Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Red Diamond faced Don Ruby, all beefed up in Overdrive Mode. "Oh, fancy, so you can power up now, huh?" said Red.

"That's right...does a number of my gem though...but that doesn't matter" said Don Ruby "I'm gonna put an end to you, right here, right now." 

"You couldn't do that before you were the leader of a criminal empire, you only got temporary results after you became one" said Red "what makes this time different?"

"I've got no agreement with Yellow Diamond holding me back" Don Ruby lunged at Red and the two immediately grappled. Don Ruby inhaled and unleashed a breath of fire right into her former diamond's face.

Red, despite her screaming was undeterred by the flame that struck her face as she stopped time and restarted it when she got her hand on Don Ruby's gem...however...

"YAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGH!" Red screamed "Hot! Hot!" "Told you, it does a number on my gem! But it protects me from being shattered by you so, bonus!" Don Ruby punched Red square in the jaw. 

"I always wanted to do that!" said Don Ruby. "No! I refuse to be defeated by the likes of you!" said Red as she threw various objects at Don Ruby, which Don Ruby either dodged, destroyed or burned with her fire breath.

Don Ruby tried to fire her weapon at Red Diamond's Gem, but Red Diamond kept dodging thanks to her time stopping ability. "I should have bought Padparadscha with me..." Don Ruby grumbled as her gem was starting to overheat. 

"What's the matter? I thought you were going to end me here and now? Why are you getting so sluggish all of the sudden?" Red Diamond asked coyly. Don Ruby didn't want to admit it, but she was right.

She was, in fact, getting sluggish. Last time she was in a situation like this, she had to get herself out of overdrive, even if it meant getting caught by Jasper. This time was different, this time she couldn't afford to give up.

Don Ruby had been in overdrive longer than she'd ever been, which wasn't saying much since she only used it once, but she couldn't give up! She didn't care what it did to her gem! 

However, her sluggishness came more apparent. Luckily, Red Diamond still couldn't shatter her gem as it was too hot for her to touch, in fact, her gem was smoking! 

Don Ruby had immediately collapsed "Heh...looks like this is it for me" said Don Ruby "but at least you won't get the satisfaction of killing me..." "Huh? What do you mean?" asked Red Diamond. 

Don Ruby simply lit a cigar by pressing it on her gem and inhaled as her gem began to crack under the pressure of being in overdrive. "What!?" said Red as she noticed it.

"I told you, you won't get the satisfaction...of killing me..." said Don Ruby as she let out one final puff of smoke. Don Ruby's gem exploded! Hot shards grazing Red's cheek...

Out of desperation Red Diamond inspected Don Ruby's shards...but there was no data, the overdrive state left Don Ruby's gem shards devoid of any data pertaining to who or what she used to be.

"No...no....NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Red cried out in frustration as she uprooted several trees in frustration, stomping around and then fell on her back, flailing like a tantruming child 

"NOOOO! NOOOO! I WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL YOU!" she whined "AND UNIVERSE'S OFFSPRING GOT AWAY! NOFAIRNOFAIR! NO FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!!!!!" Red Diamond began crying like a child who can't handle losing. 

Red Diamond then slumped on the tree "I want my pearl...."

Meanwhile, in Beach City, Red's Pearl began scampering about, looking for The Sun Incinerator. She was sniffing around like a police dog sniffing for clues "Where's it? Where's it? Where's it?"

Suddenly, a trash bag hit her and she yelped like a dog. "Oh crap! Is someone there!? I'm so sorry!" said the voice of Ronaldo Fryman. "No! Been seen! Been seen!" Red Pearl began hitting her head against a nearby wall.

"Bad Pearl! Bad Pearl! Not supposed to be seen! Not supposed to be seen! Bad Pearl!" Red Pearl muttered as she continuously slammed her head against the wall. "Hey! Hey! Hey! You're going to poof if you do that" said Ronaldo. 

"But I've been a bad pearl! Must punish myself until I poof!" said Red Pearl. "Who says that?" said Ronaldo. "My master! Now go away!" said Red Pearl. "Whoever your master is, that does not sound okay" said Ronaldo.

Ronaldo got down to face her at eye level "Where's your master?" "I...I don't know" said Red Pearl. "Well, if she's not here, she can't hurt you...why don't you come inside?" asked Ronaldo.

Chapter Text

Steven had his family packing their bags and loading up Connie's car. Joshua was understandably still rattled from the attack last night, many scars peeking out from under his shirt. 

"We're actually gonna leave Beach City, huh?" said Rebecca. "Yes, you saw what happened to your brother, right?" said Connie "he may have been too startled to talk properly but he could at least tell us where it happened."

"In the woods on the way over to Beach City..." said Rebecca "so...so...Red Diamond....is nearby" Joshua gasped when he heard that ands his blank automatically summoned itself and covered Joshua in a protective position. 

"Oh! Joshua! Sorry! Sorry!" Rebecca apologized. Rebecca Diamond summoned herself from within Rebecca and placed her hands on Thorn "It's okay, Brother..." Rebecca Diamond said in a comforting tone. 

"Comfort: Acknowledged" said Thorn as he retracted back into Joshua. "That poor boy..." Garnet commented. "That Red Diamond...she...she pisses me off!" said Amethyst. 

"Steven, I don't see your bag packed in here" said Connie. "That's because I'm staying" said Steven. "What?" asked Connie.

"You saw the message Red carved onto our son's back...she's coming for me, you'll only be in danger around me" said Steven. "What!? Are, are you just gonna sacrifice yourself!?" asked Connie. 

"No, I'm using myself as bait" said Steven. "Bait?" asked Connie. "That's right, if Red Diamond is coming for me, she can come and get me...and when she does, there'll be an ambush waiting for her!" said Steven. 

"You...had a plan?" asked Connie. "I know I promised we'd work through everything together...but this time, I need to make this an exception to that promise" said Steven "I have a feeling that what we're up against may be much worse than what we went through on Homeworld." 

"Are you sure it will work" asked Connie. "To be honest, I don't know, but I have to do this! I have to put an end to her, I can't forgive her for what she did to our son, and I know you can't either, I know how you feel about this. But, I don't want to see any of my family getting hurt because of me, please Connie, let me do this...for us!"

"Alright Steven, I trust you...but make sure you don't get hurt either" said Connie. "I understand, thank you, Connie" said Steven. Steven went to Joshua who was seated in the car. "Hey, Bud, can I talk to ya for a moment?" asked Steven.

Joshua simply nodded. "Hey, I just want you to know that everything is going to be okay" said Steven "I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'm gonna put an end to all this. When me and The Gems are done with her, she won't be able to hurt you or anyone ever again. Understand?"

"Do...do you really mean that?" Joshua whispered. "Yes, I do, and after you, your sister and mom get back, I'm taking us all on a family vacation to Border Falls. The Great Northern side, to be exact. I hear that side's got a lot more going on, speciality museums, arcades, mini-golf, all sorts of attractions including the titular falls, doesn't that sound fun?" asked Steven. 

"A...a little bit" Joshua admitted. "Yeah, there you go...just, just try and think of all the fun we'll have when this is all over, okay?" said Steven "now, come on, give us a hug." 

Joshua hugged his father "I love you, Joshua. And I love your sister and your mother. And I'm going to make sure nothing bad ever happens to any of you again!" said Steven.

Meanwhile, Red Pearl woke up on Ronaldo's couch. "Hey, good morning, how was your sleep? You were out like a light when you plopped yourself on the couch" said Ronaldo.

"AH! I've been coerced into a stranger's dwelling! My Diamond will kill me! AAAAH! I'm speaking complete sentences!" Red Pearl freaked out. "Shh! Shh! It's okay, your diamond's not here, she cannot harm you" said Ronaldo. 

