Hey, guess what? This story has over a hundred reviews! Woohooo! Thank you guys so much for all of your support! I really appreciate it. Anyways, onto today's story.

Pearl had spent many years in the afterlife, centuries actually. During that time she managed to find some peace, although she had kept to herself mostly. She also had heard about a woman named fortuneteller Babba, a woman who could bring someone back to the world of the living for a day. While her time in the afterlife had been comfortable, that didn't stop her from trying to seek out the woman when she was around. She wanted to seen how Rose was doing, to talk with her again. She had obviously survived the Saiyan attack so Pearl was curious to see how the world was doing. After many years, she had finally found her.

She was standing in front of a spirit of an old man, talking with him about something.

"Excuse me!" she called running over to the pair. They turned to look at her, the old woman appearing slightly annoyed. "You're fortune teller Babba, correct?" she asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I was wondering if you would alow me to spend a day in the world of the living again," she said, "There's someone I wish to see."

"Sorry, but you're too late," she said, "I already picked someone to fight in my tournament. Come back next time." The woman turned away from her and started floating away. The old man gave her a sympathetic look.

"Look, all I want is for one day. Is that so much to ask for?" she asked, running up to catch up with them. The old witch ignored her. Pearl frowned at her. "Do you have any idea who I am?" she snapped, "I defended this planet long before you were even conceived! I fought alongside the great Rose Quartz and died for your world! The least you could do is give me five minutes of your team to explain my reasons!"

The woman suddenly stopped and turned around, a look of surprise on her face. "Did you say Rose Quartz?" she asked. Pearl smiled and nodded. "Hmm…." she said, stroking her chin, "Well, if it's for a friend of Rose, I can make an exception...I can give Devil-man the day off he wanted too, I suppose." "Very well. I'll allow it. You'll fight for me for a few hours and then you're free to do as you please for the rest of your day," she said, "Now come with me."

"Oh thank you!" Pearl cheered, following after her with a wide smile.

….

"I still can't believe it! Darn Saiyans...why do they have to be so stubborn and battle crazy…" Yamcha muttered. The group of fighters had journeyed to the home of fortune teller Babba to get help in finding the last dragon ball. Usually the witch had bank-busting rated or offered a near impossible challenge for such a task, but when she found out Goku and Vegeta were wards of one Rose Quartz, she decided she would be willing to give them one free fortune.

...Unfortunately, neither Goku nor Vegeta wanted to take her up on such an offer. They wanted instead to face her near impossible league of fighters. "We should take any chance we can to improve ourselves," Vegeta had said. And so now they all watched from the sidelines as Goku and Vegeta took turns facing off against her monstrous warriors one by one.

"At least we aren't having to fight these guys," Krillin noted, "That invisible man would have been a pain to deal with!" The others nodded.

As Vegeta finished up dealing with the mummy, he wiped his hands and called to the younger Saiyan. "Your turn, Kakarot!" he said, causing the boy to jump from the sidelines.

"Woopie!" he cried.

"We'll move onto my final arena," Babba announced. The others followed her outside.

….

Pearl had been told that her opponent would be strong. She had been told that he had been able to locate the invisible man without any of his traditional senses. What she had not been told, was that he was a Saiyan. Her eyes grew wide and she froze in fear, gaping as the hell spawn hopped up onto the arena with a seemingly innocent smile on his wicked little face.

Her grip tightened on her spear as another voice spoke up. "A pearl? You must be joking!" she heard. She turned to see another one of the wretched beasts standing on the sidelines. He smirked at her with crossed arm. If Pearl had blood, it would be boiling right now. "This ought to go quickly…" he said with a laugh.

Pearl glared at him. Images of the laughing monsters that had originally come to Earth before flashed through her mind and unbridled rage filled her heart. She wanted more than anything to run off the stage and wipe the smile off its face. How dare they return. How dare their kind show their faces on this planet again!

"A pearl? Like the stuff that you string around your neck?" the smaller one said in confusion.

"Don't you even think about it!" Pearl snapped.

