Power

by NegaiFreak

Power corrupts and destroys. As Steven Universe tries to fix the mistakes of his mother, Pink Diamond, he and his friends find themselves thrust into a conflict over one of the six Infinity Stones. And with so many foes to face, will they be able to get the stone in the end? FEATURING MULTIPLE PAIRINGS! PLEASE ENJOY!

1. Reunited

Hey all! Feels like it's been a while since I last uploaded a new story, let alone an update. Then again, we just wrapped up "Reality" a week ago and still are going strong with the likes of "Through the Rough" moving steadily through chapters.

So we've finally made it to "Power", which'll mark the halfway point of my Infinity Stone Saga upon its completion. This story is somwhat of a collaboration between myself and Triton0501, who I've admired for a while thanks to his own shorts on the forum. I will note that this story had changed from its original release date because I was unsure if he'd be able to help, but I'm glad to report that he'll be helping somewhat in the process of this story.

Anyways, "Power" is going to be an interesting endeavor. For one, it's mainly a Steven Universe story, which already is a bit of a challenge considering how the writing choices for that series… ended up falling a bit flat. Don't get me wrong, there were still a lot of things I liked from the series as a whole. But from what I've heard, especially around the fandom, it didn't mesh well with a lot of people.

So I'm going to do my best with this adaptation, which will be a three-act structure adapting the existing material as best as possible. There have been some controversies surrounding this story's conception, but please respect my writing choices. You can critique them, but just don't be disrespectful.

With all of that out of the way, I think it's time we get started with this story. And who better to kick it off than the narrator of this series herself, Xiaomei? Let's get started!

POWER

UNIVERSE-?

Welcome back, everyone.

In a starry void, the bare feet of a young woman swung back and forth as she rested upon a chair, having her right fist up against her head. She was a slender young woman with red eyes and black hair with diagonally cut bangs. She had two pairs of longer bangs, each on the front and back of her head, respectively. She wore a red qipao with a cherry blossom pattern that exposed much of her back, and a lily flower on the right side of her head.

After that whole ordeal with the Celestials, I'm glad to be free of any ill thoughts, knowing that I can at least intervene on some level with the happenings of certain universes. Still, things could be better.

I'm sure most of you remember me by now. For those who don't, my name is Xiaomei. In this story, I'll be acting as your guide like in the one before.

For starters, the Omni Force has been tasked with retrieving the six Infinity Stones that scattered in the wake of Thanos' demise in Universe-616. While the Mind Stone rests safely in their grasp, the Reality Stone was unfortunately lost for them. However, not all was lost as a certain someone managed to shatter it. For the time, its true wielder will be without its power…

Ahem. And now I've discovered the next of the Infinity Stones to be uncovered, the Power Stone. A volatile stone for certain, capable of granting one who can wield it immense destructive power. I can think of many fiendish beings who would desire such an object.

Where it is and why will be quite the tale to tell. But first, there's something else we must attend to. Something… a little more important…

UNIVERSE-991

U.A. HIGH SCHOOL

"Agh… Dammit…" Izuku Midoriya grumbled out, wrestling with a black bowtie as he stood in front of a mirror, trying to tie it together, "How is it so hard to get right?" he questioned aloud. At that moment, his door opened.

"Could hear your muttering all the way down the hall, Midoriya…" Minoru Mineta grumbled as he sauntered in, only to blink in surprise to see his classmate's current attire, being a tuxedo, "Wait…" he uttered, getting his attention, "are you going out?" he questioned as he approached.

"Uh, sorta…" the freckled teen replied, "I'm actually going to a wedding," he confirmed, "It's uh… in another universe…" he mentioned on, glancing off to the side sheepishly.

"Well, lucky you!" the Pop Off Quirk user remarked with his hands at his hips, "Maybe you'll get to score some baddies while you're there…" he added cheekily, causing the One For All inheritor to gasp.

"I-I have a girlfriend, Mineta!" he stammered out in response.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" the Pop Off Quirk user assured with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Here, let me help with that," he offered, pointing toward the undone bowtie.

"Oh, thanks," Izuku replied gratefully, crouching down for his short classmate.

"So who's getting hitched?" Minoru asked curiously as he started fixing up the bowtie.

"Uh, it's kinda complicated…" the freckled teen admitted, earning a raised eyebrow from the Pop Off Quirk user, "Let's just say that it's not humans who're getting married," he told him.

"Whoa, an alien marriage?" he questioned, "That's sounds kinda cool!" he admitted, tightening the bowtie around his friend's neck, "There, you're all set," he confirmed.

"Thanks, Mineta," the One For All inheritor responded gratefully, standing up, "I wanted to bring a couple of our classmates along for the wedding, but there's a limit on the guest list…" he pointed out.

"Hey, no sweat," Minoru assured with a wave of his left hand, "You just have a good time, but not too good," he remarked as he winked, flashing a smile. Down in the common room, a tired Natalie Dragneel let out a long yawn as she lied on the couch, sitting next to Kyoka Jiro and Ochaco Uraraka.

"We offered to help you with homework the other day…" the Zero Gravity Quirk user pointed out to her exhausted classmate.

"Ah, I didn't wanna be a bother…" she replied, rubbing her tired eyes, "Besides, it's my fault for focusing too much on training rather than studying…" she mentioned, yawning again. A mug of coffee was then handed to her, coming from Momo Yaoyorozu.

"This should lift your spirits a little," she assured. The Dragon Slayer giggled, taking the hot beverage and sipping it, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Feels like weekends are a rarity these days," Kyoka admitted with her right hand against her cheek as she leaned to the side.

"And it's not like we're totally free on weekends either," Ochaco chimed in, "With the internships, all the new stuff we're learning in class, and the training we go through…" she listed off, "I'm surprised not all of us are worn out…" she confessed to her classmates.

"I know Hagakure and the others decided to go out for a jog this morning," Momo noted, "Why don't we join them to get a bit of exercise?" she suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Natalie agreed in response. At that moment, Kyoka looked over and blinked in surprise to see Izuku entering the common space alongside Minoru.

"Well, looks like somebody's got other plans for today…" she remarked, causing the other girls to look over. Ochaco blushed upon seeing the freckled teen in his tuxedo.

"D-D-Deku?!" she stammered out. Though more surprising than that, Natalie hardly seemed to be phased, giving off a smile.

"Heading out for the wedding?" she assumed, making her female classmates lightly gasp in surprise as they looked over to her.

"Yeah," her boyfriend responded with a nod, "I'm probably gonna be back later tonight," he inferred, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Hope I don't miss anything big…" he said with a chuckle. His girlfriend giggled.

"Wait… you're going to a wedding?" Ochaco inquired.

"In another universe," Minoru chimed in as confirmation, "But don't worry, Midoriya's not gonna be hookin' up with anyone…" he assured, much to the One For All inheritor's surprise as he gasped again. That comment was met with Kyoka extending her left earphone jack and plugging it into the Pop Off Quirk user's ear, bombarding him with sound waves as he yelled in pain. He then fell over onto the ground.

"Huh…" the Earphone Jack Quirk user sighed, retracting her earlobe, "Always the dumbass pervert…" she muttered out.

"Wait, it's just you that's going to this wedding?" Ochaco assumed, earning a nod in response from Izuku.

"I wanted to invite some of you guys along, but there was a limited guest list…" he pointed out.

"No worries, Deku," Natalie assured, "You just have fun, okay?" she requested, making her boyfriend smile. He then took notice of a pair of figures standing by the front doors to the dorms.

"Alright, I'll see you later!" he confirmed to his classmates, walking off. His girlfriend smiled, but then noticed something that made her blink in confusion. The One For All inheritor opened the doors to reveal two young women standing there.

One was a slightly pale-skinned girl of average height with long, straight, chestnut brown hair in color. It reached about just below her shoulder blades in length with matching blunt square side-bangs on the left side along with a section of it tied onto a half ponytail on the back of her head. She had large crimson eyes, wearing a lavender dress that reached to her ankles.

The other was a slightly taller girl with pale skin, light blue eyes, and platinum blonde hair with side-swept bangs and tea-green highlights. Her hair was braided around the back, while she wore a blue-and-white dress with gloves and jewelry. Both of them smiled upon seeing Izuku standing at the doorway.

"Hey Deku!" Atsuko Kagari greeted excitedly, "Wow, you look great!" she complimented as her eyes went up and down rather quickly, assessing her friend's appearance.

"So do you!" the One For All inheritor responded with a laugh, "And you look good too, Diana," he added to Diana Cavendish, who grinned.

"Thank you, Izuku," she responded gratefully, "I'm glad that Akko suggested that we pool to the wedding," she mentioned, "It's… nice to see how other universes operate under circumstances different than our own," she pointed out, putting her hand onto her chin.

"Yeah, yeah…" Atsuko chimed in, grabbing the two by their hands, "So, we ready to go?" she inquired.

"Yeah," Izuku confirmed with a nod. The girls in the common space stared on in shock, seeing the trio depart from the dorms.

"Wait… those were the witch girls that Midoriya introduced us to a while back, weren't they?" Momo guessed.

"Yeah…" Kyoka answered, "I remember when I thought a mouse got into the dorms, only to find out it was Kagari…" she recalled.

"So Deku's hanging out with them at the wedding, huh?" Ochaco assumed with a blank expression on her face.

"Yeah," Natalie said, having the exact same look.

Heeheehee! Oh, jealousy is fun to see unfold! Now you may be asking, who's wedding is so important that even the future Symbol of Peace is invited as a guest?

Well… I believe it's time to tell you all the tale… of Steven Universe.

X

Long ago, Earth was a peaceful place. And Beach City was a humble part of it. But then arrived a group of aliens, known as the Crystal Gems.

Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet were led by the infamous Rose Quartz onto Earth, becoming its protectors while making themselves at home. At some point, these four all became Omni Force members. To this day, only one of them is absent. That would be Rose.

She fell in love with Greg Universe, a human who lived in Beach City. Eventually, their love gave birth to a healthy son, known as Steven. He was a half-Gem, half-human hybrid, attaining his mother's abilities as she passed them onto him. With his birth, she was gone.

The Crystal Gems took great care of Steven from then to the present. During the time he was still growing up and learning, Steven understood more of his mother's abilities, along with her past. At the age of 13, he learned much more than intended…

His mother was not Rose Quartz. That was simply a character played by who really was his mother, Pink Diamond. She was one of the four matriarchs that held authority over all Gems. But she abandoned her responsibilities to live a free life of her own, ending up putting many of her actions' consequences onto those she cared for.

When the truth of her identity was revealed, it left quite a rift between those of the Crystal Gems, especially Garnet, who was split on the truth. So split in fact that the fusion between Ruby and Sapphire was dissolved. At least… for a little while.

After taking time to understand the circumstances of this incident, along with spending some time apart, the two reunited. And Ruby proposed to Sapphire, wanting to make they were always together, even when they weren't fused. Which brings us to today…

Oh, and it appears we'll have another show of music to go with it…

UNIVERSE-673

BEACH CITY

Half-dressed and standing alone, Steven Universe had a lot on his mind. The past few days of revelations, fights and other troubles had been much to deal with, especially for someone his age. But he had an outlet for it.

Mom was a Diamond who invaded Earth~…

Saw its beauty, and its worth~…

Mom made an army and she fought herself~...

Did that even end up mattering~…

When she faked her own shattering~?

He walked up to a bathroom sink, applying shaving cream on his face over the single facial hair he had. He shaved it off with a razor, staring deeply into the mirror.

Mom lived in hiding by the name of Rose~…

With the friends she made and the form she chose~…

Now all that's left of her exists in me~…

And I think that we can all agree...

As he washed his face, Steven looked down sadly at his gemstone. All the truths that were bubbling up had been difficult to grasp, especially in such a short amount of time. Not to mention being a confidant for his fellow Crystal Gems weighed on him a lot. He buttoned up his shirt, trying not to think about it.

That is a little bit upsetting~…

I'd rather think about... a wedding~!

He slid out from the bathroom happily into the living room of the Beach House, dressed in his tuxedo. His father, Greg Universe, was there with a plate of pancakes in his hands, while Pearl and Amethyst were seated on the couches, arranging pink flowers in preparation for the big event. They all perked up upon spotting the excited Steven.

Let's think about cake~!

Let's think about flowers~!

Let's think about dressing up and dancing around for hours~!

There's an awful lot of awful things we could be thinking of~…

But for just one day let's only think about love~!

Between decorating the stack of pancakes with his father as if it were a wedding cake, taking a flower from the box Amethyst had to set on his coat, and dancing with her, Steven's positivity was brimming brightly. Meanwhile, Sapphire, who was sitting on his bed, smiled at him. However, she had to cover her lone eye with her hands, as Ruby had walked in, also having her own eyes covered.

"Okay, Sapphire…" she said, "I gotta get dressed for our big day now, so no peeking!" she insisted, dashing off into one of the bedrooms as Steven watched on with stars in his eyes, "And no future vision either!" she added seriously, pointing at her. Her fiancé giggled.

"Okay!" she responded assuredly, allowing Ruby to hurry off.

"Oh, Steven…" Pearl sighed out while setting down a flower onto the coffee table, getting the hybrid Gem's attention as he was right beside her upon the couch, "I just wish I could've said some things sooner about Rose… and Pink…" she admitted to him. He sat up straight and put a hand onto his cheek in deep thought.

