Rose wasn't sure at what age she should tell him. Amethyst was pushing for sooner rather than later, but that was mostly due to her impatience; she wanted to stop self censoring things that they had deemed too much for Steven. Garnet was very quiet on the issue. Rose knew how the topic was a sore spot; Pearl was the historian of the group, the one who could reword even the smallest of rebellions to seem big and important. Greg was unsure of what she should do. Rose had waited years to tell him everything, and even then she still had her secrets. He knew how heavy a secret it was, to know that someone you loved was an alien who had killed people. It had nearly scared Greg to death. So Rose waited.

Suddenly, Steven was thirteen and his abilities were coming in at a fast pace. First, the holograms appeared. He rarely realised he was doing it unless someone told him. Most often the images would be day dreams or would compliment whatever he was talking about. But sometimes, they would be nightmares. It had scared Rose when she came out of her room to find a near see through Garnet fighting herself. Not because of the images, but because they showed that Steven saw the tension, still hidden barely beneath the surface. Those were becoming more and more common as the conversation continued to occur.

He had produced a spear three times by the time Garnet agreed to help train him. Amethyst didn't seem to care either way, and was happy to have someone new to spar with. All of these events had led to them warping to the Sky Arena, one of Pearl's favorite places, in complete and utter silence.

"What am I gonna practice on?" Steven asked, a smile plastered on his face. Garnet's expression softened.

"For now, we're going to try aiming at rocks. If you can handle that…"

"I can handle it!" He interuppted, excitement audible in his voice.

"Then you'll going against us."

Her response froze him for a moment. "Against...you?"

"Me first!" Amethyst said, grabbing his hand as he floated upwards. The warp ended and they stepped off the pad onto the crumbling floors of the Arena.

It was the same as it was last time; a bleak reminder of what had transpired all those centuries ago. Garnet got to work stacking rocks into piles of differing shapes and sizes as Rose turned to Steven.

She smiled softly, and he mirrored her, his own brighter and bigger. "Steven," She paused, unsure of how to say it. Rose hadn't planned on telling him now, or anything at all for that matter. But as they visited one of Pearl's favorite spots, she felt that it was right to tell him at least something about her, even as she struggled for words. "This was one of your...Pearl's favorite places. This is where we first met Ruby and Saphirre. It's where they first fused too. She used to practice here, and she taught others how to use a sword as well."

Steven's smile had melted as she spoke, leaving him with the look of a disappointed child. "Will I ever...be anything like her?"

Rose wanted to tell him that he didn't want to be like her. Pearl was weak and needy. She needed validation because she couldn't exist on her own, her identity couldn't separate from the gem and cause she had pledged her life to. Pearl was blind to everyone except for the few that she allowed herself to love, and even they got only what was left of her affections after she had given most to Rose. And Rose, she had thrown them away every time. She had taken them for granted and she hadn't cared.

Amethyst was watching her from her seat in the stands, their voices no doubt having had reached her. She forced her eyes to meet Steven's again. "You already are."

He smiled and hugged her, his warmth a familiar feeling through the softness of her dress. As his face was pressed to the pink fabric, she looked over at Garnet and saw nothing but her own reflection in her visor.

The rest of the day went smoothly and calmly, with Steven's aim just as terrible as she had expected. What she hadn't expected was for a corrupted gem to have made it's home in the crumbling catacombs of the arena. Its long, slender neck was a pale blue, much like the color that Pearl blushed. It was birdlike, although still plenty monsterous and somehow it seemed like her.

It only took Steven four tries to pierce through it's hide, the spear lodging itself into the nearest column.

They traveled back home in the same silence that had accompanied them there, only this time it was weighed down by two things: the weight of a dead gem, and the knowledge that Garnet had seen it all coming and had not felt that it was neccessary to tell her.

Only twoish chapters left! There may be a side story or two though. None of us know much about Rose, and because she is portrayed differently in my story than in the show, I had to be careful in her characterization. Paying attention to the wording is key. Thanks for reading y'all and for the reviews.