"Wait, hold on- let me get this straight:

"Pink Diamond somehow made her gem look like a Rose Quartz and so she lived two completely different lives - in which she was a Homeworld ruler and the leader of the Rebellion. Which- Which means that gems fought against one another to defend the same person and- and literally no one ever recognized her voice? Just like that?

"So then Pink- Rose, whoever she was, decided to fake her own shattering to free herself, but to do so, she had to force Pearl to keep her mouth shut, make everyone miserable, even the Diamonds, to the point of them attempting to destroy the entire freaking planet and- and corrupting every remaining gem but some of her friends and herself? None of the Crystal Gems but Pearl knew about anything? AT ALL?

"B-But most importantly, Steven has Pink Diamond's gem, thus making him a DIAMOND, and HE had to go to Homeworld to settle an agreement with the other Diamonds because of everything his mother did?!"

Bismuth shrugged in response, much to Lars' disbelief.

"Pretty much," She replied.

The captain, incredulous, blinked his eyes multiple times, as it seemed as though he was still struggling to come to terms with such information; which was to be expected. He started walking in circles around the porch of the beach house - as the inside was not adequate for a numerous group of people, and especially not for a six-gem fusion like Fluorite -, while the Off Colors stood by, in a dead silence that hit Bismuth (figuratively, she supposed) a lot harder than she had expected.

It had not been easy to explain everything - about Rose, about the War, the gem corruption and all the diplomatic issues Steven had to undertake. The blacksmith had done her best to give the newcomers every single detail, forcing herself to remember everything Steven had told her back in that... bubble room at the Temple.

Although she had expected to have accepted it, as soon as the words came out of her own mouth, reality hit her as painfully as when Rose's sword had stabbed her body and destroyed her physical form; Bismuth had looked up to her leader for so many years and, despite having not exactly been surprised after realizing how little sense everything had made, it didn't mean it wouldn't be harmful. Rose had made her who she was - a fighter, a friend, one that saw worth in the organic life and the freedom of gems. Therefore, the realization that Rose Quartz never truly existed was not one everyone would be willing to accept.

The Crystal Gems had almost broken apart, going as far as to have Garnet split up - were it not for the beautiful love Ruby and Sapphire had for one another. Even then, the rainbow-haired gem was sure none of them could process it so easily. It didn't help that they had Steven go to Homeworld and take the role of Pink Diamond.

The weirdly pink human had not yet said anything, apart from nonstop muttering. His friends presented the same behavior. Meanwhile, Greg glanced at Bismuth with an apprehensive look, as the small cat laid on his arms. The blue gem wasn't aware of what Garnet had told the Off Colors, but she assumed they must have admired Rose as well - even though none of them had known her so well. The looks in their faces made that clear, much to Bismuth's guilt.

Lars then turned his body, as he could finally speak.

"I-I don't- I can't even..." He struggled to come up with words. "I don't even... know what- what to say... about all this."

It led Bismuth to let out a hollow laugh.

"It's alright," She assured. "You don't have to."

The blacksmith let out a sigh while Lars stared at her with a look of perplexity, hiding some sort of... frustration. She crossed her arms, looking away. She didn't know what the other gems would say; maybe nothing, either.

"Well, I guess..." "We shouldn't exactly... be surprised," The Rutiles said.

"We have always... been told... distortions of who... she really... was," Fluorite added, sighing.

"B-But still, it's-" Rhodonite groaned in defeat. "I mean- I know we've always been told different stories and none of them turned out to be true, but... after what Garnet told us, I really thought she... she was amazing, a... a true hero. I- I had hope because of her, and now... I don't- I don't know. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be." Bismuth smiled sadly. "We've all been wrong about her."

"Oh no, Steven must be Pink Diamond, then!" Padparadscha gasped.

"Yeah..." Greg sighed beside Bismuth, the first thing he said after so long. He had not said anything during the latter's narration, for that matter. She was aware that the man had some sort of feelings for Rose and everything; but she assumed he was worried about Steven more than anything, judging by the timing of his response.

Rhodonite didn't add anything, instead lowering her head. In the meantime, Lars stared at the wooden floor, frowning.

"W... What about Steven?" He asked. "And the others?"

"Yeah, are the Diamonds just... fine with them now?" Rhodonite questioned. "T-They're still rebels and all that..."

