China, 1025bce:
The group found themselves beside a wide dark slow-moving river.
Pearl quickly gathered them up. Warping to another location, the warp pad placed on top of a small hill, she pulled some blankets out of her gem. "Okay, we need to spend the night here. The next ripple is in a few hours." Covering them up, she patted both their heads. "Good night."
Steven yawned. "Thanks, for taking me to see my mum."
Pearl smiled. "I'm just happy that you enjoyed it. Now, go to sleep, Steven."
"Way ahead of ya..." Connie muttered, her eyes already closed as she buried herself deeper into the blankets.
South America, 5000 years ago:
The four fell out of the ripple, tumbling down the slope of the hill.
As the finally reached the bottom and rolled to a stop, Pearl sprung up. "Are you kids okay?" she asked anxiously, checking them as she helped them up.
Connie shook her head. "That... could have gone better." she groaned. "But, I'm okay..."
Steven nodded as he licked a finger and touched it to a scrape on his arm. "I'm okay too." he said as the scrape disappeared with a shimmer.
Amethyst sighed. "That's good. That landing was almost as rough as when Pearl kicked Sugilite's butt."
"Only almost?" Pearl asked with a smirk.
Amethyst rolled her dark blue eyes. "We're... never gonna live that whole mess down, are we?"
"Nope." Pearl grinned.
Just then, an invisible line appeared in the sky, clearing and destroying the clouds ahead of it. The group looked up in confusion.
"What's that?" Connie asked, nervously.
Pearl shook her head. "Looks like a sonic boom, perhaps... But, there's nothing in this time period that could cause that..."
"Why is the sky doing that?" Amethyst asked nervously, stepping closer to Pearl and the two now worried children.
Above them, the sky had taken a strange tint, appearing as various shades of green.
Pearl stared. "Oh stars, no..."
"What is it, Pearl?" Steven asked, his eyes filled with worry.
Pearl turned to him, both hands on his shoulders. "Steven, shield, now." her eyes darted back to the distant sky, now turning to purple.
Amethyst shook her head. "What's that weird-ass noise?"
Connie glanced at her. "What noise? I don't hear anything..."
"Seriously?! It's getting louder..."
"Yeah, I hear it too..." Steven nodded, hand reaching instinctively for his gem. "It's... kinda tingly... in here..." he pointed at his belly.
"Steven, shield..." Pearl stepped back, her form shaking as her hands flew up to cover her own gem.
They looked at her, everyone equally confused. "Pearl, what's going on?" Amethyst asked, one hand grasping over her gem, the other reaching for Pearl with concern.
Pearl stared into the sky, her pale blue eyes filled with fear. "The Corruption." she whispered.
As the sky slowly turned red above them, the group stared at her in horror.
Steven started trying to summon his shield, his eyes darting towards the distant sky with fear. "Come on, come on, come on... Why don't you work when I need you?!"
The space in front of his gem sparkled slightly, but nothing appeared.
Amethyst started to shake. "We're... we're fucked, aren't we?" she whispered as the strange shimmering wall of light appeared on the horizon.
Pearl dropped her hands. "Amethyst." she barked, grabbing the smaller gem by the straps of her top. "Dig, NOW!" she screamed, releasing her and darting to the base of the hill, her hands working furiously as she started to pull away handfuls of dirt and grass.
Amethyst stared at her for a moment, and growled. Glowing briefly, she turned into a large mole and started clawing into the hillside, carving out a tunnel.
Behind them, Steven's eye kept darting between the fast approaching wall of light and his gem, his eyes scrunched up as he struggled to block out the noise. "Please, come on..."
Connie watched the wall of light, now mere kilometres away, glancing back as Amethyst and Pearl continued to tunnel into the hillside.
With a shimmer, Steven managed to create a small shield. Suddenly, he groaned and covered his ears, the noise finally too much for him to handle. His body curled over in a last-ditch attempt to protect his gem.
Connie saw Amethyst glow and turn back into herself. "Steven!" the purple Gem called desperately, reaching out for him with one hand as the other covered her gem. Behind her, Pearl had curled into a ball, her hands covering her gem as she screamed.
With a grimace, Connie grabbed the dropped shield and threw herself against Steven, shoving him backwards into the tunnel. She slammed the shield down over the entrance, holding herself against it in an attempt to offer some minor protection to the Gems as the wall of light finally reached them.
Steven breathed heavily as the noise faded to a more manageable level.
Amethyst grabbed him and drew him into a tight hug. "I've gotcha, buddy..." she whispered.
The two looked towards the tunnel entrance.
Connie glanced trough the shield. She gave a quick smile and a thumbs up. "I'm okay." they saw her mouth, and Amethyst nodded.
