Beach City, modern era:
"And that's everything we know." Garnet finished.
"That is unacceptable! Where. Is. PINK?!" Yellow demanded, her hands crackling with energy. Priyanka, Doug and Greg stepped back nervously as Garnet and Bismuth both repositioned to protect them.
Beside them, the two Pearls glanced at each other and nodded. "My Diamond." Yellow Pearl stepped forward with a bow. "We can answer that."
Blue Pearl came to stand beside her. "Five thousand, two hundred and fifty-seven years ago, the rebel Pearl appeared at the Pearl Factory on Homeworld with two young humans and a small amethyst. She claimed that one of the humans was Pink Diamond's offspring."
Blue Diamond gasped, placing a hand on Yellow's arm to calm her and the Diamonds looked at each other. "Continue."
Yellow Pearl nodded. "She stated that a rip in the timestream had sent them back to that point, and requested parts to build a device to detect other such anomalies. These were provided, and they returned to Earth shortly after." she glanced back at the other pearl.
Blue Pearl nodded and looked up at her Diamond. "Before they left, she requested a message to be delivered to me, to be passed on at the correct time. I believe that this is that time."
Greg looked over at her. "Please, what's the message?"
"They are safe, and they will return as soon as possible. But the random nature of the anomalies creates uncertainties of when that will be." Blue Pearl shrugged slightly. "She could only promise that they'll jump into as many of them as it takes to return."
The energy around Yellow' hands subsided. "So, Pink's life in in the hands of her pearl..." she muttered.
Garnet nodded. "I assure you, they will be safe with Pearl. By now, she's made it her mission to protect them and get them all home safely."
Bismuth grinned. "Yeah, and our Pearly never fails a mission!"
"Even when she got captured, she escaped, completed the mission, and then returned to base. Whenever Pearl sets her mind on something, whether it's a mission or learning a new skill, she doesn't quit until she gets results." Garnet crossed her arms.
Bismuth could only chuckle. "She's the ultimate unstoppable force! That little terror will get them home, without fail!"
"Rose... or well, Pink, I guess..." Greg paused, before shaking his head. "She always said that Pearl was stubborn and protective, and that no matter what, she'll protect Steven with everything she had. I believe that Pearl will bring them all home eventually."
"And Amethyst is powerful for her size. Between them, there's very little that they can't do." Garnet shrugs. "Well, assuming they can agree on a plan long enough..."
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PAST:
The following morning...
Connie stretched and yawned. Sitting up, she looked around, confused. "Errr... Where are we?"
Pearl looked over. "Good morning, Connie. We're in England. We made through to a ripple last night, although you two had fallen asleep, so we had to carry the pair of you through it. However, Amethyst and I are still attempting to figure out what time period we are actually in. But she's found some fruit, so you and Steven can have breakfast. Whenever he wakes up, of course."
Connie glanced over and saw Steven still stretched out asleep, snoring softly. Giggling, she reached out and held his nose.
With a snort, Steven sat up. "Zah? Pehlemmsle..." he grumbled, rubbing his nose as his head titled forward.
Amethyst snuck up with a piece of in her grass in her hand and a grin. "Steven..." she called, tickling the back of his neck with the grass. "There's a spider that wants to lay eggs in ya brain..."
Steven jumped up with a yell, slapping at his neck. "Argh!" Finally opening his eyes, he looked to see Amethyst doubled over laughing with the grass in her hand, Connie giggling and Pearl covering a grin. "Amethyst! That wasn't nice!" he groaned.
"Sorry dude. It was funny though." she chortled, eating the grass and giving him a hug. "Besides, if you don't wake up, you don't get to eat the stuff I found for ya..."
Steven crossed his arms and gave a huff. "Fine. It was still mean though..."
As Steven and Connie ate, Pearl and Amethyst moved to the nearby ledge.
Connie grabbed an apple and moved to stand beside them. "So... figure out when we are yet?"
Pearl glanced over. "Definitely the medieval period. Probably Tudor era England..." she mused.
"Yeah, that'd be my guess." Amethyst added.
Steven joined them with two apples. "How can you be sure?" he asked before taking a large chomp from one.
Both gems pointed down into the valley before them.
"See that half demolished building over there?" Pearl waited for their nods. "That was a monastery. Pulling apart monasteries was like a hobby to Henry..."
Amethyst snorted. "Yeah, that and divorces..."
"Don't forget the beheadings and other executions." Pearl added.
