It had only been three Earth days since she had been freed, which was a short period no matter how you counted it, but to Lapis, it felt like so much more.

It was almost overwhelming, in fact, the constant barrage of things just happening. New things to see and hear all the time, with Lapis actively able to seek them out— and other senses, too. Touch, smell, even taste— which was a new, interesting one. Lapis wasn't entirely convinced the whole 'food' thing, especially the part where you actually swallowed and digested, but she did think flavours were fun. Her favorite so far was 'kkotgae snek', which was a 'chip' that supposedly tasted like 'crab'. Lapis wasn't entirely certain what a crab was, but personally Lapis found the saltiness reminded her of the planet's oceans.

Better, even, than the ability to move and sense things was how she could just… talk. Actually talk. Say whatever she wanted to say, how she wanted to say it, not just cobbling other people's words together. To talk, and to have others listen.

And they did listen. That was the wonderful thing. Pearl did, and not just in that passive, quiet way expected from a Pearl. Her attention was razor sharp, and it was almost disquieting, how hard it was to tell what she was thinking, with her eyes so hidden and her face so blank. But she responded when you spoke, and asked questions, gave advice— orders, even.

And then there was Steven.

Steven was strange.

He listened too, with a genuine curiosity. But mostly, he talked. About all sorts of things. The subjects he learned in his books, random facts about the Earth, the stories he liked to read, his animal friends, what kinds of pencils worked best for what kind of drawings…

He was very different from the distant, regal figure who had presided over the Blue Court.

Just then, Steven was sprawled out on the grass, his art book in front of him, an array of coloured pencils spread out in front of him as he sketched the landscape before them. He kept chewing on the end of a green pencil idly as he considered his next stroke.

He'd given Lapis a notebook of her own to draw in, "if you want to", and Lapis found she rather did. Problem was, she kept getting distracted. By the tickle of grass on her feet, or wind blowing hair in her face, or the occasional painful screech from the crack, bringing her mind to a halt—

Lapis bit her lip against the pain, and tried to find something to distract herself with until it faded. She caught herself staring up into the sky, where a bird lazily circled. It looked so tiny from here, so far from this planet. Lapis longed to be up there with it, or even further, stretching wings of her own…

Steven let out a chirp, saying something to the bird, and Lapis shook her head. She stared around for something else to focus on. She found a little creature crawling through the grass: tiny, black, with six legs, and two waving sticks at the top of its head.

"What's this?" she asked.

"An ant," Steven said, glancing at it, then returning to his art.

Lapis leaned down to get a closer look. The ant didn't even seem to notice she was there. The difference in scale was just too immense. "Can you communicate with it too?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" asked Lapis.

"Because it can't talk," said Steven. He selected a brown pencil and began to shade in a tree as he continued, "Least, not any way I can hear. I read that ants use these chemical thingies called pheromones to tell each other where food and stuff is. But birds, and deer, and frogs and stuff? They make noises. Understanding them is no different than understanding Gem, or English, or Korean."

But it was different. Lapis had known that Diamonds had translation capabilities that far surpassed other Gems' — but she'd always assumed that was for diplomacy among other sentient species. Not creatures like the deer Steven had introduced her to earlier, which didn't seem to be particularly intelligent.

But then, maybe Lapis was being unfair. Just because something didn't speak in a way that you could hear, didn't mean it wasn't thinking, after all.

Lapis was just about to ask what kind of things the bird was saying, when Pearl's voice came from the Palanquin, interrupting them. "Steven! Your father is calling!"

Immediately Steven sprang to his feet, rushing over, leaving his sketchbook and pencils behind. Lapis considered for a moment, then picked them all up and carried them over. She liked being able to do stuff like that.

By the time she reached the Palanquin, Steven was already sitting at the low table, Pearl kneeling besides them, the two of them facing the monitor that Pearl had connected the Pi to. A voice was coming from the device, and as Lapis came closer, she could see a face to match. It sent a wave of unease rolling over her, one that she fought against. It wasn't like the mirror, Steven had promised, when he'd shown her a TubeTube video yesterday. There wasn't anyone trapped inside. It was just moving pictures, just a recording of someone far, far away.

"Oh! There she is!" Steven waved her over. "Come say hi to my Dad!"

