Blue's Lament

Part One - Steven's Epiphany

The confrontation that he experienced just moments before left him dazed and confused, the comments that Bismuth had said before still rang in his head like a haunting bell toll.

It was then that he realized that he needed to tell the gems what had happened previously at Bismuth's forge, despite the unknown consequences and reactions of the four gems.

As Steven warped back to the beach house, he held the gem-filled bubble in his arms protectively, as if even the slightest bump would cause the gem inside to shatter. Pearl and Amethyst were immediately there.

"Steven!" Pearl called out to him, running over to see if he was alright.

"Oh, hey dude," Amethyst said casually, following Pearl in her steps. "Yo, uhh... what happened to you, man?" Amethyst asked, noticing Steven's newly found injuries.

Steven sighed as he closed his eyes. "There's something I need to tell you..."

Steven proceeded to explain what happened at the forge, the Breaking Point, the fight, and Steven poofing Bismuth. He told them everything, down to every word that was traded between the two. The Gems mourned the loss of their close friend and comrade.

After releasing Bismuth's bubble into the mass of other corrupted gems, the Gems followed Steven out onto the beach, each of them was trying to comfort them as he peered up at the stars.

Each second that passed by grew longer and longer as Steven contemplated what he could've said or done differently. He relented and told himself the past was in the past and that he couldn't change it. Though, there were a few wrongs that needed to be righted.

The subtleties and the various comments she made about Rose contradicted the many stories that the Crystal Gems told him when he was younger. The biggest discrepancy was about Rose's sword.

"I designed this sword for a fair fight. It can cut through a Gem's physical form in an instant! Destroying the body, but never the Gem."

"How could you value the Gems of our enemies more than our own?!"

It all made sense now. Steven cursed himself for not seeing it sooner, though he pressed on. There was no way to prove his suspicions. The truth was the only thing that mattered. The key to ending all this conflict between the Crystal Gems and Homeworld.

He sighed audibly, causing the Gems to step back. Steven turned back to them with narrowed eyebrows. "What happened to Pink Diamond?"

The randomness of the question caused the Gems to look at each other in confusion. "Didn't we already tell this to him?" Pearl whispered to Garnet, though Steven could still hear her. He swallowed a rhetorical comment and waited for their response.

Garnet was the first to answer. "Pink Diamond was shattered by Rose, Steven."

Steven closed his eyes and prayed for strength. "That's not possible..." He said under his breath. "How can that be possible if Mom's sword was never meant for shattering?"

If Pearl had any blood in her system, it would've been drained from her face. Fear overtook her actions quickly. "Steven, I'm sure you're just a bit tired and you're not thinking straight." She moved to take Steven's arm as he pulled away.

"I'm thinking perfectly fine, Pearl. Bismuth was the one who made Mom's sword, why would she lie about something like that?" Steven asked, looking into Pearl's wavering gaze.

The silence was deafening.

Garnet slowly turned her head to Pearl. "You promised me you weren't ever going to lie to me again. Tell me that you had nothing to do with this."