One last check.

Viri had to check, had to be absolutely sure before she bubbled them up. She had to be the one to do that part too, even if it took her a few tries each time to get the bubbles right.

They were all the same, she knew, but she treated each with care as she examined the cracked pieces one by one.

And then, second from the last, there it was. Just the tiniest, tiniest graft of new material pulling a crack together. Could she really have healed…?

Viri checked and double checked and then quickly put the Pearl down so she didn't accidentally undo the progress. Hurriedly, she looked over the last Pearl—no change—and then went back to the previous one, staring for a moment before wrapping it back up and lowering it into the water again.

She had to bubble the rest first—she'd promised, and she wasn't going to let them down just because of one wonderful surprise. It took her about five minutes, and then she took off towards Crimson's office.

"It worked! Crimson, it worked!" she called excitedly, stumbling in only to find the room empty.

Right. Okay, if Crimson wasn't here, then she was probably in the common room. Or the training room? Really, anywhere on base was game. She'd search the whole place if she needed to—Crimson got to know first, and then she'd shout it from the middle of the common room so everyone knew that they would have another Pearl, another friend to share their home with.

But Crimson was in the common room and Viri ran straight to her, interrupting whatever Silver was saying to grab Crimson in a big hug.

"What—Viri?" she asked, confused as she squirmed away in surprise. "What's going on?"

"It worked! One of them is healing!"

"Wait, really?"

"One of the broken Pearls we saved?" Silver asked eagerly.

"Yes, yes!" Viri grabbed them both by the hand and tugged them in the direction of the infirmary. "Come see!"

She could tell Crimson didn't quite believe her yet, and that was understandable, but the joy that sparked in her eyes as soon as she saw the gem itself was undeniably as strong as Viri's.

"She's really healing." She reached a hand down to touch it gently. "Just needed one more day," she murmured. "Thank the stars you've got more hope in your gem than me, Viri."

"Hey, you didn't give up either," Viri said, going to put an arm around her shoulders before stopping, recalibrating, and settling it just above her waist instead. "Thanks."

"Welcome," Crimson said warmly. "I will need you outside of this room for a few things, but you're welcome to keep looking after her the rest of the time if you want to."

"I do! I definitely want to! Thank you!" She kissed Crimson on the forehead, startling her. "I'll do my best!"

"I know you will."

There wasn't really any actual doing when you were watching someone heal, but Viri was fine with that. It wasn't so different from waiting for Pearls to reform after dissipating, after all.

Oh, but stars, she couldn't wait to meet this Pearl. It seemed more likely that she could with every passing day, the deep cracks in her gem slowly pulling together, healing over.

When the Pearl finally, finally began to glow, Viri was quick to lift it out of the immersion pool. The gem seemed fully healed, but she'd been leaving it in just to be safe.

Light blossomed slower than usual from the flame-shaped Pearl hovering in the air before Viri, but it formed all the same, coalescing into a standard size body. Was she allowed to be a teensy bit disappointed she wasn't tall?

Viri smiled as the Pearl dropped to the ground, landing rather unceremoniously on her bottom and flailing her arms a bit to catch herself. She wore a fairly standard leotard over pretty brown skin and had short hair that swept to the side like she was caught in a strong wind. "Hi," Viri greeted her softly.

"H…Hi?" The Pearl touched a finger to her lips curiously. "Hi," she said with a bit more certainty.

"Um, is this your first time forming?" Viri asked carefully.

"I think it is. It felt kind of funny." The Pearl smiled. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"My name's Viri. Viridian. It's great to finally meet you. How do you feel?"

"That's a pretty name. What's my name?" She lay down on the floor, taking in as much as the room as she could see by turning her head each way. "And I'm not sure about how I feel. Good, probably. It's nice here."

"Yeah? That's great." Viri scooted forward a little. "You don't have a name yet; that's something you pick for yourself. I can get a list to help you come up with ideas though."

"Okay," she agreed easily.

"Can I take a look at your gem?" she asked. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Alright." The Pearl rolled over, revealing a gem just as intact as Viri had last seen it in the middle of her lower back.

"Thanks. You're looking good."

"Thank you."

"Would you like to see a little bit of your new home?"

"Home?" she repeated. "Yes, please."

Viri smiled and stood up, offering the other Pearl her hand. She took it without hesitation, letting Viri start to pull her up. It worked fine, until suddenly she was just dead weight, legs twitching a little but unable to move, not bending to ease the process and support her weight the way they needed to.

"O-Oh stars, I—" Viri hurriedly scooped her up and deposited her on one of the infirmary beds. "Do your legs hurt?"

"No…?" She looked confused, glancing between Viri's legs and her own.

"Wait here!"

"Okay."

