"What are you doing here, traitor?"

The words spat from Pearl's mouth with a palpable vehemence. She shoved her spear hard down against his swords, working its blade further toward her opponent's face. He, on the other hand simply smiled. It wasn't a villainous smile by any means, and both Steven and Connie could tell he wasn't actually trying to overpower her but merely holding her at bay.

"Pearl, come on," Diamond replied. "The war's over. You can end the charade."

"You were the charade," Pearl yelled back. "You left us right when we needed you most! You left me!"

"What? What're you-"

Pearl pulled back and took a swipe a this midsection. He easily blocked it. She twirled and stabbed, and he parried. She feinted and he countered. To Connie and Steven it was almost a blur of movement in perfect synchronization. Cut and parry, sweep and block, lunge and dodge. The sound of steel hitting steel. They seemed to be able to go on forever.

It was starting to scare Steven how furious Pearl had suddenly become.

"Pearl!"

The dark shape of Garnet descending forced both combatants to leap away as the large Gem slammed into the sand. As the dust cleared, Pearl saw that Garnet knelt between her and Diamond. "Move, Garnet," she demanded. "I can take him myself!"

"No," Garnet replied. "You can't. And you won't."

"He's a traitor," Pearl cried. "He deserves to die!"

"Holy..." Diamond stood slowly, his swords fading back into his hands. "She didn't... Garnet, why didnt-"

"A lot of things didn't go according to plan," Garnet replied immediately. "You should have realized that when we weren't there to pick you up."

"Obviously," Diamond said, exasperated. "But this?"

"Garnet," Pearl said, her anger fading slowly into worried confusion. "Stop talking to him! You know his way with words!"

"It's Rose's words you should be hearing," Garnet said as she stood. "And you should have heard them a long time ago. Put your weapon away."

"But... No! He's-

"I said put it away! Now!" Pearl, now in complete worry and confusion, lowered her spear and let it slip back into her gem. "Everyone inside. I'll explain there."

Pearl didn't move, still glancing between Diamond and Garnet. Finally Steven took her hand. She flinched and looked down at him, then let him lead her inside, with Connie right behind them. Garnet and Diamond began to follow a minute later.

"I'll do most of the talking," Garnet said as they started up the ramp.

"You're the boss," Diamond replied, earning a smile from the larger Gem. "Been a while since you heard that, huh?"

"Too long," she replied. "It's good to have you back."

"What do you remember," Garnet began, "of Diamond's betrayal?"

Pearl, a cup of tea in her hands, sighed and began to remember. Steven and Connie sat in the kitchen with Amethyst, the humans nibbling on popcorn, Amethyst nibbling on the bag.

"I remember... Him disappearing the night before the assault on Shattered Ridge. I remember attacking a prepared defense instead of a surprised one. And I remember looking toward the ridge as we retreated, and seeing Diamond standing beside General Topaz. I remember the rage I felt..."

"General Topaz was dead within a week," Garnet said, surprising Pearl before she could delve back into fury. "We assaulted that ridge again later and took it. Diamond made that possible."

"What? But I thought..."

"I was an assassin, Pearls," Diamond said from where he stood near the door. "I had to get close to her, so I told her about the coming attack."

"Unfortunately," Garnet continued, "Diamond wasn't able to gain Topaz's trust before the battle. He could only watch as we were pushed back. It took him four more days to be trusted, and another two to have an opportunity. Afterward, he sent us a signal to pull him out. An ambush delayed the extraction party, and we had to rush to get to him. Only, they found him first. We saw him being dragged away in chains."

Pearl digested the information quietly, but everyone could see the turmoil inside her. "If that's true, then he should be dead. Or he should have escaped and rejoined us. Where was he?"

Garnet looked to Diamond, who looked to Pearl. "They had me in a destabilization field one that would send me to back into my gem every few hours. I didn't have time to plan anything, much less try to escape. Had to wait till the new commander came to gloat at me before I had my chance. But by then..."

"We were long gone," Garnet finished.

"Afterward," Diamond continued, "I tried to find you, but by the time I caught up the last battle was over. Geode told me I wouldn't be welcome anymore. Apparently, Rose hadn't told you or anyone the truth. So I went into hiding."

"Not even the extraction team knew who we were supposed to pick up," Garnet said. "No one else knew Diamond's mission. I knew, because I was in on the plan from the beginning."

"Then why didn't Rose Quartz tell me? Why didn't you tell me?" Pearl glared at Garnet. Garnet gazed back.

"Because she needed you angry. You were so dedicated after Diamond was gone. You gave your all. You gave too much. But few could stand against you. Rose needed that, loathe though she was to use it." Garnet removed her eye cover, reached over and delicately put her hand on Pearl's leg as she looked directly into Pearl's own eyes. "I don't know why she never told you. I don't know why I didn't. Everything was so chaotic at the end, with the Home world loyals leaving and us trying to pick up the pieces... It just got lost in the jumble. I'm sorry, Pearl. I truly am."

Pearl set her cup on the table, stood, and walked out the door.

"Pearl! Wait!" Steven tried to chase after her, but Amethyst grabbed hold of his arm.

"No, Steven. Let her go. She'll be back when she's ready."

"Yeah but..." He sat down next to the door, his good humor completely gone now. "I don't understand."

"I need to talk to her," Diamond said. "She'll listen to me, even if she hates me."

"She never hated you," Garnet said as she put her cover back on. "She was hurt. Hurt deeply. But she didn't hate you. Now I think she's even more hurt by Rose's actions."

