Episode 25: Mirror Gem
Peter was having a lengthy conversation with Wendy over the phone. Ever since the prior week, he had become invested with the effect his newfound power had on her. That, and he liked having someone to talk to. However, their distance was putting a strain on Peter when he asked her to come over and she declined.
"What? Why not?" he asked, sitting down on the sofa in what could constitute for a living room.
"Peter, I told you, I can't hang out today. I have tennis practice," said Wendy on the other end of the line. "And then we're going out for a family dinner. I can hang out all day tomorrow. I can come over more now that it's fall break." Peter raised an eyebrow, slightly confused.
"What's fall break?"
"You know, when you get off for a few days during school?" Peter flipped his sitting position so that he was lying upside down.
"I've never been to 'school'. The Gems teach me everything I need to know." At this point, Peter's curiosity was getting the best of him. "How does it work?"
"It's a place where you go to learn. It's full of desks, chalkboards…" Wendy paused for a second. "Books, maps."
"I see," Peter said with a small nod. He had gotten an idea.
After getting all the information he could get out of Wendy, Peter put his idea into had enlisted the one Gem he knew would go along with the idea. Pearl. And he was right. Pearl went for the idea rather quickly.
Pearl assembled all the things that Wendy mentioned to Peter earlier on the floor. Peter looked at the pile, counting off each item in his head. When he was done, there was a satisfied grin on his face.
"Yep, it's all coming together," he said.
"So, how do we begin our 'school'?" asked Pearl. Peter leaned against the locker beside him. His mind was blank. Maybe he hadn't gotten everything he needed to know.
"I... I don't know! This is everything Wendy told me. Why do I never ask follow-up questions?! Who will teach little Peter now!?" Pearl gasped. Peter looked up at her. She seemed a bit happy to hear that.
"Teach you?! Peter! If only I had known that's what you really wanted!" Pearl pulled the air in front of her gem, as if she was summoning her spear. A glowing, white shape emerged. Pearl pulled it out of her Gem. It took form.
What Pearl held was an ornate mirror of made up of gold. The thing Peter found strange about the mirror was fixated to the back of it was a red, teardrop shaped gem. A Y-shaped crack ran through it.
"I found this Gem-powered mirror at the Galaxy Warp," Pearl explained. She got down to Peter's level and held the mirror out in front of them both. "It can capture and display any event it's witnessed in all of Gem history. It'll offer you everything you've ever wanted to know about your fellow Gems and our culture." Peter looked at his reflection in the mirror.
"I must be incredibly important to Gem culture." Pearl scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"It's just you in there. It hasn't even been activated." She cleared her throat. "Show us the Galaxy Warp." The mirror did nothing at Pearl's command "Show us the Galaxy Warp." Pearl became frustrated with the mirror "Oh, come on! I know you've seen it." She sighed, flipping the mirror to look at the cracked gem on the back. It must finally be broken." She sighed again. "What a shame."
"Doesn't seem broken to me!" said Peter. He held out his hands. Pearl gave it to him. It felt cool under his touch.
"Oh well," said Pearl. "I guess that's the end of our school."
"So you could say... School's out for break?"
"Yes," Pearl said with a slight nod. "Good, Peter. There are many ways to say the same thing."
"School's out!" Peter made a dash for the door.
"If you're going out, take your jacket with you!" Peter grabbed his sweatshirt before he flung the door open.
"I will!" Peter ran out of the house. The door closed behind him. Peter ran down the length of the beach and into town. The mirror was tucked under his chin as he obeyed his guardian's wish, sliding the sweatshirt on over his clothes.
"School's out!" He transferred the mirror back to his hand. "Happy fall break, Peter. Happy fall break, Heta City!" Peter said with a small laugh. "Yeah!" Peter jogged up to the convenience store. Lovise and Mathias were folding up tables and chairs. Peter, not paying attention to where he was going, rammed into Mathias, who took a moment to regain his balance before turning on his heel.
"Er, watch where you're going, you little f…" Mathias said. He changed his tone when he saw who is was. "Peter!"
"Sorry!" Peter said, "I'm just so excited for fall break. Are you excited? I love the autumn weather!"
"I think I'm as excited as I can get about putting away things from the summer and college kids coming home," Lovise said. She flipped one of the tables over. "But Mathias has big plans."
