Disclaimer: Steven Universe belongs to Rebecca Sugar/Cartoon Network. Thanks to Rinney for proof-reading and crystal-gays on Tumblr for the inspiration.

Notes: This is an AU where everyone is human, taking place in a coastal city on the eastern side of the USA. And it will eventually be Pearlmethyst. It was partly inspired by crystal-gay's idea for a ballet AU, and partly by 'Steven the Sword Fighter'.

Tombé – "To fall"
- ballet terminology

It was late on a cold November night and the theatre was all but deserted. It had been a rehearsal night rather than a performance night so there were no lingering patrons; the bar was closed and the only people left in the building were a few cleaning staff, one of the stage hands who had just finished painting one of the set pieces for the ballet opening next week, and a solitary ballerina. The rest of the ballet company had gone home nearly an hour ago, but Pearl had stayed behind to work on her solo routines. Since she had the lead role in the upcoming show the dancer was determined that her performance would be nothing less than perfect.

Slumping down onto a bench in the changing rooms, Pearl unlaced her pointe shoes and gingerly peeled them away from her feet. She'd only been wearing them for a month and they weren't fully broken in yet, but at least her toes weren't bleeding any more. Just as well, since there was less than a week until opening night. Flexing her feet gratefully, Pearl quickly changed out of her practice clothes and threw them in her bag, pulling on jeans and a thick sweater and then putting on her winter boots. They were heavy and thick-soled, but still felt wonderful against her feet after hours in pointe shoes.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Pearl didn't bother to button her coat as she headed down the steps from the changing rooms to the stage door. She'd seen the snow through the large skylights in the auditorium, but it would only take a moment to get to her car. For once she'd actually managed to snag the spot nearest the stage door - probably because she'd been at the theatre since 7am. Passing one of the stage hands on the stairwell - the one with the untidy mane of bleached hair who treated every request like an outrageous demand - Pearl muttered a polite greeting but barely paid her any attention. All she wanted now was to get home, sink into a hot bath to soak her aching muscles, then collapse into bed. She'd need to be back at 7am tomorrow too - she'd missed a couple of steps during rehearsal and that would never do. The thought of making mistakes like that in front of an audience made Pearl shudder; it was bad enough making them in front of her fellow dancers.

Reaching the stage door, Pearl pushed the release bar and stepped outside. The sudden rush of cold was like plunging into an icy bath, and the dancer immediately regretted not fastening her coat. Wrapping her arms around herself as she shivered, Pearl carefully stepped into the alley, closing the stage door behind her. The snow wasn't deep on the ground yet; the alley was shielded by the buildings on either side, but slipping on a patch of ice would be disastrous. With opening night next week, a twisted ankle would be a catastrophe. Feeling her phone vibrate, Pearl took it from her purse and saw that she had a new message from Rose. The timestamp on it was from several hours ago which wasn't surprising since she never got a signal in the changing rooms, but before she could open it she heard movement behind her.

"Pearl." The voice was artificially deep and gruff, like someone trying to put on a giant's voice for a child's story. Looking round towards the back of the alley, Pearl frowned as she saw nothing but shadows among the dumpsters. Then one of the shadows moved towards her lightning fast - thin black-clad arms wrapping around her torso like snakes as a hand covered her mouth to muffle her cry of shock. Her assailant was clad all in black - black turtleneck, black pants, black gloves, black shoes and a featureless black head covering, a stick figure come to life. As the initial shock wore off, Pearl started to struggle wildly, stamping down on the figure's toes with the heel of her boot and hearing them hiss with pain. As their grip slackened, Pearl managed to wriggle free of the arm covering her mouth and drew in a deep breath to scream for help.

Then something hit her in the back, hard, and the only sound Pearl could make was an agonised gasp. The next thing she knew she was lying on the wet concrete ground, her legs either numb or burning with pins and needles as warmth spread across her back from where she'd been hit. It felt as if there was a heavy, cold weight there holding her down. Pearl tried to struggle back to her feet but something was wrong; one of her legs only flopped uselessly while the other didn't move at all. Her attacker was crouched over her - Pearl could hear their breath hissing through their teeth in fury. No, not fury. Something else. They were enjoying this. Her phone was still in her hand, but just as she realised that, her assailant noticed it too and snatched it from her grasp.

