It was a bright, sunny morning as Amethyst soared above the beach. It was empty, aside from a small green-brown speck moving towards the Temple's fence. She peered down curiously; then all her feathers fluffed when she recognised the speck as Connie.

What's she doing here? It's not the right day... Is it?

Amethyst flapped her wings in a shrug. Wasn't like human time schedules made much sense to her anyhow.

Connie had laced her fingers through the fence's chains, pressing her face right up to it, and calling out, "Amethyst? Ameeeeeethyst! Are you here?"

If Amethyst had had lips right then, she would've smirked.

Instead, she let out a high pitched screech, and dived.

Connie had only a second to look up, her eyes widening behind her glasses. She screamed as Amethyst's claws reached down to her-

- and the screams broke into choking giggles as Amethyst dug into her hair, wings flapping wildly.

"What're you doing?!" Connie cried, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Making a nest!" Amethyst wiggled herself into a cozy resting position. "Yep. Nice and soft. Perfect for eggs. And other bird stuff."

"Amethyst!" Connie snorted, trying ineffectively to bat her away. When that didn't work, she tried shaking her head, harder and harder. It took her literally rolling around in the sand to dislodge Amethyst. By then, Connie had dissolved into a helpless barrage of giggles, so the Gem considered this a victory.

"That's what'cha get for sneaking up on me!" Amethyst told the girl, returning to her normal shape.

"I snuck up on you?!" Connie exclaimed.

"Yeah! It's Two-days, you're supposed to be stuck at school."

"Tuesday," Connie corrected, standing up and brushing sand from her clothes. "But there's no school today- Oh, right. I guess you don't know. It's summer vacation now. No more school."

Amethyst grinned in delight. "Finally! Now we can hang out all the time!"

"Er, well, not all the time. But a lot more for the next three months." Connie nodded her head and smiled back. "Yeah, a lot more!"

Amethyst didn't really understand school. It seemed kinda pointless to her. Sitting in a room for a full eight hours a day, learning stuff that seemed pretty useless- in over four thousand years, she'd never once had to write an essay, or use chemistry, or whatever 'algebra' was.

But Connie swore up and down that school was important, and it could be fun, even though the only thing Amethyst had ever seen her really get excited about was that camping trip. But when she asked her how that had went, Connie's expression dropped and she stared down at her feet.

"I didn't get to go."

"What?! Why not?"

Connie closed her eyes and spoke in a very stiff manner. "My parents said it was too dangerous. That they couldn't trust the teachers to 'adequately monitor a group of two-hundred students and ensure my safety'."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Pfft, like you need some 'teacher' looking out for ya."

Connie didn't respond. She just stood there, eyes still closed, opening and closing her left fist.

A big part of Amethyst wanted to run up to Connie's parents and knock some sense into them. For being her parents, they didn't seem to realize how awesome Connie was...

Amethyst shook her head. She grinned and picked Connie up, crying, "Well, who cares, huh?! I can take ya camping right now! It'll be a hundred times cooler than anything ya woulda done at school!"

It startled a laugh out of Connie, even if the girl was quick to say she couldn't go camping now. She didn't have food or clothing, and her parents would be so upset. None of those were major concerns to Amethyst. What made her stop was Connie saying, "And besides, there's- uh, actually something else I wanna do."

"What's that?"

"I just wanna check the docks, really quickly."

"The docks?" Amethyst sorta half-shrugged. "What's so great about the docks?"

"Nothing, just-" Connie ducked her head. "I just met someone there and- It's kinda stupid, he probably won't even be there, but- Just quickly, please?"

"Fine," Amethyst said, but only because Connie really seemed to need some cheering up. "But let's be quick, okay? I have a surprise of my own, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right-" Connie was cut off with a shriek when, still holding the human above her head, Amethyst took off at a run towards the docks. The shriek dissolved into laughter as Amethyst went faster and faster, truly showing off what Gem speed could do. It was nothing really. It wasn't even as fast as Amethyst could go.

The hard part was stopping.

The dock was approaching quickly, the ocean rearing up behind it, a few humans yelping as they dove out of the way. Connie was yelling too, pulling at Amethyst's hair, so Amethyst dug in her heels and just barely managed to avoid plunging both of them into the water.

"Ha! How was that?" Amethyst demanded, placing her friend gently down on the dock. There were skid-marks on the wood, and a few places looked like they were close to catching fire. But other than that, a successful trip.

Connie's eyes were wide, but she was smiling when she said, "I think I'm gonna barf."

From behind them, came a third voice. "Amethyst? Connie?"

"Steven?" said Connie, spinning around. "Steven! You're here!"

"Yeah, I am," he said, holding his art-book to his chest, and looking between the two of them. "And you nearly went swimming."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up." Amethyst threw up her hands. "You two know each other?"

"Um… yeah?" said Steven.

"He's the person I wanted to meet," said Connie.

"Ah, crud!" Amethyst said, stamping her foot. "I wanted to introduce you!"

The two of them blinked, and in unison said, "You did?"

"Yeah!" Amethyst stood up straighter, clearer her throat, and with a dramatic wave of her arms announced, "Presenting Steven Diamond Universe!"

"Steven… Diamond… Universe…?" Connie said. "Like, a Gem?"

Rubbing his neck, Steven said, "Uh… yeah…" Then he smiled, puffed out his chest and pulled down his collar, putting his shiny gemstone on display. "Tada!"

Connie did not look as impressed at this as she should have been. Brow furrowed she said, "Wait, as in 'Blue Diamond'?"

"Yep!" Amethyst crowed.

