Warning: This chapter is rather heavy on discussion about slavery and corporeal punishment.

Questions

Steven woke up comfy and confused, initially not sure where he was. And when he registered it as his Dad's van, he nearly panicked, wondering how he'd gotten there and where were the Crystal Gems and what if—

But then Pearl was been there, stroking the back his hair, telling him everything was fine. He sighed the biggest sigh of relief he could manage.

It turned out to be a rather nice morning. The nicest they'd had together— just the three of them— in a while. Since Empire City, actually. Music blasted from the radio, Dad and Pearl singing along, Steven occasionally humming quietly under his breath. He got to put on fresh, clean clothes, and sit at a proper table. There was a fresh breakfast, and while it was nothing like the previous day's feast, it was still really good. Pearl was fine with cooking as long as she had a recipe to follow, and having Dad there was a great help, 'cuz he could always just tell when the food needed a little dash of extra spice or cheese or something.

The only sour note was that Lapis wasn't there. When Steven asked about her, Pearl just said that she was outside, and not ready to come in.

Steven grimaced into his plate. He had half a mind to go out there and order her in. He'd been fantasizing about getting to have everyone together in one place, and he didn't want to waste the opportunity.

But this… wasn't going to be a limited time thing, he soon realized. Nobody had outwardly voiced anything about returning to Korea and the Palanquin, probably because they all sort of figured that the Crystal Gems probably wouldn't like that. So there was no hurry for these things. If Lapis wanted to blow off some steam after yesterday, well, maybe it was best to just let her.

Still, Lapis or not, it was a wonderful morning.

He really didn't want to ruin it by going to the Crystal Gems. But as both Pearl and his Dad had pointed out, he'd promised to meet with them, and it wasn't right to go back on a promise.

They both offered to go with him, but Steven declined. Pearl had seemed to upset the Crystal Gems yesterday for some reason, and he didn't really want Dad in any danger, especially since he was now free to spend the day however he wanted. After a brief debate, they agreed he could go unescorted, though not before Pearl gave him a thorough look over to make sure there were still no ill effects from his extended imprisonment. When he passed inspection, they both allowed him to leave.

But he didn't make it that far from the RV before Lapis appeared over his shoulder.

"Good morning," Lapis said, and used the greeting she'd learned from Pearl. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did." He grinned. "You should try it sometime. I think you'd like it."

"Just lying there, thinking about nothing?"

"Or everything," added Steven.

Lapis shook her head. "Why would I want to spend all my time just lying somewhere, when I could be out there, doing stuff?"

Steven shrugged. He'd tried to explain why sleeping was so nice to Lapis before, and she hadn't really gotten it then either. Maybe eventually he'd be able to convince her, but just not now. "So, what stuff did you get up to last night, then?"

"Oh, well." Lapis flicked her hand. "Just flew around. Kept watch. Made sure nothing… happened."

"You're… afraid of the Crystal Gems?"

"I'm not. I can drop an ocean on them if I wanted. But you, on the other hand…."

Steven looked down at the sand beneath his feet. He was afraid, honestly. But he was trying not to be. "I don't think you need to do that."

"I disagree."

"They're not going to attack us now," he said.

"If you'd let me restrain them, they definitely wouldn't."

Steven stopped, gaze focusing intently on Lapis. " You weren't showing much 'restraint' yesterday."

"Yeah. Well." She lept into the air and gave to quick flaps of her watery wings, putting some distance between them. "I had to protect you."

"You cracked three of them! You could've shattered all of them!"

"So what? They're traitors! Rose Quartz is a Diamond-shatterer, you said it yourself!"

"Yeah, well, the others aren't!"

Lapis scowled. "Do you know that for sure?"

"I— well—" Steven stammered, because he didn't. Then he rallied. "Amethyst isn't. She didn't even fight in the war! She came out late!"

"Oh. So that's why she's so small…" Lapis muttered.

