Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

BOOTING. . .

Please identify yourself

“Squeak!”

Greetings “Sqeak” Please state preferred customization options

“Chitter”

Default setting selected

The light finally began to form, taking shape at last. A brief squeak echoed followed by sounds of twigs snapping caught her attention, a strange life form with a bushy tail running off

“Was that my…?” She wondered to herself. She took in everything around her tall trees stretched up and dirt and twigs covered the ground. There was no immediate signs of civilization
“This is a strange mansion. Or palace?” She glanced around a little longer searching for the trees
“Well then. I must search for my liege: they must be there somewhere!” Slowly searching through the woods, she began to look for anyone who could feasibly be her liege. Her diamond, morganite, emerald, sapphire, anyone, any gem!
It was only after five hours had passed the light began to show. A strange structure was now clear in the distance. She began to wander over to it. A gigantic statue of a feminine figure was carved into a cliffside. It looked quite like a fusion come to think of it.
“Finally. Perhaps there’s were the gems reside” she thought aloud to herself as she began to make her way over.
Through an odd town, she began to embark up the hill close to the e structure attached to the large statue
Odd organic life forms surround the town, taking note of her but not questioning much
“Such odd little life forms. Perhaps other servants?”
She finally began to ascend the hill. A few figure visible next to the large pole-like structure, upon closer observation, it was clear they were gems. At least most of them were
The first was clearly a Pearl. She looked quite like her own self. Tall, slender, rounded gem embedded in her forehead. A light blue jacket and blue-grey ankle legnth pants was all the customization she must have been giving. An odd device was in her hands. A thin bar attached to what looked like a squished and warped oval. Strings laid out across it
The being right next to her was another one of those creatures that were in the town. Its body was a shade of tanned red, the hair of it missing on the top of the head but thinning around the sides. It sat next to Pearl occasionally guiding her hands across the device she was holding. Maybe teaching her how to use it? But what was this lifeform that helped out a gem? Even a Pearl?
There were two other figures on the far side of the hill. It took a moment for her to realize one was an Amethyst. A defective one most likely, much shorter and stouter than most Amethyst would otherwise be. Her pale hair long and past her ankles flying wildly as she seemed to be performing some sort of dance, her round faceted gem planted in her chest
The last figure wasn’t a gem she recognized. Must have been a fusion given the dual gems in each hand. But why was it here? The calm fusion sat next to the Amethyst, occasionally reigning her in from flailing too wildly
She wasn’t sure who to approach, what to do, or if any of these gems were her owner. None of them were that high ranking in terms of Homeworld statuses. But this did not look like Homeworld.
The Pearl noticed her first noticeably stiffening in surprise
“Hello? Is anyone my liege?” She asked her

Chapter Text

Pearl handed her bass back to Greg, her eyes widening slightly as she observed the Pearl in front of her. She hadn’t met too many Pearls other than Volleyball, and Blue and Yellow Pearl. But even if she did, this still might have put her off.
She had to have been an Era 1 or 2 gem given her behavior. But if that was true, where had she been the last five years? Had she been a corrupted gem that flew under the radar and somehow came into contact with the Diamond essence? No, that couldn’t been right. More direct interaction would have needed to happen in order to get the essence
The Pearl was beautiful, all things considered. Her dress was pastel purple flowing down to her knees. A bow on the skirt. Her lavender hair fell slightly past her shoulders. Her pale purple skin complemented the gem on her cheek. It was hard to tell if she was default or not. Nonetheless, what was she doing here?
Well, it was kinda clear, she asked where her liege was. Which was more concerning given the progress made since White and Homeworld’s system were brought down five years back. Did Spinel carelessly rejuvenate some gems while on her rampage to get her injector? Probably not. She was only focused on Steven back then. Probably didn’t want to get into more trouble than she had to
Pearl finally broke through her confusion and addressed the lavender Pearl
“Perhaps I may be able to help you?” She offered
“A Pearl help me?” The other Pearl asked.
“Of course. Gems often break their confusion around these parts”
“I guess so…” the other Pearl replied
“Alright then. Why don’t you come with me into the house and we can explain a few things to each other?”
“Alright then. Could my liege be in there?”
Pearl had to hold back from wincing even in her days fighting with Rose, she never was quite comfortable with Pearls being blind servants. Rose opened her eyes to several things after the Gem War started. Pearl shook off the feeling, focusing on the task at hand.
“Why don’t we talk about that soon?” Pearl stated nodding to Amethyst and Garnet to come into the Temple with her

