October 4, 1975

For once, Peridot woke up earlier than Lapis. She and her black-haired beauty were still tangled together amidst the sheets, and Peridot thought briefly of nudging her awake. Until she thought about how hard Lapis usually found it just to fall asleep...and decided to leave her alone.

Maybe it was a good sign.

Peridot kissed Lapis on the forehead, then showered, dressed and went downstairs. She poured herself a bowl of cereal, more concerned right now with a way to keep herself in Lapis's good graces.

Amethyst was already awake, though for a change she wasn't listening to music or eating. Instead she was reclining on the couch, thumbing through a magazine and looking utterly bored...the optimal state for playful mischief.

"What's up, Perry?" she asked.

"Still thinking."

"About Lapis?" Amethyst asked. "I'm guessing you two..." She gestured lewdly with her index fingers.

"That's none of your business," Peridot mumbled, lowering her eyes and blushing.

"Ha ha, fine!" Amethyst said, sitting up and throwing aside her magazine. "Whatever you say, Perry."

Peridot groaned and ate another spoonful of cereal. It was hard enough trying to sort all this out without Amethyst teasing her about it.

"I want to do something nice for her," Peridot said, not making eye contact.

"Sounds like you did something nice for her last night..."

"Amethyst, I'm serious!" Peridot shouted, louder than she intended. She cleared her throat and modulated her voice, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Thinking of a present," Peridot continued. "A surprise. Something...to make her happy. She seems to be doing better lately, and...I want to help."

"P, I'd say you're the reason she's feeling better," Amethyst reminded her. "And I don't just mean in that way, either."

"Maybe. But...I mean, all that is...nice. And fun." A smile flickered across her face, then vanished. "But anyone can do that," she insisted, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm thinking of something that shows real thought and concern and...I guess that she doesn't know about."

"I get ya," Amethyst said. Trying to think. "What does Lapis like?"

Peridot sat back, puzzling this out. "Well, she loves music," she said. "But I doubt we could find a record that she doesn't already own."

"Doesn't hurt to try," Amethyst said, hanging upside off the couch.

"Oh, wait, she told me...she said she likes to paint! Yes! Back in college she was really into art, but hasn't had a chance to practice lately!" And Peridot became animated and jabbering, as she usually did when a stroke of genius inspired her.

"And what better a place to paint than the beach? I mean, the sunsets alone...and the waves breaking against the shore...She wouldn't even need talent to capture it! Of course, I'm sure that she's amazingly talented...Not that I've ever seen her work of course, but..."

"Whoa," Amethyst said quietly during a lull in Peridot's monologue, sitting up and brushing the hair out of her face. "Sounds to me like you've got it bad."

Peridot blushed again, but didn't deny it.

Garnet entered the room from upstairs.

"How's Pearl doing?" Amethyst asked.

"She's still asleep," Garnet said. "I think last night really took it out of her."

"Bad news," Amethyst sympathized. She sighed, her face suddenly creased with worry.

"I don't like seeing her like this," she admitted. "It...doesn't feel right. She's such a strong lady..." And her voice trailed off.

Garnet's heart sank hearing Amethyst talk that. She was usually the joker and the silly one, but she'd been acting more and more serious lately. Which didn't strike Garnet as a good sign.

"She'll be better soon enough," Garnet assured Amethyst with a smile, though she couldn't hide the worry in her eyes. Amethyst seemed skeptical, but returned the smile.

"Well...Perry's preparing to go Lapis shopping," Amethyst teased.

"I dunno," Peridot said. "I was thinking about it..."

"No, you were," Amethyst insisted, wanting to move the discussion back to a lighter subject. "Don't chicken out now! There's, like, no better way to show her how you feel than to buy her a paint set! Get her back on the road to being normal and okay instead of...whatever mess she is now."

"I suppose that would be a benefit," Peridot considered. "You know what...you're right."

"I'm...not sure that's a good idea," Garnet said quietly. Amethyst noticed a serious look again overtaking her face.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Peridot asked, warming to the idea while misunderstanding Garnet's comment. "I think I've finally got Lapis to start coming out of her shell! And maybe it will help her un-shell herself further by reintroducing her to her hidden passion."

"Maybe Amethyst should go with you," Garnet suggested, shooting the younger woman a glance.

"Yeah, why not?" Amethyst said with a shrug. "Guess it would be nice to see something other than the inside of this beach house."

Garnet nodded and opened her wallet.

"Here's about $100," she said. "Spend it all in one place, if you can."

"Wow, thanks!" Peridot said. Then she looked around and panicked. "Oh crap, my coat is upstairs...do you think...?"

"Don't worry about it," Amethyst said, completely deadpan. "If Lapis wakes up, tell her you can't stand her anymore and you're running away forever."

Peridot stared at her for a long moment, blinking heavily. Not sure if Amethyst was joking or not. Until Amethyst blew her a raspberry.

"Ha ha, what a great joke," Peridot groaned. She slowly ascended the stairs.

