With a resounding boom that shook the rock walls around them and released a cloud of smoke, the colossal creature disappeared, leaving only a cherry-red stone that fell to the charred ground where it previously stood. The black clouds overhead rapidly dissipated, allowing the sun again to light the side of the mountain with a warm glow.

"Woo-hoo! Goodbye, giant lizard thing!" Steven called out in exhilaration before a series of coughs stopped him.

"Are you sure you're alright, Steven?" Pearl said with concern in her voice as she walked back toward him, dismissing her spear in the process.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Steven brushed some ash off of his shirt. "Just a little singed!"

Amethyst let out a snort. "Hey Steven! Don't look now, but I think you're missing an eyebrow."

"What? Aaah!" Steven's hands scrambled to his brow, desperately trying to assess the damage.

"Amethyst, please!" Pearl chided as Amethyst laughed. "Steven, your eyebrows are just fine." she assured him. He chuckled as well.

A red sphere enveloped the stone lying on the ground. Garnet held it briefly, then sent it away to the temple. "Good work. Now let's go home."

"You guys, that was so cool!" Steven still could barely hold his excitement as the group began to descend down the mountain path. "Amethyst, how you charged in like aaaahh! And then the lizard was like arrghhh! But before it could breathe fire on you, Garnet and Pearl jump in like whoosh! Hi-yah!" To this, he added a karate chop, a few punches, and a few more battle-related onomatopoeias.

"Yeah, or when Pearl did a whole somersault over it! Pretty awesome, right?" Amethyst joined in. Pearl smiled and blushed slightly at this. "...and then she almost landed on her face!" Pearl stopped smiling.

She turned her attention to the gem next to her. She smiled broadly as she spoke with a slight flutter in her voice. "Garnet, you were also pretty spectacular!"

"Don't forget Steven." came her reply. "Without him, it would have been much harder."

"Oh, yeah! Thanks, little man," Amethyst said, "without your bubble I would have been toast!"

"We work as a team," Garnet continued. "Don't forget that."

Amethyst tossed restlessly in her makeshift bed. She did not need the rest, but her difficulty in falling asleep was frustrating nonetheless.

Ugh, why is this so hard? She thought to herself. Why can't I just sleep like normal?

Her mind began to wander to the day's mission. A massive fire lizard scorching the countryside: simple, but fun. She chuckled as she remembered recklessly charging headfirst into battle while Pearl attempted to formulate a battle plan.

Pearl got so mad, Amethyst thought. She gets so cute when she's mad. Still, the move would have gotten her in a lot of trouble, had Pearl not saved her. Upon retrospect, Amethyst realized that she had made quite a few mistakes, even more so than usual.

It's not my fault that Pearl kept distracting me with all those fancy flips and tricks and sexy poses... She stopped herself as she came to a realization.

Oh... Oh no.

Pearl took a deep breath as she traced her feet along the fountain in her room. Her dance began slowly, just a few steps, before quickly picking up in speed and intensity. Her movements, though powerful, were executed with precision, and they cut through the air much like the sword in her hand. With a turn of her leg, she went into a pirouette, raising her sword high above her head. Halfway through, however, Pearl could feel herself losing focus. She furrowed her brow and tried to concentrate, but lost her balance and fell in an objectively ungraceful manner as her sword fell harmlessly beside her.

"Ugh! What is wrong with me today?" Pearl wanted to scream, but instead sat down on the edge of the fountain and reflected. Maybe I just need to get into the right mindset, she thought. She began to clear her head, and she tried to regain her concentration. Think focus. Grace. Balance. Strength. Beauty. Garnet- wait, what?

She shook her head and came to a realization.

Oh no.