I see that a lot of people really enjoy this story, considering how many reviews are basically people asking me if I could do more. Well, I've decided to do a smaller piece to please those fans.

Of course, smaller is subjective or whatever. It's still about 6,000 words long.

As you can guess from the title, this is meant to be more about Pearl and an event that happens to her. She's pretty much my favourite character in the show, especially with every revelation we learn about her.

So for all you Pearl fans, enjoy the chapter. For everyone else, enjoy watching Amethyst doing what she does best; causing a little trouble.

Chapter 4: A Pearl in Its Shell

"I see that she's still here." Pearl muttered, looking out the window as she ironed Steven's clothes for him. He and the human girl were busy playing outside, throwing around a ball and seeing who could get the most points for hitting it into an old trash can. She frowned as they collided, falling into a heap and yet laughing.

"Ah, lighten up Pearl. So Steven's got a friend. He deserves to have someone to play with." Amethyst said from the couch, playing a video game. "Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. What's wrong with being friends with a human?"

"Because humans and ghouls will never get along. The longer she remains in contact with him, the more likely that one day she will decide to turn us in. And the less likely Steven will be willing to silence her." Pearl replied matter-of-factly. "It's only logical to not have close companionships with humans."

"Pfft. Logic? Who cares about logic? Logic's boring anyway. If we were all logical, we'd never have any fun."

"If we were all logical, then humans would stop hunting us since they would understand that human flesh is the only thing we can eat. So how about less lip?" Amethyst threw down the controller, turning round to glower at her.

"You know, you used to be more fun when we were younger. You used to actually do stuff instead of being all insufferable. Now it's like you're a different person."

"We are all shaped by our experiences." Pearl said firmly, hand gripping the iron hard enough to start cracking the plastic. "Some of us had to grow up faster than others. Some of us…" She took a deep breath. "Some ghouls lose more than just their innocence." She looked up at the picture of Rose Quartz on the wall, blinking a single tear from her eyes.

Amethyst groaned audibly and stomped out of the room, slamming the front door behind her as she left. It was always like that. It was always like that. Pearl had been actually fun to hang out with before Rose had Steven. Yeah, they had all been hurt by her passing. But Pearl… she just kept on dwelling about it.

She wasn't going to get better until she found some way of moving on with her life. But how?

As she was trying to come up with anything, she looked around the neighbourhood for some ideas. There was Mr Fryman, loading up his fast food truck for the day. Maybe Pearl could work for him? Nah, she doesn't like the smell of fast food. And the mess. Everytime Amethyst looked at her food preparation station it always looked like she never used it. Maybe a job with Mr Smiley? Pearl does like the theatre. She'd get out of the house, meet new people, and actually enjoy something.

Until her OCD causes her to act like a freaking prima donna. Nope. Her thoughts turned to Anteiku. Pearl would make a great waitress. She'd remember all their orders, prepare their food for them, hang out with other ghouls…

No. Hanging out with only ghouls wasn't the answer. Pearl needed to meet humans to take her mind off things. She needed someone to care about. Someone to have a relationship with…

Her eyes turned to the Dewey house. Home of the guy who keeps trying to get Pearl to notice him.

Perfect. Now she just needed some accomplices.

"Hey Steven." She called out, heading towards him and the human girl. The two of them, happily bouncing the ball off their heads, turned to look at her. "Wanna help me arrange a surprise for Pearl?"

Steven gasped. "A surprise? Is it a party? Is it Pearl's birthday? What should we get her?" He said all this excitedly, not even stopping to take a breath.

"Whoa, whoa, Steven. Calm down. She's kinda just past that window there." Amethyst whispered, pointing over her shoulder.

"Oh. Sorry." Steven whispered back. "Is it a surprise birthday party?"

"Nah. I just think that Pearl needs to get out and mingle a bit. Get to know more people. Find herself a nice boyfriend."

"We're organising… a surprise date?" Connie asked dubiously, one eyebrow raised.

"Sure. These things always work in sitcoms. And hey, maybe this hunky guy could make Pearl loosen up and have some fun for a change."

"I don't know. This sounds like a recipe for disaster."

"Yeah. And everything works out in the end, and the boy and girl end up loving each other all the more. I've seen enough movies to know how this goes."

"…Fair enough." Connie nodded.