We could think about lies~…

That we told in the past~…

"They took it so hard," Pearl noted aloud.

You could think about hurt feelings and how long they can last~…

"How can you move on?" Pearl wondered.

Or we could think about hope~!

"Hope?" Pearl repeated in confusion.

You know I've been hoping~!

"About what?" Pearl asked curiously, starting to grow a bit concerned.

That everything's better now everything's out in the open~!

Steven threw the top hat that was upon the table onto Pearl's head, skipping off of the coffee table onto the floor as he continued to sing, smiling all the while. The well-mannered Gem smiled herself, tipping her hat to him. He then stepped outside the house onto the porch to find a somewhat peculiar, yet nice sight.

"Bismuth!" he greeted, noticing that the blacksmith Gem was wearing a full set of silvery plate armor, "Is that what you're wearing to the wedding?" he assumed.

"It's the nicest thing I own," she responded as she flexed her right arm, causing spikes to pop out of her shoulder plate.

"Lookin' sharp!" Steven remarked with a wink.

We could think about flowers~…

We could think about cake~…

We could think about wonderful promises we have the power to make~!

There's an awful lot of awful things we could be thinkin' of~…

But for just one day, let's only think about love~!

Steven had gone down onto the beach, where the wedding was set to take place. Amethyst was on a ladder, decorating the altar with pink roses. With Steven's help in providing her the necessary flowers, she was getting the finishing touches done much quicker. Though she did seem troubled as she looked at one of roses in her hand.

"Maybe I shouldn't have picked up roses…" she admitted aloud, "Might be a little… controversial…" she noted with a shrug. Steven looked at the bouquet of roses he held somewhat sadly. It was a little bit of a reminder of his mother.

We could all rethink~…

How we feel about Rose~…

When it comes to Pink and the things that she did in the past, I suppose~…

"Yeah," Amethyst agreed as they had both come down from the ladder.

Or we could both feel better~…

'Cause we could think about how~…

We could think about us, and we could think about now~!

Playfully punching Amethyst's shoulder to reassure her, Steven danced together with her for a bit. No amount of controversy was going to ruin today. Not for Ruby or Sapphire.

"Well, if we don't use these, we're gonna need something else," the white-haired Gem pointed out.

"No worries!" Steven assured, "Peridot's gathering more flowers right now," he noted in remembrance, "I'll go get her," he decided. A few moments later, the human/Gem hybrid had gone through the warp pad in a flash of light, arriving at field with a dirt road leading to a crater in the ground. He continued humming as he jogged over, seeing the green-skinned Gem there, wearing a yellow dress with pink shoes. She seemed troubled, standing at the edge of the crater and staring down it. "Peridot?" Steven said, trying to get her attention.

"What if Lapis was right?" she asked to his surprise, "Sooner or later, the Diamonds are going to come for the Cluster," she pointed out, "We're all gonna die here…" she added grimly. Steven found himself sweating. There were a lot of things that were either bound to happen, or could happen. But just for today, there needed to be time for everyone to have moments of peace.

We could think about war~…

We could think about fighting~…

We could think about long lost friends we wish we were inviting~…

As he sang, Steven looked up to the sky. Upon Earth's moon, Lapis Lazuli was sitting on the roof of a barn, isolated from the rest of the world to contemplate. And it wasn't just her that the human/Gem hybrid worried for.

We could think about the broken gems on the Cluster at the planet's core~…

He looked down to the ground, knowing that the super-weapon of gem shards was lying dormant at Earth's core, thankfully still bubbled. But only time would tell if that would last. Especially with the threat of the Diamonds on the horizon.

Or we could think about the bubble we made, so that they can't be hurt any, they can't be hurt anymore~!

We could think about joy~!

We could think about pain~!

We could think about sunshine~!

We could think about rain~!

As Steven grabbed Peridot's hand, he pulled her along back to the warp pad as she held a basket of the flowers she had picked. They teleported to the Temple, wandering into the living room to see that Greg, Pearl, Amethyst, Bismuth, and Connie Maheswaran were there, all prepared for the event to begin. Steven stepped out onto the porch, with the others following.

There's an awful lot of awful things we could be thinking of~…

But for just one day, let's only think about~…

Just one day, let's only think about~… Just one day, let's only think about~…

Loooooooooove~!

Various residents of Beach City were already seated at the wedding setting, looking over to see Steven and the others at the Beach House. A tuxedo-wearing Sapphire waved to them from the wedding altar. Taking a great leap from the porch, the human/Gem hybrid floated down to the altar, gently landing beside the bride-to-be.

"Oh, that's so cute~!" Akko squeaked, sitting at the back of the seating area alongside Izuku and Diana.

"To think that the person who inherited Rose Quartz's abilities would be so mature at this time…" the blonde-haired student witch noted aloud.

"Yeah…" the One For All inheritor said, nodding in agreement, "I'm sure a lot of us are proud of him," he mentioned, earning smiles in response. Also in attendance as multiversal guests were James Rogers, Torunn Thorsdóttir, Azari T'Challa, Henry Pym Jr., and Francis Barton. The four boys were all dressed in their own suits, while the demigoddess wore a red dress with her long blonde hair tied into a braided ponytail. They were all smiling, ready to witness what would be a lovely marriage between two Gems.

X

Steven pointed up towards those on the porch as a signal, enticing them to start walking down to the altar. All the while, Greg held onto his guitar, strumming a pleasant melody with it. His son smiled, leaning over to Sapphire.

"You nervous?" he asked curiously.

"I'm not," she claimed in response. However, there were some ice crystals forming at the base of her left foot, which she quickly smashed away. The arriving group walked down the aisle to the altar, with Peridot reaching into her basket to pull out the flowers she had gathered.

"Flowers for you! Flowers for you! Flowers for you!" she repeated, throwing the flowers rather sharply into the seats. One bundle ended up striking Atsuko in the face as she let out a muffled yelp, while Izuku and Diana widened their eyes in surprise. Another wound up knocking Mr. Fryman out of his chair as he fell over, much to the shock of his son, Peedee.

"Girl's got an arm…" Francis remarked, while his colleagues grimaced. They watched as the Gem acting as the flower girl walked up to Steven, who was admittedly astonished.

"Wedding commander, all flowers have been deployed!" she confirmed to him, taking on a hardened expression and stance as her empty basket hung on her arm by its handle.

"Thanks, Peridot…" the human/Gem hybrid responded gratefully. Everyone else took their seats, while Greg continued strumming his guitar. His music was a cue for Ruby to step out of the house, revealing herself in a white wedding gown, with a white ribbon and blue flowers upon her head. She blushed a little in embarrassment before spotting her fiancé, who smiled at her.

She smiled brightly back, excited to get married. She then started hurrying down to the altar, causing Greg to panic as he sped up his song on the guitar. With each burned footstep Ruby left behind, she was getting closer and closer to the one she loved. Gaining velocity as she arrived at the aisle, she then burst into flames and dashed up to the altar. Fire smoldered in her wake, enticing Amethyst and Pearl to try and put it out by stomping on it. In the meantime, the guitarist stopped playing. Steven went ahead and cleared his throat, ready to begin the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved," he started, "Gems, humans, lions big and small, living gourds… Onion, and those from other worlds," he listed off as those in the audience perked up, "We are gathered here today to celebrate Ruby and Sapphire," he stated, "two of my favorite people, who combine into one of my other favorite people," he pointed out with stars in his eyes, "You all probably know her as Garnet," he noted, "She's their love, given form," he told the crowd as the newlyweds-to-be smiled, "Now it's your turn to talk about that," he decided as he stepped back.

"I know this is all kind of silly…" Ruby admitted, blushing nervously as she held her hands together, "I mean… we've been together for five-thousand-seven-hundred-fifty years…" she pointed out.

"And eight months," Sapphire added.

"I used to feel like… I wasn't much good, just one of me on my own…" her bride confessed as she looked down, "But when we're together," she continued, "it feels like it's okay to just… be me," she said, "So I wanna be me, with you!" she declared, "An-and, not even the Diamonds will come between us!" she stammered out, "And if they try, we'll beat 'em up!" she vowed additionally, punching and kicking furiously into the air. Sapphire giggled, making her blush.

"Ruby, my future used to look like one single, obvious stream," she noted in remembrance, "unbending 'til the end of time," she mentioned, "In an instant, you pulled me from that destiny," she pointed out happily, "and opened my eye to an explosion of infinite possible futures," she kept going, "streaking across space and time, altered and obliterated by the smallest force of will," she thoroughly told her bride, who gazed at her in awe, as did Steven, "What I mean is, you changed my life," she confessed, taking Ruby's right hand into her two, "And then, I changed your life," she added, "And now… we changed our lives," she declared finally.

"Mmmm…" Atsuko whimpered out, trying to keep her composure as Izuku and Diana looked over to her with small smiles.

"Bismuth, the rings," Steven called out. However, the blacksmith Gem didn't move.

"Hey Bismuth, that's your cue," Amethyst pointed out, gently bumping her with her left elbow. However, she then noticed that Bismuth was crying, touched by the couple's vows. She steeled herself though, approaching the couple with the rings. They weren't traditional wedding rings, being made of copper and tin respectively. The former was placed upon Ruby, and the latter upon Sapphire. They held hands and smiled as Steven was prepared to close things out.

"Ruby, do you take this Gem to have and to hold, on this and every other planet in the universe?!" he questioned emphatically, gesturing to the vast sky above.

"I DO!" Ruby exclaimed in response with a wide smile.

"And Sapphire, do you—?"

"Yes," Sapphire said, interjecting Steven's question.

"You didn't let me finish…" he whispered out, somewhat frustrated.

"I'm just very excited," Sapphire noted in response.

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of Delmarva, I now pronounce you... Garnet!" Steven declared. With that, Ruby and Sapphire leaned in to kiss, embracing warmly. The former then picked her new wife up in her arms, twirling her around. Both of their bodies glowed before they fused together, dissipating to reveal Garnet in her combined dress with a single blue flower in her hair. As the crowd stood up and cheered, a pair of red and blue flowers washed up ashore on the beach.

Some time passed as the after-party had begun, with a dance floor set up on the beach as music played. Garnet had a bouquet of roses in her hands, throwing them up behind her to a group of women that included Connie, Torunn, Sadie Miller, and Jenny and Kiki Pizza. They watched as the bouquet flew high into the dusk sky. So high in fact, that it disappeared completely, leaving them gazing up in bewilderment.

"Ahaha!" Francis laughed out, talking with Izuku, Atsuko, Diana, James, Azari, and Henry, "So then, Tony has us go through this test simulator, to see if we're as good as our parents," he told the former three of the group, "And lo and behold, we actually do better than expected," he mentioned.

"Probably because we had experience dealing with robots," James noted with a shrug, "Still, that was kinda the thing that got us out of the doghouse," he pointed out.

"What do you mean?" the One For All inheritor inquired.

"With everything that happened in our universe, we had a lot of ground rules set when we moved in with the Avengers of Six-One-Six," Azari explained in reply.

"Basically, we wanted to at least do some good," Francis chimed in, sipping a cup of punch he had gotten, "And that Paradox guy was the one who got us going," he mentioned.

"Paradox?" Atsuko repeated, arching an eyebrow in confusion.

"You're talking about the time-traveler, correct?" Diana assumed, earning a nod in reply from Izuku.

"I haven't heard from him in a while since the whole thing with the Mind Stone in Miss Shimmer's world," he pointed out, glancing down in thought.

"Neither have we," Henry said.

"Speaking of which, wasn't Laura supposed to be here, too?" Azari inquired as he looked around, "Guess she's not good with getting dressed for things like this…" he assumed, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I think there might be more to it than that…" Izuku admitted, earning an arched eyebrow of concern from Atsuko.

"Guys!" Steven's voice cried out, getting their attentions as they saw the human/Gem hybrid hurrying over to them.

"Hey, there's the little man who stepped up!" Francis greeted, holding his right hand out for a high-five, which Steven happily returned, "Nice job on the wedding!" he complimented.

"Aside from a few mishaps…" Diana chimed in with a wave of her hand, earning an elbowing from Atsuko.

"Heh, thanks…" Steven responded, "I'm glad all of you could make it," he said to the group, "I know you guys get super busy at school or doing superhero things…" he pointed out, "so it's really great to see you," he affirmed. Atsuko giggled.

"You too, Steven!" she responded. Many people were enjoying themselves, with Gems and humans conversing, dancing, and partaking in such a grand experience. Garnet was happily dancing with herself, loving the feeling of finally being officially married.

"Huh…" Atsuko sighed out happily, "You know…" she began, getting her friends' attentions as they watched Steven dancing with Connie, "it's weird thinking that all this started when we helped Steven and the others deal with Jasper and the rest of Yellow Diamond's crew," she admitted to them.

"Yeah…" James agreed, "From stopping Jasper and then Malachite, escaping Homeworld, escaping from Blue and Yellow," he listed off in remembrance, "we've been through a lot with the kid," he pointed out.

"I wouldn't call him a kid anymore," Diana chimed in, "He's much more mature than we really give him credit for," she pointed out, "Sometimes, even more mature than people we know," she added as she glanced over to Atsuko, who puffed out her cheeks as a pout. Just then, the group heard the music start to slow. They looked over to see some people on the dance floor starting to come together in pairs, slowly swaying with the beat.

"Well, I think that's my cue to mosey on off…" Francis noted, adjusting his suit rather smugly.

