Chapter Thirteen: Crash Site

"Yup," said Adora, resignedly. "Whatever's in there is definitely gonna try to kill us."

After a brief flight closer to the signal, the Sun Incinerator had touched down on a hill overlooking the source: a crashed First Ones vessel, embedded into the desert. Some sort of encampment had been built around it, with metal scaffoldings forming walkways between hastily-constructed towers. There were numerous Crimson Wasters standing guard, enough that this wasn't just some wayward outpost.

"No need to be so negative," Steven said, trying to lighten the mood. "They could be friendly. Why don't we try talking to them? Just watch: we'll head down there, and after a few minutes, they'll be on our side!"

Glimmer leaned over to Lars. "Is he always like this?" she asked quietly.

"Eh, yes and no," Lars replied.

"You know what? I'm with Steven on this one," said Bow. "Sure, they look scary and ready to fight, but you know who else is? The Horde. I'm willing to bet that they're just local people trying to defend themselves from a Horde attack. If we head down there and explain who we are, I'm sure they'll be willing to listen!"

"I'm in!" said Spinel, giving a thumbs-up. "Better to solve problems with talking 'stead of fighting, that's what I always say! …'Course, it isn't like I can't fight if I need to."

"And we probably will need to," Glimmer said. "We should have a plan B, just in case."

"Alright, here's the plan," said Adora. "Bow, you and Steven are the least threatening of us, so you'll go down there and-"

"Wait, are you saying I'm threatening?" asked Glimmer, half-jokingly.

"Well...I'm not not saying that…" said Adora.

"And you're saying I'm not threatening?" said Bow, not-jokingly.

"Can we focus, please!?" Adora hissed. "Bow and Steven will go and try to talk to them, and if they turn out to be hostile and attack-"

"You mean, when they inevitably do attack," added Glimmer.

"When they inevitably attack," Adora said, growing more annoyed, "the rest of us will rush in and help out before things get too intense."

"Excellent strategizing, My Imadora!" Pearl said cheerfully. "I've written it all down right here!" She held up a holo-screen displaying something written in Gem script.

"Okay, sounds good to me!" said Steven. "I imagine Spinel will be coming along, too."

"You bet!" Spinel said, leaning closer to Steven. Amethyst repeated after her, mimicking her movements.

"Can I come, too?" Garnet asked quietly, raising her hand.

"Hmm…" Adora examined the multicolored fusion. "Can you fight?"

"I can if I need to!" she said cheerfully, holding up her fists. She tried to scowl, but her expression looked more like a pout.

"...Yeah, you'd better go down there with them," said Adora. Garnet grinned and happily skipped over to Steven's group. Two Gems and Bow behind him, Steven started off down the hill towards the ship.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Bow asked him. "Without your powers, it...could get pretty dangerous down there."

"Nah, I'll be fine!" Steven said. "I've got you, Garnet, and Spinel, don't I? And besides, I still have the greatest power of all: my ability to persuade!"

"That's one way to look at it," said Bow.

With the four of them walking in plain sight towards the base, it wasn't long before someone spotted them. They could tell by the commotion within that the guards were debating what to do with them. Nobody shot at them, or ran at them with swords, which was a good sign. Hopefully, these desert nomads were just as opposed to the Horde as they were.

"Okay, let's get our story straight," Bow said as they got closer. "We're explorers, and we got separated from the rest of our party. We've been wandering the desert for a few hours, and we're relieved to have found civilization. Everyone got that?"

Spinel grinned and gave another thumbs-up, Garnet nodded, and Steven said "Yup!" By the time the four of them reached the base, a gang of raiders was present at the entrance to meet them.

"Uh...Hello there!" said Bow, awkward waving.

One of the raiders, a gruff-looking snakekin, stepped ahead of the others. "What's this about, eh? What're a couple characters like you doin' out here in the Waste?" His hand hovered close to a knife at his hip.

"Oh, I can't tell you how good it is to finally meet someone out here!" said Steven, mocking relief. "We've been wandering out here for days! Do you have any water? Because we really need some water!" The four of them all feigned exhaustion, including Garnet.

The raiders looked to one another, as though confused. "A'right...but why're you out here in the desert in the first place?" asked the biggest one.

"We're, um, archaeologists," said Bow. "Our research party was attacked by the Horde, and we got separated. We don't want to trouble you, just a few moments and we'll be gone!"

The larger raider thought for a moment, then pulled his companions into a huddle. After whispering to each other for a few moments, he turned back to face the group of 'explorers.' "So, Horde's givin' you trouble, too, huh? Alright, you can come in for a bit."

"Yay, thank you so much!" Spinel sprang forward, wrapping him up in a hug. "You're such a kind and generous host!"

