Days passed. Weeks passed. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl hadn't stopped searching for Stevion. Day and night, they were searching, following every warp pad, hoping to find some indication that he had passed through. They had no idea where to look, and even though they didn't need to eat or rest, the Earth was a big place for three humanoids to traverse. There was no way any of them would ever give up looking for Steven, even though their efforts had been fruitless so far.

But though they didn't need to sleep, their bodies and minds could still become exhausted. So it was that today, they were spending a day at home, trying to strategically plan their next move. They were all antsy to go out and look again, but after weeks of turning up nothing, they were starting to lose hope. None of them wanted to give up, but they all had to admit that maybe searching was a waste of time, a drain on energy that should have been spent protecting Beach City.

"Connie said that Lion is a gem." Pearl began, pacing slowly back and forth across the room. Her normally brisk pace was now slow and forced, her feet dragging on the ground as she walked. " That can only mean one thing. Lion is a corrupted creature, merely a shell of the gem he once was. Rose..." Pearl paused, fighting back a sob, as she once again had to remember that her best friend and mentor had kept the animal, or what they now knew as a gem, hidden from her. "Rose must have found a way to tame him. I can't believe she didn't tell us!" Pearl balled her fists, more frustrated that they still hadn't found Steven rather than being angry at Rose.

"No one has ever tried to fuse with a corrupted gem." Garnet added. She sat on the couch, Amethyst curled up next to her, as she tried to force herself to relax. "Then again, no corrupted gem has ever been tamed. THere's no way Steven would have known the consequences of fusing with such a creature." She adjusted her glasses, as she often did when she was trying to determine the future.

Pearl stopped her pacing and turned to face the two slouched on the couch. "It's probably trying to grasp onto Steven's humanity, to remember what it used to be. But all it's doing is dragging him under, bringing him down to it's level." Pearl paused, considering the repercussions of the words she'd just said. "It appeared as though Steven started to forget who he was in a matter of hours. But instead of being a mutual fusion between two gems, Lion seemed to be consuming the Rose Quartz gem, destroying its humanity in the process." Pearl bit down on her knuckle at this revelation. Now that she was taking the time to consider and examine the facts, she realized their situation was much more dire. Not only was Stevion gone, physically, but Steven himself might be gone completely. There was a high probability that even if they managed to find him, he wouldn't remember who he used to be.

Pearl and Amethyst were beyond asking Garnet what they should do. It was clear even with her future vision that she didn't have any more of an idea what do than the rest of them. That, or she knew a lot more than she was letting on. Whenever Garnet was quiet, she either couldn't determine an accurate future, or she'd seen exactly what would happen, and it wasn't pretty.

Pearl joined the other two Crystal Gems on the couch, placing herself on the side of Garnet not occupied by Amethyst. It was funny, that all of them were thousands of years old, and yet Amethyst and Pearl often felt the need to latch onto a motherly figure. Neither of them were leaders, and when Rose Quartz was alive she had always looked after and protected them. But when she had passed, the role fell to Garnet.

So it was that the fusion had one arm wrapped Amethyst, and the other wrapped around Pearl. The two felt very small, very vulnerable, and very tired. Garnet was their beacon of strength and comfort against all the turmoil they felt inside. And though Gems didn't need sleep, the two- or rather three- found themselves dozing. It had been a long and rough search, with nothing to show for it. If they could manage to relax for a brief moment from all their worries about their young prodigee, Garnet would allow them that.