"Ugh…" James groaned with a roll of his eyes, watching as the archer approached Torunn, wrapping his arms around her as they started to dance. Atsuko then looked over to Izuku, flashing a grin.

"Would the great Deku be so kind as to dance with me?" she requested in a dignified voice, offering her left hand to him as she bowed politely.

"Yeah, sure," he responded, accepting her hand into his before they walked onto the dance floor.

"I suppose I'm the last one left…" Diana noted with a shrug.

"Eh, I'll bite," Azari decided, walking up to her, "Shall we?" he offered.

"I'd be happy to," the blonde-haired student witch responded, taking his hand and being led onto the dance floor, leaving James and Henry behind.

"Huh…" the former of the two remaining boys sighed, "If only we had dates…" he muttered out. On the dance floor, Atsuko rested her hands onto Izuku's shoulders, while he had his arms around her waist.

"Seems like you grew a little since the last time we saw each other," she commented as they swayed to the rhythm of the music.

"Uh, so do you?" the One For All inheritor responded unsurely, making her giggle.

"Chariot told me about that whole thing with you on that island and those bad guys that attacked," she noted, "That must've been so scary, right?" she assumed, "Especially since you couldn't call anyone else for help…" she pointed out.

"Yeah…" Izuku responded with a slight nod, "But we did our best to stop those villains," he noted on, "Even if things could've gone better, I was happy with the outcome," he affirmed, "And I'm even happier that I still get to be a hero today," he added with a smile. Atsuko giggled.

"It's the same thing with me at Luna Nova," she said, "For a time, I thought that without the Shiny Rod, I wouldn't be able to really use magic again," she confessed, "At least… not in the awesome way I used to," she corrected, earning a chuckle from her freckled friend, "But knowing that I can start flying… heck, even doing a fraction of what I could with the Shiny Rod," she kept going, "I'm really happy to still be a witch!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly.

"And I'm happy for you, Akko," Izuku affirmed additionally.

"Aw, thanks…" Atsuko responded, "Hey…" she uttered, causing him to perk up, "you don't think your girlfriend's jealous that we're close friends, do you?" she inquired of the One For All inheritor, "I mean… I remember the last time she sorta freaked out when we saw each other…" she recalled with a grimace as she glanced off to the side.

"I think that was more towards Rebecca, not you…" Izuku argued, "And besides, she knows we're just friends," he confirmed as a mention, making her smile again.

"Yeah," she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck as they continued to dance. Many continued to enjoy themselves throughout the after-party. Steven watched on while having a cup of punch for himself, glad that there was such a joyful spirit throughout the beach.

"Steven!" Garnet exclaimed as she suddenly picked him up in her arms from behind, laughing with him.

"Hey Garnet!" he greeted.

"Thanks for everything," they both said at the same time, prompting another round of laughter, "I needed this," they added together again, laughing still.

"What a wonderful idea," Garnet said as she looked out towards the rest of those at the party, "Humans found a way to make a moment's decision last forever," she pointed out, "I won't need future vision to know I'll always remember this," she noted. Meanwhile, as Bismuth was talking with Pearl and Amethyst, the bouquet that the married fusion had flung fell atop the blacksmith Gem's head. She caught it in her hands, looking at it in confusion while the others laughed.

"I'm so glad…" Steven said, starting to tear up a little.

"Oh no, I'm sorry," Garnet apologized upon noticing, "Don't cry," she insisted, giving him a smile.

"I guess seeing everyone together got me really choked up," he admitted, wiping his eyes. James and Henry smiled. But then bigger beads of tears starting to flow out of Steven's eyes.

"Uh… are you okay, Steven?" the red-haired Avenger asked in concern.

"Wait a second…" Henry uttered in realization, "You don't think…?!" he started to guess, causing both James and Steven to gasp in realization, as they had seen this certain instance before. Garnet took off her visor, opening her third eye. After a moment, she widened all three.

"Blue Diamond…" she said.

"She's here?!" Steven exclaimed in question.

"And she's not alone…" Garnet grimly added. The dusk sky started to darken, getting everyone's attention.

"Wait, what's happening?" Izuku asked as he and Atsuko let go of each other, looking upwards.

"Oh no…" Steven uttered as Connie jogged over, seeing the clouds get brushed away by the massive, arm-like ships of the two matriarchal Gems, "It's the Diamonds!" he exclaimed.

X

Before we continue, I'd like to give a brief interlude for some who may not be aware. The Diamonds are the rulers over all Gems and have established control throughout the universe. One of the Crystal Gems' first encounter with the Diamonds came in the form of when they needed to rescue Greg Universe from their clutches, as he had been taken like an animal from a zoo.

Then, Steven gave himself up to try and save his friends, ending up on the Gems' home planet to stand trial for the crimes of his mother. Though he escaped and managed to find his way back home, questions still lingered, many of which had very disheartening answers. And now, the Diamonds have arrived to stake their claim upon the Earth.

"Oh crap…!" Atsuko yelped out as she backed up a step. Izuku's eyes were shaking, as were those of many others on the dance floor. Many started running away screaming.

"Guess they weren't happy about the last time we met…" James assumed, rolling up the sleeve around his left arm to reveal his shield generator, which he immediately activated as the energy shield appeared. Meanwhile, Henry shrunk out of his tuxedo, enlarging to reveal that he had his suit on as well, with the helmet deployed over his head.

"Deku!" he called out, getting the One For All inheritor's attention as he saw the short Avenger toss him a small object, which he enlarged to it regular size by firing a glowing blue disk onto it. It fell onto the ground at the freckled teen's feet, seeing that it was a suitcase. He popped it open, seeing pairs of iron soles and gloves inside, with bracers and orange sights at the knuckles.

"Thanks, Pym!" he exclaimed gratefully, quickly throwing the items onto his person. In the meantime, Steven ran over to Mayor Nanefua and her bodyguards.

"Nanefua, get on your Nane-phone!" he insisted, "We've got a Code Blue and a Code Yellow!" he confirmed to her. The arm like ships were fast approaching, with the hands themselves closing into fists.

"This is it…" Garnet said. Francis had drawn his bow, readying a trio of arrows upon it. Azari had his Panther Habit materialize over his body, readying his metal claws. And Torunn held her hand out, summoning her large sword as it flew into the grasp of her right hand. A flash of lightning enveloped her before she assumed a golden armor with a long, flowing red cape and a headdress.

"Akko, here!" Diana called out, getting her fellow student witch's attention as she barely managed to catch a wand tossed to her, fumbling it in her hands before taking a firm grip on it.

"But… we can't use magic without a—" Before she could finish her sentence, her friend threw another object at her, which she caught. It was a small white device with a black top and a pair of buttons in the center.

"I brought routers for us just in case," Diana confirmed, readying her wand.

"Thanks, Diana!" Atsuko replied gratefully, taking a ready stance as well. The two ships were fast approaching. But all of a sudden, they flew overhead, heading towards some mountains in the near distance, leaving a rush of wind in their wake that those below braced themselves from.

"We're over here, you clods!" Peridot shouted out.

"Wha-? Where are they going?!" Pearl asked with a stutter as she looked over in panic. Steven widened his eyes in realization.

"They're not here for us…" he said, "They must be here for the Cluster!" he exclaimed as the yellow ship slammed onto the ground afar, causing a shockwave to erupt as the ground rumbled, causing everyone to yelp as they stumbled.

"What's the Cluster?!" Bismuth asked over the rumbling.

"It's a huge Earth-destroying geo-weapon that the Diamonds made out of a bajillion Gem shards," Steven explained in response. The yellow hand ship slammed onto the earth again, shattering the terrain as it dug deeper.

"We mustn't let them awaken it!" Torunn declared as electricity crackled around her blade, "Pym, you and I will go and keep them distracted!" she decided.

"Right!" her short teammate agreed, shrinking down and deploying his wings before flying off with her.

"What do we do?" Atsuko asked in concern.

"I gotta keep the Cluster calm and in its bubble," Steven told the group, "I can use my mind to connect with it, but only when I'm asleep," he mentioned.

"Asleep?!" Bismuth repeated, quite baffled. In the meantime, dark clouds formed before blue streaks of lightning came down onto Torunn's sword, enveloping it entirely. She roared as she dove in and slashed mightily at the yellow ship. However, only a slight gash was left in it, much to her frustration as she clenched her teeth together.

Henry flew in and fired off rapid bursts of yellow energy from the blasters at his wrists into the gash, trying to deal more damage. Seeing as that wasn't working, especially as the ship continued to bash against the ground without a care, the shrinking Avenger enlarged to a massive size to grab hold of it, trying to pull it away. But without warning, it suddenly punched him squarely on the head, sending him crashing into a mountain.

"Pym!" Torunn cried out. The yellow ship then turned to her, closing its hand into a fist again. Summoning forth more lightning as she raised her blade to the sky, the demigoddess charged at it once more.

Meanwhile, Steven and the others were back inside the Beach House, with the former trying to fall asleep on his bed with everyone else around. His eyes jolted open from the loud rumbling in the distance. Izuku looked outside with Azari to see Torunn and Henry still struggling to stop the yellow hand ship.

"Okay, we really need to call for help on this…" the Wakandan prince pointed out grimly.

"Is Steven asleep yet?" Izuku asked over another rumble.

"Ah, it's no use!" the human/Gem hybrid exclaimed as he sat up, clutching his head in his hands, "How am I supposed to sleep through this?!" he complained in question.

"Maybe a lullaby will help," Greg suggested, strumming his guitar. More rumbling was going off however, making Connie and Atsuko grimace.

"Uhh... I'm not sure this is gonna—"

"Allow me," Diana interjected, approaching with her wand drawn as a green light emitted from its tip, "Korri Dulala!" she chanted, making a flash of luminosity emit onto Steven. His eyes slowly shut before he lied down in his bed, falling asleep as he was snoring.

"Nice one, Diana!" Atsuko complimented.

"Let's hope it works…" her fellow student witch said, withdrawing her wand. The human/Gem hybrid opened his eyes to find himself floating in a dreamscape. He gasped as he saw the bubbled form of the bubbling black orb in front of him.

"The Cluster!" he exclaimed, seeing that it was going amok in panic from all the rumbling as it was expanding, "Stay calm!" he insisted of it, "Try to keep from forming!" he advised on. But it was looking to be futile as the geo-weapon was struggling to contain itself. Eventually, the bubble around it burst as a flash of white light erupted. "No, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NOOO!" Steven cried out. His eyes jolted open as he was back in his room.

"That was fast…" Francis remarked upon noticing.

"It popped!" the human/Gem hybrid exclaimed with horror, much to everyone's shock. They quickly went out onto the porch, feeling the ground shake. Torunn breathed heavily as she backed away from the hand ships, with the yellow one having dealt most of the damage while the blue one was seemingly on standby. Henry stood up from the mountain with a groan, yelping upon feeling the rumbling below.

"Torunn!" he called out in warning. The demigoddess looked down and gasped. From the cracking earth, the glowing hands and faces of the Cluster were emerging. It came together, taking on the form of an arm the exact same size as the two ships alongside it. The glow around it dissipated, revealing that it was similar to an arm with revealed muscle tendons and nerves.

"Uh oh…" Atsuko uttered, seeing the geo-weapon clench its hand into a fist. She and the others watched on, paralyzed with fear as it adjusted itself. Now it seemed like they had to deal with three threats all at once. In the city itself, alarms were blaring loudly from the speakers.

"Attention, citizens of Beach City!" Nanefua yelled over the megaphone she had, being driven aboard a truck through the streets, "Everyone, head to your designated shelters!" she insisted firmly as she passed by frightened citizens, "I repeat, this is not a drill! Get yourselves over to the shelters!" she yelled. Ronaldo Fryman seemed to be unafraid, donning a set of armor and drawing a katana that he had. He aimed it up at the Cluster in challenge, only for his little brother to pull him away.

"You wish to do battle with us as well?!" Torunn assumed as lightning crackled around her sword. The Cluster clenched its hand into a fist, clutching it tightly as it reared itself back. The demigoddess was prepared to receive its attack, but it thrusted past her, punching the yellow ship to send it flying back.

"Whoa!" Henry yelped. The yellow ship regained its balance over the water, turning to face the geo-weapon as it approached. It clenched its fist again before giving a thumbs-up in reassurance towards Steven and the others.

"Alright!" he exclaimed excitedly as everyone looked on in awe, "Looks like it's in control of itself," he pointed out, "And it's on our side!" he added, returning the thumbs-up to it. At that moment, the yellow ship tried to punch the Cluster, only for it to be caught in its hand. The two struggled against each other before the yellow ship managed to push it down onto the ocean. Their hands were locked together in an arm-wrestle.

"Go Cluster, go!" Steven and Connie cheered with their arms raised.

"Well, that's one way to take down a ship shaped like a hand…" Francis remarked.

"But we still got Blue Diamond's to worry abou—!" Before Izuku could finish his sentence, the shadow of the blue hand ship came over him and the others, enticing them to look up and see it fly above the temple. The group looked on in fright as it turned to face them. It then slapped its palm onto the ground, causing ocean water to rain down onto the group as they braced themselves. As it slowly rose back up, a figure was standing upon the beach.

