Authors' Note:
WARNING: This chapter contains spoilers for the new episodes, 'Can't Go Back' and 'A Single Pale Rose'. If you haven't watched them yet, do it. This fic isn't going anywhere.

Also, sidenote: we're onto Writing Doc Three. Welcome to Faded Blue 3: The Bloopening!


Chapter Thrirty-Nine: Movers and Shakers

"Are you certain about this, dear?"

"Yeah, Pearl. I'm sure." Steven smiled reassuringly at her. "Moving the Palanquin just makes sense."

And it did, really. Not just because the last time he'd been there, he'd gotten attacked by a monster. If he wanted to avoid monster attacks, moving closer to Beach City was the opposite of the right choice.

It was just... the RV was nice and all, but it was frankly too small for three people. Four, if you counted Lapis. Five, if you counted a rapidly growing kitten. Steven missed his own bed, his stuffed animal corner, story time on the throne.

That was not to say that Steven wouldn't miss Korea a little. Or maybe even a lot. Damyang would always feel like a home to him. But things had been changing. He'd been spending more and more time with Connie and Amethyst, and of course there were his ongoing lessons with Garnet. Plus, even though he hadn't been asked, Steven suspected that Rose would like him to continue translating for Biggs.

And… the truth was, the thought of getting further away from the broken, pink Palanquin was also very appealing. Lately, it had seemed to start to sting in whole new way…

Pearl hummed, long and low. Her eyes flicked, and Steven followed her gaze towards Garnet and Amethyst.

"Just be careful," she said softly.

"I will," Steven said, with a confidence he didn't entirely feel.

"Yoooooooo!" Amethyst cried. "We getting started or what?"

Steven cried back, "Yeah, just one sec—"

"Wait." Pearl took a step forward, her shoulders squared and her gaze steady on the two Crystal Gems. "You must promise us nothing will go awry here."

"We're just gonna be carrying it," Amethyst said, rolling her eyes. "What exactly are you afraid of? That we'll drop it or something?"

Pearl said nothing, just stared at them, nonplussed.

Steven shuffled his feet anxiously. He wished, again, that he had enough control of his powers to figure out how to move the Palanquin himself. So that they wouldn't have to rely on the Crystal Gems doing this to help him.

"Nothing bad will happen," Garnet said, touching her glasses.

"You gave the same reassurance before the mission in Nigeria," said Pearl. "We trusted you then, and Steven was nearly killed by a monster. Why should we trust you now?"

"He wasn't almost killed—" Amethyst interjected, but she was ignored.

"I'm sorry," Garnet said. First to Steven, then shifting to look at Pearl. "Even I can be surprised. I should have been more thorough last time. But I promise there will be no danger here."

Steven nodded, but Pearl still wasn't satisfied.

"How can you be certain?"

"Because on a mission, the danger comes from outside. Something beyond our control. But this is me." Garnet grinned at Amethyst. "This is us."

Amethyst grinned back. "Yeah dude! LET'S MASH IT UP!"

It was not, perhaps, the most reassuring thing she could have said just then.

But if Pearl (or Steven) had any more doubts, there was no chance left to air them. They could only watch, wide-eyed, at the dance that unfurled before them. Amethyst laughing, spinning around and wiggling her butt. Garnet gyrating, waving her arms in a way that was almost mesmerizing. They seemed to settle into a rhythm, as if following a beat only they could hear. Garnet spread her limbs wide— Amethyst jumped at her—

There was a flash of blinding purple light.

Steven blinked away the fading afterimage of a dragon, and looked up... and up... and up...

The fusion was huge.

Her head was thrown back as she roared, which Steven belatedly realized was laughter. "TAKE A LOOK EVERYONE! I'M BACK!"

How could anyone not look at her? She had four arms! She had glasses the size of a truck! She had fangs bigger than he was!

Pearl was gripping his shoulder tight enough that it almost hurt. Steven realized they'd both taken step backwards without realizing.

He wished they hadn't. He really, really didn't want to insult this fusion.

But she hadn't seemed to notice— or if she had, she must have found it funny, because she grinned.

"Hey there, shorties. Name's Sugilite. I'd ask ya yours but—" she let loose another barking laugh "—I already know 'em."

So. Fusions could remember everything their components did. That was good to keep in mind. And it did make sense. They wouldn't have been particularly useful soldiers in the war if they'd forgotten their missions and their commanders the moment they formed.

A shadow fell over them as Sugilite leaned over and held out her clenched fist. Steven stared at it for a moment before realizing she was asking for a fist bump.

