My eyes languidly opened. The pain had finally stopped, I thought it all over. But something wasn't right. I couldn't move. My senses felt numbed. I could still feel things, but for some reason, my muscles refused to move. I glanced around, attempting to figure out where I was.

The Hub? What am I doing here?

I suddenly noticed my face reflected onto some kind of machine I was next to. Something didn't seem right. My face shape was different. My body figure seemed a little slimmer than before and my nose was slightly longer.

Was I...

Pearl?

I couldn't believe it, but it's really true, I was Pearl. Or, I was in Pearl's body. How did this happen? Pearl suddenly hopped into the machine and began driving it across the hub.

What is she doing?

Using green tractor beams, she began putting the pillars back into place.

She's fixing it?

It was true. Pearl was repairing the hub. I was intrigued to see more until I suddenly heard the faint calling of my name, a gentle shake and I was suddenly back in the kitchen.

"(Y/N)! Thank goodness, you're ok", Steven beamed with contentment in his eyes. My eyes groggily glanced around me. I was slumped against the counter, my hand severely close to the shattered glass shards that were scattered across the floor. Steven kneeled over me, a hand on my shoulder. I gently shrugged it off, leisurely standing up. " Wh-What happened?", I asked.

"I came home and you were just lying on the floor and your eyes glowing!", Steven explained, "I saw the broken glass and thought the worst. I'm so glad you're ok!".

I held my head, trying to make sense of it all. It was like I was struggling to understand what was real and what wasn't. Could it have been something I ate? I turned my head towards Steven, "Where's Pearl?", I asked.

Steven tapped a finger on his chin before shrugging. "I don't know", he replied. "She probably went out to catch Peridot".

Suddenly, Steven pointed outside, " Garnet's back!". He ran up to the door, "You stay here and rest. I left some doughnuts on the counter for you". And with that, Steven was outside, skipping down the stair onto the beach. I leaned on the kitchen counter, my mind still spinning in repeated circles.

Suddenly, one of the temple doors opened and Pearl stepped out from it. Her head whipped around cautiously, as her eyes scanned the room as if she was looking for something. "What are you doing?", I asked, my voice making Pearl jump slightly.

" (Y/N)!", she said as if she wasn't expecting me to be here. "W-What are you doing here?".

I raised a brow in scepticism, "Am I not supposed to be here?".

Pearl shook her head rapidly and almost immediately, "No, of course not", she paused, "I mean, yes--I mean...". It was safe to assume that Pearl was acting a lot warier than usual. My weird vision flashed before me. No, it couldn't be. I was fatigued and dreaming, it wasn't real. Though I had to admit, ever since I started hanging out with the Crystal Gems, I can barely understand what can be classified as real and imaginary. If there was the slightest chance what I saw was true, I had to be certain.

I attempted to be as direct as possible. "I saw you".

Pearl slightly trembled, "What do you mean?".

"I saw you fixing the hub".

Her face froze as she bit the bottom of her lip, turning her head away so she wouldn't have to look at me. So, it's true. What I saw was real. I just need her to confess. It shouldn't be difficult since Pearl was a fairly honest person. I hardened my face, trying to look as intimidating as possible. Pearl caught a glimpse at me, but she tried her best to not notice. The hostile glares and thick tension went on for a while until she finally gave in.

"How did you know?", she muttered to me.

My scowl grew stronger, "Does Garnet know?".

Pearl's head faced the ground, with a censurable frown she gently shook her head. I grit my teeth in outrage.

"Garnet!", I called out to her name while rushing towards the door. Garnet and Steven had to know about this. Pearl was deceiving them both. An agile arm gripped onto my arm and hauled me back. With a pleading expression, Pearl stood over me. "No, wait! Let me explain!".

Still aroused with wrath, I leaned into her hand, opened my mouth and bit into her as hard as I could. With a yelp, she immediately let go, holding her hand that now had a bite-sized mark on it. I will admit, I didn't plan on biting her, and if I did, it wasn't meant to be that hard. But now she is aware of the consequences of grabbing me.

Pearl was now slightly scowling at me but knew she was in no position to get aggravated at me. "That was completely uncalled for!", she said, exasperated.