After putting the art supplies down, Lapis came, but kept some distance— and not just because she was still adjusting to the easy physical contact Steven and Pearl exhibited. The human on the screen smiled at her. "Hey! Lapis, right? Steven's been texting me all about you. Nice to meet ya!"

"We've already met," Lapis said. She did not smile back.

"We… have?"

"In a sense, Mr. Universe."

The human's brow creased in confusion, and then his eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, right— you were the mirror, so you must've heard Rose talking to me."

"Yes," said Lapis.

"Aw, geez. I'm sorry. That must've sucked for you."

"It did, yes." Which was the understatement of the millennia. But Lapis could see the pity on the man's face, not to mention anxiety on Steven's, plus some sort of wordless judgement from Pearl. There would be no benefit in holding it against this human, who'd had no idea who or what she'd been. "But it's not your fault."

"But now Lapis is out, and everything's great now!" said Steven, eagerly.

Lapis smiled. Not everything. But a lot.

The conversation carried on to lighter subjects. Lapis was content to listen as Steven and Mr. Universe talked about all manner of things, with Pearl occasionally interjecting. She was very talkative for a Pearl, but Lapis found she didn't mind at all. Her comments were always so calm compared to the other two's, and Lapis suspected that she was subtly rephrasing everything she said to make it a little easier for Lapis to grasp. Lapis appreciated that. Everything was confusing enough without having to work out exactly what a 'car wash' was, or why the fact it was closed on 'Sundays' was relevant.

"— so anyway, there's this big boat festival coming in a couple of weeks, so I'm gonna perform at the opening ceremonies," Mr. Universe was saying. (Or perhaps he was 'Greg'— that's what Pearl called him.)

"Aww, I wanna come," said Steven.

"I know, stchoo-ball, but it's just too dangerous," said Greg. "Big event like that? Way too many people."

"And Crystal Gems," said Steven with a sigh. "I know. Still wanna come. I miss you."

"Miss you too, son."

"We'll arrange another visit as soon as we can, my Steven," said Pearl, squeezing his shoulder.

Steven grinned. "And when we do, we can bring Lapis! You'd love it," he said, beaming at her. "You were saying how much you wanted to see the ocean, and this is right by the beach— maybe we could go swimming—"

"Sounds wonder-"

Pain sliced through her core, cutting Lapis off-mid word with a wince.

Immediately Steven's face filled with anxiety. "Lapis? What's wrong?"

"I— my gem —" Lapis said. She waved him away. "It's okay, it's fine, it just— hurts sometimes—"

"That doesn't sound 'fine'!" Steven said, his voice shot through with alarm.

Lapis could feel Pearl behind her, head bent close to her back— close, but not quite touching. "It does not appear to be getting any worse," she said. "But the damage is quite… severe. I am impressed by how well you function despite it."

"The damage is severe ?" Steven echoed, looking almost scared now.

Lapis ground her teeth. "I'm fine."

She was. She could handle this. She was one of the finest Lazulis ever produced. Perfectly shaped, no pyrite impurities at all, able to move an entire planet's water supply all by herself. She had dealt with that crack for thousands of years, and she could deal with it for thousands more—

"You're hurt," Greg was saying. "Is there anyway to help?"

"No," said Lapis. Once a gem was damaged, that was it.

"None? Because Rose Quartz can heal— there must be somebody else who could—"

Pearl, who was always rather still, froze completely.

"Rose Quartz can heal," Pearl repeated. "You're correct, Greg. Rose Quartz can heal."

Lapis unclenched her fist. The pain was fading now; she could better focus on what was going on. That had been a rumour, hadn't it? That Rose Quartz's healing powers were the only reason she could keep her small mess of an army alive against Homeworld's superior forces—

— was the rumour true?

"—I saw her heal this kid, little girl, she was almost dead, but when Rose was done, she was practically good as new— Do you think it would work on a Gem, too?"

"I think it would, yes," said Pearl. "I am almost certain, in fact."

Lapis could feel something like hope bubbling up inside her— and popped it before it could get out of hand. "So what?" she said. "It's not like I can just go up to the Crystal Gems and be like, 'hi there, will you please heal me?"

"They'd attack you on sight," Steven agreed.

On screen, Greg was rubbing his hairy chin. "Rose… she mentioned once that she has this fountain, filled with healing tears."