“So. You were in the forest alone and wandered around looking for your liege all this time?” Pearl asked
“Yes. Do you know where they are?”
Pearl paused. There was the issue of this Pearl being in Era 1 settings, but also… who activated her? If she was activated there had to be some sort of input from someone
“Did you see anyone after you were activated?” Pearl asked
“There was a tiny little fuzzy life form. Huge bushy tail it had” the purple Pearl answered
“Sounds like a squirrel then” Amethyst chimed in
“Squirrel? What an odd name” the other Pearl giggled
“Then it sounds like some animal activated you by accident in the forest” Pearl reasoned
“What was she doing in the forest? Why wasn’t she in Little Homeworld?” Amethyst asked
“She’s clearly not from this era” Garnet replied
Pearl looked up towards the new Pearl, sensing the conversation was getting a bit confusing and uncomfortable for her
“Would you excuse us for a moment?” Pearl smiled and led Garnet and Amethyst closer upstairs to Greg’s room
“Something must have happened to her recently. She’s in Era 1 settings” Amethyst declared
“I don’t know how she got into the forest then… best I can figure is she must have been corrupted and then was cured but I don’t know how she got in contact with Diamond Essence.” Pearl sighed
“Maybe there was some still left in the ocean from when we healed Steven?” Amethyst offered
“I guess that’s the most likely option. Even if it’s not terribly plausible” Pearl rubbed her temples
“Should we contact Steven? He always had a knack for rehabilitating gems” Amethyst asked
“No” Garnet answered “Steven’s had enough to deal with. We should let him breathe for a while. We should just let him be human”
Pearl nodded in agreement
“Well I guess we should just help her settle in… then maybe we can better dig into what happened”
Pearl walked back downstairs to the purple pearl who was studying a lamp on the table. Pearl breathed deeply before speaking
“Alright then. Some things have changed on Homeworld. We’ll explain it all soon.” Pearl paused “But I feel we should give you some sort of nickname… it’ll make things less confusing for all of us” Pearl laughed gently
The purple pearl cocked her head “nickname? Why?”
“Well, I’m typically called Pearl around here” Pearl chuckled “we’ll need something to differentiate you”
“Well… what are you thinking?”
Pearl’s eyes wandered around the room, her eyes settling on the garden surrounding the warp pad, pots of yellow tulips, bluebells, white lilies, pink roses and morning glories catching her eye. She smiled
“How do you feel about Glory?” Pearl offered
“Glory…” she spoke, trying the name on her tongue “I quite like that”

Chapter Text

“Okay. Glory. Can you tell us what you think the current state of Homeworld is?” Pearl asked
Glory thought a moment
“Same as ever I figure. The Diamonds expanding their colonies I figure… I think Pink Diamond finally got a colony! How wonderful for her!”
Pearl pulled back “Goodness… she’s from before even the Gem War”
“Gem war?” Glory asked
Pearl inhaled “You say Pink got a colony? Do you know if anything came of it?”
“Hmm… I assume it’s still in development?”
“Glory… that happened over six thousand years ago…” Pearl informed
“Then how come I don’t remember any of that?” Glory asked
“That’s kind of what we’re figuring out” Pearl thought a moment “you were never on Pink’s colony were you?”
“Not that I know of. I’m still trying to find my liege… I’m so confused”
“If she never went to Earth then she couldn’t have been corrupted, could she?” Garnet whispered to Pearl
Pearl shook her head “no… you’re right… but then we’ve lost our only explanation” Pearl thought to herself “we can worry about the origin later. We need to get her used to Era 3”
Pearl straightened her shoulders “Okay Glory. Pink Diamond is gone”
Glory covered her mouth “Gone? Was she shattered? What happened? Who did it?”
“No, no. Calm down. Nothing like that. Well, a little like that. It’s complicated…” Pearl trailed off as she began to explain Pink’s fake shattering, the gem war, The corrupting light, Rose falling in love with Greg and sacrificing her form to give life to Steven and then everything that happened with the Diamonds after Steven’s birth
Glory took it all in shock and silence. It took a moment for her to speak
“So, where is this ‘Steven’ now?”
“He’s taken some much needed time for himself to get away from the drama of gems”
Glory nodded “I still don’t know where my liege is…”
Pearl sighed to herself before smiling. She had broken out of Homeworld’s thinking so long ago that she forgot how loyal Pearls could be sometimes
“We can figure that out later”

Glory had gotten a space in Little Homeworld rather quickly. She kept insisting on finding her liege but was put at ease when Pearl reassured her that they would see if they could be found to get her to settle in.
Pearl sighed to herself, sitting in the courtyard of Little Homeschool. If she could convince Glory to break off of her programming maybe Little Homeschool could do her some good and help get her mind off of the previous Homeworld system. She debated contacting Steven again before pushing the thought out of her mind. Steven didn’t need this right now.
“Pearl? Are you okay” Pearl opened her eyes and made eye contact with Peridot who had just finished settling Glory into her unit.
“I’m just unsure of what to do now” Pearl leaned back “Corrupted gems were at least easy to get a handle on once cured… I don’t even know what happened to Glory… I can’t figure it out…”
“Have you considered rejuvenation?” Peridot asked
“Briefly. Though I dismissed it quickly. I don’t know how a gem could access a rejuvenator on Earth” Pearl replied
“Well. I’ve been working on something that might at least confirm that” Peridot offered
Pearl glanced up “and what is that?”

Peridot led Pearl to the workshop where there was a large box connected to a blade similar to one on a rejuvenator
“May I present my newest invention; The- the- uh. Well I’m still workshopping the name.” Peridot rubbed her neck “But the point is, this is intended to be the opposite of a rejuvenator! It will tell a gem the number of times they’ve been rejuvenated and when!”
“Have you tested it yet?” Pearl asked
“No. I’ve only recently finished it. But we could test it on you. We know you’ve been rejuvenated at least once by Spinel. So you would act as a control we know for sure”
“I guess that wouldn’t hurt” Pearl replied
Peridot attached the blade and crystal to Pearl’s gem and turned on the device. After a series of whirrs from the machine, something popped up on the screen
“It reads that you’ve been rejuvenated once three years ago” Peridot read off “do you think it’s worth trying on Glory?”
Pearl nodded “it’s our only real lead”

The next morning Pearl brought Glory to the workshop with Peridot.
“What is this supposed to do?” Glory asked as Peridot attached the blade to the gem on her cheek
“This device will tell us if you’ve been rejuvenated and how many times if so” Peridot informed “it may give us something to go off on you”
“And may help you remember your… liege” Pearl added. Smiling awkwardly, knowing that would sell Glory on it
She was right
Glory nodded excitedly and waited as the device whirred
Peridot read off the report

“It says you were rejuvenated once… five days ago”

Chapter Text

No. Glory couldn’t have been rejuvenated. She was well behaved, she always intended to serve. She may not have known where or who her liege was, but was she so bad that they just discarded her?! Her emotions so high she was afraid she might poof
Pearl put a hand on Glory’s shoulder
“Hey, hey. You’re alright…. We don’t know what exactly happened… but I know it couldn’t have been your fault” Pearl comforted
Glory nodded anxiously
Peridot turned off her device “well, now the thing is we know your memories can be unlocked…. If you were rejuvenated… then you had to of been on Homeworld… there’s no rejuvenator access here on Earth… I can only figure we’d find answers there”
Pearl nodded “I can take her. I’ll let you and the others know if we need any help. A visit to Blue may also help lift her up”
Glory barely listened. Her world was still in shock. She barely registered Pearl bringing her back to the temple as they took the warp pad over to Homeworld.