"Goku, this is Pearl," Babba explained, "She's a gem."

"Oooooooh! Ok!" he said cheerfully, "I haven't fought a gem that looks like you before. Most of them are big and ugly. I haven't lost to one yet though!"

"We'll see about that…" Pearl muttered getting into her fighting stance and pointing her spear at Goku.

"Hey, is she allowed to have that?" Yamcha questioned.

"It came from her body so it follows tournament regulations," Vegeta pointed out, "Plus Kakarot has his staff, so it is fair." As if to prove his point, Goku pulled out his power pole and took up a fighting stance, a look of determination on his face.

Goku rushed the gem, staff held back for a strike. Pearl blocked it with her spear and pushed him away. She then slashed at him several times. Goku dodged and or blocked each one with his power pole. He then got into a crouch and used his pole to swipe her feet out from under her.

Pearl somersaulted backwards before landing on her feet, glaring at the smiling boy. Gohan frowned as he watched behind his rabbit mask. There was something different in the gem's eyes than before, and he didn't like it.

Pearl went back on the offensive, swiping at Goku with her spear so fast that he could barely keep up with dodging and blocking. "Enough of this!" Pearl finally shouted, knocking the power pole from Goku's hands.

Goku's eyes widened before he ducked under her legs to dodge her next attack. Pearl turned to see him scramble across the arena and get into a fighting stance. "Ka-me…." he started, holding his palms together, "Ha-me...HAAAAAA!"

A blast of blue energy hurdled towards Pearl. She froze as the filing scene flashed before her eyes….

…..

A Saiyan floated above them, a powerful ball of energy forming in his hands. Pearl panted as she looked up at him from her place kneeling on the ground, gem slightly cracked. They had managed to take on his comrades and succeeded in defeating them. He was the last one standing. "We're giving you one last chance!" Rose said, "Leave now or surrender peacefully. Do not make us have to kill you."

"I would never stoop so low as to seek mercy from you!" he huffed, "You haven't beaten me yet...I'm just getting warmed up!" With that he grinned evilly before throwing the ball of ki up in the air. The two gems looked on in confusion….but that quickly turned to horror as the Saiyan began to transform.

His armor stretched as he grew. Hair sprung up all over his body. His nose and mouth collapsed into a snout as his eyes became a pairing red. Soon a mighty Oozaru stood before them, roaring angrily.

It opened its giant, toothy maw and energy began to gather above the beast's tongue. It fired the beam of energy directly at Rose. Pearl gasped, but thankfully, she summoned a giant shield as it was about to make contact. Her relief did not last long, however, as the shield began to creak with strain. A large crack formed across the center as the Oozaru continued its attack. Pearl could see the stress on her dear Rose's face as she resisted the attack.

As more faults formed in the shield's surface, Pearl's gaze steeled as she knew what she had to do. She charged towards her idol and companion and shoved her aside with all her might. Not expecting the sudden assault, Rose's eyes widened as she tumbled out of the way. The shield instantly dissipated and the blast consumed Pearl. She closed her eyes tight as pain tore through every fiber of her being as she was ripped apart, molecule by molecule.

…..

Pearl stood frozen as the Kamehameha wave hit her full force. Although not forceful enough to truly harm her, the blast sent her skidding across the arena and over the side. Goku's friends cheered at the boy's victory and Vegeta smiled. Gohan also smiled from his place in the shadows, both with pride and in relief that the gem did not actually harm the boy.

Pearly slowly crawled back up. "Good," Pearl heard Vegeta said, "Just one more adversary before we can get the last dragon ball." Her eyes widened in fear.

"That was fun! Who's next?" Goku chirped. His demeanor shifted however, when a spear flew passed his head and embedded itself into the ground.

Everyone looked with shock as Pearl stood up on the arena again. "I'm not done yet!" she hissed, "Not until you're gone!" She then summoned another spear and charged at the small boy, slashing at him furiously.

"What the heck?!" Bulma cried, "What's wrong with her?! Goku already won!"

"Obviously, she doesn't care," Roshi muttered.