"You bet I do! All those university chicks traveling home without their boyfriends, if you know what I mean," he said, sounding excited and pleased with himself. Peter shook his head.
"Nope," he said.
"Maybe I'll get a few numbers. Maybe I'll even... call one."
"Well, yeah, maybe I'll meet a new friend," said Lovise, staring dead at Mathias. "Maybe one who will actually help me with the folding tables instead of fantasizing about women he will never have a chance with."
"Ah, Lovise~."
"That's a great idea," said Peter. "A special new friend to have fun on the beach with. Maybe if I keep using the mirror to guide me, I'll walk backwards into my own beach fun buddy!" Peter began walking backwards, using the mirror as a guide to see where he was going.
"Next time you see me," said Mathias as Peter left, "I'll be on the arm of a hot woman!" Lovise pushed the table front of Mathias.
"I highly doubt that it will happen," Peter heard her say before falling out of earshot.
Peter was enjoying himself. His little excursion took him to the Boardwalk. A short while after stepping there, Peter started moonwalking on the Boardwalk. He had gotten so caught up in what he was doing, that he lost track of reality.
"Watch where you're going," came the sound of a woman's voice. Peter stopped. He was prepared to look for who had called out to him, but only caught sight of a van coming towards him.
"No!" shouted Peter, paralyzed and not able to get out of the way. Luckily, the tires screeched as the van came to a halt. Mayor Vargas leaned out of the van. Peter lowered his guard.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I don't know," Peter replied with a small shrug. He held the mirror to his chest. "Why were you driving down the boardwalk?"
"I'm the mayor— I'm not going to walk anywhere. Now, go get run over somewhere else." Mayor Vargas got back into his van and began to drive again, Peter out of the way this time.
"What just happened?" Peter muttered to himself. A laugh caught his ears. When he looked around, Peter saw no one. It was only when the laugh sounded again that Peter was able to located where it was coming from. It was coming from the mirror. A laugh came from the mirror.
"You work! This is so cool! I knew Pearl was wrong," Peter said, a bit overexcited. "What's it like being a mirror?" The mirror's reflection changed to a broken image of a young woman. Peter couldn't make out her features. It was distorted and blurred.
"You work!" she repeated.
"So you can repeat stuff?"
"Yeah!"
Peter thought the best course of action would to be to follow to mayor down to the beach.
"Hello, Heta City, my friends! It's great to be here to celebrate the coming season," said Mayor Vargas. "A cool breeze wafts through the air." Peter inhaled deeply before making a fart noise by blowing a raspberry against his hand. The crowd snickered.
"We all look forward to the sounds of the season…" The mirror echoed Peter's noise.
"... the smells of the boardwalk…" PBHT!
"... the wet ocean wind…" PBHT! "... the time to take that pressure that's built up and just let it out." PBHT! The crowd laughed.
"Wow, you picked that up fast," said Peter.
Peter spent the rest of the day on the had his newfound friend in his lap. Although he couldn't see her, the woman inside the mirror reminded him a lot of the Gems. Even if they could only communicate by her repeating things she had already heard.
As dusk fell, the mirror repeated the noise Peter made earlier. He laughed.
"You got a lot of mileage out of that joke," he said. "You're pretty funny for a mirror."
"You're pretty funny for a mirror," echoed the mirror. Peter laughed under his breath.
"I'm not a mirror."
"You're pretty funny for a - Peter!"
"You made something new! Say something else!" The woman in the glass nodded.
"Peter— is— a new friend."
"Really?" The mirror laughed, giving off a small smile.
"Yeah!"
"You're my friend, too!" The mirror laughed again. Peter could feel the happiness radiating from it.
"I got to go tell the Gems." Peter got up off of the sand.
"No!" shouted the mirror. Peter looked down at the glass.
"Don't be shy, they'll love you."
"No!"
"Don't worry," Peter said, trying to reassure his friend, "they're a good audience."
Despite the protests from the mirror, Peter went back up to his house. He opened the door, only to find all three Crystal Gems waiting for him. Pearl had her spear in her hands and a neatly arranged pile beside her.
"Guys!" said Peter. "Wait 'till you see…"
"Yo!" said Turquoise. "Peter!"
