Hello again~! As always, I do not own any of the Steven Universe characters, with the exception of Celestite.
Quick note: This fic is set 200 years before Beach City, and picks up directly after Silent Intent.
One of the few artifacts the Crystal Gems recovered that wasn't bubbled was a gem ship that lay docked in the sand. For a brief moment, Pearl and Amethyst forgot that the Crystal Gems were leaving to battle a corrupted gem at sea. They raced each other to the small ship with Pearl occasionally slowing down to let her shorter friend pass before speeding up again. When they were almost there Celestite grinned and suddenly chased after them, surprising both of her teammates. She caught Amethyst mid-stride and kept running. She lifted Pearl next, her grin growing at the startled tiny noise the pale fighter made. Celestite heard their leader laughing behind them. Rose's laughter masked the sound of Garnet's steps across the sand. A pair of hands tugged Pearl from the lunar Gem's grip, the impression of Garnet's gems through her gloves giving her away to her wife.
"Garnet!" Pearl whispered, giggling softly. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized she could hear herself. She looked at Garnet, who had sped up. "Garnet?"
"Don't want to share," her mate answered. "Not yet." This made her giggle more. Garnet grinned, listening to the sound as if it were the most beautiful sound in the universe. Knowing she caused it boosted her confidence. Pearl twisted in her arms while telling her wife to set her down. Pressing a quick kiss to her lips, Garnet set her down. Now that they had to moment to spare, Garnet noticed the changes to Pearl's form. Pearl did the same, smiling at the maroon star across left side of the fusion's pants and the decorative jacket. She tugged it the cuff of her sleeve, one eyebrow canting up to wordlessly question what appeared to be bandages wrapped around Garnet's torso.
Celestite slowed a bit seeing the couple already at the sloop, knowing those looks well. She rolled her eyes and shook her head but said nothing. While a little weird, she understood why they made sure to pause long enough to see how the other looked. Only the stars knew how many times they reformed with a different style. She appreciated the way Pearl chose her forms. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't reformed since the war nor could she recall the rebel leader ever having to at all. Amethyst looked at their friends. She thought Pearl looked good with the long-sleeved shirt and pants. "I thought we were going to fight a gem beast, not stare at each other's clothes all day."
"We are," answered Rose seriously. "But I've always made it a point to wait a moment if we have time to spare. It's nice, though. Garnet used to be terrified of Pearl."
"No, she didn't!" Amethyst argued.
Rose laughed, tapping Amethyst's nose. "She did. Pearl, Garnet, it's time to leave." Her lieutenant nodded back. She moved to help push the sloop further into the water with Garnet pushing on the other side. A quick projection of a pier flashed from Pearl's gem. Soon the ship was ready to sail, with Pearl and Garnet waiting for the rest of the group to climb aboard. Celestite moved to steer the ship in the direction Pearl and Amethyst pointed, while Rose settled in and called the others over to discuss strategy. It would take some time to reach their destination. The pale quartz listened intently as different techniques were suggested, each one taking into consider varying circumstances. On occasion the leader and her lieutenant debated on strategies.
The sun rising in the sapphire sky shone down harshly on them, although it didn't affect the group much. If anything, Amethyst napped near the bow with Pearl and Garnet stretched out besides her soaking in the warmth before they had to fight. The trio didn't appear to have a single care in the world and even Celestite relaxed at the helm. It felt peaceful in a dangerous way, like the calm before a storm. In a couple of moments, Rose Quartz had closed her eyes smiling peaceably at nothing in particular. Unknown to them, a dark shadow passed under the ship. As it passed, it circled around again nudging the hull with its side before moving on. The only one disturbed by the jolt was Pearl, who jumped to her feet to look for the source. Finding the cause, she crawled over Rose to steer the boat in the direction the shadow went.
"Garnet!" she stage whispered, keeping her eyes on the retreating corruption. When her mate didn't answer, she called again her voice failing her. A huff of exasperation escaped her at her own inability to speak much. She retrieved her warp whistle, ignoring the harsh sting of disappointment at having to use it, and let out a piercing signal. The effect was immediate; every Gem on board woke from their stupor on high alert. Now that she had their attention, Pearl gestured ahead of them to the submerged form they pursued.
She frowned as it dove deeper and disappeared. It's gone. Well, it's there, but I can't see it.
A quick scan of the future let Garnet know it would most likely keep moving in the same direction. "We'll catch it. Good job, Pearl." She said, kissing Pearl's gem. "There's a ship nearby."
"We should warn them of the danger," Celestite added as she took over the helm. "Which direction are they in?"
East, south-east of us. Pearl answered. You can see it from here.