Steven carefully tapped his hands against hers. She laughed. "HA! THAT ALL YA GOT?"

He grimaced and tried again, winding up his arm and fist-bumping her with as much force as he dared.

"THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!"

Sugilite straightened up, and walked in a lazy circle around the Palanquin, something which took her about five steps. Five earth-shaking steps. Clouds of startled birds flew up from the forest, and Steven's heart sank. He'd wanted to say goodbye to them before he'd left. He wasn't sure when he'd be back.

"So," Sugilite said, gripping the Palanquin's tip and wiggling it back and forth as if to test its weight. "Ya just want me to carry this?"

"Be careful with it!" Pearl cried, letting go of Steven and running forward.

"Aw, darn. Here I was, planning to use it as a back scratcher." She waved a single, massive hand at Pearl. "Chill out, Pearl. You're worse than Pearl."

Pearl scowled. Despite himself, Steven smirked.

Sugilite scratched the back of her neck. "Say… I think I could use a little help."

Steven and Pearl exchanged glances, wondering what possible help either of them could offer the giant… and a little afraid that she was going to rope in Rose Quartz to make an even larger fusion.

"Why don'tcha get up here and tell me where this has got to go?"

Steven blinked. He pointed at his chest, "Me?"

"Sure," said Sugilite. "Pearl too, if she wants to."

"No," Pearl refused flatly.

Sugilite let out another bone rattling laugh. "Can't really say I'm surprised there."

Steven fiddled with the strings of his hoodie, unsure. Pearl didn't have to say anything to make it clear what she felt about him get any closer to the fusion than he had to. But declining an invitation would be rude… and Pearl had always said that blue Gems were natural diplomats…

"Alright." His voice warbled only a little bit.

Sugilite bared a toothy, pointy smile. "Well, well. Someone's game. Alright, go ahead and step up."

The fusion laid one of her hands flat like a platform, and Steven stepped carefully onto it. It was hard as tarmac underfoot. His stomach lurched as he was raised up, and he flung out his arms to remain steady. Then he had to step onto her shoulder, where he quickly sat down, clutching the fabric of her collar so he wouldn't fall off.

He was… high up.

Really, really high up.

And it was so cool.

"You like that, little Gem?" Sugilite laughed.

"Y-yeah!"

He could see everything! The Palanquin below him, the fields full of summer flowers, the stream where they got water, the village miles and miles away…

There was a grunt as Sugilite hoisted the Palanquin up. "Alright. Now that I've got a face-full of palanquin, I can't see a thing. So you're gonna have to tell me where to walk so I don't accidentally step on, like Pearl, or a whole town. Capiche?"

"Capiche," said Steven nodding.

It was like some crazy game, Steven craning his neck left and right to get a proper view, shouting out instructions— 'right, left, left, left, a little more right!' Mostly Sugilite had no problems, even if she did sometimes pretend to go the wrong way… or accidentally crush a tree beneath her. Steven got in the habit of calling out in every animal language he could, telling them to run off, just in case his friends hadn't gotten the message already.

It was in this manner that they got to the warp pad, Sugilite kicking away the bushes hiding it. She barely fit on it by herself… and definitely didn't fit at all with the Palanquin there. They decided to send Pearl ahead with the Palanquin first. Steven pointed out then that they wouldn't be able to warp after her without dropping right on top of it, but Sugilite waved the concern away.

"Rose'll be there waiting. She ain't no me obviously, but she can handle pushing something like this a couple feet."

Steven nodded. He knew Rose was strong, she'd have to be to be the leader of the Rebels. But moving the Palanquin on her own? That would make her almost as strong as a Diamond.

Even though Pearl's expression could barely be read from so high up, she was plainly not pleased to leave him unaccompanied. But she could see this was the most sensible course of action, and left them with only a soft 'stay safe'.

He sat on Sugilite's shoulder, waiting until they could be sure the coast was clear.

Neither of them spoke. As chatty as Sugilite had been before, without anything to do, she seemed to have run out of things to say.

Steven looked at her massive face sidelong. Being silent was par for the course for Garnet… but Amethyst would have had some comment ready. Some joke or comment or something. How much of her was still in there? What if Sugilite decided to never unfuse? Would she just be stuck as a fusion forever?

He was interrupted by a loud shriek from above.

"Nari!" Steven squawked. "What are you doing here?"

The sounds which came out of her mouth weren't words, so much as expressions of fear and relief and a threat to claw out this predator's eyes if it was hurting him.