Viri took off to the common room. "Aura!"

"I'm over here," the gold Pearl said, waving from her spot just beside the door. "What's wrong?"

"The—The Pearl came back but I think something's wrong!"

"What do you mean?" Aura asked, already on her feet and moving.

"Her legs don't seem to work!"

"Okay." She ran the last little way to the infirmary, hurrying straight to the Pearl on the bed. "How do you feel?"

"U-Um…what's happening?" Fear clouded her eyes and she recoiled from Aura's touch.

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, it's alright." She backed up a little. "My name's Aureate and Viri came to get me because your legs weren't fully healed. Can I check on them?"

"Sure," the Pearl said slowly.

"Thank you. I promise no one here will hurt you. Tell me if anything I do is painful, and I'll stop."

She nodded.

"Okay." Aura pressed carefully into different parts of the Pearl's lower leg, slowly traveling up to her knee. "Can you feel any of this?" she asked, tilting her head up.

"No. Is that bad?"

"It could be," she said gently, "but if we know what the problem is, it's more likely we can do something to help. Here?" She moved her fingers to mid-thigh.

"I can…feel a little bit."

"Is it the same kind of feeling as if I touch your arm?" Aura tried, touching the other Pearl's wrist gently.

She shook her head. "I can feel it a lot more in my arm."

"Okay. And here?" A little bit higher on her leg.

"Mm-hm. Little bit more."

"Good." Aura drew back, settling on her knees daintily. "Could you turn over for me, please? I want to look at your gem for a sec. I won't touch unless you say it's alright."

"It's alright. Why wouldn't it be alright?"

"It's…" She smiled. "It's just polite to ask. But thank you. That'll help."

Careful fingertips traced over the unusual gem once the Pearl had clumsily flipped herself over on the squishy bed.

"I'm going to put some healing tears on you," Aura said after a moment, "but I don't see or feel anything strange. Viri, could you keep on touching her legs in different spots as I apply these, please?"

"Will do," she said immediately, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Thanks. Here goes."

It took two vials with no change before Aura gave up, covering the Pearl gently with a soft blanket once she'd rolled onto her back again.

"We'll be right back," she reassured her. "We're going to figure something out."

"Okay," the Pearl said, clearly overwhelmed by everything.

"Viri," Aura said softly, beckoning for her to follow.

"What's wrong with her gem?" Viri asked as soon as they were outside. "I thought—she looks healed. Why isn't she?"

"I don't know if there's any way to know," she admitted. "It might be internal damage that the tears couldn't fix."

"Internal? Does that—Does that mean we left part of her behind? Did I—"

"Viri, it's not your fault even if that's true."

"But it might be! There were so many pieces, and what if…"

"Come on, we should talk to—" Her mouth started to form Crimson, but she changed track before the sound could come out. "Blue. Blue said Pearl had something to scan gems with one time."

"Huh?"

"That way we'll know, right?" Aura squeezed Viri's fingers gently.

"…Yeah."

"Oh, I have that on me," Blue said as soon as they explained, a faint smile on her lips. "Yellow insists I monitor my gem regularly just in case something weird happens."

"We'll bring it straight back," Aura promised.

"Please don't rush," she laughed. "I'm fine. Actually, could I come with you? I'd like to meet the new Pearl if that's okay."

"Sure," she agreed.

The three of them headed back together, Blue pulling out the device and fiddling with it as they walked. "I think I'm doing this right… I'll go grab Yellow if I can't figure it out. Oh, hello!" she said with a wave when the infirmary door opened.

"Hello." The brown Pearl was sitting up again, blanket thrown aside as she manually moved one leg, bending her knee, straightening it out again. "Did you figure it out?"

"Oh, not yet," Aura said apologetically. "Is it alright if we take a look at your gem with this?" She pointed to the device in Blue's hands.

"Sure, I guess so."

"It won't hurt at all," Blue promised. "I use it all the time."

"You couldn't walk either?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Ah, no, but I have a few anomalies of my own," she said with a careful smile. "May I?"

The Pearl nodded, putting her leg down and rolling over onto her stomach again. She winced a little at the whir of the scanner but then relaxed when nothing happened.

"That's perfect, thank you." Blue touched her shoulder lightly to tell her she could turn back over. "Just a moment, and…there it is."

Aura and Viri both leaned over to see the results.

"Completely normal," Blue declared, pointing to the most important numbers and then bringing up standard results to compare them to. "You're all healed, your gem structure is flawless, and you're only getting weaker readings out here because it's more fragile on the part that's coming away from the center. But you're completely intact."

"I'm…okay then?" the Pearl asked, looking relieved.

"She can't be okay," Viri protested. "She can't move her legs!"

