The battles continue and they lose more gems than anticipated. Rose tires herself out healing the ones she can, and Pearl tires herself out trying to protect Rose. She gets used to regenerating, getting better at it so she's able to come back as quick as possible. Protecting Rose means she ends up retreating into her gem more than she ever thought she would, but she doesn't care.
Rose does though.
After every battle, they have a battle of their own. Rose begs Pearl to stop sacrificing herself, to stop worrying about her and to look out for herself. Pearl argues back, but in the end she pretends to comply, only because she hates it when Rose is upset with her.
As their numbers drop, more gems who decided to rebel against Homeworld for similar reasons join them. They're still short on numbers, and a lot of the gems aren't fighters,Rose insists they have a purpose anyways, and does her best to encourage and inspire the rest of them.
They slowly begin to shut down the kindergartens, but those aren't the only things they have to destroy. Pearl is part of the group Rose sends to destroy the Galaxy Warp. It's the best chance they have at making sure Homeworld can't send in more troops by surprise.
Pearl pretends she's happy when the warp pads are smashed beyond repair, but she can feel her heart break as crystal shards gather at her feet and she realises that she's really stuck here. Those were their only way of getting off this planet, and now they're gone. It reminds her she's chosen to trap herself here, that she'll probably never see Homeworld or any other planet ever again.
But she reminds herself of why she's doing this, of Rose, and this almost don't seem that bad.
Even then, she can't help but look up at the night sky longingly before their next battle, wondering if she's able to see her former home or any of the other planets she'd visited. Rose squeezes her shoulder comfortingly, flashing her an almost sympathetic smile as if she's reading her mind.
Pearl smiles back wanly.
They're about to shut down another kindergarten, one of the last ones left, and Pearl was put in charge of the group being sent in to shut it down and knock out the injectors. Rose and the rest were surrounding the entrance to keep Homeworld's troops out.
Pearl knows why Rose is sending her in with the other group, and it annoys her. She needs Rose so she can stay focused in battle, she needs to protect her. Without Rose, she has nothing to fight for, nothing to distract her from the chaos unfolding around her.
So as her group beings to rush into the kindergarten and rip down injectors, Pearl hangs back. She won't let Rose fight by herself. She wields her sword and begins fighting her way through the battlefield to Rose. She's somewhere in the center, holding her shield up, her sword still in its scabbard. She only ever used it as a last resort.
Pearl's eyes well up with tears and she runs towards Rose as she sees a much larger gem about to bring a giant axe down on her, but she blinks hard because she has to be brave. She can't cry on the battlefield.
She swears the larger gem laughs at her as she jumps in front of Rose and brings her sword up to parry the axe. Pearl winces as her sword starts to bend under the pressure, her arms shaking. She hears Rose unsheath her sword from behind, and sees its point pierce the gem's chest. The gem cracks in half as it hits the ground.
Rose never cracked anyone's gem.
They both stare at the shattered gem in horror.
Pearl shakes her head and drops her bent sword to the ground, pulling her spear out, but before she can say anything, she feels something wrap around her ankle and pull her to the ground, dragging her away from Rose. She looks up, dazed, and sees a gem staring down at her, spinning the spiked end of her flail around, grinning as she brings it down to whack Pearl's gem.
Pearl winces as she feels the cracks forming in her gem, and her body starts to feel light, but she fights the urge to retreat into her gem. She grits her teeth and shoves her spear into the gem's torso, smiling herself when she hears the gem drop to the ground.
But her smile fades as she realises that her body is starting to go completely numb and glitch. She's had her gem cracked before, but she's never been conscious while it happened and usually Rose healed it before she regenerated. Her gem's probably too badly damaged to heal now.
She suddenly feels someone grab her, and braces herself, expecting to be killed, but it's Rose. She picks her up and holds her shield up to protect them as she runs to a more secluded part of the battlefield, grabbing another gem to cover them as she heals Pearl.
Pearl clings to Rose as she lets her healing tears fall onto her gem, healing the cracks almost immediately. "Why aren't you in the kindergarten?" whispers Rose as she hugs her and runs her hand through her hair.
"I-I need to protect you."
"Pearl, we've talked about this!" Rose gently sets her on the ground and grabs her by the shoulders, "Stop worrying about me and get back to the kindergarten!"
"No!"
"Pearl, please!"
"Why won't you let me do this for you Rose?!" Pearl yells, clutching her head in frustration.
Rose stares at her, taken aback. She looks up and swallows, closing her eyes before saying, "Howlite, please… just take her back to the kindergarten." She pulls her shield out again and runs off, not even looking back.
"Rose!" Pearl calls, trying to follow her, but Howlite grabs her by the wrist and starts dragging her along the perimeter of the battlefield, back to the kindergarten.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Pearl hisses, trying to shake her off.
"Following orders, unlike someone," Howlite mutters, tightening her grip on her wrist.
"I need to protect Rose!"
"No you don't," she snaps, "She can protect herself. She doesn't need you Pearl!"
Pearl frowns, hesitating to answer. Rose does need her, right? "You… you don't know that… You don't know anything about me and Rose!"
Well, I do know it's pretty creepy how obsessed you are with her," Howlite shoves her into the entrance of the kindergarten, sighing, "Now please, just do what she asked you to do…"
Pearl watches as she runs off, and considers following her, but she's too tired out. Physically and emotionally. She dejectedly pulls her spear out and half heartedly fights her way into the kindergarten. It's mostly empty now, smashed remains of equipment and injectors littering the ground, along with gems and weapons. There's a few gems who haven't retreated yet lying on the ground, clearly injured, but there's not much she can do. She creeps into one of the holes in the wall and brings her knees to her chest, resting her head on them.