"The 'evil space queen' you've kept locked up in the Temple?" Connie asked skeptically. "He's Blue Diamond?"

"Yep!" said Amethyst.

"Uh, well actually, I'm not Blue Diamond, my Mom-"

"So you've been keeping his Mom locked up?" demanded Connie.

"No," said Amethyst. "We were keeping him locked up. Because we thought he was Blue Diamond."

"Him," repeated Connie, gesturing at Steven.

Steven gave a slightly forced smile.

"And… did he do all that stuff you said he did?" Connie asked, taking a slightly nervous step away from him, and closer to Amethyst. "Was he... Was he was the one who made you... regenerate?"

Steven threw up his hands. "Woah! No, I didn't!"

"Yeeeeah, no." Amethyst fiddled with the ribbon on her waist. "That was his friend Lapis."

Connie's eyes widened at that. Between the two of them, Amethyst and Steven managed to fill Connie in on the the attempt to break Steven out of his prison cell. But the story made her face take on a weirdly pale color, so Amethyst was quick to add, "But don't worry, this kinda stuff is totally normal for us!"

Connie bit her lip. "Still... It sounds really painful…"

Steven was looking really uncomfortable by where the conversation had gone, too. He was staring down at the wood planks beneath them.

"Psssh, no pain, no gain. 'Sides, look what I got out of it." Amethyst dramatically swept her hair back.

Connie stared at her, clearly not getting it. Amethyst felt something inside her clench.

It was Steven who got it, glancing backwards and forwards to the two of them. "Oh! Your hair looks just like Connie's! Or, well, not just like it- it's white, hers is brown, but-"

"I- what-" Connie stared at Amethyst, then clutched at her own hair. For a moment she just stared in confusion; then a slow, shocked smile spread across her face. "I… Wow. You... chose to do that?"

"I… yeah." Amethyst's Core felt weirdly warm, but did her best to at casual. "You look really awesome, Crushed! I wanna look awesome too!"

"Uh-huh. Well..." Connie ran a hand through her own hair. "Thanks!"

Nobody said anything for a few moments. They all just looked at each other.

"So. Um..." Amethyst coughed. "How d'you two know each other, anyhows?"

"Uhhhhh…." said Steven.

Connie intervened. "We ended up hanging out last time I was in Beach City, and then his Dad drove me home."

"Last time? You mean when we went to wrestling?" asked Amethyst.

"No. Four days ago..."

Amethyst frowned. "You came around four days ago? Why didn't ya come find me?"

"Well, uh…" Connie wouldn't meet her eyes. "I did come to see you! But I got to the fence, and you weren't around, and Mom doesn't like me going near the Temple unattended anymore, and you said I shouldn't either, because 'the Diamond might zap you with lightning'-"

"Hey!" said Steven.

Amethyst gave him an unapologetic shrug, then refocused back on Connie. "Well, why didn't ya call me then?" She pulled the phone out of her pocket and waved it. "Why do we even have these things if you ain't gonna use 'em?"

"I'm sorry Amethyst… I just… wasn't thinking straight…"

Connie trailed off, rubbing her arms. Amethyst narrowed her eyes at her. Something was wrong. She was upset.

But about what? Amethyst wanted to ask, but… Well, Connie kept glancing to Steven. Nope, couldn't ask with him there. Heck, maybe he was even the reason she was upset! Maybe he'd used his crazy crying powers and-

- Nah. That made no sense. There'd been no blue light or nothing. And Connie wouldn't have been oh-so-eager to find the guy if he was the reason she was sad.

Still. Something fishy there.

"Uh, well," said Connie, straightening up and forcing some cheeriness into her voice, "What do we wanna do now?"

Steven was putting his art-book and pencils away in his bag. "I was just thinking about going to go grab something to eat… Maybe at that fry place?"

"Oh, I'm not allowed to have fries. They're too salty-"

"Ugh," said Amethyst, by now thoroughly done with all of Connie's parents' stupid rules. She grabbed Connie by the arm and began dragging her towards the boardwalk. "Live a little, Crushed! C'mon. Let's get you some fries!"


It wasn't long before Steven found himself burdened with a tray filled with a feast for a fast-food -inclined king. French fries, onion rings, deep fried fish, soda, and a token bowl of tossed salad. On his right was Connie with a tray on her own, lighter on the fries, heavier with the salad. To his left, Amethyst's was heavier on everything, including mustard packets, napkins, and plastic cutlery.

All that was left was the question of where to sit.

The inside of the Fry Shack was pretty busy and cramped. Though to be honest, Steven wasn't overly keen on eating outside. Partly because of the stiff ocean breeze, which he was afraid might steal their napkins. Partly because of the weird mascot out there.

"What? That's the best part!" said Amethyst, when he admitted as much. "C'mon, you gotta watch, it's great."

"Watch what?" said Connie.

"You'll see~!" Amethyst sang.

Steven glanced at Connie, who just shrugged. The pair of them followed Amethyst outside, taking a seat on one of the tables to watch the show, whatever it would be.

He popped the first fry into his mouth- warm and crispy on the outside, starchily soft on the inside, with the perfect balance of salt and ketchup- as he spied on the mascot standing a little ways down the boardwalk, waving its arms. He knew it was stupid, since it was just somebody in a suit, but... the thing kinda... creeped him out. Its eyes were so big and glassy, and its smile was just a little too wide that it almost seemed sinister.

What's even the point of it? Steven wondered, as he munched on his fish and listened to the gulls cawing overhead. The boardwalk was practically empty, and the few people who wandered down didn't look like tourists. Having an actual person out there advertising just seemed like a waste.

Maybe the thing scared everyone away, Steven thought, and chuckled to himself.

