HE was the spawn of Greg, HE killed her, HE is the reason I am alone, why do they like HIM?

Pearl's lip was bloody, well, as bloody as a gem could be. A slightly turquoise liquid stained her teeth and lips. She had been biting it hard for the last few hours, and her fingers had dug themselves deep into her hair by now. It had been weeks.. nay, months since the birth of the THING. The thing that claimed the love of her life, the thing that claimed her sanity. That THING's name was "Steven". Not that she would ever call IT that.

Garnet and Amethyst had tried to coax her to like that THING, but it would never have her love. They said Rose died for a reason, they said that she should listen, but she did not. No, she would not listen to anything that loved that thing, for that thing had claimed her love. Rose. The very memory of Rose sent Pearl into a bitter cursing, thrashing rage, then simmering down to a silent sob. She pounded her fist against the floor, before falling onto it.

Garnet said Pearl would like IT. Pearl would be IT's protector like the rest of them, but Pearl instead withdrew. Further and further. Deeper and deeper. She scratched the ground of her room. Ever since IT came into the world, Pearl's room had been bone-dry, just like her mind.

A shuffling came from the door. Pearl resisted the urge to throw her spear at the interloper. She had done it several times before, almost poofing Amethyst one time, but these days, Pearl wasn't even angry anymore. She was in her own world, one that was dead and dry. The gems had stopped visiting her for a while. Garnet came into Pearl's room. Holding the THING.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Screeched Pearl, her back arched and her fingers outstretched. Garnet stepped back, as if alarmed by Pearl's sudden movement. It wasn't too often Pearl even moved anymore, such a vigorous response only made in privacy. But the sight of the THING brought back every memory. The THING's curly hair reminded her all too much of Rose's, and his eyes. Pearl smashed the ground, leaving a crack in the pristine white floors of her room.

"Pearl." Said Garnet, as stoic as ever since the passing of Rose. "You're scaring Steven. He wanted to meet you, don't you want to say hi?" The Steven-thing shuffled uneasily in Garnet's hands. Pearl got up, stomping her foot to the ground as she got up.

"I SAID, GET OUT OF HERE!" Shouted Pearl, tears beginning to stream down her face. "D-don't you get it..? Rose is gone! She could be gone f-forever. That THING killed her..." Pearl's speech devolved into sad babbling, as she dropped to her knees and finally collapsed on the floor, her eyes looking blank ahead. "W-why couldn't have it been me.. I promised to protect her... she's gone... she's gone.."

Garnet backed away, bringing Steven closer to herself. Pearl was getting worse every day, and she didn't know what to do. She thought at first Rose's final mission (to protect Steven) would be enough to win over Pearl, but Pearl instead hissed and shouted at any mention of Rose. Her hair became unkempt, and her shawl torn. Garnet had tried to get her to see Steven, but every time she broke down.

At this rate, ah, never mind. Pearl couldn't hide in her room forever. she still came out every now and again to do missions, maybe one day Garnet could talk to her calmly. Days passed , and Pearl continued to withdraw from the world.

She stopped going on even solo missions.

After all, who cares about some humans on the other end of the planet. Once, she thought of humans as a minor nuisance, something cute that Rose would get distracted by, but then come back to Pearl when it didn't work out. Then Greg happened, then "Steven" happened. What she knew now about humans, is that they are dangerous, and that they are manipulative. They didn't deserve protecting, they could handle themselves.

Most of her days were spent in the crumbling ruins of her room, staring at ceiling, breaking it down bit by bit, breaking herself down but by bit, until she felt not as bad again. There were no painless days, they were all burdened with the knowledge she couldn't have prevented IT, she could have done something about IT. Soon, before she even knew, it was the THING's birthday.

The anniversary of Rose's passing. IT did this. IT did this all! HE caused this all! HE took everything from me! Pearl's nails scrapped deep lines in the pale floors, tearing them apart until only the depths of rock below remained. She snarled and hissed and threw spears into the wall until she was too tired to move. But she kept summoning them. She fell onto one of the spears, feeling her body poof back into it's gemstone. Why couldn't have it pierced her gem, why couldn't it have shattered it... WHY WAS SHE GONE?! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE!?

