A/N: It's been a tiring week for me, as with all other weeks, but I hope you guys are doing excellently. I would like to extend a thank you to Jarjay100 for favoriting and following this story! and here we have another perspective with Chapter Fifty-Nine! I hope you enjoy it! oh, and prepare for some stuff. It's gonna get a little wild (get your minds out of the gutter tho).
A Triangle in the Stars
Chapter Fifty-Nine: So Close, Yet So Far
Pearl was examining the doors, hoping maybe she'd find a room with more information on that portal in the basement. She wanted to know oh so badly. She was so close. So close she wasn't even going to listen to Garnet or Keyhole. She wanted answers, and she was going to find them. Garnet sighed, staring at the doors with scrutiny. She wanted to make sure she got this right. And so it was mostly silent between the two. Amethyst looked around, but not actively. She wasn't looking for an exit—she was waiting for one of the other Gems to find a way to continue. Keyhole simply watched them all for a while.
"This isn't working," Garnet spoke up. She had been trying her hardest to avoid a repeat of what happened downstairs, but it quickly seemed that there was nothing else she could do. That and her future vision seemed to be on the fritz. Which meant one of her components was still very uncomfortable.
"What isn't working?" Pearl asked somewhat bitterly, glancing over at the fusion. But she didn't receive an answer. Whether it was out of pride, out of ignorance, or just plain ignoring her, she didn't care. Not anymore.
Amethyst shuddered. "Maybe we should just leave. I don't think that we can even get the Cashid up there!" she grunted, putting her hands on her hips. "Besides, even if we could... why would we wanna save this old junk heap, anyway?"
Pearl immediately rounded on Amethyst, her patience starting to wear thin, "This 'old junk heap' holds lots of promise. It details all of the Zodiacs in the world, all the Zodiacs that have ever existed. It's an experience for all the Gems."
But even she was starting to get second thoughts. The key must have been removed for a good reason. A reason she was trying to find out. It even took precedence over getting the key to its place. But perhaps if she did, answers would greet her. She sighed.
"If there's a will, there's a way," Garnet started towards one of the doors. "We'll have to open every door."
"What's a Zodiac, anyway?" mumbled Amethyst, rolling her eyes.
Keyhole frowned. "But what if they're like the doors before?" he asked, making his presence known once more.
The tall Gem jumped, having becoming antsy as well. Garnet answered, "They aren't. I can tell."
Pearl briefly blushed out of embarrassment over her own building paranoia. She headed towards a door, "Well, let's do it then."
Amethyst just watched, not wanting to put in the effort. The fusion wrenched open her door, and looked inside. Nothing of importance here. So she closed it back and moved on. The fewer doors Pearl could check, the better. The pale Gem opened her door and walked in, looking around. There was nothing much here, except an old device similar to the one Keyhole melted. She smiled a bit at the fact that her kind kept backups, and picked it up, stashing it in her gem. And then she left, "Nothing's there either!"
Keyhole checked a room, and found some floating gems, in bubbles. Wait, that wasn't right... they were fragments... not whole gems. He didn't know whether this was important or not, so he called nervously, "Uh, guys... i-is this something I should be concerned about...?"
Amethyst walked over and peeked in. "Woah..." her eyes widened.
Garnet and Pearl made their way over, and peeked in too. Their reactions were nothing short of shocked, with Pearl's much more exaggerated. She started shaking, "Oh.. oh my stars.."
Amethyst stared. "Who... did this?" she asked, quietly.
"I.. I don't know..." the tall Gem stammered, "but maybe there's something here that could have a clue..."
Like the device she stashed in her gem, but she wouldn't say that. Garnet took a deep breath, "If you think that's best..."
And Pearl was properly shocked by this. She thought she'd have to go behind her back, and that was in fact true for a while. She bit her lip, "But..."
"You want answers?" the fusion interrupted. "I'll let you find them. But don't let them go to your head."