"Really?" Steven asked. His dad nodded. Steven stood up suddenly, throwing his shoulders back, and for a moment, Lapis could see the Blue Diamond in him. "Then we'll find that fountain and we'll get Lapis healed!"

The confidence in Steven's voice was so genuine, so certain that Lapis Lazuli allowed hope bubble up in her, after all.


Mr. Universe was up to something. Pearl was sure of it.

She'd never liked the human, and made no secret of the fact. Oh, there was nothing wrong about him, nothing obviously bad, but nothing about him stuck out as particularly impressive, either. That was what frustrated Pearl the most. She couldn't see what made Rose gravitate towards him. Round and hairy, he didn't seem very attractive, even by male human standards. His humor was strange and baffling. He acted so nervous and jumpy all the time. Whenever he did talk about himself, there was an impersonal quality to the stories he told, like he was keeping out huge chunks of detail.

He was successful, Pearl supposed, but then, the same could be said for a great many humans. And she could admit some of his music was… catchy, but surely, no great works of art when compared to pieces composed by the likes of Jin Hao or Sapphos?

(Now she was a human worthy of respect, Pearl thought, allowing herself a brief pang of nostalgia she she remembered that visit to Greece. When would that have been, two thousand years ago? Three?)

Pearl mentally shook herself, and refocused on the present. Here and now, she needed to keep herself on Greg Universe, who was currently trekking up the hilly landscape below.

He paused, stopping to take a swig of water and looking around. On the rocky ledge above, Pearl pressed herself onto the ground, out of sight, and waited. A few moments later, she poked her head back out. The human was continuing in his hike, still completely oblivious to her presence.

What is he doing?

Pearl had gotten very familiar with Mr. Universe's habits. Aside from the occasional out of town trip, he spent all of his time in Beach City, and the bulk of that either at his carwash, his friends' houses, or— Pearl's lips pressed together— at the Temple. He liked to 'hang out', which as far as Pearl could tell, meant eating, drinking, talking about random things, and just generally wasting time.

He'd always been interested the Crystal Gems and their lives. Very interested. He asked all sorts of questions about them; their powers, their intentions, their histories. It had rubbed Pearl the wrong way, but she hadn't been particularly surprised. Humanity was a curious species, and there had always been individuals among them fascinated by Gemkind.

But lately, his interest had gotten… narrower.

Mr. Universe was going away from the main road now, poking in among the bushes and behind rocks. Like he was looking for something. Searching.

Pearl suspected she knew what.

She followed from above, watching as he made his way farther and farther up into the hills, staying close to the road for the most part, but always taking little detours or bringing out a pair of binoculars to scout the land. Pearl followed easily, secure in the knowledge she wouldn't be found. She was a veteran soldier. She had lead hundreds of raids against Homeworld troops, dozens of spy missions, trained almost every new recruit in the rebellion. She was quick; she was silent; she was the essence of stealth—

"Pearl."

She nearly screamed and jumped five feet in the air.

Nearly. She didn't, because she had control of herself.

Instead, she whipped around. "G-Garnet," she said, voice low. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Garnet said, stepping closer.

Pearl didn't answer. She just glanced back down into the valley below, to double check Mr. Universe still hadn't noticed her. He hadn't.

Garnet came to watch with her as he continued up the slope. She said, "You're following him."

Pearl didn't deny it.

"Rose wouldn't like that."

"This isn't about Rose!"

"Hmm," said Garnet, and Pearl could feel the doubt radiating off of her.

But it wasn't. It really, really wasn't, even if Rose was being completely illogical and stubborn

"You know he's acting suspicious," Pearl said aloud, starting up again to follow the human.

"Curiosity isn't a crime," Garnet said, following her. "And of all our abilities, it's logical that healing would be the one he's most interested in—"

"But why now?" said Pearl, in a fierce whisper. "Why start asking about the Fountain now ? He barely asked anything after that human child was harmed, and then out of the blue, it's all he talks about!"

It was an exaggeration, but not much one. When the girl— what was her name? Canny? Conny?— had been injured, Mr. Universe had had a few questions about the healing performed on her, mostly for the sake of reassuring her parents that it was safe. Once that had been sorted out, things had carried on as normal. But then, against Pearl's judgement, Rose had given Greg a gem-powered mirror. Non-functional, but still: not the type of trinket to just give away to humans willy nilly. And the the human had disappeared for some time, and not long after reappearing, the questions had started.