"Just die," the black-clad figure hissed. Their voice was still harsh and low, yet it seemed almost familiar. A nylon glove covered her mouth - wet with melted snow and sticky with something warm and coppery - then the weight on her back became a sear of flame as something twisted inside of her, making a wet sound like a watermelon splitting. The glove silenced her scream of pain, but then the stage door swung violently open to crash against the theatre wall.

"What the FUCK?" Even though Pearl's consciousness was starting to fade, at least that voice was definitely familiar.

o.o.o.o.o

In the staff cloakroom Amethyst was pulling on her coat and fastening the buttons over her scarf. She felt warmer immediately, almost uncomfortably so, but since it was a half-hour walk back to her apartment she'd be glad of it once she was outside. Her old coat had been battered and worn and let in water, but this one was waterproof and lined with wool; it had been a present from Rose after Amethyst had turned up to babysit Steven last winter soaked to the skin. She'd argued at the time, said she didn't need it, but given the snowfall outside Amethyst was glad that Rose hadn't listened to her objections.

Hiking three trash bags from the changing rooms which she'd offered to collect for the cleaning staff over one shoulder, Amethyst headed out to the stairs where she was almost knocked flat by Pearl, the skinny ballerina who was always complaining about the lights. The dancer muttered something that might have been an apology but didn't stop, and Amethyst pulled a face at her retreating back. Now she'd have to go and check the bins in the changing rooms again. It would be just like that snooty pain in the ass to throw something in one of them after Amethyst had emptied them.

Leaving the other bags on the stairwell, Amethyst went up the stairs to the next floor and headed into the women's changing rooms. The lights were still on, but since they went on motion-sensing timers after 8pm she couldn't blame Pearl for leaving them on, they'd automatically switch off after 15 minutes of inactivity. Amethyst's footsteps echoed hollowly through the empty rooms as she checked the trash cans, her movements reflected by the mirrors on the opposite wall. She wasn't sure whether to be satisfied or disappointed when she found that they were all still empty. Maybe ballerinas weren't so inconsiderate after all.

Going back out to the stairwell, Amethyst retrieved the trash bags and continued down the stairs. Reaching the safety door at the bottom, Amethyst delivered an expert kick to the release bar which threw it open. Stepping outside, she caught the door as it bounced off the wall and swung back towards her, slammed it shut, then turned towards the dumpsters… and froze.

"What the FUCK?"

Pearl was slumped on the ground at the back of the alley with a dark shadow crouching over her and a scarlet stain spreading across her back. Amethyst blinked, and the shadow became a figure dressed all in black like a ninja. Or like Amethyst herself when she had to move scenery on stage during a show, only in Amethyst's case she was a much shorter and chubbier ninja. Pearl's assailant seemed just as surprised to see her and for a few seconds they could only stare at each other. At least Amethyst thought the shadowy figure was staring at her - it was hard to tell through the black lycra covering their face.

Then - with a horrible wet sound - the spell was broken as Pearl gasped out a cry, the figure's arm jerking back to reveal a knife in its fist, the blade gleaming redly as it slashed the weapon through the air threateningly. In response Amethyst dropped the trash bags, but instead of running away she lunged at the attacker in a football tackle - seizing them around their thin waist and bearing them to the ground as a line of fire lanced across her shoulder blade.

Ignoring the pain, Amethyst raised a fist and slammed it into the figure's concealed face, missing their nose as they tried to twist away but cracking solidly into their jaw instead. Their stifled hiss of pain sounded distinctly feminine but before Amethyst could wonder about that, agony exploded in her side. Pearl's attacker had tried to plunge their knife into her but Amethyst's punch had thrown them off; instead the blade had sliced a deep gash across the girl's side just above her hip. Their next swing only hit air as Amethyst disengaged and rolled to the side with surprising speed, hopping back to her feet and driving one steel-toed boot into the figure's ribs as they tried to rise. The resulting sear of pain from her side almost knocked the girl over; Amethyst only managed to stay upright by staggering back to lean against the alley wall.