"Great. Now that we're all on board, we're going to have to arrange some stuff. Pearl wouldn't agree to this if we ask her straight out, so we need to get her to the dinner place-thing. Quick, what's a fancy restaurant that they could go to?"

"Anteiku." Steven said immediately.

Amethyst gave him a level look. "Steven, we're talking about fancy. Anteiku isn't all that fancy."

"But it does serve her kind of food." Connie pointed out. "After all, Ghouls are physically incapable of eating regular food. Isn't that how it goes?"

"We can eat it. It just makes us really sick unless we throw up almost immediately. It'll be fine. Now come on, I need a really fancy restaurant."

The three of them mulled things over. Then Connie raised her hand. "Well, my parents have been making plans to go to some restaurant named Many Orders. The pamphlets make it look pretty flash."

"Good enough. Now, here's what we'll do. I'll go and get the guy I'm thinking of and tell him that a lovely young lady is interested in him and wants to go to dinner with her. He'll chomp at the bit to meet her, and will probably be there on time. Meanwhile, you two are to go to Pearl and convince her that she needs to go undercover at Many Orders as a guest to… investigate… something. I dunno, you guys figure it out. Just make sure she's there by seven. I'll bring the camera for the wacky hijinks." And she ran off, heading back for the house.

"Steven. What have we agreed to?" Connie asked in deadpan.

"I'm afraid to answer that." He replied.

Bill Dewey walked down the street, whistling to himself jauntily as he went. Today had been a wonderful day for the neighbourhood watch. Not a single ghoul, kidnapper, or door-to-door salesman in the area. Everyone was mostly happy, and kids were going to wonderful and friendly school.

This would've been enough to make any caring mother feel relieved and honoured to have him in their community. Maybe, just maybe, it might be enough to impress Pearl Universe too.

"Mr Dewey Sir?" He stopped as he heard his name, turning around. Little Amethyst Universe, usually a troublemaker, was standing shyly before him, her hands clutching something behind her.

He smiled at her. "Hello, Amethyst. How's your sister? Having a wonderful time in this lovely day?"

"I think so, Mr Dewey. She was definitely humming today. In fact, she wanted me to give something to you." She pulled her hand out from behind her back, showing a sloppily-made card. He took it from her, gently shaking the extra glitter off, and gave it a good read.

"Bill," It said. "I know how strong your feelings are for me, and I hope to be able to show my own affection for you. Please meet me at Many Orders tonight at seven, so we can have a wonderful moonlit dinner that lovers like us deserve." He started whimpering as he read that?

"Pearl… She made this… for me?" He started blubbering.

Amethyst nodded. "I think she's just too shy to say anything. She's always been so… stoic."

Bill wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Then tell Pearl that I will be there and waiting on the dot. Our love will be known to the world." He whooped as he skipped down the street, clutching the handmade card like his life depended on it. Amethyst sighed in relief, glad that it worked. But then again, Bill Dewey always been so obviously in love with Pearl.

Sure, they didn't have a thing in common. But since when did that ever stop people before?

"Ok. So we'll go and make a fake website to post this 'secret report' on, and arrange it so that Pearl will find it in her mailbox. From there, we will subtly ask her about the report without giving away our knowledge of it, and try to steer her into going to the restaurant. When she leaves, you'll lure her with a fake ghoul puppet, and disappear into the crowd. You with me so far?" Connie said to Steven, pointing out different parts of her master plan.

"Uh… I was with you until we got the part about the birdcall signal. Also, Pearl doesn't have an email address." Steven replied. Connie just stared at him before scrunching up the plan."

"Forget it. We'll just tell her we heard a rumour. Come on." She stood up, and headed towards the kitchen. Where Pearl was arranging some meat for Steven.

"Ah, Connie." Pearl said, noticing the young human enter. "I'm afraid that you'll have to return home soon. It's nearly Steven's dinnertime, and I'm afraid that this particular cut is rather…"

"Pearl!" Steven shouted, running into the kitchen and nearly colliding into Connie. "There's a rumour going around that something big is happening in a restaurant tonight." Connie placed a hand against her face.

Pearl turned to face him, eyebrow raised. "Something… big? Did this report say anything more… specific?"

"A… A…"

"A meeting." Connie said. "There's a big meeting about… recent sightings of ghouls. And plans for them. At seven, they said."

"Yeah, yeah. You'll have to sneak in as a guest. Fancy dress and everything." Steven added, nodding his head quickly.