"I know, right?" Amethyst asked, smirking. "It's pretty goofy. But watch this." She gathered a huge handful of fries in her hand.

"Ame," Connie said, "What're you gonna-"

Amethyst flung the french fries at the mascot's back. The person inside didn't even notice through the thick fabric of their costume.

But the seagulls certainly did.

They descended in a chorus of hungry shrieks: "FOOD! FOOD! EAT! FOOD!"

The fries that Amethyst had thrown were gone in seconds, but the gulls were far, far from satisfied. With no real food left, they turned onto the next best thing: the 'hair' of the mascot, shaped like thick, yellow fries, and reeking of grease.

"Nonononono! No, not again!" screamed the person stuck inside the suit, waving their arms and running in a circle. "GO AWAY, YOU STUPID BIRDS!"

Amethyst was practically doubled over with laughter, Connie scolding her. Steven, on the other hand, jumped to his feet and ran towards the poor besieged soul in the suit.

"Stop!" he told the birds. "Stop, that's not food!"

Beady yellow eyes turned to stare at him as the gulls began to chant, "What? What? Whatwhatwhatwhat?"

"Not food," Steven repeated.

"What- what are you doing?" asked the person in the suit. He was just a kid, Steven noticed, probably about his age, eyes wide and desperate.

"I'm explaining things to them," said Steven. "Don't worry, it should only take a couple of minutes, and then they'll never bother you again."


Connie spent the next half-hour eating her salad and watching Steven shriek at birds.

For the first five minutes, she was pretty much breathless with wonder as Amethyst casually explained, "Oh yeah, he can talk to like, all sorts of stuff," and Connie's mind ran through the endless possibilities this new discovery provided.

But her excitement quickly turned into boredom as Steven's attempts to explain to the gulls that, while the Frybo costume looked like fries, it was not actually fries, dragged on. It turned out that whether they could talk or not, seagulls were not particularly bright.

After a large amount of food had been offered up as bribes, the birds flew away in a large squawking cloud. The kid in the suit- Peedee, as he introduced himself- was so grateful that he wrapped Steven in a hug, one that Steven didn't seem to particularly enjoy.

Connie waited until the mascot kid had wandered off, and Steven had returned to his now-cold meal to tell him just how impressive it was that he could literally talk to animals, and ask him if he had any other powers.

"Um… well, a few. I can shapeshift, and see the past, and…"

"See the past? What do you mean?"

"Well," Steven said. "It's like a vision. A vision of the past."

"Wow," Connie cooed. "That is so cool."

Connie wasn't sure why she was so surprised to discover Steven had powers. After all, she'd seen the big honking gemstone in his chest, just like Amethyst's, and she knew that he'd apparently been locked up because the Crystal Gems thought he was dangerous, somehow. It was just… he looked so normal, at least compared to any of the other Gems Connie had met.

Not that Steven didn't have his own interesting features. While his bluish tinted skin and oval, crestfallen eyes gave him the appearance that he was unwell, there were other features that worked to his advantage. The color of his eyes, for one. Bright blue and they almost seemed to sparkle in the afternoon sun. It was very lovely, so much that Connie didn't notice that both Steven and Amethyst were giving her weird looks.

"Are you okay, Connie?" Steven asked, bringing her attention back to the present.

Connie blinked as her face heated up. "Oh! I was just- just thinking that you don't really look like any Gem I've seen." She paused a moment, gathering herself before continuing. "I mean, Amethyst is shades of purple and that Gem who escorted us to the carwash, Lapis? She was blue." She shrugged. "You just look a lot more human comparatively."

"Pearl's told me that before," Steven replied. "It's because most Gems' bodies are 'hard-light holographic projections', but I have real skin and organs and stuff."

"Yeah, Crushed," Amethyst spoke up as she casually considered the salty, greasy plate her food had been on, before easily popping it in her mouth and swallowing. "That's why me and all the other Gems can lose our bodies and still come back so easily." She thumped her chest. "It's just a holo-watsit."

"But I'm different," Steven said. "I've got a regular body." He pinched some skin on his arm, to emphasize the humanness of his body.

"I see," Connie said slowly. "So you really are like, half human and half Gem, huh?"

Steven nodded. "Yep. I am."

They were quiet for for a few minutes as they watched people walk down the boardwalk, going about their day. Finally, it was Amethyst who spoke.

"So… what do ya guys wanna do now?"

"Well…" Steven said, pulling his bag around onto his lap. "I was going around town and sketching some landmarks earlier, if you want to see."

"Oh, you're an artist?" Connie asked, before answering her own question, "You were putting up your sketchbook when Amethyst and I came."

Steven nodded, a small smile spreading on his face. "Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't call myself an artist," he quickly added. "But since I can't play an instrument like my dad, I just draw instead."

He chuckled good-naturedly. Connie chuckled with him, and was about to ask if she could see some of his drawings when Amethyst spoke up again.

"That's cool, dude. Buuuut… How 'bout I pitch another suggestion?"

Steven shared a look with Connie before Connie asked, "Alright. What do suggest, Ame?"

Amethyst stood up in her seat so that she was taller than the both of them. "Glad ya asked, Crushed. How would the two of ya like to see the inside of the Temple?"

Connie felt her brow raise at the suggestion. She'd seen the Temple, of course. Once or twice she'd walked Amethyst back to it after a day of hanging out. But she'd only ever seen the entranceway. Her parents had taught her to never come into someone else's home unless invited, though she wasn't really sure how that worked with ancient temples…

But she still wanted to see what was inside, what it was like. No doubt it was filled with all kinds a magic and wonder; things that nobody had ever seen before. Just like when Lisa was trapped in the Wizard Wilds…

But if Connie was feeling a little excited by the prospect, Steven seemed a bit more hesitant.

