I Don't See It
Pearl quietly paced around the dark tent, her mind aglow with countless concerns and unanswered questions. She was plagued by feelings of helplessness and uncertainty. Pearl couldn't stand knowing that a dangerous gem was likely in the process of destroying the planet, and all she could do without access to a warp pad would be to sit here and wait for Garnet to regenerate. She loathed knowing that Steven was slowly dying, and there was no way to save him.
Pearl looked down at the young gem. Steven was lying on the mattress, covered in blankets, a few washcloths and a bowl of cold water beside his makeshift bed. The boy was sleeping fitfully, as if he was having a nightmare. Pearl had already made several attempts to wake him, but to no avail. Since he had collapsed two days ago, Steven's fever had worsened significantly. Pearl grabbed one of the washcloths, dipped it in the bowl, and carefully placed it on Steven's forehead. Steven emitted a small groan and shifted under the blankets.
Pearl remembered back to two days ago, when Amethyst had pointed out that Steven's gem might be the cause of the sudden deterioration of his health. When Pearl had lifted his shirt to inspect his gem, she had been met with a gruesome sight. The pink gem in Steven's navel had many cracks running through it. The pentagonal facet had fractured, splitting into what must have been twenty different sections. The jagged lines that crossed the small stone reminded Pearl of other Crystal Gems who had fallen in battle during the war. She recalled staring silently at the broken gemstone in disbelief. She couldn't believe this was happening. There was no way Rose's gem could have been damaged. It wasn't possible! When Pearl had looked around the tent, all eyes had been focused on the shattered gemstone embedded in Steven's navel.
At that point, Pearl had lost her composure, rambling frantically about the futility of their situation and their impending demise. Amethyst had quickly confronted Pearl and urged her to calm down. Though she was frustrating, immature, messy, and stubborn, Amethyst often managed to keep a level head during stressful situations, something Pearl admired about the purple gem. Pearl had decided to exit the tent, leaving Greg, Connie, and Amethyst with the injured boy.
Yesterday, Connie had brought her mother to check on Steven. After taking Steven's temperature and examining his injuries, Dr. Maheswaran had expressed that she had rarely seen anyone with such a high fever, and couldn't understand the cause. The stress of the situation taking its toll, Pearl had been sorely tempted to yell at the doctor for wasting her time. She already knew that Steven was in terrible shape. And she knew the cause of Steven's condition: the damage to his gem. Dr. Maheswaran had suggested that the gems take Steven to a hospital, however Pearl knew that they couldn't save Steven by taking to a human doctor. No, that would only be a waste of precious time. As Steven's gem was cracked, the only way to repair it was to take him to Rose's spring. Unfortunately, the warp pad in the temple was trapped under the rubble, and the one on the temple's arm was destroyed during the attack.
Pearl stood up, gathering her thoughts, and began to pace around the tent. She had absolutely no idea what to do. She had been trying to formulate a plan for the past few days, but her efforts had proven futile. No matter what she tried, Pearl just couldn't get into the temple. She and Amethyst had even tried fusing into Opal, but the powerful fusion gem's attacks weren't able to clear a way to the warp pad. The only way Pearl could think of to get into the temple was Sugilite. However, that meant they needed Garnet, and Pearl had no idea when Ruby and Sapphire would regenerate. To make matters worse, Steven's condition was quickly worsening. Pearl looked down at the badly injured boy lying in the middle of the tent. The situation felt hopeless. Pearl couldn't fathom how she would feel if Steven didn't to make it. Pearl was utterly frazzled. The Homeworld gem was going to complete her mission before they could access the warp pad.
The Homeworld gems were going to invade again. The world was going to end. She and the other Crystal Gems were going to die.
Pearl wiped the tears from her eyes. Being careful not to disturb Steven, the pale gem quietly made her way out of the tent. She exited the structure, looking up at the countless luminous stars. Somewhere up there, evil gems were plotting to kill them, and Pearl had no idea how they were going to survive the second invasion. Pearl walked down to the edge of the beach and sat down, staring out at the crashing waves, lost in thought. If only Rose were still alive. She always had a plan. But she's gone. And Steven would soon join her. Pearl stared out over the ocean, watching the ebb and flow of the tide.
After a few minutes, Pearl heard someone approaching her from behind. Reaching up to summon her spear, Pearl whirled around, only to find a small, red gem looking up at her with a concerned look on her face.
"Oh. Ruby. I'm so glad you're here."
Ruby nodded in response, her mind clearly preoccupied.
"Where is Sapphire? Has she also regenerated?"
"No," Ruby replied, showing Pearl the small, blue gemstone she had in her hand. The red gem walked over and sat down next to Pearl, gently placing Sapphire's gemstone on the sand beside her.
"Have you seen Amethyst or Steven?" Ruby inquired.
"Amethyst is sleeping in Greg's van," Pearl replied nonchalantly. "As for Steven…" Pearl sighed.
"What?" Ruby queried, unnerved by Pearl's sudden silence.
"…He was hurt by the gem that attacked us. He's been unconscious and running fever for a couple days now. His gem is cracked."
"What?!" Ruby stood up and looked at Pearl with fear in her eyes. "Where is he?"
"He's in the large tent over there." Pearl turned and pointed towards Steven's tent. Ruby quickly picked up Sapphire's gem and began to jog towards the tent. Looking out at the ocean one final time, Pearl slowly got up and began to make her way back towards the tent. When she arrived, she found Ruby kneeling beside Steven.