Pearl brought Glory into the old throne room of the Diamond Palace, constantly making sure she was okay
“Okay. I’m going to get you a visit with Blue Diamond, she’s developed a power to uplift gems with her clouds. She can help get you up enough so we can look for clues to you” Pearl walked Glory through the halls
Glory observed the palace around her. It went against all she knew. The tours being given, exploration encouraged the diamonds seemed to be treated on a closer level to basic gems… it was especially strange, being a pearl
Inside a large blue room full of clouds. Blue Diamond stood in the center, distributing clouds to many a gem
“Just a moment Glory. I’ll get Blue’s attention for you”
Glory stared out into the hallway watching gems pass by, finding their purpose. She didn’t have that. Someone still found her defective. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been rejuvenated, would she?

Suddenly… a very oddly familiar voice broke Glory’s thoughts
“I needed everything done yesterday! No one can know about the plans!”
The voice triggered something deep within Glory. Something instantly awakened within her

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Pearl. Bring over the notes for the meeting”
“Yes my-“
“Don’t give me any of that. Just get it done”
“Here you are”
“Thank you Pearl… tell the guests to hurry along now, won’t you? Then that will be all”
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’d get in if anyone finds out you’re still ordering your pearl?”
“That’s why all this is secret. Pearls were design to serve by the diamonds. Why would I just give it up?”
“You better keep it low key what with-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glory’s memory was cut off by the brush of a cloud on her back, she instantly felt lighter and calmer, but she was mildly disappointed that her memory had been interrupted
“Are you feeling any better Glory?” Pearl asked
“Yeah… but… I think I just remembered something….” Glory trailed off
Pearl’s eyes widened “what did you remember”
“I just heard a gem shouting… then it triggered some memories… just me serving a gem…”
“Can you recall what they said?” Pearl asked
“Ordering me to get plans for a meeting… ushering in guests… and someone else said they would get in a lot of trouble if someone found out they still had me…”
“That had to have been recently then… this still happened in Era 3… I don’t like the implications that brings…” Pearl bit her lip “this probably goes further than simple abandonment and rejuvenation…

Chapter Text

Glory kept running through the memory in her head. She could only hear the voices, brief flashes of images raced by, never clear ones. She couldn’t make out any figures, only flashes of color.
She could discern three voices from the memory. The first was her own voice that much was obvious. The other two were unclear but they seemed to be her former liege and someone else who knew them
She was rejuvenated five days ago according to Peridot. Was that conversation in a similar time frame? The second voice told her ex-liege that she would get in trouble for still ordering Glory around. That meant it was from Era 3, didn’t it?
Glory racked her mind desperately, her thoughts interrupted by Pearl
“Hey. Glory. Where did you hear the voice?” Pearl asked gently
“It was somewhere in the hall…” Glory replied “maybe to the right side?”
Pearl nodded “let’s see if we can find more clues. Perhaps to more than just your identity…”
Glory nodded and gazed around the hall “I’m pretty sure I heard it come from there…” she directed
The halls were semi-crowded, hard to tell which gems were speaking, Glory strained to hear the voice she recognized down the hall. She squeezed through the groups of other gems searching for anyone that would reasonably be her gem.
They had to have been someone of higher ranking if they owned a Pearl (or used to rank highly. Semantics) and given their behavior in the memory, they probably still acted like an aristocratic gem. That at least gave them some kind of clue
The hall opened up and Glory observed the room. There was a door leading outside straight ahead. Along the path to the door was a tall indigo gem. The gem appeared very high class. Maybe it was the same gem? She was walking alongside an aquamarine flying next to her
“Do you see anything?” Pearl asked
“Just an aquamarine and another indigo gem. I can’t tell what type of gem it is…” Glory replied
“Wait a second. Where is the aquamarine’s gem?” Pearl asked cautiously
“I can’t see it… it must be on her face or chest” Glory raised an eyebrow “why?”
“I fear that I may know her… can we try to get closer?”
“I guess we can” Glory slowly moved closer to follow the gems out the door
The gems were rather fast but they soon rounded a corner. While the indigo gem was still indistinguishable, she could see the aquamarine’s face with her gem resting under her eye. Pearl immediately stiffened
“We’re going to need backup…” Pearl whispered
“Why?” Glory asked, nervousness flickering in her eyes
“I know that aquamarine. She’s tried to kill and capture Steven many times l… she’s still a threat… I want to go back and get the others here… there’s more to your background than being rejuvenated. That much we know”

Glory and Pearl warped back to the temple. Amethyst sat in front of the gems “TV” (as they called it). Garnet sat quietly observing her
Pearl called out to them, explaining the situation
Amethyst immediately produced her whip and cracked it
“Where are they? Let me at ‘em!” Amethyst shouted. Garnet reigned her in
“At ease Amethyst. We’ll need to be more low-key about this” Garnet chided gently
Pearl nodded “I’ll go inform Peridot, Lapis and Bismuth. We need lots more help…” Pearl exited the temple
Glory’s shoulders tensed. All this was getting too much but it all led to something bigger than herself