I retaliated, "You lied to us! What about all the things you taught me during training? About being truthful and honest?". My lips pressed together, "It was all just a load of hogwash!".

"Please, don't tell Garnet. Not yet!", she pleaded, clasping her hands together. How pathetic is she? I've reduced her to begging. I knew she wasn't really sorry for what she did. She's only apologising because she got caught. If I hadn't had somehow saw fixing the hub, how long would she have kept up this lie? More importantly, how was I able to see her in the first place? I shook the question promptly out of my mind. It wasn't important right now.

"(Y/N), try to understand", Pearl appealed to me, "Fusing is the most incredible feeling. And fusing with someone as powerful as Garnet makes me feel advantageous and privileged. You get it, don't you? When you fused with Steven--".

"I'm going to stop you right there", I swiftly interrupted her before she could bring back the dreadful memories. "Deceiving someone for your own selfish benefits is wrong no matter what your reason is!".

A sigh left Pearl's mouth, it was soft and deflating. Like, she finally understood what I was trying to tell her. Or at least, that's what I thought. "Just one more time", she promised me, her eyes fixated on the ground instead of on me. "Just one more time and then I'll stop".

Before I could counter that there was no way I'd let her lie again, Steven burst through the door, followed by Garnet and Amethyst. Garnet was drenched in water and from the pungent and salty aroma, it seemed it was ocean water. I had no idea what she would be doing in the sea, but I figured it wasn't really the best time to be asking questions like that.

"Is the TV still working?", Steven asked, picking up the remote and using it to turn it on. The screen, however, continued to glitch just like before.

Pearl began to gasp, showing an aghast expression that was so obviously fake. At least it was to me since I knew the truth. "Oh, this is no good!", she kept her guilt hidden behind a surprised façade and pretended to be startled. I exchanged an uneasy glance at Steven, who didn't seem to notice I was staring at him. "Garnet, it's the Hub again".

Garnet tweaked her diamond glasses slightly. "She's evading my future vision. No matter how many times I try, I can't see us finding Peridot", she clicked her tongue both annoyed and distressed. Of course, you won't see Peridot! The guilty one is right next to you!

"Come on, team".

~

Pearl approached the Hub, which was activated and repaired. "I can't believe Peridot is giving us so much trouble!", her voice sounded like she was indicating her statement towards herself. "But it hardly matters, right Garnet? We can disable this tower as many times as we need to, together!".

I knitted my brows together. Pearl wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. Even if she wanted to, the urge to fuse with Garnet would prevent her from telling the truth. She could be doing this forever. We'd be stuck going in circles like a dog chasing its own tail. Garnet thinks she's going to catch the perpetrator when she's about the fuse with them. I gripped my hands into a tight fist. This has gone on far enough. If I didn't stop them now...

Garnet and Pearl got into positions, ready to fuse.

"Stop!", I called out, interrupting them. Everyone's heads turned towards me, putting me in the centre of attention. All the expressions were all filled with perplexion, except Pearl, who was sweating bullets and was incredibly apprehensive. "I-Is something the matter, (Y/N)?", she attempted not to sound peculiar.

I narrowed my eyes, bitterly, "Don't play dumb with us, Pearl".

"(Y/N), what are you talking about?", Steven asked.

I pointed at Pearl, "Pearl, tell Garnet it was you! Don't try to wriggle your way out of it, this is wrong!".

"I don't understand", Garnet said, glancing down at Pearl's timid figure in her arms. She was a horrible liar and there was no way to fib herself to safety. Pearl pressed her lips together, gathering the courage to glance up at Garnet, knowing how she was going to react.

"I'm sorry... I-It's just... so much fun being Sardonyx with you".

In a state of hysteria and realisation, with her mouth gaped, Garnet released Pearl from her grasp and Pearl fell onto the ground. "That's why I couldn't see us finding Peridot", she began putting all the pieces together.

"Wait! Let me explain!", Pearl beseeched the same way she did with me. "You've been fixing the Hub!", Garnet scolded, raising her voice. "It really was Peridot! T-The first time...", she murmured aloud.