In the meantime Pearl's attacker had gotten to their feet, but to Amethyst's surprise they didn't seem keen to continue the fight despite being armed - their breath whistling through their teeth in pained pants as they clasped their bruised ribs with their free hand. Their head twisted to the side, looking down towards Pearl, and Amethyst automatically followed their gaze to see the dancer lying motionless on the ground with what looked like an oily black pool spreading around her. Blood. At the sound of movement Amethyst's head snapped back towards the figure only to see them turn tail and run without a backwards glance.

"You better run!" Amethyst yelled after them with impotent fury. "Coward!" Pushing herself away from the wall with a wince, the girl limped over to the fallen dancer and knelt beside her, uttering a string of curses as the slash across her side blazed with pain. "Pearl? C'mon, you're not dead," Amethyst said with the desperate hope it was true. Sure, the dancer was a pain in the ass, but Amethyst had never wished harm on her. Or at least not this much harm. Glancing towards the theatre door, Amethyst cursed again. It would have locked behind her and she had no key. She could hammer on it with her fists, or run round to the main entrance - also locked by this time - and hammer on that but the chances of the cleaners hearing her were remote at best. Besides, what would they even do? Fumbling her phone out of her coat pocket - leaving smears of blood across the touchscreen - Amethyst dialed 911 and continued to curse.

Pearl had barely been aware of the fight between Amethyst and her attacker, she'd felt a sudden sear of pain as the knife was wrenched from her back but everything after that was a jumble of sounds and movement. Her eyes fluttered shut as warmth pulsed out of her back, shuddering against the cold ground and wishing that she'd fastened her coat after all. The next thing she knew, Amethyst was crouched beside her having a panicked conversation with someone but she couldn't make out the words. There was a sudden flurry of movement, then pressure on her back which made her flinch as something throbbed in protest then went numb as something soft and warm was laid over her. Pearl wished it was under her instead; the cold tarmac seemed to be draining what little heat she had that wasn't already leaking out of her spine.

Still cursing, Amethyst kept both hands pressed hard against the wound in the slender dancer's back. The blood trickling down her arm from the deep gash across her shoulder tickled, but she was more concerned about the blood that was soaking her hands and still steaming gently in the frigid air. She tried not to think about how the frozen roads would slow the ambulance down; of course this had to happen during the first cold snap of the season. The snow was getting heavier, and even though the alley was somewhat sheltered there was still a light dusting of flakes across Amethyst's hair and shoulders.

"Just freaking great…" the girl muttered. There was no response from Pearl, which sent a jolt of panic through her; the 911 dispatcher had said to try to control the bleeding, to try to keep her warm, and to try to keep her awake and talking. "Pearl! You still with me?" Forgetting herself for a moment Amethyst was about to shake the tall woman, but the dispatcher had also told her in no uncertain terms that she should absolutely not try to move her. "Crap, answer me dammit!"

Pushing one hand down hard against her wadded scarf that she'd pressed against the knife wound in the dancer's back – feeling the blood-soaked fabric squelch horribly between her fingers as she did – Amethyst lifted one hand to lightly slap the side of Pearl's head. As the woman was lying prone on the wet tarmac, it was hard to get at her face. She was still alive - Amethyst could feel her chest heaving rapidly - but it seemed like breathing was becoming more of an effort for her. "Pearl!"

To Amethyst's great relief, there was a faint groan from the slender woman. Relief that soon vanished as Pearl tried to move, her hands scrabbling weakly through bloody slush. It didn't escape the short girl's notice that only one of the dancer's long legs moved – the one on the same side as the knife wound remained motionless.

"Woah! Don't move!" Amethyst said urgently, pressing her free hand against one of Pearl's shoulders. She could feel blood welling between the fingers of the other; it had soaked right through the thick coat that she'd thrown over the dancer to try and keep her warm as well as the makeshift dressing beneath. Amethyst hoped that Rose wouldn't be too annoyed at that. "Just keep still, there's an ambulance on its way."

