Pearl didn't know how long they'd been in there.
Maybe hours, maybe days. The time had flown by as she'd sat on the floor, trapped by the green forcefield.
She'd just watched Garnet, one who she trusted and admired and looked up to be destabilized by Jasper. She'd tried to fight, Amethyst by her side to defend Steven and carry out Garnet's wishes, but she'd been too weak. As always. A puny, defenseless Pearl.
Leaning against the wall, she lets out a sigh. She can hear Amethyst's shallow breaths on the other side of it. Her first instinct when waking to see that she was trapped had been to call out for Steven, but it was the small purple quartz who had responded instead.
It wasn't that she wished anyone else was next to her - she was happy that it was Amethyst - but her worrying was for Steven. He didn't know the true power of the Homeworld gems or how to defend himself. She hadn't been able to teach him how to fight as she'd wanted to, to protect himself in times where she couldn't be there. It was her fault that they boy had nothing more than a shield he could barely control.
"Hey..P?" Amethyst calls, her voice gravelly with exhaustion and worry. "Is..is Garnet gonna be okay?"
She lets out a sigh and buries her face between her bony knees, pulling them to her chest. "It's just Ruby and Sapphire now. I'm sure they'll be fine..they can handle themselves. It's Steven I worry for."
A long silence fills the green corridor, Amethyst taking in her words.
"Steven...what are they gonna do to him? They think he's Rose, what if they shatter him?" Amethyst whispers, unable to stomach the thought. Pearl freezes, goosebumps beginning to show themselves along her arms and legs.
"They..we won't let that happen, Amethyst. Garnet will refuse, we'll get out and we will protect him. We promised Rose."
"Yeah, but what if we can't? What if they take us to Yellow Diamond and shatter us before we can even say his name?" the purple gem says, throwing her fist into the wall in frustration. Pearl stirs as she feels the vibrations on the other side of it, shivering at Amethyst's anger.
"We can't let him down. We can't let her down.." Pearl responds delicately, lifting her eyelids and looking as far as she can down the hallway.
"What if they already destroyed Ruby and Sapphire? What will they do to us?" Amethyst utters, finally realizing the true danger of the situation.
Pearl contemplates, also now figuring out that the ship presenting itself to Yellow Diamond wouldn't only mean the end of Steven and the rebellion, but also the end of Earth and their lives.
A familiar sound pulls her out of her misery, bringing a sense of relief to her chest. Sapphire singing. Nobody has been shattered yet, she realizes and takes a deep breath, leaning her head against the wall.
"Whoo, well...thank the gods of food," Amethyst says with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. She's just as calmed with the thought of Sapphire being safe, meaning Ruby and Steven must also be.
"See? We'll regroup. Plan. Take down these Homeworld..pests and get Steven back home safe," Pearl says, and she doesn't know if she's trying to reassure Amethyst or herself.
"P..can we talk about something else? I can't stomach this anymore...distract me."
"Talk about what? What else is there? We need to strategize and think of what to do-" she argues, interrupted.
"Please," Amethyst pleads. "If we can't figure this out, I don't want our last chat to be about our false hope."
Pearl's eyes widen at her words, and she takes in the fact that she may never be able to talk to Amethyst again after this. That her last chance to speak to Garnet and Steven may already be gone.
"Y-yes..of course. What would you like to talk about?"
"The truth," Amethyst says without hesitation, standing in her cell. "No good in small talk. Might as well say what's really on our minds, huh?"
The tall gem gulps a bit at the suggestion, and she doesn't know what to say. If it isn't really the end and she tells Amethyst how she really feels..about her and Rose and Earth, what would come in the aftermath?
"Hello...? Come on, Pierogi, let it all out. Nothing else to do but talk anyway."
She sighs once more and stretches her legs out, looking down at her form. "Well...I'll start with something simple. Well known. I was in love with Rose Quartz."
Amethyst smiles sadly, pacing across her cell. "Yeah, we know. I'm sorry, Pearl."
"She chose someone else over me, not that there's anything I can do about it. She left me...and then she really left all of us," she says, the end coming out as a whisper. "And now we'll never see her again."