"No, no! It's okay. This is Sugilite. She's helping me move my Palanquin."

"Your nest?"

"Yeah. My nest."

Nari fluttered around his head. "You are leaving."

"...Yeah. Sorry Nari."

"Do not apologize. All migrate when the seasons change."

"Well, not all bird species—"

Nari gave a cheep that was equal parts annoyance and affection. She landed on his shoulder, and nipped his ear.

"Ouch!"

"Need me to crush that for you?" Sugilite asked.

"No!" Steven shouted. "Don't you dare!"

Sugilite raised a couple of hands placatingly. "Hey, just checking."

Nari fluttered her wings, feathers brushing Steven's cheek. "She new flock?"

"I—" Steven paused, and considered. 'Flock' seemed as good a description as any. "Yeah. Part of it."

The hawk's head bobbed, seemingly satisfied.

She was beautiful, Steven thought, all golds and russets. "I'm going to miss you, Nari. I'm sorry I haven't been around a lot. I promise that I'll visit regularly, okay?"

Again, the answer didn't come in words. Just a sense of understanding, and thankfulness, and comfort. There was brief pain as her talons dug into her shoulder, and then Nari was gone, taking off into the forest to find her next meal.

"Huh," said Sugilite.

Steven looked at her, but she didn't elaborate. She said, "Well, I figure they've probably moved the Palanquin by now. Let's move out."

Steven nodded. Sugilite stepped onto the warp pad, and together they beamed away.

The blue light died, and when they reappeared at the Barn, it was evening. Cicadas hummed in the distance. Dad and Pearl were standing next to the Palanquin, debating where it could go, while Rose stood to the side, apparently inspecting a nearby bush.

"Steven! Sugilite!" She beamed as she stood up. "Wonderful to see you."

"Wonderful to be me," Sugilite said, and Rose laughed.

Dad was much more thrown, but he was doing his best to hide it. "Hey Schtoo-ball! Pearl and I were wondering where you'd want this! Closer to the warp pad, or—"

"Nearer to the barn," Steven said. That place was filled with all sorts of cool old plane parts. He couldn't wait to explore it.

From his perch on Sugilite's shoulder, Steven could see the ocean. And below them was Beach City, the Temple's two faces visible. Steven smiled.

Yeah. That would make a good new home.

Steven knew that setting up a new home base wasn't something that was going to happen overnight, even with Dad and Pearl and Lapis all working on it. While the Palaquin proper was mostly all set up, it was getting things organised in the barn itself. Steven itched to help out, but there was something more important for him to tend to first.

He had to admit, with some degree of reluctance, that Rose Quartz's private garden really was quite nice. The sound of running water (or tears) was soothing, the fragrance of flowers was heavy and sweet, and the chatter of distant birds was relaxing. It probably helped that it was daytime now, and that there wasn't an angry fusion trying to beat him and his family into a pulp.

But there was still an uneasy squirming in his stomach that had (mostly) nothing to do with memories of how he'd been captured.

Floating in the air in front of him was a red bubble holding a gemstone.

At his side was Rose Quartz, one hand resting on his shoulder She had reassured him multiple times today: he could do this. He had already healed one corrupted Gem. He could do it again.

More reassuring was Garnet's quiet presence on the other side of the fountain. With her Watching, Steven was less afraid he might mess up. But at the same time, she hadn't assured him that he'd be successful… He quickly looked away from her, refocusing.

"Are you ready?" Rose asked.

Steven clenched his fists, then nodded. "Yeah. Let's do it."

He could remember how it had been last time. Practically unconscious. He'd just started singing, and… it happened— a wave of cool power, radiating out of his chest, into his entire body, and out of his mouth as song.

That was what he tried to summon then. He thought about the poor bubbled Gem— an Obsidian— and how scared she had to be, and how unfair it was that she was like this, and how happy everyone would be if she could be healed—

The words of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star came out of his mouth. But there was no flow of magic, no glow from his gem, no surge of exhaustion. But still, Steven sang until the end of the song.

"Alright," said Rose, moving forward. "Let's see."

She gently popped the bubble. There was a paradoxical flash of black light, and a body began to form. Steven couldn't help but step away as he saw it— something tall and thin and lithe. Like a jaguar, but with spines running down its back and a tail ending in a mace.

The instant it formed, it roared.

Steven got no understanding from the roar— nothing but pure, mindless fear and rage.

Rose stepped in front of him, her shield materializing on her arm is a wave of light and sparkles. "Try singing again!"