It was a massive Gem with her towering height making everyone appear tiny in comparison. However, her somewhat hunched posture, combined with her long, sweeping cloak, gave her a relatively smaller and more despondent silhouette than if she were standing up straight. Her complexion was azure, and she had long, straight, alice blue hair which curled inward at the ends. Two noticeable and symmetrical locks of her hair curled and pointed inwards towards her face just below her cheekbones. A unique feature of her hair were two lengths of that lead from each side of her head and physically connect on her chest just below her gem, giving it an almost shawl-like appearance. She had a long ovoid face, a full upper lip, and a straight nose. She also possessed large, sad, downward-slanting eyes with bold mascara on the lower lashes, giving the appearance of a weeping woman. Her irises were cyan with black diamond-shaped pupils and she had thin arching eyebrows. Her gemstone was located on her chest above her sternum, and she wore a long navy blue cloak that touches the ground. Underneath the upper part of her cloak, she wore a navy blue hood.

"Blue Diamond…" Garnet uttered out. Izuku gulped a little. It had felt like a long time since he was unsure of what would come from the battle ahead…

X

"Guess it's time to work the old… Universe… charm…" Greg assumed as a bead of sweat rolled down his head.

"No!" everyone shouted back, making him flinch.

"Alright, I'll just… be in here…" he decided, slowly sneaking back into the house, closing the door.

"Okay, do we have a plan?" James inquired of the group.

"Figured you'd have one, Rogers!" Francis yelled.

"Well, it's not like we're facing one of Ultron's drones!" the red-haired Avenger argued.

"Guys, focus!" Azari insisted.

"Rose Quartz," Blue addressed, getting the group's attention, "So you escaped Homeworld and crawled back here…" she noted in a low growl, "This is Pink's world!" she bellowed, raising her veil to reveal that she was crying with grief in spite of the rage upon her face, "How dare you use it as your hiding place!" she yelled on, "Come! Answer for what you've done!" she beckoned angrily.

"This is bad! This is bad! This is bad! This is bad!" Peridot repeated in a panic.

"Well, we have her outnumbered…" Atsuko noted despite sweating a little.

"Come on, you rocks!" Bismuth yelled, "Let's put her in a bubble!" she insisted, shapeshifting her left hand into a hammer.

"Right!" Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet agreed, summoning forth their respective weapons from their gemstones.

"Wait!" Steven called out, "There's no reason to fight!" he assured, adjusting his bowtie, "Let me talk to her," he insisted, heading down the porch steps onto the beach.

"Steven, wait!" Izuku yelled, but to no avail as the human/Gem hybrid approached Blue.

"Blue Diamond, please listen to me!" he pleaded in request, "I didn't shatter Pink Diamond!" he affirmed, "Pink Diamond's right here!" he mentioned, "It's… pretty interesting when you think about it—"

"Enough!" the massive gem bellowed, charging a blue energy sphere around her left hand. She hurled it at Steven, who gasped in shock. Luckily, James landed down in front of him, drawing his energy shield in an attempt to defend them from the blast. Unfortunately, both of them were knocked back by the force of it, tumbling across the sand.

"Guys!" Atsuko cried out.

"No time to waste!" Azari yelled, jumping off of the porch. Izuku, Francis and Diana were quick to follow, as were those of the Crystal Gems. The archer fired off a trio of arrows towards Blue. She merely swatted them away with her right hand, letting them explode beside her as she didn't even flinch.

"Guys, stop! Don't do this!" Steven desperately cried out. The outer layers of Izuku's gloves jolted forward before he launched pressurized air blasts from flicking his fingers, while Diana and Azari unleashed rays of yellow and blue electricity respectively. Blue clapped her hands, creating a shockwave that blew everyone nearby back in an instant, knocking away the attacks as well. Watching from afar, Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet turned to each and nodded, quickly joining hands and starting to fuse together as their bodies glowed brightly and grew.

"Diana! Everyone!" Atsuko exclaimed as she hurried onto the beach to help her fellow student witch get back onto her feet, while the others pushed themselves up. Steven groaned, hearing the approaching footsteps of the grieving Diamond. She charged another energy sphere in her hands, aiming to slam him against the sand with it. He gasped with widened eyes.

"Steven!" Izuku yelled, lunging over in a burst of green bio-electricity, grabbing the human/Gem hybrid and pulling him away before the energy sphere could strike him. Blue scoffed with frustration, but then perked up as she heard loud footsteps. They came from a massive fusion with bright magenta skin and six arms. Her eyes were covered by a dark-indigo visor. Instead of a third eye, as Garnet had, she has an alexandrite gemstone, representing the location of Pearl's own, with three dark-indigo oval-shaped lenses surrounding it. Her primary face had a structure similar to Pearl's and plump lips like Amethyst and Garnet. This face functioned as a mask, covering a second monstrous mouth that had sharp teeth and a long tongue.

Her thick, turquoise hair was a collision of all her components' hairstyles. The length and wildness of her hair resembled Amethyst's, the top tuft of her hair was styled to a point to resemble Pearl's, the fullness of her hair resembles Ruby's, and the color resembled Sapphire's. She slammed her lower left fist down against the ground in challenge, roaring with her second mouth.

"Wait!" Steven cried out desperately, still wanting to keep peace. But that didn't seem to be an option anymore.

"You cannot fathom how much I've mourned!" Blue exclaimed, "What thousands of years of grief has done to me!" she yelled on with tears pouring from her eyes. As she buried her face into her palms, a blue aura emitted from her body around the area. Alexandrite teared up instantly as the light washed over her, quickly coming apart in a flash of luminosity as Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet fell to the ground, all in tears. Steven was the same, lying in Izuku's arms. The other Gems aboard the porch were starting to get affected as well, with Bismuth's hand morphing back to normal as she placed it over her teary eyes. Connie looked to her and Peridot worriedly.

"What's going on?" she asked in concern, "Guys?" she said, hearing them whimper. Clearly whatever was ailing them didn't appear to affect her. And the same applied to all those on the beach without a gemstone. Getting onto his feet, Azari again unleashed another electrical blast from his hands. However, it barely seemed to affect Blue, who was still crying as her aura spread.

Seeing that the situation seemed to be out of the control for the Gems, and those that were still standing were struggling, Connie knew that she had to do something. She clenched her fists determinedly and then whistled. Swiftly running in from the rocks was Lion, who the girl leapt off of the porch onto.

"Hold on, guys!" she cried out as the lion carried her toward the battlefield.

"Connie!" Steven exclaimed upon noticing them charging towards Blue.

"Wait, stay back!" Azari yelled, but to no avail as Connie unsheathed the sword she had upon her back from its scabbard, standing up upon Lion. He leapt up, allowing for her lunge out at the massive Gem, rearing her blade back in both of her hands. However, Blue caught it in between her right hand's fingers as she swung it forward. Her foe grunted, struggling to pull it out of her grasp.

"I know this sword…" she recalled in a low, grief-stricken voice, "This… is the sword… THAT SHATTERED HER!" she bellowed, crushing the blade in her hand while also making Connie fall in the process. Steven and the others gasped. But fortunately, Atsuko was quick to catch her in her arms as a greenish aura shrouded her legs, landing upon the ground with her. As she was set down, the young girl looked at the broken handle of her weapon in shock. A rumbling in the distance caught their attentions as they looked over into the distance, seeing that the Cluster was apparently losing ground against the yellow hand ship. It sounded as if it was crying in a unison of voices, evidently due to the pathokinetic aura emanated from Blue. "You deserve this!" she growled out as she stepped forward, "All of you!" she proclaimed on.

"Stop…! Please!" Steven begged, still in tears as Izuku set him down onto his feet.

"Steven…!" Amethyst whimpered out, managing to lift her head up.

"What do we do…?" Pearl asked through her tears.

"I don't know…" the human/Gem hybrid honestly answered as he fell onto his hands and knees, "She won't listen," he pointed out, "She just wants to fight…" he said, quite distraught that trying to make peace hadn't worked.

"Then we'll give her a fight!" Izuku decided, rushing forward, "Diana, Barton, give us cover!" he called out, "Akko and James, keep Blue distracted!" he yelled on, "Azari and I'll get things ready!" he affirmed, causing the Wakandan prince to perk up slightly.

"Ready for what?" Atsuko asked, only to yelp as she saw the massive Gem reaching for her. However, her hand was knocked away by James' energy shield, which he had flung out at her. That allowed for the student witch and Connie to hurry away, with the former unleashing small bursts of pale green fire from her wand onto Blue.

Diana and Francis aimed their respective weapons, firing off energy blasts towards their foe, who formed an orb of blue energy upon her hands to shield herself from their attacks. Meanwhile, Izuku rushed around, flicking his fingers to unleash more pressurized air blasts onto the ground around Blue, veiling the area in a cloud of sand. The massive Gem narrowed her eyes with confusion, noticing Azari rushing into the veil.

She was prepared to clear it with another energy shockwave, only to be thwarted by a massive pale green fireball striking her in the face, followed by a couple of arrows exploding in bursts of light right in front of her. She gnashed her teeth, glaring out at the pair responsible. Diana and Francis grimaced, but then watched as Izuku leapt up mightily into the air.

Blue took notice, firing off another burst of blue energy toward him. He spun around to evade it, lifting his left leg up for an axe kick, though where he was falling appeared to be short of the matriarch. She narrowed her eyes with confusion, only to remember that Azari was still somewhere inside the cloud of sand around her.

"Manchester… SMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH!" Izuku roared, swinging his leg down to strike the armored Wakandan prince squarely in the back, clearing the veil around them in a fierce shockwave of air.

"Ah!" Steven and Atsuko gasped out. Azari grunted in pain, while his Panther Habit's markings shined a bright blue. The One For All inheritor leapt off of him.

"You okay?!" he immediately asked in concern.

"Yeah…" his colleague responded, taking a lunging stance as electricity crackled around him, "No pain… NO GAIN!" he roared, leaping toward his foe. She gasped in surprise, seeing him strike her squarely in the torso before a blue shockwave erupted, knocking her back a few feet as she grimaced. However, her aura didn't subside.

"Dammit…" Francis cursed.

"That should've at least been enough to stop all the tear-jerking…" James presumed, giving off a frustrated look.

"Are we really that outmatched…?" Diana wondered aloud, trembling a little. It seemed hopeless to continue this endeavor. Even if everyone present was able to keep fighting, Blue was just far too powerful. No one could stand against her. But one individual didn't care.

"BLUE DIAMOND!" Garnet bellowed, stomping toward the matriarch as her dress dragged along the sand. In spite of the tears rolling down her face, she had a fierce expression.

"Garnet, stay back!" Izuku insisted as she walked by him and Azari.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Blue asked disdainfully with a glare.

"I am the will of two Gems that care for each other," Garnet responded, "To protect each other from any threat," she continued on, "No matter how vast or how cruel," she mentioned, "You couldn't stop me five-thousand-seven-hundred-fifty years ago, and you can't stop me now," she firmly proclaimed.

"It's you!" Blue exclaimed in remembrance, "That Ruby and Sapphire that disrupted my court…" she recalled on, narrowing her eyes.

"URRGGH!" Garnet yelled as she punched and then clung onto the matriarch's cloak, "This is supposed to be MY DAY!" she roared as she punched again.

"Garnet…" Atsuko uttered worriedly. At that moment, Diana took notice of something, blinking in surprise. Meanwhile, Blue stared down with disdain at the fusion under her gaze.

"You hoped to defeat me by… clinging to my feet?" she inquired of her.

"I just needed to keep you from taking three steps to the right," she answered with a grin. All of a sudden, Blue felt water droplets drip onto her head from above. She looked up, as did the others, to see a mass of land with a barn upon it encased in an orb of water. And floating right in front of the moon with her watery wings was Lapis. She smirked, raising her hands and swinging them down to send the barn hurdling toward the matriarch.

"What?!" she exclaimed. Garnet somersaulted back just before the barn crashed into Blue. With that, the aura she emanated faded away, allowing for the Gems present to all stop crying. As Bismuth and Peridot collected themselves, the latter took notice of the hydrokinetic Gem's arrival.

"Lapis?!" she yelled, running down the porch to approach her as she landed on the sand just beyond the wreckage of her attack, "You're really here...!" she noted, quite stunned.

"Hey," Lapis greeted.

"Lapis!" Steven exclaimed as he came over, hugging her warmly in relief as she embraced him back with a small smile, "You came back!" he pointed out, "Again!" he added as everyone else approached.

"I couldn't stay away," the hydrokinetic Gem pointed out, "If they're gonna punish me like a Crystal Gem," she kept going, "I might as well be one, right?" she presumed, "You got room for… one more?" she questioned of the group. Steven had stars in his eyes.

"Of course!" he responded, sharing another hug with her.

"Save the hugs for after the fight!" Bismuth insisted as she moved in and separated the embracing pair, "Look alive!" she exclaimed, noticing the shaking rubble of the barn. Blue burst out from it, with her hood now off as a blue aura wafted off of her. And she looked even more enraged, especially upon seeing Lapis.

"A Lapis Lazuli?" she questioned, "Does every Gem that comes in contact with this planet turn traitor?!" she bellowed in presumption, having her pathokinetic aura spread yet again onto the group. Everyone, including those who were human, started to feel the effects as tears were pouring out from their eyes. The only ones that didn't appear to be affected were Lion and surprisingly, Lapis. "What?" Blue said out of shock. A single tear streaked down the cheek of the hydrokinetic Gem, but she quickly wiped it away.