"In the Temple?" he asked Amethyst. "And… we'd be allowed?"

Amethyst shrugged. "Well I haven't exactly asked anyone else. But if I show you my room, what can they do? It's my room?"

"Well, yeah but… I dunno…" Steven trailed off, fiddling with the spiral edge of his sketchbook.

At first, Connie was unsure why Steven seemed so reluctant, but then she remembered what Amethyst had told her. That they had, not so long ago, had a space queen captured in the Temple. And that space queen had turned out to be Steven. No wonder he was reluctant.

Connie was about to suggest some other activity (even though she hadn't quite figured out what exactly), when Steven spoke up again, "Alright. I want to see inside the Temple."

That wasn't exactly what Connie was expecting to hear. "Are you sure, Steven?"

He put on a noticeably forced smile. "Sure. I mean, it's just an ancient alien Temple, right? What's the worst that could happen?" He chuckled, though that seemed more genuine, which made Connie feel a little better about still wanting to go. "Alright, Amethyst. You want to lead us?"

Amethyst grinned as she jumped down from her seat. "Thought you'd never ask," she said, pointing away from the fry shack and towards the Temple in the distance. "Let's go, you two. We'll have a lot to cover when we get to my room."

Without another word, Amethyst took off.

With just a glance and a smile shared between them, Steven and Connie ran after her.


Steven was surprised that no one was around when they got to the Temple. From his experience, even after he had been freed from the cage, there was almost always someone milling around in the entrance area of the Temple, usually either Rose Quartz or Amethyst. But now, no one was around, save for the three of them.

Connie was staring around in wide-eyed wonder, which seemed kinda weird to him. There wasn't much to look at, just grey stone, a warp pad, and a door.

Steven had come to resent that door. From a distance, it mostly just looked like a turquoise slab with five stones set to a five-point star. But during his time in the cage, it only served as a reminder of his captivity while his captors could come and go as they pleased.

He hesitated approaching it.

Connie, on the other hand, ran up excitedly, saying, "Oh, this is so cool! How do you open it?"

"Heh, that's the trick, dude," Amethyst answered. She turned around to face them, pulling the neck of her shirt down to better display her gem. "The door'll only open for me, Garnet, Pearl, or Rose."

"Oh, so it's like… linked to you?" Connie asked.

"Yeah. Or something like that. Pearl always yammers about the Temple being 'an extension of our magical essence' or something." She shrugged. "I don't really know the specifics."

Steven had noticed how the Temple door always seemed to open to something different, depending on who used it. He had to admit that was kind of cool.

Amethyst turned back around and, after a moment's pause, light began shining from Amethyst's gem into the gemstone of similar color on the door. The one on the door began glowing too, and soon the door split down a curved line, the two halves receding into either side of the wall, revealing inky blackness in the doorway.

"Tada!" Amethyst flared out her fingers. "One open Temple door."

"Wow!" Connie exclaimed. She took a hesitant step forward, doing her best to peer in without actually going inside. "This is awesome. Even if it is really dark."

"Yeah, it's always like that," Amethyst said. "Don't worry. It's perfectly safe. Mostly. Come on." She grabbed Connie by the hand, pulling her in, leaving Steven to follow.

As he walked into the darkness, for just a moment he truly didn't see anything, until all at once his vision came back.

They were in a cave of some sort. A way, way bigger cave. Giant crystals jutted out of the ground and walls in clusters, casting imposing shadows all over them. He couldn't even see the ceiling from where he stood, and he thought heard the sound of running water and smelled the distinct scent of petrichor from a distance. But the most striking feature of the cave was the number of heaps of what Steven would generously describe as junk looming over them.

Amethyst turned, a large, proud grin across her face. "So? Whaddaya guys think?"

"It's very… unique," Steven answered evenly.

Amethyst seemed to accept this, turning her attention to Connie who, like before, was seemingly trying to look in all directions at once. "Crushed?"

"How is it so big?" she asked. "Are we… still in the cliffside?"

"Sorta?" Amethyst shrugged the question off. "Pearl said it was somethin' like a 'pocket dimension maintained by my gem' or something. I dunno." She chuckled, "When Pearl gets real technical, I kinda zone out."

Steven couldn't believe he was thinking this, but he kind of wished he could track Pearl-ssi down and get a full lecture from her about how it all worked, right then and there.

"Right…" Connie replied slowly. Her brow fell and she pursed her lips together. She must be starting to feel nervous.

"It's alright, Connie," Steven said. "I've been to lots of Gem places. And nothing bad has ever happened at them." He smiled softly at her. "And if Amethyst thinks it's safe, then it probably is."

She smiled nervously back at him. "Right, yeah. I mean, I figured, but…"

"Aw, don't worry, Crushed." Amethyst came between the pair and wrapped and arm around each of their waists. "When you're with me, nothin' bad will ever happen to ya."

Connie laughed good naturedly, her smile growing in size. "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't doubt you, Ame."

"Heck nah, you shouldn't. Now come on." She grabbed both of their hands and pulled them along. "Let's try and find something cool to do!"

Connie was laughing and Steven soon found himself joining her. He had to admit, this was not where he'd expected his day to go.

Amethyst led them through the cave, weaving around towering piles of unknowable contents, before finally skidding to a halt next to a particularly large pile. The sound of running water was much louder there. Steven looked past another pile and saw a waterfall, of all things, flowing into a small lake. He briefly wondered how it got there and where exactly all that water was going.