The snakekin man pried the Gem off of him. "Don't push it, pinky." He waved for the guards to stand down, and escorted Steven and the others inside. Steven looked around nervously at the multitude of aggressive-looking raiders that surrounded them. "'Ey, Huntara!" he called out. "We got visitors!"

The raiders parted as an imposing figure made her appearance. A very tall, very muscular woman with pink skin strolled towards the group: the same one from the Horde base. With her build and hair color, Steven likened her to a Quartz. Two other figures walked beside her, a goatkin woman and a lizardkin with four arms.

"So," she said, "What's a couple of characters like you doin' out here in the Waste?"

"Apparently, they're archaeologists," the snakekin man said, his tone of voice skeptical.

"We had a bad run-in with the Horde," said Garnet. "We were wondering...could you help us?"

"With what? Fighting the Horde?" asked Huntara. "What do you think we've been out here doing for the past two years?"

"So, you're against the Horde, too?" Steven said hopefully.

"Yeah, basically," Huntara said. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"In that case, we both want the same thing!" said Steven. "The Horde's attacking all our homes, too. We should team up! It'll be a lot easier to fight them together!"

"Yeah, that's not happening." Another voice came from behind them. The four turned around to be faced by another snakekin man, this one with red skin and a whip tightly gripped in one hand. "Not with your kinda company, anyway."

"Uh, what do you mean?" asked Bow, trying to hide his nervousness.

"What's this about, Lashor?" said Huntara.

"What it's about," he continued, "is the ship we picked up on our scanners landing not far from here." He glanced up at Huntara. "If they've really been lost in the desert for as long as they say, wouldn't they have seen it?"

"I...have no idea what you mean!" said Spinel. "What ship?"

"The one you came here on!" said Tung Lashor. Bow twitched, which he noticed. "Am I right? I'm right, aren't I? And if you're not lost, what are you doing here? Who are you really with?"

"N-nobody!" said Steven. It was clear that the raiders were beginning to grow suspicious, Huntara included. "Back me up here, Bow…"

"You know what I think?" Tung Lashor said. "I think they're with the Princess Alliance!"

"What?" said Bow, his voice having gone up an octave. "No, that's ridiculous! We don't...don't associate with those princess types! Right, Spinel!"

"Nope, of course not!" Spinel said. "I don't even know any princesses! I didn't know what a princess was up until recently!"

"Is that so?" Tung Lashor stepped forwards, letting his whip loose. "So, none of you are magic?"

"Not one!" Garnet said.

"Huh. In that case…" For a moment, it looked like Tung was going to walk away, turning his back on the group. Before they could breathe a sigh of relief, however, he spun around, swinging his whip directly at them. Steven closed his eyes, preparing for the impact.

In a pink flash, the whip stopped in its tracks. Glimmer stood before the group, holding the tip in her hand. "I don't think so!" She yanked the whip, pulling Tung Lashor to the ground.

"See?" he said, sounding smug despite spitting out sand. "Princesses."

"Well, wouldja look at that?" Huntara cracked her knuckles, she and the other raiders tightening their circle around the group. "The boss doesn't really care for princesses, not anymore than he does the Horde."

Bow produced his, well, bow, notching an arrow. Glimmer's fists erupted in sparkles. Garnet and Spinel held up their fists as well, as did Steven, for all the good he knew he could do. "Wanna tell us who your boss is?" asked Glimmer.

Huntara picked up a small rod, which, at the press of a button, extended into a large staff. "You're gonna have to earn that!" she said.

The raiders charged. Bow and Glimmer met their assault before running out of the huddle. Garnet, despite her lost memory, could apparently still throw a mean punch, even without her gauntlets. Spinel, meanwhile, pulled Steven out of harm's way with her stretchy limbs. "Let's get you somewhere safe," she said.

"Thanks, Spinel," he said. He sounded disappointed. "So much for my plan."

Spinel shrugged. A raider ran at the two of them. Spinel punched him away. "Eh, you win some, you lose some."

"Yeah, but it sure feels like I've lost a lot lately," he said.

Spinel gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder. "Hey, who better to change that than you? Let's go get 'em!" She tooted a little fanfare into her hand shaped like a trumpet, before charging into the fray. Steven ran after her.

Huntara ran at Bow, her staff extended. She swung the weapon, but just before it could make contact, it collided against another weapon, sparks flying from the impact. "Not so fast!" said Adora, her sword blocking Huntara's staff.

"You a princess, too, blondie?" said Huntara, as their respective weapons clashed.

"Oh, I'm the princess!" said Adora.

A short distance away, safe from all the fighting, Pearl watched Adora intently, cheering her on. "Go, My Imadora, go! Show them your might!" Nearby, Amethyst was busy copying Tung Lashor, of all people.

