And now, to celebrate Valentine's Day, a chapter all about our newly-expanded cast of protagonists coming together.

I'd be lying if I said this was all planned...

With a grand total of five more Crystal Gems, though three of them adamantly refused to be called as such, including the last three beings they ever imagined working with, the mood was higher than earlier that day. The diamonds may have had several of the group wary of being around them but no one could deny they were ridiculously strong, incredibly resourceful and actually seemed willing to change if their whole display was to be believed.

There were, however, some logistic problems to work out. While Zoisite and Kunzite could easily move into the temple, the diamonds that stood far taller than the house were a major issue. At the moment, the best they could come up with was to park the Mega Diamond up onto the plain nearby and give the three monarchs more of Peridot's communicators so they could keep in touch.

The next several days followed something of a formula. The two sides would meet up at some point during the midday, try to brainstorm and then disperse. This also created a recurring problem as the two sides had very different ideas. The diamonds were adamant about ending Rose Quartz while the Crystal Gems insisted on saving her from her mental corruption. Coincidentally, these meetings got shorter and more heated until they became one step away from a full-blown argument.

After the latest, and harshest, attempt at compromising yet, Steven was left walking down the beach wondering if they would ever get anywhere. He did not want to give up on his mother yet, even if thinking about her made his back flare up, but if it meant getting those three to listen…

That train of very morbid thought stopped when he heard someone coming up behind him and was relieved to see Connie.

"Want to go somewhere else?" she asked. The boy nodded like no tomorrow and soon the two were just wandering around with no destination in mind. Mindless to some but it was exactly what the two needed after ramming their heads against the wall that was the diamonds' stubbornness.

Their wandering brought them to Beach City Funland but for once they had no interest in games or rides. They were here to walk on the boards and enjoy the different surroundings.

"So, let's see…" Connie sighed, "We can't mind control them, it'd be wrong to trick them into agreeing to something and we should avoid using any psysical coercion since that defeats the purpose of being allies."

Steven plopped himself down on a nearby bench with his head in his hands. "I almost wish they brought their pearls with them. Maybe they could help them see reason… Assuming M-… Rose didn't take them over too."

Connie could not speak up for a moment, noticing just how deflated Steven got at that. Instead, she sat down next to him and placed a hand over his before finding something to say.

"Steven, I honestly don't know how what to do about your mother. The worst mine ever got was being convinced that too much TV and caffeine would rot my brain and that it'd make me drop out of school to join a biker gang or something."

He had to chuckle at that. "You? Wearing a leather jacket and acting like a jerk? I can't see it."

"Yeah, thankfully she's grown out of that. Also, she realized that I actually am old enough to watch stuff like Under the Knife now. And the real kicker?"

"What?"

"She likes that show more than me now."

Now Steven let out a full-belly laugh. "Wait, what?! What happened to it being an insult to her profession or something?"

"I actually caught her watching it once… With my dad. They were both laughing themselves silly and I couldn't believe it. I asked what she was doing, and she said, 'I finally get it! It's not supposed to be taken seriously!'"

The two laughed at the idea that the good doctor had become a fan of a program she once banned her only child from watching, grateful for something to distract them. Once the cheer died down, Steven thought about Connie still flinched whenever her father came up.

As sad as it was, it made a very odd thought pop into his head. "Both of our parents are single now."

"Uh, yeah…?" a very confused Connie admitted, "I mean, I guess Mom will look into dating eventually but… What brought that up?"

"Well, Dad pretty much said he never wants to see Rose again… Ever. So…"

The young lady wondered where he was going until she thought the same thing.

"My mom and your dad… Dating…"

"I dunno where that came from but…"

"No, no, it's okay. I mean, both of them probably need somebody right now…"

The two then took a long look at each, truly wondering if their respective parents could ever get together in that sense. They then promptly exploded into laughter, almost falling off of the bench in the process. They both plainly remembered that disastrous dinner with Alexandrite and though the older Maheswaran had loosened up considerably since then, the thought of her trying to get along with an ex-rock star who recently got a nonvehicular roof over his head was hysterical.

