Pearl walked through the entrance that resembled the temple's door. She didn't understand how she could enter Steven's gem while…

She just didn't understand. She didn't understand a lot of thing about what Steven was supposed to be. At first, she thought he was Rose's prison. And she only took care of him out of obligation to her. Then she started to love him. Not because he was Rose's son, but because he was Steven. All she wanted was to take care of him, but she often questioned if she did it right.

Greg told her before no parent or guardian knows if they were raising a child right. But Pearl always felt like she was worse off, because she was a gem. Gems were created knowing what they were and knowing how to fulfil their purpose. That was part of the reason the rebellion was so hard. Not just the fighting and the lies, because she knew when it was over she'd have to go into an unknown future and create a new path without a diamond to tell her, it was terrifying for a gem.

When it was time to raise Steven, she just didn't know what to do. At the beginning Steven knew absolutely nothing. Someone had to teach him to talk, write, read. He had to eat and drink, and his diet had to be different depending on his age. Trying to keep up with him changing do to the fact he was aging was difficult. But she still loved it, not because she was a Pearl created to serve. Because, she loved the way Steven's face would brighten up when she explained things. Seeing him grow. Seeing him so happy when they came back from missions. Steven loved the gems, loved her. Which made it so hard when it finally came time to tell him about the war. She wished Steven could have stayed a happy, innocent little child forever… And now she might have lost him forever.

"Steven?" Pearl looked like she was in Rose's room. The pink cloud like area that granted you anything. Pearl didn't know what happened to the others. When she touched Steven's gem she was alone.

Suddenly, the clouds grew dark and began to swirl. Pearl tried to use her power to tame them, but they didn't obey. Either because her powers didn't work in the gem or because these were Rose's clouds.

"I know what you are, you're a liar!" Pearl looked through the swirling clouds to see Steven clinging to the floor amongst the intense wind. In the air was Rose. Steven was looking up at his mother in distress and rage, "I thought you never wanted to hurt anyone, but you hurt everyone. How could you just leave Garnet, and Amethyst, and Pearl, and… and Dad? They don't know what to do without you. Maybe they didn't matter to you as much as hiding from the mess you made. And that's why I'm here isn't it?" Those words stung Pearl, "Did you make me just so you didn't have to deal with all your mistakes?" Steven slumped on the ground, "Is that all I'm here for?"

Before Pearl could go forward and talk to Steven, Rose beat her to it, "Steven, you know that isn't true. In the tape I left you, I told you how much I wanted to have you and let you exist. Do you think what I said to you in the tape was a lie?"

"No… I'm sure… I'm sure you meant it."

Rose walked forward and crouched down and hugged Steven. Then it began to rain, "I get it, you didn't want me to deal with your problems. You're apart of me now, I have to deal with what you left behind."

With those words, Rose turned into clouds. Pearl was confused on a lot of things, but she still walked forward, "Steven?"

Steven looked up, "Hi Pearl."

All the things Steven shouted at Rose were still fresh in Pearl's mind. Did she make Steven think he was just a replacement for Rose? Did she make him think he had to fix all her problems alone? Was that why he went to homeworld?

"Steven…"

"You're looking for me, right?"

Pearl blinked at the wording, then realized, "This is just a memory?"

"Yeah, this happened right after the we got dad back from the human zoo," Steven explained.

Pearl crouched down to his level, "Steven, why didn't you tell us we were putting so much pressure on you?"

"You didn't," Steven said, "Mom did."

"Steven…"

"Well," Steven lifted up his shirt to reveal his gem, "You're looking for present me, not past me, right?"

Pearl sighed, it was pointless to talk to this Steven, "Yes."

"Well, I think I'm really deep inside my gem, you'll have to keep going," Steven said.

"I will, I'll find you," Pearl said, then Steven's gem glowed.

Ruby and Sapphire were in the beta kindergarten. Just them.

"Where is everyone else?" Ruby asked.

"I think the gem split us up," Sapphire said.

"I've been fighting since I broke free from the Earth's crust!" Ruby and Sapphire looked and to their horror, saw Jasper getting corrupted… in front of Steven, "Because of what you did to my planet, because of what you did to my colony, because of what you did to my Diamond!"

"Yellow Diamond?" Steven asked.

Jasper made a noise. That sounded like horror and pain, "My Diamond, your Diamond! Pink Diamond!"

Then the corruption took over completely turning Jasper into a monster. In a panicked reflex Peridot shot a large scrap of metal into Jasper's chest, and she was poofed. After Amethyst bubbled her she and Peridot began to walk back, but Steven stayed behind to look at where Jasper was.

"Steven," Ruby and Sapphire approached him. Steven just stared at the spot.

"I didn't help her."

"Steven, you couldn't have," Sapphire tried.

"But I'm a crystal gem, Rose's son!" Steven cried, "I'm supposed to be able to help everyone. It's what I'm supposed to do."

Ruby and Sapphire looked at each other before pulling Steven into a hug.

"You help every day, by being you," Ruby comforted.

"It didn't help Jasper," Steven whimpered. Then he shrugged of the hug and pulled up his shirt, "You're looking for present me, right?"

"Um… Yeah?" Ruby said.

"Well, I'm not here, sorry," then his gem glowed.