Everyone arrived at the beach house with the unconscious gems. Eyeball and Aquamarine were small enough to be put on the bed while they put Curly Lapis Lazuli and Holly Blue Agate on the cushions of the couch. What had been a wonderful night of fun turned into a horrible nightmare. To make matters worse, Hope removed her gem out of anger thinking that it was nothing more than a burden. She hadn't spoken to anyone after that. Jasper, Larimar and Volleyball waited silently until Hope came out of the bathroom. They all looked up when they heard the door click.

Hope walked out wearing a bandage around her neck. She sighed. She looked weary and exhausted. "Did anyone call Pearl? She may need to know what happened." When she spoke, it came out harsh and raspy. Hope went upstairs to grab her new pair of pajamas that had dolphins imprinted on them. She looked at Aquamarine and Eyeball. The two no longer had the dark patterns but they were extremely pale. What they did was wrong, but it didn't change the fact that it was all a twisted game made by Cassie. Hope's heart began to throb and she immediately went downstairs to change in the bathroom.

"I did." Volleyball answered. "She says they'll be heading back once they reach the nearest warp pad." She gently placed a hand on Hope's shoulder. "Garnet said that they need to take you to the hospital as soon as possible. They'll also find your gem." Gems didn't physically have hearts but Volleyball could already hear something crack when she saw the endless sorrow in Hope's eyes. It was just painful to see her friend going from happy and carefree to the same empty person they had to fix weeks ago .

"I'm fine." Hope said. "It may be for the best that I don't have it anymore. My gem doesn't help others like Steven's. I'm so sorry that all of this happened to you." She vanished into the bathroom before anyone could say a word. She fixed her hair and she began to notice her skin turning ashy white and her eyes were sunken in. Ignoring those features, she continued getting ready for bed. She opened the door to see Larimar and Jasper look at her worryingly. "Hope…" Larimar said, the little blue gem ready to cry at any moment. "I'm sorry. For getting you into that mess but touching that...soft thing."

Hope hugged Larimar. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know." She even hugged Jasper to give her comfort as well. She continued upward to bed. Upon looking at Eyeball and Aquamarine, she decided to move the two slightly in a way where she'll have the spot on the bed. She laid down and began to fall asleep. She began to dream of the events that happened. The surrounding darkness. The injured gems that looked up to her, pleading for their lives. "Aunt" Cassie laughing maniacally at her and saying about all the things that are wrong with her. Hope began to frantically reach out to Jasper, Larimar and Volleyball. Instead, they vanished. She cried. Alone in the darkness. Suddenly, she felt something stroke her head. It was a random creature of darkness with purple eyes staring at her. They looked almost kind. She tried to reach for it too. Then, it was replaced with a bright light with her gem floating in the air. Hope growled. "It's your fault! All your fault! I would've had a normal life if I didn't have you!"

"Hope…" Hope slowly opened her eyes. She looks up to see Pearl and Garnet standing over her. "Hope! Can you hear me?!" Pearl gently helps Hope sit unwrapped the bandages slightly to see the gem was gone. Pearl and Garnet gasped. "We need to find your gem," Garnet said. The deep red gem was about to leave when Hope grabbed her. The gem hybrid tried to speak but no words came out.

Hope tried again, but nothing happened. She still held onto Garnet while using her free hand to touch her neck. Her eyes widened in horror. I...can't speak...She thought. She began to hyperventilate.

"Hope, we need to get your gem." Garnet said sternly. "You can't survive without it." She gritted her teeth when Hope tightened her grip and violently shook her head. She removed her glasses. All three eyes looked at her sadly. "I know you feel like your gem is making your life miserable, but it's a part of you. Remember what happened to Steven?" She backed away when Hope pushed Pearl's hands away and struggled to get out of bed.

