Steven Diamond Universe was a cheerful boy and the son of the now late Blue Diamond. Yet on days like this, as he gazed out the window of the van at the gray sky, he couldn't help but feel unsure.
As if the dreary atmosphere wasn't enough to bring him down, he was in a place unfamiliar to him, in the process of moving to an even more obscure town.
"Why do we have to move here?" he asked neutrally. The boy didn't want to seem negative, after all.
His father glanced at the rear view mirror, meeting with his son's strong blue eyes briefly through their reflections. His pupils were shaped like diamonds, just as his mother had.
"We've been over this." he patiently told his young son. "It was just time for a little change." Greg supposed, adjusting his firm grip on the dark steering wheel. "You'll like Beach City, I'm sure of it."
"Oh, I'm not worried about that!" the boy assured. "As long as I've got you and Pearl, I'll always be happy."
"Ah." Greg said. "I guess the clouds have got you down a little bit, then. Well, Pearl assured me that the forecast is supposed to be sunny."
"I'm glad she went ahead." Steven beamed, twisting his fingers into his curly mess of hair. "Pearl always has good opinions."
"When you ask." Greg dryly remarked. "I like this town. I've only been here once, but it was the beginning of my entire career!"
"Yup." the boy laughed. "Only one person came to your show!"
He rubbed the back of his balding head, blushing slightly. "Yeah. But that one person gave me the confidence to go to Empire City and make a name for myself. Want to know something funny?"
Steven nodded excitedly, leaning forward onto the passenger seat. "I do!"
"I don't even know her name!" Greg chuckled.
The boy giggled, gazing out of the now smudged window. He could see the town up ahead, and because the sky was clearing up, the sparkling ocean waters.
Most notably was a large plateau with a lighthouse atop it that seemed to have randomly sprouted upward from the far end of the peninsula.
"Beach City." he breathed, adjusting his loose navy blue shirt with a yellow star emblazoned on it's center.. "It's really different from Korea and the flowers."
"Yup. It may be called a City, but it really doesn't look like one."
"It not like Seoul or anything at all!" he exclaimed, observing the residential homes.
Greg chuckled at his seven year old son's naïveté. Leave it to Steven to compare the largest city in South Korea to a small ocean town.
They finally reached the city limits, but Greg did not continue toward the buildings. He began driving off the road, through a field of shin length grass.
The father noticed his son's baffled look. "You surprised we aren't going to the town, Schtu-ball?"
Steven nodded, mouth agape. "I thought we were moving to Beach City, not a field!"
Greg pointed ahead with one hand, keeping the other steadying the steering wheel. "See that? Pearl and the house."
Steven spotted the former, with her blue back turned to them. Pearl seemed to be lost in thought, gazing onto the vast ocean.
The latter was a gigantic blue crystalline structure, a former palanquin. A divider was placed horizontally in the middle, separating it into two floors. The upper level was a bedroom. A kitchen and bathroom occupied the ground floor.
"Welcome to our new home!" Greg exclaimed, turning back to look at his son. "Well, the new place we parked the house."
"We moved from one field to another." the boy realized wistfully.
He smiled, unlocking the van. Father and son stepped out of the van, making the walk up to pearl.
Her short baby blue hair obscured her eyes. She was wearing a leotard with a sheer skirt, something that a human would find uncomfortable wearing in the chilly weather.
Pearl was not a human at all, so it didn't bother her.
Steven stood next to his father and smiled innocently.
"Pearl." the man acknowledged.
He guessed she must've deep in thought to not notice the van pull up.
At first, she tilted her head to see who had called her name. "Hello, Greg." she greeted in her whisper of a voice. She turned fully toward them, clasping her hands.
Then she took notice of the boy standing next to the balding man. Pearl bowed respectfully, dropping her head parallel to the ground with her arms outstretched daintily.
"My Diamond." she reverently said.
Steven couldn't help but smile toothily, showing off his missing baby teeth. They hadn't seen each other in almost a week.
It greatly entertained him when she treated him like royalty. Everything he had ever heard about mother figures suggested the opposite was common.
Greg pursed his lips, knit his brow, and rubbed the back of his head in discomfort. "Pearl… we've talked about this. Blue and I agreed to call him Steven. He's not…"
Pearl stood tall, hands still clasped. Because it was nearly impossible to see her facial features through her hair, combined the with fact that her voice was barely a whisper, it was difficult to determine what she was thinking.