"You don't know that! Been a loyal pearl for thousands and thousands of years!" said Red Pearl "If she finds about this, I'm in big trouble! I'll be a bad pearl! BAD!" she then hit herself in the head with a lamp.

"Whoa! Whoa! Stop that" said Ronaldo "why not talk about your relationship with her. I'm no psychiatrist, but, I've volunteered at the Delmarva Institute of Mental Health, where I was a patient, talking to someone usually helps people...and maybe I can take you to an actual professional over there who can help you overcome your problems"

"You...you really don't think she could be nearby?" asked Red Pearl. "Of course not" said Ronaldo. Ronaldo didn't want to jump to conclusions until he could get her to actual mental health professionals but she seemed to be displaying signs of Stockholm Syndrome, although he couldn't be quite sure and wasn't qualified to make any diagnosis of any kind. 

Padparadscha, Rhodonite and Fluorite's Peridot were speaking with Lars in the visitation area of the local jail "So, there's no way they'll let you out?" asked Rhodonite.

"Not until we can get proof that Red Diamond was there, I'm currently the only suspect, so, I want you guys to find proof that it wasn't me, preferably before the first court date of my trial" said Lars.

"But how are we going to do that? She cut the power to the hospital, so the cameras couldn't record anything, and she also made sure there were no witnesses, what can we do?" asked Fluorite's Peridot.

"I don't know, but we've gotten out tight situations like this before...we just gotta persevere" Lars encouraged "I know you'll find the evidence that'll prove my innocence and get me out of here, I trust you all!" 

A buzzer next to Lars went off "Oh, looks like my time's up, good luck, you guys" said Lars. "Well...we've got to get looking...we should also fill Steven in on what's happening" said Rhodonite.

"Indeed, Rhodonite" said Padparadscha "plus, Red might be in the area, we have to make sure Steven's alright. We cannot let her get anywhere near Steven. 

Chapter Text

Steven saw off his family as Connie's car drove away. "You're really okay with sending your family off like that?" asked Pearl. "When this is all over, I'll be wrapping my arms around them" said Steven "besides, you, Amethyst, Garnet, Bismuth and Lapis? You're my family too." 

The gems smiled at Steven. "Really? You'd even consider me family?" asked Lapis. "I know I haven't spent enough time with you as the others, but, that day when you threw that metal barn on Blue Diamond and declared yourself one of us? You became part of the family, and I couldn't be happier to have you here." 

"Glad to be here" said Lapis. "Now, listen, everyone. From here on out, we'll be facing our most dangerous foe yet, she won't play fair, so neither should we. Any chance to catch her off guard, make no hesitation to take that chance! Take advantage of any and all openings! Every decision, once the battle starts, will be a now or never one. Crystal Gems, under normal circumstances, never shatter. Today is the one day we make an exception to that rule! Her killing spree ends today!" 

"Pearl, speaking of "now or never decisions", there's something I wanna ask you" said Bismuth "Pearl, willyoumarryme!?" "Wh-whaaat!?" Pearl exclaimed as Bismuth held up a ring in a box.

"I know this is not exactly the right time, but I've been wanting to ask you for a while...I've been waiting for the perfect moment for so long! It took Steven's speech to make me realize that I shouldn't wait for the right moment, because, I believe the right moment is right now!!!!!"

"Bismuth...I...I...YES!!!!" said Pearl "when this is over, let's get things planned. You know how I love organizing things!" Suddenly, they saw the Sun Incinerator landed on The Beach.

"Padparadscha! Rhodonite! Fluorite's Peridot! How did it go at the police station?" asked Amethyst. "Not good, Lars says we'll need some actual evidence in order for him to be acquitted!" said Rhodonite. 

"Aw man, that stinks" said Amethyst "Lars is a good guy, he may have been a bit of a troublesome case, but he wouldn't kill nobody!" "Sorry, Amethyst, but hearsay doesn't hold up in a court of law" said Steven "whatever lawyer the state assigns him, he's gonna need at least one piece of evidence to make a convincing case for his innocence."

"So, what's the battle plan?" asked Padparadscha. "Steven's gonna be the bait for an ambush!" said Amethyst. "That's a terrible idea!" said Padparadscha. "Huh?" everyone asked.

"An ambush, that's how we got Red Diamond the first time, back when I was a weapon for The Underground, but Red Diamond's a quick learner. She won't fall for the same trick twice" said Padparadscha "you need a plan b, especially if you're involved, Steven."

"Me? Why?" asked Steven. "She's gotten as powerful as she was when The Underground caught her by absorbing hundreds and hundreds of gems..." said Padparadscha "and you, half human you may be but you're still a diamond...she's coveted Pink Diamond's data for a long time...you possess one of the most powerful gems out there, if she gets her hands on you and absorbs your gem data...she'll be virtually unstoppable." 

"So, what do we do?" asked Pearl. "We'll formulate a new plan, just keep her away from Steven" said Padparadscha "the moment she gets Steven, it's all over." "What!?" a familiar voice cried out.

The Gems looked over their backs and saw Rebecca. "R-Rebecca!? What are you doing here!?" asked Steven "why aren't you in your mother's car!?"

"I overheard what you and Mom were talking about...you, you saw what she did to Joshua...I...I don't want anything to happen to you!" Rebecca admitted as she hugged her dad.

"And you think I want her to lay her hands on you!?" Steven responded "Rebecca, please, I...I love you, I don't want you to get hurt! Call your Mom and have her pick you up this instant!" "NO!" said Rebecca.

"I...I love you too Dad! I don't want you getting hurt either! You're not just my dad, you're my hero! You mean as much to me as I mean to you!" said Rebecca. "Rebecca...please! Let me stay! I want to protect you!" said Rebecca.

"Actually...that may be a good idea" said Garnet. "What do you mean?" asked Bismuth. "I don't know, due to Red Diamond being involved all possibilities are hazy...but something's telling me...Rebecca may be the key to all this...but everything goes black after that." 

Meanwhile at Ronaldo's, Red Pearl was sipping some hot cocoa as she continued to tell her about her experiences as Red Diamond's Pearl. "I...I'm so sorry you had to go through all that" said Ronaldo.

"But...you were right...talking about this with you did help a little" said Red Pearl "Perhaps...maybe...I will go to that DIMH place you told me about" "They helped me when I needed it, they can help you" said Ronaldo. 

"That...that's nice" said Red Pearl. "Ahem!" a posh sounding voice could be heard. Red Pearl gasped and so did Ronaldo "Well isn't this all nice and cosy?" said Red Diamond. "M-m-m-m...." Red Pearl stubborn.

"Stay away from her! She told me all about you!" said Ronaldo. "Oh, did she now?" Red Diamond responded in an unusually calm manner. Red Pearl knew her Diamond very well, if she rages, that was one thing...but when she's unusually calm...that's when she was REALLY mad!

"You're a monster! Your pearl is staying with me to get the help she needs, she has no need for her toxic relationship with you!" said Ronaldo.

"Well, Pearl, does this human speak for you?" asked Red Diamond "no, go ahead, be honest. I won't get mad, Pearl." Suddenly, Ronaldo choked as he looked down and saw the blade of a kitchen knife poking through him.

Behind him was Red Pearl, stabbing him in the back "Thank you for listening to me, Ronaldo" said Red Pearl with tears in her eyes "but in the end, I'm her pearl...I should have known better!"

Ronaldo looked at her, betrayed as he fell to the floor, dying from loss of too much blood "Trust me, it's better I do it than her, you'd suffer more..." said Red Pearl.