"Hmm. Now how did information like that get out?" Pearl wondered. "Still, it's not like I could just let this happen without checking on it. A shame that Garnet is busy tonight. I could've used the extra muscle. But all the same…" Connie and Steven glanced at each other nervously. What if she didn't buy it? What then?

"It sounds unlikely, but it couldn't hurt to just have a look." Pearl said finally. "Steven, I've already prepared your dinner for you. You'll just have to heat it up. Make sure you finish your homework, and lock the house up once it gets late. I may be gone for an hour or two, depending on how this goes." Her clothes turned dark red, flowing outwards and downwards before changing back into pale colours. She was now dressed in a long, sleek aquamarine dress that bared her shoulders, neck, and arms. A single strip of cloth hung from below her shoulders. She made a projection of herself, and nodded at the look. "It'll do, I suppose. I should fit right in like this." She shook her head ruefully though. "The CCG must be pretty daring though, having their secret meeting in a Ghoul restaurant." And with that, she walked out the front door, waving goodbye to Steven.

Steven and Connie were too busy looking at each other in alarm. A Ghoul Restaurant?

Alright. If I were a murderous speciest human trying to pretend to be my most hated enemy, what would I look like? Pearl wondered as she approached the restaurant. They obviously wouldn't have anything obvious that would suggest that they were Doves; Ghouls tended to get nervous if you so much as had a pin or a necklace with a dove on it. No, if they were smart about it, there should be no outward signs that they were human. She'll just have to watch for anyone that looked familiar and see if they were…

She came to a halt near the entrance, eyes wide as she noticed someone very familiar. Bill Dewey, rocking on his heels before the door and glancing at his watch nervously. He looked up just as she spotted him, beaming as he saw her. And then he started approaching her.

"Pearl. You made it." He said warmly, pulling her into a hug. She was still too shocked to knock him away for the physical contact. Her mind was still reeling at his appearance. What was he even doing here? Had some other ghoul invited him as the entrance fee? Did he somehow follow her here? No, he had obviously arrived here early. But that still didn't explain… "You arrived on time. I was kinda worried that I had gotten here too early for our date."

That snapped her out of her funk. "Our what? What do you…? What are you…?" She spluttered.

"I thought the card you made was a wonderful touch. A little something made by your beautiful hands." He pulled away and brought her hand to his lips, unaware of Pearl shuddering on contact.

She pulled her hand free. "Dewey. Dewey. Slow down. I think…" She gave a nervous laugh. "I'm a little confused here. I… I didn't make any card. Or arrange a date."

Bill looked at her in confusion. "You didn't? But… Little Amethyst said that you gave her…"

"Amethyst?" She looked around wildly, finally spotting a purple squirrel with an amethyst crystal on its front and a camera in its paws high in a tree nearby. Pearl glared at her, finally understanding. "Oh that little clod." She took a deep breath, and only then did she turn back to the confused human. "I'm terribly sorry about this, Dewey. It seems that someone or somebodies decided to arrange this little dinner without my knowledge or permission." Those three were in for some big trouble when she got home. Steven won't be allowed any TV for a month. Amethyst would have to go without meat for just as long. Connie… Well, Garnet would have to talk to her parents about this. "I'm sorry that you were dragged away from… whatever you were doing by false pretences. I will make sure Amethyst never tries anything like this again."

"Oh." Bill replied, looking downcast. "So, what did she say to bring you here?"

"That's…" She stopped, recognising another familiar face. A twisted mad-eyed face with stringy white hair, walking alongside a young woman with a blond bob.

Kureo Mado. One of the most vile Doves in the entire city.

So Steven and Connie were telling the truth about the Doves.

"Actually, since we're both already here and dressed up for the part, why don't we go in and have a bite to eat? As friends."

Bill's face brightened up, and he took her arm in his own. "I'd love to go out with you as friends." He said. And he had the stupidest looking smile on his face as they headed in. Mado was luckily ahead of them, but she still felt worried having someone like him so close. The maître d watched them passively, one arm ready to stop their progress. She merely flashed her eyes at him, and he nodded.

"Welcome, mademoiselle and misère." He said formally, his Japanese accent showing through his attempt at French. "And welcome to Many Orders." He bowed to them, and they entered the restaurant.

