Beyond The Gem

Seven

     Pink rubbed her chin. "Perhaps...I wonder if these White Tanzanites are actually trying to help us fight crime. It would be an interesting thing to look into. For now, until we discover the truth, I think we should still look to them as if they are criminals. They are killing gems without the proper execution orders, and that itself is breaking the law. That's a very good point, Pearl." I beamed with pride, but one of Pink's guards staggered around the corner, covered in dust and dirt. 

     "Someone's been killed in the marketplace," She stammered. "It...ugh, it was so gruesome. Killed so violently yet so quickly. I have the murderer in custody, and I...I want you to speak to her. She has an interesting story."

     Pink Diamond and I exchanged glances, then nodded to the guard and rushed to wherever the guard led them. They warped back to Mankar, then walked through the city for fifteen minutes before reaching the crime scene. And when I saw it, I clapped a hand over my mouth and gasped. "Oh, gosh..."

     Shards. Everywhere. Ground so finely they were nearly dust, and the white sparkled in the sun. There were spears in almost every building, and marks in the stone. Thick, deep, scratch marks. So this gem fought back. The fountain in the center was littered with the shards as well, a little too noticeable for comfort with the nearly black water it spewed. Pink observed the scene, her face in utter shock. This was indeed very violent, and White's fellow gem guards gathered around the area. Some cried, while some murmured amongst themselves. 

     Across the circular area, two Jaspers pinned down a thrashing Peridot. The Peridot insulted and threatened the guards, but they didn't budge. Pink approached, her shadow looming over the fugitive. Peridot looked up and gulped. "My Diamond! Such an honor to-"

     "Why did you do it? Where is White Tanzanite?" Pink demanded a little too quickly. Beads of sweat dripped down Peridot's forehead.

     "I did it because I was ordered to, My Diamond." She said, tilting her head away from Pink.

     "Well, then where is White Tanzanite?"

     Peridot hesitated. "I don't know, My Diamond." Her attempt to show respect was a little annoying, but I kept my mouth shut and listened. "All I did was fulfill his order to kill a Flurotie and attempt to escape."

     Another Flurotie. "And how exactly did you receive these orders, Peridot?"

     Peridot glanced to me, then back to Pink Diamond. "I'm not exactly sure. I hardly remember anything of the actual murder. It was like someone else was doing it, but it was really me."

     Yellow Diamond and her Pearl came to the edge of the scene, and both observed it with disgust and shock.

     Yellow Diamond looked to Pink. "What happened here, Pink?"

     "That's what I'm trying to find out." Pink glanced towards the Peridot, who stood extremely still, not caring about the guards that pinned her to the wall. "Take her to my ship," Pink ordered to the guards. "Place her in a viewing cell with Tiger Jasper. I want to see what happens when you bring them together."

     With that, the guards dragged Peridot to the Warp Pad and warped to her ship. The Diamonds, Yellow Pearl, and I stood on the Warp Pad after they were on the ship, then traveled to the ship and stood at a viewing window to a cell. The cell was small, and there was nothing in it other than the large window near the ceiling we could watch from.

      After a few minutes, my attention was caught by the thick doors sliding open. Peridot was thrown in, and Jasper soon after. The two stumbled in, and the doors were slammed behind them. The sound of machinery and the pink forcefield that covered the door ensured that there was no getting out.

     Jasper and Peridot looked at each other, then began speaking. I couldn't hear a word, and I was never good at reading lips, but I though Jasper said Peridot's name and a few other words. Pink frowned. "I thought they would fight."

     "Is that all you're here for, Pink? A show?" Yellow asked with a raised voice. "Because you're not going to get one. This is political business, not some exciting spectacle." My attention turned back to the cell as the two kept arguing, Yellow complaining that Pink never took anything seriously, and Pink stating that they should be watching and waiting rather than fighting.

     But while they were fighting, Jasper did something. She stepped closer to Peridot and said something quietly, her lips barely moving. She cast a glance up to the window Yellow Pearl and I watched from, then looked back down to Peridot and threw her hands up, speaking very fast now.

     Peridot rubbed the back of her neck and said a few words. With her limb enhancers, she stood nearly as tall as Tiger Jasper. Peridot said something that made Jasper's eyes widen, then Jasper snapped.

     Peridot threw her hands up, a sly smile on her face, and shrugged. Yellow Pearl and I gasped when we saw them begin to dance, spinning around and kicking in the air. I harshly tapped Pink's hand. When she turned away from Yellow to argue, I pointed to the cell and she banged her fist against the window.

     "They cannot be allowed to fuse! Guards, get in there and separate them!" Pink screamed, a touch of control. The glove on her hand began to dim slightly to a peach color, and I knew that if she said anything else, she'd shift. She must've realized the change, too, because she took a deep breath and closed her pink eyes. Her glove returned to normal.

     Guards burst in the room just as the two clasped hands and fused into a gigantic gem, appearing to be a sort of red gem. Her armor was a mixture of limb enhancers and Tiger Jasper's strange designs. The guards drew their own weapons and began to fuse; some rubies, others gigantic Jaspers. The Jaspers summoned their weapons while the rubies roared and shook the window in the pane. They clashed, fists and weapons flying.

     Yellow gave Pearl a sidelong glance, not moving her head. She spoke quietly. "Well, now you have a fight. Are you happy?"

     "I didn't want a fight!" Pink yelled. She had to calm down, she - "I was doing everything exactly like you said, I was waiting and watching! I gave a simple statement, I gave an opinion of what I believed would happen!"

     I couldn't scream, couldn't move, couldn't blink when Pink shifted into Rose.