"Hello, Peter," Pearl said.
"Howdy," added Topaz. "Bang."
"Want to see something hilarious?" Turquoise said. She picked up and moved a stuffed toy towards the pile. Without hesitation, Pearl thrusted her spear through it. Turquoise laughed.
"You don't understand," said Pearl. "Symmetrical means both sides have to be the same!" She put the stuffed toy into a pile of other stabbed things. Peter stared blankly at them.
"Okay, that's great," Peter said. "Anyway, I fixed the mirror!"
"Excellent work, Peter!" Pearl said with a proud smile.
"You didn't tell me it's a person." The Gems' faces drained of all color. Their eyes were wide. Topaz and Turquoise looked from one another and back at Peter.
"Wait. What?"
"Say 'hey'," Peter said. He held out the mirror. Nothing happened. The woman inside did not appear. "... Lil' buddy…" Nothing happened again. "Uh... excuse us." Peter turned around. The mirror was facing him now. "Come on. You want to come out, don't you? You have so much to say and funny noises to share from across the ages. Are we not beach fun buddies?" The woman in the mirror appeared this time. She echoed Peter's fart noise, making the boy laugh. "Just couldn't help yourself, huh?"
"Just for - you - Peter!" said the mirror before repeatedly laughing.
"It's talking to him? It shouldn't be able to do that," Pearl whispered to her other Gems. "I-it should just be following orders…"
"Topaz, do something," said Turquoise, shaking Topaz's shoulder.
"I got it," Topaz said. "Peter." She walked towards him. The mirror cut off its laughter.
"No!" she shrieked. Topaz crouched down to Peter's level.
"You should just give us back zhe mirror. It vill be safer vhere ve can vatch it."
"Yeah, let's bubble it!" suggested Turquoise.
"No!" the mirror cried again. "No!"
"Peter," said Topaz. "Don't make me have to take it from you." She held out her hand. This only made Peter hold the mirror
"She doesn't want to go with you," Peter said. "Don't you hear her screaming?"
"Peter, it's just a mirror, a tool. It can't vant anything." Topaz reached her hand towards the mirror.
"No!" the mirror echoed again. Something inside Peter snapped, almost like a glass shattering.
"She wants to be with me!" he said. Without thought, Peter slapped Topaz's hand away. Due to Peter's action, Topaz's hand slapped her square across the face. The resounding smack made Peter's heart stop. Topaz's visitor hit the floor. Turquoise and Pearl were both astounded and surprised. They looked scared as well.
Topaz looked back at Peter. Anger was seeping into all four of her eyes.
Peter gasped, realizing what he had done. He took a step back before turning on his heel and running out of the house, flinging the door open as he went.
"I'm sorry!" he shouted before the door shut. There was a moment of silence. Topaz picked up her visor and put it back on. As she stood, Topaz's hands clenched up into tightly bound fists
"Zhat little boy is in big trouble " she said. Topaz left the house, chasing after Peter.
"Topaz, wait!" said Pearl. "I'm sure he didn't understand what he was doing!" She and Turquoise followed close behind.
"Fan out," said Topaz as she stepped onto the beach.
In the distance, Peter could hear her. He bad never seen any one of the Gems this mad at him before. Every part of his body was shaking. When Peter could not run anymore, e took refuge behind a rock near the shoreline. He slid down it.
"What am I gonna do? What's their problem with you?" he asked the mirror with a sigh. The woman in the glass was moving her mouth, but no words came out. She was banging on the glass in frustration. "Are you trying to say something?"
"Away from home-" the mirror said, its voice becoming distorted and warped. "Let - Me - Out!"
"I don't understand! What am I supposed to do?" Peter gripped the mirror's sides tightly.
"Peter!" Pearl called out. The Gems were getting closer.
"Come on! I want to help you! What do I have to do?" The woman seemed to calm down. Her image faded, only to be replaced by a distorted image of Peter. He was pulling on the gem attached to the back of the mirror. He was freeing it. He was freeing her.
Peter grabbed the gem with an unsteady hand. He gave it a tug. The gem was fixed tightly against the mirror, but Peter was about to give up now. He gave it another, stronger pull. The gem popped out of the mirror and into Peter's hand. As soon as the gem was free, the mirror's glass shattered into dozens of pieces. The gem in Peter's hand freed itself from the boy's hold. It levitated in the air. Peter had seen this once before. He had seen Pearl do the exact same thing when she regenerated. He came to a realization.
