Beyond The Gem

Twelve

     "You must understand this matter is extremely important!" Pink slammed her fist on the table, and White cocked her head back. "These murders are keeping our people in fear! One of his soldiers blatantly captured my own Pearl while she chased him down!"

     "Pink," Yellow Pearl nudged me on the shoulder, and I glanced over. "You were captured?"

     I nodded. "A Topaz and I escaped. We're lucky they didn't catch us before Pink's soldiers went into the ship and arrested them all."

     White Pearl grinned. "I'm glad you're back. Things would not have been the same without you. I can't imagine a world where we aren't together."

     I couldn't either. Without the other Pearls, I would be hopeless. Gosh, without Pink....no. Pink Diamond would always stay by my side, and so would the Pearls. We'd stay as one, and eventually, Pink would be fully accepted as a Diamond.

     White stood and screamed, startling us Pearls. "You have nothing to do with this matter! You will allow your superiors to do their job, do you understand?"

     The room instantly fell silent. All eyes were on White as she slowly sat back down in her seat, clearing her throat and looking to Pink, who took heavy breaths and closed her eyes. She couldn't shift. Not now. When she shifted in front of Yellow, it was by sheer luck that I managed to summon my spear and poof her. Yellow Pearl cast me a worried glance, and I held up a hand to assure her I had it under control, but I had to take a breath just to assure myself that Pink knew what to do. We still hadn't practiced any other emotions.

     Pink let out a breath, opening her eyes with an entirely new emotion on her face. It was a mix between anger and sternness, one that resembled a mother on Earth disciplining her child. Pink rose, and spoke in a voice that was calm yet extremely angry.

     "I have no superiors, because I am a superior. I am a Diamond, and I expect to be treated as one. If you do not believe I am a Diamond, then just say so." She waited for an answer I didn't want to come. After more silence, Pink swiftly turned and walked out of the room. All eyes moved to me, and I gave a sheepish smile before turning and running to catch up. I followed her down the hall, and once I caught up, I broke the silence. "You shouldn't have asked a question you didn't want the answer to."

     Pink sighed through her nose. "You shouldn't speak to me like that, Pearl."

     I stopped. "I...do you want me to address me as 'My Diamond?' I don't understand, I thought we were closer than that." No. No, this was exactly why I didn't want to bow down to a Diamond, this is exactly why I didn't want to...I couldn't do it. And my heart broke when Pink stopped and turned to me on her heel.

     "We are close, and we will always stay close. But right now, show more respect to a Diamond." She walked down the hall, and for the first time since I became Pink's Pearl, I didn't follow.

     When I returned to Pink's private chambers, Pink was nowhere to be seen. Yellow, Blue, and White Pearl sat on the couch, waiting. I approached, and White glanced to me. "Hello, Pink Pearl."

     "What's going on?" I asked, eyeing each of them. They all sat straight up and stiff, making me keep my distance from them.

     Yellow smiled. "Nothing. We just wanted to talk to our favorite Pearl." I stopped, then stepped back when all three of them jumped off the couch and began approaching, exactly in synchronization. I summoned my spear, and they each summoned their own weapon; Yellow a sword, Blue a scythe, and White a whip.

     "What are you three doing?" I asked, stepping back and summoning another spear. "You're betraying the Diamond Authority!"

     "Nothing. We just wanted to talk to our favorite Pearl." They spoke together, smiling. They suddenly began changing, shifting into tall and stronger gems with a flash of light. When they finished changing, they were the exact same gem with the exact same weapon.

     They were White Tanzanites, wearing strong armor and holding extremely sharp swords. "We're just cleaning up the mess," one said, holding out his hand. The three stopped, and my back pressed against the far wall. "Just searching for the one that got away." His face went serious, and he stepped forwards. "You shouldn't have escaped, Pink Pearl."

     "You shouldn't have attacked our Jasper." Another said, stepping closer.

     "You shouldn't have become her Pearl." The final said, and my eyes widened as they each raised their blades, aimed straight at me. "Time to finish this." They each reared their arms back, then launched them forwards. I ducked, rolling in a gap between them. I stood and whirled around, and they each turned simultaneously.

     I threw a spear at them, but one of them caught it mid air, spinning it effortlessly between his fingers. He chuckled and crushed it between his fingers, dropping the pieces behind him. I gasped, looking to the human zoo window. They were blocking the door, and the window was the only way out. But I couldn't shatter it right away; it would take time. So I launched my other spear at the window, watching as it lodged itself within the new webbed crack.

     As I continued to back away, I launched three more spears at the window, each wedging themselves in the glass. I ducked under their swinging blades, then sprinted towards the window. They each broke into a run towards me as I neared the window, each fairly quicker than me. I neared closer and closer as they came closer and closer to me, catching up almost too quick.

     Where was Pink Diamond?

     As I edged closer to the window, I grit my teeth and braced myself, leaping and slamming my shoulder into the cracked glass. Thankfully, it shattered completely, and I fell through the branches and leaves of the trees. I landed on the soft grass, and the humans nearby looked at me with wide eyes. I shot up and began running again, towards the exit I knew was nearby.

     I knew the human zoo like the back of my hand after seeing thousands of maps of the place. Pushing through the confused humans, I glanced behind me. The Tanzanites landed flawlessly on the ground where I'd fallen, then looked up at me with their white and black eyes, narrowing them and grimacing.

     I looked back in front of me and focused. If they were as fast as they were back in the room, then they'd catch up to me quickly. I couldn't turn back.

     But I skidded to a stop. The humans. If any got in their way, they'd slaughter them without hesitation. So I turned around, looking to the Tanzanites and the humans that edged closer out of curiosity.

     And I began running towards them.