With that, she relapsed into her feral state "I'm sorry, My Diamond! Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry!" she clung to Red's legs. "Shh, be calm, My Pearl, you did the right thing in the end..." said Red Diamond "it's okay...I'm not gonna kill you...but if you so much as think of doing something like this again, I will make you wish I had!"

Chapter Text

Padparadscha had everyone gathered in the living room "Whatever plan we come up with, Steven must be out of sight."

"Could my daughter be hidden with me...I don't feel comfortable with her being out in the open with a murderer on the loose" said Steven. "Man, Steven's ambush idea was so cool! I always wanted to do an ambush" said Amethyst.

"We've ambushed hundreds of corrupted gems, Amethyst" Pearl pointed out. "I know, but, not a normal gem, okay, yes, she's a diamond, but you get the idea" said Amethyst.

"One problem at a time, everyone" said Lapis. "Right, right, right, so what do we do?" asked Bismuth "I mean, we've already planned what we're gonna do after this is all over, at least, I did." 

"Well, I want to send Rebecca back to Connie...But Lion's nowhere to be seen" said Steven. "Dad, please, I can help!" said Rebecca.

"I know you can, but I can't stop thinking about what happened to your brother" said Steven "I know I've said this before, but I don't want to see that happening to you, either!"

"Well, why can't we just make dummies and dress them in your clothes so that Red will go after them while you come with me?" asked Rebecca. The Gems stopped and thought for a moment. 

"That...sounds plausible" said Garnet. "I did say Red Diamond never falls for the same trick twice...and nobody's ever tried that trick before...as far as I know" said Padparadscha.

"Bismuth, have you ever worked with glass before?" asked Steven. "Well, It's a bit fragile for my liking, but yeah, I've worked with glass before" said Bismuth.

"Good, then you can make several glass replicas of my gem and stick them to the dummies of me!" said Steven. "Oh! I get it!" said Bismuth "nice idea, Steven. Well, tell me how many you plan on making and I'll have 'em done before you know it!"

"Everyone...into Amethyst's room" said Garnet in a chilling tone. "Garnet?" asked Rebecca. "NOW! Amethyst! Open your room! She's coming!!!" Garnet warned, urging everyone toward the temple door.

Amethyst used her gem to open her door "Uh, Garnet? Why my room?" asked Amethyst. "More room to hide!" said Garnet "everyone get in, quickly! Find a hiding place! This is the clearest vision I've got of her! She'll be here any minute!"

Everyone quickly ran into the temple. "Oh god! She's coming here already!? We're not even ready!" said Rebecca. "It's gonna be okay, come with me! Let's find a good hiding place!" said Steven.

All the gems all fled into different hiding places all across the vastness of Amethyst's room. Her multiple junk piles made it pretty easy to hide, Pearl was hoping Amethyst won't rub it in. 

Meanwhile, back in The House, the sound of something landing on the roof could be heard, followed by footsteps on the roof. Red Diamond hung herself upside-down from the roof "Peek-a...boo?" 

"Hmm, looks like they're not here..." Red pondered as she leapt down from the roof "Pearl, can you catch their scent?" Red Pearl got on all fours and began sniffing the door "Oh! Oh!" Red Pearl burst through the screen door and led her Diamond inside.

"What's this? A subspace door? Ooooh! How fancy!" said Red "such useful technology, shame it was so poorly implemented..." Red approached the door and gently knocked on it. 

"Crystal Gems, Crystal Gems, let me come in" she said in a playful tone "Not by the hairs on your chinny-chin-chin? Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!" 

Red Diamond began punching the doorway to The Crystal Gem Temple with very hard, precise punches, again, and again, and again! Small cracks appeared on the door.

Of course, there was no telling where in The Temple she'd burst on in to. It could be the burning room, or Pearl's room! But with one final punch, the door burst apart...right into The Burning Room. 

Red Diamond looked around the room "Hmm...empty..." "It smells like gems were here, but now aren't" said Red Pearl. "They all must be in that "Little Homeschool" or whatever, I'll deal with that buffet later...I've got a main course I've been waiting for!"

Red Pearl sniffed around and remembered their scent "Up there! Up there! Somewhere up there!" Said Red Pearl. "Oooh! Good pearl! Goodgoodgoodgoodgoodgood!" Red vigorously stroked Red Pearl's head.

Red Diamond and her Pearl then began climbing up the red "veins" of The Crystal Heart...hoping to find the gems up there. Back in Amethyst's room, all was quiet. 

They could hear the sound of the door being bashed in somewhere. For better or for worse, they remained silent. They had no plan, and no idea what was going to happen. 

They could then hear the sound of sniffing in the distance, she found the room. "In here! In here! They hide here!" said Red Pearl. "Good pearl, that's enough tracking for now" said Red Diamond.

"But, they could be hiding anywhere in here!" said Red Pearl. "Exactly, they want to play hide and seek! And I'm it! I love the thrill of the hunt!" said Red Diamond.

Red Diamond then began skipping along playfully "Going on a gem hunt! Going on a gem hunt! Gonna catch a big one! Gonna catch a big one!" Red twirled and twirled, looking all around the room. 

"Now where, oh where, could they be....could they be...HERE!?" Red Diamond pulled out a load bearing piece of junk from one of Amethyst's junk piles, causing it to touch down. 

"Oh, phooey! No Crystal Gems here! I gotta look harder!" said Red Diamond "Olly Olly Oxen Free!" Red Diamond heard no answer. "Hey, that peridot I shattered in the next town over...was she one of your friends?" 

That last remark struck a chord with Lapis and Amethyst "Boy, I got to tell you, she was soooo gullible falling for such obvious bait" said Red "she was so small and pint sized...not much flavour though, she was more of an after dinner mint."

Lapis and Amethyst then burst out of the trash heap "Oh! There you were!" said Red. "Well, their cover's blown...gotta help them" Garnet grumbled as everyone, except for Steven and Rebecca came out from hiding. 

Chapter Text

"Well, well, well, look at all the appetizers...but where's the main course?" asked Red. "We're not giving him away! He knows to stay hidden!" said Amethyst. "Oh? So he IS here? Thanks for the help!" said Red.

"Uh..." Amethyst yelped. Lapis then smacked her on the back of the head "good going, Idiot!" "And you confirmed that he is in fact hiding here, very, very helpful!" said Red. Lapis covered her mouth "now, I'm the idiot!" 

"Pearl, sniff him out!" Red Diamond ordered. "Yes! Find! Find! I find!" said Red Pearl who began sniffing. "Oh no you don't!" said Pearl. Red Pearl looked at Pearl and snarled like an angry dog.

"Oh "Grrr" yourself!" Pearl smacked Red Pearl in her face with her spear. She suddenly felt like she was struck on the back of her head "Nobody hurts my Pearl accept for me!" said Red. 

"Hands off my fiancee!" said Bismuth with her hands turned into hammers, aiming for Red when she suddenly disappeared and Bismuth wound up hitting Pearl instead. 

"Ah! Pearl! I'm so sorry!" said Bismuth. "Oh my, my, my, a couple's first fight, maybe you weren't meant for each other" mocked Red Diamond. "Why you-?" Bismuth raged towards Red but was ultimately tripped by Red Diamond. 

Garnet went towards Red "This ends now! I don't care what you're capable, this madness ends today!" said Garnet. "You're part sapphire, right? Any future you see shall be perpetually postponed..." said Red "Time stop!" 

Padparadscha suddenly leapt in the air behind Garnet and stomped on Red's head as soon as she appeared behind Garnet, and then leapt into Garner's arms as the two melded together into a brand new fusion.