Pearl's head slumped to one side, one blue eye looking hazily up at the shorter girl. "…did I fall?" she asked, her words slurring as if the dancer had just woken from a deep sleep. To Amethyst's surprise she looked more bewildered than anything else, as if she genuinely didn't remember how she'd ended up there. Although Amethyst was tempted to answer with 'no you idiot, I came out here to take out the trash while you were getting stabbed', she guessed that would be counterproductive.

"Uhhhh… yes," she lied instead. "But it's okay, there's an ambulance coming, you'll be fine," she added, forcing brittle brightness into her voice. "Just keep talking to me, okay?" Amethyst felt the dancer's body shudder, and was about to scream for help in the dim hope that someone would hear when Pearl spoke again.

"…'s cold…" the dancer mumbled, her forehead creased in bemusement. Her nose twitched as a snowflake landed on it. "…tired… rehearsal t'morrow… gotta go home n' sleep…" Her eyelids fluttered and closed, but opened again as Amethyst shook her shoulder. "Nnnnno, go 'way…"

"You can't go to sleep yet!" Amethyst's tone was somewhere between insistent and pleading. "You need to stay awake. Why don't you…" She fell silent for a moment, desperately wondering what she could make the dancer talk about. Obviously she wouldn't be interested in last night's wrestling cage match. Then it hit her. "Why don't you tell me about what you're rehearsing? Is it that thing with the birds and stuff? You ballet folks like that one, don't you?"

To Amethyst's relief that did seem to get Pearl's attention, the slender woman frowning and raising her head slightly as the words registered. "Birds? What… no… Swan Lake was las' season… there's other ballets you know…"

"Okay, what's this one about?" Amethyst asked, her head jerking up as she heard distant sirens. Her breath hissed between her teeth in frustration as she realised it was police sirens, not ambulance sirens, and worse still the sound was fading. "Besides dancing. Does it even have a story?"

Pearl made a faint noise that might once have been a snort in response. "…'course it does… Giselle… 's famous… how can you work in a theatre and not…" Her words broke off as her face twisted in pain, her breath wheezing in her chest as she coughed and gasped. "…hurts…"

"It's okay, the ambulance will be here soon." For Pearl's sake, Amethyst hoped she was right; she could no longer keep the edge of panic out of her voice. The dancer was clearly getting weaker, her head dropping back to the wet ground. The blood pooled around them was no longer steaming; instead it gleamed wetly as snowflakes skated delicately across its surface with as much grace as Pearl herself. "Hey!" As the dancer's eyes flickered shut, Amethyst slapped her as hard as she could at the awkward angle. Her wounded shoulder throbbed in protest and she was starting to feel lightheaded herself. Hell, it would be just freaking typical if she passed out on top of the other woman and they both died here.

Leaning forward to make sure that Pearl was still breathing - she could no longer feel the movement of her ribs beneath the coat – Amethyst yelped as a searing bolt of pain lanced through her from the slash across her side. She'd almost forgotten that Pearl's assailant had caught her there too, but now it felt like it was freshly inflicted. Amethyst's hand jerked back instinctively towards the wound, but instead she forced herself to slap the dancer again, leaving trails of snowmelt and blood across her pale skin.

The second blow had more effect; Pearl's head twitched backwards as she moaned softly. Her eyes half-opened, glazed and vacant at first before focusing blearily on the girl crouched over her. With a half-hysterical laugh, Amethyst slid her hand under the dancer's chin to tilt her head towards her. "Keep looking at me," she ordered, hazel eyes fixed on Pearl's blue ones. "And tell me more about this Giselle thing; you're the boss ballerina aren't you?"

"…ngh… not boss…" Even though she was only semiconscious Pearl still sounded indignant. "Prima ball'rina. Don't you… pay 'ttention… to anything in theatre?"

"Hey, I just set the stage," Amethyst retorted, giving the dancer's head a slight shake as her gaze started to drift again. "Look at me dammit! What's this dumbass ballet about? You can't be much of a prima ballerina if you don't know."