Amethyst looked at the pile they had stopped at closely, examining it up and down before releasing both of their hands. "Alright," she said. "This one looks promising. It's an older pile."

Steven certainly couldn't judge its age, or know exactly what that had to do with anything, but the pile certainly did look noticeably larger than any of the others. Its contents was a hodgepodge of random items: random chunks of rocks, garbage can lids, boxes of magazines, hubcaps, scraps of a strangely colored metal, a satellite dish, a cracked figurine of a clown, and, sticking out at the very top, a bowling pin, of all things.

"Where did you get all this stuff?" Connie asked, getting a closer look at at the pile.

"Just around," Amethyst answered. "I see something that looks cool and I grab it."

He idly wondered if petty larceny was a common problem in town. Not that everything in the pile looked to be human in origin. The aforementioned strangely-colored metal reminded him of decorations he'd seen in some Gem ruins, and at the base of the pile was a chunk of rock that seemed to have once been part of a larger image depicting several figures gathered around… something. It looked like one of the murals from the Lunar Sea Spire. He bent down to examine it more closely.

"Alright you two. I'm gonna go spelunking to see if I can find anything cool." Before any questions could be asked, Amethyst leapt into the air and dived into the pile, scattering bits of its contents everywhere.

"Okay, Ame!" Connie called into the pile. "Um, be careful, I guess."

Relative silence descended upon them, save for the waterfall and the sound of Connie padding around the pile. Steven continued to inspect the mural. The figures were almost definitely Gems, though what they were gathered around eluded him. Still, it did look rather cool. And maybe if he sketched it and showed it to Pearl, she could offer some insight.

He reached for sketchpad, tucked under his arm, but before he could open it, Connie knelt down beside him.

"Hey," she greeted lightly.

"Hi," Steven offered back, not knowing where to go from there. "Um, did you see this?" He pointed at the chunk of rock.

"Ohhh," Connie cooed. "It's… a picture of some kind? A mural maybe? Or part of one."

Steven nodded. "Yep, that's it."

"Who are the people in it?"

Steven looked back at the mural chunk. The design of each figure was fairly simple, in traditional Gem artistic-style, each one slender, holding a single arm out. The only thing that really differentiated them was the circle, or square, or triangle that marked each of them.

"They're Gems, I think," Steven answered. "See the shapes on each of them? I think that's meant to be their gems."

"Oh, right," Connie said. "Yeah, that makes sense." She scooted a little closer. "What's that they're all gathered around?"

Steven frowned. "Um, I don't know. I was going sketch a quick picture so I could show Pearl and see what she thinks."

"That's a good idea," Connie said. She considered the mural for another moment before asking, "So… Do you know who they are?"

Steven shook his head.

"How about where the mural came from?"

"No…" Steven forced himself to respond through the rising wave of frustration. "Not really…"

Steven felt his teeth grit together, followed by Connie saying, "Are you alright?"

He took a few seconds, mentally counting down in his head before letting go of a breath and answering, directing his gaze down to his lap, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Steven hesitated. "Yeah, it's just…" He sighed heavily. "I've got a gem, but I don't really know that much about Gems… Like I know about holographic bodies and regeneration and stuff. But important stuff, like what life is like on the Gem homeworld or Gem culture or… anything like that..." He ended with a shrug.

Connie silently considered him for a moment before asking evenly, "You've never been? Off Earth, I mean."

Steven shrugged again. "I went to the moon base with Pearl once, but we didn't stay long. She just said she needed something out of the database."

"Well… that's still really cool," Connie said. "And impressive. I mean, you've got to be the youngest person to have ever gone off-planet."

"I guess…"

"And, you know," Connie continued. "I don't really know anything about Gems. I mean, I've been friends with Amethyst for a couple months now, but… she doesn't really want to talk about stuff like that."

This didn't surprise Steven. She'd been made on Earth, and didn't seem to care about space or where they'd come from. And even if she did, there was no reason she'd talk to Connie about this stuff. Humans didn't need to know about Gems.

"But this is different," Steven said. "Pearl lived on Homeworld. She knows all about it. And I'm supposed to lead Homeworld one day, and she still acts like I'm a little kid or something…"

Steven trailed off, and when he glanced back up, found Connie looking thoughtfully at him from behind her round glasses.

"Yeah," she said. Her voice was soft, but weighted. As if she knew exactly what Steven was referring to. "Grown ups can be like that." She shrugged before continuing, "Always thinking you need their help, never really asking you what you want to do or if you even like tennis!" She finished strongly, throwing her hands up in the air before seeming to realize that Steven was still there. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Kinda got personal there."

But Steven didn't mind. Just like at the dock, it felt reassuring that he wasn't the only person dealing with problems like this.

"It's okay, Connie," he said. "I guess, whether Gem or human, parents are just kinda… like that sometimes."

Connie giggled. "Yeah, that's true I guess. A universal constant."

Steven nodded, smiling now. "Truly universal. Since it's like- across the whole universe. In every single species, in every galaxy. "

"Well, let's not get too carried away," Connie said. "I'd like to think there's some kind of intelligent life out there that has been spared this fate."

They laughed together, their voices carrying around the cavern and echoing around them. But soon, their laughter died down, and Steven found himself fiddling with the spiral edge of his sketchbook again.

"Thanks, Connie," he said.

"For what?"

"Just… for talking with me." He shrugged. "It's not easy making friends, you know? Not with-" He pulled down the hem of his shirt, revealing the tip of his gem. "-with this."

