An azure aura materialized around Blue Diamond. She was hoping that this confrontation wouldn't happen. Yellow wasn't unreasonable, but she is a single-minded woman when angry. Blue glanced down at the 12 year-old, "Steven, go find the others."
"I'm not leaving you, Blue!" Steven whispered back. He was adamant, the Diamond had her work cut out for her.
"Blue, you're coming with me. You're under arrest." The general strode forward with purpose.
"Don't come any closer, I'm in a bit of a state at the moment." Blue held out her hand in warning. She didn't know if she could adequately grapple with Yellow in her current condition if it came down to it.
Yellow halted a few feet away, the muscles in her jaw clenching and unclenching. She was working something out; the Irish woman could see the indecision warring within her. They'd known each other for so long, Blue could read her like an open book.
"I don't think you're responsible for the destruction of the detention facility. There's a lot of questions, and Aquamarine is trying to cover up something. Come with me, I can protect you from her." There was the heart of the matter, Yellow Diamond to the rescue.
"There's a problem with that." Blue glanced down at Steven.
"The boy can come with us, but we need to get ahead of Aquamarine." Yellow took a couple steps forward, and Blue stepped back in turn.
"I'm not leaving without my family!" Steven said, panic creeping into his voice.
"I made a promise that I would get Steven out of this mess. He's not leaving the Crystal Gems; therefore, I can't leave him." She stepped away from Yellow even further.
"That and I'm not entirely sure you can protect us, Aquamarine has a considerable amount of assistance from the inside."
"You don't trust me?" Yellow made a face as if she had swallowed something bitter. (In a way she had, the truth could be overwhelmingly bitter.)
"I trust you, darling. I don't trust the Authority." Both Blue and Steven had been steadily walking backward, the pair was now near an exterior window with an emergency exit just off to the side.
"There's proof, Yellow! But we have to get to White, I don't know how much support Aquamarine has from Headquarters." Blue watched as the general struggled with the next course of action. She was an Authority woman through and through, however.
"You and the boy are coming with me." Yellow Diamond sped forward at blinding speed, grabbing Blue's arm.
Blue shoved Steven off to the side and blasted Yellow square in the chest. It caught her by surprise, but she still hadn't let go. Blue hit the general in the chest again with another blast, this one causing her to stumble several feet back.
The pair stared at each other for a moment in shock, they'd never gotten into a physical altercation against each other before. It only lasted a moment, though, and Yellow Diamond charged again. Her abnormal speed giving her a tremendous amount of momentum. The pair sailed out of the window from the third floor.
Blue would be alright, at least she thought so. She wasn't in the best of health. Yellow would undoubtedly be up and ready to go soon after. Steven screamed something from above, and the colonel wasn't exactly sure what he said.
The pair landed on a car below, glass exploding everywhere as the axels of the vehicle gave way under the force. The air was knocked out of Blue's lungs, and a hot shooting pain was running up her left side. She had to get up, she had to keep moving.
Yellow gasped for breath as she jumped off the wreckage and stumbled forward. Her ragged voice cut through the haze of pain, "Blue!?"
The colonel rolled off what was left of the vehicle and landed on her hands and knees, she wasn't going to win. Abruptly two sandaled feet landed neatly in front of Blue Diamond; it startled her. A gentle magenta light radiated in front of her. Steven was trying to protect her again.
"Stop! Stop fighting!" Blue looked up, the boy had summoned his shield. Blue reached out and clutched at his pant leg. She wanted to tell him to run, but she just couldn't get enough air into her lungs.
"You don't want to fight me, boy, you'll lose…" Yellow warned as danger sparked from her fingers.
Voices were barking from around the corner, "The noise came from the area over here!"
"I want them found now!" A sharp, high-pitched British accent clipped. Aquamarine was here.
Adrenaline flooded the colonel's veins shaking her from her stupor. She quickly grabbed Steven and ran to a nearby entrance, hands frantically looking for her key fob. The colonel looked at Steven, but the boy just shook his head.
"You dropped this." A mezzo-soprano voice hissed at the pair. Yellow Diamond reached over and unlocked the hotel door. The trio quickly ran down the hall and ducked into the nearby laundry room. Steven entered last and slammed the aluminum door shut and turned the bolt home.
"You led them right to us, Yellow!" Blue yelled once the door had closed behind them. The smell of industrial cleaner mingled with bleach; dryers humming in the background. Sound was oddly muted in the room.
