It was just the two this time; Pearl and Steven, walking through a large field of strawberries. The two walked along the path, taking in the serenity. All was silent for the time being, the only noise coming from the subtle splashing of footsteps on juice puddles. Pearl took the time of silence to take in these familiar surroundings.

Looking around, she could see the grass, tainted red by the strawberries lying across the ground. It was a magnificent sight. Back when they were preparing for war, this field was empty. It was like a beautiful meadow where the soft green grass would sway gently with the wind. It was beautiful, but at the time, Pearl didn't care much for Earth wildlife. She was too concerned about the upcoming battle that took place here. Now… It was a splendor. She had never seen it look so interesting. Just looking at this strawberry-filled battlefield made her remember how wonderful Earth's nature was. This planet had made so many magnificent things, from this marvelous sight to Pearl's old tree. It even made Steven… The one she had brought here to teach about the war that had taken place.

Thinking about the young half-gem gave her mixed feelings. She loved him and would never want him to get hurt, but sometimes she couldn't help but loathe him. Pearl knew she couldn't blame him for something he couldn't control, but there were times when she did anyway. But now wasn't the time to think such thoughts; she had to teach Steven about gem culture.

When she realized she had zoned out and let her depression get to her, she couldn't help but wish Rose were here. Pearl's attention drifted toward Steven who was looking at all the weapons they passed by, unable to contain his excitement. It all looked so cool to him. He knew what Pearl had brought him here for and he couldn't wait to learn it. He wanted to learn about the army and the war right now!

Watching Steven, Pearl couldn't help but chuckle. He was so much like his mother, and she was more than glad to teach him about how Rose protected Earth. Rose had always brought Pearl so much joy, and now, her son was following in her footsteps.

They walked a bit more before Pearl finally spoke. "Okay, Steven." Pearl stopped walking and noticed how quick Steven was to follow, looking her straight in the eyes. He was eager to learn this time, which Pearl found odd. Every other time Pearl tried to explain and teach Steven about gem culture, he'd just zone out and never actually learn. The excitement and eagerness in his face told Pearl that he actually wanted to listen, which made Pearl pleased.

She cleared her throat just to make sure she had his full attention, and then began their lesson. The tall, slender gem began by elaborating on the large weapons that littered the battlefield. She explained how most of the gems that fought were fusions, which is why most of the weapons were so huge. Finally, she explained how Rose's army had been handled.

"There were four different groups in her army, Steven. There was the main group: The Crystal Gems, and then there were the other three. They had no names, but each of the three groups were vital to our cause. One group was full of healing gems that would help fix the wounded. Another was full of gems that had great knowledge of survival. This would be the group that went and gathered resources for the army. The last group was the largest of the three: the one that took up most of the population of our army."

She looked down at Steven to make sure he was listening, and to her surprise, he was! She continued to tell him more with a satisfied smile.

"Each group had a leader that would watch over the doings of their assigned group. Rose, of course, was the leader of the Crystal Gems!" Pearl's spirits lifted so much! It was almost too easy to forget her grief at the mention of Rose…

Steven blinked, a curious look on his face. "Who were the other leaders?" Pearl put her finger on her chin, thinking for a moment. It had been so long… She didn't expect to tell Steven the names of any of the gems that had fought.

"Well… If I can remember correctly… They were Cornelian, Dragon's Eye, and Quartz." It took a moment of prior thinking, but she'd landed on the right names. Trying to recall specifics would only give her a headache, so she didn't try and just continued with the lesson. While Pearl explained the rich history of the battlefield, Steven listened intently. As Pearl talked about the importance of brains and weaponry in combat, he took note.

"It's not about your ability to be able to hit an enemy in the head with a mallet, it's about knowing the right chance to strike and knowing how to avoid any attacks. There was a lot of training that went down while we were preparing for war. Luckily, the training paid off by the time the Home World gems had reached us…"

Pearl gave off a smile, going silent once again, her mind unfocused. She clenched her hands together and interlocked her fingers, resting them on her chest. She looked up into the sky, watching as the clouds gently drifted by along the light blue ocean of atmosphere. She was lost in her thoughts, remembering how beautiful Rose's fighting techniques were. The way she would swiftly swing her sword and gallantly move across the battlefield, helping any of her comrades in need... It was such an amazing thing to see.

