NEXT MORNING

"Garnet!" Steven calls as Garnet walks out the temple doors.

"Yes Steven?" Garnet questions.

"Can I hear the rest of the story now?" Steven begs.

"Not now. Right now, I need to find Lapis," Garnet says.

"Oh." Steven deflates. "She's in the ocean again. Said she was visiting friends." Steven brightens up again.

"Thank you," Garnet says as she walks out the house and toward the ocean.

OCEAN

"Lapis," Garnet calls as she reaches Lapis.

"Garnet?" Lapis questions as she turns to face the fusion leader. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything is fine. I just need to ask you something," Garnet says.

"Sure."

Garnet attempts to sooth the question in her mind. There's nothing she's missing, but it feels as though there is. Why would that vision show her losing Jasper? Is Jasper hiding something from her? And her retiring because of it all, is it really time for her to leave the gems? Even if for a little while? Is this as far as she can go?

"Garnet, what's wrong?" Lapis' question brings Garnet from her thoughts. Garnet looks at Lapis with a blank look. "You're clenching your fists. If this is about the whole Peridot incident," Lapis pauses and looks down, "I do apologize."

Garnet looks down at her hands before unclenching them and dropping them to her sides.

"It has nothing to do with that." Lapis snaps her head up to look at Garnet.

'What is it then?' Lapis asks herself, but then Garnet speaks again.

"What else did you find out about Jasper during your time fused as Malachite?"

"What do you mean?" Lapis asks confused.

Garnet closes her eyes behind her shades and fights the urge to clench her fists again.

"Did something happen between Jasper and Peridot that I should know about?"

Lapis is taken aback by Garnet's question. 'Why would she think that? What's going on between her and Jasper?' Lapis thinks to herself.

"Why do you think that?" Lapis questions.

"Is there a reason that I should not?" Garnet fires back. 'She's hiding something. She knows what I'm talking about. So the vision wasn't just a vision, it was truth.' Garnet thinks to herself.

"There's nothing that happened between Jasper and Peridot. Nothing that stood out in Jasper's mind at least," Lapis says.

Garnet shakes her head. That doesn't account for why Jasper would leave because of what would've happened to Peridot. There's more to this story.

"What did stand out? I know Jasper, she wouldn't have ... something had to have happened for ... what stood out? Something had to have." Garnet clenched her fists, her nails digging into her gems.

Lapis looks away. 'She's so set on figuring this out. It's true that something happened between Jasper and Peridot, but telling Garnet when she's the way she is now, I can't do that.' Lapis thinks to herself.

"Garnet, I can't give you what seek. You are not in a good mindset and even if I did, I don't want to risk Jasper coming after me. I'm too close to over stepping my boundaries with her as it is," Lapis says and shakes her head.

Garnet swallows and attempts to calm her mind. "I am in my normal mindset. I will not allow Jasper to hurt you, and if you tell me what I want ... what I need to know, I will continue to make sure that Jasper cannot harm you."

"Neither of us are in a position to bargain with the other. My main purpose for staying her on Earth with you all is to protect Steven. I will not do anything that could risk my presence around him. You may think that you have a good control on Jasper, but she has the ability to overpower one. What if you can't stop her, who is going to protect me?" Lapis looks directly at what she presumes to be Garnet's eyes.

"I know Jasper and I know that I can stop her. There's no doubt," Garnet says.

"But you lost the first time you fought her? What happens if you cannot defeat her? My death is a sure thing."

"I won't lose again. You were there, I beat her the second time."

Lapis shakes her head. "I can't. If you really want to know, go talk to Jasper. I can't give you what you seek, not without putting my life in danger." Lapis turns her back toward Garnet.

Garnet stands there and watches as the water princess turns her back on her. Something snaps in Garnet and she summons her weapons.

Garnet enlarges her gauntlets and slams them into the ocean floor creating a crater.

Lapis turns around at the vibration of the impact and when the sand dissipates, Garnet is standing there breathing heavily.

Lapis opens her mouth to say something but Garnet turns around as her gauntlets disappear.

"I'll be gone for a while, try not to 'put your life in danger' while I'm gone," Garnet says and begins walking away.

Lapis looks at the deep crater that Garnet made and shakes her head.

Garnet slowly but with a purpose makes her way back to the surface. She needs time away from everything and everyone.

Garnet uses her future vision to pinpoint a gem monster that only she can defeat.

"Garnet!" Steven calls as she walks through the door. "Uh, I everything okay?" he questions upon seeing her continue to walk toward the warp pad.

"Garnet, is there a mission?" Pearl asks as she washes dishes.

"Yeah G, where we going?" Amethyst says and hops up and trips over Jasper's feet.

"I'm going to retrieve a gem monster. I'll be gone for a couple days," Garnet says.

"Great, I'm ready to kick some monster butt!" Amethyst hops up on the warp pad.

"No." Garnet picks up Amethyst. "I go alone. The monster is well below to the earth's surface. None of y'all can withstand extreme heat." Garnet places Amethyst down in front of the warp pad.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Jasper asks and stands up. Jasper makes her way toward Garnet but doesn't move past Amethyst.

"Protect Steven, spend time with each other and don't kill each other." With that Garnet warps away.

Jasper grunts and stomps out the house. 'What's wrong with her?' Jasper questions herself.