Behind The Scenes

Here we go. After waiting and carrying on the fundraiser for three weeks, today is the day. Steven and Amethyst were coming along too since they wanted to see it as well, plus they've been helping out at different times during the fundraiser. We all woke up early this morning, ate breakfast, and made sure we looked okay for the trip.

After arriving at school I went to my third period class where those who participated were waiting for Ms. Agate to arrive. "Hey, guys." I called out to my friends. "Hey man. All set for this?" Wally replied as we shared a knuckle bump. "Totally. I've also done some thinking about those pictures you showed me and I'm wondering. Where'd you get them anyway?" I asked. "My aunt is a reporter and I noticed them through her files. I took a few pictures and thought that you should see them so we could make a difference." He explained.

"About that... I've decided to join in." I replied with a grin. "What? Prism, you can't." Lapis dejected. "Remember those things I mentioned before? About the security and the lockdowns?" Aquamarine pointed out, feeling surprised from my choice. "I remembered. Look, I've been pondering if what Wally showed us was true or not. We all won't know unless we look into it. Plus all we have to do is act natural, move fast, and find out what they're hiding before we get spotted. Got me?" I replied.

"Fine. If you boys want to go to juvenile detention then go right ahead. WE don't want any part in this." Peridot clarified as her, Lapis, and Aquamarine went to a different area of the classroom. Even though I wanted to be the good guy and not get involved like I said, I wanted to know the truth. Me, Wally, and Bart looked at each other on this and still agreed with the plan. Shortly after, Ms. Agate arrived and began explaining what we were going to do when we arrive.


Outside of Beach City was a tall white building. Massive pipes surrounded it and released small portions of smoke into the air. The building was at the very edge of a cliff near the ocean and pipes were seen dumping oil straight into it. Also the trees near it were dead and chomped off, leaving only the stumps remaining. Ten minutes later we all arrived and got off the buses before being placed into groups. I was with Bart and Wally. Lapis, Peridot, and Aquamarine were in their own group. And Steven and Amethyst were paired with a girl wear glasses, had black hair in a ponytail, wore a teal shirt, blue skirt, and tennis shoes with white socks.

We all stared at the massive building before turning our attention to the doors and noticed a woman walking out of it. She was about the same height as me. Had short pink hair, wore a white buttoned shirt, pink skirt, and pink heels while carrying a checklist. She approached all of us while showing off a smile, "Hello there everyone. I take it you're Beachside High?" She asked with a high voice. "Yes. We are." Ms. Agate replied. "My name is Pink Palanquin. Welcome to Diamond Industries. Follow me and we shall begin our tour." Pink said before turning around and walking back toward the door as we followed.

Once we all went inside I was blow away by how futuristic the main all looked. "Here at Diamond Industries, we've made it our goal to save the world. We've developed several eco-related equipment to give back to the environment such as out Colony Planters. Our Recycler detectors to prevent littering. And one of my favorites, the Water Purifiers." Pink said while showing us various equipment and videos on how they work and what their purposes are.

Had to admit, they looked like they were tested and were qualified from the Mayor himself. Still, had to remember what I was gonna do, even if it's at a place I use to respect. "Now, everyone follow up upstairs and allow to give you a insight at our work." Pink said. As we followed her I noticed that there wasn't any security cameras in the main halls, which meant that the more secure and secretive stuff had cameras there. Bart and Wally looked at me before we nodded at what we needed to do.

I've never been here before nor have my friends so we didn't know our way around, but there was a alternative to that. "*Groans* Ms. Agate!" We each called to her while holding onto our stomachs. "What's wrong, boys?" She replied noticing our conditions as well as the others, however Lapis, Peridot, and Aquamarine weren't convinced in the slightest, but played along. "We got a stomach virus. Can we got to the bathroom?" Wally asked before groaning again with me and bart joining in.

"Boys, are you playing tricks?" Ms. Agate asked with a raised eyebrow. "No tricks. Oh my god, it hurts!" Bart cried out while I hit the wall and groaned louder. "Okay. Okay. You three go to the bathroom, but as soon as you're done you return back to us." She replied. "Here. This is a map to the facility. Follow the map and when you see a area with a diamond logo then you'll know that we're there." Pink added, giving Wally a small pad that looked similar to a tablet. "Thank you." He replied before me and Bart followed him to the bathroom.

"They must've had a big breakfast." Pink said, thinking that was the issue. "Actually my brother only had some cereal and toast. Then again, the milk must've expired." Steven replied. "Yeah. When you gotta go, you gotta go." Amethyst added before everybody continued on with the tour without us.


The three of us did go to the bathroom before finishing up and washing our hands. "Wow. That worked out a little better than expected." Bart said. "I did drink expired milk, but it was so worth it. What about you guys?" I replied. "Ghost Pepper." Bart said. "Beans and hot sauce." Wally added. "Okay, now that our little emergencies are all cleared up, let's take a look at this map." I replied before Wally handed me the map.

