For three thousand years, Pearl had served her Aquamarine faithfully. When there was a file to retrieve, Pearl was there. When there was a Gem to send for, Pearl was there. When battle plans needed ferrying to another high-ranking strategist, Pearl was there.
For three thousand years, Pearl was there, and yet, what appreciation had Aquamarine shown her? When had she last said, 'Thank you, Pearl' when important documents passed on time and unread into her hands? She could count the slip ups she'd made on one hand, but when they happened, oh, the rage Aquamarine displayed! It made her cower just thinking about it. When had she ever given Pearl the benefit of the doubt?
Pearl's fists clenched as she walked down a long, empty corridor. Rose was right. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair! She… she didn't want to do this anymore! She wanted to be free!
It was a strange thing, for a Pearl to want. What would her Aquamarine say? No, wait, she didn't care what Aquamarine said! Hah! Now how's that for Crystal Gem talk?
She was a Crystal Gem. The thought made her giddy with fear and excitement – a Crystal Gem! And Rose told her she didn't even have to fight like the Renegade to count herself within their ranks; all she had to do was one, simple task.
Pearl slowed to a stop in the corridor, and glanced both ways. She listened for footsteps – there were none. She was absolutely alone.
Slowly, Pearl reached for her gemstone, embedded in her shoulder. It began to glow a soft blue, and she drew out a screen. She entered Aquamarine's password, and it lit up with sketches, notes, highly confidential battle plans to defeat the Crystal Gems.
She could be shattered for doing something like this. Rose Quartz had better be appreciative of the risks she was taking.
Pearl read the plans quickly, enscribing every line to her perfect memory. The second she was done, she shut it down and returned it to her gemstone. She looked around once more; nobody was here. Nobody had seen. She'd gotten away with it.
Pearl tried to contain the grin on her face, the skip in her step as she proceeded to Aquamarine. Three thousand years of faithful service ended now.
Now, she was a Crystal Gem.
"Are you a Crystal Gem?"
Pearl stiffened. Aquamarine knew. Oh my stars, she knew, she knew, she knew!
"N-no, my Aquamarine! Absolutely not!"
"Huh. That's funny, then." Her Aquamarine tapped on a screen, slowly, deliberately. "Because recently, the Crystal Gems have been one step ahead of me at all times. And when I go to check my plans, I find that they've been opened before. If you're not a Crystal Gem, you're obviously completely incompetent." She glanced at Pearl. "Do you know what happens to incompetent Gems, Pearl?"
"They get… h-harvested."
"Indeed. So - considering that little fact - are you a Crystal Gem?"
Pearl kept her mouth shut. She clasped her hands together, so they would not tremble.
"Answer me, Pearl!"
A bead of sweat ran down Pearl's face, and she looked away.
Aquamarine's scowl turned dark. She lashed out, grabbing Pearl by the front of her uniform and dragging her in close. Pearl strained away from her terrible face as she screamed, "Don't lie to me! You're a Crystal Gem! A traitor! How much did you tell them?! How much!"
"The three most recent plans, a-and nothing more! Please, have mercy! Please, Aquamarine!"
Aquamarine threw her onto the floor. "Mercy? A traitor to Homeworld deserves none of my mercy! You'll be shattered for this!"
"Wait!" She held her hands out. "I can be useful to you! I know where Rose's armies are stationed!"
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, I've been there! I know where it is, and I'll tell you anything! Just don't shatter me!"
There was a pause. Pearl watched Aquamarine's face morph from absolute rage to something altogether too calm. She put a hand on her chin. "Hmmm… so you want to become my informant, huh? That is tempting – it's so hard to find any Crystal Gems who'll tell us anything. But how do I know you're not lying to save your shards?"
"I'm not lying. I've seen it!"
"So I'm supposed to take you at your word, then. Fine. I'll give you a chance, but-" She stabbed a finger at Pearl's face. "If this turns out to be some sort of trick, you'll wish you were shattered! Now get up. Follow me."
Pearl got up. And she followed.
"Where is Rose's base?"
"Who else is passing information to the Crystal Gems, Pearl? I need at least three names!"
