A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews! I'm so glad that people are liking this!

I've started trying to do live writings on TitanPad. This latest one was worked on there. If you would like to come watch a stream, stay tuned to my tumblr for dates and times. I'll probably do another one this weekend for either this story or for Clouds. Follow my tumblr for updates on that!

This one starts the second part of our story (which might end up becoming a three-parter). I have been waffling back and forth on the descriptions of Homeworld because of who this chapter is in the point of view of. I almost want to save the wonder of it for a later (much later) chapter, but we'll see. I may end up editing this one again.

Enjoy and feel free to leave a review!

-FourFaces

The tourmaline spires of the Forum would have been breathtaking to behold to anyone else, but to Jasper, they were as mundane as an office building's walls. When she had arrived, Blue Diamond's Pearl had greeted her with a deep bow fitting for a Diamond. Jasper had simply growled and approached her place in the forum, listening to Blue and White Diamond discuss their next move.

It had been 14 cycles since she had awakened among Blue and White Diamond who had originally applauded her efforts on Earth before informing her that it seemed that the traitor's gem still lived. Jasper had growled and sworn up and down that she would make sure that the traitor faced justice for the crimes against Homeworld.

White Diamond was much younger than Blue Diamond, so she was eager to jump into another war. She had been a Clear Quartz, like her predecessor. She had only somewhat been informed about the war crimes that had been committed, knowing that this treachery had occurred during one of the worst periods during the Second War. Because of the focus on Earth (and the loss of the previous White Diamond), they had lost three other colonies to their enemy. A probe had confirmed that none of the gems survived and the planets were completely unsuitable for gem colonization anymore.

They could not understand why Rose Quartz had so willingly given up her mantle as a Diamond and fought for the former colony at the expense of her own people. The life force of the planet was perfect for gem creation and the life forms were insignificant, at best. They barely registered as sentient according to the gems, so when Rose protected them so strongly, it made some gems on Homeworld begin to doubt their leadership.

News from the war had been highly censored. Lapis Lazuli's traitorous message to Blue Diamond ended with the gem being placed into a mirror as punishment and an end to using gems as messengers.

Most Lapis Lazulis had been harvested and repurposed after that. Those that weren't had their functions reprogrammed and were no more than entertainers for Homeworld theatres.

Blue Diamond had been involved in the war more intimately, having come to power after the previous Blue Diamond, a Blue Quartz, had disappeared on Earth early in the war for the planet. There were rumors as to what caused her disappearance, but the rise of her second in command, a Blue Lace Agate, had drawn focus away. She fought fiercely for Homeworld, much more fiercely than her predecessor had, and was the one who championed the removal of Pink Diamond from the Diamond Authority altogether. It was one thing that she and the last Yellow Diamond had agreed on.

She did not mourn the loss of the Citrine as much as White Diamond had. She had been around for much longer and had seen gems rise and fall. She could not mourn for someone who had died gloriously in battle.

Regardless, she was cautious about going headlong into another full-on war with Earth. Yes, the report that most of the army had been shattered and only a human and four gems remained as the resistance made it seem like this would be an easy victory, but a consultation with her cloister of Sapphires had made Blue Diamond uneasy. They had been the ones to tell her of the regeneration of the Rose Quartz gem. They also gave her troubling news about the so-called human that fought alongside the gems.

This was why Homeworld was even more strict about fusion. When gems of different types fused, they learned more about the other caste and began to question the system altogether. This could lead to a collapse in leadership and the destruction of gem civilization altogether.

It was much easier if it was gems fusing with the same gems for battle or to enhance their abilities. There was no discussion of the caste system that way and it helped build loyalty within gem types. Blue Diamond was at least a proponent of that type of fusion, as was every Blue Diamond before her. She was in charge of perfecting fusion techniques after Jasper's report, much to the rest of the Authority's dismay.

"How do we know that it's true?" White Diamond had asked, her Pearl at her side. "Sapphires can only deal in probablility. It could not have been one hundred percent certain. If we don't go now, we may miss our chance to take back one of our best Quartz colonies."

"I allowed my cloister of Sapphires to fuse for this," Blue Diamond admitted. "I wanted to be certain before we do anything brash. If this is true and Rose Quartz lives, then we may not be able to go into this second war as easily as we thought."

Jasper grumbled. It was still hard for her to get them to treat her as Yellow Diamond and a part of her almost did not want to accept the title. Not until Rose's gem was truly shattered.

She had lost her identity for so long thanks to Rose. She had witnessed her comrades fall to her berserker pearl (What a horrible defect on a servant class gem!). She was horrified to know how little Rose seemed to care for the life of her own people outside of those on Earth. She had gone mad with passion for the planet and that would be the downfall of her entire species.

Jasper had known another, younger Jasper that lived on one of the colonies that had been overrun. They had been companions in battle before she had been moved to Earth to fight the supposed skirmish that turned into a full blown war. When she returned and learned of the Jasper's death, she howled in anguish. The Jasper had not been crushed or shattered. She had been assimilated into ...

She could not think of that now. It would only serve to enrage her more and this was not a time for rage but for careful planning. Her thoughts turned to the Rose Quartz gem again.