Chapter Text

Pearl could sense the anxiety in Glory’s eyes. Though she didn’t have many words of comfort as she was dealing with her own.
Seeing Aquamarine again triggered so much anger, pain and a slight degree of fear. Knowing she was the reason Steven sacrificed himself to Homeworld and never faced any real consequences. And then her fusion with Eyeball didn’t help things either. She had gotten away with every crime against the Crystal Gems and it made Pearl sick.
But there was still the question of what she was doing. It would not be taken lightly that she was casually on Homeworld. She was pretty open about hating the new Homeworld system during the battle with her and Eyeball. And now that she tried to kill Steven, she wouldn’t be welcome regardless.
Pearl tried to push back the thoughts as the gems warped back to Homeworld, weapons in hand.
Pearl took a deep breath as her eyes scanned through Homeworld
“Lapis. Can you scout above Homeworld to see if you can find Aquamarine anywhere?” Pearl asked
Lapis nodded and shot skyward with her water wings observing Homeworld
Pearl’s eyes scanned Homeworld her hands tightly gripping her spear as she thought of Aquamarine’s crimes. Glory stole short glances at her. Pearl shot an apologetic look
“Sorry Glory…” Pearl put a hand to her forehead “This is just bringing back so many horrid memories…”
“Care to elaborate?” Glory asked
“I already told you how Aquamarine kidnapped some humans and Steven with a topaz fusion. But she also teamed up with a ruby Steven angered to achieve revenge. And she’s never faced any repercussions… it disturbs me… through and through…”
Glory pursed her lips “I see…”
Lapis soon returned, touching down in front of the gems
“I think I caught sight of Aquamarine along the edge of the city center…” Lapis informed “she looked to be heading towards the outskirts of Homeworld. We have to head out now if we hope to catch up”

The gems quickly raced across Homeworld Lapis directing them from above to keep an eye on Aquamarine. Pearl’s thoughts raced as they closed in onto the outskirts.
Aquamarine flew out to a small building isolated in the landscape, looking over her shoulder before entering. Pearl found it odd that the building was a solitary structure considering how densely packed Homeworld was. She never seen a part of Homeworld this barren. Even in the old kindergartens.
The gems slowly moved closer towards the building. The door was unlocked but Garnet stopped everyone from immediately venturing in
“Hold. A group this large may hinder us if we hope to remain discreet” Garnet hummed “A few of us should stay out and keep watch to remain productive”
Peridot nodded in agreement
“How’s about Glory, Pearl, Lapis and I head inside while Amethyst, Garnet and Bismuth stay out” Peri offered
Garnet nodded “Seems the best team to be low-key and a possibility to retrieve Glory’s memories” Garnet paused a moment, checking her future vision “it seems to lead to the best possible outcome. Go”
Pearl nodded and led Glory inside and Peridot and Lapis followed

The room the building opened up into was rather small, but there were stairs leading down into a massive basement. There was a low hum of a conversation nearby in a small room. There was a large table surrounded by chairs. Clearly a meeting room. Only two gems were in there Aquamarine and another all too familiar gem
“Eyeball…” Pearl whispered. Eyeball ticked her off in a similar way to Aquamarine. Never punished, got away scott free. But at least she had a moment floating in space with the rest of the Ruby Squad. Even when saved and ejected by Steven.
The two partners were snippily exchanging words with one another
“It was a big risk venturing into the palace” Eyeball grumbled
“It was necessary for the plan” Aquamarine replied
“Did you find anything regarding the disbanded weapons at least?” Eyeball asked
“Sort of. We know Yellow Diamond disbanded them. She sent them off to a far reach to our knowledge. The recon was mostly to study the diamonds”
“Anything on them?”
Aqua didn’t get a chance to reply before being cut off by another voice
“Patience Ruby” the voice chided. The indigo gem from the earlier sighting came into view. Her dark purple hair piled atop her head, a long armored dress adorned her body. Her rectangular gem rested upon her neck. The blue flecks around her neck making it resemble a choker. Her deep purple eyes narrowed at Aqua and Eyeball. Pearl pulled back knowing the chances of being noticed were higher. Until a light behind her caught her attention
“Please, don’t do that. You’re going to get us ca-“
Pearl cut herself off, noticing Glory’s form beginning to glow and shift.

Chapter Text

BOOTING. . .

~8,000 years ago~

Please identify yourself

“Tanzanite”

Greetings Tanzanite. Please select preferred customization options

“Default”

Default setting selected. Please stand by

The pearl shone brightly, bowing before her Tanzanite
“Greetings my Tanzanite. How shall I-“
“Keep it simple. I don’t need any excessive praise or devotion. Just do something when I say so. Clear?”
“Yes my Tan-“
“Just retrieve my notes. Blue Diamond expects a new shipment of resources for the turquoise colony by high noon and I doubt the amethysts properly filed everything” Tanzanite grumbled “she’s been slipping due to Pink’s colony and the stress of supporting”
“Pink Diamond got a colony? How wonderful her!” The Pearl smiled
“I don’t recall asking you to speak just retrieve my notes” Tanzanite sighed
“Yes my Tanzanite”

~2,000 years later~

Tanzanite shuffled through her reports as her pearl stood at her right.
A topaz entered and dropped off a message before leaving. Tanzanite rolled her eyes
“Pearl. Go read that out.” Tanzanite flipped
The lavender pearl mulled over the message her eyes slowly widening. Her voice shook as she read it aloud
“P- Pink Diamond has- has been… has been shattered… u- upon this… Blue Diamond re- requests… your- your Ruby- Ruby Guards… and- and quartz soldiers to…. To… gather gem shards from Earth’s battlefield and… and supply them to the diamonds for the erasure of Earth…”
Tanzanite looked shocked a moment before her expression turned to disgust
“Cursed crystal gems…” she glanced at her Pearl “quit your mumbling before I use your shards to supply The Diamonds” Tanzanite hissed before leaving to consult her troops
She shivered, tossing away the scroll, the shattering of Pink weighing heavy on her mind

