Part 2: And the Stars Will Align
Chapter 14: Pearl
The sun is almost set. Lion dashes across the sand with Steven mounted atop his back, staring at his lost friend with determination. Pearl rests on top the Temple's head, eyes closed. Her entire body is covered in pale blue feather with an orange crest flowing across the head in the shape of her hair. Her cream colored beak is long and spiraled like a drill. Her gem is embedded in her head like always. Her chest is rising and falling slowly, sound asleep and dreaming like a baby. If Steven wants to get to Pearl, he'll have to be quiet. He doesn't want to fight his friends, his family—he wants to save them.
Lion makes it to the hill leading up to the beach house. He jumps onto the building and then onto the statue of the giant woman. Lion starts walking up the statue, defying the laws of physics like he does with water. At the temple's nose on the second face near the gem on the forehead, Steven gasps at Pearl's massive size that pokes over the cliff side. She's much taller than Garnet and Amethyst, but that's only because of the swan-like neck she possesses. She is resting comfortably behind the lighthouse, fast asleep digesting the people she consumed during her rampage. Steven crawls to the lighthouse, breathing through nose as quietly as he can. Figuring out how he's supposed to save them is going to be difficult. Bubbling Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl is out of the option of defeating them. He has to turn them back to normal, uncorrupt them…somehow. But how can he do something his mother couldn't?
"I thought Gems didn't need sleep…" Steven says out loud, accidentally. Pearl's eyes open and she raises her head, alert with feathers standing up on the neck. She looks over the lighthouse and spots Steven and Lion looking up at her. Immediately, Lion attacks, knocking Pearl's head back with his supersonic roar. He turns around; Steven clutches the animal's mane tighter with his free hand while the other bears the shield.
Pearl takes flight. She screeches an unholy scream from her beak. Pearl sky-bombs Steven and Lion, but she misses. Jumps off the beach house and down onto the beach. He shakes Steven off, lowers his head and it glows. The handle of Rose's sword appears. Steven winces at the sight of it.
"But I don't want to hurt them!" Steven hollers. "I just need to save them!" But the sword doesn't disappear nor does Lion move. Steven takes in a deep breath, hearing the caw of Pearl behind him. He exhales and grabs the handle of the sword. He slowly pulls it out with much reluctance, but if this is the only way, then it has to be done—Steven turns around and looks up at Pearl—for them.
Pearl hovers above the beach, picking up giant clouds of sand with the heavy flapping of her wings. Pearl's mouth opens and she collects light, condensing it into a ball of energy. The energy ball fires at the boy and his lion. Lion roars. A portal opens up in front of them. The energy ball is blasted inside and is redirected into the ocean where the exit portal opens up. The explosion from the energy ball is massive. Droplets of water rain down from the sky, even on the beach as far as where Steven and Lion stand. Steven is stunned, shocked by Pearl's willingness to kill him. He furrows his eyebrows. The boy mounts Lion. And as if they read each other's mind, Lion charges towards Pearl at full speed.
"PEARL!" Steven screams. Pearl sky-bombs the two again, this time spiraling around like a drill as she descends. Lion zigs and then he zags, trying to dodge every last one of Pearl's aerial attacks. "I know you can hear me! You have to try to listen!" Steven continues. Pearl hovers in the air and opens her mouth to collect light. "This isn't you, Pearl! You are a Crystal Gem! You are a team with Garnet and Amethyst! You knew my mother, and you know me! You would never try to hurt me! You have to listen! Remember me!" Lion turns around and jumps into the air. Steven stands up on the lion and thrusts his shield forward. Pearl fires the energy ball. "REMEMBER!" The energy ball hits Steven.
The energy ball doesn't get any farther than his shield. His shield is protecting him and lion. His love for Pearl is protecting them both. Steven screams, trying to push the ball of energy away. The heat is burning him, giving him second degree burns on his arm—from the heat of the shield—and his face. Steven gives his all, giving the energy one last push.
It works.
The energy ball shoots towards Pearl. She doesn't have time to ascend or descend to evade the attack. It's a direct hit! Lion lands on the ground with Steven still on him. Lion runs to the falling Gem and jumps into the air one more time. When he starts to fall, Steven jumps off, dropping his shield and sword, and latches onto Pearl as she falls.
"PEARL!" He screams, tears pouring out his tightly shut eyes. Steven's gem glows. It glows brighter than it ever has. Rose thorns sprout from the gem and encase Pearl like mummification. Her entire body illuminates, silhouetted. Steven opens his eyes, looking at the mummified Pearl with surprise.
Pearl's body begins to morph and transform. Her corrupted state gets smaller. Smaller and smaller. The beak shrinks back into a nose, the wings form into arms, her neck shortens and her talons turn back into feet and legs. She stops shining. Steven notices she's back to her normal self.
They hit the ground. Hard. Pearl rolls away from Steven. Steven rolls away from Pearl and falls unconscious.