"Thanks for coming over, Connie. Being grounded is the worst. Garnet won't even let me go get donuts."

"No problem, Steven," she said, sitting next to him on the edge of his loft. "I'm surprised you're still grounded after five days. Last time lasted all of an hour before you were ungrounded. Garnet usually goes easy on you."

"Yeah." Steven was slouched over, arms on knees and his chin in his hands.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look so down, Steven. And it's not about the grounding, is it?"

"No," he admitted. "It's about Ten."

"The Rose Quartz?" Steven had told her everything over the phone. "Where is she, anyway? I wanted to meet her."

"She's outside somewhere. I've seen her a few times from the window walking around on the beach."

"And you're upset about her?"

"Yeah? No? I don't know. Something about her makes me really confused."

"Is it because she's like your mom or something?"

"I don't think so." He sighed. "I kind of wish I could talk to her again, but I also kind of don't want to talk to her, y'know? She really hurt Pearl and made Amethyst mad. I was super ready to forgive her for all that, but I just don't feel like I can be friends with her."

"Steven Universe? Thinking he can't be friends with someone?" She had a look of mock disbelief on her face.

"I'm serious! The more I was around her and heard her talk, the more something felt off about her. I tried to look past it, but I can only be so optimistic. Something is wrong with her, Connie. Like, really wrong. Garnet felt it too after only one look. She told me that Ten was extremely dangerous, and I believed her. I didn't believe her about Lapis and I didn't believe her about Peridot, but I believe her about Ten."

"Wow," said Connie, showing serious concern. "That's a lot harsher than I thought."

"I know! I feel terrible about it! I was so quick to trust her even after I saw her nearly kill Pearl. Garnet said that because the gems can regenerate, I sometimes don't take their injuries as seriously as I should, and she's right. I should have thought it through more before I let her into the house."

"Wow," Connie said again. "Their lessons—I mean, they don't exactly bounce off you, but they usually don't sink in like this." Steven gave her a hurt look. "I don't mean that in a bad way," she amended quickly. "Like, you usually trust your own judgment over theirs. It's good that you're assertive, but ignoring them might get you hurt one day. They are also crazy experienced with things like these and I always kind of thought you should defer to them more often."

"If I did, Peridot would still be stuck in a bubble."

"I don't mean every time. Ugh, I'm not doing a good job of explaining what I mean."

"No, you are," he said apologetically. "And you're probably right. It hurts to hear, but I need to hear it. You're just being a good friend."

She blushed and gave him a crooked smile. "I know what'll cheer you up. How about I go pick up some donuts from the Big Donut? I'm sure they're languishing without your business."

"That would be awesome."

The temple door opened and Pearl stepped out. "Oh, hello Connie."

All signs of mopey Steven vanished instantly. "Pearl's back!" Steven jumped down from the loft and went in for a hug.

"Hi Steven," she said, hugging him back. She looked tired.

"It only took you five days to recover?"

"Well, I didn't change my body," she said, looking down at herself. "I was in something of a rush. I'm sure Garnet is going to have some choice words for me. I also wanted to see how this Rose Quartz is getting along with everyone."

Steven took a step back. "So you haven't talked to Garnet yet?"

"Not yet. Where is she? And Rose Quartz?"

"Garnet's in her room and Ten is outside, but—"

"Ten? Is that what we're calling her?" Steven nodded. "Well, I need to speak with her. I'll be right back." She made to move around him, but he sidestepped into her way.

"Actually, you'd better go talk to Garnet first."

"Steven?"

"Pearl." He looked her in the eyes and she must have seen something there because after staring for a moment, she nodded.

"Okay. Sure. I'll talk to Garnet first. Is she—"

"Behind you," said Garnet as the temple door slid open. She stepped through with Amethyst a pace behind.

"Oh! Garnet!" Pearl said, shrinking back. "I was just about to—"

"Save it," said Garnet shortly. "I'll have time to yell at you later. Steven, you and Connie can go into town. Stay there until we come get you. Now that Pearl has recovered, we need to talk to Ten."