Glancing back, they saw Pearl was still curled up, hands over her gem as she rocked back and forwards.
"Pearl?" Steven called nervously.
Her eyes, which now appeared glassy and grey, were staring straight ahead. "...I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she whispered over and over.
"At least she stopped screaming..." Amethyst said. "That's good, right?"
After a few minutes, Connie looked up. Nodding, she shifted the shield slightly. "Hey, uh... the sky's turning blue again, and I can't hear that noise you were talking about... I'm not sure if it's safe... I mean... Is it gonna rebound around the Earth, or did it only pass once?"
Amethyst glanced back at Pearl. "She's the only one who'd know that..."
Connie nodded, her eyes filled with worry. "Okay. I'm gonna go to the top of the hill, check for any signs of it returning. I'll leave the shield here, just in case."
Rocking the shield back into place, she quickly turned and disappeared. Faintly, they could hear her footsteps on the ground above them.
"You okay, Ste-man?" Amethyst placed a hand gently on Steven shoulder.
Steven nodded. "Yeah... I wish I'd just summoned a shield when Pearl told me to the first time..." he said sadly.
"It's okay, Steven. We didn't know. And we were all panicking. Except Connie, that little champ." she added fondly.
Steven grinned. "She saved us."
Amethyst chuckled. "Yep. Now ya gotta marry her."
"Amethyst!" Steven groaned, his face red.
After a couple of minutes, Connie returned. Shifting the shield, she moved behind it before placing it back over the entrance and crawling towards them. "Okay. It looks like everything's back to normal, but I don't know for sure..." she glanced towards Pearl. "Also, uh... the warp pad looks kinda weird now. Like, it's not blue anymore. It's grey. Maybe the Corruption affected the warp pads too?"
"No-one said anything about that..." Amethyst muttered, looking back towards Pearl. "But..." she paused, looking thoughtful. "Actually, now that you mention it... When I first emerged, I started exploring the Kindergarten, and I found the warp pad. It looked grey back then too. And then later it turned blue. I didn't think too much of it, cause I didn't know what it was anyway, and I thought that's just what they did, but... Maybe you're right. The Corruption messed up the warps."
Connie nodded. "Well, at least we know they'll go back to normal eventually."
Steven crawled back towards Pearl, who had started crying. "Pearl..." he asked nervously, reaching out a hand.
"This is the second time she's gone through this... It would have been traumatic enough the first time..." Connie sighed sadly.
An hour later...
They were startled as Pearl suddenly uncurled and started crawling past them to push the shield away. With a glance, they followed her out as she stood and slowly started walking.
"Pearl? Where ya going?" Amethyst called, darting in front of her.
Pearl's eyes were glassy and unfocused, her face clear of emotions, the tear streaks still visible on her face.
"Pearl?" Amethyst whispered as Pearl shuffled past her.
Connie glanced at Steven. "I... don't think Pearl's home right now..." she said, her voice low with concern.
Amethyst glanced back at the top of the hill. "Uh... you guys stay with her. I'm just gonna check the warp pad. I'll catch up. She's not moving that fast anyway..."
The two kids caught up with Pearl, glancing back to watch as Amethyst raced to the top of the hill. They saw her stand on the warp pad for a moment before she came racing back down to them.
"Nope, it's busted." She sighed heavily. "Come on, we should stick with Pearl, find out where she's going." she glanced around nervously. "Besides, there could be corrupted gems around, and I don't think she's in any condition to protect herself."
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The next morning...
Connie stirred with a yawn, feeling a strange blanket covering her. Opened her eyes, she found herself looking up into Amethyst's face.
"Hey, kiddo. Sleep well?"
Connie glanced around, blushing as she realised that a large bulky Amethyst was carrying her and Steven. "Yeah..." she shifted the clump of Amethyst's hair that was thrown over her shoulder, covering her as a makeshift blanket. "Pearl's still... out?"
Amethyst nodded sadly. "Yeah... You two crashed, but she wasn't stopping, so..." she gave a half-shrug on Connie's side, as not to disturb Steven. "I shapeshifted bigger so I could handle ya both. Good thing I don't actually need to sleep, or we'd all be in trouble."
Connie nodded in understanding. "Thanks. Uh... I need to..." she blushed.
Amethyst gently placed the girl onto the ground. "Be quick; Pearl's not stopping."
Connie gave a nod as she darted into the trees.
A short while later, as Steven stirred, Amethyst gave a sigh. "Good... I was getting to my limit there..." she muttered as she placed him on the ground and went back to her normal size with a sigh.
Steven rubbed his eyes. "How's P-Pearl?" he yawned deeply.
"Still walking." Connie nodded ahead at the thin gem.
Steven sighed. "Oh man..."
