PART THREE
She can't remember a time when she felt needed
If love was red then she was color-blind
All her friends, they've been tried for treason
And crimes that were never defined
- To The Moon and Back, Savage Garden
There was a knock on the door. Then another one, quick and steady.
"I'm coming!" Steven ran over and flung the thin door open. "Welcome to my - "
He stopped, seeing two women stand in front of him. Steven thought he knew everyone in Beach City, from the mailman to the mayor, but they were a couple of complete strangers walking in on his birthday party.
"Um, hey," he said, confused but soon smiling again. "Do you wanna come in and have some cake? It's really good."
The short woman standing closest to him looked him up and down. She wore a dark blue uniform and had a prominent scar on the right sight of her face, underneath her eye. Her muscular companion standing behind her was almost twice as tall her, looking completely dead-pan.
The shorter of the two held up a badge in Steven's face. "I'm agent Aquata Marine from the FBI."
"FBI?" Steven was truly confused now, trying to figure out what it stood for. Something in his mind connected it to the new Crying Breakfast Friends spinoff - was it Friendly Breakfast Inmates?
Pearl and Garnet stepped forward in the next moment, and Amy lifted her head from the bag of Chaps she was devouring. Lapis and Peri looked up from the couch where they sat close together, their expressions frozen.
"What is this about?" Garnet said, her voice stiff.
Aquata Marine smiled coldly and stepped into the house, ignoring Steven. Behind her, her colleague filled the entire door post, effectively blocking the way out. "We know Rose Quartz lives at this residence. Where is she?"
Pearl dropped the cake she was carrying and her face paled. Cream and strawberries spread on the floor and Steven looked at her with wide eyes.
"Rose Quartz is not here," Garnet said firmly.
Agent Marine's narrowed eyes drifted to Pearl for a moment. "Rose Quartz is under arrest for the murder of Pink Diamandis. Protecting her whereabouts makes you her accomplices and you will be charged alongside her," she declared, almost smugly.
"What's going on?" Steven looked at Garnet. "Who's Pink Diamandis?!"
"We have a search warrant giving us the rights to search through the premises," Marine continued. "Get moving, Topaz, so we can get this over with."
Amy looked suspiciously at her. "Hey dude, we're in the middle of a party! You guys are not invited!"
"Yeah, you can't do that!" Peri chimed in, lifting her head from Lapis' lap.
Agent Marine waved around the warrant briefly before she inspected the room. Garnet gave Steven a quick look, then turned to the agent. Her voice was composed and her face blank, but Steven could tell there was something right underneath her calm exterior.
"Rose Quartz died ten years ago. She is not here."
Agent Marine looked completely unfazed by this information. "I don't believe that until I see the certificate. Nevertheless, this house is to be searched for traces of DNA." She muttered to herself: "If she hadn't disappeared from the face of the Earth in the first place, we wouldn't even be here doing such menial tasks."
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Who said you could just walk in here?" Peri stepped forward.
Garnet held up her hand, causing her to halt. "Actually, they can do this," she said. Her tone was strangely empty, but final. "Don't do anything reckless."
More agents entered behind Topaz, and Garnet pulled Steven to the side. They watched as the investigators slipped on plastic gloves and carried their equipment into the small house, moving the floating balloons to the side. Pearl stood in the background, ghostly pale and slightly trembling. Amy stood by her side, glaring at the intruders. Lapis' stance was tense, following the investigators' every move with a hostile expression.
Steven looked between them, worried by the thick tension, seeing Topaz methodically and systematically look through his drawers and holding his precious Ranger Guy figurine in her hand. "Not Ranger Guy! You can have Dave Guy instead!"
Garnet's voice was stiffer than Steven had ever heard it when she spoke. "Who signed the search warrant?"
Agent Marine smiled as she emptied Amy's bag of chips onto the table.
"Judge Blue Diamandis did."
They ended up sitting in the living room, in the corner that had already been searched through, watching the investigators comb through every inch of the house. The open floor plan gave them sight over everything that was going on, and Amy got defensive when the fridge was searched through and several rotten burritos were uncovered in a hidden place that survived Pearl's cleaning raids. Steven sat on the floor next to Amy and Garnet while Lapis stood in the background with clenched fists.