"I've felt worse…" she remarked, bringing her hands together in a grunt. Water chains with shackles shot up from the ocean, entrapping the matriarch's wrists. Her blue aura dissipated, and for the shackles she did break off, more took their place. "Knock her off this beach!" Lapis insisted, sounding strained.

"Can do!" another voice chimed in, getting the group's attention as they noticed a seemingly small figure buzzing in, heading toward Blue. It turned out to be Henry, who enlarged himself to a massive size before kicking his opponent back, causing her to fall to a knee in a grunt.

"Nice one, Pym!" James called out.

"Now's our chance!" Garnet declared, summoning forth a pair of gauntlets over her hands with spikes at their knuckles. Amethyst drew her whip with small spiked balls at the end, Bismuth morphed her right hand into a large hammer, Steven branded his shield, Connie sat atop Lion, and Pearl readied a trident. Their multiversal guests also prepared themselves. "With all our strength together, we can take her down!" the fusion of the group declared, as Blue was completely vulnerable for the moment, unable to break free of the water shackles.

"That's right!" Steven agreed, "This is our home, our planet, our friends and family!" he listed off proudly, "We… are the Crystal Gems!" he stated, raising his shield.

"Pathetic!" the matriarch bellowed, blasting the water shackles chaining her away in a burst of blue light, "You are… NOTHING!" she proclaimed, unleashing an array of laser beams up into the air, forming a sphere overhead. It fired off a massive laser barrage onto her foes.

"Incoming!" James yelled. Steven quickly brought forth a larger version of his shield to protect everyone, with the lasers striking in full force as explosions rang about. He found himself pushed back by their force, grunting as he clenched his teeth together. Alone, he wasn't going to be able to hold it off.

But he wasn't alone. The red-haired Avenger stepped forward and had his own energy shield expand underneath the human/Gem hybrid's, providing him extra defense. And one by one, Garnet, Pearl, Bismuth, Connie, Lion, Amethyst, Izuku, Francis, Azari, Atsuko and Diana pushed on the shields to keep them steady. Even Peridot helped to push from the back, as small as she was. Steven smiled, happy that he had friends and family helping him now.

As the laser barrage continued, Blue was unaware that another foe of hers was about to enter the fray. Slicing by her left cheek was Torunn's sword, causing her to yelp in pain as she saw it fly by toward the ground, where the demigoddess landed to catch it. She glared out at the matriarch, aiming her blade at her.

With that, Steven raised his shield, allowing for Lion to charge forward with Connie aboard him. He let a powerful roar with waves of pink energy, striking Blue as an energy mass around her left hand dissipated. The others ran in, with Amethyst leaping up to lash her with her whip, Lapis creating another water chain to shackle the matriarch's left arm, allowing for Pearl to jump up and strike with a laser bolt fired from her spear.

Afterwards, Lion appeared through a pink portal and hopped off of Blue's head, followed by Garnet and Bismuth hammering her right hip at the same time. Diana prepared a massive pale green fireball upon the tip of her wand, launching it out at the matriarch. She crossed her arms to defend herself from it, exploding upon contact. She growled as the ensuing black smoke veiled her vision for a moment, looking around for her foes.

"Vega Walras!" Atsuko chanted, suddenly lunging in with her feet cloaked in a greenish light. She kicked Blue directly in the torso, making her grimace. That was followed by a barrage of lightning blasts courtesy of Torunn and Azari, forcing her to step back. Izuku joined them, flicking his fingers in rapid succession to release pressurized blasts of air.

"Ready to do this, Pym?" Francis asked a shrunken Henry, who was upon the head of an arrow that his colleague readied upon his bow.

"Yeah, go!" he responded, enticing the archer to let the projectile his teammate was upon to fly. It split apart into six separate arrows, all exploding upon contact with the matriarch, though she barely appeared to be affected. However, she gasped to see Henry enlarge to a massive size above her, about to crush her. She quickly blasted him back with a wave of blue energy from her hands, but it left her wide open to end up struck by both Steven and James' shields in the face.

"Hrah!" Peridot yelled as she had readied a barrage of soda cans, using her magnetism to fire them off at Blue. They harmlessly struck her torso, causing her to raise an eyebrow with disdain. The green-skinned Gem didn't seem to care. "Hey, Blue Diamond!" she shouted tauntingly, "Fight me!" she challenged, gesturing to herself.

"I don't think that's the wisest idea…" Diana advised, standing beside her. Just then, Bismuth landed down next to them.

"You got guts, tiny," she remarked to Peridot, picking her up in her left hand by her hand as the student witch gasped in shock, "Let me give you a hand!" she decided. She hurled her fellow Gem screaming toward Blue. The second the matriarch turned to see who was coming, she found Peridot landing upon her face, holding on for dear life.

"Way to go, Peridot!" Atsuko cheered as she pumped her right fist up.

"Everyone, group up!" Steven called, enticing all of the others aside from Lapis to gather around him. The hydrokinetic Gem clapped her hands together, making waves of ocean water swirl around her colleagues, putting them into a bubble that she lifted up with a large water hand. It was reared back as everyone prepared themselves, being flung towards their lone foe. The bubble popped as they closed in. Peridot noticed and grinned, only to end up grabbed and flung aside by Blue.

Bismuth morphed both of her hands into hammers, Pearl and Amethyst readied their respective weapons, Garnet made her gauntlets bigger, Lion and Connie roared with determination, electricity crackled around Torunn and Azari, Francis shifted his bow into a staff, James drew a larger version of his shield, Henry enlarged to a great size, Atsuko and Diana prepared their wands, and Izuku reared his right leg back as green bio-electricity crackled around him. Following all of them was Steven, who encased himself in a bright pink, spiked bubble. Blue crossed her arms over herself, enduring the first three attacks with ease. However, Lion's roar effectively hindered her defense as she flinched from the energy waves that washed over her. It allowed for Garnet to break that guard thanks to her enlarged gauntlets.

Torunn and Azari slashed past her, Francis managed to smack her upside the shoulder with his staff, James' shield pushed her back slightly, Henry slamming into her made her falter more, the combined fireball from Atsuko and Diana was enough to cause her to stumble back, and Izuku's kick to her head completely discombobulated her. All that was left was Steven, whose spiked bubble finally knocked her down onto her knees as she gasped. Everyone regrouped, grinning at the advantage they were gaining.

And they weren't the only ones. They looked over to find that the Cluster was seemingly gaining an edge over the yellow hand ship, as cracks and sparks of electricity were starting to appear upon the latter. Grunts could be overheard as well.

"Alright!" Atsuko yelled, "Way to go, Cluster!" she cheered with her fists raised. All of a sudden, explosions rang out from the ship as smoke spewed into the air.

"Uhh… guys?!" Steven cried out, uncertain of what was to come next. With great strength, the Cluster lifted up the yellow hand ship, preparing to slam it against the ground.

"Hurry! RUN!" Izuku yelled, dashing off in an instant with everyone else. The Cluster slammed the yellow ship down onto the blue one, resulting in a massive splash of water. Blue turned in horror to find both vessels about to crash onto her.

"AAHHH!" she screamed, seemingly crushing her in a huge cloud of sand. Debris from the ships flew everywhere, with a larger piece crashing into the beachside household.

"The house!" Pearl exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I can fix it!" Bismuth assured confidently with her hands at her hips.

"My dad!" Steven cried out in a panic.

"Uh-oh…" the blacksmith Gem uttered in realization, rubbing the back of her head. Fortunately, Greg burst out of the door, carrying a cat in his arms.

"Alright, I'm sticking with you guys!" he decided, having just narrowly evaded the brush of death.

"Huh…" Steven sighed with relief. In the meantime, the damaged Diamond ships submerged slightly into the sea. Everyone gathered around the around the house, watching cautiously.

"Did we do it?" Connie asked.

"Don't know…" Francis answered honestly, "Feels like these two would be tough to take down…" he pointed out. Just then, he and the others heard pained grunts from afar. They belonged to the Cluster, which twitched as its form of a giant hand was starting to destabilize.

"Cluster, you were amazing!" Steven called out in a complimentary tone, "Are you okay?" he questioned on, "Do you wanna go back in your bubble?" he assumed. The geo-weapon shot him a thumbs-up in response, close to destabilizing. "Okay, take it easy," the human/Gem hybrid insisted, watching as it broke away from its fused form, retreating to where it resided in the Earth's core, "You're the best!" he affirmed.

"So that is a wedding reception," Garnet noted as she walked up to Steven's side, "Nice job, wedding planner," she complimented, rubbing her left hand through his hair as he smiled.

"Did you see that?!" Amethyst exclaimed in question, gathered with Bismuth, Peridot, and Atsuko, "She couldn't lay a finger on me!" she pointed out emphatically.

"Well, I hit her with quite the kick, didn't I?" the student witch proudly presumed.

"Hmm…" Peridot hummed with crossed arms, sounding unimpressed by both accounts, "But did you notice how I perfectly managed my trajectory… right into her eyes?!" she exclaimed, pointing to her eyes for emphasis, "I'll demonstrate," she offered, jumping up into Bismuth's arms, "Launch me again!" she insisted. The blacksmith Gem chuckled.

"I like you, Peridot," she admitted, "You don't quit," she pointed out.

"Stay alert," Torunn suddenly chimed in, getting everyone's attention, "This fight isn't over yet…" she noted with narrowed eyes, gripping her blade tightly. At that moment, they all heard the heavy metal thumping from the damaged yellow ship. A gloved fist burst out of its palm a familiar figure arose into view.

She was a massive Gem that had light yellow skin and she had black markings around her eyes, dark yellow eyeshadow, bright yellow eyes with diamond-shaped pupils and black eyebrows, and short, helmet-like bob yellow hair with two spiked tips. Her gemstone was located in the center of her chest. She wore a dark yellow-and-olive bodysuit, a yellow coat with enormous shoulder pads and a cutout for her gemstone, yellow gloves, and olive-yellow, high-heeled boots.

As she stood atop her damaged ship's hull, she looked down at her foes in rage, with electricity crackling around her. Those below were almost too shocked to move. They watched as Yellow jumped down onto the beach, lifting up the part of Blue's ship that had buried her. Getting to her feet, she stood beside her fellow matriarch, prepared to continue fighting.

"Oh, come on…" Atsuko muttered, mortified by the current situation, as was anyone else. That is… except for a cocky Peridot.

"Ha!" she laughed out, "I told her off once," she noted, "I can do it again," she affirmed, jumping out of Bismuth's arms as she ran up to the Diamonds.

"Uh, Peridot?!" Atsuko yelped.

"Get back here!" Francis insisted. Unfortunately, the green-skinned Gem was just too enthralled for her own good.

"HEY! YELLOW CLOD!" she yelled out to Yellow as she set down the part of the ship she had lifted, "REMEMBER ME?!" she inquired loudly, pointing to herself. The yellow matriarch seemed completely disinterested in her.

"No," she responded. She then swung her right hand out, firing off an electric blast. It struck Peridot in an instant, electrocuting her as glowing yellow lines appeared on her body. In a burst of green smoke, she reverted back into her gemstone, which fell onto the sand.

"PERIDOT!" Atsuko screamed.

"Stop!" Steven yelled, running forth to the Diamonds, "Don't do this!" he insisted, "Listen to me! I'm the one you're missing!" he told them, gesturing to himself, "I'm Pink Diamond!" he exclaimed. Yellow widened her eyes for a moment, but then glared with disdain.

"You!" she growled out. She charged toward the human/Gem hybrid, who yelped, holding his hands out to bring forth his shield as he shut his eyes. His foe stopped in front of him, raising her right foot.

"Steven!" Garnet cried out. Two figures then rushed in, being Izuku and Atsuko. The former reared his right leg back, while the latter readied her left.

"SAINT LOUIS…" the One For All inheritor began to bellow.

"Vega…" the student witch started to chant.

"SSMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!" Izuku echoed, striking Yellow's foot with his own.

"WALRAS!" Atsuko exclaimed, joining her friend in kicking the Diamond's sole. She gritted her teeth, trying to push through the pair to get to Steven, who still had his eyes shut out of fright. The moment he opened them, he saw both of his multiversal friends get knocked back.

"GUYS!" he screamed. In that instant, the yellow matriarch raised her foot again. This time, the human/Gem hybrid was completely unprepared, as his foe stomped hard onto his shield, making a cloud of sand erupt…

X

With a groan, Steven woke up. But he wasn't on the beach. He was in some kind of dark void, where he couldn't see anything for a moment. And then, he saw Connie.

"Huh?!" he yelped out.

"Steven!" she exclaimed frantically.

"Connie, what's wrong?" the human/Gem hybrid asked.

"Come on, please wake up!" she begged, tearing up before looking off to the side for some reason.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Steven repeated reassuringly, "What's going on?" he asked as he sat up, "Connie, I'm right here," he said. He hadn't yet realized that the projection of his actual body was still unconscious, lying on the floor. He looked back and widened his eyes.

"Come on, Steven. We need you," Connie pleaded, while the human/Gem hybrid yelped in shock as he jumped away from the projection of his body.

"What the hoo-hah?!" he exclaimed in question, looking at his hands. Clearly, something bad had happened. "Huh," he uttered, waving his left hand over his unconscious body, "Well, this is new…" he noted, somewhat baffled, "What is this place?" he wondered aloud. He looked down to find himself standing atop what appeared a statue of the distressed girl, having her eyes shut. It looked as if this plane of existence represented some form of mindscape, as Steven saw the Crystal Gems and his multiversal friends as well. They were all still appearing to be in battle with the Diamonds in reality, as Francis and Diana were knocked down atop their respective statues. On the very end of the line of statues, Lapis floated up with her watery wings, preparing to attack.

