Tear Us Apart
A surprised yell pierced the silence on the beach. The source of the sound dashed frantically through the sand, followed closely by an unrelenting assailant.
Steven looked back at Pearl, who was rapidly gaining on him, and let out another frightened cry. Noticing the boardwalk in the distance, the terrified boy quickly changed direction and ran towards the edge of the town.
"Pearl? What's going on?" he asked, turning his head to look at the gem tirelessly pursuing him. "Why are you chasing me? Did I do something wrong?" The pale gem responded by increasing her pace.
"Please stop!" Steven continued desperately, his voice wavering. "I don't want to play Steven tag right now! This isn't funny!"
The nimble gem lunged, barreling into her young charge and sending him sprawling across the sand. The half-gem quickly recovered and continued to run, fear fueling his stamina. Pearl followed closely after him. As he ran, Steven frantically wondered why she was trying to catch him. He quickly considered the possibility that she was trying to say something, but just as rapidly dismissed the notion. If she was trying to communicate, she would have spoken up. Steven knew his pale caretaker to be the most articulate of the team. Her unnatural silence perplexed him.
Reaching the edge of the boardwalk, Steven sprinted into the middle of the town. He briefly looked behind him, only to find his curiously traitorous caretaker mere inches away. The young gem veered to his right and ducked into an alleyway in an attempt to escape his attacker. He heard the sound of soft footsteps, and held his breath as Pearl passed him. Huddling close to the wall of the building, Steven listened as the sounds of the pale gem's movement grew increasingly faint. Finally confident that he was safe, he emerged from his hiding place and looked around the street for any sign of his former ally. Not wanting to stay out in the open, the worried gem slowly started down the darkened street.
The frightened boy considered his options as he stealthily traveled through the quiet town. He knew that his dad was nearby, but didn't want to put him in danger. He decided that it would be best for him to return to the temple, where Amethyst and Garnet could protect him. Still, Steven knew that by going back there he risked encountering Pearl again. Weighing his options carefully, he decided to take his chances and return home. Looking around, Steven noticed that he was near the base of the hill that led to the lighthouse.
"I can just go around the hill past the Big Donut," the young gem thought aloud.
Keeping low as not to attract unwanted attention, he slowly passed the massive hill, vigilant for any sign of Pearl. The area seemed safe, but Steven knew that his former ally could be extremely quiet and nimble. Thankful for the cover of night, he hastily made his way to the Big Donut. Pressing his back against the window of the shop to remain concealed, the young gem inched towards the beach. A small noise from above caused him to look up at the large donut sign. Pearl stood atop the structure, glaring down at her prey.
The maddened gem jumped and tackled Steven, slamming him against the pavement. He struggled under her weight, trying frantically to escape. Pearl shifted her grip, clutching her young charge's neck viciously. Steven thrashed about, trying desperately to loosen her hold. Darkness began to play on the edges of his vision as, and his strength began to fail. Realizing that a violent approach was his only option, the terrified gem summoned his shield and swung his arm, bludgeoning his attacker with the pink weapon. Pearl reeled back briefly, dazed by the unexpected maneuver. Seizing the opportunity, Steven got to his feet and dashed towards the beach. His assailant quickly recovered and took off after him.
"Tell me why you're doing this!" Steven pleaded as he ran towards the sand. Pearl failed to acknowledge him.
"I just don't understand what I did to upset you!" he continued. "You normally want to protect me and make sure that I'm safe! But now you're trying to hurt me! Is it…because you miss mom? Is it my fault she's gone? I don't understand!"
The young gem continued to run through the sand as he fled his unyielding ally, barely managing to remain out of reach. Pearl continued her unprovoked pursuit along the beach, showing no sign of stopping. The pale gem caught up to Steven and swung at him. Whirling around, the fleeing boy parried the attack with his shield without breaking stride. Turning his attention forward once again, Steven noticed that he was almost back to the temple. The young gem broke into a sprint, hoping to avoid Pearl's seemingly unwarranted attacks. However, the maddened gem lunged at her young charge, swinging madly. He managed to block the attack, but the force of the blow caused him to stumble. Unable to regain his momentum while evading the pale gem's furious assault, Steven decided he needed to make a stand. He stopped running and turned to face his pursuer.
"Stop!" he yelled urgently. "You need to tell me what's wrong! I can't help if I don't know what the problem is!" Pearl responded by lunging at him once again. Steven sidestepped the attack and swung with his shield. Shifting her weight, Pearl evaded the strike and swept with her leg, catching Steven. The young boy fell into the sand with a surprised yelp. He looked up to find his pale caretaker trying to tackle him. Steven rolled out of the way of the attack and managed to stand up again. Making use of the window of opportunity, he turned and dashed down the beach.