"She didn't fight," Steven repeated. "The only reason she even really joined the Crystal Gems is because she didn't have anywhere else to go! I know she helped lock me up but…" He gulped. "She can be annoying, but also really nice, and she hung out with me when I was stuck in there, and… When I saw her cracked, I was so scared that she'd—"

There was a soft rush of wind as Lapis landed, her shoulders and wings drooping. Her voice was quiet when she admitted, "I… didn't mean to. I just got… carried away…"

In his mind, the memory flashed— a sword, a scream, pink shards falling to the ground—

"Yeah, well," Steven snapped, "don't let it happen again."

"Yes, my Diamond," Lapis said, soft, mullish.

It irked him, the way she said that. It was respectful, but… it was also kind of annoying, like she was only listening to him because he'd ordered it, not because she agreed.

He nearly snapped at her about it, but she already looked upset. Instead, he gently took her hand. "Look… Lapis, it's okay. I know you were just protecting me. That means a lot." He stepped a little closer and squeezed her hand firmly in his own. "Thanks."

After a moment, she squeezed his hand back, and said, "Yeah. Of course."

A moment later, Amethyst's voice rang out across the beach, yelling, "Yo, Steven! Steven, come over here!", and Lapis pulled her hand free of his.

"I don't want to talk to them," she said.

Steven just nodded in silent understanding. She gave him a tight smile, and took off in a flash of blue, going off to perch on the head of that weird giant fusion statue-thingy built over the Crystal Gem base. Steven carried on towards Amethyst, and despite what he'd said, felt reassured to know that Lapis was watching out for him.

Amethyst met him on the other side of the chain-link fence, near the water. She was grinning practically from ear to ear. "Ta~da!" she announced. "Look what I made!"

"Wow," Steven said, as he stared at what had to be the most impressive sandcastle he'd ever seen in his life. The thing was huge, bigger even than he was, with turrets and spires and a moat filled with actual sea-water. "Wow."

"Yeah," Amethyst said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. It looked different now, Steven noticed— kinda poofier. "I am pretty amazing."

Steven glanced around and noticed there weren't any buckets or anything like that in sight. He asked, "How did you make this?"

Amethyst just grinned, and in demonstration, shapeshifted both of her hands into shovels. Then with a wave, she invited him to help. Steven really didn't need much encouragement.

He wasn't anywhere as good as Amethyst with shapeshifting, however. His hand-buckets and hand-trowels weren't as big as hers, and if he tried to hold them too long, he got all shaky and felt a headache begin to pound at the back of his head. Sometimes it was just easier— and better— to use regular, non-shapeshifted palms. But together they built a whole new extension to the sandcastle, one with an archway and little shells pressed into the sides.

Unfortunately, it was not to last. Water began to lap at the outside of the moat, and Steven had to shuffle away to keep from getting wet. "Tide's coming in," he moaned. "It's gonna all get ruined…"

"You kidding? This is the best part." Amethyst cackled as the waves began to wash away the sand foundations, and Steven had to admit, as sad as it was to see their hard work collapse, it was kind of cool too.

They were enjoying the destruction of the tallest spire when there was a splash, and out of the ocean came Garnet.

Steven felt every muscle in his body stiffen as she slowly drew closer to them.

She was wrestling with some weird jelly animal creature. Some kind of monster, the same type he and Pearl always avoided when they explored Gem locations. She easily crushed it in a single squeeze, and it exploded into a puff of smoke. With a wave of her hand, she bubbled the gem and sent it off with a tap.

"Hello," she said, completely casual.

"Heya, G!" said Amethyst.

"Uh, hi," said Steven cautiously.

Garnet spared a glance at their crumbling creation. "Nice castle." She looked at Steven, and adjusted her glasses. "Let's talk."

Steven rubbed his arms. "Um, okay."

She walked a safe distance away from the encroaching tide, and sat down, Steven and Amethyst following in her wake.