This new fusion suddenly began break dancing "Whoo! Give it up for Amber! The Cool, Fresh, Breakdancing, Archivist!"

"Cross Gem fusion...I never understood why the other diamonds didn't allow it" said Red Diamond "I mean, I can totally see the usefulness of two gems of a different type...but, enough about me, let's kill you!" 

Amber wasn't listening, still breakdancing. As she kept dancing, she "accidentally" kicked Red Diamond in the face. "H-huh?" Red Mumbled. "Fighting's like dancing, baby! You gotta be in tune with the rhythm!" said Amber. 

Red Diamond kept on stoping time but Amber's seemingly erratic form of dancing kept countering her each time. "While they're distracted, let's go find that pearl" Amethyst whispered to Lapis. 

Steven and Rebecca were still in hiding "Dad, you heard her, she sent that pearl after us!" "Yeah, no kidding...lets slowly move around here...perhaps find our way to another room and get out of here!" said Steven.

"No need to tell me twice!" said Rebecca. The father and daughter duo looked at their surroundings and kept moving after making sure they weren't being followed.

"So far, so good" said Rebecca. "Yeah, a little too good...apparently this pearl's a good tracker, sneaking around like this shouldn't be this easy...where could she be?" 

Meanwhile at very motel that Connie and Steven had evacuated to when The First Homeworld Attack happened, Connie was sitting next to Joshua, while Lion lay at the foot of the bed to provide the boy with some extra comfort. 

"Oh Rebecca...I thought that girl would have outgrown this whole sneaking away thing, but at least she left me a text this time..." said Connie.

Rebecca's text read: "I'm sorry to do this again, Mom, but I know you're as worried for dad as I am, that's why I am going to beg him to reconsider and come with us." 

She then heard a knock on the door, she didn't answer but instead looked through the peephole in the door and saw that it was Greg "Oh! Greg! it's just you! It's okay, Joshua, it's just grandpa"

"Heya, sport, thought you could use some extra company, huh?" said Greg. "Hi Grandpa..." said Joshua. Connie had decided for Joshua's sake to check the peephole every time there was a knocking, she suspected Joshua would be afraid it might be Red Diamond. 

"Hey, where's Rebecca? I thought both of my grandkids would be here" said Greg. "She snuck off, she wants to convince her father to come back with us and not offer himself as bait" said Connie.

"That girl never changes, does she?" said Greg "always sneaking out and trying to help with gem stuff or something." "I know...I don't like to think about it" said Connie "but she is right, I'd rather my whole family be here right now..."

"Well, Steven did promise he and Rebecca would come back here in a triumphant return" said Greg "and that trip to Border Falls he came up with does sound fun, did you think he took my advice about staying on the Great Northern Side?" 

"Yeah, he did" said Connie "we'll have to work on getting the kids passports before we even start planning it, though." "Hey, mind if I spend some time with Joshua?" asked Greg

"Not at all...he's still rattled up from..."the incident" from last night" said Connie. "I don't blame him, I'd be shaking in my boots too if that happened to me, and I'm an adult" said Greg. 

Back in The Temple in Amethyst's Room, Rebecca and Steven were still sneaking around while Amber was still having the upper hand against Red Diamond. 

Even when Red Diamond tried using her time stopping powers against the other gems, Red Diamond was stopped in her tracks. In frozen time, Red Diamond could see Amber's fourth eye following her around. 

"Curse that Padparadscha! Fusing with a fusion of a ruby and a regular sapphire...that amped up their future vision" Red growled "If only I could damage an object in frozen time...I need...more data!" 

It was then that she saw Steven and Rebecca leaping in between junk piles...or at least them in the middle of it due to time being frozen at the moment.

"So that's where they were hiding. The progeny of Pink Diamond, scurrying about like a rat, how fitting" said Red Diamond "No matter! Pink's power, her data! It will be mine! It must be!"

Red Diamond leapt towards the two and unfroze time "Ah ha! There you are!" said Red. "OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Steven and Rebecca screamed in unison. "I don't think so!" said Amber, stomping in Red Diamond's head. 

"OW! Stop it! Stop cheating!" said Red Diamond. "You're the one who can freeze time, somebody's gotta even the playing field!" said Amber. Behind her, however, Red Pearl had leapt out from the trash pile and bit on Padparadscha's gem, yanking it out of Amber.

She then tossed Padparadscha's gem and Red Diamond caught it, shattering it instantly "This gem's been a thorn at my side since the day of my defeat and hacking!" 

Red Pearl cackled "That stupid fusion was too focused on you, My Diamond!" "Indeed, indeed!" said Red as she absorbed Padparadscha's data from her gem shards.

"You...we've fought so many corrupted gems forced into the form of monsters, but you...you are a true monster!" said Garnet. "Monster? I prefer the term...apex predator!" said Red Diamond. 

Chapter Text

Garnet tried punching Red Diamond, but she didn't even bother stopping time this time, simply blocking Garnet's punches with her finger.

"I don't know why you oppose me, in nature, there is always an apex predator, so why not one for gems?" asked Red "Is it not the right and privilege of a diamond to do with lesser gems as she sees fit?" 

"You're wrong, the other diamonds have seen the error of their ways" said Garnet. "The other diamonds didn't have the ambition I do, they're too soft, too stupid" said Red as she punched Garnet and pulled off her visor.

"Come on, wouldn't you want to serve and be useful to a diamond again?" said Red, looking directly into Garnet's exposed eyes. Garnet was suddenly blushing, in an almost trance like state. 

Amethyst, Lapis and Pearl arrived behind Garnet "Uh, Garnet? You okay?" asked Amethyst. "Don't look at her...look at me..." Red commanded in a seductive voice, making eye contact with Amethyst, Lapis, and Pearl.

Now those three were blushing in a trance "Will the four of you be dears and get me Steven Universe?" "Uh...guys?" asked Steven. "Anything for you Red Diamond" said Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl and Lapis.

"Oh shit! She's turned 'em into her simps!" said Rebecca. "Let's uh...let's run!" said Steven as the two ran away from the pursuing gems. "Hmm, I think I'm missing a few..." said Red. 

She then heard the whimpering of her pearl as she was being ganged up on by The Diamond's Pearls, Fluorite's Peridot and Rhodonite. Red Pearl made one last whimper before poofing.

Pink Diamond's Original Pearl immediately bubbled Red Pearl's gem and tapped it to Homeworld. "You...HOW DARE YOU!?" Red fumed. "We may not be a match for you, but your pearl never stood a chance!" said Yellow Pearl.

"You're gonna have to go back to Homeworld to get her!" said Blue Pearl. "HA! As if I need her! She served her usefulness for now!" said Red in total deniability, she'd never waste her anger on gems that don't deserve it.

As Steven and Rebecca were running away from the other gems who have been charmed by Red Diamond. "What's gotten into them!?" asked Rebecca.

"I think I remember being told that Red Diamond could charm the pants off of some gems...or something" said Steven "But anyway, we gotta talk about that language you were using back there, young lady!"

"Is this seriously the time to be parenting me!? Besides, I learned all my swear words from you!" said Rebecca. "Point taken...wait, I have an idea!" said Steven as he stopped in his tracks.

Garnet came forth "Oh how wonderful! You're surrendering yourself! Red Diamond will be pleased" said Garnet in her infatuated trance. "Not exactly...fusion!" Steven dove into Garnet and formed Sunstone with her.

"Well, what do ya know? I'm over Ol' Red. I guess Steven fusing with Garnet to make me was a bright idea! Get it? Because I'm Sunstone?" said Sunstone. "Now's not the time for dad jokes, One Third of My Dad!" said Rebecca.