Ridiculous as it was, it gave them both the cheer they needed to head back to the temple and think up some way to get along with the diamonds.

The diamonds may have proved a challenge to cooperate with but that was the opposite for the other two newcomers. As soon as Zoisite and Kunzite explained how they had snuck away from Rose out of fear that they would end up getting dragged into her growing mass of "willing" supporters, everyone welcomed them with open arms.

Garnet offered them rooms in the temple, but they were instead drawn to the lighthouse above them all. It was unorthodox, perhaps, but no one contested considering how two of their members used to live in a barn/art gallery and Topaz's crew still hung around their ship now parked in the desert more than lounging around the temple.

In no time at all, the two had started asking about Earth and all the various facets of human society. Zoisite found herself quickly taking a shine to Pearl's love of swordsmanship and proper demeanor. In between negotiations, which made the senior gem redefine "difficult to deal with," the two often headed either to Pearl's room or the Sky Arena to unwind with a harmless duel between blades.

While Steven and Connie were on their break on the boardwalk, the two were doing just that in the arena. All of the stresses and fears of Rose and the fear of fallout with the diamonds faded away as soon as they drew their blades and focused entirely on disarming the opponent.

From first glance, Zoisite seemed to hold the advantage. Her golden great sword was several times larger than Pearl's saber and the gem herself had far more physical strength in wielding it. And despite the weapon's massive weight, she still handled it with all the dexterity and grace of an expert. Each swing was calculated to break Pearl's defenses with no excessive force.

Anyone who actually watched the spar could see that Pearl was more than capable of holding her own thanks to several factors. The longtime confidante of Rose Quartz had far too much experience dealing with opponents out of her weight class. And while those relied more on brute strength, Pearl was more than able to adjust. It also helped that she had the numbers advantage.

The smaller of the two wanted to swear off using her cloning, admitting that an old-fashioned sense of chivalry wanted a match mano-a-mano. That got a chuckle out of Zoisite.

"If only more gems believed that in the old days… But I want to see you at your best."

And so Pearl did, rapidly spawning half a dozen copies as the clash began and keeping a steady supply of them coming as the fight went on. Zoisite's first swing managed to poof two of them instantly, quickly reminding the longtime Crystal Gem that one-on-one would have been very one-sided.

It took over fifteen minutes for the two bleached battlers to finally get winded enough that they called a break. Both of them stabbed their blades into the ground before trudging to the stands and letting their limbs rest.

"How did you get so good at this?" Pearl asked, "I thought you were a diplomat before getting imprisoned?"

"Lots of do-or-die situations, much like yourself, at a guess. I didn't say Kunzite and I were captured immediately."

Pearl chuckled and blushed at that. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just…"

"I know. Neither of us we really made for this yet it suits us well. For all of Rose's faults, she's clearly an exceptional trainer."

"Hehehe… She sure is."

Pearl's eyes were locked onto the ground, her chuckle sounding bitter enough to make Zoisite wince. Tired as she was, she moved closer and placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"Now I'm the one who should be sorry. I should've guessed that bringing her up would touch a nerve."

"It's not you, it's just I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. I want to stop her but… She was my everything. I looked up to her every single day and I still did up until she went berserk on Steven! I… I…"

"Pearl, listen to me," Zoisite said, her voice so firm that it made her panicking partner stop in her tracks, "I will admit that I don't know how you feel. I never had someone like Rose in my life, the way you did. Most gems didn't get a role model who actually earned their respect and adoration."

"Back in the day, I never once questioned White Diamond's orders. I just swallowed whatever commands she spoke and never once questioned what would happen to the lifeforms whose planets she was arranging to destroy. You want to know what I got in exchange for all that loyalty, never once stepping out of line? Being dragged in for the first-ever harvesting because we were running short on resources."

Pearl's hands tightened into fists before remembering White herself bowing to Steven to ask for the team's help. "Some role reversal, huh? The biggest upper-crust there is works with us to take down the first Crystal Gem."

"Thinking about what you could have done differently?"

Pearl snapped to attention at that. Zoisite just looked into her eyes, the motherly smile she usually had fading for a bit to reveal a grimace that made her look far older in an instant. "I spent so long thinking that… 'What had I done to upset her? Surely it must be my fault.' It took me a long, long time in a bubble to finally figure it out."

