Chapter Twenty-Four: Learning

"And you've confirmed the location?" Rose tightened the belt that held her scabbard at her side. She looked over at Garnet, who curtly nodded at her. "But you don't know what it is exactly?"

"No," Garnet answered. "Though it looked as if it was a secure facility."

"So it's most likely dangerous."

"Most likely," Garnet said. "But I didn't See any corrupted Gems."

"That's good. Then as soon as Amethyst gets back—"

"Yo! I got 'im!"

Rose looked over her shoulder and saw Amethyst enter the Temple's entrance hall. Steven was there as requested, trailing just behind. Accompanying him was Blue Pearl, and not- Rose noted with an odd sense of relief and regret- Mr. Universe.

As she turned to greet them, Rose noticed that Blue Pearl's appearance seemed to have changed, although not in the way that suggested a regeneration. She was wearing a bracelet- the same one Rose had returned to her a few weeks prior- as well as a star hairclip that kept her thick bangs out of her eyes.

Rose couldn't help but smile: Garnet had been right after all. The new look suited Blue Pearl, although Rose knew better than to draw attention to that fact. In her experience, Pearls could be funny about other Gems complementing their appearance; and the truce between them all was fragile enough as it was.

"Steven. Pearl. Thank you both for coming," Rose greeted lightly.

"I tried to get him by himself," Amethyst shrugged. "But Pearl— that Pearl— insisted on coming too."

"That's okay," Rose said. "She is welcome here, as is Steven. We have nothing to hide."

"So… why did you want us to come?" Steven asked.

Rose glanced over at Garnet, who took her cue. "A Gem artifact has become active."

"An artifact?" Blue Pearl spoke up. "What kind?"

"We don't know," Garnet responded. "All we know is its location."

"How did it become active?" Steven asked. "Do Gem things just... do that?"

"They can," Garnet said. "The most powerful artifacts of Homeworld tended to put function over stability."

"They can be unpredictable," Rose clarified. "And not always built to last.

Steven turned and looked up at Blue Pearl for confirmation. "That is true, Steven," she said. "Especially during the war, results were valued much more than sustainability."

"Okay," Steven said slowly as he looked back at Rose. "Why are you telling us this?"

There was a moment's pause, before Rose answered, "We want you to come on our mission with us."

Steven's eyes grew wide with surprise. "Me? Why?"

Again, Rose glanced over at Garnet.

"You possess a Sight," Garnet said. "A very rare gift."

"You mean my past vision," Steven said, just a hair tensely. He was uneasy being here, in the Temple with all of them around, wasn't he? Rose could hardly blame him, though. After all, he spent so long— too long, really— imprisoned here. Having had spent time in prison cells, for one reason or another, Rose wouldn't be eager to come back if it were her.

"Yes," Garnet said. "It is a powerful ability, more precise than trying to parse out a possibility amongst a sea of chances."

"And from what Garnet has told me," Rose said, "these visions tend to engulf you."

Steven shifted where he stood, but before he could say anything, Amethyst spoke up, "Yeah. He almost walked off the Sky Arena." She grinned self-assuredly. "Good thing I was there."

Steven gave an uneasy, lopsided smile. "Yeah, good thing. I can, uh… sort of forget where I really am during them, sometimes."

"That is why you need training," Rose said, smiling over at Garnet.

"Training I can help you with," Garnet said. "Your Sight is a tool, and you need to be able to use it properly."

A moment of silence passed, before Blue Pearl asked softly, "And why do you want him trained?"

"For his own safety," Garnet answered without missing a beat.

"I see," Blue Pearl responded. "And if that is your reason, then I thank you." She tipped her head just slightly at them. "But you will not train him simply so he can become your tool."

A knot of uncertainty tightened in Rose's chest. "That is not our intention," she said. "Please. We only want to help As a sign of good faith."

"Steven has had no trouble with his visions," Blue Pearl responded, though with the quickly-masked look of surprise Steven gave her, Rose suspected even she knew this was false.

"Maybe we should ask Steven what he thinks," Amethyst said in a faux whisper.

Steven bit his lip as he looked between Blue Pearl and the Crystal Gems.

"What would I have to do?" he asked.

"Come with us on the mission," Rose explained. "Once there, you can practice your past vision in a safe, contained environment."