"Do we need to talk, G?" Amethyst whispered to Garnet as soon as Peridot was out of sight.

"Not right now," Garnet assured her. "Perhaps later. You should keep an eye on Peridot and I'll watch Pearl and Lapis. Better safe than sorry."

Amethyst hesitated a moment, not entirely satisfied by that answer. Then she nodded affirmation and rushed upstairs into her room.

Once she reached her room, she fished around for her Colt .45, finding it under the bed. She couldn't find her holster, so she hurriedly jammed it in her waistband before throwing on her coat.


Garnet crumpled the tarot card in her pocket.

She hadn't told anyone about it, not even Greg, who'd found it. It didn't seem the right time.

She realized what it meant: Sapphire was sending her a warning. Someone was coming soon, preparing to wreak havoc on them.

But who? Jasper was almost certainly dead. Yet...surely the CIA, or whoever ran this Project DIAMOND, wasn't lacking for operatives. For all Garnet knew, an entire company of Green Berets could be descending on Beach City.

She sat up all night worrying about it, shotgun at her side. Expecting an army or a hit squad to burst in the door any minute, guns blazing. She wasn't the only one awake - Peridot and Lapis made quite the racket in their room, doing what lovers did, and Pearl mumbled and tossed and turned in her sleep, creaking her bed springs as she moved. And she wondered how anyone ever could ever sleep without a fan or air conditioner or something blocking out all the riff-raff.

At some point she fell asleep, and woke up finding that everyone was still there and the world still spun. But she felt only marginally better.

After wrestling with the idea for awhile, she decided not to tell her friends about Sapphire's message.

She knew she was taking a big risk...one that wasn't entirely fair to everyone else. They always insisted upon trusting each other...yet always seemed to keep something from each other.

Well, I don't want to alarm anyone until I know what's going on, Garnet reasoned to herself. We should know what we're up against before we get ready. Maybe Amethyst can scout around town and take a look while she's helping Peridot. Or maybe I can do some investigating while I'm in town.

Until then, Garnet thought, better safe than sorry.

She just hoped that she'd made the right call.


"Whoa, Perry, slow down!" Amethyst called. "I've never seen you move so fast!"

It's true. Peridot, who just moments before had been reluctant to do anything, was practically running - skipping, even! - down the beach.

"There's no time to waste!" Peridot insisted, slowing down just enough to catch her breath. "Lapis needs her paint supplies!"

Amethyst shook her head. She wished she could be that in love, that something so trivial could seem so important.

But, Amethyst reasoned, it's not trivial at all. Not if it helps someone rebuild their life.

She thought of all the times that music made her happy. Just finding the right record or tape or radio station could be enough to stave off stress or despair or even a bout of depression. That was one thing she and Lapis had in common.

She'd always struggled to express herself, though. She took a few dance classes during her down time, but for some reason they didn't take. And fighting, while requiring skill and poise and occasionally even enjoyable in its own way, wasn't quite the same thing.

She was glad that she could help Lapis and Peridot work through their problems. She knew damage enough from personal experience to read it in Lapis's eyes and voice and body language. And she knew Peridot, God bless her, wasn't going to be denied in trying to fix her.

She did wonder, though, what would happen over time. Their little vacation couldn't last forever. And frankly, Amethyst didn't want it to. As much as she enjoyed spending time with her friends, she was beyond bored.

And her little conversation with Garnet didn't bode well, especially considering how vague it was. She wished she were a better shot with her pistol, or that it was easier to conceal a whip on her person.

Would Lapis and Peridot still be a couple once this mess ended? She was a little surprised that she cared so much about two people she barely knew, but there it was. Since the TV didn't work, it was like enjoying her own private soap opera.

She also thought about Pearl, and she could do to help her feel better.

Amethyst was so lost in her thoughts that she barely noticed Peridot had stopped sprinting. Now she stood on the beach and chatted with a woman Amethyst didn't recognize.

Amethyst was immediately put on guard; she moved the pistol over to her right hip and undid the safety before approaching. She forced a smile and waved.

"Hey Perry, already making new friends?" she called, as cheerfully as she could manage.

"Oh yeah, this is my friend Amethyst," Peridot said to the woman.

Amethyst looked the woman over. She was tall and well-built with very short blonde hair, wearing a white-and-orange running outfit and was sweating. Despite looking bodybuilder tough, she had a very pleasant countenance which made Amethyst feel...a little safer.

"Amethyst, that's such a pretty name!" the woman said. "I'm Topaz. Topaz Gutierrez."

"Gutierrez, huh?" Amethyst asked. "De donde es tu familia?"

"Mi familia es de Guatemala," Topaz replied. "Pero mi español es una mierda, así que tal vez hablemos inglés?"

Amethyst burst out laughing. "Okay, fair enough! Sorry, there aren't too many Hispanics in this part of the world, so...my family's Puerto Rican."

"Oh, interesting," Topaz said, smiling politely.

"Where are you from?" Amethyst asked.