"I have questions for you," said Garnet.

Amethyst laughed. "Questions? You? Ya feelin' alright, Garnet?"

"Yes. These are important."

Steven wasn't sure why Amethyst found that so funny, but it didn't matter. He just wanted to get this over with. "Okay. Shoot."

Garnet said, "Do you intend to return to Homeworld and rule in Blue Diamond's place?"

Steven blinked, the question hitting him unexpectedly.

"Um…. I guess? Pearl has always said I can do that, but like, definitely not yet, 'cause cuz I don't know how to use all my powers and I still need to learn a lot about Homeworld and stuff. And besides, there's so much I want to do here! I'm gonna see every country on Earth, to start, and…" Steven squirmed, not really sure how to continue. He'd always assumed that one day he'd go and be a proper Diamond like his Mom, but to be asked so… bluntly was kinda scary. "I dunno," he finished finally. "Not for a while."

With how the Crystal Gems had made their distaste for Homeworld and the Diamonds all too clear, Steven was expecting an unpleasant reaction. But Garnet didn't even frown. She just nodded, and said simply, "Sensible." A beat, and she continued, "What do you intend to do with Earth in the meantime?"

"... do?" Steven asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Like, you're not planning on janking it up, or anything right?" asked Amethyst, still poking idly at the sand.

"Uh, no," said Steven, a little offended. He tried his best to take care of his planet, as much as he could anyway. He was always recycling and picking up litter that could hurt his animal friends.

"Then what is your stance on kindergartens?" asked Garnet.

"Uh… well that they're pretty good?"

Now Garnet frowned. Amethyst even flinched a little at Steven's answer.

"I mean, they're important, right?" Steven elaborated. "I never went to one, but they sound really fun, and little kids need places to learn, so…"

"What?" asked Amethyst, confused.

"What?" asked Steven, equally so.

Garnet adjusted her glasses and said, "I believe we may be talking about different things."

It turned out they were. The Crystal Gems didn't mean pre-school; they meant the places where new Gems were created and incubated before coming out of the ground. The whole idea filled Steven with excitement, and he immediately wanted to go see one. Garnet agreed, saying it would be a good experience for him.

Amethyst, however, seemed much more reluctant. "What? C'mon, G. That'd be— boring. How about somewhere else, huh? Maybe that sweet spire thingy where we fought the giant bird? Now that would be cool."

"What, a giant bird?" cooed Steven in wonder. "No way."

"Yes way, dude. This thing had like, five hundred gems in its belly, and I took it down. You shoulda seen it." She grinned, and wiggled her eyebrows. "And you cooooullllldddd~"

"Okay, yeah, Kindergarten later. I wanna see that."

"So, whaddya say, Garnet?" Amethyst gave the other Crystal Gem the biggest, most pleading eyes she could, and after a moment, Steven joined in.

The fusion stared back at them, impenetrable behind her reflective gaze. "Okay," she answered simply.

And Steven suddenly felt nervous.

The last time Garnet had taken him somewhere to have a Vision, it hadn't exactly been… fun. He was kind of scared about what he might see this time.

"But I should… go ask my Dad or Pearl to see if I'm allowed to go," Steven said quickly. Amethyst scoffed and rolled her eyes, but Garnet touched her glasses, and then waved him along. He added, "Or see if they want to come with."

It wasn't that he hoped they'd say 'no'; he did really want to see Amethyst fighting a giant bird monster. It was just that he hoped that if they there too, they could tell him if the Crystal Gems were lying, or trying to trick him.

He took off down the beach, and it wasn't long before he heard Pearl's voice. He changed his course and made a beeline for it. As he got closer, he slowed. There were two voices; two Pearls', coming from behind the sandy slope that led up to the Crystal Gem cave.

"—n't see why you continue to serve him," said the White Pearl, her voice sharp.

"I do not expect you to understand," answered his own Pearl, her voice its usual soft tone.