"It's not right," Lapis mumbled, her eyes dark and stormy. "If this is about the murder of Pink Diamandis, then that judge can't sign the warrant. It's conflict of interest. They're never playing fair."
Garnet tensed up at her words, but said nothing.
"Conflict of what?" Amy frowned, then looked at Steven who was equally clueless. They watched Topaz swab several surfaces and objects and some things were put in plastic bags.
Eventually, Aquata Marine straightened up in her very short height and dusted off herself, giving them a patronizing look. "We have enough physical evidence. You." She looked at Pearl who had sunk down in a chair without word. "We need to bring you in for questioning."
"What?" Amy and Steven looked up. Garnet stepped forward, but agent Topaz was there, blocking her way with a stern expression. Pearl looked between Garnet and Steven, panic visible in her bright blue eyes.
"Is she arrested?" Garnet asked loud, her composure cracking. Amy got to her feet and Lapis and Peri came closer, their stances defensive.
"She is being detained." Aquata Marine flicked a piece of Chaps from her uniform. "If she won't comply, I will have to arrest her. I'm in no way required to tell you this but… " Her facial expression told them she couldn't resist. "Her DNA matches the one found at the crime scene. Topaz, escort her out."
The large, muscular woman moved over without a word, standing imposingly next to Pearl, ready to grab her thin body should she resist. The rest of the investigators had already packed up and were on their way out - it was clear that agent Marine was the boss.
"Pearl!" Steven called, running over to her. "Why do they wanna take you away?"
"It's alright, Steven," she tried shakily, but he saw the unconcealed fear and apprehension in her eyes. "I'll be back soon."
"Don't go, Pearl!" His voice was desperate, and her eyes filled with tears. She looked away, trying to contain her shaking. Garnet walked over and gently pulled him away from the imposing agent.
"I'm sorry," Pearl whispered as Topaz started leading her out the door.
They were frozen, seeing agent Marine turn and walk out the door. "My, my, what an ordeal. Still no Rose Quartz. I'm ready for coffee."
As soon as the door closed behind them, Steven ran over and looked through the window, seeing Pearl being escorted into a police car down on the beach. "What's going on?" he shouted. "Garnet, why did they take Pearl?"
Garnet turned away, her hand covering her face. She was falling apart and she tried to hide it, to spare Steven, but Amy was shouting and not doing anything to hide her anger.
"We always used to fight the system!" she yelled. "We need to get Pearl back!"
"We can't." Garnet was frozen. "This time, we can't fight it. We can't fight them. For Steven's sake."
"They can't just accuse her of something she didn't do! We need to tell them it's all a mistake!"
"Who's Blue Diamandis?" Steven demanded, looking between them. Lapis face was tight and hostile, looking at the door.
"Yeah, who is she?" Amy chimed in.
Garnet felt the surge in her stomach, the fear crashing down. "I... I can't go near her. That woman has done terrible things." She whispered to herself more than anyone else, her insides twisted in agony. "Pearl won't escape a life sentence for this."
"A life sentence?" Steven was shouting now, tears in his eyes, and she hated to see him so upset. She was supposed to protect him from this. "Garnet, why?"
Garnet was trembling, holding her arms around herself. She forced herself to look at Steven, to tell him the part of their history he had been sheltered from.
"After the protests and the great Diamandis Corporation strike fourteen years ago, so many of our friends disappeared. They got double life sentences for organizing the resistance groups... they will never get out again in this life. Their lawyers had been bought by the corporation. Blue Diamandis was the judge, protecting her company.
Some of our friends went into hiding and fled, knowing what sentences awaited them for protesting and trying to bring the corporation down. We never heard of them again, and we were all bankrupt after the expenses from the trials. Our friends who fled... they can never show their faces again, never even seek medical help. Some... were broken by the cruel treatment they received in prison. It was a very difficult time for all of us."
"What's that to do with Pearl?" Amy shouted, looking like a lost child. She had already lost her only mother figure.
"They will find a way to build a case against Pearl, for being Rose's closest companion. Blue Diamandis knows every judge in this country and they will all do her this favor. And... Yellow Diamandis... She will do what she always does with her enemies. She will get us evicted and find a way to sue us for everything we own."
"But Rose couldn't have killed that Pink whats-her-name! Rose literally couldn't hurt a fly!" Amy protested.