"Why can't I talk to her too?"

"Steven," she said gently, "please don't be difficult about this. It is very important that you not talk to her yet, okay? Do you trust me?"

Steven looked unhappy, but he nodded. "Don't ever think I don't trust you," he said.

Garnet smiled. "That's why we love you." She placed a familiar hand on his head.

Amethyst pushed past Garnet. "Here's some cash," she said. She handed it to Steven, then wrapped him in a hug. Not one of the wild, crushing hugs she normally had in store for him, but a gentle one. If Steven was surprised, she didn't give him time to react as she smiled broadly, turned him and Connie around, and pushed them toward the door. "Have fun, you guys. Save some for me." She shoved them out the door and closed it, waving goodbye as they walked down the stairs and toward the store.

When they were sufficiently far from the door, Garnet spoke up. "Ten will be coming around the beach from the opposite direction in about fifteen minutes. We'll bring her up here then."

Pearl was looking at Amethyst. "What in the world was that?" She glanced at Garnet. "What's going on? You're both acting very strange. Steven, too. What did I miss, exactly?"

"Not much," said Garnet. "But also a lot."

"Pearl," said Amethyst. Her voice was uncharacteristically somber. "Look, I'm not mad at you when I say this, but you almost got Steven killed. I can't really blame you cuz I probably would have done the same thing, but that's because I'm the reckless one. You should have known better."

Pearl looked at Garnet and braced herself. "I'm really sorry, Garnet, Amethyst. I know you expect better of me."

"You could spend all day apologizing to us and it wouldn't make much difference," said Garnet, causing Pearl to wince, "but we don't have that kind of time. There are some things we need to fill you in on before Ten gets here."

"Okay," said Pearl, relaxing slightly. "What is she doing? Is she working with us? Does she have her own objectives?"

"No," said Garnet. "She's not working with us. She wants to, but I'm not sure we should let her."

"Really? But I thought she and Steven reached some sort of understanding."

"You gotta understand, P," said Amethyst. "Even if that's the case, things aren't so simple under the surface. Tell her, Garnet."

"She is an extremely volatile gem," Garnet said. "The night she was brought here, I had terrible visions. You know how Steven can be playful; Ten sometimes sees playfulness as aggression. A saw a dozen potential futures where a wrong word or action would cause Ten to flip, causing her to harm Steven, sometimes fatally."

"Fatally?!" yelped Pearl. "Then what in the world is she still doing around here?"

"That's the thing: when she harmed Steven in those visions, it was never intentional. They were kneejerk reactions. I don't know what sort of things someone sees that makes them react like that, but it's nothing pretty. She could certainly hurt Steven, but never on purpose, and always followed by remorse. She could be a useful ally, but right now she's a weapon with a hair trigger. Anything could set her off."

"We could play this safe and just bubble her," said Amethyst.

Garnet shook her head. "Steven isn't the only one I've seen her kill." She looked meaningfully back and forth between the Pearl and Amethyst. "For whatever else she is, she seems to be an extremely experienced fighter who is used to battling multiple gem opponents at once. And winning. And with her shield, she can block attacks even from Alexandrite. No, even with all three of us, fighting her is too dangerous. No matter what we decide to do, we need to calm her first."

"Oh, this is all my fault," said Pearl, covering her face. "I got so excited about the prospect of another Rose Quartz that I let myself get carried away."

"Steven has gotten good at getting you and Amethyst to let him do what he wants."

"Not that it takes much effort with me," said Amethyst. "Also, don't count yourself out of that, Garnet."

Garnet chuckled. "Maybe. Thankfully he's good at heart, or that would be more troublesome than it is. Like Amethyst said, you weren't the only one who would have gone off prematurely. I might even have gone myself, though never with Steven." Pearl blushed at that. "But whether you had gone or not, we would still have to deal with Ten. She has been looking for us. She would have found us eventually. Whether that would have been better or worse than the situation we have now is irrelevant."