It didn't sound like an argument. Not exactly. But nonetheless, Steven crept carefully over the sand and didn't dare peek around the slope, in fear of interrupting anything.

But maybe he should interrupt, if the White Pearl was being rude again.

He could had done that, or just left, except he kinda wanted to hear what they were talking about. It'd be good to to hear that rebel finally get put in her place by a proper Pearl.

"Of course I understand." White Pearl's voice had softened, just a touch. "I know how hard it is, to be a Pearl. To feel small, afraid, powerless… But you're not. We're strong, we're intelligent, we can achieve anything we put our minds to!"

"And I put my mind to caring for my Steven."

Steven smirked. If the rebel Pearl was trying to turn his friends against him, she really was barking up the wrong tree.

White Pearl gave a grunt of frustration. "Don't you see how— illogical you're being? You've said— in your words— he's not Blue Diamond. Your 'owner' is gone! So why do you enslave yourself to him?!"

"The same reason you have enslaved yourself to your new owner."

Enslaved? thought Steven.

"I—! Rose is not my owner!'

"Of course." Pearl said the words in that soft, sweet way that nonetheless seemed to have an edge of sarcasm hidden somewhere within them.

"She is not!" And now White Pearl sounded truly angry, enough that Steven pressed himself against the sand dune and did not breath, for fear of her hearing him. "We areequals."

"Is it so hard for you to believe that I may be my Steven's… equal as well?"

The sound of footsteps across the sand. "Is he? I won't deny that he seems to care for you. But being true equals is… more than that. It's listening to you, listening to your advice, looking out for you…"

"My Steven does that."

"And does he give you orders? Does he expect you to follow them, without question?" There was a moment of silence. When White Pearl spoke again her voice was low and pointed, "Do you ever fear that he'll hurt you, if you do not... if you fail?"

Steven seethed with anger at the implication that he'd hurt Pearl. What did this traitor even think she was implying, anyway?

But the moment stretched on, and Steven felt his anger drain away, replaced with a creeping cold that grew deeper and deeper, the longer his Pearl made no response.

Now the rebel Pearl's voice was soft, sorrowful. "You deserve better, Pearl. That's what Rose and I fought for. And I hope, someday, you realize that there's more to life then shackling yourself, like you have."

There was the crunch of feet on sand, coming quickly towards him. Steven stifled a yelp as he threw himself back, but was nowhere near fast enough to hide before White Pearl came up onto the path. Her eyes widened a fraction when she saw him, then narrowed again.

"Steven Universe," she said, by way of acknowledgement, and then stalked silently up towards the Crystal Gem base.

Steven glared after her and waited until she was out of sight before clambering over the other side of the sand path to see Pearl was just standing there, completely still, not even moving when he came into sight. It reminded him of how she'd been in his Vision, standing next to his mother's throne.

"Pearl?" he said. "Are… you okay?"

"Of course, my Steven."

Still, she did not move.

"It's just, the way you two were talking, you sounded…" He shook his head. Sounded what, exactly?

"You heard that."

Steven rubbed his arms, trying to rub away that cold feeling that had settled inside his chest. "Uh. Yeah. Um. Sorry for eavesdropping, I guess."

"Ah. It is no matter, my Steven."

"Uh… Pearl… what exactly was she talking about? All that stuff about— owners and orders and stuff?"

A pause. And then, "It is as I have told you, my Steven. All Gems are made to serve their purposes, for their Diamonds."

"Well yeah, but what she was talking about, it sounded…" Steven shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Different. She called Mom your owner."

"Yes. It is as I've said. All Gems are made for their Diamonds."

She said it like she had a hundred times before. And, like a hundred times before, Steven was ready to believe her. Wanted to, even. But the other Pearl hadn't made it sound like that. She could've been lying. She probably was lying. Trying to divide them. But Steven was pretty sure that the White Pearl hadn't known Steven was listening to her. To them. And Pearl would know the truth, so it wouldn't make sense for the White Pearl to lie straight to her face.