"Zoisite… Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you have every reason to care about Rose and want her back. I missed an oppressive slave driver and went to some very dark places before I realized the truth."

The negotiator-turned-fighter then stood up to move towards her blade. "You're a wonderful gem, Pearl and you deserve to have a quiet life. I promise you that when all of this is over, no matter what happens to Rose, that you can stand on your own."

The long-nosed gem just stood up and followed Zoisite's lead, not sure why her cheeks were burning.

Kunzite, meanwhile, was getting to know the elemental trio of gems and quickly found herself getting invited to join in their routine sparring sessions. Even when it was held in the fiery hellscape that was Cinnabar's room, the umbral gem happily joined in. The others were worried if the constant flames and magma would put her at risk but Kunzite quickly proved that their worries were for naught.

While silly and sporadic the rest of the time, she became almost supernaturally aware of everything around her as soon as she gripped her serrated knives. She not only kept up with a barrage of water blasts, flying rocks and flame jets but anticipated them with masterful accuracy. Lapis, Adamite and Cinnabar were grateful that she could handle anything they could throw at them. All of them needed some way to vent their frustration from trying to deal with the diamonds.

Much like Pearl and Zoisite's spar, this more colorful group took a long time before they actually needed some rest. And while Kunzite had come to like the trio, she also figured that they could use a little privacy especially once Lapis and Adamite started giving half-lidded looks at each other. Cinnabar assured her that this happened all the time now and they'll all be ready to play again in a few minutes.

Kunzite then took her break outside in the house only to find someone else there. Topaz was lounging by the fire pit in the center of the room, intently examining her double-sided mace. The bodyguard-turned-captain was so focused on the blunt weapon that she didn't even notice the gothic gem up until she was in the chair next to her.

"Hello!"

Topaz yelped in panic, her hands fumbling and dropping her staff until she spotted Kunzite. "Oh, sorry about that."

"You seem quite troubled. Something to do with your brigade?"

"Them? No, they're all fine. They're all still watching more of Camp Pining Hearts."

"And you are not watching with them because…?"

Topaz's cheeks blushed gold. "I might have already finished the entire show before them…"

"Oho, the privileges of being the commander! Very well then, what does trouble you?"

"Bismuth offered to upgrade my weapon like she did with the main threes', but I'm not sure about that."

"That pugil of yours seems well-equipped for offensive strikes and defensive maneuvers albeit I've never seen a topaz have one exactly like yours."

"Oh, that's because it's made from Topaz's mace and Topaz's mace fused together. Trust me, they don't have much experience using them separately."

Kunzite looked confused for a moment until she properly noticed the yellow gemstones on either side of the captain's head and seemed embarrassed. "Oh dear, I never even realized you were a fusion! I only knew of Garnet's status as one through Rose."

Topaz chuckled at that. "Hey, there's no need to worry about it. I've always been like this although it is nice that the two of them can show their affection in public now."

"Hm? I may not recall much of Homeworld's laws but there was never a restriction of two gems in the same caste from harboring feelings for each other."

"In most cases, no, but topaz pairs are supposed to remain as professional as possible. Once Aquamarine discovered the two of them liked each other much more than co-workers, that's when she became really insufferable…"

"An aquamarine? They're merely handmaidens to the various diamonds. Why would one have a topaz under her command much less a pair?"

The captain than spun the long story of how Aquamarine, more out of blind luck than anything else, managed to discover a cell of discontent gems in Blue Diamond's inner circle and reported it to the queen herself. At the trial the next day, Aquamarine received all credit for capturing the treasonous gems and was rewarded with a unique position as an inquisitor charged with looking into suspicious activity across various colonies. As part of her new job, she was given a one-of-a-kind portable gravity wand and a proper bodyguard to escort her on all missions.

As soon as Topaz's role came into the story, Kunzite noted that the fusion's tone instantly became bitter and resentful. "I hazard a guess that she wasn't a good leader?"