Hope was paler than before. Whatever energy she had was failing her. Her steps became shaky. She was about to reach the stairs when her legs finally gave way. Her body slamming hard on the floor. Ow! She mentally cried. Footsteps rang beside her. She saw the feet of her friends joining Garnet and Pearl's. A sensation of being lifted off the ground. Jasper looked down at her. Volleyball saying something but undistinguishable. Larimar holding her limp hand. Hope wanted to say so many things right now, but she found herself falling into a dark void again.

***********************Somewhere in the ocean************************************************

The lotus shaped gem glittered in the light reflecting beneath the water. Fish swimming close by it, but hardly ever touching it. A lone dolphin finds the object and picks it up. Both it and the gem dived in and out of the waves. Suddenly, the gem glowed the same light as it did when Hope was attacked. The dolphin squeaked and let go of the gem. The gem hovered in the air and vanished in the wave. A bright light sparkled in the water until a large creature burst out, roaring to the sky.

********************On Homeworld************************************************************

White was in deep meditation. It felt nice to do something aside from ruling another planet. Suddenly, a roar erupted in the sky causing everything in Homeworld to shake. Gems began to panic. Plants grew bigger than ever. Flowers spreading in the grassy areas. Windows breaking slightly.

An image popped into White Diamond's mind. It was a beast. Large and dragon like. Rabbit ears gracing its head. Horns curved downward. Fins trailing up and down the body. A rainbow blazed its belly while the rest of the body was deep blue with white and silver specks that resemble stars. She feels like she had seen this creature before but doesn't know where. She gasped and stood up.

Before long, Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond and Spinel ran into White's room. They all looked at her in concern. Spinel perched on Yellow's shoulder. "White!" Yellow said. "What happened?"

"I don't know," White Diamond answered. "We may need to go to earth and investigate."

**************************Beach City Hospital**********************************************

Dr. Maheswaran was outside the patient's room. She was talking to the gems about Hope's condition. "According to the charts, her heart rate is weakening at a massive pace. From what Connie told me years ago, it seems the gem is sort of a life force to the organic half of Hope. By taking the gem out, she may be ending her own life as we speak."

Larimar broke into tears. Her wails were heard half way through the hugged her, sobbing into the shoulder. Jasper turned pale, she looked on in pure horror. Peridot, Lapis (crystal lapis), Bismuth and Amethyst were there with shared grim expressions on their faces. Pearl put a hand to her mouth. Garnet was stoic for a moment before she said, "We need to find her gem and reunite both halves."

Jasper growled. "How are we going to do that?!" She faced Garnet. "Her gem is practically in the middle of the ocean! Who knows how deep it is! It could be in one of those trenches for all we-" She heard a rumble. She froze. Then, the ground vibrated beneath them. The hospital shook. "What...was that?"

Amethyst looked out the nearest window. "Uh...guys? I don't think we need to go to the ocean..."

Bismuth cocked an eyebrow. "Um...Why?"

Amethyst pulled the curtain away. Her face filled with fear."Because her gem came to us."

Everyone rushed to the window. They all gasped at what they had just seen. A large monster made of pure light looming over the parking lot of the hospital. It growled at the cars below. It picked one up and threw it to one side of trees. People began to panic and run in all directions. The creature roared in fury. Along with the roar was a distorted voice that had seemed to sound a little like Hope's. L….love...less. Larimar, Volleyball and Jasper looked at it in shock. It was as if they could feel the resentment from the creature.

"We have to stop it before it hurts the civilians!" Garnet said. "Gems with me. Let's do a frontal assault and lead it away from the parking lot. Jasper, come with me. Larimar, Volleyball. You two stay here and help Doctor Maheshwaran support Hope long enough to bring her down so we can get the two to unite." She ran with the other gems behind her. Once she arrived, the fusion leaped into the air and summoned her gauntlets. With a single punch, she sent the creature back peddling a few steps.