"Right! Time to put these simps back in reality!" said Sunstone suddenly dressed like a famous Las Vegas Hypnotist and snapped their fingers, causing everyone to get out of their lustful trance.

"Was...was I...in love with that monster!?" said Lapis back in the realm of realization. "Oh goodness, I feel so dirty" said Pearl in an uncomfortable tone.

"At least you're back now, Pearl. I've been chasing after ya trying to get you to snap out of it" said Bismuth "good going Sunstone. "Where are the others, Bismuth?" asked Amethyst.

"Oh no! I left 'em behind with her!" Bismuth realized "Oooooh! I feel so horrible! Maybe there's still time to get back for them!" "I don't think so..." said Red Diamond's voice approaching from the direction they came from.

They saw Red Diamond approaching, slowly and ominously. "Not to worry, everybody!" said Sunstone "taking an idea out of a Certain Controversial President's playbook, I'm gonna build a wall!"

Sunstone was suddenly wearing a construction workers outfit and hastily and quickly built a wall "that aught to hold her!" Red Diamond however, phased right through the wall. 

"Wh-what!?" said Sunstone and everyone else. "Let me guess, your powers are all illusion based and only work on those more susceptible to them, right?" Red Diamond guessed.

"She saw right through me! This is what I get for getting political!" Sunstone exclaimed "My usual crap doesn't work on her!" Sunstone unfused out of panic. 

Both Steven and Garnet triggered the defusion because they were so used to Sunstone's usual antics working and being the easy way out of many situations, Red Diamond, however, was the one opponent whom it won't be able to work on. 

"This playtime has gone on long enough...I want what I came here for..." said Red Diamond, suddenly appearing behind Steven "and that would be my delicious main course...Steven Universe!"

Steven blocked her attack with his shield using his fast reflexes, he then bashed her with his shield, sending her sliding back a twenty centimetres.

"Good show! But I know you've got more! Why don't you let it out, Steven! The power lying dormant in your gem, come on! I wanna see!" said Red Diamond. "You can forget about it, creep!" said Steven.

"Oh? Can't do it? I can bring it out of you!" said Red. He suddenly heard Rebecca scream. Steven turned around and saw Red Diamond, inches behind Rebecca. She had her blade held close to Rebecca's neck.

Rebecca Diamond summoned herself "Don't worry, Rebecca! Or-" "I wouldn't do that! I don't care how fast you are, one wrong move and she, and by extension you, die!" said Red "It's HIM, I want!"

"R-Rebecca!" said Steven, suddenly glowing full on pink. "Steven! Wait! That's what she wants!" Garnet warned, but it was too late! Steven burst towards Red, leaving a crater in the ground where he was standing.

He grabbed Red Diamond's arm and punched her in the face and then threw her several feet away and leapt after her "You've already hurt one of my children! I WON'T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!" 

Steven was being all brutal with Red Diamond, punching and kicking with a ferocity he had not ever displayed before. "I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY SON, YOU BITCH!" 

The sound of his voice was causing Amethyst's entire room to shake. "Oh my stars! Steven's completely lost it!" said Amethyst. "Well, I think it's a good thing. Give her hell, Steven!" said Bismuth. 

"Yes...this....is....IT!" said Red in the midst of being brutalized by Steven. Suddenly, Steven stopped and he was no longer glowing pink, and Red Diamond was no longer beneath him. 

"Did...did he win?" asked Rebecca. "Nope!" said Red, who was suddenly standing over Steven. Steven found himself breathing heavily and in a lot of pain "Wh-what..." Steven hadn't felt a pain like this since...

He unbuttoned his shirt to find that something was missing...something important. Red Diamond cleared her throat, prompting Steven to look up to find Red Diamond holding Steven's gem.

"Looking for this?" she rhetorically asked. Steven and everyone else looked upon Red Diamond in fear as she tightened her grip on Steven's gem, causing it to crack, and eventually shatter, some shards sent flying in different directions, only two remained in her hand.

At the very moment his gem shattered, Steven coughed up blood and collapsed.

The Gems were in stunned and horrified silence as Rebecca, her eyes welling with tears cried out  "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!!!" 

Chapter Text

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Rebecca cried out as she and the gems ran towards her father. "No, this can't be happening, this can't be happening!" Amethyst said all teary eyed. 

Red Diamond, meanwhile held up her fist, which had a couple of shards from Steven's gem, as pink lights left them and went into her "Yes, yes! The power I've coveted for so long, it's finally mine!" 

Garnet had her gauntlets brandished, making her way towards Red. Rising From Red's feet were pinkish red crystals growing and surrounding her, Garnet let loose a punch with her gauntlet, but her fist bounced off the crystals which now enveloped Red Diamond. 

"Wh-what's going on? What's she doing?" asked Bismuth. "Well, she's not doing anything now! Forget her, what about Steven?" asked Lapis "his gem just got shattered, how's that affecting him!?

Everyone looked towards Steven and Rebecca, she was holding up Steven's head "Dad! Dad! You're okay, right? You've gotta be!" "R...Rebecca..." Steven weakly called out.

"Yeah, that's right! It's me, Dad! I'm right here!" said Rebecca. "Rebecca...oh my Rebecca...I...I think I might be on my way out" said Steven.

"Wh-what? N-no! Th-that can't be right! Come on, Dad. Now's not the time for jokes" said Rebecca. Pearl, Amethyst, Bismuth, Lapis and Garnet gather around the father and daughter.

"Y-yeah, Steven! Everything's gonna be fine! We can get you to your Mother-In Law and you'll be right as rain!" said Amethyst.

"N-no! When...when she broke my gem...I felt something...I can feel myself growing weaker and weaker..." said Steven "I'm...I'm sorry everyone...I'm sorry Rebecca. But, I don't think I'm going to recover from this...it's over."

"NO! NO! I refuse to believe that!" said Rebecca "you can't die, Dad! There's gotta be something I can do...wait! Rebecca Diamond! You've got a copy of Dad's power!" 

Rebecca Diamond came out of Rebecca "I'll do what I can...come on, please work!" Rebecca Diamond rubbed her finger below her eye to catch a tear and hovered her finger over Steven as the teardrop fell upon Steven...but nothing happened. 

"D-do it again!" said Rebecca. Rebecca Diamond, wanting the same results as Rebecca did try again, but to no avail. "One more time!" said Rebecca, but she then felt her father's hand on her cheek.

"I don't want to go, Rebecca, but it looks like I have no choice. I'm gonna need you to be strong for me, Rebecca" said Steven "It sucks that I'm not gonna get to see you graduate high school...graduate college and become a full fledged vet. I'm gonna miss out on a lot of things, but I need you to keep going, Rebecca..." 

"Dad, please, I don't want you to die!" Rebecca pleaded. "Yeah, man! You're too young!" said Amethyst. "Steven, No matter what problems we had in the past, I've always loved you!" said Pearl. 

"You and your daughter showed me a new way of living" said Lapis "you can't leave us!" Bismuth couldn't say anything, she felt too guilty after that one moment where she tried to kill him when they first met. 

Steven noticed a shard of his gem, untouched by Red Diamond, lying right next to him as he picked it up and gave it to Rebecca "A piece of me, keep it close, let it be your strength...I've always...loved you..."

Memories flashed in Steven's mind of all the fun he had with his daughter, his son, his wife, his whole family. The spark of life had left Steven's eyes. He was gone. 

Rebecca wrapped her arms around her father's now lifeless body and screamed in grief. "I can't believe it...Steven..." Garnet cursed, when suddenly a vision flashed in her eyes "Everyone! This thing Red surrounded herself in, it's a cocoon! We have to break it before it hatches!"