"I... I guess so," Greg replied. "Since they do... seem to care for Pink Diamond, then I assume they would do anything for her- Steven, in this case."

"But like- are they coming back?" Lars insisted.

Bismuth's eyes widened at the question while Greg bit his lip. By the tone of the pink human's voice, she could tell he was not optimistic in the slightest. Just hinting that Steven and the others might not come back was enough to scare her.

"Well, we- don't know when," Greg cleared his throat. "But they must, at some point! He'll do whatever he needs to, and everything will be okay!"

Lars, however, didn't seem any more confident. Well, Bismuth... must have an idea as to why: Rhodonite had brought up an important matter - about the Diamonds, and maybe even Homeworld as a whole, accepting Steven and the Crystal Gems. While Greg must be... right about Blue and Yellow caring about Pink, to some extent, there was an utterly concerning thought that would not leave her alone.

... White Diamond.

As she remembered the time Steven had revealed Blue and Yellow the corrupted gem - Nephrite, if memory served her right -, the mere mention of White had caused everyone to shiver. Even the two Diamonds, which was not a good sign.

White Diamond isn't like us. She isn't even like them.

Bismuth had no idea how White Diamond was - how she looked like, how she behaved... although she was aware the Diamonds were not to be trusted (though her feelings for Rose were quite complicated to include her in that), the fact that White could be worse was frightening.

She had trouble trying to convince herself that Steven might make things different and convince the matriarch to help them out, but... part of her doubted it.

You have no idea what she's capable of!

"Then... Then what?" Lars asked, leading Bismuth to shake her head.

"Huh?"

"What do we do? Do we just- wait for them to get back?"

"If it's a diplomatic trip..." "Then it might take a while for them all to come to a solution," Rutile concluded.

"I guess you could say that," Greg said. "There's... nothing much we can do, now. It's up to Steven and the Diamonds now."

"He's right," Bismuth agreed.

Lars sighed, pulling his own pink hair. The other gems seemed to be at loss of what to do next.

"So, we just... stay here while they're gone?" Rhodonite asked.

"Well, yeah," Bismuth replied. "If you want to."

"Oh! You guys can explore the town! It's your first time here, right?" Greg's face lightened up for the first time. "There are plenty of things you guys can do here on Earth! You're free to do anything you want!"

"Hey, yeah!" Bismuth added in enthusiasm. "I haven't been here for a long time, but this place is wonderful. You should definitely go out there and explore!"

"The humans here are all very nice! And you can discover new things and- oh, Lars can introduce you to his friends and family!"

"Right," The pink human, however, didn't seem very... excited to do so. "Right..."

The Off Colors seemed somewhat thrilled by Greg's suggestions, but they were quick to acknowledge their captain's indignant expression. Greg lost part of his smile while Bismuth rubbed the back of her head.

"Uh- oh, it's getting dark," The man noted, leading everyone to look at the sky. The first stars showed up above them, as well as the moon, in the purple... ish blue sky?

"How interesting... the sky had all these... colors filling it just then." "And it was illuminated by an orange... yellow light, too..." The Rutiles commented.

"Heh, it's an Earth thing," Bismuth chuckled. "Everything's always changing."

"How... fascinating." Fluorite and the others gazed at the sky with admiration.

"Anyway," Greg resumed. "Maybe you guys could, uh... take a rest? It must have been a long way for you to get here - considering you came from Homeworld, right..."

Not to mention everything they had been told, Bismuth wanted to add, but decided to remain quiet. Her look must have given it out, considering that Lars looked at her in the meantime.

"Y... Yeah, I guess you're right," Lars' tone expressed the agitation he had, much like Bismuth herself; she clenched and unclenched her fists.

She didn't want to hide the uncontrollable fear she had of White Diamond, but she... didn't know her that well. She knew the Diamonds were all to be feared. White then... was something else. Not like Blue or Yellow, and especially not like Pink.

Even then, the Off Colors had just gotten to Earth. Like Greg said, they all needed rest. Even though gems didn't exactly need to sleep, but assuming they had gone through the craziest battles and adventures in outer space (which she would make sure to know all the details!), then they ought to take a break. They had a lot to do when it came to Earth, a new planet for them (except for Lars, she supposed; he had been abducted to Homeworld before turning pink, right?).