"Doesn't matter. I'm the only one who can get through to her now." He turned to leave, then stopped and snapped his fingers. He then turned to Steven and held out his hand. "Pure Diamond."

Steven looked up, then smiled and shook his hand. "Steven Universe. That's my friend Connie."

"Hello," Connie said with a wave.

"Pleasure. Back in a bit." With that he walked out the door.

"So who's Geode?" Connie asked.

"Second in command to Rose. Tried to take over after the war, didn't work out. Smashed and gone now," Garnet stated plainly.

"Yeesh."

"Diamond is Pearl's sibling, isn't he," Steven asked, looking over at Garnet.

Garnet smiled. "Pearl's right. You really are smart." Despite how he felt, Steven smiled too.

Pearl sat at the edge of the water, looking dejectedly as it approached and retreated. She idily poked holes in the wet sand, watched them fill with water, then slowly fade with the tide. Why? Why would Rose keep that from me after it was done? She had plenty of opportunities to say something. Anything!

The crunch of sand brought her out of her stupor. She didn't turn, but continued to stare at the tideline.

"Hey." Diamond sat himself down behind her and crossed his legs. "If you want to hit me, do it without a blade, alright?"

She didn't respond, so he scooted a little closer. "I missed you, sis." A pause, then he continued. "I didn't know Geode just wanted me out of the way. You know I would have come back." She again remained silent, and he sighed and scooted next to her. "It was so hard, staying away. I had to revert to gem to keep from running back. Buried myself in a canyon for a few hundred years. Then some humans came and dug out the canyon. Sold me to another human for a big bag of gold, or so the shopkeeper said when I reappeared. After that, I wandered around the world. Helped people when I could, defended them when I had to, killed when necessary... I hated that. I've never enjoyed killing. Fighting I love but killing? There's no rematch or redemption in a corpse."

Pearl pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Diamond looked at her expectantly, but when she made no noise, he continued. "I remember once I was wandering a big forrest. I came across a stone building almost as tall as the temple. A castle. By then I knew how the human world operated, so I went in and offered my services. The ruler took my offer but demanded I swear to some god thing on a book that I would serve him loyalty and unquestionably. I humored him and did, and everything was fine for a bit. Turned out his guards didn't share my sense of honor. I caught a few trying to force themselves on a young woman. Would you believe they offered me a turn? Those three I didn't feel bad about killing..." He looked at Pearl for a reaction, but received none.

"When I brought the fourth to the king, he charged me with treason and assault on the King's men... He was another I didnt feel bad about. Especially after what the queen told me he'd done. I won't go into it." Diamond leaned back and rested on his arms, staring up at the sky. "I had a lot of adventures in that country."

Pearl let out a sigh, then finally spoke. "I always knew you were alright. I... I thought about you all the time. Even when I was busy doing other things or didn't want to... Our connection stayed strong, even... even when I didn't want to know you existed anymore. I tried to block it out and break it, but... I always knew."

Diamond said nothing, letting her talk. She needed to vent her bottled up feelings, even if they were jumbled and confused. So he sat and listened. And when she stopped, he waited. There wasn't really anything he could say.

"So..."

"Hmm?" He looked over and noticed she was looking at him.

"So... you were a real knight."

Diamond grinned and scooted closer, right up until his hip rested on hers. "Yep. Suit of armor and everything. Only wore it for special occasions, though. Thing got so warm inside."

"But you killed your leige. How can a knight do that and still consider themselves a knight?"

"There's more to being a knight than just serving a lord. Sure, fealty and loyalty are a big part of it, but a real knight owes his loyalty to the people. As does any lord or king worth his crown. That first king wasn't a true king. He was just someone with too much power and not enough empathy for his people. The queen was a much better ruler afterward. She was loved by the people, and I was proud to serve her."

Pearl looked back at the tide. It had gone further out, and the sand around them was nearly dry now. "I always thought a knight's duty was to protect her lord to the death, that her life meant nothing in comparison."

"Where'd you hear that? Sounds kinda messed up, doesn't it?"

"Yeah... It really does..."

Diamond stayed silent a few minutes, then, as he knew she would, Pearl asked, "Where else have you been?"

He grinned again. "Well there was another place called Japan. Have you ever heard of a samurai?"

Several hours later

Steven took one more drink of milk before putting the container back in the fridge. He and Lion had dropped Connie off right at nine, for which her parents were grateful. They'd then apologized to her, and to Steven for doubting he and the Gems could keep her safe. Now, he was ready for some sleep. But before climbing into bed, he had to check one more thing.

Stepping out quietly onto the deck, he walked to the railing and looked down. From there he had a fine view of Pearl leaning on her brother as he told her about his time in a place called Bastogne. She seemed better now, so he returned to the house. As he closed the door quietly behind him, he noticed Garnet sitting on the couch.

"Everything alright," she asked.

"Yup," he replied. "Seems like it's gonna work out okay."

"Good. Siblings should stick together."

"Can't break up a pair," Steven agreed as he sat down next to her and she put her arm around him. He couldn't help but snuggle into her side. "Hey Garnet?"

"What?"

"Are Ruby and Sapphire sisters?"

"No," she replied. "But they were raised and trained together. They've known each other all their lives, and have hardly ever been apart. So in a way, yes. They actually are sisters. Just not siblings."

"It must be nice, having a sister. Or a brother."

Garnet rubbed his hair gently. "Yeah. It really is."