We all looked through it and discovered the schematics of the whole building. It was perfect and I searched through it to see if there were places we could go that seemed shady. "Hey this looks interesting. Bio-Chemical Research Lab." Wally asked while pointing at the area. "This place is also a pharmaceutical company making medicine and other products, so starting with a place like that should be good." I replied.

"Then here we've got Botanical Treatment." Bart pointed. "Working with plants, huh? Question is: What are they doing with them?" I replied.

"Finally, The Trials Lab. I'm pretty sure this as something to do with animals." I said with Wally and Bart agreeing. "We can't go to these places all together, so we're gonna have to split up and take a certain place while still being with the others." I elaborated. "I call first shift. And I'll start with the Bio-Chemical Research Lab." Wally volunteered. "Alright, man. Just be fast and take as many silent pictures as you can." I allowed. "Good luck." Bart added.


Wally


After me, Prism, and Bart left the bathroom I went the opposite way while holding onto the map. I ran through the halls and looked around for the lab before finding it and spotting two security cameras waving back and forth near the door. I carefully watched the patterns they were doing before quickly running from one corner toward the door. I opened it and quickly took cover behind a desk as I noticed a few scientists doing their jobs.

I slowly brought my head out while listening to their conversations. "Still can't believe we're making these. It's completely illegal." A male scientist said with concern. "I know, but we have too. Ms. White and Ms. Yellow wanted these ever since the day we developed financial troubles over the company's budget. I don't like it as much as you do." A female scientist replied as she continued working. "What are they working on?" I thought before bringing out my phone and taking silent photos of what was going on.

After my fourth one I looked at them and was shocked by what they were making. "Biological and chemical weapons? Why? What are they for?" I thought to myself before turning back to the scientists and noticing one of them coming this way. I quickly placed my phone in my pocket and took the tablet with me before quickly moving toward a different corner to avoid being spotted. The female scientist didn't spot me and I took the opportunity to run out of the lab as soon as she opened the door and exited out.

I was still careful from the cameras and dodged them at the right time before rushing off to meet with the others.


Back To Prism


Fifteen minutes went back and both me and Bart were getting a little nervous on where Wally was right now since we were in the middle of a lecture on the "grand vision" of life by Pink. A few minutes later Wally appeared during the middle and sat next to us while passing the tablet to me. "You okay?" I whispered. "Yeah. Didn't get caught and got some evidence. Look at this." He whispered back before showing me and Bart pictures of unknown chemical substances being mixed and concocted into canisters and small syringes.

"Holy crash, this is definitely a good sign man. Good job." Bart whispered. "Thanks. You're up, Prism. We'll cover you." Wally replied, earning a nod from me as we all noticed how some of the lecture was getting boring, even for Ms. Agate.


As soon as the lecture was over we all left the area while I strayed off to look for the Trials Lab. I carefully looked around for any cameras and didn't see any so far, plus there weren't any guards, which was weird since I thought I would considering where I was going. Up ahead I noticed a sign saying Trials Lab and quickly went inside, but when I did ducked for cover because I noticed my mom in here too.

Luckily she didn't spot me after I slowly opened the door and closed it. I raised my head up and saw her with a clipboard and three other scientists doing some experiments on male and female lions, cheetahs, an elk, a condor, a chimpanzee, a few rats, and a dog.

"Experiment L-10. Male Lion. Average size. Prepared to began the test." My mom said before opening the cage and letting the lion walk out before it was placed inside what appeared to be a gas chamber. "Chamber closed. Activate Cycle Conductor." She added. One of the female scientists nodded before placing a hand on a switch and raising it up, turning on the machine. I quickly took silent pictures of what was happening and covered my mouth in shock when I discovered how much pain and suffering the lion was going through.

After ten minutes the lion couldn't take much more electrocution and immediately fell onto the ground, dead. "Dammit. Even after nurturing it for a month, giving it exercise, and care it wasn't strong enough to withstand that much electricity." My mom said while placing a hand on her face. "Take the corpse and dispose of it. I really hate doing this and though some animals are surviving it hurts me to murder them." She added as one of the scientists opened the chamber and dragged the corpse into a nearby hole where it got sent down a a chute and was burnt alive.

I nearly puked from what I just saw before managing to pull myself together and silently leaving the area with the evidence I collected.


As I ran back to meet with the others I accidentally bumped into someone and crashed into the floor. After we both groaned from the bump I opened my eyes and saw that I bumped into Lapis' mom, Diamond. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Ms. Lazuli." I said quickly before getting up and helping her up along with the papers she was holding. "It's quite alright, dear." She replied, not showing any sign of anger from me bumping into her. "By the way, why aren't you with the others?" She added with a raised eyebrow.

"I was finishing up in the bathroom and was using the map to find them, but I was having a little trouble reading where I was going." I answered while rubbing the back of my head and smiling. "I see. Well go back to the others and don't stray again." She replied, buying my lie. I nodded while walking passed her. "Oh, and Prism?" She called before I turned around. "Please don't lie to me again. I don't know what you're up to, but whatever it is, you really shouldn't dig into something you don't understand." She said calmly but seriously before turning around and walking away.

