Someday, I'll set a schedule and actually be able to put out content on a regular basis. :/

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The front door of the Beach House opened, and after a moment, slammed shut. Garnet sat on the couch quietly as Steven entered and settled at the table, Connie in tow. The two settled down quickly at their respective seats.

Steven had a rather tense, unhappy look on his face. He glanced at Garnet often, eyes skittering away after a few seconds. Connie simply sat, her hands on her knees, face set in a determined expression. She stared at the far wall, where the door to the Gem Temple stood.

Any moment, Pearl and Amethyst would arrive, and they could begin. Amethyst arrived first, bounding into the room, yelling a greeting. Her rambunctious mood was soon quelled by the immobility of Garnet and the silence of Steven and Connie.

Her smile drooped, "Why so serious guys?"

Amethyst tilted her head around to look at Garnet, still not moving an iota. "What's up? Why'd you call us this late in the night, Steven?"

She smirked. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

In as few words as possible, Garnet explained to her why Steven had wanted to speak to them. Amethyst's smile fell right off her face, and she settled down on the opposite side of Garnet, closer to the end of the couch. "Pearl will love this."

Garnet hummed. She could not follow the flow of time into the future beyond the moment Pearl sat down and their discussion began. The paths diverged into a myriad of possible futures, many as equally possible as the next. She could not pick out a likely one, so she sat and waited for the future to unfold itself.

Pearl arrived. "You wanted to talk, Steven?"

"Yes!" said Steven, springing up. "I wanted to talk to you guys about my mom!"

"Oh." Pearl sat next to Garnet, straight across from Steven. "I-"

Connie interrupted, "We wanted to know how exactly Pink Diamond died!"

Steven modified, "Did my mom kill Pink Diamond? Those Homeworld Gems, they said she did! I just don't understand! If Rose didn't want to hurt any Gem so badly, then why kill Pink Diamond?"

Pearl sighed, and sagged into the couch. "Steven," she began, flipping a palm into the air, "your mother was great and good. She cared about those Homeworld Gems, and about us and the humans on Earth. She had nothing to do with-"

Steven interrupted, "During that trial they put me on, Eyeball said that she saw Rose Quartz!"

"She lied, Steven!" Pearl clamped her upright hand into a fist.

Steven scowled. "Eyeball wouldn't lie!"

Amethyst fidgeted, and shot a glance to Garnet. Garnet remained still.

Pearl shot back, eyebrows descending a bit, "Steven! You should know better than to trust the words of some stupid Eyeball Ruby!"

Before Steven could retaliate, Pearl continued, squeezing the bridge of her nose. "Steven. You said that Eyeball doesn't lie, and maybe that's so."

"It's true," Steven muttered. Pearl ignored that and kept talking. "Maybe she spoke a lie, without knowing it."

Steven gave that a moment's consideration, then looked at Connie. Connie crinkled her nose. Steven turned back to Pearl, and uncrossed his arms, changing the subject. "Well, even without Ruby, those Homeworld Gems really thought my mom killed Pink Diamond, and Garnet said she was ravaging the Earth! Did you guys have anything to do with getting rid of her?!"

Pearl groaned. "It doesn't matter whether Garnet or any of the Rebels had anything to do with anything. What matters is that Rose would never have shattered Pink Diamond with her own hands!"

Garnet nodded. That was most certainly true.

Connie jabbed her hand forward-she had a sudden reply. "But did some other Crystal Gem kill Pink Diamond? Someone who wasn't Rose! Maybe Rose didn't know!"

Pearl breathed in and out. "…No. Rose knew everything, always. She was the Leader of the Crystal Gems."

"Steven. There's no reason to go over any of this. Your mother had nothing to do with that, whatsoever. Even more importantly, you don't have anything to do with Pink Diamond's death."

Pearl stood. "It doesn't matter what Rose did or did not do. You have nothing to do with this, it doesn't concern you!" Pearl turned around abruptly and went straight back into her room.