"Oh. Yes…" she absentmindedly whispered.
Greg nodded. "Yeah. That's alright."
The man smirked and glanced at Pearl, changing the touchy subject. "Anyway, Steven wanted to see-"
"Is it finished, Pearl!? Is it?" Steven excitedly queried, practically bouncing up and down.
"Almost." Pearl politely replied.
He nodded. "Can I see?"
"Sure." Pearl answered.
The father watched as his son ran away from him. "Be careful!" he warned.
"I will!" Steven assured excitedly.
"Pearl, I want to thank you for this." Greg smiled understandingly. "I know it's been a hard couple of years. For all of us." He rubbed the back of his head, staring at the lush grass. "Especially with Blue gone." He shook his head, focusing his thoughts. "What I'm trying to say is… We're glad you stayed."
The pearl nodded curtly. She couldn't help but surrender to the slight smile that crept upon her face. "It's what my Diamond would have wanted."
He glanced at his cheerful son, taking on a sympathetic expression. "Is it… what you want?"
She thought so.
Pearl wasn't very vocal at all. It simply wasn't in her nature. Her responses and requests were equally brief, to the point, and quiet.
She was glad for her hair, as she was currently fighting back tears. However it was her ever so slightly quivering smile that answered Greg's question.
The man got the impression that something more was going on, and that he and pearl would need to speak with one another.
"Pearl! It's beautiful! Dad, look!" Steven exclaimed, peeking into their home. He craned his head back toward his guardians.
So she finally sniffled, nodding while biting her lip. "I think so." Pearl muttered.
"Are you crying?" Steven asked with genuine worry in his voice.
Pearl shook her head once left and twice right. "No, my- Steven."
The boy pursed his lips, lowering his brow to appear as an incredibly concerned pudgy seven year old. "Is that the truth?" he cheekily asked.
She ignored him, moving to the makeshift curtain door of their renovated palanquin house. In this case, Steven found her silence to be deafening.
Greg rubbed the back of his head, following the blue Pearl. "Uh, how was the fly over?"
"Agreeable." Pearl said in a whisper. "I wasn't expecting you here so soon. Forgive me. I haven't unpacked yet."
"No worries. We'll give you a hand." the man cheerfully assured her, winking.
Even after the decade she had lived on earth, it still took getting used to that most every human considered themselves equal to any other human. She saw through the lie.
Even if they didn't want to admit it, humans still prejudiced one another for silly reasons and delegated less desirable jobs to the lower class. Those with the loudest voices were convinced that such ideas were left behind when 'modern' civilization came into existence.
At it's core, human society was simply lying about not being similar to the Gem Empire. The only difference between the two were the longevity of the gem race, and that Gems were made for a specific purposes.
Humans were more or less able to choose what they wanted to do, even if it was poorly. But in the end, most everyone fit a purpose.
Pearl almost was amused by the lies humanity had been telling itself, but she was much too reserved to be smug. She would use the excuse that she was a Diamond's pearl, but she knew of a series of particularly sassy Pearls belonging to a certain Yellow Diamond.
They were the highest of the low class.
Some pearls were not as well behaved. It was a mockery of the Great Diamond Authority.
Yellow Diamond's current pearl was not the first.
They entered, seeing the familiar sitting area to the left, and the kitchen to the right. A ladder to the upper floor bedroom rested in the middle of the back wall, attached to a massive throne. Mountains of boxes were scattered around the room, fastened down to avoid breakage during the flight.
So they moved around the blue room, unpacking labeled cardboard boxes. The most difficult to open containers were those sealed by the boy. His taping skill was shoddy and used excess tape.
His labels were a testament to his creativity and positivity. Nearly each word was written in sloppy bubble letters with stars flanking either side.
Clearly he had practiced drawing stars similar so the one on his shirt because every single one was perfectly proportioned.
Greg eventually got to a box labeled 'blue' next to their lint covered cream colored couch. The letters were neatly written. In fact, he at first mistook them for a printed Garamond font. Then he realized it was written by the pearl that was currently unpacking green and red ceramic plates.
The man carefully opened it. His heart raced as he did. Was this a box of lost memories? Did 'Blue' refer to the love of his life?
