Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven slid through the tunnel and they all landed gracefully on the floor of white Diamonds head. The four of them look to where White Diamond should have been.

"Oh, Starlight, what are you doing crawling in here? You want your legs back? You want your planet back? Surely, you can understand why I can't let you leave. Look what you did to yourself last time." White Diamond tauntingly said. It wasn't White Diamond however, it was Hephaistos making a pose like White Diamond. Blue, Yellow, and White Diamond mimicked his actions like they were under his control and were all white. They all stared with his same expression.

"White Diamond! My name is Steven Universe. I'm here to- Gah!" said Steven as he was interrupted by White Pearl jumping in front of his path. The pearl then said "My, my. We've been causing quite a scene, haven't we?" in tandem with Hephaistos.

Steven then said "What have you done to them?! They're-... Wait. This isn't right."

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" said Hephaistos. The other possessed Gems draw a finger to their lips and shush Steven. Hephaistos begins addressing the Diamonds flanking him, as they mirror his every gesture.

"No! I'm not supposed to be here! Hephaistos I know this isn't real!" cried out Steven. At that moment the walls, the floor, and the Diamonds, everything but Hephaistos blurred and he returned to how Steven had remembered him. Steven could hear the sounds of an organ and rain once again.

"Not so drawn into your fantasy are you? I was trying to make things easier for both of us. Give you a happy ending like you wanted. You defeat the Diamonds, change their ways, go home known as a savior and helper all throughout the Universe. You never know hardship like you did during your outburst and could even forget all about me. That's all you ever cared about, to just be known as a saint. You just have to be stubborn and make me fight you huh. Why can't you be more like the other Diamonds? If only you could see the simple fantasies that keep them trapped."

"What... that isn't true. I care about the people around me, that's why I help!" said Steven, slightly distressed.

"Have I lied to you about anything up to this point? I can see into your mind through your dreams, you can't lie to me." said Hephaistos in a much deeper and booming voice.

Meanwhile on the Beach

The white energy with Gem's of all the Diamonds kept rising until it finally formed at around 3 times the size of the Gem Temple. Graphene finally solidified, she had skin the color of silver and she had 4 golden eyes contrasting her skin with no pupils. On the top of her head was hair set in stone going down the length of her back, the same color as her skin. She also had 4 massive arms, two at her waist and two at their normal position.

The soldiers all along the beach slowly walked back to it's edge closer to Graphene.

"It is good to be back!" Graphene said stretching out her arms in a sound so loud that everyone on the beach had to cover their ears watching in shock. Graphene then looked down at the tiny figure on the beach and said "I don't think we've formally introduced ourselves." giving a great large and white smile. "I am Hephaistos! I'm finally back in this reality for good! I've picked through all of your memories so much that it's sometimes hard to remember that you actually exist." she said giving a hearty laugh that shook the ocean she stood in. Getting more serious she said "Now we did make a deal with Steven that if he surrendered I would leave all of you alone and so I will. I don't need to fight any of you puny Gem's, I already have what I need."

"We can't let him take Steven, just like that!" said Alexandrite panicked. "Yeah! We're not done with you, you clod!" said Peridot angrily. Everyone looked up to her with angry expressions. Alexandrite then said "Alright Peridot, use your powers and bring anyone up who can't fly up, same goes for you Lapis." They both looked towards her and nodded in agreement.

Graphene looking amused said "I had hoped you would say that. Soldiers stand down while I test out this new form."

Meanwhile in Graphene's Mind

"I don't care what you say, I'm not letting you mess with me any longer." said Steven with a determined look.

"Oh really?" said Hephaistos looking amused. He suddenly disappeared into dust and the blurred walls and floors surrounding Steven took the shape of the halls of a fancy mansion along with carpeted floors and ornate walls with paintings.

Steven called out "I need a way out of here!" but his Gem simply fizzled a bit.