Another long story ensued, now all about how Aquamarine instantly let the new job go to her head. Soon she became a gem so overbearing, unpleasant and pompous that the emeralds whom she reported to had to draw straws of sorts to see who got the unenviable task. Rumor had it for years that one officer who got her several times in a row instantly took an assignment in another galaxy just to get out of it.

"What a horrid little nuisance…" Kunzite shuddered, "She makes my old commanding officer look lovely by comparison."

"Yeah, I'll bet. And then she happened to find out about Topaz and Topaz liking each other so now she had leverage. If I, or they, ever stepped a toe out of line then it was a threat to have us split up."

"Goodness, how dreadful. Even at their worst, I never imagined Homeworld would allow such horrendous conduct."

"Yeah, but her learning about us fusing did give her an idea…"

"Oh? More blackmail material?"

"Well, yes, but she also thought it'd make a good tactic in battle."

Kunzite sat ramrod straight in her chair, her eyes widening in shock. "Come again?"

Topaz elaborated once again, now about how Aquamarine thought that the duo fusing would make a convenient way to trap opponents, like she did while capturing Steven's friends and family when the diamonds ordered them to Earth.

The otherwise cheery assassin was silent as a grave for several minutes until she looked Topaz dead in the eye with a question. "Where is she now?"

"W-Who? Aquamarine?"

"Yes. Where is she?"

"Um, why?"

In an instant, Kunzite's knives were out and her eyes were all but white as she screamed at the top of her lungs. "BECAUSE I'M GOING TO VIVISECT THAT LITTLE MISCREANT, PIECE BY PIECE FOR DARING TO DESECRATE YOUR BODY, YOUR LOVE AND YOUR POSITION! NOW TELL ME WHERE THAT REPUGNANT CRAG IS BEFORE I-!"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Calm down! Calm down!" Topaz waved her off before she alerted the entire house with her earthshaking yells, "She's already shattered, by me! I broke her when she tried attacking the temple!"

"Good," Kunzite huffed much more quietly but still heated, "At least you're free of that leech now and she got exactly what she deserved."

"Heh, yeah, Steven was pretty broken up about it at the time but he got over it really fast. I think even he realized she was a lost cause."

"A pity, isn't it? Meeting someone so convinced of their delusions that there's no reasoning with them? Us gems know that pain all too well…"

Topaz then stood and offered a hand to Kunzite. "How about we find something else to do? No sense in wasting the freedom we have now, right?"

A smile graced the ex-handmaiden's face again as she took the yellow hand. "Right you are! I, for one, am curious about this camp that seems to have enraptured your crew…"

Another day passed and that meant it was time for another meetings, something no one was looking forward to at this point. The Crystal Gems had tried numerous combinations of their members to improve their odds with Steven being the only constant since the rulers seemed more sympathetic to him.

Today, however, the young halfling had a new idea that he shared with the others and got the group more hopeful than they had been since this unlikely alliance started. They all knew it was risky but it was clear they needed a different direction. And thus, Steven headed out to the diamonds' ship alone this time. The door to White's section opened revealing the three Homeworld rulers quickly getting confused. They took particular notice of the oddly shaped, colorful pack strapped to Steven's back.

"Look," he started, "I know you guys are worried about what's going to happen to your people, and your own safety, but this isn't getting us anywhere. Maybe if we want to really get down to business, we need to do things differently?"

All three of the diamonds stared at him, then at each other, and then back at him with the same baffled expression. Yellow, eventually, spoke up. "So, what do you propose we do?"

Steven then took off his cheeseburger backpack and started bringing out an assortment of objects: a deck of cards, one of his Lost Boys books, the first season of Camp Pining Hearts on DVD, and a deflated beach ball that he blew up in no time flat. If the diamonds were lost before, now they looked at Steven like he was insane.

"What exactly are those… things?" White dared to ask.

"These are a few of the things we on Earth use to have fun. We were all thinking that maybe, in order to better come up with a solution to M-Rose, we need to lighten up a little?"

White looked about ready to rebut until the other two looked to seriously consider the idea. After their arrival, they had stayed stuck within their ships this entire time and all of them had to admit it was getting stuffy inside the Mega Diamond. As ludicrous as it sounded at first, they actually admitted it was a decent idea.

