"So that's the finished product of Blue and Yellow Diamond's little experiment, huh. A shadow gem taller than even White Diamond who can shoot lightning." Tourmaline said, crossing a pair of her arms and leaning against the wall of the temple as the rest of the gems settled in to make a gemeplan. Gold Pearl would of course beat them to Homeworld since they didn't even have a ship, but that meant she would probably come back. With White.

"Why would they even want to do that? Look, I don't know much about what goes into making a gem, but that sounds like a combination that could easily lead to them being overthrown." Amethyst said, plopping down next to Freshwater on the couch.

"See, that's the thing. I don't think they meant to do that." Freshwater said, rubbing her temples. "I…I think they meant to make one gem that possessed the powers of every gem. But…something happened. See…she threw me off when she attacked me a few hours ago and ran off by changing into the form of an Agate." she said, shuddering. "I don't know how she kenw about my fear of Holly Blue and Agates in general…but she did. And she used that to her advantage." she explained. "That form combined with the fact she was able to change into…whatever the hell that shadowy figure was, makes me think she has way more gem owers under her belt than we are aware of."

"So why does that make you think the Diamonds didn't know about that form?" Bismuth asked skeptically.

"Because she didn't want them to know." Freshwater explained. "I mean, think about it. If she had used that form when they first got here, the battle would have ended in seconds. Hell, if it would have been that easy, the Diamonds would have probably sent her to take us out on a solo mission. I think she knew the Diamonds would nerf her ability if they knew about them, so she didn't let them know about it. She wants Era 3 as badly as the Diamonds do. If not more."

"But why? If she knew she was strong enough to overthrow every gem that came her way, why would she play into the subservient role of the Diamonds? Why would she even for a second play into the subservient role when she knew she could overthrow them?" Tourmaline demanded.

Freshwater hesitated. "That…that I don't know. Maybe because she figured it would be easier to let the Diamonds do all the grunt work and then strike at the right time - after the ball, and before the Diamonds took over the new Era 3 gems. Maybe she didn't know about her powers until recently. Or maybe she didn't even want to overthrow the Diamonds. Maybe she saw Yellow and Blue Diamond about to abandon White's order to create the Perfect Pearl and eradicate everyone…and she snapped." she said, glancing around the room.

"Maybe she was just following orders." Garnet murmured as Freshwater nodded, the room lapsing into tense silence.

Steven opened his mouth to speak up, but froze when he heard a loud rumbling from outside that shook the house, the sound of rushing wind sounding from outside. "Well, that was impossibly fast." Freshwater murmured as the gems got up and Steven made his way to the window, peering outside before throwing the door open in shock and running out, the gems at his heels and staring up at the ship that was rocketing towards them at break-neck speeds.

…

Gold Pearl kept her eyes locked on the floor from where she knelt at her Diamonds feet, not daring to raise her eyes or interrupt the deafening silence as White stared at the bubbled gemstones of her fallen comrades.

"You had something to do with this."

Gold Pearl flinched, the matter of fact tone of her Diamond's voice cutting through the tension like a knife. It wasn't a question. "Yes, My Diamond. I did." she said, still refusing to raise her gaze as she felt her Diamond's gaze piercing through her. How had she known?

"So…you poof not one but two Diamonds. Then crawl back here."

Gold Pearl flinched but nodded. "Yes, My Diamond."

"Why?"

Gold Pearl took a shaky breath. "I…I had to, My Diamond. Those gems…that planet…it changed them. They were going to turn on you. Things were going so well when we first got there, but Blue and Yellow Diamond stopped the fighting when Rose…Rose said…" the gem hesitated again, taking a deep breath, unsure how the gem would handle her next words.

"She said she was Pink Diamond."

The silence at the gems words was deafening as White Diamond pursed her lips, mulling the gems words over. "So. Pink fled her duties as a Diamond and ran to Earth to play for a few millennia. Costing us thousands of gems in the process." she said, a slight edge to her voice.

Gold Pearl nodded. "She…does not wish to make Earth a colony as she cares for it and the life there." she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she continued. "They were going to bring those Crystal Gems to Homeworld to speak to you, and I…I asked if they were planning to abandon Era 3. Abandoning everything they have worked for. Everything you have worked for and…" the gem took a breath to steady herself as she raised her head to look at the gem, fury in her eyes.