Pearl knocked Goku across the arena with the blunt end of her spear. The boy rolled across the ground before coming to a stop. "We have to stop her! You summoned her, can't you do something?" Gohan hissed to Babba.

"Pearl, that's enough!" the witch shrieked, "The match is over! If you continue, I'll send you back right now!" But the gem didn't listen.

She leaped at the boy, spear held high above her head. Goku rolled over to see her just about to bring it down upon him. He yelped before catching the weapons blade between his hands. He looked up at her fearfully as she glared down at him. "Hey, what are you trying to do, kill me?!" he questioned.

"If I have to!" she growled. Goku looked shocked and confused. "I'll give you one warning, Saiyan," she said, "Leave this planet or die to me."

"What?! No way!" he snapped.

"Then you leave me no choice," she said slamming a foot down on his tail. His arms suddenly went limp and she raise her spear again. Bulma covered her eyes and the warriors and Gohan were about to jump into action...when a purple beam of energy slammed into Pearl's side. Everyone turned to see Vegeta with his hand raised, smoke coming off of it. He glared at the gem before jumping onto the arena. "As annoying as the kid may be at times, you're going to have to do me in before you get to kill him," he said taking up a stance.

Pearl picked herself up and ran at him, but was stopped by Gohan. He knocked her spear out of her hand and held her arms behind her back. "That's enough!" he snapped, "There will be no killing of anyone today. ESPECIALLY not Goku."

Yamcha, Krillin, and Roshi got up onto the stage as well. "Vegeta and the guy in the mask are right," Yamcha stated, taking up his signature stance, "Not a single one of us here would let you get away with hurting our friend!"

Pearl gave a look of surprise. "Are you all insane?!" she cried, "Why are you defending them? They're Saiyans! They're untrustworthy wild beasts that'll destroy the planet the first chance they get!"

The warriors and others standing at the sidelines looked confused before bursting out laughing. "Are you serious?!" Bulma scoffed, "The day Goku even thinks of being cruel like that will be the day the universe implodes!" Pearl's puzzled expression grew even more so at her statement.

The two Saiyans didn't find this quite as funny. "We'd never cause harm to the Earth!" Goku said, "It's our home and Rose taught us to value all life!"

Pearl looked at him in shock. She couldn't believe what she heard! "...You know Rose?" she asked quietly.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow in surprise as Goku cocked his head to the side. "Yeah…She found us and took us in," he said, "How do you know her?"

She looked at them as if it were obvious. "I was her closest friend. Her sole confidant! She trusted me and cared for me more than anyone and I stood by her for years!" she explained, "If you really know her, then why don't you know about me?"

Goku shrugged. "She doesn't like to talk about other gems much," he said.

Pearl felt a deep hurt at that statement. "How do I know I can believe you?" she she questioned, "because the Rose I know would never trust a Saiyan. Not after everything your kind has done!" To be honest, she didn't know for sure, but she certainly hoped Rose wouldn't trust one, especially after their last encounter with one.

"If you know Rose half as well as you say, then you know we wouldn't be speaking to you if she didn't trust us," Vegeta stated, "You know very well how she has connections with Kami. She knows about us being on Earth, and at the very least she wouldn't have let us out of her sight if she didn't have some faith in us." He had a point, Pearl thought, although she did not admit. It would fit the taller pink gem to give them a second chance, no matter their circumstance.

"If you really want proof, we could just take you to her," Goku pointed out, "She should be at the temple. It's not that far of a flight from here."

Pearl bit her lip. Although seeing Rose was her main reason for wanting to come back to the world of the living, now she had second thoughts. If what these boys were saying was true, and she not only trusted them but also took them in, then she wasn't sure she could face her old companion. She tried to kill one of them for pete's sake! Then again, when would she get another chance to see her?

Pearl nodded and Goku summoned the flying nimbus. Pearl flinched slightly as Vegeta picked her up from under her arms, but said nothing. "We'll be back before the end of the day!" Goku called over his shoulder to his friends, "I'll go ahead with the final match then, ok?" With that, the two Saiyans zoomed off.