~6,000 years later~

Tanzanite began to forbid her Pearl from accompanying her outside their domain, journeying outside and completely moved from their elaborate manor to an underground complex, built by a commissioned bismuth. How they found a empty space on Homeworld, she didn’t know
Tanzanite began to have private meetings with several foreign gems. She was only allowed to bring in Tanzanite’s notes and welcome in the guests. She was never allowed to sit or listen in on their discussion and Tanzanite never had her take notes from meetings, opting to do it herself for once.
Tanzanite was in such a meeting right now. She had just returned from delivering Tanzanite’s notes and returned to Tanzanite’s chamber before realizing she’d left a single note behind.
No matter, Tanzanite would yell at her, but missing a note would leave her with far worse consequences
She turned the handle of Tanzanite’s meeting room but then heard a rush of conversation
“How do we intend to gather intel?” Asked an aquamarine
“We can observe the diamonds in the everyday… a lots changes in the palace… even with the diamonds themselves. Beyond what that pathetic hybrid’s done to their personalities” Tanzanite replied
“And when would The Takeback occur?” A Ruby inquired
“that all depends. Patience” Tanzanite hissed
“What are you talking about?” Her Pearl foolishly called out
Tanzanite’s eyes narrowed before stepping right over to her Pearl and gripping her wrist
“Come along now. We’re going to The Reef”

After warping to The Reef, Tanzanite placed her hand on the pedestal

Greetings Tanzanite. I am Shell, your guide to The Reef

“I have a Pearl that’s in need of… care” Tanzanite declared

Understood. Please follow designated path to the care center

Tanzanite placed her Pearl in the center of the care center, placing her hand on another pedestal

“Rejuvenate”

Chapter Text

Pearl watched Glory’s form change and glow with bated breath, knowing it meant she was fully coming back, though Pearl was unsure of what it meant for her.
Pearl attempted to block Glory’s light with her body, stress lining her features
“Pearl. We should probably just go” Lapis whisper-hissed
“Glory can’t move” Pearl whispered back “we have to find a way to get her out”
Before Pearl could mull over the options, Glory’s form settled, she collapsed to the floor, her eyes wide
“Glory, is everything alright?” Pearl placed a hand on her shoulder
Glory trembled “I… I think we should get out of here….”
Pearl winced. “I don’t think we can do it that quickly without drawing too much attention. We have to move slowly and silently.” Pearl gripped Glory’s hand and pulled her along. Peridot and Lapis slid forward. They were so close. But then the door clicked open. Pearl quickly shoved Glory out of view, knowing if she was seen that there might be further consequences, seeing as she was connected to this place
Eyeball and Aquamarine froze upon seeing the gems. The indigo gem, who Pearl could now see was a Tanzanite, raised an inquisitive eyebrow, as if all of this was only a nuisance.
“CRYSTAL GEMS!” Eyeball cried, drawing her knife from her gem. Aquamarine gripped her hand and the two began to fuse, united in hate, fusing into Bluebird
Bluebird moved in, her saber striking against Pearls spear. Pearl turned back to face Peridot and Lapis.
“Go get Glory out of here. If Tanzanite sees her, she might be in danger”
Peridot nodded, grabbing Glory’s hand as Lapjs moved to keep her hidden
“So. Crystal Gems. I suppose this may have been inevitable. You always seem to know what was up.” Tanzanite tapped her gem “But you know, it doesn’t need to be all bad. I’ve recently… lost a Pearl of mine… it’d be nice to have a replacement…. After you’ve been rejuvenated of course” Tanzanite smiled smugly
Pearl pushed Bluebird away with her spear “Not if I can help it” Pearl moved backward, keeping her eyes on Bluebird and keeping herself guarded
“It’s cute you think you have a choice” Tanzanite loomed above Pearl, the gem on her neck glowing
“Get back, you-behind-the-times-upper-crust!” Bismuth’s hammer crashed between Tanzanite and Pearl. Garnet and Amethyst followed closely behind. Peridot and Lapis leading them in.
Tanzanite pursed her lips “Outnumbered I see. Well. I know when I’m at a disadvantage. Fall back Bluebird”
Bluebird recoiled in disappointment, unfusing
“But know this.” Tanzanite continued “Things are about to change on Homeworld…. Big… big things” Tanzanite stepped back, uncovering a warp pad and disappearing. Aquamarine and Eyeball, not knowing what to do, followed her onto the pad, warping away.
Pearl caught her breath as they ascended out of the building. Glory waited outside, lost in her own world, her eyes frightened
“Glory. What’s wrong?” Pearl placed a hand on Glory’s shoulder
“I remember everything… Tanzanite was my liege… she’s planning something… a conspiracy against Homeworld… I overheard a meeting she was having… with other gems… she’s going to do something against Homeworld… destroying everything your “Steven” has built”

Chapter Text

Those insufferable Crystal Gems… how did they even find their base? Tanzanite shuffled through notes, trying to discover any hole that could have led to them becoming public knowledge. Nothing
Unless….
Disobedient Pearl! How did she regain her memories? The only reason she placed her bubble on Earth was due to little suspicion should she be discovered! Even then, what could have triggered the memories? Was she somehow on Homeworld and spotted her? If the Crystal Gems cared enough about her, they may have pursed a solution for her
“Well, I suppose we need to pivot for the time being” Tanzanite rose up and strode back to her meeting room, clicking her communicator.
“I’m going need everyone reporting to our base. Immediately. The Crystal gems have found us”

