Connie and Amethyst looked on at the remains of the house. Steven and Peridot are still talking to Blue about everything that happened on Homeworld, and all the gems they brought back. Peridot was excited to see more Peridots around, especially since they're era 3 types. She felt as though there might be some hope in getting new limb enhancers, with new engineers around. But Connie and Amethyst are somewhat preoccupied with the state of the house. Connie looked down to see a page from Buddy's Diary that showed Pink Diamonds palanquin. She carefully picked it up and stared at the mostly visible drawing of the palanquin, wish a few parts of the words smudged beyond repair by the water that was still trickling out of the pipes.

“The page that started it all” Connie spoke under her breath. “Do you wonder, Amethyst, what would have happened if Steven and I never found this book? Do you think it was a bad idea for me to have shown Steven this page, and where Pinks palanquin was? Would it have been different?”

“Honestly, I try not to wonder or think too much. It leads to some unhappy results.” Amethyst said, staring at the page. “No one could be blamed for any of this. Besides, Aquamarine would have came here anyway, the fight would have happened, Steven would have been taken to Homeworld. In reality, nothing stays secret forever. Not even the Pink diamond thing.”

Amethyst then grabbed the page out of Connie's hand, crumbled it into a ball and successfully tossed it in a trash bin that had most of the debris from the house that was 20 feet away.

“Swish, two points!” Amethyst declared. Connie was a bit disappointed that Amethyst did that, but judging by the state of the house, and pages from certain books dancing in the air, it wouldn't have helped trying to collect all the pages from the book, and putting it back together.

“Everything happened so fast. I'm not sure where to go from here. One day, I'm a flower girl for a gem wedding.” Connie said pensively. “The next second, you, me, and Steven are running for our lives through the underground passages of Homeworld while everything was being thrown into chaos.”

“Well, you did hear what blue said, something like that was a long time coming.” Amethyst said reassuringly “White was an unhinged lunatic, the authority was shattered long before we got there. All of it was bound to happen. And now that it did, we can get started on rebuil-”

Amethyst was immediately cut off by the sound of the last load bearing column giving away and the main beam of the house crashing down. Lion had came through a warp whole at the very time the beam fell down, and scooped up Connie and Amethyst, and got them out of harms way. The loud sound grabbed the attention of Yellow as well as Blue, Peridot, and Steven. They all ran to Connie, Amethyst, and Lion as fast as they could to see if everyone is alright.

“Connie! Amethyst! Lion! are you OK?” Steven yelled as he ran towards the trio.

“Yeah, we're fine.” Amethyst said, as they both got off of Lion.

“LION! Buddy, I missed you so much!” Steven exclaimed as he gave Lion a big hug. Lion nuzzled him in returned, showing more enthusiasm than he usually would towards anything.

“But the house on the other-hand.” Connie began to say, only to hear the sound of the broken stairs giving way. Steven looked on in shock that most of the house was destroyed. His eyes stared on in disbelief. He got caught off guard, and forgot that the house was in this state.

“Wait! Where is Bismuth? And Lapis? Peri, where are they?!” Steven asked loudly, while panicking at the thought of loosing those two.

“Steven, relax. Bismuth went with your dad and Doug to the hardware store to get parts and building materials.” Peridot stated. Connie was puzzled.

“Wait, My dad went with them?” Connie asked

“Yeah. He said something about work being slow, and that he wanted to help. Also something about a project he and Greg was working on.” Peridot replied.

'well, that leaves more questions than answers.' Connie thought to herself. 'so this is what Steven has to deal with most of the time.'

“What about Lapis?” Steven and Amethyst asked at the same time, accidentally. Peridot looked to the sand at her feet.

“What about her?” Peridot replied, seemingly annoyed at the thought of her.

“Well, is she OK? Did she reform?” Steven pressed Peridot. Peridot closed her eyes and breathed. This seemed like a subject she didn't want to deal with.