The Gem couldn't say a single word, just staring at her. She stepped in soon enough, looking around.
"Should we take these Gems back to the Temple...?" asked an uncertain Amethyst, glancing at Pearl.
Said Gem's breath hitched, and she soon nodded, "Steven's not going to be happy though.. but they don't deserve to stay here forgotten..."
Garnet nodded, still a little sullen. She stepped forward and began tapping as many bubbles as she could, sending them home. Pearl helped as best she could. Amethyst did the same, sadly staring at them. "I wonder what happened to them... do you guys know...?" she glanced at Pearl, then Garnet.
Keyhole had long since left the room, sensing it wasn't a good place for him to be. He continued checking rooms, until he finally found one, with a spiraling staircase, upwards. He smiled. Finally.
Pearl didn't answer, for she already had. Garnet gave off a sigh, but that was it. There was no way she'd tell them. She'd freeze up, like she'd already begun to do. Amethyst sent off the last one with a troubled look.
"Hey, if you guys are done in there, I found a way up!" Keyhole called, ecstatic.
Garnet immediately exited the room, and smiled a tiny bit, "Nice work, Keyhole."
Pearl did too, after looking around the room one last time. But at least she had something she could fix up and look over. That was all she wanted. The two started heading towards the demon. Amethyst followed behind them, secretly envying the Gems they had sent off. The fusion walked up the stairs carefully, immediately followed by Pearl. Torchlights flickered on as they went, as a feeling swelled up in the tall Gem. They were almost done. They could finally go home soon.
Keyhole was at the head of the group, and Amethyst at the tail. Keyhole stepped aside and let the Gems go in front of him when he reached the room where the Cashid would be placed. Amethyst, however, slouched against a wall, watching sourly and saying nothing.
Garnet set a comforting hand on the purple Quartz' shoulder, as Pearl kept going towards the altar. It had a crevice in the center, where the Cashid was obviously going to go. She stared at it for a while, reached into her gem and pulled out the statuette. This was it. She could finally get some answers. But.. at what cost? she then uncertainly looked back at her friends, Keyhole included.
Amethyst leaned on Garnet, sneaking an arm around her and hugging her tightly. Keyhole looked disinterested. Thus, the tall Gem was starting to lose a little heart, but then she saw the fusion give her a slow thumbs up. She inhaled, and then took the angelic key in both hands, and inserted it into the slot in one fell swoop. Light started issuing forth immediately, coating the Illictic Cashid, and overflowed onto the floor. Pearl backed away from it, joining the three, as the green runes on the walls and ceiling began to glow.
Keyhole frowned, looking around. Amethyst gasped and whispered to Garnet in wonder, staring with teary eyes. The whole entire Temple then started rumbling, as it began fixing itself, even the stairs. It soon was free of moss, and the formerly dank walls were a decent white. Pearl's eyes widened, as she almost teared up as well. It was so beautiful. Garnet's mouth opened oh so slightly in awe. And then the ceiling seemed to open, revealing a pitch black coated in stars. Of constellations, so many different ones from around the cosmos.
Amethyst smiled, "It's beautiful..."
Keyhole simply nodded. It was a bit hard to get excited about stuff like this when you'd been around it your whole life.
"And those are what you call Zodiacs, Amethyst," Pearl pridefully informed her, knowing smirk on her face. Garnet allowed a smile to cross her face, and she patted the Gem's shoulder with her free hand, to which Pearl's smile simply got bigger.
"We did it," the fusion stated. "Let's go home."
She hoped, however, that nothing would happen now that the Temple was back to its former glory. This place had a reputation...
"Ugh, finally," Amethyst grunted.
"Home?" Keyhole repeated quizzically.
"Yes," Garnet started walking down the stairs again, "back at our own Temple."
Pearl stayed behind for a while, looking around for more information. Maybe this tablet wouldn't be enough. But then right above her, an eye seemed to open. The same eye in her dream. But she didn't notice it yet.