"What's so special about… wherever this mission is taking place? Can't we just practice here?"

It had been an option, initially. But, again, their truce was a fragile one, and Pearl had argued that allowing Steven to see into the past of the Crystal Gems more than was absolutely necessary could give him too many insights if they ever did find themselves on opposing sides again. And Rose hadn't been able to mount a convincing argument against her, not with the ignored warnings about Mr. Universe hanging between them. Apology or not, Pearl still seemed on edge about the whole thing - but Pearl had always been overly protective of her, and Rose knew it would fade with time.

"It was a research and development lab," she said, ignoring his second question. "Experimenting with more efficient forms of energy. Just Gems standing over research terminals and cobbling together prototype machinery."

"No surprises," Garnet added. "Very calm, very quiet. Compared to what you've Seen in the past."

"And that's all I'd have to do?" Steven asked. "Practice my visions?"

"You don't have to do anything," Rose said, taking care to smile down at him. "But, honestly, we expect it to be a very routine shouldn't be anything else for you to do."

"Shouldn't be," Blue Pearl intoned.

"I've used my Future Vision extensively," Garnet said. "And Pearl— our Pearl- is already on the site scouting. If there's anything dangerous, she'll find it."

The corners of Blue Pearl's lips tightened, but she said nothing. But Steven, on the other hand…

"What were they working on at the lab?" he asked, eyes gleaming with wonder. "Is any of their research left? Are you going to try and retrieve it?"

"We don't know what the artifact exactly is," Rose said. "All we know is that's it's potentially dangerous if left alone."

Steven was quiet as he contemplated what they had said. After a while, he glanced up at Blue Pearl before turning back to Rose, saying. "Okay. I'll go."

"Steven," Blue Pearl said, laying a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I am not sure if this is a good idea."

"Why not?" Steven asked. "It's just like when you and I explore Gem ruins."

"Yes, dear. But…" She trailed off as she looked over at Garnet, then at Amethyst, and finally at Rose, who felt quite pleased by her success in keeping her surprise from showing. 'Dear'? That was new. What wasn't new was Blue Pearl's expression, a subtler version of one she'd seen on Pearl's face quite regularly when discussing Steven and his little court: suspicion..

"Pearl," Rose said in her most diplomatic voice. "For whatever it is worth, I offer my deepest assurance that we shall allow no harm to come to Steven while he is in our care."

Blue Pearl said nothing in response, only keeping her eyes trained on Steven.

"Pearl," Steven said. "This… this could be important. If I can get better control over my visions then… maybe I can walk around the-" He stopped, as if catching himself before saying something he shouldn't. "So I can walk around the mountainside without… any problems."

Is he talking about the Sky Arena? Or…

Rose felt her posture stiffen as she did her best to act like she didn't know what Steven was referring to. But even Garnet seemed to tense up after Steven spoke.

"Yes, Steven. But… Very well," Blue Pearl said.

"So can I go?" Steven asked, his face brightening.

"We will go, yes," Blue Pearl said. "I will accompany you."

Rose nodded, before smiling at the two "Of course you are welcome to come, Pearl. As I said, we have nothing to hide. Assuming Steven is okay with you coming, of course."

"Well, if you want to come, then I don't mind, Pearl," Steven smiled up at her. She smiled back at him.

Rose stepped forward. "Okay. If we're all ready…?"

Garnet nodded silently as she began walking towards the warp pad. Amethyst gave a fleeting look at Steven and Blue Pearl before following after Garnet.

"Do you need a moment to gather anything?" Rose asked.

"Do I need to bring anything?" Steven said.

"We could return to the RV and pack some things," Blue Pearl suggested. "I could retrieve some items from the medicine chest. And I think we may still have that defibrillator."

Judging by the boy's crinkled brow, Steven didn't seem to think that was necessary. Rose jumped to his aid, "If there is an accident, I will happily offer healing."

Steven gave her a sideways look, but Blue Pearl was undeterred. "At the very least, I am going to return and get a snack and some water for him."

"Pearl…"

"Some water might be a good idea." It was Garnet that spoke, still waiting on the warp pad behind Rose. "Where we're going, it can get rather warm."

Blue Pearl bowed lightly at Garnet. "Thank you." She turned and began walking back towards the beach. "I shall return shortly."