"At least we have Steven, right? She's not totally gone.." Amethyst says, trying to console her.
"It's not the same," Pearl announces, her voice sullen.
There's another moment of silence and thinking.
"Alright...my turn. I've never been a good enough Crystal Gem," the quartz admits, acceptance and sadness in her voice.
"Amethyst, that's not true-"
"I'm smaller than all the other Quartz gems. Jasper said it herself - I'm a defective runt. I didn't fight with you guys in the war like I shoulda, I can't fight as well as you all now...I'm the worst of us."
She can't help but gasp a bit at Amethyst's words and the acceptance of them being the "truth" in her voice. Her mind is suddenly clouded in sorrow for the smaller gem, and she doesn't know what to do to make it better.
"No...you're not. I am. I can't do anything on my own. I'm not strong, I just take orders from Garnet and I took them from Rose before. I'm not like you. I can't make choices or think by myself. I'm a useless Pearl," she lets out quietly.
"No...Pearl, you're..you're the best of us all. You can fight and teach Steven and take care of us all and I-...I love you."
Shock fills her and her eyes widen as she stares at the opposite wall, trying to imagine Amethyst saying that. "W-what..? No..you can't. You're just saying that because you think it'll make me happy."
"Make you happy? I don't see how that would, you couldn't ever care about me like that. Why would I ever lie about something that would just frustrate you anyways? I'm not that cold. I don't want you to hate your final moments," Ame says, hurt and coldness in her voice.
"Amethyst...no, it doesn't frustrate me. It does make me happy," she admits, feeling tears begin to fill her eyes for what seems to be the millionth time since they were trapped.
"...how?" the purple gem whispers, disbelief in her demeanor at the possible next answer.
"Because I love you too," she admits, pouring her emotion into the words. For so long she'd kept it hidden, knowing the other gem could never love her back or care for her how she did. She'd dealt with the guilt of feeling like she was betraying her love for Rose and the pain that came along with the acceptance that she was in love with Amethyst, and now it was finally out.
"Amethyst! Pearl!" she hears a familiar, high pitched voice call from down the corridor.
"Steven?!" she calls out hopefully, scrambling to the edge of the forcefield to see him running towards them.
"Don't worry! I can get you out!"
It was over.
Jasper was being held in the ocean by Lapis Lazuli. She was no longer a direct threat. Peridot had escaped, but it wouldn't be long before they could find her, and she wouldn't be able to stand against three...four Crystal Gems. They were home, they were safe, and Homeworld was galaxies away.
Stepping over rubble, Pearl leans down to grab a piece of the destroyed ship and rock and throws it into the pile. She hadn't been able to resist the urge to clean up the mess, her OCD kicking in.
Garnet and Amethyst had volunteered to help, but she'd made her way to the opposite side of the beach of Amethyst. She couldn't look her in the eyes after what she'd said. She'd known that it would ruin everything between them if they made it out, and that was exactly what was happening. She'd lost her.
"Need a hand?" the high pitched yet gravelly voice calls from behind her, and she turns to see Amethyst standing on top of her pile. She smiles sadly at the sight, avoiding eye contact.
"I've got it under control, but thank you," she utters delicately, turning her attention to more of the ruins to have a reason not to look at the small purple gem.
Amethyst hops down and lands next to her on her feet, resting a hand on Pearl's arm. She shivers at the contact and can't help but be filled with guilt at just how right it feels.
"Is this about what I said on the ship? Pearl, I don't want to-"
"No, it's my fault. I was idiotic and irresponsible and I shouldn't have-" Pearl is interrupted by the feeling of warm, soft lips pressing against her own, and she can't stop herself from melting into it.
Her eyes flutter closed and she applies an equal amount of pressure towards the smaller gem's mouth. Her hands make their way to the mass of white hair beneath her, and she leans down to meet Amethyst as she stands on her toes.
Warmth from the other gem's hands reach her spine as they rest on her back, and she feels tears begin to pester her eyes happily at the feeling of being loved.
"No, P. You didn't do anything wrong. Not at all. I love you..that's all I needed to hear."