CHAPTER 10:WHAT AWAITS ON THE OTHER SIDE
"You have been created only to obey me… this what you are… thinking that you're better than a servant will bring you only pain and suffering… obey me and you'll live… I am your master… my enemies are your enemies and they are going to be here soon… you'll destroy them as soon as you'll see them even if it will cost you your own life… do you understand?" The tall figure said as the smaller one kneeled down.
"Yes… master…" The smaller figure said as she kept her gaze low, she had found her master, the one she belonged to, and now it was time to perform her duties of servant, even if it meant to die, this is what she has been created for, after all, a pearl didn't deserve any better.
"Now go servant… use everything you have in order to stop them… they're searching for something that is going to nullify our world's greatest creation… and I won't permit it… you won't permit it… those gems are nothing but fools… because… however strong, or determined they may be… they'll fail… for what they protect will come to an end anyway… this is the curse of this world…" The mysterious figure said as the pearl disappeared into the darkness, lurking through the corridors, searching for her master's enemies.
When the platform reached the ground, the gems, alongside Steven, found themselves in a circular and dark room, with five doors that lead to five, dark corridors. As soon as they all stepped off the platform, they began to inspect the surroundings while Peridot formed her holographic interface. After some moments she pointed towards the second door to their left.
"Peridot… where are we supposed to find the adapter?" Garnet asked as they began to walk towards the door the green gem indicated.
"The adapter should be located in one of the research rooms… while the core is located in the central room of the facility… there we should also find the main switch to reactivate the power… but the research rooms are nearer to our position… the shortage of light shouldn't be a problem…" Peridot stated as she continued to inspect what looked like a map of the facility on her holographic interface.
"Not even a bit…" Pearl said as a flash of light appeared from her gem.
"There are two research rooms in this facility… we'll have to walk through that corridor until we'll find a bifurcation… proceeding towards both directions will lead us to one of the two research rooms… Garnet…" Peridot said as she stepped towards Garnet.
"Yes?" Garnet answered as the green gem slightly sighed.
"I think we should split up…" Peridot said trying to sound convinced of her own idea.
"What?! Peridot this is exactly what we wanted not to do!" Pearl hissed as she pointed at her.
"Listen… I know what Garnet said but… there is no one else down here! If the one who attacked us in the Kindergarten had already arrived, then we should have found signs of his passage on the platform! But this doesn't mean that he won't come! So we shouldn't waste time searching one by one the research rooms, let's just split up and then head towards the core's room!" Peridot said keeping her gaze on Garnet.
"Garnet! Don't tell me that you will really stay here and hear these idiocies?!" Pearl said clenching her fists.
"At least I made a proposal that does have sense! All what you have been doing is making us waste time!" Peridot answered poking at Pearl's chest with her finger.
"Waste time?! I'm trying to stop you from putting all of us in danger!" Pearl said angrily.
"Why don't you just shut up! Why do you have always to intervene! Why can't you just be like all the hundreds of others of your kind and just stay silent!" Peridot yelled as Pearl gritted her teeth.
"Enough…" Garnet said placing her hand on Peridot's shoulder.
"Garnet… I-" Pearl tried to speak but was interrupted by her leader.
"Peridot is right… we mustn't waste time and Steven will be safe even if we split up…" Garnet said calmly.
"B-but…" Pearl muttered before being cut off another time.
"Come on P, we'll all be fine… now let's move before that creepy guy comes back to fry us…" Amethyst said as she slightly huffed.
"Ugh… fine… but I'm not going with her…" Pearl said as she pointed at Peridot.
"Fine! I wouldn't go with you either!" Peridot said turning around and crossing her arms.
"Alright, Amethyst, Steven and Pearl will go to the research room on the right, me, Lapis and Peridot will go the one on the left…" Garnet said as all of them looked at each other and nodded.
The gems remained silent until they reached the bifurcation Peridot talked about, they split into two groups and began to move towards the two research rooms.
"Remember… we have to stay close…" Garnet said as they kept moving.
"What were they doing in this place anyway?" Lapis asked as she looked around.
"Homeworld created this facility after the beginning of Rose Quartz's rebellion… it was used to find more simple and fast ways to create gems… since its losses were becoming much more than the number of gems Homeworld could create at the Kindergarten… I wasn't here at the time… but I believe that… as Homeworld's defeat was becoming more and more concrete…this facility became the site of a secret weapon… apparently they hadn't been able to create it in time…" Peridot said as Lapis assumed a perplexed expression.
"Why not?" The blue gem asked as Peridot turned towards her.
"Because now we wouldn't be talking to each other if they had…" Peridot answered.
"What kind of-" Lapis tried to ask before being interrupted.
"Peridot… is this the place?" Garnet asked as they all stopped in front of a closed iron gate.
"This should be the entrance of the research room number two… I should be able to give the control panel enough charge to make it open…" Peridot said as she placed one of her fingers on the small panel and sent an electric shock through the circuits.
"And… here we are…" The green gem exclaimed as the door opened revealing a large, rectangular room.
Meanwhile:
"That arrogant little-" Pearl muttered under her breath as she walked through the dark corridor alongside Steven and Amethyst.
"Come one P, calm down! She just wanted us to be out of here as soon as possible!" Amethyst said snorting.
"Besides the fact that splitting up is always the wrong choice, I just can't stand at her! She thinks she's superior just because of my origins!" Pearl said before Steven began to speak.
"Pearl… what did Peridot mean when she said 'the others of your kind'?" Steven asked with a look of confusion on his face.
"U-uhm… I… I… well… on Homeworld… there are… hundreds of my kind Steven… hundreds of pears… and we… well we have been created to be servants... just servants with no particular abilities or even a free will… that's what Peridot intended… since I'm a common Pearl she-" Pearl said before being interrupted by Steven.
"That's not true!" Steven said as he took Pearl's hand with his own one.
"W-what?" Pearl asked in disbelief.
"You aren't common at all Pearl! If the other pearls don't have abilities or a will than you are completely different from them! You are really smart and you can swordfight and you can build things and many other things! You are amazing!" Steven said as Pearl smiled at him.
"Thank you Steven…" Pearl said as she gave him a slight kiss on the cheek.
"Is this the place?" Amethyst asked as they stopped in front of iron gate.
"I think it is… now let me just-" Pearl tried to speak but was interrupted by the sound of the research room's door opening.
Back with Garnet, Peridot and Lapis:
"Let's begin to look for the adapter…" Garnet said as she, Peridot and Lapis began to inspect the room.
"What does it look like?" Lapis asked as Peridot kept looking around.
"Like a glass sphere with an opened circular section on the top, connected to a flexible hose composed of a conductive polymer…" Peridot answered as she began to open some compartments.
"I don't think that there is something like that here…" Garnet said as she crossed her arms.
"Fantastic… this means that it must be in the other research room… let's-" Peridot stopped talking abruptly.
"Peri? Is everything fine?" Lapis asked as Peridot assumed a worried expression.
"The other research room… on my screen I can see the energy emanated by our gems and by the gems of Pearl, Amethyst and Steven… they are represented by these light green points on my map and they are right in front of the research room's door…" Peridot said as Lapis's eyes widened.
"Then… who does the one from the other part of the gate represent?" Lapis asked with a slightly shaky voice.
"We must run…" Garnet said as they all bolted out the room.