Amethyst nodded. "Oh yeah, can't forget those. Shame about doin' 'em at the same time as the divorces though..."
Pearl nodded sadly. "Yes. Those are two hobbies that should never be combined..."
Suddenly, the detector tucked into Pearl's sash beeped, and she quickly held it out. Checking the location, she sighed. "No, the nearest warp pad is a week away from there. Maybe the next one."
The kids nodded and returned to their fruit platter as the hologram faded.
"Hey, Amethyst? Where'd you get these from anyway?"
Amethyst shrugged and ate a dropped apple core in one gulp. "There's an orchard down in the valley over there. I raided it last night."
Steven stopped chewing and looked at the remaining fruit. "You mean, you stole it?"
Amethyst shrugged. "Fruit's free, little man. Besides, there was about a hundred trees loaded with 'em. I only took like, a dozen. And only one from each tree at that. They won't even notice the difference." she waved a hand dismissively.
Pearl nodded. "Yes. It's likely they were just going to be used to make cider. Feeding you two is a far more important priority for us."
Connie shrugged. "Eh. Stolen apples are tasty apples." she grinned as she took another bite.
Steven looked unsure. "...I guess..."
"Don't worry about it, dude." Amethyst yawned as she settled down for a nap.
Pearl sat down and leaned against a tree. "What's a little fruit theft compared to my extensive list of crimes against Homeworld?" she grinned.
"Bad pearls, bad pearls, whatcha gonna do..." Amethyst sang quietly with a smile.
Pearl laughed. "Ha! No prison could hold me." she added smugly as they laughed.
Steven grinned. "I keep forgetting that Pearl's a criminal."
After an hour, the device beeped again. Pearl quickly inspected it. "Warp pad." she ordered, and the group scrambled.
Arriving, they waited as Pearl's eyes darted around, searching.
"There. Quickly." she moved ahead, picking Steven up as she went. Amethyst hoisted Connie about her head and ran to keep up.
However, as they jumped, the ripple disappeared, and they landed with a disappointed groan.
"So close." Steven sighed as Pearl set him down with a mutter.
Turning, she started walking back. "From now on, we sit on the warp pad. We only leave it for important things, or biological necessities. And we get ready to warp to the new location the moment it beeps."
Amethyst set Connie down and followed Pearl. "Yeah... I wish there was a way of predicting them in advance... or seeing which one will take us home..."
Pearl sat down on the edge of the warp and sighed. "Technically, there is a way to do that..."
They stared at her. "And, you didn't do that, because...?" Amethyst prompted.
"Because..." Pearl sighed. "...It would involve using a sapphire as a power source for the device. Much like Lapis and the mirror? The detector would be able to predict the ripples in advance, maybe even be capable of determining when it'd lead to, but that's a whole new level of evil I wasn't willing to sink to... Not again..." she added with a guilty mutter.
"Oh." Amethyst sat down beside her. "Yeah, good point. Don't do that."
Pearl examined the detector. "Unfortunately, barring acts of unforgivable evil, this is about as good as it can get. Besides, even if I was inclined to stoop to that level, which I am not, ...we're still in the middle ages. The only sapphire on the planet who isn't corrupted is our Sapphire. Which is not an option."
"I wonder where we are?" Connie looked around.
Pearl glanced over at her. "South Africa. Well, maybe not the country, per say... Just... Southern Africa." she waved a hand. "The general area."
Connie nodded. "Oh. Cool."
"I wonder if there's any lions around?" Steven looked around.
Pearl shook her head. "Steven, you already have a lion at home. You are not bringing back another stray. Not even if it follows us home."
Steven huffed. "Awww! No fair..." he briefly groaned, but burst out with giggles.
"Too late." Amethyst smirked as she shapeshifted into a lion. "Raww." she calmly deadpanned.
Their laughter was interrupted by another beep. Standing, Steven hopped onto Amethyst's back and pulled Connie up while they waited in the middle of the pad as Pearl checked the location. Wordlessly, she warped them, and with a quick look around, she pointed the ripple out. "There."
The group leapt into it with a cheer.
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As they landed in the red dust, Amethyst and Pearl skidded to a stop.
Almost immediately, Steven and Connie started to sweat. "Ugh, it's soo hot!"
Amethyst groaned. "Man, it's too hot for all this fur..." she muttered as she returned to normal, lying on the ground with the kids on her back. Quickly, they hopped off.
Steven wiped the sweat from his brow with his shirt and looked around. "Where are we now?"