“Lapis.....She reformed before I did. Bismuth told me. She vanished before Bismuth could ask anything.” Peridot replied, with a deep sense of frustration. “So, yeah, nothing freaking new there!”

Peridot then swiftly turned and kicked up some sand in the air in anger. She seemingly forgot that the Diamonds were there, staring on at the drama that was slowly unfolding. Even Lion became somewhat startled. Peridot began to go into a furious fit.

“Of course she would just up and leave like that! She just literally drops in out of nowhere, doesn't say hi to me at all! And after everything, by the time I reformed, she's gone! No note! No tape! NO ANYTHING! She leaves me with NOTHING! But yeah of course she would! HER LEAVING ME WITH NOTHING IS THAT CLODS FREAKING M.O.! WHO NEEDS HER!”

Even yellow, looking on at Peridot on a tirade of her feelings, seemed to either have a new sense of respect for her Peridot, or amused as to how she's giving a fit over a Lapis Lazuli. Everyone else though looked worried for both Peridot, and the absent Lapis. Steven thought that maybe she would have stuck around to at least see him come back, or just be there for Peridot. Steven was beginning to feel frustrated as well.

Peridot went silent after her rant. She sighed and walked towards the beach and sat down, looking on at the wreckage of the diamond ships sitting in the water, like ghost ships that ran aground. Steven, Connie, and Amethyst wanted to say something, but collectively knew that it would be best to leave her be for a while. Yellow instructed the other new gems to get back to cleaning things up and to let her know if any progress in either repairing the ships, or trying to salvage what could be salvaged from Stevens home. A moment later, Steven saw his dads van pull up, carrying some planks of wood and metal pipes. Greg stepped out of the van looking at the brand new, and completely unhelpful, remodeling job on the house. Doug climbed out of the passenger seat and Bismuth went out through the back of the van, carrying the wooden planks. Greg's look of disbelief turned to joy when he saw Steven, Connie, and Amethyst.

“Dad!” Both Connie and Steven yelled respectively and ran towards the two with a hug.

“Steven! You're back!” Greg exclaimed in surprise.

“When did you guys get here?” Doug asked the two

“Just a few moments ago” Connie replied

“Steven, Amethyst! You're safe.” yelled Bismuth as she looked around for Pearl and Garnet. “Um, wheres the other two? Pearl, Garnet, are they safe?”

Greg and Doug turned their attention to Amethyst, who looked nervous. She was still carrying Stevens hot dog bag. She laid it down, opened it up, and pulled out one of Steven's folded shirts containing their gems. Bismuth looked shocked, while Greg became disappointed.

“So...thats what Garnet was talking about.” Greg muttered to himself, with Steven still hugging his dad. Steven looked up.

“What do you mean?” Steven asked. Greg let Steven go as he kneeled down to meet Stevens eyes.

“Before you all left, I asked Garnet if you were going to be safe. Garnet was hesitant, but said you were going to be OK. I had a feeling that she saw something like this happen.” Greg told Steven truthfully.

“Are...are those Pearl, Ruby, and Sapphire?” Doug asked, looking on at the gems.

“When their physical form becomes too damaged, they revert back to their gems to heal themselves.” Connie said to her dad reassuringly. “They're not dead. Just, well, resting.”

“Wait, 'too damaged'? What happened out there? Wasn't it suppose to be a diplomatic mission?” Doug asked, beginning to looked panicked.

“Well, we went to Homeworld to find a way to fix the corruption.” Amethyst spoke, still looking down at the gems. “We went there peacefully, but White Diamond was far from peaceful. If most action movies are any indication on how diplomatic missions go, then it was a success.”

“What does that mean, exactly.” Doug asked, with Greg looking like he was thinking the same thing.

“It means....It means I screwed up. I thought that-” Steven began to say before being cut off by Connie.