"Steven, did you really think you can pull the same trick twice?" said a booming voice from all around him. The walls began to close around him and Steven panicked, began to try and push against them to no avail. "Maybe it's better in the long run I have to fight you. If you're gone from this space there's a better chance I stay Graphene forever." said Hephaistos's voice once again.

Steven in that moment had an epiphany, and his expression changed to a more calm one before saying "Just because you made me doesn't mean you know anything about me or deserve to control me."

The mansion around Steven vanished leaving only the rain, the organ music to surround him. Hephaistos appeared in the sky-like area alongside Steven and said "I don't care about puny thoughts of a Gem like you."

Steven then felt a pull as he was being dragged down to the void below but just before he lost his strength to resist it's pull he summoned his shield and threw it as Hephaistos hitting him squarely in the chin. The pull stopped as he reeled back with one hand on the spot that was struck. Steven smiled at the small victory and suddenly he realized they were standing on the beach in front of the Gem temple but no one but them was there.

Hephaistos looked at Steven furiously but Steven just summoned his shield and began to run at him. Steven felt himself start to get slower and the slower the closer he got eventually coming to a crawl's pace right before reaching him. Hephaistos then smiled a sly smile and said: "Even if your Gem is powerful here thanks to my work, you alone, and alone you are weaker than me." Suddenly he backed up, holding his eye in pain falling backward.

Meanwhile on the Beach

Lapis wasted no time getting a bunch of the Gem's into water bubbles and began to fly up to Graphene's head. Peridot did the same except using pieces of metal scattered all over the beach.

"This guy's nothing. We can do this," said Lapis smiling to Peridot and she gave one right back a bit more uncertain.

Graphene lifted up one massive foot stomping into the ground leaving a massive crater on the beach right before everyone was taken off of it. Alexandrite managed to jump onto her leg and began crawling up. Graphene without a second thought and with lighting speed hit Alexandrite with full force causing her to unfuse and Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst to fall onto the beach. Graphene gave a smile as she noticed all the Gem's buzzing around her head. She clapped her hands together letting out a massive shockwave that caused Peridot and Lapis to lose focus and everyone began falling out of the air. Just when Graphene was about to clap with her second set of arms she put one hand up to her chin reeling back. Everyone looked up a bit surprised. "I think Steven might be fighting back in there!" yelled Amethyst from the beach. Everyone's expressions changed to be a bit more hopeful and they resumed their attack with Lapis and Peridot flying them back up.

"Sir, this is going too far, we're going to help you." Von's booming voice once again came from his dreadnaught.

Graphene put down her hand revealing a furious expression saying "Ground these Gem's into dust Von."

The ships began using their small guns to fire at the Gem's flying around but due to their small size couldn't hit them being unable to use the largest one's in fear of hurting Graphene.

Suddenly Connie on Lion's back jumped out of a portal yelling "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH" and struck Graphene right in the eye with her sword before falling through another portal.

Before Graphene could react Lapis said "Yeah, that's the spirit Connie!" before launching all the Gem's she was carrying to each get individual strikes in the same spot.

Graphene cried out in pain holding her eye and falling down in the water causing a massive wave to strike the beach below.

Meanwhile in Graphene's Mind

Steven looked at Hephaistos sitting on the sand gripping his eye a bit confused before saying "I didn't do that…" Steven's face lit up "My friends must be fighting you on the outside!"

The beach around them changed to a burning forest with trees Steven didn't recognize. The trunks themselves were a light greyish color and the leaves at the top were shaped similarly to palm trees but the darkest green you could imagine. Most of them were on fire. Looking up revealed a whole fleet of Von's dreadnaught's blanketing the sky blotting out the very orange sun.

Hephaistos got back to his feet brushing the remaining sand off his jacket and with a calmer expression said: "I wasn't going to take your world since we made a deal but your friends have made it absolutely necessary." He made a closing motion with his hands and the fire then began to leap off the trees flowing towards Steven but right before they could he pulled up his shield once again crouching beneath it sweating from the heat. Hephaistos walked up to Steven through the flames with a sinister expression.