"Sooo. Where should we sit?" Bill asked her. Pearl didn't answer at once, keeping track of Mado. He and his lady friend moved to the far back of the room, on the other side of the ring.

She pointed over to their general area. How about there? It's quiet, and rather secluded. Perfect." She said, tugging him along.

"S-S-Secluded? Oh my." Dewey said, blushing. But he didn't resist her, and that was all she cared about. They sat down at a free table not too close to Mado, Pearl seated so she could keep an eye on him without being overt about it.

Dewey started fiddling with his tie, sweating profusely. He gave a few loud coughs as he cleared his throat, obviously at a lost at what to say. Pearl simply ignored him, trying her best to not appear to be spying.

Now, if Steven's false information turned out to be correct, then Mado and his lady friend weren't the only Doves here right now. The problem is that there was no way to tell if someone was or wasn't a ghoul until the point where they ate human flesh, or revealed their kagune. Maybe she should just wait until he left for his 'meeting', and excuse herself from this dinner to follow him. Then she could shapeshift into something smaller, sneak into the meeting, and listen in…

"You know, I think this might be the perfect time for us to… get to know each other better." She blinked, turning slightly to give Dewey her full attention. He cleared his throat again. "I mean, you and your sisters just showed up out of the blue one day with little Steven. Some people started talking… you know what people are like." He moved to place his hand atop her own. "I just want to know a little bit more about you, that's all."

She pulled her hand away before he could touch it. "There's… not much to say. We just found each other and banded together, thanks to Steven's mother, Rose Quartz."

"Oh? So he's not actually your…?"

"No." She said firmly. "He isn't. Unfortunately, Rose didn't survive his birth. It was up to us to raise him in her stead. And… well, I…" She fell silent. "I missed her. Rose saved me. She saved us all. I could never really repay her for that."

"Saved you? Didn't your families help you girls?"

Pearl placed her hands against her legs, firmly clenched. "No. They couldn't. We didn't have anyone else." She didn't say anything else.

"Oh? Ohhh." Dewey finally understood. "Oh, I'm so sorry Pearl. I didn't mean to… to bring up bad memories."

"Then perhaps you should stop asking me about my past. It's… in the past. It doesn't matter anymore." She looked away. "Let's just talk about something else."

"Uh… Right. Well, I uh… before I retired over in Japan, I used to be the mayor of a small coastal town in America. Ran the place pretty successfully while I was in charge. But in the end, I decided to let a younger generation take over, and moved here to enjoy my retirement."

"But aren't you well under the age of retirement? I thought most people retire in their fifties and sixties." Pearl asked.

"Ah, I-I decided to have an early retirement." He replied nervously, sweating again. "Being mayor is a busy job. You don't really have much time for your family, since you're so busy looking after everyone else's families."

Fortunately for Dewey's pride, the waiter had finally announced his presence. Dewey quickly ordered something at random, while Pearl (who had been browsing the menu for any slang terms for human flesh) chose a delectable sliced heart and stomach. The waiter mentioned that there would be some entertainment later on, down in the ring below. And that her date could take part, if they so choose.

She declined immediately. She always thought of these 'Ghoul on human' fights to be simply deplorable. There was nothing wonderful about seeing prey slaughtered by predators. Besides, knowing Dewey he probably told everyone that he was on a 'date' with her. She glanced at Mado again; he still hadn't moved from his seat. Was he still waiting for more Doves to arrive? Or was there some other reason he was here? Surely it couldn't be something so simple as that he didn't realise that this is a restaurant for ghouls and that he was the 'offering' of his date. Someone as fearsome as him couldn't fall for something like that…

Everyone looked up at the sound of a squealing microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen." The announcer started saying. "It is time for the event most of you have been waiting for, a battle that will spice up your meal and leave you breathless. That's right, it is time… for the Arena." People started cheering loudly as he said that, everyone looking down at the ring in the middle of the room. Dewey looked rather confused, while Pearl just looked away from the debased execution. "For your viewing pleasure, we've found a few willing fighters to beat each other stupid to see who has the strength and will to survive. And we've even gotten a wonderful opening all set up, just to sate your hunger for violence."

"This… This sounds rather deplorable." Dewey remarked. "What kind of restaurant thinks that people want to see violence?"

"It's not unprecedented." Pearl answered. "They used to do such things back in Ancient Rome with the Coliseum. Unfortunately, from what I've heard most of these sorts of things are merely meant to let people see blood flowing. Hardly meant to be fair."