"She is," Blue said firmly.

"Could we run the scan again?"

"…Sure."

The Pearl looked increasingly distressed as she flipped over yet again for the second scan.

"Normal," Blue concluded. "It's exactly the same."

"But—"

"Viri," Aura said softly, touching her arm. "That's a good thing."

"I…I guess you're right. But why is she…?"

"I think that might be her normal," Blue suggested. "I mean, it is an unusual gem shape. Have you seen one like that before?"

Viri shook her head. "But—But gem shape shouldn't do stuff like that. It just makes you taller or shorter or changes your appearance, doesn't it?" Fingertips touched lightly to her own. "Why would it stop her from using her legs?"

"May I?" Aura gestured to the screen, biting her lip as Blue let her scroll through the results. "I think it could be this," she said finally, holding it up for them to see. "If your nucleus is here…" She touched a finger gently to the center of the round part of the Pearl's gem. "Normally the Pearl forms around that. But this piece that comes up, that's farther away from the center. So while there's nothing really wrong, it's having a harder time connecting."

"But then I should be the same way, shouldn't I?"

"You're non-nucleated though," Blue pointed out. "Your gem is wired differently."

"Oh."

"The important thing," Blue said, sitting on the edge of the new Pearl's bed, "is you're not hurt."

She nodded warily.

"And your gem is really beautiful," Viri added, taking her hand warmly. "Really. I was just worried because you were hurt before and it seemed like it might be because of what they did."

"Thanks." She accepted the gesture easily, brushing curious fingers over Viri's skin and then moving so their palms touched and she could see the difference in size. "I was hurt?" she asked belatedly.

"Yeah," she answered softly. "But you're okay now, and I'm really happy."

"You stayed with me," the Pearl said quietly, looking up into her eyes. "Because we're both different?"

Viri's eyes brimmed with sudden tears. "I did. I was here. You remember?"

"I'm not sure it's remembering exactly, but…you feel familiar." She pressed her hand a little more firmly to Viri's. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she breathed. "This is a great home, and I really hope you'll like it here."

"I do so far," the Pearl said confidently. "I mean, it's all kind of weird and new, but I like it. And you were all doing your best to make sure I was okay right away, which was really nice of you."

"We try to all take care of each other," Viri said happily. "And there's so many more Pearls you'll get to meet, and they're all wonderful, and they're all different. You'll love it."

She nodded.

"And we also happen to have quite a few talented Pearls who might be able to make something to help you move around," Blue added with a smile. "If that's something you'd like."

"You'll make me something?" she asked, beginning to smile.

"Well, I don't think you want me making it, but we've got at least three gems here and two available by warp who'll do a great job. Is that something you're interested in?"

The Pearl nodded quickly.

"Then we'll do that."

"And I'll carry you wherever you want until then!" Viri volunteered.

"Really?" She giggled. "Can we maybe go on that tour then?"

"Of course!" Viri swept her up carefully in both arms, made sure that she was comfortable, and led the way out of the infirmary. "Off we go!"

Blue accompanied Viri and the new Pearl as they toured around the base, showing her practically everything. The Pearl took it all in with an eager expression, greeting everyone with a friendly smile, and was disappointed when it finally came to an end in the common room. She quickly brightened again when Viri set her down on a sofa and began bringing other Pearls she hadn't met yet over to say hello.

Just as Viri thought she'd gotten everyone, Steven and Connie came in and made their way over to the Pearl on their own.

"You're funny-looking Pearls," she was laughing as Viri came back over to join them. "Why are you so small?"

"They're actually not Pearls!" Viri volunteered.

"We're humans," Connie explained, smiling. "Or, um, I'm human and Steven is half-human and half-gem."

The Pearl's eyes widened. "What does half a gem look like? Can I see?"

Steven laughed, pulling up his shirt enough for her to see. "It's a whole gem, so it doesn't look any different."

"Well, it looks different to me, I haven't seen any Quartzes before!" She paused, blinking. "How do I know you're a Quartz? That's weird."

"It's just your basic gem recognition kicking in," Blue said. "As far as I know, everyone knows that sort of thing from the very beginning. I mean, not just Pearls, actually everyone."

"Huh, interesting." The Pearl squinted at Connie. "But I can't recognize 'human'?"

"Humans come from another world."

"Ooh, that sounds exciting!"

"We could take you there to visit if you want," Viri said.

"Sure, let's go." She held her arms out for Viri to pick her up.

Steven and Connie watched, confused, as Viri easily hauled the new Pearl up onto her back. "Is your gem still hurt or something?" Steven asked.

She shook her head. "It's totally fine, these guys triple checked and it was really boring. I just can't move my legs, so Viri said she'd carry me."

