"Pearl! NO!" Steven cried out in desperation, his voice cracking in despair. His throat burned from his cry.
The pale gem split in half before erupting into a pale cloud, her gemstone clanking on the ground a second later. He ran and dropped, throwing himself directly in front of the monster snarling at him. In one of its many clawed, mangled hands was a long, glowing, pink scythe with a long crack in the handle.
A huge gauntlet punched the monster in the side, sending it flying with a roar. Steven didn't care, only holding the white oval-shaped gem in his hands while sobbing.
"Pearl! I'm sorry! T-This is all my fault!" He hunched over on the gemstone, his tears painting it like raindrops. Shaking sobs twisted his stomach inside out. The fighting left his ears, not that he paid attention to it at all.
"Yo' Steven! You okay!?" He barely registered Amethyst's concerned voice, only reacting when she came and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I-Is Pearl dead? Did… did I kill her!?" His voice became uncontrollable as he whipped his head to her. Amethyst quickly shook her head and said, "Wh-No! Pearl's fine, Stevey. She's okay, she's just in her gem, see?"
She pointed down at Pearl's gemstone with two fingers, "She's gone in there, waiting to reform."
"Yes, she'll be perfectly fine Steven." Garnet snuck up in front of him, a bubble in her hand containing the monster's gem. "When a gem's form is disrupted, they retreat back into their gemstone to heal and gather energy. Then, when they're ready, they reform."
She sent the bubble away and dropped down into a crouch, then smiled. "Pearl will be back to us, don't worry."
His expression faltered before he gave a small grin, his lips shaking. "O-Oh… so she's gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry bud! This sorta thing just happens sometimes… mostly to me."
"Always to you."
Steven chuckled at the two's exchange, his anxiety loosening its grip on his stomach. He looked down at Pearl's gem and said, "So… when is she gonna be back? Five minutes? Ten minutes?"
Garnet and Amethyst glanced at each other before Garnet spoke up, "Well, it takes Pearl a long time to regenerate. We should head back to the temple."
Amethyst nodded, "Yeah, it stinks down here. Also, I don't wanna stay at a crime scene again."
Steven's finger scraped across the counter as he stared at Pearl's gemstone. This was taking way longer than he expected. He expected just a few minutes, the gems were tough and could lift boulders and stuff, how hard would it be to come back?
Apparently, a lot. Thirty minutes a lot.
But he was determined to greet Pearl when she came back, no matter how long it took. He even had a celebration planned for when she did.
The temple door opened and Amethyst and Garnet stepped out. Amethyst's arms were lazily held behind her head while Garnet stood stoic as ever. Steven's face brightened up as he waved over.
"Hey guys! Wanna wait for Pearl to come back with me?"
"Naw, sounds boring." Amethyst walked over and sat down on the stool, then put her feet up on the counter. Her expression softened a bit, "So, how long are you gonna sit here?"
"Until she comes back, then I'm gonna surprise her with the biggest, greatest welcome back party she's ever seen!" He threw his arms out with stars in his eyes.
"Well, good luck with that." Amethyst threw herself off the stool and yawned, heading for her next target; the couch.
Steven looked to the side and saw Garnet, "What about you, Garnet? Wanna help me watch?'
The quiet gem looked off to the side before shrugging at him. His face dropped into disappointment, a sad frown glued itself on his mouth. "Aww… you guys never want to help me with this stuff! How bad could it be to watch Pearl and set up the surprise-"
Pearl's gem flashed a bright light before floating up into the air. Panic instantly filled Steven's gut before he freaked out.
"Oh no! I gotta do this quickly! I wasn't ready!" He ran up and down the kitchen as Pearl's gem floated to the living room and… formed a small shell around it. Steven stopped and watched the new spectacle with wide, curious eyes.
"Owner detected in vicinity. Please state preferred customization options." Garnet and Amethyst's mouths fell open, both staring at the shell with confusion. Steven walked over and asked, "Does this always happen?"
"Default setting selected. Please stand by." The gem flew down in a spiral before stopping a mere foot away from the floor. Then the shell opened up and a glowing figure similar to Pearl twirled up and formed. Her hair was more messy and loose than before, and she had puffy sleeves and a pink skirt. It was half translucent, and the most prominent detail was the large pink diamond insignia on her chest. She stepped off the shell and looked around, as if she was looking for something.
Amethyst's eyes were wide in shock while Garnet's face showed the most emotion it ever had in Steven's life. The short gem stood up off the couch and put a hand on her head. "What the-"
"Pearl's back! Pearl's back!" Steven, though, was cheering in happiness as he ran up and hugged his caretaker. He rubbed his head on her like a cat as he smiled. "Oh! You look so cool now! What's up with the sk-Huh?"
He stopped talking when Pearl gave an innocent smile and said, "Greetings, thank you for bringing me into the world! I am at your eternal service, welcome to your new Pearl~" She gave a light bow and took Steven's hand gently, giving him a wide and happy smile.
Now it was Steven's turn to look confused, taken aback at how… different Pearl was. "Now, how may I be of service, Pink Diamond?"
The smile on Pearl's face never dispersed as she stood pinpoint straight and formed a diamond symbol with her arms. Amethyst's jaw fell off at this point, its use being taken away instantly. Garnet's eyes under her visor turned into dots as Steven looked at Pearl strangely, holding an arm up as if he was confused to even move his body.
This was wrong.