"You tricked me! And what's worse, you roped (Y/N) into your scheme!", Garnet yelled as she approached Pearl. For every step forward, Pearl would take one back. "No! No, no, no, no! We just needed a reason to fuse!", Pearl frantically tried to explain herself. "I just wanted to share a few more victories with you!"

"Those weren't victories!", Garnet snapped at her.

Amethyst, who was previously watching the whole thing unfold with consternation, was now rushing behind Garnet, trying to reason with the furious fusion. "Wait, Garnet! You know, we're so much weaker than you! Fusing with you is like our one chance to feel... stronger!".

Without looking back, Garnet replied indignantly, "Don't defend her! Peridot is out there somewhere and Pearl's been distracting us with... NOTHING!".

Steven and I could only watch the commotion, not knowing what to do. One specific question was rushing through his head. How did I know Pearl was the one who fixed the Hub?

"Amethyst, fuse with me!", Garnet said to Amethyst. However, her calm voice sounded more like a command.

"But-!".

"Let's just get this over with", Garnet clenched her fist tightly. Still hostile with the situation, Garnet and Amethyst still managed to fuse together. Strange how gems fused because of friendship or to protect each other but this fusion seemed just like the one with Lapis and Jasper. It looked forced, sour and resentful. If I thought Sardonyx was huge, she was nothing compared to what I saw in front of me. A four-armed fusion with a ripped, dark purple fusion. She wore a pair of visors to cover her lower four eyes while her fifth eye was located and visible above her brow. She wound up her tight fist and punched the bottom pillars with such a large amount of force that The Hub came crumbling down like a biscuit falling apart in a cup of hot chocolate. The place was beginning to envelop in a cloud of dust. Steven used his body to cover me from the dust until it cleared away. Once it was, Garnet and Amethyst were back to be two individuals. Pearl gawked in awe at the complete destruction. Her lips trembled as if she was holding in the undying urge to cry.

"I'm so sorry".

~

"You can read minds?!".

I pinched the bridge of my nose, peeved that I had to explain what happened all over again. "No, you dolt! I didn't read anyone's mind", I grumbled, thunking Steven's head and hoping it'll make him listen better, "I just...I could see from other people's...persepctive--I don't know. I had a headache and suddenly I was Pearl".

Steven's mouth a gaped in astonishment. And honestly, I would be too if I heard the nonsense coming from my mouth. "Cool! Like vision sharing! Do it on me, do it on me!", he cheered.

I shrugged my shoulders in agreement, shut my eyes tightly and attempted to concentrate. I prepared myself to feel the painful jolt, knowing that it was going to hurt. But when nothing I happened, I was left feeling a little relieved and a little disappointed. "Hm, I guess it's just a one-time thing", I said, lifting my eyelids. "But that does raise the question about how I was able to do it in the first place".

Steven tapped a finger on his chin when a sudden thought came to him. "What if...", he dug into his pocket and pulled out a pink, gemstone shard and held it close to me. I gave a passive eye roll, "You still have that stupid thing", I asked.

Steven explained, "Think about; that power surge that came after you broke it might've done something to you".

An expression of apprehensiveness rushed through my body like a virus. "If that was true, which it probably isn't", I started, "How come nothing has happened to you? You were there too".

Steven lifted up his shirt to show his gem which glistened when the rays of sun hit it. "Maybe because I'm half gem. But, you're human".

"No kidding, Dimwit", I insulted him, causing Steven to frown slightly.

"We should tell the others. They'll--".

"No", I interrupted him. "Things are a little stressful right now. The last thing they need is a new problem to deal with. Who knows, maybe it won't happen again, but now isn't the best to tell them".

At first, being a little perplexed, Steven's mouth curved into a joyful and proud smile. "Aw! (Y/N), that's so nice of you!", he grinned.

"Pfft! No, it's not", I grumbled, turning my head away from him. However, it was slightly true. My head couldn't wander away from what happened earlier. Never have I seen Garnet so enraged before. If her face were any hotter, she could melt right through the Earth's surface. I began to wonder, would their relationship be different now?