The Long Way Home(Doctor Who/Steven Universe crossover)

Prisoners

The Doctor couldn't say that he was planning on finding himself in such a situation. Then again, this was hardly the first time that danger had found him, when he wasn't busy actively trying to find it. So here he stood with another "unexpected guest", a canyon full of hostile Gems behind them and a mad woman with a twin edged sword in front of them. General Star Quartz stepped off of the hovering circular platform, as it ascended back into the body of the monstrous Romaing Eye, taking her two Rubies with it. With the Eye hovering away into the distance, Star twisted the handle of her weapon, which split apart into two separate katana blades. In what seemed like only a fraction of a second, she had twirled them in her hands like a couple of sticks and had one of them pointed at her latest "targets."
"You two had better come quietly, although I do not know what fate will be awaiting you yet, human", Star hissed loudly at the Doctor and Pearl.

The Doctor and Pearl both said nothing. Star took this as their answer and slowly began to stride towards her prey, her katana blades pointed upward. The Doctor turned his head slightly to the Gem by his side, as if asking 'what's the plan?', but Pearl didn't say anything, as much as move a muscle. She just stood there, frozen. Her expression was locked in a face that captured both absolute shock and dread, and the only thing that appeared to be moving on her was her spear, quivering in her hands. Suddenly, Star's feet sprang from the ground as her imposing stride turned into a forward dash, with both of her swords aimed to destroy. The Doctor glanced at Pearl again, but the Gem was still lost in thought: she had heard what Star just said, loud and clear, and she knew that her team-her family- were long gone. As if on cue, Pearl's silence fell away and the Gem broke into a primal scream, charging at their attacker with equal speed, before her spear met with Star's katanas in a thundering clash. What Pearl didn't see, however, was a certain someone slipping away for the scene during her fight.

The Doctor proceeded to walk along the edge of the cliff leading into the canyon, scoping the area far below him. He knew that he was so close to finding out why the TARDIS had stopped and that benifitted both him and Pearl in this case. Besides, Pearl definitely seemed like someone who could hold her own in this fight, so there was never a better time for an investigation. The first thing to grab his attention were the Injectors. They clung to the walls and ground of the canyon, their metallic "legs" keeping them anchored in place like a colony of insects. The Doctor took a closer look at the drills at the bottom of the machines, already deep into the earth by now, and observed the patches of dry, sickly grass surrounding them.
"These Gems don't care much for living things", the Doctor muttered. It was at this moment that the Doctor was suddenly struck by a thought that shook him to his very centre.
"What are you doing?", shrieked a voice. This was more than enough to snap the Doctor out of his concentration. Pearl was right in the middle of his eyesight, fuming with even more annoyance than before, while the unconscious body of Star Quartz lay down behind her in the distance.
"Do you seriously think it's a good idea to just go wandering off like that all the time?", she shouted.
The Doctor tried to protest, but he had barely even spoken out the words 'Something needs to be done-", before Pearl had raised her voice again.
"Yes, I understand that, but that doesn't give you any right to go disappearing wherever and whenever you please!"
"Well, maybe you should spend less time worrying about me and more time worrying about that Gem you have on your tail", the Doctor cried back with an even sterner tone than Pearl's voice.
"I've managed to knock out the Star Quartz, don't worry about that," Pearl added. But, as if everything were still on cue, the Doctor spied Star picking herself off the ground from behind Pearl and charging at them for another attack.

Pearl quickly caught on to this, however, and managed to duck a swipe from one of Star's swords. The Doctor only got knocked backwards a few feet as the blade just barely missed his face. He could feel a snag against his foot as he hung over the edge of the canyon. Despite his best effort to stay balanced, the Doctor fell, plummeting quickly towards the bottom of the canyon. Just before he could hit the ground, the Doctor felt something wrap and tighten itself around his torso. After reorienting himself, the Doctor could see that he appeared to be in the clutch of a massive talon and when he looked up, he could see, without a doubt, the biggest eagle that he had ever laid eyes on. "Watch your step next time, please," the familiar voice of Pearl spoke from the enormous white bird.
But Pearl's friendly look didn't last long, as she let out a small exhausted moan. She continued to flap her new wings, desperate to keep them from falling back into the canyon, but her wings just refused to carry on. Eagle-Pearl fell into a onward dive as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Finally, she roughly bumped up against the canyon's ground and skidded halfway across the wide pit. The Doctor tumbled forward as he slipped from her massive talon. After the great bird had managed to steady herself, her whole body enveloped itself in light, as she shrank back down to Pearl's regular form, looking absolutely exhausted.