AN: Sorry about the wait. I was having a major writing block...
Greg opened the door out of what he assumed to be the servants' quarters, and found himself looking for a room to wash his clothing. He already checked the hallway he was in at sunset yesterday, but there weren't any laundry rooms near. It was like gems never changed.
Greg stepped down the hallway, his feet dragging on the floor. "Sure, they don't," he grumbled, "But we do."
His grumblings stopped the second he reached the foyer. He stumbled when he reached for a sword cupboard's glass front. His hand fell in the empty space where it should've been. "What the—" He glanced up and saw exactly what happened. The entire place looked ransacked. The other door for the cupboard swung wide open, and Greg clearly saw a sword had been lifted from its hooks. He looked down and the lock that was on it just yesterday had fallen to the carpet. "Oh my god," he whispered.
He then noticed the scratches in the carpet, and torn off strings of it laying on the floor. He paced around it, heart racing faster and faster. A struggle? Somebody'd been kidnapped.
Other humans had been kidnapped before, presumably to be "retired," but he'd never assumed it could happen to a Gem, too. The couch looked completely empty, stripped of its cushions. He shuddered. Were they still here?
He glanced around and heard shuffling. Greg's heart stopped for a split second, and he glanced at the rafters from where it came. Dead silence. He paced backwards, then ran down the hall where the leader of the Gems, Pink Diamond, was.
He knocked on the door as politely as he could manage, but it still came out rapid and worried.
The door swung open and Greg stared straight in the Gem's face. "Ma'am," he said, "There's something wrong." He took a deep breath, ready to explain all he could. "I went down the hall and then in the foyer. There were thieves. In the middle of the night! And they took someone!"
He noticed the worry rising on her face and Greg felt his stomach churn. The Gem gave him a withering glance, but nodded serenely. "Get the other Gems," she said. "If someone doesn't reply, report to me immediately." Her shoulders heaved. "Now, go, human."
Greg nodded, his memories about where the Gems were all staying in flickering in his mind. He first ran down to the end of the hall. This was where the other Quartz was staying. He rapped on the door, waiting for it to open up. It did, revealing a tall gem with cool brown skin. Tiger's Eye, he remembered. "Tiger's Eye? Pink Diamond — she's getting everyone assembled."
The Gem nodded, and she pushed Greg out of the way. He was winded as he fell into the wall, but the Gem was already stomping away.
Greg coughed and got onto his knees. "Geez," he grumbled. He got to his feet, instinctively brushing them off, but no dust came off.
He remembered what he had to do and ran across the foyer and into the other hall. He knocked on the first door. "Excuse me!" He started knocking harder before it was opened just a crack.
"It's you," the Peridot said. "The human."
Greg felt his face flush. "Yeah, it's me. Can you open the door a bit more? It's something important."
The door was opened enough so that her face was visible. "How important?"
"Look," Greg said, pushing the door further open. "Pink Diamond wants you in the foyer. Something's gone wrong overnight and we need to take attendance."
She sighed and opened it fully. Her fingers retracted into her palms, and she slipped out without even giving Greg so much as a second glance.
"Humans," she muttered, before turning into the Foyer.
Greg sighed and continued down the hall. He met another door, trying to remember if it was the Sapphire or the Pearl's door.
There was a second before it was the Pearl that opened up. She looked up, but when she didn't find anything, glanced at Greg. "Oh!" she said, but then narrowed her eyes. "It's you."
Greg nodded. "Look. I'm not going to tell anyone," he said. "You know, about the—"
"I know exactly what about. Now, why're you here?" she snapped.
"Pink Diamond wants you. Something went wrong. Go to the foyer."
She nodded but cast a shady stare at Greg. "I'll be right there."
She wasn't. Greg noticed that she stood, waiting for him to move along. He nodded and went to the last door in the hall. He looked behind him, watching Pearl scurry down the halls. For a smart Pearl, she acted pretty much like all of them.
The Sapphire's door, he remembered, tapping on it quietly. No response. Maybe she was like the Peridot, who wouldn't open the door after a while. He seethed under his teeth and knocked harder.
Still no response. Greg felt the hairs on his arms rising. "Miss Sapphire?" he asked, knocking harder.
Again, the other side of the door was quiet. Greg turned slowly, stagnating a second in case she'd open it. She didn't. Greg's shoulders weighted, wondering what would happen to him if he had to say that the Sapphire was gone. He'd probably be drawn and quartered, at least in the Gem sense.
He ran into the foyer and saw four Gems lined up. They cast him a quick glance before turning back to Pink Diamond. The Pearl glared for a moment, but did the same.
"Gregory," the pink Gem said. "Where's the Sapphire?"
Greg tugged at his shirt sleeves, averting his gaze from the Diamond's. "The Sapphire, she didn't respond." He lowered his gaze enough to watch his shoes. "I think she's the one gone."
