be a family again. A better one than we were on Earth. And we will have it here, on Homeworld or one of its thousands of colonies," Steven whispered to them, words filled with conviction and hope.

"Yeah," Amethyst whispered back. "And no matter what, we will fight for that future. We will fight with Homeworld and we will win! You got that?" They all nodded. "Good. So, until then Peri, you gotta do what you gotta do. Just don't antagonize Yellow Diamond too much, alright?" Peridot nodded with a small snicker. They gave one last squeeze before they separated and Peridot walked away with Yellow Diamond.

"You will see her again, don't worry," Blue Diamond reassured with a gentle smile. "She will probably be sent to monitor a new colony. And when she isn't, she will be here on Homeworld. You will have plenty of opportunities to see her."

She then turned towards Amethyst and gave her a small, genuine, but sad smile. "You, Amethyst, however, will be sent to the Human Zoo. It's where all the Amethysts and Jaspers from the Earth Kindergartens work. It is only fitting, as the Human Zoo belonged to Pink Diamond, just like the Earth did."

"Human Zoo?" Steven asked bewildered. "You have a zoo for humans?"

"Don't worry, the humans are very happy there," Blue Diamond said. "I make sure they are greatly taken care of. They live in luxury. We don't know much of humans nowadays, but by the standard, they lived under when we came there, they not live as a Diamond would. This was Pink's way of preserving the human race, as she liked them and didn't want them to die out when Earth ran out of its resources."

"I guess it is okay then," Steven mumbled, still a bit peeved.

"So, all the Gems that work there, were made on Earth?" Amethyst asked, just to make sure she understood correctly.

"All except a Holly Blue Agate," Blue Diamond answered. "She will be your commander, so you will follow her every order. She can be a bit strict, but if anything happens, just contact me. She sometimes forgets that just because you were made on Earth, doesn't mean that you are more worthless than any other Quartz." Amethyst smiled at that.

"When will I be leaving?" She asked.

"As soon as possible, so I am afraid that you have to say goodbye to your friends now," Blue Diamond answered.

Amethyst gave both Steven and Lapis a big hug each and said: "Remember what I said to Peridot. No matter what, we will get through this. No matter what it takes. So, us being apart now, won't be forever!" She then ran towards the spaceship waiting for her.

"Bye Amethyst!" Steven and Lapis yelled after her.

"You should go back up to your station now and continue working. You missed a lot while you were bubbled," Blue Diamond told her.

"But Lapis-" Steven said.

"Will be fine with me," Blue Diamond promised him. Steven nodded reluctantly and gave Lapis a quick hug before walking toward the building with the main control centre. Lapis looked up at Blue Diamond nervously.

"Let's go to one of my personal rooms," Blue Diamond said. While it sounded like a suggestion, it wasn't. "We have a lot to talk about.

The walk was awkward for Lapis. It had been so long since she had walked these corridors, and they had changed since then. Last time was here, she was dragged to the main hall and presented to the Diamonds, while she was in chains. She hadn't had time to see much and what little she might have passed, didn't register to her at that time. But now she could take everything in.

"A lot has changed for you, hasn't it?" Blue Diamond asked. Lapis gave a small "yes", but other than that was silent. "I think the only parts of Homeworld that haven't changed, have been all the rooms Pink was a part of. It seems wrong to change something of hers, without her consent."

"She was shattered," Lapis stated. She knew little of sorrow, other than the feeling Blue Diamond normally gave off. But she could guess it would be an emotional experience to do such a thing as changing some of Pink Diamond's rooms. But Pink Diamond had been shattered, and could never give them permission. It was a waste of space if the rooms just stood empty and untouched.

"Yes, she is gone," Blue Diamond answered sadly. "But I still hold onto the hope, that one day, we will find all of her shards and bring them back here to Homeworld. And that one day, we will find a way to piece a shattered gem back together." Lapis said nothing to that.

They arrived at one of Blue Diamond's rooms. As they entered, Blue Diamond sat in the throne, while Lapis stood in front of her.

"The reason you are here is because of the position you are in," Blue Diamond started. "When you were made, you were accepted into my court, as one of my personal Lapis'. You were to only work on my colonies and only to terraform them in the beginning stages. Other than that, you stayed here on Homeworld, where most of my court resides. Then the war came and you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. When you were found by the Homeworld Gems, they, unfortunately, though you were a Crystal Gem. And then you were lost again. You, however, came back not so long ago. I must admit I didn't handle the situation too well. With news of still active Gems on Earth, possibly Crystal Gems, together with the Cluster, I was overwhelmed. I cast you aside and send you back to the place you fled from. It was pure luck that you were friends with Steven, or my reckless behaviour might have seen you shattered."

Blue Diamond stared intensely at Lapis, as she spoke again. "I ask only two things from you. That you forgive me for my recklessness and that you join my court once again."

Lapis was stunned into silence. She just stared at Blue Diamond, with her mouth opened in shock.

"You would mostly be staying here, and learning everything you need in order to catch up. Other than that, you would be able to see Steven quiet often, and be able to visit Peridot too, should you wish to," Blue Diamond explained. "You wouldn't have to leave if you don't want to."

"And what about when the war starts?" Lapis asked. "I am a strong Gem and Earth is made of a lot of water. A Lapis Lazuli would be a valuable asset."

"Yes, you would. And we don't make much of your kind anymore as resources are starting to become hard to come by," Blue Diamond agreed with her. "But I would not force you. If you become a part of my court, no one, not even Yellow and White, can force you to fight either. So, what do you say? Ready for another try?"

Lapis pondered for some time, before coming to a decision.

"I accept, my Diamond."