"We should have seen this coming," Ruby stated sadly, looking down at the blue gem in her hands. "We should have seen that Steven was going to get hurt. We should have been there to protect him."
Pearl looked over at Steven, who had rolled over in his sleep, causing the washcloth to fall onto the floor of the tent.
"It's not your fault. There's no way you…Garnet…could have saved him."
"No!" Ruby retorted. "We knew it would be dangerous. But we knew that we would need Steven's abilities to win. It's our fault he got hurt."
Pearl gave Ruby a sympathetic look. She moved over to Steven and placed another wet washcloth on his forehead.
"Amethyst and I are also responsible for Steven getting hurt. We should have been more careful. Now we need to make sure that we get him to Rose's fountain."
"Why don't we take him right now?" Ruby asked.
"Because we can't reach the warp pad. It's covered in debris."
"Oh." Ruby looked down at Steven. She couldn't help but feel that she had let the young gem down, especially after he had freed them from the gem warship during the first attack on Beach City.
Suddenly, the pair realized that it was beginning to get light outside. Ruby and Pearl looked down at Steven, then at one another. Pearl motioned Ruby to follow her, and the two gems quietly left the tent.
As the two exited the jury-rigged structure, they ran into Amethyst, who had been slowly strolling towards Steven's tent.
"Oh, hey Ruby! Where's Sapphire?" Ruby quickly greeted Amethyst and showed her the blue gemstone she was carrying.
"Ugh," Ruby exclaimed, "I'm tired of sitting around and doing nothing. I'm gonna go see if I can get into the temple." Amethyst and Pearl nodded, and the red gem turned and began to jog towards the temple. Amethyst and Pearl briefly exchanged greetings before heading back to Steven's tent. On the way, Amethyst look over at Pearl, who was visibly distressed by their current situation, and decided to try and cheer her comrade up.
"So…Ruby's back. Isn't that great! All we need is Sapphire and wham! We can get into the temple and heal Steven. No problem."
Pearl sighed. "But we don't know when Sapphire will regenerate, or how long Steven will last with his gem damaged. Even if we do manage to heal him, we still have to find the Homeworld gem before she causes any more damage."
When the pair entered the tent, they found Greg awake, checking Steven's temperature. He looked up at the two gems and gave a half-hearted smile.
"Hey guys."
"Amethyst waved at her old friend. "Hey, Greg. How's he doing?"
Greg's expression darkened. "Not well, his fever just keeps getting worse. Are you sure there's no other way to fix whatever happened to his gem?"
"No," Pearl replied sadly. "The only way to fix his gem is to get him to the fountain. And the only way to reach it is by using the warp pad. We'll have to wait until Sapphire regenerates and fuses with Ruby. We need Garnet."
Greg looked down at his dying son.
"Hang in there, buddy. We'll get you some help soon. I promise."
Amethyst walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, man. Garnet'll be back before you know it," Amethyst stated, her nonchalant tone belying her concern. In reality, Amethyst was also beginning to doubt if Steven was going to make it.
"We just have to wait," Pearl added.
"No," a voice replied. "We need to go. Now."
The trio turned to find Garnet standing in the doorway. The tall gem adjusted her shades, looked down at Steven, and then up at Amethyst.
"Garnet! Thank heavens!" Pearl exclaimed. "I was so worried. Steven's fever has been getting worse and worse and we can't get into the temple and I don't know…"
"Pearl, calm down." Garnet stated, cutting off the pale gem. "Amethyst, we need to fuse and clear the debris. Pearl, bring Steven."
Amethyst quickly followed Garnet out of the tent. Pearl carefully picked up Steven before exiting the dwelling. Greg briefly considered following them, but decided against it. He knew he would only get in the way.
Pearl quickly made her way towards the temple, cradling the injured boy in her arms. When she arrived at the pile of debris that had once been Steven's room, Pearl found Amethyst and Garnet dancing. Within seconds, the two gems merged. Pearl looked up at the titanic fusion, who was staring at the pile of debris. Sugilite quickly summoned her massive flail, and began to spin it. Without warning, she swung the weapon at the pile of rubble, sending rock, wood, glass, and sand flying in all directions. When the dust cleared, Pearl realized that the entrance to the temple had been cleared, and quickly sprinted over to the warp pad, holding Steven. Amethyst and Garnet promptly unfused before joining Pearl on the warp pad. Pearl had never seen the two maintain control when fused. She guessed that her comrades' desire to save Steven had allowed them to focus. Pearl took a deep breath, and the warp pad activated, teleporting the trio in a flash of light.
In the warp, Pearl let out a sigh of relief.
"This is great! All we have to do is get Steven into the fountain!"
"Yeah!" Amethyst chimed in. "Finally, something went right for a change."
"Don't let your guard down," Garnet stated coolly. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Pearl looked down at the young gem in her arms and smiled. The pale gem looked up at her leader. "Oh, Garnet. What could possibly go wro…"
Pearl's statement was cut short as the trio arrived at their destination. The three gems didn't leave the warp pad. They simply stared, wide-eyed, at the horrifying scene before them. Pearl let out a gasp, her mind buzzing as she looked out at what had once been Rose's most precious sanctuary.