Steven said goodbye to Mrs. Maheswaran with a genuine hug—the kind that isn't given out of obligation, but out of real gratitude. She returned it without hesitation, resting a hand on his back with the quiet serenity of someone who trusts completely.
"Thank you for looking after my daughter, Steven," she said in a calm voice filled with appreciation.
Steven offered a slight nod, stepping back with a small smile before turning to Connie. This time, the hug lasted longer, tighter, as if neither was particularly eager to let go.
"Goodbye, Connie."
"It's not like I'm leaving the country, silly," she replied with a gentle laugh, hugging him back with equal intensity and holding on a moment longer.
After exchanging light banter and vague promises to see each other soon, Steven and Pearl watched the car slowly drive away down the road. Pearl kept a polite distance, waving goodbye with refined gestures—proper as always, taking care not to intrude on such a human moment.
When the vehicle finally disappeared from view, Steven turned his gaze toward the ocean. The waves broke in a tranquil rhythm, noticeably different from other days. There was something in the air that felt lighter, as though the world had decided to take a brief breath.
After a few seconds of silence, Steven spoke in a lower register.
"Hey, Pearl... I want to talk to you in private."
Pearl raised an eyebrow, surprised but not uncomfortable. She gave an elegant nod, accepting without question.
They walked calmly toward the Temple house. Lion, as if he had been waiting for that exact moment, lay lounging in a corner, completely relaxed. Steven stopped and looked at him.
"Lion, you're coming with me."
The pink lion stretched lazily, yawned without the slightest shame, and rose to follow them, trailing behind with total ease.
Steven opened the door to his room in the Temple, and all three stepped inside. The atmosphere was quiet, familiar. With smooth movements, Steven created a small bed for Lion, making sure he was comfortable. Lion settled in immediately, closing his eyes just as the hologram of Steven's mother appeared briefly. The figure said nothing; she simply sat beside the lion and began stroking him gently, as if that simple gesture was more than enough.
Pearl caught the sight out of the corner of her eye. She didn't say anything at first, but her expression softened ever so slightly.
Steven sat on the floor and took a breath before speaking. There was no rush.
"Pearl... lately I've been thinking a lot," he began, playing absentmindedly with his hands. "About fusions, about what we feel when we're with other Gems... even about the things we don't fully understand."
Pearl sat across from him, maintaining an elegant yet relaxed posture—a rare sight for her.
"I'm listening, my child."
Steven smiled softly at her words.
"Sometimes I feel like everyone expects me to have all the answers just because... I'm me. But the truth is, a lot of the time I'm just trying to figure things out like everyone else."
Pearl cast her eyes downward for a moment.
"There's nothing wrong with that. Learning is also part of what makes you who you are."
The silence that followed wasn't awkward. It was one of those comfortable silences that gave room to think, to breathe, to gather one's thoughts. Steven looked up at Pearl, his expression calm.
"I'm glad I can talk to you like this."
Pearl offered a gentle, sincere smile, free of any stiffness. "Me too, Steven."
And in that small space, surrounded by the distant murmur of the sea and Lion's peaceful breathing, the conversation continued without needing grand words—only the quiet certainty that both were learning together.
After covering a few more thoughts, Steven took a deep breath and finally steered the conversation toward the topic that had been on his mind for a while now.
"Pearl, I have a Gem inside Lion's mane, but I don't know what it is... though it looks somewhat familiar," he said with measured hesitation, knowing full well which Gem it was, but aware that Pearl wasn't supposed to know yet.
Pearl raised an eyebrow, visibly caught off guard.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Steven replied seriously. "Do you want to see it? It's inside a bubble."
His mother's hologram looked at him with clear weariness, as if she knew exactly what Steven was about to do.
Without overthinking it, Steven dove headfirst into Lion's mane.
He emerged in a pink meadow, strikingly similar to the room in the Temple, except instead of clouds, everything was composed of soft fur stretching out as far as the eye could see. Steven had already summoned a bubble around his head so he could breathe with ease, calmly observing his surroundings and noticing details he rarely stopped to appreciate.
Whenever he stepped inside, he felt a comforting familiarity that instantly put him at ease. However, he was also fully aware that if he visited too often, that special feeling would eventually fade. So he moved carefully, unhurried, heading straight toward the only focal point in the area.
There it was: the Gem, encased inside a bubble and resting near the tree. It featured an embedded rainbow pattern, striking to the eye, with a soft luster that seemed to shift depending on the angle. Steven stared at it in silence for several seconds, letting the gravity of the moment settle naturally.
Then he glanced over at the nearby chest. Inside rested the videocassette his mother had left behind, along with a few of her other belongings and some of Steven's own items that had accumulated over time. Everything remained still, as if the space itself was tasked with keeping every object exactly where it belonged.
Finally, Steven carefully took the bubbled Gem with near-reverent care and retraced his steps, leaving behind the pink meadow and the unique tranquility that existed only within Lion's mane.
Before Steven emerged from the mane, he missed the conversation taking place just outside.
Pearl watched the hologram in silence—the projection Steven had described as an almost identical copy of his mother, a presence that existed only if Steven willed it. Right now, the hologram sat kneeling beside Lion, gently stroking his pink mane.
The holographic Rose looked up and offered a tired smile, one of those smiles that seemed to carry far more memories than words.