The meeting was intense, but Tanzanite commanded her coup with strong authority. Emeralds may have been ranked above her at one point, but the one in her group was too immature and self-absorbed to lead. Besides, Tanzanite had been the one to found the group. They were much better off with her in charge
“Well. As I debriefed, the Crystal Gems have discovered our base. Our currents plans shall be put on hold until we can quell this threat”
“And how are we supposed to function without our weapons, Tanzanite?” The aquamarine hissed
“Speak for yourself Aqua” the Ruby with the gem over her eye summoned the knife from her gems
“Do not call me that” Aquamarine folded her arms
“Silence” Tanzanite raised a calm hand “fuse with Ruby, Aquamarine. You’re stronger that way anyway. As disgusting as multi-gem fusion is. At least until we get Homeworld how it should be”
“Fine then. But they could be anticipating us” Aquamarine inspected her dress “how do we prep for counterattack?”
“I’ll be sending a small team along with me to Earth to fight them.”
“And who is this team made up of?” A bismuth asked
“All of us who’ve been the most formidable foes against them” Tanzanite glanced sideways at Aquamarine and Ruby
“I guess that adds up” the bismuth responded
“How did they find us to begin with” the emerald on her team asked. She was always undermining Tanzanite
Tanzanite inhaled impatiently “I believe my Pearl somehow regained her memories. Probably due to the Crystal Gems”
“So when do we attack?” Aquamarine asked
“I’ll assign you to my team within the hour.” Tanzanite replied “we’ll set out by evening, allowing us to arrive on Earth by their morning.”
Tanzanite crossed her arms behind her back “in the meantime, the rest of you ponder ideas for our main goal. I want an outline by the time we return” Tanzanite exited the meeting hall, ascending the stairs to her private quarters.

Tanzanite gazed out at Homeworld’s endless sky. Her fingers lacing the curtains of her window
“One day, Homeworld will be at its former glory. One day.”

Chapter Text

“…and then I accidentally listened in on a meeting, Tanzanite caught me and rejuvenated me at The Reef” Glory finished, intaking a shaky breath. It was late at night in Beach City. Pearl tapped her chin in thought
“I guess she must have bubbled you and left you here…” Pearl hummed “wouldn’t be that suspicious to find a gem on Earth…”
“Tanzanite’s coming” Garent cut in seriously “I see several possible attack plans… but all of them make certain Tanzanite comes”
Glory shivered. Pear wrapped an arm around her
“Glory? Do you feel ready to fight?” Pearl asked tentatively
Glory sighed “I’m not a fighter. I was made to serve… even with the new Homeworld standrards… it’s just…” Glory squeezed her eyes shut
“That’s what I thought too… before the war… just because we’re pearls does not mean we’re weak…” Pearl smiled “I’m not saying you should push yourself to fight… I’m just saying you’re stronger than you may realize” Pearl squeezed Glory a bit
As the Crystal Gems left, Glory stared out at the stars above. She knew Tanzanite would be coming after them. There was no denying that. What were Tanzanite and her group planning? They didn’t want her to know, that much was clear. But how was she a threat? She was just a Pearl…
Just a Pearl….

Glory was lost in thought. Early morning light painted the sky. The other gems were training by the lighthouse. Glory felt a heavy rumble break through the air. Glory squinted, gazing out the window. A large blue ship was touching down from above. Glory already could guess who it was
Bursting out of the house, Glory ran up the hill towards the gems, Pearl turned around.
“Glory? Do you-“ Glory cut Pearl off, pointing towards the ship
“Tanzanite…” Glory fell to her knees
Pearl took in a breath
“Alright. Let’s get this done before anything can be damaged”

The Crystal Gems approached the landing ship, taking a fighting stance. Glory slunk behind, still trying to be hidden somehow
The ship’s door slowly opened revealing the gems inside
Tanzanite stood in front of gathered gems behind her, then taking a step back, disappearing behind the crowd
“Attack”

Chapter Text

Pearl’s gaze hardened as she noticed the gems Tanzanite recruited. Tanzanite herself slinking away from the fight.
Aquamarine and Eyeball were there of course, but Pearls anger grew as she noticed the other recruits.
Holly Blue Agate was already reaching for her whip, a cold indifferent expression on her face
Pearl had never seen Emerald in person, only through recounts from Steven and Connie, but she had a feeling this was the same one they’d faced, down to the gem over her eye and uniform. A destabilizer was carried in her hands. She must have kept it in storage before Era 3 disbanded military gems
Then it devolved into gems Pearl didn’t recognize. There was a Bismuth standing nearby. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun, her Gemstone located on her forehead. Her hands were shifted into hammers.

Pearl winced. This was going to be a long battle.

