Chapter 2

The next morning, Steven rose alongside the sun: bright and early. Snarfing down a waffle, he bolted out the house and toward the ship. The three gems trailed after him. Steven took no time to hop in the ship and launch into the air, the running start bathing Beach City in ocean water.

"I really hope I didn't destroy anything," Steven muttered. It took a few hours but eventually, the ringed planet of Homeworld faded into view. Steven very unceremoniously plopped the ship down onto the docking bay. Pushing the door open, he was greeted by a familiar figure looming over him.

"Blue!" Steven exclaimed.

"Steven, there you are!" She gestured swiftly with her hand. "Hurry, we're starting soon." Steven nodded, bolting after her to no avail. He lagged behind what felt like miles until Blue finally stopped before another giant door. Seriously, how do normal gems get around some of these places? Blue pushed the door open, revealing the familiar, once again giant room. However, something was different. Instead of three thrones, there were four, the new one tiny and bathed in a stream of pink.

"Is that one…mine?"

Blue turned to the throne. "Yes. It was made recently. Surprise!"

"Thanks, Blue." Steven looked around. The courtroom was empty other than Steven, Blue Diamond, and Blue Pearl, who was seated just by Blue Diamond's throne behind a mountain of art supplies. "Where is everyone else?"

"Yellow and White will be here any second," Blue Diamond replied.

"What about Morganite?"

"She's with the defense attorney preparing her case," she explained. "Don't worry. They'll be given more time than…Then you were." Both of them avoided each other's gazes. Before either could say a word, the door opened again, revealing Yellow and White Diamond. "Oh, there they are." Blue sighed in relief.

"Are we ready to start?" White asked.

"Almost," Blue replied. "I'll check in with the defense and prosecution and see if they're ready." The four exchanged nods before going separate ways. Steven hopped toward his throne. It was one of the only seats in the whole room that wasn't giant. Yellow and White sat in their thrones as well. Seconds later, a door opened from across the room and in walked Blue Diamond with two Zircons and Morganite. Blue Diamond took her seat as the other gems made their way to the middle of the room. Everyone looked at White.

"What?" White asked, her eyes wide.

"Aren't you…" Blue hesitated. "Aren't you going to open?"

"Oh!" White stood up, her fingers entwined. "We are all gathered here to decide the fate of Morganite, a gem who has threatened to end the leadership of us diamonds through possible violent means. Now, the prosecution may speak." She sat back down, sighing in relief.

The prosecuting Zircon stepped forward. "My diamonds, some may consider this Morganite's crime to be small and not worth going on trial for, but I beg to differ. Threatening to end your leadership of Homeworld is outright begging to be shattered. It is an act of treason and should be treated as such. Even if, in a hypothetical scenario that is, your leadership weren't perfect, threatening to end your leadership can only mean Morganite intends to cause you harm. It is an act of violence, and must be prevented through whatever means necessary."

"Thank you, Zircon," White Diamond replied. "Now, the defense may speak." The defense Zircon stepped forward. Morganite stood still, a scowl enveloping her features.

"My diamonds, I speak in defense of a rebel, or should I say a supposed rebel. Since no crime has been committed yet, it wouldn't be fair to indict her. We don't know what she will do if she'll even do anything. We should have all the information we can before taking action." The diamonds exchanged glances, muttering and nodding slightly.

"She makes a good point," Yellow admitted. "I'll call in a Sapphire to predict the future." She pulled up a keypad and pressed a few buttons. Many moments later, the giant door opened, revealing a tiny, blue gem.

"My diamonds." Her voice was soft and smooth like the Sapphire Steven knew. "You asked for me?"

"Yes, we need your vision of the future." Blue pointed at Morganite. "About what she will do. Will she hurt us?"

Sapphire stepped forward, clasping her hands. "I foresee Morganite destroying all of your physical forms and becoming the supreme dictator of Homeworld, ruling just as the three of you did before." White and Blue let out gasps.

Yellow stood up, glaring down at Morganite. "That settles it. This Morganite must be shattered."

"Wait!" Steven leaped out of his throne, landing between Morganite and Yellow Diamond. "That's just one possible outcome!"

"What are you talking about? Sapphire just told you the future."

"She told us a possibility!" Steven argued. "No one can truly see the future. Blue, don't you remember when Sapphire's prediction was wrong and she and Ruby fused?"