Amethyst pivoted around and watched her go. After a moment, she jumped off the couch and wandered over to Steven. "Wow. You caught Pearl off guard there."

Steven furrowed his brow but did not reply. Garnet stood up, and tapped Amethyst on the shoulder. Amethyst followed Garnet out of Steven's hearing.

Garnet spoke then. "Amethyst. Let's follow Pearl. The three of us need to talk."

"Ok…" muttered Amethyst as the two left.

Steven and Connie watched them go. Connie turned to Steven. "Well, that went well."

"Hmm." Steven pulled his knees up to his chin. "We should try again tomorrow."

"Good idea." Connie affirmed. She clapped Steven on his shoulder, and hooked her arm under his, dragging him from the house. "Now that Garnet and Amethyst are gone, do you know what's gonna happen now…?"

"We set out on our spy mission!" burst out Connie. Steven shushed her quickly, the both of them throwing a glance at the Beach House to make sure no one had heard.

The Beach House was still, the lights still on and shining out into the bay. The same could be seen through them; there was no change.

"We have to find Lion," said Steven. "Luckily, I saw him before we entered the Beach House!"

"Really? Great! Where did you see him?"

Steven turned and pointed under the foundation of the Beach House. "He was going under there."

Connie frowned. "Why would Lion want to go underneath there?" She bent and crooked her torso at it. "It looks very small. And uncomfortable."

Steven shrugged, "A few days ago, I found him under there, cracking the shells of crabs. I guess he likes it."

Connie grimaced. "Ugh. You should stop him from torturing those crabs!"

"Well, I only just found out about it! And I tried, but he keeps doing it!"

"Ugghhh…that Lion needs to know that torturing poor defenseless crabs is unconscionable!"

"I tried to stop him, Connniiieee…"

The pair argued until they reached Lion.

True to Steven's previous sighting, Lion lurked in the corner, flicking his paws at any crab that dared to come too close. As he caught a glimpse of the duo approaching, Lion slid his butt backwards, descending further into the foundations. Lion occupied the entire space between the sand floor and the wood house, and thus could not withdraw easily. His head knocked against the boards that jutted out, and his mane got caught in the tiny gaps between the boards. A little wisp of mane would get torn out when Lion slid too far too fast. Though no one could notice such a tiny sliver, the tiny sharp pains hurt Lion fiercely.

And so, Connie and Steven caught up with Lion. Entreaties and bribes of sweets and seafood failed; Lion sprawled out over the sand as best he could, refusing to move. In the second phase of Connie's cunning plan to force Lion to participate, she poked Lion repeatedly in the butt with her scabbard, as Steven yanked on his mane.

The stick succeeded where the carrot had failed. Lion grudgingly came out, losing several more slips of mane in the process. He glowered at Steven and Connie as they formed Stevonnie. He refused to let Stevonnie sit on his back the first time, dropping his haunches. Stevonnie slid off Lion's slick back, flopping down in the sand.

After a scolding, Lion did his job quickly and abruptly, warping Stevonnie away in the most uncomfortable way possible. The moment Stevonnie was safely at their destination (albeit piled up on the floor), Lion departed without a second glance.

Stevonnie lay sprawled in the dirt, temporarily incapacitated. An odd noise in their ears, like the sound of water rushing past skin; the feeling of ants crawling all over; bright flashes and pops of color, quick streaks across their eyes.

Stevonnie focused for a moment, and realized they felt no pain. Encouraged by this, they set their left knee under them, and began to rise. Stevonnie's right side remained on the ground as Stevonnie's left side rose, the middle becoming soft and gluey, dangerously stretching Stevonnie apart. Panicking, Stevonnie ceased their efforts, going limp and collapsing on their face. After a moment, the half of Stevonnie that had regained their feeling knit back together with the fully awake left side.

Stevonnie rose again, drawing their feet underneath them, and stayed in place for a few seconds. The difference in recovery of their two parts had begun to split Stevonnie in two, but they felt divided no longer. Fully convinced their body was up to speed, they set out on their journey.