"They're not supposed to be here! It took everything I had to keep one step ahead of Aquamarine and find you! I was only working with one other person…" The austere woman brought her hand up to her right cheekbone, some minor cuts from her trip out the window.
Blue's vision grew blurry, and she caught herself on a nearby table, her hands were covered in blood. "Jesus Christ!" Yellow started to walk forward, but the colonel only held out a stained hand.
"Don't, I'm not sure what you're about right now, Yellow." The expression on Yellow's face was one of genuine hurt, she looked as if Blue had physically struck her.
"You can't possibly think-" More yelling followed by heavy footfalls was heard, Steven had been listening at the door while Blue and Yellow bickered.
"Blue, we gotta get out of here!" The colonel took a deep breath and steadied herself. The Crystal Gems had to know that the Authority was skulking around the hotel by now.
"If we leave this room and turn down the hallway to the left, we'll be able to exit on the same side as the Volkswagen." Blue pressed her hands to her side as she stood up straight.
"This is Ludacris! We're not getting out of this room without a fight!" Blue arched an eyebrow at Yellow.
"Oh? So, you're helping me now?"
"I'm trying to get you out of this alive! And him too!" The general said through clenched teeth as she flung her arm towards Steven.
"I've got an idea! What if we make everyone leave the building at once? It'll be super confusing and make it harder for us to be found!"
"Clever boy. Do it."
Blue nodded in agreement as Steven ran over to a small alcove were some fire extinguishers, and a building fire alarm were located. The boy jumped up and yanked on it; the ensuing noise was almost deafening.
It was crazy enough to work. Yellow opened the door and poked her head out; a few confused hotel guests were running to the front of the building, but the hallways were otherwise deserted. She jerked her head, motioning for the other two to follow.
The trio navigated through the eerily empty corridors, alarms ringing the entire way. Finally, a sunlit filled glass door was in sight, and Blue sighed in relief. She reached out to push open the door but only found red carpeting rising up to meet her.
"Blue!" Steven was at her side instantly. "Come on, we're almost there!"
"I've got her." The colonel felt strong arms enveloping her and lifting her up off the ground. Gilt colored eyes met arctic blue ones. "I've got you."
"The Gems!" Steven shoved the door open and gave a quick look around before running out. The van was right there, and Amethyst was hanging out the side door waving for the group to jump in.
"Go!" Blue shouted at Yellow.
"But!?"
"Just do it dammit, they're not stopping because they have time!" Yellow didn't wait again; she ran to the vehicle and jumped in just as it was peeling away.
… … … … … … … … …
"What the actual hell!" Amethyst said as she slammed the door. Her violet eyes grew wide as her hand went to the gun in her waistband.
"What's happening back there!?" Pearl said as she strategically used a back alley to get away from the hotel to the strip mall next door.
"Keep driving Pearl, we're alright." Blue watched as Garnet made sure Steven was sitting in a seat.
"Yeah, we're perfect, we got Yellow freaking Diamond in our van right now!" Amethyst said, her eyes never leaving the general.
"This is great, Blue, right out of the frying pan and into the fire!" The blonde growled.
"She won't do anything, I vouch for her." The Irish woman said weakly. This was going to be a hard sell.
"Yellow's okay, she's here for Blue, right?" Steven was such a voice of reason. Blue had no doubt he could sell an anchor to a drowning man if he wanted to.
His brown eyes bore into Yellow's, "I couldn't take on four Gems by myself on my best day."
Steven gave an uncertain look, and Garnet leaned forward, her expression unreadable beneath her sunglasses. "I came for Blue! I'm trying to straighten this damn mess out. And for the record, I came alone; I was followed."
"She can be trusted, for now," Garnet said sitting back, Amethyst shook her head and leaned on the back of the front passenger seat. Pearl hit a speed bump just a little too fast as she made for the highway and Blue yelped.
"Holy jeez, man!" The bartender scooted closer as Garnet kneeled. Blue was being held in Yellow's lap just behind the driver's seat on the floor of the Volkswagen.
"Let me see." The tennis instructor said gently, taking Blue's wrist and pulling her hand away from her side. Fresh blood welled up from her wound through saturated dressing. Garnet nodded over to Amethyst, who, in turn, grabbed a nearby canvas bag full of medical supplies.
"You can't go on like this." The woman said, taking off her sunglasses.