"So how do we calm this psycho?" said Amethyst.

"For starters, best not let her hear you call her a psycho." Garnet walked over to the window. Far in the distance, Ten was rounding the cliffs on the beach. "Besides that, I think it best if we ask her directly."

Garnet sat back. She looked at Amethyst and Pearl. Pearl was openly weeping and Amethyst looked angry and confused. "That's quite a story you've got," said Garnet. "Is that the same one you told Steven?"

"More or less, besides some details here or there," said Ten. She had kept remarkably calm while relating her tribulations, but it was more like numbness than composure.

"That is messed up!" snarled Amethyst. "Corruption, genocide, planet busting; is there anything the Diamonds won't do?"

"All those poor gems," said Pearl, dabbing at her cheeks with her wrist. "Rose would be mortified if she knew our rebellion had caused that."

Garnet nodded. "I am glad she did not live to hear of this. It would have torn her apart." She put her hands together and touched them to her lip, thinking.

"So now you have a better idea of why I've come here," Ten said pleadingly, "and why I have nowhere else to go. I know I've already said and done some stupid things that may have soured your impression of me, and for that I'm sorry."

"But are you sorry because you hurt my friends," asked Garnet, "or are you sorry that you've hurt your chances?"

Ten bristled. "I'm sorry that I hurt Pearl and Amethyst, obviously. I'm not heartless, just—"

"Damaged," Garnet supplied.

Ten stood angrily at the word. "I'm not—" she began, then stomped her foot and let out an aggravated roar. "I'm doing it again!" She sat down hard, frustrated. "Look, I'm trying, but you would be messed up too if you saw what I saw and had to do what I had to do."

"Maybe," said Garnet. "Believe me, I am trying to understand you, but we have to concern ourselves with our own safety if you can't control yourself."

"Come on, I would never hurt a comrade."

Garnet gripped the arm of her chair. "That's where you're wrong." She was about to explain her future sight and tell Ten what she had seen, but Ten tensed up suddenly at those words, eyes wide. This raised Garnet's suspicion. "There is something else you aren't telling us," she accused.

"What? No, I've been honest with you. Everything I've said is true."

"Everything you've said?" said Pearl. She seemed to suddenly catch up with Garnet's line of thinking.

"What?" said Amethyst, seeing that something was passing between her two companions.

"Then what haven't you said?" said Pearl.

Garnet cut in. "You've told us without hesitation that you've participated in smashing defenseless gems to keep yourself alive. What are you sitting on that you are too afraid to tell us? What is worse than that?"

A hand grasped Garnet's arm, hard. She looked over in surprise. "Amethyst?" Amethyst was staring daggers at Ten. In her eyes was a controlled fury the likes of which Garnet had never seen in her. Her hand trembled as it gripped Garnet.

"Where did you get them?" she asked coldly.

"Pardon?" said Ten. She pulled away from Amethyst's gaze.

Amethyst spoke slowly and with impeccable clarity. "Where. Did you get. One's. Shards."

Ten's mouth fell open at this, and she stared mutely at Amethyst.

"Every other time someone was shattered, you were outnumbered and had to leave them behind. One was the last, leaving you alone. So how do you have One's shards now?"

Pearl gasped and looked at Ten with horror in her eyes. "No," she said. "You couldn't possibly have…" The thought was too vile to finish.

Ten's eyes closed and she lowered her head. Her whole body seemed to deflate. She didn't offer a denial.

"She was your friend!" Amethyst shouted. She stood and in a flash she had her whip in her hand. "What happened to 'I would never hurt a comrade?' Huh?!"

"I…" Ten opened her eyes and looked at her own shaking hands. "I didn't want to. I couldn't stop it. I had no control."

"Traitor! Murderer!" Amethyst took a step toward her.