Can all Gems heal? No? Why not? Are there limits? You mentioned you have a fountain? Oh, it sounds great, I'd love to see it some day. Where is it, anyway?

And oh, Rose indulged some of the questions. Others she laughed off, even as they became more pressing, more constant. She treated it all like— like some game, like it was just flirting, like the human wasn't trying to get at their greatest secrets—

That had to be it. That had to be. Mr. Universe had gotten a little taste of Gem kind's powers, and was greedy for more.

Pearl had to briefly let Mr. Universe out of sight, since the slope by the roadside had flattened and the brush here was sparser, making the area more exposed. No matter. She was fairly confident she knew his final destination; she would loop around the long way and settle into a good hiding spot there.

"Pearl," said Garnet, "Greg's interest in the healing Fountain most likely isn't malevolent. Most likely, he's simply ill, or knows someone else who is."

They came to the base an eighty-five degree cliff-face. "Perhaps," Pearl said, as she found her first hand hold and began upwards. "But why not simply tell Rose that? She'd perform the healing. She likes him. Why be so cagey? Why go on secret expeditions to find the Fountains?"

Garnet didn't give an answer, which meant she didn't have one.

Of course, Pearl had brought all this up with Rose, just yesterday. At first, Rose had just giggled. Then Rose had said Pearl was just being overly suspicious. When Pearl had kept pressing, Rose had started getting… irritated. Irritated, than angry. " Just because you don't like him doesn't mean you can slander him! I won't fall for that, Pearl, and I'm not going to rewrite my entire life for your comfort! "

Pearl ground her teeth and hoisted herself up.

The top of this cliff looked down on a circular pool of water below. Rose Quartz made regular visits to the place, but not for the reason Mr. Universe might expect. There was magic here, but not in the form of tears. Rather, it took the shape of a rather disgusting green moss that grew in the still, shaded water. There was quite a lot of it now, Pearl observed, seeing how it covered the majority of the pool's surface, and many of the rocks. No doubt soon Rose would soon carry all of it up to the top of the nearby hill for its springtime blooming.

No sign of Mr. Universe yet. The aging human was probably catching his breath somewhere.

A hand rested on Pearl's shoulder. Pearl turned to look at Garnet. Her mouth was turned down in a small, preoccupied frown.

"I agree that his behaviour has been odd," Garnet said. "But put that aside for a moment. You need to talk with Rose, Pearl."

"I did! You heard how it went!" Because how could Garnet not have? The yelling had reverberated through the entire Temple.

"Not about him," Garnet said. "Pearl, this keeps happening. She finds a human, you get upset—"

"I've tried to stop her," Pearl said, and she could feel burning behind her eyes. "But— but, she does what she wants—"

And of course she did, how could Pearl begrudge Rose that, it was what the rebellion had been about, the chance to do whatever one wanted—

"You need to tell her what you want," said Garnet.

Pearl wanted Rose Quartz to love her. And Rose already did, surely? But there was always the fear— that nagging voice saying she wasn't good enough, she was just a pearl, why would Rose want her? Pearl wanted to be certain, wanted to be her only… But how could she ask that of her, without coming across as cruel, or clingy, or controlling? And anyway, part of Pearl thought, I shouldn't have to ask for that. After all we've been through, it should just be a given.

She stared at the ground, feeling Garnet's gaze on her but unable to meet it, trying to find the right words to explain all of that—

— when there was a splash.

Pearl whipped around. Below, Mr. Universe had arrived, and had climbed over the boulders to the water, poking a hand in experimentally.

His brow furrowed. He took off his backpack, and started rummaging around in it. On the water nearby, there was movement. Like a ripple, or an ungulation— the moss, reaching up for him—

"Mr. Universe!" Garnet cried.

The human jumped, straighted, spun around, saw the Gems on the cliff above him, yelped—

And fell into the water, with a splash and a dull crack. Drawn by the disruption, the moss came faster, quickly beginning to engulf him.

Garnet and Pearl exchanged the briefest of glances. Then the two Crystal Gems jumped down to rescue him.