"Wait, Pearl!" Steven quickly jogged after her.

Now by themselves in the entrance hall, Rose joined Garnet and Amethyst near the warp pad.

"Well, Garnet," she said. "Do you See any major changes with letting Blue Pearl come with us?"

Garnet was silent as she searched through her visions. Amethyst scoffed, "Man, she's insistent when she wants to be. She's almost as bad as our Pearl. No wonder she won't stop scowling for half a second whenever Bloop is around."

Rose smiled softly down at Amethyst, laying a fond hand on the top of her head. "This is a very unique case for Pearl. Give her time to come around."

"Hmph. Ya think she'd be happy. I know I would be if we found another Amethyst."

The smile faltered slightly as Rose patted her on the head before drawing her close to her leg. "We know, Amethyst. Perhaps someday."

"No. I don't See an major differences," Garnet said, before looking over at Rose. "Although… Blue Pearl will be a little clingy."

"I assumed as much," Rose said. "Her devotion to Steven is rather… interesting."

Garnet nodded. "It is."

"Pearl believes that devotion is merely residual devotion to Blue Diamond," Rose added.

"She's told me," Garnet responded, then paused meaningfully. "Multiple times."

"Do you have an opinion on the matter, Garnet?"

"Yes."

"And?"

Garnet was silent for beat before answering, "When we fought at the Fountain, she shielded him from my attack with her body. That's something I've never seen a Pearl do for her 'master', Diamond or otherwise."

"Yes," Rose said. It was strange, to be sure. Whatever relationship Steven and Blue Pearl shared, it wasn't a "normal" Pearl and master relationship. And it had undergone a radical transformation in the past few days - right around the time Garnet said Mr. Universe had come to see her, crying. 'Dear'. Not 'My Steven', or 'My Diamond', but 'dear'. A human word.

"And at the Fountain," Amethyst added, "after everything was over, she called Steven her 'family'." She shrugged. "That's a human thing."

Rose nodded, pulling Amethyst closer into a half-hug. "And no thoughts on that, Garnet?"

Garnet gave her a small smirk. "I'm hoping that today's training session will help me crystallize my opinions on the boy."

Rose smiled back. "Ah, so that's why you suggested to bring him along."

"I can multitask."

Rose laughed. "Well, I would hope so."

A few minutes passed before Steven and Blue Pearl returned, a bag hanging off of Steven's shoulder. A bag shaped like a fish, of all things.

"It's a bungeo-ppang," Steven said, when Amethyst laughed at it. "You get them in Korea! They're really tasty."

"Oh I am sure," Rose said as casually as she could. She waited until Steven and Blue Pearl had stepped onto the warp pad before stepping onto to it herself. She noted that Blue Pearl stood behind Steven, her hands placed firmly on his shoulders.

A moment of tense silence passed as they all stood on the warp pad.

"Garnet, would you like to do the honors?" Rose asked.

"Sure."

The warp pad glowed as light shot up around them, lifting them off their feet and taking them to their destination.


The ground rematerialized under Rose's bare feet. The warp stream disappeared, and warmer, drier air washed over her. They were luckily in an area that was hidden from sight, a walled off alley, if Rose had to guess off hand. That was good. They didn't need more humans seeing them warp in again.

"Where are we?" Steven asked as he stepped off the warp pad.

"Lagos." Garnet answered. "In Nigeria."

"We're in Africa?!" Steven gasped. "Are we going to see elephants? I've always wanted to see an elephant."

His enthusiasm was certainly infectious. Rose gave him a genuine smile. "Oh, I love elephants! They're so intelligent, and it's so clever how they can manipulate things with their noses! But I'm afraid we won't see any today. The ruins are located within the city."

"Aww…" Steven sounded rather dejected.

"Hey, cheer up, dude. I gotcha covered." Amethyst turned around, revealing her nose had been replaced by a long trunk and two large, floppy elephant ears stuck out from under her hair.

Steven laughed at Amethyst's antics, but Blue Pearl stepped closer to Rose, considering her with deep, blue eyes. "Why did humans build their city so close to ruins?"

"I can't say," Rose answered. "They might not have know what they were. But humans, brave and curious as they are, would hardly let a little uncertainty stop them!"