“It means that White Diamond will be of no help to us.” Connie stated before Steven began to beat himself up again. She always knew she was going to protect Steven from anything, even if it meant protecting him from his guilt. “She was more or less off her rails than any of us thought. Even more than Blue and Yellow thought. We went there with peaceful means, and she just attacked us outright. Even though we didn't get her help, we still picked up a bunch of other gems who want to help and protect earth.”

Connie looked around at the new gems getting use to their newfound surroundings. A cluster of Peridots and some large robonoids were talking amongst each other about how badly damaged the ships were, and how to go about fixing them. Aquamarines were assessing the damage and instructing the Topazes to lift away some of the heavier rubble from the ships on the beach, while the 'famethysts' and a couple of Bismuths were carefully clearing away the rubble from Stevens home, with a curious Aquamarine fluttering about near the place Stevens bed was.

“In the long run, it was more of a success, but in a different sense. What matters is that we all got back alive, and with new friends.” Amethyst said, walking up to Bismuth, and giving her the Pearl, Ruby, and Sapphire gems, wrapped up in Stevens shirt. Steven still looked troubled by everything around him. His home was totaled, Pearl and Garnet was poofed, and a wounded White Diamond out there who would want the earth shattered. His hands trembled for a bit, before Connie grabbed it, reassuring Steven that everything is going to be OK.

“It's going to be OK, schtoo-ball. We can rebuild the house better than it was before.” Greg told Steven, putting a hand on Stevens shoulder.

“Especially now that we have a ton of help.” Bismuth said, before walking towards the 'famethysts' and Bismuths, shouting out a greeting.

“To be honest, Steven, I didn't think you guy's would be back that fast.” Doug said, looking on and analyzing the damage. “But Bismuth and Greg's right, Steven. It can still be rebuilt, better than it was. It might actually have more bedrooms for your dad and some guests. It will be much nicer.”

“I...i know, Mr. Maheswaran. It's just a lot to process right now.” Steven said, looking down at his shoes “I'm not sure where I'm going to be staying until the house is built.”

“Well, it might be a while, so I don't think you can stay in the van for that long.” Greg said, looking awkwardly at the van.

“You might be able to stay with us, Steven. But I'm going to have to run it by my wife.” Doug said, not sure if Priyanka would be amendable of having Connie's possible boyfriend staying with them for a few weeks.

“I think...i think I need a vacation.” Steven stated abruptly. He looked back at the house, then at the Diamonds, and the gems. “I think I need a break from all of this. It's just too much for me. Mr. Maheswaran-”

“You can call me Doug, Steven. We worked the Funland beat together, and also, Mr. Maheswaran is my dad's name. Just call me Doug.” Doug said, accidentally interrupting. He felt like the formalities were getting a bit old.

“Doug....to be honest, I don't think she would want me around. I'd only be getting in the way.” Steven said admittingly. He always felt like Priyanka might have something against Steven, like he was some bad apple, or just a freak of nature to her.

“I'd want to go to mask island, but I don't think there's a way to get there. The warp pad is destroyed, so we cant do that. Not unless lion..” Steven looked at lion who was very curious about the new arrivals, but was also somewhat intimidated by the flying Aquamarines.

“I think Lion could take us there.” Connie said “It wont be as far as it would be to go to the moon. So it shouldn't take a lot out of him.”

“That could work.” Steven said to Connie, before whispering “but I think lion still hates me for the whole Homeworld incident. We don't bond like we use to. He likes you more.”

“What? No he doesn't. He's your Lion Steven, even if he mostly goes his own way.” Connie stated with a slight sense of worry in her voice. “Besides, I might be able to go with you, if that's OK?”

Connie looked to her dad, who was somewhat unsure look on his face.

“I dunno, Connie.” Doug spoke “School is starting in a month, and I don't think Priyanka would like the idea of you two going to a secluded island by yourselves”

“I have to agree with Doug.” Greg chimed in. “I know you two can handle yourselves in any fight, but I'm not sure if you can handle....well.....”. Before Greg would have said something so awkward, that it would have shattered Stevens gem, Amethyst jumped in.