"What else have you got?!" she challenged, "I've only just begun to fight!" she declared. But before she could do anything, she herself wound up getting zapped, poofing into her gemstone form as well. Steven gasped.

"Lapis!" he exclaimed, seeing the gemstone float about. Further down the mindscape, he could see Yellow and Blue, surrounded by their respective auras that were electrical and water-like.

"Connie, are you seeing this?" he asked of the girl beside him.

"Wake up, please!" she exclaimed desperately in a voice that echoed like a ghost to Steven. She apparently couldn't hear him like this.

'We're supposed to be in this together, remember?' she noted inwardly, seemingly on the verge of crying.

"Uh, Connie, I'm o—" Steven's attempt to reach out to her failed as he phased right through her. "…kay?" he uttered in confusion. However, his friend appeared to sense his presence.

"Huh? Steven?" she said, wondering how he seemingly communicated with her. The human/Gem hybrid went ahead and grabbed hold of her hand with his two. "Huh?!" she yelped out.

"Connie, it's me!" he exclaimed.

"Wha—? Where are you? How are you…?" she questioned, quite baffled by whatever was going on.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's a classic psychic ghost type situation…" Steven quickly answered from the mindscape.

"Ah, of course!" Connie realized as she clenched her right fist, "So, what's the plan?" she inquired of the human/Gem hybrid.

"The Diamonds won't listen to me out there, but… maybe I can get through to them here," he presumed in reply, "They gotta know Pink Diamond wasn't shattered," he affirmed, "Please protect my body while I'm gone," he requested of Connie.

"Got it," she responded, "Good luck out there, Steven," she said as he let go of her hand, proceeding to traverse the minds of his friends towards those of the Diamonds. He first landed upon Garnet's. She appeared to be struggling a little, clenching her teeth.

'This is it…' she noted inwardly, 'I've got to hold it together. I've got to hold everyone together!' she affirmed through her thoughts. Hearing every word, Steven took on a determined expression.

"You can do it, Garnet!" he cheered, "Remember, you're made of love!" he added, jumping and phasing through the fusion, who immediately sensed his presence.

"Steven?" she uttered in shock.

'Huh!' she huffed with a grin through her mind, 'Always full of surprises,' she remarked on. Now that she was filled with more determination, she started punching rapidly. Next, the human/Gem hybrid made his way over to Amethyst's mind. She looked extremely stressed, flailing her whip.

'Don't get shattered, don't get shattered, don't get shattered!' she repeated to herself.

"You can do this, Amethyst; I believe in you!" Steven exclaimed as he jumped through her, causing her to widen her eyes upon feeling his presence.

'Steven?' she uttered inwardly. Her determination had returned as well. 'I can do this, I can do this, I can do this!' she repeated to herself, whipping her flail even harder. Now it was time for the human/Gem hybrid to go to Pearl, who fired off several laser bolts from her trident.

'I won't give up…' she declared inwardly, 'Everything I do, I do it for her! I do it for him!' she vowed on through her thoughts.

"Don't forget about yourself, Pearl!" Steven insisted quickly as he leapt through her, causing her to widen her eyes upon sensing his presence.

'I do it for me!' she exclaimed to herself, slashing and slicing with her trident. Next came Bismuth's mind.

'I just got my friends back…' she noted to herself as she seemed a bit strained, 'and now, I'm gonna lose 'em again?!' she questioned inwardly.

"We can still do this!" Steven declared with a determined clenched fist, "Together!" he added, jumping through Bismuth, who widened her eyes as she sensed his presence.

'What am I thinking?' she wondered inwardly as she stood up and clenched her teeth, 'We haven't lost yet!' she affirmed through her thoughts. Meanwhile, the human/Gem hybrid leapt over to Peridot and Lapis' gemstones, which were floating in the void.

"Hang in there, Peridot," he said, looking over to the teardrop-shaped gem, "You too, Lapis," he added. From there, he moved on to motivating everyone to fight with whatever strength they still had. From James, to Francis, to Henry, to Torunn, to Azari, to Diana, and to Atsuko, Steven wasn't going to give up on anyone.

"Agh!" Izuku yelped in pain, keeling over onto his left knee as he breathed heavily with exhaustion.

'There's no end to this…' he noted to himself as Steven landed on his mindscape, about to go and motivate him, 'but I can't give up!' he declared just as the human/Gem hybrid was about to reach out to him, 'In order to help everyone I can, I have to go beyond!' he stated through his thoughts, standing up and clenching his fists as green bio-electricity crackled around him, 'I have to be Plus Ultra!' he yelled inwardly. Steven smiled, glad that his multiversal friend wasn't stressed. He then looked up at the Diamonds' towering minds, taking a great leap to fly towards them. He reached the top of them, seeing both Yellow and Blue sitting down, apparently sulking somberly. Steven flew over to them.

'How miserable…' Yellow muttered inwardly, 'I knew Pink couldn't handle her own colony,' she noted to herself, 'But, I gave in,' she recalled, 'And now, I'm to blame for her fate…!' she admitted through her thoughts, quite frustrated. As the human/Gem hybrid tried to get closer, he wound up getting knocked back by the yellow matriarch's electrifying aura.

"Ah! Her thoughts are too strong!" he realized as he put his hands upon his head. He then took on a determined visage, floating toward Blue instead.

'What good will any of this do?' she wondered inwardly in contemplation, 'The more I make these Gems suffer,' she continued, starting to tear up, 'the more I long to see you again, Pink…' she confessed through her thoughts. Before Steven could do anything, he found himself knocked back by her deluging aura as well. However, he pressed on, flying toward her again. He swam through her aura, landing upon her head.

"Almost…!" he grunted out, placing his hand atop the blue matriarch's head, "Blue Diamond, please listen!" he pleaded as her aura was starting to overwhelm him, "Wa-waahh!" he yelled, getting blown back finally. However, his presence was seemingly felt by the matriarch, whose eyes widened.

"I felt something…" she noted aloud, "Someone…" she mentioned, looking around curiously.

"It worked!" Steven realized as he floated about, "I still gotta get through to them!" he affirmed on. He then swam through Blue's aura once more, touching her head again, "Pink isn't gone!" he yelled, flailing his legs as if he was running to keep a grasp on the Diamond, "I can explain everything if you just stopped this fighting!" he assured on, "Wooaahh!" he yelled, getting knocked back by the aura once more.

"There it is again…" Blue said.

"What are you jabbering about?" Yellow asked upon overhearing, arching an eyebrow.

"A presence…" her fellow matriarch responded, looking around again, "It feels like…" she started to say. However, Yellow was not amused.

"Please, Blue…" she grumbled out, "You're being hysterical," she said, not noticing Steven trying to swim through her electrical aura to her, "More so than usual…" she added disdainfully. At that moment, the human/Gem hybrid touched her face, causing her to perk up as she felt his presence.

"Listen, Yellow! Pink's fate is different than you think!" he quickly yelled out, "She faked her shattering!" he exclaimed while getting knocked back yet again. Both Diamonds stood up, standing back-to-back in high alert.

"This feeling…" Blue uttered out, "I know it!" she presumed.

"It must be a trick!" Yellow proclaimed, "Show yourself, foe!" she commanded firmly.

"I'm not your foe!" Steven yelled out, "Please, just listen to me…" he begged.

"There!" Yellow yelled upon sensing his presence, pointing forward. Both she and Blue unleashed surges of their respective auras towards Steven, enveloping him in a relentless helix of energy as he yelled with pain. He braced himself after a moment, emitting his pink aura that expanded and broke apart the energy helix. The aura also enveloped the Diamonds, who looked on in shock as their foe's gemstone started to glow.

'Please…' the human/Gem hybrid pleaded through his thoughts, which were reaching the pair of matriarchs, 'the fighting has to stop,' he declared to them, 'We aren't enemies… we're family,' he stated inwardly as he placed his hands onto his head, 'Please listen to me!' he begged, 'I need you to know… WHO I AM!' he exclaimed, swinging his hands forward to release surges of pink energy towards the astonished pair of Yellow and Blue.

"Impossible…!" the latter gasped out.

"This aura…" the former started to realize, widening her eyes. They both held their hands out to the descending Steven, allowing him to land upon their palms. His gemstone shined brightly, enveloping the mindscape in a bright white flash of light.

In reality, he started to stir awake. He blinked a couple times before widening his eyes, gasping in surprise. Everyone was staring down at him, including a teary-eyed Blue and a shocked Yellow.

"It's you…!" the former finally realized, "Pink!" she exclaimed, looking down at the gemstone upon his stomach. And just like that, the conflict had finally been resolved.

X

"Glad it's a weekend…" Atsuko remarked, now dressed in her Luna Nova uniform along with Diana as they were gathered by the beach house the next morning.

"That hardly matters under these circumstances, Akko…" her fellow student witch pointed out as a retort. After last night's events, the situation had changed so drastically. Where at one point, the Diamonds were the group's enemies, they now were on friendlier terms. Maybe a little too friendly…

"Ah… oh, Pink!" Blue whimpered out, nuzzling a crying Steven against her left cheek as she was in tears herself, "I can't believe it!" she admitted happily, "You've been here all along!" she noted, sobbing with joy as she squished the human/Gem hybrid up against her cheek. The other Gems up on the porch were in tears as well. Though they weren't exactly thrilled by the new circumstances.

"I can't just hand Steven over to Blue Diamond, she's a shatterer!" Garnet pointed out, only for Bismuth to put a hand onto her left shoulder, sniffling.

"She's not gonna hurt him. Look at her…" she noted, seeing how happy the matriarch was as she laughed, continuing to hug Steven, "She really thinks he's one of them…" she said.

"Ahh!" Amethyst cried out desperately as she sat on the floorboards, getting the others' attentions, "Somebody make... Blue Diamond… stop!" she pleaded.

"Are… you guys okay?" Connie asked in concern.

"It's just…" Pearl began, letting out a sniffle, "Blue Diamond's power…" she told her, "She's obviously relieved that Pink Diamond wasn't shattered after all," she pointed out. At that moment, the door opened nearby, with James, Azari, Henry, Torunn, Francis and Izuku walking out, now dressed in their costumes.

"We have informed the others of the Omni Force about this situation," the demigoddess said, getting the attentions of the others.

"And…?" Amethyst responded expectantly with a sniffle.

"Well, with us making peace with the Diamonds for now," Izuku started to reply, "they said we should follow your guys' lead," he explained.

"And that basically means we're following Steven's lead, right?" Francis assumed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey… where's Yellow?" Henry asked curiously, chiming into the conversation. The other matriarch was near the wreckage of both hers and Blue's ships. She raised her left hand, trying to psychically reactivate her own. She was immediately feeling strained from the process. And to make matters worse, her ship didn't respond, with one of its fingers breaking off and falling into the ocean water in a splash.

"Hmm," she huffed indignantly, "How could you do this to us, Pink?" she questioned, turning to walk over to the house, "Why did you let us think you were shattered?" she inquired on, "Why the strange disguise? Why are you doing a voice? Why didn't you say something at the trial?" she continued asking as her eyes were tearing up from her fellow matriarch's power, "And Blue, can you please stop crying?" she requested, using her fingers to wipe her tears away, "I can't see…" she noted, flicking the tears aside as they splashed onto the Gems upon the boardwalk, who seemed unfazed by the Diamonds' disregard for them at this point.

"Sorry!" Blue apologized, ceasing her crying before setting Steven down onto the porch, allowing him to rejoin his friends.

"So… there's a lot to unpack here…" Atsuko noted as she clapped her hands together.

"Quite a lot…" Torunn agreed with a nod.

"My mom kept it secret from everyone," Steven told the two matriarchs.

"A-hem…" Pearl awkwardly coughed into her left fist, getting his attention.

"Almost everyone…" he corrected.

"What are you talking about?" Yellow asked, narrowing her eyes with confusion as she leaned closer.

"Well… apparently Mom…" he started to say, only to stop himself upon realizing something, "Oh, geez, you don't know what a mom is…" he noted, putting his left hand up to his head to think about how best to explain things, "Okay!" he exclaimed, ready to start over, "Pink Diamond took the form of Rose Quartz permanently after faking her shattering," he told the matriarchs, "Then Rose Quartz gave up that form to create a new life with my dad, me," he confirmed on, "Rose passed her gemstone and some of her powers onto me, but... that's all," he explained as he lifted his shirt to show his gem to Yellow, who put a hand onto her chin to think, "I… I don't have any of Pink or Rose's memories…" he mentioned, "I'm sorry…" he apologized. The matriarch stared at the gem intently, wondering just what to make of the information she learned.

"Hmm," she hummed out, standing upright as she backed away, "I'm sure your memories are in there somewhere, Pink," she noted confidently.

"Actually, I go by Steven," the human/Gem hybrid corrected, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, stars!" Blue exclaimed in realization upon remembering something, "How did you even survive?!" she wondered aloud, "We blasted the planet and obliterated every Gem on its surface…" she recalled.

"Wait… what?!" Izuku exclaimed in shock, while others of the multiverse widened their eyes. This was the first time that they heard of such an event. Steven gave off a concerning expression.