It wasn't difficult to pull him out of the water, though it was considerably harder to remove the moss from his body. It regenerated quickly, and it required the Gems' full speed to remove it before it could regrow, plus the occasional electric shock from Garnet to stun it—

Finally, Mr. Universe lay dripping on the shore, heaving for breath, but no longer in threat danger of being immediately suffocated. Pearl wondered if perhaps they should have left him, but it was an idle thought with no real intention behind it.

"Foolish," she said, turning away from him.

"Y-yeah. I— sorry. You startled me," he said. "T-thanks."

"You're hurt," Garnet said.

Pearl looked, and saw that Garnet was correct. She hadn't noticed, because there was no blood, the usual marker of human injury, but his leg was bent at a very odd angle. Probably quite painful, judging from the expression on his face.

Mr. Universe touched it gingerly, then winced. "I think I broke it on the rocks. Oh, geez, how am I gonna get back…?"

Pearl sighed. However tempting it may have been, they couldn't just leave him there. "We'll carry you back," she said, then looked at Garnet. "Where's Rose?"

"The Fountain," she answered, after a moment.

"Of course," said Pearl. For all that Mr. Universe had gone searching in completely the wrong location, it seemed that in the end, he was still going to find what he was looking for. But then, maybe it'd be for the best. If he really did have some human disease, then perhaps once he was healed he would get out of their hair.

Garnet bent down, and picked the human up in her arms. He looked like an overgrown infant. He managed a watery smile.

"Uh, thanks," he said again.

Garnet nodded.

Pearl simply said, "Come on. Let's go."


"Uh, can you like, carry more gently?"

Garnet tightened the corners of her mouth before simply stating, "You could be hopping behind me."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Greg laughed nervously, unsure if the Gem was joking or not.

Luckily for Greg and his uncomfortably placed leg, after the trek all the way back to the Temple, they didn't have to walk far from the warp pad to get to the Fountain. Just down a path through a rose garden, ('Of course there are roses", Greg thought to himself) and soon they came to a what looked like an elegant brick wall with an archway in it. The stone was pink, because of course it was.

"The Fountain is through here," Pearl informed as she walked perfectly next to Garnet and Greg, her eyes occasionally darting from in front of her over to helpless Greg in Garnet's arms.

Even with a leg broken, this Pearl still didn't like him.

Once through the archway, Greg saw the Fountain and, as promised by Garnet, Rose was there, sitting on the edge of the Fountain proper, staring down at something within.

She noticed the sound of them before they got too close, and looked up For a split second, she looked— upset, or frustrated maybe, or sad, her face crumpled, eyes red, her fists clenched—

And in an instant it cleared, and like the sun coming out from behind dark clouds, was replaced with a look first of delight, and then concern.

What was that about? Greg wondered.

"Mr. Universe! Oh, stars! Are you okay?" Rose quickly rose from her seat and rushed over to them.

"He fell," Pearl stated simply.

Rose's brow dropped. "And is that all?"

"And he may have broken something," Garnet added. "If the snapping sound was any indication."

"There wasn't a snapping sound," Greg protested. "Just… Maybe a bit of a cracking sound…"

Rose bent down and examined his hurt leg, looking it over and finally gently prodded it. Greg winced, doing his best not to yelp in pain.

"Hmm..." Rose murmured. "I do think it might be broken, Mr. Universe."

"Great," Greg groaned, trying to act natural. He was at the Fountain. He'd hoped that he could find the place by himself, fill a water bottle with the healing tears and leave with it with no one the wiser, but there was no way that was going to happen. Too many people around, too many eyes watching.

Now he just needed to know where exactly he was. "I don't suppose you could do something about it Rose? Like you did for that girl Amethyst saved?"

"I'm quite certain, Rose answered, smile playing at her lips. "In fact, we can use the Fountain."

"The healing fountain," Greg said, playing dumb. "You mean this is the fountain?"

There wasn't any mistaking it. The centerpiece was a life sized statue of Rose Quartz carved out of shimmering pink rock, tears endlessly flowing from the stone figure's eyes into the basin below. It was more than a little self-aggrandizing, in Greg opinion. Blue had never felt the urge to erect statues to herself around the place.

(Well, maybe she had, back at home, but then, she was a space queen.)

Rose grinned sheepishly at him. "Sorry," she said. "I forget that you're not as informed as the rest of us."