"You're only alive because you're of use to me, Pearl. So make yourself useful and tell me where their armies are stationed!"
Aquamarine asked so many questions, and she answered them - truthfully. How could she lie? She'd be shattered the instant her information was proven false. She couldn't run, either; if she wasn't in Aquamarine's presence, she was being escorted by one of the many elite warriors under her command.
It wasn't about freedom anymore. It was about survival. And every day, Pearl hung on by her fingernails. She did everything Aquamarine asked of her, quickly and efficiently. She was the perfect pearl, and she could only hope that would be enough.
What would the Crystal Gems would think of her now, following obediently behind her Aquamarine? She tried not to think of the friends she had made in the short time she had been there; she was sure none of them would want to see her now if they knew what she was doing.
Bismuth. The Renegade. Rose Quartz. She'd betrayed all of them, like a dirty coward.
No. No, she wasn't a coward. They wouldn't understand the position she was in; what would freedom mean to her if she was shattered? She was just doing the logical thing to protect herself. She was presented with an impossible choice; this was difficult for her too!
She wasn't a coward.
She wasn't a Crystal Gem, either.
She was just a survivor.
Pink Diamond shattered. Orders to retreat, ferried to and fro. Pearl watched a bright white light envelop the Earth from the window of a drop ship.
The Crystal Gems were truly gone. But she was still here. She had survived.
So why did she feel… so ashamed?
"And so it ends." Aquamarine sat back in her chair. "Finally, we can put this mess behind us. Get away from the window, Pearl."
Pearl obeyed.
For three thousand years, Pearl had served her Aquamarine faithfully. She retrieved files, she sent for Gems, she did everything that was asked of her, as fast as possible. Technology had improved, and she didn't need to go running around ships to deliver messages like she used to.
Most of the time, she stayed by Aquamarine's side. Other Gems complimented her owner on how pretty, how quiet, how professional she was.
Aquamarine's reply was always the same: "Oh, I don't know. I might be replacing this one soon; we'll see how she does."
And she'd look to Pearl and smile with too many teeth. Pearl had long stopped feeling a rush of fear at that expression; unless she did something wildly out of line, Aquamarine wouldn't get rid of her. Ever since the incident at Earth, she often reminded Pearl that at any time, at any moment, she could still turn her in for treason. Pearl supposed she got some sick kick out of it.
Pearl didn't really care anymore. As long as she was alive, she counted herself as one of the lucky ones. Most of the Crystal Gems had not been so fortunate.
And it was all her fault-
"Do you need anything, my Aquamarine?"
"Hm? No." Aquamarine paused. "Actually, yes. Retrieve Morganite Facet 347D Cut 75X's treatise on the battle tactics of lightspeed-capable crafts, volume 3. I shall have need of it soon."
"Of course, my Aquamarine."
She searched the database. She found the treatise. She sent it over.
"Ah, there it is. That will be all, Pearl."
There was no thank you. Pearl wasn't expecting one. She didn't know why, after all these years, that still ignited an old fury buried deep within her.
"Another planet to colonise. Ugh, and so far away from Homeworld!" Aquamarine sat back in her chair, rubbing her forehead. "I already miss my quarters in Blue Diamond's court. This ship – it's so cramped!"
Pearl said nothing. She was busy flying the ship.
Aquamarine tapped on her screen. "Let me see the map… yes, it's so far away! Ridiculous. Even at light speed, it'll take us days. How boring! Isn't it boring, Pearl?"
"Oh, yes, my Aquamarine. Very boring."
"Just like you. You know, I could replace you at any time! Especially after the whole debacle with Earth – oh, I should. It wouldn't be hard, you know!"
Pearl nodded. "No, it wouldn't."
"No, it wouldn't." She seemed to deflate at Pearl's monotone reply. "Just thought you should know."
Usually, such talks ended there, and both Gems would go back to what they were doing. But Pearl, with most of her focus on the strenuous task of driving a ship at light speed, continued one line longer. "I already do."
It came off just a little more rude than she had intended. Aquamarine's head jerked up. "Are you talking back to me? How dare you!"