Pearl had always told him that a Diamond had to be ready to accept difficult truths.

"No, I mean-"

"I simply belo— served my Diamond more directly than most Gems, as I now serve you."

It felt like ice, crawling up Steven throat. "Wait— wait. You're not saying that… you don't think that I own you, right?"

She finally looked directly at him. "Of course. It is as it's always been, my Steven."

In Steven's mind, one of his history textbooks opened up, filled with drawings of huge ships, decks filled with people in chains; those same people laboring in fields of cotton, underneath a burning sun; images of whips, of families being torn apart, of people trying to escape in the dark of night… He felt his throat tighten as bile rose. "Like a… Like aslave?"

"Oh, no. Nothing like that, my Steven."

The churning fear in his stomach settled a little. Pearl continued. "It is quite different than humanity's practice of slavery, which forces free people into unnatural and cruel systems. I was created specifically to serve my Diamond, and provide her with every request."

"What do you mean, 'her every request'?" Steven asked. The churning feeling was back, and growing worse. "I thought you were her… friend, and her secretary and stuff."

"If she desired something, I provided it."

"What if it was something you didn't want to?"

The look Pearl gave him was uncomprehending.

"Why would I not want what my Diamond wants?"

"That… that still sounds like slavery!"

"It is not the same, my Steven, I assure you—"

But he couldn't just be assured. Memories were rushing past Steven's eyes; all the times that Steven had told Pearl to do something, or asked her to do something for him, and she'd clearly disagreed, but…

"Pearl— is that— is that why you always do what I say? Because you— you think that you— have to?"

"I don't think that, my Steven. I know it. A Pearl must obey her Owner's orders."

Owner.

"Is that— is that all I am to you? Your— your Owner?"

"No, my Steven, of course not—"

She reached out to him, but Steven staggered back, feeling like he was going to throw up. "I thought— you're my Guardian, Pearl! I thought that you.. You stayed with me cuz… you you love me, not because you—"

"I do love you, of course. You are my Diamond, my Steven—"

Another memory snapped into Steven's head, something dim and vague. Of waiting by the streetside, and asking Pearl why she called him that: 'It is a term filled with the respect a Diamond is deserved.'

'Do you call anyone else that?'

'No. I am no one else's, but yours.'

Steven recoiled in horror.

It suddenly all made sense. The other Pearl's cold demeanor, the way she glared at him, the reason she'd got so mad when Pearl had started cleaning up, or when Steven had—

"The other Pearl," Steven asked, slowly. "Why did… why did she rebel?"

"The renegade is exactly that," Pearl said, after a moment. "A traitor. She ran away from her owner."

Garnet's voice from yesterday morning echoed: ' Pearl fought hard for her freedom. That is the underlying tenant of Crystal Gem philosophy. The freedom to be yourself, and to make your own decisions. '

He shook his head. He… he didn't want to believe it.

But he'd already seen— seen his Mother wanting to execute Ruby, just… just for a simple mistake. Why was it so hard to believe that— that she'd keep slaves, that—

Because that had been a long, long time ago. Ages ago! Maybe she'd been like that once, but she'd changed! She had to have changed! Because Mom— Mom had been a wonderful person. Dad had told him all sorts of stories. About the poems she'd written, and how she's started to learn to draw, the first time she'd eaten food and she'd been startled by the taste she'd burst out laughing, and how shocked she'd been the first time she heard a bird talking— How they'd spent long nights holding hands, Mom telling Dad all about the stars...

Dad had loved her. And Dad was the nicest person ever. He'd never keep a slave.

Right?

"My Steven," Pearl said, pained.

"Don't call me that! " Steven snapped. Pearl froze in her steps.

He was shaking. His brain felt cold and fuzzy and— already static was already gathering on his skin, snapping and sparking against his clothes.