For a moment Amethyst's heart sank as Pearl's eyes closed again, but then the dancer swallowed painfully, her breath rasping in her chest as she spoke. "…'s about… a girl…" Her voice was barely a whisper, paper-thin. "Giselle. Her name. Lead role. Me. And…" The words faded into a whimper as Pearl shuddered in pain, then her eyes opened to look blearily up at the other woman. "She falls in love… with a noble… doesn't know he's a noble…"

"Why the hell not?" Amethyst asked. "That's pretty dumb, if he's a noble isn't he all fancy and shit?"

Despite the pain she was in, Pearl still managed a look of indignant contempt. "He's disguised… doesn't want to be recognised… supposed to be getting married to a princess."

"Jeez. What a dick." To Amethyst's surprise, Pearl didn't object to that description. For a moment it actually looked like the dancer was smiling at her less-than-tactful response.

"…yeah… he kind of is," the dancer admitted with a feeble chuckle. "But… another man loves Giselle… exposes the noble… she dies. Broken heart."

It might have been Amethyst's imagination, but this time she was sure she heard ambulance sirens. "Well that's lame," she commented. "Dying of a broken heart is dumb. Sounds like a pretty short ballet."

Pearl's eyes had closed, but the dancer shook her head slightly. "Jus' the firs' act… there's ghosts… Wilis… come back to haunt men… kill them…" Her voice was growing fainter but this time Amethyst didn't notice, focusing on the sound of the sirens that were definitely getting closer. "…there's a ghost queen… Myrtha… Honoria got the part… wanted the lead… but I got it… supposed to be practicing… can't jus' lie here"

Amethyst's attention immediately snapped back to Pearl as she felt the slender woman move beneath her hands. It looked as if she was trying to get up, but she barely had the strength to move her arms, and now both of her legs were motionless. "Keep still," the girl told her, though the relief in her voice was unmistakable now that she was sure help was close. "Just hold on a little bit longer, okay?"

"…c- can't fff-feel… legs…" Pearl moaned softly, barely able to form the words. Her body spasmed once, then went still. "…need to… practice… opening night…" Whatever else the dancer might have said was drowned out by the sirens, blue light washing back and forth across the backstage alley as an ambulance drew up beside it.

Moving aside for the paramedics, Amethyst slumped back against the wall of the theatre. She grunted softly as she felt flakes of frost bite into the back of her neck, clasping her wounded shoulder with one hand, the other pressed to her side. She could hear the paramedics talking, but her mind was growing hazy now and she could only make out snatches of what they were saying. Something about spinal trauma and a blackboard. Maybe backboard. Whatever. Amethyst was feeling the cold now but her coat was still wrapped around Pearl. The paramedics hadn't removed it. She hoped that didn't mean that she would have to walk home without it, but then again it would be soaked with blood and melted snow by now. Oh, and torn where she'd been slashed by Pearl's attacker. Damn. It had been such a good one too…

"Miss? Can you hear me?" Amethyst started at the sound of the voice, not even realising that her eyes had closed. One of the paramedics was crouched in front of her, looking at her with concern. "There's another ambulance coming," he told her. "We'll need another EMT to move your friend, and we'll need to take you in too." Although she was tempted to say 'she's not my friend', Amethyst decided that was petty. Instead she let the paramedic examine her injuries, pressing wads of cotton to the gashes in her side and shoulder and bandaging them tightly. Behind him she could see that the other EMT was beside Pearl, holding an IV bag of clear fluid. The dancer was still lying on her stomach and Amethyst couldn't see her face, didn't know if she was still conscious.

"…she gonna… be okay?" she asked groggily, flinching slightly at the sting of a needle in her arm.

"We'll know better once we get her to the hospital," the paramedic replied evasively. "Can you get up? We'll need to get you into an ambulance too, might as well be the one that's here."

"Yeah, sure, no problem…" Unfortunately for Amethyst, she was no longer sure which way was up and only succeeded in pitching forwards onto her face. Deciding to make the best of a bad job, she sank into the welcoming arms of insensibility instead.

A/N: No, I have not given up on any of my Adventure Time fics, my inspiration for those is just lagging at the moment thanks to the hiatus but they are most definitely not abandoned.