Author's Note: New Little Rebellions sequel! Been waiting to do this one for a while, but I kept holding back to see if I'd get those juicy Pearl backstory episodes to inform it... but I've officially gotten tired of waiting.

And, well, I say 'sequel', but I suppose the correct term is 'mid-quel'. This is set before, during, and immediately after the chapter 'Alliance'.

Enjoy!

oOoOo

Take Your Place Among The Stars

When the Star Incinerator finally landed on Earth, with its human captain and crew of Homeworld defectors, there was a great deal of celebrating. The days that followed were filled with tearful reunions, joyful exclamations, and excited explorations of the experiences Earth had to offer.

Pearl watched most of this from a distance. She wasn't sure why. Once, it had seemed as if she would have done anything to get news about Homeworld. But now, with refugees straight from its heart, she wasn't sure if she wanted to learn anything.

The others didn't share her apprehension. Steven was excited for his friend to be back, Peridot was interested in updates, and Amethyst threw herself in head first, as she did most things.

And the fusions flocked together almost immediately.

Pearl wasn't that surprised. Back during the War, Garnet had been a mentor for any and all fusions who had made their way to the Crystal Gems, relishing the chance to give them the guidance she'd once craved.

It was something, however, to see her now dwarfed beside Fluorite as they engaged in deep conversation, staring up at the six-Gem fusion, her glasses gone and her eyes sparkling. For once, Garnet wasn't the fusion expert, and nobody seemed more delighted about this than her.

Pearl was interrupted from her musing by a cry of, "You're Pearl!"

She turned around, and tilted her head in surprise to see the other Off Color fusion- Rhodonite.

"Yes," said Pearl. This was fairly self-evident.

"No, no no no." Two of Rhonodinite's hands were waving in the air, the other two clamped around her cheeks. "I mean, you're Pearl."

Pearl stared, and then blinked as realisation dawned on her. It had been a long time since she'd heard her name spoken in that particular tone.

She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. "Ah. You've heard of me?"

"Heard of you?!" Rhodonite laughed. "I- well, Pearl, really- she used to daydream about you." The fusion ducked her head, rubbing her lower set of arms. "Actually… you were her and Ruby's inspiration to run away in the first place. Even before Morganite found us, we thought, maybe we could be just like you and Rose Quartz…"

"Oh," said Pearl, rather lost for words.

Rhodonite was peeking up at her, eyes wide and with that same kind of adoring expression Steven sometimes wore, as if she was the most dazzling star in the sky.

"Well," Pearl managed after a moment, "I'm very happy to have you here. We all are."

Pearl didn't think much of the incident after that. There wasn't much time to.

oOoOo

Life, as the trend had been for the past few years, got increasingly hectic.

At first, the Off Color rebels had been busy exploring Earth, and then they returned to space to continue their fight against Homeworld. The Crystal Gems had battles of their own, both on Earth and off of it- missions, training, rehabilitation, attempted invasions- one right after the other…

Eventually, the Crystal Gems realised they could not longer defend Earth indefinitely. The only way their planet would be safe was if Homeworld finally left it alone, one way or another.

With the help of the Off Colors and the Zoo Quartzes, they acquired a Roaming Eye. The Crystal Gems weren't entirely sure what to do with it, at first.

They weren't exactly sure what to do, period.

For the team's entire existence, they'd played defensive. Protect their single planet, forge their own community, a small sliver of freedom away from Homeworld's rule.

Once, Rose Quartz had had grander plans, ones she'd shared with Pearl on dark nights, eyes glittering with reflected starlight. Hopes of spreading their ethos beyond Earth, to every galaxy, so that all Gems could live as they pleased, so no other species would ever need to be threatened again.

Homeworld couldn't let that happen. Rose's dreams had crumbled, buried in the wreckage with the broken minds of their former friends and enemies alike.

Maybe those dreams can still be resurrected, Pearl thought, hands resting on the control panel of their stolen ship. Not just for Rose, but for all of them.

Their initial plan, if it could even be called that, was reconnaissance. Learn the full scale of the current Homeworld Empire, discover its weak points, try to make allies, to find, to infiltrate.

They were shot down almost immediately.

Thankfully, the ones who'd done the shooting turned out to be another group of rebels, wary of Homeworld spies. The fact they'd been caught at all still stung Pearl's pride, but it was better than the alternative.

Instead of being shackled or poofed or imprisoned, the Crystal Gems were taken back to the rebels' base as- well, not as friends. Not yet. No one ran a successful underground rebellion without a suspicious streak.

Arriving at Carbonite System Planet 25x-6, the Crystal Gems were invited into a private room for a 'friendly chat'. Pearl and Garnet's gazes briefly met; they'd arranged many such chats during the war. A subtle interrogation, to weed out spies, to make sure new recruits could truly be trusted.

