"Pearl, wake up already!" Steven cried, shaking the slender gem. She murmured and lazily opened an eye to realize she was dreaming. Both of her eyes darted open and she found herself in her room, on a pillar that would easily have led to Amethyst's room. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she spoke "S...Steven?"
The boy smiled at her. "It took you long enough! When are we going on that field trip?" Pearl's eyes widened. Had she only dreamt Homeworld's destruction? Was everything she saw just a bizarre nightmare? Her thoughts were interrupted when they felt a heavy rumble. Pearl dashed out of her room with Steven close behind her.
"Gems, we have trouble!" Garnet said, staring out the window with her gauntlets summoned. Amethyst looked out with her and gasped. When Pearl had found her way to them and looked out to see what the issue was, she couldn't believe her eyes. Homeworld had sent a Pearl sentry to Earth. This one looked like Rose's, but with its uniform on instead of an outfit and it had longer hair.
Without the gems noticing, Steven had made it outside and saw it. He nervously walked towards it, and once he approached, it bowed. "It is an honor to meet you at last, Steven Quartz Universe." The boy's eyes widened before he voiced his mind. "H-how do you..." "STEVEN!" the others cried out. "Stay away from that! We don't know what it wants!" Garnet yelled.
"It... knows my name." he said quietly. They all stopped and looked at the sentry.
"What?" Amethyst inquired.
"Correct" stated the sentry "I have been sent to planet Earth by Yellow Diamond to serve the offspring of Rose Quartz and gain possible intelligence about this planet."
"But why would Yellow Diamond..." Garnet trailed off, only to be answered by the sentry.
"Because there has never, in gem history, been a gem that has mated with a human... And for the half-gem offspring to have much of the same abilities as a whole gem... Yellow Diamond is very intrigued." it claimed.
The sentry looked over and formed an empty smile when it noticed Pearl. "It is nice to see you are holding up well, despite your leader being gone."
Pearl rolled her eyes and looked away "... Don't patronize me."
A bit over an hour later the sentry went inside and up the stairs. "What do you wish of me, Master?" it asked, bowing to the boy that was playing video games. He looked over at it in confusion. "You know, you don't have to call me that. My name's Steven, not 'Master' ..." Its eyes widened before it smiled. "Very well then... Steven."
Steven looked over to the sentry as he was playing Golf Quest for the umpteenth time, and a thought had arisen in his head. "Come here." He ordered, and the sentry quickly obeyed. "Yes?" It inquired, looking up at him. "Play with me." he ordered again, handing it a controller. It accepted this and tried to mimic the way Steven held it. It looked at Steven in bewilderment, which made the boy chuckle.
"Steven... Am I playing correctly?" It asked, not knowing what a par or birdie was. He smiled at it and softly patted its back. "You are! You're almost as good as I am, and you just started!" It smiled back at him. Soon, the sentry had completed all of the levels and the game was over. Steven happily applauded its efforts.
"What should we do now, Ma- I mean, Steven?" It inquired, setting its controller down. Steven hummed in thought, then captured another idea. "Could you give me a piggyback ride around town?" He smiled with stars in his eyes. "What is that?" The sentry asked, tilting its head a bit. "Oh! I forgot, you're not from here. Umm... A piggyback ride is where... " he trailed off, drawing a demonstration on a small piece of paper "... I'm holding onto your back with my arms and legs and you hold my legs to support me. Sound simple enough?"
"Very well." It automatically guessed that it had to kneel down, facing away from him. It looked back to see him smiling from ear to ear before he climbed onto it. "Let's go!" He exclaimed, and they went out the door, setting out to adventure. Steven squeezed his legs lightly against the sentry's sides. "You can got a little faster, if you want." He said. With a slight nod in approval, the sentry went from walking to jogging. It could tell Steven was having fun with their activities. He was whooping and laughing, and it found this entertainment to be infectious. Soon, it was laughing with him.
Its hair blew every which way in Steven's face, but he didn't care. He enjoyed the scent that came to his nose as they travelled around town. It smelled so nice... A fragrance very much like cherry blossoms. After a few odd glances from passersby and a stop at the Big Donut, they finally returned home, panting and laughing. It wasn't until after Steven got off its back that he hugged it, to which it responded with a soft gasp. "Thank you so much for that. It was so cool!" He said, looking up at it. It smiled at him before they started walking up the stairs.
When Steven opened the door to his house, he saw that Connie was waiting for him. He ran up and hugged her, screaming her name in excitement. Connie separated the two of them to speak. "Pearl told me what happened... Is it true? You really have one of your own?" She said, her hands on his shoulders. "Yeah it is!" He exclaimed, pointing at the door where the sentry was standing.
She walked up to it, taking in every detail. After a moment of inspecting it, she looked at him. "It looks so much like Pearl! I guess the only real way you can tell them apart is by their hair." She giggled. The sentry ran its thin fingers through its long, strawberry-blond tresses and chuckled. "Steven." it started, earning a glance from the boy "Do you enjoy my hair looking as it is, or would you like it to be shorter like the sentry you have befriended?"
"No, yours is just fine... It should stay long so I can tell you from the other Pearl." It looked over to him and bowed. "If that is what you wish."