"But you could have stopped them," Blue Pearl said. "Surely it's dangerous for humans to build their homes so close to Homeworld ruins."

Rose laughed at the notion and began moving forward, the group following behind her. They weren't sure, exactly, how long Blue Diamond had been secretly coming to Earth, but it didn't seem to have been long enough for Blue Pearl to fully comprehend humanity's pure, unadulterated and utterly delightful stubbornness..

"In my experience, once a human has their mind set on something, they're not easily dissuaded."

"Yeah, just look at Beach City," said Amethyst, pushing her trunk out of the way so she could talk more clearly. "We had to save their boat from a giant monster and they still wanted to live there."

"Yes. We give them warnings," Garnet added, "but they never listen."

"But you could have stopped them," Blue Pearl pressed. "You are a Gem, not of Homeworld but still. You could claim ownership of the ruins."

"We have never wanted to claim ownership of this planet," Rose said, perhaps a bit more firmly than she intended. "And even if we did, Earth is their home. Humans should be allowed to move wherever they desire."

"I see," Blue Pearl answered simply before turning to Steven, whose arm was wrapped in Amethyst's trunk. "Sweetheart, perhaps you should take your hoodie off?"

Once again, Rose managed to keep her surprise from her face, as did Garnet, who caught her eye and nodded, just enough for her to notice. But Amethyst was rather less discreet with her snort of amusement.

"Sweetheart?"

Steven freed his arm as Amethyst let her features return to normal. "Yeah. It's pretty hot here," he said evenly. Rose made a mental note to have another word to Amethyst about tact in delicate situations.

He pulled his arms through the hoodie's sleeves and then pulled it over his head. Underneath the hoodie he was wearing a simple black shirt, adorned with a large bright yellow star, similar to the one that was on Blue Pearl's hair clip.

Blue Pearl held out her hand. "I can store it in my gem."

"No, it's okay, Pearl," Steven said as he brought his bag to his front. He unzipped it and folded the hoodie and placed it inside. "See? I got it."

"Ah. Okay then," Blue Pearl said simply.

Rose watched the pair in silence. She offered her 'services', but he declined them. The change is going both ways…

A voice broke Rose out of her train of thought. "There you are."

She turned and saw Pearl jumping down from the top of one of the concrete walls surrounding them. She landed without a sound, graceful as always, and quickly strode over to them.

Pearl's looked over at Steven and Blue Pearl, with that carefully neutral expression she used when she was displeased and not willng to show it. "You were able to convince him to come, I see."

Steven stepped forward and looked steadily at Pearl. "Hello, Pearl-ssi."

Pearl was visibly taken aback at the way he addressed her, and so was Rose. It took a moment for her mind to process the translation:

ssi: honorific, designating respect and equality.

"Oh," Pearl blinked at him. "Uh, yes. Hello, Steven Universe. Pearl," she said in acknowledgement as she moved past them.

Rose noted, with delighted curiosity, how Steven looked up and beamed at Blue Pearl, and how Blue Pearl nodded gently and smiled back at him. Rose wasn't sure what had changed, but something clearly had, even beyond what Garnet had told her about Mr. Universe."Were ya able to get in, P?" Amethyst asked.

Pearl sighed. "As best I could. I found no sign of intrusion."

"My visions were correct," said Garnet.

Pearl gave her a wry smile. "Yes, yes, they were."

"Good. I knew you'd both be able to do it." Rose said. "Then if we're all ready, I suggest we move out. Pearl?"

Pearl lead the way, sticking to alleys and backstreets to avoid onlookers. While humans had an amazing propensity to ignore oddness, the Gems' inhuman appearances could occasional attract attention, which was the last thing they wanted that day. More than once, their roundabout route lead them over walls or balconies. Most of the Gems had no trouble climbing these, and Pearl could not resist showing her skills off with dramatic leaps and twirls. It left Rose beaming at her, giddy at such delightful displays, even after all this time.

The walls posed more difficulty for Steven, who struggled on his own until Blue Pearl hesitantly offered some assistance. The boy took such assistance equally hesitantly, but let Blue Pearl carry him with a jump that may not have been as showy as Pearl's, but was equally graceful.