I was stunned from what she just said to me. How did she know I would infiltrate the company? This really is a bad choice I've made and I was stupid to accept it.

I then returned to the others and secretly gave the tablet to Bart while whispering to him and Wally about what I witnessed from the Trails Lab. "If it's that bad, then I can only imagine what they're doing to plants. Wish me luck." Bart said.


Bart


Once I was away from the others I took a downward path toward the Botanical Treatment. The cameras didn't have a chance at finding me since I was as quick as a speeding bullet. As I got in I didn't notice anyone inside, which meant I didn't have to do any stealth at the moment, which was a real drag.

I looked around and didn't really notice much. Just a rainbow of flowers, Venus Fly Traps, Marigolds, Wild Roses, and Lilys. "The Botanical Treatment. I should've picked one of the other places. There's really nothing much here." I thought while at least taking pictures of the flowers. Just then I heard the door being open and took cover behind one of the tables and noticed two scientist along with a tall woman with spike point hair, a yellow business attire, black heels, and small yellow diamond earrings.

"How has progress been?" She asked the scientists. "Stable. We've been extracting the nectar from each flower and combined it with a special serum we've created. Watch closely." One of them replied before adding a single drop of the serum toward the Venus Fly Trap. Seconds later the plant screamed in pain before dissolving into nothing. This surprised me and I quickly took a picture of this. "Now watch what happens when we add the regeneration formula to the exact plant." The other scientist said while adding a different chemical to wear the fly trap was killed.

Seconds later the plant was completely revived, only bigger than before and looked more creepier than before. "Excellent. Keep up the good work. Soon everything will come into place and we will win this war." Ms. Yellow said with excitement. "Yeah, that's good and everything , Ms. Yellow, but why are we also hurting mother earth? Killing animal life? And making weapons?" One of the male scientists asked.

"It's a terrible price, but we're doing whatever it takes to win. Also we are giving it it's rebirth at the same time. So dare I ask, why question my ways of thinking?" Ms. Yellow replied while looking at her. "B-because I don't like any of this. We're polluting the waters too and I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to kill anymore life." The scientist replied strongly.

"I see." Ms. Yellow took rather pretty well before taking out a gun and shooting the scientist straight in the face, shocking me and the other scientist. "Dispose of this corpse immediately and if you want to speak up your mind, you'll end up just like your friend. Are we clear?" She added before putting the gun away. The other scientist quickly nodded before Ms. Yellow started to leave while I took the greatest pictures that have ever existed. As soon as the other scientist left while dragging the corpse of the other, I quickly went ran out of there and didn't even care if the cameras caught me anymore.


Back to Prism


It was almost lunch hour and both me and Wally were wondering where Bart was. He then suddenly appeared from behind us as Ms. Agate was counting us to make sure everyone in our groups were together. "Good. Now everyone, we have a hour for lunch so enjoy your selves and stay in this area at all times. Are we clear?" She asked around. We all nodded to her before Bart handed the tablet back to Pink. "Thank you. Word of advice, cut back on beans and peppers." She said before walking away.

Me, Wally, and Bart were a little confused from what she said before remembering the fake outs we did this morning. Afterwards we went to a table after grabbing some chips from a vending machine. Just then, Lapis, Peridot, and Aquamarine dropped by and sat with us. "I take it you three did what you said to do?" Peridot asked. "We keep our words. Plus if you girls don't believe us then-" Bart said before I interrupted him. "We didn't find anything. Just some normal things going on."

"What?! Dude, what are you-" Wally said before I interrupted him. "Right, guy? We found nothing?" I said through my teeth. Sensing that I was angry about something, both Bart and Wally agreed with me. "What are you guys hiding?" Lapis asked with a raised eyebrow. "Nothing. I just said we found nothing. Now, I'm gonna go get a soda." I replied before getting up and walking over to the vending machines.

"What's your deal, man? We have evidence we can use to expose this company for what they're really doing." Wally said as he and Bart approached me. "We can't." I simply replied. "Why? Did we just do all that for nothing then?" Bart argued. "I bumped into Lapis' mom. She might know what we're doing. I can't do this because it might cause her to lose her job and my mom's." I pointed out. "I saw Ms. Yellow shoot and kill someone without hesitation." Bart replied, surprising me and Wally. "Really? I saw that they were making chemical weapons." Wally replied, earning a nod from Bart.

"Guys. This was a mistake. Sure, we found some shady stuff, but it'll cause some consequences and backlashes if we ever tell anyone about this." I said, trying to be reasonable. "I get what you're saying, but the public needs to know about this. The police needs to know too." Wally replied, understanding my words. "Same. I don't want to make someone quit or lose their jobs, but if we don't do something they're just gonna continue this and never stop." Bart added.

I sighed for a moment before nodding, "Alright. For now though, we can't tell anyone. Tomorrow afterschool we can hand this over to the police and your aunt. This will cause a lot of trouble, but I see what you guys are talking about." I added. "Deal. C'mon, let's go back before the girls start to get suspicious about us." Wally informed. Me and Bart agreed before walking back.