Amethyst used her whip to grab hold of one of its legs. Bismuth and Peridot moved the cars out of the way to prevent anymore from being smashed or thrown. Lapis used her water wings to hold down the now infuriated creature. Pearl used her spear to knock it down with Jasper grabbing the tail. The creature was pinned, but continued on roaring. Nothing...No one...want to be my friend…. It let out an ear-piercing scream that shattered every window in the hospital. The gems were forced to cover their ears. Jasper was suddenly flung into the air and crashed into the parking lot.

Meanwhile, Volleyball and Larimar supported Hope while the doctor made sure they made their way safely to the driveway. Larimar kept looking at Hope. Her mind thinking back to what had happened yesterday. She was so upset at the time it never occurred to her on how Hope felt. Not much was known about Hope's gem, but Larimar did find it pretty. She even remembered how Hope would talk about the bad things that came with having it. She couldn't imagine how she was able to live without her own gem. It was a part of who she is. Why would Hope...Then, she remembered how Hope's aunt had been taunting her and tempting her to find her desires. Could Hope be blaming herself, Larimar thought. She touched Hope's hand. "Hope...can you hear me?" She nearly cried when her friend just groaned. "It's me, Larimar. I was thinking...Were you blaming yourself for what happened between you and your aunt?" Her hand felt tight by a sudden squeeze. "Well, don't throw your gem away. You didn't know like the rest of us. I know you only hate your gem because it brought you nothing but sadness. I think it's really pretty. It's not because of your gem that I like you. I like you for you and so does everyone at Beach City. They're worried about you. We don't know much about your gem but...it saved us. If it didn't glow when it did, we would not be here. Hope, I want to know more about you. Your gem half as well as your organic. Please don't leave." Larimar laid her head against the squeezing hand. Tears streamed down her face.

Volley looked at the two. She began to recall how Hope was finally able to recover from what happened with Bluebird. Hope was an amazing teacher and loved to share that knowledge with others. Being caught by those shadow monsters just simply broke her friend's heart all over again. How could her aunt do this to her? Hope loved her, but her aunt had only been using her all these years. "Hope. I know what it's like to get hurt by the person you care about. Remember my story with Pink Diamond? Even though I loved her, I had to accept the fact that I had every right to be angry. What happened wasn't your fault or your gem. You just didn't know the real Aunt Cassie all those years. I'll help you get through it." She shifted Hope and made a more determined effort to walk out of the hospital entrance with Larimar's help. "I promise. You're my best friend."

Hope began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open. Tears trickled down her face. She heard every single word they had said. They cared for her. They wanted her to stay. Never in her life did Hope ever had she been asked to stay. She saw Jasper struggling to get up from the asphalt of the parking lot. The tears of Larimar and Volleyball. The frantic struggle the crystal gems were doing. It was all for her. This rampaging monster came because it wants her back. It was a part of her. A part that had been suppressed for so long, it felt like an unwanted burden. From what she had seen now, they wanted to help her and the people she was going to hurt if she didn't accept that half of her. She began to reach out to the light. Volleyball and Larimar moving as fast as they could without damaging the equipment.

As they got closer, the creature thrashed and roared less. It simply stared at Hope as she struggled to take a few steps of her own. When she finally neared the creature, she placed two hands on the nose and looked into the creature's eyes. They were beautiful. Silver like the stars in the sky. Hope could already feel the loneliness it felt. They desire to be loved, but having a hard time earning it. It rumbled sadly as it nuzzled in her touch. "Ah…" Her voice felt raw and painful. Tears coming down in full force. "I….I'm sorry." She sobbed. "I'm so sorry." She cried and cried as the light creature vanished. The glow surrounding her in a starry rainbow. Her gem cradled in her neck again. The bandages are gone now.

All the gems walked over to Hope. They knelt down and gave her a hug that she needed for a very long time.

That ends this chapter. It will be a long while for the next one to come. Rest assured, you will see the Diamonds again. This chapter was inspired by the Steven Universe Episodes: I AM MY MONSTER and CHANGE YOUR MIND. They were really great episodes. Review please.