"Oh." he disappointedly said as he was met with the blue zoo animal statuettes that had gone on his mantle previously.
"Dad! Pearl!" Steven exclaimed from the pile of boxes near the door.
Both guardians came over concernedly. "Steven? What's wrong?!" the man exclaimed.
He turned around, holding a framed photo to him. A wide grin was on full display on his chubby face. "Look. I've never seen this before."
Pearl and Greg both smiled wearily at the sight. Inside the gilded frame was an old photo from nearly ten years prior.
It was of a younger yet bearded Greg throwing his arm around Blue Diamond. They were both smiling, although the Diamond's was more subtle. Her happiness was better shown in her eyes. They were wide and full of life.
Greg stepped forward, holding the frame in one hand. "Well whaddya know. I thought I lost this a long time ago."
"Mom is really beautiful in this picture!. I wish you took more." Steven whined. "This is the first one I've seen where she doesn't look really sad."
"When I met your mother, she had come to Korea to mourn someone close to her." he said, his voice dripping with nostalgia. "She would tell you that I was the only one in our relationship to help the other, but she really gave me a hand too."
Pearl bowed about down by about forty five degrees. "I thank you for that, Greg."
He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Boy do I miss her." he stated passionately, with a choke in his voice.
Steven pursed his lips unsurely. "I feel kind of bad, because I never knew her enough to miss her. I just wish I could have met her."
"She wished the same." Pearl whispered. "But you both could not exist at the same time."
His innocent child mind went running. "Do you guys wish I hadn't been born?" he asked with panic in his voice.
Pearl and Greg looked at each other confusedly, their minds rapidly searching for reasons why he would ever come to such a horrifying conclusion.
"Of course not!" Greg assured, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Becoming a father was the best thing that happened to me! And that's coming from the man who dated your mother!"
Pearl pursed her thin blue lips. Steven didn't know what to make of her silence. Finally, she caved in. "Steven, I don't regret that my Diamond had you."
His smile returned subtly. He was filled with the warmth of familial love. Steven really felt silly for even thinking about thinking such a notion.
Suddenly, his stomach grumbled audibly.
Greg chuckled quietly. "I take it you're hungry? When was the last time we ate?"
"At the Best Diner in the World on the way here from the airport!" the boy realized. "Oh no! We'd better eat or we'll starve!"
"That was breakfast four hours ago, Steven." the man pointed out, smiling.
He puffed out his cheeks, blushing. "Well I'm hungry."
"There are several options on the Boardwalk." Pearl whispered helpfully. Her hands were clasped in front of her once again. "The food and drink in this country is much… larger."
"Ah, good old American overconsumption." the man joked, ruffling his son's hair. "Let's all go get some lunch. My treat." Greg winked.
"Good." Steven giggled. "I don't have money of my own."
Greg chuckled. "I know, bud. Let's go see what they have."
Pearl followed them out of the house, walking a meter behind the father and son. "I recall seeing a pizza or seafood restaurant, a 'fry shack', and a bakery of some sort. I will just get something to sip, if that is fine, Greg."
"Of course." the man assured. Then he turned back and winked. "You can pay me back by helping out at the car wash."
She tilted her head in confusion. So did the boy.
"A car wash?" Steven asked curiously.
Greg nodded, opening the van door. "I bought an old car wash in town as a source of income."
Pearl didn't allow it a second thought. Why would she? Cleaning was a primary duty of pearls.
The makeshift family hopped into the Mr. Universe van, fastening their seat belts like responsible people.
Steven did so with a big grin. After all, did little children fasten their own seat belts? Nope, only adults and big kids did. That was something he was trying to assert to his guardians, that he was old enough to begin training.
He had seen his blue guardian in action a few times, gracefully cutting monsters that were attracted to them into ribbons. He envied her skills. When she fought, it didnt appear that she was fighting at all, but performing a deadly dance.
The thought of such a thing caused him to kick his tiny feet back and forth at the seat in front of him.
Pearl cleared her throat quietly.
He sheepishly realized that he had been kicking her seat in his excitement. "Sorry, Pearl."
"All has been forgiven, my Steven." she whispered. Pearl didn't like that being polite required so many words.
Greg chuckled at his son's eagerness. He didn't know exactly what had him so happy. "Easy on the seat, Schtu-ball."