"Oh," Connie said. "Steven, it's- You're great to talk to, Steven. And just hang out with. And, well, just remember this..." She smiled again. "No matter what problems you're facing, there's always someone who can help you with them," she said, before adding, "My Dad tells me that whenever I'm having trouble with some kind of problem. And it's usually true."

"Your Dad sounds like a smart guy," Steven smiled back at her.

"Don't let him hear you say that."

They laughed together again, the lump of frustration that had settled into Steven's chest dissolved, leaving behind only a warm feeling. Just like last time, talking to Connie had really done a lot to help.

She was… kind of amazing.

Steven opened his mouth to say… something, but he was cut off by the clanking sound of metal on metal.

"Look out dude!"

Steven looked up and fell to his left, dodging the bowling pin that had been tumbling right towards him.

"Sorry, Steven." He looked up to find Amethyst sticking partway out of the junk pile. "Things can be a little unstable at times."

Connie helped Steven to his feet, before looking up at Amethyst and asking, "Did you find anything?"

"Found lotsa things," Amethyst said. "Gonna come down and show ya, but…" She began squirming and pushing against the pile.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked.

"I'm er… Well, I'm kinda stuck," Amethyst admitted.

"Stuck? But I've seen you lift cars before," Connie said.

"Pssh, I can get out no problem. But if I move the wrong way, the whole pile could come tumbling down."

"Oh," Steven said. "Well, then let Connie and I get away so you can-"

But Amethyst just scoffed. "Dude, I'm not gonna cause the pile to fall. All my stuff will get mixed up."

Steven looked at the messy and seemingly randomly put together pile, before glancing at the other similarly arranged piles around them. "Really?"

"Yeah. Just like I tell Pearl, I got a system."

"Then, what are you going to do?" Connie asked.

Amethyst didn't answer right away, instead still pulling and pushing against the pile. "I think… if I shapeshift in just the right way, maybe I can get out without causing the whole thing to collapse."

Connie nodded. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Just… ugh." She gave one final pull before finally relenting. "Just go to the other side. That's where I'm gonna come out."

"Alright, Amethyst. Let's go, Steven." Without waiting for him to respond, Connie took off around the pile, Steven hastily following after her.

The other side of the pile looked much like the side they had come from, just a random cacophony of items and objects mashed together. The biggest difference was that the small pond and waterfall were now positioned behind their backs as they intently watched the pile, wanting to see Amethyst as soon as she popped back out. But several minutes passed and Amethyst still hadn't come out.

"Amethyst?" Connie called, tentatively putting her mouth closer to the junk, "Are you still okay?"

There was a pause, before Amethyst answered, "Yeah. I'm good." Her voice was muffled by the pile and even sounded strained as she kept trying to free herself and preserve the pile.

"Are you sure?" Steven asked cautiously. "We can go get one of the other Crystal Gems if you need help."

"No way." Amethyst voice was stronger as well as a little sharper. "I don't need any help. Just… need… to- uh oh."

Before either Steven or Connie could ask what was wrong, the pile shifted. Steven took an involuntary step back before he heard a low rumbling sound. And before he could react to that, the pile began collapse, its contents spilling all over. Including at Steven and Connie.

Steven tried to adjust, but before he could even begin, the junk wave caught his feet and began to carry him away. He hugged his sketchbook tightly, not wanting to lose it. If he could just find the right footing, then he could-

- Gravity caught him. He tilted, hitting something cold and wet.

He had just enough time to grab a breath, but there was a current in the water. It seized him, his hoodie and pants and shoes growing heavy, pulling him down. till he clutched at his sketchbook. Trying to swim up with just one arm was a futile effort.

The dim light from the surface was fading. Pain flared in his chest, and he kicked and kicked and kicked- but he couldn't even tell where the surface was anymore. He was going to drown here and-

Suddenly, he could breathe again.

He gasped, breathing in hot, hot air.

He hit something hard. .

The impact was unexpected, and knocked what little air he had out of his lungs. For several long moments all he could do was lie on what seemed to be a floor, recovering, heaving in as much of the precious, beautiful oxygen as he could.

He sat up, blinking blearily. The light here was a low, ominous orange, and his eyes had some trouble adjusting. He felt around for his sketchbook, but the floor was warm, almost unpleasantly so. The air itself was oppressively hot, already evaporating the water from his hair and clothes.

Steven's eyesight recovered just in time to see his sketchbook teetering on a ledge some feet away, just about to fall into what had to be the source of the heat.

"No! Don't-" Steven yelped, jumping towards it, but it was too late. The book sank into a pool of thick, bubbling red liquid, dark smoke trailing up.

Lava. He'd lost all his art to a pond of lava.

All the frustration and outrage Steven felt was quickly put on hold by his mind replaying everything that had just happened.

He had fallen into the pond in Amethyst's room, had been pulled under water, and was now... here. Wherever 'here' was, exactly.

There was a wet 'thwap' from behind him. "Ow."

Turning, Steven found Connie shakily picking herself off the ground, her glasses clutched tightly in her hand.

"Connie," Steven called as he ran over to her, making sure to go over the lava lanes. "Connie, are you okay?"

"Steven?" Connie turned towards him, squinting her eyes before putting her glasses back on. "Steven!" she said, this time with more energy. "You're alright!. I saw you fall into the pond and… well, I fell in after you. I tried to find you, and when I couldn't I was afraid you…" She trailed off before shaking her head. "You are alright, right?"

"Yeah, I think I am," Steven answered. But of course he was. After all, he had super Gem strength, and she was just a human. "How about you?"

She nodded. "Just a little shaken up, I guess. But I think I'm mostly fine."

"That's good," Steven said. "Though… now we need to figure out where we are."