Amethyst nodded. "Yeah. She must be going somewhere, cause I think we're going in a straight line. The only times she shows any sign of seeing anything is when she steps around a tree. She just... steps back onto the same invisible path again as soon as she can..."
Steven started walking, but paused and glanced down. "Uh... be right back." he blushed as he darted into the trees, his hand reaching for his zipper.
Connie blushed and rolled her eyes as Amethyst chuckled. "Humans..." she muttered fondly.
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As the day wore on, the kids feet started to drag. As the trickling sound of water rose through the trees, they perked up.
"I am so freaking thirsty..." Connie moaned, looking around for the water. "We haven't had anything since... the other night, before the ripple."
Amethyst glanced at Pearl before sniffing around. "Uh... I think we're heading towards it." Shapeshifting large elephant ears, she listened intently as the kids stifled giggles at the strange sight. "Yeah, it's up ahead." she nodded as she shifted the ears away.
Walking a little faster, they came to a break in the trees. A small stream ran through it, and the children ran up to it in anticipation, but paused.
Amethyst shook her head at the murky brown water. "Yeah, no. I wouldn't even drink that. And I drink motor oil." Glancing back at Pearl, she shook her head. "Pearl? Pearl, the kids need water."
The thin gem continued walking, obvious.
"Pearl?!" Amethyst tried to stop her, grabbing hold of her shoulders.
The silent gem's legs continued walking, scraping against the jungle floor, held only in place by her friend.
Amethyst let go of her and sighed deeply. "Ugh... I really don't want to have to do this..." she groaned. Glancing at a concerned Steven, she shook her head. "Sorry bout this, but..."
With a glow of light, Amethyst grew and shapeshifted into a purple tinted replica of Pink Diamond.
Pink Diamond stepped quickly to get ahead of Pearl. "Pearl, I need two bottles of water, now."
Pearl paused in place, her arms folding into the diamond salute. "Yes, my Diamond..." she whispered before reaching up and summoning two bottles of water from her gem. She gently placed them on the ground at her feet.
"Thank you, Pearl." Pink Diamond stepped aside, and Pearl continued her mindless walk.
Amethyst changed back and groaned. "Ugh, that felt so freaking wrong..." she muttered. Reaching out, she quickly grabbed the bottles and ran to shove them into the kid's hands. "Okay, drink fast. But not too much. I dunno how long she's gonna be like this, and I really don't wanna have to do that again..."
Steven and Connie nodded and opened their bottles, each taking a quick mouthful of water before placing the lid back.
"Thanks, Amethyst." Connie sighed after swishing it around and swallowing.
Steven licked his lips. "Yeah. It's a good thing you saw what mum really looked like the other day... Or... Wait, how long have we've been..."
Connie shrugged and Amethyst glanced at him. "Uh... I think about a week, maybe. So, we saw her... last week, I guess." she added. Glancing back at Pearl, her eyes widened. "Come on, we'd better catch up. She's so thin, we could lose her if she steps behind a tree."
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After another night of carrying the children as they slept, and of carrying them through their exhaustion during the day, Amethyst looked drained. Still, Pearl showed no sign of stopping, And Amethyst was reluctant to try the same trick twice to get her to stop for the night.
"You reckon that fruit's safe to eat?" Steven eyed the red object dangling from the tree hungrily.
Amethyst looked up into the tree. "Well, I see some kinda monkey up there. If it's safe for them, it's probably okay for you little chimps." Summoning her whip, she lashed out, snagging the fruit and pulling it down. Quickly, she cut it open and lick the juice that ran into her fingers as the two watched. "Hmm... Yeah, tastes okay. Poison usually tastes like burning, so..."
Quickly, the kids grabbed half of the fruit each and tore into it.
"Uh, so good..." Connie groaned, the red juice smeared across her face.
"Walk and talk, guys." Amethyst nudged them forwards as Pearl started to slip out of sight. Pausing, she used her whip to grab a couple more of the red fruits, bubbling and storing them in her gem before she ran to catch up.
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The next morning...
"Uhhhhh..." Steven groaned, his muddied feet dragging. His sandals had long since broken, and were now tied into Amethyst's hair. "Where is she even going?"
Amethyst grunted. "I dunno... But it better be filled with food, water and hot naked chicks, that's all I can say..."
Connie rolled her eyes as she limped along, the blisters rubbed into her feet slowing her pace. "I think you mean, hot baths..." she groaned. "I miss hot water..."
"The hot chicks can be naked in the baths..." Amethyst managed a cheeky grin. "...With chocolate..."
"I want chocolate..." Steven muttered, too tired to even be embarrassed by the conversation.
Connie nodded. "I miss chocolate." she paused to take a quick sip of water, frowning at the small amount left in the bottle. "And you might have to ask her for water again soon..."
