"Gem fusion? What might that be?" Avery inquired.

"Well," Pearl started. "It's a process in which two gems, usually with a close enough bond, perform a dance together. After said dance, if performed correctly and the ones participating are in perfect unison, an amalgamation of the two's power will be created into a being of their own."

"I see." Avery said. "That sounds fascinating."

"It is indeed a captivating process." Pearl said with a smile. "I personally could go on and on about the different technical sides of fusion, but…" That smile quickly ran away from her face. "That isn't what we are here to talk about."

"Maybe so," Avery started. "But since you brought it up, this fusion business obviously has something to do with what's on your mind."

"You'd be correct." Pearl said grimly.

"So… what exactly is the connection?"

Pearl took a deep breath, her face etched with shame.

"A while back, the others and I were chasing somebody named Peridot. She's an ally now, but the reasons we were chasing her is a story for another day. Regardless, one day we found transmission towers built by her that were meant to send a message to her former leader and our enemy, Yellow Diamond. The towers were far too large for any one of us to destroy alone, so Garnet and I decided to fuse…"

Pearl paused, once again looking down towards the floor.

"Pearl, if this is too uncomfortable for you, you don't have to tell this story-"

"No." Pearl stopped Avery abruptly. "You were strong enough to tell me something from your past, now it's my turn."

"… Very well." Avery said after some mental deliberation.

"Anyways, I hadn't fused with Garnet in some time at that point, so as you can imagine I was rather excited to do so." Pearl looked to the ceiling, an almost nostalgic façade on her face.

"Judging by that facial expression, I take it that fusing with Garnet was a rather pleasurable experience?" Avery asked.

"Oh, it was. It was so much fun to work in unison with my friend like that. I felt so free, so in control, so… powerful. Because of this, I… rebuilt the towers without anyone knowing just to fuse with Garnet again."

Avery looked surprised, but not accusatory after Pearl said this.

"I observe." He said.

"I rebuilt the towers several more times after me and Garnet kept destroying them. However, Garnet eventually found out what I was doing, and she became very reasonably angry with me… what I did was awful."

Pearl suddenly looked extremely tormented. In order to comfort her, Avery said:

"You know that you don't need to villainize yourself in order to justify another's feelings, Pearl."

"But what I did was wrong! I not only put my friend's lives in danger, but the entirety of the world as well."

"Now wait just a minute." Avery interjected. "Now, I'm not going to say what you did was right. However, you also need to understand that it's already happened, so there is no use in fretting over it so much. As you can plainly see, the world isn't in dystopia because of your decision and from what I've seen of you and Garnet interacting she's obviously forgiven you. Try not to tear at yourself so much, because from these pieces of evidence pretty much everything seems to have smoothed itself out."

Pearl looked to Avery, seeming to have calmed down considerably after Avery's monologue.

"I'm sorry for rambling, I just thought you might want/need to know that. You were starting to get pretty stressed out." He continued.

"No, it's perfectly fine. I did need that, thank you." Pearl said while giving a small smile.

"Of course. I'm happy to help in any way, shape or form."

"It comforts me to know that." Said Pearl, who was starting to stand up. "Thank you so much for talking with me, I'm feeling much better. Why don't we head back to the Sky Arena, I believe we've kept Connie and Steven waiting long enough."

Avery was about to agree with Pearl, but his therapeutic side got the best of him. After reviewing what he and Pearl had discussed over their conversation, he couldn't help but notice something amiss when the pale gem mentioned something about the time she and Garnet fused.

"Actually, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk with you some more."

Pearl looked to Avery questioningly. "What exactly is it you want to talk about?"

"When you were talking about fusing with Garnet, I noticed that you paused somewhat before you said the word 'powerful'. This has me somewhat concerned."

Pearl was now back to her seat across from Avery.

"Concerned how?" She asked.

"Well, I'm just worried that you may or may not have liked fusing with Garnet because recently you've been feeling powerless." The therapist stated. "Is this a safe assumption to make?"

Pearl looked as if she reverted back into her distressed state from earlier.

"… Maybe." She said hesitantly.

"If that's the case, how long have you been feeling powerless?"

Pearl began to look Avery in the eye.

"For some time, Avery… For some time."

"Is there any chance you can give me an exact time you've started to feel like this?"

"I think it was around the time I became self-aware."

"Self-aware? What do you mean by that?"

Pearl looked out the nearby window, her gaze peering skyward.

"You see," She started. "Back on my planet, Homeworld, my kind is merely a caste of workers. We did manual labor for our masters and that was about the extent of our purpose. We were little more than Ornaments. Things." Pearl said 'things' with a very noticeable amount of vitriol.

Avery looked horrified. "So, what, you and your kind are essentially just made to become servants?"

"That's correct." Pearl said with a tone simultaneous sadness and familiarity.

"That's awful! What kind of person could do that to an entire race of being!?"