Garnet stood up and put herself between Amethyst and Ten. Her words were clipped. "So you lost control of yourself and killed your friend."

Ten stared up at them. She looked confused. "No? Yes? I don't know how to answer that."

"Did you or didn't you?" said Garnet. "It is very simple."

"My… my hands did. But I don't know if that means I did or not."

"It's not that hard!" screamed Amethyst, trying to push back Garnet, who restrained her.

While the two struggled, Pearl merely watched Ten in fascination. Her voice was calm and soft as she spoke. "Why aren't you sure? It should be a straightforward answer, so why isn't it?"

Ten looked at the three of them, then shook her head. "You've been here too long. You would not believe me."

"Try us. You have nothing to lose here."

Ten was touched at her insistence. "I don't know why you're even giving me a chance to explain. I wouldn't give me the time of day." Her hand went to her chest.

"Pearl," warned Amethyst, thinking she was going for her gem.

Instead, Ten pulled out the little black bag with One's shards inside. "Have you heard of Emeralds?" She looked at each of them, but none seemed to recognize the name. "I thought not. They were custom made by the Diamond hierarches. They are extremely powerful gems, part of a caste known as the Overlords, only a step down from the Diamonds themselves. They were made as a direct response to Earth's rebellion."

She looked up at them, hoping to see something from them, whether understanding or fear, but no reaction came. "You really don't know, do you? What an Emerald can do?"

"Just tell us," demanded Amethyst, her hand still tight on her whip.

"They can make you… do things. Against your will. Each Emerald has the ability to control a specific type of gem that is near her. We had one coming after us whose specialty was Rose Quartzes, and there was nothing we could do against her. She… she made us… made me…" her body began quivering as tears gathered in her eyes.

Pearl stood and approached. Amethyst looked shocked at Pearl's willingness to keep listening, but Garnet kept her in check. "Ten," said Pearl, placing a soothing hand on her knee. "I'm a Pearl. If anyone understands serving against your will, it would be me."

Ten looked her in the eye. "Not like this, Pearl. It isn't just a natural need to follow orders. It is like losing control of your body, being a mind stuck in a ship that someone else is flying." Ten swallowed hard. "We were caught during one of our raids and brought before Emerald. She told us in detail what she was and what she could do, even showed us her power by controlling Seven. She mocked us, lorded the power and command she held over us. We were sure that would be our last day alive. Then she just… let us go. She sent us back to our ship, said we could have all the fuel and supplies we wanted, because it wouldn't be any fun hunting us if we just got stranded in space. My allies couldn't have known that from that point forward, she actually had me under her control.

"She let us think we were safe. Several of our raids went off without any issues. I fought as I always did, though I had no control over myself. It was all Emerald acting through me. Her ship showed up in orbit a couple of times, but she never engaged us. She just stayed back and watched. Then we went on the raid where we lost Three. One tripped the alarm like I said, but it was because I, or Emerald, had tricked her into doing so. We made it back to the ship without Three."

Ten reached down and grabbed Pearl's hand. "I want you to understand that everything that happens next, I had no control over. When I say 'I did this and that,' it wasn't really me, okay?" Pearl nodded understanding, and Ten released her hand again.

Ten took a deep breath. "We started heading toward our next destination. One was piloting and Seven and I were in the main compartment of the ship. Seven was beating herself up over the loss of Three. I was in my own head, screaming for her to defend herself as I felt myself going for my sword. She never understood what was happening. One moment she was looking to me for some reassurance that she wasn't to blame for Three's death, and the next I was running my sword through her gem.

"One opened the cockpit to find me kicking the last of Seven's shards out the door and into space. I don't know whether or not she understood that I was under Emerald's control, but she didn't say anything as she drew her own sword and came at me.

"I don't know how Emeralds do it, but even with someone else in control, I fought as well as I had ever fought in my life. I must have fought her for hours in that small ship, trading blows against One's superior skills. I didn't think I stood a chance against One alone. I was almost happy at that thought; One would shatter me, but she would survive. That was something, at least.

