Chapter Text
The entrance was easy to miss at a glance, barely more than a shadow from the top of the canyon, hidden by loose rocks and growing brambles. On the ground though the tunnel seemed clear, and she ducked inside in the silence, listening out for danger ahead.
Dancing drop canyon. Neena had paled when pressed for information about her last sighting of Pearl. Human memory was not always the most reliable, and she'd explained how she had told her about this place, that they thought it might have a trapped corruption, or wild creature from the strange howling that had been coming from it. "We weren't sure if it was real or not, but she said she'd take a look. I didn't realise she went straight up there." She had been devastated when she discovered Pearl had been missing; with their usual meet-ups planned in advance they'd thought the radio silence normal, and it wasn't until Pearl had failed to turn up to their next engagement that they had realised something was wrong.
"It had stopped," she went on to say, "for a while, but lately it's gotten worse, all sorts of strange noises coming down from there." Words that did not bode well for Pearl. It was a three hour hike out to the canyon (for a human), but a lopsided warp pad deposited Garnet nearby, and she quickly made her way down, already running through terrible possibilities as to what might have kept Pearl caught here.
Pearl trapped behind rocks...
Pearl abandoned in her Pearl, the plaything of the corrupt gem...
Pearl caught in corruption herself, unseen and stuck in this place...
Pearl in pieces, her shattered gem strewn across the floor...
Sharp fragments glittered just inside, but Garnet held back, a swift punch caving in the doorframe to seal open her way out before she went any further. She crouched. The fragments were dark and, though traces of white flickered through them, that had laid in the gem itself. She carefully scooped them to one side. Further investigation found a control room, the endless buttons inviting exploration in an attempt to reactivate this place, but a shrieking howl, the unmistakable cry of a corrupt gem pulled her attention away.
She descended, dodging fallen metalwork where the ceiling had been forced through, crushed upwards and distorted out of shape by some enormous creature. It had made much of the upper levels inaccessible, forced to follow the tunnels into the depths of the ship.
She found her in one of the corridors, a distorted pale stick-like creature skittering away at one of the walls.
"Pearl."
Her head turned towards the sound, rotating around on it's long articulated joints to land eyes on Garnet, but they were blocked, blinded and covered by a hunk of metal that sat right over her head, hanging on almost helmet-like. Garnet couldn't see her gem, but the style was too unmistakable to be anyone else, hints of greens, and peach, and blue darting her form.
"Pearl, it's me, it's Garnet. I'm here."
Pearl let out a low cry, half climbing the wall as she turned in the tight space, head weaving from side to side as she slowly approached. Garnet stepped forward too, her foot accidentally clattering into a piece of debris, making Pearl flinch, and back away hissing. "Easy there, it's okay, it's going to be okay, I'm here, we've got you," she reassured her, reaching out.
She wasn't sure how much Pearl understood, but from what she had seen of Steven's semi-successful attempts to heal the Centipeetle (the Nephrite), it was as much about the tone of voice as opposed to what she said. The creature rocked back and forth, and let out a shriek. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." Pearl twisted to one side, claws scraping down the nearby wall, the sound sending shivers down Garnets back, followed by another cold flush as she saw the numerous other claw marks that littered the hallway.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here and all fixed up soon enough," she promised. Pearl hissed again, forcing Garnet to stop in her tracks as the sharply hooked forelimbs swiped the space between them. "Pearl..." But her reassurances fell flat, the corruption becoming even more agitated before her.
Think Garnet, think! What else did Steven do? That song! The gem recognised it. Garnet began to half hum familiar tunes, hoping to draw some response, some familiarity between them, trying to some small memory that could anchor her lost friend. The tune grew around them, echoing into itself as it bounded up and down, and the creature hesitated, trying to decide what to make of it.
"Come on, that's it, you know this one." Garnet edged closer, "that's why the people of this world, believe in: Garnet, Amethyst, and..." She waited, hoping for some flash of understanding, the last missing piece of the puzzle. She tried again. "And Pearl..."
"Pearl..."
The creature roared, and leapt, forcing Garnet to dive out of the way as it came flying through where she stood. Time for plan b. It had been a slim hope anyway, years and years of trying to reconnect with old friends in their corruption all telling the experience of memories lost, torn away whilst in their corrupted state, once proud gems reduced to little more than wild creatures. But those same years of experience kicked Garnet into autopilot, filing away the personal bond with business, and just like that this was another corrupt gem to be taken down and safely bubbled away.
Gauntlets summoned, Garnet stood her ground at the next charge, blocking and knocking away the trampling limbs, sending it stumbling down the corridor. It turned again, and this time Garnet got a solid punch in, slamming it against the wall so hard that it bounced, sending it tumbling down the hall. It staggered a bit, but righted itself, still present and undefeated, letting out an unpleasant shriek at its treatment, before turning and charging once more.
Garnet had moved too, searching out another way to bring this creature down and edging down the hallway, digging in and readying herself for the charge. She ducked, dodging the swiping claws, and grabbed hold, swinging the creature up and over with a cry, sending her flying straight onto a protruding metal post. The creature let out a desperate shriek as it was impaled, stuck mid-air, its legs wiggling as it tried to free itself without success.
Garnet waited for her to dissipate, ready to catch her gem as it fell.
And waited.
And waited, with growing dread as Pearl remained intact, shrieking and howling in obvious discomfort at the injury. Something was clearly, terribly wrong.
No... Pearl. "I- I'm sorry!" Her words only brought another shriek, and claws came lashing out towards her.
Garnet froze, swimming in possibilities. She needed to go get the others, but... Pearl shrieked again, a long and howling whine. She couldn't just leave her here like this. Timing her move carefully Garnet darted in and pulled Pearl away, clean off the wall to throw her down the corridor, and she let out fresh cries at the treatment, already trying to clamber up, heaving and roaring her anger and pain as she lashed out, desperately trying to find the gem that did this to her.
Garnet turned, and ran.