"In the West side, having won over twenty straight matches and never left the ring without wearing half of his opponents on his fists… Goro." The grate opened wide, the ground almost shaking from the footsteps. A giant of a man, wearing only shredded pants and a black mask, stepped out into the light, raising his hands up high as the crowd cheered. His mask was molded so that a massive toothy grin took up most of it, the teeth actually molded into the plastic. He already had a streak of red across his chest. "And his opponent, weighing in at about a pint and getting smaller every second… Some loser who's gonna die." As the other grate opened, a young man was pushed out by arena workers, stumbling a bit before falling to the ground. He wore a cobbled mask that barely hid his face, covering one eye. He turned back and ran for the grate, but it had already closed.

"Wait! Let me back in! I don't want to fight! I want to go home!" He screamed, banging his fists uselessly against the door. Yes, definitely predator versus prey. Barbaric, and pointless. Pearl stopped paying attention. When was her meal going to arrive?

"We have to… We have to do something." Dewey said, standing up. He moved to leave the table, but she grabbed him by the arm.

"These people want blood, Dewey, and they don't particularly care where it comes from. You try to save this boy, and you'll just end up joining him." They both looked at the arena as Goro roared, and something went 'smash'. The dust parted, and the boy was somehow in the air, kagune sticking out of his back. "Hmm. And it looks like he's not defenceless. This may have gotten interesting after all."

Bill turned back to look at her before looking back at the boy… no, ghoul, fighting for his life. He knew that they were monsters, that they lived only to lure children and families to their lairs and eat them alive… but he couldn't forget just how scared that boy had sounded when they had thrown him in there.

He didn't sound like a monster. He sounded like a kid thrown to the wolves.

"I have to try something." He said, pulling free of Pearl's grip and running for the ring. With a loud yell that was more fear than bravery, he jumped the edge and sailed through the air, landing on the back of the giant ghoul and wrapping his arms around his neck.

And promptly realising that he hadn't thought of how he'd take out a monstrous ghoul at least twice his size. He screamed in panic as he tried to hold on.

"Well, well. What's this ladies and gentlemen? Seems that someone decided to volunteer to join in. Now we're getting a two-for-one blood fight for your viewing pleasure." The commentator seemed almost excited by the change.

Pearl groaned and pressed a hand to her face. Unbelievable. Despite all the logic that said he shouldn't have tried, the fool still jumped right into the fight. Was he trying to get himself killed? And now she was going to have to save his hide. Whilst a Dove was watching, so that ruled out using her Kagune.

Fortunately for her and Dewey, she found a unique ability of her Gem.

She crouched beneath her table cloth, holding one hand over her Gem. There was no time for her usual fancy invocation; she simply concentrated until a sword hilt jutted from her forehead like some demented unicorn horn. She pulled it out and formed a mask; a Picasso-like design. Only then did she crawl out and jump down into the arena, slashing Goro along the arm as she fell. He roared in anger, and moved to swat her like a bug.

"Oh? And it looks like he's got a friend. Well, I hope they got matching gravestones ready, because they're not gonna last much longer." She ignored the commentator, instead ducking under the sluggish blows and dancing around Goro. Though he was strong and touch, his lack of speed made him merely a bigger target. He lashed out with bikaku, slamming it where she was standing. Pearl jumped into the air, slashing his sides as she passed before bounding round behind him and jabbing him under the arm. He roared in pain as he was injured, turning around to grab her. She drove her sword through his fingers, before letting his strength sheer them off. As he clutched his hand, she aimed for the tendon in his leg, jumping over his bikaku. He collapsed to the ground, lashing out blindly.

"Dewey! Let go of his neck, now!" She shouted. Bill whimpered before his weakened grip caused him to fall, allowing Pearl to jump up towards Goro's neck. He suddenly moved, likely having recovered enough to launch a counterattack. She simply jumped off his fist, before slashing her blade as she passed.

She landed and flicked away some blood, before his head toppled off and he fell like a felled tree.

And then several patrons suddenly stood up, weapons in their hands.

The Doves had finally made their move.

"By order of the Commission of Counter Ghoul office, everyone here is under arrest under suspicion of being a ghoul!" A dark-haired man shouted out. "Surrender at once, or there will be consequences."