"And when?" Connie added.
Pearl pointed towards the distance. As they watched, and groups of animals bounded away. "Australia. Central Australia, to be a tad more precise." she nodded.
"Oh hey, a herd of kangaroos!" Steven exclaimed, starry-eyed.
Connie watched them leap. "I think it's called a mob, Steven."
"Oh no..." Amethyst turned over and sat up. "It's da mob. It's cement shoes for all of us."
Pearl rolled her eyes with a bemused smile. "Anyway, as for when... No idea. Central Australia is sparsely populated, even in our era..." she looked thoughtful for a moment and summoned her cell phone. "Okay, kids, check your phones. If we have a signal, we're close to home."
Nodding, they pulled them out of their pockets and quickly checked them.
"No signal here..." Connie sighed.
Steven tapped his a few times. "My batteries dead."
Connie gasped. "Yeah, mine's low... I'm going to turn it off for now."
Pearl stored her phone away. "I don't think there's anything up there. But we need to be sure. Hmm... I believe there was a sizable settlement only a few kilometres from this warp pad in our time. But we can't leave the warp..." Looking around, she finally glanced up. "Amethyst, throw me as high as you can."
Amethyst stood up and cracked her knuckles, shapeshifting into the Purple Puma. "You've got it, P."
Pearl stepped closer and turned to the kids. "Connie, hold onto this for a bit, okay?" Pearl handed her the detector. "You all need to wait on the warp pad, just in case."
Steven and Connie nodded, and moved back towards the pad as Amethyst picked Pearl up around the waist. "Ready, Pearl?"
Pearl nodded. "Do it." she said as she pulled her arms in tight against her body.
"Raugh!" With a grunt, Amethyst pulled her arm back and hurled Pearl into the air as hard as she could.
Steven and Connie watched, amazed as Pearl shot through the air like an arrow, her feet pointed together and her nose in front. "Whoa!"
"Look at her go!" Connie grinned.
Amethyst laughed as she came over. "And the winner of the Gold Medal in the Pearl javelin toss, for America... Amethyst." she held her hands up triumphantly with a grin. "And the crowd goes wild!"
Steven and Connie clapped. "Woo! Yay!"
Above them, Pearl reach her maximum altitude and spread her arms and legs out. In the brief moment before gravity took hold, she looked around at the distant horizon. She managed a slow circle in air before she started to fall, and saw with a frown that there was no sign of humanity.
Steven, Connie and Amethyst watched as Pearl started to come down.
"Uh... How is she going to land?" Connie asked nervously.
Steven stared at her. "Oh no..." he looked up at Pearl in concern.
Amethyst clapped a hand on both their shoulders. "Relax guys. I've seen Garnet and Rose throw Pearl like this. Usually above a corrupted gem, so she can drop down on it with a spear to da face." she grinned. "She's Pearl. She always lands perfectly, duh. And smugly..." she added under her breath.
Pearl dropped down like a stone. Concentrating, she gathered the red dust that lay thick upon the ground below, raising it into a large red ramp. With a smile, she landed on it, angling her feet as she started to slide down it like a skate ramp. With the bottom of the ramp and the ground coming closer, she shifted some more dust out in front of her, finally sliding to a stop with a graceful pirouette a few metres from the warp pad.
Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Show off!" she called out.
Steven ran to Pearl, wrapping his arms around her. "That was amazing!" he cried, his eyes gleaming with stars.
Pearl blushed as she picked him up and walked him back to the warp pad. "Well, I try. And that really was the only way for me to land safely."
"It was still really cool!" Connie grinned.
Amethyst opened her mouth to make a comment, but a beep made her pause.
Taking the detector back, Pearl examined it. "Good timing. Uh... I think we can make this one."
Warping, they found themselves in another forest, a light layer of snow on the ground.
Connie saw the ripple first this time. "There!" she pointed at the ripple, some fifty metres away. But before they could take more than a few steps, it faded from sight.
Pearl sighed and pulled a folded blanket from her gem. "Okay, let's get you wrapped up... At least it isn't too cold right now. But if we're still here by nightfall, we'll have to relocate."
A couple of hours later...
Their heads darted at the sound of the beep. Pearl quickly checked it and warped them, Amethyst scrunching the blanket up mid-warp.
The moment they arrived, they could see the ripple, gleaming and shimmering only five metres from the warp, and close to the ground. Connie and Steven immediately ran for it, Amethyst and Pearl close behind to make sure no-one was left behind.