Pearl sighed. "Avery, I won't go into the specifics because it would take far too much time, but let me just say this: Homeworld is a cruel place."

Avery looked to Pearl sympathetically. "If that's how you want to leave that then so be it. Anyways, back on track: What does self-aware mean to you?"

"You see, when I was created, at first I did what I was programed to do. However, that all changed when the rebellion started."

"Rebellion?" Avery asked.

Pearl winced. "It was a horrible time. To put simply: Homeworld wished to take over Earth for its resources. My master at the time, Rose Quartz, disagreed with many of our higher-ups because there was intelligent life on this planet. As such a war broke out between Rose Quartz and Yellow Diamond."

"I see. Wait, so Rose was your master back on Homeworld?" Avery inquired.

"That's right." Pearl said with a sad smile, remembering her former leader with fondness. "When the rebellion started, she helped me realize that I was more than just an accessory, as it were. Although, because of this, at first I didn't feel sufficient enough to participate in the war effort. All I knew at that time was menial labor. Luckily, Rose helped me realize I was… more than that. She taught me diplomacy and how to defend myself. I became her closest confidant. I was…"

Pearl's eyes suddenly began to well up with tears.

"… Her best friend." She sobbed out.

Avery, wanting comfort his friend, rushed over to Pearl's side and put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them.

"Hey, hey, it's going to be okay."

Pearl began to sniffle, trying to regain her composure.

"I'm sorry. You know how delicate of a topic Rose is for me."

"I know. I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this. You must be very confused a lot of the time."

"Confusion is something that I've become rather accustomed to." Pearl said with a bitter laugh.

"Still, I don't think it's fair that somebody as wonderful as you should be suffering like this."

Pearl looked to Avery appreciatively. "Thank you so much for the sentiment."

"Of course." Avery began to stand up from his spot behind Pearl and said. "Well, I think that's enough for today. Unless, of course, you want to keep talking."

Pearl wracked her brain for anything that she might want to talk about. After a few moments, something came to her mind. Something that she had meaning to discuss with somebody for a long time, she just didn't know anybody who could look at this issue with a neutral viewpoint.

That is, until now.

"There… actually is something else I would like to talk about."

"Okay." Avery took his seat across from Pearl again. "What's the problem?"

"To be quite honest with you… this is possibly the thing that I hate most about myself."

"I see… sounds like this has been plaguing you for quite some time."

"It has."

Avery and Pearl sat in silence for a few moments, before Avery broke it with:

"Do you want me to give you another out?"

"What do you mean?" Pearl inquired.

"You know, what I did earlier: I tell something troubling from my past so you can do the same with somewhat less guilt."

Pearl looked down in thought for a few moments before saying:

"I think that would help, yes."

Avery searched his brain for another story from his past to tell Pearl, when a big thought hit him:

'Do I trust her enough to tell her?'

Avery looked Pearl straight in the eyes. He could clearly see the need and trust in them. Such a gaze made Avery's heart beat faster.

'How can I say no to a face like that?' Avery thought.

Suddenly, Avery stood up from his seat and said to Pearl with a 'come hither' gesture:

"Follow me."

"Wait, where are we going?" Pearl said as she began to follow Avery.

"Somewhere significant to my story. In my opinion, it isn't the same without being there."

"Well…" Pearl started hesitantly. "… If you say so."

"Excellent."

With that, Avery and Pearl started to head towards the former's car. The car ride was mainly filled with silence and awkward sideways glances from Pearl. After about ten minutes, Avery stopped the car and stepped outside. Pearl was about to open her own door, but was stopped when Avery opened it for her.

"Oh, thank you." She said with a slight giggle. "So, where are we…?" Pearl stopped her statement when she saw a large white structure.

"Oh, so you brought us to the lighthouse."

"Indeed I did." Said Avery. Pearl couldn't quite put her finger on it, but Avery's voice seemed filled with… regret, she wanted to say.

"So, what significance does this have to your story?" Pearl asked.

"Most of it. This is where the climax takes place."

"Climax?" Pearl said questioningly. "I don't understand."

"Pearl, you know how Garnet and I have met before I knew you and Steven?"

"Yes… what exactly are you getting at?" Pearl, for whatever reason, was starting to feel worried at what Avery was about to tell her.

"Well, I'm going to tell you the story of how we met." Avery said while clasping his hands together.

Pearl began to chuckle. "Really? That's all? That doesn't sound too terrible from my perspective."

"Oh, believe me Pearl, that isn't all. In fact, you're getting two stories in one."

Pearl looked to Avery questioningly. "What is the other story?"

Avery sighed deeply. His regret was once again deeply apparent on his face.

"This is also the story of how I tried to commit suicide."


Good Morrow, People of Fanfiction! Sorry if this either A: Seemed a bit too rushed or B: Ended on too dark of a note for you. For A, I just of wanted to get this out there and for B, well... this isn't going to be your kind of story if you weren't in to the ending of this chapter. Regardless, leave your reviews and tell me what you think!