…

Rose heard a knock at the door of the temple and opened it to see the younger Saiyan boy standing before her. She smiled and bent down to greet him. "Goku!" she chirped, placing a hand on the back of his head. She planted a kiss on his forehead. Pearl felt guilt seep through her as she watched the interaction from her hiding place. "How is your journey so far?" she asked, "Did you find your four star dragon ball? I see you roped Vegeta into your little escapade."

"Pretty good so far! I found my ball but I went on a search for the rest for a different reason. It got pretty crazy. You should have been there! I fought of this mercenary guy and a whole tower full of these bad guys after the dragon balls too. I even got to meet this really nice android named Eighter and-"

Goku was cut off by Vegeta loudly clearing his throat. Goku turned to see the tall Saiyan glaring at him before he jerked his head to the left a few times. The smaller boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Woops…got off topic," he said, "Anyways, we found someone we need to show you!"

Rose gave him a confused look until she saw Pearl step out from her hiding place behind the temple entrance. Her eyes grew wide and distant as she gazed once again upon the visage of her long lost comrade. Pearl looked at the ground guiltily before meeting her eye nervously. "H-hello Rose," she said, raising a hand awkwardly.

Rose just stood there for a moment, mouth agape. She couldn't even begin to process what was going on. She felt like she was in a dream. Infact it had to be one because this was impossible. "P-Pearl?" she whispered, making sure this wasn't some cruel joke. The shorter gem nodded, a smile gracing her face as she took her hand. Tears formed at the edges of the quartz's eyes. her mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out. She was utterly dumbstruck. She finally spoke as she slowly turned the boys. "How?" she asked distantly, "Th-the dragon balls...they don't-they don't work on…"

"We didn't use them," Vegeta clarified. Rose's face scrunched in confusion.

Then Pearl pointed to her halo. "I'm still dead, but a human by the name of Babba allowed me to walk among the living for a day," she explained.

Rose's gaping mouth began to turn upwards and tears trickled down her face as she laughed and cried at the same time. "Of course…" she chuckled, "I'll have to give that old witch my entire treasure room for this one!" She then pulled her pearl into a tender embrace as she continued to cry tears of joy. Pearl look over her shoulder, giving the two boys an apologetic look. She felt awful about what she had done. She shouldn't have passed judgement on them like that. They hadn't deserved it.

While Vegeta simply gave her a stoic expression, Goku shrugged with a smile in response. As their mentor began to talk animately to her fallen companion, Vegeta took it as their queue to leave, and grabbed Goku by the arm. "Let's go Kakarot," he said, pulling him out of the temple entrance.

"Huh? Why?" the smaller Saiyan asked.

"Because we have a tournament to finish and a dragon ball to find," he explained, "Now call you pet cloud so we can get back to business."

…

A few days later, the two Saiyans returned again. Rose had been overjoyed to have them back with her permanently until the next tournament. They started their training with her again almost immediately. It was like they had never left in the first place…that is except for one thing: the questions.

"Rose?" Goku asked, approaching her after his morning workout on the beach one morning, "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" she responded.

"Would you be willing to tell me about the gems?" he asked.

Rose gave him a confused look. "Goku, I've already told you about the war and how the gems came to Earth," she said, "Don't you remember?"

He nodded his head. "Of course. I didn't mean that though," he said, "I want to know about the gems you were friends with. Like Pearl." Rose's eyes widened slightly. Oh. That. She had avoided talking about them. It hurt sometimes to remember them and what happened. The gem wars were easier to talk about, because although they were painful, it was easier to leave them in the past...but it's not like Goku couldn't handle that kind of information, and with him meeting Pearl, it would probably be a good idea if he knew about a few of them. "Alright," she said sitting down on a rock and patting the one next to her, "I'll tell you about a few of them. Let's start with Pearl since you've already met her."

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm a little worried about my characterization of Pearl, so feel free to give me suggestions on that if you find something off. I have one more flash back chapter planned before I get back to modern times for a while. anyways, let me know what you think, and thanks again for all the support!