They carried on through the city. Once or twice, Rose caught sight of a tower or a spire, and was tempted to lead the group up to the top of one for some sightseeing. She had to resist the temptation, though. They had a mission, and no doubt the others would be frustrated by the distraction. She buried a sigh and floated over the most recent wall, landing lightly on the ground.

Pearl put on a half smile, "Nice jump."

"You weren't bad yourself," Rose beamed back.

"You know…" she said, and the half-smile became the smirk that Rose did so love, "this all reminds me of that raid we ran on the western Sun Shrine. Not the first one, the second."

Rose could see it at once, and grinned back.

"Leaping from pillar to pillar, racing towards the heart of the shrine, dodging Red Eye blasts and artillery fire. And then the look on that emeralds face when you told her-"

"-you can fly, but you can't run!" they finished in unison, and burst out laughing.

Amethyst groaned in impatience. "Can you two save it 'till later? I wanna get to the ruins."

It took Rose a few moments to get a handle on her laughter before they could carry on. The glare Blue Pearl shot their way, and the uncertain look on Steven's face helped, though, and certainly helped her remember her private promise to herself for today:

Don't talk about the war.


Rose wasn't the only with a tendency to become distracted, however. Steven often stopped to admire the posters or signs hanging from walls, or strained his neck to catch glimpses through windows or storefronts. More than once, Blue Pearl had to call him over as he fell behind.

"Sorry," he apologized as he hurried back to them.

"It's alright, Steven," Rose said. "I understand that this is a new place. And you want to take it all in."

"Yeah," Steven responded, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. "I've never been to Africa. We haven't even gotten to it in our lessons before."

"Lessons?" Rose asked. "What sort of lessons?"

"About all kinds of things," Steven answered. "Science, math, history, geography."

"Oh my," Rose said, "that sounds very interesting."

They chatted for a bit on the topic, Rose privately marvelling at how fascinating it was, that Steven had to learn so much from scratch. Ahead of them, Pearl let out a quiet groan. Rose ignored it, having long since accepted that Pearl did not quite share her fascination with humanity.

"So… do you have a lot of experience interacting with humans?" Steven asked Rose.

"Oh yes." Rose laughed. "You can hardly be on Earth as long as I have and not do so." They passed by another road, down which Rose could see a busy main street. People walked down the sidewalk and cars noisily drove down the street. "Humans are incredible," she said, not really talking to anyone in particular. "There's so much to you, and each and every one of you are different." She looked back at Steven. "And that's why you're incredible, Steven. You're a crossroad between humans and Gems."

Steven said nothing in return, only staring down at concrete ground beneath them. As he walked, Rose noticed the very tip of his blue gem poking from the neck of his shirt.

Rose felt a surprising surge of pity for the boy. Of all the Gems in the cosmos, Steven had to inherit Blue Diamond's gem. It was an unfair fate, one Steven had no control over. And the helplessness that came with the supposedly predetermined nature of a Gem's life... That was something Rose was quite familiar with. For the longest time, she had numbly accepted the fate she had been given and simply did what she was told; but only until someone helped her realize that creating her own path in life was possible.

Rose was just about to say as much to Steven when Pearl spoke up, bringing Rose's attention back to the present.

"We're here."

In a small clearing of the modern-day concrete jungle, were some ancient stone pillars marked with Gem characters. They were barely standing, having been damaged through the years, but even now the very air surrounding them thrummed with powerful energy.

But what surprised Rose the most was what she saw beyond those crumbling ruins: Beds of flowers, neatly trimmed grass, newly paved paths dotted with benches. Humans and various domesticated pets strolled around with a stark casualness, hardly paying attention to their surroundings.

The Gems came to a stop, staring.

"It's a… park?" said Steven.

"It seems so," said Blue Pearl.

"They turned the laboratories… into a park," said Pearl slowly, shaking her head. "I hardly believed it when I first saw it…"

"I did not See this," Garnet simply stated.

Barely able to restrain her delight, Rose practically skipped to the fallen pillar which marked the park's entrance. Embedded into it was a plaque that read:

"Dedicated to our forebears:
The ever elusive Fish People"

Rose read it several more times. "Humans are quite strange," she said finally, smiling.

"That they are," Pearl responded, frowning.