Everyone was quiet as they drove through the town. The man stopped on the side of the road adjacent to the back of the boardwalk buildings.
Greg, Steven, and especially Pearl got out of the van with no conversation.
Steven excitedly took the lead, running between buildings to the boardwalk, and by extension, the beach.
He gazed at the sparkling water with awe. From the cliff, they hadn't been able to see the spectacle of the soft sands in front of the water, only the vast ocean itself.
Other than Greg and Pearl following him, the boardwalk was quiet and completely empty. After all, no one wanted to visit an Oceanside town in the middle of the fall.
He turned around with a wide grin on his face. "This is gonna be fun!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms outward.
His guardians smiled happily. Pearl cleared her throat. "Focus."
"Right!" he said dutifully, putting his hands on his hips. He gazed at the options in front of him.
On the left was Fish Stew Pizza. The smell coming from within was not very appetizing. But pizza was pizza.
Directly in front of them was a building with a counter, resembling a kiosk. The colorful sign read Beach Citywalk Fries. The aroma was tempting, but he wasn't hungry enough for greasy food.
The boy turned his head to the right, spying the most interesting building in town. Where the boardwalk turned into a cement wall, there was a store.
It had a glass storefront, and most prominently, the largest chocolate donut the boy had ever seen on the roof of the building.
He read the name of the store aloud, walking toward it reverently. "The Big Donut…"
"Well, it's not exactly a meal, but if that's what you want, we can get it." Greg said, rubbing the back of his head.
Steven entered the building with wide eyes. A chime went off as they stepped onward. The confectionary shop was laid out like a convenience store.
To the left was a counter and chairs with a coffee pot that extended to the back wall, where two teenaged humans stood boredly. Their shirts were violet with a donut emblazoned on the middle. The donut had two bite marks in such a way, that it appeared to also read 'BD'.
On their right was several freezers and refrigerators filled with all manners of frozen treats and sweet drinks. Speaking of drinks, a soft drink machine was also on the right wall.
The teenager with floppy hair waved. "Hello. How can we help you?"
Greg looked up to the various menus above their heads. "We'll take a dozen donuts."
The girl with tied up hair moved to the clear shelves of donuts. "What kind?"
Greg looked to his son, who was shyly hiding behind Pearl. Nothing out of the ordinary. As happy as his son was, being around Pearl had certainly built up shyness around strangers.
"Why don't you two get some drinks?" he suggested to the pair.
Steven nodded dutifully. "I think I'll get apple."
"Six glazed and six chocolate, please."
He tapped buttons on the register while the girl selected donuts. "That will be eleven dollars and sixty five cents."
Pearl and Steven came forward, each holding a sixteen ounce plastic bottle. Steven's was an apple flavored juice, but Pearl's was more particular. It was a raspberry Sugar Shock Shutdown.
Based on her quiet and reserved temperament, one might deduce she was interested in more… tame drinks. However she loved the flavor of raspberries, and the sensation of fizzing drinks on her blue tongue.
A carbonated, sugary, caffeinated beverage was perfect for someone with her tastes.
Food was a different story. Having partial human parts for the transference of liquids was much different than a disgusting digestive system. Bubbling on her tongue was fine, but not in her stomach that did not exist.
The teenaged boy nodded, ringing up the new total. "Sixteen ninety-five, sir."
Greg presented him with a twenty dollar bill, receiving three dollars and five cents as change on top of the box of donuts in exchange.
"Thank you very much." he said. Then he looked to his son. "Steven, what do we say?"
"Um… thank you." Steven quietly said. He hid behind Pearl's sheer shirt, peeking to see the teenagers at the counter.
The girl waved as they motioned to leave the shop. "Come back any time!"
The happy trio left the shop with their goods in hand. Pearl lagged behind, carefully untwisting the cap off of her drink.
It opened with a soft hiss, and she took a sip. Pearl let it rest on her tongue as she admired the flavor and tingle.
As they stopped for Steven to tie his sneaker, she turned around. She twisted the cap onto the bottle, observing the town.
In front of Fish Stew Pizza, she could see something on the far end of the beach, near the mountain of a hill at the end of the peninsula. A chain link fence sectioned off that part of the beach.
Pearl raised an eyebrow as to why someone would fence off possibly the shadiest place on the oceanfront. She thought humans liked the shade, because it protected them from their deadly sun.
