Control & Chaos
Chapter 13: To Close a Door

Pearl summoned Connie and Kiki swiftly to her side, a small grin on her face. She had not anticipated this turn of events. She had woefully underestimated the youngest of the gems. At first she was furious by his triumph...but now she was ecstatic about it. It seemed that the gems were finally ready to come out and play.

"Are you ready to have some fun?" she asked, looking over her little minions. She pulled out two vials, dangling them in front of their faces. Their eyes grew wide and pleading. "Go to the Gem's temple and cause a much mayhem as you possibly can."

"Anything," they replied in unison, their eyes never leaving the viles. Pearl chuckled, placing the vials in their desperate hands. They quickly opened them, and ingested the power inside.

"When all is done...bring me their gems."

They nodded, and in a flash, they were off.

Pearl laughed. Things were about to get interesting.

Amethyst gasped as she walked inside the study. It was everything she imagined it to be. The pink walls were lined with various books and papers. However, what took Amethyst by surprise were the flowers growing out of cracks in the floor.

"Rose," she said, a small smile on her face. If Amethyst were to be honest, this was the first time she'd felt hope in a long time. She looked down to Steven, who was absolutely enchanted by the place. He walked by the walls of the room, tracing it with his fingers. He was taking it all in. The whole thing was almost overwhelming for her. She could only imagine how he was feeling.

Still, Amethyst had a lingering hunch that they weren't supposed to be in here. Nevertheless, she tried to ignore it. They had work to do.

"Look for any books or papers labeled 'Pearl'," Amethyst said. Steven nodded, and began scurrying through the books. To be perfectly honest, Amethyst didn't really know what they were looking for. For all she knew, Rose could have labeled her research with some kind of a code. She hoped this wouldn't be too difficult.

As they were looking, Amethyst heard a rumbling sound. It sounded like a hungry stomach.

"Oh...sorry," Steven said, "I was so focused on opening this room, I forgot to eat."

Amethyst looked over to Steven, raising her eyebrow. She felt bad for the kid. Steven never missed a meal unless he had to.

"Go get some food," she said.

"Thanks!" and with that, he ran out of the room. A grin crossed the purple gem's face, as she went back to sorting through the various books. It was odd. She had been Rose's teammate for centuries, and she'd never realized how much the pink gem studied.

She picked up a book, and opened it to the first page. An In-Depth Analysis of Centipeedles was written in Rose's handwriting. Amethyst sighed, and placed the book down. That was not what they needed.

CRASH

Amethyst looked up, hearing a large noise.

"Steven, are you oka-" Her sentence was cut short, as she was punched in the stomach. The hit knocked her down, and she looked up to see who her assailant was.

Standing above her was Kiki Pizza.

Steven was determined to eat as fast as he could. He was going to go in the kitchen, eat his snack, and get back to helping Amethyst. He would have held off on eating, but opening that door took a lot out of him. He had a feeling he would be useless if he was starving. He grabbed an apple from the fridge, and took a large bite out of it.

Without warning, he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He swallowed his apple, and turned around. Who he saw was the last person he expected.

"Connie?" he asked. But then he looked in her eyes, and instantly knew something was wrong. She wore a large, unnatural smile. It was a look he'd seen before. It was the face Pearl wore, right before she stabbed him.

Before he could react, Connie grabbed his arm. She lifted him up with unnatural strength, and threw him against the wall.

Amethyst clenched her fists. She didn't know what was causing Kiki to attack her, but she had a pretty good guess. The deranged look in her eyes, the creepy smile on her face...this had to be Pearl's doing.

With a deep breath, Amethyst summoned her whip. She would fight first, ask questions later. She pushed herself up, and got into a battle stance.

Kiki was fast. The moment Amethyst was ready to go, the girl charged her. She swung a kick at the purple gem. However, Amethyst was prepared. She ducked at the last second, avoiding the hit. Kiki was quick to recover. She bent down, and swung another kick, this time at Amethyst's feet. The purple gem was unable to avoid the hit this time, and she came crashing towards the ground.

She looked up, to see Kiki standing over her once again. The girl lifted her hand to the air, and summoned a giant hammer. She lifted it, and aimed it down directly towards Amethyst's head. The purple gem quickly scurried out of the way. She just barely avoided being pulverized.

"So, that's how you want to do this?" Amethyst growled. She didn't give Kiki time to prepare another attack. She thrashed her whip at the girl, causing it to wrap around the girl's ankle. Amethyst pulled as hard as she could, and Kiki lost her footing. She thrashed as she fell, causing her head to hit the ground first. The impact was enough to knock her out, at least temporarily.

Amethyst pushed herself up. That was easier then she anticipated. Amethyst took a deep breath. Things weren't calm just yet. It occurred to the purple gem that Kiki might not be alone. Steven could be in danger.

"Steven?" Amethyst yelled out, but she heard no response.

Steven crashed into the wall, and fell to the floor. He groaned. His whole body hurt from the impact. He opened his eyes to see that Connie was approaching him.

"Connie..." he said, slowly pushing himself up, "Why are you doing this? What's going on?"

Connie laughed. Normally, he loved the sound of her laugh. However, now it simply sent chills down his spine.

"Isn't it awesome?" She asked, "I have magic now...just like you!" She lifted her hand. The floor beneath him started to turn pitch black, "Wanna see something cool, Steven?"

"Not really..." Steven replied, looking down at the floor. He glanced at the door, hoping that Amethyst would come out and help him. Alas, there was no sign of the purple gem. Steven turned his attention back to Connie, "Please Connie! You don't have to do this!"

"But it's so fun!" she exclaimed. She snapped her finger. Shadow-like masses shot out from the floor, wrapping themselves along Steven's limbs. They pulled him down to the ground. Steven struggled in their grasp, but the more he struggled, the tighter they were. Connie laughed, and turned her attention back to Rose's study, "Is Amethyst in there?"

"Leave Amethyst alone!" Steven exclaimed. He thrashed in his bindings, but it was no use. Connie laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes," she smiled, and began walking towards the entrance. Steven started to panic. Amethyst had no idea what was coming her way. He wanted to warn her, but he couldn't. Steven could feel tears start to come to his eyes. He had already lost Pearl, Garnet was no where to be found, and now he was about to loose Amethyst. He had never felt more helpless in his life. He needed a miracle.

Suddenly, his gem started to glow. A vibrant, beautiful pink glow, more vivid then he had ever seen.

Right before Connie reached the entrance, the door slammed shut. However, the door still glowed a brilliant, pink hue.

"What?" Connie exclaimed. She reached out, and touched the door. A blast of light flashed from the door, and surrounded girl. Connie screamed.

When the light faded, Connie was trapped in a bubble. A small smile crossed Steven's face. That was amazing.

He couldn't help but wonder...did he do that?

Amethyst ran towards the door, determined to retrieve Steven. However, when she reached the entrance, she found that the door was closed.

"What?" she exclaimed. She clenched her fists. This wasn't good. With a scowl, she charged the door, banging her fists against it. She needed to get out of here!

But it was useless. Once again, Rose's door was closed.

She was trapped.

Thank you JohnnyBravo500, SpaceWonder368, Darksword168, bonehunter6, and 123lionclan for the reviews! Ya'll are awesome.
There probably won't be another chapter until about Friday, as I have some things to take care of before school starts.
Anyways, thanks for reading!