“I'll chaperoned these two.” amethyst grinned, automatically sparing anyone of acknowledging that they're at a certain age where something like that would definitely be required. But this was Amethyst talking. “No Funny business while I'm on duty.”

“Wow, um, OK. Thanks, Amethyst.” Greg said, somewhat relieved.

“Yep. No funny business. No smooching, or cuddling by the fire” Amethyst began to ramp up the embarrassment of the two, while wrapping an arm around each of them. “Yep! No two player 'spin-the-bottle' marathon. No five minutes in heaven behind the bushes. No make-out sessions under the moonlight on the beach. Absolutely no fooling around with these two teens!”

Greg's face turned white, and Doug looked as though he was going to pass out at the sound of everything Amethyst is saying, while Steven and Connie were blushing so uncontrollably, Stevens nose nearly started to bleed.

“You guys know were just friends, right?” Connie attempted to explain above the flood of embarrassment and humiliation that was drowning everyone around them.

“Psssh, yeah, 'best friends.'” Amethyst replied, figuratively dealing the final blow to any hope Steven and Connie would have had of having a vacation. Greg knew that Steven needed some time for himself, and Connie as well after the Homeworld incident, and they're both very responsible. but whenever Amethyst says the worlds “No fooling around”, the first thing that happens is that rule being thrown out of the window like a TV in a hotel room, that was rented out to Amethyst.

“Um. Can someone else also go with you?” Greg said, trying to sound like he would want another person to go with them.

“Um, yeah. Like the Diamonds, maybe?” Doug asked, almost fainting there for a second at the thought of his little girl going off to a strange island with a magical, half-alien kid. Alone. “Maybe the yellow one. She seems like a chaperoned type. And also strangely familiar.”

“I think I can help with that.” came a voice from behind them. It was Peridot, looking calmer now that she had a chance to cool down. “I can help keep them safe as well as repair the warp pad while I'm there. The Peridots, though somewhat unhelpful, gave me something to fix it. And the Bismuths are starting to figure out a good spot to place another warp pad outside, so you can go and see them whenever you need to.”

“That would be great, Peridot!” Exclaimed the two fathers with the relief of the thought that they weren't leaving their kids alone with a notorious party animal. Steven and Connie were relieved as well, knowing that Amethyst and Peridot could use a break from the insanity.

“Awesome! Vacation time!” Amethyst roared aloud, as Steven and Connie was still in Amethysts grasp. Their ears rang for a few moments before being able to hear again. For the first time since Steven and Connie got back from space with Lars, Steven had a broad grin on his face, a deep relief for Connie. She never liked seeing her biscuit depressed.

Most of Steven and Connie's bags were still packed, but more provisions were required. Steven was able to get his sun hat back from onion, and pack some sunscreen and a ukulele. Connie's mom was working late, so she wasn't able to see her off, like she did before/ her dad, though, was able to get her some bandages, protein bars, and a couple of other survival items. Amethyst and Peridot bought some things from the local store to bring with them, with a special request from Steven to bring a cooler full of 'Lion Lickers', marshmallows and chocolate. It took a bit of convincing, but they got Lion on board with the plan. All it took was Lion glancing at a cooler full of his favorite treat, and the promise of being somewhere warm, and not being surrounded by all these new gems. And Peridot brought a few tools, and a spherical looking object with her inside of a strange looking satchel.

Everything was loaded up inside lions mane, with Peridot already jumped in with Amethyst. As Steven, Connie, and Lion were about to leave, Steven felt something tugging at his leg. He looked down and saw an Aquamarine, with her gem on the back of her right hand, staring up at him, holding a rock.

“Pink. I found this strange rock inside the house.” the Aquamarine spoke in a soft whisper, looking somewhat fearful. “It...it didn't look to be of the same type of rock that made up the inside, but almost like the ones hanging off the temple. It was also with a picture of that strange human you're with.”

The rock came from the large boulder that nearly killed Connie on the day they first met. Steven kept the piece of rock as a token of the time he first met Connie.