The Gems began mercilessly attacking the crystal cocoon Red Diamond had stored herself in until it began cracking. "It's working! We got her now!" said Amethyst. "I don't think it's us breaking it" said Bismuth. 

"It's hatching..." said Pearl. More and more cracks appeared until Red Diamond burst out of it in a new form. Her arms now more muscular and her hands clawed, leathery bat wings protruded from her back, and a halo hovered over her head. Her gem was now all swollen and misshapen. 

The gems looked on in awe and horror. "You...you're gonna pay for what you did to Steven!" said Bismuth as she raised her hand-turned hammer at her.

Red simply glanced in Bismuth's direction and a bright red sphere materialized over Bismuth's hand, shrunk and disappeared...but the sphere wasn't the only thing that disappeared.

"A-AAAAAAAH! My hand! Where's my hand!?" Bismuth exclaimed. The red sphere reappeared and Bismuth's hand was back "Wh-what is this!?" Bismuth asked in fear.

"This is...the power of Pink Diamond concentrated" said Red "she had all this raw power, but she was not a proper conduit for it. This is how powerful I've become from Pink Diamond's data, imagine if I were absorb data from the rest of the diamonds, I'll be unstoppable. I will achieve divinity!"

"You...you brute! I will end this now!" said Pearl. "Whatever. I'm done playing" said Red. Suddenly, Pearl's gem burst into pieces and she was gone. 

"Pearl? PEEEEEAAAARRRL!" Bismuth roared. "She can break things in frozen time now..." Garnet realized.  

Chapter Text

Lion was comforting Joshua, still rattled from last night when suddenly, Lion himself began to shudder. "Huh? Lion? What's the matter, boy?" asked Joshua. "Lion? What's wrong sweetie?" asked Connie.

In a holding cell, Lars suddenly felt a chill "S-Steven?". Back in Amethyst's room, Rebecca was leaning over Steven's newly dead corpse. His eyes, devoid of life. 

"Dad...Dad!" Rebecca sniffled, ignoring what was happening around her. Memories of the good times she spent with her father were flooding her mind as she wept.

One memory was of the time he helped her learn to ride a bike. Another was just a simple trip to The Big Donut to buy Cookie Cats, back when they were still a thing. 

Sure, they were all just typical father daughter stuff, but to her those small moments meant so much. Now she'll never experience those moments again. 

"Pearl!" Bismuth cried out. That cry shook Rebecca out of her distraction. Red simply grinned. "You...you no good...!" Bismuth growled "I finally mustered up the courage to ask her to marry me and you took her away from me!"

"Oh boo hoo hoo! Like I care" said Red. Bismuth tried attacking her furiously with her hammer hands, but the attacks didn't do anything to Red. Bismuth was panting heavily as Red simply brushed off her shoulder. 

"Hey! Over here!" said Amethyst brandishing her whips, having them go around Red Diamond's wrists. Amethyst tried hard to pull down Red Diamond but with a simple flick of the diamond's wrists, the whips were torn apart.

"Okay, you have my attention, what is it you want, you overcooked waste of diamond essence?" Red asked. "Uh..." before Amethyst could answer, her gem suddenly exploded, with her along with it.

"Amethyst!" Everyone cried out. Suddenly, Bismuth's gem spontaneously exploded. Lapis conjured up a huge avatar made of water which caught Red Diamond in her clutches. 

Red Diamond closed her eyes and focused as the hand of the water avatar exploded. Lapis was shocked. "Good work, Lapis Lazuli, let me give you a pat on the back" said Red as Lapis's gem exploded. 

"Laaaaaaapiiiiiiiiis!" Rebecca cried out in horror "No, no, no, no, no! Stop it! Stop killing everyone!" Garnet turned to Rebecca "Rebecca..." Garnet said as her Ruby gem spontaneously shattered.

"It's all up to you now..." said Sapphire before shattering. "Nooooooo!" Rebecca cried out "Everyone! No! Nooooooooooo!"  Rebecca was completely in tears, almost everyone she loved, all gone in an instant.

Suddenly, a final flashback hit her, one of her father, just moments ago, giving her the stray fragment of his gem, his words echoed "A piece of me, keep it close, let it be your strength!"

Red Diamond froze time for one final moment "And then there was one...I loved that little "Nooooooooo!" you did...I'm just gonna savour your anguish...huh?"

What was on Rebecca's face was not anguish...but an angry glare, Rebecca, in frozen time, was glaring at her! "No! Preposterous! She cannot move in frozen time, what am I thinking? Only I can do that" Red scoffed. 

She waved her finger to test if her hypothesis was correct...but Rebecca's eyes followed her finger. "H-huh!?" Red Yelped "B-but how!?" It was then that she noticed how Rebecca was clutching a shard of Steven's gem. 

She then noticed the pink "wires" coming from Rebecca's back, seeing Rebecca Diamond, clutching the mass of The Gems' gem shards "No! My dessert!" Red Diamond screamed. 

"Look at what I had to do to match even a fraction of your power!" said Rebecca "I've reduced myself to your level!" Rebecca Diamond floated next to Rebecca. 

"You...You've trespassed in frozen time, MY domain! And you've eaten my dessert!" said Red Diamond. "You've killed my loved ones!" said Rebecca.

Before Red Diamond could answer she received a punch in the face from Rebecca, not Rebecca Diamond, but Rebecca herself "That one's for Garnet!" she punched Red again. "That was for Amethyst!"

She punched again "And Pearl, Bismuth, Peridot, Lapis!" Rebecca Diamond hovered beside Rebecca and raised her fist along side her "And this one's....FOR DAD!" Rebecca and Rebecca Diamond punched Red Diamond in unison.

Red was sent flying into one of the many towers of Amethyst's trash, all the garbage that made it up all fell upon Red. "N-no! This! This isn't right! I cannot be opposed!" said Red as she burst out of the garbage.

"First time for everything! Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora!" Rebecca Diamond unleashed a flurry of punches.

"No! I...I have the power of more gems than you! I have the power of two diamonds! You only have the power of one and a quarter!" said Red "This...this isn't fair!"

"Oh, shut up!" said Rebecca as she stormed forward. Red used her newfound powers on Rebecca as numerous Red Spheres kept appearing and disappearing on the ground, leaving perfectly round craters behind.

But Rebecca Diamond managed to help keep Rebecca safe by countering the destructive spheres with some of her own creation which would cancel one another out.

"Padparadscha once said that you're an ambush predator...I think you're just a coward who doesn't like direct conflict" said Rebecca "you never go into a fight unless you know you'll win...well, this time you don't have anywhere to hide from me!"

Red Diamond pounced towards Rebecca, but an "Ora ora ora ora!" rush from Rebecca Diamond managed to block the attack.

"No! No! All this power and you dare oppose me! I'm the stronger one! ME! NOT YOU!" screamed Red Diamond sending forth a laser blast from her palms, like that overused effect in superhero movies. 

Rebecca was behind Rebecca Diamond, who was blocking the beam with one hand. "No! No! No! NO!" Red Diamond panicked "This...this can't be happening! I'm Red Diamond! I can't be defeated."

For the first time in her life, Red Diamond was afraid. This was a new sensation for her. And it was one she definitely did not like, not one bit.

"What can I do!? What can I do!?" Red Diamond thought to herself "what if I...no, I can't freeze time if time's already frozen...can I?" Rebecca was inching ever closer to her, she had no time to hesitate.

"T-time stop!" Red Diamond cried out in desperation. Suddenly, the view of Rebecca in front of her became two dimensional, like she was looking at a flat picture of her. 