���Of course I do!" She exclaimed.

"Well Garnet sees multiple possibilities for the future," Steven explained. "Each one ending up possible with the smallest change."

"But...Garnets don't have future vision…"

Blue glanced at White. "No no, he means that Ruby and Sapphire fusion," She explained. White nodded in understanding. Yellow turned back to Steven.

"If this…Garnet, will reassure you that we must do something about Morganite, then by all means, bring her in."

"Thank you, Yellow!" Steven hopped away.

"Um...my diamonds?"

"Oh...you're excused, Sapphire." He left the door open as he hopped out of the building, toward the ship. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl sat inside, chatting amongst each other. They all looked at him when he entered.

"Steven! Is the trial over?" Pearl asked.

"No, I actually came here to get Garnet," he explained. "We need a vision of the future."

Garnet flinched. "The diamonds wanted me?" she asked.

"Well...I did," Steven admitted. "Since you can see more than one outcome for the future and all."

"Okay...I'll go…" Garnet stood up, retaining what appeared to be a stoic look with her visor. The two of them waltzed back to the courtroom. Opening the door, all eyes in the room immediately locked on Garnet.

White Diamond spoke, "Garnet, thank you for coming. What is your vision of the future?"

Garnet hesitated before replying, "I see a few different futures…all of them involving violence."

"Well that's just marvelous," Yellow Diamond groaned.

"The most probable outcome is all of you agreeing to put Morganite in your newly built prison as a compromise. That way, she is neither hurt nor let entirely off the hook." Silence descended upon the room. The Diamonds exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"That…actually sounds like a great idea."

"What?!" Morganite screamed. "You're going to throw one of your most valuable gems in jail for having her own thoughts?!" Her gem lit up.

"Zircons!" Yellow exclaimed. "Restrain her!" Both Zircons dashed toward her just as Morganite's weapon materialized: a flail. In one swing, the Zircons vanished in a flash, their gemstones landing on the floor with a clink. Steven let out a gasp. Morganite turned to the Diamonds, her eyes blazing.

"NO!" White Diamond's shout came just before a familiar flash of light. Morganite was struck, her colours fading once again. Blue and Yellow flinched, pressing their backs to their thrones. Morganite's weapon disappeared in a flash as her white hued body hit the ground. Silence once again overcame the room. White turned to her fellow diamonds. "What? It's only until she's in her cell." Yellow and Blue trembled as they stared at White. Garnet too shook beside Steven. White's eyes widened with realization. "Yellow...Blue...you know I'm not gonna…" She reached toward them, causing them to recoil. White let out a sigh. "Get the Zircons to a safe place until they reform. I'll put Morganite in jail." Grabbing Morganite's form, she marched out of the courtroom. Steven immediately bolted after her. None of the gems made an attempt to stop him so he continued to follow her out of the building.

"White!" Steven called.

She whipped around, her eyes blazing with the same fury. "Why are you following me?!" She demanded. Steven froze. "Why aren't you with Yellow and Blue?! Or your earth guardians?!" White's eyes suddenly welled with tears. "You shouldn't be anywhere near me."

"Why not?" Steven asked. "What did I do?!"

"What did you-you didn't do anything!" White turned back around. "The way they looked at me…" Her voice was soft but loud enough so Steven could still hear. "I'm not their fellow diamond anymore. I'm nothing but a monster...that's all I ever will be. No matter how hard I try to make up for the past, I deserve their scorn. What I did to them...what I did to everyone was horrible. I don't deserve their forgiveness." With a heavy sigh, she continued walking. Steven stood completely still, hardly processing what he had just heard.

Even when he was back home, White Diamond's words still rang in Steven's ears. He still didn't know what to make of it. All he knew is that this is why White Diamond was acting so weird.

"Hey Steven," he looked up to see Amethyst leaning on the side of the bed beside him. "How you doin'?" She asked. "You've been really quiet since we got home."

"The trial got a little intense-"

"Garnet told us about all that stuff," Amethyst interrupted. "Morganite tried to attack the diamonds, White Diamond mind controlled her to stop her, and took her to gem prison."

"Did she tell you that Yellow and Blue are still afraid of White?" Steven asked.

