The gems sat in the beach house, completely silent spare for the occasional sniffle. Pearl sat on the couch, the rest of the gems standing by the kitchen island, tears in everyone's eyes. Pearl had found a way to will herself to become visible to the other gems. She'd learned a lot since the time she had died. For example, she could only visit places she'd been alive, and somehow in her thousands of years of living she hadn't been in a certain room in the temple where the lighting would've been best to see her.

So there they were, sitting in the living room with all the shades drawn, minimizing the light so Pearl wouldnt fade. "Can...can you hear us?" Amethyst broke the silence, voice wavering. She squinted to see, as Pearl often flickered in and out of her vision. The thin ghost nodded, trying to make her form bolder against the other sources of light.

Garnet swallows the lump in her throat, clearing her throat to speak. "What happened?" She asked in a clear tone. Pearl sighed, sinking lower into the couch without making a divot. Her mouth started moving, but no sound audible by the other gems could be heard. Garnet strained her ears to hear, but nothing was coming out of that girls mouth.

"We need a different way to communicate. We can't hear you." Garnet informed her, her voice a little louder than she intended. Pearl stopped talking and nodded, a slight blue blush even visible by the gems creeping across her face. Motioning for the others to follow and walking out the front door, Garnet stepped down the stairs leading up to the beach house. She walked down the beach, the others following closely behind.

In the bright daylight Pearl was merely a silhouette, only visible if you concentrated on her and squinted your eyes. "Where are we going?" Steven asked in a small voice. He was heartbroken after loosing Pearl; she was like his big sister. Always looking out for him. But, there was nobody looking out for Pear when she needed it most.

"As much as I'd hate to admit it, Ronaldo would probably have something to help us." Garnet answered the boys question, turning off the beach and up the grassy hill that lead to the lighthouse overlooking both the ocean and the entirety of Beach City. They came to the only door of the lighthouse, a single sign hanging on the door.

All ye who enter may never escape!

The poor grammar annoyed Pearl, was his what humans now though of their history? Even though Ronaldo didn't own the lighthouse, as long as his belongings were out of the way of the control room, the fishery just let him set up in there. Better there than in some hazardous wear house.

Raising her arm and knocking three times, Garnet stepped back from the door as to not get hit when it opened. The sound of someone thumping around, crashing and moving objects rang through the building, then neared the door. Ronaldo opened the door, panting and hanging his head down with one hand on the door frame and the other supporting his upped half by resting on his knee.

"The walkways clear... Everything's moved... No safety concerns here..." He said between breaths, panting as he's obviously done some moving and running. "It's just us." Garnet informed him, nearly smiling at the hilarious display. Ronaldo looked up, face turning bright red and realizing he'd made a bad impression.

"Um- I mean- Welcome to the lighthouse of mystery! Where many come in; but significantly less come out!" He stretched out his words, waving his arms around in what almost looked like a mysterious manner, earning not the scared gasps he anticipated, but rather a groan of annoyance from the shorter girl. "Step this way!" He lead the gems into the lighthouse, adding ghostly vocal effects.

"So, what brings you to my, uh... Secret lair!" Rolando sat down beside a small pile covered in a white sheet, motioning for the others to do the same. The four sat in a circle around the white sheet in complete silence, when Garnet spoke. "We need something to-" She was cut off by Ronaldo pulling the sheet off the pile in front of them, revealing various bottles and cans, candles, salt, all sitting on top of an Ouija board.

"How did you-" Amethyst started, but was interrupted by Ronaldo. "I can sense it's presence!" He exclaimed, taking the bottles off the board and handing one to each of the 3 gems. Next, he opened the bag of salt, getting up and pouring a circle around the group. "Ronaldo that's not nessecary." Garnet said, putting her bottle down in front of her. Ronaldo finished pouring his salt circle and sat back down. "Ah, but it is! This spirit could be dangerous!"

Garnet glared. "It's just Pearl."

Throwing his arms in the air, Ronaldo glared back. "How do you know?" He slowly brought his arms down, placing 2 fingers of each hand on the Ouija board, gesturing for the rest of the gems to follow suit. Sitting in the salt circle with 16 fingers on the board, Ronaldo spoke. "Spirit! Show us a sign of your presence!" Then, to both everyone's expectations and surprise, the Ouija board shifted, the small triangle piece in the centre slowly moving to a letter.

H

Steven gasped, hairs standing up on the back of his neck as a cold, almost wet feeling pressed against his face, moving a stray piece of hair behind his ear. Yup. It's the same Pearl that always yelled at him to comb his hair. The young boy was honestly quite scared even though he knew that it was just Pearl. But, he was still talking to a ghost. And not just any ghost, but the ghost that made him toast and cereal that morning, and also did his laundry and mopped the floors. He wondered, just in his head, if Pearls ghost could still dust the China cupboard. His train of thought was interrupted when the board moved again.

I

"Hi." Garnet read out loud. The glass piece moved again, switching more easily to different letters.

I

A

M

D

E

A

D

"I am dead." Garnet read once again, looking up to face the rest of the group. Amethyst used her elbow to scratch her nose exhaling almost sarcstically. "We know that, tell us something useful!"

T

H

E

T

O

A

S

T

E

R

W

A

S

I

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V

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N

T

E

D

I

N

1

8

9

3

"The toaster was invented in 1893." Garnet read aloud, holding back from smiling at Pearls sarcasm in such a serious time. Amethyst pursed her lips, getting sassed by a ghost. "That is useful information." Steven added, also trying to contain a smile.

"I swear every living creature on this Earth is against me." Amethyst groaned, when the triangle piece moved again.

A

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