Chapter 7

*Sorry if this chapter hits too close to home*


Shrill cries echoed through the crystal temple, rousting the exhausted Pearl from the little slumber she had gotten.

"Ohhh, please tell me he isn't hungry again," she groaned tiredly. "How much formula can one baby drink?" Pearl left her room and briskly walked into the living room. She checked the clock; it read that it was eight o'clock in the morning.

"Amethyst, it's your turn to feed Steven!" Pearl hollered. Amethyst came shuffling out of the kitchen with Steven wailing in her arms.

"We're out of formula," she responded with a yawn. "Greg went to go buy some more like, twenty minutes ago." Pearl sighed and held her arms out to Amethyst.

"I'll take over for now," she stated tiredly. "You go and rest."

Amethyst smiled and passed Steven off to her.

"Thanks, P. Oh, and be careful, he's a hair puller."

Amethyst then plopped face first on the couch, leaving Pearl to care for Steven. Pearl gently rocked Steven back and forth, humming softly. With a tiny yawn, Steven finally fell asleep. A loud snore confirmed that Amethyst was asleep as well. Pearl sat down on the other end of the couch. She smiled, Steven looked so peaceful. Pearl sat with him cradled in her arms. Rose had always told Pearl that she would have been a good mother. Pearl couldn't deny it, Steven was going to need a mother figure.

"Is he asleep?"

Pearl jolted in surprise, the voice caught her off guard. She calmed the moment she realized that the voice was Garnet's.

"Oh, it's you, Garnet. You startled me," Pearl chuckled nervously. "And yes, Steven is asleep, finally."

"I can take over if you're too tired," Garnet stated flatly. Pearl shook her head.

"I'm alright, Garnet," she replied, looking down at the soft, warm bundle in her arms that was Steven.

"More importantly, how are you holding up, Garnet?" Pearl asked with concern in her voice.

"I'm fine," Garnet responded coldly. "All that matters is that Steven is safe."

Something in Garnet's voice ran chills down Pearl's spine. It was obvious that she was hurting from Rose's death. They all were, but Garnet would never admit it. They all were grieving in their own ways, and if Garnet wished to bottle up her emotions then that was her choice.

Suddenly, a loud banging on the door broke the silence, waking Steven in the process.

"Wha- who's there! I'll cut you," Amethyst mumbled half asleep. Pearl tried rocking the now wailing Steven back to sleep.

"That better be Greg," she growled bitterly. Garnet rushed to the door and opened it.

"Greg, what took you-"

"Something has happened," Greg exclaimed, pushing past Garnet, shoving the bag of groceries into her arms. Greg ran over to the living room, panting and covered with sweat. He began to feverishly search for the TV remote. Once he found it, he turned on the TV and began to flip through the channels.

"Greg, this is not the time for-"

"Shut up!" Greg snapped loudly, much to Pearl and Garnet's surprise. The loud commotion rousted the slumbering Amethyst.

"What's going on?" she yawned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Greg flipped through the channels, growing more frantic and panicked. Steven was now wailing like an air raid siren.

"Greg Universe!" Pearl snapped. "What has gotten into-" Pearl went silent.

Greg had stopped on a breaking news broadcast. His arms went limp and the remote slipped from his hand. Garnet's mouth was opened in a silent gasp.
Amethyst rubbed here eyes, praying that what she was seeing wasn't real.
Pearl held Steven firmly against her, eyes wide and mouth quivering.

"No..."

The news broadcast was showing live footage from New York City. The World Trade Center had been attacked.

Ink black smoke bellowed out of the burning towers. Millions of paper documents slowly descended through the air.
Innocent people who were stranded on the upper levels of the towers were leaping out of windows to avoid the slow and agonizing death that the hellish fires would insure. Fire trucks and police cars darted all around the streets below, trying to get other people to safety.
The long silence was broken by Amethyst, who was starting to hyperventilate.

"No...no, not again!" she cried loudly, covering her ears to block out the reports. "It's gonna happen again! Just like before!"

Amethyst ran sobbing to her room. Pearl realized with horror that Amethyst was right. Pearl started having vivid flash backs.

Smoke, fire, white sea foam clashing with seeping oil. The sound of burning ships and dying sailors were deafened by the roar of the Mitsubishi's propeller engines. Each plane bore the mark of the blood red sun. December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor.

Garnet swallowed the lump in her throat. It was happening again, the wheels of war had began to turn. In her years on Earth, she had learned much about the nations of man. But none of them stood out to her as much as the United States had. Born from the fires of revolution. Torn apart by civil war, only to be made stronger once reunited. Earning her spot as a world power after the Great War. Rising as a superpower after fighting fascism in the Second World War. All of these accomplishments had taught Garnet something. Freedom is never free. America's people knew this better than anyone. America would always respond to any threat to her liberties or the liberties of others with great and powerful force. Garnet may not have known who was responsible for this attack, but she knew one thing was for certain. September 11, 2001 was a date that would live in infamy. America, the sleeping giant, had reawakened.