She could not understand why Rose had chosen such a weak form now. She had obviously regenerated, but she was so weak. The only purpose to regenerate would be to grow stronger and learn from your mistakes. Now she was some weak, fleshy being. Not quite human and not quite gem.

And Lapis had kept calling the creature "Steven" instead of Rose.

She grinned, remembering shattering that gem. She hated Lapis with a burning passion. Being trapped under the ocean in that horrible fusion had almost driven her insane. She had lost her sense of self and believed there was no way out. When she had found the opportunity to flee, she took it. It might have been cowardly at the time, but she knew that if she got to Homeworld, she could prove useful and get her revenge.

When she had found a functioning warp and leaped out, mid-stream, to one that led off-Earth, she was finally happy for the first time in years. She did not care that she could have damaged her gem beyond repair by traveling this way. She was going to have her revenge on Rose Quartz and her army. She was going to crush them all.

"The Aquamarine Kindergarten on the top Beryl producing colony will be at risk if we go now," Blue Diamond continued. "We would have to search for a new colony again and we would be one step closer to the war being brought here again. It has been 20,000 years since any of the gems here have been in combat against them. We don't want to risk everything for a planet that already has been lost."

"But it hasn't been lost," Jasper finally interjected. "Even if Rose Quartz is alive again, there is no way she regenerated into her proper form. She regenerated to a weaker form and cannot go back. It's impossible! And the human that was there was even weaker. There was barely a gem energy signature on her. She would be easy to crush!"

Blue Diamond paused in her thought and looked at Jasper.

"The human has a gem energy signature?"

"Yes. It is incredibly weak, but it was there. It attracted several of Citrine's forces and led to their shattering."

Blue Diamond was, by nature, the researcher. She was curious about Rose Quartz' latest regeneration anyway, but this news intrigued her even more. If it was true, then her Sapphires were more accurate than she had thought.

Was this a human that had been turned into a Kindergarten? If so, then Rose Quartz' army had become desperate and turned on the very creatures they were protecting (and this would make her army even more monstrous than the Diamond Authority had previously believed).If that was not the source, then perhaps it had something to do with the vision of fusion that the Sapphire Cloister had told her about. Perhaps she could strike a deal with the gems on Earth.

The planet could be ignored if they give up the human for study. If she proved to be something that the Peridots that worked in gem development could replicate, then perhaps they would have a new weapon against their enemy. Something that they would barely be able to detect until it was too late.

In the chamber of the Sapphire Cloister, several of the Sapphires had gathered around one who held her head in her hands. The others kept watch for Blue Diamond.

"You must not keep this from them or us," one Sapphire chided.

"She is not one of our sisters anymore. She is as much of a traitor as the rest of them," another admonished.

"We saw the start of that vision. Why would you hide this from us?" Another asked.

The Sapphire on the ground continued to curl into a ball.

"You don't understand! She was one of our own! She still is! If we tell Blue Diamond, then she will be shattered, as will our sisterly bond with her. The pain will be too great!" The Sapphire cried out.

She watched vision after vision of this traitorous Sapphire shattering or being driven to madness as her companion's gem was ground to dust. She screamed, feeling the pain from that vision and seeing the pain in the other Sapphires. She had been a part of their cloister for only a few millenia, but it was long enough for the bond to still be there. She secretly enjoyed the feelings that she could occasionally feel from the Sapphire, even though she was light years away.

She wondered if that was the true future for Gemkind, but she refused to share this knowledge, even going into the fusion. She would be found out and punished and then the entire cloister would suffer.

Sapphires were one of the few gems that had not been severely punished for the actions of one of their own in the war. They were too valuable and difficult to replace. They were hard to come by in the Corrundum Kindergartens, being occasionally created after several Rubies had been formed. This rarity had led to Rubies being manufactured more frequently, burning out planets quicker because of the difficulty in making so many of them.

The Sapphire wondered if other Rubies were like this one. They had never seen one outside of visions.

This Sapphire never would.

Blue Diamond brought White Diamond and Jasper to the cloister and saw the Sapphire curled up on the floor, the others surrounding her.

"She is hiding information from us," one Sapphire accused.

"It is pertinent that she tells us all. It is for the greater good. She is a sympathizer," Another stated.

Blue Diamond looked down at the Sapphire. She knew that they were difficult to come by, but she could replace her more easily than another gem would have.

After all, Blue Diamond was in charge of Corrundum production in the first place.

It was too fast for anyone to react as the gem destabilizer was produced and struck the Sapphire, sending her into her gem with a shriek. Blue Diamond then motioned for her Pearl who lifted up the Sapphire.

"Take her to the factory. We can still use her shards to make another," she stated, coldly.

The Pearl complied and took the Sapphire away. The other Sapphires knew that they would feel the pain of the grinder, but it was for the greater good. They could not spare a thought for their sister over the entire gem civilization.

Blue Diamond could barely spare a moment before asking the Sapphires to fuse again. She needed to know what was being hidden.

On Earth, Garnet clutched her head, tears flowing freely from her left eye.