Control & Chaos
Chapter 10: To Be Helpless to Stop a Fire

The time was about 3:47AM.

Beach City was quiet. Most people were sleeping soundly in their beds. The few people roaming the city streets were intoxicated. There was no one around to see the girl near building. There was no one to see the power-driven smile on her face. There was no one to see the spark of magic flicker off of her finger. She was the only witness to her crime, viewing her handywork through the tint in her glasses.

The crowd only gathered once the deed was done, like moths to a flame. The culprit would simply blend into an oblivious crowd. They had no idea that this act of arson was the prelude to a series of chaos.

Garnet sighed to herself, as she looked at the ashes that used to be Fish Stew Pizza. Normally, the gems weren't ones to investigate the crimes of Beach City. Granted, if it was particularly gruesome, they were do their part to catch the culprit. However, most of the time, they had bigger fish to fry. Beach City was not their Gotham.

But this crime was different. This wasn't a fire caused by teenaged punks who want to watch the world burn. No, this was an arson caused by magic. She could sense the magical residue on the ashes. It wasn't hard to figure out who caused this. Whatever Pearl was planning, this fire was the start to it. The need to catch the crazed gem had become much more urgent.

Garnet's attention turned to the Pizza family. They stood in silence, staring at the remains of what was once their business. The Pizzas were a strong people. They were a family full of determination and resilience. Yet at that moment, Garnet had never seen them look so vulnerable. The red gem took a deep breath, and clenched her fists. She couldn't believe she allowed this to happen. She felt like a failure.

This wasn't the first time Pearl had gotten like this. They were able to defeat her before.

Garnet knew exactly what was different about this time. There was a reason they were struggling so much this time. They didn't have Rose anymore. Somehow, the Quartz gem always had a plan to stop Pearl. She had spent years studying Pearl's condition. The fact of the matter was, Rose had an insight into Pearl that the rest of them didn't have. It was an insight that they needed.

There was a special room in the temple that they had all referred to as Rose's study. The quartz gem spent countless hours in there, doing just that. She studied their enemies, desperately trying to find something that would help their cause. Garnet couldn't begin to count all the times Rose's knowledge had saved them. All of Rose's research was in that room. Unfortunately, Rose was the only one with the ability to access it. When Rose died, all of that information was lost.

Or was it. An idea crossed through her mind. Steven had Rose's gem. The youngest gem was already developing most of Rose's abilities. He was starting to be able to form her shields, and he'd been able to access other rooms in the temple exclusive to her. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to access her study.

It was worth a shot.

Steven stared at the temple door, his fists clenched. The key to helping Pearl lay past the entrance, and he was the only one who could access it. While he was determined to do it, he was also terrified. He still didn't have much control over his gem's magic. He barely knew how to activate his power, let alone make it do specific things. He looked down to his belly, staring at the pink gem.

"Activate," he commanded. Nothing happened. He flicked the gem, hoping maybe it would jump-start the ability. But still, there was nothing.

He looked to Garnet and Amethyst for some kind of an answer, but they had none. All he was met with worried glances. He was their only hope in being able to open the door, and he was letting them down. He felt horrible.

"I'll get it, I promise," he said, forcing a smile. He looked at the door, and took a deep breath.

"Quartz Gem Power Activate!" he yelled out, "Open this door!"

But still, there was nothing. Garnet and Amethyst quickly came to his side, placing comforting hands on his shoulders.

"It was a good try," Amethyst said, a large smile on her face. But Steven could see the disappointment in her eyes.

"I just need more time," he said, trying to be reassuring, "I'll get it. I was really close that time."

"I'll get it. I was really close that time."

Pearl sat in her cave, listening intently to the conversation. Connie did an excellent job in placing the bug, she could make out their conversations perfectly. The best part was that the gems had no idea of her little trick. It gave her the upper-hand. At the moment, what the gems had to say was very, very intriguing.

Rose's study. Pearl had to admit, as much of a nuisance as Rose Quartz had been, she was smart. She knew the power that came with knowledge, and thus, had become the most dangerous of the gems.

"Why won't it open?"

"It's okay, Steven. Don't strain yourself."

She couldn't help but laugh at their trouble. How frustrating it must have been to be them. That being said, she needed to keep a closer eye on this little development. As weak as Steven was, he was a wild card. If he was able to open that door, it would mean trouble for her.

"It's hopeless! I can't do it! I can't do it!"

Pearl smiled. From the sounds of things, she had a little more time before she had to deal with this threat.

She stood up, and walked out of her cave. Connie had made a marvelous little fire the previous night. It was about time she went to see the aftermath of her work.

Kiki Pizza stared at the remains of her family's pizzeria. She couldn't believe that this was happening. Her family had owned the store for as long as she could remember. Her father had dedicated his entire life into making Fish Stew Pizza a success. And now, without any warning, it was just gone.

Her father had always been a strong man. He was hardy. Any time anything went wrong, he would deal with the situation head on. But this was different. Kiki saw something she had never seen from her father before. She had seen him cry.

The rest of her family had left, but she had stayed behind. She couldn't tear herself away from the scene. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. She wanted to desperately to wake up. She wanted to know that this was some awful nightmare. But it wasn't.

"Such a shame," a voice said behind her. Kiki turned around, and saw Pearl standing behind her. There was an uneasy grin on the gem's face. The gem took a step closer to Kiki, "My condolences."

Kiki nodded. She suddenly felt uneasy around Pearl, "Oh...thanks." was all she could bring herself to say.

"I would imagine that even with insurance, it will be hard to rebuild," Pearl continued, "Fish Stew Pizza is a good as gone."

Kiki didn't know what came over her. She clenched her fists, and in one solid movement, she punched the gem in the face.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" she exclaimed. Then she realized what she'd done. She wasn't a violent person, and yet, she had punched Pearl out of the blue. She looked down at Pearl, expecting her to seem angry at her...but the gem was laughing.

"What's so funny?" Kiki asked. Pearl pushed herself up, and smiled at her.

"You are," she replied, "Did that make you feel powerful? Did it make you feel any less helpless?"

Kiki was stunned. She didn't know what to say. A sinking feeling was building up in her stomach.

"You feel weak, because there is nothing you can do to save Fish Stew Pizza. And you're right."

Kiki clenched her fists again. She wanted to punch the gem again...but she couldn't. The gem was right, she was weak. Pearl took another step closer.

"But...what if there was a way you could?" Pearl opened her hand, revealing a small vile. "There is a small amount of magic in here. With this, you could rebuild Fish Stew Pizza...you could be strong."

Kiki found herself slowly grabbing the vile. She stared at the contents. There was something sinister about it. She had a feeling that she shouldn't even touch the stuff. But her family was destitute without Fish Stew Pizza. Without the pizzeria, they had nothing.

She refused to sit by and do nothing. She wanted to be strong.

Without another option, she drank the vile.

Thank you SpaceWonder368, JohnnyBravo500, jasper-jinx, ilikehats2, and bendergurl123 for reviewing. I'm so sorry it's been so long since my last update. Both of my summer jobs were about an hours drive away from me, and it took a lot out of me. I barely had time to do anything, but I'm back now. I promise, not to leave you with any more hiatus's like that again. Hopefully, this was a good chapter to make up for it!

Thanks for reading and staying with me through all of that. Ya'll are truly wonderful.