"Hello, Pearl," she said in a quiet voice.
"Hello, Rose," Pearl replied, a faint trace of nervousness creeping into her tone that she couldn't entirely hide.
Rose turned her focus back to Lion, running her fingers through his fur in slow, almost meditative strokes, as if that simple action allowed her to organize thoughts that had waited centuries to be spoken.
"The Gem in there..." she started, pausing briefly. "...is trapped because of me. Or rather, because of the real Rose."
Pearl's shoulders tensed slightly, but she didn't interrupt.
"I am merely a collection of fragments, incomplete memories, and past decisions," Rose continued, never stopping her gentle caress. "But I know enough to tell you that the Gem inside is someone you know very well. Someone important."
Pearl looked down, as if those words stirred something she had kept buried for far too long.
"When the time comes," Rose added gently, "treat her well. Don't rush her. Tell her everything if you wish—don't hold back... but be patient with her."
Lion let out a low rumble, settling deeper under Rose's hand, and she offered a faint, melancholy smile.
"Carrying the past isn't easy," she concluded. "And waking up after all this time... even less so."
Pearl gave a slow nod, not trusting her voice enough to respond. Memories, guilt, and unanswered questions flooded her mind, alongside a quiet certainty: once that Gem woke up, nothing would ever be the same again.
A moment later, Steven stepped out of Lion's mane, dispelling the bubble around his head with a calm motion. Floating in his hands was the Gem, preserved intact and radiant inside another pink bubble.
"Woah..." Pearl whispered, her eyes widening as emotion blurred her sight.
"Bismuth..."
Before Steven could even react, Pearl snatched the Gem from his hands with astonishing speed. She cradled it with utmost care, as though terrified that the surrounding air itself might harm it.
A heavy silence settled between them.
Steven watched her, saying nothing. He simply remained there, attentive.
Pearl was the first to break the silence.
"She was... incredible," she said softly, her eyes locked on the Gem. "Not just strong, but brilliant in how she thought. Bismuth didn't view weapons as simple tools—she saw them as extensions of those who wielded them."
Steven nodded slowly; he already knew part of it from his memories of the show.
"She was the blacksmith of the rebellion," Pearl continued, her tone a blend of pride and nostalgia. "Every weapon she forged had a purpose. Not just for fighting, but for protecting, for standing our ground. She truly believed we could win."
Steven nodded again, listening closely.
"We used to argue sometimes," Pearl confessed with a small, sad smile. "She always favored direct, forceful solutions. I... I was always more cautious. But I never doubted her loyalty. Bismuth loved the Crystal Gems. She loved the Earth."
Steven tilted his head slightly, taking in every word.
"She had this boisterous laugh," Pearl added, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "And her own unique way of lifting everyone's spirits. When all hope seemed lost, she just kept working, hammering, forging something new... as if as long as she could forge, hope was still alive."
Steven pressed his lips together gently and gave another nod.
"Losing her was... devastating," Pearl finally admitted, her voice cracking slightly. "For a long time, I felt like I had failed as a comrade. Like I hadn't done enough."
Steven stepped closer without a word and placed a reassuring hand on Pearl's forearm.
She took a deep breath.
"But if she's here," she concluded, staring at the Gem with renewed resolve, "then maybe we still have a chance to make things right. This time... better."
Steven gave one last silent nod, understanding that this story wasn't just about the past, but about what was about to return to their lives.
Pearl turned back to look at me with an expression I rarely saw on her—a mixture of contained hope and pure fear.
"Can I release her?" she asked, though deep down she already knew the answer.
I took a deep breath before answering.
"You can," I said calmly, "but if something goes wrong—if she loses control or tries to blow something up without thinking—I'm bubbling her again. No arguments."
Pearl nodded instantly, accepting the terms without hesitation.
For a few more seconds, she stared at the Gem suspended inside the bubble, as if summoning her courage. Her fingers trembled ever so slightly, but her stance remained resolute.
"Get ready," she finally said.
With a swift, decisive strike, she popped the bubble.
The Gem fell to the floor with a dull clatter.
For a second, nothing happened.
The silence grew heavy, almost unbearable. I could feel my heart accelerating as the energy in the room began to react. Then, the Gem began to glow—faintly at first, then with increasing intensity—until it hovered into the air as if it had been waiting for this exact moment for centuries.
The light burst into a brilliant flash.
Her form synthesized rapidly, as if every part knew precisely where to go without a shred of doubt or hesitation. A broad, powerful frame marked by star-like scars; wild, vibrant, multicolored hair falling freely; and embedded in the center of her chest, the Gem shone with renewed power.
Bismuth was back.
She landed firmly on her feet, like someone who had never lost the habit of being battle-ready. Her eyes darted around, taking in her surroundings at an impressive speed. The Temple house, Pearl, me... and then she saw it.
My mother's hologram.
Her gaze locked onto it as if time had stopped.
"You...!" she spat out, her voice dripping with disbelief, rage, and something deeper that I couldn't immediately identify.
Holy shit, I blurted out.
I didn't even have time to react before Bismuth lunged forward. Her movement was pure instinct—an explosion of built-up emotion from years of imprisonment. Her body propelled forward with brutal force, charging straight at Rose's hologram.
End of Chapter 66.