Steven tried, he really did. He sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Gom Se Mari, and Like a Comet. He sang even as the Obsidian monster charged, even as Garnet and Rose fought to keep it at bay, even when his voice broke with fear.

He felt no rush of power, no healing light. The music was just that: music. And the monster was just a monster.

At one point, the monster got dangerously close, so close that Steven could see himself reflected in her pitch black eyes. That was when Garnet pulled him back in a massive hand, punching the monster in the jaw. Rose Quartz came with her sword, destroying its physical form in a single slice.

It had just enough time to let out a cry of clear pain. Steven winced, knowing it was his fault.

Rose picked up the gem and quickly bubbled it, hesitating only a moment before she sent it away with a single tap.

Everything went blurry as Steven's eyes filled with tears.

Immediately he blinked them away, discreetly trying to wipe at them with the sleeve of his hoodie.

Why hadn't it worked?

Steven flinched as he felt something touch his head. Glancing up, he saw it was only Garnet. She was as hard to read as ever with her tinted glasses, but there was something comforting in her expression. It made him feel pretty bad about the flinching.

Rose Quartz was still staring at the space the bubble had gone. There were tears running down her cheeks, and she hadn't bothered to rub them away.

"I'm sorry," Steven said, the words seeming too small for the well of shame inside him.

"No. It's not your fault," said Rose.

"It is," said Steven. "I healed Biggs, I should be able to heal all of them—"

"You can try again," said Garnet. "The powers that you've shown… They are still very mysterious. To all of us, not just you. It will just take more time, and practice."

That was easy for her to say, when she could See practically everything!

Rose Quartz sat on the rim of the fountain's basin, and gently patted the space next to her. She said, "Steven."

Steven glanced briefly at Garnet, who nodded, before starting towards the garden's exit. With only a little hesitation, Steven came to sit next to the Crystal Gem's leader. He made sure to leave a little space between them. He knew that was kind of silly, since he'd literally passed out in her arms, but he couldn't help it.

"It's truly not your fault." Rose's voice was firm and sure sounding, but at the same time still held that gentle air about it that she spoke so easily with.

Steven gripped the cool stone. "But it is," he said. "I didn't make them like this, but if I can heal them... And even then, it's not like Biggs is back to normal. She's just kind of a little better, so— And I'm a Diamond! I should be able to do this!"

"This is something beyond the power of a single Diamond," said Rose, giving one of the saddest sighs he'd ever heard.

Steven stared down at his feet. Garnet was right. He could keep trying. He would keep trying. He'd done it once before, so he could do it again. Practice made perfect, right? That's what Pearl and Dad always told him.

Steven kept focused on his sandaled feet, his mind still wondering. "Why do you think I was only able to do it part way like that?"

Rose looked thoughtful. "I have… a theory. But I can't be sure it's correct."

Steven tilted his head. Rose sighed, seemed to steel herself, and continued.

"The Diamonds are— were— all different, not just in terms of personalities, but in their powers as well. White Diamond's domain is the mind. Yellow Diamond's the body. And Blue… Blue's was emotional."

Lightning, sadness waves. Steven nodded. This made sense.

Briefly, he wondered what Pink Diamond's powers had been, and quickly decided against asking.

"The Corruption was the will of three Diamonds," Rose Quartz continued. "They brought their combined power to bear against the planet. You have but a single Diamond, and were only able to reverse the damage Blue left. You stabilized Biggs's emotions, allowing her to think calmly and rationally for the first time in millenia. But her body, and her memories…"

"I… won't be able to fix those," said Steven.

"Now, I never said that. It just might be… trickier."

Steven curled his fists.

"No, no, it's alright." Rose's voice was very gentle. "You've done a good thing. Biggs is happier than she's been in a long, long time. A partial cure is better than nothing, isn't it?"

Steven sniffled, feeling too miserable to concede this. Instead, he said, "But— but what if— if I never do manage it for anyone else—?"

"Then we'll do what we can to keep them all as comfortable as possible, same as we always had." Rose smiled, something hopeful glittering in her eyes. "But we can figure something out. I'm sure of it."

Steven considered this, and smiled. He reached out, laying his small hand on top of her massive hand, and squeezed gently. Rose flipped hers around, taking his hand into her palm, and squeezed back.


Pearl had always thought of herself as a seasoned warrior, capable of going toe-to-toe— and winning!— against the most skilled soldiers of Homeworld. But it was one thing to fight quartzes as the Renegade, and quite another to keep up with them during play.