Of course, their story was tight, and with Steven around, any faux-friendliness soon turned to something genuine.

The Crystal Gems and the New Rebellion joined forces.

Pearl wasn't sure how to feel about that.

There was something in how their new allies treated her. Or didn't treat her. Or both?

First of all: there were Pearls. Lots of them. While it was unclear who, precisely, had founded this new rebellion, a significant portion of their members seemed to be Pearls. Which was good, of course. Of course it was good! Pearls finding their freedom, fighting for it- how could she do anything but approve?

But some part of Pearl... itched at that.

The itch was familiar, and Pearl felt just as irritated with it as she had back during the War. As word of the Crystal Gems had spread, their numbers had swelled. Among the new recruits had been Pearls. Not that many, really, compared to the other Gems which had joined. Perhaps their conditioning had made them meeker, less capable of or willing to join a 'terrorist' group. Pearl had doubted that. It seemed far more likely that, shaken to their core by chilling stories of the Renegade, Homeworld had kept their Pearls closer than ever.

The Terrifying Renegade Pearl.

She'd loved that title.

She'd relished it.

And some selfish part of her had hated when new Pearls had come and 'stolen' it from her. Never mind if Black Pearl had refused to fight, or Listener spent most of her days just talking to other Gems, or Aqua Aura Quartz had been a fusion. They had still been rebels, their disobedience still terrifying in Homeworld's eyes. Pearl had become just one more Pearl among many.

And now she was again.

It chafed at the back of her mind, even as she told herself, again and again, that she was being ridiculous.

Don't worry about the others, Rose had once told her. The Pearl I love is you.

None of her current family said as much, not aloud. But Amethyst would give her friendly punches, and Steven would hold her hand, and Garnet would clasp her shoulders, and that had to be proof enough.

There were war meetings. Lots of war meetings. About strategy, smuggling, surveillance, reinforcements, refugees, morality. It was exhausting enough to leave even Pearl wanting to sleep, if only to quiet the restless thoughts echoing inside her head.

Pearl didn't sleep. She didn't have time. Instead, she found an isolated balcony where she could collect her thoughts.

Garnet was the one who managed to track her down. Part of Pearl was a little annoyed at Garnet impinging on her rare time alone, but another part was grateful for her presence.

"The view is beautiful," Garnet said, bracing herself against the banister.

"Hm? Oh, yes, it is."

It was. A vibrant, flat landscape covered in strange, wispy vegetation, like silver sparkling grass. The night sky above was deep purple, filled not just with stars, but also with the planet's green ring. There were squeaks in the air as animals akin to bats swooped to and fro.

It was odd, though. For all the time she'd spent yearning to see alien skies again, Pearl felt a deep pang as she wished to see Earth's familiar constellations.

"I'd forgotten how frustrating these meetings can be," Pearl complained.

Garnet gave a short bark of a laugh. "Same."

"Think we'll convince them? To protect this place?"

There was a protracted pause before Garnet answered, "Yes."

Pearl wasn't entirely sure if that was Future Vision or not, but either way, she decided to trust her friend's judgement on this.

The New Rebels had taken over this planet very early into its colonization process, and almost immediately halted it. Not because of any particular desire to save the organic beings already living there, but from sheer practicality. Many of the Gem workers on the planet had refused to defect, and had to be imprisoned. Those who had joined the rebellion were more useful elsewhere. Kindergarten production had been postponed indefinitely, on the reasoning that any new Gems would not emerge until long after the Rebellion had been settled, one way or another.

Some rebels thought that on the chance that the Rebellion devolved into all-out war, they would need as many soldiers as they could get.

The Crystal Gems had argued that that should never happen, for a variety of reasons. That the life already here deserved to continue. That it would destroy the planet's natural beauty. That any Gems produced here shouldn't be immediately conscripted into a war. That nobody deserved to have their purpose and fate assigned to them.

There had been a lot of screaming.

"This is NOT what Rose Quartz would have wanted!" Pearl had shouted.

"Well, Rose Quartz is gone!" a Flint had yelled back. "I never met her, and I don't give a slice of shale what she would have wanted!"

Pearl had flinched, mouth snapping shut.

The relationship between the New Rebellion and The Crystal Gems was a strange, sometimes contradictory one.

On one hand, these Homeworld rebels respected them. Stories of the Crystal Gems had been secretly whispered across the millenia, becoming legends, inspiring dissent. Everyone was awed to find they'd survived the Diamond's terrible attack, and grateful to have any extra experienced support, however small.

On the other hand, the Crystal Gems were outsiders. Newcomers. Some rebels resented their presence and the respect they were given. Some felt they had no place among them, having lost the first War.