Amethyst shrugged. "Can't exactly blame them. Not long ago, she was the supreme dictator of Homeworld and we know how much of a disaster that was. Come on, even you have to admit she was pretty terrifying. I mean, she ripped out your gem."

Steven flinched. "Yeah, that was really, really, awful...but she isn't like that anymore. I wish everyone could see that." Amethyst was about to respond when the front door was flung open.

"Hey, Steven!" A voice called. Steven peered down from the loft.

"Peridot! Lapis!" Steven cheered, hopping down the stairs. He flung his arms around both of them. Giggling, they returned the gesture.

"Glad to see you too," Lapis replied.

Steven pulled out of the hug. "So why are you here? I mean...I know you're here all the time now but...why here, here?"

"We've finally finished rebuilding the barn!" Peridot announced. Steven's eyes became stars.

"So we thought we'd show you around," Lapis added. "The barn is really only for me and Peridot to have our own space, but we thought you'd want to see anyways."

"Yeah, you should TOTALLY go," Amethyst suggested. "It'll help you take your mind off that other stuff." Steven frowned but nodded agreeably.

"Alright! Let's see the barn!" He hopped down the stairs and into the sand. He followed Lapis and Peridot further down the beach, passing various bunches of chatting gems along the way. Those gems included Rhodonite, Fluorite, Padparadscha, the Rutile twins, and nearly all the uncorrupted gems. Steven looked up. There stood the barn, glowing with a coat of bright red paint.

"So what do you think?" Peridot asked, pointing at the distant barn.

"I like the paint, but it's kinda…" Steven hesitated before adding, "Bland."

"We haven't remade our meep morps yet…" Lapis glanced down at the ground.

"But we will!" Peridot insisted. "And we'll make them even better this time!" Lapis forced a smile. "We can start right now!" Peridot suggested. "There's some trash cans in the town we can dig through!"

"Alright," Lapis nodded, looking back at Steven. "You wanna come with?"

"Sure," Steven replied. He trailed after the two of them. Peridot hopped through the streets like a rabbit, throwing off lids of trash cans and ripping open trash bags to rummage through them. Lapis walked calmly after her, gazing at the green gem with a smile. Between the two of them, they had a week's worth of garbage. To them, however, it was treasure.

"Ooh!" Peridot lifted something from one of the bags. "This food placement tablet I found will go great with these food pickers!"

"I like this." Lapis lifted a red claw. Peridot's eyes became stars.

"Ooh! That goes well with this!" Smiling brightly, Peridot held up a fake goose head. At least Steven hoped it was fake. He would seriously question the morality of Beach City if it weren't. Peridot and Lapis continued rummaging through the trash until they both had a mountain's worth of random objects.

"Is this enough?" Lapis teased.

"But we haven't checked every trash can in the city!" Peridot protested. She dashed toward Peridot, her tower of trash wobbling with her. A broken clock fell from the pile, smacking her right in the head. "Okay fine. We've gathered enough meep morp materials."

Lapis smirked. "Let's go back to the barn and decorate," she suggested. Peridot nodded. The weight of her pile didn't even seem to faze her as she rushed after Lapis. Steven waved as they faded out of sight.

"Hey Steven!" a voice called.

"Dad!" He called back. The two of them hugged briefly.

"Uh...how'd that stuff on Homeworld go?"

Steven's smiled faded. "Not so well," he sighed.

"Oh...well if this is confidential stuff you don't have to-"

"It's not," Steven cut him off. "Pretty much everyone knows even if they weren't there. Morganite tried to attack the diamonds so White Diamond brainwashed her and I guess Blue and Yellow are still scared of her even though White was trying to protect them."

"Hm...yeah that kind of stuff always takes time," Greg explained.

"Why? White really has changed," Steven insisted. "I've seen it."

"But maybe they haven't. White Diamond broke their trust. That might take a long time to repair."

Steven let out a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. I'm just worried about her. Well...all of them, really. They don't seem like they want to fix anything. Yellow and Blue don't want anything to do with White unless I bring her up and White just wants to be alone all the time."

"Well some people are like that," Greg explained. "Being around others is draining and they need to be alone for a while."

"But she just wants to be alone all the time and no one else will even go near her. That's why I thought that party was such a good idea but she wasn't even there that long." He paused to sigh. "I really thought everything was gonna be okay but now it just seems like they're falling back into their old patterns."