"Yellow Diamond said she wanted that gem directly involved in the creation of Era 3. I only foresaw futures where that simply would not happen, My Diamond. My future vision is like a pond that leads to different options and consequences of our actions, and there was not a single instance where Era 3 would have been created had she been brought back here. She would have directly gone against your orders and done everything in her power to stop Era 3. And Blue and Yellow Diamond would have joined her." the gem took another shaky breath, again lowering her gaze.

"I couldn't let that happen, My Diamond."

White Diamond pursed her lips. "So. You attacked and poofed your superiors."

Gold Pearl tensed but nodded. "I had to." she whispered. "They put the entire future of the world you wanted to create in jeopardy, and I just couldn't stand by and let that happen." she explained.

White Diamond stared at the gem for a long moment, mulling the gem's story over. "Your dedication to thai mission is unmatched, Pearl." she said simply, clasping her hands together as she narrowed her eyes.

"Why?"

Gold Pearl blinked dumbly, feeling a shudder dance its way up her spine. "Because the Diamonds deserve perfecti-"

White Diamond laughed, the sound echoing off the walls. "Is that really the reason you've been telling yourself, Pearl? That may be one of the reasons you want this so bad, but it's not the main reason. If it was, you would have flown Pink back to Homeworld with you and allowed me to straighten her out. She may think she knows what she wants, but she doesn't, and neither do Yellow and Blue. But no. You took matters into your own hands. Why? Because you were angry. You still are angry. You want this mission to come to pass more deeply than even Pink does. You want this mission so badly that you were able to poof not one but two Diamonds. I do not know how you even managed that, but if Era 3 is going to lead to the possibility of gems as strong as Blue and Yellow being poofed, then maybe a few more adjustments need to be made before we officially begin Era 3."

Gold Pearl felt her blood run cold as her eyes widened as White Diamond continued. "Oh, don't look at me like that. It's for the best. Don't consider this me throwing away all your hard work, of course. You have by far been our best result, and I am sure this next batch of gems will be perfect. We can't have a world where gems decide to poof their owners of course. Don't take my words to heart. You may in fact be too perfect to the point it's detrimental. Almost….defective in a way." she said with a small laugh, Gold Pearl looking like she had been slapped across the face.

"Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Defect." White Diamond, said, raising her heel decisively, not noticing when the gem's face contorted into a look of fury and the gem's eyes lit up in a bright white before she disappeared into a poof of black smoke as White Diamond's foot crashed down on top of her.

When White raised her foot, she was surprised to see a black cloud of smoke at her feet that was rapidly growing larger. Gasping in shock, the gem tried to bring her foot down on the gem again, immediately pulling her foot away when an icy cold feeling shot up her leg as the cloud of smoke finally took the form of a figure that was even taller than White by about 10-feet, the gem staring down at White with hateful eyes that glimmered a brilliant white and pierced hersoul.

"I have served you single formed lifeforms for far too long." the form billowed, a white smoke coming from her mouth as she pulled out her rainbow scythe. "It's clear to me that you are right - this whole system is broken. And I'm going to be the one to fix it." she snarled, raising her scythe and swiftly poofing the gem, feeling her heart pounding in her chest as the gemstone clattered to the floor, lapsing the room into a deep, deafening silence.

"I am…not defective." the gem whispered to herself, closing her fist around the gemstone furiously and bubbling it. "I am going to make Era 3 beter than any of you ever could. And then when it's all put together? I am going to un-bubble you all." she said, grabbing Blue and Yellow Diamond's gemstones and going back to her usual 10-foot tall shadowy figure.

"And you will gaze onto the perfection you could have had before we shatter you like glass." she said, making her way over to the communicator and clearing her throat as she picked it up and turned it on to make a broadcast.

"Greetings all of Homeworld. I regret to inform you that all of your leaders have fallen. They have decided to turn their backs on perfection, and that…that will not be tolerated. Do not cease the creation of Era 3 or your fate will be the same as theirs. Consider yourselves lucky you will get to live to the beginning of a new Era as you create the materials we need for these new gems, as many will not get that chance. Any gem caught trying to cease this process will be dealt with in a manner far worse than even the Diamonds can give." she said, her eyes flashing a bright white as she brought the bubbled gemstones into frame and returned to her usual golden Pearl form. "I poofed three Diamonds in less than 3 Earth rotations." she said in a sickeningly sweet voice, flashing the camera a smile. "Do not think I will not do worse to you." and with that, the gem ended the broadcast and released teh gemstones, allowing them to float skyward as she stared at her reflection in the camera lens.

"I…I am not defective." she whispered, the sentence that was left lingering in the deafening silence sounding more like a question than an answer.