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Now let me get this right…Steven told me that if I ever needed help with something I could just knock on his door…Volleyball stood outside Steven’s home, eyeing the structure with her one good eye whilst trying to find the keypad she was supposed to ‘knock’ on in order to enter.
“Um, Volleyball?” She looked up to see Steven on the other side of the door, looking at her with bemusement.
“Oh, hi Steven.” She gave a little wave and a smile. I was just trying to find the keypad to your residence…”
“Oh,” Steven laughed, “This house doesn’t have a keypad, Volleyball, it’s just a regular old human doorknob, see?” He grasped what Volleyball assumed was the ‘doorknob’ and the door swung open.
“My apologies, Steven,” Volleyball bowed her head slightly. “there is still much I don’t understand about this planet.”
“No problem, that’s why you’re in Little Homeschool, right?” He grinned.
“Right.”
“So, what can I help you with?” Steven asked when the sudden silence had dragged on a little too long.
“Oh! I was wondering…” She paused, suddenly feeling unsure of herself, “is Pearl here?”
“Ohhhh, Pearl! Of course,” Steven blinked one eye very fast and did something that Volleyball could only describe as pointing at her comically with both hands, his thumbs raised to the sky, “I think she’s in her room. Hang on, I’ll call her.” He fished his communications device out of his pocket and tapped at it rapidly, then he placed it on his ear and held it there in silence. Volleyball waited, feeling more nervous by the second as nothing seemed to be happening. She wondered if she was supposed to do be doing something and was startled when Steven suddenly began to talk.
“Pearl! Guess who-…no there’s no emergency, it’s just-…Pearl, you don’t have to shout, remember? I can hear you just fine if you talk normally,” Volleyball didn’t understand human behaviour all that well, if at all, but she was sure the way Steven pressed his fingers into his eyes signified some kind of frustration. “Look, just come outside, you have a visitor!” He took the communicator away from his ear and smiled sheepishly at Volleyball. “She’ll be right down. Come wait inside!”
Just as Volleyball stepped into the house, the door at the other end whooshed open and Pearl stepped out, looking flustered.
“Steven, I hope this is important, I was in the middle of organising my sword coll-“ Pearl stopped dead in her tracks when she finally noticed Volleyball’s presence. “Oh, hello, Volleyball.” She smiled awkwardly, her cheeks darkening. Volleyball smiled back.
“Hello, Pearl. I was wondering if I could talk to you about something…in private?”
“Well, would you look at the time?” Steven pushed up his sleeve to look at his bare wrist, “I’m due a very long walk!” He did the strange one-eyed blink in Pearl’s direction and grinned. Pearl pressed a hand to her face and shook her head. Volleyball had no idea what was going on but then Steven was marching out of the door and waving at them both with a big smile on his face.
“Ahem, so you had something you wanted to…talk about?” Pearl finally asked when Steven was truly gone.
“Oh, yes,” Volleyball nodded, and then she frowned, not sure how to start the conversation now that it was happening. She’d thought of nothing else for many earth rotations, and hoped she would find answers to her many questions here.
“Is it about Rose-uh, Pink Diamond?” Pearl asked encouragingly, though Volleyball could sense the unease in her expression.
“No…I mean, perhaps…partially…” She could see that she was only making Pearl more confused and uneasy. “I…don’t know who or what I am if I’m not a pearl…if I’m not somebody’s pearl.” She said quietly, dropping her gaze to the floor, feeling ashamed by her confession. “I thought you might be able to…to understand and maybe…help.”
“Oh…” Pearl sounded surprised, as if she had expected Volleyball to say something else entirely.
“Now that the Diamonds’ have finished fixing the mistakes of Era two, they are no longer in need of servants. But I don’t know where to go now. Homeworld has no need of Pearls, and Little Homeworld is lovely but…I don’t know what I’m supposed to do…how did you come to be like…this?” Volleyball waved her hand in Pearl’s direction.
“Oh, er…” Pearl frowned, looking thoughtful. “Well, Rose was the catalyst, as you know,” she began to explain, “but then…I also fell in love with this planet.” She was smiling softly, appearing to be lost in memory.
“The…planet?” Volleyball asked, confused.
“Yes…the Earth is a vast world teeming with life and filled with indescribable beauty…protecting it became my purpose, and it still is.”
Volleyball wasn’t sure this was going to help her after all. She hadn’t experienced Earth like Pearl had. She didn’t even have any memories from the past eight-thousand years. She wished she hadn’t bothered Pearl now, even though it did feel good to see her and speak to her again. She sighed and again looked away, feeling sadness welling up inside.
“Hey,” She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looked up to see Pearl by her side, giving her a small smile. “Come with me, I want to show you something.”
“The is the roaming eye left here by the Rubies sent to look for Jasper.” Pearl explained as she slashed at the vines covering the spaceship. “We haven’t needed to use it in a while but it should still be in full working condition…” Finally the ship was free and Volleyball watched as Pearl accessed a keypad on the side and whooshed open the door. “Come on.”
Volleyball followed her inside where the ship appeared at least ten times bigger than the outside. Advanced gem technology, she assumed. Pearl was tapping at the interface on the far side of the ship and Volleyball Joined her, hearing the door whoosh shut behind them.