But first, Stevonnie planned on drawing up a suitable plan of attack. They trotted around the walls of the old Kindergarten, hunting for a suitable hole to hide in. Stevonnie dug their fingers into the ledge of a decent sized hole, then began to haul themselves in. Stevonnie did not fit well. They had to curve their back against the wall, then tuck their legs against their chest. Even still, their toes crumpled painfully against the rough dirt, causing Stevonnie to hiss and grumble as they entered the hole. Stevonnie did not retreat too far in, as they needed to be able to make a quick exit.

Thus hidden away from the world, Stevonnie began to think. Despite being an amalgam of Steven and Connie, they did not possess the same outlook as the two did. Possessing both Steven's and Connie's memories, they could see that both of the two children loved the idea of infiltrating Homeworld and stealing away the truth from the wicked Diamonds-just like a ninja movie. The good ninja sneaks out of the evil emperor's mansion, bearing the precious truth.

But Stevonnie knew neither had ever really been to Homeworld, and they did not where such a truth would be kept. Perhaps the Diamonds had destroyed evidence that could be used against their position. Perhaps the Diamonds themselves did not know the truth, and simply used Rose Quartz as a scapegoat. Stevonnie settled their chin on their knees, and began to reason this expedition through.

From what Stevonnie knew, Steven had been tried in a building above them. Both Diamonds had been present. Even if the two had traveled to this location, it stood to reason that an important occasion would be held in an important room, an important building.

A probe flicked past, scanning the area half-heartedly with a dazzling ruby light. It distracted Stevonnie for only a second.

And so, this building is worth checking out, finished Stevonnie. I won't be too ambitious this go-around. I'm just going to collect a little information, summon Lion, and go back home. Right. That's what I'll do. Just a little reconnaissance mission, nothing too dangerous. Nodding to themselves, Stevonnie began to scooch themselves out of the cramped space. At the entrance, Stevonnie checked both ways for enemies, then hopped right out.

As they did so, they scooped up a smidgeon of dirt, then spat in their palm. Taking another finger, they mixed the dirt and saliva into a slurry, then rubbed their palm all over their Gem. Stevonnie felt the cold, wet dirt rubbing against the Gem in their very soul. They scrunched up their toes and shuddered. It felt absolutely disgusting.

Hopefully, no Gem would be able to recognize them off the bat though. Stevonnie didn't think any Gem would recognize them if their Gem was covered up.

From Steven's memories, Stevonnie charted their path, the incline ever increasing, until they came to the point where Steven and Lars fell from the courtroom. Here, they would have to climb.

Stevonnie dug one of their heels into the soft, warm black ground. The ground felt like Styrofoam; their heel dug into it, not breaking the top, until the surface gave way. Stevonnie fell forward, stopping abruptly as their foot compressed the soil enough to withstand their weight. Stevonnie grunted, and squirmed their foot around in the gravelly, fluid-like soil. Eventually, their foot lodged free, and Stevonnie thrust their sword into the ground.

The sword proved to be an effective enough cane. Stevonnie used the sword as a foothold, submerging one foot in the hill, plunging the sword a little further up, then placing their other foot upon the sword, and thus proceeding up the hill in that manner.

Approximately 200 feet in the air, a wire mesh covered the rest of the cliff. Stevonnie rapidly ascended, slapping their hands upon a windowsill. Stevonnie peeked over the windowsill. Inside lay a bare office, the walls of a dingy slate blue. The room was about 12 feet by 10 feet, with a slate blue desk and chair in the middle.

Stevonnie hauled themselves into the room as quietly as they could. Facing the window was a door. Stevonnie squished their face against the door crack, listening. Silence, sometimes broken by a series of eerie squeals and beeps, and other mechanical noises.

So…machinery, maybe? Stevonnie heard no voices, and so opened the door, stepping out into a spacious room. In front them lay a large table, with a few Gems sitting around it, some sitting quietly, others making loud mechanical noises. Stevonnie froze. The Gems glanced up at them, but otherwise ignored them and continued to talk.