"Who's Pink Diamandis?" Steven demanded again, louder.
"Yeah, who that?" Peri chimed in in her usual nasal tone.
Garnet looked up, tried to compose her voice enough to speak. She looked only at Steven.
"She was the heiress to the Diamandis Corporation, a company built on the backs of people crawling in the ground, and the exploitation of human lives. Born into wealth and privilege. It had went on for decades before she was born, but she was the one who was going to take over after her parents. And she was just like them."
Garnet closed her eyes, reminiscing what Rose had told her so long ago and the rumors that circulated in the resistance groups. With a sting of pain she remembered her close friend, Bisma, one of those who disappeared after the trials and never returned. Bisma's words, filled with rage: all wealth and power steams from a crime. To get to the top, you have to step on everyone else. That's what they did.
"Pink Diamandis had barely come of age when she disappeared. It was assumed that she was murdered by the family's political enemies. Rose... she told me that she had been involved in a protest group that were focusing on Pink."
It was completely quiet in the room. Lapis looked unfazed, almost content with the story she heard, while Peridot shrugged and Amy grimaced. "We were all involved in those protest groups, so..."
Steven's voice was flat. "Did Mom... kill Pink Diamandis?"
Garnet turned away. "I don't know, Steven. I can't tell you... I wish I had an answer. But what happened to Pink Diamandis changed everything. The corporation lost so much influence, and Rose could organize a strike for the workers. Their working conditions improved. So many people were liberated when she disappeared. She would have been a tyrant."
"Mom wouldn't do such a thing." Steven shook his head, thinking of all the stories he had heard, then looked at the enormous painting of his mother. It had been moved to the floor when the police was searching through the house, they had lifted the glass and it had shattered in one end.
"Steven," Garnet said softly, crouching down in front of him and looking him deep into his eyes, with her different colored-ones. Dark red and blue. "You know why we had to fight. To make this world a better place, and give a voice to those who couldn't raise their own. To protect those who had no power and give them back their basic human rights. To protect the Earth from being exploited and rainforests from being decimated by senseless greed. We showed them that democracy is the way, and here in Delmarva we won the fight.
We swore to never kill anyone, and only fight in self-defense. But... if Pink Diamandis tried to have your mother and her companions killed... she would have acted in self-defense to protect her friends."
The weight of her words lingered in the room. He blinked once, twice, and Garnet felt crushing guilt for having him witness this, wishing once again that Rose could be here and give them her reassuring.
"I'm sorry, Steven."
"But... Pearl... she can't go to jail! She didn't do it!"
He backed away, his face pale, then ran towards the door, looking at the empty beach.
"Steven," Lapis called, worry softening her harsh expression. "Wait!"
He ran out the door and slammed it shut behind him.
.
Garnet remained crouched, feeling tears run down her face. She needed to find a way to solve this, to lead them all to the right decision and save Pearl. But there was something evading her, something she couldn't understand, and never had.
She remembered visiting Pearl in the hospital after one particular violent protest, fourteen years ago.
The sight of her friend was hurtful, a reminder of the threat they all lived under, and it was not the first time. Pearl had smiled, as if she was proud of her condition. Her head was bandaged after the blow to her skull.
"Pearl," Garnet had said as she stepped into the room and sat down by the side of the bed. She took her friend's hands in her own and looked gravely at her. "I know you take pride in protecting Rose and being there for your friends, but this is beyond common sense!" Pearl didn't seem to listen.
"You can't risk your life for the smallest thing! Rose was never in danger, yet you threw yourself at that policeman – you could have died! For what, Pearl?" Pearl had looked a bit guilty but Garnet wasn't letting it go.
They had been front figures during the Diamandis Corporation strike, and Rose had led the protesters and refused to back down, even when the police arrived with shields and tear gas. Pearl had never left Rose's side, acting like her human shield. Garnet would risk her life for her friends as well, but she knew the difference between courage and stupidity, and Pearl was only taking unnecessary risks. Aggravating the police and engaging in combat without backup was never bound to end well.
"We've already lost friends to them," Garnet had said intensely. "Your life is more important than the strike. Rose knows it too. There are other things we can do and we need to be there and live through it. Don't put your life on the line like that!"
Something had changed in Pearl's face. Her expression had made Garnet fall silent, when Pearl turned her injured head to the side. She had gotten a harsh blow when she threw herself in front of Rose, causing her to collapse.