Outside of the Temple...

Garnet saw something. Something was going to attack Steven tonight, she saw it in her future visions. She hurried to the other side of the beach, where the party was being packed up, Steven's gifts already being hauled by Amethyst to the van. Neither her nor Greg were around. Not a good sign. Steven laid asleep on the sand, and above him...

A pale shimmering creature, like a cross between a swan and a crane, long neck ending in a thin spear-like beak. Two large eyes, both a pale blue, and four large wings. A body almost like that of a hunched-over humanoid, so thin that it's ribs were sticking out, and two long legs ending in humanoid hands with bird-like talons. A pale cream down covered it's body, with a sandy crest of feathers near the back of it's head and a long train of blue-green feathers as it's tail. And in the middle of it's head, between it's large blue eyes, a pearl. The creature was Pearl.

It picked up Steven in one of it's "hands" and brought him in close. The monster looked at Garnet, and seemed to almost remember who she was, visibly quaking for but a moment. "Pearl, stop." Said Garnet, her muscles locking up. The corruption, she saw the war again, her allies turning into monsters before her eyes as they regenerated.. and now Pearl.

"Rrrose.." The creature made out under it's breath, looking at the gemstone on the young boy's stomach. Her beak began to make an incision. She just wanted the gem back. She wanted, no, needed Rose back. SHE needed HER. SHE was going to take HER back from HIM.

Garnet reached out, her eyes growing wide in fear. "DON'T TOUCH HIM!" She said, summoning her gauntlet. Do it Ruby! Shouted Sapphire in her head. Yet Ruby held her fist back. All she could see in the monster bird was Pearl, the way it crowed Rose's name, the way it gazed at her with such regret. That isn't Pearl anymore, this is for her own good.

Garnet punched Pearl clean in the stomach, watching the bird tumble away onto the beach, it's wings spread and it's beak bloody. Steven fell to the ground, his spit filled with blood. He could be injured soon, or he could be dying- Oh sweet gem! Pearl began to fly away, her wings spread in desperation, heading towards the sky, when thorny vines emerged from the sand. "What?" Said Garnet, her visor slipping slightly to let her third eye be seen. The vines were emerging from where Steven's spit and blood hit the ground.

The thorny vines wrapped themselves around Pearl, her four wings flared outwards and her beak opened. "R-R-R-r-r-r-rrrk!?" She screeched, the thorny vines wrapping around her until she was unable to move. One of the vines punctured her back, the vine emerging from the other side, bursting from her chest. And as her blue eyes started to dim, she caught something in the corner of her eye. They were all blooming into roses, beautiful pink roses, all except one. The one that pierced her chest was black. Good-bye.

Pearl poofed, leaving behind her gem, a single black rose petal dropping onto the gemstone as the vines and brambles melted away. Garnet dropped onto the sand and held the gemstone. This was your fault, you saw this and you did nothing, now Pearl is gone and you're going to lose Steven too. No, she could save Steven, she could do it.

She bubbled the gem, and rushed Steven to the hospital.

Many years later...

Steven was 12. He had done many impressive things, and even summoned his shield thrice before. However, he always was a little bit alone, there seemed to always be a void in the team, something more than just his mom. An even bigger hole.

Something the gems never wanted to talk about. Whenever he asked them about the scar on his stomach, they would look away. Then, one time he tried to tame a corrupted gem, a pale bird with a gem on it's forehead, Garnet cried when he was unable to tame it, and when it poofed, Amethyst didn't come out of her room for days. He learned

"Garnet." Said Steven, after he came back from Lapis's tower. He was surprised when he learned that all of the monsters used to be gems, and he started to connect the pieces. "D-did you used to know that bird? Like before she was corrupted?"

"It's a long story."