Greg heard Pearl huff behind him. Not for the first time, he wondered what had happened to her to make her so rude.

"But yes. This is the Fountain," Rose went on. "You remember that it was my tears that healed the young girl, yes? Here, Garnet. Sit him on the edge here, so he can put his leg in. Not immediately. We need to ensure it sets correctly."

Garnet did so, Greg wincing again as his leg bent into a sitting position. "Yeah, I remember that," he said, trying not to make it sound like he was in pain.

Rose must have taken note regardless. "Pearl. Can you help keep his leg straight?"

For a moment it looked like Pearl was going to protest, but she instead silently knelt to her knees and jerked Greg's leg straight, her grip perhaps a mite tighter than it needed to be.

"Thank you, Pearl," Rose smiled. She turned around and was leaning into the Fountain.

Greg looked behind him into the Fountain to see what she was doing and saw... something in a pink bubble, partly submerged in the water. "What's that?" He pointed at the bubbled object.

"Ah, that's just... a project."

"Rose." It was Garnet. Greg turned his gaze to her and she had folded her arms across her chest. "You're still at it."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Garnet didn't answer. Instead, she pursed her lips and tilted her head. As if she were trying to tell Rose something without actually telling her.

They don't want to talk about whatever it is while I'm around, Greg thought to himself. Suspicious.

But luckily for Greg, Rose either didn't notice or just ignored Garnet's attempt. "I told you, both of you, before. I'm not stopping until I have... a way to help them."

"We know, Rose," Garnet said simply.

There was a beat of silence before Greg chimed in, "Who are you helping exactly? Is someone else hurt who needs the Fountain?"

Rose smiled softly at him. It was a bittersweet expression. "In a way."

"Who is it?"

As he asked that, the other Pearl jerked his leg suddenly and he cried out in pain. "Sorry. Slipped," she offered, both points clearly not true.

"Just... some old friends," Rose said. She reached into the fountain and pushed the bubble to the other side of the Fountain. "It's nothing you should concern yourself with, Mr. Universe."

"Nothing I can do to... I dunno, help or something?"

Rose giggled. "You're sweet," she said laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But this really isn't something you should worry yourself over, Mr. Universe. Just Gem business."

"Not that he could do much anyway..." Pearl muttered under her breath.

Greg wasn't sure how much he bought this story. Sure, he wanted to believe that these Gems were helping someone… but they'd started a war. They'd killed Pink Diamond. They'd kept Lapis Lazuli prisoner for thousands of years. Traded her away like a trinket. And if they really had turned over a new leaf, and were trying to heal someone or other, they wouldn't have have to keep it some big mystery.

Rose gave Pearl an aside look, but didn't respond. Instead she sat down next to Greg. "Healing your leg should be a simple task. You're not nearly as hurt as the young girl was, you should be able to keep you leg."

"Well that's a relief," Greg replied. "I'm pretty fond of this leg."

Rose giggled again. "I can imagine. After all, you can't simply regenerate a new one." She grew quiet as she tapped the corner of her mouth. "Hmm... I was going to have you dip your whole leg into the Fountain but..."

"But what?"

"It would probably be best if your leg is kept straight like that while it heals. So that it sets properly."

"Yes," Garnet cut in. "We wouldn't want another incident like with that Greek soldier and his ankle."

"My, he did not appreciate our help, did he?" Rose asked as she leaned into the Fountain and cupped her hands. "Certainty not like you, Mr. Universe." She rose from the Fountain, water sitting in her cupped hands. "You're so kind and sweet. And charming." She grinned at him, in a way that made her intentions completely clear. And made Greg very uncomfortable. And guilty.

Blue, I'm sorry. Please forgive me for this, Greg thought.

He put his most charming smile on. "Well, you're pretty sweet yourself."

Rose chuckled as she held her cupped hands over his leg. "Are you holding his leg ready, Pearl?"

"I am," Pearl replied wearily.

Rose nodded as she let a small trickle of water splash onto Greg's broken leg. The water felt surprisingly warm for for just sitting in a heavily shaded grove. In fact, as the water hit his leg, it was like a wave of warmth swept through his whole body. Greg blinked, as sparkles began to dot over his vision.