The chamber around them wasn't anywhere near as big as Amethyst's room, but it didn't need to be. It felt big. The strange lava pit, the bare, curving stone walls, the mysterious curving tubes that reminded Steven uncomfortably of the cardiac system diagrams from his biology textbook. There didn't seem to be any doors.

"Is that real lava?" Connie breathed.

"Yeah, it is. Careful, I lost my sketchbook in it."

Connie nodded, and took a step back.

"So we're in a room, with no apparent exits, with lava in it."

"That seems to be about it," Steven said.

"It's just like the secret dungeon in Lord Courirfin's lair," Connie said, as she began to pace around the area. "In that book, Perdita figured out that she could escape by touching different floor tiles in the right sequence…"

Steven stared at the many, many floor tiles surrounding them. "I hope that's not it…"

"I know, it's probably something different in reality," Connie agreed. "But there has to be a way out. After all, there was a way in."

Steven didn't mention that this wasn't an ordinary place. They had to be still inside the Temple, and Steven could only guess at what rules might be in play here. "Let's look around and see what we find."

"Good idea," Connie said as she began to slowly look around and scan the whole room. "Maybe if we can- woah."

Steven had already been working against one of the wall-veins, pushing against it with all of his might. "What?"

"What are those things floating up there?"

Connie was pointing towards the ceiling. Following her gaze upwards, Steven was initially just as confused as she was- and then his stomach flipped as understanding dawned on him.

Floating above them were hundreds of bubbles of various colors. They looked almost like... party balloons. But inside each and every one of them was a gem. An actual gem. A person. It was hard to see from such a distance, but the way each stone caught the light of the lava, gleaming and glittering, was impossible to mistake.

Bile burned up his throat. This was some sort of prison.

"They're so pretty," Connie breathed, standing on tiptoes now to get a closer look. "Have you ever seen anything like them? What do you think they do?"

Before he could answer, something purple appeared from overhead. It screamed with Amethyst's voice, falling through the sea of bubbles, before landing on the floor with a wet slap.

"Amethyst!" Connie cried, running over to her.

"There you two are," Amethyst said, getting up and brushing herself off. She was soaking wet, just as himself and Connie had been just minutes before. "Why'd you two run off like that?"

"We didn't mean to," said Steven. "I fell into your weird pond thing and ended up here somehow."

"And I tried to rescue him!" added Connie.

"Yeah… well," Amethyst shook her head. "You both okay?"

"I'm fine," Connie answered. There was a beat of silence, before she looked over. "Steven?"

Steven blinked at her, before shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm okay too."

Amethyst explained how the puddles in her room were some sort of portal network, which lead to all sorts of different parts of the Temple- which would have been nice to know before leaving them alone next to one. "Good thing you didn't fall into one of the others," she said, pointing out a few circles of water almost completely obscured by the collection of bubbled gems. "Pearl woulda been so mad if you'd popped 'em-"

"And why's that, huh?" Steven asked, crossing his arms.

Amethyst blinked. "Cuz then they'd all get out?"

"So you admit it!" Steven accused. "You're- capturing gems in here! This is where you keep your prisoners!"

"Wait," said Connie, "What-?"

"Uh, yeah, duh." Amethyst crossed her arms right back at him. "We already toldja, dude. Those are the corrupted monsters. We gotta keep them here so they don't, like, eat humans' heads or something."

"... Oh," said Steven, feeling very stupid.

"Yeah. 'Oh'," Amethyst mimicked.

Steven felt his mouth hang open gazed back at the mass of bubbles. There were so many of them, all clustered around, they all couldn't even begin to fit in Steven's view all at once. He'd just assumed they were captive Homeworld soldiers, like in Pearl's stories, but... "They're… all corrupted?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah. Rose wasn't lying when she said all Gems on Earth, dude," Amethyst answered. "The only reason she, Pearl, and Garnet were able to survive was cuz Rose was able to protect them." She shrugged. "And the only reason I survived was cuz I hadn't popped out of the ground yet."

Steven was silent in response.

All Gems on Earth.

He hadn't really questioned the idea when Rose had explained it to him, but… to see them all here now… And this wouldn't even be all of them. If the monster from the mission was any sign, there were still plenty of corrupted Gems running around the world.

"Um, what's going on?" It was Connie who spoke, bringing Steven back to the present. "What do you guys mean by 'corrupted'?"

Amethyst began explaining things. Steven didn't bother listening. He just kept staring up.

"So they're like zombies?" he half-heard Connie ask.

"What's a zombie?"

"It's this sort of movie monster. We could watch it! Mom doesn't really let me, since they're so gorey, but-"

There was a whooshing noise. Steven wasn't going to pay much attention to that, either, but-

"Uh! Hey Garnet!" Amethyst's voice came out as a panicked squeak.

There, the fusion was. Standing in a door that had just magically appeared, staring at them seriously, from behind her impenetrable glasses.

Sweat trickled down the back of his neck that had nothing to do with the room's heat, and Steven stood a little straighter. Besides him, Connie did the same.

"Amethyst," said Garnet. She adjusted her glasses. "Steven. Connie."

"Hello ma'am!" said Connie.

"Hey," said Steven, risking a little wave.

"We were just… I was just…" Amethyst fidgeted. "They didn't break anything and I was keeping them safe, so- And anyway, we were just about to leave-"

Garnet nodded.

"Come on guys," Amethyst said, giving them a significant look, and Steven didn't have to be told twice.

They hurried out of the magical door, into the blessedly cool and dark out-cave of the Temple. Steven let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Amethyst turned around before the door closed behind them. "Hey, Garnet, do you think you could-"

"I won't tell Pearl," Garnet said.