Greg gazed at him sympathetically. "Maybe you should take your mind off this stuff. It's probably a lot to handle."

"Yeah," Steven admitted. "I guess…it's not really something I can fix right now anyway…" Steven's thoughts trailed away. "Dad...did Mom ever talk about the Diamonds?"

"Eh...here and there," he replied.

"Did she...miss them?"

Greg hesitated. "I don't think so," he admitted. "She never really spoke fondly of them…and said she never missed her home."

"Well...I understand why," Steven sighed. "Homeworld was pretty awful and the Diamonds were terrible to her."

"I doubt that means she stopped loving them entirely. It was the right choice for her to leave, of course, but the Diamonds were still her family after all."

"I wish she knew how much they missed her," Steven admitted. "They were bad at showing it but they really loved her...and still love her."

Greg nodded in agreement. Steven paused. During their conversation, the pair had made their way to the overcrowded beach. He squinted. Bismuth sat on the beach with three other gems. One was an orange gem with two horns on her head, one was a thin, white gem, and the other was blue with splotches of pink.

"Hey, Steven!" Bismuth called as she caught his eye.

Steven glanced at Greg. "I'm gonna go chat with them…"

"Okay, see ya later kiddo," Greg waved before strolling away. Steven turned back to Bismuth and the other three.

"Hi, Bismuth!" Steven called, trotting toward them.

"Hey, Steven! Glad to see ya!"

"Bismuth, who is this?" The orange gem asked.

"Oh, this is Steven," Bismuth explained. "He's Pink Diamond's son."

"I'm Biggs Jasper, but you can just call me Biggs," she replied.

"My friends call me Snowflake," the white gem informed.

"And I was bestowed the name 'Crazy Lace,'" the last one joked.

"Nice to meet you," Steven greeted.

"So are you a human or a gem?" Snowflake asked.

"Uh...half and half." Steven lifted his shirt, revealing the bright pink gem embedded in his stomach. "My dad was a human and my mom was, well, Pink Diamond."

"Well...I knew Rose loved humans but I didn't realize she loved them THAT much," Biggs joked. Steven blushed. Meanwhile, Bismuth snorted before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, I've missed you, buddy." She wrapped her arm around Biggs, resting her hand on her shoulder. Biggs imitated with a smile.

Snowflake's gaze rested on Steven. "Hey...Steven, I've been hearing rumours. What's Homeworld like these days?" She asked.

"Oh, it's really changed!" Steven replied. "Gems are allowed to express themselves, the Rose Quartzes were unbubbled, and gems can't be owned anymore!"

The three gems gazed at him, eyes widened. "How in the world did you convince the Diamonds to do all of that?!" Biggs gasped.

"It was pretty easy," Steven shrugged. "They wanted to as well."

"I can hardly believe that!" Crazy Lace exclaimed. "The Diamonds were always so...stingy. They really just changed overnight?!" Steven nodded. "I want proof!" She stood up. "Take me to Homeworld. I wanna see these changes for myself."

"Yeah, we do too," Biggs informed. She and Snowflake stood up beside their friend.

"Okay. I'll just go let Pearl know and we can go." They nodded as Steven walked back to the house. More Crystal Gems littered the beach like candy, talking amongst each other or drawing in the sand. Bismuth had offered to build them all rooms in the temple but they refused. They insisted they didn't need "bases." Steven pushed the door of the house open.

"PEARL!" he called out.

Pearl, who sat nearby on the couch with her phone, looked up with wide eyes.

"Yes, Steven?"

"Can I go to Homeworld?"

"Again? But we just got back from the last trip a few hours ago."

"A few other gems wanted to go," Steven explained. "They wanted to see how things have changed."

Pearl let out a sigh, looking back at her phone. "Alright you can go, I suppose, but I'm coming too. Just let me finish sending this cellular letter."

"Cellular letter?" Amethyst butted in. "You mean a text?"

"No, no, I mean an electronic letter sent from my cellular phone," Pearl explained. "I believe the Application is called guh-mail?" Amethyst glanced at Steven, nudging him as she chuckled under her breath. Steven struggled not to laugh. After typing for a bit, Pearl put her phone aside and stood up.

"Alright, let's go."

"Welcome to Homeworld!" Steven announced as the door of the ship opened. The four gems made their way into the city.

"As you can see, nothing has changed visually about the planet," Pearl explained, "But many things have changed about the planet's inhabitants!"