Most of the patrons stood up, kagune flaring. The few humans here screamed and ran, trying to get away. "You'll never take us all on, Doves. We'll feed on your flesh, and splatter your blood everywhere." And then they were all clashing, kagune against quinque.

Bill stared up in horror. "Ghouls… So many ghouls…" he whispered.

"Come on. We need to get out of here before the CCG arrests us." Pearl ordered, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him towards Goro's corpse. A solid kick made the body slump against the wall, high enough to jump back out.

"What? But… But the CCG won't arrest us. We're human."

"Given the number of people here, I doubt they'll double check before killing us on the spot." She retorted, dragging him up the side. He was about to say something back, but she interrupted him by throwing him bodily into the air. He screamed as he flew, crashing down in someone's dinner. Pearl felt the body shift under her feet, and pushed off into the air after him, landing neatly near the edge.

"Wait!" The other ghoul screamed at her, trying to climb up. "Please, help me. I don't want to die. I just want to go home." She rolled her eyes; really now, was she expected to look after every stray she came across? He had his kagune; he can get out on his own. "Please. Help me. I don't want to die!"

She glared back at him. "Yes, yes. You've made that very clear. I don't see how…" She looked closer. The black hair looked oddly familiar. He had pulled off the mask, revealing that only one eye was the black of a ghoul. "Ken? Ken Kaneki?"

"You… you know me? Then please, help." She groaned, and pressed a hand against her face. But if this idiot started talking, then her whole life could be in danger. "Fine. Reach out with your kagune." He did so, stretching it out as far as it could go. He yelped as she used her koukaku to hook him and pull him up. Hopefully, the Doves were too busy fighting to notice her. If not, there would be trouble. She furled up her kagune, grabbing the two idiots as she ran. "Come on." She grunted. "Move your asses." The front door was blocked off, so they headed further into the restaurant. Towards the kitchens and such. Inside, it was a mess, as ghouls and chefs all tried to fight back against Doves breaking in. There were just so many of them. Instead, they took a different path; down a hallway leading toward rooms for guests seeking… unusual entertainment.

And found the maître d standing in their path, a dove pin on his lapel.

The doorman was a Dove, and he knew she was a ghoul.

He had to be silenced.

"Keep going." She hissed, pushing them both away. "I'll deal with this." They both cast fearful looks at the maître d, before running wildly in another direction. And hopefully, a way out.

"How cute." The Dove smirked, pulling out a quinque. "You think that because you could take on that dumb freak you're a match for me? I am going to enjoy hunting your friends down, and killing them with your own freak organ." His quinque took on the form of an axe, and he charged towards her.

"You're overestimating yourself. And underestimating me." She formed her koukaku again, and charged forward to meet him. They clashed, and the Dove was easily pushed back. He clearly wasn't expecting her to be far stronger than her slight frame suggested. Now on the defensive, he jumped backwards, swinging his axe around. A kagune lashed out from it, slicing the wall above her head. She pushed off the ground and slammed her blade into his chest. He gritted his teeth and buried his axe into her shoulder, but she ignored the pain. Her koukaku charged with power, and she released it. The Dove exploded, his blood and bits staining the ground.

There. Hopefully, he didn't manage to tell anyone else about her. But it would be best to get in contact with Garnet as soon as possible, just to be safe. She healed her wound and drank in the blood staining her, running down the path Dewey had taken.

Hopefully he hadn't managed to run headfirst into trouble.

"Aaahh!" Bill Dewey screamed as he ran away from more fighting ghouls and CCG agents, nearly spinning one eighty to find an exit. But his hallway was a dead end, only a large window decorating it. There was no way out. They were going to die here. This is a complete nightmare.

The ghoul boy with him screamed as he charged forward, wrapping his arms around his head. His tentacles (what were they even called?) lashed forward, shattering the window for them. The ghoul jumped out, and Bill quickly followed him. They both landed in the pond outside, and came spluttering to the surface before crawling out. From there, it was only a short distance to the trees and freedom.

They both stopped to catch their breaths once the restaurant was far behind them. Bill started squeezing the water out of his suit. "Well, this has got to be the worst dinner I've ever attended. And I once had a food fight start up between democratics and republicans, so I know what I'm talking about."

"We… have to… keep running." The ghoul panted. "Need… to get… away."