"At the last, we were both swinging at one another. I felt my sword hit her, and her sword hit me, and then my body broke and I was back in my gem. I waited for the killing blow to come, but it never did. I thought we had destroyed each other's bodies at the same time, so it might be days or weeks before she finished me off. I waited for it to happen, but again, nothing. I was afraid to reconstitute, because what if Emerald still had control of me when I rematerialized? At least there in my gem I seemed to be completely in control. But finally, after what must have been months, I allowed myself to regenerate. When I did, I found what I had feared most; I was alone on the ship with One's shards floating around the compartment. I must have hit her gem, and she must have just missed mine." She shook her head. "There was no way I could have outfought One. She could have killed me if she wanted. In the end, she just wasn't willing to shatter her friend."

She paused a long moment in contemplation before continuing. "I never saw Emerald again. I guess she figured we were all dead and left. From then on, I was in control. I gathered up all of One's shards I could find, though with an open door to space right next to where she was shattered, I doubt I got all of them. Still, we all promised that if we ever had another's shards, we would bring them to Earth. One is the only one who made it."

Her story done, she tucked the black bag away inside her armor. When she spoke next, her voice was filled with determination, as if she understood the truth for the first time. "I don't deny I shattered One and Seven, but I didn't want to and I couldn't stop myself. I want so desperately to say 'Emerald shattered them,' but in the end, they were my hands. Do with that information what you will."

The room fell to silence. The Crystal Gems looked at one another. "Well?" said Garnet.

Pearl stood. "I believe her."

"What?!" yelled Amethyst. "She just lied to us about how she shattered her friends, and now that she tells us, it's all suddenly okay?"

"Peridot should be able to confirm the existence and function of Emeralds," Garnet pointed out.

"And? Even if Peridot backs everything she says up, that just means Ten knows what an Emerald is. I mean, what are the chances a Rose Quartz-controlling Emerald runs into their group in the middle of the infinite universe?"

"Small chance or not, that is what happened," said Ten.

"You shut up," said Amethyst. She turned to Garnet. "I don't believe her, so it's tied 1-1. What do you think, Garnet?"

Garnet turned to Pearl. "Amethyst has had her say. What is your stance?"

"I may not have gone through the same things she has," said Pearl, "but I understand the unwillingness and the helplessness better than anyone here. I think her words and reactions are sincere."

"You would," said Amethyst.

"Yes, I just said that," Pearl snapped back.

"So what do you think, Garnet?"

"Yes, Garnet, tell us what you think."

Garnet considered for a moment, then held up her hands. "Sapphire is for, Ruby is against. That makes it 2-2."

Pearl sighed in relief, but Amethyst exploded. "Oh, so suddenly you're two people, huh? Now you're just pushing off responsibility, huh? Huh?"

"Pushing off responsibility?" Pearl scoffed. "Look who's talking."

"Why don't we talk to Peridot and get her opinion?" said Garnet.

"And then what? If she votes against Ten, are you just gonna find Lapis and get her opinion too? Tie it all up again?"

"I think that is enough from you, Amethyst," said Garnet.

"No way. I'm not gonna let Ten get away with what she did."

Garnet had had enough of Amethyst's yelling. She shouted over her. "And what would you have me do?! Shatter her?!"

Amethyst stumbled, her anger finally derailed. "No, I don't want that," she said awkwardly. "That would make us as bad as the Diamonds."

"Then stop all this railing against her. We can't determine the truth, so we either trust her or we don't. We're not getting anywhere yelling at each other here. We're going to see Peridot. Ten, you're coming with us."

"Okay," said Ten. Despite all the shouting, she looked somewhat relieved. "Lead the way. Just one question, if you don't mind."

Garnet nodded. "Ask away."

"Great. So, uh, who are Ruby and Sapphire?"