"Well. It makes no difference." Rose walked back over to the group. "Our mission remains the same. Pearl, Amethyst." She looked over at the two. "You two begin searching the area. The artifact is still here, somewhere. This was most likely only the entrance hall for the lab. There must be way into its deeper levels somewhere."

"Gotcha," Amethyst said.

"We'll see what we can find," Pearl added.

The two headed off to investigate parts of the ruins-slash-park.

Rose turned to Garnet. "Given that this location isn't as secluded as we thought, are you still going to go through with the training?

In response, Garnet looked down at Steven, who jumped when he realized all eyes were on him.

"Oh. Well, I mean..." Steven started. "I've had visions in public places before. Like buses and parks and stuff. So… If you're still willing to help me…"

Garnet nodded, and lead the group away from the entrance of the park to somewhere a little more private. All of her attention on was on Steven. "Your first goal: try and trigger a vision of us arriving."

Blue Pearl shifted where she stood, and Garnet was quick to notice.

"He needs greater control," Garnet explained. "Not just to trigger a vision, but to trigger when that vision takes place."

"Ah. Of course. Forgive me." It was hard to tell, given the calm and leveled way Blue Pearl spoke, but Rose thought she could hear the barest hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Steven closed his eyes. "I sometimes have trouble trying to get a specific time."

"I know," Garnet responded. "It took you a few tries at the Arena."

"Yeah…" Steven's eyes fluttered before closing again. Rose noted that his cheeks had taken on a slight blue coloring.

"So," Garnet said, "bring a vision of us arriving."

"Remember your breathing, Steven. Like we practiced." Blue Pearl said.

Steven didn't say anything in return. He just breathed in deeply, held it for a moment, before slowly releasing it.

For several seconds, he just stood there, eyes closed, expression blank, his arms hanging at his side. Until Rose noticed his mouth twitch. And not just that, but she could Steven's eyes moving from behind his eyelids.

He was having a vision.

"Be careful, dear," Blue Pearl said. "I'll tell you if you're about to run into anything."

Though his eyes remained closed, Steven's head jerked towards her, and his brow creased in a frown.

Rose herself made no commentary. She found the whole thing fascinating. She had seen Garnet have visions before, of course, but Garnet grew almost unnaturally still whenever she was exploring a vision. Steven on the other hand, squirmed around, moving from foot to foot, before he began to move in tight circle around them. He opened his eyes, but he didn't seem to be looking at anything in front of him, instead staring into the far distance.

As she was observing him, Rose suddenly felt something brush and push against her leg. She looked down and saw the most adorable dog. All splotchy brown black, with pointed ears and a drooling tongue, tail lashing backwards and forwards in excitement as it bounded towards the group—

Rose couldn't hold back her squeal.

"Zena! Zena!" the dog's child cried, pulling back on the leash, but it was no use. The leash flew out of their hand as the dog threw itself at Rose, doing its best to cover her face in slobber, and only reaching her chest. "Oh— no, I'm sorry, stop—!"

"Oh, it's no trouble, no trouble," Rose assured, enthusiastically scratching the creature behind its magnificent ears. "This is an Alsatian, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" said the young child, trying to pull it back.

"Oh, I remember when they were first bred!"

"Uh..." the child said. "How?'

"Oh, I'm thousands of years old," said Rose. "But never mind that! How did you get Zena here?"

And the child was off, happily telling the story of their seventh birthday and wheedling and pleading, and how they'd finally convinced their parents to let them visit the shelter, and how Zena had been one of the sickest dogs there and—

"Can you be quiet!" Steven snapped, stomping his foot. There was lightning sizzling over his skin.

The blue glow sizzled out of the corner of Rose's vision, and before she even realized what she was doing, she'd pushed the child behind her, placing herself as a shield between them and Steven. The child flinched, and Zena's ears went back, tail between its legs.

Rose held her gaze steady on Steven Universe as the familiar power surged through her, prepared to summon her shield in a second.

The park around them felt silent.

The lightning around Steven faded. He blanched.

"Sorry," he muttered, immediately apologetic. He made a small bark, and the dog relaxed a little, although the child still looked shocked.

"Maybe a little quiet would assist in concentration," Garnet suggested, with a pointed look at Rose. Warmth flooded her form.

The child was not so easily convinced. He were clutching Zena's leash. "You're sparking," they said accusingly to Steven.