She glanced at the vase of flowers on the bedside table, a gift from her beloved.
"If Rose was ever taken to the hospital," she had said quietly, "then everything would be over. Our lives today, everything we know and fight for, it would all end. No matter what happens I can't... let her be harmed."
She had then pressed her thin lips together as if she had said too much, and looked away. She wouldn't say another word about the matter, and Garnet had decided not to push her. Not that time and not the many times after that. Still, she couldn't forget Pearl's words.
Now she was sitting there in the mess of what had been a birthday party and watched it all happen in front of her. Ever since Rose's death she had taken the leader role among them, and everyone looked to her for guidance, most of all Pearl. But Pearl and Rose shared something Garnet had never understood.
Garnet had always been whole in herself, never needing another person to complete her. She had always had a very strong sense of foreboding, and few things took her by surprise. But now, she had no idea of what was to come, and no idea what to do.
.
Pearl sat in the empty interrogation room, waiting for the police officer to return and allow her to go home. They had already held her for five hours, and she counted the minutes.
Endless questioning about Rose, and Pink, and all the things she could not say. Instead she told them a vague story about Rose's ideals, how she was involved in different resistance groups – all the truths she was proud to tell, things that had all been in the newspapers. Rose's bravery and her determination. She hoped she could make them believe that she was just a tearful and confused follower. But she knew they had connected her to Pink, and the fear almost made her lose her composure several times.
Steven... I wish I could tell you.
The room was scarcely decorated, containing only the hard chair she was sitting on, a metal table and a chair on the opposite end. A camera in the corner watched her every movement, and the light in the ceiling was cold and harsh. The thick metal door was locked from the outside.
She thought of Rose, like always, pictured her face. If Pink was here together with her, she would have cracked a joke and commented on the police officers. Rose would have been focused on the next step, how to get out, not hesitating to slam a chair against the door and camera if needed.
Pearl simply sat in her chair, hands folded properly in her lap. Her weary mind drifted.
.
.
Pearl stands stiffly in the grass. Her foster mother has just dropped her off at the park, after telling her that she'll be back in a few hours when she has run her errands. Sometimes she doesn't return until late evening, leaving Pearl to herself.
She looks down at her shoes, then glances at the other children playing on the swings. She knows she must not get her clothes dirty, or she'll be punished later. Her dress is bought from second-hand and patched together in several places, with different colors, and her shoes are too small. She remains standing, awkwardly, like a doll. She doesn't dare to try out the swings, knowing the other children will mock her. She's been taught to stand straight, her hands clasped in front of her. Never to raise her voice or talk back. She doesn't want to be replaced again.
There is a small coffee shop right by the park. She is still hungry, so she looks away from it.
A sudden, loud voice captures her attention. Outside the coffee shop there are two women and a girl, who scrunches up her face and stomps her feet.
"I want ice-cream now!"
Pearl can't help but look. The girl seems to be in her own age, six or seven, and she is wearing a pink, shimmering tutu. Her hair is thick and fluffy, like cotton candy.
The woman who wears a blue dress sighs. "One moment, dear." The other one, who has a yellow cape and high heels, leans over the counter of the shop. "I want to speak to the manager."
The girl looks bored, as she clings to her mom's dress and looks at the park. Her wide eyes meet Pearl's for a second, and Pearl quickly looks away, blushing. She wishes she could just disappear into the ground, but the girl is already on her way towards her. She skips over the grass quickly, then stops in front of Pearl and smiles wide.
"Hi! I'm Pink! Do you wanna be my friend?"
Pearl is stunned. She nods shyly and doesn't know what to say, but she feels warm inside. She's never had a friend before.
Pink grins at her. "Yay!"
They go to the swings, Pink leading the way with confident steps and Pearl shyly following behind. Pearl has never really played anything before, and she happily lets the other girl dictate their games. Pink shows her how to play tag and hide-and-seek, and Pearl forgets to worry about her dress getting filthy. Pink rolls around in the grass without a care and laughs loudly, and Pearl can't stop looking at her. Her friend.
Pink is full of ideas and energy, and Pearl feels less shy when she takes her hand and pulls her away from the swings. The other girl doesn't care that the others grimace at them. Pearl feels happy about it, she wants no one else to join their games.
