Disclaimer in chapter one.

Hello, I return for a little while, I'm going to try, once again, to begin a normal schedule, but don't get your hopes up.

There were times when the walls would close in, times when Pearl couldn't be there. There were times when she was left to drown in blackness, distant voices barely reaching her from somewhere far away. She could hear them, their voices, ringing in her head, whispers, of a feeling near forgotten, of comfort. She could feel herself moved, by what, she did not know, and set down once again. She would clutch her gem, the only thing preventing her from pulling it out being her thoughts of the sadness that would surely come of it.

Steven couldn't do anything, and would simply watch his dear friend, shaking violently, fear in her eyes. The feeling of powerlessness overwhelming him, there was really nothing that could be done without Pearl. His only hope was to try to reach her with his words. When her eyes would close, he knew she couldn't hear him anymore.

When the second stage suddenly kicked in, the whispers disappeared. Her stomach began twisting, fear growing like a weed, and the pain would start. Her head pounded, everything began to hurt, and she let out a scream of agony towards the sky. The worst part of it all was that she was still conscious, some small part of her still aware what was happening, and truly feeling it all.

The tiny part of her that was awake and aware, the part that could still think, if only barely, tried its best to calm down. But its efforts were futile, and she simply suffered, until her vision lightened the slightest bit, announcing her savior's arrival. She felt thin arms wrap around her, and she slowly returned to the world of the living. Her hearing came first, with a rush of whispers, ones that really were whispers this time, a flow of comforting words to calm her. Next came her vision, and she opened her eyes to the turquoise of Pearl's tunic, adorned with the small yellow star. Along with her vision came a rush of tears, and she hugged Pearl back as the liquid emotion streamed down her face. Her calm slowly returned, and she simply sat, for a countless length of time.

A/N Sorry it's been so long, but yaaaay, I'm uploading again! Hooray!