"Rose does need you," she whispers to herself, "She needs you. More than anyone else here."
She stays curled up in the hole, blocking out the sounds of fighting and machinery crashing to the ground with hushed reassurances. What does Howlite know? She knows nothing about Rose or Pearl, she used to fight for Homeworld. Pearl can't believe she has the audacity to act like she's above her.
When everything finally goes quiet, Pearl crawls out of her hiding spot, ducking behind a broken injector so no one will see that she's been hiding the whole time. Gems are sifting through the rubble, looking for their fallen friends, but as Pearl walks around, she notices the atmosphere isn't the same as it usually is post-battle. Gems are actually smiling, cheering and embracing each other. She frowns in confusion, running to the entrance of the kindergarten to look for Rose.
She's standing in the middle of the battlefield holding a handful of gems, healing them. Pearl quickly ducks her head when Rose looks up. Rose is probably furious with her and it scares her.
"Pearl?" Rose calls, beckoning her, "Come here."
Pearl takes a deep breath, wringing her hands out nervously as she walks towards Rose, tiptoeing around the gems and weapons that cover the ground.
"We… need to talk," Rose says once Pearl is standing in front of her, handing the healed gems to another gem standing nearby.
Pearl nods, keeping her head bowed.
Rose gently places a hand on her back and begins leading her towards the forest surrounding the back perimeter of the battlefield, "C'mon, let's go for a walk."
Their walk through the dense forest is silent. It's a lot like the forest Rose took Pearl to when she first arrived here. They'd gone on many walks through many different forests, and Rose would always point out the different plants and animals, gushing about how amazing it was how every inch of Earth was unique. She's not saying anything this time.
They stop once they reach a clearing. Pearl stares up at the sky until her neck starts to hurt, Rose sits on the ground and plays with the grass on the ground.
"Why is everyone so… happy?" Pearl asks still gazing at the stars, finally breaking the silence.
"There's a chance this might be all over soon," Rose replies, and Pearl can hear the smile in her voice and it almost makes her feel a bit less tense but the next thing she says makes her heart drop.
"Yellow Diamond had a message for me."
Pearl looks down and bites her lip. Rose doesn't wait for a reply.
"She wants to fight me herself. She said if I can beat her she'll leave this planet alone… And we think she means it."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"I suppose but…" Rose pauses and looks up at her, "Pearl, sit down for a minute."
Pearl gingerly kneels on the ground next to her, but she doesn't look at her until she feels Rose take her hand.
"Pearl… I need you to promise me you won't try to protect me when I fight her. You don't know what she's like in battle. She'll destroy you," Rose takes a deep breath, "I know you care about me, and I know you just want to help, but please, please understand… This is something I need to do by myself. She'll have an army with her, you need to fight with the rest of them. For me. For Earth."
"But what if you get hurt, Rose? What if she kills you I-I…" Pearl swallows hard, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat, "You're too important!"
Rose sighs and closes her eyes, "So are you… I would never forgive myself if you died trying to save me."
"And I'd never forgive myself if I let you die! It doesn't matter what happens to me-"
"Yes it does."
Pearl ignores her interruption, "I'm… I'm just a worthless defective gem! Yellow Diamond won't pay any attention to me, none of her soldiers will. They'll underestimate me and-"
"Pearl!" Rose says firmly, taking her by the shoulders and putting an end to her small rant, "Pearl, you are not worthless or defective. I never want to hear you say that ever again."
"But it's true! That's why they sent me here in the first place! They just wanted to get rid of me because I can't do anything right. I'm useless! B-But here, I finally have something I can do! I can protect you, Rose! I need to… It's the only thing I can do and I don't care if I die doing it."
When Pearl stops talking, Rose is crying, and it's enough to set her off too. Rose hugs her, and Pearl can feel each sob as if it's her own.
"You're not useless, Pearl," Rose whispers, "I hate them for making you think that. That's why I'm fighting them. No one deserves to feel useless or defective, especially the gems here. They don't understand us, Pearl. They don't understand you. They don't realise how special you are…"
Pearl cries harder, clinging to Rose's uniform and burying her face into her chest.
"You're able to do so many things," Rose continues, petting Pearl's hair, "I love how you talk about your swords and gem history and how you flap your hands when you get excited. I hate that you think you're only good for fighting for me when you're worth so much more… I know you don't think it, but it's true. This is what we're fighting for, Pearl. This planet is so special and unique, and it embraces it instead of trying to fix it.
"I want you to fight with me for this planet, but I won't let you die doing it. Pearl, when Yellow Diamond comes… let me handle her. Don't fight for me, fight for this. Fight for the place that doesn't make you feel like you're nothing."
Pearl sniffles, and looks up at Rose, wiping her eyes. 'But I already have that,' she thinks to herself, 'Rose doesn't make me feel like I'm nothing. She makes me feel like I'm everything.' She wants to say it, but Howlite's voice echoes in her mind, 'creepy, obsessive'.
"I love you, Rose," she finally says, smiling at her with teary eyes.
Rose hesitates, but smiles back, cupping Pearl's cheek with her hand, "I love you too, my pearl."