"Pearl!" Three voices called. The group turned to see Blue Pearl, Yellow Pearl, and Pink Pearl all running toward Pearl. Her eyes widened as the three Pearls through their arms around her.

"We haven't seen you since the ball!" Yellow Pearl chipped.

"What brings you here again?" Pink Pearl asked. "Who are these other gems?"

"Oh hey," Biggs waved. "I'm Biggs."

"I'm Snowflake," The white gem greeted.

"And I'm Crazy Lace."

"So what are you three up to?" Snowflake asked. "Shouldn't you be with your diamonds?" Pink Pearl's eyes widened. Blue Pearl rested a hand on Pink's shoulder while Yellow Pearl stepped up.

"Haven't you heard?" She replied in her usual tone. "The Pearls were all freed. No one owns us anymore." Blue and Pink Pearl nodded.

"That's great!" Biggs exclaimed. "The Diamonds really have changed then!"

"What else is different?" Snowflake asked.

"Yellow and I still dabble," Pink Pearl informed, cutting through the silence. "But Blue Pearl has an official role!"

Yellow Pearl nudged Blue Pearl forward.

"Oh!" She froze. "I'm the official court artist now…"

Biggs, Snowflake, and Crazy Lace stared at the blue gem in awe. Blue Pearl backed away, her head low.

"Well Pearls we were just taking Biggs, Snowflake, and Crazy Lace on a tour if you want to join us," Steven suggested.

"Nah, Pinkie and I are working on party preparations," Yellow Pearl informed. "And Bluey is drawing." Blue Pearl nodded.

"Well, it was good running into you," Pearl replied, as she walked away.

The group talked to a myriad of other gems along the way, about how things have changed, how they're so much happier, and how great it was in general. It got dull really fast. Turning around, Steven noticed a dark building, a stark contrast to the rest of the city. Curious, Steven made his way toward it. He pushed the door open, sunlight immediately leaking inside like water and revealing Morganite, leaning on the wall just behind the bars of her cell.

"Hello Pink Diamond," she greeted. Her tone was casual.

Steven scowled. "It's Steven," he corrected.

"My apologies...Steven. How are things on the other side of the bars?"

"It's only been a few hours. Nothing's changed."

"Ha, that's not really what I meant. How are you and your friends doing?"

"After your attack you mean?" Steven asked. "Why do you care?" He began to wonder why he even came here.

"You know I didn't mean any of...that, right? Yeah, I went too far but I was just upset about my sentence but wouldn't you be, too?"

"You deserved it." Not wanting to hear another word, Steven turned and began marching out of the jail.

"Maybe so, but I guarantee you if you were in my position you would've done the same."

Steven froze. He turned to face Morganite again. "Your position?"

"That wasn't the first time the Diamonds screwed me over," she explained. "They promised that I would be a leader if one of them were to fall but no, they just couldn't bring themselves to replace Pink Diamond. They lied to me."

"I see…so you hate me for replacing Pink Diamond?"

"What? You?! Why would I hate you? No, no I hate the other diamonds for denying what they promised me. That wasn't your choice." Steven raised an eyebrow at the imprisoned gem. Morganite let out a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry. What I did was bad. I just want to talk, okay?"

"Okay…" Steven stepped closer. "We'll talk."

"Why did you leave Homeworld for starters?" Morganite asked. "The other diamonds grieved for thousands of years."

"I'm...not Pink Diamond." Morganite tilted her head to one side. Steven added, "I'm her son. I have her gem and her abilities but that it's it."

"Son? So you're like...an extension of her or something?"

"Kinda," Steven shrugged.

"So...why did Pink Diamond leave, then?" Morganite asked.

"The other Diamonds didn't exactly...treat her the best...I don't know, I wasn't there. I just know what they did...drove her away."

"Sounds awful," Morganite commented. "Why do you trust them now?"

"Because I know they regret their actions," Steven explained. "And they're willing to change."

Morganite turned away, her face obscured in the darkness of her cell. "Not everyone can change," she murmured.

"Steven!" A new voice called, preventing him from replying to Morganite. Steven turned around. Pearl and the others rushed into the jail. "There you are! We were just about to go home."

"Okay," Steven replied. "I'm ready to go anyways." He nodded to Morganite before following Pearl to the ship.