Amethyst glanced over and sighed. "Crud... It feels so... wrong, giving her orders like that. Totally messed up. She's gonna hate me if she knew..." she looked the two weary teens over. "But, if it's for you guys, I guess she'll understand..."
Suddenly, the trees ahead of them opened up, and they were surprised to find another warp pad sitting in the middle of the clearing. Pearl quietly walked over it, and continued through.
"Hmm... this one's still grey..." Amethyst moved ahead and quickly stepped onto it, and after a brief pause, she sighed. "Yeah, still broken."
With a sigh, they followed her back into the trees.
A couple of minutes later, they saw another clearing up ahead, with a large building in the middle of it.
"Hey, civilisation!" Amethyst grinned, urging the exhausted kids forward.
As Pearl stepped into the clearing ahead of them, they noticed a bright red beam of light appear. It waved around and finally settled on her forehead, directly on top of her gem.
With a flash of light, Stevonnie ran forwards, their shield raised into the air. They held it over Pearl as a flash of energy came from the building, the beam reflecting from the shield.
Pearl was oblivious, her constant pace unwavering as she continued moving forwards. The red beam appeared again.
Amethyst darted forward, picking Pearl up as Stevonnie held the shield over the group.
As the beam reflected off again, Amethyst yelled. "Inside!"
Rushing forwards, they reached the door and Stevonnie slapped their free hand onto the hand-print beside them. The door slid open silently, and they all tumbled in, Amethyst wrapping her arms protectively around Pearl's waist.
After a moment, the group sighed. "Well, that was nuts." Stevonnie grinned, glancing around to see Amethyst wrapped around Pearl. "Uh..."
Amethyst quickly released Pearl and stood up with a blush. "Nuttier than usual... Where the hell have you taken us, Pearl?" she muttered, looking around.
The interior of the building was dark, the windows murky. There was a thick layer of dust on every surface, and faintly visible on a nearby wall was an old diamond insignia with the four diamonds colours faded.
"This... is not what I was expecting..." Stevonnie mused, standing up and shaking off the dust that had gotten caught in their hair.
Amethyst nodded. "Yeah. I never thought I'd see Pearl so eager to get to a place this filthy..."
Beside them, Pearl stood, the dust easily dropping from her as she started walking.
"Ugh, not again..." Amethyst groaned.
"Wait."
Amethyst glanced aside at Stevonnie, who had picked Pearl up by her waist, lifting her off the floor easily as the thin gems' legs continued attempting to walk. "Is that a warp pad over there?" they nodded ahead.
Amethyst moved over and leaned down, wiping the dust away with her hand. "Hey, yeah. Good eye! It's pink for some reason, but at least it's not grey. Maybe this one's okay?"
Stevonnie glanced at Pearl. "Well, hopefully, this is where she wants to be, and not just a building that's inconveniently in the way..." Carrying Pearl, they walked over to the light pink warp pad, stepping onto it. Waiting until Amethyst had stepped on beside them, Stevonnie let Pearl go.
Pearl's legs finally stopped moving and she stood there for a moment, before suddenly turning around to face their left.
"Now what?" Stevonnie shrugged.
Suddenly, a pink tinged blue glow started, and they felt themselves warping.
The group found themselves in a hallway, the diamond insignia on the wall beside them.
"Oh. I guess the pink warps are like, a lift, or elevator?" Stevonnie mused.
Amethyst shrugged. "I dunno. Never seen one like that before..."
Pearl suddenly started walking forwards again, and they followed her along the hallway until she paused at a door. Reaching out, she tapped the small pad beside it, and the door slid open.
They followed her into a room with a large desk, every surface covered in thick dust. A light breeze blew in through the slightly opened diamond-shaped window, barely lifting even the layer of dust inside the windowsill.
Pearl walked into the centre of the room and paused before she turned to her left. Pausing in front of the wall, she tapped a spot and a panel slid aside, revealing a small space no bigger than a broom cupboard. Stepping into it, she paused, turned around on the spot and sat down, hugging her legs to her chest as she toppled onto her side, her still-grey eyes staring blankly across the room.
"Uh... Pearl?"
The panel started to slide close, and with a yelp, Amethyst stuck her hand out to stop it.
As if sensing her hand, the panel stopped and reopened.
Amethyst sighed and knelt down, unfolding Pearl so that her legs jutted out of the small space before she stood again.
After a short wait, Amethyst nodded. "I guess that'll keep it open..."
With a flash of light, Stevonnie unfused, and the kids tumbled to the dust-covered floor with groans.
"Finally..." Steven moaned, his eyes squeezed shut.
Connie sighed. "We don't have to move any more..."
Amethyst's legs wobbled and she fell to the floor with a sigh. "'bout bloody time..." she muttered, her eyes already closing.