"I suppose…" White sighed, "We could give this a try, if only because our current course of action isn't getting us anywhere!"

"Great! But, can I ask you all something first?"

"What is it?"

"Could you guys, I don't know, make yourselves smaller? It'd be easier to hang out if you guys weren't so much taller than everyone else."

"And what makes you think we can?" Blue wondered, sounding a tiny bit miffed by the idea.

"Well, gems can shapeshift, right? Amethyst can make herself bigger but nowhere near as big as you all. Heck, I've even done it a few times. So can't you just…" He then stretched out his arms to their widest before bringing his hands together to a few inches apart. The diamonds all looked ready to rebel at that only to actually stop and think.

"Well, we don't really know if we can't…"

"And we've never tried it before…"

"How old are you guys again?" Steven blanked. Even he could hardly believe that after living for thousands of years they had never so much as changed their hairstyle.

White, her patience officially gone, blushed and brought her hands up to her temple. "Yes, yes, we are thoroughly resistant to change, ha ha ha! Give us some privacy to figure this out, would you?!"

"Okay, okay. Take all the time you need." Steven backed off, quickly picking up his things and leaving. If nothing else, he was happy his idea had worked and wanted to tell the others.

The others, while pleased they were getting somewhere, had a collective unease at the prospect of getting to know three planet-conquering divas even if they were trying to reform. The group all stood on the beach waiting for their new guests to emerge from the enormous spaceship. Minutes passed yet there was no sign of them, making the already tense group exceptionally nervous. Thankfully Steven still had his backpack full of goodies to give everyone something to pass the time.

Almost half an hour later, everyone had split up on the sand trying to pass the time. Adamite got so bored that she started messing around by making rocks pop out of the sand just so she could focus on something else. That quickly got the gems more familiar with the local arcade thinking of whack-a-mole and soon everyone was taking turns to trying to smack them down. While the gang was now having fun, their attention instantly went back to the ship once the main door opened.

First out was a much shorter Blue Diamond, though still standing just under twenty feet tall. The others could easily tell by the color but as she got closer it was clear she had changed more than just her height. Her usual looped hairstyle was changed to a massive singular braid that ran all the way down to her ankles which left her new dress visible. Now her entire body from the neck down was clad in a ruffled ballgown that left her feet, clad in short cyan heels, visible once she left the water.

"Um, wow…" Connie stammered, "We didn't think you'd… Well…"

"Change my attire?" Blue answered, sounding quite proud of herself, "I figured I might as well take advantage of this new opportunity. I'll admit I always wanted something flashier!"

If Blue's outfit was a blast of glamor, then Yellow who followed shortly after was the epitome of professional. The warmer colored diamond strode out of the water wearing what could be described as a pantsuit from an off-gold button-down shirt complete with a necktie reaching down to her mid-torso and darker pinstriped pants. Her hair was also changed to an exact duplicate of Adamite's plait differentiated only by the much brighter color.

"I will say, I'm glad to have something new," Yellow shrugged, just as tall as Blue again though this meant they were both still more than twice the rest of the group. She seemed less enthusiastic but did get a chuckle at Lapis's wide-eyed shock at recognizing her partner's hairstyle on her head.

And with these two revealed, everyone was now glued to the spaceship to see White Diamond's new look. The door slid down, the entire assembly held their breath as the grand monarch herself stepped out of a blinding curtain of light…

…To reveal she looked exactly the same. She was shorter, now only about twenty-five feet as opposed to her usual one-hundred-plus, and the constant glow she gave off was far less prominent but she was otherwise identical to her old self. Nobody spared her a flat look that shouted "Really? That's it?"

"Oh, don't you all start!" White snapped, blushing like mad, "I'll change when I'm good and ready!"

"I suppose it is a start," Garnet deadpanned, "At least now stepping on one of by accident is much harder."

"So… Now what do we do?"

Nobody had an answer for Peridot. The diamonds were just as lost on that as the earthlings were.

So... What does happen next? How do these guys end up bonding? Find out next time!

Thank you all so much for reading! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below.