"They weren't exactly… obliterated…" he responded finally. A few minutes later, everyone was teleported via the warp pads to a forested location, where a downed ship that looked similar to a flying saucer resided. It was made of a dull gray, stone-like material with three legs, as vegetation grew along it.

"Whoa…" Atsuko uttered in amazement.

"What is that?" Henry inquired curiously.

"A colony ship," Pearl responded, "In fact, one of Pink's…" she added to their surprise. Steven walked up to the ship, placing his hand upon the scanner shaped like a handprint. It flashed pink, and a portion of the downed vessel opened up. Crawling out was a giant centipede-like creature. She was composed of roughly thirteen dark-green segments, excluding the head and the rear, that each bore one pair of similarly colored legs. The final segment had no legs, but what appeared to be a pair of claw-like cerci. Each of these segments was covered on the top side with a solid crystal covering. Her head was composed primarily of a large pair of jaws with a gem in the back of the 'mouth'. This gemstone itself was circular in shape and colored light green with dark green contour lines surrounding the circumference of the gem, connecting to a circular shape. Her gem seemed to act as her iris, being in the middle of what would rationally be a sclera. It also featured a green crystal protuberance on the base of the head that forms a broken horn-like structure. She had a flowing, light-cream colored mane immediately behind her head.

"Ah!" Atsuko yelped as she fell onto her bottom, while the others stared in awe, as did Blue and Yellow. Steven took out a bag of chips for the corrupted Gem, who squealed with delight. She ate the food he held out for her happily.

"What… am I looking at?" Yellow asked after a moment to process things. The corrupted Gem's jaws dropped at the sight of both her and Blue. "No one should've survived our attack…" the former noted with her hand upon her chin.

"Centipeetle's mind is broken," Steven told her, "I've tried to heal her, but… it didn't stick," he mentioned.

"Heal her?" Yellow repeated in confusion, arching an eyebrow.

"But maybe you two can help her!" the human/Gem hybrid suggested, "You're so much stronger than me, and… I got close!" he pointed out confidently.

"Well…" Blue began, looking away briefly to think, "that's not something we normally do…" she admitted.

"This is completely unprecedented," Yellow added.

"But you did this to her!" Steven noted, "You have to help her, all of them!" he mentioned seriously.

"Hmm, very well…" Yellow responded with her hands at her hips, squatting down in preparation, "I can try, but I make no promises," she affirmed on. She then rubs her palms together rapidly, causing a buzzing noise similar to crackling electricity to ring out. An energy reverberated from her hands as she stuck her left one out to touch Centipeetle. Most of her body rose up into the air as everyone watched in awe, while the matriarch concentrated.

Eventually, the corrupted Gem started to glow as her body reverted back into a more human-like form. She had gone through a few changes, with her head being slightly different from her fully corrupted form, as her eye was no longer inside of her mouth. Her posterior exhibited an insect-like abdomen, which was tipped with claw-like cerci. She wore a torn-up light gray midriff that tapers off of her right shoulder, brown gloves and boots that reached her mid-calf, and what appeared to be a black bodysuit with green accents. She looked around in awe before being lowered to the ground.

"There, good as new," Yellow affirmed with a smirk. However, the seemingly uncorrupted Gem started howling, flailing her legs about as if they were like noodles.

"Uh… 'good as new'?" Atsuko repeated, unconvinced like her colleagues. Yellow sighed.

"She may be too far gone," she presumed. Blue put a hand onto her right shoulder.

"Gently, Yellow," she advised, much to her fellow matriarch's chagrin. She then made her right hand shine a bright blue before reaching out to the corrupted Gem herself, as she still growled like a wild animal, snarling and showing her teeth. Upon being touched by Blue, a wave of aura washed over her entire body, calming her down. She appeared to be contented when she opened her eye again. "There we are," the pathokinetic said with a smile. However, the uncorrupted Gem started to tear up.

"No! Please no! No! No! We're all gonna be—!" She kept repeating her words hysterically and frantically, grasping her head. Everyone watched on worriedly.

"Centi…?" Steven uttered out.

"Maybe she's still corrupted somehow…" Izuku suggested.

"Guess that's where you come in," Francis remarked to the human/Gem hybrid, who nodded in agreement. He licked the palm of his right hand and then planted it onto the corrupted Gem's back, while she was still repeating her pleas.

"Centi, it's okay! It's okay!" he assured repeatedly. In that moment, she finally stopped panicking. She looked up at the Diamonds, crossing her arms and shaping her hands like a diamond in a form of salute.

"Nephrite!" she exclaimed, "Facet-Four-One-Three Cabochon-Twelve!" she mentioned. Everyone was in sheer shock.

"W-W-W-What?!" Amethyst stammered out in a whisper.

"Unbelievable…" Garnet said.

"I'm sorry for my failure to heed my Hessonite's evacuation orders…" Nephrite apologized, "My team and I tried our best to make it out before the attack, but…" she continued, lowering her head with shame, "But you're here, and it must've worked!" she concluded in a hopeful tone, "You finally avenged Pink Diamond!" she pointed out, "You destroyed Rose Quartz!" she exclaimed. Unfortunately, hearing that made both Blue and Yellow flinch. They let go of the uncorrupted Gem, and she reverted right back into Centipeetle, whom Steven quickly proceeded to comfort.

"So the effects aren't permanent…" Diana noted, putting a hand onto her chin.

"One's enough to at least get her back into her regular form, but it takes at least three to make her whole…" Henry pointed out, looking at the Diamonds and Steven, "Even then, they can't keep her from losing herself," he mentioned curiously.

"Ugh, Pink…" Yellow groaned out, "How many perfectly adequate Gems did you have us ruin?" she questioned, quite irritated.

"Shh, Yellow!" Blue shushed, grabbing her right arm gently in an attempt to calm her down, "Pink's been punished enough…" she noted, "She's been trapped here in this awful planet with these… creatures…" she added, gesturing to the form of Centipeetle.

"Do it again! It was working!" Steven insisted.

"How long do you expect us to hold her together?" Yellow questioned back.

"I don't know…" the human/Gem hybrid responded, "Forever!" he yelled, while the corrupted Gem took the bag of chips he had, crawling back into the dropship, "You did this, so you have to do something!" he advised firmly, pointing at the pair of matriarchs.

"Easy, Steven…" James chimed in, putting a hand onto his friend's shoulder, "Let's not turn this into another fight after last night…" he insisted on.

"Huh…" Yellow sighed out, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration, "We can only do so much…" she pointed out, "But if it was the four of us…" she continued, causing Blue to grimace beside her.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, "We can't let her see this!" she pointed out desperately, putting her hands onto her face.

"Who?" Steven asked, "Who do we need?" he questioned on.

"What do you mean 'who'?" Yellow inquired back, "White!" she exclaimed. Everyone's eyes widened, dumbstruck by the revelation.

"W-White D-Diamond?" Pearl stuttered out.

"What?!" Amethyst yelped.

"Steven…" Pearl began as she approached the human/Gem hybrid, putting her hands onto his shoulders, "White Diamond isn't like us…" she pointed out, "She isn't even like them," she added, gesturing to Yellow and Blue, "You have no idea what she's capable of…" she finished in warning.

"I just wanna talk," Steven affirmed.

"I don't think you'd have much luck with that…" Blue chimed in, getting their attentions as they looked up at her, "White… hasn't left Homeworld in eons…" she noted.

"Then we're going to Homeworld!" Steven declared.

"In what?!" Yellow questioned emphatically, "You and your 'friends' destroyed both our ships!" she recalled.

"Not like you didn't have it coming…" Atsuko grumbled under her breath, earning herself an elbowing from Diana, "Ow!" she yelped, giving off a glare and sticking her tongue out at her fellow student witch.

"Unless…" Blue uttered, getting the group's attention, "you don't still have yours, do you?" she inquired curiously.

"Mine?" Steven repeated, somewhat confused.

"Uh, timeout for a sec…" Azari chimed in, grabbing the human/Gem hybrid and pulling him aside, "We need to talk about all this…" he insisted. Both Diamonds stared at the group in confusion as they huddled together, leaving out the other Gems and Connie.

"Uh… what's wrong?" Steven asked in concern.

"Are we really going to go through with taking a trip to Homeworld to try and talk with someone who's probably crazier than they are?" the Wakandan prince whispered as a question in response, glancing back at Yellow and Blue, "Just because we're not fighting doesn't mean they're on our side," he pointed out, "Hell, I can tell Yellow's sick of us…" he mentioned with a roll of his eyes.

"What about Blue then?" Diana asked.

"I think she's nice!" Atsuko affirmed, "She just really wanted to see Pink again, and now she did!" she noted, smiling at Steven, who blushed a little.

"Yeah, but now there's White Diamond…" Francis chimed in, "Azari's right, she's probably the most insane out of all of them," he pointed out.

"And even if we do get to Homeworld and get the chance to talk to her, what'll she say?" James wondered on, "That she'll help us?" he assumed.

"I'd say it's doubtful," Diana admitted in reply.

"But it wouldn't hurt to try, at least now that we're on good terms with Yellow and Blue," Izuku confirmed.

"Yeah, I say we go for it," Atsuko agreed, clenching her right fist determinedly.

"Huh…" her fellow student witch sighed, "Ultimately, it should be Steven's choice," she said, "And whatever it may be, we'll support him," she affirmed on.

"Then I guess that means we're going to Homeworld," James assumed, "So… where can we find a ship to fly in?" he asked of the human/Gem hybrid. He put a hand onto his chin in thought for a moment. After a moment, his eyes sparkled in remembrance.

"I think I know somewhere!" he concluded excitedly.

X

"This place is filled with Mom's junk, so there's a good chance it's buried around here!" Steven told the group a little while later as they had arrived in a desert with a small, beige-colored building nearby, between two large pink structures, "We can split up the area like a grid and divide the search!" he suggested, "It's just past these pink pyramids!" he pointed out. Both Yellow and Blue stared down at him in perplexity, wondering if he was just playing or didn't recognize what was right in front of him. Diana seemed to notice as well.

"Uh, Steven?" she called out, trying to get his attention.

"We've got a lot of desert to cover," he pointed out, resting his hand against one of the pink structure's, "It may take a while…" he noted, "and be really super hot!" he added grimly, "But if we don't give up, I know we can find it!" he affirmed confidently. However, he didn't realize that he had unknowingly activated a panel upon the structure he touched, causing it to glow brightly.

"Uh… Steven?" Bismuth chimed in, getting his attention. He turned and gasped upon seeing the glowing structure, stumbling back as the ground started shaking. Emerging from the sand and standing up was a large pink spaceship shaped like a pair of legs, with the feet shaped like heels. Throughout the ship's legs, light pink lines were present and created square shapes in different parts of the exterior.

"Oh…!" Steven uttered upon realizing what happened, chuckling sheepishly. It wasn't long before the uncovered ship was hovering over Beach City at dusk, casting a large shadow as many onlookers watched in awe. The ship landed in front of the Temple at the beach, with water splashing and sand billowing upon its impact. It was evidently enormous.

"So… what's the word?" Atsuko asked of Diana, who pocketed her MPG.

"Chariot's informed Headmistress Holbrooke of our upcoming absences," she replied, much to her fellow student witch's relief, "Though she doubts that it'll be long before we come back," she mentioned.

"I hope it doesn't take too long…" Atsuko admitted, "I already feel like I'm in enough hot water as is…" she confessed on.

"You get your approval, too?" Azari inquired of Izuku, who put his own MPG away into one of his pouches at his belt.

"Yeah," he responded, "I feel like I'm always getting myself into situations like this…" he pointed out, looking up to the dusk sky, "But… I don't mind," he admitted on.

"Heh," the Wakandan prince chuckled, "Neither do I," he agreed, putting his hands onto his hips. In the meantime, Connie had a large backpack of supplies ready for the upcoming voyage. All she had to do now was say her goodbyes to her parents, while Pearl stood by.

"You're going to do great!" her mother affirmed confidently, "You sure you have everything?" she questioned, "Food, water? Where's your sword?!" she kept asking, starting to panic and worry a little, "I can't believe I'm asking that…" she said, glancing off to the side as she crossed her arms underneath her chest.

"It's okay, Mom!" Connie assured, "This is going to be a diplomatic mission!" she pointed out.

"And I'll be with her the whole time," Pearl promised, "I know the planet!" she mentioned, "There's an atmosphere, she'll be able to breathe…" she listed off. The Maheswarans were still somewhat unconvinced and frankly uncomfortable, looking up at the leg ship as its behind glimmered in the evening sun.

"Alright, be careful!" Priyanka advised of her daughter, "Just… come home safe…" she requested.

"Oh, thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad!" Connie exclaimed gratefully, hugging her parents as Pearl watched on with a smile.

"I can't believe I'm finally going to Homeworld!" Amethyst admitted, trotting over while holding a duffel bag in the shape of a hot dog over her head, "There might be more Famethysts!" she realized with widened eyes. Meanwhile, Steven was standing with his father, Garnet, and Lion, saying his goodbyes as well.

"Love you, Schtu-ball," Greg said, "Be careful out there," he advised as he gently hugged his son, who embraced him back.

"I love you too!" he responded, "I'll be back before you know it!" he promised, "Lion! Bring it in, buddy!" he insisted, going over and hugging the feline, who was licking his paws. His father watched on. As proud as he was of Steven, he wasn't sure if things would really be okay.