"Sorry," he repeated, the last of his blue lightning fading.

"And why are you blue?" the child asked, pointing at an increasingly flustered Blue Pearl.

"Ah, little one," Rose said, coming to Blue Pearl's rescue. "Why don't you run off with Zena? My friend and I have something we must do."

"Oh! Right. Sorry, Ma." He tapped Zena on the head. "Come on. Let's go." The dog barked and both of them ran off, and Rose watch them go with some disappointment.

WIth the pair gone, Rose then placed a firm, but gentle hand on Blue Pearl's shoulder. She didn't shirk away at all, which was a little surprising. Though, maybe it shouldn't have been…

"I believe we can trust Garnet to handle it from here," Rose said. Steven was taking in another breath, eyes closed, while Garnet watched passively. "Shall we leave them to it?"

"I can not leave," Blue Pearl said simply.

"We're not leaving," Rose responded easily. "We are merely giving them some space so that Steven can practice efficiently." Blue Pearl remained where she stood. "Steven will be within plain view throughout," Rose gently assured. A pause. "Surely you do want Steven to be able to focus on his lesson?"

That seemed to snag her. Blue Pearl looked over at Steven again, who had now laid his fish shaped bag on the ground as he stared intently at the ground. Finally, she moved, though over to Garnet rather than away with Rose. Blue Pearl looked directly at Garnet, her reflection looked back at her in Garnet's sunglasses.

"Ensure that he stays hydrated," Blue Pearl said. Steven cheeks deepened into a purple blush. "And if he gets tired, take a break. And make sure he doesn't run into anything. He can sometimes get carried away with his visions."

Garnet looked at her evenly. She didn't smile, but her expression did seem to soften. "Alright. He will be safe with me."

Blue Pearl continued to glare before nodding curtly. "I'll be watching," she said. Blue Pearl then swiftly turned, sparing a fleeting glance at Steven whose attention was still focused on the ground, before looking back at Rose. "I'm not going too far," she said. "Just enough to give him space."

"Of course," Rose responded. She waved an arm and let Blue Pearl lead.

They did not go far— just to a playground hidden in the shade of one of the remaining pillars, out of earshot. As they walked there, Blue Pearl looked over her shoulder constantly. Rose took a seat on a piece of rubble and invited her companion to join her, but Blue Pearl declined with a "No, thank you," and continued her vigil of Steven and Garnet.

Over the laughter, chatter and barking of the park's visitors, the sounds of Pearl and Amethyst's search could just barely be heard, if Rose focused. It seemed that Amethyst was trying to get Pearl to dare her to carry as many ruined pillars as possible. She wasn't making much headway, from the sounds of it.

Rose listened to the fond bickering for some time, then turned her attention back to Blue Pearl. She wanted to find something they hopefully break some of the ice between them. "Steven is certainly a talented individual. I've never met anyone quite like him."

"Of course not." Blue Pearl didn't take her eyes off Steven and Garnet.

"I look forward to getting to know him better," Rose went on.

Blue Pearl said nothing.

"I understand you helped Mr. Universe raise him. That is certainly a feat." Rose chuckled. "At least, I assume it is. I'll admit, my own knowledge of raising children is rather limited, so—"

"Please." Blue Pearl said only one word, but it was enough; sharp and pointed as it was.

Still, Rose pushed, wanting to get to the root of this. It might be her only chance for a while. "Pearl, is something wrong?"

Blue Pearl looked down at the ground, before slowly turning to face Rose. "Is… Garnet qualified for this?"

"Qualified? I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Pearl."

A silent beat and Blue Pearl said, "Has she ever taught before?"

"Oh yes. Of course," Rose answered. "She had more than her own fair share of students during the Rebellion."

Blue Pearl said, "She taught them how to fight."

Ah. Rose understood the issue here.

"Oh, no. Far from it," Rose said, deliberately keeping her voice light. "Combat training was Pearl's or my own area of expertise. Garnet helped new recruits with… the more emotional side of things… Staying calm in panicked situations, not letting despair or anger overtake you, understanding one another. Things of that nature."

"I see," Blue Pearl responded.