They run through the park, in among the tall trees. Pink slips and they fall into the grass, giggling.
"Look!" Pink picks a flower from the ground. Pearl looks, tries to mimic her fascination. It's small and magenta-colored with delicate petals. Pink cradles it gently in her hands.
She looks at Pearl for a moment, and Pearl shies away from her gaze. Pink tilts her head to the side, then reaches out and places the flower in Pearl's hair.
She feels so warm and soft inside, and she smiles back, feeling her face heating up.
Pink flips onto her back and looks at the sky. Pearl carefully lies down next to her.
"Where's your moms?" Pink asks as she lets her index finger point in the air, following the contours of the clouds.
Pearl turns her head and looks at her with wide eyes for a moment. "I don't have any," she mumbles.
"You can borrow one of mine," Pink shrugs. "That looks like a big fluffy lion!" She points at a cloud and pouts. "I want a pet lion, but Mom just takes me to the zoo. It's not the same thing!"
Pearl wants to say something similar – she wants to agree with everything Pink says, but she can't think of what she wants. Once again she looks in awe at the other girl, amazed by everything she says.
Suddenly a shadow falls over them.
"Pink!" someone exclaims.
They look up, and the woman with the blue dress stands in front of them, her hands in her sides. "You had us really worried!"
Behind her, Pearl sees the even taller woman with the heels. Her arms are crossed in front of her chest and she looks sternly at them as they sit up. "What were you thinking, going away on your own like that, Pink?"
Pearl feels uneasy under their gazes and guiltily looks down.
"I found a friend, Mom!" Pink looks up at them, still excited.
"It's time to go now," the woman with the heels says. There is a sharp frown between her thin eyebrows.
"But Pearl and I were gonna build a sand colony! I wanna stay!"
Pearl feels Pink's moms look at her, looking at her patched up dress and worn out shoes, not at all like Pink's shimmering, brand-new clothes. She feels even more tense as they exchange a look, and she doesn't dare to look up.
"Pink," the woman with the blue dress says softly, "You know we can't leave you here alone. You could get lost - "
"Or get bitten by a dog or taken away by someone who has puppies at home, I know," Pink finishes, rolling her eyes. She raises her voice. "I'm not going home! I'm gonna play with Pearl!"
The woman with the heels sigh. "Very well. Pearl can come over and play with you at home."
"Yay!" Pink jumps up and down and grabs Pearl's hand. They follow Pink's moms back to the street, and the one with heels gives Pearl one look. "I'll call your guardian from the car and let her know you're coming home with us."
"You can stay for as long as you like," the woman with the dress adds when she sees Pink's expression.
"Can we have some ice-cream?" Pink asks as they follow them. "Pretty please, mom?"
The one in blue nods. "You two can go pick what you want."
"Just make it quick," the other one adds.
They run towards the coffee shop while Pink tells a funny story about a stranger who said he had his whole house filled with candy, but when Pink tried to go with him, one of her mothers had punched him into the ground.
It's the first time Pearl ever tastes ice-cream, and she is momentarily distracted by the foreign sensation on her tongue, but then she is caught up looking at Pink again.
.
Pearl closed her eyes, smiling as she remembered the years following that, how Pink brought her to her favorite ice cream shop every year on her birthday. Together they had tried out every single flavor and topping.
The vivid colors of the memory faded quickly and she was back in the cold, sterile room.
She was worried for Steven, remembering his desperation, and her heart clenched. She wanted nothing but to be back by his side and assure him that she was fine. Her own feelings didn't matter; it was all about him now.
She never worried about herself. She knew the reality, that she would go to court, in front of the Diamandis family, and that she could end up in prison for the rest of her life once they decided to blame Pink's disappearance on her. As long as that thing was missing, Pearl could never prove them wrong. It was the most probable outcome and she didn't need Garnet to confirm it for her. All she wished for was that Steven wouldn't have to be in the room when it happened. She hoped none of them would be there.
Garnet, Amy, Steven... her family. The newcomers into their group, Peri and Lapis Lazuli and friends she lost... most of all Bisma. And Greg, although she had been so against him at first, she no longer could deny his importance in their lives, because he was so important to Steven. But nothing was the same without Rose.
TO BE CONTINUED.
I love you all for your support! Let me know what you think!