Immediately, Holly Blue came for Pearl. Pearl knocked away her whip with the tip of her spear. Amethyst attempted to knock Aquamarine out of the sky. Pearl staggered backward, ensuring her footing remained stable as her eyes remained on Holly Blue. Her spear arced upward to aim for her chest, thankfully her gem was on her other side, poofing would be easier than usual. Pearl whirled around and stabbed forward, Holly Blue hopped backward, avoiding her strike. For not fighting often, the agate was agile. Pearl stood up, turning to the others. The Bismuth on Tanzanite’s team was attacking their Bismuth. Avoiding Holly Blue’s strike, Pearl ducked and moved in to protect Bismuth
“Thanks Pearl” Bismuth grinned, gaining the chance to shift her hands into hammers. The two bismuth’s weapons crashed into each other
“Who do you think you are, going around all crazy like this? No one tell you we’ve been liberated?” Bismuth snarled
The other bismuth applied more force “Bismuth Facet 7E4Q Cut 91BK. We’re to get Homeworld back to its former glory. You’re in the way of that”
Bismuth 91 swung forward and knocked Bismuth down. She raised her arms up, aiming for Bismuth’s chest.
Pearl gasped and rushed in, raising her spear and making it collide with Bismuth 91’s hammers. With all of her strength Pearl thrust forward, knocking the bismuth down
Bismuth stood up and regained her stance
Pearl looked behind her and saw Glory hiding in fear behind a boulder. Bismuth 91 noticed this and snarled
“Tanzanite’s Pearl…” Bismuth 91 whispered and ran forward
Pearl ran in to protect Glory. Amethyst noticed this and flung her whip against Bismuth 91’s back then coiled it around her torso, pulling her backward towards Amethyst
Pearl quickly thanked Amethyst with her eyes and hurried over to Glory
“Glory you need to be careful. I’m not going to stop you from fighting, but you’re going to be a huge target” Pearl warned.
“I- I don’t have anything to fight with… I can’t do anything… I’m just a Pearl…. I’m no good without an owner….” Glory clenched her eyes shut
“Don’t you dare say that!” Pearl demanded “Pearls aren’t what Homeworld once made us believe. I know your memories are all in past Eras… but you can do more”
Glory was about to say more but then a shadow passed over them

Emerald stood over the rock they were hidden behind, aiming the destabilizer for Glory’s gem. Pearl knocked Glory behind her with her spear. Glory staggered away, trying to reach safety. Pearl aimed her spear forward, preparing to defend her home and friends

Chapter Text

Glory ran to the other side of the beach, away from the fight, before she could make it far, Aquamarine floated before her
“And just where do you think you’re going? Tanzanite is going to have to take you back to The Reef. I told her she should have just kept your bubble. But she insisted you were useless. Should been shattered”
Glory tried to block out the words, turning around the other way before being blocked off by Eyeball. Cornered, Glory backed up against the mountain’s side. Her form threatening to destabilize
One of Garnet’s gauntlets flew forward, hitting Aquamarine in the back. Eyeball jumped forward but Garnet swatted her away.
Glory ran further, taking her chance
“Glory, wait. Hold yourself!” Garnet warned
It was too late. Holly Blue Agate zeroed in on Glory, her whip glinting menacingly with electricity
Glory cried out, picking up a piece of driftwood off the beach and holding it out in front of her in a feeble attempt to defend herself. She wasn’t a fighting gem. She feebly jabbed the driftwood in front of her toward Holly Blue. Holly Blue stepped back a bit, out of surprise
“So Pearls do know how to fight. Who knew” Holly Blue advanced, cracking her whip. Glory tried to knock it out of the way she’d seen Pearl do so. It didn’t fully work, the whip still grazing her skin, it still hurt like a fire to her skin. Glory staggered backward, holding her shoulder.

Glory felt a thud behind her. She turned around in fear, seeing Emerald again. Emerald stabbed her destabilizer towards Glory’s cheek. Glory yelled out as she felt the energy course through her, her form growing to be too much to hold any longer
Glory poofed

Chapter Text

Pearl noticed Glory’s form poofing. In fear she dashed forward to try and get Glory’s gem before anyone else could.
Emerald picked up the smooth lavender gem and tossed it in the air, sneering
Aquamarine flew over “ooh! Ooh! Shatter her! Shatter her!”
Emerald pushed her away “Tanzanite first” Emerald strode forward, bubbling Glory’s gem
Pearl and Amethyst dashed in, Amethyst wrapped her whip around Emerald’s ankles and pulled her off balance, then hurrying back over to Bismuth 91 to prevent her movement
Pearl reached for Emerald’s bubble, attempting to release Glory. Aquamarine swooped in and grabbed the bubble, flying out of reach.
Lapis rose up on her wings, moving water from the shore up to separate Aquamarine and the bubble.
Lapis tossed the bubble down to Peridot, who just barely caught it. Eyeball came rushing in, dagger raised. Peridot directed the metal she’d brought smack her away. Eyeball got knocked against Tanzanite’s ship
Bismuth 91 broke free of Amethyst’s restraints and flung Amethyst back with her own whip into the ocean
“That’s enough of that, you runt” Bismuth 91 spat, making a break for Peridot. Peri tried to get a metal sheet up in front of her but she was too late. Bismuth 91 smashed her with her hammer and retrieved Glory, heading towards the ship.
Bismuth rushed over and her hammers collided with her fellow bismuth and knocked her to the ground, recovering Glory
“Hang in there little glory” Bismuth muttered, her eyes landed on Pearl
“Pearl!” Bismuth tossed the bubble toward Pearl. Pearl attempted to catch it, but a hand came between them before she could
Tanzanite.
Tanzanite popped the green bubble and Glory’s gem fell into her hands. Tanzanite let it fall to the ground, then crushed it beneath her heel, cracking the gem.
In anger, Pearl rushed in and jabbed Tanzanite back into her ship
Quickly picking up Glory’s gem Pearl ran back and handed it to Amethyst
“Quickly Amethyst. Get inside and get Steven’s essence. Make sure the crack won’t deepen.”
Amethyst nodded and ran up the hill as Pearl faced the growing enemies closing around her