Stevonnie turned around to the right, and walked down a hallway. The path was short, leading past a Gem at a desk, facing a doorway. Stevonnie stiffly walked past, hoping the Gem would not notice.

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Z̶̨̧͇̩̠̖͍͈̳̰͖̗̘̘̭͕͇͚͚͈̞̑̒̑̕ͅZ̸̛̛̩̩̹̱̻͍͇̰̻͈͉̪̪̖̯͉̙̠̫͎͇̦̞͕͇̻͍̟͈̞̜̙̞̠͓͆̉̔͛̿̂̽̔̏̏̔́͂̿̔̀͌̈́̔́̇͆̚̚̕͠͝͠͠͠Z̸̨̢̨̧̡͔̰̹̪͈̪̘̮̜͇̖̼͍͚̘̱̪͚̝̟̫͉̰̩͈̩̝͍͍̞̲̖̣͙͔̝̋̏̅͊͂́̋͊̆͑͘͠ͅt̵̢̯̞̖̙͇̯̦̘͈̯̥̯͇͉̩̍̈́̒̿͂̔́̽̔̉͐̎͐̏̾̐͒͒̎͛͘͝ţ̸̧̧̣͎͇̻͖̻̝͖̫̹̞͙͇̐͗̑̏͂̄̂̀̀̓̉̅͆̏͊̓̇̓́̃̽͒̒͘͝ͅk̴̨̢̨̤͚̱̦͕̦͉͍͖̱͈̤̦͚̦̤̝̠̻̖̤̦̺̱̳͖̺̻̤͕̺͈͒́̉̏́̃̅͆̊̑̄̓́̀̒͆͗͛̀̿͘̕͘͜k̵̨̡͚̻̣̺̞̙̞͓̺͉͔͕̭̥̝̤̺͛̈͐́̽̋̇k̶̨͍̮̼̜̝̱̻͎̅̈́̔͋̍̃̍̾̽̉́̊̅̓͑͠͝r̵̨̨̡̧̛̙͓͚̪͙̺̭̳͙͔̖͚͖̼̰̖̲͖̜̮͇̖͔̲̮̤̳̰͙̺̟̯͔̼̙̜̘̍͐̇̆̾̇͆̓̇͆̇̿̾̌͐̂̊͛̉̓͌̒̈̅̈́̅̌͘̕ͅh̴̢̬͖̟̫̺̙̤̙̭͚͕̿̓̀̀́̏͆̅̑̀̈́̔̔̃̐͑̽̀́͒̌͌͗̀͆͆͗͋̋̑̓̋̕͘̕͘͝͝ͅḧ̵̨̨̡̬̬͚̩̲̳̼̻͙̺̭̙̙͈̳͕͙̟͉̗͉̥̠̞̳̰̙͓̯̳̱̙̝͎́̓̅̂͂͒̀̅͒̆́̇͐͆̂̏̒̌͛͘͜ͅͅͅh̴̥͖͉̓̀͗̂̎̔̔͒̌͒̑̆̀̐͋͘͝͠͝l̸̡̢̧͓̠͕̤̺̩̯͈̮͍͙̝̯͉̰̟̱̰͉͉̰̪̙̱̭̠̩̟̺̞̯̥̝͐̀̑̑͛̈́̋̾͋̂̓͛̏̓̋͋̔̒͘̚͝ͅḵ̶̨̨̢̛̛͍̺̣̩̱̮̭̻̗͙̯̺̳̥͍̬̖̟͇̩͙̂́͂͋͆́͝ͅͅk̴̡̹̙̞̭̙̪̝͕̠̪͉̪̠͈͔̠̅̒̒̒͒͆̄͋̌̍̌̀̉̆͐̾̊̇͌͐͒̑͂͌̈́͊͊̎͂̾̈́̇̈́̽̈̚͘̚͜͝͝͠͝ͅͅk̵͍̱̮̂̆̎̒͊̎̄̾͗͐͆̇̊̔́̿͗̒͊͆̕͝

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A horrible metallic squeal emanated from the Gem behind Stevonnie. Stevonnie whirled around, whipping out their sword and pointing at the Gem. The Gem's six eyes did not waver from the screen she stared at. She was not paying a dash of attention to Stevonnie. Stevonnie quickly sheathed their sword. The Gem scratched behind her ear. Stevonnie turned around, and left through the door.