After an exhausting sprint, Steven finally reached the end of the beach where his house was located. Not wanting to engage Pearl, the exhausted gem jogged over to the wall of the temple and pressed his back against the ancient stone in an attempt to avoid being detected. The young gem took several deep breaths, somewhat relieved to be close to the other gems. He knew that if he could reach his house, he would be safe. However, he was getting tired, while Pearl had managed to maintain her furious pace for the duration of the arduous pursuit. Steven stopped and considered whether or not he should sprint for his house or wait. He was almost certain that Pearl would catch him if he tried to run for it. Still, he knew that she would likely find him if he lingered too long. The frightened boy could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he frantically tried to formulate a plan to escape. Without warning, a voice pierced the silence.
"Steven?" the young gem turned to find Pearl staring at him, a perplexed look plastered on her face. "What are you doing out…"
"Aaah!" he replied, moving from the cliff wall and backed away from the pale gem. Tripping, Steven stumbled backwards, falling into the cool sand. He continued to retreat from his caretaker as she slowly approached him.
"Steven, what's wrong? Are you okay? She slowly walked over to the terrified boy and knelt down beside him.
"Y-y-y-you a-a-attacked me," he stated with tears in his eyes.
"What?" Pearl asked, giving him a confused look.
The next morning…
The tension in the house was palpable. The four gems sat on the couch, save Amethyst, who was sprawled out on the floor.
"So she attacked you?" Garnet asked, looking at the pale gem beside her.
"Yeah," Steven answered. I saw her on the beach, and all of a sudden she tried to hurt me!"
"I swear I would never hurt you, Steven. I haven't seen you since we got back from the mission. I was just taking a walk on the beach when I found you. Are you sure you weren't having a weird dream?
"If I was having a dream, what caused this?" the worried gem asked, motioning to his bandaged left arm. "I know it was real."
"But…I…just…" Pearl started, looking at Steven guiltily. "I can't believe this...why don't I remember?"
"This is really weird," Amethyst stated as she walked to the fridge to grab a snack. "Hey, Steven, you want something to eat?"
"No thanks," he replied.
"I don't know what's going on," Garnet began, "but this is dangerous. Until we figure out what caused this, you should stay in the temple."
"But Garnet," Pearl retorted, "I…"
"You can't be trusted to come on missions with us," the gem leader interrupted. "You pose a threat to our team, and especially to Steven." She looked down at the young half-gem, who was looking nervously at Pearl.
"We'll figure out what caused this," he said hopefully, "and then you can come with us on missions again." Pearl hesitated before responding.
"Okay, then," she said forlornly. "Just be careful. And make sure Steven stays out of trouble." Without another word, the pale gem got up and walked to the entrance to the temple. Using her gem to access her room, Pearl walked inside the massive chamber. The inter-dimensional door closed behind her, leaving Garnet, Amethyst, and Steven alone. The trio sat quietly for several minutes before Garnet broke the silence.
"Alright, gems," she stated coolly, "let's go. We have a mission to complete."
"Where are we going?" Steven asked as he followed his companions to the warp pad.
"The desert," Garnet replied tersely.
"Is it a gem creature?" Steven inquired.
"Yep," answered Amethyst, smiling. "Ready to go?"
"I suppose," the young half-gem responded, his usual excitement dampened by recent events. The warp pad activated, transporting the trio in a flash of blue light.
Upon arriving, Steven stepped off the warp pad and surveyed his surroundings. The sun was concealed by the clouds, casting a shadow over the massive pile of ruined pillars and stone before him.
"Wow," Steven said, gazing out at the ancient structures. "What is this place?"
"This was the communications hub that Peridot used to contact the Homeworld." Garnet replied. Realization dawned on Steven, and he smiled.
"Oh yeah," Steven said. "I remember this place! This is where you and Pearl fused into Sardonyx…" His smile faded. "…and then you guys wouldn't talk to each other."
"Yep," Amethyst chimed in. "And then me and Garnet fused and wrecked the place.
"There's a gem here?" the magical boy asked, looking around the barren landscape. "How did it even get here?" There's nothing around for miles."
"Don't ask me," Amethyst replied. "I'm just here for the action. The purple warrior jogged overt to the massive pile of rubble and stopped, looking over the wreckage for anything unusual, but found nothing. She jumped on top of the rubble and repeated the process, with similar results. Steven followed Garnet as she checked the perimeter of the rubble. Despite their best efforts, the exhaustive search of the area yielded no gem monster. Disappointed by their lack of progress, the trio regrouped.
"Did you find anything, Garnet?" asked Amethyst.
"No," the gem leader answered coldly.
"Yeah, us neither," Steven added. Suddenly, an idea came to him. "Hey, what if it's hiding in the rubble? We should check it out. You're probably too tall to fit, Garnet. How about Amethyst and I go and look, and you guard the warp pad in case it comes out." The crimson gem considered his statement before nodding in agreement. At Garnet's affirmation, Steven and Amethyst looked at one another briefly, then turned and headed into the pile of rubble.
Steven slowly searched within the stack of stone. The massive mountain was eerily silent. A few rays of light filtered through the top of the pile, illuminating the crevice he was exploring. As he continued to slog through the wreckage, the adventurous gem couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him. Suddenly, a small sound echoed through the cavern. Steven turned to see a pair of eyes glowing in the darkness.