“Okay, I’m setting an autopilot course and we should be taking off in three, two, one…” Volleyball threw her arms around Pearl as the ship shot into the sky and her knees almost buckled beneath her.
“Oops, I should have warned you about that…” Pearl apologised, the hue of her skin deepening as she grasped Volleyball by the sides and helped her to stand straight. They stood like that for a moment, looking at each other in silence, unspoken words passing between them. “Uh, anyway…” Pearl finally muttered, turning to the large screen which showed an enhanced rendition of the view outside. “Come, look.” She insisted, pulling Volleyball with her as they moved closer.
The ship moved at an impossible speed, the world outside nothing but a blur until finally the ship began to slow and the view became much clearer. They were flying over a region jam-packed with those green and brown things the earthlings called ‘trees’. Volleyball watched in awe as the ship sunk beneath the canopy of the tallest structures and began to weave in and out of the huge trunks, some wider than Yellow Diamond was broad.
She felt a hand on the small of her back and Pearl’s face was at her shoulder, just inches from hers. She swept her hand in a line before them, encompassing the view.
“I can show you my world,” She sang softly, and Volleyball could feel her breath ghosting over her ear, “shining, shimmering, splendid. Tell me, Pink Pearl, now when did you last let your heart decide?”
The scenery changed as the ship shot up above the treeline, causing Volleyball to become unsteady on her feet again. Pearl caught her with an arm around her waist and held her up as the view changed to great mountains that disappeared into the sky.
“I can open your mind,” She continued to sing, “show you all of earth's wonders. Mountains, forests, wild tundras on this planet we reside.” Slowly, Pearl turned Volleyball in her arms and she let her go so she could grasp her hands, holding them together between them.
“A whole new world! A whole new life for you to choose! No one to tell you "No", or where to go, or treat you like a servant…”
Feeling buoyed by Pearl’s words, Volleyball turned back towards the screen, wanting to see more. She felt excitement shoot through her gem as a giant flock of birds came into view. There must have been millions of them surrounding the ship. Flapping their wings just like the Lapis Lazulis she’d known on Homeworld. Without thinking, she let go of Pearl’s hands and held out her arms, trying to capture that feeling of flying freely through the sky.
“A whole new world,” She heard herself singing out, “so many things I never knew…but now from way up here, it's crystal clear,” Pearl came up behind her, running her hands up along Volleyball’s arms until once again their hands were entwined and Pearl was pressed up against her back. Volleyball turned her head to the side, catching Pearl’s eye “Now I'm in a whole new world with you..” She sang, feeling her body mould itself to Pearl’s. She smiled before something caught her eye on the screen and she had to look back. Below, deep red canyons stretched out for miles below a bright blue sky.
“Unbelievable sights, indescribable feelings,” Volleyball squeezed Pearl’s hands tight for balance as the ship zoomed from side to side, down and up much like the rollercoaster she’d seen at the Beach City Funland, “soaring, tumbling, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky! A whole new world!”
They dropped steeply then, down between the cliffs of the canyon, down until they were almost hitting the ground. Volleyball felt her gem thump and she closed her eye, fearing an impact.
“Don't you dare close your eyes,” Pearl whispered and, trusting her, Volleyball opened her eye to find they had entered some kind of immense cavern, lit up spectacularly by what she believed was luminescent foliage. She felt her excitement ramp up again as they moved through caves.
“A hundred thousand things to see!”
“Hold your breath—it gets better!” Pearl sang, sounding pleased. A bright Light appeared up ahead, getting bigger and bigger until they shot out into the open, the bright sun illuminating vivid green fields as far as the eye could see.
“I'm like a shooting star, I've come so far,” Volleyball gasped, “I can't go back to who I used to be…” Below them, thousands of four-legged organics with odd stick-like structures growing from their heads ran together, all headed in the same direction which could have been anywhere as far as Volleyball knew.
The ship moved at an insane speed again until they were in a completely different place, this one filled tall buildings and millions of humans milling about on the streets below as well as hundreds of earthling transports moving slowly in sharp lines. There was so much happening that Volleyball had no idea where to look. She felt entranced by the scene before her.
“A whole new world,” Pearl sang, pulling Volleyball around to face her for a moment.
“Every turn a surprise,” Volleyball felt her body come alive as Pearl began to dance with her, the steps coming to her as if they were made to dance with each other.
“With new horizons to pursue...” Pearl dipped Volleyball and smiled down at her confidently. The smile made her gem thrum with pleasure.
“Every moment gets better..” She whispered.
“We'll chase them anywhere!” They sang together in unison, “there's time to spare,”
“Let me share this whole new world with you…” Pearl looked towards the screen and Volleyball followed her gaze. She gasped when she realised the ship had taken them up and beyond the Earth’s atmosphere and they were now looking down at the planet, looking bright and beautiful in the darkness of space. Pearl lifted them and once again enclosed Volleyball’s hands within hers. She met Volleyball’s eye.
“A whole new world.” She sang softly.
“A whole new world.” Volleyball sang back.
“That's where we'll be.”
“That's where we'll be.”
“A thrilling chase...”
“A wondrous place…” They pressed their foreheads together and closed their eyes, just enjoying the closeness. It was just them, together on this ship, in the void of space.
“For you and me…” they murmured.