And maybe, maybe everything would end up well. Steven was capable of doing many things, things that not even Rose would have, and that no one would have imagined. So, the blacksmith tried to maintain her hopes.

She tried hard. So hard...

...

"Well, if the house wasn't busted, then we could invite you over," Greg said, laughing.

"Thanks, we'll... get to our ship."

"Hm, okay. I'll be here with Bismuth to help her with the tools and everything," Greg said. "Though if you need anything later, I'll be sleeping in my van - it's like a vehicle with 'Mr. Universe' written on. It's right next to the beach, over there," Greg pointed at the van he owned and slept in; Bismuth wondered how humans were able to sleep literally everywhere...

"And I'll remain here, so count on us with everything!" Bismuth managed to smile at them, despite her crippling feelings of fear that no one seemed to notice; if... not for Lars. He would glance and frown at her.

"Thank... you," Fluorite said. "We... are glad... to finally... be... here."

"Steven will still be gone," Padparadscha stated sadly.

Bismuth glanced at Greg, whose gentle, calm smile disappeared within seconds. She could hear the pink human sighing in response, too.

"C'mon, guys," Lars beckoned his crew. "We've got to use some rest before getting to know my home better."

"Good night, y'all," Greg said.

"Night."

"Say 'good night'," He told the cat, which... 'meowed'?

Rhodonite couldn't contain the little smile forming on her face, while her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks became significantly darker. Yet the Off Colors soon made their way back to the sand, thus to the ship that still stood there. Bismuth and Greg watched the scene with sad looks.

"You know, you'd better get rest, too, Greg," The gem noted. "We've been working really hard these days. And for now I don't really need to do anything with the tools. Not when it's already... 'night', anyway."

"Yeah... are you doing something else, then?"

"Eh, not really. I'll just look after those two gems, y'know?" Bismuth pointed at the window of the house.

"Oh, well... I was considering having some pizza for dinner," Greg revealed. "Would you like some?"

She would have asked him what 'pizza' was, but soon was familiarized with the word - as well as the memory of that food ritual Steven had presented her before. She hadn't really had something to eat since she had returned from being... bubbled for the second time. It had only been a matter of- what, two or three days after the Diamond invasion?

"Sure thing! I haven't had the chance to perform the pizza ritual in a while," Bismuth smiled. "But- wait, how are we going to have it without Steven here? Only he knows how to do it, right?"

"Huh? No, no! There's a place where people deliver pizza!"

"Really?" She asked, surprised. "I thought only Steven and the Crystal Gems knew about the pizza ritual!"

"It's actually a human thing," Greg laughed. "That place I'm talking about is a restaurant. There are humans there who make pizza. And there are a lot of other restaurants where other people make different kinds of food!"

Bismuth blinked at the fact. For a while, Steven was the only human she had thought to have knowledge of the pizza tradition. Besides, she had only gone through some parts of the town with Greg; but all they had done was to find a place to get some building tools - such as wood and all that. Neither had quite had the time to share food or anything. And Bismuth would go to her forge on a daily basis as well.

"Oh, wow!" She exclaimed. "I would like to go to a restaurant one day; just not today because I still gotta make sure Peridot and her friend are okay."

"Yeah, okay! Well, could you, uh, take care of her for me?" He handed her the blue-eyed cat.

"Oh, sure." Bismuth smiled at the small feline in her hands. "I'll be waiting here."

"I'll be right back!"

Greg was then gone to the city. The blacksmith looked at the animal, which stared at her back. She sighed while it titled its head in curiosity, as if it were asking her what was bothering her; it must be smart enough to have noticed how uneasy she felt. She wished she could tell it everything, but she was sure it wouldn't understand anything about the gem things that revolved around her and her loved ones. So, she placed it on the floor and opened the door, looking at the cat with a sad smile.

"Let's get in, little friend," Bismuth said.

Once the cat followed her command, the gem glanced at the Diamond ships, which reflected the moonlight. She frowned and lowered her head, finally deciding to enter the house.

A/N: I might post the next chapter before september ends, but I'm not making any promises, so please don't rush me if that doesn't happen!

By the way, I would like to thank you all for the support! I wasn't expecting this story to get as much attention as it did, to be honest xD And I hope this chapter was fine, since it's my first time writing in Bismuth's POV.