"She needs medical attention!" Yellow barked, as Amethyst placed some gauze pads on Blue's side. The general pressed down, and Blue clutched at Yellow's shirt collar. It wasn't even close to the worst wound she'd ever received, but it was the longest she'd ever been without proper medical attention.
"We can't take her to an emergency room without alerting all the law enforcement in the area!" Pearl said, half yelling. She had a point.
"Get through Norfolk and head to the Chesapeake Tunnel. We're going to pay Lapis a visit." The tennis instructor said, shaking her head.
"Dude, there's no way she's going to help. You know how she feels about… Them!" Amethyst said, motioning to both Blue and Yellow. "Even if she agreed to help, you'd have to deal with Bismuth!"
"We're out of options! Blue Diamond won't make it to DC like this, and Aquamarine is looking for us up this way now." The black woman sat back down on the seat. "I'll speak with them when we get there, they'll be angry, but they won't turn us away. Bismuth and I go way back."
An uneasy silence fell across the group, as Amethyst clambered up into the front passenger seat to make more room in the back. They were getting assistance from some associates of the Crystal Gems. It explained how they were so well organized and always seemed to be one step ahead of the Authority whenever they clashed. It all made sense to Blue now that she was getting this first-hand view of how they operated.
Her vision grew blurry, she was so tired. "Stay with me, Linna," Yellow mumbled into her ear, her warm breath caressing her cheek. The general adjusted herself carefully, so Blue's head rested on her shoulder. She placed a black leather-clad hand over Linna's own, applying more pressure to the wound. Blue hissed, and Yellow held her closer placing her chin on the crown of her head.
"Blue?" Steven scooted off the car seat and rested his hands on her knees.
"S'alright, Steven?" She said softly.
"I'm… I'm trying to be." He was such a sincere boy, Blue found it very novel in this day and age.
"I'm trying to be alright too."
… … … … … … … … …
They slipped right through her grasp again! It was the most infuriating thing! Aquamarine kicked over a chair, and it skidded over the floor, hitting an industrial-sized washing machine making a hollow metallic bang.
She paced the room angrily. She knew Yellow Diamond would track them down, it was her specialty. She was an apex predator in that fashion. Which was why she played along and seemingly went on with her manhunt in South Carolina. In actuality, she was keeping tabs on General Diamant.
Aquamarine tracked her progress to McClellanville, listening in on radio communications and watching cell phone towers. The breakthrough was when the general got a very distinct ID and description from a gas station attendant on the border of Virginia and North Carolina. That's when the agent knew she needed to break from her manhunt and intercept Yellow Diamond.
But she slipped away, Aquamarine should have brought more officers with her. The Crystal Gems made short work of them. One of them had the audacity to throw a couple officers into a dumpster, the same one that threw her in the trash in Beach City. The nerve!
Then an ill-timed fire alarm caused chaos in the hotel she was searching, and the Crystal Gems and Blue Diamond just slipped away. All this and then Jasper…
She was just about useless when they got to the hotel. Aquamarine even noted that the agent purposely sent her officers to stand watch in areas that didn't need it… She was working with Yellow Diamond, she was convinced. Jasper was also constantly calling and giving updates while the manhunt was going on near the prison.
The diminutive Gem now strolled over to the imposing woman. Aquamarine was not happy.
"I know you're working with Yellow Diamond. Where did she go?" Jasper snorted condescendingly.
"She didn't relay that information to me, ma'am." Jasper sneered.
Aquamarine nodded to two of her officers, one kicked the back of the agent's knee as the other moved to hold her hands behind her back. The pair were now at eye-level.
"One more time: Where is Yellow Diamond?" Aquamarine grit her teeth.
"I don't know! She didn't say where she was going, and it's on a need to know basis anyways. You've bent a lot of regs agent. I will report it!" Jasper was not to be crossed, but neither was Aquamarine. She'd deal with this overstuffed goon later.
"Keep her under watch," Aquamarine said to the officers.
"Topaz, you are to gather the officers from the manhunt down south a transport them here. We're combing the area." The bulky, platinum blonde woman made to walk out of the hotel laundry room.
"One last thing Topaz; don't fail me again. I expect full effort and loyalty in this matter." Aquamarine cracked her knuckles as she gave an icy look to the bulky woman.
"Yes ma'am," The hulking figured exited with hardly a sound.
