Pearl's Perspective:

Thankfully, Amethyst had returned to her senses and we were now making our way through the Opal Dimension. The next leg of our journey was through a thick bramble forest. I easily carved through the large thorns that obscured our path.

I can't believe she insulted Rose. No wait, I can't believe she attacked me. Amethyst... I know I haven't been in the right lately but that's no reason for all of this. It's not befitting of a Crystal Gem!

"Hey, P!" Opal's more reckless half called to me. "Do you even know where we're going?"

She hasn't called me P since I was a few thousand years old... and before Rose left...

"We're going to keep going straight until we reach the edge of Opal's mind. Since our... disagreements haven't unfused Opal, we may have to free ourselves manually but jumping out of her mind."

"Whoa... we can do that?"

"Of course. Well... in theory. Oh right, and don't call me P anymore."

"But you always used to let me call you P when we were kids!" she whined.

"We aren't kids any more, Amethyst."

"Whatever." Amethyst returned to her pleasant silence for a good few minutes.

Gradually though, the area had begun changing. Rather than obscuring our path, the thick thorns we're inviting us even deeper into this forest in Opal's mind. Eventually, I started noticing a trail of pink petals, much like the petals we had seen earlier in the odd petals near Amethyst's mind.

"What... are these things?" I whispered, apparently loud enough for Amethyst to hear.

"I dunno. Apparently I just act like a dumb kid so what could I know."

"Ugh, I didn't say you act like one, I said we aren't... Rose?"

"Um. Yeah we aren't Rose but... what do you- Oh."

Before us, Rose's most precious sanctuary, her fountain, was standing in all its grace and beauty. Beautiful pink roses drifted down, adorning whatever they landed on with a tiny fraction of Rose's splendor.

"This... this is..."

I felt my feet moving as I stepped towards the fountain, but... I didn't care to stop them.

"Rose... I can feel her here..."

"Pearl? What are you doing?" Someone asked me. She sounded familiar but... I don't... remember.

"Rose... I'm coming. We can be together forever... right? Right here... in your sanctuary."

"Pearl! Stop it! You don't know-" Mmmm, that voice isn't Rose, so I won't... I won't listen. All I need... is Rose. "We can be... we can be... so much more than Rainbow Quartz together Rose!"

The intoxicating aroma of Rose's sweet scent... I smelled it, I absorbed it. It was as if... I was with her again. I felt Rose... hugging my waist with the waters of her fountain. I continued walking deeper into the waters of it when someone, something started holding me back.

"Pear- plea-- don'- go!" That familiar voice called to me. It was now holding me in its grip, it was interrupting the nirvana of Rose's hold.

Only... only a gem monster, only someone truly corrupt would... ruin this for me!

"You... corrupted gem. Move. Rose's sanctuary... must not be... tainted by evil! I... fought for her in the war... and I'll fight for her now!"

My opponent made several humming sounds, I don't know what they were intended to mean but I've grown numb to the pain of fighting an old, corrupted ally.

I made a quick slash at the corrupt gem in front of me. I'm not sure when I summoned my weapon but you should never look a gift horse in the mouth.

"-earl, wha- t-e he--?"

I continued hacking and slashing away. Oddly, the corrupt gem was able to evade my attacks, most corrupted gems don't have enough sense to do that. However, that doesn't matter, I was empowered by the abundance of lacrimal essence from Rose's Fountain.

"Stop running, heathen! Fight with honor! I am... the legacy of Rose Quartz..! I shall not taint... her legacy with... a failure..?"

"So -t's Rose?" The beast shouted to me. Instantly, the blur that made up her being leapt at me, however, it seemed that she leapt too high.

"Ugh!" The beast shouted as it crashed into the ground. It made a cracking sound as it fell but... it sounded more like a sta-

"No! Rose!"

The corrupt one had smashed into Rose's statue... thankfully it was the real Rose but her beautiful likeness... was smashed. You will pay!

I dashed over to the remains of Rose's statue but somehow, the beast had disappeared.

"Show yourself!" I shouted to it.

Suddenly, my arms were bound by... black and purple rope? Familiar...

"Hyah!" I heard someone shout as a heavy weight was thrust onto my back.

"Ugh, what is this?"

"Pearl, listen to me!" The corrupt one shouted in my ears. "You have to stop! I know you miss Rose and I know you feel alone, but you've got to stop! You've got me!"

Those words. They sound so familiar. Like the words to an old lullaby you forget when you grow up. You know the words... you just don't know you know them.

You've got me... and I've got you.
Hold on tight and I'll never let you go...
Maybe one day, we could dance together...
Maybe one day, we could fight together
Maybe, if only for a second, I could be... your everything...

"I won't ever let you go! You're my everything!"

Amethyst?

I felt tears pouring from my eyes as I began to realize exactly what was going on.

"Amethyst... you... I'm... nothing! How can I... How can I be anything to you?" I shouted to her, I still couldn't see her but... the truth doesn't change if you tell it when no one's around. "You don't..."

I had lied to myself, Rose was still gone and I had fallen into disillusion. I had attacked an ally and used Rose's name to justify. I'm just as alone as I've always been. I fell to my knees in defeat.

"Pearl! Pearl, are you okay? What just happened?" That voice, er, Amethyst called to me.

"Please Amethyst, I just want to be alone. I... I'll need to adjust to... living like that for the rest of my life, anyway." I curled into a ball, I tried centering my thoughts but everything was still a scattered blur.

"Pearl... I don't know why you keep acting like you can't do anything! Stop acting like you're so weak! What is up with you guys and screwing with my head?"

"Amethyst? What are you-"

"You know exactly what I mean! First you shut me out and act like I'm just an embarrassment to you guys! Then you lie and act like you think you're weak when you're like... the best swordsman I've ever seen! And now you're acting like you have no idea what I'm talking about, like I'm just some crazy-"

I felt my arms lock around Amethyst's small, shaking body as I pulled her close to me.

"Why?" I heard her whisper.

"Because I've been lost... and I haven't been using the directions you've been giving me to find the way out."

That noise...
...was it...
...a snicker?!

"Gahahaha. I-I'm sorry, Pearl but... what? Haha."

My cheeks grew warm. She's so... urgh! "Amethyst! Quit laughing! I-I was serious!"

"I know Pearl! That's why I'm so... happy." Amethyst sidled up beside me, smiling but with her eyes closed.

"Look Pearl, I don't wanna get all sappy and stuff but you're really strong and fast and cool. You definitely don't need Rose to be all that."

"Amethyst... do you... really think all that?"

"Well maybe everything but cool, you're usually just like... a borderline nerd." She snickered.

I'll take that as a yes.

"Amethyst... I-I don't know what to say..."

"And there we go again. Same ol' Pearl." She rose away from me, and stared at the remains of Rose's statue. "Y'know, I almost thought I changed you for a sec. Anyway, let's get back to getting out of here Pearl!"

Changed me? What could she... ugh. Forget it. She's right, we should be trying to escape this fusion, at least... I think we should.

A large area of brambles, flowers, and trees that made up a portion of the replica of Rose's Fountain parted, giving us both a clear view of the next area we'd be passing through.

"Pearl... isn't that..?"

Definitely, there's no mistaking it. Our next target is... the Kindergarten.