PearlThese are the warps that once connected us to other planets. If something tried to come from space, it would be through here. But wait—this warp pad is broken! Marked inactive by the very depressed cartoon breakfast sticker you placed here yourself!
[walks up to Steven] Look, Pearl's right, like usual. Ugh... you get used to it. [Garnet places hand on Steven's head; Steven moves her hand off him]
[beat] Well... I guess so.
[Steven places his hand beside the "Crying Breakfast Friends" sticker; the Gems all sigh]
Oh, man! Finally! That took all day.
It was important to make Steven feel secure.
Pearl
Yes, Steven feels much better now. [Steven starts losing his temper even further]
I'm a little tired... of you guys telling me how I feel!! I know I saw something outside the stream!
Pearl
And I know you didn't!
SPSteven/Pearl
Why is it so hard to just "listen to Steven"?! / You don't tell me what I already know! [continue arguing]
..Uh, this is new. I kinda like it.
Pearl
Steven, you just don't know what you're talking about.
It sounds like... maybe... YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!
Pearl
..Ugh!!
[cuts them off] Okay, Steven, that's enough. Let it go.
I don't get it! I thought I almost had it.
Pearl
Nobody expects you to be able to perform fusion right away, Steven.
Yeah! It's really hard, even for us.
Pearl
We'll keep working on the dance for now, and who knows, in a few years... I wonder though if Steven's body is capable of fusion. Fusion merges the physical forms of Gems, but Steven is half-human. He's organic.
Aw, come on! It's Steven! Who knows what's gonna happen? [laughing out loud]
Well, I think Steven can do it.
I have to show everybody. [shows the Gems their form back at the temple] Pretty cool, right?
Pearl
[baffled] He fused with his friend, Connie?
[chuckles as she looks at Garnet] Pearl, look at Garnet.
[Garnet has her hands clapped together and a big grin on her face]
Pearl
This is unprecedented. [examines Steven and Connie's fusion] A Gem fusing with a human being? It's impossible! Or, at the very least, inappropriate.
Wow! You two look great together! How does it feel, Steven? Connie? …Stevonnie?
Pearl
Yes. Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves, but you two should un-fuse this instant.
Wait, what?! Pearl, you were so worried Steven wouldn't be able to do this. Aren't you proud of him?
Pearl
Of course I am! I... [turns to Garnet] Garnet, help me out here!
Stevonnie... [walks to her] listen to me. [Pearl and Amethyst walk away] You are not two people, and you are not one person. You... are an experience! Make sure you're a good experience. Now... go…have…FUN!
[holds the Sea Spire statue, sighs] I... I'm really sorry I forgot it on our mission that time.
Pearl
Oh, Steven...
If I had just remembered to pack it, then maybe the Sea Spire would still be around. But now it's gone forever 'cause of me.
Well, yeah, but... Don't worry about it, guy.
You did your best on that mission and that's what counts.
But the Sea Spire! It was a special, important Gem... place!
Pearl
[walks to Steven] Oh, Steven, no, no, no. If the Spire had been crucial, we wouldn't have used it as a test for you. It's fine, really.
[beat] ..Test? What do you mean, "test"?
[Garnet and Amethyst glance at each other. Pearl gets worried with thunderous sounds]
Pearl
Uhh... well, it wasn't really a "test", per se—not in the traditional sense... We just wanted to see if you were ready to go on missions.
..That's exactly what a test is!
Pearl
Oouhh...
Steven, it wasn't something we planned behind your back. We just saw an opportunity and—
[gasps] And I failed it! [long beat] I failed the test...
No way, you got at least a 50 percent.
Pearl
Oh! And you had that raft so we didn't have to swim home? That's a solid 75—not failing at all! Besides, that Spire was in much worse shape than we thought. It should have been even easier.
[beat] ...I FAILED AN EASY TEST!?!
Pearl
[sweating] That's not what I meant! I—
No! I need another test! A hard one!
Pearl
[pause] But, Steven... you've come so far.
Let me prove it! Test me! Test me!!
I... can't believe it. Arrgh!! "It won't be easy. Good luck, you're gonna need it!" [beat] How am I supposed to prove myself if you guys keep—
[heard offscreen] What's taking him so long?
Pearl
I didn't think mine was very difficult. [Steven observes the Gems in the distance] Do you think he hurt himself?