“I was wondering if it had any specific purpose. Was this from a gem you shattered a long time ago, my Diamond?” the Aquamarine asked inquisitively, but without missing a beat.

“I- Pink never shattered a gem. At least not that I know of.” Steven replied reassuringly. “That rock came from someplace, during a time that was really important to me. I wont be able to take it with me, but can you and the others keep it safe for me? Don't throw it away.”

“Yes, Pink dia-” the Aquamarine answered, but was cut off.

“Its not pink. I'm Steven” Steven said with a small sense of annoyance in his voice. How long are people going to equate him to his mom. This was one of the reasons why he needed to go.

“My apologies my, um, Steven.” The Aquamarine responded fearfully.

Steven realized that the tone of his voice was probably a bit much. He knelt down and hugged the Aquamarine, probably not more fearful than before.

“It's OK. I just need to go away for a bit. Thank you for finding this for me.” Steven said. As he moved away, Aquamarine looked surprisingly embarrassed.

“th-th-thank you, Steven.” Aquamarine chirped, and began to giggle while fluttering away. Steven then heard her shout to the other Aquamarines “SHE LOVES ME! I'M HER FAVORITE!!”

This was just another thing he'll have to deal with later. For now, he breathed in, exhaled and walked towards Lion and Connie, where Connie was talking to her dad and Greg about the trip.

“I honestly believe Steven needs this. Homeworld was rough on all of us, but was even more so on him. Thank you for letting us do this.” Connie told the two.

“I honestly wish I could go with you, but I don't think Lion could take on three people.” Greg said.

“As soon as the warp pad is fixed, I'll come get you, Greg.” Connie told Greg reassuringly. “And I can come and get you and mom as well, dad”

“Um, you don't have to, Connie. Your mom and I are going to be busy for the next few weeks. But its the thought that counts.” Doug told Connie. A confused look came over Connie.

“But I thought Peridot said work was slow?” Connie asked.

“Well, it is, but I'll be helping around here, and your mom says that a new flu panic might be breaking out, so she's going to have her hands full of hypochondriacs.” Doug replied. Connie still felt unsure about that. She's never known her dad to be a handyman kind of person. He can be a bit clumsy, so the thought of him trying to hang dry wall leaves a queasy feeling in her stomach.

“Don't worry, its going to be fine.” Doug reassured Connie. Steven walked up to the three to give his goodbyes, before Blue's voice called out to them.

“Where are you going, Steven?” Blue asked from 50 feet away. Steven let out a deep groan, like a teenage son having to deal with a clingy mom.

“I need to get away for a while. I'm staying on earth, but I need a place to stay while they're rebuilding my house, and fixing your ships.” Steven called out to them. He was growing tired by the second. Trying to convince the Crystal gems that he saw robonoids in the warp zone was one thing, but this is far worse. He just wants to relax and sleep.

“Let me go with, Steven! I can keep you company.” Blue called out again, looking worried about loosing Steven again. Greg and Doug tried their best to not laugh at the situation. Steven gave them a dirty and tired look that clearly states that they were definitely not helping.

“Its OK, Blue, I'm going with him.” Connie yelled out to her. Blue looked to be relieved that if she couldn't go, at least she knows the person who's going with him can be trusted.

“Ah, OK. Never mind. Be safe.” Blue called back sounding relieved. All Steven wanted to do was sleep.

Steven and Connie climbed up on lion. Steven sat behind Connie, too tired to properly tell lion where to go.

“Don't worry, Steven.” Greg called out to him. “The house will be built by the time you get back! Just remember to relax and have fun!”

“I will!” Steven called back to them. “Lion. Mask Island. Please,”

Everyone waved at Steven and Connie as they approached the water. Greg, Doug, the Bismuths, The Famethysts, a gaggle of Aquamarines and the Diamonds watched on while Steven held on to Connie as Lion made for a running start over the water. A much more graceful take off than the Leg ship. A flash of light. And they were gone.