That was another thing she almost found humorous. The star earth orbited was a double edged sword. It provided life, warmth, light, and food to humans. However, it could also damage their fragile skin and make their cells reproduce uncontrollably in the form of cancers.
An organic life's greatest ally was also its worst enemy.
Pearl was grateful she did not have to worry about such trivial things as breathing, gravity, and nutrients.
She took another sip of her raspberry Sugar Shock Shutdown.
That was when she saw something she never expected to ever see, especially now.
On top of the hill, next to the lighthouse, was a tall figure in white clothes with a gigantic mess of pink hair. Humans couldn't have bubblegum locks.
If Pearl had a heart, she was sure it would be beating fast enough to pump jet fuel into an airplane.
Her drink traveled upward through her nostrils, causing her eyes to water profusely as her shapeshifted sinuses burned.
She grasped onto Greg and Steven's t shirts, darting away back toward the van. Her speed was unmatched by any human on the planet. A testament to her gem heritage.
Greg and the boy both exclaimed as she desperately clawed at the van doors.
The man clapped a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.
"Pe-"
"Don't say my name!" she exclaimed in a whispering shriek.
Her blue face and periwinkle hair were stained with red soda. Pearl brushed her bangs out her eyes, displaying her wide, sullen, and incredibly frantic eyes.
They were reminiscent of his mother's in the photos. However her bags were of stress, not just depression.
"Pearl?" Steven asked with genuine concern.
She blinked twice, staring at the boy.
"Rose Quartz." Pearl shakily sighed. "I thought I saw her." she lied.
"Who-" Steven started.
"Nobody." Greg dismissed.
The boy went to open his mouth, but a small part of his mind warned him against it. Usually, his guardians were always open and never hid anything. So he had a feeling he had better not press for details.
Pearl's frightened and weary expression asserted that fact. It cemented it into his mind.
"May we go back home?" Pearl politely requested, composing herself and ignoring her wet head.
Greg nodded, walking around to the driver's seat. "We had better. I'm kind of tired from the drive." was his excuse.
Pearl nodded, agreeing only in her eagerness to leave
OxOxO
The servant class gem sat atop the palanquin, gazing upon the earth's moon.
Clutched in her thin blue fingers was a blanket sized piece of ripped navy blue cloth. It was extremely soft, so she rubbed it against her face, inhaling the flowery fragrance through her scent sponge.
It reminded her of times long past. Of faithful servitude and silent obedience.
This was part of her diamond's cloak. Blue Diamond had gifted it to the pearl days before her death. She treasured it and protected it more carefully than one would with an ancient painting.
Not even Steven or Greg knew of its existence. As with the Rose Quartz she had believed she had seen, it would stay that way.
She clutched her fingers in slight anger as she thought of Rose Quartz. No other gem had brought her beloved Diamond such grief and such anguish.
Now that her Diamond was gone, she thought she perhaps fully understood exactly what Blue had gone through after losing Pink.
Pearl was glad that she had at least gotten to say goodbye.
Under her calm exterior, she despised the name Rose Quartz.
Frankly, she wished she was wrong and some giant hermit had dyed her hair bubblegum pink.
There was no way Gems on earth could have survived corruption. The mindless beasts that had assaulted them in Korea were proof of that.
So she composed herself, assuring herself that there was nothing to fear.
"Pearl?" Greg concernedly asked from the ground.
Pearl peeked her head over the palanquin's sloped roof, seeing the nervous looking man.
"Yes, Greg?" she whispered.
He rubbed the back of his head, stepping forward. "Steven's asleep. Can you come down so we can talk about… today?"
She nodded, leaping down unharmed as a result of her being a gem.
"Forgive me. I thought-"
He shook his head, stopping her. "You were really upset. Are you alright?"
"Rose Quartz holds an especially hateful part of my heart." she admitted whisperingly. "I also fear her. Or rather, what she used to be. There is no possible way she survived the rebellion." she assured him, in an attempt to quell his worry. "Before the war, Diamonds were thought to be forever. I only wished my Diamond hadn't discovered that so painfully."
"I wish we hadn't witnessed it first hand." he drawled. "I- Thank you for staying, again. I'm surprised you don't hate me, after what I did."
"Having Steven was her choice." Pearl reasoned. "I have never questioned my Diamond, and I never will. That being said… I hold respect for you. My Diamond considered you her equal."