"H-huh?" Red wondered. She looked behind herself and saw a void and in front of her, the image of Rebecca was among several dozen images above her, attached to a string of light. 

"Stopping time in frozen time...takes me outside of time?" said Red as she started to laugh maniacally "I hold dominion over time! I...I'm unstoppable! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I....I...I can hear you..." she heard a faint voice say.

Chapter Text

Red jolted at the sound of a voice, in the still image that served as the point where Red Diamond exited time itself, there was Rebecca Diamond coming out Rebecca. "Huh!?" Red Diamond exclaimed.

"I can see you too..." said Rebecca Diamond as she outstretched her hands and looked as though she was grabbing mid-air with them, but she began moving them as if she was forcing the doors to an elevator open. 

"No! No! No! No! You haven't absorbed nearly as much gem data as I have! You can't just tear through the boundaries of time like this!" Red Diamond screamed as if she were a child complaining about a friend breaking the rules of a made up game. 

"Suspend your disbelief" said Rebecca Diamond "me and Rebecca have been through so much together, all her personal growths, the data me and her copied from the other gems, all this helped me outgrow my blank state. We can surpass whatever limits you can throw at us, in order to stop you, in order to bring justice to all those you've murdered!" 

Rebecca Diamond, after a few moments of struggling, pushed through the boundaries of time and tugged Rebecca along with her. "Whoa, what is this...what is that stream of light!?" asked Rebecca. 

"No time to explain! Let's focus, Rebecca, this is where we make our final stand!" said Rebecca Diamond, pointing to Red Diamond. Red Diamond was visibly panicking at this point.

"Holy smokes! You're right! I can wonder about this and its meaning later! We've got her cornered now!" said Rebecca. "C-cornered!? You've got me...cornered!? No! No, I do the cornering, not you!" said Red in an insulted tone. 

Red Diamond tried clawing at Rebecca, which she blocked with Rebecca Diamond. "I won't allow this! There can only be one!" said Red Diamond "you will die here, where no one will notice! Where no one will remember!"

"Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora!" Rebecca Diamond unleashed a flurry of punches towards Red Diamond, which she then blocked. The fight soon became a fair exchange of blows.

Red Diamond got a few hits in, but Rebecca and Rebecca Diamond kept up with her. Red Diamond was getting more and more frustrated, never in her life had she ever have to put up a fight with anyone.

Rebecca Diamond was about to land another hit upon Red but she floated upwards. During the fight, Red suddenly had a full realization about what being outside meant, what advantages it could give her.

Red Diamond went inside a moment higher up the time stream. An earlier moment in time...but what would that entail. "Oh god! Where did she go!" Rebecca panicked "quickly, we gotta get up there and stop her...whatever she's doing!"

Rebecca and Rebecca Diamond frantically swam upwards towards where Red Diamond reentered time. When they got up there, they noticed the moment in time Red had went into was way back when Rebecca was four! 

Though people mostly forget what it was like when they were four, Rebecca didn't forget a single event from those early years, they were too eventful to forget. 

This moment in time was when Rebecca Diamond, whom back then was merely a blank who went by the name Security Blankette, first fully formed in order to protect her from the living Frybo costume. 

She then saw Red Diamond in that moment in time, right behind Security Blankette and tore the blank apart. Rebecca Diamond looked at Rebecca in concern as she fell apart!

Rebecca suddenly felt motionless. Red Diamond had destroyed the personification of Rebecca's power. Red Diamond then emerged from the moment in time she trespassed in.

"Oh? You're still here? I guess that weird...French fry thing...didn't wind up killing you, huh? No matter. I destroyed your power, you've got nothing against me" said Red Diamond.

Rebecca was unable to move or do anything. Never before had she felt so helpless. "There's nothing you can do now" said Red Diamond "time itself is my domain, I can do what I want unrestrained now...I am one step closer to true divinity, all I need is the data of the other diamonds..."

"Can you manage that, though?" a voice that sounded like Rebecca's answered as a pink streak struck Red Diamond from below. "Wh...who?" asked Rebecca.

Red Diamond looked up to see what had struck her. It was a person who looked like Rebecca, but she had a more regal air about her, wearing a similar outfit to White Diamond's, but a bit more pink.

Beside this strange lookalike from Rebecca was an alternate version of Rebecca Diamond, albeit much more powerful. "Wh-who are you!?" Red Diamond exclaimed "Where did you come from!?"

"Look below" said the regal looking Rebecca. Below them, all these parallel versions of Rebecca were coming from the point where Rebecca exited time. And protruding from that point in time were all these multiple time streams.

Red Diamond looked back up to the point in the past where she tore apart Security Blankette, multiple new time streams began growing out of it. Those time streams kept going towards where Rebecca and Red Diamond exited time.

"What a pleb, not understanding the butterfly effect" said a nerdy looking Rebecca. More and more alternate versions of Rebecca and Rebecca Diamond were coming out of the woodwork. 

An emo looking Rebecca, a Rebecca with sloppy clothes, and many many more. "What is happening!? What is the meaning of this!?" "This is Infinity" said a disembodied voice coming from beside Rebecca. 

Red Diamond looked back at the original Rebecca's direction as pieces of the original Rebecca Diamond came hovering back towards The Original Rebecca. 

"In your path towards divinity, you made a mistake when you chose to "kill" Rebecca's blank, me, instead of killing the younger Rebecca herself. You changed her past into an uncertainty, creating multiple new timelines, new paths and possibilities for her. All of which lead to this exact point where she left time, towards the one constant in all these new paths...you." 

The Original Rebecca Diamond's fragments all reassembled and suddenly The Original Rebecca could move again "Rebecca Diamond!" The original Rebecca cried in a relieved tone and hugged The Original Rebecca Diamond.

"Rebecca Diamond! I thought I lost you!" The Original Rebecca said with a relieved sob. "You forget, you're my gemstone, as long as you exist, I exist" said The Original Rebecca Diamond "Red's destruction of my past self just had a temporary placebo effect on us, that's all." 

"No! No! No! This can't be happening!" Red Diamond panicked. "Oh, it is happening, and like the iron grip big corporations have on the world, there's nothing you can do about it..." said Emo Rebecca. 

"If...if we kick her ass, I can go back to my room, right?" The sloppy looking version of Rebecca asked Red Diamond. "Just so, My Shut-In Counterpart, just so..." said The Regal Rebecca.

"Then let's get to it! I've got an L&L session this evening, I've finally finished planning out my greatest quest yet! The gang's gonna love it!" said Nerdy Rebecca.  

"Alright, counterparts! Join with me!" said The Original Rebecca Diamond. All the alternate versions of Rebecca Diamond joined hands and ultimately combined into an enormous version of Rebecca Diamond, about the size of two Suns

"Rebecca Diamond: Level Infinity!" said The huge version. "L-l-l-level infinity!?" Red Diamond stammered. 

Chapter Text

"L-Level Infinity!? What madness is this!?" said Red Diamond. "Whoa! This is too cool!" said Nerdy Rebecca. "Stay focused! In order for our Rebecca Diamonds to keep up this form, we must stay concentrated!" said Regal Rebecca. 

"How could you possibly know that?" asked Sloppy Rebecca. "Because...like, it's a fusion...right?" said Emo Rebecca. "Come on, girls! Let's give this bitch what for!" said an optimistic Rebecca in a letterman jacket who blew a whistle. 

"Red Diamond. Prepare to face the wrath of multiple timelines!" said Rebecca Diamond Level Infinity "ORA!" A huge fist the size of Earth's moon struck Red Diamond, causing her to black out. 

When she came to, she found herself in what appeared to be the throne room of The Diamond Palace. Sitting on a throne that appeared to be fashioned out of White Diamond's damaged gem was the regal looking Rebecca.