Chapter Text

Amethyst clutched Glory’s gem in her fist, constantly checking on it to make sure the crack didn’t expand. Just before she managed to reach the door, Aquamarine flew in front of her blocking the entrance.
“And just where do you think you’re going?” Aquamarine taunted. Amethyst cracked her whip. Aquamarine strode backward “Ruby! Get over here!”
Eyeball scurried up the stairs, quickly grabbing Aquamarine’s hand, beginning to fuse
“Argh! I don’t have time for this!” Amethyst raced past the fusion, wrenching the door open. Amethyst felt a force on her back. Bluebird pushed her down. Amethyst put her arms forward, trying not to land on Glory’s gem
Bluebird tried to reach for Glory’s gem, Amethyst rolled away from the fusion, squishing against the wall.
“Just for a sec Glory…” Amethyst bubbled Glory to have less chance of further damaging her
Tucking the bubble under her arm, Amethyst made a beeline for the bathroom. Bluebird cut her off in the living room, her saber aimed to strike. Amethyst swung her whip to knock her down
Bluebird rose up and propelled Amethyst into the kitchen counter. Amethyst tried to hold tight to Glory’s bubble, finally running towards the bathroom door.
Amethyst shuffled through the cabinet, grabbing a small pink bottle containing Steven’s essence he’d left to heal gems. Before Amethyst could un-bubble Glory, Bluebird grabbed the bottle dangling in front of Amethyst
“Oh now, what’s this?” Bluebird taunted and giggled
Amethyst grit her teeth “you put. That. Down”
“Oh now, why should I do that?” Bluebird flew out the window
“Dang it!” Amethyst slapped her whip against the tile
Amethyst hurried outside
“Guys! Bluebird’s got Steven’s essence! Don’t let her get away with it!”

Chapter Text

Pearl heard Amethyst’s warning and froze. Turning her head up to find Bluebird arching across the sky. Garnet leaped forward and aimed her gauntlet for the sky. Bluebird
“Oopsie! We wouldn’t anything bad to happen now would we” Bluebird dangled the bottle in the air
Holly Blue Agate’s eyes widened
“Would that be… Pink Diamond’s essence?!” She inquired, temporarily ignoring the battle
“Indeed!” Bluebird giggled
“This can help us do so many…” Holly Blue grinned
Pearl took advantage of Holly Blue’s distraction and jabbed her in the back, the force was enough to knock her down but not pierce her.
Amethyst had come down from the house, holding a bubble with Glory’s gem inside
“I put Glory inside the bubble for now… just so the crack won’t expand… where’s Bluebird?” Amethyst asked, cracking her whip
“That’s fine for now Amethyst…” Pearl replied. “But we need to get that essence back” Pearl aimed her spear upward and thrust it up towards Bluebird
Bluebird dodged out of the way and drew closer to Tanzanite’s ship
“Oi Tanzanite!” Bluebird cried in a singsong voice “we’ve got diamond essence!”
Tanzanite looked up, her eyes shining greedily.
“Bring it here.” Tanzanite ordered. Bluebird began to float over but Amethyst coiled her whip around Bluebird’s wrist

Bluebird yanked her hand forward, trying the throw Amethyst off balance. Amethyst stumbled slightly but held firm. Amethyst tried to pull Bluebird’s hand down. When that didn’t work, she tried to shake the bottle from their grip. It worked a bit to well
The bottle sailed through the air, landing in Emerald’s hands. Emerald began to make her way back to the ship before Pearl cut her off holding her spear up as she tried to reach for the essence. Emerald jabbed her destabilizer forward, barely missing Pearl’s form. Pearl took the opening to knock away the arm with the essence in it

The bottle rolled across the sand, stopping at Lapis’s feet. The blue gem quickly picked it up and shot a stream of water towards Bismuth 91 as she approached. Lapis took off to the sky before Bluebird met her there, snatching the bottle out of Lapis’s hands before slashing her saber forward. Lapis encased herself in a bubble of water before summoning avatars of Bluebird to fight her. The bottle knocked out of Bluebird’s hands and it plummeted to the ground, finally being caught in Pearl’s hands.
Pearl quickly rushed over to Glory’s bubble, hoping there was enough time

Chapter Text

This was technically the first time Glory had been poofed. It gave her a lot of time to think as she concentrated on building her new form.
She’d never been poofed under Tanzanite. Which made sense seeing as pearls weren’t exactly intended to be on the front. And rejuvenation was not the same thing since her consciousness wasn’t even really active until someone had activated her
So being poofed was new. It felt a bit funny just being inside her gem. Pearls often stored things within them, she knew that. As well as her memories and little avatars, but none of those things were present at the top level as she hadn’t stored anything since being rejuvenated. She couldn’t really move. She saw her body when her eyes glanced down. It was still a bit broken up, slowly being sewn back together as she focused on reassembling her form.
Then Glory felt something quake through her body. The pale lavender edges of the space of her gem grew sharp ugly cracks. Glory’s form grew more broken up and mismatched. It was hard to think straight now.
Great, now Glory also had a new experience in being cracked. Unlike poofing, this was something she’d thought about, given Tanzanite had threatened such things to her. She barely thought about it back then, but now… it made her realize just how messed up she’d been on Homeworld
Was this what Pearl was talking about? Being independent? More than just a pearl? Perhaps Pearl was right that she had strength to break from her pearl programming. Maybe Pearl wasn’t the only one who could do it
Still. The thought was scary. She’d utterly failed in fighting Emerald after all
Now it was really hard to move. Glory couldn’t feel any light anywhere. She must’ve been bubbled. Again
The thought of being bubbled was scary. On one hand, it could be The Crystal Gems bubbling her for safety. So her cracks wouldn’t grow. Or so she wouldn’t get in the way
On the other, it may have been Tanzanite taking her away back to the reef. Where she’d be rejuvenated. Again. And maybe this time still serving Tanzanite.
Glory looked back at the sharp cracks expanding over the “ceiling” of the space.
She just had to hope…. The gems would save her
Save her… next time she’d try with her soul to return the favor