"Heh, big talk for such a little girl!" said Huntara. She pushed against the Sword of Protection with all her might, which was quite a bit more might than Adora had at the moment.

"'Little,' huh?" Adora shot back. "Why don't you try this on for size?" Despite her current predicament, Adora refused to falter. "For the Honor of Grayskull!"

A bright light obscured her form, which grew to nearly match that of Huntara. "What the!?" she yelled, momentarily blinded. When the glow subsided, She-Ra stood where Adora had.

She smirked. "Not so little now, huh?"

Huntara laughed. "Still little enough!"

She swung her staff, which Adora blocked once again. While the two titanesses traded blows, Pearl stood nearby, looking around in confusion. Just as before, her master had disappeared without a trace. "My Imadora!" she called. "My Imadora, where have you gone?"

The only person not currently fighting someone, Steven turned towards her shouts. "Pearl?" He ran over. "Hey, Pearl!"

"Hmm? Oh, Steven Universe!" she said. "Please, if you could help me-I can't seem to find Imadora anywhere!"

"Uh…" Steven stared at She-Ra. "But she's right there."

"Impossible!" Pearl said. "That glowing golden woman looks nothing like Imadora! No master of mine would make such a radical change to her form!"

"That's basically what my mom did," Steven said. "You remember that?" A brief pause. "Oh, wait, of course you don't remember that."

"Your…'mom?'" said Pearl.

"Yeah. Rose Quartz? Pink Diamond? Either of those names ringing a bell?"

Pearl glanced around. "If they do, I certainly can't hear one. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find my master."

"Pearl, wait!" said Steven, running in front of her. "Don't you get it? This isn't you!" Pearl only stared blankly at him. "The Pearl I know didn't have a master! She was devoted to Rose Quartz because she loved her, not because she had to be!"

"I-I don't understand," said Pearl. "Who is this 'Rose Quartz' you keep mentioning?"

"She…" Steven struggled to find a way to explain it to the amnesiac Pearl. "Rose Quartz is the woman you loved more than anything else in the whole universe," he said.

"Was...she my owner before Imadora?"

"No! ...Well, yes, but...not exactly. She loved you Pearl. And you would have done anything for her. And when she had me, you...you did everything to protect me." When Pearl still didn't respond, Steven pulled up his shirt, revealing his gemstone. "Look, she passed on her gem to me. Tell me this doesn't bring back any memories!"

Pearl looked closer at the gem. A spark of recognition appeared in her eyes. "I…" But after a moment, it dimmed again.

Steven had to strike while the iron was hot. "Yeah! You and her started the Crystal Gems! With Garnet, and Amethyst, and Bismuth, and everyone! And one time...one time you told me, she made you feel like you were everything."

"Everything…"

Suddenly, Pearl's entire body was enveloped in a glowing white light. Steven stepped back in surprise as she rose up into the air, her physical form shimmering. Slowly, her appearance began to change, cycling between every other form she had taken since Steven had known her. After a moment, the light show was over, and Pearl slowly descended to the ground. Her color returned, revealing the same Pearl that had been with Steven before this whole mess had begun.

Steven approached her cautiously. "Pearl?" he asked softly. "Do...you remember me?"

Pearl met his gaze, returning it with a warm smile. "Of course I remember you, Steven."

"Does this mean you aren't Adora's servant anymore?"

"Oh, I'm nobody's servant!" Pearl declared proudly. "I'm my own Pearl, and nobody can keep me down!"

As it turned out, Pearl's transformation had attracted some attention. A small gang of raiders were headed in their direction. "Uh, Pearl?" said Steven. "I think we've got some company!"

"Do we? In that case…" Pearl threw her arms over her head, spinning around once as she summoned her spear from her gemstone. "I'd be happy to entertain them!"

"Pearl's back, alright!" Steven said.

Pearl met the group with her spear, tripping one up before he even knew what was happening. She fought off the attackers with the grace of a ballerina, her spear like her ribbon.

Meanwhile, Adora and Huntara continued to clash. Metal met metal again and again, neither of them backing down.

"Not much of a princess, princess!" Huntara said.

"Oh, I'm just getting started!" said Adora.

"Enough."

Just one word carried enough power to halt the entire fight. Everyone, princess, Gem, or raider, stopped in their tracks. Everyone knew that voice. With a feeling of dread, they all turned towards its source. "Hordak…" Adora murmured. "He's here?"

Hordak walked from the darkness of the ship and into the sunlight. Imp flew around him, before perching on his shoulder. The former leader of the Horde scanned the area, glaring at everyone he saw, enemy or ally.

With a swing of his arm, a crimson blade of pure energy erupted from his wrist. The air hummed from the heat as his gaze focused on Adora, singling her out as the greatest threat. One he knew all too well.

"This. Ends. Now."