She rubbed the space between her eyebrows as Amethyst and her 'new friend' crashed into yet another stalagmite. The impact was strong and loud enough that Pearl automatically eyed the high ceiling for any falling debris. They may have created the inner sanctums of the Temple to be able to withstand almost any attack, but the catacombs wasn't the most stable of places. At least it didn't have anything they couldn't risk losing, which made it perfect for some... roughhousing.

As much as she enjoyed watching Amethyst wreck some crystal pillars, however, keeping an eye on the two of them was simply exhausting. So after making sure they were far enough from the pools leading to other parts of the Temple, Pearl decided to leave them to their fun.

She activated her gem to open the Temple door and step outside, only to be surprised by the brightness outside. The light faded, revealing itself to be from the warp pad, with only a single figure standing there instead of the expected three.

"Garnet!" Pearl greeted, walking up to her. She tried to ignore the nervous knot in her chest. "How did it go? Did it work?"

Garnet didn't shake her head, but the way she patted and squeezed Pearl's shoulder said enough.

"We'll try again another time," Garnet said. "Steven has been making great progress in his training with me, but this is something entirely new and different. He'll need time to learn how to control it before we can start healing the others."

"I... I see." Pearl grimly nodded. "And Rose?"

"Still talking with Steven."

Neither of them seemed to have anything else to add to the conversation, so with a quick nod and another shoulder squeeze, Garnet went inside the Temple and left Pearl alone with her thoughts.

Pearl watched her leave, her hands gripping her arms as she started to pace in front of the cave entrance. She knew it had been a long shot from the start, they all did. But when she first saw the Gem monster that had stopped behaving like a monster, it gave her a glimmer of hope that maybe... maybe...

No. Hope was a volatile thing to have, she should know. She knew all about hope. A little was enough to corrode tyranny and spark rebellion; a lot could change the whole universe.

But not this.

Hope could not undo the damage from the Diamonds' attack. If it could, they should have already fixed this a long time ago.

The warp pad activated behind her with a whoosh. Pearl spun around to find Rose stepping off the warp pad, alone. She seemed surprised to find Pearl standing there just past the cave opening.

"You're back," Pearl said, approaching her. "How did it go?"

"It didn't work." Rose smiled, but it only made her seem more tired and sad. "But I'm sure Garnet has already told you as much."

"Steven?"

"I walked him home to be sure he arrived safely. Blue Pearl and Greg seemed to appreciate that." Rose cupped Pearl's cheek, fingers lightly brushing the gem on her forehead. Pearl leaned into her touch. "How were things on your end?"

"Amethyst gave the mons— gave her a tour of her room. She wanted to show her the rest of the Temple as well, but I convinced her that we should all do that together. They were 'quartzing around' in the crystal catacombs, last I checked. Far from any connecting pools or pathways."

Rose nodded thoughtfully. "They seem to get along swimmingly."

"I'm not that surprised, to be honest. Amethyst has always been rowdy and Biggs had been— was— is also the playful type." Pearl frowned at her fumbling tenses, but she wasn't entirely sure which one was applicable in this situation. Softly, she continued, "I'd often thought Amethyst would enjoy her company, if things had turned out differently..."

She had thought about that scenario before, most especially when Amethyst would sidle up to her and just be her annoyingly endearing self. Moments when their little quartz would remind Pearl of her old friends, and Pearl would think to herself, 'Ahh, if only she could have met them...'

Here and now though, the opportunity had presented itself. Similar to Amethyst, Biggs Jasper had been the youngest of the Crystal Gems for much of their early days, having just emerged a couple years before Pearl had first met her. She'd used to skip out on her training a lot, opting instead to spend her time watching Pearl and Rose spar, or pestering Garnet with questions about fusion, among other things. She had always seemed infinitely curious about anything and everything. But underneath that innocent sense of wonder, Biggs had possessed a fiercely protective streak. That had been how she had joined the Crystal Gems in the first place— to protect someone she'd loved.

And I... We hadn't been able to protect any of them in the end.

Pearl thought that she'd never see any of her old friends again in any form, thought that all she'd see of them anymore were the monsters they'd become since that day when the red sky had turned bright and the Diamond Song had roared across the entire planet...

But then again, this Biggs Jasper was not the same Biggs she had known five thousand years ago. She had a different body, a different personality, a different set of memories. She didn't even recognize Pearl, or any of them. She might as well have been an entirely different Jasper, even if her gem had the right placement and the right Song.

Or she could just be a different Jasper now, because of how much she'd been changed.

Maybe her old friend was really gone.