There's no way. It's impossible for him to fail.
Uggh. So what's the point?
Pearl
The point is that he's come so far. He can make Rose's bubble and he's pulled out Rose's shield twice, but he's lost his healing powers. We have to give him another success. He can't lose his confidence like that again!
[Pearl and Amethyst remain silent for a long beat]
Pearl
What?!
Yeah. You can't control him, and he shouldn't be taking advice from me, and we don't have Rose to tell us what to do!
Pearl
But he needs us to show him how to be a Gem!
Steven is not just a Gem. If there's never been anything or anyone like Steven... we don't know what he needs.
[Steven pushes rubble to clear the entrance of Amethyst's hole, where she sits down sulking]
Go away! I'm bad and you shouldn't be around me.
What? That's ridiculous! Look, I don't know what any of this really means, but I—
Yeah, you don't. 'Cause if you did, you wouldn't be talking to me. [Steven pauses for a beat, turns to Pearl]
Pearl, get in here. You gotta help me.
Pearl
But—
[Pearl slides in next to Amethyst in her hole with Steven watching]
Pearl
Amethyst? [closeup on Amethyst's tearful face] ..Amethyst, I-I had no idea you've been upset about this.
What?! You had no idea?! [scoffs] This is, like, my entire existence! You want to pretend that none of this ever happened! You think I'm just a big mistake!!
Pearl
[gasps] No, no, Amethyst! You're not the mistake. You're just the byproduct of a... big mistake. [beat] No, that's not— I... I just never thought of this as you. None of this is your fault! You didn't build this place! I... I'm sorry, Amethyst. I hope you can forgive me. You're the one good thing that came out of this mess. I always thought you were proud of that.
[Steven warps to the desert where Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst start brawling another giant marble robot]
Pearl
Stop—coming—here, you—stupid—balls!!
Yeah, let it out! Get crazy!! Whoa!
Guys, guys, guys! [flailing his arms] Stop!! How many more of these things are you gonna have to fight?!
Pearl
We don't know! They just keep coming and coming, and we don't even know what they are! We don't know anything!!
[beat] That's okay. I don't know anything all the time. It's like my whole life. But I have you guys to tell me about tell me about Gem stuff, Connie can explain what Familiars are, and Dad tells me weird dad stuff.
Pearl
But nobody knows what these things are here to do.
Well... it probably does.
Pearl
[pause] ..What?
We could follow it and see where it goes.
Pearl
Who knows what could go wrong?!
We can't keep fighting these things forever. Well, we can, but I don't want to. Let's do it Steven's way.
Yeah! [sings] Let's follow the funky flow!
Now accounting for all operational injectors. Checking for aberrations in perimeter. Ugh, this Gem tech is simply archaic.
I don't know... I think it looks pretty cool. [Peridot abruptly cancels out all the operations and turns her screen at him] Hi! I'm Steven. [Peridot's screen swoops up close at him]
There appears to be an infestation of Stevens in the Kindergarten.
Aw, I'm not so bad once you get to know me.
And how many more Stevens are present in this area?
Ah, that's a relief. So tell me—have Stevens replaced humans as the dominant species on Earth?
Oh, no! There's lots of humans! There's my dad, Connie, Lars and Sadie, the mailman, Onion... I think—lots of people!
Now I get to ask a question. What are you doing?
"Hm, just picking up where we left off."
[one of the giant hand constructs hovers above Steven, forms a fist and plummets down at him before Garnet catches and throws it away]
"A Gem?!" [Amethyst and Pearl jump up] "Ah! More?! But the Red Eye didn't report the presence of any Gems on this planet!"
Pearl
That's because we destroyed it!
"You what?! But the records say that Gems were wiped out on Earth! Wait a minute... [turns resilient] You were the ones that have been destroying my plug robonoids! Are you the reason the Homeworld warp is down again? [shows crying waffle sticker] This is your bizarre icon?! Uhrooh!! Why do you keep destroying my things!?!"
Pearl
Because we are the Crystal Gems! We're still alive and we're still the guardians of this planet and all its living creatures!!
"..The Crystal Gems?" [the Gems charge and attack the giant hands] "Stop! How dare you! I'm doing this one way or another! You're just... making it... really... difficult!!"
Amethyst! Now! [Amethyst latches the hand in mid-air]
DESTROY!!! [swings hand and crashes into the power source]
Pearl! [Pearl sniffles] Pearl, you have to tell me what's wrong.
