Rose has been dead for four days. Four awfully, unrealistically long days. It had been torture. It had been as though a bomb had gone off in the temple. Pearl had been dormant and empty, content to lie blank in her room. Garnet had gone to visit her, concerned when only the smallest of whimpers had escaped the worn gem when Garnet had shaken her. Garnet didn't know where the heck Amethyst was. Amethyst had lain listless for maybe an hour before she burst into an unrecognizable animal and had torn off into the sky with an awful screech. Garnet had expected both of their reactions. Rose had been Pearl's world. She had saved Pearl from termination and had shown her that there was more to life than mindless service. And Rose had helped Amethyst out of that horrid Kindergarten; teaching, loving and encouraging the little gem to explore and enjoy her home.
Garnet had loved Rose too. She had supported and celebrated Ruby and Sapphire's permanent union. During the war, there wasn't a moment that some gem wasn't making comments against them. Sometimes, they would be so cruel that Garnet would split apart. Sapphire would silently cry and Ruby would be so mad that the land around her set on fire. When this happened, Rose had been there. She had held them close to her, ensuring them that there was nothing to be ashamed of. Love, no matter what shape or color it came in, was nothing to be ashamed of.
In the moments, when the seams that held Garnet together seemed to loosen, Rose had been there too. Rose always could find Garnet-no matter where she fled. She had always known what to say. She would hold Garnet as she did Ruby and Sapphire and everything would be right in the world.
Garnet missed her. Ruby missed her. Sapphire missed her too. In light of Rose, they had chosen to stay together.
Or rather they didn't think they could bear to be apart. Somehow, through all the grief and the sudden responsibility that rested on her shoulders, Garnet had been able to be herself. There were the briefest of moments, when she could feel Ruby's hysteria and Sapphire's anguish bubbling inside her, that she thought she might finally split. Sometimes she wanted to. She hated feeling this way, there was no relief. Rose wasn't here and there was no one else she could talk to.
She knew that if she took even a brief moment alone, by herself with no distractions that she would collapse. She knew she needed to be strong for what was left of their crumbled team. But it was becoming harder and harder, because she felt so…alone.
When she had completed all the missions she could, had sat with Pearl for at least a few hours each day and had even searched for Amethyst (fruitless since her future vision was clouded from her stress)-she had gone to see Greg and the boy.
She hadn't gone to see them. She had only really gone because she needed to do something, anything. She couldn't sit still anymore; her hands would shake so hard, even when she tried to clench them shut. Her vision was blurry and shaky, almost as though her head was constantly rocking around in an earthquake. She knew her way well enough, that she really didn't need to see to find Greg's van. She stumbled wearily through the sand, having to stop now and then when her legs began to shake.
Garnet didn't know what time it was, but she knew it was late. Much too late for the average human man to be up. So she was momentarily surprised when she found the lights inside the van to be on. She approached it slowly, curious but too misaligned within herself to move any faster. She stopped a few feet away from the van, hesitating. She was breathing, something she didn't need to do, but felt compelled to do as her thoughts began to sickeningly swirl.
She really didn't want to go in there. But she couldn't do anything else. She dimly recognized that Sapphire, wanted to go in. And that Ruby, didn't want to. They were pulling within her, stretching and tearing at her resolve to stay her. They need her to be strong, they dreaded being apart, especially now.
Her right hand rose to knock on the van's metal door. It wasn't Garnet, but Sapphire. Ruby was shaking, making the fingers on Garnet's left hand snap and shake uncontrollably. Garnet softened the knock, remembering her strength before allowing Sapphire to take control again. She began to fade, relieved to finally rest.
Greg opened the van door, looking exhausted and even a little sick. The van was surprisingly neat and clean. There were no wrappers, plates, plastic, guitars, light bulbs or spiky outfits anywhere to be seen. She hadn't known Greg was capable of such cleanliness. But who was she? She wasn't sure if she was Garnet or Sapphire or Ruby anymore.
"Garnet?" Greg asked, his eyes shiny as he looked up at her.
No, she wasn't Garnet anymore. Garnet was too tired and she needed a little break. She closed her eyes and let herself fall backwards. And in a bright flash of light, Garnet was finally allowed peace and quiet.
A/N: THANK YOU! All 105 of you who clicked favorite, thank you so much. I never thought that this story would get 20 favorites, let alone over 100. Writing this has been so much fun and I'm glad you guys like it. Thank you for all your kind words in your reviews too. I'm going to try to post this second part to this chapter today, if not today than early tomorrow morning.