Meanwhile on the Beach

The wave caused by Graphene slammed into the beach knocking a few of the Gem's on to the ground. Even lying down she was still larger than the Gem Temple. Graphene held one hand to her eye seething with rage before getting up to resume her attack. Taking her hand away revealed that the spot had fully healed at this point and her expression changed to a more confident one. "I think you Crystal Gem's need to back off." She then swung one giant hand directly into the statue above the House shattering the top of it. Pearl panicked, put her hands up to her face and said "The Temple!"

Garnet called out to Lapis who was flying around the head of Graphene and said "Lapis! She's causing too much damage! Can you try and contain her!?"

Lapis quickly lowered the remaining people to the ground and with a bit of a pained expression said "I...think...I think I can." putting up water chains around Graphene's arms and legs.

At that moment a white light began to form under the ocean floor and a giant hand took shape gripping around one of Graphene's legs preventing her from walking any closer to the beach.

Graphene gave a smile before saying "No cluster, no single Lapis, no ragtag group of Gem's is enough to take me down. It took the full might of all four diamonds to just barely take me out last time but they're not here." before letting out another shockwave causing Lapis to get knocked out falling down to the beach and the cluster to become destabilized going back to its bubble. Graphene stepped onto the cliffside smashing the lighthouse under her heel causing a massive crater.

Garnet called out to Peridot "Lapis is down! It's up to you to distract Graphene right now! We need to give Steven a chance!" Peridot gave a subtle nod before bringing a bunch of Gem's to resume their small attacks around Graphene's head.

Meanwhile in Graphene's Mind

Steven looked up at Hephaistos who was swatting around his head at nothing causing him to get distracted and for the flames around Steven to vanish. Steven realizing the opportunity jumped, striking Hephaistos right in the face causing him to fall back.

Meanwhile on the Beach

Graphene was suddenly knocked back into the water once again. Garnet gave a smile saying "That's just what we needed." under her breath. "Now Peridot! Bring everyone to her while she is down! This is our chance!"

Peridot carried everyone who could still fight over to Graphene's body lying in the ocean.

Everyone jumped on to her attacking any part they landed on.

Meanwhile in Graphene's Mind

Hephaistos gripped his stomach in pain just after Steven had landed his strike on him slowly backing up in the process. "I think it's time we said our goodbyes," Steven said before throwing his shield at a wide-eyed Hephaistos. The shield passed cleanly through him causing him to vanish into a small cloud of dust.

Meanwhile on the Beach

Everyone attacking Graphene's stomach heard a rumbling sound when all of a sudden there was a loud poof noise and Graphene's body vanished leaving the Diamonds 3 Gems and a passed out Steven to fall towards the ocean. Peridot quickly caught all 4 of them and brought them to the beach. The few dreadnaught's left in the sky slowly fell into the ocean with a loud crash. Steven opened his eyes to see everyone looking down at him and he smiled weakly saying "We did it right?" Garnet looked down at Steven with a slight smile and said: "I think we got him."

Steven stood up a bit weakly looking at all the crashed ships in the ocean and with a laugh said: "I guess we have a lot of cleaning up to do."

They could see a ton of various soldiers and different workers swimming out of the various ships towards the shore and everyone tensed for a fight.

Von swam up to the shore crawling up the beach and looked at Steven and said "I...can finally talk like me. Steven, Hephaistos is gone, I'm no longer under his control."

Steven relaxed a bit and said "Wait... he lied about not controlling The Forge...that also means he must really be gone. Well, we can set you guys up at Little Homeworld for the time being I suppose." Steven gave a look around at all the smiling faces of everyone he's helped throughout his time in Beach City and gave a large slightly teary smile going in for a group hug. After one slightly awkward hug later he said "I suppose I can stick around a little bit longer before heading back out on the road. You know, to help clean up and all."

Pearl gave a teary-eyed smile and said: "That sounds wonderful."