The little purple Gem climbed up onto Garnet's head, hugging her tightly. Keyhole glanced at the tall, pale Gem, "Y-you coming, P-Pearl?"
The Gem looked over at him, and soon nodded, "Yes, I'll be over there in a second."
The eye didn't do anything, however. It was just watching her. Ominously.
Keyhole glanced up at the eye, "P-Pearl...?"
"What is it?" she kept looking, frowning slightly. Nothing seemed to be here.
"Look above you..." he replied, feeling sick. But at least it wasn't staring at him.
Pearl did so, and gasped at the sight. It was the same eye in her dream. She froze in her place, too afraid to move now. What if it did something then? she trembled and said this one thing, "Keyhole..? get Garnet."
"Yes, ma'am," he saluted, and ran down the steps. He had become used to this type of behavior beneath Pyronica. He briefly wondered where the pink demon was now, before getting back to the task at hand. "Garnet!" he called, cupping his hands around his sound hole.
The fusion turned around. She'd reached the bottom of the stairs at this point, "Keyhole? ..where's Pearl?"
"There's a situation upstairs..." he informed her, uncertain.
"Sounds like trouble," Amethyst proclaimed, perched on Garnet's hair. Garnet nodded carefully. She was afraid this would happen. So she started heading upstairs again at a much faster pace. The tall, pale Gem remained perfectly still, not even breathing. Not that she needed to. It was much like a staring contest, except she was sure it'd turn more deadly if she lost. Keyhole was first up again, to analyze the situation.
"So, what is this? security measures to stop people from stealing the whatever that is?" he inquired, pointing to the whatever that is aforementioned.
Garnet looked up at it too, and bit her lip. It brought up too many memories, but she worked past it. She soon answered, "Yes. It is. It had been installed by the Gems working here at the behest of.. someone.."
She then cleared her throat and started speaking in Gem, basically telling the eye that the Illictic Cashid was safe around them. It took a while, but it soon closed. Pearl sighed out of relief and stretched out, before she looked at the de facto leader, almost confused. Keyhole sighed, "Glad that's over with..."
"Me too," the tall Gem walked over, unimpeded, "but.. Garnet.. how did you know?"
"Let's just say my future vision told me," she offered, but that was a lie. Pearl raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it much. Amethyst frowned, but said nothing. Keyhole then began down the stairs, with a sigh, "Let's get out of here."
Pearl ran to him, "Fine by me!" and then skipped down the stairs. Garnet followed, sighing a little. She felt bad for lying. But what else could she do?
The purple Quartz was still on Garnet's hair, just chilling—sleeping actually. Keyhole led them back the way they came, hoping he wouldn't have to walk as long as before. But as soon as they got to the bottom of the interior stairs, something clicked within the fusion. She gasped quietly, "We should head outside..."
"Not through the shortcut?" Pearl frowned slightly. Garnet could in fact move those boulders that caved them in now. So what was the hold up?
Keyhole stopped, while they decided what to do. He could contribute nothing now, as he knew nothing about this place. The fusion shook her head carefully, "Come on!" and then started running, heading through the lit up foyer soon enough. Pearl followed her, almost hopelessly confused. Keyhole followed as well, and Amethyst managed to hang on, despite still being asleep.
Soon, sunlight greeted them, a sharp contrast from the cloudy skies when they found the shortcut. The area was bright green and clean now, much to Pearl's delight. Soon, the fusion reached the Warp Pad, and stared at it. She stated, "Someone's been here before..."
The tall Gem caught up, and gasped, obviously shocked. The platform was fixed. But how could that be?
Keyhole stared at it. "Wow, a slab of gem. How interesting." He obviously didn't get it.
"It's not a slab of gem, it's a Warp Pad," Pearl began, nose slightly in the air. "It takes us where we want to go with only a thought. We just have to stand on it and activate it."
"But this particular one was broken," the fusion supplemented, looking down slightly. "It's why we had to walk here. The one where the Illictic Cashid was held was cracked as well."