"Garnet, should I be worried?" he asked of the fusion, getting her attention.

"Steven… will be fine," she assured, having to pause for a moment, followed by holding up the cat in her arms, "If you could water this for me while I'm gone, it'd be a big help," she mentioned.

"Oh, uh… sure thing!" Greg replied with a stutter, both out of confusion and awkwardness. Meanwhile, his son was still hugging Lion, who appeared to be exasperated.

"Don't miss me too much!" he said, giggling a little. He then took notice of Bismuth standing off by herself, staring into the distance. She seemed… troubled. "Bismuth?" Steven said, getting her attention as she saw him approach, "Are you ready?" he asked, taking her left hand into his right.

"I…" she tried to respond, only for them to both glance over at the broken hand ships of Yellow and Blue, with pieces still coming off of them, "I'm not gonna join a Diamond entourage!" she declared, much to the human/Gem hybrid's surprise, "I know what you're doing, I get why you gotta do it," she pointed out, "but I'm not gonna lay my gem on their anvil…" she firmly stated.

"'Anvil'?" Steven repeated in confusion.

"Okay, let me put this in Earth terms for you…" Bismuth decided as she knelt down at put her hand onto his right shoulder, "You're about to enter the 'lions' den'," she noted, "Luckily, you're a 'lion', too!" she mentioned, "You gotta roar at them in their language; you're the one that has to do it," she advised of him.

"Right…" Steven responded nervously, now somewhat anxious about the circumstances as he glanced off to the side for a moment.

"Besides," the blacksmith Gem continued as she stood up, "you're gonna need me at the home base," she pointed out, "Someone's gotta keep an eye on these two while you're gone," she said, showing him Peridot and Lapis' gemstones in her right hand, "We'll be waiting for you when you get back," she promised, clutching the gems to her chest.

"Hmm!" Steven replied with a nod, "Ok!" he exclaimed, running back over to the others, "Let's go to Homeworld!" he declared.

"Yeah!" Amethyst, Connie and Atsuko responded excitedly.

"Fantastic…" Yellow sarcastically muttered with her arms crossed, while Blue gave off a small smile. A couple minutes later, everyone heading on the trip had boarded the leg ship. Its interior was almost circular. The ceiling was pink. The walls were red with violet-red symbols that Izuku and James took note of. The center of the walkway had a footboard upon it. In front of the ship, the window frame had the shape of the triangle. Two huge seats flanked the walkway. The back doorframe had the shape of the triangle.

The large seats were taken by Yellow and Blue, with the former looking rather exasperated. Everyone else gathered at the center of the walkway, looking down curiously at the footplate. Steven stepped onto it, and a pink aura formed around his legs like a pair of pants.

"It's a good look for you, Steven!" Amethyst complimented.

"Thank you!" he responded gratefully.

"Oh, it's been so long since we've been together in Pink's ship…" Blue noted, weeping a little. As such, Steven and Yellow's eyes started to tear up.

"Please, Blue…" the latter of the two insisted, "If we could continue…?" she requested.

"Yes, of course…" her fellow matriarch responded, wiping away her tears, as did Steven.

"So… how does this thing work?" Henry asked as he approached, "I don't see any throttles, lever, or even a wheel…" he listed off as points.

"Maybe it's just based on what I do?" Steven suggested, shrugging unsurely. Pearl then walked over.

"For launching, just get a running start," she instructed.

"Mmm!" the human/Gem hybrid responded, clenching his fists determinedly. He then raised his left foot, and the left leg of the ship was raised. It then awkwardly started treading forward out to sea, almost bumbling about.

"You got this, Steven!" Greg cried out as he and the others watched from the beach.

"WAH!" Atsuko yelped as she tried to find her balance along with the others. The pilot was struggling, and based on the vexed and distressed looks on his colleagues' faces, he had a lot of room for improvement. But he was still determined.

"Hold on! I'm taking off!" he yelled, out, picking up his momentum. The ship leapt into the air, launching itself out into space.

"Whoa…" James uttered in amazement.

"We gotta get out more…" Francis immediately insisted upon seeing just how vast the world around them was.

"Huh…" Steven sighed with relief, looking over to Pearl, "I bet when Mom took off, it was pretty graceful, huh?" he assumed.

"Heh…" she laughed out, "No, not really…" she confessed, glancing off to the side.

"So how long is the trip supposed to be?" Atsuko asked, raising a hand. A long while passed before she yawned tiredly, seemingly ready to fall asleep at a moment's notice. She wound up leaning against Yellow, snoring loudly and drooling to her disgust as she grimaced. Blue giggled.

"Some of these creatures are quite amusing…" she noted curiously.

"Hm," her fellow matriarch huffed, "I suppose that's one way to put it…" she muttered. Torunn was swinging her sword about in preparation, Francis was screwing on tips for his arrows, James and Henry were snoozing up against the wall, Azari and Diana were looking through the window frame, and Izuku was just wandering about. The moment he took notice of where Atsuko was, he grimaced.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" he repeatedly apologized as he hurried over and picked her up in his arms, carrying her away. For a split-second, Yellow appeared to smile a little. Connie and Amethyst were asleep as well, lying on Garnet's legs as she sat cross-legged on the floor. Meanwhile, Pearl was accessing the ship's holographic control panel, standing beside Steven.

"Should I have brought a gift for White Diamond?" he inquired, getting her attention, "We are dropping in unexpectedly, and… I want to make a good first impression," he affirmed, "Her help will mean everything for the corrupted Gems," he said determinedly.

"Steven…" Pearl uttered.

"Hmph," Yellow scoffed, causing them to look over at her in surprise, "'Good impression'? " she repeated, "We'll be lucky if she ever speaks to us again after this," she pointed out.

"But—"

"The thing is…" Blue chimed in, interjecting Steven as he looked over to her, "White… can be... difficult…" she noted in remembrance, glancing off to the side nervously.

"How difficult compared to you?" Francis asked, only to earn an elbowing from his girlfriend, "Ow!" he yelped in pain.

"When we show up in this ship, it will be irrefutable that the last six thousand years are now the biggest galactic embarrassment that's ever happened," Yellow told the group, "And we're the ones to blame," she added on, putting a hand onto her chin to think for a moment, "If you don't want to be in a bubble for the next few millennia, I suggest you let me do the talking," she advised seriously. An awkward silence filled the room as both she and Blue looked away in unrest. Steven was starting to get nervous.

It was undeniable that White was someone much more controlling than either of the two Diamonds. Asking her for help would be difficult, let alone thinking about it. The fate of the Gems around the universe depended upon the human/Gem hybrid, and he wasn't sure how things would turn out. The ship's engine stared to whir.

"Ahem…" Pearl coughed out, "We're here…" she noted aloud, causing both Blue and Yellow to slightly grimace. Connie woke up and yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"Really…?" she said. At that moment, Garnet quickly stood up, causing the still-sleeping Amethyst to fall over and hit her head against the floor.

"Ughh!" she groaned with pain, "What… gives...?" she inquired, going from irritated to surprised at the moment she and the others looked out the windshield of the ship. James, Henry and Atsuko all got up as well, marveling the sight ahead of them. It was a shattered planet. Two sets of dark blue rings surrounded it, where its rocky chunks were still held relatively close together by what looked to be gravity. The surface of the chunks themselves were mostly white with small shades of other colors such as pink, blue and yellow mixed in as well.

"Homeworld…" Steven uttered out. He only been on the planet once before, when standing trial in place of his mother for Pink's faked shattering. He had never seen it from afar.

"What… happened?" Izuku asked curiously, turning to the Diamonds. Neither of them responded, much to his confusion and worry. The leg ship then somersaulted, with flames emitting at its feet as it breached the broken planet's atmosphere. It tore through the clouds overhead, landing upon the roof of a building.

"Everyone, wait here," Yellow advised immediately afterward, "Blue and I will return for you…" she promised, "once White's temper has cooled…" she mentioned on.

"Which might take a while…" her fellow matriarch added nervously.

"Very reassuring…" Francis sarcastically muttered out, while his girlfriend perked up.

"Do any of you hear that?" she inquired of the group.

"Hear what?" Atsuko asked. At that moment, she picked up on the muffled yelling, seemingly coming from outside.

"Wait, that sound…" Garnet uttered as everyone started hearing the noise, somewhat surprised. A moment later, they were all within a pink energy bubble, which floated out of the top of the ship. As it dissipated, everyone was surprised to find that they were in front of an arena that was seemingly filled with thousands of Gems, all cheering in unison. They were in the formation of the symbol that Izuku remembered seeing, making him tense up a little.

"…Woah!" Steven exclaimed, "Maybe things won't be so bad!" he suggested, now a bit more hopeful. But then, the Gems immediately quieted down from the droning sound that echoed nearby. A whitish bubble was descending from above, landing in front of the human/Gem hybrid and the others. It came undone, and they all gasped.

Standing there was a Pearl, who had all of the typical features of one, with a thin and flexible build and a pointed, beak-like nose. But her color scheme was a monochrome black-and-white one, with her skin being an off-white color and her bodice being off-black with gray sleeves and legs, as well as her skirt was white and her flats were light gray. Her hair was twisted into two buns at opposite sides of her head, and her gemstone was located on the upper part of her navel and was an oval-shaped cabochon. Her most prominent feature was the atypical scarring over her left eye, which is lined with cracks that extend to the chin, hairline, and hair bun of her physical form, completely covering the missing eye.

"Okay…" James uttered, taking a defensive stance.

"It's White's Pearl…" Blue noted in a whisper over to Yellow, who grimaced.

"Pink Diamond," the servant addressed, getting Steven's attention, "your presence is required," she said almost robotically.

"Huh?" Atsuko uttered out.

"Come on, Blue," Yellow beckoned, prepared to go and meet with their fellow matriarch.

"Only Pink Diamond's presence is necessary," the off-white Pearl assured, gliding over to Steven.

"Uhh, maybe we could—" Before he could finish making a suggestion, the white Pearl encased herself and him in another bubble, still smiling lifelessly. Pearl herself gasped in shock, seeing them fly away.

"Wait!" Amethyst yelled.

"Steven!" Connie, Pearl and Atsuko cried out.

"We gotta go after him!" Izuku insisted, making green sparks of bio-electricity crackle around his body. But as he attempted to lunge out, Yellow took hold of him in her right hand a yelp.

"Things are already bad enough as is, so don't make it worse!" she commanded firmly, making the freckled teen clench his teeth in frustration. He and the others were left to just watch as the white bubble was making its way toward what appeared to be a white statue of a head and torso in the distance, having a similar look to the other Diamonds' ships. The bubble phased through its walls inside, dissolving. White Pearl then floated back through the wall, leaving a befuddled Steven behind.

"Pink!" a voice exclaimed, getting his attention as he turned and widened his eyes to see who was behind him, "There you are!" she noted happily. The figure before the human/Gem hybrid was about a head taller than her fellow Diamonds. She had white skin, white spiky hair in a shape similar to a star pentagon, diamond-shaped white pupils with large and full black eyelashes, light gray eyeshadow, black fingernails and shiny black lipstick. Her body was constantly radiating a bright light, and her gemstone was located on her forehead, being a side view of a round-cut diamond.

She wore a long transparent white dress that reached the floor and slitted up both sides to her thighs and a white and grey leotard with shoulder pads. She also donned a sleeve-worn, translucent cape with black and gray stripes embedded with glimmering diamond fragments and star designs, as well as a pair of intricately detailed high heeled dress sandals. To say that Steven was awed would be an understatement.

"Hello, Starlight, you certainly gave everyone a scare," she pointed out in greeting, "They're all just thrilled to see you safe and sound," she affirmed.

"Um… hi…?" the human/Gem hybrid responded unsurely. As much as he wanted to rip off the bandage and tell her everything, something in the back of his mind was making him have doubts, "I—"

"As for this latest little game of yours," White continued, not giving Steven the chance to speak, "thank the stars it's over!" she confirmed gleefully, "Did you have fun? Did you get everything out of your system?" she inquired.

"I—"

"Good, good…" the Diamond repeated dismissively, cutting him off once more, "Everyone is so relieved," she noted, "Welcome home, Pink," she said. Before anything else could be said, another white bubble encased Steven, taking him away.

"W-Wait, hold on!" he stammered out. It wasn't long before the bubble popped. Steven stood up, bewildered to find himself inside of an empty pink room. It was a hexagonal room with high ceilings and glittering walls, decorated with pink bubbles around the upper half of the it. Looking out to the balcony of the room, he saw White's ship, looming ominously in front of him as if it were watching. There was quite the challenge on the horizon. And even Steven wasn't sure how to deal with it just yet…

Well, it seems our good friend Steven's in somewhat of a bind for the moment. Hopefully, things don't spiral out of control just yet…

Anyways, I think that's enough for you to digest for now. There's a lot of pieces to this first act of our story. And you may be wondering, just where might the Power Stone be? Well… you'll soon find out…

This is Xiaomei, signing off.

END

Gosh, that was a long chapter. I'm happy to have gotten it done, but it feels like I could've dealt with less. Then again, I had a lot gathered in my outline for this first chapter. As a matter of fact, there was more to this chapter I wanted to get into, but decided to hold off on, which I'm more than content with.

That's about it for now! I hope you enjoyed this start to a brand new venture for me and you all! Thanks for reading!