One grew particularly large; exploded with a large crack. Pearl flinched backwards.

'Do you ever fear that he'll hurt you?' The other Pearl's words boomed in his head.

And Steven… Steven had hurt Pearl. Never— never on purpose, at least, not in years, not since he'd gotten mad as a little kid. But even more recently, there'd been times he'd gotten— angry, and he hadn't been able to stop himself, and the lightning had just sort of— burst out of him, and hit her—

Later, usually, when he'd calmed down, he'd go say sorry. Ask Pearl if she was okay. And her answers were always the same kind of thing: I am fine, my Steven. Do not worry about me, my Steven. How are you, my Steven?

That lightning had brought Garnet to her knees with pain, left her sobbing on the stone ground of the garden.

Pearl was scared.

She was scared of him.

His vision was blurry now, but he could see that, the way she was holding her hands to her chest, the way she was backed away from him.

And still she said, "Please, my Steven—"

"Stop!" Steven cried. "I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Of course." She was bowing her head, shaking, holding her hands out placatingly. "My apologies—"

But she was just— she was just listening to his orders.

Because he'd just given her an order. Without even thinking about it. Like he always did.

Steven shook his head, turned around, and tears streaming down his face, began to run.

He didn't know where he was going. His first instinct was the van— but no, that would be the first place Pearl would check, and Dad would be there, and he'd want to know what was wrong. He wanted to go back to the Palanquin, to the forest, find a quiet spot in the trees, where Nari and his other friends could come and comfort them in their quiet, animal ways— but the warp pads were in the Temple, and he couldn't go there, couldn't let one of the Crystal Gems see him like this-

So he just ran, ran and ran, down the beach, past the fence, down the boardwalk— some people, strangers, saw him and called out, but he didn't slow, didn't stop-

He needed somewhere quiet, somewhere he could be alone, somewhere he could think—

Wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his hoodie, he saw some docks. Under there. In the darkness. He hurried underneath the dock, its cool shadows feeling good as the sun fell away from him. He came to one of the dock's legs and leaned against it for support, gasping for breath in between heavy sobs.

Steven let out a heavy breath and was about to truly cry in earnest… when he realized he wasn't alone under the docks. Leaning against a different leg of the dock was another person. Dark hair poofed out in a cloud like Amethyst's new style. Their face was hidden, but judging by how their shoulders were shaking, it looked like they were crying as well.

Steven thought about leaving, giving the person some privacy. But… what if something was really wrong? What if they needed help?

So, after a moment of internal debate, Steven began to creep forward and said in a small voice, "Um, hello? Are you alright?"

The person sniffled before wiping their face and looking up at him. Eyes widening with surprise and embarrassment.

It was a girl, Steven now saw. She looked about his age, maybe a year older. The area around her eyes were red. She'd obviously been crying for a while.

The girl wiped her eyes again before shaking her head. "Oh, no. I'm fine. I… I just needed… a place alone."

Steven sniffed, and despite everything, chuckled.

"I guess it's one of those days, huh?"

The girl smiled weakly, "Yeah. I suppose."

A moment of silence passed between them, before Steven asked uncertainly, "So… are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the girl said. "Just… my parents being… unreasonable. Not letting me go on my school trip." She shrugged, before continuing, "How about you? Are you okay?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah, just… well not my parents, but my Guardian. Got into an… argument with her."

"Oh. Yeah, arguments with parents, or guardians, are never fun," the girl said. She smiled again, though this one a bit more full. "Guess it feels a little better knowing I'm not the only one having troubles like that today."

Steven returned her smile and said, "Yeah. Same." He walked over to the girl and after a moment, sat down next to her. "So… Um, my name is Steven."

"Connie," the girl returned. "It's good to meet you, Steven."

"Yeah. It's good to meet you too, Connie."

oOo

Authors' Note: Man, for some reason, people seemed really interested in having these two kids meet. No idea why...