Amethyst leaned forward and put her hands on her forehead,"Holy shit," she muttered. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. She wasn't completely sure what that meant but she knew it was no good.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Greg was completely enraged. Rose was taking back the gem?

"No, no, no, no, no." Pearl mumbled as she gripped her knees to keep them from shaking. She knew that had to mean Rose was regenerating, but how? And what would happen to Steven?

Steven was utterly speechless. Taking back the gem, his gem. Why would Rose do this? Why would his mom do this to him? Does she know what she's doing? He'd never been hurt bad enough to have to retreat to his gem. He didn't even know if he could retreat to him gem, but when Pearl came back she was completely oblivious to what had happened with holo-Pearl and of how long she was gone. So maybe Rose doesn't know. Maybe his mom isn't trying to hurt him. He was trying to make sense of what Garnet told him. He was gonna go through hell, but knowing that his mom was causing that hell was worse.

He pinched himself on the arm. He knew it was stupid but he needed to wake up from this nightmare. Yeah, that's it. It's just another bad dream. None of this is actually happening. I'm gonna wake up and everything is going to be okay. I can go to the Big Donut with Amethyst, I can clean with Pearl, I can hang out with Garnet, and best of all, I won't be in constant fear of my mom killing me. He wanted to leave, he didn't know where he was gonna go he just wanted to get away from the immense pain he was feeling. His legs were shaky when he tried to stand. He quickly collapsed onto the ground scraping his knees and hitting his head on the small table in font of the couch. He rolled into a ball on the ground and began to sob. He felt destroyed. His entire world was crashing down around him, and it was him mom's fault.

Greg rushed to Steven's side. "Dammit Garnet! Don't you think you should've eased into it?" Greg yelled.

Garnet felt guilt and worry consume her conscience. What did she just do? She just hurt Steven in a way that can't be healed with bandages or medicine. She hurt him emotionally, and she hated herself for it.

"Come on little man," Amethyst said with teary eyes."We need you to get up." Amethyst crouched next to him and gently touched his shoulder. Steven only replied with a whimper.

"Steven please." Pearl asked as sweetly as she could. She needed Steven to be okay. If only Garnet had been more stubborn with her secret. She knew she asked for answers, but not like this, not at Steven's expense.

Greg was in a whirlwind of emotions. He was angry at Garnet for being so blunt. He was mad at himself for not noticing how much his own son had changed after the first nightmare. His was utterly dejected and nearly hopeless. He was never the best at this magic stuff and now his son's life may depend on it. Why was he gonna do?

Steven heard the cries of his family members for him to get up, but he couldn't. His tears subsided but he still laid there in a tight ball unable to move or speak. Dozens of horrible thoughts rushed through his head when one shot him right in the heart. What was he going to tell Connie? His tears started as abruptly as they'd stopped. Oh no, Connie.

Steven began crying again which shook Garnet to her core. Seeing Steven so crushed with a burden he shouldn't have to carry added to the guilt she was feeling. She had to do something to help Steven, but what could she do? Garnet bent down, picked Steven up, and carried him to the warp. She ignored Greg's pleas for her to stop. She knew that Greg must be in tremendous pain, just like she was, but she could help Steven in ways Greg never could."What the hell are you doing?" Greg shouted at her, "Freaking stop!" She stepped onto the warp pad and left to a place that she thought would comfort Steven.

When Garnet picked up Steven, Pearl offered no resistance. She no longer completely trusted Garnet's judgement, but she couldn't do anything to stop her. She watched quietly as Greg tried to stop Garnet, as if he could.

Amethyst watched as Garnet carried Steven to the warp. She trusted that Garnet was doing what was best for Steven, so she reached out and grabbed Greg's shoulder. "Just let her," She told Greg.

When the light from the warp dissipated Garnet felt Steven flinch in the sudden bright sunlight. She glanced down at him to see how he was doing. He had stopped crying but he was still tucked into a ball, leaning into her chest, and breathing heavily. His eyes were squeezed tight to keep out the shining light. She would've needed to squint too if it weren't for her glasses. She averted her eyes to the beautiful landscape around them. In the distance, she could see the magnificent fountain built for Rose. She began to walk forward stepping as lightly as she could so she wouldn't startle or jar Steven. As she made her way to Rose's fountain she began to think about the recent occurrences. What she had told her teammates and Greg didn't completely explain what was happening to Steven. She wished she hadn't been so blunt, then maybe she could've told them the whole story. She didn't expect such a reaction. It was awful news but she was so experienced in containing her emotions she often forgot how bad her friends reacted.

She arrived at the fountain and stopped. She then turned around and sat down on the ledge gently placing Steven in her lap. Steven eyes slowly fluttered open and he stared at Garnet without a word. He shifted a little then sat up and scooted off of Garnet's lap.

"Is what you said true, a-about my mom trying to hurt me?" Steven asked as he slouched into himself. His small delicate hands held each other in his lap.

"Your mom isn't trying to hurt you Steven. She loves you more than you can ever imagine." Garnet reached over and set her hand on Steven's shoulder.

"Th-then why is she taking back her-my… our gem?"

"Rose isn't returning on purpose. She's completely oblivious to what's happening outside of the gem."

Steven felt better, but self pity isn't something that he was usually plagued with. His worry for his family and Connie was still at large. They'll go through so much pain. "Is it like she's regenerating?"

"Yes Steven, it's just like that."

"What's gonna happen to me i-if she regenerates?"

Garnet stayed silent and stared at the pink flowers as they danced to the ground. Steven knew what silence meant. "Oh," he replied quietly.

An uncomfortable silence fell on the two Crystal Gems as unspoken words drifted in their heads.

"Why so long?" Steven asked Garnet.

"What do you mean?" Garnet replied. She was actually confused. He must've been lost in thoughts and asked the first thing that was on his mind.

"Oh, I mean why did it take so long for her to regenerate?"

"By now you know that bubbles prevent a gem from regenerating."

"Yeah, you guys told me that."

"Well your organic body is acting like a bubble. It's preventing her from coming back, but your body only covers the back of the gem."

"So she's still coming back, but a lot slower."

"Yes." Garnet had the slightest urge to smile. He has grown so much while in their care and he was so smart. Her, almost, happy mood was crushed when she realized that this smart, funny, kind, compassionate child could be gone within the week.

"Why didn't you see any visions of my mom coming back before?"

"I hadn't seen it because this happening was almost a one in a million chance, but it happened. There still is a chance that her regeneration will fail and you won't..."

"So, what you're trying to say is... it's me or her."

Steven was again met with silence and again he knew what that meant.