"Garnet was easily one of the best among us," Rose said. "Slow to anger, but quick to care." She looked over at Garnet, still carefully watching Steven as he slowly walked around in the midst of a vision. "I may be the face of the Rebellion, but in so many ways, Garnet is its heart."

Blue Pearl nodded silently at her. "Very well," she said.

"I know Garnet can seem intimidating," Rose said. "But rarely have I met someone as loving and accepting as she is. Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving."

Blue Pearl was silent, only for a moment, before she quietly said, "And that is a lesson you have learned recently then?"

"I suppose if there is one thing Earth has taught me…" Rose said carefully, "it's that you can never stop learning."

"Of course," Blue Pearl said. "And never mind who gets hurt during that lesson."

Rose slid off the rubble she had been on, landing softly as the grass brushed against her bare feet. She had prepared, and now was her chance.

"In hindsight," she said, "what we did to Steven is more than regrettable. But at the time, we knew nothing about him. Not even Garnet's future vision could offer us any guidance."

"So you judged him. By his appearance," Blue Pearl said. "Assumed he was his mother, solely by his gem."

"We did," Rose said heavily. "We opted for caution when we were dealing with the unknown. Would you have done anything different in our place?"

"You treated him like a beast," Blue Pearl shot back, ignoring the question. "Kept him in a cage until it suited you."

"Yes, we imprisoned him until we knew he was safe. We caught him leading two gems of the Blue Court on a raid of one of our most precious resources, after spying on us for months. And he bore a Diamond's gem."

"He's not Blue Diamond!" Blue Pearl was almost yelling now, her gaze was sharp and pointed and aimed completely at Rose. "He is Steven Universe. He is not his mother."

Rose looked calmly at Pearl. "No, he's not Blue Diamond. But-"

"But you didn't care! Steven told you he wasn't, Greg told you he wasn't, I told you he wasn't, but you didn't care!"

Rose bit back her initial reply after those last few words registered. Oh, she'd been stupid not to see it earlier. This wasn't an argument about right or wrong, or what was logical or reasonable or even fair. It was about love. And about someone too often left voiceless needing to be heard.

"It's not that we didn't care," Rose said carefully. "We had never seen anyone like Steven before. A human with a gem… it was something completely different. And we drew the wrong conclusions, and didn't listen when you told us that. I'm sorry. I want to do better. But I need your help."

Pearl said nothing. In that single gaze, Rose felt reflected the same scrutiny of the Crystal Gem troops on the eve before battle.

And before a battle, you needed a speech.

"Do you know how long it took me, to realize humans and babies were the same thing?" Hair fell into Rose's face as she shook her head, laughing at her own folly. "You have to admit, it's a little confusing. One's big and can talk, the other's small and can't… How was I supposed to know they were the same species?" She smiled. "But then I noticed— they grow. That's always fascinated me. They're meant to change, to become something different… you've witnessed that, up close. You saw Steven grow. You helped shape him. And from what I can see… that shape's a good one. Creative, curious, thoughtful… Loving."

Blue Pearl was still staring back at her, unblinking. But there was the slightest tremor in her hand.

Rose had seen that tremor in her own dear Pearl, many times. A sign of deep, deep emotion, she was fighting so desperately to keep hidden.

"Loving, yes," the Pearl said. "We love each other. And we will do anything for each other."

Rose nodded. "Then will you do this for me?"

"I do not know what 'this' is."

Rose shifted, her dress rustling over the grass. "I'm not asking you to be my friend, Pearl. I'm merely asking that we set aside animosities so we may all help Steven. So that we don't hurt him unintentionally. He's… very special."

"He is one of a kind."

"That he is. But… it's a heavy burden that's been laid at his feet. All the things he's inherited..."

"Yes," Blue Pearl said softly. "I know."

"So please, Pearl," Rose went on. "We want to help Steven, but not without you. You can be there every step of the way." She smiled. "I don't think Steven would want it any other way."

Silence settled between them. The background was filled with sounds of people enjoying their day, of birds singing and children playing with their pets, but for the two of them it was silent.

Until finally, Blue Pearl spoke, "I will try. For Steven's sake."

Rose nodded.

It was a start, at least.


Aurthors' Note- Wow, werewolves were the clear winner of that informal poll! To see how we answered, check out our FB Occult AU, 'Ill Met By Moonlight'.