"But how do you get around when Viri isn't here?" Connie asked tentatively.

"Viri's always been here for me!"

"Oh," Connie laughed. "Sorry, I meant how will you get around in the future? Is there…do gems have something like a wheelchair?"

The latter question was directed at Steven, who shrugged. "Not that I've seen? Blue, do you know?"

"I've never heard of it before," she answered honestly. "What does it look like?"

"It's basically just a chair with wheels, like it sounds," Connie said. "When humans aren't able to walk—either permanently or temporarily, like some of the people at the hospital where my mom works—they get a wheelchair so they can move around on their own."

"Oh. Hmm, no, I don't think we have anything like that. Gems don't really get injured that way…"

"Wait, what about stuff like Peridot's old limb enhancers?" Steven piped up. "Would those work?"

"You know," Blue mused, "they just might. I can go ask Yellow to find out. Would you like me to?"

"Sure," the Pearl said easily. "Who's Yellow?"

"A Pearl who knows more about this kind of subject than I do," she answered with a smile. "I'll bring her to meet you, just a minute."

"Limb enhancers?"

"Mm-hmm. Do you know much about them?"

"Not specifically, but it's not like they're very complicated tech." Yellow tilted her head, frowning. "If she can't move her legs like you said, then it won't work. Peridot-type limb enhancers are just extensions of limbs; they don't move independently. But I might be able to adjust some to work for her."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I'll need to see what I'm working with though."

"Definitely, come with me!" Blue started leading the way. "Do we actually have any limb enhancers to use as a base?"

Yellow rolled her eyes. "No. Chroma keeps complaining that Slate didn't pick any up during your mission. But it's fine, it shouldn't be too difficult to build them from scratch, especially with Peridot's help."

"Okay!" Blue smiled as they entered the common room and headed for the new Pearl.

"Hello," Yellow greeted her awkwardly.

"Hi! Are you Yellow?"

"Yeah."

"Nice! It'd be kinda weird if you weren't," she laughed.

"I suppose. Would you mind if I take a look at your legs?"

"I mean, everybody else already has, but go for it."

"Thank you." She knelt beside the sofa, examining her closely but not quite sure where to start. "Where exactly do you lose movement?"

"Like here?" she tried, pointing to her waist.

"Nothing below that at all?"

"Uh-uh. I can feel a bit past that, but I can't move it."

"Where do you lose feeling then?"

"Here-ish." She pointed.

"Okay. Could you pick her up, Viri? Not on your back, but just keeping her up like she's standing."

"Sure! If that's okay with you," she added, smiling down at the new Pearl.

"Yep!"

After a bit of awkward maneuvering, Viri managed to get the Pearl's arm around her neck and support her with her feet dangling just slightly off the ground. "Like this?"

"That's perfect," Yellow said. "Now, you, could you try to move your left leg from the hip?"

"From the hip? Like…" She concentrated for a moment, her leg twitching and then swinging just the tiniest bit out to the side. "Oh, it moved!" She did it a couple more times, the movement uncoordinated but definitely there.

"Excellent, thanks." Yellow watched as the Pearl was set down carefully. "I'm pretty sure I can make limb enhancers work, if that's what you want. They'll be able to interpret your smaller movements up at the top of your leg and transmit that to enhancers that move the rest for you. Or if that doesn't work, I can set it up to pick up some kind of hand gestures or something instead."

"That sounds great," she said. "Where do I get them?"

"I—We'll be making them, so there'll be a wait."

"Oh." She looked a little disappointed. "Not that I don't like being carried, but…"

"You want to be able to get around on your own too," Viri finished. "I understand."

"I might be able to borrow a wheelchair for you in the meantime," Connie offered. "I'd have to ask my mom, but I think she'd say yes, as long as you promise to take good care of it."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I can go ask right now. Steven, do you want to come with?"

"Sure!"

The two of them hurried off, leaving Blue, Yellow, and Viri with the new Pearl.

"So what do I do 'round here once I've got the wheel thing?" she asked. "Viri explained that we're a rebellion, and Crimson showed me that really boring presentation about everything, and Aura gave me a map so I don't get lost, but I don't get where exactly I fit into all this."

"You can fit in wherever you like," Blue said, reaching behind the Pearl to make sure she was comfortably supported by some pillows. "You're free. You get to be free from the very start, and that's…that's something really precious. Whatever you're interested in doing, you should try it. There's no rush."

Viri nodded. "And if you want to know more about anything—fun things or serious things—we'll do our best to tell you. It can be tough when you haven't learned all the stuff that everybody else already knows."

She nodded seriously. "It's okay if it's tough. I can tell I'm gonna like it here."

Viri smiled, ruffling the Pearl's hair gently. "Good."