Beyond The Gem

Six

     The ride was nearly silent. All Pink said after Jasper screamed was to take her to her holding cell. She then walked out, and I was on her heels. She didn't say anything at all when she stepped on the Warp Pad to travel to her ship, and as we were in the Warp Stream, I glanced up at her expression and instantly regretted it.

     I regretted it because there was nothing there. She was just as emotionless as she was in the interrogation room. We landed, and all I said was, "Let's head to your private chambers to work on sadness." My voice felt raw, and it sounded like a booming explosion in the silence. Once we arrived, Pink locked the door behind her and sat down in front of the couch, legs crossed, and she closed her eyes.

     She gently patted the floor next to her. I joined her, sitting on the ground and listening to the silence. It was peaceful. But the trip to Earth wouldn't take very long, only about thirty minutes or so. However, that time stretched into an hour of us simply sitting there and saying nothing to each other. I opened my eyes and broke the silence once more.

     "Why haven't we arrived at Earth yet?" I asked. My voice felt raw yet again.

     "We're not going to Earth." Pink opened her eyes as well."We're going to Menkar; it's one of White's colonies."

     Now, I was curious. "What awaits us on Menkar? White Diamond is back on Homeworld, is she not?"

     "She is," Pink grinned. "But Yellow isn't. That's why she was so silent. She hates Menkar with a passion, and White was sending her there for military purposes just before we walked in. I will inform Yellow about this. Plus, I'd rather talk to Yellow than Blue or White. I feel like the other Diamonds hate me, but Yellow...I'm not sure. She's the militaristic type. She can take action when we tell her there's more than one White Tanzanite."

     I blinked. Then I got extremely jealous. Pink was so smart, she always had a plan. "How'd you find out that Yellow was getting sent to a colony she doesn't like? I never left your side, so it couldn't have been one of the guards who told you."

     "While you daydreamed upon entry, I heard White utter the word 'Mankar,' and instantly knew. Yellow is send there all the time and the colony is know  for trouble, so it's not surprising that White would send Yellow." Pink stood, grunting. "I didn't practice. I just wanted to spend time to think...that's something we haven't done in a while."

     She was right. We've been so caught up that we hadn't really sat down in utter silence together, thinking away. I daydream a lot, but about certain things pertaining to the conversation topics. It was truly nice to just sit down and get lost in the darkness of our minds.

     Mankar was far away. It took three hours just to get there, and another hour for Pink's pilots to get consolation to Warp Pink and I onto the planet. We received confirmation, though, and Warped onto a planet I'd never been to before.

     It was very different from Earth, but not too different from Homeworld. Barren landscapes, towering cities, abyssal-like entrances to Kindergartens. But the only difference was that the gem soldiers were white gems, and the sky was a vibrant shade of green. There were no clouds, but there were two moons in the sky that shone brightly upon the surface of the planet. I looked around, fascinated. The sky was different, but my eyes were on the city and the gems moving through it.

     Not gems, but different creatures. Things with many arms, different colored skin than humans, and most of them looked alike. They spoke to each other in a language I didn't even understand in the slightest. I inched closer to Pink, and her guards began walking in formation towards a large building. White Diamond's guards watched us closely. Though their spears were pointed upwards, I felt like they could launch into my skull at any moment.

     The large, metallic doors opened, and we entered a hall that was very wide and possibly resembled a throne room. The floor was very detailed, as were the walls and ceiling. Gigantic columns with words in a different language stretched to the roof, and in the very center of the hall, speaking to White's guards, was Yellow Diamond and her Pearl.

     Yellow glanced up quickly, then did a double-take. She must've been surprised that we were here, because she dismissed the guards in front of her and stormed over to Pink and I. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be back on Homeworld finding information about White Tanzanite, Pink."

     There was a smile tugging on Pink's lips as she spoke. "I did find information about White Tanzanite. Or should I say Tanzanites?" Yellow raised a brow, and Pink nodded. "Tiger Jasper opened up. She didn't know where any of them were, but I have a feeling that there might be an entire army...what if there is, Yellow? What if there really is an entire force of male gems that you and the other Diamonds should've wiped out so long ago?"

     "We made sure that there were none left. There shouldn't be any more left. Pearl," Yellow turned to her Pearl. "Send a message to White Diamond about this." She looked to Pink and nodded. "Stay here for a while. I want to speak to you, Pink. But for now, I thank you for the information you've discovered."

     Pink and I left, then Warped back to her ship. She alerted her pilots to stay in Mankar's orbit until told otherwise. When they left, they were to drive to Earth. Pink and I stood at another viewing window of the human zoo, though this one could only see an empty valley. Pink stood with her hands behind her back, the smile on her face looking near permanent.

     I looked to her and smiled as well. "I assume you're happy for helping the Diamonds?"

     She nodded. "I feel like I'm actually one of them, like I'm not some runt that just happened to be a Diamond. I helped them, and now we have the knowledge that there isn't just one Tanzanite we're looking for. I know that sounds bad, but I'm just so happy that I actually did something worth their time."

     I turned back to the window. Somewhere out of my sight, they were happy. I'd wished to be one of them, to worry about absolutely nothing, but maybe I had to worry about things. It wasn't much, but we knew that there was possibly an entire army of Tanzanites that were ordering gems to kill innocent gems.

     But then a lightbulb clicked, and my smile disappeared. "My Diamond," My voice was laced with caution. "Have you looked into Fluorite's records? The one that was murdered?" Pink bit her lip, then shook her head. "What if she wasn't entirely innocent?"