Pearl breathed out a heavy sigh. If hope was volatile, a false hope was even more gem-shatteringly devastating, especially when confronted with the truth. And the truth was, Pearl didn't know how much more she could take it— finding and losing her friends, finding and losing her hope for them, again and again throughout millennia forever and ever. Earth was supposed to be their safe haven away from Homeworld— hers and Rose's and all the Crystal Gems'. But things like this had transformed it into a personalized torture chamber, and Pearl didn't know how much more she could take of this punishment too great for the crime of only wanting to be free.

"Pearl?" asked Rose. Her voice sounded so far away. "Pearl, are you still with me?"

Pearl blinked. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed how closely Rose had been peering at her face. She could almost see her own reflection in Rose's concerned eyes.

"I'm here," said Pearl. She leaned her forehead against Rose's, before seeking comfort in the crook of her neck. Large, soft arms encircled her protectively.

"You seemed so lost just now, I was starting to worry," said Rose, combing her fingers through Pearl's short hair. "Is something the matter?"

"I think we need to talk," she mumbled into Rose's skin. "Privately."

"Okay."

Pearl warped them to the strawberry battlefield. She felt it was fitting for the conversation. She and Rose walked side by side, shoulder to shoulder, neither leading the other, like they knew where they were headed even without saying a word. Soon, they reached the floating land masses just past the cliff's edge, the peak of which was the very place they had once sworn to stay and fight for Earth.

Once they reached the top, Pearl faced Rose, standing to her full height despite the anxiety shaking her very core. She had so many questions, some of which she could never ask aloud. Instead, she opted for a safer, tangentially related topic.

"Do you think there's a real chance to heal the corruption, with Steven's powers?" she asked Rose.

"A better chance than doing things on my own, at the very least," Rose replied. "But that's not why you brought us here, is it?"

Ah, but of course. Rose was very perceptive when it came to Pearl.

She gently clasped both of Pearl's hands with her own, their fingers interlocking. "What's wrong, Pearl? You can tell me."

Pearl opened her mouth, but simply closed it again without saying anything. Pursing her lips, she looked away so that Rose couldn't see it in her eyes, the storm of emotions she couldn't express in words.

There were many things she wanted to talk about, things she wanted to tell everyone, but couldn't. Not even with Rose. There were things they were to never speak of again—and they were not—but the weight of the secrets they had kept from everyone except each other was bearing down on their shoulders, and it was only a matter of time before something had to give. She had thought that she had set this all behind her, that she had somehow learned how to move forward. But these recent events had put everything back into sharp relief, and the guilt of her own involvement was slowly chipping away at her sanity.

"Steven Universe..." Pearl finally managed to say, her words barely audible and nearly lost to the wind. "His Diamond powers are dangerous."

"That's why we're teaching him," said Rose. "He's learning control so he won't hurt—"

"I know," Pearl interrupted. "I know that, but... Rose, he can See the past. If he keeps getting better..."

"The past is a vast place. He hasn't Seen anything so far."

"But he could if he tried!" Pearl wanted to pull away and throw her hands in the air, but at the same time, she craved this small, intimate contact between them. So she stayed put.

"Pearl." Her name softly rolled off Rose's lips, entreating for her attention. "Pearl, would you look at me please?" A quick squeeze on her hands urged her to meet Rose's anxious gaze. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"I'm just... worried. His powers are growing stronger everyday and—Rose, he healed Biggs. He healed her in a way not even you have been able to, and if his powers develop further... If he Sees the things that happened during the war, what we've done..."

Pearl felt tension jolt through her body, her shoulders, her arms, and she gasped, terrified of what that sensation meant. But Rose's grip on her hands was firm and comforting, tethering her to the here and now. Rose thumbed the back of her hands, soothing away whatever spell that had seized her.

"He won't," Rose firmly said.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not." Rose heavily sighed. Then, in the same gentle and careful manner she handled delicate organic beings, she pulled Pearl closer, wrapping her arms around her lithe, willowy form. "Maybe I'm just being unrealistically optimistic about this, but I think we'll be okay somehow. For the longest time, we've been doing okay despite everything, haven't we?"

"I-I guess so..." Flustered, Pearl closed her eyes. She had always relished the feeling of being enclosed completely by Rose. In her arms, she felt safe.

Rose made her feel safe.

"Whatever happens, Pearl... Whatever comes to light, we'll face the outcome together. Just as we always have. Okay?"

"Okay." She nuzzled deeper into Rose's embrace. "I believe you, Rose. I trust you."

In Rose's arms, it seemed things would always be alright.

We'll be okay...