Pearl blinked; she could hear something wrong in her owner's voice. She slowed the ship and turned around. "What is it?"
"This is unacceptable, Pearl! You'd better start showing me more respect from now on; if it wasn't for me, you'd be shattered a long time ago!" She crossed her arms. "And what do I get for my mercy? Insolence and ingratitude. It's disgraceful."
"Ingratitude?" Pearl clenched her fists. "With all due respect, my Aquamarine, I was very grateful for your help-"
"Shut your mouth. You're as ungrateful as they come. When's the last time I heard a 'thank you' for my sacrifice?" She rolled her eyes at Pearl's stunned silence. "That's what I thought."
That old fury was beating in Pearl's mind. She almost choked on it when she opened her mouth. "T-thank you? Thank you? When's the last time you thanked me?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she'd made a terrible mistake. Aquamarine's eyes narrowed.
"You are out of line." She rose from her seat. "You are a Pearl! You are my servant! I don't have to feel grateful to you; you were made to serve me!"
"I'm so sorry, my Aquamarine. I didn't think-"
"Oh yes, you did. This is what you've been thinking all along, isn't it?" Aquamarine narrowed her eyes. "I thought you'd abandoned these treasonous thoughts a long time ago, but it seems I still have a Crystal Gem as a Pearl. You've learned nothing. As soon as you get the chance, you'll turn on me without a second thought."
"No, no-"
"Shut your mouth!" She put up a hand, and Pearl quailed in her chair. "I need to replace you. I've been putting this off too long. As soon as we reach our destination, I will immediately put in an order of replacement. You're done, Pearl." Aquamarine stared down at her with cold, glinting eyes. "You've outlived your usefulness."
Outlived her usefulness. The words echoed in Pearl's ears, stirring up a six thousand years' worth of white hot rage. It pulsed at the edges of her vision, made her arms start to tremble as if she simply couldn't contain the sheer fury that was unleashed within her. She had to move, or explode.
"Now, Pearl, do the right thing for once in your sorry existence and steer us over there. That will be-"
Pearl lunged forwards grabbed her Aquamarine around her neck. Her owner was so much smaller than she imagined, and so much weaker.
"That will be all?" Pearl slammed the little Gem against the wall. Aquamarine's eyes went wide. "That will be all? That will be all?"
She drew Aquamarine up and drove her into the wall again, and again, and again and again and again again again again again again…
Pearl didn't know how long she spent slamming Aquamarine into the wall. But when the fury died and she came back to herself, she was holding shards.
They were warm, and sharp, and they shone like stars in the light. The floor was a galaxy, and it crunched when she took a step back.
Little shards of Aquamarine dug into the bottom of Pearl's foot, and she screamed.
YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT DESTINATION: EARTH
With shaking hands, Pearl disengaged from the flight computer. She blinked once, twice, then looked forwards (not back, not back) to see the blue planet Earth looming in front of her.
It looked… so alive. Pearl thought she was fleeing to a dead planet, but it looked just as lush and blue as it had during the Rebellion days. A perfect hiding spot from Homeworld.
Pearl steered the ship forwards, and began to enter the atmosphere. Heat began to build on the bottom of the ship; she pushed it a little faster.
The skies began to lighten and take on a dark blue colour. Pearl looked all around her, taking in the green land below her. She was going back to Earth.
And then something grabbed her shoulder.
Pearl yelped and jerked forwards. The thing that grabbed her lost its grip and went tumbling into her lap. It was a giant… blue arm, squirming around.
Where did that come from? She dared to look backwards, and was greeted with another twenty or so arms crawling towards her. It was then that she realized: the shards!
The arm in her lap flopped over onto the flight computer. Warning signs lit up, and the ship pitched forwards. It began to spin, faster and faster, and Pearl could only hold on to the chair and hope.
Flashes of blue and green through the window, brighter, closer. Pearl wrapped a hand over her Gem and squeezed her eyes shut.
The impact came sooner than she expected. There was a great bang, and Pearl was flung forward, into the window, and then- darkness.