"Okay. Um, thanks-"

The portal closed, replaced with the plain turquoise-grey stone of the outer Temple door.

The three of them stood there.

"Well," Amethyst said. "That didn't go too badly. What y'all wanna do next?"

Steven didn't answer. Instead, he felt a lightness in his head and felt a churning in his stomach. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his faculties.

"Maybe we could go explore some tidepools or something?" suggested Connie. "Steven?"

"I think I'll... probably just head home." He reopened his eyes and saw that Connie was looking at him softly.

"Are you sure?" Connie asked, sounding a touch concerned.

Steven nodded. "Dad and Pearl are probably expecting me back by now."

"Alright then," Connie said. "Um, it was fun hanging out with you."

And it had been. It had been fun.

But then they'd gone into the stupid temple and he'd nearly drowned and he'd lost his sketchbook, and he really just wanted to go back to the van and sleep.

Connie's smile faltered.

"I had fun too," Steven said quickly, with as much enthusiasm he could muster. Which wasn't much, but it seemed to cheer her up a little.

"Maybe you guys can actually trade phone numbers this time, so I don't gotta carry Connie around the town searching for you?" suggested Amethyst.

"Oh! Good idea!" Connie pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was some really old-fashioned, brick-looking thing, which was probably the only reason it hadn't died from their impromptu swim.

Steven had luckily forgotten his own back at the van, so his wasn't broken either. He entered his number into Connie's phone from memory, as well as Amethyst's (stolen) one. He handed it back. An awkward silence passed between them.

"Well… I'll see you guys later," Steven said. He waved before he started walking away and out of the entranceway.

"Bye, Steven," Connie waved.

"Yeah, see ya, dude. Now, come on, Crushed. Forget 'tide pools'. I got something awesome in mind for us…"

Steven didn't hear what Amethyst's plan was. He just walked away, back towards the van, his head hung low and a miserable, uncomfortable feeling resting in the pit of his stomach.


"Alright. Enjoy your donuts, guys." Sadie placed the several boxes of donuts on the counter and slid them across to the Cool Kids.

"Thanks," Buck said simply, taking a couple of the boxes.

"Yeah, thanks, girl," Jenny added, doing the same.

"These will help keep us motivated as we plan our next session," Ronaldo said, taking the remaining boxes.

"Well, you all go have fun," Saide said, forcing a weary smile. "And thanks for the business!"

"Supporting local businesses is a cornerstone of our economy," Buck said. "Or at least, that's what my Dad always says."

"Well, he keeps getting reelected for a reason," Saide said, not adding that was largely because he ran mostly unopposed. Instead, she just really wanted them to leave so she could collapse and get off her feet for a few minutes.

"I suppose so," Buck replied neutrally. There was a pause, before he nodded and turned to leave, Jenny and Ronaldo following.

The glass door had barely shut before Sadie sighed and collapsed against the counter. She rested there for a few moments before taking a deep breath and steeling herself. Taking a quick look to make sure no customers were heading towards the store, she left the counter and went through the 'Employees Only' door.

As soon as she stepped into the back room, she heard the rustling sound of her stepping on several sheets of paper. She looked down and saw various doodles, scribbles, and angry scrawls.

She sighed frustratedly as she kicked the papers aside and walked over to the table and chairs set in a corner of the room, to the source of all the loose papers.

"Lars! What are you doing? We're working!" Sadie said.

He didn't even look up from his current attempt. "You can cover the store for a bit, right?"

"I have been," Sadie shot back sharply. "You can't just sit back here all day and let me handle the shop."

Lars didn't respond right away. Instead, he finished up his drawing, considered it for a moment, before tossing it over his shoulder to join the dozens other scrapped drawings on the floor. Then he just grabbed another sheet and began again.

"I'll be out there in a minute," he said, still not looking at her. "Just cover for me a little longer."

Sadie was about to argue, but she heard the bell from the door out front, signaling that a customer had come in the store. She bit her lip, before sighing and letting her shoulders droop with resignation.

"Fine," she said. "Just hurry up."

Lars said nothing in return, only keeping his focus on his drawing.

Sadie frowned at him, before sighing again and returning to the front of the shop.


Pearl was not sure what she had expected to happen after introducing the Renegade to the Drill.

Perhaps, at best, complete indifference from White Pearl as she took over the project with the complete self-certainty in which she approached all things. At worst, a constant litany of snide words and sharp criticism as White Pearl continued in her attempts to prove how much better she was to her counterpart.

And indeed, there was the occasional criticism, though it was aimed almost entirely at Pearl's engineering and technique, and was always accompanied with advice on how to improve it. Pearl, well-aware of her faults in this area and ever-striving to improve her performance, took this all in stride.

It was the rest of the Renegade's attitude that she had trouble adjusting to.

There were none (or, at least, very few) of the snide remarks and general posturing White Pearl delighted in. When at work, her attention seemed entirely focused on the issue at hand.

Furthermore, she was quite willing to let Pearl share in the work. To ask for clarification on some design element or other. To request help when she needed another pair of knowledgeable hands. To even request Pearl's help when she struggled with some aspect of the highly-advanced Homeworld technology that was far beyond the Renegade's own knowledge.

The most disarming incident, however, happened just over a day into the two of them working together. White Pearl was standing there, absently screwing two planes of metal together, when she said, off-hand, "It really is quite impressive, it has to be said. I don't think I could have accomplished anything like this with only fourteen Earth years of study."

Pearl looked at White Pearl with no idea how to respond.

So she simply decided not to. She continued with her own task of integrating electronic systems, and was relieved when White Pearl said nothing more.