He had difficulty choosing a response. When pearl did talk, her words were carefully considered, polite, and covered mostly any followup question one could ask.
She stood tall, clasping her hands in front of her.
"Well, if ever need someone to talk to… I'm still here." he quietly said.
Pearl nodded, giving him the response he wanted. She watched as he entered the house, pulling the curtain.
When the servant was certain he was unable to hear her, she leapt up. Landing an incredibly far distance away, she hit the ground running toward the town.
She slinked through the streets, meticulously avoiding streetlights and humans.
It was when she reached the beach that she felt anxiety return to her. She practically floated atop the sand as she approached the chainlink fence near the end of the peninsula.
A 'keep out' sign hung from the center, and a wooden and polite 'please' was beneath it. It gave her the feeling of deja vu.
Could this be the lair of Rose Quartz? Surely not. She told herself what she wanted to hear, that none of the muddy Crystal Gems had survived.
She leapt over the fence, sneaking and following the rock wall. That was when she realized a statue was carved into the side of the mountain. A particularly large one, at that.
Making sure that she heard no one, she slinked around to the lap of the statue, where a cave was. She brushed the hair out of her face as her eyes went wide, in order to get a better look.
In the center of the cave was a crystalline warp pad. Beyond that was a curious mint colored door.
A star was emblazoned in its center, but that wasn't the strangest thing. A gemstone adorned each point of the star.
Her fears were confirmed as she realized what the gemstone types were. A pearl like herself, a hexagonal cut amethyst, a triangular cut Sapphire, a square cut Ruby, but most chilling of all was a pentagonal Rose Quartz Gem.
Pearl took off running back in the direction she came. It wasn't a moment too soon, as she heard the warp pad activate when she had cleared the Big Donut.
She leapt toward the sky, sailing through the air. Due to her rush, she slammed onto the ground of the grassy cliff their new home rested upon. But she was several hundred meters away.
Pearl scrambled to stand up in the wet grass. While she was disappointed her form was grass-stained and her sheer skirt ripped, she was glad all of her training had paid off.
Learning to run away may seem like something silly, but she had learned firsthand how a good fight or flight reflex paid off.
But a question burned in her mind. Was that door evident of gem presence? She thought most likely.
The real question was whether or the gems were Crystal.
She thought it prudent to keep this information to herself. Pearl was much too frightened to run away, because it might influence those gems into thinking they were threats.
Perhaps staying put in Beach City was a good idea. Hidden in plain sight, as the humans said.
Her slippers squished in the muddy grass as she approached the palanquin. Despite her inability to actually become exhausted, she felt fatigued emotionally.
Pearl, because everyone in the house was asleep, unclasped her hands. She relaxed, letting her arms hang as limply as possible. In fact, she even felt rebellious as she slightly slouched.
On their kitchen counter was something that made her smile. Her half empty Sugar Shock Shutdown rested exactly as she had left it.
As she had before, she let the raspberry soda rest on her tongue as she slowly admired the flavor and really let it set in.
A pearl had to relish the little things in life in order to remain sane. Of course she was an incredibly blessed pearl. Not only was she in direct service of a Diamond, she was allowed a great deal of slack. All of this was in the past.
Blue Diamond actually had valued her opinion. She had treated her pearl as a member of her court, an albeit silent one.
Typical pearls were treasured, but also treated as objects rather than Gems. Slang words for pearls included tables, boxes, and toys.
She hadn't experienced such prejudice firsthand, but the gossip of pearls spread silently and quickly.
Something she had come to learn was that despite their loyalty, gems were beings with individual thoughts.
It was… confusing. Pearl felt she really had no opinions, because she was never really allowed to share them with anyone other than blue.
An interrogator gem with mindreading abilities had once remarked to her that pearls had the loudest thoughts, not thinking Gems. This was because the average pearl was left with nothing but their imagination for hours on end as they stood quietly next to their master.
Pearl still considered herself loyal to the Homeworld and the Great Diamond Authority, but she had to admit she had doubts about how their society worked after seeing humanity.
Even Blue Diamond did. How she had wished her Diamond was still with them, so she could have returned to Homeworld after millennia of grief to rise into her leadership position once more with pearl at her side. She would know what to do.
Perhaps Steven could fulfill that role.