"California originally, but I've been living in Arlington, Virginia the last few years."

"No kidding! We're all from DC."

"No way! Government employees?"

"Umm, in a manner of speaking," Amethyst said, not wanting to give away too much. "At least Perry here is."

"I'm kind of a big deal," Peridot boasted half-seriously. She wanted to say more, until Amethyst's glare convinced her to shut up.

"Yeah?" Topaz said. "Well, I'm just a paper-pusher at the Department of Agriculture. Like there aren't enough of those in the capital."

"Hey, somebody's gotta push all that paper around," Amethyst said.

"Beats starving to death."

"I guess!"

"Plus somebody's gotta keep Earl Butz in line."

"Ha, Butz."

Peridot stood to the side, feeling a little confused and left out as the two new acquaintances bantered.

"So you guys are staying at the beach house outside town?" Topaz asked.

"Who wants to know?" Peridot interrupted.

"Hey, it's no big deal!" Topaz said. "It's just, I've been here before and I saw that house. It looked pretty neat. Didn't realize you guys occupied it."

"Well, our friend Greg...He kinda rents the place," Amethyst lied.

"He invited us over for a few weekends," Peridot added.

"Us?"

"Yeah, just some of our friends from DC," Amethyst said. "No biggie. Need to get away from the capital for awhile, ya know?"

"Huh. Well, I'm only gonna be in town until Monday, then back to the old grind. But yeah, maybe we can meet up for drinks or something before I go?"

"Sounds cool," Amethyst agreed, smiling.

"Why not now?" Peridot offered. "We're just going to town for...um, shopping!"

"Yep, a girl's day on the town!" Amethyst said, pulling Peridot close.

Topaz shook her head. "Appreciate the offer, but...nah, I've got some more running to do. Bit behind on my exercise and..." She turned and faced the ocean.

"My God, I love the beach.

"Well hey, awesome to meet you!" Amethyst said, waving. "See ya soon!"

"Sure thing!" Topaz said. "I'm staying at the hotel in town, so..look me up."

"Will do!" And then Amethyst and Peridot started walking down the beach, before Peridot took off sprinting again. Amethyst's raspy laugh pealed through the air.

Topaz waited until the two girls were out of sight before she started running again. And didn't stop until she reached the beach house.

She saw Greg's van parked underneath the patio. And saw Garnet through the window.

She quickly sized the building up as she caught her breath, taking as many mental notes as she could. Then turned the other way and ran back into town.


Lapis woke up as Peridot prepared to run out the door, but didn't move. She half-wanted to spring out of bed and yell boo at Peridot, or something equally silly, but restrained herself. She could tell that the little blonde had something going on, something she didn't want to share with her.

Her first thought was that Peridot had abandoned her, and felt the familiar stab of betrayal well up in her chest. But she managed to tamp it down.

Peridot's not like that, Lapis told herself. She wouldn't just leave. Even that night at the hotel, she stayed. That's something *I* would do, not her.

Which ended up making her feel worse. She didn't need to remind herself what a shitty person she was.

Her main concern, though, was a little different. She still hadn't told Peridot the complete, unvarnished truth about herself, and why she was on the run, and why people were trying so hard to kill her.

Mostly because it was hard to put it into words.

Suddenly, an idea struck her.

She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper out of the drawer and began writing a confession. Hoping that she could put her thoughts and deeds into understandable words.

Maybe it's better this way, Lapis reasoned. Maybe it's better if I spell everything out in as much detail as I can. At the very least, it will let me practice what I need to say. Try and condense everything in one place.

She hoped Peridot wouldn't get back before she was done.


"This is Topaz. I found them. They're all staying at a beach house just outside Beach City."

"Really? All of them are there?"

"Yes. Miss White, Miss Lazuli, Miss Khoury and...the other two women. There's also a man, I think he's a musician...Two of them went out."

"Which two?"

"Peridot Khoury and...one of the other ones. That means our targets are still inside."

"Good news. Keep an eye out. We can be there in about two hours, unless there's traffic."

"Two hours?"

"Yes."

"That, um, seems a bit abrupt. You sure you don't want some more time to plan things out?"

"We've put this off long enough. Might as well strike while the iron's hot and especially now, since you said the other two are out."

"But I don't know how long they'll be..."

"We'll be down there in two hours. Meet us in the hotel lobby and we'll go from there."

Topaz listened to the phone go dead and hung up. She went out into the hotel bar and ordered a club soda. Then sat there, watching businessmen and older couples move through the lobby, oblivious as Topaz mused about everything that brought her here.

She really didn't want to be here. Really didn't want to do this awful mission. But she had a past with Aquamarine, who called in her chits at the most inopportune occasions. Such as now.

Her only consolation was that she was dealing with criminals. Traitors, even. She could take solace in the fact that she wasn't doing bad things to good people.

Though she wondered, based on their conversation, how bad these women could really be.

I might need something stronger than this, Topaz mused while pondering the drink in her hand. Even if it's only noon.

But first, I need to shower.