The six-eyed Gem watched the weird Gem leave the Law Student Honors Office. There goes another poorly socialized Gem, she sighed to herself. When did the Kindergartens forget to teach Gems not to overreact when someone told them, "Have a nice day?"

Outside awaited a maze of deep blue corridors and glass, eerily lit by brilliant white lights. Stevonnie hurried down a flight of stairs, into a large alcove. At once, doors opened, and hundreds of Gems filled the alcove, chatting with each other. No one paid attention to Stevonnie. Stevonnie drew a piece of paper from their backpack, and began to chart their way around the complex.

Stevonnie wandered around for an hour, before coming to a series of courtrooms. A sea of Gems loomed around one in particular. Stevonnie approached as inconspicuously as they could. Inside, a gold railing barred the spectators from approaching. Blue, Yellow, and White Diamond loomed over a small group of Gems in the center of the room, flanked by a few fancily-dressed Gems. Lining the walls of the room stood many guards.

A Yellow Zircon stood approximately equidistant from all three Diamonds, speaking in Homeworld's language. Stevonnie did not believe this Zircon was the same as the one that tried Steven; this one had a curl of hair at the back, and a ruffled suit. A Blue Zircon, much like the one that had defended Steven, only more purplish in color, stood in front of a bunch of monsters. At first blush, the motley group seemed to be Gem Monsters. Their forms were certainly as diverse as they, but the real difference lay in their faces.

Massive jewel like eyes lay embedded all over their bodies. Dark flecks in the jewels gravitated all around, sometimes darting back and forth erratically. Stevonnie supposed those flecks were the pupils, showing where the monsters were looking. The creatures' bodies were pitch black, flowing in response to a nonexistent wind.

Stevonnie watched for a while, but they could not piece together what was going on. When the Diamonds spoke, Stevonnie listened for any change in tone, any emotions. They scrutinized the Diamonds' faces, but none of the three changed. In stark contrast to Steven's colorful trial, this trial proceeded with calm. The Diamonds' emotions seemed to not exist.

Stevonnie fixed their eyes upon Yellow Diamond, and watched to see if she blinked. Yellow Diamond did not blink once. In fact, Stevonnie could not be sure her mouth moved when she spoke, if she was the one speaking. A thought popped in Stevonnie's head-maybe the Diamonds wore porcelain masks instead of faces?

Brushing this silliness aside, Stevonnie stepped back, and wandered down the halls, studying their map. Just as they decided it was time to leave, Lion burst right out of a wall.

Stevonnie rushed over to Lion, and praised him. "How did you know I wanted to leave, Lion?"

Lion looked away. He was still irritated.

Stevonnie craned their head around. "We must have a special connection! One that only exists between a human and their lion! Don't you think so?"

Lion snorted.

One short teleport later, Stevonnie arrived at the Beach House. Stevonnie yelped at the sudden change of scenery: the dreary, dark catacombs of Homeworld to the brilliant sunshine and seagulls of the Beach House.

Thanking Lion, Stevonnie made a beeline for the kitchen, and began to prepare a nice sandwich for lunch. Lion, following, plopped his head on the counter and watched. Noticing him, Stevonnie commented, "After every successful adventure, the heroes always have lunch."

Stevonnie settled down on one of the stools with their sandwich, and began to eat. Lion, who had not moved, continued to watch. "All heroes have to keep up their strength. I'll need your help tomorrow. I'm going to keep exploring Homeworld until I can find the truth!"

Stevonnie chomped a big bite of the sandwich, grinding their teeth against a particularly resilient tomato. After a moment, they added, "I should probably find out where Lars is. You think so too, right?"

Lion nodded sagaciously, then darted his head across and stole Stevonnie's sandwich.