"Pearl…" The tall gem could hear Rose's voice echo through her head. It made her heart well up with sadness and joy, remembering how wonderful it was to have her around.

"…Pearl…" It seemed like Rose's voice was a broken record that never grew irritating. Pearl could listen to her say her name over and over again for as long as she existed. Keeping her eyes closed, she tried to imagine her standing there, wanting to see her face again. She almost had it when her thoughts were interrupted, feeling a tug on her skirt. When she looked down, she saw it was Steven.

"Pearl!" The boy exclaimed, happy that she was back to a normal state. The gem blinked for a moment. Realizing what had happened made her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She felt a little guilty.

"I… I zoned out again, didn't I…?" She asked, a small hint of shame in her voice. Steven felt a little bad, so he just nodded, not wanting to make her feel worse. Pearl had been zoning out like this for about a month. So many things have been reminding her of Rose Quartz. She just couldn't get the pink gem out of her head, no matter how hard she tried.

It wasn't just the recent events; something else had brought those memories to light, too. It was a sort of dark feeling in her gut, with Rose at the root. Pearl had a feeling that something was going to happen soon. She wasn't exactly sure what it would entail, but she knew it had something to do with Rose Quartz. This made Pearl fearful for Steven's safety.

Even back when they were kidnapped by the Home World gems only two weeks ago, Pearl could hardly keep her mind off Rose. When she was trying to turn the ship around, she had no intentions of causing the ship to plummet, but the thought of her beloved Rose left her distracted. She couldn't control the ship properly.

That single event had put their lives at risk, and it was time to admit this was a problem. Something was coming. There was a moment of silence, and then she spoke again. "Did you… Was your lesson sufficient..?" She looked at Steven. Truthfully, all Pearl wanted to do was go back to the Temple and relax, but she had to make sure he'd learned enough.

When Steven nodded in return, she knew the lesson had ended. Pearl was relieved. She headed back to the Warp Pad with Steven in tow. It didn't take very long for them to make it back to the crystalline platform. As they warped, Pearl made a note not to think of anything until tomorrow. She was certain that relaxing and meditating on her pools would do her some good.

Pearl concentrated a little bit, causing a white light to beam straight up like a beacon. Within seconds, Pearl and Steven started to float up and soon disappeared. The light finally dissipated.

###

A fiery blur zoomed through the jungle, swinging from vine to vine before landing on the grass. From there, she sped through the foliage, dodging any upcoming obstacles. She was going to find her. She was going to find the one who abandoned her and everyone else so many years ago. She was going to get her revenge.

She didn't know exactly where her target lived, but she knew many other things about her. It saddened her quite a bit to know that a person like her would do such a thing. She also knew that nothing, not even her personality, could justify her actions.

She came to a stop to catch her breath, leaning against a tree. She was what appeared to be a gem in amber warriors' clothes, her gemstone just above her tailbone. The gem used this brief moment of quiet and relaxation to her advantage. She had a general idea on how she would find the traitor, but she still had to establish many holes within her plan. She didn't want to mess up and risk getting sent back into her gem again. It was horrid in there.

Whenever someone was sent to their gem, they had no control over where their gemstone went. They could be imprisoned against their will; they could be picked up and eaten by a disgusting animal, or even worse…

They shook their head to get rid of such a thought. They had to quickly establish some more details before continuing onward. She would take her time, but she didn't want to be spotted by a predator. She didn't want to bother fighting a creature, even though she could easily win. After running so fast for so long, the gem eventually had to catch their breath which left them in a vulnerable state, being so short.

It took some time, but she finally figured out what she wanted to do. She knew how gems' guards were down whenever night time came around, because they usually weren't expecting a fight so late at night. The gem grinned at her plan, did a couple of short warm-up stretches, and continued to run.

Their mind was set on getting revenge on her…

Rose Quartz…