Pearl's hand dug into the balcony railing. They hadn't lost. Maybe- maybe they hadn't won, but they hadn't lost.

She sighed. "Stevonnie and Amethyst are handling this better than us. Peridot too."

They hadn't backed down. When Pearl had been stunned to silence, they'd rallied.

"Not better. Just younger." Garnet shrugged. "They've got the energy."

"Could I steal some?" Pearl joked.

"You could fuse and share it," Garnet said with a grin. For a moment, they both savoured the mental image of a massive fusion turning up to a debate, and just roaring in defiance.

It'd probably work. There were some mixed fusions in the New Rebellion, but they were rare enough that most Gems were still skittish around them.

Considering this, Pearl said, "I'm sorry about how they treat you."

It was a vague statement, but Garnet understood. She gave a light shrug. "Used to it."

Pearl gave a small nod. It was true enough. The bruise had faded in the millennia since the War, but the pain was still familiar.

"It's new for you, though," Garnet said.

Pearl blinked at her, confused. "Everyone has been perfectly-"

Her throat caught on the final word. 'Welcoming' was hardly correct.

Garnet removed her visor, apparently entirely for the purpose of raising her eyebrow.

"I've seen how the other Pearls react around you," Garnet said.

"Ah," Pearl said.

That, perhaps, had been the strangest thing of all.

Some Pearls reacted to her the way Rhodonite had. A little bit awestruck, a little bit grateful, caught between wanting to ask a hundred questions, and too afraid to speak to her at all. It made Pearl flush and feel rather off-balance, but it would be a lie to say that she didn't enjoy it.

Other Pearls- the ones higher up in the resistance's organization, mostly- acted more aloof. They wanted to prove themselves, to show themselves to be just as good, or better than the Terrifying Renegade. Pearl could handle that just fine. She'd always relished a challenge.

Then there were others… They watched her. Not the ways enslaved Pearls watched everyone, emotions hidden, but eyes calculating. These Pearls wore their emotions quite plain. Dislike. Resentment. Anger.

Pearl had responded with her usual prideful glares and sharp remarks, unwilling to let their judgement affect her any more than any other Gems'.

And then it had all come out.

There'd been another Pearl- pale purple, still wearing one of the frilliest outfits she'd ever seen- she'd made some comment to her. Pearl couldn't even remember what. And Pearl had said something snide back. The other Pearl's eyes had blazed as fierce as any Ruby's, and suddenly she'd been yelling-

Yelling, yelling, yelling at Pearl, and Pearl had rushed to defend herself, but the accusations had kept coming. Pearl had parried, but the words had gotten past her defenses, thrusting deep into her core, the way a blade never could-

Pearl closed her eyes, fighting not to shake. "I hurt them," she said. "Pearls. They were all punished, because of me. Because of what I did-"

"No. Not because of you," Garnet said. "Because they were Pearls."

"Pearls who were put in danger because of my rebellion," she snarled. Things had gotten so much worse in the millennia she'd been gone: tighter surveillance, stricter penalties, reduced freedoms for Gems who were already so highly restricted…

It was different for Garnet. Her joining the Crystal Gems hadn't made things worse for fusions. They were already persecuted on sight, just like defects and off colors. But Pearls? So many more of them could have survived, if the Terrifying Renegade hadn't made it all that harder for them.

"That wasn't you," Garnet said, as if she could read thoughts, not the future. Her third eye was piercing. "That was the Authority. They chose to act on fear and cruelty. You acted out of love and self-expression."

"And selfishness," Pearl whispered. It was true. It had taken her a long time to accept, but so, so often she did things claiming they were for others, but it was all an excuse to do something for herself. Building a spaceship, training Connie, becoming Sardonyx-

Garnet's lips quirk in a brief smile. "Sometimes some selfishness is good."

Maybe she would have believed that, if only she could forget the shards of an untold number of Pearls, gone because of her.

"You're not going to stop fighting."

Pearl jerked backwards. "Of course not."

Garnet's smile grew larger. "Then you know I'm right. If you truly believed you were to blame for the Diamonds' policies, then you'd turn yourself in right now."

Pearl stared.

"Some of those other Pearls are angry at you," Garnet continued. "Maybe that's justified. But at the end of the day, they believe the same thing as you. They wouldn't be a part of this New Rebellion if they didn't."

Pearl continued to stare, and then slowly shook her head. She wondered how she sometimes forgot how wise Garnet was. Stepping forward, she buried her face against Garnet's chest. Garnet's chin pressed down on her head, arms wrapping around her, solid and familiar.

"Thank you," Pearl said.

Garnet said nothing, just held her tighter, until it was time to go prepare for the next battle.