Rose's hands parted, as the last bits of water fell from them. "Okay, Pearl. You can put his leg down."

Pearl didn't so much as put his leg down as dropped it, but as it fell Greg didn't feel any pain. Indeed, his leg felt great.

His whole body felt great, in fact. The soreness in his feet from the hike; the aches in his back; the crick in his neck he'd had for the last month… All of it had faded, almost completely.

"Wow," he marveled. "That's incredible."

"Hm. It's certainly something," Rose smiled. "I'm fortunate that I was gifted such a power. It has proven invaluable over my lifetime."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Greg answered. "Though... does that mean that the Fountain is full of your tears?"

Rose nodded. "It does."

"Wow," Greg said slowly, eyeing the huge basin. He could only imagine how much crying it had taken to fill the whole thing. "Well, I hope those tears don't have a shelf life or anything."

Rose laughed, which wasn't the reaction Greg expected. Though maybe it should have been. "Mr. Universe, you always say the funniest things. "

Greg's brow furrowed as he looked down at his feet. "Um, yeah. Thanks." He blinked, refocusing. He still had more to do. "So, um... Where are we exactly?" All three sets of eyes were on him. He suddenly felt very weighed down. "I mean... it's hard to keep track sometimes, ya know? With warp pads and stuff."

"We're on Earth," the other Pearl shot at him. "That's all you need to know."

"Pearl!" Rose chided. "What did I tell you about being civil?"

"Civility doesn't extend to just telling people your most closely guarded secrets, Rose!" Pearl snapped back.

Rose frowned at her, but didn't answer back directly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Universe," she said, turning back to him. "I'm afraid I don't really know where we are. At least, not by how humans chart the world."

"So you don't have any idea?" It was a statement more than a question. Greg did his best to hide the frustrated disappointment out of his face.

Rose shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Universe. If we had a map, I could show you. But human countries and provinces change so much and so quickly, it's hard to keep track of it all."

Greg sighed. He came all this way, literally broke his leg doing so, and he couldn't even find out the information he needed.

What was he going to tell Steven?

"I believe we are in France." Greg turned, finding out it was Garnet of all people who had spoke.

"Garnet!" Pearl protested, before immediately folding her arms and clamming up.

"Is that where we are?" Rose asked, completely ignoring the fuming Pearl right next to her. "Thank you, Garnet. No doubt that will be useful to know."

"Well, France is a pretty big place. Do you know what part we're in, exactly? Like, Paris, or the south, or what?"

Garnet fixed him with a heavy look that instantly made him regret asking. For a split second, Greg was sure Garnet knew the truth.

"Not really," she answered flatly, gaze unwavering. "Besides, if you're hurt again, just come to one of us and we'll bring you here."

Greg gulped. "Heh, yeah. Right. No need... for that."

"Yes, why don't we just bring him here everyday," Pearl said bitterly. "Stars, we should just invite that whole town! I'm sure they'd all love to come with you, Rose!"

"Pearl..."

Rose reached over to put a hand on other Pearl's shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

"I'm going back to the Temple," she said despondently. She marched off towards the archway without a second glance. Garnet glanced at Rose, nodded, and followed after her.

Rose sighed.

"Hey, look," Greg quickly said. "I'm... sorry if me being here is causing any trouble."

Rose smiled at him, tinged with just a note of sadness. "It's not your fault, Mr. Universe. Pearl can simply be... unreasonable, at times."

"Yeah... You're telling me."

"I still love her dearly," Rose added. "But sometimes it feel like... like she doesn't understand what I desire."

"Uh, yeah..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rose said. "This must be boring to you."

"No, no. It's alright," Greg assured. "You can tell me anything."

"You're so sweet. And cute," Rose added with a grin. She got up from her seat, Greg doing the same, being careful not to put too much weight on his previously broken leg. But then, he really didn't feel any pain there at all. "I'll take you back to the Temple, Mr. Universe. Follow me."

He did so. As they walked through the garden and Rose talked about the various different types of roses that were planted, a single thought kept repeating through Greg's mind:

The Fountain is in France.


Author's Note - Hey everyone! Thank you all for your continued support! Just wanted to say that if you haven't seen it yet, we currently have an ongoing prequel, "Diamond in the Rough", about how the relationship between Greg and Blue Diamond developed. If you're interested, check it out.