Pearl
Sometimes... you even sound like her. [beat] Do you remember this place? Do you have any of her memories? We were right here... [Steven walks to her] over 5,000 years ago.
[Pearl generates a holographic projection of Rose Quartz from her gemstone and kneels behind to her. Steven looks up to her, dumbstruck. Holo-Rose turns back to Pearl]
HRHolo-Rose
[Pearl speaking her words] "Pearl..."
Pearl
Yes?
HRHolo-Rose
"I'm going to stay and fight for this planet. You don't have to do this with me."
Pearl
But I want to!
HRHolo-Rose
"I know you do. Please, please understand. If we lose, we'll be killed. And if we win... we can never go home."
Pearl
[wheezes] Why would I ever want to go home if you're here?
[Holo-Rose pauses for a beat, chuckles. She offers her hand to Pearl, who looks up to her]
Pearl
You're wonderful.
[they grasp each other's hands, and Holo-Rose vanishes suddenly soon after]
Pearl
Everything I ever did, I did for her. Now she's gone... but I'm still here. [beat] Sometimes, I wonder if she can see me through your eyes. [sighs] What would she think of me now?
[Steven hesitates behind Pearl for a long beat, and proceeds to hug her]
Well... I think you're pretty great. [Pearl starts crying]
I don't understand. That thing has laid dormant since we found it.
Pearl
I haven't heard a Wailing Stone activate since we used them for the rebellion, and I've never heard it sound like that!
Someone is trying to send us a message.
Pearl
But who?! We've rounded up all the Wailing Stones on Earth, and we're not sending this message to ourselves! Unless... Amethyst, is this a prank?!
No way! I want it to stop!! I DON'T LIKE IT!!
If it's not coming from Earth, then a Gem must be sending this message from space.
Is that... what some Gems sound like?
Pearl
No, no. We should be hearing a voice. Maybe this signal is too advanced for the Wailing Stone to process. That would explain the distorted audio.
..Audio? My daddy-o knows audio!
Pearl
I don't know...
Don't whine. Let's try it.
[appears as a visualization on video] Steven!
Pearl
I can't believe my flipping eyes!
I hope you're able to hear this. There's a Gem that's looking for you. She even knew your name! I don't know how... I didn't tell her, I swear! She's on her way to Earth... and she's not alone! Steven, Homeworld... it's not the way it used to be. Everything here is so advanced! I can't even understand it. There's no way anything on Earth can stand up to it. Please, don't put up a fight. It'll only lead to devastation!
[Video suddenly cuts to static; The group pauses for a beat]
Pearl
[worried] It's Peridot. She must be talking about Peridot.
Lapis... she sounds so unhappy.
What's wrong with the microwa—ow!! [grumbles] What is the meaning of this?! [knocking on door] Huh? [walks to the door, opens it] Mayor Dewey?
MDMayor Dewey
Hello there, young Universe. Any of your... sisters home?
MDMayor Dewey
Your caretakers, you know. The tall one, the purple one, the hot one? [Steven stares for a beat] Look, the power's out and I've been mayor long enough to know they had something to do with it.
MDMayor Dewey
Is there anyone else I can talk to about this?
Pearl
Coming! [walks to him with the robonoid] Oh, can I help you?
MDMayor Dewey
Yes... oh, hi! Uh, Beach City is currently experiencing a widespread power outage— [the robonoid sparks]
Pearl
Oh, don't worry about that. The power should be back on as early as tonight, or as late as... never.
MDMayor Dewey
Never coming back!?!
Pearl
Yes?
MDMayor Dewey
No, no, no! It has to come back! The people of Beach City can't handle a situation like this! They need their electronic distractions so they won't notice that this town is a magnet for disaster!!
Pearl
Oh, don't be dramatic. I saw humans get on fine without power for millennia. You used to hunt and gather. [chuckles] What happened to that?
MDMayor Dewey
You don't understand! Sure, things seem calm now in the light of day, but when the sun goes down, so does... the town.
[beat] He's right. Mayor Dewey, this is our responsibility. We'll help you clean up this mess.
[inside] No, we won't! [Pearl goes back inside]
I'll help you clean up this mess.
MDMayor Dewey
Okay. But you're not getting paid.
Steven Universe · 493 quotes