Beside Regal Rebecca were The Diamond's Pearls. "You stand before Rebecca Universe, Grand Empress of All Gems" said Yellow Pearl. "You stand accused of Gem Slaughter, our grand empress has already determined your punishment...death!"

"Wh-where am I? How did I get...?" Red Diamond stuttered before she noticed she was bound by these specially made shackles that she could not escape! The Regal Looking Rebecca, Grand Empress Rebecca, apparently, approached Red Diamond.

She summoned her Rebecca Diamond from within her "You should feel honoured. I despise you so much, I feel compelled to execute you myself" said Grand Empress Rebecca "Do it, Rebecca Diamond."

Grand Empress's Rebecca Diamond morphed her hands into a hammer and spike and drove it right into Red's Gem as she screamed in agony as her surrounding began to morph into a fist that then punched her.

She soon found herself behind a veil of red glass...until she realized she was in her own gem! Her gem was in some sort of room decorated with a combination of scientific looking equipment and nerd culture paraphernalia.

"Hmm, you've been rendered unable to reform from your gem, Dad must have done a number on you! Oh well, I've always wondered how a gem works, let's begin the experiment" said Nerdy Rebecca as she took out a power drill.

"Well, I guess you're gonna figure out what a dentist's drill feels like without anesthetic!" said Nerdy Rebecca as she began digging the power drill into Red Diamond, causing her to intense pain, yet being unable to express it!

And once again, her surroundings caved in around her into the shape of a fist, striking her again! The process kept repeating itself, witnessing so many instances of her defeat and then getting struck again. 

It felt like she had endured ten years of witnessing her own demise or defeat until it stopped. "Wh...what was that!?" said Red Diamond in a traumatized tone.

"Alright! Dog pile her!" coached Athlete Rebecca. All The Rebecca's from alternate timelines then swarmed Red Diamond, attacking her with their Rebecca Diamonds.

Red was struggling to defeat them, they just kept coming and coming and would not stop! "No...no...ENOOOOOOOOUGH!" Red roared, sending a burst of energy that scattered all the Rebeccas surrounding her.

"I underestimated my own power!" Red said with a maniacal laugh "you should have shattered me! I can't believe I was afraid of all of you!"

"We didn't shatter you, because it wouldn't have bought Dad or everyone else back" said The Original Rebecca coming down from the upper regions of The Time Stream, holding a shiny object in her hands.

"Did you? Did you enter another moment in time?" asked Red "and what's that in your hand!?" "Take a good look" said Original Rebecca. Red Diamond took a good long look "M-My Gem!? From where!? From When!?"

"From your very beginning" said Original Rebecca. "My...My Emergence!? The moment I came into existence!?" Red Diamond panicked. "That's right, your entire life, your history...is in my hands!" said Original Rebecca. 

"I...I...I get it now" said Red Diamond, tears welling up "the preciousness of life! It's a treasure! An irreplaceable one! Oh Rebecca, you've changed me! I understand what I've been doing was wrong! I get it now!"

"How stupid do you think I am?" said Rebecca "shattering you now won't bring everyone back...but this WILL!" Rebecca broke Red Diamond's gem from the past.

In an instant, all these multicoloured lights began streaming out of Red Diamond's gem! "NO! Nononononono!" she panicked desperately trying to grab them. She reverted to her previous form from before she absorbed Steven's gem data. 

For a brief moment she reverted back to Navy and then back to herself again "REBECCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Red screamed as she desperately tried to attack her, but her present day gem began to crack and eventually shattered as she let out one final panicked scream! 

Rebecca took no joy in shattering Red Diamond, all she wanted was her father back, Peridot back, along with all the gems. Just then, eight lights hovered in front of Rebecca. 

A red one, a blue one, a white one, a purple one, a pink one, another blue one, a green one and a light grey one, they took the forms of Ruby and Sapphire, Pearl, Amethyst, Steven, Lapis, Peridot and Bismuth.

"I...I'm sorry...I never wanted to take another life since I accidentally killed that bird when I was little...I..I just wanted to bring you guys back!" Rebecca cried. The light of Steven came to Rebecca and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile before he and the others reverted to lights and went back into the time stream. 

Suddenly, a buzzing could be heard from The Time Stream! The multiple timelines created from Red Diamond's tampering had suddenly started to become undone. 

"Oh no! Wh-what's happening!?" Rebecca exclaimed. "Red Diamond tampered with a moment in our shared past, but since you took Red Diamond out of the equation, that tampering never happened in the first place" said Nerdy Rebecca.

"Does this mean...oh no! You guys! I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to erase all of you from existence, I...I.." Rebecca stammered when suddenly one of her counterparts gravitated towards her and melded into her, as if fusing.

"It's alright, Rebecca, we were all once part of you, we were actualized possibilities" said Grand Empress Rebecca "I can't say for sure what you did was right, but you saved countless lives, lives she would have taken." 

"Uh, is that our moment of birth? It's uh...it's going down the stream" said Sloppy Rebecca. "What!? Oh no! Do I not exist anymore!?" Rebecca panicked.

"No, if the change of history had erased your birth, we would have disappeared by now" said Rebecca Diamond. "Yeah! It looks like we just delayed our birth...and our parents' births as well" said Emo Rebecca. 

"But...how? How does Red Diamond being shattered at the point of her emergence change when me and my family were born?" asked Rebecca.

"I dunno, butterfly effect? Changing the past alters the present in ways you can't imagine" said Nerdy Rebecca before becoming a part of Rebecca. Soon, all other versions of Rebecca began returning to Rebecca as their timelines got erased.

"Rebecca, do me a favour...don't become me, what I did to become who I am...I have many regrets" said Grand Empress Rebecca before finally becoming part of Original Rebecca. 

She soon felt herself being gravitated towards The Time Stream and she could see herself getting younger "Our life is about to start all over again" said Rebecca Diamond "but it's gonna be okay. I will still be with you."

"We're one and the same, after all" said Rebecca "alright, new timeline, I don't know what you're gonna be like, but, it was my actions that made you, so I must face the consequences."

And so, Rebecca was reborn in a new timeline. Oddly enough, unbeknownst to her parents or anyone else for that matter, Rebecca had retained the memories she made in her original timeline, and the memories of all the other Rebecca's as well.

It was when she was able to conjure Rebecca Diamond at age four did she realized that this "power of infinity" she had gained transcended time itself. But even so, she decided not to test its limits and focus on just living the best life she can.

In this new timeline, Steven's powers started developing when he was around thirteen years old, not twenty nine like in the original timeline. All the adventures she went on, her father went on as a kid in this timeline.

Steven and Connie had also met when they were kids, and not just star crossed lovers who met in a shared college campus. Because of this, Rebecca's parents seemed closer than they already were in the original timeline.

Little Homeworld was an already established place when Rebecca was born in the new timeline, Steven had long since made peace with The Diamonds. 

Her little brother, Joshua, was eventually born again in the new timeline too, but without any memories of his past incarnation. Overall, Rebecca had some bittersweet feelings about this new timelines. 

There were things that Rebecca had unknowingly given up when she altered history. Like her boyfriend for instance, while her own birth was delayed by her actions, Alex's was not, he was a teen when she was born so, it wasn't likely they could ever be a couple in this timeline.

Of course, she had to accept it, no matter how hard it was. Eventually, once she had returned to an appropriate dating age, she began a new first relationship with a boy named Ian. 

Rebecca eventually did become a veterinarian like she wanted. Though this new timeline wasn't perfect, her new life had its ups and downs, and she did miss her original timeline, she was ultimately happy nonetheless.