"Maybe it was fixed when the rest of the Temple was?" suggested Keyhole.
"Sadly, Warp Pads don't work like that.." Pearl sighed, kneeling and placing a hand on the pad. "The Lunar Sea Spire was another place like this. However, we couldn't save it. But we were able to warp there just fine."
She felt funny, however. It felt like.. saliva? she shuddered, but didn't get the connection. Garnet nodded. Keyhole stepped onto the pad, "Well, let's get out of here, then. 'Home'."
"Home.." the tall Gem then smiled. "I'm coming, Steven! we're all coming!"
Garnet stepped up first, and Pearl followed, after having gotten up. Amethyst woke up a little, "Heh?"
The tall Gem grinned widely, and activated the Warp Pad, sending them back home. After several weeks, they were finally going to see Steven again...
Steven was trying to sleep, but wasn't getting anything at all. He kept thinking about things instead...
Suddenly, there was a chime echoing throughout the house, and soon three familiar figures materialized on it, along with a not so familiar figure. Pearl immediately turned to face Steven, a big smile on her face as she announced his name. Garnet was smiling as well, stepping down from the Warp Pad. Steven groaned quietly. This was the last thing he needed...
He headed downstairs, "Hey, guys."
"How are you? I missed you so much," the tall Gem didn't seem to notice his behavior, walking up to him.
Garnet simply watched. She sensed something was off immediately, and it almost immediately wiped the smile off her face. But she seemed to ignore this, and said, "We all did."
"I'm okay, I guess. A lot happened while you guys were gone," he shrugged.
"Like what?" Amethyst got down from the fusion, and sat on the couch.
"Yeah, what? you can tell us!" Pearl's eyes sparkled a little. The fusion simply stayed standing. She knew. She just hoped the others wouldn't jump to conclusions. That is, if Steven told.
"Well... it's really long... a lot of stuff..." he sighed again, looking down at the floor.
"Well, alright," Pearl hugged him rather tightly, "you don't have to tell if you don't want to."
The fusion then finally asked the question that the audience was probably hoping for, "Steven.. what's wrong?"
Steven took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, it just seems like I haven't got a break, and I can't sleep, and... I dunno."
"..What happened while we were gone..?" Pearl asked slowly and carefully, staring at the boy. Garnet was also staring, and glanced out the window too.
"I met a lot of strange... people, I guess," he shrugged slightly.
"You know you can tell us anything, right, Steven?" the tall Gem slowly continued coaxing him. Garnet was close to separating them, but decided to wait a while longer.
He nodded, "Okay... so I was bored for the first couple of weeks. Connie and I hung out a lot, but there wasn't much to it. One of the days, though, I found a statue on the beach... it swept up right next to me."
"A statue..?" Pearl let go and started to head over to the couch. Garnet followed, humming softly. Amethyst simply listened.
"It was a triangle. Now, it had a big crack running through it, so I healed it up with my healing spit, and then I took it home," he recalled that night with some warmth, joining the others on the couch.
Pearl hung onto the fact that the statue was a triangle with eyes wide, but nonetheless let him continue. Garnet sat in silence.
"And then he came to life..." Steven continued.
Pearl developed an increasingly shocked reaction, and she waved her hands, "Statues coming to life.. I see.. uhm, let's stop here. You're hungry, aren't you?"
She was trying very hard to reconcile this with what she'd seen, but she couldn't do it while listening. Garnet frowned, but let this happen.
Steven shrugged, "I guess..."
Pearl nodded, biting her lip, before she got up and walked to the kitchen and began preparing some food. Garnet shook her head, and placed a hand on Steven's shoulder, and its owner looked down at the floor. Soon, the tall Gem would have to find this out, the hard way...
A/N: And there ya have it! I handled Pearl and Garnet, while Ace had Amethyst, Keyhole, and Steven. :3
I snuck a few references in here, one of which is fairly obvious. I wonder if you can spot them. :3