"Not without Pearl. I'm not leaving until I know she's safe, and I don't care what may happen to me." Bill said bravely. His moment was ruined as he shrieked at the sound of rustling leaves.

"Oh calm down, Dewey. It's just me." Pearl said as she pushed through the bushes. She still looked like a warrior goddess, her dress barely marked by the violence around her. "And what are you two still doing here? We need to leave before reinforcements arrive."

"That's what I said." Ken replied nervously. "But this man wouldn't leave without you."

Pearl power walked past them both. "Well here I am. Now let's get moving. It'll be safer to split up. Dewey, you take a taxi back home. Ghoul, go… wherever you were going before you got dragged into all this. I'll walk home."

"What? But it's too dangerous for a beautiful young lady like yourself to…" Pearl, already feeling frustrated, kicked out at a tree. The wood cracked ominously. "Right. I'll just… find a taxi then." Dewey finished lamely, rushing quickly through the trees to get to the roads.

"Thank you for saving me." Ken said, looking relieved. "That was… so horrifying."

"What madness drove you to taking part in an arena fight in the first place?" Pearl asked him as she walked away, Ken hurrying after her.

"A… a patron of Anteiku invited me to come along. He said it would be a wonderful time. He never said that it would be a fight. I just thought it was entertainment or something."

"Technically, he was right. But from now on, be careful around Tsukiyama. He may not look like it, but he's dangerous. And we only barely tolerate him. Now shoo." She added, waving him off. "It won't do me any good to be found with another ghoul. Go back to Anteiku, and stay there."

"Yes ma'am." He said, running off as quickly as he could. Pearl sighed, and headed for the nearest path. As she stepped onto the stone path, a squirrel landed on her shoulder.

"Aw man, that was so boring." Amethyst complained. "Nothing even happened until Dewey jumped into the ring. Who knew the spineless human had the guts to do that?"

Pearl glowered at her fellow ghoul. "Amethyst, what the hell were you thinking? You lied to Dewey and had Steven lie to me all so you could have some fun?"

"It was supposed to make you stop being so boring. Geez, you've done nothing but sulk for thirteen years. I figured that, I dunno, maybe getting you a boyfriend might make you fun again."

"A boy… Amethyst! You can't just throw two people together and expect them to instantly fall in love. Just because Dewey's attracted to me doesn't mean that I feel the same way. Besides, he's a human. You know that I barely tolerate humans."

"Arrgh." Amethyst groaned clawing at her face. "Then what do you want? What's it gonna take for you to lighten up again?"

Pearl looked away. "You can't just… Sometimes, you don't bounce back from terrible events. Sometimes, you're changed by them forever."

"Urgh. You sound so… emo. Tell you what. You tell me which guy you like, and I'll help you hook up with them. Free of charge."

"I told you, I'm not interested in anyone." Pearl looked away again. "The only person I loved… has been dead for years. And she's never coming back."

One could almost hear the bulb lighting in Amethyst's head. "Ohhh. I get it now." Pearl looked back at her. "Rose. She was the Ruby to your Sapphire, right?" Pearl started blushing, but managed to give a short nod. "That's kinda creepy."

"Creepy?! How is my love for Rose anything other than pure and wonderful?!" Pearl asked angrily.

"Because you were only fifteen when she died. I'm pretty sure an adult dating a minor is illegal pretty much everywhere in the world."

"I was going to wait until I was of age before I confessed my feelings to her." Pearl argued back. "But…" She sighed, the fight going out of her. "But you know what happened. Guess she didn't love me the way I loved her."

"So… There's really no one else? No one who can take her place in your heart?"

"…No."

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

There we go. A little fun based slightly off the Restaurant plot. I never actually watched the episode, so I just adjusted the basics to have some fun and see Pearl be a badass.

Now, for this story, the Gems aren't actually thousands of years old and aliens and stuff. They're unusual, but as for age, they're still within human ages. So I've decided that Garnet is the oldest at about 31 (having been 18 when Rose was around), Pearl is 29 (originally 15, as mentioned), and Amethyst is 16 (having originally been 3). This is all based on the fact that thanks to the episode 'Steven's Birthday', we know that Steven is around 13 during the show.

Oh, and the name of the restaurant comes from the fact that the Ghoul restaurant is based on the story 'The Restaurant With Many Orders'. Seeing as how it doesn't really have an official name, I felt it was good enough.