There wasn't a woman trapped inside the mirror. There was a Gem.
A humanoid body made of a pinkish light formed from the gem, keeping the gemstone firmly placed on her back, right in between her shoulder blades. Her physical features exploded from the body. The light mass took on solidity and color. The Gem dropped to the sand. Peter abandoned the mirror. He ran forward. He took in his first clear view of the stranger.
The Gem had red velvet colored hair that was tied back into a ponytail with a string of pink beads. She had a wild curl of hair dangling down at the side of her head. Her skin was a pale pink. She wore a flowing, knee-length dark red skirt, with a downward-facing dark pink triangle. She also wore a backless, dark red halter crop top with an upward-facing dark pink triangle that tied into a red sash ribbon on the back of her shoulders.
The thing that caught Peter the most were her eyes. Her eyes were glazed over. They looked like the mirror she was trapped in.
"Thank you…" said the Gem with a well relieved grin. "You didn't—" She tried to stand up, but her legs shook until they finally gave out from underneath her. Peter caught her before she could fall into the sand again. She kept a firm grip on his arms as she stood again.
"You actually talked to me. You helped me! It's Peter, right?" said the Gem. Peter took a deep breath before nodding. "I'm Coral. Are you really a Crystal Gem?"
"Yeah!" Peter answered.
"But you set me free."
"But—" Peter stopped. He was confused. "Wha…"
"Peter!" shouted Topaz. Coral pulled away from Peter. The Crystal Gems had found him. More importantly, they saw Coral. Topaz and Turquoise summoned their weapons as they approached. Topaz stopped halfway. Her face went pale as she stared at Coral.
"No…" muttered Topaz. "It can't be…
Peter ran in front of them, blocking the Gems' path to Coral.
"Wait!" he said.
"You…" said Coral. Peter gasped. Her voice had taken on a dangerously dark tone. Her eyes were narrowed.
"You three knew I was in there, and you didn't do anything. Did you even wonder who I used to be?!" shouted Coral. She raised her hand. Out of the ocean, an arm formed from the water. It moved in accordance with hers. She slammed the water-arm down on the Crystal Gems. She successfully trapped Topaz underneath it. The force of the blow pushed Turquoise and Pearl away from their leader. Peter watched in horror from his place next to Coral.
"Peter, run!" shouted Pearl. She threw her spear at Coral, only for it to be deflected by the water.
"What are you doing?" Peter asked Coral.
"I'm Coral, and you can't keep me trapped here anymore!" Coral yelled at the Crystal Gems. She turned to Peter, taking his hand. "They're not going to let us leave."
"Leave?" Coral used her other hand, making a pushing motion. She had parted the ocean in half to make a path.
"Peter, come with me," she said to the boy.
"Where?"
"Home."
"B-B-But…" Peter looked back at the Gems. They were his home. They were his family. "B-But I…"
"Fine." Coral sounded bitter. Topaz, grunting with effort, punched the water arm away. She was breathing heavily, but even with that, she ran forward. "Don't trust them, Peter. Goodbye."
Coral stepped into the parted water. The path vanished. A huge wave knocked Peter and Topaz back. Topaz caught Peter before any harm could come to him. The wave pushed them back to the beach. Peter dropped to all fours, coughing and gagging on water. He spat it back out, a long steady stream, onto the sand.
"Be careful around the red gem…" Peter muttered to himself. Those words that he had been so confused about a long while ago were now coming back to haunt him.
"Peter!" cried out Pearl. Peter was pulled away from his thoughts. Pearl, Turquoise and Topaz were all around him now. Pearl wrapped her arms around Peter. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine," he replied. Peter stared out at the ocean. "So, that was another Gem?" Pearl sighed, resting her chin on top of Peter's head.
"Yes."
"Peter," said Topaz, pushing back her messy, wet bangs off her visor. Peter broke away from Pearl. "Go get changed, you're soaking vet," Topaz continued. She got up, pushing Peter off of her. "Oh, and Peter?" Peter looked up at Topaz as she walked away. "Ve're talking about zhis in zhe morning."